As night fell, you, Chrome, and Senku were in charge of taking care of Gen again. Unfortunately, Chrome dozed off rather quickly, leaving you and Senku to deal with replacing Gen's 'bandages' once more.
The night was still, with only the flickering of small flames from the torch used to illuminate the storage room.
"If Gen's recovery is gonna take longer than we thought, it won't be long before Tsukasa comes around, looking for us." You shivered at the idea as you combined various herbs to make a fresh paste.
"He'll definitely kill us for real." Senku casually chimed in, "Well, there's no need to worry. I'm sure you have a plan in case it happens."
"Yeah, I do." You sighed heavily, "But the plan is going to be a pain in the ass."
"Nothing too difficult that you can't handle, right?"
"Wha- What do you mean by that?!"
"'Cause, y'know, you can do it all." He teased with a mischievous grin on his face.
Swiftly, you nudged him roughly, causing him to tumble sideways with a huge thud.
"OUCH?!" He groaned, massaging the area that hurt.
"You deserve that!" You laughed, sticking out your tongue, "You know that I can't do everything. I'm human after all."
"Still, I'm not wrong in saying that. You can literally be anything and go anywhere at this moment." He spoke, trying to get back into a sitting position, "You could go to America to find your grandpa right now, but you choose to stay."
"One, I'd be insane if I went alone. Two, do you really think I can build a boat that can withstand sea weather by myself!? Three, I'd be dead without anyone's help. Four, do you want me to continue?" You stared blankly at him, to which he reacted with a light laugh.
"Pfft- Yeah, I know. I'm just teasing you." Senku snickered before abruptly coming to a stop.
At the same time, you both exchanged a quick glance and noticed that a whisper had entered the cold air. Both of your gazes then rested on Gen, where his breathing appeared unsteady while he attempted to open his mouth to utter anything.
"What's wrong, Gen?" You gave a soft response, brushing his hair aside so you could see him clearly.
Knowing that the two of you are now paying attention to him, Gen soon mumbled softly, his voice sounded dry as hell, "E-Even in this Stone World... Could the two of you make o-one... for me? Just one.... c-cola."
"Hey, Gen! As a fresh start in our friendship, I offer you a cola!"
"A cola? Are you out of your mind?! I won't perform well because of it, (Name)-chan. What if, in the middle of an exchange, I burp?!"
"You want it or not? I'm not forcing."
"Ugh, fineeee! ...Thank you."
Your eyes widened when the unexpected memory flashed through your head, bringing it back to life like it was yesterday. Unconsciously, a faint smile tugged at your lips.
"Yeah, for sure." Senku stated firmly with a confident grin, looking up into your eyes, revealing a spark of determination and a sense of hope, "Nobody else can."
"This is the world's flimsy alliance, bound by a single bottle of cola. But, I'm sure it'll be worth it." You added, gently resting your palm on Gen's forehead.
"I'm gonna make it ice cold. Just for you, friend."
The following morning, Chrome suddenly shrieked in the storage room, causing you to scream as well, to the point where everyone was staring in shock at the storage room.
"HOLY SHIT! CHROME!" Your face turned pale, giving him the most vicious look possible, "Could you kindly wake me up nicely next time?!"
Undoubtedly, Chrome cowered back in fear before glancing over to the mat that was meant to have Gen on it.
"I'm not trying to wake you up, (Name)! G-Gen's not here!" Chrome responded frantically, already feeling the color drain from his face, "He vanished somehow!"
Oh.
You stared blankly at Chrome in disbelief.
He startled you for nothing? Great.
"It's obvious where he went. He went back to Tsukasa." You nonchalantly shrugged your shoulders.
"But, why? Why sneak out like that?" Chrome pondered as the two of you gradually climbed down the stairs.
You, of course, stumbled a little because you were still half sleeping from exhaustion.
Kohaku chimed, "I bet that rat's gonna snitch! He's gonna go and tell Tsukasa that (Name) and Senku are still alive! We have to catch that bastard, right now!"
Suika and Chrome both let out a startled gasp while you managed to laugh a little bit through dry throat.
"We can let him be for now, guys. Chill out, will ya?" You spoke in a husky tone, already tired from all the commotion this morning, "Look at it this way; If Gen really wasn't interested in science in the first place, he would never cooperate. He made up his mind about what side he was on the moment Sen and I made electricity."
