Chapter 29
With a very suspicious and scrutinizing gaze, Fushiguro Megumi looked from Hatake Kazuma's left hand to his right, and then carefully examined his attire before finally drawing a rigorous conclusion.
Aside from being expensive, there was no indication that the clothes contained anything—especially food.
But now, the other party is telling him that they want to treat him to a meal.
Their tone was relaxed and indifferent, as if they didn't consider their current predicament to be a matter of life and death.
Fuhei Hui frowned and pondered for a long time, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.
Is it... a metaphor, or a hint?
He cautiously began, "For example, there might be enemies lying in ambush nearby that we need to be on guard, or you might be using something like a placebo to put me at ease..."
Kazuma Hagoromo: "...Hmm?"
Kazuma Hatake: "It's just a normal meal. Aren't you hungry?"
So far, Fushiguro Megumi has only eaten the airplane meal at noon—but he doesn't care, as he didn't participate in the battle to exorcise the level two cursed spirit and still has plenty of energy.
But Fushiguro Megumi's condition is much worse.
Even though he was standing in the snow with great effort, the tent blocked out most of the light, and you could still see that his face was pale, his fingertips were red from the cold, and he looked like he was about to collapse.
From Kazuma Hatori's perspective, it seems like Megumi Fushiguro is on her last legs.
This is not good; he had promised Wu that he would take good care of the other party.
"...I am a little hungry, but how are you going to treat me?"
Fushiguro Megumi was well aware that he was in a bad state, but he was even more surprised that the other man could still stand there as if nothing was wrong, without showing the slightest bit of negative thoughts.
This incredible mental fortitude is terrifyingly calm.
Even that face, which was usually devoid of any emotional fluctuation, now appeared mature and composed in Fushiguro Megumi's eyes, exuding a powerful sense of security that could put people at ease.
Although I have the discerning eye to recognize Gojo-sensei's talent, at this crucial moment, I suddenly feel... he's incredibly reliable.
Unconsciously, Fushiguro Megumi also relaxed a lot, waiting to see where Hatori Kazuma would take out the food.
"Hmm...we can't do it in the wild."
Surprisingly, the option to "invite guests" for Fushiguro Megumi cannot be selected in the wilderness, as it indicates that at least one room is required.
It was only then that Kazuma Hatake realized that the "Invitation" function actually had limitations. He could only look around and then come to the edge of the cliff, finding a slightly recessed spot.
Under Fushiguro's bewildered gaze, he clenched his right fist and assumed a fighting stance.
[Black Flash]!
The sudden burst of black torrent roared like thunder, and in the blink of an eye, several punches landed, sending rocks flying, and the [Black Flash] forcefully smashed a two-meter-high cave that could accommodate them.
Kazuma Hatori cleared away the pebbles on the ground to make room for someone to sit before inviting Megumi Fushiguro.
"Okay, come sit here."
Why can't a cave be considered a house?
"………………"
Fushiguro Megumi gaped, completely stunned.
Is this some kind of performance art? Or a manzai (stand-up comedy) act? And using [Black Flash] to carve a hole seems like a waste of its potential.
In this dazed state that had already surpassed the limits of Fushiguro Megumi's thinking, he actually followed Hato Kazuma's guidance and sat down in the newly opened cave.
After Kazuma Hatori sat down, the game's "Invitation" screen lit up.
After all, it was Satoru who had instructed him to take good care of Fushiguro Megumi, and he was the only one on the guest list. Hatori Kazuma suppressed his heartache... no, he should have suppressed his heartache even more, and chose the most expensive dish.
[Treatment: 100 gold coins per person.]
Thump—thump thump—
Despite being at the bottom of a barren, snow-covered mountain cliff, Fushiguro Megumi vaguely felt that he heard a sound similar to a taiko drum coming from outside the cave.
Even the cold, dark cave seemed to be transformed into a bright and warm place by the flickering candlelight and rising campfire.
Just as he was about to peek out to find the source of the sound, the drumbeats stopped, making the air quiet again.
It seemed as if it was merely to announce the imminent start of the banquet, and then, Kazuma Hatori, seated at the head of the table, announced—
"Let's start eating."
Eat? What to eat?
Before Fushiguro Megumi's doubts could even surface, she heard several rustling sounds coming from outside the cave, growing closer and louder—Fushiguro Megumi's tension, like a fully drawn bowstring, reached its limit.
Suddenly, several monkeys darted out in front of him.
Fushiguro Megumi was so shocked that she blurted out, "Huh?!"
Describing these monkeys as "jumping out" is not accurate; they wear small hats askew, have bow ties at their collars, and walk and stand quite properly.
After the two little monkeys in front set up the low table, the monkeys following behind carried various bowls, plates, cutlery, drinks, and napkins in their front paws and placed them one by one for Fushiguro Megumi and Hatori Kazuma.
Fushiguro Megumi stared at the group of monkeys who were methodically serving them food, her pupils dilating violently throughout.
Finally, the two monkeys carrying pudding with one paw still managed to swing over on the vines!
As the monkeys bowed and left, his body completely out of control as he picked up his bowl, grabbed his chopsticks, and began to eat, his expression still one of utter bewilderment.
Who is he? Where is he? What is he doing now?
Following her body's instincts—or rather, the urge to eat—she ate two mouthfuls of rice before suddenly looking up.
"Don't refuse,"
Worried that he might want to end the process, Kazuma Hatori immediately spoke up, "This meal is very expensive."
This is a treatment that Kamo's NPCs have never received before. One meal here is equivalent to a hundred meals for them!
Fushiguro Megumi, holding a bowl: "…………"
"The food was delicious, thank you for the hospitality." After a long silence, he finally spoke with difficulty, "I just wanted to ask, is this an expansion of your domain?"
