Chapter 163

Having been put into a group with Waki and Hosoyama to go search for food, for the time being, I looked around .

The trees were so tall that the top couldn’t be seen, and each tree trunk was thick .

Even if the three of us spread out both our arms, we wouldn’t be able to encircle it .

The smallest tree was like that, so just how old was the largest tree .

They did well in growing up .

While I was thinking that, I marked the trees so that we knew which path we came from .

Waki released the animal that he tamed into the surroundings and asked it to search, and Hosoyama was looking in the grass to see if there was anything edible .

Should I be the guard in case something happened .

If there was something, I would be able to immediately respond .

Even so, I sensed ill will from the selection of people .

I’ve never been one to be talkative, but I’ve never spoken with Waki and Hosoyama before .

When I thought about it, I understood that I was grouped with those I barely interacted with .

It was Satou, so let’s think of it as him having his reasons for doing so .

「Oh! You got something?」

Waki patted the tamed animal that had fruit in its mouth .

The animal who was purring was unlike when it had first appeared, and it was quite attached to Waki .

For the tamed animal to be emotionally attached meant that, his level as an animal trainer had gone up quite a bit .

Most likely, Waki’s level for his occupation was the highest among us .

Waki was, seemingly, the one who was never thinking about anything, but in actuality, he was working hard unbeknownst to everyone else .

「Oi, Hosoyama too, come look . Is this a cherry?」

The fruit that Waki had received looked like a cherry, but it was about as big as a peach .

I peeked at Hosoyama .

The healer Hosoyama was sensitive towards hazardous substances like poison .

She wasn’t saying anything, did that mean that it was edible .

「This might be a cherry? Wait a sec . 」

Taking the fruit from Waki, Hosoyama put it in her mouth without hesitating .

「O, oi!」

Unlike Waki and I who were worried, Hosoyama was nonchalant .

I sighed a breath of relief when I saw that nothing happened .

「What were you doing! What would you do if it was poisonous!」

Waki raised his voice .

Certainly, Hosoyama was somewhat careless .

Seeing us like that, Hosoyama gave a huge grin .

「It’s fine . Healers have a skill that makes us impervious to poison . Although I say that, I had only acquired it just recently though . 」

In other words, Hosoyama was immune to poison, huh .

I felt like I could see hope within this survival lifestyle .

With this, when we meet up with the other group, if we had Hosoyama taste the food that they brought for poison, then it would be safe .

「I’m sorry for not telling you earlier . I don’t know how effective this skill was either unless I tested it out . 」

I trembled a little when I heard Hosoyama say that and laugh .

How should I say this, she had nerves of steel .

「For the time being, I will taste all the food that we find for poison . Also, this fruit that looks like a cherry tastes like a peach and is delicious . The skin is a little bitter, so it might be good to eat it after peeling it . 」

「Got it! Please take care of us, Hosoyama!」

As a result, thanks to Hosoyama’s poison tasting, our group was able to find quite a few edible fruits .

With this much, everyone would be able to eat until we’re eighty percent full .

「It’s almost time . Let’s go back!」

It was basically a straight path back, so we just had to turn around and go back .

Feeling pleased, I followed the marks on the trees and rushed back to the meeting place .

「…eh?」

Waki, who was walking in front, raised his voice .

The marks that I had made on the tree, after following them to the end, the slightly open rendezvous point that should’ve been there was no longer there .