"Guess your bet is correct, huh?" Senku then added, smirking, "He's still a completely superficial man to his core. So, he ran away to give us a show."
Kohaku just let out a heavy sigh, "You men are such a pain in the ass, no matter what era."
"Woah! So, Gen's gonna join the Kingdom of Science?!" Chrome spoke with surprise, as if the situation were too good to be true.
"Correct." You lightly smile, draping an arm around his shoulder, "Our first battle against the Tsukasa Empire — in the fight of our Asagiri Gen — the Kingdom of Science claims victory."
Suika exclaimed, joyfully leaping to her feet, "Gen's are definitely a good guy after all!"
Fortunately, you and Senku doesn't have any major problems to worry about at the moment other than preparing Ruri's medications.
"Alright, alright." Senku spoke up, causing everyone to stop talking and focus on him, "While Gen is busy smooth-talking old Tsukasa, the Science Team needs to start on our wonder drug."
"That means the Battle Team can get back to their training." You added before everyone began to do what they were supposed to do.
While you, Chrome, Suika, and Senku are going to talk about what to do next, Kohaku was back teaching Ginro and Kinro so they could defeat Magma and marry Ruri.
"What's next on our science journey?" Too excited for his own good, Chrome asked.
"Another fundamental component. One is as essential to civilization as iron." Senku responded seriously, "First material in history to be synthesized using science. We call it 'glass'."
"What's that?" Chrome and Suika tilted their heads, innocent smiles plastered on their lips.
You knew this was going to happen.
Thus, you explained happily, "Glass can stand up to just about any chemical. In fact, it wouldn't even have chemistry without it. It's a hard, brittle transparent noncrystalline solid which means you could observe the reactions inside. Though it's fragile, it's durable as hell."
"Seriously?! That's incredible!"
"To top it off, once glass is acquired, we might finally get the chance to get rid of that annoying melon so we can see what Great Detective Suika-sama really looks like." Senku added while he approached Suika slowly, an air of malice surrounding him.
Suika, on the other hand, was already shaking in fear.
"YOINK!"
Senku then abruptly removed the watermelon shell from Suika's head, causing Kohaku and Chrome to scream and gasp in horror.
"Stop, Senku! Suika doesn't want anybody to see her face!" Kohaku suddenly appeared beside you, snatching the watermelon shell from Senku's grip.
Chrome remained completely frightened by Senku's impolite behavior.
"I don't understand why not." You snicker before kneeling at Suika's height to have a closer look at her face, "She's adorable."
She had a short blonde bob cut and large, shining brown eyes. To be honest, she had a model-like appearance.
"My gosh, Suika!" Kohaku cooed, showering the little girl with praise, "You are just the most adorable little thing!"
Then, you four saw it.
Suika's face scrunched crazily as her eyes squinted, making her look like an old woman.
"WHAT IN THE HELL?!"
Chrome and Kohaku shrieked in fear. Hastily, you gripped their collars tightly and pulled them back with force.
"You do realize that your reaction will cause Suika a lot of insecurity, right?" You shook your head disappointingly, leading two of your friends to mutter a sincere apology.
But who could blame them? Suika's appearance undoubtedly a significant transition.
"There's something wrong with Suika's eyes. They got the fuzzy sickness." Suika spoke nervously while you returned the watermelon shell to her, "Everything looks fuzzy to me. So, when Suika tries really hard to see, Suika ends up looking like this and it's super embarrassing."
When she put the shell back on, she immediately regained her cheery demeanor, "But, when Suika put on my watermelon mask, it got a little bit easier to see for some reason!"
"Yeah. That's known as the 'pinhole effect'." You gave her a gentle head pat, "If you look at an object through a small hole, the light passing through it narrows and brings it into focus."
"So glass and the fuzzy sickness; Are they connected somehow?" Chrome once again inquired.
"Dude! They're like ten billion percent connected." Senku stared at him in disbelief before returning to Suika with a kind gaze and crouched down, "Here's the deal, Suika. You're near-sighted as hell."
"Oh..." Hearing such a thing reduced Suika's joyful mood. She believed that was a negative thing.
