Keeping a Ballpoint Pen in Your Pocket Is Extremely Dangerous / Beautiful! I'm So Beautiful!

"If that's all, wouldn't anyone who wanted to take a bath have to hide somewhere secluded?"

"Why's that?" Soma asked, puzzled.

"Because then there wouldn't be anything to cover your body while you bathed, right?"

"..."

After all that excellent advice, the girls' remark sent Soma's idea straight back to square one.

He'd already thought this far. Couldn't he think it through a little more? Had the Heat Group stopped him from thinking? I'd been looking forward to it, too.

"We could use one of the tents issued for the portable toilets instead. I remember those are waterproof, too. We're buying portable toilets anyway, so those tents will be left unused."

"Wow, that's brilliant, Raku. That solves everything."

At Ichinose's praise, I bashfully scratched my cheek.

"Then we've decided to replace the shower room with an outdoor shower. Soma, we'll be counting on you to show everyone how to use it."

"I'll do my best."

"It really is wonderful being with everyone."

Chapter 56: Keeping a Ballpoint Pen in Your Pocket Is Extremely Dangerous

Sloth was considered the greatest of the seven deadly sins, though each of the others had its own merits.

Untouched teeth could gnaw sharply at wisdom, sever ties with other people, and even rob someone of their future, leaving only the delusion of an empty shell behind.

Humans were naturally lazy creatures. In other words, we were a species born of sin. From Dante's theological perspective, sloth was the failure to "love God with all one's heart, with all one's mind, and with all one's soul."

I wasn't interested in understanding an answer that profound. I only accepted the idea of sloth as a waste of time. Whether I was willing to accept it was another matter.

[The person who stands out most in a crowd is always the one who spends the least time being productive.]

By the time that thought made me recall this saying, it was already too late. I'd even completely forgotten that greed and sloth were more closely linked than any of the other sins.

1

"Thread the rope through this hole, then pass it straight through the whole hammock and tie a knot at the end. Next, wrap the rope around the tree, pass it through the loop at the top, and tie it off tight... That's one end of the hammock set up."

To make sure we could see the steps clearly, Soma deliberately slowed down what he was doing and turned sideways to give us a better view.

"Just repeat the same steps on the other end. If you can, wrap the rope around the tree trunk a few extra times. It'll be sturdier that way, and the hammock won't come loose as easily... Finally, attach the hook to the end of the rope to secure it... Does that make sense?"

"That seems like way too many steps."

"Most of them are repeats. Just pay a little attention and you'll manage. If you really can't do it, I'll come help you later. Anyway, there's no way we'll finish setting up all the hammocks today, so let's do as many as we can. We still have the small tents as a backup."

"Guess we'll just have to get our hands dirty... Hey, Okabe, did you get it? You look pretty excited."

"Of course I did. It's so simple. Surely nobody here still doesn't know how to do it?"

"You! Just wait till I catch you messing up."

"Don't worry. I won't give you the chance. Besides, if you need help, I'll generously offer mine. You can look forward to it, Shiratori."

"I don't need your help!"

We'd originally planned to buy the rope hammocks Soma had mentioned. They were made of netting that supported your weight, like a spiderweb. If it rained, they dried faster than any other kind of hammock. Unfortunately, the school only provided fabric hammocks.

Fabric hammocks collected rainwater, and in severe cases, the water could even ruin them. That was why we'd started planning ways to waterproof our hammocks ahead of time.

We used the plastic bags the school provided in unlimited quantities to make sheets of plastic about two meters long, then tied them to the trees above the hammocks. If there was no wind, we might even get to sleep in the hammocks on a rainy day.

However, this took too much work. There was no way we could get everything ready in a single afternoon. So, starting on the first day, the boys had to cram into two small tents.

If she could, Ichinose would have bought us another tent as a spare, but the terrain wouldn't allow it. Our base camp was centered around a well, with thick trees growing all around it. There weren't many spots where we could pitch tents. The two tents the school had provided had already pushed the limit.

That was exactly why we'd chosen hammocks as a substitute.

"Class Ichinose, we found some food."

"Welcome back. Did you find anything?"

"We found a ton of fruit. There are mushrooms, too, but we don't know what kind they are, and we can't tell if they're safe to eat."

"You don't know if they're edible? Bring them over and let me take a look... Uh, I don't recognize them either. Could you come over, Soma?"

"Sure, I'll be right there. You can take a look in the meantime."

After learning that Soma had excellent wilderness survival skills, he'd been rushing around like a famous celebrity, barely getting a moment to breathe. He looked exhausted, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. Maybe he was good at balancing what he could offer with what he felt inside.

"Oh? I didn't expect to find Black Bean Tree Fruit here. You found some Akebia, too? Wow, we can eat all of these. This is a huge help."

You might not recognize the name blackcurrant, but you'd know it if I called it a currant. Its fruit was packed with nutrients and contained several vitamins, including A, B, and C. It was especially high in vitamin C.

It was no surprise if you hadn't heard of Akebia. It was a fruit that had only started being cultivated in the past few years. Some newspapers had even called it the rarest fruit in the world, which was a bit of an exaggeration.

Come to think of it, I hadn't seen blackcurrants in a long time. Judging by how much fruit the students who'd gone out were carrying, we'd have plenty to eat tonight.

"Really? There are lots more in that direction, and it's super close. Let's go bring back as much as we can before it gets dark."

"Please bring back as much as you can. Take the plastic bags so you can carry more. Be careful on the way!"

"Got it."

After our brief exchange, the team of more than a dozen students hurried off again.

