Natsuyu sat with a smile playing on his lips, propping himself up with one hand in a lazy posture. After distributing a few portions of cooked meat, he used twigs to crush some berries and placed them into the furnace.
[You crafted the ordinary gourmet food "cooked bird meat" 5 times. Current probability of unlocking a new recipe: 0.1%, 0.2%... 0.5%.]
[You crafted the excellent gourmet food "berry candy" 1 time. Current probability of unlocking a new recipe: 0.1%.]
Berry candy.
Natsuyu took out the freshly made, steaming pink soft candy, immediately catching Sakuraba Ema's attention.
"Eh? Natsuyu, it's candy!"
"Yes."
Natsuyu looked at Sakuraba Ema's sparkling, wide-eyed look of surprise and felt a bit amused.
She noticed the berry candy instantly; he wasn't sure if she was constantly watching the food or watching him.
Kushida Kikyo pressed her palms together, showing an even more obvious look of pleasant surprise than Ema. "Natsuyu can actually make candy? How amazing!"
As she spoke, she lowered her waist and tilted her lovely face up to look at Natsuyu. That look of pure admiration was enough to satisfy the vanity of any boy.
Kiana, with a piece of cooked bird meat in her mouth, giggled and reached out her hand.
"Natsuyu, I want!"
"Then, for the first candy, we invite our great contributor Kiana to have a taste."
Natsuyu responded coaxingly, placing the candy into Kiana's hand.
"Hehe, Natsuyu is the best~"
"The bird meat has no flavor, it's not even as good as the berries. I wonder what the candy is like... munch munch, such sweet candy, so delicious!"
Natsuyu looked at the blissfully happy Kiana and activated appraisal.
[Kiana Kaslana (?): Level 0 (0/10)
Current Status:
Mood boost (weak): 2 minutes 58 seconds.]
It works!
Natsuyu looked at the envious and salivating Sakuraba Ema, chuckled, and put the materials for five portions of berry candy into the furnace, saying softly:
"Don't worry, everyone gets some."
Sakuraba Ema's eyes lit up. "Natsuyu... thank you!"
Yukinoshita Yukino lowered her head and took small bites of the cooked bird meat. After swallowing her food, she said clearly, "I won't need any. I don't like gummy candy. I hate the feeling of my mouth being sticky."
"Mhm." Natsuyu decided to pocket Flat-no's candy.
After distributing berry candy to everyone except Yukinoshita Yukino, Natsuyu ate one himself.
The sweet and sour flavor filled his mouth. Natsuyu felt the stray thoughts in his heart vanish; he seemed to briefly forget his longing for the real world, and his mood became peaceful.
The effect is quite good.
Natsuyu activated appraisal on Kiana once more.
[Kiana Kaslana (?): Level 0 (0/10)
Current Status:
Mood boost (weak): 2 minutes 55 seconds.]
Taking multiple pieces of berry candy did not stack the duration; instead, it refreshed it.
Understanding the mechanics of gourmet food, Natsuyu turned all the berries in his backpack with lower freshness into berry candy.
Berry candy could stay fresh for 50 days, so he considered storing a batch. If they encountered a situation where food was hard to get in the future, they could survive on the stored berry candy.
[You crafted the excellent gourmet food "berry candy" 17 times. Current probability of unlocking a new recipe: 1.8%.]
"It feels so good to be with everyone. You're all my good friends; I want to keep going like this forever."
Kushida Kikyo showed a happy smile, sighing with emotion.
She was truly happy right now. Although this place was extremely dangerous and had terrifying monsters, they had already gained a foothold, hadn't they?
Through her performance, Kushida Kikyo had won their recognition. In this harmonious group led by Natsuyu, having a little saint like Natsuyu—who was consistent in word and deed—as a leader didn't bring her much negative emotion at all.
Even if she pretended to be a little angel, she didn't need to vent negative emotions; there was no longer any danger of exposing her true face!
Kushida Kikyo believed that she might truly be able to be everyone's little angel and best friend for a lifetime.
Wasn't this exactly the life she dreamed of?
Yukinoshita Yukino's expression suddenly turned stern. "Simply relaxing has made you forget the danger. Please have some backbone; don't forget that the original intent of our alliance was to go home."
"My sudden disappearance will surely make people worry. I must move forward and find the way back."
"Kushida Kikyo, a socially adept person like you must have your own small groups at school. Don't you want to see them?"
Yukinoshita Yukino originally wanted to mention parents. However, considering Natsuyu's situation and worrying about reopening his wounds, she changed it to small groups.
Although Natsuyu didn't seem to care much about the tragedies he had experienced on the surface, Yukinoshita Yukino believed he was most likely just feigning strength...
Back to Kushida Kikyo. In Yukinoshita Yukino's view, a girl as tactful as Kushida Kikyo—who was skilled at providing emotional value to others—must be a core figure, if not the leader, of a small group, and surely had many friends. Substituting parents with small groups was perfectly fine.
Kushida Kikyo's happy expression suddenly froze as she thought of her "Kushida Empire."
Attacks, insults, betrayals, chaos... Since the explosion, everyone's ugliness had been completely exposed to the light. The relationships she had painstakingly maintained brought the most terrifying backlash. She was pointed at by thousands at school; that scene had become a permanent pain in her heart.
The feeling of happiness vanished. Recalling the past, beneath the smile Kushida Kikyo barely maintained, her true soul flowed with the pitch-black, filthy water of a sewer. Her incredibly ugly true face was screaming in anger—
"Ah, Yukino is right. I want to go home too. I just thought getting along with everyone was very happy. Isn't Yukino the same?"
Kushida Kikyo watched her own body coldly from the side as she put on her mask, responding to Yukinoshita Yukino with a smile.
Hateful bitch! I've worked so hard, yet my status in your heart is still not high!
No one noticed how much Miss Cold Soba was currently breaking down inside.
Natsuyu, knowing Kushida Kikyo's past, vaguely sensed the atmosphere was off and was about to say something.
Just then.
Everyone's expressions stiffened.
"Vvvvvvvvv———!" It was as if the wails of a vengeful spirit were echoing in their minds.
Pitch-black monsters generated out of thin air from the ground. They devoured the sunlight; they crowded every corner of the world, their hollow, soulless eyes watching the living beings within the firelight.
"This is...!"
Natsuyu and the girls looked in shock at the monsters wandering outside the firelight.
Night had fallen.
The last afterglow of dusk was extinguished. A black curtain blocked the sky; the stars and moon were lightless, and it was exceptionally dim. In the invisible shroud of night, countless monsters seemed to grow out of the ground, emitting soul-shaking shrieks.
Natsuyu's eyes widened slightly as he activated appraisal.
[Shadow monster: (lower-level monster)
Physique: 0.0
Soul: 1.0
Charm: 0.1
Evaluation: Monsters made of intangible shadow power. They will attack the souls of all living things not tainted by dark power and possess a pressure that causes fear in living beings.
Attacks are only effective against living beings who generate negative emotions such as fear.
Fears light.
Drops: Dark soul (small).]