Why does she have to wear a mask when everyone else doesn't?
"It's not some kind of sickness nor a defect. There's nothing wrong with you." Smiling, you knelt back down too, "In the Modern World, this isn't a big deal at all. We have eyes of science, made out of glass; They are called 'glasses' and they help you see clearly."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah! They usually look like this." You then proceeded to connected your thumbs and index fingers to create circles before placing it in front of your eyes, "They're so common that even those who don't need them wear them to look fashionable. Oh, there's also a contact lens!"
Senku's gaze softened, witnessing your efforts to comfort Suika, 'You really are exhilarating.'
"Science users can actually make new eyes?" Suika's beautiful eyes were filled with tears as she gazed hopefully at the two of you, "That's amazing. If it's really possible, Suika would love to see all the beauty in the world, even just once. Suika wanna see everyone without the fuzziness. Suika wanna see the real you, just one time."
"Alright! I'm ready to do this!" Chrome let out an enthusiastic yell, "Let's make some of this glass!"
"Aw yeah! What materials do we need to gather?" Kohaku continued, raising both of her hands in the air.
Gazing at their eager mood, you somewhat felt proud, "Glass is mostly made out of silica or quartz sand. In Chrome's collection, there was one translucent rock, but it wasn't enough to make glass."
"Huh. That's an interesting information," Senku smirked, "Chrome, if you could show us where you found it, that might be the location where we can gather the sand."
The five of you immediately got ready to head to the location where Chrome had discovered it. After that, you teach everyone how to obtain the raw materials while Chrome took you all to the peak of a hill where a large amount of quartz sand was visible. Each time the ground was mined, the white grains would fall, filling your baskets to the brim.
Once you're back in the storage room, you all compress the quartz sand into even smaller grains, combine it with a variety of other materials, and then melt it; You use the same ingredients when you created soap — 10% roasted seaweed and 20% calcium carbonate from seashells.
The process had only taken a full day. However, because everything had to be precise, figuring out the ratio and how long to heat it took the longest.
"Look and behold, we have super-transparent crystal glass." Senku let everyone see the circular lense.
"Woooahhh!"
"It's all sparkly and see-through; Kinda like a piece of ice!"
"Or some sort of gem!"
The primitives were clearly amazed by it, but all you could do was smile at it wickedly.
"Ohohoho! Finally... After a long wait, I can finally build a microscope! MWAHAHAHAHA!!" You evilly cackled, "I CAN'T WAIT TO STUDY THOSE WATER PARTICL-!!"
To get you to halt right away, Senku just ruffled your hair until it was messy as hell, "You're scaring the others, devil. Plus, I'll make one for you."
"Nah. I don't want someone to do it for me." You softly pushed him away, "I wanna make it on my own. It'd be a lot more interesting, isn't it?"
"Whatever you say, boss." He raised both hands in the air as a sign of surrender before walking towards a tool the two of you constructed yesterday.
Suika hummed inquisitively, "So, what's this weird tool?"
Of course, Senku provided a quick explanation, "It'll polish the glass because doing it by hand would kill us."
"Ooo! I bet we could use that super incredible corundum stuff I've got for polishing it off." Chrome chimed in as he made his way up the storage room, "What do you think?"
"Glass has a Mohs hardness rating of about 6, corundum is 9." Senku gave a nod of approval, "So, it's perfect."
"Aw yeah!" Chrome beamed with pride now that he got it correctly, "It's gonna work like a charm!"
"Of course, the hardest one is diamond — a ten. That's why diamond weaponry are the most effective in Minecraft." You gave a thumbs up.
"Diamonds are crazy! That's freaking insane!" Chrome gasped in disbelief, but remained interested and excited.
"I know right!"
Unexpectedly, Kohaku tapped your shoulders, causing you to turn around in confusion.
"What's up, Kohaku?" Tilting your head slightly, you asked while Senku crossed his arms beside you in curiousness.
"(Name)!" She hastily cleared her throat, "I heard... you were an excellent martial artist."
"What? Who told you that?" You furrowed your eyebrows.
However, when you noticed Senku shifting anxiously, you instantly knew who told Kohaku such information.
"Nevermind, then." You sighed before offering a light smile, "Yeah, that's quite true. Why?"
