24th Shot: Scent of Black Jewel

New project after another–it becomes a routine for the Kingdom of Science, especially for Senku. With more people on board and more materials they could gather, more things from the previous modern time they could build from scratch–each slowly becoming more complex, but also finished quicker than ever. Manpower sure had an enormous impact in this matter.

Having technologies from their modern world surely helped immensely–they could shorten the time of work with machinery's assistance and not fully relying on pure human power so it's possible to accommodate it to a more important aspect. Machinery led them to take five steps faster than the previous one step each time. That applies to how currently the sky survey team made a good use of the camera Senku assembled–taking as many pictures as they could of the landscape below. If they have archives about the topography, taking off to the sky every day is no longer necessary.

That's if you're the part of sky survey team, it's another thing if you're a ground survey team member.

Nothing seemed to change for the other team as they still browsing the ground by foot–exploring the surface of the earth to obtain more detailed information that could be drawn upon the map. Speaking of the new world map, up until now Senku was still in process of upgrading it as they speak knowing more thing they managed to discover via throughout scoping.

It explained Ukyo, Shinko, and Chrome's condition every day of the month–rising extremely early even before the sun fully draped its warm golden glow upon the world, automatically masking hasty preparation before finally marched away from the village in order to study more areas according to Senku's instruction.

Ukyo huffed as he finally made it on top of a slope, deeming himself as the first one who stepped upon–their communication device was hanging heavily on his shoulders. To be honest, it's not that heavy, however, if you have to bring it along while journeying mile after mile it's bound to be tiring because you're giving yourself extra weight. Following right behind him were Shinko and Chrome, who're already drained dry off energy.

Chrome practically fell to the ground and decided to not give any sort of thinking if it's dirty or not, while Shinko immediately sat down upon the dirt, plopping the other bag full of supplies with a thump by her side. Ukyo was trained to be fit–as a part of military (previously), if you didn't have much more strength than civilians then you're as good as dead in the field. Grueling training session after session he pulled through, without a doubt he achieved stamina above average. Meanwhile, Chrome is just an ordinary villager and Shinko was a Japanese Archery Athlete–the two didn't have special exercise nor heavy non-stop training as 24/7 meal like he did.

"I guess we can rest here," Ukyo smiled, couldn't help but sympathizing with his team running out of energy from the intense walking for hours.

"Thank heavens!" Chrome rasped, turning over so he could lay on his back properly. Wiping the sweat running down his temple with his arm, the brunette basked on the breeze which flew by–without a doubt it helped him cool down a little. "I think my arms and legs are gonna fall off."

"Even after a year of patrolling, this is too much," Shinko sighed, fanning herself with her hand–there's nothing lying around to be used as fan, so she was forced to be satisfied with what exist. "And a month passed as a ground survey team, I thought I'm already used to this."

She was correct about the probable time they're currently in–ever since their discovery of the oldest camera of humanity, it's been a few weeks at top. Senku did make a good use of the invention to capture aerial photography in order to locate the oil field easier, however they're still not even close to really pin down where the place is. He and Ryusui have been staring at mountains of photograph from afternoon until the next dawn before collapsed from sleep-deprived and red eyes.

At the same moment, ground survey team has been exploring to the furthest route Senku requested–the three of them have been covering even bigger area in these few weeks, and it seemed to increase every time they filed a report. Despite having to found rather helpful resources and increasing the width of their map, it's beginning to feel hopeless at the same time.

Their main goal is the oil field and until they find it, the Kingdom of Science couldn't take another step forward to build a sufficient ship to travel across the globe. To search for the source of petrification, they need to get their hands on the most efficient fuel in the world.

And if the sky survey team, who has a clear bird-eye's view couldn't even take a glimpse of the field, the slimmer the probability ground survey team has. So far, the journey didn't bring them any satisfactory results.

"But, I think we should move to a cooler place," Ukyo suggested, pointing at a vacant place under thick shade of a huge tree not far from their place. Reluctantly, both Shinko and Chrome rose from the ground–walking sluggishly to approach the place.

