~ The sky was gradually darkening.
The light filtering through the gaps in the canopy shifted from golden-yellow to orange-red.
Deep in the forest, the light began to fade rapidly, and the temperature between the trees slowly dropped.
Aoyama quickened his pace, the sound of the stream drawing closer.
After rounding a dense bamboo grove, he saw the stone eaves providing shelter.
Even from a distance, he could see the glow of the bonfire.
Orange-red flames danced beneath the stone ledge, casting a warm, bright light.
“I’m back.” Kasumigaoka Utaha was sitting by the fire, a blank notebook spread across her lap.
She held a ballpoint pen in her hand, apparently writing something.
Hearing his footsteps, she looked up.
Then, her expression froze.
Her red pupils dilated sharply, her mouth hanging open a fraction of an inch.
That lazy, composed demeanor shattered instantly.
“…Is that…
a crocodile?” Utaha’s voice jumped an octave, filled with obvious disbelief.
She put down her notebook and stood up, staring at the rough-scaled, blood-stained reptile on Aoyama’s shoulder.
Her throat bobbed slightly.
“Yeah.” Aoyama hoisted the crocodile off his shoulder and tossed it onto the empty ground beside the fire with a dull thud.
“A small one, just over a meter long.
I got lucky.” “…Lucky?” Kasumigaoka Utaha walked around the fire, cautiously approaching the crocodile.
Even in death, its ferocious head, dense rows of sharp teeth, and rough scales still exuded a primal menace.
Her gaze fell upon the rebar piercing its upper jaw, then slowly shifted to Aoyama.
“You nailed it dead with that piece of rebar?
From how far away?” “Seven or eight meters, I’d say.” “…” Kasumigaoka Utaha fell silent for a full five seconds.
Then, she straightened up, crossed her arms, and tilted her head, studying Aoyama for a long moment.
“Aoyama-kun…” she began, her tone returning to its familiar laziness, though the slight upward lilt at the end betrayed a hint of unconcealed curiosity.
“I’m becoming more and more convinced that something is wrong with you.” “Yesterday you were in the classroom memorizing English vocabulary.
Today, you’re headshotting a crocodile with a piece of rebar from seven or eight meters away.” “Tell me the truth: have you been possessed by some god of wilderness survival?” “I’ve watched Bear Grylls’ wilderness survival documentaries.” Aoyama squatted by the fire without blinking an eye and began to dress the crocodile.
“Bear Grylls?
But those documentaries don’t teach you how to throw a piece of rebar and headshot a crocodile, do they?” Kasumigaoka Utaha also squatted down, hugging her knees.
Her red pupils danced in the firelight, reflecting an orange-red glow.
Aoyama didn’t answer.
He pulled the broken ballpoint pen from his backpack, removed the ink refill, and left only the hollow plastic barrel.
Then, he carefully sharpened one end, using it as a makeshift skinning tool.
He first cut open the softer scale gaps on the crocodile’s belly, slicing open along the midline to reveal the pinkish-white muscle and organs inside.
The smell of blood wafted through the air, mingling with the smoke from the bonfire.
Kasumigaoka Utaha wrinkled her nose, but surprisingly, she didn’t look away.
She even leaned in half an inch closer, intently watching Aoyama’s technique.
“Have you ever processed an animal before?” “No,” Aoyama said as he deftly pulled out a bunch of organs, washed them clean in the stream, and placed them on a large leaf.
“But I’ve watched instructional videos.” “…Just how much of your life is constructed from instructional videos?” “Most of it.” After all, many “action teachers” were his favorites.
Aoyama’s expression remained calm as he sliced off two thick pieces of crocodile tail meat, skewered them with a sharpened branch, and rested them on wooden forks placed on either side of the fire.
The moment the meat touched the flames, it sizzled.
Fat seeped from the muscle fibers, dripping into the coals and sending up tiny sparks.
The aroma began to spread.
