kscans

Chapter 176 - A Strange Tale of Night Bedding, 3. Down and Soba Husks

Whether he didn't notice the quiet murmuring behind him, or whether he noticed and chose to ignore it, Yuri's response to Adon was overheard by Old Man Audel, who then interjected.

"Will any bird’s feathers do?"

"Ah, no. Like I said before, the soft down is optimal. Other feathers seem to have significantly lower insulation effects. ...This sleeping bag isn't as comfortable as my down futon made with the fluffy down, either."

"But... if you're only using the down, how many birds must one hunt..."

"Oh, no, you don't hunt them. You collect the down they use to line their nests."

Yuri shared his knowledge from his previous life about collecting down from eider duck nests, and how the ducks were protected for that purpose. This seemed to pique everyone's interest.

"Yuri-kun, does that bird exist in this country?"

"I wonder... I only heard about it from my grandfather... Hunters might know something, perhaps..."

Having never seen a corresponding bird here, Yuri couldn't say for sure. But Adon seemed to have taken an interest in the story.

"...So, Yuri-kun, is this thing really warm?"

"...Would you like to try getting in? I have a spare... though I can't give it away, of course."

In response to Dona's question, Yuri took a spare sleeping bag out of his Magic Bag, which was in fact his Storage. He had originally prepared it in case the feathers in his main bag got damp and lost their insulation.

The group took turns trying it and were astonished by its warmth. Seeing their reactions, Yuri sighed in resignation. Ah, this was a situation where he would have to offer up the spare. In the end, it was decided that Dona would use the spare sleeping bag tonight, after which Old Man Audel and Adon would use it on alternating days. When Yuri generously took out the hide of a boar, actually a boar-type magical beast, to block the cold from below, he was met with gazes mixed with gratitude and exasperation. When he brought out the pelts of a Gambit Grizzly and a Bicorn Bear for those on night watch, their gratitude was surpassed by alarm.

"What? If you’re going to wrap yourself up, a bigger pelt is better, right?"

"That’s true, but... a Gambit Grizzly?"

"...It’s not something you get to touch every day..."

"...Well, we’ll gratefully borrow the pelts... but Yuri, this sleeping bag... it seems to be made of a strange cloth?"

"Oh, I coated it with oil from a Lucca. It repels water really well, but it doesn't get stuffy when you're inside."

The surface of the sleeping bag had been treated with a substance taken from the uropygial gland of a Lucca to make it water-repellent. It was something he had set aside after receiving instruction from his Appraisal Teacher and Rural Life Guide Master during disassembly. Apparently, the Lucca was too large to do something as refined as taking shelter from the rain, so it lived a life where getting wet was expected. To repel water, it would coat its feathers with secretions from its gland using its beak. When he applied a slightly processed version of this substance to the surface of the cloth, it transformed into an ideal material that was both water-repellent and breathable.

"Is that true, Yuri-kun?"

"That’s the first I’ve heard of it... but now that you mention it, waterfowl do something similar..."

"But... unless the bird is as large as a Lucca, it wouldn't be worth the effort to collect it, would it?"

"No, considering the down as well, I’d say this has increased the value of the Lucca."

The adventurers started buzzing with excitement. Adon joined in, but oblivious to them, Dona and Old Man Audel were distracted by something else.

"Yuri-kun, is this a pillow?"

"What's inside it?"

"Oh, that’s soba husk."

""Soba husk?""

Apparently, putting soba husks in a pillow was a novel idea to them. In End Village, it seemed they used rolled-up cloth or pillows stuffed with straw.

"We never used soba husks for anything but spreading on the fields."

"Ah, for charcoal dust. That might be good for improving the soil."

"...What’s that, now?"

Charcoal dust, made by smoldering rice husks, is sometimes used as a soil conditioner. As a porous material with good aeration and water retention, it helps improve the soil's breathability and permeability. Soba husks apparently have a soil-improving effect even when spread as they are, but Yuri was not aware of that. Well, since charcoal does not biologically decompose, charcoal dust might have the upper hand in terms of the longevity of its soil-improving effects. However, the people of End Village were unaware of charcoal dust, so Yuri had to spend some time explaining it. As mentioned before, Yuri was fundamentally a cautious person, but the gap in understanding between his world and this one was so large that he often made verbal blunders like this without realizing it.

"...Yuri-kun really is Yuri-kun, isn't he..."

"...What do you mean by that?"