"Is it going to disturb your schedule if I ask..."
"If you ask?"
"If I ask for a duel?"
Kohaku's face flushed as she spoke, since she had never asked someone to fight. She was always the strongest. But then, she met you.
She was curious.
You looked harmless, but your strength and stamina were gracefully developed.
To be honest, her request made your heart melt.
"Of course my schedule won't be disturbed. Sen and Chrome can keep everything under control." You snickered, nudging Senku playfully, "Right?"
"Yeah." Senku nudged back before softly pushing your back forward, "Now go. Show her what you got."
"There's no need to remind me."
Afterwards, you then strolled side by side with Kohaku to the training area.
"So, why all of a sudden?" You raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
Kohaku casually shrugged, "Because you stated that martial arts are not your thing. I doubt that. I have a hunch you'll be ridiculously good at it."
"I never said I'm skilled at it." You laughed a little until you eventually saw Kinro and Ginro, who were clearly confused as to why you were here.
"Why is (Name) here? Not that I complain." Ginro giggled, blush creeping across his cheeks.
Looking at such a reaction, all you could do was playfully roll your eyes. "I'm not here to watch you spar. I'm here to fight Kohaku in a duel."
"A duel?! With Kohaku?!"
It was now Ginro and Kinro who screamed in terror.
You vs Kohaku; They already know who will win! Without a doubt, Kohaku.
"You're gonna die, (Name)! Kohaku is basically a gorilla!" Ginro cried dramatically, wrapping his arms around your body to drag you away.
"Uhhhh... If you want to call her names, you should probably refrain from saying it in front of her, Ginro." You whispered uneasily.
Ginro was obviously confused by what you said, but when you pointed at Kohaku's irritated smile, Ginro began to bow down to her with respect.
"Sorry, ma'am."
Kinro could only scoff at his brother's foolishness. In order to give you enough room to spar, he effortlessly grabbed Ginro's collar and dragged him away.
"I'll let you two be." Kinro nodded his head while you gave him the same nod in return as a thank-you.
"Alright! Let's begin, shall we?" You mischievously grinned, picking up a stick from the ground while Kohaku already had one.
At this moment, Kohaku and you were on different sides, standing apart. You were considering whether to use your whole power or not.
Observing Kohaku's fighting style yesterday, it was evident that even if she was flexible, her movements were heavy.
So, you had made up your mind.
You will move in the exact opposite way to how she does.
After all, that is your specialty.
You take in information, environments, and movements with ease. You observed and copied everything as if you've been doing it your whole life.
"Let's begin!" Kohaku confidently shouted, running forward to aim at you.
She swerved right, slashing her stick downward. With ease, you took a quick stride to the left when the stick passed directly in front of your face.
Before Kohaku can do a follow-up, you tap her on the forehead with the back of the stick you were holding. Hurriedly, you turned to face her back and lightly struck Kohaku's neck with the stick.
Just when she was ready to strike, you moved through the gap between her legs and gave her a rapid tap on the back.
'Crap! She's unpredictable.' Kohaku cursed, hurriedly scanning the arena, 'She keeps moving rapidly, yet her moves are straightforward! If that's how it is, why can't I predict her next moves?!'
This time, Kohaku only knew you had limited space to move. Therefore, she used her stick to prevent you from striking her again.
Simply, you smirked, knowing exactly this was about to happen. You effortlessly rolled to the front and jumped up high with your back facing the ground, only to twist it in the air and attempt to pin Kohaku down.
However, Kohaku noticed this and shifted to the side, allowing you to land on the ground smoothly.
'Her motions are flowing flawlessly.' Kohaku sneered, 'Like water.'
Having no idea that you had already vanished from her view, she began to search for your appearance everywhere.
But she had no idea you were already behind her, abruptly bending both of her legs with a simple nudge.
That undoubtedly caused her to gasp and turn around, only to see you grinning menacingly as always.
"You're amazing." She gave out a breathless laugh, "You exceeded my expectations and your moves are amazingly precise."
"Thanks." You merely grinned before moving to the side when you saw Kohaku was ready to attack during that talk.
When she was going to raise her stick, you blocked it and twisted it around, causing her to push it back down while you pushed upwards.
