CH 69

I prepared my field while doing my construction work in the forest, but I realized later on that it’d be better if I worked on the field in the morning, and in the forest for the rest of the afternoon. I didn’t have any system, so if I enjoyed working on the house then I’d do that for the entire day.

Actually, it really didn’t matter whether the house construction was in the morning or in the afternoon, but that timing was more convenient when I did my spirit naming sessions. Well, there’s no problem with the normal spirits since they would draw near on their own accord, but the black spirits usually came at dusk.

Well, it’s right to say that they were taking advantage of the dark to attack since they’re almost invisible, but actually it was super convenient to me because they’re going to me on their own free will. I would grab them one by one and name them. I was still doing everything by force, though.

Once the field was ready, there would be nothing else to do but wait, so I decided to try my hand on drawing magical circles. Alright, let’s clean the field asap.

I could also plant some basil, fennel and lettuce here.I was also familiar with the black cabbage they frequently use in stews and soups together with beans….well, I’m bluffing, I don’t know a single thing about the two other herbs aside from basil. The lettuce was not the curly variety, either.

The wild arugulas growing by the wayside were a bit similar to the ones I know, but the flavor was deeper, and they were more bitter and tough. There was also wild chicory, which would probably grow later on into something similar to small bok choy used in Italian cuisine.

Yeah, I would dare to plant some zucchini and tomatoes, too. Here’s to hoping that they’d become delicious!

Some of the veggies were quite hardy, like potatoes, for example, but some weren’t. I also wanted to cultivate some of the plants so that they’ll be tender, and the key to be able to do that was the soil — it must be soft, fertile and rich in nutrients. I also had to consider whether the plant had good water retention capacity, or prone to root rot if the drainage system was bad. Add acidity or alkalinity to the mix — I just used 【 Appraisal 】 to solve it all, but I also had to do whatever must be done by myself.

Ahhh, having endurance and strength is so sweet, man. I didn’t have any tools back when they blasted me into the island, and I felt exhausted soon enough due to lack of food. It was terrible, really. I actually never imagined back then that I would be digging soil now for my pastime.

I also made a place where I could leave the bran and dead leaves in the soil. I already collected humus from the forest and went to the lake to gather some moss, which I dried so that it would turn into peat moss. There were plenty of ashes from the fireplace, and the water was free-flowing.

Ah, thank goodness, 【 Teleportation 】 【 Appraisal 】 【 Storage 】 were lifesavers!

Alright, I should also plant tomatoes, basil and arugula in pots and bring them back to the rented house. The tomatoes would grow in clusters of teeny, tiny red fruits the size of the tip of my pinky, so they were considered as ornamental plants here. I do hope the other two will grow to be tasty.

Well, I haven’t planted them yet, though.

I had curry udon for lunch, made with bonito stock, strong spices and springy noodles, then topped with fried tofu, scallions and soft boiled pork that I prepared separately.

I’ve been eating bland dishes stewed by the fireplace most of the time, so maybe that’s the reason why I ended up going for curry. Also had some carrot rappe, rakkyou, and tofu for my sides.

I also wanted to make some ice cream, but I wasn’t sure whether I should 【 Teleport 】 to the Snowy Mountains to get ice and make it from that, or to just bury the metal pot in snow to freeze it.

Eating piping hot curry inside the room that had been warmed by the fire in the hearth, then topping it off with ice cream afterward…what a luxury. Well, it was already too late for me to make it now, but there’s still next time, definitely.

It had become a lot warmer lately, and it was sunny most days. Well, my house was in a lowland, still, it was on the mountainside, so there were still cold days, just like today.

I played with Riche during my lunch break. I cut a piece of mooring line used to secure boats to the banks, and tied the ends. Riche and I played tug of war and fetch with it.

Ahh, a frisbee would be nice, huh. Maybe a wooden one would do? Oh, maybe I could just buy a round tray? Alright, I’d go peek into the store later.

Hmm, maybe it would be faster if I asked Dinosso to make one for me… I should’ve asked that during winter, when he had been doing most of his various work indoors.

Riche chased after the rope that I threw, then he trotted back to me while clutching it in his mouth. He was doing all he could so that it wouldn’t touch the ground as he ran, but it was too big so he looked really funny.

My house was peaceful, but the city of Kanum had been restless ever since the subjugation team departed.

Based on my previous experience, people were filled with anxiety when adventurers gather, most especially when it was not the season for highly prized monsters to appear. Folks were filled with dread and anticipation that something happened in the forest.

The guild didn’t do anything to hide the information, either. They even released it, but with words of assurance, of course. They said that there was no need to worry, because it had been detected in the early stages.

The forest covered a wide expanse of land, so there was more than one city, or should I say country, that faced the Magical Woods. Each of those nations must have gathered their adventurers, and they started to send the teams to do subjugation. As for the other three sides, they would probably start with investigation, too? Well, It was also possible that they hadn’t received any word from Kanum yet.

This depended on the place, but there were countries, adventurer’s guilds and commerce guilds that kept messenger pigeons, so they were faster, if we’re just talking about speed. However, it was not a stable way of communication, because the birds might be eaten by the monsters, or else hunted by peasants while they were on their way to deliver letters.

Another method was passing down important info through several routes, such as peddlers and tradesmen, or riding a fast horse. Most of the information that wasn’t classified was passed down this way.

Actually, going the route of spirits would be fastest, but then, users of this method were quite rare.

Heh, maybe I could use 【 Teleportation 】 and 【 Storage 】 to build my own express forwarding company, huh. I could rake in a fortune with that, too. Well, sorry but I’ll pass.