Episode 19: The Man Who Walks the Path of the Hawk
Well, spring has arrived.
And when spring comes, there’s something I want to do.
The Promelos River, a large river that flows near Midford.
The forest that spreads around it… the Serak Forest.
And beyond that, the mountain at the source of the Promelos River is called Mount Neotem…
Mount Neotem is a treasure trove of nature with many Magic Beasts, and it’s the source of the Promelos River, with mountain streams.
You know what an old man wants to do in a spring mountain stream, right?
Yep, fishing.
Mount Neotem.
Untouched nature surrounded by green trees.
It’s a mountain with beautiful scenery that would remind a Japanese person of Yakushima or something.
Of course, since it’s a fantasy world, there are Magic Beasts, regular beasts, and it’s easy to lose your sense of direction, so it’s normally impossible for amateurs…
Well, I’m strong, so…
At worst, I can return with Teleportation magic, so I’d like to do as I please.
That’s why I’m climbing the mountain with a large backpack and fishing in the mountain stream.
I made the fishing rod myself from a stick I found nearby.
I wonder if this fishing gear is okay? But I’m probably the only idiot fishing in such a dangerous place, so the fish are unguarded.
So…
“Alright!”
I’m catching quite a few.
What I caught was… Yamame Trout.
I’ll make a Gyotaku (fish rubbing) of the biggest one, wash off the ink, and then grill it with salt!
I guess I’ll let the small ones go.
I think the fish will increase quickly in this world, but… I’m afraid of messing with the balance of nature.
Over-harvesting resources from the mountains and forests, causing a shortage of food and driving them down, is scarier than bears – the Magic Beasts.
You have to cherish nature, or it will really bare its fangs at humans…
…Oh?
Footsteps.
A quadruped… no, not a beast.
Bipedal.
A goblin? No, goblins move in groups and are ridiculously noisy.
They wouldn’t hide their presence like this.
“Is someone there?”
I called out to the other side of the forest.
Then…
“Oh? Dru-chan! What are you doing in a place like this…”
A Strider appeared, carrying a basket and a hunting bow…
This guy is… William, the leader of the Strider Clan, “Guiding Hawk”…
“William, huh?”
It’s William.
“Man, old man, you surprised me! I sensed someone in these mountains!”
William said, grinning, with his messy hair and unshaven beard…
He’s a hunter born and raised in the forest, and although he’s a Second-Class Strider, his skills are said to be First-Class.
His frivolous attitude is just his normal self, but that’s what people with outlaw spirits like Striders like, and he’s a sad man who was pushed into being the leader of “Guiding Hawk,” a Clan where hunters gather.
“So, what are you doing? …Oh, fishing?! Here?”
“Yamame Trout can only be caught around here.”
“Yamame Trout? If that’s the case, there are some in the river west of the Great Tree to the north, you know?”
“That place has bad footing.”
“Ah, that’s right. Hey, but that’s great! Share some with me, old man!”
“Eh…?”
“Well, I’ll give you some wild vegetables and mushrooms.”
William said, taking various things out of the basket he was carrying.
…Oh, there are Hiratake mushrooms. And rapeseed blossoms. And also wild leeks (Allium victorialis).
Hmm…
“Could you make pasta with this?”
Sauté the chopped wild leeks in the olive oil I brought to bring out the aroma…
Sauté the mushrooms such as Hiratake.
Then, add the salted boiling water from the boiled pasta. Season with the dashi soy sauce I brought, and mix with the pasta.
Mix in the wild vegetables that were boiled separately… it’s Japanese-style pasta (mountain style).
Then, fillet the caught Yamame Trout, skewer them, and grill them with salt.
“Wow, that’s great!”
William immediately started eating, using chopsticks he made by whittling some nearby trees.
…He can use chopsticks.
While thinking that, I also took a bite of the pasta.
Ah… delicious…!
“The bitterness of the wild vegetables brings out a good flavor, or rather, it brings out the sweetness of the pasta…”
“No, the oil-soaked mushrooms are delicious. I wondered if flavoring it with wild leeks would work, but it did.”
“Wild leeks, huh? If you crush pine nuts, chop them, mix them with oil, and make a sauce, it’s delicious, you know?”
“Ah, like Genovese? That would go well with pasta too.”
“Mmm, the fish is delicious too. Makes me want some sake…”
“Well, I’m drinking it.”
“Eh?! You can drink in the mountains? I hate dulling my senses, so I can’t drink in the mountains.”
“I’m confident in my Magical Power. At worst, if I strengthen my legs with the ‘Adamantine Strength’ Magic Skill and move while jumping, I won’t get lost.”
“That’s great, I have a decent position, but my skills aren’t that great…”
“Yeah, right~!”
Then, after we finished eating and were washing the dishes in the river…
“Groooooowl!”
“Oh?”
A bear appeared on the opposite bank.
“Ah, that’s a Magic Beast.”
“Is that so? I can’t tell the difference between animals and Magic Beasts.”
“You can tell by the way it acts? Bears, even if they come at you, they retreat right away, and then come at you again and retreat again. Animals don’t want to fight, so they try to surprise you and drive you out of their territory. But Magic Beasts are different, they come straight to kill you.”
“Heeh.”
“Ah, can I have that?”
“Sure.”
In an instant, an arrow was nocked and released with superhuman speed.
Magic Skill, especially advanced, “Penetrate”…
That is, Magical Power enhancement of the touched material.
William easily succeeded in the most difficult technique of putting that “Penetrate” into the arrow that leaves his hand.
The arrow… stood up in front of me and pierced the chest of the bear-type Magic Beast that raised its front legs to swing its claws down.
“Gah…?!”
The hit arrow penetrated and made a hole the size of a human pupil in the Magic Beast’s neck, the central nervous system of the cervical vertebrae.
Instant death.
“Wow, you’re an expert.”
“Hehe, right? I’m good at hunting beasts… Ah, but.”
“But?”
“W-well, I’m not very good at carrying them…? Could you help me…? Maybe…?”
Geez.
“Can we eat this thing?”