Meanwhile, because I'd been distracted, I hadn't controlled my movements properly, and I'd set up my hammock twice as fast as the others. I'd wanted to make up for it, but it was too late. The hammock work was already done.

It was too late to take it down and start over...

Well, since I'd finished the task, I might as well test how sturdy the hammock was.

I sat on the hammock I'd put up, checked how taut the rope was, then lay back with a sigh of relief and closed my eyes, enjoying the lazy comfort for a little while.

Mm, I was just testing my handiwork. I wasn't slacking off.

But the rustle of people working and their irritated complaints kept me from falling asleep. And, feeling awkward and out of place, I sat back up.

I had to find something to do. If there was nothing, I'd have to pretend there was.

The weeds had already been cleared, and another group was making the waterproof sheets. If I jumped in now, I'd look strange and might even slow them down. Helping my friends set up their hammocks might also make them think I was mocking them...

It really was impossible to do anything easily in this life.

"Raku, what are you doing?"

"Setting up a hammock..." While I'd been lost in my thoughts, Ichinose had somehow come over to my side.

"Are you having trouble? Your expression keeps changing."

"Does it?" I asked, touching my cheek uncertainly.

Ichinose shook her head. "It just feels that way... Wait, have you already finished setting yours up?"

"More or less."

"The others aren't even halfway done... Are you sure the rope's tight?"

"I already tested it, ready to fall if it came loose. It should be fine."

"Okay. So what were you thinking about just now, Raku? You looked pretty serious."

"It wasn't anything worth mentioning."

"Then can you tell me anyway?"

Seeing the hopeful look on Ichinose's face, I couldn't bring myself to refuse, so I told her.

"I was thinking about how to make certain things look more natural so nobody would notice."

"...What kind of things?"

"Basically, how to make people think I'm not slacking off."

"Haha, you started worrying about that because you finished setting up your hammock, didn't you?" Ichinose laughed at me without hiding it.

"Exactly..."

"Sorry, that was just too funny. Haha."

"Come to think of it, Raku, you've been unusually active today. I thought you'd be completely silent."

"I couldn't help it. It's so hot that I just want to get everything done as quickly as possible."

Every extra second of work was pure torture.

"Hmm, I see..." Ichinose tilted her head and rolled her eyes, which made me feel uneasy.

"Since you've already finished, could you help me with something?"

Ah, there it was.

"...If it's something I can manage, I'll do my best."

"Could you come with me and collect some dry branches nearby for the campfire? We have the flashlights provided by the school and the lanterns we bought, but I think we should make sure we have enough light. We can also use the fire to cook. I can't carry much on my own, so would you help me?"

"If that's all, no problem." After making sure there were no strings attached, I agreed to Ichinose's request and went with her.

"Clack—"

Just as we reached the edge of camp, I reached into my pocket and my hand nudged my ballpoint pen, knocking it to the ground.

"Hmm? Did something fall?"

"Just a ballpoint pen." I bent down to pick it up, wiped off the dirt, and put it back in my pocket.

"Raku, give me the pen."

"What's wrong?"

Confused, I handed Ichinose the ballpoint pen I'd just put away.

"Leave it at camp for now. If it falls out of your pocket unexpectedly, it could be dangerous."

"...How could that be dangerous?"

"Of course it could. Think about it: if it fell out and landed upright, then you stepped on it hard, that'd be bad. Someone ended up permanently disabled because of that once."

That could actually happen?

Chapter 57: Beautiful! I'm So Beautiful!

"An orange grown south of the Huai River is an orange, but one grown north of it becomes a bitter orange. Their leaves look alike, but the fruits taste different."

Applied to anthropology, that meant the environment had a subtle yet profound effect on a person's development. The environment shaped someone's personality and way of dealing with others over time, and those traits were difficult to change.

The environment influenced a person's growth, but it didn't rule out the free expression of their will. When the environment and free will were at odds, a person's individuality would stretch their desires to the limit and become "twisted."

That was how defective products came into being.

1

The best kindling for starting a campfire was dry branches, especially softwood. It caught fire quickly, but it also tended to spark and burn out fast. So, if we wanted a long-lasting source of light, we needed to find other kinds of branches as well.

The wood definitely needed to be dry. Most people understood that, so I wouldn't go into the reasons. The main thing was figuring out how to tell whether the wood was dry.

Generally speaking, if you didn't have any tools, there were four ways to check.

The first was the weight of the wood. Dry wood was much lighter than wet wood. This method was very difficult to judge, since most people couldn't reliably tell the difference in weight.

The second and third methods were to feel the wood and tap it with your knuckles. If it didn't feel cold to the touch and made a clear sound when tapped, it was usually fairly dry. Wet wood felt a little cold and sounded dull. These methods were relatively simple compared to the first.

The last method was the simplest, but it took time. Place a tissue on the wood and check the next day to see if it's damp. That could also give you a rough idea of how dry the wood was.

Since we lacked equipment and didn't have much time, Ichinose and I mostly relied on the first three methods.

"This should be enough, right?" Ichinose called out to me, carrying a big armful of branches. After I nodded, I carried a similar load over to her.

At least we wouldn't have to worry about light tonight.

"Shall we head back?"

"Yeah. Sorry for the trouble... Raku, aren't you uncomfortable in this heat?"

"Of course I am. The whole forest is damp, and the air is stifling... This might be the kind of environment that makes people irritable most easily." I shook my head, trying to flick the sweat off my eyelashes.

"But Raku doesn't seem uncomfortable at all. You even seem used to it."

"If you put it that way, I don't really know how to explain it," I said.