As more people returned with the supplies they had gathered, the seaside became lively again.
Mai and Kokichi Muta, who were responsible for surveying the terrain, led everyone to a flat area in the west-central part of the island.
Everyone quickly started working.
With the help of a function similar to construction systems in games, everyone built their houses very quickly.
Buildings of completely different styles began to appear in the residential area everyone had chosen.
"Alright, it's done."
Yuji wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at his creation with satisfaction.
This house was built entirely of stone.
The four sides of the house were made of off-white, bluish-gray stone, topped with a red roof.
However, one part seemed a bit strange.
That was, if one stood a little farther away, Yuji's roof looked more like a semicircle than a normal triangular roof.
"Emmmm..."
Nobara, hearing Yuji's voice, turned her head and stared at his house for a while, finding it increasingly familiar.
"How much do you really like hoodies and hoods? Why do you even put a 'hat' on a house?"
She narrowed her eyes at the somewhat strange-looking house for a while, then looked at Yuji, who was standing with his hands on his hips, admiring his masterpiece.
Nobara immediately realized why it looked familiar.
The shape of this house was exactly like Yuji's appearance when he wore a hood.
Nobara truly could not understand what aesthetic appeal a hood had that made Yuji unable to forget it no matter where he went.
"Doesn't it look good?"
Yuji said in a wronged tone.
"Where does it look good? It's as dull as you are."
Nobara said, crossing her arms.
"How mean! This is a personal attack, definitely a personal attack! I'd like to see what kind of house you can build."
Yuji jumped three meters high, landed beside Nobara, and glared at her angrily.
"Then open your eyes wide and admire this young lady's masterpiece."
Nobara dramatically tossed her hair, then gestured to draw Yuji's gaze to the house she had built.
"...Isn't this just Grandpa's old countryside courtyard?"
Yuji pointed at the house Nobara had built, speaking with disdain.
"Ha~"
Nobara let out an exaggerated sound.
"Is. Your. Head. Okay?"
Nobara pounded Yuji's chest with her small fists, roaring.
"But it really does look like my Grandpa's old countryside courtyard."
Behind Nobara was a common three-story villa found in the countryside, adorned with many fresh flowers around it.
"Can't you see the highly artistic stone statue? Can't you see the fountain inside? Can't you see this beautiful environment?!"
Nobara's finger moved constantly, pointing out every detail she had meticulously designed.
"Emmm..."
Yuji looked blankly at the things Nobara was pointing out.
"Are you sure this stone statue wasn't originally like this? Why isn't that fountain spraying water? As for the environment... isn't the countryside always like this?"
Although she loved beauty and had some knowledge of related fields, Nobara was, after all, just a small country girl who had not systematically studied art. This work perfectly demonstrated what it meant to try to draw a tiger and end up with a dog.
Snap.
Nobara felt as if a string in her head had snapped.
"Yuji!"
"Calm down, your house is very beautiful, the most beautiful here, really!"
"No questions, just die!"
The construction site once again turned into a lively two-person show.
"Those two, are they at it again?"
Megumi glanced at the two helplessly, then began to make a fire and cook.
"Megumi's classmates are all very energetic."
Toge, who had just finished building his house, came to Megumi's side.
"I'd prefer if they were more normal."
Megumi skillfully cut and prepared the fish in his hand with the ninja sword Maki had provided, then threw it into the pot to make fish soup.
"I actually think it's a bit strange that you're too normal, Megumi."
Toge smiled and sat next to Megumi, starting to help.
"Inumaki-senpai."
Megumi looked at Toge with a speechless expression.
"My bad, my bad. Speaking of which, is that the house you built?"
Toge looked at a cozy two-story house not far away.
The house was a common ordinary house in Japan, with a large tree inside its fence.
On the tree was a very large bird's nest, and below the tree were two dog kennels with wooden signs.
If one looked closely, behind the left side of the house was a small but deep pond and a hole whose purpose was unknown.
To the rear right were several trees, a nest that looked like a rock garden, and something resembling a cowshed.
This home could be described as small but complete.
"It's my home."
"Is that so? It's a very warm home."
Hearing Toge's words, a hint of happiness appeared in Megumi's eyes.
"Inumaki-senpai's home is a bit ordinary, though. I thought a jujutsu family's residence would be grander."
"That's actually a secret base from when we were kids. My friends and I would always sneak off to play in the secret base."
"That's truly incredible."
"Hm?"
"I'm talking about being able to communicate normally with you, Inumaki-senpai."
"I've wanted to say this for a long time. Calling me Inumaki-senpai is too formal. Just call me Toge."
"I understand, Toge."
Just as the two were busy with dinner, another person inserted himself between Yuji and Nobara.
"Brother, come to my house now and let's unleash our youth together!"
"Wait, Yuji is from Tokyo School! Why would he live at your place? And is that even a house? That's a gladiator arena! Are you some kind of barbarian who escaped from somewhere?!"
Nobara pointed at Todo's newly built Roman-style stone house.
Although it was not as open-air as a gladiator arena, through the openings that looked almost like doors, one could still see many of the internal layouts.
For example, a ping-pong table, a gym, and even a fighting ring.
"Yuji, don't go, you'll be chased by wild beasts."
Nobara grabbed Yuji's right hand, trying to pull him away.
"Don't ruin the bond between me and my brother, Kugisaki!"
Todo grabbed Yuji's left hand and started pulling with force.
In the past, ten Nobaras might not have been able to win a tug-of-war against Todo.
But now that both of their attributes had been initialized to 1...
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, I'm going to split apart!"
As the one being pulled, Yuji truly felt like he was going to split apart.
"How cute, Nishimiya."
Kasumi praised Momo's newly completed small Gothic castle with a strong witchy style.
"Hmph, this is a residence befitting my status."
Momo puffed out her chest, which showed nothing remarkable.
"Miwa, are you building a dojo?"
"Yes, it's my usual training dojo."
"What's that?"
Momo's attention was drawn to a strangely shaped, cyberpunk-style building.
"That's Kokichi Muta's... factory?"
Kasumi, who had intended to say "home," was also a bit unsure if this truly counted as a home.
Momo continued to look around and saw the last two buildings.
One was a Japanese-style old house built by Noritoshi with no distinctive features.
The other was a building that looked like a research institute, built jointly by Mai and Maki.
Maki and Mai planned to live together at night, so they only built one building.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)