To Onesuko Everywhere In The World

After the vice principal went home, I had been hard at work on farm chores since morning.

I expanded the field beside my house even farther, pushing it outward toward the grasslands beyond the forest.

I had considered extending the field deeper into the woods, but clearing it would be a pain—and more than anything, the forest was a treasure trove of materials.

As I looked over the massive 100-by-100-meter farmland, I let out a breath.

“Alright, what should I plant next?”

First on the list was probably sweet potatoes.

They were easy to grow, and they could serve as emergency food if things got rough.

Second would be the black sesame Tom brought back.

Sesame yielded oil, and having oil would broaden what I could do day-to-day.

“The bigger the field, the bigger the dreams.”

I muttered to myself—and then,

“K-kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー!!!!”

A familiar shriek carried over from the academy.

It echoed weirdly, probably because it was coming through a Magical Amplification Device.

“Now that I think about it, Onesuko’s ceremony should be starting around now. It’s a shame I can’t go, but I can celebrate with her later…”

Then an idea hit me.

“Wait—why ‘later’? I can celebrate right now. As long as I don’t get close to the venue, even the vice principal can’t complain.”

I changed jobs from Mana Farmer and headed to the workshop in my house.

On the workbench made from Gis wood, I placed a bundle of Distress Flares I took out of my coat pocket.

Each student received Distress Flares in sets of twelve.

Even if you used them all, you couldn’t get more—you had to manage your exploration life with just these twelve.

“Guess the idea is that someone who needs help twelve times is too much trouble.”

Given how I was treated now, even if I got stranded, it felt like they wouldn’t help me even once.

“So for me, these Distress Flares are just fireworks.”

Using the Big Boar Knife, I cut off the tip of a Distress Flare.

The powdery medicine spilled out with a gritty hiss.

“Since it’s a celebration, I’ll make it flashy.”

I dismantled four more flares, making a pile of medicine equal to five flares total on the workbench.

Inside the powder pile, something like tiny glass marbles glinted.

“This is the Lifesaving Sphere. The firework is just the visible marker—this is the real core of a Distress Flare. If I accidentally launched one of these, it would count as me calling for rescue, so I need to remove them.”

I parted the powder pile, gathered the five Lifesaving Spheres, and tucked them into my coat pocket.

“Now all I have to do is use the Fireworker skill to tweak the arrangement for a gimmick firework.”

I cupped both hands around the dug-up powder pile.

Then I activated the Launch Firework Creation skill.

Above the pile, the current arrangement—those disgraceful begging-for-mercy words—hazed into view.

When I touched the letters with my finger, they warped like paint dissolving in water.

“Shaping it neatly is harder than I expected. It’s like gripping a piping bag with my feet and trying to write on a cake. But if it’s me—someone who practiced undoing ropes with my feet—I can manage… okay, got it.”

The rearrangement came out nicely.

All that remained was to put the powder back into the tubes and cap them like before…

“The quality jumped a lot compared to the original signal.”

I wanted to launch them quickly, so I closed the Appraisal window without reading to the end.

“Alright—time for a booming five-in-a-row!”

I bundled the five freshly made fireworks and stood them upright on the workbench.

Then I pressed the bottoms hard into the table—

…Shubaa!

A blinding flash shot into the sky.

…Fhyuuuuuu～～～～…!

I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked up as the glowing ball rose.

“Five fireworks at quality level 24… that’s a simple total of level 120. That’s max level for my crafting, but…”

…DO-KAAAAAAーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーン!!

With an explosive roar, a gigantic ring of light spread across the sky.

And then nothing happened.

“Did it fail?”

Right after I said that, a single flower bloomed overhead.

…Pop!

In an instant, it expanded until it seemed to fill the heavens.

Red, blue, yellow, green, white… the sky became a flower field in vivid colors.

Through it ran a black panther formed from gathered black roses.

In its wake, scattered petals turned into three-colored gemstones and formed words.

“Congratulations, Onesuko! Leopin”

The letters were larger than the sun, like the sky itself was wrapping around you.

I reflected.

“…Oops. I might’ve made it a little too big. At this size, I’m going to make Onesukos all over the world get the wrong idea.”