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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 154 Part 2

「In other words, if they have monster crystals with them, they can walk around normally, that’s what you mean?」

「Well, something like that, I suppose. The weaker the surrounding miasma pressure, the more easily they dissolve, so we’re using special『elemental crystal』 that we’ve refined and re-hardened, though.」

「… By any chance, if ordinary students have them, will they be able to use their skills even outside of the dungeon?」

At Seiichi’s pointing out, Rinko, smiling wryly, nodded.

「Maybe. If the miasma pressure is as dense as it is around Asagi-sou (here), it won’t dissolve, but as soon as it exceeds the threshold, it’ll start to volatilize. That’s why, it’s kind of like a disposable item, I suppose.」

「But if it’s around the academy, it can last for about a week, you know~」

「It’s made from thoroughly concentrating and solidifying New World-class crystals, after all.」

In order for the miasma to retain its solid form, miasma pressure of at least the same level as that of the dungeon first stratum was required.

Of course, the concentration of the miasma around Asagi-sou was much higher than that.

And on the underground floor, it was even higher.

「Isn’t that a great discovery? Enough to win a Nobel Prize.」

「No, the academy must have done this level of research as well, I suppose. It’s simply that they don’t make it public….」

「True enough, they’re doing crystal trading at the purchasing department, after all. I did think they must be using it for something.」

For them, it was too late of a matter, so they showed not so much excitement about it.

For those who had their essence crystals in their bodies, the new item was nothing more than a booster for squeezing out their output.

「I can guess their reason to keep it a secret, though….」

「You can likely do a lot of crazy things with it, after all, right?」

「The truth is, it was a research to create a device that could preserve monster crystals without letting them deteriorate, though.」

It wound up being completed way so easily, so out of force of habit, the research wound up proceeding into unnecessary directions.

As long as there was a certain concentration of miasma pressure, the crystals wouldn’t volatilize.

And as long as you could find a substance that did not conduct miasma, it was possible to store the crystals in a sealed container.

It would be like even if you put rock salt in a saturated aqueous solution, it didn’t begin to dissolve.

「The shielding isn’t perfect, but conversely, all we have to do is cram it with crystals, after all. We’re now able to store delicate magic items as well without letting them deteriorate, I suppose.」

For these girls, the Craftsman group, it was like a convenient warehouse where they could store the ability organs and materials dropped by monsters.

「You sure that’s okay? It won’t explode or anything, will it?」

「… Ahaha.」

Mikan, having a look of doubt directed at her by Seiichi, floated a deceptive smile.

To begin with, it was by no means unusual for explosion accidents to occur in the underground factory.

「Rawrr~! If you don’t give me sweets, I’ll play a prank on you~!」

The one who opened the door to the club room (provisional) without any sort of warning whatsoever was neither a witch nor a ghost, but a wolf girl who kind of looked like Samhain.

The pose in which she raised both of her hands was gallant yet adorable.

However, her legs and tail were dangling and swaying in the air.

「Welcome, Asura-chan. Touma-kun, too, welcome back~.」

「I’m back.」

Touma, Asura in his hands, took off his hood.

「… Just in case, I am going to make a retort about it, but Halloween ended a long time ago. And Touma-san, I am sorry, but it is cold, so please close the door.」

Shizuka, who had turned into an immovable guardian of the heater (Stovekeeper), threw in a calm retort.

◇ ◇ ◇

「Cocoa yummy!」

「Be sure not to burn your tongue, okay.」

Doggy-san, with a cup of cocoa kneaded by Hoodzuki-senpai in her hands, is making merry.

Until I have some made for myself, I didn’t understand the meaning of kneading cocoa.

When I get to actually taste it, it’s just like hot chocolate but with a more creamy texture.

However, it seems to take a lot of effort for Hoodzuki-senpai to knead the cocoa, so I hope Doggy-senpai can savor it a little more as she drinks it.

「Where did you pick up Asura-chan, I wonder?」

「She was buried in the snow, so I retrieved her.」

Or rather, it appears that she was close to getting stranded.

In places where the snow doesn’t get plowed, the accumulation of snow is over 50 centimeters.

Doggy-senpai, who was half buried and about to hibernate, can thank Hati-kun for finding her.

Or rather, that child is the only one who is excited about a snowfall.

Peperon is shutting himself in the mysterious hole, mostly hibernating.

The guys from the kitchen garden series have moved into planters set up in the hallways of the dormitory.

Well, they normally walk around inside the dorm, though.

The palm trees that can’t get inside are using the open-air baths as their place to stay.

