Hard work doesn't always pay off.
　Even if you have the guts, you can't always manage it.

　When did my heart begin to cool? When I was selected to be a regular in a club activity over someone who worked harder than me, when I realized that it was largely due to talent, I knew that there were things in this world that could not be filled no matter how hard I worked.
　Still, it's a regular. An important one who drives his friends to victory. From then on, I worked harder than anyone else and showed more guts than anyone else. At some point, people around him came to recognize him as 'a person of hard work and perseverance' and he himself began to try to behave in that way.

　At all times, hard work and guts.
　Put your soul into it.
　The heart is hot.
　Like a flame.
　I am on fire.

　It's a cold lie. I clearly perceive my heart growing cold with each word that is said. The upturn in my upturn highlights the cold, cruel nature of my nature. Talking about your dreams doesn't change the reality.
　My classmates believe they can go home. On the surface, I followed them. No, even in my heart, I was convinced I was following them. But the world is not that convenient. Somewhere, in my heart, I was cold.

　Even when the second transference occurred, the feeling of "I knew it" was stronger.

　Is there any way to return to the world under these circumstances?
　There was no way to go back. But it's a slim chance.

　The desire to believe is always there. It's important not to give up and to keep believing. No matter how much you try to convince your mind, your true nature, which smiles a thin smile, is always looking down on you.

　Feelings are meaningless.
　There is no heart in the world.
　Reality is ruthless.
　It's like ice.
　It is getting colder and colder.

　It was time for Yukinoshita Ryouka to stop cheating herself.




　She had to establish a temporary base in the green hillside area. However, aside from cutting down the trees, it would be a challenge to assemble them. There were no students who had the tribal ability or knowledge to do so. The result was an unstable kennel made up of chopped down trees that were put together in the shape of the letter 'man'.

''It just goes to show how blessed we were with our environment up until now...''

　Kyousuke muttered something like that as he placed the magic sword he had taken from the adventurers on his shoulder.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's a good idea. For now, as long as we can keep out the rain and wind.

　Karasuma nodded with his hands on his hips.

'It doesn't matter, Utsurogi. Is your left hand all right?
Yeah, yeah. Just in case. It's not quite right, but it works.

　Kyousuke raises his left arm, which is somewhat longer than his right arm.
　The other day, in a fight with an adventurer, Kyousuke lost his left arm. Fortunately, he is a skeleton and can function properly if another arm is grafted on. Kyousuke, along with Karasuma, Yukinoshita, and others, recovered that left arm from the Lesser Demon's corpse.
　He couldn't let Azuki, who was out of filter, see it, and he didn't want Rin to see it either if he could, so he asked the two of them to accompany him. After shaving off the flesh, drying it and connecting it to just the bones, they surprisingly managed to get it together.

''Is there a system message saying that an unknown unit has been connected or something like that?''
'I'm not answering........ Do you play the game too, Karasuma?
I do a lot of action stuff. Not as much as you nerds in your group, though.

　Kyousuke can't help but poke at Karasuma, who operated a line from a certain famous game. I see, even though they are classmates, there are many things you don't know about them unless you talk to them one-on-one like this.

But Koganei is probably better at that kind of game. I'm a sucker for retro games.
Okay. Can you give me something to do when you get home?
I don't know when that will be.

　Kyousuke checks his own left arm as he repeats such a conversation with Karasuma.

　It seems that the Lesser Demon's left arm has already been recognized as part of Kyousuke's body. In fact, when he placed Rin on his left arm, the 《Characteristic Amplification》 was activated. However, the strangely spiky and large swinging arm doesn't fit in with the senses very well.
　As a matter of fact, Kyousuke had hoped that this demon's arm bone would cause some side effects. Currently, Karasumaru and Yukinoshita hadn't run out of filters, but there was no certainty that they would be able to get past that phase if they ever reached it. Kyousuke and Rin would have to do their best. In that case, they think that this left arm will be a new strength.

　If I said that, I might be terribly offended. That's why I didn't say it. It was something that Rin per se seemed to have already noticed, though.

''Yoo-hoo!　Gentlemen, welcome back!

