Chapter 550: Research on Watermelons
A morning stroll with Rishu at dawn.
Just before the sun rises, we walk along a mountain path in a somewhat blue landscape. I woke up quite early, but since Rishu tends to feel hot, we gradually adjusted our schedule to this earlier time.
In this world, not only candles but even firewood is precious, so it’s common to start working at sunrise and go to bed at sunset.
Sunrise around 5:30 in early summer is probably the earliest? It feels about an hour later than where I lived in Japan. The sunsets in summer are noticeably later, though.
I follow Rishu as he dashes ahead. Even though he runs quickly, he’s small, so I don’t need to run to keep up. He’s a bit faster, but he gets distracted by various scents, allowing me to catch up and overtake him easily.
When he realizes I’ve passed him, he hurriedly runs to catch up, matching my pace at my feet for a while. It’s adorable when he looks up at me occasionally.
The mountain I received is within a kind of barrier. Aside from the Gods who provide protection, only those I’ve permitted can see or enter. My sisters and the Ball of Light are out of the question since they’ve been severed from me.
I allow harmless Spirits to come and go freely, as well as animals. Since there are no large beasts that can enter this hilly area, which lacks any place that could be called a forest aside from my mountain, the most common visitors are birds.
Insects are considered pests and require individual permission. I’ve allowed worms and bees early on. I’ve been gradually lifting restrictions based on the hopes expressed by the Spirits of fruit-bearing trees.
It would be good to have butterflies for pollination, but their larvae can be troublesome… For now, I’ve permitted access to the mountains outside the orchard and fields surrounding my house. It also serves as food for the birds.
The pollination of the fruit trees and fields is handled by the bees and Spirits. The bees currently reside in tree hollows, but I plan to build a beehive soon. I want to harvest honey.
I think the biological environment is quite unbalanced, but the Spirits are compensating for the lacking parts. I’ve been gradually increasing the number of creatures based on what I learn from the Spirits.
After finishing my walk, which also served as an inspection of the mountain, I brush Rishu. Since he’s a Spirit, he doesn’t get dirty or have bugs on him. Sometimes he lies down, enjoying the brushing, and at other times, he gets bored and playfully bites the brush.
Today, he seems to be enjoying it and is quite docile. Once satisfied, he rolls over to show his belly. I finish with a gentle pat.
Now, onto my breakfast.
Today’s meal is a type of Fukagawa rice. There are two kinds, but I prefer the one with miso-stewed green onions and clams poured over rice. I generously sprinkle it with seaweed. I feel like pouring it over rice is a bit uncouth, but adding seaweed, honey, and green onions seems to solve that.
I eat it quickly, enjoy some pickles, and finish with a cup of tea. This too is happiness.
Now, I’m heading to the desert for research on watermelons. Although it’s called a desert, the area where watermelons grow isn’t a sandy desert but rather a dry savanna with sparse grass, closer to Es and the jungle.
I teleport to the midstream of the Es River. While asking the Spirits if they know about watermelons, I move through a dry area that resembles a mix between palm trees and desert.
“I know! They exist!”
After asking a few Spirits, I encounter one that knows about them.
“Can you tell me where to find them?”
“Sure!”
So, I follow the Spirit. I plan to ask the Watermelon Spirit directly if I find one.
We advance through a place with withered grass and low, leafless, spindly trees. The trees look dead, but since sleeping Spirits might be attached to them, they’ll likely turn green when it rains.
“Here!”
“Thank you.”
Under a bush, several pale, round watermelons are scattered about. Some have faint stripes, which gives them that watermelon feel. They’re small, like mini watermelons.
A Spirit is perched on one of the mini watermelons. It has a slightly round humanoid shape, suggesting a deep connection with humans.
By the way, the guiding Spirit also has a humanoid form. The area near the Es River has been utilized by humans for a long time. As I travel upstream from Es, I notice stretches where plants seem to have been swallowed by the desert, so it seems they don’t come up this way anymore.
The desert has expanded, Asas has been sealed away, and villages and nations have disappeared, leading to a significant decline in the human population compared to the Era of Fire. In contrast, it seems the Nakahara region saw a boom in population during the Era of Wind.
It feels like they chose to gather at the seaside Es and trade with the prosperous nations across the inland sea.
“Hello, can I ask you something?”
“Sure! You seem nice. Can you give me a name?”
The Spirit playfully taps the watermelon with its tiny hand.
“Alright, Watermelon Number One.”
Please don’t judge my naming sense.
I’m naming so many that I figure it’ll be easier to change names later if someone better comes along than to stick with a name I’m attached to.
“Thanks! What do you want to know?”
It taps the watermelon again.
“I heard that humans consume watermelons for hydration. How do you use them? I’ve heard they last quite a while.”
“Some go bad in about six months, but others can last for years.”
The Spirit continues to tap the watermelon, seemingly ending its sentences with a tap.
“When people used to pass through here, they would slice them thin and hang them on branches to eat.”
Dried watermelon? If it’s so watery, drying it seems like it would be a hassle. It would shrink a lot.
“Then they would poke it with a stick and sprinkle a pinch of ash on it.”
“Poke it with a stick and sprinkle a pinch of ash…”
Ash?
“They used to compete with goats for them. The goats would get the rhizomes instead.”
“The goats would get the rhizomes.”
“Goats find them delicious, but they’re poisonous to humans.”
So, both humans and goats eat watermelons, but since there are rhizomes that humans can’t eat, they would give those to the goats in exchange for watermelons?
“Can I try one?”
“Go ahead!”
With that, I follow the Watermelon Spirit and embark on the watermelon challenge.
First, I clear away the dried grass to avoid a wild fire and dig a shallow hole for the ash. There’s no wind, so it’s fine to keep it shallow. I only need a pinch of ash, so a large fire isn’t necessary.
“Alright, dig a hole!”
“Ex-Staff, please assist!”
“Sure thing, Master!”
With the Ex-Staff, I make a hole with a thud.
“Whoa, that feels weird! Just digging the hole is fun!”
Then, I poke the inside and break it apart.
The inside is white or perhaps a pale yellow, resembling a melon. Watermelons are melons after all.
The Ex-Staff seems fine with making the hole, but it doesn’t like breaking the insides. However, I can’t just make holes everywhere, so I ask it to bear with me.
After roughly breaking apart the insides, I follow the Watermelon Spirit’s instructions and sprinkle a pinch of ash.
“Now we just wait.”
After mixing it a bit, the Spirit suggests we chat to pass the time.
By the way, it seems people sometimes eat the watermelon as is. I wonder why they taught me about this mysterious ritual first.
After a while, the insides turn into a murky, very pale yellow liquid. Did the ash dissolve the flesh? Did it turn into water? This is so fantastical.
But I see, this could indeed serve as a water container. It’s not just moisture from the fruit; it’s a proper liquid. —The taste, however, was unexpectedly bitter.