I was granted free time until my scheduled shift.
With my temporary lodgings already set up, my next priority was securing food and water. In addition to my usual gear, I prepared leather gloves and several pouches for foraging.
"I’m heading out for a bit."
"Right, stay safe out there," Roche replied.
I gave him a quick heads-up just in case and headed toward a small patch of woods a short walk away.
It seemed this camping expedition was designed to hammer home the importance of prior research; the difficulty varied wildly depending on one’s knowledge. The booklet I had purchased contained exhaustive details, ranging from general camping precautions to the locations of rivers and identifying edible wild plants. As long as a student committed that information to memory, even a complete novice could likely manage.
As I walked along the carriage path, I suddenly felt a gaze on me. I looked over and saw one of the students. They didn't seem to have any business with me; they were likely just watching because I happened to enter their field of vision. When our eyes met, they gave a small nod and continued toward the plains. I wasn't sure if they were heading out for a request or, like me, to secure food, but I could see several other students scattered across the grassland doing the same.
Praying that no one would get injured, I finally arrived at the woods.
"Now then, let's see what we have here... Oh! Akakasatake."
The moment I stepped into the trees, I spotted an edible mushroom. As the name suggested, it had a vibrant red cap that looked dangerously toxic at first glance, but it was actually safe to eat. It was a delicious variety, rich in umami with a wonderful aroma. This was a promising start.
In the shadow of a nearby tree, I found Enokutake growing, and at its base, several prickly, menacing-looking Yarijuppon protruded from the soil. Both were edible. Simmering them all together would make for a fantastic meal.
"Come to think of it, it’s already that time of year."
When summer faded into autumn, the mushroom season began—a rule that apparently held true in this world as well. Back in the Gana Forest, mushrooms became a common sight around this time, and I had looked forward to enjoying the various types every year.
I decided to gather a bit extra today for a lavish dinner. I would use the ones that didn't keep well immediately, and if there were leftovers, I could always dry them to take home. I might even ask Shelma to use them for the shop’s meals.
Artificial cultivation techniques for mushrooms hadn't been established in this country yet. If you wanted to eat them, you either had to forage for wild ones yourself or buy what others had found. Because of that, the harvest was entirely at the mercy of luck, fluctuating based on the weather and how much the local wildlife ate while preparing for winter.
Just as dried shiitake mushrooms were luxury items in Japan until the Edo period, mushrooms fetched a decent price here as well. Being able to forage for various kinds and eat them while they were still fresh was one of the perks of being a hunter or an adventurer. They were delicious and made for excellent soup stock. I only wished they were easier to buy year-round.
"Maybe I should try growing them myself?"
There were two main methods: log cultivation and mushroom bed cultivation. Log cultivation involved inoculating wooden logs with spores, while mushroom bed cultivation used a medium of sawdust mixed with nutrients and mycelium. I didn't know the exact temperatures or humidity levels required, but I understood the general process. I decided I would give it a try eventually. Even without the fine details, knowing the basic workflow meant there was a good chance of success.
Still, I’d heard stories of people pouring a fortune into artificial cultivation only to go bankrupt, so I’d have to be careful. I’d treat it as a hobby—if it worked, great. But that was a project for another day. For now, my priority was food procure—?
"See anything?"
"What about over there?"
"Nothing. How about you?"
"Can't find a thing."
Children's voices drifted through the trees. It sounded like they were searching for something. Curious, I crept closer and saw the group of four rookies who had been picking a fight with Beck on the first day.
"I told you they'd be in the plains!"
"A Rock Lizard is a lizard that looks like a rock, right? It's all trees and grass here. There aren't even any rocks!"
I sighed inwardly. Those kids had picked the trapping request. Rock Lizards weren't even mentioned in the booklet I'd bought. They could have avoided this mistake if they had simply purchased the guide and read it thoroughly, but perhaps they had been trying to save money. Regardless, I decided to steer clear. It would be a hassle if they noticed me and tried to demand advice.
Staying hidden in the shadows, I quietly slipped away.
Dozens of minutes later, I returned to the campsite.
"I'm back!"