They don’t really cause harm or anything, but I was a little surprised when I saw one falling over into the bathtub.

I thought it had withered, but apparently it just wanted to warm itself up.

「The taiyaki is piping hot and sweet~」

「The custard is delicious, too.」

「This one is, chestnut red bean paste, so it seems.」

「This one is sesame, huh. It’s salty-sweet, tasty.」

My taiyaki has zunda in it.

The paste made from roughly mashed edamame sports a gentler taste than the weighty azuki bean paste.

「The overflowing bean paste being slightly burnt is tasty.」

「Fufufu. Seared with sugar, it’s a caramelization work.」

Meiron-senpai, bringing over an additional basket, begins to pamper and spoil Doggy-senpai.

After all, she has taken the trouble to come all the way here from Qilin-sou, blazing through the snow-covered road in search of delicious food.

So, well, it’s not like I can’t understand why Kurumi-senpai and Merion-senpai are in such a good mood and want to shower her with hospitality.

「Ah, Shizuka-chan is drinking something that looks delicious.」

「This is amazake.」

Shizuka, who is assuming a position in front of the stove like Jizo-sama, is sipping from her cup with a melty look on her face.

Shizuka, who has become almost motionless since we got into winter break, is akin to a poikilothermic animal.

Even in the morning, she would not get out of her futon.

When I forcefully pull her out, she makes a face like it’s the end of the world.

「Auu… Sake, is it?」

「It’s all right~, Asura-chan. It’s a non-alcoholic drink made from fermented rice, as opposed to sake lees.」

Touka-senpai, with a fluffy smile on her face, hands over a cup to the frowning non-drinker Doggy-senpai.

「Thank you~」

Isn’t everyone spoiling her too much?

「I think I’d rather have some coffee. Sweet foods with sweet drinks is a bit, you see~.」

I jump on the bandwagon as Otoha-senpai pours coffee from the server.

I don’t dislike sweet foods, but it’s better to treat your taste buds with balance.

「By the way, Asura-chan. How is it with that matter?」

「Please proceed with Black Honey participating in it too. I mean, when I took a survey, it turned out everyone wanted to participate in it, too.」

At Otoha-senpai’s question, Doggy-senpai, holding taiyaki and amazake in her hands, wags her tail.

「Ahaha, fellow wretched ones, aren’t we? Rather, I guess it’s a mistake to expect some romantic events in this academy, though.」

「In our club, it’s food before romance.」

「Hmm. Is it by any chance an invitation for a joint raid quest?」

If it’s an other world (raid) brought to us by the A-ranked Black Honey, it must be a pretty challenging quest.

Ever since the tournament, we’ve only been faced with lukewarm battles, so I can ask for nothing better.

「It’s not.」

「Shame on you. We’re talking about the Christmas party.」

Mm, I’ve lost interest.

I couldn’t care less about Christmas and the like.

「For better or worse, though, it’s tradition to hold a Christmas party in each dormitory. There are even official Christmas events hosted by the academy, and for this period of time only, letting loose is also tacitly approved, you know.」

「Even the student street offers Christmas sales, I suppose.」

「The illumination is pretty, you know?」

Mikan-senpai and the others are pushing the events, but my excitement doesn’t go up.

To begin with, I’ve never participated in the ritual of celebrating Christmas.

I haven’t even bought the overpriced cake at the convenience store.

「We’ll not make it into such a wretched Christmas party. We’ll at least prepare some feast. Enough for you to be unable to eat it up.」

「The preparations, have started. Will make, tons of food.」

Kurumi-senpai and Meiron-senpai aren’t the only ones who are putting their spirits into it.

「It’s fine even we start decorating the inside of the dorm now, right?」

「Let’s fill it with surprise gimmicks, too.」

「I’ll also prepare Santa costumes, okay~.」

The Senpais are very excited.

For the Senpais from the Craftsman group, it must be like an exhibition.

If this too is a kind of festival, I guess it’d be tactless of me to douse cold water on it.

In fact, I’m looking forward to the feast that Kurumi-senpai and the others will put up with their spirits in.

「I’ll definitely come to play and stay the night with everyone!」

「Well then, I suppose I’ll go and prepare the resting area of the second open-air bath. Mirin-chan and the others are also coming to stay over, or rather, they seem to be planning to stay over the whole winter break, though.」

「We’ll bring lots of gifts!」

「Looks like we’ll have to go shopping as well~」

Everyone is cheerfully making plans for Christmas.

It looks like this year’s Holy Night is going to be a lively one.