Volume 3 Chapter 8 First Day of the Training Camp
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The ferry docked at Onigashima, and we piled into the shuttle bus. As it pulled away from the harbor, the coastline unfolded before us.
”This area here is the beach,” Mitsuki’s Mother said with a polite, welcoming smile.
She guided us through the local geography while driving. We were the first group to land on the island this trip.
The island’s main street ran parallel to the coast, one block inland. The shops and school were all clustered along that route, but she was intentionally taking the coastal road so we could catch the view.
Elementary students were playing on the sand, and local old-timers were huddled under eaves, absorbed in a game of Shogi.
The ride continued for a while until the road narrowed. A sturdy metal gate loomed ahead, blocking our path.
”That’s the entrance to our villa. Wait a second. Mitsuki!” Mitsuki’s Mother called out.
”On it,” Mitsuki replied, her tone sharp and efficient.
At Mitsuki’s Mother’s word, Mitsuki hopped out. She unlocked the gate, we passed through, and then I watched in the rearview mirror as she closed the heavy metal behind us.
Asari looked perplexed.
”Wait… are you sure about that?” Asari asked, her voice trembling slightly.
”We’re on private property now,” Mitsuki’s Mother explained with a calm, reassuring tone. “Honestly, I think Mitsuki will make it back to the villa before we do.”
The road began to climb. We traveled another two hundred meters along the paved path until a large building appeared around the bend, clinging to the side of the hill. This was the Onigahara family villa.
Just as the car reached the entrance, Mitsuki emerged from a side walkway. She had taken a shortcut—a pedestrian path separate from the vehicle access road.
”This is… incredible,” Asari whispered in awe.
Asari stepped out of the car, staring up at the structure in disbelief. It was less of a “villa” and more of a full-scale inn.
The impression only grew once we stepped inside. The entrance opened into a lobby with a service counter, leading to a dining hall at the rear. To the right was the family wing, where Mitsuki’s Mother and her kin stayed.
A long hallway stretched to the left, lined with doors at regular intervals: five guest rooms with locks. The room at the very end was slightly larger than the rest. Every single guest room had an ocean view.
In the corner of the lobby, a staircase descended to the lower level, which housed the facilities, including a large communal bath. A door next to the bath led directly out to the garden, and beyond that lay a private beach.
The lobby was situated on what effectively served as the second floor.
”Whoa…” I murmured. Doesn’t the Naruse family estate have a villa, too?”
”Sure, but nothing like this,” she replied, shaking her head.
”Really?”
”It’s just a cramped two-bedroom place. Plus, traveling with Mom and my sisters is a headache. If I have that kind of time, I’d rather just relax at home or stay over at Yurina’s. I honestly have no idea what shape the place is in lately.”
The internal politics of the Naruse family estate were always fascinating.
Mitsuki’s Mother returned with a box of slippers, handing them out one by one.
”Everyone, wait in the lobby for a moment. I need to air the place out,” she requested.
”I’ll help,” Manaka offered.
”Would you? That’d be great. …Here, these are your keys. Open the windows and doors, but make sure the screens are down.”
Manaka’s offer was met with universal agreement. We were all handed our keys—metal bits attached to wooden tags carved with room numbers.
Mitsuki’s Mother headed downstairs. Since everyone else had rushed off to open their own rooms, I took care of the lobby and the dining hall. With the front door and every window thrown wide open, the air began to circulate nicely. Even a breeze from the lower level drifted up—she must have opened the windows downstairs, too.
There was a green, earthy scent—the smell of grass and wild growth. It was pleasant now, but I knew from experience that if you let your guard down at night, the window screens would be an absolute nightmare.
I was just thinking about collapsing into a chair in the dining hall when I saw Mitsuki unloading the car. I couldn’t just sit there.
”Oh, Minoru,” Mitsuki called out.
”Need a hand?” I asked.
”Seriously? You’re a lifesaver,” she sighed with relief.
We weren’t just dealing with everyone’s Duffel bags; there were massive coolers packed to the brim. While the island had shops, hauling everything in ourselves was faster and cheaper. Although, I supposed the island did have a branch of the Naruse general store.
Meat, vegetables, juice—it was enough to feed eleven people for five days, and it still felt like it might not be enough. Then there were the tents, pool rings, and fishing gear.
The others returned from opening their rooms and joined the assembly line, ferrying supplies into the lobby and dining hall. The perishables went straight into the massive, humming refrigerator.
The final cooler was the one I’d brought. I needed to take that to the sea later.
