Chapter 192: Wet Behind the Ears

 

「I’m in your care. 」
「Yeah, let’s go. 」

We set out toward the forest at dawn, so it’s still quite dark.

「Here? 」
「Yup. 」

We made our way while I pushed the grass away from our path with X-Stick. We quickly passed through the meadow, then we entered the forest from a spot a little south than where we usually enter it.

The paths in the shallow areas of the forest are easy to walk on since folks who aren’t adventurers also come here to collect firewood. The terrain will be rougher once you enter the territory of bears and wolves whether or not the horned rabbits and other weak monsters are there.

「Can you see that spot over there? Where the dead leaves have been cleared, see that? 」
「Hm? Ah, yeah, although it’s a bit dark. 」

The clearing that is free of fallen leaves revealed the damp-looking black ground. The moment I saw it, I instantly realized that there are traces of the black soil being trampled on.

「It’s an animal trail, huh. Probably deer? 」
Retze says when he saw the leaves that had been bitten off.

「The trail is still fresh and narrow; it’s probably alone. Are there any traces of humans too? 」
「None… I guess? 」
I look around me before answering. The only disheveled area other than the deer’s trail is the path we’ve just trodden on.

「New trails are usually used again after two to three days. Hunters still enter these parts. There might be traps set up around here because they’re expecting that, so be careful. You’re an idiot if you fall for that. 」
「Ugh. 」
Yeah, that’s the one that will hang you upside down, right? I saw that in a movie before.

【Search】can detect living things and monsters, but what about traps? Ah, so dangerous, really dangerous.

Cautious hunters hide their own trails, so it’s probably better to check the spots a bit farther away from the animal trail.
Deer tracks usually don’t show the dew claws unlike wild hogs, and the adult’s stride length is about 80 to 100cm. They don’t like stepping on branches, fallen trees and stones, so hunters usually ‘guide’ the deers to the snare traps they set up by placing stones and branches on the deer’s path.

Ahh, so this is the kind of stuff the Dinosso kids have to learn before becoming adventurers, huh. I listen to Retze’s explanation while thinking about it.

The sun is already up in the sky, so we take a short break and have something light to eat.

「Was it called sfogliatelle (sfol-ya-tel-le)? Here you go. 」

It’s a pastry with crisp, crunchy, shell-like folds. It’s made by rolling the dough as thinly as possible before rolling the sheets into a cylinder. By the way, they use lard instead of butter for the dough. The rolled up sheets were then cut into round slices and filled with ricotta cheese, folded in half, then baked.

「Ou. — This is delicious as usual, but sweet stuff makes me crave for coffee so nah. 」
Retze says after a bite. He’s becoming a caffeine addict by the second, it seems.

I can take some out of 【Storage】, but I properly packed all the stuff I’m going to need inside my backpack. I also shut down 【Search】and diligently studying now.

「Can I call Riche now? 」
「Yeah, I think it’s fine now. 」
Yeah!

「I’ll be back. 」
「Huh, oy! You’re doing that here!? 」

I【Teleport】and take Riche with me back to Retze.

「You, you should be more discreet… 」
Retze is waiting for us looking dumbfounded.

I think it’s a bit too late considering this, but would it have been better if I hid myself first deep into the forest, just for flair?

「Riche, do you remember Retze? He’s guiding us for today. 」
Riche sniffs Retze as if he’s checking the guy out. After he’s done, he looks up and tilts his head.

「Hello, I’m Retze. 」
Retze stretches his hand out so that it’ll be easier for Riche to sniff him, which the latter did once more.

Ahh, my Riche is too cute.

「Riche, it’s dangerous so don’t stray too far. 」
I grab his cheeks and rub it while warning him.

「Hey, just how dangerous it’d be for a spirit that even I can See, huh? If it’s that dangerous then I’m already dead by now. 」
The trusty guide is mumbling something.

I part the undergrowth with X-Stick as we make our way to our destination. Retze continues teaching me about creatures’ tracks. Riche sniffs here then sniffs again over there. If he goes too far, he’ll come running up to us, before sticking his face into the bushes to sniff again.

The mountain path where we usually take our strolls feels secure since it’s easy to traverse, but it’s must be fun exploring a new place. I’m glad I took him with us.

We slayed two weasel monsters on the way, but it’s no big deal and we continue on our way.

「We’re here. Look, a different sort of grass grows here, see. 」
「Is it this one? 」

A plant with slightly thick leaves that look a bit like chives is growing amidst the various grasses. The tips have a slightly reddish tint to it.

「There are similar looking weeds, but this one is hollow inside. 」
He snaps a leaf and shows me the slimy, whitish cross section.

「Humans can’t detect it, but it has a peculiar smell, apparently. Let’s gather thirty to forty pieces first. 」
「Got it. 」
I part the grass with X-Stick and search for the leaf that I just memorized.

I only see grass that looks like it. Just when I thought I won’t find any, I learn that the plant has green tips too; the ones with stronger scent and can be used are red.

Riche is digging the dirt, so I check him and voila, he found the grass we’re looking for.

「Thanks. 」
I pet his head before gathering the grass. Riche isn’t just cute, he’s clever too.

After all that, I managed to get 8 pieces, Riche 11, Retze 15. Tsk…! I’ll be more diligent. Riche gets distracted by the bugs, and yet… Retze also gathered medicinal herbs and edible wild grass, and yet…Tsk.

「So, you do it like this. 」
Retze wraps the grass we collected before crumpling it. He stops when the cloth is soaked in the grass juice, then he unwraps it and shows it to me.

「After you squeeze enough to release the scent, place them in the spots where red lizards might come. Maybe under the shade of a fallen tree, or somewhere a little cool and damp, and also under the shade of moss, just like this. 」
Retze peels the thick moss stuck on the stone with a stick and bends it over just enough to cover a small gap between the ground and the stone.

「Use a stick so you don’t rub your own scent on it too much. 」
He hands the rest of the bundled grass to me.

I follow what he did using X-Stick. Flip the moss, then put the grass a little farther.

「All that is left is to wait. You capture them when they’re lured out by the grass’s scent. 」

And so, we’ll have our lunch while we wait.

「Today’s bento is a staple one. It’s chirashizushi. 」
「Chirashi? 」
「Yup. Here. 」

The first thing he saw when I opened the bento box was the yellow thinly sliced omelette, followed by dried shiitake mushrooms, pickled lotus roots, chopped nori, simmered conger eels, prawns, garnished with snow peas. I want to sprinkle — chirashi is literally ‘scatter or sprinkle’ — a bit of salmon roe, but that might make the bento smell fishy so I didn’t.

The mushrooms were taken from『Pantry』, and it’s the ones I purposely dried. Some food tastes better when dried, right?

「Whoa, the color combo is amazing. 」
I also included a spoon, chopsticks might be too difficult for him at this stage.

「This box has side dishes in it. 」
I handed the bento box with fried shrimps, then I opened mine.

「Oh? This tastes great, but what’s this? Wasn’t it onigiri, the one you gave me before? Eh? 」
「Yeah, it’s rice. Staple food from where I came from. 」
Great, it suits his taste, it seems.

「Heh~ so you eat with sticks too? You’re dexterous, huh. 」
It’s chopsticks, chopsticks, alright.

 

Notes

Sfogliatelle

Source: https://blog.giallozafferano.it/valeriaciccotti/sfogliatelle-ricce-napoletane/

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Comments (2)

  1. parrjustin777

    Thanks for the chapter.

  2. Hikikomori

    Thanks for the treat.

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