Senku and Sumi continued to take photos in the air with their cameras the next morning, Ryusui piloting the hot air balloon. Soon, they had dozens of the aerial photos, and Kaseki was building more of the cameras. Kohaku and Gen looked over all of the photos they had gotten so far, standing in the lab. Unfortunately for them, they still had yet to find the oil, or even get any signs of the location of the Sagara Oil Field. Kohaku let out a small laugh. "We're sure covering a lot more ground in our oil search now that we have cameras, huh?"
"Hoo-hoo!" Kaseki exclaimed happily from outside. "You bet! My adorable creations are pulling their weight!" He then turned to the blonde. "Your eyesight is great, Kohaku, but putting all the burden on you wasn't fair!" She stared at him as he chuckled, and she didn't respond. She didn't really mind using her eyesight if it was going to help the Kingdom of Science. But she wasn't going to tell him that, because she appreciated it. After all, that was how Senku and Sumi operated: they invented things to help out others, even if they didn't explain themselves. So this was no different for Kohaku.
"Hmm," Gen noticed something from one of the photos, getting their attention. He didn't elaborate to either of them as he grabbed the speaker from the phone on the table. "Heyo, grounds team, can you hear me?" He had a small smile on his face. "This is Gen. There's a suspicious-looking blur just past the river beyond Mount Fuji." Chrome marked the spot on the map. "Could you check it out, pretty please?"
"No problem, leave it to us," Chrome assured, he and Ukyo nodding silently.
Senku chuckled while looking up from his camera. "We'd better hurry up. We need ten billion photos before winter comes. We're screwed after that. Can't find anything once it's all covered in snow," He explained to Ryusui.
"At the very least, it'll give the construction crew a break. Can't really work on a ship in the cold just like with the cell phone wires," Sumi stated from her side, peeking through the lens of her own camera. Unlike Ishigami Village, which had the stoves, the construction crew didn't have that luxury.
"Hmm," Ryusui glanced back at the both of them. "Don't worry, we'll find it by then," He grinned while snapping his fingers. "That liquid gold's sleeping in the ground! I want oil!"
A colored leaf fell from a tree while the curtain to the lab was closed. Minami ran up to the lab, moving away the curtain. She then flinched in shock, having white eyes as she saw Senku using a magnifying glass in front of a photo. He looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep either as his eyes were wide, trying to examine it really hard. Ryusui looked dead as his soul slightly escaped, having passed out. Sumi was on the other side of the table, her brain broken from looking at so many of them. She was also passed out, smoke coming from her head. She then fell to the ground after a few seconds, getting their attention. Senku peeked over the table along with Ryusui to see her eyes swirling around. Her brain literally felt fried as smoke was still coming from her head.
Ukyo and Chrome ran off in the forest to find the spot Gen mentioned. "This sucks so bad. Where the hell is the oil?" Chrome looked exhausted while sweating. Ukyo was carrying the cell phone on his back. A chestnut then fell on the brunet's head and he yelped in pain. He adjusted his hair before picking it up. "Chestnuts..."
Turquoise picked up a mushroom from the ground. Jasper was standing behind her holding a basket full of them. Kaseki examined a photo in his hands. "Whoo-hoo! Aerial photos are great, they show us everything. Helps prep for winter!" He said happily, since now with the photos, they could find hard-to-locate plants or herbs needed for food storage. Or for sometimes just Sumi since she encouraged that if they had extra, she could use them.
Ruri stood up from having picked mushrooms herself. "And we're well into fall. It is the season of harvest," She pointed out with a small smile.
Meanwhile, back at the wheat field, Taiju let out an excited scream. He then cut down some wheat, holding a big bundle of it. Nikki was carrying some as well, Magma tying his up. "It grew this much in just a few months? This is incredible, guys!" He shouted in excitement, wearing his Farming King hat.
Ginro popped up from another section of the wheat field. "It's easy to see how it became a staple worldwide," Nikki smiled towards the field.
"Wheat's an all-you-can-eat treat!" Ginro cried out happily, though he admittedly just wanted some bread. The sun shined down on all the wheat they had grown ever since the start of autumn. They continued to gather up more to put into the steam gorilla for Francois, who was waiting inside of the car.
Chrome and Ukyo collapsed in front of the two modern-day scientists, tired from all the searching they had done. Senku just stared at them knowingly, as the duo had been out for hours. Sumi bent down to them a little with a frown on her face, hands on her knees. "Are you guys okay?" She asked them in concern.
She didn't get an answer as they heard a noise. Chrome turned to see Francois driving up to them. "Whoa, dude!" He exclaimed in shock, still surprised at how the butler knew just when to show up.
Yo was working on tying more wheat when he lifted himself up, getting some back pain in the process. "Ahhh!" His eyes bulged out, breaking his stone eyepatch. "I think I just pulled something!" He cried out while Yuzuriha patted him on the back to comfort him. "Farming is back torture, I swear...!"
"Don't sweat it, Yo!" Taiju smiled down at him, his fists clenched. "You can leave the rest to me! I'm still raring to harvest!"
"Yeah, well, you might be the only one, Mr. Infinite Energy," Magma retorted back to the brunet.
Kinro looked a bit uneasy while glancing towards the wheat field. "We get a lot more food from farming than we ever did from hunting...but it takes much more out of us," He noted, as Yo wasn't the only person feeling back pain. By the time they were done getting wheat, they always came back exhausted or almost dead. And that wasn't even considering the amount of work that they had been doing for the ship, either.
"I can see why we never bothered with it until there were more people to put to work..." Yuzuriha agreed with him sheepishly.
"Ha ha!" Ryusui exclaimed as Francois had told them of this. They had suspected it, and given how much wheat there was, it only made sense that it took a lot out of people. Especially if they were both farming and doing construction. "Humanity finally has our essential crop! Time to open a restaurant," He snapped his fingers with a gleeful smile on his face. "A three-star Francois joint!"
"Huh?!" Gen gave a sound of shock that they were getting to this point.
"If that is what you wish," Francois gave a small smile. "I'll begin developing the menu immediately," They then looked at one of the photos. "Our aerial photos will be a good source for ingredients."