"For once, I wish for a break," Shinko muttered underneath her breath, proceeding to lay down upon the carpet of grass–Ukyo didn't stop her because he knew it's more comfortable than lying down on a rocky ground. "Maybe a day or two…"

Snorting harmlessly, the ex-sonarman placed their communication device leaning against the tree then he scooted closer towards the young woman–sitting beside her head. Reaching out, Ukyo placed his hand on her head and responding almost immediately, Shinko nuzzled into his palm much like a house-cat. In return, she grabbed his hand and intertwined it with hers–Ukyo didn't mind, in fact he was enjoying the simple contact shared between them.

Having her hand in his makes his heart flutter without fail–it doesn't need a grand gesture, little things like this gave him comfort. Is he touch starved? He could be? Is this a part of his still lingering separation anxiety? That also could be. But Ukyo didn't even bother to distinguish which is which–knowing Shinko would go to reach out for his hand without hesitation is enough.

For a moment, everything was at peace–nature's magnificent music of rustling leaves and slight howl of the wind accompanied them. The young man inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly, trying to ingrained every last bit of the current moment.

Then, sound of snores came by unexpectedly–Ukyo and Shinko looked over, noticing Chrome was already slumped and snoozing away his tiredness. It seemed the exhaustion caught up to him until sleep became unavoidable. Shinko was snickering underneath her palm as she tried to hold series of laugh threatening to spill–which made Ukyo reminded her sternly to not wake the brunette up with a look.

In return, she snorted harmlessly and Ukyo knew she understood–they didn't need words to communicate sometimes, only a lingering stare would suffice the silent message they tried to convey to each other.

At times like this, Ukyo let his mind fleeting away–it's not every day you got a chance to just sit down in silence and basking on nature's blessing. He thought about how it was both simple and difficult to live in a world ruled by wilderness, about so much thing to feel grateful and a little part being resentful of fate, about the green light of feeling satisfied with what he's doing or should he be a little bit pushier.

"Ah, your thoughts are so loud, Ukyo-san," the young man looked down, teal eyes clashing with a pair of tired purple-colored ones. "It's okay to just not think about anything once in a while, you know? Go with what life has set out for you today, though we do have to start thinking the next day."

"What? Are you a mind reader now?" Ukyo joked for a bit, however he knew Shinko was correct and he took it to heart. Having nothing to think of in just a few minutes isn't a crime, separating yourself from reality for a few seconds isn't a sin, and besides, it's better than constantly worrying about the series of 'what if's for the future.

"No, I'm just someone who knows you a little more than any other," scoffing playfully, the young woman then started playing with his fingers–swinging lightly, tracing her fingers on the calloused parts of his palm. "Be thankful please."

"I am though." Ukyo replied, finally flopping on his back right beside her–fixing his position until with just a slight turn, he would have her figure on sight instantly. The grass was tickling his skin in a comfortable way which he accepted with open arms. "Come here."

Just like he accepted another weight resting on his chest, strays of hair caressing his cheek, and warmth of the most important person close to him.

.

.

Being busy meant you let time pass by quicker because you're intensely immersed with whatever you're doing. Ukyo experienced that–previously, all he saw was lush greenery of the forest, leaves, and grasses along with wildlife animals shuffling through the bushes, jumping from branch to another, soaring over as they took flight; now, the fresh green was replaced by amber, red, golden, and yellow altogether.

Every time Ukyo felt the wind blowing gently, it was accompanied with leaves raining down. For him who wore a hat, it didn't matter, however he did help Shinko several times in a day removing dry red leaves which were stuck between her locks. Meanwhile, Chrome just shook his head similar to a dog in order to shook them off.

An aspect that was pretty much welcomed was the absence of scorching heat and the sun's unmerciful glare in the middle of the day. They didn't have to suffer more heat than before although they still worked up some sweat journeying for kilometers in a day–trips to fill water supply were definitely cut off.

"It's way easier to get food in this season," Chrome's words were muffled as he chomped away on a roasted mushroom they managed to gather. It was lunch time and refueling was something crucial in order to be able to continue their journey.

"Autumn is a season of harvest," Shinko remarked after swallowing her bite. "It's a great time to begin stocking for winter."

"Oooh! I just got hit by a chestnut!" Chrome exclaimed in excitement–Ukyo couldn't exactly share similar reaction with him because being hit by a chestnut is rather painful experience. "Maybe we can bring back some to the village!"

"That's a great idea," Ukyo found himself agreed to the brunette's suggestion. "Francois will surely be happy. We got another ingredient for bread."

Simple type of read was more than enough to satisfy their craving for proper modern food, but adding more flavor variation wasn't a bad idea at all. Knowing everyone enjoys it is enough to be a reason–well, they do need to be cautious about probability or nut allergic individuals, maybe Senku could create anti-allergic medicine in the future.

"Maybe we can make jams too," Shinko piped up. "Jams and breads are a match made in heaven after all!"

"Ooh!" hearing another modern term seemed to do the tricks of having the brunette's head perked up in interest. "What's that? Another thing from the modern humanity!?"

Ukyo was letting Shinko knew what to do via eye contact–both of them sharing the same thought of indulging Chrome's endless curiosity, sure Senku could do the same however the scientist was currently had more than enough things to do on his hand so the two didn't mind in handling this menial thing. Moreover, the journey was similar to a field trip for Chrome with all the questions and answers.

"Well, we could make a request for it today even," Ukyo informed the two–receiving the attention of two pairs of eyes. "Senku just rang for us to return."

This could be the first time Senku asked for them, cutting their usual exploration short for half a day. The sun was still high and it was nowhere near evening the slightest, though the three of them didn't mind–it could be a good rest for the next upcoming adventure.

The time they returned to the village, Steam Gorilla II already arrived carrying massive number of supplies for them–and of course, the one and only to drive it was Francois. Chrome was already greeting them with excitement. Barrels and sacks of ingredients piling up in the trunk without a doubt could last them for a few months top.

"The wheat from Yuzuriha and the others?" Ukyo was in the middle of watching Kohaku unloading everything not far away while Shinko, who finished unpacking, approached placed herself standing beside him. "The wheat field is a great success, isn't it?"

"Truly," he sighed in satisfaction, mind at ease knowing there would be more than enough ingredients for all of them to survive winter–the worry for short food supply was no longer needed since they entered the agricultural era. "We can have our worry elsewhere, at least that's reassuring."

Then comfortable silence fell between the two–Ukyo and Shinko were content in witnessing Kohaku and Chrome arguing on something they couldn't comprehend because of the distance.

"Ukyo-san," hearing his name being called, he turned to face the young woman beside him. "What if we failed to locate the field? I don't want to be negative, but the exploration already went on for two months and we have zero results."

The ex-sonarman hummed in understanding–he completely understood Shinko's worries because he himself sometimes feeling doubt began creeping in. For these past weeks, their attempts have been in vain, it's natural for any of them to start feeling hopeless somehow.

However, he knew they couldn't afford to.

"I'm worried too," Ukyo admitted as a reply–he was being honest. "But seeing how Senku is taking his time and not looking worry eases my mind. If he says we can find it, then we can. I have no doubt."

Shinko blinked for a few seconds in respond before snorting in a playful way–the previous sullen look present on her face instantly gone. "You're right."

Adding more reassurance, Ukyo reached his hand out–placing it on top of her head, stroking gently. Shinko seemed to basked into the gesture as she smiled in content–it was radiating and warm, just like the feeling stirring comfortable in Ukyo's chest.

"HAHAHA! Now that we, humanity, have our hands on a staple food," Ryusui's booming voice somehow managed to ruin the mood by scaring the living daylights out of their soul–Ukyo flinched violently whereas Shinko placed a hand upon her beating heart while looking at the source in disbelief. "The three-star restaurant, 'Francois', is open!"

