"'Amazing." The girl said while staring at the pulleys then looked at the tree, "No, I'm not talking about that Archi-whoever's wisdom. I'm talking about your unwavering diligence in forcing yourself through every step until you solve a problem." [Y/n] and Senku looked at the girl. "My name is Kohaku. It seems I've taken quite the liking to you." The girl said to Senku.
[Y/n]'s eyes widened a bit. For some reason...[Y/n]'s heart hurt when she said that.
'I-Is she in love?' [Y/n] thought and placed her hand to her chest. It was tight. Like she was in a panic.
"I don't like what I just heard. We just met, and she's already in love? In this sense of emergency?" Senku questioned with his face twisting in disgust.
"I didn't say anything about that! I'm saying I like you as a person, so I'll cooperate with you!" Kohaku yelled, and [Y/n] sighed. A heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"Oh, I appreciate that, then. Nothing as illogical and trouble-prone as relationships." Senku said.
'Of course, he would say that.' [Y/n] thought and clutched her fist over her heart. It hurt more than what Kohaku said.
Soon, it was nightfall and Senku set up camp with [Y/n] and Kohaku. [Y/n] laid next to Senku, near a tree trunk. Senku looked at Kohaku, who was sleeping with her knives.
"What are you, a new species of hominid that sleeps with a sword?" Senku asked.
"It's because you started talking about relationships. I like the way you live, but I don't trust you two yet. I take care of myself, and this habit is a result of that. Don't take it personally." Kohaku said.
Senku rolled over to face [Y/n], who was sleeping next to him with Inosuke curled up at her waist. He wiped a single tear that was falling from her eye and moved her hair out of her face. It pained him to see how much [Y/n] has cried that day.
"I'm not enough of a hero to assault a lioness willy-nilly. Hurry and get some sleep." Senku said to Kohaku.
"Lioness?! I have feelings, too, you know! You live like a gentleman, but your foul mouth is of another dimension. I think I might accidentally kill you someday." Kohaku growled.
"Then go to sleep before you cause any accidents. I don't want to get killed twice in the same day." Senku said and his eyes softened at [Y/n]'s sleeping form.
'I don't think she could handle it either.' He thought.
"You're fighting against the long-haired man, aren't you? I'll help you. I can't just back down, either." Kohaku said, and Senku sat up and looked at her.
"Yeah. That's why we're making a nation of science. First of all, we need manpower." He said.
"So, you want allies. Then why don't you come with me?" Kohaku questioned as she stood up.
"You have more lion buddies, huh?" Senku asked.
"Yeah. I'm sure they'll be dependable allies. I know one man who'd be perfect. Allow me to guide you, Senku. Come with me." Kohaku said.
Senku looked down at [Y/n]. Her finger twitched. "If I go, [Y/n]'s coming with me. She's my partner in this." Senku said while placed his hand on hers.
"Partner? Is she your lover?" Kohaku asked, and Senku turned a bit red.
"No! She's helping me rebuild civilization!" Senku said and laid down with his hand holding [Y/n]'s.
'Civilization comes first. I just hope you'll wait for me, [Y/n]. Please.'
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
"Hot water?" [Y/n] questioned while hugging her baby boar.
"Yeah. I take it home to take a hot spring bath. For healing purposes." Kohaku said while collecting hot water in a large pot.
It was already morning, and Kohaku was leading the way to her village. [Y/n] and Senku looked at her in shock while Kohaku held the jug with ease.
"You look like a ten billion percent healthy kid to me. What use does a lively lioness like you have with any more healing?" Senku asked.
"I'm not a lioness! And it's not for me! It's for my sister!" Kohaku yelled then sighed, "Honestly...She's such a troublesome nuisance of an older sister. She's been especially sick lately. If only I could swap her body with my exceedingly healthy one..." Kohaku started to walk. Senku and [Y/n] followed.
"That jar looks like a little less than fifty liters. It's not quite enough for a bath. How many trips do you make with that heavy-ass jar?" Senku asked.
"Every single day..." [Y/n] muttered.
"Hmph! It's just part of my daily training. I'm a lot stronger thanks to it, though. I should be grateful to my nuisance sis-" Kohaku nearly tripped. Thankfully, Senku caught the jar before it tipped over.
"You haven't fully recovered yet, have you? I can't have you overexerting yourself and dying on me. Hand it over." Senku said.
"Senku..." It's not that [Y/n] didn't believe in him. She just knew the limitations of his body, and there was no way they were getting far with Senku carrying the jug of water.
They only walked a couple of meters before Senku collapsed.
"You're the one overexerting yourself." Kohaku said with a deadpanned look. [Y/n] covered her mouth to suppress a laugh while Inosukue squealed.