Senku chuckled at the butler. "Not a bad idea. A lot of people are exhausted from the crazy amount of work we've gotta put in all of a sudden. And you can't power muscles on inspiration alone. Working is its own science," He looked at his clenched fist with a trademark smirk. "If the body's a car, then food is our gasoline."
"I'm sure they'll really enjoy and appreciate some fine dining after a hard, long day of work," Sumi smiled while pressing her hands together. "I like it! Kinda like when you come home to a home-cooked meal, though I guess just eating fancy meals in Ryusui's case," She looked up in thought, a finger on her chin.
"Ideally we want something full of protein and easy to preserve," Senku said while Ryusui popped up behind the two.
"Don't forget insanely delicious and luxurious!" He then drooled while thinking of meals he used to eat before petrification. "Yeah, baby. I'm talking truffles, caviar, maybe foie gras!"
Gen and Sumi gave him deadpanned looks. "None of that is ever appening-hay. Be real! Even if we wanted them, we don't have the ingredients..." The mentalist reminded him, trying to let him down gently.
"Plus caviar is just fish eggs, so excuse me if I don't wanna throw up just looking at it," Sumi said in a blank tone, blue lines over her forehead. "Even if you could pull that off." Though she guessed maybe it was just a rich people thing to enjoy caviar. When she lived with Lillian, she never came across it, because Lillian just wasn't a fine dining person. The singer thought it was too stuffy for her liking, thankfully, and her demeanor was a lot more casual than Ryusui's to ever consider it.
"Ha," Ryusui glanced over to them. "You think so? I've never heard Francois shoot down a request like that in my entire life," He looked up towards the butler, who wasn't fazed by the request at all. "Just watch."
"Luxurious, high in protein, and easy to preserve," Francois recited back, Gen flinching in shock. The butler then bowed with a small smile. "Understood. With that in mind, I've got just the dish. I'll be serving Black Truffle Boat Rillette."
"Wait..." Gen recoiled back in disbelief, a shadow over his eyes that were wide. "Truffle?!"
"I had a feeling this might happen," Francois adjusted their gloves. "So I've taken the liberty of summoning an expert. The one most knowledgeable about the flora and fauna near the village."
Chrome and Kohaku were just confused. "Who the heck is that?" He wondered, since just by description, that could've been anyone.
"No clue..." Kohaku murmured as a watermelon was shaking from the trunk of the Steam Gorilla 2. Kohaku gasped as Sumi gave a knowing smile. The watermelon then popped out of the trunk, bouncing around before revealing herself to be Suika, along with Chalk.
"Long time no see, everyone!" She greeted with a happy smile while the dog barked.
"Suika!" Kohaku cried out with tears in her eyes. Chrome popped up behind her.
"Okay, they are way too prepared, it's getting freaky..." He couldn't help but comment at how Francois was operating. It was like the butler could see into the future or something, and he wondered just how much they knew...
Ryusui looked proud nearby, his eyes closed. "That's my Francois."
"Suika!" Sumi ran up to the little girl, who lunged forward to hug her. Both of them smiled happily. "It's so good to see you! It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?" She asked happily, since the last time they saw her, she was with the construction crew.
"I missed you, Sumi!" Suika cried out to her and she chuckled.
A pile of bread was presented to the little girl and dog. Francois and Sumi stood behind the two. Chalk sniffed it and they took a bite, happy tears coming from their eyes. The black-haired scientist smiled while patting the little girl on the head. She held out some bread to her friend and Sumi smiled while taking it. She took a bite herself, humming happily from the taste. Suika took another bite while examining one of the photos. She hummed in thought while seeing footprints from the photo in front of her.
"Let's see...it's hard to be sure because of how fuzzy the image is, but it looks to me like something is rubbing against these tree branches," She then looked up at the butler and Sumi looking over her shoulders. "Just a guess, but maybe it's a boar!"
The three looked to each other and nodded in agreement. They then set off with Kohaku to locate one, Suika bouncing around as a watermelon. The three looked up ahead as they had set up a trap for a boar, Francois giving the little girl instructions. Kohaku stepped on a twig, getting their attention. They were both surprised to see her carrying two big boars over her shoulders, other ones following her. Sumi then gave the blonde a sheepish smile.
They set up a boar pen to feed them, so that they'd be full enough to prepare for eating. "I can't wait for the pork!" Ryusui said happily as he, Sumi, Senku, Francois, and Suika looked on from outside the fence.
Gen then stepped up to them, still a bit hesitant. "Kay, the meat's taken care of, but what about the truffles? They're so expensive that some call them black diamonds, so they must be rare."
"Actually," Francois gestured to the forest right behind them. "You can find truffles growing in many forests, even here."
"Eriously-say?!" Gen's eyes popped out looking at them.
"Yup," Sumi gave a small smile, crossing her arms. "They tend to grow underground, usually near or right behind tree roots. Specifically oak, beech, birch, poplars, and pine trees. Which will be easy enough to find in the stone world!"
"Ha ha. Ten billion points for you, Sumi," Senku grinned while kissing her on the forehead softly. She let out a small chuckle in response. She kinda had to wonder if he just didn't want things to be casual now that they were dating, or he just didn't care whether or not people were watching. Considering how he was with her during their bread making, it was most likely the latter.
"So we're looking for black fungus, huh?" Kohaku looked at one of the photos very closely to her face, and intensely too. "Ha. Suika was able to spot boars in these photos, right? Was this one taken around there too? With my eyesight, I bet I can find what we need!"
"Spotting mushrooms from a bird's eye view might be too big of an ask..." Ukyo said with a sheepish smile, his eyes closed.
"Not really a matter of issue at that distance..." Chrome murmured a bit nervously, while Gen just gave them a small grin.
"Hey, you never know. If anyone can pull it off, it's our girl Kohaku," He told them without a doubt, confusing Chrome. "She obviously has idiculous-ray eyesight." Chrome then remembered when she climbed up a tree to look for that waterfall, before they had started creating the map. "But maybe her skills are less about talent and more about experience. She's lived her whole life in the wild. Perhaps she's developed some unreal power of observation."