In a single motion, Kohaku quickly pulled back the stick she was holding and was going to hit your head. Fortunately, though, you avoided it by quickly bending backwards, landing on the ground, and then rolling to the side.
"Until now, I couldn't grasp your movements, (Name). It's weird." Kohaku spoke, dashing in your direction and leaped to strike your abdomen.
But, you got back up and backed off a step, "Want a hint? Every time you think I won't strike, I strike."
As the sparring practice progresses, Kohaku finds herself settling into a rhythm, avoiding and striking rapidly, but she cannot feel the flow of the fight.
"No, that's not it." Kohaku shook her head and used her own stick to shove yours back, "How do you know if I feel like you won't attack at a certain time? Only a skilled fighters would have thought to do so or..."
Her eyes widened in realization before she leaped back like a cat, "Or you move with the flow of the situation."
"Or both."
Then, in the flash of an eye, she saw you in her back, delivering a brutal sidekick into her stomach before pushing your stick on her back.
"Kohaku!" Kinro and Ginro both shouted in surprise from a distance, amazed but afraid by the furious struggle that was taking place.
No one in the village has ever beaten Kohaku.
You didn't even give it your all and you still won.
'THAT. IS. SO. COOL!!'
Glancing sideways, you could see that although they were both anxious, their eyes were gleaming with enthusiasm.
Of course, you chuckled, delighted that they may now learn something from you.
But after giving yourself two seconds to catch your breath, you noticed that Kohaku had stopped striking and moving.
That worried you, so you approached her, wanting to ask her whether you had wounded her seriously.
But, when you looked up into her face, you noticed that happiness shone in her eyes with a lovely sparkle. Determination lit up her entire face, as though she had finally found what she had been searching for her entire life.
"I give up." She laid down and covered her eyes with her arm, grinning like a fool, "You really are impressive, (Name). I'm amazed that you kept those skills hidden."
"Like I said, I have no interest in martial arts anymore." You sighed, "When I first learnt it, I was young. I can confirm that the training was demanding."
"Why?" Kohaku tilted her head, "Such skills shouldn't be kept a secret."
"I'm not keeping it as a secret. I just hardly use it." You stared up at the sky, grimacing at a certain memory, "My entire family practiced at least one form of martial arts. It's the most important basic ability for every generation."
"Isn't that cool?"
"Yeah. But, I have to learn everything! It's completely unfair." You gave a bitter chuckle, "I never wanted to do physical activities, but they forced me. What's more shocking is that they never forced anything other than martial arts."
"You were still a kid, huh?" Kohaku asked quietly, noticing the sorrow in your eyes.
"They will go insane if I make one wrong move. It was also insanely stressful." Explaining further, you sat next to her before resting your chin on your arms, "Of course, as soon as they realized that they were making me do something I didn't want to, they quickly stopped pushing. But the memories still made me..."
"That must've been a bad memory." She gave you a soft back pat for comfort.
"Not really. When they stopped forcing, it was enjoyable!" You snickered, "I remember asking my uncle for more training!"
Unexpectedly, you heard the brothers engaging in a loud conversation, which abruptly cut off your conversation.
"That was so wild!" Ginro cheered from afar, speaking to his brother.
Kinro nodded, sweat pouring down his brow, "(Name) possesses amazing talents; Strong, flexible, and has endless stamina. She really is terrifying."
"Terrfying? Not at all! She's dangerous!" Ginro giggled heartily, as if he had discovered a new person to admire, "The way she dodged was incredibly elegant! And her strikes were spot on! She's amaaaazinggg!!"
Both you and Kohaku could only exchange anxious smiles.
The brothers can be very excited, huh?
When you turned around, you noticed Senku approaching you with Chrome and Suika, who was not wearing her watermelon shell. Rather, she took Senku's hand in order for him to lead her without it.
"Well, it's time for me to go back to the Science Team." You spoke up, standing up once again and brushing the dust from your clothes.
"Aww, already?" Kohaku looked up at you with a pout.
"Yeah. Good luck training those guys." You lightly pat her shoulders before walking towards Senku.
"You done?" Senku arched an eyebrow with his typical smirk. Chrome, on the other hand, eagerly inquired, "Who won?!"
"Me." Simply, you answered while patting Suika's head, who smiled at the warmth.
"Aw man!" Chrome pouted, staring to the side like an angry kid, "I should've come with you. I really want to see you spar with that gorilla..."
"(NAME)! SENKU! WHAT DID CHROME JUST SAY?!"
"Oops, time to run!"
Right there, all four of you fled in terror with Suika in your arms.
Chrome then takes you all to a vast field of bright yellow sunflowers, with Chalk following suit.
To put it simply, it was beautiful; The area was bathed in pure sunlight.
No surprise Chrome chose this location. Suika resembled a sunflower and spent a lot of time playing in this spot. How kind and adorable of him.
When you all came to a halt, you lowered Suika to the ground.
"Suika, I want you to look straight ahead of you and tell me what you see." Senku spoke next to you, his arms folded.
"I see sunflowers, of course." Suika answered sarcastically, "It's not like I can't see anything at all, y'know. I just have to try-"
Abruptly, Senku slipped the watermelon shell on her head, leading her to stop talking.
Suika gasped as she took in the breathtaking view in front of her; The green trees, the crystal blue sky, and the stunning golden sunflowers that were blowing in the wind.
She could even clearly see her dog, happily wagging his tail.
Not to mention, she was crying when she stared at you, Chrome, and Senku. It was obvious by the way she sounded that she was trying hard not to cry.
"It's alright, Suika." Gently, you stroke her back with a soft smile, "Let it all out."
"Senku, Chrome... You two look really cool!" Suika joyfully exclaimed, "And (Name), you look so pretty! Now I understand why both you and Senku are together."
"What?! We are not together!"
You and Senku both yelled out, shocked that people were still saying such things.
However, it did not stop your face from turning crimson or your heart from beating twice as quickly as before.
"They are in denial." Whispering, Chrome teasingly smirked while Suika giggled.
"The point of this invention is that now Suika's leveled up labor potential, that means we can actually put together a full chemistry set!" Senku viciously gazed up, picturing all of the glass objects he'd have.
You, on the other hand, said nothing. However, it's obvious from your smile that you have one thought; A microscope.
"Calling it labor potential is rude! Way to ruin the moment, guys." Chrome complained, pointing accusingly at the two of you.
[ GLASS ACQUIRED !! ]
After they came back and joined with Kohaku, Senku and Chrome began working on a glass chemistry set. After failing several times, they gave Kohaku a chance which lead to more failure.
"Oi, devil. Now it's your turn to try." Senku threw the stick at you, which you caught easily.
"I can't do it." Despite your complaints, you did try.
After an enormous amount of accuracy and patience, just when it was about to be perfectly shaped, Chrome suddenly stumbled over something and accidently pushed you forward. It caused you to unintentionally let go of the stick and waste even more glass work.
All five of you looked at it blankly.
"Kukuku! Hey, that's fine. This was our first try." Senku shrugged, "When I started making clay pots, it took months before they looked decent."
"It's not fine! We don't have months to get it right this time!" With increasing impatience, Chrome grumbled.
Kohaku unfortunately agree, "Ruri's health doesn't seem to be getting better. What if we gave (Name) another chance? She nearly did it, right?"
"I'm not some kinda glass craftsman." You folded your arms, "Sure, I got the skills and all, but my hands will fall off if I make the entire glass chemistry set."
"Craftsmen?" Chrome pondered before his eyes widened, "Hold on! Wait here! I'll be right back!"
He disappeared, leaving the others puzzled. However, ten minutes or so later, you could see him cross the bridge. He was dragging an old man tied with a rope.
The old man was really short and had a massive, white beard. His scalp was entirely bald and bushy, white brows covered both of his eyes. To be honest, with his large nose and slightly pointed ears, he looked a lot like a gnome.
You and Senku both stared at Chrome and the old man in bewilderment.
"Who the hell is that old fart?" Senku mumbled. Meanwhile, you stare at Chrome with terror, "Why the hell is this happening?"
"Oh, come on, old man Kaseki!" Chrome begged, clasping his hands together, "We're in desperate need of your crafting skills."
"Now is this really how you youngins ask for favors these days? 'Cause I'm not into this kinky roleplay stuff. I'm definitely not interested in being a part of any kind of sorcery!" Kaseki bellowed aggressively.
"Did he just say 'kinky roleplay'?!"
How the hell do they know what bondage is in the Stone World?
Chrome whined, "See? This is why I had to do things the hard way."
Suika then politely walked up to Kaseki and held up a lacquer bottle you had previously used, "Old man Kaseki, I forgot to bring your lacquer back to you. I'm sorry."
"Tell me. Were you the one who made that?" Senku pointed to a shield resting on Kohaku's back, "Her lacquered shield is amazing and you crafted it without iron tools and hardly any dyes to speak of?"
"Yep! That shield was a prize from the year that Kohaku's father — Kokuyo — became the champion of the Grand Bout." Immediately, Kaseki gladly clarified, "I went all-out when I made it. Gosh, that does take me back."
"Interesting. The handiwork on that shield is remarkable for this era." You hummed, guiding everyone back to where you were all attempting to make glass equipment.
"Yeah. I had a feeling there must be an expert craftsman behind it. But, I never expected it'd be a senile fossil." Senku spoke truthfully, "Did you make that awesome suspension bridge as well?"
"Yeah, I sure did." Kaseki grumbled, "And you had the nerve to pull the planks out. So, you can count me out on whatever bogus sorcery you-"
With a wicked grin that made your friends worry, you stepped aside to show Kaseki numerous ugly piles of glasses. Just as you would imagine, he jerked in disgust, disappointed when he saw such failure.
"Wait. What is this see-through stone work you've got?!" Kaseki was certainly intrigued.
You, Senku, and Chrome exchanged glances, each with a mischievous expression.
"We won't force you to help if you don't want to." Senku gave a sarcastic sneer, "So, just sit back and watch the show while we show you something great. In fact, I bet you're gonna be ten billion percent entertained."
"Interesting, isn't it?" You smirked while you watched Senku get back to action.
As the guys perform a horrible job, it's clear that Kaseki is eager to fix what went wrong in creating this. He was furious after witnessing those two works, yet he continued to analyze the material with fascination.
When it was your turn to make, everything went quite well at first, relieving Kaseki. Yet, you 'accidentally' ruined it, which made him cry in despair.
"Aghhh! I can't take it anymore! Boy! You got me real good, damn it!"
'Owh, shit-'
Suddenly, the only thing you could see next to you was an elderly man ripping off his shirt, revealing a remarkably muscular body beneath it.
Like, hella ripped.
"He's kindaaaa..." You trailed off, causing Senku to close your mouth with his palm.
And with that, he whispered quietly in your ear, "Shut your mouth, devil. Not the time."
You reddened instantly as you felt Senku's hot breath under your neck. Instinctively you moved away from him, trying not to show that your ears were burning hot at the moment.
"I'm just joking, you know?" You hastily dashed to stand next to Kohaku.
In the meantime, Kaseki confidently reached for the stick that Chrome was holding, used it to spin the material, and used his steady hands to create a beautiful ball of glass. Suika would assist him in cutting off the end with water, and he would use Senku's metal clackers to extend the flask's neck.
Watching him in action was fascinating. He moved quickly and effortlessly, it seemed so natural.
"Holy crap. That's nuts!" Chrome gaped in shock at Kaseki's creation, "You've never seen it before and you're like a glass-making master!"
"Kukuku! It's because he's got all of those years of crafting experience." Senku replied, pushing aside his surprise.
"I've been a craftsman for fifty years, believe it or not." Kaseki boasted, "In fact, son, I'm kind of a big deal."
"Sure you are with that bod." You whispered under your breath, still fascinated by the muscles.
Not because you're attracted to guys with massive muscles; It's only that he makes you remember those WWE fighters or some of the Manhwa's ML leads. Not to add that Kaseki is basically an ancient.
Senku soon glanced at Kaseki in complete awe, "There are people like him in every single era. People with true talent who've spent their whole lives with their heads down who are completely dedicated to their work."
"That sounds exactly like you — a space-obsessed maniac who has devoted his entire life to astronomy and science." You mockingly teased.
Like usual, Senku ruffled your hair until it gets messy with a smirk, "Take a look at yourself, ocean-obsessed maniac."
It really took you all a full day to complete everything once more, including the lab to place the glassware in.
