The Man Picked Up By the Gods (Reboot) Vol 3 Chapter 124

I have free time until duty .

　I’m done with my tent, so next I need to secure water and food .

　On top of the usual equipment, I’ve also equipped myself with a leather bag and a pair of leather gloves .

“I’m off . ” [Ryouma]

“Yeah . Be careful . ” [Roche]

　Just to be safe, I informed Roche-san first, then I walked for the woods .

　One of the key points this training camp seems to want to impart to its students is the importance of preparing beforehand, considering that the difficulty of the camp greatly changes depending on whether one has studied up on the place or not… The booklet I purchased includes the things one should pay attention to when camping, from the location of the river to the different types of grasses that could be eaten .

　So long as one takes the time to memorize the contents of that booklet, even someone inexperienced should be able to survive here .

“?” [Ryouma]

　As I walked along the road used by carriages, I suddenly felt someone looking at me .

　When I turned to its direction, I saw a student .

　He probably didn’t have any business with me and just happened to see me . When I turned to him, he bowed his head, then made his way for the grasslands . Is it for a job? Or maybe he’s looking for food like I am? I don’t know why they’re going to the grasslands, but I saw other students going the same direction from time to time .

　As I prayed for their safety, I arrived at my destination .

“Now, I wonder what I’ll find first… Oh!　Akakasatake . ” [Ryouma] (Aka = Red, Kasa = Umbrella, Take = Mushroom)

　As soon as I entered the woods, I found a mushroom that could be eaten . Just as the name implies, it’s a mushroom that looks like a red umbrella . It looks poisonous at first glance, but it’s not . It smells good and has plenty of umami . A delicious mushroom . This is a good sign . Oh!

　Under the shadow of a nearby tree was an ‘Enokutake’ growing, and by its roots were some dangerous looking ‘Yarijuppon’ sticking out of the ground . They’re both mushrooms and they’re both also edible . If you stew all these together, you can come up with something really delicious .

“Come to think of it, I guess it is that time of year . ” [Ryouma]

　After summer comes autumn . And autumn being the season of mushrooms is also true for this country . Even back at the Forest of Gana, it was during this season that I would see a lot of mushrooms and would be able to enjoy all kinds of varieties .

　Let’s gather a lot today and have a sumptuous supper . I’ll first cook the ones that I can’t keep for long, so I can dry the leftovers and take them with me on the way back . In that way, I’ll be able to entrust them to Shelmsan when I get back and have her cook them for the store .

　This country has yet to grasp how to artificially cultivate mushrooms, so the only mushrooms that can be eaten are naturally growing ones foraged from the forest . Because of that how many mushrooms one can get is a question of luck . The weather can also influence how many mushrooms one can get, as well as the animals looking for food as the season turns to winter .

　Even back at Japan, until the Edo Period, dried shiitake mushroom was considered a luxury . This country values it similarly . Being able to gather different types like these and eat them while they’re still fresh is one of the merits of being a hunter or an adventurer .

　They’re delicious to eat, and they can also be used to make dashi (Japanese soup stock) . It sure would be great if I could buy them throughout the year at my convenience, though…

“Should I start growing it myself?” [Ryouma]

　There are two ways to cultivate it . One is through ‘Log Cultivation’, and the other is through ‘Sawdust Substrate Cultivation’ .

　Log Cultivation grows mushrooms by taking wood fragments soaked in mushroom fungus and planting them into a tree .

　Sawdust Substrate Cultivation grows mushroom through a culture medium made from mixing fungal filament and a source of ingredients… Or at least, that’s how I think it goes .

　I don’t know about the other specific details like the temperature or the level of humidity, but I have a rough idea of how it’s supposed to go . …I’ll give it a shot . After all, even if I don’t know the specifics, as long as I have a rough idea of what I’m supposed to do, the chance of success should be fairly high .

　If it works, I’ll make a killing!　But it’s not unheard of for people to invest too much in mushrooms and end up bankrupt, so I better keep things in moderation . I’ll go at it with a leisurely attitude, and only consider success as luck . But not now . Right now, I should prioritize gathering food…?

“Is it here?” [???]

“What about there?” [???]

“Nope . What about there?” [???]

“We just can’t seem to find it . ” [???]

　I heard the voice of children coming from the trees . It looks like they’re searching for something .

　I was curious, so I stealthily approached them, and it turns out it was Berk’s group and that group of four from the first day .

“Maybe it’s really at the grasslands instead?” [Berk]

“Rock Lizards are lizards that pretend to be rocks, right?　But this place is full of trees and grasses . There’s nary a rock here . ” [Adventurer 1]

　…These kids . They fell for a trap job .

　The name ‘Rock Lizard’ isn’t written in the booklet I bought .

　If they bought the booklet and read it, they would’ve able to avoid falling into this trap . Maybe they were trying to save money? Anyway, I better go . If they find me, they might ask for my opinion, and then it’ll become troublesome .

　I hid in the shadow of the trees and quietly left the place .

10 minutes later .

“I’m back!” [Ryouma]

“Good job . ” [Howard

“Good work out there . ” [Lucy]

　I left my luggage at my base, and then reported my arrival . The stationed teachers were the ones to respond to me .