Kohaku gasped at the photo in her hands. She took a small pause as she examined it carefully. "I think I found them," She revealed to the group. "The black diamonds!" Gen and Chrome turned to her in utter shock, looking at the photo as well.
"Hang on," Senku spoke up in doubt, hands on his hips. "There's no way you're able to see mushrooms in that blurry-ass photo."
"Not that I'm doubting your eyes, Kohaku, but truffles are kinda small-looking," Sumi said skeptically, a hand on her cheek in thought. "So even from the distance we took the photo, wouldn't the truffles at that height be way smaller than you could see them? And plus, you have to dig to find truffles, they're not that noticeable underground even if the photo wasn't blurry."
"Then what's this black splotch I'm seeing?" Kohaku pointed out while looking up.
"Huh, it is suspicious, I'll give you that," Chrome agreed with the blond, rubbing his chin while staring at it.
"Though proportionally, it looks a little big, like around the size of a puddle or something," Gen replied while the two came over to take a look for themselves. Once they saw it, they gasped in surprise, shocked from the sight.
"Hold up," Ryusui came up next to Sumi. "You don't think...?" He trailed off as Kohaku pointed at it to show them.
"A dark liquid seeping up to the surface..." Senku chuckled as he gave a small smirk. "Ha ha! You didn't find what you were looking for, but this is better!" Kohaku, Chrome, and Gen all gasped at him, wondering what he meant. "It's the ultra-rare treasure trove we've been after!" He clenched a fist as Sumi slowly gave a beaming smile. "The Sagara Oil Fields!"
Everyone all cheered from the news, a small blush over Kohaku's face. "Thanks, Kohaku!" Sumi spun her around in a hug, the blonde laughing. Before she could go off with the others, Senku turned around to the black-haired woman.
"Sumi, can you stay here with Suika? She has missed you, after all, and she wouldn't like it if her time with you was cut short," He gave a small knowing smirk. Sumi blinked and then smiled at what he was trying to tell her. She leaned against the entrance and hummed with a nod. She then watched as the others ran out of the lab, though Senku stayed behind. He turned around and back up to Sumi, confusing her. Once he stopped in front of the black-haired scientist, he leaned down to plant a quick kiss on her lips, causing her to blush. The green-haired scientist hummed with a small smile on his face as he turned around to run off. She placed a finger over her lips and then giggled a little.
It honestly reminded her of when she said goodbye to Senku heading over to the Tsukasa Empire, although much more affectionate now that they had confessed to each other. Sumi then laughed happily while standing on her tip-toes, waving to all of them.
"Wish the photo was less fuzzy so we could get an exact location!" Senku shouted while catching up with the others.
"Ha ha! That's not a problem!" Ryusui exclaimed in confidence.
Chrome held up a finger with a grin. "We can narrow it down if we work smarter! Let's split up and search the area on foot!" He called out to the others.
"Good luck, you guys!" Sumi shouted encouragingly to all of them, dropping her hand with a small smile. She believed they'd find it, and if not, that they would still succeed by winter.
Together with some villagers, they were on the hunt. They were currently checking the forest while Francois continued working on the menu for the restaurant with Suika and Sumi. "Our job is to support the search effort with the culinary delight of our soon to be restaurant," They explained while the three were watching the boars eat.
"But we still haven't found the black diamond," The little girl stated with concern. "I'm starting to think that maybe there aren't any."
"It'll be okay," Sumi gave a small smile to the girl, standing behind them. "When has something like this ever stopped us before? We'll find those truffles even if we have to search every single forest. Just like we'll do with the oil."
"I agree with you, Sumire. Don't worry, Suika. There are," Suika stared up ahead at the two with a bit of unease. "And luckily for us, the boars know what they smell like."
Later, they tied a boar with rope like a leash. It led the way into the forest as Francois and Sumi led the way. Suika and Chalk were walking behind them. "I'm not very well-versed when it comes to science, but any chef worth their salt is familiar with this fact. The scent of truffles is very similar to that of boar pheromones," Francois spoke as they followed the boar.
"Mmhm," Sumi confirmed with a nod. "Pigs used to be known for hunting truffles. Not only because of their excellent sense of smell, but they're beckoned to the truffles thanks to them containing androstanol. It's uh..." She gave a nervous look towards Suika since she couldn't really say that it was really a sex hormone found in male pigs. "Let's just say that it's something found in male pigs, or boars that I'd rather save for another day when you're older, Suika."
"If that's the case, couldn't you find them, Sumi?" Suika asked her curiously, looking up at her. "Since you have a great sense of smell and all."
"I could, but I don't really know the smell of pheromones found in pigs. So even if I did know, it's not really something that attracts me," Sumi stated while looking to the boar digging in front of her. The closest she had gotten was a pig at the zoo thousands of years ago. All she could've gotten from that was mud since they weren't actively looking for truffles. Plus it'd take her slower than a boar because there were many smells in the forest that she couldn't distinguish from.
"Because of that overlap, boars are adept at locating underground truffles," Francois explained as the boar continued searching and then came across a truffle dug a few feet into the ground.
Oh! What did I find? Whatever it is, it's time to pig out! The boar then ate the truffle, much to the shock of the others. Suika was panicking while Francois looked on with white eyes. Sumi gave a huge sweat-drop standing between them.
"Right, how could I have forgotten...?" Francois lamented at this. "This is the exact reason that people stopped using boars and pigs for hunting truffles."
"Yeah, it reduced truffle production now that I remember..." Sumi dragged a hand down her face. "A real scientist or Senku would laugh in my face right about now. But I'm sure we'll find another way to locate the truffles without the boars eating all of them. Right, Suika?" She smiled towards the little girl knowingly, hands on her hips.
"Yeah! Everything will be okay, Francois!" Suika shouted cheerfully, while the butler was a bit confused. Suika then had on her detective hat. "The Great Detective duo Suika and Chalk can take it from here!" Chalk let out a bark as Sumi patted the girl on the head, and then the dog.
