by Hiro Ainana
The four of us marched into the foothills. On my map, I saw a herd of red deer up ahead.
“Ah! A rabbit, sir!”
“Wait a moment, Pochi,” Liza called.
Pochi spotted a short-eared rabbit and took off after it.
I’d asked Liza ahead of time to protect Pochi, so she sprinted away behind her after a brief glance in my direction.
“You’re not going to chase the rabbit?”
“Tama wants bigger prey than that,” Tama said stiffly. I hoped she’d be able to take the deer down quickly and return to her usual languid self.
Pretending to search for prey, I gently guided Tama in the direction of the herd.
“I found something.”
“Oh, some deer.”
From the name “red deer,” I’d been expecting vivid colors, but only the fur on their chests was red. The rest was the same color as a normal deer.
Tama and I edged closer to the group from downwind.
Unfortunately, they sensed our presence anyway and fled.
The beastfolk girl gave chase immediately, but she couldn’t keep up with the escaping deer. I caught her before she could go too far after them.
“They got away…”
“It’s all right, there’s still plenty of prey.”
The herd would probably be on the alert now, but we could just wait awhile and try again.
We found a spot where we could watch the red deer close by and concocted a strategy together. It would have been easier if Tama had a skill that would allow her to creep up on them, but we’d have to find another way.
We decided I would take the role of a beater and drive them toward Tama, who would hurl rocks to bring one down.
Since raising our voices carelessly would alert the deer, Tama and I devised hand signals. We settled on only three—attack, wait, and run away—so that she could remember them more easily.
Leaving Tama where she was, I circled around them at a larger distance than before. Along the way, I picked up a few stones for throwing.
Motioning wait to Tama, I jumped out in front of the herd and drove them toward her.
Once they were within her range, I gave the attack signal to the eager girl. The red deer noticed her and started to scatter, so I hurled the stones I’d collected earlier to scare them back on course.
My projectiles shot through the air with the speed of bullets, gouging large holes in the ground in front of the herd. As the deer panicked, Tama began throwing rocks of her own.
The first stone only grazed the back of one animal, but the second hit a different deer square in the head. Because of the distance, she was having a hard time making a clean shot.
The rest of the herd bounded away as fast as they could, leaving their fallen fellow behind.
The injured deer struggled to get up and run, but Tama was already on the scene and quickly delivered the finishing blow with her short sword.
“Big preeey!”
“Congratulations, Tama.”
Tama beamed and lifted up the slain red deer in triumph.
Tearing my gaze away from the reproachful gaze of the dead deer, I stroked Tama’s head heartily and praised her.
We hung the carcass in a nearby tree to begin bleeding it out. (I’d pulled a rope from Storage for this purpose while Tama wasn’t looking.)
Since we’d left the Garage Bag back at the campsite, Tama and I searched for a sturdy stick to help us bring back the deer. Since none of the fallen branches lying around were the right size, we ended up bending a somewhat thin tree toward the ground and hacking off a branch with a dagger to make a pole.
Next, we would tie the feet to our pole and carry it back to camp together. I could’ve carried it over my shoulders alone, but I decided against it, since I didn’t want to get fleas.
Once the game had mostly bled out, Tama and I lifted it and carried it back toward the campsite.
“Preeey!”
“Wow, amazing, sir! Liza! It’s meat, sir! Tama and Master brought back some huge meat, sir!”
Pochi seemed happiest to see Tama and me returning with the red deer, racing around in circles with such excitement that I thought she might pass out.
Everyone had assembled at the campsite except for Arisa and Mia. Liza and Pochi had returned early.
“Welcome back, Master. What wonderful game you’ve brought. You must have worked hard, too, Tama.”
“Yeah!”
Tama’s ears and tail perked up at Liza’s words, and she responded with pride.
“Master, welcome back. Ms. Tama, you did a great job.”
“Master and Tama, I applaud your spoils.”
“I did my beeest?”
