Chapter 75 - Chapter 67: Something More is Needed
“Lupi, let me know if you find anything unusual.”
“Woof~”
Leaving the coast, we headed to check the traps in the western forest.
The shortest route would take a little over 10 minutes, but there were various things I wanted to find, so we wandered as we went.
“We haven’t seen any birds.”
“They’re around, but maybe I just can’t find them.”
I don’t think you usually spot birds immediately when you enter a real forest. But you’d expect to hear their calls, at least.
“There might be more along the coast.”
“Eh?”
“Like seagulls.”
“Oh, right. I didn't pay any attention when I looked at the cliffs along the eastern sea, but they might have been there.”
That was a bit of a blind spot.
Seagulls, black-tailed gulls, and herons, maybe?
“Woof.”
“Oh, [Chagatake]. Thanks.”
I gathered a moderate amount and tossed it into my backpack. No point wasting it after going to the trouble of making it.
Besides that, I found [Kitopukusa], [Lexon], and then,
“This is… yuzu?”
“But it’s small.”
“Right. Let’s [Appraisal] it first…”
[Greenberry Fruit]
*“Small fruit from a Greenberry plant. Very sour.
Cooking: The skin and juice can be used as a drink or seasoning.”*
Seasoning, here we come!
By name, it sounds similar to blueberries.
“How sour is it? Well, I’ll find out when I taste it.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s not reacting to [Alchemy Skill], so it should be fine.”
I plucked one, about the size of my pinky finger, and popped it in my mouth…
“~~~~! Sour!!”
“Shou-kun?”
“Ah, it was sour. But only at first. Then it turns sweet and delicious.”
It’s close to a lemon, but the sourness is even stronger. Ah, this is it. I bet it would be super delicious squeezed over grilled [Flower Trout].
I guess I’ll do a food porn stream on Saturday…
“Woof.”
“Eh, Lupi-chan, that’s a bit…”
“It’s pretty sour, are you sure?”
“Woof~”
Hmm, if she wants it, I guess it’s fine. It’s not poisonous, and if it’s bad, she’ll just spit it out, right?
“If it’s bad, spit it out, okay?”
I offered her a single small berry on my palm, and [Lupi] took it without hesitation.
“Cooh~”
“Lupi-chan, are you okay!?”
[Mion] worried as [Lupi] squeezed her eyes shut, but…
“Woof!”
“She seems fine. In fact, I think she really likes it.”
It seems the deliciousness after the sourness passes is the same for her. Still, eating too much of this might numb her mouth, so I’ll just pick a moderate amount to take back and use it to season meat and fish.
“Alright, I think we’re nearing the trap area now…”
“Please be careful, okay?”
I nodded in response, concentrating to not miss any [Presence Detection Skill] signals.
As if sensing my intent, [Lupi] silenced her footsteps and began to scout ahead stealthily.
…
…
…
“Ah, it’s been messed up…”
The trap site was severely damaged and thoroughly messed up.
The rope used for the [Snare Trap] was torn in the middle; it was sad.
“Did it escape?”
“No, I think he stole the prey…”
“The Armor Bear?”
“Yeah.”
There were clearly huge footprints that didn't belong to a deer or boar.
I'm guessing it snatched the trapped [Greydeer] and carried it away.
“Woof!”
“Yeah, I really need to do something about him soon.”
“Are you going to fight it!?”
“After a bit more preparation. This hand axe is stronger now, so next I need armor. I have [Ranziboa] leather, so I’ll make leather armor, then reinforce it with iron plates to make it tougher.”
Also, if possible, I want to gain one more character level.
According to [Natto], I’ll get 20 [BP] when I reach character level 10, and I plan to put all of it into my stats.
Once my equipment and stats are ready, I’ll have to plan a new strategy.
If the [Saloon Lizard]’s [Paralytic Venom] worked, that would be great, but considering how long the [Goblin Leader] was paralyzed for, it’s a bit questionable.
[Spirit Magic] seems like a new trump card, but I haven't thought of a good way to use it yet…
For now, I collected the remaining rope and packed it into my backpack.
I probably won’t be able to set traps in this spot for a while.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
“Woof.”
*
“Phew, good work.”
“Good work.”
Back in real life, Bell-san was still in [IRO].
Was [Yata-sensei] preparing for tomorrow’s class?
“It’s amazing how both of you finish before time is up~.”
“It was just a good stopping point.”
After returning to the cave, I organized all the things I had gathered.
The character’s default inventory is time-stopped, so I crammed it with rabbit meat, boar meat, and vegetables. If I left them out, they’d probably rot.
I wanted to process them into something that would last longer. I guess smoking them would be best. But then I'd need salt…
The only thing I left out was [Chagatake]. I mean, I left it out to dry. Ideally, I'd dry it outside the cave, but there was a chance of rain while I was logged out, so I stacked some stone wall blocks in a well-ventilated spot inside the cave and laid it on top.
It was lucky that it easily turned into Dried Chagatake just like that. The taste improved too; it was just like shiitake mushrooms.
“Shou-kun?”
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about food preservation methods.”
At first, I thought I could just hunt [Bicobit] whenever I needed meat, but lately it’s been raining, and that makes things a bit difficult. [Lupi]’s eating more now, so it would be good to have reserves. Also, I really want to try making bacon…
“Speaking of preserving meat~, there’s dried meat or smoked meat~. Both go well with beer, so I like them too~.”
“…We’re minors.”
Well, my dad did offer me beer once, but I didn't think it tasted that great.
“Shouldn’t you secure some salt soon~?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. But I don’t think I’ll find rock salt, so I guess I’ll have to boil down seawater…”
If I remember correctly, boiling down 1 liter of seawater yields about 30g of salt.
With [IRO]’s time acceleration, if I could manage to prepare 10 liters' worth, about 300g, that might last for a while?
“If my intuition is correct~, you won’t have to struggle that much~.”
“Intuition?”
“I wonder if the [Material Processing Skill] will work~.”
Ah…