Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 194

We headed west from the place where we encountered the Bombcorn.

The dense trees disappeared, and we arrived at a clear plain.

The area was covered in green, with colorful flowers blooming everywhere.

“Wow! This is such a peaceful place!”

“This area is known for its calm flora and fauna within the reserve, and it has an abundance of edible ingredients!”

Franryule, who guided us, said this with a hint of pride.

Looking around, there were unfamiliar animals, but the atmosphere wasn’t threatening.

Even when they saw us humans, they didn’t seem to mind. Each creature was going about its business.

The air was incredibly tranquil.

As I took a deep breath and looked around, I saw a gigantic plant in the distance.

Even from afar, it was large enough to look up at.

“Could that be the giant tree?”

“Yes, that is the largest plant in the reserve, the giant tree.”

“It’s incredibly tall. How tall is it?”

“It’s still growing, so the exact height isn’t known, but according to research, it’s about one kilometer tall.”

“One kilometer… that’s an incredible plant.”

In my previous life, the largest plant in the world was about 110 meters tall.

This one is simply ten times that size.

“By the way, skyfish also swim around the giant tree.”

“So, we can gather two types of ingredients if we go there?”

“That’s right.”

I thought we would have to walk around the reserve to find the remaining three ingredients, but it’s good that two of them are together.

However, it’s unclear if the ingredients from that gigantic plant can be easily harvested.

“Let’s leave the talk about the giant tree for later and have lunch.”

“Yes. Before that, can I do a bit of foraging? It looks like there are a lot of ingredients around here, and I’d like to try eating what we gather.”

Using a light investigation skill, I saw the entire area shining with material lights.

We’ve come to this gourmet reserve rich in ingredients.

Eating only the packed lunch we brought seems dull. If there are many ingredients we can only find here, I want to gather and taste them.

“Shuu-san, you really like gathering, don’t you? Very well, I’ll join you. How about we use the ingredients here for our lunch?”

“Oh! That sounds great! Let’s do it!”

I nodded at Franryule’s suggestion.

Using only the ingredients found here for lunch seems really interesting.

“Then, let’s meet back here after we’ve gathered the ingredients.”

“Got it.”

Nearby, a tall, slender tree stands alone.

Using it as a landmark, we can easily return.

Since this area supposedly doesn’t attract many dangerous monsters, it should be safe to split up.

I also used the detection skill on Franryule’s side as a precaution, and since the visibility is good, we can keep track of each other even when separated.

With that decided, Franryule and I began gathering ingredients for lunch.

“Detect!”

Activating the skill, I saw colorful lights spread across the wide plain.

“Hmm? Wait, is this tree also an ingredient?”

The closest light was from the tree we used as our meeting point.

【Spicy Tree】

A tree that emits a fragrant aroma. Its fruits produce pepper.

The bark can be eaten as is.

It has a very spicy flavor.

Upon inspection, it seemed to be a fine ingredient.

I tried shaving off a bit of the bark with a knife, and it came off easily.

When I smelled it, it indeed had a spicy aroma.

Eating it, it had a crunchy texture and a spicy taste.

“It’s like eating pepper-flavored potato chips.”

While it couldn’t serve as a main dish, it certainly stimulated the appetite.

It could serve as both a regular snack and a snack for alcohol.

This isn’t bad at all.

I shaved off the bark with the knife.

I also plucked the small black fruits from the top.

These seem to be the pepper fruit. They smell wonderfully fragrant, like high-quality pepper.

Rather than eating them as they are, they seem suitable for use as seasoning.

After collecting the ingredients from the Spicy Tree, I moved on to the next ingredient spot.

I’m curious about the creatures moving around in the grass.

As I moved through the grass, a creature jumped backward.

【Grass Shrimp】

Shrimp that inhabit grassy areas.

They are resilient to dry conditions, they can move on land, and they can no longer function in the sea.

They become more active at night. When they’re young, they’re male, but they transition to female as they grow.

Mature males are more suitable for consumption.

Possibly for camouflage in grassy areas, their bodies are green, and their hind legs are overly developed.

At first glance, they look like grasshoppers, but their basic silhouette is that of a shrimp.

“…Land shrimp.”

They are primarily aquatic creatures, so seeing them on land feels unusual.

I rustled through the grass, and whenever one leaped, it felt very insect-like.

“But, well, they’re shrimp after all, so they should be tasty.”

It feels like I’m collecting insects, but these are indeed fine ingredients.

Thinking so, I grabbed them with my hands and put them in the collection basket.

The sound of them bouncing around in the basket was quite direct.

It felt like I had caught a bunch of grasshoppers. I felt like I was back in elementary school.

After catching a decent number of grass shrimp, I stepped into a place where beautiful flowers were blooming.

There were various colorful flowers, and they were all quite beautiful, but most of them were ingredients.

【Dried Vegetable Flower】

A flower where the petals have turned into various dried vegetable chips.

Eating just one flower can provide a day’s worth of necessary vegetable nutrients.

【Pork Rose】

A flower with pork ribs growing on it.

It has fewer calories than animal-based meat due to being plant-based.

The stem contains components that aid digestion.

These two types of ingredients have a particular impact.

The Dried Vegetable Flower, as indicated by the appraisal information, has petals that have turned into dried vegetable chips.

When I pinched and ate an orange petal, it turned out to be completely dried carrot.

The flavor and sweetness were intensely concentrated, and it was very delicious.

Since various dried vegetables like pumpkin, lotus root, sweet potato, bell pepper, and cabbage are growing, I can enjoy different tastes as well.

I gather the petals by tearing them off.

Once I finish collecting the Dried Vegetable Flowers, next is the Pork Rose.

As the name suggests, this one has pork belly meat shaped like a rose.

It’s amazing that meat grows as a plant. I remember long ago, thinking if there were any plants dumb enough to grow meat as a fruit, but I never imagined it would exist in another world.

“That’s why I can’t stop collecting in this world.”

It effortlessly surpasses the common sense of materials I imagine.

Finding unknown ingredients is so enjoyable, I can’t help but gather them.

Coming to another world, I genuinely feel it was a good decision. I’m truly grateful to the gods.