When Lulu and Nana complimented her, too, Tama reacted with uncharacteristic shyness.
Since Liza had come to greet us, I gave her the pole with the red deer. Liza accepted it easily and began butchering it with Lulu.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but underneath that dignified demeanor of hers, I sensed an urge to dance for joy—probably because of the rhythmic movement of her tail.
“Meat, meat! It’s meat, sir!”
“Meaty meat!”
Pochi and Tama sang a song of meat as they skipped along to cheer Liza on as she took apart the deer. The song alone wasn’t enough to express their support, it seemed, and they even created their own odd choreography.
“Oh my, that’s an impressive catch you’ve got there.”
“Back.”
At this point, Arisa and Mia returned. Their magic experiment had apparently been a success.
Mia promptly came over and latched onto me childishly.
“E-excuse me! Mia, that’s not fair!”
“Is too.”
Watching Mia rub her face against my chest, Arisa grumbled crossly.
If she’s that upset, she could just come hug me, too, really. As long as she doesn’t try to harass me sexually, I don’t mind giving out as many hugs as necessary.
Once Mia was satisfied with the physical contact, I asked her to demonstrate the spell for me.
“… Bubble Wash Awa Senjou!”
Frothing foam rose from the water pail nearby and sucked the dirt right off me. Even though some of the bubbles stuck to my body, I didn’t get wet. Just as I’d designed it.
“It’s a success. Thank you, Mia.”
“Mm.”
Mia embraced me again, looking pleased, and I petted her head.
I called over the beastfolk girls, since they’d been out in the mountains, and asked Mia to clean them with magic as well. Liza had already changed clothes and washed her hands, but I figured she might want to experience the new spell with the others anyway.
“How remarkable. I’m next, I imagine?”
“Can’t.”
“Why not?! …Oh, you’re out of magic, aren’t you?”
“Mm.”
It was a handy spell, but the excessive resources it required were a definite flaw. This was after I’d reduced the MP cost by preparing a water source separately, too.
Producing water with magic wasn’t a process of collecting nearby moisture. Instead, it involved giving MP to spirits and having them give it to the water attribute.
I wasn’t clear on the details of that final step, but other spells suggested it was an expensive step, so I simply cut it out.
Still, Mia didn’t have enough MP to use it on all our members at present. I wanted to improve it a little more, but for now, I’d just have to ask her to distribute her magic use among morning, afternoon, and evening.
That night’s dinner featured fried deer entrails with wild herbs, along with a stew of vegetables and steak from the rabbit Pochi had caught earlier. In addition to her porridge, Nana also had some kind of potato potage soup.
Everyone was excited about the lavish meal, but Mia seemed to feel left out, since she couldn’t enjoy any of the meaty dishes. And since Nana was silent as she ate, I couldn’t tell how she was feeling.
I’d have to come up with some vegetarian and liquid-based variations on our meals. I should ask Arisa if she has any ideas, too.
“The tea is ready, Master.”
“Thanks. It smells great.”
Sipping on a cup of the after-dinner tea Lulu had put on for us, I enjoyed a little relaxation. Liza had sprinkled salt over some nuts that Pochi had gathered, and she fried them up as a snack to go with the tea. The crunch was pretty addictive.
Liza returned from cleanup duty.
Nana and the younger girls were doing the dishes, so Liza’s job had been to dig a hole for the food waste. We buried the inedible parts of the deer and rabbit in their own separate holes.
“Liza, aren’t you going to report about the thorny thing, sir?” Pochi latched onto Liza’s leg and gazed up at her quizzically.
“Report? …Ah, I forgot about that while I was distracted with butchering the deer.”
At first, Liza had been confused by Pochi’s question, but then she seemed to remember something and smacked her forehead.
That’s an unusual gesture for Liza. I wonder if she picked it up from Arisa?
“I collected this item along with the plants.”
