Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 188

“Oh, what a beautiful fruit.”

After finishing the harvest of the Senbon Onions, while walking through the forest, I found something like a fruit wrapped in colorful leaves.

“That is a Zerin fruit. It contains a gel-like substance filled with a lot of moisture, and it has various fruit flavors. It’s delicious as it is, and also tasty when chilled and set.”

“Can I try it too?”

“Yes. As a rule, you can freely eat the ingredients. As long as you don’t overharvest, I won’t stop you.”

It doesn’t seem to be so strict that I have to ask about every single thing. Well, that makes sense.

If eating a little would cause problems, they wouldn’t ask me to harvest it in the first place.

With permission from Franryule, I picked one fruit without hesitation.

Carefully peeling the purple leaves, jelly emerged and quivered.

I took a bite, and it was exactly like grape jelly.

“The soft texture and rich juice are irresistible!”

“Yes, you can’t experience this texture anywhere else.”

“If I had to compare it to a similar ingredient, I’d say it’s like slime.”

The difference would be that slime jelly is more resilient.

Also, this one has a much more distinct fruit juice flavor.

That one doesn’t have much flavor on its own unless you season it.

“What!? You’ve eaten slime before?”

“Yes. You can’t eat it as it is, but you can eat it if you process it with alchemy.”

“Eating slime… I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll share this with Father later.”

It seems that Franryule had never eaten slime before.

Perhaps because of her upbringing, she never thought of eating the slimes that wander around.

While Franryule was taking notes seriously, I tried eating a Zerin fruit with red leaves.

This one tasted like strawberry. The juice flavor seems to vary with the leaf color.

It was like strawberry jelly and also delicious.

If I brought some back as a souvenir, the guild staff, including Rabis, and everyone at the Cat’s Tail Pavilion, including Mia, would be delighted.

Fortunately, there are many Zerin fruits around here. I’ll collect a bit more.

As I was harvesting the Zerin fruits and using my investigation skills, I suddenly saw an orange light nearby.

The investigation skill ranks materials as gold, orange, red, blue, and purple. The higher you go, the higher the material’s rank and rarity.

Orange is the second highest. It’s quite a rare material.

However, what’s glowing orange in my field of vision is just a tree.

There was no response from the magic stone investigation, so it’s not a monster either.

【Demon Wood】

Wood from a tree that has undergone a unique evolution, harboring high-quality magic power. It mimics ordinary trees, making it extremely difficult to find.

It is very durable and can be used for weapons and armor. It is often used for staffs as a medium for magic power.

As furniture, it is of the highest quality with a beautiful finish.

It can also be used as smoking chips, capable of making even the notorious tough meats of magic apes and wyverns taste delicious.

Intrigued, I appraised it, and it seems to be a material called Demon Tree.

“Franryule-sama, there’s Demon Wood over here.”

“What!? Really?”

When I called out, Franryule, who was harvesting the Zerin fruit, hurriedly came over.

Franryule looked at the tree I was pointing to.

She moved around, looking at the Demon Wood from every angle, and then she sank to her knees in disappointment.

“Embarrassingly, it looks like an ordinary tree to me.”

“That’s understandable. Without the skill, I wouldn’t have been able to recognize it either.”

“Ugh, is there any way for an amateur to identify it?”

【*How to Identify Demon Wood】

• • Sense the subtle magic power.

• • Harvest the bark and light it; it gives off a fragrant smell.

Wondering if there was a way to identify it without using the appraisal skill, I activated the skill, and it helpfully provided additional information.

“Besides the appraisal skill, it seems you can sense the subtle magic power.”

“I’m fairly confident in my ability to sense magic, but it looks like I still have a lot to learn.”

“Another way is to harvest the bark and burn it; if it gives off a nice smell, that’s the sign.”

“It’s not suitable for random testing, but it’s a straightforward method to confirm it.”

While saying that, Franryule harvested some bark, created a small flame with magic, and roasted it.

As it glowed red-hot and white smoke rose, a fragrant smell wafted from the bark.

“It’s the smell of smoked Demon Wood.”

Apparently, Franryule had eaten smoked dishes made with Demon Wood before, and she recognized it by the aroma.

“It seems rare, but what should we do about harvesting the Demon Wood?”

“Since it is quite rare, if you could sell it to our family—”

Understanding the words that would follow from Franryule’s expression, I immediately searched for Demon Wood.

Using magic to send out waves, I discovered several Demon Wood trees near us.

“By the way, there are about five more within 200 meters.”

“You can even tell that!?”

“It’s that kind of detection skill.”

“I thought this at the Ladeo Volcano too, but Shuu-san, your skills are unbelievable. Well, if there are that many, it’s fine to take one back.”

“Thank you very much!”

I bowed my head to Franryule, who sighed in resignation.

It’s a material that’s rarely found, so I definitely want to collect it.

Also, I’m purely curious about how it can make even the worst meat taste delicious when smoked.

Once things settle down, I think I’ll order some wyvern meat and try smoking it.

♦ ♦ ♦

“…Shuu-san.”

“What is it?”

“Shall we go collect the ingredients my father requested soon?”

While collecting Zerin fruit and Demon Wood, along with dried squid onions, ogre garlic, and rock potatoes, Franryule said this to me.

We had already been in the reserve for two hours, but we hadn’t gathered any of the ingredients that Artorius had requested.

It’s just that the gourmet reserve is too much fun.

With so many unknown materials around, it’s only natural to feel excited and want to indulge.

“…You’re right.”

Encountering materials with just a bit of walking makes this place feel like heaven.

Honestly, I want to forget about the request and just collect to my heart’s content.

“Please don’t look so disappointed. Once we successfully complete the request, I’ll ask my father to allow you to enter the reserve as many times as you’d like.”

“Let’s go collect the requested ingredients!”

If successfully completing the request means I might be able to enter the reserve repeatedly, now isn’t the time to be idly wandering. I need to demonstrate that I’m a capable adventurer.

“The ingredients Artorius requested are explosive corn, bubbly water, Byron meat, sky fish, and giant tree sap, right?”

“Yes, the nearest ingredient is the bubbly water, which comes from the Bubbly Spring.”

“Um, what exactly is bubbly water?”

“It’s water that fizzles in your mouth. At first, it might feel painful if you’re not used to it, but once you get accustomed to it, the fizzy sensation becomes pleasant, and it feels great going down.”

Isn’t that natural carbonated water?