And the ex-conglomerate's demands keep getting absurd day by day–Ukyo and Shinko knew they both need to be used to this somehow just like being used by Senku and his plans. It took time and Ukyo sure they would manage.

"Understood," Francois replied almost instantly, hand already reaching out and snatched a photograph to be identified by them. "I shall develop a menu at once. I shall gather ingredient data from the aerial photographs."

Nothing less from the most-sought butler in the world–leave it to Francois to have them stop breathing by their willingness, nimbleness, and dedication. They deserved a medal somehow for not even batting an eye from Ryusui's insane demands.

Senku chuckled. "That doesn't sound bad, seeing as everyone had an insane amount of work and are about to drop dead."

Ukyo could hear Shinko laughing nervously from the statement. "It's nice knowing you're aware of it, Senku-san."

"People's bodies don't run on ideas alone. Work is science!" the scientist remarked, having his palm hitting the surface of the wooden table in enthusiasm. "In the end, food is humankind's gasoline! Ideally, we want to gather and preserve protein-rich-"

"Extravagant, delicious gourmet!" Ryusui decided to interrupted, also overflowing with enthusiasm and expectation. "Right, like truffles, or caviar, or foie gras,"

"I hate to break it to you, but we don't even know if swans still exist," Ukyo muttered underneath his breath. Shinko, who agreed with him wholeheartedly, nodded vigorously. "Or even sturgeon fish."

It seemed Ryusui didn't even bother to let those words reach his ears as the ex-conglomerate was currently drooling in want from his own fantasy. Being a higher-class resident, he definitely could taste those ingredients whenever he wanted without being worry of money. And all the ingredients they managed to gather so far was nothing more than what people of all kinds could eat.

"Wait, wait, wait, that's all impossible," Gen, having bathed in cold sweat of disbelief, stammered. "W-We don't even have the ingredients, right?"

"A gourmet food high-protein that can be preserved? Understood." Despite all of it, Francois summed all of their wishes into a full sentence without a hint of hesitation in their voice. Bowing down in confirmation, he continued, "Then the suggested menu is Black Truffle Boar Meat Rillettes."

"T-Truffle!?" Gen shrieked in shock.

"So, that means we're really going to have a three-star restaurant meal?" Shinko questioned rhetorically, eyes widened from Francois's choice of menu.

"Of course, Lady Shinko," the butler answered. "Is this not to your liking?"

"Oh!?" Ryusui's head perked up from the question. "Is this less grand? Do you want a more higher-class of gourmet, my dear!? No problem! Just mention what you want and I'll have it done!"

"N-no! It's more than enough!" raising both her hands in surrender, Shinko automatically denied the idea. Ukyo couldn't help but snickered from her flustered respond. "Francois-san's idea is already the most ideal!"

"She's just asking, not being serious," Senku added, folding his arms upon his chest.

Despite Senku's more than honest statement, it still didn't sound convincing to the blonde-haired man. Ukyo watched in amusement on how Ryusui instantly reached out for Shinko's hands in a firm grip–being his usual persistent self who doesn't want to hear a no as answer. "And if she's serious, it's also a pleasure to spoil a beauty!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough," finally taking a pity of Shinko's undeniably uncomfortable stature, Ukyo decided to stepped in and pried Ryusui's hands from hers. "She's only asking, it's not something serious, Ryusui."

Thankfully, the man didn't mind all sorts of interruption–at least, he didn't think of it as some negative approach. Despite being smart and attentive, Ryusui is quite an airhead which made things somehow less complicated in different aspects. That means he quickly moved on and didn't think much about it.

"Now, then, with this turn out events!" Francois exclaimed, tightening the gloves wrapped around their hands–gesturing towards the Steam Gorilla II not once looking over their shoulder. "I have summoned the most informed individual with regard to the woods and animals surrounding Ishigami Village?"

