Chapter 93 - New Discoveries
Alright, now that I’ve allocated my BP, first things first…
“Let’s eat.”
“Woof!”
What are we having for dinner tonight?
Hmm… Since I went to the trouble of harvesting radishes—I mean, [Rudish]—I’d like to make a dish with them. For me, radish means oden, but… I can’t do that without soy sauce. So, that means…
“I guess I’ll try making a salt-stew with rabbit meat and rudish.”
Salt-stew?
It’d be nice to have cooking sake, but you can’t help what you don’t have. So, I’ll just bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients.
I’ll slice the [Rudish] into rounds, peel them, trim the edges… maybe make a few shallow cuts. Fill the earthenware pot with water, add a suitable amount of salt. Then, I’ll add the dried [Chagatake], the rudish, and diced [Forebit] rabbit meat and let it stew.
“I still want one more flavor in this, but…”
Shou-kun, I don’t think you used seaweed in the last stream.
“Ah, that’s it!”
It’s not exactly a substitute for kombu, but seaweed should pair well with a salt-based broth. Just tear it up and sprinkle it in at the end…
“Done! Rabbit Meat and Rudish Seaweed Salt-Stew!”
[Cooking skill level increased!]
Oh, lucky. Cooking is level 6 now. Does that mean I’m a proper cook?
“Woof woof!”
It looks incredibly delicious…
The rabbit meat, especially from the [Forebit], seems to have more fat, so it should be rich. The umami from the dried [Chagatake] and the seaweed-salt flavor should really match.
“Hold on a sec, Lupi.”
The [Rudish] was quite a bit spicier than daikon, so I tasted it first. It’s really helpful that stews cook so quickly. If it was like this in real life, I’d make stews more often.
I put my chopsticks in, and a piece of piping hot rudish, soft enough to fall apart, went into my mouth…
“Oh, it’s delicious! It turned incredibly sweet, and it’s soaked up the broth so well, the seaweed-salt flavor just melts in.”
“Woof! Woof!”
“Okay, okay. Lupi, it’s hot, so don’t burn yourself.”
Serving it on a flat plate would cool it down fast enough, so it should be fine. …I wonder if Lupi is okay with radish?
Ugh, I’ll have to watch this again when I edit the video.
“Sorry, sorry. Well, if you really want to eat my cooking, just say the word.”
Really?!
“Ah, yeah.”
Well, she seems to have gotten pretty close with Miki, so if she came over to my place, it’d be anytime, but…
“Woof!”
“Lupi, you’re fast! Hold on a sec.”
While dishing out a second helping for Lupi, who had finished her portion in no time, I also enjoyed the stew.
Hmm, I’ll have to go get some more seaweed. That rocky shelf where I pulled up the [Red Armor Bear] last time seemed pretty good, so maybe I’ll go there again.
Lupi and I cleanly finished everything, and as I was washing the dishes by the river,
Good evening~ I came to check in a bit because the short video’s view count became quite impressive~
Ah, Sensei.
“Oh, good. I was wondering what to do.”
Yes~ you can just keep playing~
So, I put away the dishes and headed back to the plaza.
Should we rush the full version?
Before that~ did you get a reply to your inquiry~?
“Ah, yes! Actually, I was taken to the [GM Room]!”
I explained what happened to Yata-sensei. How I received 3 SP as a thank-you for the report, and that I was allowed to talk about the content.
In that case~ Mion-san, please add a comment with that information to the short video~ and pin it to the top~
“I see.”
It’s good to let everyone know that the sudden spawn and the underwater combat not showing up were bugs, and they’ll be fixed in the next update.
Is there a need to rush the full version?
No~ just add that comment~ and write down the planned release date for the full version~
Understood. Shou-kun, I’ll head over there for a bit.
“Okay. Lupi and I will take our time scouting out the western side.”
Okay. I’ll be right back!
Yeah, well, I don’t think she needs to rush that much, but…
…
From the plaza in front of the cave, I went to the beach, and then followed the usual route to the western forest.
But…
“Huh? It feels really peaceful now. Is it because I defeated the [Area Boss] after all?”
At that time, I remember seeing notifications like [Safe Zone Added] and [Southern Island Area Occupied].
Does that mean I’m the strongest in the southern part of the island? If that [Red Armor Bear] appeared again, I’d probably struggle, though…
“Woof!”
Lupi leaped in one bound, diving into the tall grass, and then,
Flap, flap, flap, flap!
“Whoa, there were birds here!”
“Woof!”
Lupi dropped her kill, looking proud. It looked like a wild pigeon with beautiful, dark purplish feathers. First, I’ll [Appraisal] it.
[Parpigeon]
A wild bird inhabiting lush forests. Characterized by its purple feathers.
Cooking: Its meat is sweet and rich. Crafting: Bones and feathers can be used as materials.
Ooooh! Bird meat! And with the feathers, I can finally make arrows!
I’m back.
“Welcome back. Look at this.”
I showed Mion the [Parpigeon] and its appraisal results.
A bird?!
“Yeah. Probably like a wild pigeon. Lupi caught it for me.”
“Woof!”
“Good girl~”
I gave the proud Lupi a good petting. My policy is to praise and encourage.
And when I dismantled it, I got meat, bones, and feathers. It looked like enough feathers to make about 20 arrows.
Why are there suddenly birds here?
“About that, isn’t it because that bear, the [Area Boss], is gone? When I came here today, I noticed the atmosphere felt much more relaxed.”
So, because that boss is gone, it’s become peaceful?
“Probably. I got a notification saying [Southern Island Area Occupied], so there might not be any threatening monsters around here anymore.”
I see.
It’d be a bit problematic if all active monsters were gone, but it’s probably not that extreme. I still want to hunt at least one more [Ranziboa] to get new boots.
Chatting about such things, we proceeded deeper into the island, towards the center, a side I hadn’t been able to explore until now.
Yata-sensei said he’d observe for a while after pinning the comment, and if there were no issues, he’d log off. Truly, he works hard.
There was no reaction from [Presence Detection], so Lupi and I continued forward with light steps, and then…
“Oh, a plaza here too?”
The trees ended, revealing a grassland about half the size of a tennis court. More like a grassy field than a proper grassland. More importantly, the entire area was glowing faintly.
“Yeah. This entire place is a [Safe Zone].”
Ah, that’s right, there was a notification.
“Exactly. I wondered where it was, but it was here all along.”
But the back here is a cliff, so what am I supposed to do with a [Safe Zone] added to a place like this…? Am I supposed to build a house here?
“Woof woof!”
“Hm, what’s up?”
Lupi called out, gesturing ‘over here, over here’, so I went towards the cliff face at the back, and then,
“Oh, a cave…”
Lupi-chan, nice work.
“Woof!”
It was open wide, hidden as if in the shadow of a rock, similar to the cave entrance at the back of the plaza.
Huh? Could it be that the correct way was to reach here without fighting the patrolling Armor Bear, by avoiding detection?!
“Sorry, what time is it now?”
It’s just before 9:30.
“Alright. Let’s go in then.”
“Woof!”