kscans

Chapter 38 - Acorn Rolling, Rolling. Acorn Ro...

Around the time October arrived on Yuri's self-made calendar, which was based on the time in Japan when he was reincarnated, the mountain trees began to change color. At the same time, the acorns he had been eyeing began to fall from the trees.

Yuri had been eagerly waiting for the acorns to ripen in the fall ever since he found some Konara oaks and Urajirogashi oaks, or Dag and Shika as they were called here, in a relatively shallow part of the forest. He eagerly set out to collect them. His purpose was not to make tops or balancing toys... but, of course, to gather them as a food source. They were too bitter to eat as they were, but he had already confirmed they were edible after being soaked in water to remove the bitterness. These were acorns that had likely been used since the Jomon period in Japan. The option of overlooking them was, at least for Yuri, not on the table.

Just recently, he had harvested the jujubes, or Juba fruit as they were called here, that were planted in the village, but those fell more into the category of a treat. As for his staple food, his stockpile had not yet reached a level he could feel secure about. No matter how bitter they were or how much effort it took to leach them, he couldn't afford the luxury of ignoring a food source he knew was available.

"I really wanted chestnuts... but acorns that are definitely here now are better than chestnuts that may or may not exist."

Soaking them in water was a bit of a hassle, but if he could get starch from the acorns, he could combine it with wheat flour to increase the frequency of his flour-based meals. Since his reincarnation, his meals had been an endless series of cracked naked barley porridge, with the occasional Yoppa bulb or Lycoris starch dumpling being a feast. So, if he could eat udon or suiton, he would welcome it, whether it was made from wheat flour or acorn flour. That was Yuri's true feeling. In addition,

"Acorn flour has a rather rustic feel to it, so if I mixed in some dried jujubes and made cookies, it might be a good match..."

...such ambitions began to spread. The faint sweetness of dried jujubes and rustic acorn flour cookies. It sounded delicious just thinking about it.

Thus, Yuri diligently devoted himself to gathering acorns, making sure not to encroach too much on the portion for the mountain animals.


"Ah... I guess I've been found."

Yuri was not the only one who ate acorns. Other animals, of course, also fed on them. To avoid encroaching on their food supply, Yuri avoided collecting them all in one place and instead picked them up little by little from here and there. This was only possible because the Dag and Shika trees grew widely scattered in various places.

As he expanded his collection range in this way, he also made new discoveries. He found the longed-for chestnuts, and along with them, the fruit of a non-bitter oak, probably a species similar to the Matebashii.

As Yuri was gleefully collecting them, as the saying goes, good things never last. His [Investigation] and [Perception] skills, which had been active all the while, informed him that he had apparently been locked onto by some animal, probably a monster.

"A Monocorn Bear... It looks just as it was described in [Anti-Monster Tactics]..."

It was the first time Yuri had seen this monster, but that did not mean it was an unknown monster.

Because he misunderstood his own abilities to be at the "very bottom," Yuri had spent a lot of time researching and honing his skills in anti-monster combat. He had read the text of [Anti-Monster Tactics], which was included in `Rural Life Guide`, from cover to cover and had memorized most of its contents... from their nature and characteristics, to their weaknesses and how to fight them.

And... in anticipation of encountering these monsters, he had not missed a single night of physical and magical training.

"Well then, I guess it's time to start the battle."

The Monocorn Bear, probably seeing Yuri as easy prey, let out a roar and charged.