　Then, I hear Rin's cheerful voice from the other side. Azuki and Yukinoshita are with them. The girls are carrying a large wooden bucket, with plenty of water in it. There was a large amount of clams plunged inside.
　While Kyousuke and Karasuma were building their base, the rest of them were out looking for foodstuffs. Rin and the others had gone to the beach to pick up some tidal water, while Kabeano and Gozashiki were in the forest looking for nuts. With this group of people, they have no trouble picking as much food as they can get. The reason for the leftover food is because Yukinoshita can freeze it.

It's a good idea to make rice with asari clams. I knew it would be better to make clams for rice........
There's no rice, no soy sauce, no mirin, no sugar. No luxury!

　With a thud, Rin lowered the wooden bucket to the ground. The clams were spitting out sand in the seawater that had been spewed out of the vat.

'You could extract salt from the seawater in the vat by drying it out in the sun, don't you think?
Oh, good. Good salt.

　Rin agreed with Karasuma's suggestion, leaning forward with her body.
　It was the ability of Mitarai Azuki, the adzuki wash, to bring out the tub. I thought he always carried it around with him, but I didn't think it was something he could create with his ability.
　By the way, the wooden vat disappears after 24 hours, perhaps because it is made of woven magical power. The number of wooden vats Azuki can produce in a day is roughly around 10. Azuki will gladly provide you with a vat and water, as long as your abilities are useful to him.

　Kyousuke was relieved to see that the society was being built again for the time being. What we need is a human life.

'I picked some nuts,'

　A rustling forest tree buzzed and a Nurikabe girl returned from the other side. I moved my gaze to see where the ozashiki had gone, and found her standing in the shadows. She was still shadowy as ever.

'Let's get a fire going. Utsurogi, I'm counting on you.

　At Karasuma's suggestion, Kyousuke readied his magic sword. As he focused his mind and put his mind to it, the sword's body was covered in flames. The adventurers who were deprived of their swords probably didn't think that they were being used as lighters, but thanks to them, their diets were quite helpful.
　I wonder how those adventurers are doing now. To say I'm worried about them is an understatement, but it's not a good idea to worry about them too much.

　After lighting the flames, they began to cook clams and nuts on the skewers that they had prepared in advance.

So, what are we going to do now?

　'What are we going to do?' asks Hanno, whose arms are too short to help with the task.

"What do you mean, well, we're going to escape. We'll get out of this continent and head for Vernetus.

　Karasuma replied as he skewered the clams impatiently.

I doubt it will be possible. Because even crossing the ocean takes time, right?
It'll be okay if you don't give up. Hey, Yukinoshita.
Yeah, yeah, everything's fire.

　Even though she is abruptly dismissed from the conversation, Yukinoshita Ryouka clenches her fists tightly and gives a hot smile.

　Yukinoshita Ryouka is a member of the female ballet club who has been reincarnated as a snow woman. She is a hot-headed girl with a characteristic burst of tension, and her positive thinking and forcefulness is comparable to that of Saruwatari Futa of the baseball team. She has a twin peerless record as a member of the hot-blooded, high-tension sports club.
　Yukinoshita is quite a character just by being a hot-blooded snow woman, but there have been times when her own tensions have been so high that her body has melted away.

'It's fine, Utsurogi-kun got his arms back!　Our fight is just beginning!　We can't lose, Standup!
What's the point of standing up now?
It's a matter of feelings, it's a matter of heart!

　Snowflake was making a strong argument while skewering a clam.

'Don't give up!　If you give up, you won't be able to do the things you can do, and sometimes you can do them because you keep believing!　The impossible is possible!　Miracles do happen!
You can't be an optimist like Yukinoshita-san.

　A casual line from Kameno. Kyousuke stood side by side with Rin, silently skewering the clams, only to see Yukinoshita return to a straight face slightly at that moment. She had a cold look on her face, which was unimaginable from the fact that she was always smiling and sprinkling hot lines around.
　But soon enough, Yukinoshita returned to her smile.

'It's better to have at least one person like this, right?　I'm not good at thinking complicated things!
Well, that tension helps in some ways, doesn't it?
'Haha!　Go on, go on, you can do it, you can do it!

　Snowflake gave a thumbs up and showed his white teeth.

'It's fine to try your best, but don't be reckless, guys.

　Kyousuke says strongly, as if to nail it.

'They might get stuck if the filter breaks. Particularly dangerous for types like Yukinoshita and Karasuma.
'They care about me!　Thank you, Mr. Utsuroghi!　I've got your passionate heart, I've got it all!