”What’s in that one?” Mitsuki asked, eyeing the box.
”Hm? You want a peek?” I offered.
It was surprisingly heavy for its size. I showed Mitsuki the contents. Inside was seawater and a single clam.
”What? A clam? Is it alive?” she asked, blinking in confusion.
”Yep. I’ve been raising this one in my home tank,” I explained.
”Raising it? I thought you couldn’t keep bivalves in a tank. Is this some kind of high-end barbecue ingredient?”
”No, no. Not for eating. I brought it for another reason,” I clarified.
”If it’s not for eating, what’s it for?”
”That’s a secret. You’ll see later,” I teased.
I closed the lid and tucked the cooler away from the rest of the supplies. It was a gift from Asari’s father; I couldn’t risk Mitsuki’s Mother tossing it into the pot by mistake.
Mitsuki’s Mother also returned, so we started by assigning rooms.
There were five guest rooms and nine of us besides the Onigahara mother and daughter, so two people per room.
Risa and Yurina took one room. Yui and Yuu took another. Those two pairs were easy.
That left Chifumi and Asari in one room, and Manaka and Sawa in the last one.
Finally, I got a room to myself.
That was how we split up. I was told I could use the largest room at the very end, so I thought I’d relax for a bit—but then I realized I had a mountain of work to do. More than anything, I was starving.
We had left early this morning. It was past noon now. Lunch time.
”We’ll make it,” Chifumi declared.
”Leave it to us~” Manaka added with a cheerful grin.
Manaka and Chifumi, who were good at cooking, took charge of lunch, while the rest of the members cleaned their rooms. We hauled out vacuum cleaners, mops, rags, and buckets from the storage room. The water from the tap was cold; it was well water.
It seemed the villa hadn’t been used at all this year, so dust had gathered on the floor.
First, we pulled the futon out of the closet to air them out. It was a necessary step if we wanted to sleep comfortably tonight. We didn’t cut any corners. We vacuumed, then wiped the floors with tightly wrung-out rags. Cleaning a large room was hard work.
”It’s done~” Chifumi announced.
Just as I finished the bulk of the cleaning, Chifumi called out to us.
When I went to the dining hall, cold ramen was prepared. We were planning on a BBQ for dinner, so this was a light lunch. The dipping sauce was Chifumi’s special. It was as delicious as always.
Once everyone finished eating, Manaka, Chifumi, and Asari cleaned up. There was still work to do after lunch. There was the bath cleaning team and the grass-cutting team. Which one should I help…?
I ended up in the garden. I went down the stairs next to the lobby and opened the door, leading directly to the courtyard. The tools were in the shed next to the door. I took out work gloves and sickles, handing them out to the members in charge of mowing. I knew the ropes since I’d done this every year until last year.
There were five of us: me, Risa, Yurina, and the Futami sisters.
We had three people last year, so we had five now. Our combat power had nearly doubled. We made quick work of weeding the area needed for the evening BBQ, and sprayed chemicals on the other areas. The road the bus had taken from the gate to the entrance was covered in weeds. We sprayed along that path, too. My father’s special-made weed killer was incredibly effective.
We also pruned the overgrown garden trees.
Since Yurina was here this year, she used Severing Sorcery to slice through everything with ease.
”Yuri-rin, you’re amazing,” Yuu said, sounding deeply impressed.
It was satisfying to watch her just graze the rusted sickles and watch the weeds get trimmed perfectly. It was refreshing to see the bushy, overgrown hedges turn into sharp, linear shapes in the blink of an eye.
We gathered the cut grass and branches into one pile to incinerate them.
In the future, open-air burning might be banned due to dioxin concerns, but for now, there was no problem with using an incinerator. Actually, I felt like sorcerers burning trash was probably an exception to the rules anyway.
Once we finished mowing, we finally took a break. We had free time until dinner.
We immediately headed to the beach. We didn’t have enough time to swim now, anyway. Real beach play would be something to look forward to starting tomorrow. For a different purpose, I slung the cooler over my shoulder and headed for the sea. When I told Chifumi and the others in the lobby that I was going to the beach, it turned into a plan to show everyone the path to the sea, and in the end, everyone gathered. As we wandered along, Manaka and the others spotted us, and except for Mitsuki’s Mother, everyone followed us to the coast.
We went down the stairs, went outside, and cut through the garden we had just been in.
Following the stone-paved path from the edge of the garden, we reached a cliff. A stone staircase was maintained on the ten-meter-high cliff, and descending it led to a small beach.