"Is everyone other than me in this stone world a gorilla? Kohaku, Tsukasa, Taiju..." Senku muttered.
"Gorilla?! At least call me a lioness! That was better!" Kohaku yelled.
"That's not the point here." Senku said.
[Y/n] had an idea. "Couldn't we make a cart out of the pulley system?" She suggested as she tied her long [h/c] haired in a ponytail, ready to get to work, and Senku looked at her in shock for a moment then smirked.
"That's exactly what I was thinking." He said.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
The cart drove at full speed down through the forest. [Y/n] held onto the jar that Kohaku was sitting on while Inosuke hid in her bag.
"I'm impressed that you both built such a useful thing so quickly." Kohaku said with excitement.
"It wasn't quick. We managed to use the pulleys as wheels. Civilization births civilizations. Applying developments is the basis of science." Senku said.
They approached a tree. "Turn right up there." Kohaku said, and the cart went out of control. Then it crashed. Kohaku caught the jar and landed on her feet while Senku and [Y/n] landed on their faces.
"Look, Senku, [Y/n]. There it is." Kohaku said, and the two geniuses looked up. Their eyes widened. It was a whole village. Senku helped [Y/n] up, and they look out towards the village.
"Welcome to my village." Kohaku said.
"How many people do you have here?" Senku asked.
"I don't remember how many retirees and children there are, but aside from them, I think there are exactly forty." Kohaku said.
"Forthy...?" [Y/n] muttered.
'Where did these people come from?' [Y/n] thought as she placed her hand on her neck. She ran her finger along the cracks in her skin from the petrification. They started at her cheekbones then ran her face, under her chin, down the sides of her neck and ran along her collarbone and stopped at her shoulders with a little swirl at the end. 'They don't seem to have signs of petrification...'
Soon, they made it to the bridge of the village. Suddenly, two figures came charging at them. Senku stood in front of [Y/n], but thankfully, Kohaku was there to block their attacks.
"Don't be violent, Kinro, Ginro. This man and woman saved my life." Kohaku said as [Y/n] hid behind Senku.
"You can't do that, Kohaku-chan. That's not good. Outsiders aren't allowed here. That's the rule. The chief's going to get angry with you." The blonde-haired boy said.
"It's a simple fact. Rules are rules." The man with a scar said.
He was the one that really scared [Y/n]. He was so serious.
"There are no people outside the village. All those outsides are criminals who were banished before." The blonde said.
"Therefore, I can't let you in. There's no room for consideration, even if they saved your save." The scarred man continued.
"Oh. You leave me no choice, then." Kohaku said and glared at them, "Shall we fight here and now? Oh, dear, it's two on one. You clearly have an advantage."
The two males seemed to be scared of her. Kohaku did have the strength to take both of them on at the same time.
Senku chuckled and walked over to the jar of warm water. He took some water in his hand. "You're so short-tempered. And you make such a nasty face." Senku said and rub the soap on his hand.
"Sorcery?" Kohaku questioned, and Senku pressed his thumb and pointer finger together and blew some bubbles.
The guards were shocked and a little confused. The man with the scar even tried to attack the bubbles.
"What is this? What are these suspicious floating orbs?"
[Y/n] gave a deadpanned look. 'They aren't very intelligent.' She thought. They instantly became way less intimidating.
"So that's the level you're at, huh?" Senku sneered with a deadpanned look then he chuckled with an evil look, "I guess we're taking all of this, then. I'm going to get all forty of you on our side with science. This is exhilarating."
[Y/n] took a step back from him and hid behind Kohaku.
"You make such a nasty face. That's pretty sketchy, you know." Kohaku said with a deadpanned look while [Y/n] nodded.
"Hey, Chrome, it's sorcery!" The blonde guard yelled while running around.
"Quit freaking out, Ginro. I'm already here. I saw these from the coast. I'd be crazy not to come here right away." The man, named Chrome, said and straightened his headpiece. "Hey. I'm Chrome. I'm an insanely smart, genius sorcerer!"
[Y/n] walked from behind Kohaku to get a better look at Chrome, but naturally, she ended up right next to Senku once again.
"Looks like we won't have to go find him, Senku. This is the man I told you about yesterday." Kohaku said while Senku looked with a bored expression.
"A sorcerer, huh? I'm Senku. I'm a scientist." Senku said.
"I'm [Y/n], a scientist as well." [Y/n] said.
"Don't let him scare you with his cheap sorcery, Kinro, Ginro! You can make plenty of this stuff from coal studs." Chrome said while popping bubbles.
[Y/n] was a bit intrigued, wanting to see how far his knowledge went. She could tell that Senku was thinking the same.
"I wasn't scared. You're a fool if you aren't cautious of the unknown." Kinro said while Ginro nervously smiled.