Would monkeys really bring food to them in the snowy mountains? That's impossible, right?
Rather than believing that monkeys—whether they are snow monkeys or not—would cook, he would prefer to believe that this was an area where the other party was operating.
But whose business expansion involves forcing people to have meals together?!
Kazuma Hagoromo asked, puzzled, "What is Domain Deployment?"
Is this another game setting he skipped at the beginning?
"...That is, to consume a huge amount of magical power to construct a barrier, materialize one's own domain into reality, and inject a sure-hit spell to give the enemy an overwhelming attack."
After a pause, Fushiguro Megumi added, "I don't know how to expand the domain either; it's just theoretical knowledge."
To be honest, he no longer knows what expression to wear when facing this meal.
My mind is so hazy, could this be a hallucination he had before he died...?
If that's true, how will he explain it to others after being rescued? Kamo-sensei summoned a group of monkeys in the snowy mountains to serve them food, including top-grade Kobe beef and snow crab…
"I don't know either."
Kazuma Hatake thought for a moment and decided not to explain.
Just like he didn't understand why the servants served food at Kamo's house turned into a group of monkeys when they went to the snow mountain.
"Just assume it is, anyway, the food is real."
Otherwise, those old men from Kamo wouldn't have been stuffed to death after eating more than fifty meals.
Unable to understand either, Fushiguro Megumi, who had given up thinking and continued eating according to her impulse, said: "...Oh."
No matter how illogical the effects of the curse might be, Fushiguro Megumi was absolutely certain that nothing could ever be more shocking than this meal.
When Fushiguro Megumi finished the meal, which was expensive in every sense of the word, and began to drink hot corn juice, feeling the warmth flowing from her stomach to her limbs, her trust and respect for Kamo-sensei grew even stronger.
Although the other party's style of doing things is very strange, I have a strange feeling that the other party is very reliable.
Looking at the black-haired youth in front of him, whose expression was indifferent and who could still remain calm even after escaping death, Fushiguro Megumi felt a sense of innate closeness that compelled him to trust him.
So this is... the unique charm of Kamo-sensei.
Fushiguro Megumi thought to herself in silence.
[The banquet is over, and your personal charm and social skills have improved!]
Kazuma Hatake was also very satisfied with the result, because Megumi Fushiguro did not waste the 100 gold coin meal at all and completely finished it.
Having experienced a worldview-shattering shock, even when these snow monkeys reappear and take away the tableware along with the food, Fushiguro Megumi can still politely say "thank you" without the slightest panic.
After the banquet, they came to the outside of the simple cave and found that the light and color of the sky had returned to normal—meaning that the [tent] had disappeared on its own.
The sun had already set, and the moonlight made the view much dimmer and narrower than during the day, and the forest was deathly silent.
Fushiguro immediately took out her phone, only to find that there was still no signal.
The existence of the [tent] relies on the power of the spell to maintain it. Its disappearance after being exhausted does not mean that the enemy will be completely at ease. On the contrary, they will become more cautious.
Cutting off the signal is a very obvious move – the other side is blocking their access to help.
"It would be better if it were daytime; the light is too dim now, and I can't see anything."
Fushiguro frowned. "We can try to find the river. If we follow it downstream, we're sure to find a village."
Alternatively, he could try using [Jade Dog] to scout ahead... but he also couldn't stray too far from his own shikigami.
Although he was still trying to think of a solution, Fushiguro Megumi knew that he was much more relaxed than before and did not appear nervous.
"If the uncle we met this afternoon really does call the police if he doesn't receive any contact by midnight..."
“Definitely,” Kazuma Hatori said confidently.
“If we had just grabbed any random passerby and told them, they might not have remembered our request. But the uncle was very kind and knew the dangers of going into the mountains. He was a good person who took the initiative to stop us and tried his best to persuade us to leave.”
Kazuma Hatake checked the system time; it was 7:30 PM in the game.
“I believe he will definitely stay up until midnight to wait for our contact.”
He mentioned past incidents and said his friends heard strange noises, clearly not intentionally bringing it up to scare them away.
That's why Kazuma Hatori didn't make this promise with the [window] who came to pick them up, but instead entrusted it to that old man.
“If the police send a search and rescue team to look for us,” Fushiguro thought, “we need to make a sufficiently clear distress signal…”
Unfortunately, shikigami cannot be observed by ordinary people, and they do not have any tools that are convenient for chopping.
The more they talked, the more they felt that their experiences overlapped with those of the victims in the [SOS Mystery Incident] back then...
"Hmm, that's easy."
Kazuma Hatori spoke.
Although he wouldn't care at all even if there were no police search and rescue.
I've never seen a player need the police to save them while playing a game. It would be a miracle if they didn't have several wanted posters hanging over their head.
But since he's currently with Fushiguro Megumi, let's try to rescue him in a way that's more realistic and logical.
In the moonlight and starlight-illuminated vision of Fushiguro Ena, Hato Kazuma arrived at the huge, compacted snowfield created by the fall of [Orochi], and rolled up his sleeves to reveal a large expanse of smooth forearm.
Then, using a dagger he had somehow produced, he slowly cut a deep, heavy wound along the pale blue veins beneath his skin.
Fushiguro Megumi stared wide-eyed, unable to hide her shock. She never expected the other party to make such a huge sacrifice!
"Kamo-sensei...!!"
The black-haired youth who was called out seemed completely oblivious to the pain, casually letting his hand drop, allowing blood to gush out rapidly, flowing from his forearm to his fingertips, and then dripping onto the snow, outlining a striking crimson mark.
As Kazuma Hatori walked, the bloodstain gradually formed three large letters along the path he had trod.
SOS.
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