　Out of the blue, Snowman is a beautiful woman. It's no surprise that snow women are usually beautiful. It is somewhat of an attractive sight as she looks at you from the front and winks at you with a quick wink. Right next to me, I could see the slime puff up.
　That said, though, it's a lark. Kyousuke thinks as he skewers the clam.

　He had never really thought about it properly before. Why did Yukinoshita Ryouka reincarnate as a snow woman or something else? The monsters she reincarnated with were affected by their mentality to some extent. If it was a type like Yukinoshita, it would have been nice to be reincarnated as a Wisp or Salamander, just like Ei.

　Of these, Kyousuke and Rin are the only ones who have awakened in Phase 2. In other words, most of the members here haven't solved their own problems or are unaware of it. That might have been fine until now....

''Rin.''

　Kyousuke sneakily called out to a puffy Rin while Yukinoshita attracted the attention of those around her with her high spirits.

'There's something I need to discuss with you later.
Okay, okay.

　Rin nodded, as if she had roughly guessed the word alone. She's a quick to understand, which really helps.

''Guys, let's get hotter! I'm fired up!

　Yukinoshita Ryouka was as excited as ever, to the point where everyone around her was giggling.




　After stabilizing their lives first, Kyousuke and the others decided to seek a way to cross the sea to the Vernetus Kingdom. That huge heavy cruiser was already gone, but they would need a ship to cross the sea. In addition, a reasonable navigational skill.
　The route to obtain a heavy cruiser was extremely special. There were a number of means that were only feasible with the dungeon arrangements by the blood clan and Kurumori Izumo's (Gremlin) race ability, and even if they were to cross the sea, it could be said that there was almost no problem because there was a maritime caravan to guide them and a goblin army led by Gokubunbara.

　There were two means that Kyousuke and the others could take.
　One is to somehow get the supplies needed to cross the ocean and paddle out to the great sea.
　The other is to ask for help from those adventurers.

　The latter would be the most practical. But it would be difficult to convince them to cooperate without resorting to intimidation.

　We decided not to jump to conclusions and prioritize exploring the surrounding area for the time being. We might find a breakthrough of some sort. Even if you're not an adventurer, there's a chance that you can get the cooperation of the monsters living in this new continent.
　Besides, they wouldn't necessarily be the only students sent to this continent. According to the testimony of Karasuma and the others, there was yet another group near them, and the possibility that they were sent to the same place in terms of distance could not be ruled out. Joining forces with them might open up other prospects.

　Kyousuke had no such intentions at all, but the dividing position in this team, the leader so to speak, was becoming him. He was the guy who had the face of a skeleton chief of staff. As for Kyousuke, though, he wasn't happy at all.
　He wasn't a social person by nature. I can socialize with people in an unconventional way, though. However, since he couldn't say that anymore, Kyousuke reluctantly decided to take the position of leader. I don't know if I can do as well as Ryuzaki, but if there's a chance of getting everyone back alive with that, I'll do anything.

　''I can't say that anymore,'' in other words, Yukinoshita Ryouka.

　That night, Kyousuke asked Rin about Yukinoshita. Along with Ryuzaki, it was Rin who was watching people in class. He wanted to ask her about her impressions of the person called Yukinoshita Ryouka (dare I say human).

''Well, Ryouka-chan herself is a bit cold, isn't she?''

　Rin said that simply.

''I don't know why he's always saying or trying to say something so positive, but if there's a problem with him, I think that's it. It's just that---''

　Just?　I ask, and Rin slurs her words a bit before saying.

"I don't see why we need to do anything about it right now.

　I disagree. Now that the extremes are still in place, the impossibility of snowflakes is going to collapse in the near future. Kyousuke said.

''Is that an experience?''

　Maybe so.

　Somehow, I feel that Yukinoshita's mental circumstances are somewhat similar to my own. She seems to be positive, but she doesn't have any initiative in herself.
　Occasionally, she is ridiculed for 'teasing snowflakes for speaking out'. More harshly, they say that she is 'too acerbic and samey' or that her words are too lightly spoken to be in sync. According to Rin's words, such opinions have existed before the transition. She doesn't speak her own language.