"Informed individual?" both Chrome and Kohaku parroted in unison, confused.

As if answering to the two's wonders', smaller figure jumped from the vehicle–accompanied by an extremely familiar green watermelon mask and little white dog. Kohaku couldn't help herself but squealed in delight from the sight–Suika finally arrived at the village after several days of her being far away.

"Long time no see!" the little girl greeted excitedly.

"SUIKA!"

"Suika-chan! You're here!" and it's not just her who seemed to be overjoyed by the little girl's arrival. Smiling widely, Kohaku watched as Suika immediately beelined towards Shinko and jumped into her open-arms. Clearly, she was ready to receive a huge hug from her.

"Shinko-nee! I missed you!" Suika exclaimed happily, diving further into the young woman's hug. It's true that Suika quickly warmed up to everyone as long as they're nice people in general, but Kohaku knew she had a really close relationship with Shinko–the little girl looked up to Shinko and in return, the young woman adores and loves to spoil her with affection.

Still, there's a peculiar thing happened right before her eyes. Exactly the moment Suika bumped into Shinko's chest, the lack of proper made her stumbled on her feet. Almost instantly, Ukyo had his arm wrapped around her shoulder to prevent her falling back first to the ground.

Kohaku predicted that he would pull away once Shinko could stand on her own, but it looked like he didn't intend to do so. His arm still there, the young woman didn't mind the contact, and the two seemed to be just fine with it–even though the close proximity was unsettling to Kohaku. Of course, Suika wouldn't take a notice and keep on talking to the two as if it was nothing.

"Oh, gosh, please spare me from this torture I have to witness," Chrome grumbled from beside her, clearly not pleased with the view in front of him. "They look disgusting."

"Well, if you're not being too stupid to realize, you can have something similar," Kohaku retorted, irked with the brunette's comments. It was no secret for the whole village and Kingdom of Science that Chrome developed a certain crush towards Ruri and Ruri also made it clear that she returned the feelings.

In conclusion, it's mutual, however the brunette's too oblivious until it's borderline dumb (in Kohaku's point of view) and Ruri is extremely shy about expressing it out loud–if neither of them going to take a first step, they weren't going anywhere other than friends.

Surely, Chrome wasn't going to accept the blatant insult Kohaku directed to him.

"What!? I'm not stupid!" he defended. "And why do I want something weird like Shinko and Ukyo!?"

"See? You're too stupid."

Ignoring Chrome's series of denies, Kohaku's mind wandered for a bit. Both Ukyo and Shinko definitely surpassed the term friends in some way, but not even close to the term developing relationship–uniquely, they stopped in the middle and made no effort to step further. They chose to enjoy whatever the term they're in with neither of them intends to change it.

For once, Kohaku wished for Ukyo and Shinko to got over whatever phase their current relationship is.

.

.

With Suika's help and a little bit of wandering around the forest, they managed to get their hands on a herd of boar. Kohaku did a splendid job capturing them in a flash–nothing less from a warrior with many capabilities like her. While Francois, Suika, Kohaku, and Ukyo went with their hunt, the rest of them stay and successfully built fences to surround large area where they could hold the boars.

Kaseki made sure they finished it as quickly as possible, including the shed and trough for food and water. When Kohaku arrived, the whole thing was ready to use–the boars were roaming around to be accustomed more to their surroundings.

"Boar meat!" Ryusui exclaimed dreamily while leaning against the wooden fence, whereas Shinko finished filling up the diminishing water in the trough. Now, they acquired on of the main ingredients for the Boar Rillettes, they need just another one.

"Well, the meat is taken care of. So, what about the truffles…?" Gen asked nervously–he was still recovering from the shock he had to went through because of their menu. "That crazy expensive mushroom called the 'black jewel' and such…"

"Truffles grow everywhere in nearby forests, even in Japan." Francois answered his question–and somehow it just drove the young man into more shock.

"SERIOUSLY!?"

