Hashima Island

Far in the southwest part of Nagasaki City, there is an uninhabited island that is famous for being haunted because it has been abandoned by its inhabitants for almost 40 years.

Hashima Island or as the local people also call it Gunkajima. As the name implies, this island is also known as [Battleship Island] because of its shape which resembles that of a warship when viewed from above.

This is a small island measuring 480 meters by 160 meters wide which has been abandoned for decades ago. Now, this island which is only inhabited by wild animals is believed to be one of the most haunted islands in Japan.

And on the seashore, a black-haired teenager suddenly appeared out of thin air. If someone else saw this, that person would think they saw a ghost, and would have already fled.

"So this is the location Master mentioned?"

Skadi switched to her Material Body form, looked around for a bit, and she quickly lost interest.

"Apart from abandoned buildings, there is nothing particularly interesting to see."

"What do you expect? We're here to fight, not to have a picnic."

Akira smoothed his hair which was blown by the sea breeze.

The day he found out he was being targeted by the Super Dimensional Guild, he prepared a plan to deal with that situation. For example the location of the battle, there's no way it would clash in the middle of the city, right?

Su Xiaoxiao (Guild Master) may not care about dealing with him in the middle of the city, but Akira must care!

Therefore, he is looking for someone to be a courier to bring the cutter, which has been marked "Formula Technique" [Hiraishin no Jutsu], to Hashima Island.

At first, the person refused after hearing that his destination was Hashima Island. After all, Japanese people really believe in the existence of ghosts.

But in the face of large sums of money, greed trumps fear. The man agreed to take the cutter to Hashima Island.

And that's how Akira was able to teleport to Hashima Island.

"When will those people come?" Skadi asked following Akira around.

Even though it's called walking around, apart from the buildings being damaged and mossy. Nothing worth seeing.

"I don't know."

"Hah? What do you mean you don't know?"

Skadi's cold expression changed slightly, before quickly returning to normal.

"The system only said I would be attacked the day after my birthday. However, the system didn't tell the specific time when they would come. That's why I left early in the morning, just in case they came early."

Akira was helpless about this, the system didn't give an accurate time when the enemy was coming.

"So we're just going to wait all day in a haunted place like this?"

Skadi said she was annoyed. She couldn't blame her Master either, it wasn't her fault.

"It can only be like that." Akira smiled apologetically.

"Come on, it's only been one day. I have lived alone for thousands of years in my palace, waiting all day is nothing." Skadi said it coldly.

Rather than just sitting around doing nothing, Akira and Skadi circled around Hashima Island.

Even though the size of Hashima Island is relatively small, this island is equipped with various facilities to support the lives of miners and their families.

Both saw many of the former facilities. Starting from apartments, schools, markets, public baths, and so on are on the island.

An hour had passed, Akira and Skadi had completed one lap around the island.

"Master, didn't you say this is an uninhabited island? Why is there so much trash that looks brand new?"

Skadi's hand pointed at a nearby snack pack.

"Even though Hashima Island has not been inhabited by humans for more than 40 years, it does not mean that no one has come here. Even though there are many mystical stories on Hashima Island, this island still has its own charm for tourists."

"In fact, the popularity of this island has increased after it was the location of several famous movies such as the movie [Skyfall] from the James Bond series and the live action anime movie [Shingeki no Kyojin]."

Akira had researched Hashima Island's information in great detail, so he knew a lot of things.

"Then why did Master choose this island? Aren't you worried there are tourists here?"

Skadi was like a child who was thirsty for knowledge, and she kept asking questions.

"Regarding that, Skadi need not worry. I have all rented this island for a day." Akira said it casually as if renting an island was like buying candy in a shop.

He had rented Hashima Island for one day, so there wouldn't be any tourists coming today.

Please note, Hashima Island is also designated as a UNESCO world heritage site because of its historic ruins. But Akira doesn't care whether the ruins will be destroyed by his fight.

After all, when renting this island, he used a fake identity, created by the Chamber, and he didn't have to worry about his identity being discovered.

"What is Master doing?" Skadi asked seeing her Master's actions.

Currently, Akira took out a portable electric stove, a kettle, two small chairs, and a bottle of mineral water from [Storage Magic].

"It's almost lunch time, I'm not very good at cooking, so I cooked cup noodles." Akira said while sitting on a small chair, and patted another small chair.

Skadi sat on the chair next to Akira, she watched her Master put water in the kettle, boil the water in the portable stove, and then watch as the water boiled. He poured hot water into the cup noodles, which had been infused with spices, and waited a few minutes.

"Cooking in this age is very practical." Skadi's comments saw all of this, she clearly remembered how much trouble and time it took for people to cook in her time.

"This is what is called science, which gives convenience to people today." Akira handed another cup of noodles to Skadi.

Skadi didn't refuse, she took the cup noodles, and was unaffected by the hot temperature of the boiling water.

"Itadakimasu." Akira said before eating with a fork, he doesn't really like eating with chopsticks.

*Slurpppp*

While Akira was eating, a slurping sound was heard.

Japanese people generally have strict table etiquette, such as not making noise while eating. However, the Japanese have a culture that is contrary to the etiquette at the dinner table, namely slurping noodles.

This culture first appears in historical records in the early Edo period, and people in Edo themselves often bought soba from street vendors, or itinerant vendors selling soba.

Because buckwheat is a street food, these people also often eat while standing, so table etiquette is forgotten. The culture of slurping noodles came from this habit, so this habit has continued to spread, and has carried over to the present day.

This habit of slurping noodles influences the way Japanese people eat ramen or other noodles.

"This strange food is really delicious?"

Skadi looked at the cup noodles in her hand hesitantly, seeing the earthworm-like shape of the noodles, she felt disgusted.

But seeing that her Master seemed to be enjoying his food so much, Skadi decided to try a little.

Rolling the noodles with a fork, she popped the noodles into her mouth. Unlike Akira who doesn't care about eating etiquette, Skadi is seen eating gracefully.

After tasting the noodles, Skadi's eyes lit up brightly.

"This is delicious... How can food that is only soaked in hot water be this delicious?" Skadi said it in surprise.

"Does that suit your taste, Skadi?" Asked Akira, who had just taken a gulp of mineral water.

"...Hmm, I shall compliment you. I... Suppose you have quite the talent."

Skadi gave her Master a compliment, and continued eating.

The two of them look more like lovers having a picnic than teammates waiting for the enemy to attack.