　If she continues to think positive thoughts that aren't even in her mind, even if only on the surface, it will break down one day.
　Especially in this situation. If Snowflake is a realist who spouts realistic and acerbic opinions, that's fine. If she's a pessimist spouting pessimistic opinions, that's fine too. The problem is that she's pretending to be an optimist. I don't know the reason for this, but I have a feeling that it's time to get rattled.

''Kyousuke-kun, you know.''

　Rin said.

'Do you think you can solve Ryouka's problem?　Kyousuke had me, but I wonder if there's anyone who can interfere with Ryouka's mind.''

　Rin puffed up tremendously when I said, 'I don't think I can do it.

''I wouldn't say no, and I know it's typical for Kyousuke-kun!

　However, it wasn't just about Yukinoshita, I'd like to solve everyone's problems if I could, but would that be selfish? For myself, I was happy to have Rin help me. The person I would most like to give that feeling back to is Rin, but there are many others who would like to get the same help.

"Well, if you want to do that, Kyousuke-kun, I'll help you, but........

　I'm sorry, Kyousuke said.

'You don't apologize.'

　Rin returned it with a pizzazz.

''It's good to want to help someone. It's a good thing that you want to help someone, because that's what helped me, too. I don't say this often, but it's great fun to walk and run with Kyousuke-kun.

　I bow my head in thanks.

I'm sure there's not much I can say about you, Ryouka, but I don't think there's much I can say about you.

　As Kyousuke felt, Yukinoshita's mentality was somewhat similar to Kyousuke's. That's why she also told him that Kyousuke, not Rin, should be involved. There wasn't much Rin could do for Yukinoshita.
　If Kyousuke's essence is empty, then Yukinoshita's essence is ice. I don't know if what Kyousuke should be doing is melting that ice, or driving a wedge into it, or whether he should be looking for a different strategy.

''For now, Kyousuke-kun, why don't you team up with Ryouka and try to find out more things. I'll lead the search for the other members and the surrounding area.

　Even Rin has Phase 2. With Azuki's support, which can create water, they wouldn't fall behind the monsters in the area. As long as the other students were concerned about running out of filters, Kyousuke and Rin had decided early on that they would be spread out as much as possible when exploring.
　As such, they were divided into teams, with Kyousuke deciding to search along the coast with Yukinoshita, and Rin and the others exploring the forest area.

''Kyousuke-kun, um, just so you know,''

　When the consultation was over and it was time to go to bed, Rin spoke to Kyousuke in a small voice.

''I think it's a good thing for Kyousuke to be able to help others, but, like this, I'm not saying that you should take it in moderation, but...''

　So I'm going to break up the words.

"No, just keep it to a minimum, okay?　It makes me feel uneasy.'

　What does that mean?　Kyousuke didn't have the courage to just ask.




　It's not easy for an adventurer who has gone to the new continent to return to the old continent. Arrangements for a liaison ship had to be made before departure, so the ship wouldn't visit until the appointed day. Even if the ship arrives on time, its arrival is often delayed due to an accident or some other reason. It is standard practice to carry more food and other supplies.
　The group of adventurers led by Lesvon had already had to almost give up the search because Lesvon had lost his right arm and Rain, the party's wallflower, had been burned all over. Lesbon's prized magic sword, the Blaze Blade, had been taken away by the monsters, and overall, the deficit was a good thing.

''d*mn those monsters........!

　The former bandit wombat clenched his fist and pounded on the rock.

''If you hadn't gotten in the way as much as you could, you'd have captured a rare monster by now and just waited for the Yu Yu ship!
Well, yeah.

　Lesvon, the swordsman who had lost his right arm, muttered as he swiped his longsword with his remaining left arm.

''You're an adventurer, so it's only natural to take this level of risk. I'm the one who had a bad outlook. I owe everyone an apology.''

　The Adventurer's Guild's ranks would drop so much, Lesbon blurted out.

　It was difficult for a swordsman who had lost his right arm to continue being an adventurer in the future. Fortunately, Lesvon was a Gold Ranker and had a good amount of savings. He could build a state-of-the-art magic prosthetic arm in the industrial city of Gil-Azerg and try to restart it, or he could use the money to start some kind of business. In any case, it was fortunate that he was able to miss a life.
　Some monsters are intelligent and rational. That doesn't mean that we should not get extra emotional, which is Lesvon's adventurer's philosophy, but in this case, his intelligence and reasoning allowed him to prolong his life, so I have mixed feelings.