"I never thought you could find one in Japan," Shinko muttered underneath her breath–usually, she heard truffle was being mentioned occasionally in high-class western restaurants out of the country. That and she didn't even bother to look for an info about truffles more, so she assumed if a restaurant in Japan served them, they imported them from other countries.

"I see… a black mushroom!" Kohaku affirmed in determination. She quickly snatched a photograph out of a hundred pile laying upon the table and proceeded to stare at it intensely Shinko thought she would send laser ray on it. "Ha! We found the boars with aerial photos. Are these from that area too? Shinko, lend me a hand! With our eyesight…!"

"It's rather impossible, Kohaku-chan," the mentioned young woman laughed nervously, though she still indulged the blonde's determination. Truffles grew beneath the surface, covered by a few layers of dirt so looking for it with aerial photographs would be futile–also the resolution was still so poor and it wouldn't help a bit.

Picking up an aerial photograph on her own, Shinko began studying it closely–maybe she could notice some difference which could lead them to other things instead.

"Like Shinko said, finding mushrooms from an aerial photo is difficult…" Ukyo remarked, smiling uncomfortably.

"It's not just a matter of seeing ability," Chrome deadpanned.

"I found it…" Everyone was sure it would be impossible and absurd to find something so little from an extremely bad resolution for a photograph, so hearing Kohaku's statement after she's staring at the same photograph for a few seconds definitely stole their attention. "A black jewel…!"

"Huh?" Senku, who of course, feeling an absolute absurd had his eyes narrowed in disbelief. "But there's no way mushrooms would appear in some out-of-focus photograph."

"Then, what's this black smudge!?" Kohaku remarked, pointing at a certain spot in confusion.

"Can I have a look, Kohaku-chan?" taking the matter into her hands, Shinko asked for the photo–which Kohaku immediately placed it on her palm.

Senku watched from the sidelines–Shinko brought the picture closer to her face, narrowing her eyes to absorb all the detail she could find on it. When she blinked, the scientist knew she finally found the black smudge Kohaku was talking about. Pressing her thumb upon the area, she wiped it before humming in understanding.

"It's real, it's not some kind of dirt on the photograph, Senku-san," Shinko reported, her eyes meeting his ruby ones. "It could be missed easily because it's quite small. Probably less than a centimeter at best."

"Oh, now that you mentioned it, it does look unnatural," Chrome added, moving closer so he could inspect the photograph as well.

"It's only a dot, but when taken into scale, it's maybe the size of a puddle…?" Gen remarked although he himself unsure.

Wanting to confirm it himself, Senku placed the photograph underneath the magnifying glass. What Kohaku and Shinko said was correct–it wasn't a smudge, it's a part of the photograph undoubtedly.

"It… couldn't be…" Ryusui muttered.

"IT'S THE SAGARA OIL FIELD!" Senku's hand formed a tight fist of victory, followed by enthusiastic exclaim from the others in the lab. They needed a celebration for this–after a few months of wandering non-stop and nights of improper sleep schedule, they finally had a gist of where the oil field is located.

Wasting no time, all of them immediately bolted out from the tent–gathering the supplies immediately and then they would be off in a matter of minutes. The field was somewhere not far and they intended to go all out for this one.

"The photo was too out of focus, so I don't have an exact position." Senku informed.

"Haha, no problem!" Ryusui dismissed it.

"We'll just use everyone here on land!" Chrome suggested. "We'll find it with our strength in numbers!"

"Huntress!" Senku turned his head to face the said young woman–who's running beside him. "While we're searching on land, the trees are yours!"

Shinko nodded. "Consider it done."

As planned, after they finished packing all the things they need for the sudden exploration, the villagers were joining the expedition by searching the areas not far from the village with the help of the map. Meanwhile, Senku and the main team went further towards the area in the photograph. All of them choose to explore the ground thoroughly–maybe they could find more hints or tracks of where the oil field could be.

