They were someone shy, well-versed in stories and games, from a wealthy background, and academically gifted. And they were imaginative and enough of a hardcore gamer to do self-imposed challenge runs. Add to that a touch of middle school delusion and enough musical skill to hold recitals.
Yeah...no. There’s no way they exist. If a model student like that were around, they’d be a top player by now.
Sure, the Drain Ninja ticked a lot of boxes, but if it were her, L’Arc would have said something by now. She was close enough to L’Arc to actually be able to hold conversations with him, after all.
Really, if he was looking for someone like that, he could’ve just asked around our group. And most likely, he already had—and whoever it was must’ve turned out to be someone else entirely.
“An honor student like that would stand out among otaku,” I said. “If she’s a shut-in, there’s a chance she’s holed up in an inn or sticking to playing solo, and if that’s the case, I probably haven’t met her.”
“As I feared.” Millie nodded. “A girl like her would have trouble fitting in. I can see her playing on her own.”
“Then we should narrow our search down to solo players,” Cray concluded.
“We’ll have to scour the hunting grounds once we get out of here.”
“Yes, I hope you’ll continue to help with the search.”
“We’d be very grateful.”
I nodded, and with that, I’d gotten the gist of the story.
“Howdy, Kizzy. By the look of things, you’ve already gotten to know everyone.”
It was at that point that Therese sauntered over with a hand raised to greet me.
“Lahal, make sure you apologize before you ask for favors, okay? Kizzy’s kind, but you shouldn’t take advantage of him.”
“I know that!”
“With this lineup, I suppose Therese and I will handle the cooking,” Kanade noted. “Kizuna, you’ve got Culinary Arts too, so lend a hand.”
Yeah, yeah. With three Culinary Art skill holders cooperating, we were sure to produce something at least decent. Meanwhile, over on Shouko’s side...no one had any cooking skills to speak of. I was starting to grow a little anxious.
The work they did on the crab ship should have boosted their cooking proficiencies somewhat, so hopefully someone could fill in. It was a bit tragic that all of our party’s cooks had been drafted into a pioneering event. I’d even gone and borrowed the Pekkle Romina was attached to—I already owed her an apology for that.
“I think I get the picture now. Let’s do our best out there.”
They all nodded at my words.
“So what’s the plan for now? Cray—I’m guessing you’re in charge of compounding, so start brewing something we can use for the fields. My sister can work it into the soil for you.”
“Are you planning on planting something?” he asked me.
“Before any of that, we need to purify the land and let it rest. Honestly...I’ll need to examine each plot one by one, but we’d be better off giving up on anything that’s in the ground right now.”
“Hmm... I see. Then L’Arc, you’re handy with a scythe, right? Could you handle the weeding?”
“On it, boss.”
Man, IRL relationships seem like a pain, though I guess all this cooperation in game is going to help smooth out their relationship in real life.
“Emoji, could you show me the way?” I asked.
“Aye, sir. Does the island lord possess a mount?”
“Yeah. They handed them out to everyone, right? I’ve got mine with me.”
“Then we ride.”
Emoji stepped out of the workshop and summoned her mount. Then, with a puff of smoke and a wibbly-wobbly warping sound...a familiar face appeared. It was a Library Rabbit, almost exactly the same as my own.
“You’ve got one too, huh?” I asked as I called up my own mount to stand shoulder to shoulder with hers.
My Library Rabbit was a large, robed beastman with snowy white fur and blue eyes. Emoji’s, in contrast, had jet-black fur, crimson eyes, and the same priestly robes. It felt a bit overwhelming as they stood side by side...like a pair of long-lost siblings. It made for a pretty picture.
“The one I possess is Library Rabbit N,” she explained.
I checked my own summoning book and noticed mine was labeled with an S. Not W for white or something, it was marked S.
“I always thought it stood for Library Rabbit Noire, but perhaps that isn’t the case. Yours seems to have the polar opposite coloration.”
Maybe it had to do with South and North poles on a magnet, but no one was stopping us from calling them whatever we wanted.
“I’m guessing you ride it the same way.”
I never thought I’d run into the same kind of mount... Since my Library Rabbit took on this form out of some sort of synergy with the Pekkle Pipe, I’m guessing Emoji found something like a Bunowny Pipe.
“Hey, Kizuna, Lahal. Set your mounts to allow touch this instant.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong, sis?”
“Aye?”
Before I could ask any further, we found ourselves turning toward my sister’s voice.
“Yes, yes, right there! Don’t you see that fluff?!”
Just like that, she dove in between the two rabbits and began fluffing them up. Sure, you could let other players touch them if you fiddled with the settings, but for her to flag us down just to do it... I understood where she was coming from. They were indeed very fluffy.
“Ah, no fair, Kana! I want in!”
And in no time at all, Therese was fluffing up the rabbits too.
“Aaah, that was fun.”
Once she was finally satisfied, Therese stepped back, prompting Kanade to reluctantly pull away.
“Aight, sis, I’m gonna go check on all the fields. Could you start weeding and purifying?”
“Got it. It’s only the beginning, but we have to start somewhere.”
“All right, then, Emoji. Let’s head out.”
“Aye aye, sir!”
With Emoji leading the way, we made a full circuit of all the farmland in the settlement. The results weren’t great, to say the least—only around twenty percent of the fields seemed usable, while the rest would need some serious purification.
At least our mounts made it easy to cover ground quickly.
The Prado Desert region seemed to be centered on the oasis, with sparse stone formations dotting the land here and there. Compared to Cal Mira, it gave off more of this sort of “long-lost ruins” feeling.
“Most of the facilities are the same as Cal Mira’s, though.”
They had the equivalent of our lumberyard and hunting area; although their lumberyard was instead a quarry, as the desert seemed to have stone instead of wood as its base construction material.
As for the buildings themselves, though there were a decent number of important facilities built, they were scattered and spaced out. It made the place come off as a lot more desolate.
Back on Cal Mira, Alto and Sheryl had gotten to work decorating and livening the place up. Setting up streetlights and cobbling the roads, for instance.
“Hmm...” Emoji muttered. “So the fields are even worse than I thought...”
“For what it’s worth, crops grow unnaturally fast in game, so it’s a simplified system compared to real-world farming.”
That was the only reason I could treat the purification process so lightly and push it onto my sister.
So, while Kanade and L’Arc took care of the weeding and the cleansing, the rest of us gathered in Cray’s workshop to solidify our plans for the farmland.
“At the very least, we’ll need to purify the fields, fertilize, and till them regularly... I’d reckon the Pekkles are our best bet for that.”
They were designed to be helpers; it was pretty much a built-in function for them. In our present state, a good chunk of the Bunownies were dormant due to a lack of resources.
First, we’d have to secure enough food so that the Bunownies could function without starving.
“Man, if only we had a tractor. Do you think we could substitute a mount?”
“It’s presumably possible,” said Cray. “An actual tractor would require high-level Machinery skills.”
It wouldn’t be impossible to take care of it with the hoe from the Seven Tools of the Pioneer, but before tractors, there were plows. Plows drawn by horses or oxen to turn the soil. If we lacked tractors, then maybe a mount or a large Bunowny—at least, that was what I was presuming would pop out if Emoji blew her Bunowny Pipe—could take on the role.