"I was pretty scared." Ginro said.
"Why are you here, Chrome? I have no interest in relying on your dubious, so-called 'sorcery'." Kinro said.
"I don't care. Do as you like. But this is one thing I'm not backing down on. No one beats me in sorcery!" Chrome said and threw off his cape, "Don't get in my way, guys. If we fight here, the villagers could get caught up in it. Let's move somewhere else."
Chrome led the way.
They came to a small hut. Chrome laughed, manically, as he started a fire. [Y/n] stared blankly while Senku had a deadpanned look.
"Check out my badass sorcery! Rainbow Bridge! I am the master of flames." Chrome shouted and threw something in the flames. It turned the flames yellow.
"The fire turned yellow?! How?!" Ginro yelled, and it changed again.
"It changed. To a greenish-blue?" Then it changed to purple.
"Purple?!"
[Y/n] was far from impressed. 'It was like the basic flame test Senku and I did in elementary.' [Y/n] thought.
"Rainbow bridge, my ass." Senku said as he stood up from his seated position, "It's just a flame test reaction. You threw salt, copper, and sulfur in that order. What's the copper? Copper sulfate or something?" Senku questioned.
"Is it the blue crystals you picked up in the cave?" [Y/n] asked.
Chrome stared at them in shock and started to sweat nervously.
"He's sweating..." [Y/n] muttered while pointing at Chrome.
"Oh! You'd better not be thinking that these cheap tricks are the only sorcery I've got!" Chrome said, nervously, "Just wait a minute!" He rushed into his hunt. "I'm going to show you something that can actually be weaponized! This one's legit, trust me!" He continued to yell.
"He went to get something." Ginro said.
"Is that why he wanted to relocate?" Kinro questioned.
"So he needed his tools." Kohaku muttered.
Chrome came out with a ball of sulfur. He roughly rubbed on it and walked over to Ginro. Chrome poked him on the nose sending electricity to Ginro. Ginro screamed and backed away.
"What was that attack?!" Ginro yelled. Senku grabbed the ball, so he and [Y/n] could get a closer look at it.
"A ball of sulfur, huh? You put the sulfur you threw on the fire earlier into a pot and melted it down with heat. Once it cools and hardens, you crack the outer layer, and you're done. That's a crazy way to make one of these." Senku explained.
"A sulfur ball static generator, a 17th-century invention. Incredible." [Y/n] said.
"You're exhilarating, Chrome, you know that?" Senku said and took the flag off of his stick, "Rubbing it with leather instead of your hands will give you ten billion times more power. This is our flag of science."
Senku rubbed the flag on the ball of sulfur then touched Chrome, shocking him with strong electricity.
"His head's all spiky!" Ginro said.
"It was spiky before, though." Kohaku commented, "How does that work?" She asked Senku, and he tossed it to her.
Senku chuckled. "What is this, a kid's science experiment class? Such primitive..." Senku muttered to [Y/n], and she nodded.
"But...he's making science without knowing it... history always repeats itself. Whether Tsukasa-san likes it or not, science is going to make its return." [Y/n] muttered.
Senku looked up at Chrome's hut. "Chrome, did you think all this up by yourself in this primitive village? You gathered all these potentially useful minerals and scientific materials in that shed by yourself?" Senku asked.
"Yeah, that's right. That's a problem? Kids collect everything. They smash things together, mix them, burn them...And if something crazy happens, that's sorcery. What else could it be?" Chrome questioned.
Senku turned and walked closer to Chrome with a smirk on his face. "Chrome, the way things are going, you're ten billion percent one of the people Tsukasa is going to kill. Your only choice is to join our kingdom of science." Senku said.
"Tsukasa? What are you talking about?" Chrome questioned while Senku took it upon himself to climb into Chrome's hut.
"I'd love to have you and this entire shed of science in our kingdom." Senku said with an evil laugh.
"You're not getting it, jerk! Get down! I challenge you to one last fight, then! It's a duel. If you lose, you and that woman will grovel and leave the village for good. If you win, I'll give you everything, shed and all." Chrome said.
[Y/n] yawned. She was getting bored of this.
"Challenge?" Senku questioned.
"I'll show you some insane sorcery. I've never lost in my own life. Arithmetic! Fight me in a battle of numbers!" Chrome announced.
"I'm pretty sure Senku and [Y/n] are going to go undefeated." Kohaku said, and Chrome fell to his knees defeated.
[Y/n] and Senku entered the shed, and their expressions brightened. They look like kids in a candy store.
"Incredible!" [Y/n] cheered.