“There’s a lot of food at the woods here . They’re easy to find too . ” [Ryouma]

“Oh . Then maybe this time there won’t be any children crying because they couldn’t find food . ” [Lucy]

“Are there people like that, Lucy-san?” [Ryouma]

“There’s actually a lot of children not used to camping . And there’s a lot of instance where you end up with no food . Sometimes you bring less food than you should’ve . Sometimes food spoils because of some trouble . There are all sorts of reasons . So it’s a good idea to teach the students here how to procure food in such cases provided that there’s a land to source food from . ” [Lucy]

“Right . …How do the rest of the students spend their time?　I saw some of them at the woods . ” [Ryouma]

“They’re all the same . ” [Lucy]

“They’re either doing a job or gathering food from the woods or the grasslands . That’s why other than taking care of the horses, there’s not actually a whole lot for us to do . ” [Howard]

“That makes our life easy, but it sure is boring . Ha ha . ” [Lucas]

　So all the students are outside . Well, at least they’re feeling up to it .

　Oh, right . There was something bothering me when I was inside the woods .

“By the way, there’s something bothering me . ” [Ryouma]

“What is it?” [Lucy]

“Those woods . There was a lot of mushrooms growing in them . There were edible ones, but there were also edible-looking ones that were actually poisonous . ” [Ryouma]

　I was again reminded not to point out to the students when something is suspicious, but they might accidentally eat something bad .

“It might be a good idea to double our efforts in checking what they’ve gathered . ” [Lucy]

“Yes . I think that would be for the best . I’ve brought a lot of medicine with me, so do call me when you need some . Depending on the poison, I can also make antidotes using the ingredients of the forest . ” [Ryouma]

“Got it . At that time, I’ll be sure to call you . ” [Lucy]

“Alright, see you later . ” [Ryouma]

　I have to process the ingredients I’ve collected . First comes water .

　Just as was written in the booklet, I was able to find a river inside the woods . It wasn’t hard to find, but the problem was the quality of the water . It’s not very clear, so I want to filter it first .

　Outside my base that had been throughly smoked and cleared of insects, I gathered some soil . I used that to make sand and gravel with earth magic, and then I placed a tank with a cylinder attached to it on top of a huge funnel . Next I brought all of those back to my base, then I took out some cloth and some crushed charcoal from my Item Box .

　I then laid out the cloth inside the tank, and then added charcoal on top of it . I laid out another layer of cloth, atop which I placed the sand, and then another layer, and then the gravel, and again the cloth . I figured I would be able to remove the dirt from the water if I layer these out like this with the cloth . I placed that apparatus at the corner of my room and prevented water leakage with a cloth and a pipe .

“Simple Water Purifier complete!”

　The river water has been stored in a portable water vessel . When I need it, I’ll filter it and boil it . That should be enough to give me clean drinking water .

“Well then, let’s get to it . ”

　I poured water into the tank while confirming the steps for the filtration process .

　Let’s do something else with the excess gravel and sand while the water is being filtered .

　Gather the gravel and smooth it over with magic . It doesn’t need to be deep . I made a large flat planter, and then threw the fertilizer of the scavenger slime on it . I then turned the remaining gravel into soil and mixed it with the fertilizer . Very soon I was done with my preparations .

“Next, I need to scatter these…” [Ryouma]

　I scattered sesame-seed-sized beans on top of the planter, moisturized them with water, placed a cloth on top, and then brought it to a dark room . After that I forced them to germinate with wood magic, and in the blink of an eye, the beans sprouted . Their white skin rose within the darkness .

“Bean sprouts complete . ” [Ryouma]

　When I took off the cloth covering the planter, the light of the sun passing through the windows illuminated the thin white skin of the bean sprouts .

　I’ll take enough for tonight’s supper, then I’ll let the remaining ones grow more .

　These beans grow quickly like weeds, so you can easily make more of them with a combination of fertilizer and magic . If I take just those, then I can produce bean sprouts for the following days as well . These beans helped me out a lot back at the Forest of Gana . It’s kind of nostalgic .

　…Right . Speaking of nostalgia, there’s another ingredient that fits the bill .

　’Kotsubuyarikusa’ (Kotsubu = small grain; Yari = spear; Kusa = grass)

　A plant resembling the susuki (Japanese pampas grass) that grow by the river . It grows really long, and at the tip of its grown body are a lot of seeds . Because of that, depending on one’s perspective, it might appear to resemble a spear . Placed in the same category of grains as rice and wheat, when turned into flour, it can allow even things like unfermented bread to be cooked . It’s a convenient grass .

　But this only means that it’s edible . It actually tastes terrible . Because of that bitter taste, the world only sees it as a weed . There’s barely anyone who regularly eats it . But that’s only a given . After all, unless you really had to, you would usually just eat bread made with wheat flour .

　Still, with the various types of mushrooms, the bean sprouts, and the kotsubuyarikusa . I was able to gather a lot of wild edible plants and wild grasses, and I also have the seasoning and preserved food that I brought with me . It seems I’ll be able to have a decent meal tonight too .

Chapter end