"Alright, we're counting on you two to find us some more truffles, Great Detective Suika!" She held up a finger and Suika let out a happy gasp that the woman trusted her.
Chalk sniffed the ground, leading the way as they followed the dog. "We'll use Chalk's nose! He can track the scent now that we've found some." The dog looked up seconds later and barked, digging in front of him. Suika gasped in surprise while Francois gave a little smile. Sumi smiled as well and clapped at the sight down below. In the ground were the truffles as they shined.
The sun started to set as the search team were tired, and not to mention unsuccessful. They had been searching non-stop too. "It's no use," Chrome panted up front, looking at the photo. "Damn it. If only the photos were just a little more clear..." The way the photos were turning out now were making it impossible to distinguish the areas of the forest.
"Yeah," Gen whined with white eyes. "This is tough...I'm running on umes-fay..."
Ukyo looked back towards the forest and the mountains in the distance. "We're looking for a puddle inside this vast forest...we need something more to go on." If they continued looking like this, they weren't gonna find any oil. And it could be anywhere; and the forest was huge, so searching through all of it would take up more time.
A leaf fell down, which Kohaku noticed. "And once it snows, the puddle will surely vanish without a trace..." She glanced towards Senku, who was looking towards the ground. "That's effectively our deadline. We have to find it by then, or all our efforts will have been for nothing."
Senku gave a nervous chuckle, touching his face slightly with his hand. He had no clue what else they could use to find the oil. Doing it by hot air balloon wasn't gonna help them, not with all the trees. So he had to think hard on this. We're doing so much, my brain's all over the place. I must've missed something. Some hint staring right at us. Floating around my hippocampus. He then racked his brain of the past several hours to search for something else they could use.
"With that in mind, I have just the dish. I'll be serving Black Truffle Boar Rillette," Francois explained while bowing.
Gen had a look of unease while looking at the boars. "But what about the truffles? They're so expensive that some call them black diamonds, so they must be..."
Kohaku eyed the photo in her hands both closely and intensely. "Suika was able to spot boars in these photos, right? Was this one taken..."
"But we still haven't found the black diamonds. I'm starting to think that maybe there aren't any," Suika stated in concern with a small frown.
"It'll be okay," Sumi had a small smile on her face. "When has something like this ever stopped us before? We'll find those truffles even if we have to search every single forest. Just like we'll do with the oil."
"I agree with you, Sumire. Don't worry, Suika, there are. And luckily for us, the boars know what they smell like. The boars know what they smell like..."
Senku gasped as something came to mind from the echo in his head. "Right, the boars!" He exclaimed suddenly, getting their attention. "Quick, in 1872, how did they discover the Sagara Oil Fields?" He questioned the four, and Gen looked at him with a shadow over his eyes.
"Uh, I don't think any of us are gonna know that answer but you or Sumi..." The mentalist murmured at the green-haired scientist.
"It's super common for wild boars to roll around in mud," Senku started to explain. "But one day, people came across one that reeked of oil for some reason. They were like, what the hell? So they followed it, as it did its thing."
Francois stood in front of a boar on the table. "Now that we've found the truffles, we can finally move on to making food for the restaurant!" Suika yelled happily while waving her arms. Francois was wearing their apron.
"Let's start at once," Francois smiled towards the animal. "First we'll simmer the meat for the rillette." The boar cried out at being slaughtered as Sumi walked over. She sniffed something and then dropped the bowl she was holding. Sumi gasped in realization from the familiar scent; she couldn't believe that she didn't realize this before. The fact that boars knew what oil smelled like! Francois was confused while covering their nose with a handkerchief. "That's strange. This boar smells of oil..."
"Wait, don't!" Sumi cried out while jumping in front of Francois and waving her hands. She landed on the ground in front of the butler. At the same time, Senku, Chrome, and Ukyo ran over to them in a panic as fast as they could.
"STOP! WE NEED HIM ALIIIIVE!" He screamed while holding out a hand.
"This is so embarrassing," Sumi muttered with a hand over her face once they had informed Francois of why they couldn't use the boar right now. The butler had then set it free. "I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner when we were looking for the truffles. The Sagara Oil Field itself was discovered as crude oil found by a boar...I bet you think this is hilarious," She glanced over at Senku.
"Eh, a little," He admitted to her with a small smile. "But don't worry about it. We'll find it together with this boar." The boar snorted at them as Suika stood in front of the group. She stared down the boar for a few seconds.
"We want you to take us to somewhere you've been," Suika spoke up gently to the pig. "It's right where you were playing in the mud. Do you understand? The liquid gold is there." The boar snorted again and then oinked, running right past them. Suika followed after it first, followed by Ukyo, Chrome, Kohaku, Sumi, and Senku.
"That's so bad!" Chrome commented at Suika and the boar. "She's practically tamed the little guy!"
"Thank you, Sagara!" Suika said cheerfully while running next to him. "You're the best!"
"Sagara?" Kohaku asked in confusion, Senku giving a small smirk. "Did you really give that boar a name?"
"He's still food," Senku reminded and Sumi scoffed at him.
"Let her name it if she wants. Besides, it's fitting given what we've spent weeks looking for," She stated while running next to him.
"Well, we can't be friends if we don't know each other's names, right?" Suika wondered and Sagara oinked, picking up speed up ahead. Senku and Sumi continued running until they stopped, grinning at what was up ahead. He let out a small chuckle, clenching a fist happily as Sumi jumped up in excitement. Sagara then jumped into the oil field! Kohaku, Chrome, and Ukyo gasped in shock as some bubbles came from the puddle.
Kohaku stepped up while holding the picture with a smile. "Yeah, this is it," She confirmed to everyone. "We made it to the black puddle I saw. It looks just like what's in the photo."
Senku took out a small shovel, bending down. Sumi joined his side, pulling out a small little bowl made out of clay. He dumped the oil into it and the others looked over their shoulders curiously. "Hey...what are you guys doing, Senku?" Chrome wondered and Senku didn't answer. Sumi smiled while glancing over her shoulder.