A unique scent, somewhere between chicken and fish, mingled with the characteristic charred smell of a barbecue, filling the air beneath the stone overhang.
At that moment, Kasumigaoka Utaha’s stomach let out an incredibly ill-timed growl.
She remained unfazed.
“That’s just my stomach cheering for a newly discovered food source.” Aoyama didn’t reply, focusing instead on rotating the branch to ensure the meat cooked evenly.
The firelight played across his profile, outlining his sharp jawline.
His sweat had already dried, leaving faint salt stains on his skin.
About twenty minutes later, the meat had turned a golden brown, its edges slightly charred and crisp, with fat continuously bubbling to the surface.
Aoyama poked the thickest part with the blunt end of the rebar.
Once he was sure it was cooked through, he handed the first skewer to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
“Careful, it’s hot.” Kasumigaoka Utaha took it, blew on it gently, and then took a cautious bite.
Her eyes widened slightly.
The change in her expression was subtle, but Aoyama still caught it in the firelight.
“…Surprisingly delicious,” she said after swallowing, her voice tinged with astonishment.
“Much better than I expected.
The meat is tender, a bit like chicken but with a firmer, springier bite.” “Crocodile meat is always good,” Aoyama said, taking a bite himself.
He hissed as the heat scorched his tongue, but the flavor was undeniably fresh and savory.
The high heat had cooked away the gamey smell of the wild meat, leaving only a rich, meaty aroma and a perfectly charred, crisp texture.
Though his hunger played a part, the meal was still incredibly fragrant.
Consumption Log: Crocodile (Juvenile) ×1 Current Progress: 1/10 Ability Unlock Countdown: Consume a total of 10 Crocodile (Juvenile) to unlock.
[ Randomly Unlockable Abilities: Ambush?, Visual Protection?, Antibacterial Immunity, Armored Defense, Pressure Perception, Bite Force.
]?
[ Hint: This ability will be continuously strengthened by consuming the same source of ingredients.
] Aoyama stared at the panel, lost in thought.
“Ten crocodiles to randomly unlock one special ability…” “Ants only had that one Herculean Strength ability, but crocodiles have so many?” “Could it be because I only ate worker ants?” “The Queen Ant seems to have only one ability too—reproducing a lot.
If I ate her, would I unlock ‘Fertility’?” “…” Aoyama shuddered at the thought, unable to even visualize the scene.
He had already decided: he was absolutely not eating the Queen Ant!
The two sat by the fire, eating in silence for a while.
The bonfire crackled, occasionally sending sparks flying into the night.
Kasumigaoka Utaha finished the last of the meat on her skewer.
She used a thin twig to pick her teeth, then leaned back against the rock wall, gazing up at the night sky through the gaps in the tree canopy.
“Aoyama-kun, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Aoyama was busy wrapping the remaining crocodile meat in large leaves, preparing to hang it in a ventilated spot to dry.
Without looking up, he replied, “Find the highway.” “We tumbled down from above the cliff.
The school bus’s fall trajectory should be traceable.” “If we bypass that cliff area and follow the ridgeline, there’s a good chance we’ll find the highway.” “Once we’re on the road, we can flag down a car for help.” “Can you even determine the direction?” Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head to look at him.
“In a forest this dense, we can’t even see the sun clearly.” “We’re just bypassing it.
The general direction is fine,” Aoyama said, hanging the wrapped crocodile meat on a horizontal branch and patting the grease from his hands.
Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled softly.
“How reliable you are, my great adventurer Aoyama.” “Just stay close to me tomorrow.” She flipped her notebook back to the page she had been writing on, glancing at it again by the firelight.
“I’ve finally found a companion who can both hunt and navigate.
I won’t be foolish enough to wander off.” Aoyama glanced at the notebook in her hand.
“What were you writing?” “The beginning of a new chapter for my novel.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s tone was calm.
“A lonely girl and a boy get lost in a dense forest.