This was the Onigahara family’s private beach.
”Whoa. This is amazing,” one of the girls breathed out.
”What a luxurious sight,” Risa remarked, sounding appreciative.
”It really is…” Asari agreed.
The three who had come here for the first time were surprised.
To the left and right were cliffs and rocks. It was impossible to reach this beach from along the coast. It truly felt like a secret beach. Basically, locals wouldn’t come here, either. Here, everyone could enjoy wearing whatever swimsuits they liked.
While everyone else moved to the water’s edge, I secured a suitable spot in the rocks. When I moved a stone, an arthropod scurried away—it looked like a centipede, but also like a woodlouse. It was the type of bug that lived near the sea. I’d brushed against it when I shoved my hand in there.
That wasn’t the poisonous type, I was pretty sure. Thanks to Hinoki, I had developed a tolerance for multi-legged creatures that the general public found disgusting.
I submerged the cooler, which had its lid slightly open, into the space where I’d moved the stone. I’d rigged it so seawater could flow in and out. I left the clam inside and let the whole thing sit in the seawater.
”What is that?” Manaka asked, tilting her head.
”Hm? Just… a kind of good luck charm,” I replied casually.
”…Is that so,” Manaka murmured, looking unconvinced.
I gave a vague answer to Manaka’s question.
I could have told her… but that would mean letting Manaka know my hand. Knowing her, she probably had a rough idea already, but showing her the answer clearly felt a bit awkward, you know?
Next, I used my sorcery to weave a makeshift barrier around the cooler. It would be a disaster if my precious clams were raided at this stage. I left Tempura behind as a sentry. The little shrimp-shaped familiar twitched his claws, signaling that he understood my intentions.
This beach was his birthplace, after all. A little freedom wouldn’t hurt.
The reason I brought the clams here is simple: this beach is a prime site for “kai-i (apparation)” phenomena to take root. There is a documented history of numerous semi-kai-i inhabiting this shoreline.
A “semi-kai-i” is any non-human creature that possesses mana and the potential to wield sorcery. For major creatures—dogs or birds, for instance—we usually employ terms like “magic hound” or “magic avian.” For minor species, however, “semi-kai-i” is the standard. Take Tempura, for example: a semi-kai-i shrimp is to a common shrimp what a sorcerer is to a plain-folk.
I captured Tempura here ten years ago. I broke his will and brought him under my command later that same year. Starting with him, I’ve discovered, subjugated, and bolstered my forces with semi-kai-i every year since. Doing that repeatedly, even I couldn’t help but notice the peculiarity of this place. I don’t know why, but this beach is uniquely conducive to semi-kai-i growth.
The clams provided by the Kasakura family are semi-kai-i. However, their current power level is insufficient for me to subjugate and utilize them. It’s not a lack of power on my part; the clams themselves are just… underdeveloped. Right now, they’re nothing more than bivalves. So, the plan is to leave them here and see if they flourish.
It’s an experimental move, and I don’t know if it’ll pay off. But it’s worth a shot.
Once everyone had their fill of the beach, we returned to the villa. Dinner time was approaching. While Mitsuki’s Mother prepared the meal, I took a moment to rest in my room.
”Nn…”
I must have drifted off. What time is it?
”Five o’clock.”
”Ah, I need to get moving… wait, what!?”
I bolted upright at the voice right beside me. As my vision cleared, I saw someone standing by my pillow. It was Yui.
”You awake?” Yui asked, her voice flat and neutral.
”Yeah. Thanks,” I replied.
”Whatever,” Yui said, turning away.
She spun around with such force that her short skirt fluttered, revealing her thighs. Her thick, meaty thighs above knee-high socks were impossible to miss.
”Everyone’s waiting,” she added.
As I sat up, she left the room without a hint of interest in my reaction. That kind of independent pacing is just like Yui.
When I stepped out into the courtyard, everyone was gathered. The BBQ had already begun.
For “plain-folk,” tasks like starting a fire are great opportunities to show off, but for a sorcerer, it’s trivial. With a basic ignition sorcery, I didn’t even need lighter fluid. My real role was the nuanced work of heat management. It was subtle, but crucial.
I stationed myself in front of the grill, diligently searing meat and vegetables to distribute among the group.
Chifumi offered to take over the fire, but I gently declined. What would I even talk about with Manaka and the others without her there? If anything, I wanted Chifumi to use this opportunity to clear away the ill-will Manaka and her friends harbored toward me. I suppose that makes me the peak of a “leave-it-to-someone-else” thinker.