"We can't just take the oil. We have to test it first. Otherwise this search will be all for nothing," She explained to them as Senku lit up a match. Sumi placed down the bowl in front of him and he lit the oil on fire, to the shock of everyone else.
"The mud water's burning! Which means it isn't water at all!" Suika shouted in a panic.
"Then this is the power we're using to move the boat," Kohaku smirked as she guessed correctly.
"Yeah," Senku gave a big grin towards the flames. "In this new world, humanity's finally got it! Oil, the king of resources is ours for the taking! We've discovered the Sagara Oil Fields!"
"It's all thanks to Suika and Sagara!" Sumi smiled at the two, patting the little girl on the head. Suika laughed happily in response from the praise. She then patted Sagara on the head too and he oinked cheerfully, wagging his tail. "Wouldn't have found it without you two."
Ukyo was stepping on a loose floorboard as they were gathering up the oil, every single drop of it. They had built some structures to gather it. Senku, Kohaku, and Sumi watched their little oil network with smiles, glad that they had managed to find it before winter.
Oil acquired!
"Alright!" Suika shouted in joy and then leaped up with Chalk and Sagara. "Really good job, Sagara!" She then gasped in horror as she realized that the boar was now going to be used for pork. She then patted the boar on the head with tears in her eyes, the dog letting out a whine. "But Francois is going to cook you up now. I'm sorry, buddy..."
Senku and Sumi glanced to each other with small smiles, as they could see how attached she had gotten to the boar, and was now rather fond of it. And it would break her heart to see little Sagara get cooked up and then eaten. Senku then turned around to the butler. "Francois?" They stopped and glanced over their shoulders. "Can we get your opinion as a pro chef? What do you say? Is the boar worth eating?" Senku wondered as Suika looked up in a bit of shock.
"Yeah, do you really want a boar that might not be safe to eat?" Sumi gestured to Sagara. "You and I both know that as a doctor, it's not exactly gonna be the result we want of making people happy," She winced a bit. Consuming oil would be like a laxative to them, and that was the last thing they needed if the restaurant was supposed to keep people's spirits up with all the work. Even if the villagers didn't really know the difference between taste, they certainly didn't want people to get sick before they even set sail.
Francois hummed, giving the two scientists a knowing smile. They could tell exactly what they were doing with this question. And they could agree after seeing Suika's bated breath, and wouldn't feel right cooking up Sagara knowing how Suika seemed to adore him. "No," They turned around and walked off. "The oil smell is soaked in. It's unfit for consumption."
"You heard them," Senku glanced over his shoulder as Sumi gave a small smile. "Let him loose or take him home, up to you."
Suika gave a happy squeal towards them, slightly blushing with happy tears in her eyes. She then hugged Sagara happily. "Thank goodness! Now we can really be friends!" Sagara let out a happy oink and she turned around to the duo. "Thank you both so much!"
"Don't sweat it," Senku simply stated as Sumi reached into one of her pouches, holding a rope.
"Here, let's get him some rope to officially welcome him," She bent down to tie it around his neck. "There, now he's really one of us. Plus he is pretty cute," She patted the boar affectionately on the head. "I can see why you managed to bond with him so quickly." Sagara jumped onto Sumi, knocking her onto her back and causing her to laugh as he licked her face. "Ahaha! Sagara, stop it, you're tickling me!" She cried out from the attention, letting out a giggle.
Senku gave her a fond smile as she gently pushed the boar off. Just like with the village kids, she had won over Sagara apparently now. She then waved to Suika, Chalk, and Sagara as she walked off with the green-haired scientist and Ukyo. "Gotta reward people for their accomplishments," Senku stated as the three walked into the forest. Sumi was wiping her face with a handkerchief, the boar had licked her face too much. "Or it'll tank their morale..."
"You're right," Ukyo agreed, looking up with a knowing smile. "But was that really why you did that?"
"Uh?" Senku gave him a blank stare. "Yeah, of course it was. Why else would I do it?" He asked and Sumi just hummed.
"I wouldn't think about the reason too hard, Ukyo. Suika's happy and that's all that really matters, isn't it?" She responded while walking between the two of them. Senku reached out to grab her hand and she flinched. She glanced over to see him walking up ahead, not even looking at her. She smiled happily and squeezed his hand as they walked together. Ukyo gave a small chuckle to himself as he could tell that this was Senku's way of showing Sumi physical affection, he just didn't want Ukyo to see it. Because he still wasn't going overboard with it, it wasn't like him to do that. But right now, he didn't really mind it since it made Sumi feel more positive.
I guess that's something else I've learned in this relationship of ours. She seems to love it when I go out of my way to show her physical contact, like holding her hand or kissing her forehead. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. She must be squealing like a schoolgirl in her head right now, heh heh.
Suika admired Sagara in the rope as he let out a happy oink.
After going over to the Tsukasa Empire by hot air balloon, Senku and Gen stood in the water in front of a motor boat. Sumi was already sitting in the middle up front, both her and Senku wearing vests over their clothes. She was reaching out to her hair to tie it up in a low bun, since she didn't want it to get in the way.
"Now then, let's get right to an oil test," He spoke up to both her and Gen.
"This is what it looks like?" Gen asked with wide eyes, his hands in his sleeves.
"Yup," Senku turned to the mentalist. "It's a motor boat. Oh...wait, sorry, you were talking about the engine, weren't you?" He then turned to the boat with a small smile. "It's known as a stirling engine. Remember the stirling refrigerator we made to freeze Tsukasa? It turned into piston movement into a heat differential..."
As he continued talking, Gen stared at him while sweating. "I wasn't talking about the engine, but I don't think anything will stop you at this point. Well, except maybe Mire-chan," He murmured sheepishly and Sumi giggled in response.
"I don't think I really apply since I'm a scientist too, Gen," She told him playfully. She doubted she herself could get Senku to stop talking science. Not unless she really put herself out there to distract him, which she wasn't planning on doing. Unlike others who just didn't get it, she still enjoyed hearing Senku talk like this.
Ryusui stepped up to the edge. "With this boat, we can finally set out! To the sea!" He gave a small smile.
