Chapter 234: Sowing in the Forest
Well then, the weather is nice today, perfect for fruit picking. Normally, it hardly rains in Kanum during this season.
“You’re energetic even though it’s hot,” I said, glancing at Retze, who looked utterly drained this early in the morning. It is hot, but without the humidity, it feels much more comfortable for someone like me, who’s used to Japan.
The sun blazed down, and I couldn’t help but think the grass in the fields looked a bit bleached and wilted under its relentless glare. There’s no shade from the moment we leave Kanum until we reach the forest.
“But I definitely don’t want to stay in the sun, so let’s hurry to the forest.”
“Indeed,” Karn nodded gravely.
Karn decided to join us because he wanted to learn more about the forest. To be honest, I don’t think fruit picking suits his appearance or personality at all.
I invited Tina and the twins, but it seems they had prior plans with each other, leaving three guys to go fruit picking. It’s common for adults to venture into the forest since demon beasts can appear, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a bit too rough for us.
Ash is a bit tricky to invite, especially after overhearing Dean’s pick-up lines about fruit picking in the Demon Forest…!
We won’t go deep enough into the forest to encounter any strong demon beasts, but it’s still a somewhat dangerous area for just the two of us. The goal is to find some rare and slightly expensive fruits. Apparently, if the girls are promising adventurers of Silver Rank or higher, they’ll squeal with delight even if we just defeat a Horned Rabbit.
After hearing that, it takes a lot of courage to approach any women.
“Whoa! I got one!” I exclaimed as I thrust the Ex-Staff into a hole, only for a Horned Rabbit to bite down hard on it, caught in the act.
With a mighty swing of the Ex-Staff, the rabbit’s head was severed. No, it was its body that fell.
“Stop poking at holes just because you see them,” Retze said, looking exasperated with me.
“Thinking about how this might solve a millennia-old problem puts me in a strange mood,” Karn remarked as he sheathed his sword after slaying the Horned Rabbit.
“I wish you’d show a bit more caution and discernment.”
“This guy, if you take your eyes off him, the ‘King’s Branch’ will multiply,” Retze replied, making Karn’s expression turn slightly sour.
“I’m cautious enough, believe me. I’ve secured an escape route.”
I removed the rabbit’s head from the Ex-Staff and tossed it aside. It would soon become food for the other Horned Rabbits.
I quickly gutted the body, squeezing out the innards in less than five seconds. I removed the limbs, made a cut in the fur, and peeled it off with a flourish, finishing the preparation.
Animal blood and muscle are sterile unless they’re diseased, so fresh blood doesn’t have much odor and can be used as cooking material. Blood starts to smell bad quickly when contaminated by microorganisms.
The temperature at which microorganisms thrive is around 35 degrees Celsius. Since there’s no river nearby and the rabbit is small, it’s easy to lower its body temperature by gutting it. I tied it up with grass leaves and hung it from the Ex-Staff. The heart isn’t pumping, so it won’t bleed much, but I’ll let it hang for now. I plan to roast it for lunch.
“That was quick,” Karn said, a bit surprised.
“That’s because I had a good teacher.”
Retze helped me with the rabbit disassembly.
While I have All Cooking, not everything is written down, and there are some tricks that can’t be expressed in words. I have the knowledge and can retrieve and use it, but adjusting it to make it easier for myself definitely requires experience.
“You’re already faster and better than me.”
At this point, it’s just unfair in terms of physical ability.
The forest had a nice breeze, making it quite cool.
“It’s quite different from the forests in my country, but having a forest does bring richness,” Karn said, munching on a Yellow Melon. “Your Majesty, that’s quite rude.” I was also munching on one, though.
“Can this melon grow in hotter conditions?”
“Who knows? Why not try planting the seeds? It’s not much trouble,” Retze replied, shrugging lightly at Karn’s question.
“Yeah, I’ll do that once I find a suitable spot.”
The area Karn wants to plant is currently a desert.
It’ll be quite a while before we have a place to sow. I believe Karn will eventually create a forest and restore the country. He might even try to restore the flow of the Es River.
The Yellow Melon was small and elongated. Retze found one, split it into four, and used a knife to remove the seeds. It was juicy and faintly sweet, strangely a bit cool. Perfect for a hot day like today.
Is it more like a melon than a melon? Melons are also in the gourd family, after all. There seem to be many edible things I don’t know about yet.
As I walked through the forest, Retze taught me how to navigate it properly, and we made our way deeper without any incidents. If something were to happen to the three of us, I can’t help but feel that Kanum would be in trouble.
“Oh! Pears! And peaches too!” I exclaimed as we navigated through a tricky patch and stumbled upon a pear tree and the flat peaches that are common here. Oh, there are round peaches too.
The ones that grow at the mountain house are definitely tastier, but there’s something special about finding fruit in the forest.
“Isn’t this a bit unnatural?” Karn frowned, unlike me, who was overjoyed.
“I just scattered some seeds randomly,” I said, pulling out a pouch and tossing the contents. The seeds that flew out were from the Yellow Melon we had eaten on the way.
“I see, there’s a reason for this abundance,” Karn’s expression shifted to one of understanding.
“I haven’t done any maintenance, though.”
Could it be that this is Retze’s hidden garden? How many years did it take for these fruits to grow? Or maybe the oldest trees were already here? Hmm, I want to grow melons in the mountains too.
“Ah, I have some left, so take them. They’re originally wild, so they should grow if the environment is good.”
As I watched the scattered melon seeds, Retze handed me the cloth that had wrapped them, with a few seeds still stuck to it.
“Thanks.”
I’ll wrap something up and return it later.
I fixed up the stone fire pit that Retze had used before and started a fire. I set up the Horned Rabbit and our late lunch, and we began our fruit picking.
The small pears were plump and ripe. They were stockier than the European pears I knew, with about half of them being red near the stem. They were also quite firm.
The lower branches were either eaten by animals or affected by the environment, so they spread quite high. Karn reached up and pulled down a fruit.
“That one on the right!”
“Aye aye, Master!”
I may not be as tall as Karn, but I have my trusty Ex-Staff.
“Don’t make the butler cry too much, alright?”
Retze said with a face that looked like he was about to sigh.
“Is the sweeter one the one with more red?”
“The one with a strong scent.”
Ignoring the butler comment, I turned back to Retze, who answered me.
Since I can’t smell the higher fruits, I’ll have to rely on the Ex-Staff to pick them.
“…When you think about it, am I using two ‘King’s Branches’ to pick these fruits?”
Retze said something, but for now, let’s focus on gathering as much as we can for souvenirs.