High School Hack and Slash Chapter 83 Part 1
Misogi Cave
It was unknown from where it was secured, but the large wooden barrel was filled to the brim with hot water.
Serie, who was soaking in the wooden barrel, was squinting with a blissful expression on her face.
「Haa… It feels so good.」
「That huge barrel aside, where did the hot water come from, I wonder?」
「Shinobu-chan, that’s a secret, okay. It’s a secret that Toma-sama has an amazing super rare magic bag.」
Shinobu and Nodoka, who were cooking dinner over the campfire, were having a secret talk in hushed voices.
A cave gaping in the depths of the rocky terrain.
In the crevice that was a crack in the megalith, there was a hollow enough to stand and walk through.
From the campfire stove that had been built at the entrance, smoke from the burnt fat was flowing to the outside.
Being roasted on the campfire were skewers of bear meat and a special kettle.
With its bottom made of reddish metal (hihiirokane), the kettle, which Touma pulled out of nowhere, was a fine item that could boil water at a uselessly high efficiency.
As long as they were able to boil water, the girls would be able to eat the cheapest portable food they had brought with them, cup ramen noodles.
「Auu, yes.」
Mirin, who had hot water poured over her buttocks with a splash, let out a long breath as she remained pressed her hands against the cave wall.
「Ah, I’m being washed. Ahn, ahn… Like a domestic animal, the inside of my ass is being scrubbed with a very thick meat brush….」
「… Mirin-chan, your boobs sure are big, aren’t they?」
「To, Toma-sama isn’t someone who discriminates on the basis of boobs’ size.」
「I feel so refreshed now… Let’s wash our clothes using the leftover water to later.」
Serie, getting out of the barrel bath, sat down by the campfire as she wiped her hair with a towel.
Her body, with only a shirt over it, was the most feminine and mature of the quartet.
「Oh my, is something the matter?」
「It’s nothing….」
From behind Nodoka, who held her own breasts, Mirin, wobbling on her feet, joined them.
「It’s amazing… How should I put it, I feel like I’m receiving a proper treatment as an organism in breeding season….」
「You’re right. Isn’t that not necessarily wrong as an animal, I guess?」
Serie, pressing her index finger on her lips, tilted her head.
『Appetite』, 『Desire to Sleep』, and『Sexual Desire』, which were called the three major desires, were primitive desires possessed by all living organisms, not just humans.
If『Appetite』 and『Desire to Sleep』 were the desires for the purpose of preserving the life as an individual, 『Sexual Desire』 could be said to be a desire for the purpose of preserving the species.
As long as one was a living creature, there was no good and evil, no right or wrong in it, as that was purely just how it was.
Those who denied their sexual desire were those who had wound up deviating from the framework of the seed chain, reducing them to nothing but『organic beings』.
「It is also a female instinct to be attracted to strong males….」
Serie, licking her lips, muttered.
As far as Serie was concerned, she didn’t find the system of Toyoashihara Academy that unreasonable.
The boys, laying bare their sexual desires, unanimously flocked to the girls and sought sex with them.
If it was sex that did not lead to the physically and mentally taxing event called pregnancy, Serie believed that it was no more than a form of communication between men and women, similar to a greeting.
Female students who had reached the same conclusion as Serie were not few in number.
The reason why some girls were unable to reach such a state of mind was, as expected, largely due to the concept of chastity that was instilled in them during adolescence.
「Alright. Mirin-chan, here you go. The bear skewers are done~.」
「Toma-sama, too, here you go please, some bear skewers and tom yum goong noodle.」
He was handed Nodoka’s recommended cup of ramen, which sported a distinctive and strong spicy smell.
「Yeah.」
「… Ehehe.」
Nodoka smiled happily even at such a curt reply.
「Toma-sama. Is there something you’re concerned with?」
After finishing their modest supper, the female members started washing their clothes in a lively and bustling manner.
「Yeah. Just to be sure, I’m thinking about exploring all the way to the deepest part. Feel free to rest first.」
Touma, who somehow or other seemed to be putting something off, turned around.
At the back of the cave, which was a large hollow, the cracks that could seem to be entered by a single person continued on.
A rock had been placed to block it just in case, but the wind blowing through it suggested that it was leading somewhere.
「If that’s the case, we will also….」
「No. There is a possibility of collapses and falling rocks. You guys can just wait.」
「Won’t that be dangerous for you too, Toma-sama…?」
Serie was about to say more, but even in her imagination she could not picture the scene where Touma ended up being buried alive.
It felt like he would blow off the rocky mountain while laughing boisterously and come back without a hitch.