Liza disappeared into the shadow of the horse-drawn carriage and returned with a thorny succulent wrapped in a thick coat. The AR display gave its name simply as thorny wild plant.
“What is that?”
“Well…”
Liza faltered at my question. She didn’t know, either.
Pochi had insisted on bringing it back to me because of its sweet scent, and they’d picked only one.
“Is it edible?”
“It smells sweet, sir! It’s definitely edible, sir!”
Pochi answered my question very confidently, but the smell appeared to be the sole basis for her belief.
It wasn’t fragrant to me at all, by the way. I sniffed and sniffed for all I was worth, but I didn’t get a “Scent Distinguishing” skill or anything like that.
“Sweeeet?”
Tama looked puzzled. It seemed she couldn’t smell it, either.
“U-um…Master… About this plant…”
“You know it, Lulu?”
“It’s a bit different from what I’m familiar with, but I think it’s similar to winter licorice. Though winter licorice isn’t so large and has fewer thorns…”
I tried using my “Analyze” skill, but it was a different species from winter licorice.
Out of curiosity, I asked Lulu to describe the plant she knew. She said it was a prickly succulent that grew in wintry mountains, and it had thick leaves that could be broken open to find sweet sap. It was popular with mountain children collecting wild plants and nuts.
However, the sugar should be enjoyed only by chewing the flesh, never swallowing. A small amount would be fine, but too much and you’d be glued to the toilet for days on end.
I decided to try pulling off one of the aloe-like leaves to investigate.
I reached out toward the plant, but Liza stopped me.
“Master, these thorns are sharp, so it would be dangerous to touch with your bare hands.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Considering that not even the poison claws of a greater hell demon could harm me, I doubted a normal plant’s thorns would have any effect. Still, because I appreciated Liza’s concern, I stopped anyway.
Reaching into my pocket, I removed from Storage the remainder of the leather we’d used to remodel the cushions earlier that day. Then I wrapped it over the thorns so I could pick up a leaf without directly touching it.
The thorns were sharper than I’d expected, though, and poked right through the leather to reach my palm. Regardless, they couldn’t pierce my skin, so all I felt was a light prickling.
I used the leather to break off the leaf.
At that moment, a wave of sweetness overtook my senses. Something smelled like water saturated with sugar.
Transparent sap dripped from the broken leaf.
“It’s spilliiing?”
“It’ll go to waste, sir!”
Tama and Pochi caught the sap in both hands.
So the rest of the sap wouldn’t spill out, I adjusted the angle of the plant. I wanted to give it a taste test, so I tried to tilt a few drops of the sap into the palm of my hand. But I tilted too far, and the transparent liquid overflowed all over my hand.
Why was it so watery? This wasn’t like any plant I knew. It made sense for parallel world vegetation, I guess.
Once Lulu passed me a container from the Garage Bag, I dumped the leaf and the liquid from my hand into it. I licked my wet palm experimentally.
…It was sweet. A little grassy, maybe, but still as sweet as sugar.
It reminded me of the sugarcane I’d had on a trip to Okinawa, but sugarcane sap didn’t flow freely like this.
Pochi and Tama watched me with great interest, so I told them to go ahead and try it.
“Yes, sir!”
“’kay!”
They slurped up the sap noisily.
It tickled—yes, for some reason, they’d chosen to lick my hand with such force I thought one of them might bite off my fingers.
Of course, I meant they should try licking it off their own hands, but all right…
The eyes of the others started boring into me, so I stopped them before too long.
“Goodness, Master. Here, wipe your hand with this.”
“Thank you, Arisa.”
Arisa held out a towel to me in an uncharacteristically chivalrous gesture. I accepted it, handing her the vessel in return. Suspicious, I wet the towel with some water and used it to wipe my sticky hand clean.
“Now then, if I may—”
“Stop right there.”
I halted Arisa as she moved to pour more sap from the vessel into my hand.
“What are you doing?”
“What? How am I supposed to lick your hand clean if there’s not any sap in it, youn— I mean, Master?”
