Hearing there was food, the entire group enthusiastically followed Emma Sakuraba’s guidance.
On the way, Kiana spoke up to report her findings
“The sector I explored was an open grassland with several ponds.
As for food, I spotted wild rabbits and frogs.
If we have time later, we can go catch them together.”
With Kiana’s combat skills, catching rabbits and frogs on her own would be trivial.
However, her years of solo travel had made her cautious.
Natsuyu was the leader of the team, and Kiana respected that.
Natsuyu had instructed them not to touch flora or fauna recklessly.
Even though Kiana knew Natsuyu’s warning came from concern, and that bringing back rabbits would probably win praise, she chose to follow instructions strictly to preserve team harmony, focusing her energy entirely on terrain scouting.
“Kiana, that’s fantastic!”
Natsuyu gave her a firm thumbs-up.
Seeing Emma’s slender back guiding the way, and Kiana cheerfully stepping on her own shadow as she walked, Natsuyu felt incredibly happy.
Food, water, and terrain scouting were all being resolved.
The night monsters could be safely avoided using Kurumi Tokisaki’s protection.
Natsuyu had initially worried he’d have to handle everything alone to survive the night.
As it turned out, Kiana and the girls were extremely reliable, taking care of the remaining tasks seamlessly.
Having dependable teammates felt amazing!
Moments later, the group arrived at the berry patch found by Emma.
It was a sun-facing hill not far from [The Magnificent Portal].
The berry bushes were somewhat wild and uncultivated, with bright red, round berries that were overripe and starting to darken.
Natsuyu surveyed the area.
The berry field covered a large area, about the size of a soccer field, though the bushes grew in scattered patches.
There were animal droppings on the dirt, and many fallen berries had been eaten by wild animals.
Even so, the remaining berries were more than enough to fill the stomachs of all five team members for the day!
Natsuyu remained cautious, staring at the berry bushes as he activated [Information Appraisal].
[Delicious Berries (Freshness: 65%, rots 2 days after picking): Low-tier raw food.]
[Effects upon consumption: Provides mild satiety and hydration.]
[Evaluation: Rich in natural sugars and vitamins.]
[Delicious Berries (Freshness: 26%, rots 12 hours after picking): Low-tier raw food.]
[Effects upon consumption: Provides mild satiety and hydration; high chance of causing diarrhea.]
Having cleared up the quality, Natsuyu spoke:
“Everyone, pick only the bright red, firm berries.
Avoid the darkened or mushy ones.
If you’re hungry, you can eat them right away.”
“Rest assured—my analysis confirms these bright berries are completely non-toxic and safe.”
Natsuyu had originally planned to use Kurumi as a tool, bringing food back to ask her whether it was edible.
Now, with [Information Appraisal], Kurumi was no longer needed for food testing.
Hearing that the berries were safe to eat, the girls’ eyes lit up with joy!
“ALRIGHT!”
Kiana cheered, rushing to the center of the patch, plucking a berry and popping it into her mouth.
Right behind her was Emma.
Using both hands with agile grace, Emma picked berries in the blink of an eye while keeping her movements elegant.
As a seasoned food lover, watching her eat made Natsuyu feel hungry too.
Yukino Yukinoshita, who needed food the most, was the slowest because she cared deeply about hygiene, carefully wiping each berry clean before eating.
“Natsuyu-kun, how about I pick the berries and you catch them?”
Kikyo Kushida walked over with a sweet smile, proposing a partnership.
At the same time, she held a clean, plump berry between her slender white fingers, offering it to Natsuyu’s lips while looking up at him with expectant, sparkling eyes.
Natsuyu saw no reason to decline.
He opened his mouth and bit down on the berry, careful not to touch Kushida’s fingertips.
He unslung his 2nd backpack, holding it in his arms like a harvesting basket:
“Thanks!
Kushida-san, you can drop all the picked berries in here.”
Seeing Natsuyu’s calm, natural reaction without the flustered, embarrassed blush she expected, Kushida felt a slight flash of disappointment.
She then picked berries and tossed them into his backpack, her face beaming with her signature angelic smile.
Touching her fingertips to her own lips, she asked softly:
“Um, I wanted to ask…
was this backpack crafted using Natsuyu-kun’s ability?”
“Yep.
Natsuyu proudly explained the spatial backpack’s weightless, 8-slot storage rules while chewing on a berry, his cheek puffing out slightly.
The longan-sized berries burst with sweet juice upon biting down.
The flesh was jam-like, starting sweet and finishing with a pleasant tart tang—a fantastic wild snack!
Hearing that the spatial backpack could store items weightlessly, Kushida was genuinely shocked!
She immediately looked up at Natsuyu with eyes sparkling like a devoted fan:
“Natsuyu-kun is amazing!”
“With Natsuyu-kun’s spatial backpack, we can carry all of these berries!”
Natsuyu shook his head, picking berries to fill his stomach as he spoke:
“Keeping berries fresh is tricky.
They’ll rot in a couple of days if we pick them all now.
Harvesting one batch is enough for today.
Besides, we can’t just eat berries forever.
Later, we’ll go hunting at the meadow Kiana mentioned.”
“As expected, Natsuyu-kun is so thoughtful~”
Kushida looked at him in awe.
The next moment, her eyes widened in surprise as Natsuyu held up a clean berry to her lips, opening his mouth with a gentle smile as if coaxing a child:
“Ah~”
“…T-Thank you, Natsuyu-kun!”
Kushida suppressed the sudden flutter and embarrassment in her chest.
Masking it behind a sweet, angelic smile, she parted her soft lips, her pink tongue flicking slightly as she carefully bit the berry off his fingers.
Thump-thump!
Her heart beat fast.
Walking away, Kushida kept telling herself that Natsuyu was just returning the favor from when she fed him earlier.
She absolutely mustn’t let herself develop silly romantic feelings just because of Natsuyu’s handsome face.
She just wanted to build a good relationship with him, and conveniently use him to get along with that most troublesome girl, Yukinoshita…
Natsuyu pulled his hand back with a smile.
He suspected Kushida’s suggestion to pick all the berries was just her playing dumb to raise her popularity points.
Natsuyu liked straightforward girls, but on second thought, Kushida wasn’t playing dumb—she was probably just being her normal self.
On the surface, a gentle angel; underneath, a hidden “Landmine Girl”; but deep down, just a simple airhead…
Kushida truly maximized the charm of contrast!