On the following Sunday, Shirou and his three companions, having arranged it beforehand with Touka Toudou, waited for their arrival at the school gate. After a brief wait, a van driven by Raid Tsukishiro appeared before the four.
"Good morning, Touka-senpai!"
"Good morning, all four of you. Thank you for your help."
Looking at the four standing before her, Touka Toudou couldn't help but feel touched. After all, this kind of mission required a certain level of strength, and those with the strength to help them were not easy to find on short notice. The appearance of Shirou and his three companions was a godsend. Especially the siblings Ikki and Shizuku, who, having just gone through such a battle, were still willing to come and help them, which truly made Touka Toudou grateful.
"Everyone, don't call me Touka-senpai, just call me Touka!"
"Understood, Touka-senpai!"
"You don't need to add 'senpai'!"
"No, it's a sign of respect!" In the lively, noisy atmosphere of the group, the eight people boarded the surprisingly spacious vehicle and drove towards Okutama.
In the car, the group discussed animatedly. Even Shizuku, who had been a bit silent at first, later integrated into the atmosphere and no longer had a cold expression.
"Touka-senpai, regarding yesterday's battle, I'm completely convinced. I'm not your opponent yet, but I won't give up. I'll train hard to surpass you." Hearing Shizuku's declaration, Touka Toudou replied with a smile, "That's exactly what I want to see. Your continuous improvement in strength is the greatest comfort to me!"
As the student council president of Hagun Academy, Touka Toudou constantly wished to bring back the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival championship for Hagun Academy. But this was truly difficult for her. After all, the previous Seven Stars Sword King had a certain counter to her. Until she found a way to break through his offense, she wouldn't be able to win the championship. But these juniors in front of her were their hope. After all, their strength was much greater than Touka Toudou's when she was a first-year!
"If my existence can motivate you all, that would be for the best!" Touka Toudou said seriously, looking at the four. Inspired by Touka Toudou's words, the fighting spirit in Shizuku's eyes was fiercely ignited. Thus, the atmosphere in the car became even livelier.
And so, amidst laughter and chatter, everyone arrived at Hagun Academy's training camp located deep in the mountains of Okutama. The purpose was to confirm the existence of the monster of Okutama, the legendary giant. However, the training camp's area included several hills and forests, and the terrain was very rugged. Even for Blazers, searching such a large area with only eight people was not an easy task. Therefore, everyone decided to fill their stomachs first, replenish their energy, and then set off.
"In that case, Raid Tsukishiro-senpai and I will go to the administrator to learn about the situation. The rest of you prepare the food!" Shirou, who had finally gone out and didn't want to cook again, proactively offered to gather information. Seeing this, Touka Toudou naturally agreed to Shirou's request. And so, the group split into two, each heading to their respective destinations!
Shirou and Raid Tsukishiro, having left the main group and gone to the administrator, did not get any useful information from the administrator. Everything was the same as the information Shirou and the others had obtained from the student council.
"It seems the local administrators haven't had any better luck lately!" After coming out from the administrator's office, Shirou couldn't help but sigh. Shirou was truly unclear about this incident, as he was an anime viewer, not a light novel reader. Even much of his knowledge came from fan fiction. Therefore, in terms of information, Shirou's knowledge was scattered.
Moreover, after his experience in the DanMachi world, Shirou no longer held a superstitious attitude towards so-called past life knowledge. Whether it was the anime team's omissions or the butterfly effect he caused, in short, many things could only be used as references now.
"Since there's no information, let's go back then, Raid Tsukishiro-senpai!"
"As expected!" Listening to the archaic words that came out of Raid Tsukishiro's mouth, Shirou nodded and led him towards the pre-arranged location.
When the two of them returned to the agreed location, curry rice, with Touka Toudou as the main chef and Ikki as her assistant, was already prepared.
"Everyone, time to eat!"
"It seems we came back just in time!" Seeing Shirou return, Touka Toudou, who had finished cooking, quickly asked, "Any new information?"
"Very unfortunately, no!" Shirou shook his head. Although Touka Toudou was a bit dejected at this, she quickly recovered. "Since there's no new information, then we'll proceed as planned and split up!"
"That's the only way!" While Shirou and Touka Toudou were talking, the others who had been playing nearby also gathered around. Looking at Stella holding a badminton racket, Shirou asked with a smile, "How was it, Stella? Did you have fun?"
"Although I lost to Koishiro-chan, I had a lot of fun!"
Raising her badminton racket, Stella said with a smile.
"Then what about Shizuku? Are you satisfied with the scenery here?" Ikki, seeing this, also asked Shizuku.
"The scenery here is quite nice, very suitable for a stroll!"
While Touka Toudou and Ikki were cooking, Shizuku had walked around nearby, relaxing her mind.
"That's good!" Looking at Shizuku, whose face was smiling and who was clearly happy, Ikki said with a smile, "Then get ready, we're about to eat!"
"Oh, time to eat!" Amidst Koishiro Tatsumaru's cheers, everyone took their respective lunches and began to eat.
Lunch was curry with garlic rice. It was said that this curry was a dish that Touka Toudou, Mitou Fuyuma, and Kidouin Kanata had tirelessly researched and failed at repeatedly when they were still living in Wakaba House, wanting to make an inexpensive dish to make everyone happy.
First, Touka Toudou's homemade curry paste, brought in a sealed container, was simmered with beef tendon, allowing the essence of the beef tendon to fully dissolve into the curry. Paired with fragrant garlic rice, there was no way it could taste bad. Even Shirou, as a culinary expert, praised Touka Toudou's cooking after tasting it.
He didn't know about other dishes, but for this one,
Touka Toudou had truly perfected it.
Finally, after everyone finished lunch and had mostly digested it, Touka Toudou divided them into groups for the search. Even for Blazers, wandering alone in the mountains was very dangerous. But with limited manpower, Touka Toudou, who was familiar with the area, decided to go alone. The group was divided into four teams: Touka Toudou by herself, Raid Tsukishiro and Koishiro Tatsumaru together, Shizuku and Stella together, and Shirou and Ikki together.
To be safe, only Mitou Fuyuma remained at the base, which was the training camp facility. And so, the group finally began their mountain search. The goal, of course, was to find and capture the giant. And so, this forest expedition began.
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--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter