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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 180 Part 1

Fugitive of The Land of Onis［Stranger］

―― Territory『Hanging Woodland』 ――

―― countdown: 05:17:00:59 ――

「Looks like everyone’s getting tired. So I guess we need to take a break.」

「What, again? We just took a break earlier, didn’t we?」

At the words of Kotarou, who looked back at them, Riru let out a complaint in a hushed voice.

「It can’t be helped. We’re in a forest with no roads, and the rate of encounters with monsters is also high….」

Tatsuya, who was walking in the lead, came to a stop and stabbed the harpoon he was carrying at his feet.

Inside the thickly overgrown forest, it exactly had the vibe of a primeval forest.

The mossy ground was akin to a greenish carpet, and was also encroaching on the half-decayed trees.

The light shining through the canopy of branches and leaves was also weak and dim.

The ivy hanging down in layers was akin to a hanging rope.

「But I suppose this place is a no go. I wish there was someplace safer.」

In addition to Kotarou, Momiji, Tatsuya, and Riru, 21 other female students accompanied the group on their escape.

Without a clear destination, they wandered around Onigashima for the sole purpose of escaping from the onis.

Kotarou, taking out an origami paper from his pocket, turned it into a bird, and released it into the sky.

「I’ll look for a campsite where we can make use of water. Wait here for a little while, okay? Tatsuya-kun, Riru-san, please keep an eye on the surroundings.」

「Got it, Kotarou-kun. Leave it to us.」

「How should I put it, you’re surprisingly serious, aren’t you? I mean, you’re properly acting as a leader there.」

You’re a pervert with a cross-dressing fetish, though, Riru muttered.

「Phew. There seems to be some misunderstandings here, but it’s not like dressing up as a girl is my preference or anything. A girls isn’t something to turn into, but something to love and cherish.」

The reason why Kotarou continued to wear a mini-skirted yukata was simply because he had left his original attire with Touma.

It was by no means his own taste or preference, supposedly.

「Yes, yes. I don’t care about your perverse preference.」

「Besides, I was entrusted by Touma-kun to take care of everyone. So I have to live up to that trust, you see. Phew.」

「… Hmph. Worrying about that guy is just a waste of time. I don’t think you know that, though. Whether the other party is an oni or a boss, he’s not the kind of adorable guy that would get done in by them so easily.」

「Ahaha. In other words, you trust Touma in your own way, don’t you, Riru-chan?」

「That’s not it!」

They were comrades who had trudged through the enemy camp for two whole days.

They had become friendly enough to have some idle talks.

「U, um, I’m sorry. Some of the girls are seriously groggy….」

Timidly interrupting the conversation was one of the female students trapped in oni capital.

She, the first girl to speak to the rescue team members, had had the representative role pushed onto her as she was.

They, who had been extracted through login trap, were girls of『Officer』 type.

Basically, most of the girls who would be assigned with Officer class in the cathedral were indoor people with non-active personalities.

「My stomach, too, is growing empty, so I thought it would be too much to keep moving as we are. Ah, I’m sorry for saying something so cheeky.」

「Well, I guess it’s exactly as you say, but… You’ve got a pretty good personality there, don’t you…?」

It was Riru’s style to never forget throwing in a retort, even if the other side was an upperclassman.

「Them becoming unable to move would be troubling. If it’s only one or two people, we could carry them, but….」

Tatsuya checked on the group of girls, who were all weary and holding no conversation.

Them managing to blend in and escape the oni capital smoothly amidst the chaos caused by the mysterious terrorist activities could be said to be a good luck.

However, the environment of Onigashima was not so friendly that humans acting in groups could travel safely.

Even in areas other than the oni capital, there lived uncontrolled stray onis.

It was an escape where they had to run and hide from such onis, and sometimes knocked them down all the while.

Things like procuring food or securing a place to sleep were no easy matter, either.

To begin with, as they were of the Officer class, the combat prowess of these girls was dependent on the『Cards』 they had on hand.

At the moment, where they only had the clothes they wore under their name, they were out of the combat force.

「Though, for food, it’s still manageable somehow or another. It sure is a lifesaver that this is a natural type other world (raid).」

The shoulder bag of Riru, who shrugged her shoulders, was filled with fruits harvested in the forest.

In the kind of large-scale other world where an ecosystem had been established, even if pseudo, there was an abundance of meaningless monstrosity (Null Mobs) or monster provisions.

They were all edible stuff arranged as necessary provisions.

They were not even meant to be『poisonous』 or『harmful』.

「Kyaa!」

Following the sound of branches and leaves shaking, the sound of a heavy landing echoed.

The one who came back, leaping from one branch to another, was Momiji, carrying a boar with horns.

As a female oni, Momiji’s physical strength was incomparable to that of a human.

She was carrying the fat boar, which weighed about 100 kilograms, with ease.

