Magic Warrior Chapter 64 (Patreon)

Fruits of the Forest

The year has begun and January is less than halfway through. The cold weather peaks in the first two weeks of February.

Feld Village is a chilly area even in winter, but during this peak period, the temperature drops to the point where heating is required.

Since it is not a very long period of time, many houses use their fireplaces as fireplaces.

It is also the only time of year when I don't wander outside so much.

...I haven't experienced this kind of cold since I was sent to this world, Virtuari.

The original Mina didn't go outside much this time of the year either, so it's not a mistake.

"Sis, let's go mushroom hunting!"

I was reading a novel I bought in town while lounging under the covers when suddenly Clare opened the door with a bang and came into the room.

"What's wrong all of a sudden? It's cold, close the door."

"My father told me that there are mushrooms that grow only during this cold season and they are very tasty!"

"Well, technically, they grow all the time, but they're not good to eat," he said. They say that there are mushrooms that grow only during this time of the year and that they taste delicious."

Rilfana, who had followed Clare, added as she closed the door.

"You're good at identifying what's edible, aren't you, sister? Please!"

Not long ago, she had realized that she could intuitively tell if an ingredient was edible or not. Rilfana, who has pharmacist skills, told me she could intuitively tell what medicine was edible, so I think this was an effect of her cooking skills.

In a manner of speaking, I can tell if the food is edible or not, but I can also tell if it tastes better baked or how to prepare it in a simple way. I think this is only valid under the concept of survival, since it is possible that a dish that has been prepped and carefully stewed tastes better than one that has been grilled.

Clare crossed her arms and looked at me with sparkling eyes.

If she asks me for help with eyes like that, as a big sister I have no choice but to go! 

Let's just find a colander or something to collect mushrooms.

I could just stick them in my Magic Bag, but it's a bit of a hassle to take them out one by one when there are so many in the bag. I don't know how it works, but even if you turn the bag upside down, it won't come out at once.

◇

The forests around the village are evergreen, so they have green leaves all year round.

However, the green color of the northern forest is a little different from that of the southern forest at a quick glance. I just think that the southern forest is more bluish somehow.

I'm sure the spider ruckus has completely calmed down and I'm fine, but I came out well armed just in case.

"Do you know which trees the mushrooms grow on?"

"What?"

Apparently Clare hadn't asked Dad about that part.

"Well, each type of mushroom has a specific tree it grows on, so it's faster if you know which tree it's from."

"That's right. I just heard that you can sometimes find them in the north woods."

Hmmm, maybe Dad doesn't know that much either.

I don't know if the mushrooms here are the same as in Japan. Maybe there are some places where they grow rapidly under the influence of magic.

"I don't know much about them, but I imagine they grow in damp places?"

"Yes, it does. It can also grow on stumps and fallen trees, so let's look for it."

"Yes!"

We continued our search for mushrooms as we waded up the village river for a while.

In the village, fish seemed to run away when we tried to look for them because of the presence of people, but in the forest, we saw fish swimming here and there in places that were shaded by trees. The river is clean, so there may be crabs and so on.

But people in the village don't eat much fish. But if you look hard enough, you can catch them in the village, and it is not that they don't eat them at all.

We found various kinds of mushrooms such as shimeji mushrooms, nameko mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. I don't know their names in this world Virtuari, but my cooking skills tell me that they are edible.

In addition, there were matsutake mushrooms near a little open area. I think they would be delicious if grilled.

It seems that what Clare is looking for is called Breena Mushroom.

I think the reason why the mushroom part is in Japanese is because SeveChro has a recovery item called mushrooms that can also be used as an ingredient.

As I was looking for the brina mushrooms, I found a strange mushroom growing under a bluish tree.

I think this tree is the hashgaghna tree that my father mentioned when he made the wooden sword before.

Growing around the base of the tree was a mushroom that felt like a squishy water balloon. It does not break when I hold it, so it seems to be just a little watery. I think it would be good in a stew.

I wouldn't even think of eating them if my cooking skills didn't react to their appearance and texture, but I decided they were edible, so I gathered them up. There is a possibility that this kind of food could be surprisingly tasty.

"Oh, there it is! It looks just like I heard it looks, so it must be this."

A short time later, Clare found a mushroom with a large white umbrella.

They seemed to have formed on roots that had been stretched out while a large stone was rolling around, and there were many of them growing.

I don't know if they are the brina mushrooms I'm looking for, but I know I can eat them.

Clare sat down near the stone and began to collect them. There were so many that Rilfana and I helped her collect them.

"It's a little chilly around here, isn't it?"

"Maybe it's because there are more large rocks and fewer trees than in other places, so the wind blows and it gets cold more easily."

It seems like it's only picked during these cold months, and maybe it's some kind of terrain that tends to lower the temperature.

When the wind blew hard, Rilfana shivered with cold.

The maid's uniform is not that thick, so it must be easy to get cold. It would be better to have a scarf or something to wear over it in the winter.

"If you leave about half of it, you might get more again."

"Yeah!"

Clare was about to pick them all up, so I warned her just in case. It would be a shame to let them all die out.

"If you are in the village next year, you can come and pick some."

If I try them and they taste good, I may come back when the time is right.

If you go along the river near our house, you will be able to find it easily.

By the way, according to my mother and father and from reading "Life in the Outdoors: An Adventurer's Guide to the Outdoors," they are called parfait mushroom shimeji, medu mushroom nameko mushroom, and soleja mushroom matsutake. The ones growing in Hashugana were Hashugana mushrooms as they are.

I don't think I can remember the names of mushrooms that I rarely go to pick.

I didn't recognize the shiitake mushrooms. It seems that many of them resemble poisonous mushrooms and are not eaten very often, so their names are not well known. Even though they are delicious.

That night, I decided to cook a lot of mushroom dishes. I was all about the mushrooms.

I made a stew of stone mushrooms, grilled them with butter and soy sauce, and also made a one-pot dish with chicken dumplings and vegetables.

Shiitake mushrooms are also delicious grilled and served with a dash of soy sauce.

Hashuganaki mushrooms, which were very watery and mysterious, were also cooked in a soup stock.

The flavor of the hashgarna mushrooms soaked into the broth very well, and they were not bad at all. In fact, I felt that they tasted good because the taste of the broth spread all the way through even if I kept chewing. It's like you get addicted to it as you eat it.

"It's delicious!"

"You can cook anything, can't you, sis?"

Mom didn't mind and ate the grilled shiitake mushrooms, but Dad didn't eat that one.

The next morning, he asked everyone if their stomachs were okay, so I wonder if it was because they had been hit by similar poisonous mushrooms. 

◇

The next day, I was lounging around reading a novel I couldn't read because I had gone mushroom hunting when Clare came into the room.

"Sis, let's go catch some fish!"

Gee, where have I seen this trend before? 

"Sister told me that the fish in the river we found when we went mushroom hunting are delicious!"

Clare crosses her arms and looks at me with sparkling eyes.

I can't help it....

I decided to look for my dad for now to ask him where the fishing gear was.

From Clare's point of view, I'm just a foolish sister.