"Well, depending on the quality of the oil we found," Senku corrected him with a smirk, sitting right next to Sumi.
"And we're sure this is safe to pour in?" Gen questioned a bit hesitantly while holding the bottle near the hole for the tank. "No isk-ray?"
Taiju and Chrome stepped up behind Ryusui. The former sniffed the familiar scent of the gasoline and smiled. "Hey, that's the love potion! You finally wanna use it on Sumi, Senku?" He replied and that was something that caused the others to go pale once he asked that question.
"Wait, what?" Sumi asked in utter shock as Senku's eyes went wide. Taiju then gasped in shock, shaking in disbelief and ignoring their reactions.
"Ah! Or do you plan on using it on someone else?! Because that would hurt her feelings, man! You're not playing with her heart, are you?!" He shouted while accusing his friend with bulging eyes.
"Ah..." Senku couldn't even answer the ridiculous questions. Sumi looked really irritated, however. Because a, why would Taiju freak out about someone else when the person didn't exist? And b, was Senku really capable of giving her one? He had done lots of things without permission, after all. Was it really like him to give her a love potion without her knowing it?
"Oh, yeah. You're late on the uptake, aren't you?" Gen blinked in realization that Taiju actually didn't know his friends had gotten together, since he was busy putting together statues at the time. "Sumiku is official! Though I'm not sure for how much longer..." He glanced at the two nervously as Sumi looked ready to strangle Senku. He had his eyes closed while sweating a little.
"NO WAY! Is this true?! You finally did it, Sumi?" Taiju then grabbed the two into a big bear hug, and they both let out screams of pain. "THAT'S SO GREAT, YOU GUYS! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT, I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!" He shook them around happily in the hug.
"Taiju!" Sumi exclaimed in pain, pushing at his arms. He released them seconds later and the two were splayed over the boat, looking dead as their souls were about to escape. There were shadows over their bodies, as Senku was leaning forward in the boat, hunched over. Meanwhile Sumi's head was hanging over the right side of the boat. The others sweat-dropped looking at them.
"I think you took it too far on them..." Chrome murmured at the brunet.
"Heh...sorry. I'm just so glad for you two!" Taiju replied in embarrassment at them.
"You really enjoy trying to crush our bodies, don't you, Taiju?" Senku panted as the two stood up, trying to recollect themselves. Sumi then let out a cough into her fist.
"Been a while since I've had one of those..." She mumbled while cracking her back.
"But what's a love potion?" Chrome couldn't help but wonder.
"Yes, what are you talking about, Taiju?" Gen asked while they all stared at him.
"You remember that stuff you whipped up in the lab back in the day. That would've given me extra confidence to confess to Yuzuriha, just before we were petrified? You know! Sumi, you were there too, remember? And then I said you should make some for yourself, even though I didn't know you loved Senku?"
Senku moved his pinky away from his ear in the science lab. "I've developed this drug as a kind of...love potion. It maxes out your pheromone levels, giving you a ten billion percent chance of winning her heart."
"Hey, maybe you oughta make some for yourself one day," Taiju suggested and she flinched in fear, her hair standing up.
"Ah ha ha, no thanks," She spoke up while sweating a little. "Even if I use it, it could never happen. He's...not really into the whole romance thing."
"Mmm," Sumi blushed deeply while giving Taiju a pout. Sure, she told the green-haired scientist that she was in love with him, but never said outright that she loved him. He didn't say it back either, and the fact that the others now knew of this, it was just embarrassing. And she felt like she wanted to die. "Why?" She covered her eyes with her hands in dismay. "Did you really have to tell him that to his face?"
Senku let out a few pffts before bursting into laughter. All of that time, and Taiju never caught onto the fact that it was never really a love potion in the first place. "Ha ha ha ha!" Tears flew from his eyes. "I did say that! Oh man, the love potion! Never stopped believing that lie huh, you big oaf? That stuff was gasoline."
"Wait, what?!" Taiju shouted in disbelief. "Are you serious?!"
"Yeah, he is," Sumi wiped at her face to get rid of the blush, though some of it was still present. "Remember when he kept it away from me in the science lab? Because I would know the smell and correct you that it really was gasoline. Otherwise I probably would've told you and ruined the whole joke...3,700 years later..." She gave a small sweat drop. That was a long time for the joke to hit, honestly...
"You smelled this without any preconceived notions and were confident it was the same," Senku gave Taiju a smirk. He then chuckled as Gen poured it in. "Then that settles it. Our Sagara oil is the same as what I made out of plastic bottle caps that day. With a carbon count of five to twelve. This is some grade-A gasoline!"
"Huh," Ryusui spoke up in interest. "Is that so? You mean to tell me the last bit of science you two did in the old world was making gasoline?" He had a smirk of his own. "And in this moment in this new world of ours...we've already caught up to that point? Guess all that's left is to go beyond it."
Senku chuckled and Taiju blinked as something was still nagging at him. "So then, did you ever make a love potion for Sumi?" He wondered while rubbing his chin, Senku blinking at him.
"Yeah..." The black-haired scientist stood up as her glare came back on her face. "Did you?" Sumi turned to him with her hands on her hips while looking down at him. He gave a look of disbelief once he recollected himself.
"Over 3,700 years and you're asking me this?!" Senku looked towards her, annoyed.
"You better not have done it in my sleep or something!" She accused angrily with white eyes. The others stared awkwardly at them while sweating.
"Of course I didn't! I wouldn't use anything like that on you!" He defended seriously and crossing his arms.
"Uh-oh," Taiju sweated a bit, realizing that maybe he shouldn't have asked the question. "Um, sorry about this! I'm gonna go tell everyone the good news!" He ran off into the forest before he had to watch things get worse.
"Didn't stop you from using a lot of stuff when I'm around to make things go faster around here!" She towered over him and he gave a wide-eyed look with a snarl.
"That's not the point, Sumire!" He sighed heavily at her, a hand on his forehead. This was already giving him a headache, and nothing seemed to be convincing her either. "You're being ridiculous, I did not make one."