"How many years did it take you to find all this stuff, dude?" Senku asked
Chrome with stars in his eyes. "See that? It's awesome, isn't it? You may have wrecked me in sorcery and arithmet- I mean, I was off my game today anyway...But my collection is the best there is!" Chrome said.
"Malachite! Chalanthine! Corundum!" Senku listed.
"Galena!" [Y/n] cheered with hearts in her eyes.
"Lead acquired!" Senku cheered.
"That one's crazy shiny when you break it." Chrome said.
"You even have cinnabar!" Senku yelled while [Y/n] looked at it in awe.
Senku took it outside, and Chrome smashed it to pieces. Senku put the pieces into a jar that was over a campfire.
"Cinnabar. Also known as the philosopher's stone. It showed up in Dragon Quest, too. Heat it up, and you get mercury." Senku explained.
"There they go again with their weird sorcery." Ginro said, nervously.
"Do as you like outside the village. But take so much as a step over this bridge, and I'll kill you. Rules are rules." Kinro grumbled.
Senku and [Y/n] looked at each other, having the same idea. "Melt some gold dust into the mercury, and..."
[Y/n] walked over and grabbed Kinro's hand. He blushed as she led him to the pot. Senku dipped Kinro's spear into the mixture and held it over the fire.
"Don't inhale the smoke." Senku said with a dark look, " It'll kill you."
The spear turned golden. "And now you have a shiny golden spear." Senku finished, leaving them Kinro, Ginro, and Chrome in shock.
"What good will this sorcery do?" Kinro asked. Senku chuckled.
"It's not good for jack." Senku said.
"But you're Kinro, correct? A golden spear is perfect for you." [Y/n] said.
"I hope you aren't trying to buy me off with this nonsense." Kinro said with a glared.
[Y/n] hid behind Senku. "Nuts." Senku muttered.
"That won't work on Kinro. All he ever says is that rules are rules. He's super stiff." Chrome said.
"That's right. Rules are rules. Though I don't see the need to remove it, either." Kinro said as he walked away.
[Y/n], Chrome and Senku smiled in victory.
"He just needs one more push!" Senku said.
"A-Are there any silver spears?" Ginro questioned. Senku, Chrome and [Y/n] headed back to the shed.
"You're like one of those people who spend all their time collecting minerals in Monster Hunter." Senku asked, but Chrome didn't understand.
"Mon...Hun?"
"They don't understand video game references, Senku." [Y/n] said.
"You have plants, too?" Senku said as they entered the shed.
"Felworts, sweetroot, cranker root...They're all useful for making traditional medicine." [Y/n] muttered with a twinkle in her eyes.
"They're all drugs." Senku said.
"Yeah." Chrome said with a sad look, "I have no idea if they work or not, though. I've been trying them on my own body and collecting the ones that are good. It'll collect anything if it'll make Rui better. That's why I became a sorcerer." Chrome said.
[Y/n] eyes softened. 'He's putting his life in danger in order to save her.' She thought. "Is this Rui person extremely ill?" She asked.
Chrome nodded. "I have no clue what it could be. Is there any sorcery that can save Rui? No science?" Chrome questioned.
"It depends on her symptoms." [Y/n] said.
"But in this stone world..." Senku said and paused, "Chrome, I should tell you everything. Everything that happened 3,700 years ago. About the world before the collapse." Senku continued while [Y/n] nodded.
They sat down around the little light in the shed. Senku and [Y/n] explained everything. From technology to vehicles to artificial life and limbs. To the day everyone turned to stone. They noticed Chrome in tears.
"Why are you bawling all of a sudden? What's up with your emotions?" Senku questioned as [Y/n] reached into her bag, careful not to wake her pet and grabbed a piece of cloth.
"Don't cry, Chrome." [Y/n] said and wiped Chrome's tears.
"I'm not crying! Wait, damn it! I am! Who caused the petrification? If I ever see them, I'll kill them! How could we lose this? Our human predecessors spent two million years slowly building this crazy, technological civilization, and it was wiped out in the blink of an eye?! I'm pissed as hell!" Chrome yelled, and Senku smirked.
"It's not wiped out, idiot. The whole thing's right here." Senku said.
"Where?" Chrome questioned.
"Humanity isn't defeated so easily." [Y/n] said.
"Two million years of human history..." Senku said and pointed at his and [Y/n]'s head, "...is right here inside us."
[Y/n] pointed at Chrome's chest. "And inside of you as well." She said.
"Senku, [Y/n], I'm going to build this nation of science with you. And I'm going to defeat Ruri's sickness!" Chrome announced and stood up, "So tell me. Didn't you say earlier that there's a scientific way to save Ruri?!" Chrome asked, and Senku smirked.
"Yeah. We're making the ultimate medicine of science..." Senku said.
"The antibiotic." [Y/n] finished.