As I replaced the grime-coated mesh and flipped a slab of meat on a fresh grate, the Futami sisters approached.
”Minoru-run~ are you eating?” Yuu chirped, her tone overflowing with bubbly energy.
”Yeah,” I replied.
”Is that so~ I want some meat, ya☆” Yuu declared with a flashy, exaggerated wink.
Just as I remembered, Yuu was high-energy as ever, while Yui remained quiet. I tossed some perfectly grilled meat onto their plates. The slightly charred bits were for me to dispose of.
”Thank you~☆” Yuu exclaimed.
”…Tasty,” Yui murmured quietly.
The twins polished off the meat in an instant. Sorcerers are essentially big eaters. After all, you need to eat to build up mass. Red meat, fat, offal—they ate everything. Vegetables too. Not so much for health, but for nutritional balance.
Among our childhood friends, these two originally had the least body fat after Chifumi. Once they got thin, they looked a bit scrawny by general standards. Even so, to me, they were still soft and plump.
Yuu wolfed down the meat with a wide mouth, while Yui nibbled hers slowly. That’s where the individual differences show. Seeing the flow of the conversation, I felt like I could probably talk to Yuu right now.
”How’s Shisei doing? Is it rough?” I asked.
”Nn~☆ Rough, you could say that. It’s a lot of things, ya☆” Yuu replied, punctuating her sentence with another wink.
”A lot of things, huh…” I mused.
”Yup. Kuga is a big name, so people pay a lot of attention, you know,” Yuu explained.
”I bet,” I agreed.
”Mana-mana’s been doing great work on all fronts~ I think you should ask her about it later☆” Yuu suggested.
”Manaka can do anything, after all,” I said.
”Truth,” Yuu chimed in.
Yui finished her meat as well. I replenished their supply.
”From your perspective, how has it been? Anything of note?” I asked the pair.
Yuu was chewing and couldn’t answer, so Yui replied with a single word.
”Lonely,” Yui said simply.
”Lonely?” I echoed.
”Ngu, well, yeah, Fumi isn’t here, and Minoru-run isn’t here either, so yeah. It’s lonely, just like that,” Yui muttered, her voice tinged with a faint, rustic rhythm.
The first part was her real intent; I was just an afterthought. Well, that’s to be expected… I’ll just be glad I’m not hated.
As we were talking, Asari and Mitsuki approached. Risa and the others joined in, too. Our childhood friends began regaling everyone with stories about the incident from two years ago. I continued grilling, offering nods and reactions at the right moments.
—
Summary:
The group arrives at the Onigahara villa on Onigashima island, transitioning from the harbor to the secluded private beach. They coordinate chores, clean the villa, prepare a light lunch, and organize the garden and private beach. The protagonist secretly hides a pet clam in a tidal pool, maintaining the mystery of his intentions.
Minoru sets up a magical barrier to protect his clams on the beach and leaves his familiar, Tempura, to guard them. After resting at the villa, he joins the group for a BBQ, where he interacts with the Futami twins. The scene ends with Minoru grilling for his childhood friends as they discuss past events.
—
Trivia:
- The Onigahara family villa includes a staircase to a private beach accessible only via a cliffside path.
- The group brought significant food supplies, including meat and vegetables, to avoid over-reliance on local island shops.
- Yurina possesses a magical skill called Severing Sorcery that allows her to prune hedges with precision.
- Minoru is keeping a secret clam in a cooler, which was a gift from Asari’s father.
- Minoru developed a high tolerance for multi-legged insects due to previous interactions involving the character Hinoki.
- The beach is a site where semi-kai-i are known to grow.
- Minoru has been collecting and subjugating semi-kai-i for ten years.
- Sorcerers need to consume high amounts of food to maintain their mass.
- Minoru is currently attempting to grow the clams by leaving them in the beach environment.
Notes:
• A – A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R’s high school squad.
• T – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• Mitsuki – Koki’s younger sister and a Shisei first-year, this Onigahara family member is an Onibara-style disciple and childhood friend known for her tsundere personality, poor cooking, and signature cut melon. Recently transformed into a tall, curvy beauty, she is a capable, direct member of the group who manages logistics and equipment while navigating complex ties between the Tatemiya and Onigashima clans.
• M – A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.
• S – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• Asari – A tall, long-haired first-year from the Kasakura lineage, this curvy, modest defensive sorcerer specializes in barriers like Silicic Armor. Formerly a Free Girl, she is a loyal, diet-conscious member of Minoru’s group who enjoys communal meals and training. Close to Mari and Nagase, she is known for her self-sacrifice, occasionally finding the Onigahara family lifestyle surprising or confusing.