"YOU LIAR!" She kicked him with a red mark over the back of her head. He yelped as he flew out of the boat and landed in the water right in front. The others all sweat-dropped at this as she huffed.
"This is gonna be a fun boat trip..." Gen murmured nervously at the two.
The engine started and the boat took off. Senku crawled back into the boat soaking wet while Sumi went over to the back. His hair was also down as he looked up. "All abroad! We're heading out now!" He called out while Ukyo ran on the water. He tripped a bit, lunging forward and grabbing Senku's hand. He yelped as he was being dragged out. Ryusui, Chrome, and Gen had joined along as well.
"Whoa, bad!" Chrome commented in amazement as they were already off-shore. "It's freaking fast!"
"Ha ha! Time for us to leave Japan!" Ryusui announced, looking pleased with how the boat was working. "We're off to an unchartered world...to the open seas! On a ship of science!" Senku looked slightly proud himself as well. A bird flew overhead as Chrome gave a joyous laugh. He looked around as they were already far from the Tsukasa Empire.
"So bad! The coast's already completely gone!" He looked back in shock.
"I know, right?" Ryusui smiled with his arms crossed. "The horizon's only a few kilometers away."
Chrome looked up ahead to the sea. "I've never been out here before...we're just surrounded by water. There's something kinda lonely about it. Like we're the only ones in the whole world..." He murmured breathlessly as they continued on.
"Yeah," Ukyo smiled a bit while glancing behind him. "I know the Earth's 70 percent water, but seeing it first hand is always something."
"I-I don't even know which direction we came from anymore," Chrome stammered nervously as there was no sign of where they were before leaving. "Are we sure we can get back home? And the plan is to go like hundreds of times farther than this, right? The ocean is bad."
"Ha! Not to worry, Chrome. We have our sextant!" Ryusui held it up with a proud smile.
"Weren't both Senku and Sumi a little suspicious of those things?" Gen asked in a bit of unease.
Speaking of, Senku was still soaking wet, grumbling to himself. Sumi had her eyes closed and her arms crossed, one leg over the other. She still looked irritated with him while the others were a bit pale from the awkward tension. He sighed while glancing over his shoulder.
"Are you done being immature so you can sit in front of me to warm me up?" He groaned as he turned back up front to continue driving. "Ugh, this was what I meant when I said stuff like this is illogical..." It was unnecessary to him that they were fighting over something that he didn't even make 3,700 years ago. He wouldn't have made it even if he wanted to because that wasn't his thing to drug people into feeling something it took a long time for him to accept at all. Let alone around Sumi herself.
"That depends," She retorted while opening an eye. "How do I know it's not some stupid love potion affecting my answer?"
Senku glanced away in exasperation. "Why did I ever tell Taiju that...?" He kinda wished he didn't say it was a love potion now if he knew it was gonna result in something that they could just talk about. But no, Sumi wasn't having it at all... Her stubbornness in not believing me is what I didn't want when we started this relationship.
"Come on, you two," Chrome glanced between them as the others didn't want this to go on for the whole trip. "We can talk this out-" He faltered as Senku and Sumi glared at him intensely, shadows surrounding the both of them as they had white eyes. All of that suggested that they did not want anyone to get involved, because it would just make things worse. "Or we can stay out of it. That's an option too!" He recoiled back from the two of them.
"Anyway, since we're all gonna be risking our lives out there...we're gonna want our coordinates to be ten billion percent accurate," Senku reached up to adjust his hair.
"Yes, want being the operative word there, I guess." Gen pointed out next to him. "Unless you two have got something new up your sleeves?"
"Yup," Senku turned back with a small smile. "We're making a GPS."
Gen, Ryusui, and Ukyo were utterly bewildered to hear this. Gen should've been used to hearing stuff like this, but sometimes they still threw him for a loop.
"G..."
"P..."
"S?!"
Chrome picked his nose in confusion, since he was the only person in the boat who was born after petrification. So he wouldn't know what that meant. "It's a navigation system in cars and phones," Senku explained for the brunet. "It uses satellites to estimate your exact position in the world."
"Satellites?" Chrome rubbed his chin, as he didn't know what those were either. "Nava-what now?"
"We can't be making satellites!" Gen exclaimed in shock; that would take up too much time, and they didn't even have the materials for that.
"Yeah, no kidding," Senku had a gleeful grin while holding up a finger. "Luckily, we can get a similar result with a massive land-based radio beacon placed in friendly territory!"
"I'm learning some things about you during this whole relationship deal," Sumi crossed her arms again, glaring at the back of the green-haired scientist's head. He let out a small groan. "I thought we had our feelings clear. What did you use on me? What was your plan for the love potion?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I told you it doesn't exist!" He said as calmly as he could, even though he had said this like three times already. "Even if it did, it would've...I dunno, cause you to have cotton candy with me more?" He gave a casual shrug while digging his pinky into his ear.
"Oh, maybe that's why I like cotton candy so much," She snarled at him as it felt like she was questioning everything now. "What did you do to me?"
"Is this the best time? Eally-ray?" Gen asked nervously with his hands in his sleeves.
"Eh, I dunno, it's kinda entertaining," Chrome gave a small chuckle, looking away. "When we don't get involved, that is."
"For who exactly?" Ryusui glanced down at him. If anything, this was getting distracting from the point of why they were even using the boat. So as fun as it could've been to watch, the captain also had to remember that this little fight of theirs could really mess things up for the Kingdom of Science. Because if the two were at each other's throats, it wouldn't help out with their teamwork.
"I'm freaking out. I thought I loved cotton candy and science, who am I?" Sumi held her head in a slight panic.
"Sumi, don't worry about it," Ukyo gave a nervous chuckle while patting her back. "I'm sure Senku didn't do anything...you're still you and no love potion can change that," He tried to reassure her.
Senku felt like a large white arrow had hit the side of his head that screamed bad guy. "Why am I the bad guy here...?" He muttered in disbelief, grunting. "Whatever, we have more important things to do out here. The radio beacon should be getting turned on right about now."