You were too preoccupied with handing instructions and responding to inquiries from the primitives until you were too exhausted to work on your own projects or notice that Senku was giving Kaseki a rolled-up piece of homemade paper.
[ SCIENCE LAB ACQUIRED !! ]
The scientific lab was amazing; Its walls are lined with a variety of glass tubes, beakers, flasks, and pots, as well as components from Chrome's own collection.
There is a spotless, sleek table in the center. It will undoubtedly be overflowing with items and idea-filled papers in the future.
Gosh, you can't believe you've finally made it here.
Starting from zero to here felt like a long trip you could never conceive.
"Awesome!"
"Oh, wow!"
"Yeaaayyy!!"
The primitives all shouted enthusiastically, including you, who gave Kohaku and Chrome a high five.
On the other hand, Senku kept quiet but you knew he needed time to process everything. Like you, he felt proud of himself for achieving this point.
His head was overflowing with memories.
He remembers the first day he had his own laboratory in his room, and how thrilled you were for him. For two days he would not stop talking about it, telling you everything he had learned. Even though you knew what he was explaining, you were still interested in his conversation. After all, you were the one who helped Byakuya in finding enough money to purchase all of the necessary scientific equipment.
"Come on, Senku! What's the matter with you, man? We finally have a killer lab." Chrome piped up, "I thought you'd get excited."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Senku admired the sight, placing both hands on his hips, "At this point, we've reached the dawn of chemistry. Things are starting to get fancy here... or should I say interesting?"
He gave you a smirk before continuing, "Just look at all the attractions. It's gotta be ten billion times more fun than the Tsukasa Empire."
"Because the Kingdom of Science rules!"
Both Senku and you gave each other a proud fist bump.
"Man, this is really amazing, isn't it?" Chrome scratched the back of his head, amazed, "The Kingdom of Science is starting to turn into something."
"We've only made the bare essentials so far. We wouldn't get anywhere if we were missing a single one of these components." Senku turned around, observing his surroundings.
"So before the whole world collapsed, was the technology more incredible or what?"
"Yeah." Grinning, you rested your arms on Senku and Chrome's shoulders, "It took two million years for us to get there. Now, we're gonna catch up and surpass it!"
"Our next step is the sulfa drug. We're gonna make ourselves a cure-all."
→
After a few moments of discussing a plan, you noticed Kinro and Ginro approaching the laboratory from the corner of your eye.
"Hey, guuyyyyssss..." Ginro trailed off, blinking rapidly to reveal his incredibly dazzling eyes full with fake tears, "You know, with all this stuff you have now, you can totally make golden and silver spears for us. I-I mean, we totally need it for the Grand Bout and it'll help us improve our training!"
Senku leaned over to you, casting a skeptical glance at the guards, "I don't know anything about fighting but is it true that a golden spear and silver spear will help them beat Magma or is that just crap?"
Kohaku suddenly showed up behind him, shocking him slightly, "I'll put it in a way you'll understand. They ten billion percent only want a golden spear and a silver spear because they think that'll make them cool."
"Woahh! Would you look at all of this glass and this beautiful working area." Ginro wanders around the laboratory, "With this kind of stuff, a silver spear must be a snack to make. Taking down Magma would be easy peasy too!"
Both scientists paused and pondered before laughing evilly together.
"Kukuku! Yeah, good point. Now that we have glassware, we can finally brace ourselves to get the most difficult material to obtain in creating the cure-all drug." Senku stated, peering over his own supplies.
With a cunning smirk, you ran your fingers through your hair, "Alright. Let's break in this lab with a silver spear, but only the silver one."
Both boys were stunned, but in different ways; Kinro was slowly dying inside, but Ginro was as happy as ever.
Ginro giggled, thrilled with the news, "Oooohhh, I'm so sorry about that, Kinro! It's my way. I'm always everyone's favorite."
"You are in no way her favorite, you clown." Senku scoffed, "This mission is quite risky. It could literally cost you your life, Ginro."
"In search of the greatest treasure in the history of chemistry, a great adventure shall begin." You pointed firmly towards Ginro, "You'll have to risk your life in the ultimate danger zone where you might die on the spot!"
Ah, the joy you felt when Ginrou's smug expression faded to worry was fantastic.