At Sato's suggestion, Waki, Hosoyama and I looked around for food, for now.
The heads of the trees were so high up that we couldn't see them, and each tree's trunk was thick.
Even if the three of us spread our arms out, we wouldn't be able to go all the way around.
I wondered how old the biggest tree was, since the smallest one looked like it.
I wondered how it could grow so straight.

I was thinking about this as I silently slashed the tree to mark the path I had taken.
Kazuki had told me to set the trained animals loose in the area to look for them, and Hosoyama was looking for edible grasses on the ground.
Am I in a position to act as an escort in case of emergency?
I'm ready to respond immediately if something happens.

But I can't help but feel bad about this selection of people.
I am not a talker by nature, but Waki and Hosoyama have never had a particular conversation.
When you think about it, you realize that the group is made up of people who don't have much to do with each other on a regular basis.
Since it's Sato, let's assume that he's thinking about it.


'Oh! What's going on?


Waki stroked the training animal that came down on his shoulder with a nut in his mouth, all right.
The gurgling training animal was different from the first time, and it was clear that the animal was quite nostalgic for Waki.
The fact that the trained animal misses him means that the level of the trainer has increased considerably.
Probably the highest level of Waki's profession among us.
At first glance, Waki seemed to have the least amount of thought, but in fact, he was working hard behind the scenes.


'Hey, look at Hosoyama too. Are you a cherry?


The fruit that Waki received was shaped like a cherry, but each one was about the size of a peach.
I looked at Hosoyama's face.
As a healer, Hosoyama is sensitive to poison and other harmful substances.
I wondered if the fruit was edible if he didn't say anything.


Is this a cherry? Hold on a second.


Hosoyama received a nut from Waki and took it before he could stop himself.


''Oh, hey!''


Despite Kazuki and I's concerns, Hosoyama was slumped.
I let out a breath of relief at the fact that he was fine.


'What the hell are you doing? What if it's poison!


Kazuki raised his voice.
Indeed, I think it was somewhat careless of Hosoyama.
Hosoyama smiles at us with a smile.


It's okay. The healers have the skill to nullify the harmful things in their bodies. But I've only recently learned that skill.


So, poison doesn't work on Hosoyama.
We could see the hope in this survival life.
If this is the case, it would be safe for Hosoyama to see the food brought by the other groups when they joined us.


''I'm sorry I didn't tell you first. I didn't know how effective this skill would be until I tried it out myself.''


I'm a little horrified to see Hosoyama laughing like that.
How can I say, you have a lot of nerve.


I'll poison every single food I find. Also, these cherries tasted like peaches and were very tasty. The skin is a little bitter, so you might want to peel it off.

Okay! It's a pleasure to meet you, Hosoyama!




As a result, thanks to Hosoyama's poisonous vision, our group was able to find quite a few edible nuts.
With that many, we could all eat at least eight bellies.


'It's about time the sun was right above us. Let's go home!


I was going almost straight ahead, so I just turned around and walked.
With a hokey face, I hurried to the meeting point, following the scratches I had made on the tree.


...... Huh?


Kazuki, who was walking in the lead, raised his voice.
The wound in the tree I had made, and the slightly open gathering place where it was supposed to be, was not there at the end of the break.