Arisa’s tone implied I’d asked a foolish question, but I definitely hadn’t requested any such service.
And another thing, Arisa. Don’t think I didn’t hear you start to call me “young master.” I’m onto you and your weird little proclivities.
As punishment, I bopped her lightly on the head with my fist.
“If you want to eat it, just put the sap in a dish and dip your finger.”
“…All riiight.”
Lulu procured a small dish from Storage and tipped a bit of sap into it so everyone could try it.
Arisa attempted to lick my finger instead of her own, but I shut her down, of course. The girl never learned.
Once everyone had sampled the treat, they announced their verdicts.
“Mm, it certainly is sweet. Since the kind Lulu had eaten was winter licorice, perhaps we should call this pin frog licorice?” Arisa suggested.
“Hee-hee, you’re right. Although winter licorice isn’t as strong as this. It has a similar flavor when it’s cooked, though, so I’m certain they’re a similar variety.”
“Why ‘frog’? It’s covered in thorns…”
“Right, I suppose you wouldn’t know about frogs for flower arranging, Liza. How about thorn licorice, then?”
During the course of this conversation, the plant’s label in the AR display changed from thorny wild plant to pin frog licorice and finally to thorn licorice.
I see. The names my “Analyze” skill provides are based on a consensus.
Anyway, enough of that discussion. The licorice was a hit with everyone so far, and Lulu had mentioned earlier that people chewed on the flesh of the leaf, so I asked her how to go about it.
“Yes, you simply peel away the skin and cut the flesh into bite-size pieces.”
Ah. I should be able to handle that.
Because I didn’t want to ask Lulu or Liza to do it in case they hurt their hands on the thorns, I used the decorative dagger on my waist to cut away the skin. With help from my “Dagger” skill, I
easily bared the emerald-green flesh without cutting myself.
> Skill Acquired: “Meal Preparation”
The skill I’d earned looked useful. I chose to max it out.
The girls watched me with anticipation, so I cut the flesh into small pieces about the size of my pinkie and distributed them one by one.
Everyone chewed in silence.
Then, as if on cue, they all broke into joyous grins at the same moment. Even the reticent Mia and ever-expressionless Nana wore faint smiles. Sugar’s the best.
“Be careful not to swallow it.”
After giving a quick warning, I popped the last piece into my own mouth.
Because everyone seemed to be craving sweets now, I asked Liza to make dessert by coating a mixture of fruits in honey. For Nana’s portion, I had her make fresh-squeezed juice.
I’d acquired the honey in the Cradle after disposing of a crimson needle beehive in a passageway. It was thicker and sweeter than ordinary honey.
As soon as I tasted it, I noticed a rich flavor unlike the thorn licorice’s.
I decided the honey was best suited to desserts, while the thorn licorice was ideal for a snack during the journey.
I cut the thorns off two more leaves and stowed them in containers to save as treats for everyone. I attempted to store the rest of the plant in the Garage Bag, but it was too big.
Everyone’s attention was focused on Liza’s dessert-in-progress, so I unwrapped the thorn licorice from the overcoat and put it into Storage.
…Ugh, now my coat’s covered in ants and little aphid-looking bugs. Come to think of it, I haven’t tried, since it’s impossible in most games, but can I put living things in Storage?
I gently plucked one of the ants off the fabric and tried to stow it away, but it didn’t work. The line Living creatures cannot be put into Storage appeared in my log, too.
The Item Box functioned similarly to Storage, so it didn’t work there either.
Now, I’d never questioned it before when playing games, but why could you store fruits and vegetables but not living creatures? Did the system treat them like corpses?
In an effort to solve this puzzle, I experimented with some nearby weeds.
Cut weeds could go in Storage but not weeds that I’d pulled up from the ground, even once I’d brushed the soil off them. Shortening the roots had no effect. However, if I removed the roots entirely, Storage would accept the plant. The cut-off roots could be stored, too.