「What a delicious looking boar! Thank you, Momiji. You being with us sure is a lifesaver.」

「…..」

Kotarou, welcoming her with a smile, rewarded Momiji with words of thanks and patting.

Except for Kotarou, all the members looked at Momiji, a resident of the raid and a monster on the enemy side, with complicated expressions on their faces.

Even Momiji, who squinted her eyes as she was being petted, did not approach anyone but Kotarou.

「I certainly appreciate it. But it’s hard to make a fire in this forest.」

「Just how thick the moss is, that’s the problem. It’s like a sponge that has absorbed water, isn’t it? It goes splat and overflow just by walking on it, after all.」

It was not a comfortable environment for them by any stretch, but the same was true for the onis.

「Yes, that’s why let’s look for a moss-free place… Ah, there’s a river!」

With one eye closed, Kotarou synchronized his vision with his shikigami.

「Maybe about a twenty minute walk from here? It’s a little deep, kind of like a canyon, and the forest breaks off.」

「It would be nice to have access to water. I’m getting sick of squeezing moss to rehydrate myself, after all.」

「It’s closer than I thought. Are there any onis in the surrounding area?」

「…..」

Kotarou, opening his closed eyes, blinks.

He looked up, put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

Then he closed his eyes again.

「Ah, as I thought, looks like it was just my imagination… It looked as if something that looked like a charred oni was drowning in there, but….」

「Kotarou-kun?」

Kotarou’s mutterings did not reach the ears of Tatsuya and the others.

「No problem… It looked as if it fell into the waterfall basin while screaming something like, my legs are cramped, my legs are cramped, but it was probably just my imagination.」

When people got tired, they tended to end up making judgments based on their wishful thinking.

Shrugging her shoulders, Riru encouraged the weary group.

「Is that so? Well then, for the time being, let’s go and check it out. Everyone, it’s the final push!」

◇ ◇ ◇

―― Territory『Hanging Woodland, Bloodsucking Valley』 ――

―― countdown: 05:17:30:59 ――

「Yes, what clear water. Looks like we can drink it as it is.」

Beyond the overgrown trees, there was a canyon crossing the forest.

The deeply eroded valley was not the size of a stream.

Branches of trees grew out from both banks, overhanging like a tent.

The branches and leaves hanging over the river were mysteriously enough changing color into that of autumn color.

The rocks submerged in the river were also reddish brown in color.

However, what Tatsuya scooped out with his palm was just clear, colorless water.

「I can finally take a dip in the water for the first time in a long time. My body has become all sticky with sweat, after all.」

Riru, sporting a cheerful look on her face, lowered her backpack.

Unlike after-school dungeon dives, factors other than battle would also become a problem in the extended other world (raid) quests.

Securing food was a no-brainer, but following up on the living environment was also essential.

If the body was not cleansed, the body odor would become severe and the hair would look like it had been waxed with oil and grease.

On top of that, including problems such as toilets, it was a survival situation that was severe for women in a lot of ways.

「Hmm. For such a big game, I think it would take too long to roast it whole.」

「…..」

Momiji, who was holding a log-like stake, was put to a『wait』 by Kotarou.

「Dismantling it would also be a bit of a hassle. For the time being, let’s just tear off the legs and roast it like manga meat.」

「…..」

Nodding her head, Momiji, without even using a knife, ripped off the boar’s legs.

As she was, she washed the legs in the rover, covered them with yet-to-boil boiled water, and then plucked off the hair roots.

「The kanji character for pluck 『毟る』 is hateful, don’t you think? … 『Plucking』 hairs 『毛』 that are few 『少』 is simply merciless.」

As they engaged in trivial talks, the boar was being skillfully transformed into foodstuffs.

It was a skill that the average person had no connection with, but there were some subjects among the elective classes at the academy where students could learn survival skills.

It was considered essential for conquering other world (raid) quests of high degree of difficulty.

Such camping skills were often learned by non-combat class holders.

They were also taught how to dry green wood, how to cook survival food, and small tricks using their skills.

The roasted lump of meat was then cut off to pieces and handed to everyone along with biscuit-like dry bread.

After that, instant consommé soup and apple-like fruits they had gathered along the way were also distributed.

The air remained heavy as everyone finished their meals in their own places of choice around the campfire.

「… Geez. Talk about depressing.」

「Riru-chan.」

「I know. But we, too, have our own circumstances, no? Not to mention that we still can’t find Honami either.」

Riru snorted as she washed the kettle they used to boil water in the river.

That portable kettle was also a product designed for raid quests sold in the purchasing department.

「The same is true for the girl Kotako is looking for, Shiho. Of all people, for the ones we’re looking for to have been taken out with pinpoint accuracy is just….」

「Tell me about it. And it seemed to be a boss-ish oni to boot.」

Letting out a sigh, Tatsuya looked up to the sky.