「Then. I’m off.」
「Yes. Please be careful.」
「We await your return.」
Touma, now fully equipped upon equipping the Stressor Armor and the Gaki Lord War Casket, stepped into the hollow, treading through his underfoot and falling to the depths of the earth as he was.
「… Err.」
「… It, it’s okay. This is Toma-sama we’re talking about, so I’m sure that he has planned to explore the depths of the earth from the beginning!」
It looked as if his underfoot had purely collapsed due to it being unable to withstand the high increase in load, even so, as expected, Serie was unable to imagine Touma falling into a pinch.
◇ ◇ ◇
「… Say, that guy, Touma, seriously, where and what the heck is he doing?」
「Hiyaa, mahve he’h tahing vreah homevere?」
Mai, slurping up her ramen, gulped down the soup.
「Puha. From time to time, having some instant ramen is also good, isn’t it?」
「If we could use the kitchen, we could’ve made a more proper food, though.」
Once they stepped out of the bungalow, they would find themselves in a morally hazardous campground where free sex was rampant.
Seiichi, the male member of the group, was in charge of procuring supplies, while the female members were holed up in the bungalow.
The second day of the outdoor school was also about to welcome its dusk, but there were still some lost children who had gone missing.
「They’ve gotten pretty close, but… Judging by their travel route, I can’t help but wonder if he’s been following his instincts and chasing after monsters.」
「That’s so typical of him that I can’t even sigh at it.」
「Also, just now, somehow he fell.」
Shizuka, shutting her eyes, pressed her fingers against her temples.
「By fall, where to?」
「I’m not sure, but he’s in the middle of falling to the bottom of the earth.」
「Is he playing Dig Dug or something, that guy?」
Next to Seiichi, who was sipping his cup ramen, Mai was pouring tea from the kettle.
Shizuka was not worried herself, but more of exasperated, like, how should I put it, wondering if they could be a little more surprised or something.
◇ ◇ ◇
The mood is that of Indiana Jones nowadays.
I was falling while crushing and shattering rocks amidst the darkness, but thanks to doing an ukemi, I managed to arrive at the bottom unscathed.
If I hadn’t trained to do ukemi, I bet I would have turned into pieces of meat on the way down.
No matter what situation you’re faced with, your flesh, which is tempered through your daily workouts, and your training will never betray you.
Well, the Stressor Armor is too tough.
I get the feeling that my underfoot wouldn’t have collapsed if it weren’t for the weight of the armor, but all’s well that ends well.
I feel like I have fallen quite a distance, but since I rolled around like a pinball ball on the way down, the falling altitude itself may not be that significant.
「Hmm.」
Since I fell from the above ground, there is no doubt that this is the bottom of the earth.
The hollow, which sports a size of about that of a baseball field, is shaped just like an upside-down bowl.
Looking up at the dome-like hollow, I then look back at the crack in the wall from which I had jumped out.
Vegetation growing here and there on the wall looks like moss that is faintly glowing.
It’s probably a type of light moss (neon moss) that I occasionally catch sight of in the dungeon.
It’s a plant that usually grows in damp places with high concentrations of miasma.
Underfoot, water is pooling up to my knees, and here and there on the ceiling, water is pouring like a small waterfall.
And then, it seems that I’m not the first person to come to this place.
Built seemingly to surround the center of the hollow are vividly colored vermilion toriis.
Arranged in all directions, the toriis are connected to a number of vermilion gates leading toward the center.
Each torii is connected by a shimenawa (evil-warding sacred rope), and they are encircling in a multitude of layers, as if they were boundaries.
How should I put it, I totally want to try sneaking into it.
I feel like I am being tempted to go there.
In the center of the chains of torii, there stands a small iwato (rock door).
It is a very, very cozy-looking himorogi (primitive shrine).
Reaching out my hand following the temptation, I’m about to step into the tori.
「Hey you, Stoppp!」
I come to my senses at the sudden word of restraint.
「Haa… That was close. Don’t fall for such a God c’mon so easily, okay!」
There’s no one even as I turn around, and I find no one even as I look around the surroundings.
「Hey you! Even though I saved your life, isn’t it cruel of you to completely ignore me?」
「My apologies. You were over there, huh.」
The one that’s fumingly mad at me is the one that’s standing in the center of the hollow, nothing but a megalith.
To be more precise, the one that’s opening a stall that seems to be buried inside the megalith, who most likely is Spirit-san.
She’s leaning out from the counter and fuming.
NEXT CHAPTER
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High School Hack and Slash
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