"Hoo-hoo!" Kaseki cheered as a water wheel had been set up. On top of Ryusui's pagoda was a radio beacon built on top of it. The craftsman was standing behind Suika holding onto the switch. "The water wheel packs a lot more of a punch than a battery! It gives our phone signals a major upgrade!"
"Time to turn this thing on!" Suika replied joyfully as she flipped it. The signal from the radio beacon sent out powerful radio waves throughout the Earth.
"Let's run a test on the beacon. I'm counting on your sonar skills for this, Ukyo," Senku stated as the boat came to a stop. Ukyo spun the antenna around in his hands, standing up front. He had a sheepish smile on his face while doing so. "Just keep spinning around the antenna at random. We'll get our position from the direction and strength of the signal."
"This last part relying on manual labor makes it feel a little slap-dash," He admitted to everyone, as he felt like an experiment or something.
Ruri held the speaker, surrounded by Suika, Ginro, Kaseki, and other villagers. "How's it going, sailors? Have you found your bearings? Is everything working?" She wondered to the six.
"Yeah!" Chrome confirmed for the blonde. "We're in business!"
Ginro cleared his throat behind her. "Say, Ruri..." He spoke up with his eyes closed, hands behind his back. She turned around to him in confusion. "Now that Senku and Sumi have taken off as a couple...why not do the same? Remember that first phone call between you and Chrome? The one where he chickened out and couldn't tell you how he really felt deep down?"
"This is some pretty bad stuff, huh?!" He exclaimed into the phone. She blushed while the villagers were in awe. "Science is awesome!"
Ginro gestured to himself as his eyes were shining. "You've been given a second chance! How about you share your feelings this time? This is the first land to sea call! Do something special! What do you say? Girls are allowed to make the first move too. In fact, I bet he'd like that!"
"Huh?" She gave a nervous look while blushing profusely. "Share my feelings? Whatever are you talking about?" She asked innocently while the villagers were surrounding her, looking excited. Suika handed over the speaker. She was still blushing while the others waited, holding their breath in excitement. "Hey Chrome?" She spoke up and he looked down in anticipation. "Everyone's telling me that I should-" However, it cut to static, interrupting what she was going to say. Sumi blinked while looking up in confusion.
Chrome yelped while looking at the speaker. "Come on, what a cliché!" Gen had an amused look on his face. "Static right when we're getting to the good part?" Ukyo listened closely and his eyes widened in realization.
"That's not static..." He informed the others while Sumi dropped her arms, the others staring at him. "How...?" He held the antenna up closer. "Just now...we suddenly got a strong signal from somewhere, but it's too saturated to tell the direction." Senku and Sumi tilted their heads in both curiosity and bewilderment. Something was off here for sure.
"Plasma from space?" Ryusui wondered with wide eyes.
"No," Senku answered the captain quietly.
"That wouldn't be possible with the antenna we have. Many plasma waves occur naturally, and we wouldn't be able to hear it because our water pressure is way too low. Space has no air, so sound wouldn't have a way to travel," Sumi revealed in a bit of fear. "And it's not the signal breaking either."
"She's right," Ukyo glanced over his shoulder, sweating a bit. "It's no natural phenomenon. It's deliberate...it's tuned to exactly the frequency we're on!"
"Meaning...when we fired off that powerful signal from our radio tower...someone out there took notice," Senku revealed breathlessly and Chrome turned to them.
"Wait, what do you mean by someone out there?" He asked in a bit of hesitation.
"But even if someone else was revived, would they have the tech?" Ryusui wondered with his arms crossed. Sumi stared at the frequency while biting her lip. She had no idea how it was possible, especially if this mystery person had no knowledge in science. But this was definitely a new mystery to them...who was it, and how were they able to take notice so quickly, or know of their presence? She let out a small shiver behind Senku at the thought of it all.
The strange noise continued, and repetitive. Gen then flinched in shock as he realized it was a pattern. Sumi gasped as she stood up in alarm. "Uh! Hold on...that's not just static! I'd recognize this anywhere, don't you, Chrome?"
"Huh?" They all turned around to her, the brunet especially confused.
"Wait a second...could it be...I think that's Morse code!" Gen finally realized what she meant.
"It's a message meant for us," Senku stated and they turned to him while gasping. The green-haired scientist had shadows over his eyes.
"I used this to message Chrome every night when he was in that prison at the Tsukasa Empire," Sumi told them while looking over to him. "Remember? And Ukyo helped me make the items I needed to be able to pull that off."
"That's right!" Chrome blinked as he finally remembered.
Sumi wrote down the key in her own blood. "I'm using this paper to write out a key for Chrome. The rest will be for the LED light so that it's more clear from this far out," She explained and Ukyo flinched in shock as he realized what she was doing now.
"Hold on! Don't tell me-"
"Yup," She smiled while glancing back at him. "I'm using Morse code to communicate with Chrome!" She then flashed the light as Chrome looked out from the cell.
Gen looked down at the speaker. "It seems to be repeating the same signal over and over," He rubbed his chin in thought as he listened. "Let's see...there's a W...then H..." He gasped in alarm once he deduced what the message said. "It's W-H-Y."
"Huh?" Chrome blinked while Gen looked terrified now.
"It just...says Why?"
"WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?" They imagined over and over, everyone except Ryusui looking horrified. If anything, Ryusui didn't seem to be fazed or intimidated whatsoever. Sumi looked at the phone with wide eyes, both her hands over her heart as she panted erratically in fear. This was creeping her out...Tsukasa she wasn't scared of at all, but something about this same message repeating over and over again was definitely frightening. It wasn't like an SOS or anything like that, but it was just the same scary message for reasons she couldn't fathom.
Senku chuckled with an evil grin on his face. "Yo..." He started off eagerly. "Are you the mastermind behind humanity's petrification?" He chuckled while picking up the speaker on the floor. He had a small glint in his eyes. He didn't think they'd get this far in just 2 and a half years, but finally they were just one step closer to figuring out the mystery. "So we finally meet...been waiting 3,700 years for this. I can't help but get excited," He spoke as the message drowned him out, Sumi still looking scared for her life...