Chapter 193: Red Lizard
The cherry tomatoes pickled in dashi and perilla are a hit. He probably didn’t realize the tofu skin is a Japanese dish.
I also wrapped miso, sea lettuce and green onions with a piece of dried tofu. Drop that miso ball into a cup, add some hot water, and there you go.
「Is that soup? It smells strange. 」
「It’s a dish from my hometown. It’s actually quite versatile, you can use turnips. Other stuff works too. Mix it well. 」
I stuck a fork into the cup and handed it to Retze.
I was initially going to add some turnips and other veggies that are common in this world, so that it’ll be easier for him to accept it. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything I wanted to use among the summer vegetables.
「Heh. I felt turned off at first since it seems so weird, plus it has that scent that I’ve never smelled before. Glad I tried it, it does have that peculiar taste. I think I’m gonna get addicted to it once I’m used to it. 」
Retze sniffs it and peers at it before drinking, then he tells me his impression.
Nice, nice, he’s more flexible than Dean. That guy only likes simple flavors and hard textures when it comes to bread and meat.
Next up is the chopsticks challenge! I drew two circles on the ground then put some tree nuts beside one of them. I showed him how to transfer the nut into the circle, and he promptly started. Well, it’s a nice way to pass the time while waiting for the lizards to gather around us.
「Wahahaha, they’re running away from you hahaha! 」
X-Stick boisterously watched while munching on tacos.
「Never did I imagine the King of Boughs would laugh at me… 」
Retze is taking this challenge so seriously, but he still ends up crossing the chopsticks or else putting too much pressure on them, so the nuts end up slipping away completely. The more he chases after them, the more they roll away.
X-Stick is right; it does seem like the nuts are running away from Retze. He’s really dexterous, but he is still struggling with this.
X-Stick is about three heads high when he shows up in his other form; his arms are tiny when he lifts them up but his mouth is huge. It’s a bit rude talking so noisily, but he does look cute when he opens his mouth wide to take a chomp.
He might seem restless and bursting with energy, but he’s actually a shut-in, or so he says. His personality, according to him, is quite peaceful because Sticks — ah, the Boughs and Trees, I mean — only quietly watch over the reign of their chosen one without interfering in anything.
He does seem to be easy going when Riche munches on him, but he rarely pops out. Ah, I guess that’s right, given that the other [King’s Bough] and [Fae’s Bough] normally don’t appear in front of humans. So, as rare as his appearance is, he’s already quite the extrovert among his kind.
Many of the others don’t even show up no matter how much they’re called, says X-Stick.
I listened to X-Stick talking about a lot of things to Retze while brushing and checking Riche’s fur for any burrs. Ah, right, he doesn’t get dirty, nor do he get matts. I’m just in the mood, alright.
A little over an hour later, we went back to the grass setup and found red lizards scurrying there.
I gently lifted the moss with X-Stick’s tip. Retze slowly stretched his hand without a word, before suddenly grabbing one by the neck. He then quickly stuffed the lizard into the bag.
Retze lifted the moss this time around, and wordlessly urged me to try it. The red lizards couldn’t sense slow movements that well, apparently.
I slowly stretched my hand. The red lizard seemed intoxicated by the scent of the grass. As long as I don’t accidentally touch it or make a loud noise, it won’t run away.
The trick was to grab the neck and press the base of its head firmly. Doing so would stop the lizard from squirming.
Oops, it slipped away. Riche catched the runaway red lizard with his front paws.
「Riche, it has poison!! 」
I hurriedly raised his front paws; Riche just tilted his head at me.
「I told you, that much isn’t a big deal at all. 」
Retze was dangling a lizard with his hand. He managed to capture the red lizard that had quickly escaped again.
「Ugh, it slipped right through me. 」
I checked Riche’s paw pads then wiped them.
「Well, it’s hard to grab them if you’re not used to it, I guess. 」
「Can’t use gloves, they’re in the way too. 」
The red lizard’s full name is Red Hidden Poison Lizard. It has a slippery skin much like eels, and its entire body is covered in poisonous slime. This mucus will dry up soon after its death, so its better to capture them alive. The slimy mucus is also an ingredient for making medicine.
「The two lizards we got are normal ones. Horned lizards are way faster than that. 」
Retze smirked.
Urgh, how dare you when you failed the nut challenge…!!
「See, that’s a horned one. 」
「Whoa!! 」
Totally flustered, I grabbed X-Stick without thinking and crushed the lizard with him. Monsterfied red lizards aim for the face when they spit venom. They’re pretty strong creatures despite their small size, so they should be subdued immediately.
「You… So sticks are better than bare hands for you, huh. 」
Retze said while staring at the red lizard pinned to the ground by X-Stick.
「Nah, it’s just a coincidence — ah, but I think I got the hang of it now. 」
How much strength, where to press, stuff like that.
Still, it’s easier to use a stick. I pressed X-Stick on the lizard, effectively stopping its movement before chucking it inside the bag.
「Hey, I know that Stick is normally enshrined and worshiped, so will it be fine against the poison? 」
「It’s a stick. I’ll wipe it later. 」
Retze looked at me dubiously.
Spirits come first before sticks, or sticks first before spirits, which is it? — Retze was mumbling something.
Our lesson ended without letting a single red lizard escape. I’ll make some chopsticks later and send them to Retze along with some peas.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.