Their only clue was the photograph at the moment, nothing more and nothing less–it gave them hope and also became quite a hinder to tackle. The oil field was like a smudge upon the photo and they're currently facing hectares of wilderness and thick canopy–even with the sheer number they owned currently, it was nowhere near enough to cover every area.

At the moment, the scientist and his team finally managed to reach a cliff–feeling exhausted from all the walking and running but still didn't find any other lead to where the oil field was.

"No good," Chrome frowned, looking at the photograph in hand. "If only this photo was more detailed."

"Too hard… seriously…" Gen wheezed–drained off almost immediately and stumbling on his steps from the lack of energy.

"We're looking for a puddle in a forest of this size," Ukyo remarked, brows furrowing. "There aren't enough hints."

It's almost they were back to square one–they were in the similar situation of looking for a needle in haystack. Locating something so small between something so big, it would take them forever and maybe led them to hopelessness in the end.

"Once snow falls, they won't be a trace left of the puddle," Kohaku informed. "If we don't find it before that, all of our struggling and searching for it will be for nothing!"

They're also racing against time–in a matter of weeks, winter would come to visit and covered the entire country with white. If that happened, everything would look the same to them and it would be even more grueling to look for the field in that condition. Searching for it in normal condition was already hard as it is, doing exploration in winter would only waste time and energy. Currently, they were facing an all or nothing condition–finding the field around this time is a must, they couldn't afford to extent nor take it easy like before.

Senku's ears heard heavy thumps–he craned his neck up, taking a notice of their only member who's in charge of handling higher views. Shinko finally caught up to them after a few minutes and her being here meant there's something to report. Being up in the trees could help them getting clearer view than the ground from the height difference, Senku gambled to the thought although he didn't put much expectation in it.

The scientist noticed how her previous neat appearance turned slightly haggard–without a doubt from all the jumping and swinging from one branch to another. Also, the amount of precipitation dripping from her chin doubled than theirs along with how Shinko still tried to reduce her harsh panting to a lighter exhale–sure, it's easier to get a view from the trees and it equals the amount of energy spent on it.

"Any good news?" Senku asked. The disappointed expression he received already spoke a thousand words ahead.

Shinko shook her head and sighed. "No. I'm sorry, Senku-san. The canopies are too thick, so the ground isn't visible."

"It's fine. Rest, huntress. You need it." He remarked, knowing well she's more than exhausted because she wasn't even planning to jump down. Giving him a small smile in return, Shinko instantly slumped onto the bark–back leaning against it as she took a seat to regain her energy little by little.

My brain is almost there, Senku chuckled inwardly. There's a massive hint… somewhere in the hippocampus…

He knew it was there, extremely close to his reach–with just a little push, the answer was right in front of him to grab on so they could continue with more probability of success. He needed a trigger for it.

We found the boars with aerial photos. Are these from that area too?

Boars know the smell of black jewel.

Senku's eyes widened in realization from both Kohaku and Francois's statement just a few hours ago–still extremely clear and fresh in his mind. He pumped his fist in enthusiasm, their golden goal was right ahead in their grasp. "THE BOARS! The record of how the Sagara Oil Field was found in 1872!"

"Well, I don't think anyone knows that history…." Gen stammered, either in disbelief or thoroughly perplexed.

"They said a wild boar was playing in the mud. They couldn't figure out why the boar fur reeked of oil." Despite the confused looks he received, the scientist still continued. "They thought there was something strange about it, so they tried releasing it, and-"

"They really found the oil field," Ukyo concluded, finally being able to connect the dots. "We can use the boars to find the field! They can lead us there by instinct!"

"Ah, about that…!" Shinko's quite distant voice managed to gain all of their attention. When all of them looked up, all they see was the young woman's slightly paling face–as if she realized something grave was about to unfold. "Francois-san will start processing them soon! Them and Suika must've already gathered the truffles!"

Heavy silence befallen upon the team before everything turned into chaos in a matter of seconds.

"THE BOARS!"

If before they're bolting to search for oil, now they're bolting to get back to stop Francois from cooking their only visible evidence.