"Good work," Roche called out.
"Welcome back," Lucy added.
I set my gear down at my base and reported to the instructors on standby.
"The woods were full of food. Most of it was quite easy to find."
"Heh. Well, maybe that means we won't have any kids crawling back to us in tears because they ran out of food," Lucy said.
"Does that happen often?" I asked.
"Quite a bit with the inexperienced ones. They miscalculate how much they need, or they run into trouble and spoil their supplies. If the land provides, we can just teach them how to forage, so it's usually fine."
"I see... By the way, how are the students doing? I saw a few in the woods."
"The others are doing the same," Roche replied. "They're either out on requests or foraging in the woods or the plains. We don't have much to do besides tending to the horses."
"It's easy work, but a bit dull. Haha!"
It seemed everyone was out and motivated. That reminded me of what I had seen.
"Actually, there's something that concerned me in the woods."
"Oh? What is it?" Lucy asked.
"In that patch of forest, there are quite a few mushrooms coming up. There are edible ones, certainly, but they’re surrounded by poisonous look-alikes."
While it was a basic rule not to eat anything suspicious, and they had been warned, someone might easily harvest a toxic mushroom by mistake.
"We should probably step up the inspections of whatever they bring back," Lucy noted.
"I agree. I've brought plenty of medicine, so please let me know if anyone needs treatment. Depending on the toxin, I might even be able to craft an antidote using materials from the forest."
"Understood. We'll count on you if it comes to that."
"In that case, I'll see you later."
I had to process the ingredients I'd gathered, starting with the water. As the booklet mentioned, I had found a river in the woods. It wasn't hard to find, but the water quality was the issue. It wasn't very clear, so I wanted to filter it.
Outside my bug-free stone shelter, I gathered some soil. Using Earth Magic, I refined it into sand and gravel, then fashioned a tank that looked like a large funnel topped with a cylinder, along with a sturdy stand. I carried these into my shelter and pulled cloth and crushed charcoal from my Item Box.
I lined the tank with cloth and began layering the materials: charcoal, cloth, sand, cloth, gravel, cloth. By alternating the layers, I could effectively strain out any debris. I set the apparatus in the corner and used a pipe and more cloth to prevent leaks at the bottom.
"Simple Water Purifier, complete!"
I had already fetched a large jar of river water. Now, I just had to filter it and boil it to have perfectly safe drinking water.
"Let's test it out."
I poured the water into the tank. While waiting for it to filter, I decided to do one more thing with the remaining materials.
I gathered the leftover gravel and used magic to shape it into a large, shallow planter. I added some Scavenger Slime fertilizer, then mixed the remaining gravel back into the soil to prepare the bed.
"Now, just a light dusting of these..."
I scattered the sesame-sized beans I had gathered in the woods, moistened them with clean water created via magic, and covered the planter with a cloth to keep it dark. Then, I used Wood Magic to force them to germinate. In the darkness, white sprouts surged upward with incredible speed.
"And the bean sprouts are done."
When I pulled back the cloth, the sunlight from the window caught the thin, pale stalks, making them glisten. I harvested enough for tonight's dinner and left the rest to continue growing. These beans grew as fast as weeds; by combining fertilizer and magic, I could produce a fresh batch in no time. I could keep producing sprouts for the rest of the trip. These had been a staple for me back in the Gana Forest. It felt nostalgic.
Come to think of it, there was one more nostalgic food source nearby.
Kotsubuyarikusa.
It was a plant similar to pampas grass that grew in clusters along the riverbanks. When mature, its long tips were covered in tiny seeds, making it look somewhat like a spear. It was a grain, much like wheat or rice, and could be ground into flour to bake a type of unleavened bread.
However, while it was edible, it tasted terrible. It had a harsh, bitter quality and was generally viewed as a common weed. No one ate it by choice; unless you were in a true survival situation, you would much prefer standard wheat bread.
Still, with the mushrooms, the bean sprouts, and the Kotsubuyarikusa, I had a good variety. Combined with the wild greens I'd found and the preserved food and seasonings I'd brought, I was set for another decent meal.