Chapter 69: The Town’s Atmosphere
After spending some time working in the forest and tending to the fields, I realized that it’s better to work in the fields during the morning and in the forest during the afternoon. Since I’m just going with the flow, if I’m enjoying building the house, I can take a break from the fields and work on it all day.
The housework can be done at any time, but it’s convenient for naming purposes. Regular Spirits come to me without issue, but the Black Spirits tend to show up more as twilight approaches.
It’s true that they attack by taking advantage of the low visibility, but it works in my favor since I can catch them one after another. I’m still relying on brute strength.
Once I’ve sown the seeds in the fields, there’s not much left to do for a while, so I’m thinking of drawing a magic circle afterward. Yeah, let’s tidy up the fields first.
Basil, fennel, and lettuce are being cultivated here as well. Black cabbage, which is mainly used in soups with stews and legumes, is somewhat familiar to me… Just kidding, I’m not familiar with the other two besides basil. The lettuce is just a slightly less curled version.
I’ve seen wild arugula growing by the roadside, which I know fairly well, though it’s quite strong in flavor—bitter and tough. The same goes for wild chicory; it should eventually turn into a smaller version of the cabbage served in Italian dishes.
I’m also trying my hand at zucchini and tomatoes. I hope they turn out delicious!
There are sturdy vegetables like potatoes, but for the softer ones that I want to cultivate delicately, I need to ensure the soil is soft and nutrient-rich. Should I prioritize water retention, or is it better to have good drainage to prevent root rot? Is acidity preferable, or should it be alkaline?—I could solve this with [Appraisal], but I still have to do the work myself.
Honestly, having strength and stamina makes things so much easier. When I was transported to this island, I had no tools, and I got tired quickly from not eating. I never thought I’d be able to cultivate soil as a hobby back then.
I created a spot to mix in dead leaves and bran with the soil and let it sit. I gathered leaf mold from the forest, went to the lake to collect moss, dried it, and made peat moss. I have plenty of ash from the fireplace, and there’s flowing water.
[Teleportation], [Appraisal], and [Storage] are incredibly convenient!
I’ll plant tomatoes, basil, and arugula in pots to take to the rented house. The tomatoes produce small red fruits the size of my fingertips, so they’ll serve as decoration. The other two are for immediate consumption.
Though they’re not sprouted yet.
For lunch, I made curry udon. It’s rich with bonito broth, strong spices, and the noodles have a nice chewiness. I topped it off with fried tofu, green onions, and a generous portion of tender braised pork.
Maybe because I often make simple dishes in the fireplace, I find myself leaning toward curry. The side dishes are carrot rapé, pickled shallots, and tofu.
I want to make ice cream, but should I [Teleportation] to the snowy mountains to collect ice, or would it be better to bury a metal pot in the snow to chill it?
Eating warm curry udon in a cozy room warmed by the fireplace while dreaming of cold ice cream… It’s too late to make it now, but I want to prepare it for next time.
It’s getting quite warm, and there are more sunny days. My house is situated halfway up a low mountain, so there are still chilly days like today.
Taking a break to play with Rishu, I cut a thick mooring rope short and tied the ends together, using it for tug-of-war and fetch.
I’d love to have a frisbee. I wonder if a wooden one would work? Maybe I should just buy a round tray? I’ll peek into the shop later.
It might be faster to have Dinoss make one for me; I should have had him craft it during the winter when he was doing various side jobs.
Rishu dashed after the thrown rope toy, grabbing it with his small mouth and returning. He’s trying hard to keep his face up so it doesn’t touch the ground, but the rope is too thick, making for a funny sight.
While my home is peaceful, the town of Kanum is buzzing with unease due to the emergence of a subjugation squad.
From past experiences, I can usually guess what’s happening in the forest when adventurers from outside gather, unless there’s something valuable that appears seasonally.
The Guild is openly sharing information without hiding anything. Of course, they also mentioned that there’s no need for concern since it was discovered early.
The forest is vast, and there isn’t just one town or country facing the Demon Forest. Each must be gathering adventurers and starting similar responses. Perhaps they’re investigating the other three directions? Though it’s possible that messages from Kanum haven’t reached some locations yet.
In some places, countries and the Adventurer’s Guild keep carrier pigeons for messages, and some are quite fast. However, there are risks of being intercepted by demon beasts or being enjoyed by farmers along the way, so it’s not guaranteed.
Important news is sent through multiple routes, whether entrusted to traveling merchants or by switching to fast horses. Especially information that doesn’t need to be hidden can be sent this way.
The most reliable and fastest method is to use Spirits, but they’re quite rare.
It seems like running a transport business with my [Teleportation] and [Storage] would be profitable. Though I won’t actually do it.