Suddenly, the boy reveals strength far beyond that of an ordinary human…
Care to guess how the rest of the story unfolds?” “…When are you going to write a normal romance novel?” “Normal romance novels are so boring.
The male protagonists in my stories usually have a few little secrets,” she said, closing her notebook.
Her crimson eyes glinted in the firelight, a faint, knowing smile playing on her lips.
Aoyama didn’t pursue the topic further.
He added a few more thick logs to the fire, sending the flames leaping higher and driving away the chill that had settled in with the night.
Coo…
coo…
Gawk…
gawk…
The forest night was far from quiet.
A chorus of insects rose and fell in a continuous wave, their chirps and buzzes weaving into a dense tapestry of sound.
Occasionally, an unknown bird would cry out in the distance, only to be swallowed again by the silence.
Even deeper in the dense woods, the faint rustle of large mammals could be heard.
Wild boars, perhaps, or deer.
“…” Kasumigaoka Utaha shrugged her shoulders, imperceptibly inching half an inch closer to Aoyama.
Aoyama noticed her movement but didn’t say a word.
He took the dry grass and fern fronds she had collected and spread them evenly across the innermost floor of the rocky overhang.
He pressed them down and added layer after layer until the entire area was fluffy and soft.
“Sleep here.” He pointed to the makeshift grass bed.
“Stay close to the inside.
The heat from the fire will radiate over, and the overhang will protect you from the dew above.” Utaha rose and walked over, testing the grass bed with her foot.
The soft texture made her raise an eyebrow slightly.
She sat down and stretched her legs straight.
Beneath the torn hem of her skirt, her pale calf was visible, marked with a scabbed-over scratch.
“Aoyama-kun, what about you?” Her voice sounded a shade deeper in the flickering firelight.
Aoyama laid out a simple straw mat on the other side.
“You sleep first.
I’ll take the first watch, then you take the second.” “Mm.” Kasumigaoka Utaha lay down, facing the fire.
Her long black hair spilled across the dry grass, and the flames traced a warm glow along her silhouette.
She fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
“Oh, Aoyama-kun.” “Hmm?” “The…
condoms from earlier today.
You brought back two filled with water.
There should still be a few left in the box, right?” Aoyama paused in rearranging the firewood.
“Six left.” “Hmm—!” Utaha drawled, her crimson eyes staring straight at him in the firelight.
“If Aoyama-kun were in the mood tonight…
it wouldn’t be a problem, you know~.” “After all, we have condoms.
In a desperate situation like this, seizing the moment is a way of living, too.” Her tone remained composed, but her eyelashes trembled slightly.
The flickering firelight perfectly concealed that minute trace of nervousness.
Aoyama added the last piece of firewood to the flames, then straightened up and gave her a deadpan look.
“Kasumigaoka-san, until we have sufficient supplies, we’d better try to conserve our energy.” “Besides, we’ve walked at least ten kilometers today.” After speaking, Aoyama sat down, leaning his back against the stone wall.
He placed the rebar within easy reach and slowly closed his eyes.
For a fleeting moment, he had actually been tempted.
“…” Utaha stared blankly at Aoyama as he rested with his eyes closed.
She remained silent for a long while before letting out a soft chuckle.
“Aoyama-kun, you’re as upright and reliable as ever…” She turned over, presenting her back to him.
The “thank you” she had been wanting to say circled her lips but ultimately remained unspoken.
The warmth of the campfire enveloped her body, and the softness of the dry grass sent a wave of drowsiness over her.
Before long, her breathing grew steady and deep.
“Sigh…” Aoyama opened one eye.
Only after confirming Utaha was asleep did he finally relax his shoulders.
The firelight danced across his face as the night wind rustled through the bushes.
He extended his hand and clenched his fist in the darkness, feeling the overflowing strength still coursing through every fiber of his muscles.
“Tomorrow, I need to find that highway.”