''Even so, leader, I'm not convinced...!

　Lesvon watched with complicated eyes as Wombat gritted his teeth.

　How were the others doing? When he moved his gaze, he saw that Filhana was frantically writing something. It was semi-automatic writing, by autonomous control magic. Perhaps it is a remote document communication magic (facsimile) that writes a series of information received by telepaths.
　Filhana is certified as a communication mage (telepathic mage). It was fortunate that she was brought in, as communication mages who can participate in combat and have a gold-ranked adventurer's qualification are rare. Filhana used her telepath to contact the Adventurer's Guild on the mainland and negotiate with them to see if they could arrange a ship a little earlier. But even then, it would still take a week to hurry up and get there. A large merchant ship would take nearly a month to make the passage.

''Filhana, what's going on over there...''

　And then Lesvon realized that she was about to say it. What she was writing in the facsimile was not a communication record or anything like that.

　'Zelga Grand Martial Competition, all the teams are in place!　''A dark horse in the hexenbiest fighting division? "In the hidden hot springs of the kingdom of Verneus, there is a hot spring inn run by a monster! "Mysterious steel ship crosses the Algarica Canal! . They all seem to be gossip articles from third-rate newspapers. He picked them up from the telepathic network.
　Lesvon sighed and snatched the paper from Filhana's hand.

'Ah!
Are you making gossipy clippings again?
Okay, I'll take it back!

　Filhana's hobby is to subscribe to these eyebrow-raising, third-rate magazines. Even after crossing to a new continent and not having access to newspapers, she often browses through the telepathic network.

''Isn't it important for an adventurer to gather information!
These things aren't called intelligence gathering. It's more like politics and...
Well, then, it's this kind of thing!　Signs of a coup in the Southern Kingdom of Pirika!

　Lesvon's eyebrows twitched as he heard this. He was born and raised in the southern kingdom, on the western outskirts of the country. He didn't have much affection for his homeland, but it was true that that place had always been a kinaesthetic country. The rule of the empire was deeply rooted in the upper echelons of the state, and many of the people suffered from oppression.

''For some reason, the third prince, who was expelled from the royal palace, has risen up to lead his people, or something like that. I heard that the palace is worried about this movement.
Hmmm...
They say the prince's entourage is a black cat in boots.
It's a mistake to listen to them seriously.

　It's still a third-rate article. Lesvon thrust the paper back at Filhana. Seeing this, the wombat couldn't hold back and shouted.

'It doesn't matter, though, what are we going to do!　At this rate, you're in the red!
Let's just give up. I mean, it's a gamble anyway.

　Filhana, who was originally backward about fighting those monsters, muttered softly and resumed receiving facsimiles.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who can get a fruitful request here. Unfortunately, this is the new continent........

　That's when Lesvon was about to say it.

'Just as well. Actually, I have a favor to ask you.

　An unfamiliar voice echoed through the relay camp. When they all turned to look in surprise, they saw that Weygun, a sorcerer who worked as a sub-leader, had brought with him two strange men and women, one in a tuxedo and one in a dress, not very battle-appropriate attire.
　Filhana stiffened slightly at the sight of them.

'Wegan, who are those two?'
Glenn and Sinc. Adventurers. They just set foot on this new continent a few days ago.

　When they are introduced, the two adventurers bow their heads reverently. They intertwine their fingers together in a friendly manner, but their blood-red eyes are not smiling so much as they are smiling.

We're trying to capture some monsters, but a couple of them escaped last night, and we need your help to find them. We need your help in the search for them. We'll pay you.

　Requests to adventurers who do not go through the guild are forbidden by agreement. This is because it would create trouble in some way.
　However, it is tacitly accepted that adventurers who meet up with other adventurers in the field, requesting cooperation from other adventurers and paying them a reward for doing so, although it is gray, almost black, as far as possible. Naturally, this also often creates extra trouble, but in that case, the guild does not intervene.

　Lesvon looked at the wombat. I can understand his feelings. He wanted to avoid the situation where he had come all the way to the new continent and had to return home with a deficit, and that too injured, as much as possible.

''The ones we missed were the unicorn and the lycanthrope. I don't know.
I'm willing to listen. But we're not done yet.

　Lesvon complied, keeping his longsword on the ground.