• Onigahara – The family name of Mitsuki and Koki.
• Naruse – The family name of Risa.
• N – A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• R – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.
• Yurina – A refined, black-haired Plain-folk student and disciplined vanguard in Minoru’s group, this Kibe-born swordswoman wields high-precision blades capable of severing sorcery. Stoic yet prone to performance anxiety, the piano-talented childhood friend balances combat duties with simple tasks like hedge pruning. Close to Chifumi and Risa, she shows a voracious appetite and eagerness to learn while nearing her limits.
• Yuri – A cheerful and energetic first-year student at Higashi High who is a classmate of Shibuya and an acquaintance of Kibe Yurina from their middle school days. A girl known for being aggressive toward Hayato and displaying overt favoritism.
• Manaka – An elegant, artistic strategist with an aristocratic, god-like beauty and powerful sorcery, she radiates an ojou-sama aura. A former Tatemiya student and leader of the Initial Strong-Females, she is the group’s composed, analytical voice of reason. Though she and Minoru were childhood friends, their relationship became strained, and she now maintains an independent identity as a decisive leader.
• Minoru – A black-haired, pragmatic student and sorcerer reincarnated into a world of reversed beauty standards. As a tactical, possessive leader, he wields shock-based and creature-subjugation magic while navigating a dangerous training camp. Balancing his role as a caretaker and mob-like protagonist, he manages complex political and romantic dynamics with childhood friends, all while uncovering lost memories.
• Risa – A sharp-witted, high-energy childhood friend and member of Minoru’s group on the island trip. Despite her sorcerer heritage, she is a Plain-folk and a disciplined Onibara style practitioner. Though she initially acted harshly toward Minoru, she remains a central member of their friend group, actively assisting with camp labor and participating in all beach activities, independent of the guild.
• Yui – One of the Futami twins and a childhood friend to Minoru, she is a low-tension, observant girl known for her quiet, blunt personality and penchant for copying others. As a disciple of the Onibara style skilled in knife techniques and curse arts, she is a member of the Shisei group and an early social circle. She is recognizable by her short hair, white-dyed lock, and signature pink/black attire.
• Yuu – A girl who is one of the Futami twins, characterized by high-energy, bubbly speech and a penchant for meat. A member of the group who wears a striped, high-leg swimsuit. An older sister to Mai and member of the group. She is energetic enough to participate in beach activities before being caught in the sudden attack.
• Chifumi – Minoru’s 15-year-old childhood friend is a scrawny, long-haired frost/water mage and elite witch from a Sorcerer bloodline. A brilliant, bubbly, and sharp-witted facilitator, she manages the group’s communications, kitchen, and intimacy schedules. While devoted to Minoru, her airy charm masks an observant, suspicious nature as she probes secrets, maintains diplomatic ties, and leads as his scout.
• Sawa – A childhood friend of Minoru and an original Shisei group member, she is an IT-savvy, bespectacled gamer known for her pragmatic, self-reliant nature. Once heavy, she now has a voluptuous, curvy build. Despite her reserved, laid-back personality and disciple status in the Onibara style, she remains a supportive ally who participates in group chores and enjoys fishing away from the water.
• B – A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S’s group.
• Futami – The family name of twins, Yui and Yuu. Also their younger sister, Mai.
• Hinoki – A non-binary, centipede-type Great Apparition, this supernatural entity acts as Minoru’s chibi familiar, tactical advisor, and defender. Emerging from shadows to manipulate dungeon structures and provide expertise on ancient venom, they share a unique bond that allows them to communicate with anomalies. Their playful influence even helped Minoru overcome his fear of multi-legged creatures.
• K – A student from East Middle who followed N to National High School out of care, successfully remaining pure through N’s protection until a misunderstanding involving Anonymous Student 0008 led to her capitulation.
• Tempura – A shrimp-shaped semi-kai-i anomaly captured ten years ago, this crustacean-like entity serves as Minoru’s loyal familiar, sentry, and the core source of his shock sorcery. Subjugated and tamed, it manifests formidable power to generate destructive shockwaves. Despite its role as a lethal combat asset, the entity possesses a distinctively sharp, blunt, and comedic personality.
• Kasakura – The family name of Asari and her father.
• Shisei – An acquaintance involved in high-profile activities.
• Kuga – A family name associated with both Marin and Manaka, highlighting their shared familial identity and connections with others.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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