* * *
…………It’s morning.
The morning dew dripping from the kirkree leaves strikes my cheek, waking me up.
“…………Nn, nn”
I sit up groggily and stretch thoroughly.
An involuntary yawn escapes me.
My bed last night was a large, large branch of a kirkree tree.
Even while sleeping, I can use 【Silverfish】, so I never fall to the ground.
……Good morning.
<……Fuwaah, good morning Emi.>
Extra-sama awakens too.
Rubbing my eyes, I look down below.
The endless green fields stretching beyond the fortress city of Liheid at the base of the Ranrananga mountains are glistening under the morning sun.
The cloudless, clear sky gradually brightens.
The faint white moon still lingering seems about to set soon.
The crisp, chilly autumn air feels pleasant.
Not needing covers, I rarely wake up from the cold these days.
My body must be getting sturdier.
It rained a bit last night, but I just slept through it without much issue.
Gugyuururururururu……
……I’m hungry.
<It’s breakfast time, huh.>
Standing up and rubbing my eyes, I use 【Silverfish】 to walk straight down the kirkree tree trunk to the ground.
For me currently, walls or tree trunks are no different from the floor.
I can ignore gravity and walk anywhere.
Once on the ground, it’s time to gather nuts.
Kicking aside damp, rain-scented fallen leaves as I walk.
The kirkree nuts I had finished eating last night seem to have fallen again overnight, scattered all over.
Unlike earth’s chestnuts, each one is massive, so they’re easy to find without effort. That’s convenient.
Trying to stop me from taking their lives to the future, the spiky shells desperately resist, but fuhuhu, these measly needles can’t injure my body!
I don’t even need 【Body Strengthening】.
I casually peel off the shells, extracting the contents.
The beautiful brown nuts glisten radiantly under the morning sun when revealed.
Ah, what a nice aroma.
I can’t hold back any longer!
I chomp right into them, shell and all!
<By the way, normally you’re supposed to crack that shell by striking it with a mallet. The inner nut is steamed and used as filling for buns and such, according to the Gourmet God’s isekai broadcast I watched.>
Ooh, I’d like to try that sometime.
It’s impossible for me currently, though.
My hunger is far too indiscriminate.
Oh, there’s a dead rat bleeding out.
<It must have been hit by a falling kirkree nut.>
Upon checking with 【Mana Perception】, a considerable amount of the mana originally dwelling within its meat has leaked out.
Evidence that some time has passed since its death.
I prefer fresh meat brimming with mana from a freshly hunted kill, but oh well.
I’ll eat anything edible.
munch munch
* * *
After continuing my breakfast for a while, the area was completely cleaned up.
No kirkree nuts or rat carcasses remained.
I’ve become a proper forest cleaning lady!
Just as I was considering hunting for a snack next, I discovered something I hadn’t seen once yesterday.
It was a small brown object poking out from the base of a kirkree tree’s roots.
What could it be?
In size, perhaps slightly smaller than a ping pong ball or so.
The color, as mentioned, was brown.
However, upon closer inspection, the varying shades created a horizontal striped pattern.
Feeling the surface, it had a rather dry, coarse texture.
Plucking one revealed the inside hidden under the brown exterior had white gills……
Ah, it’s a mushroom.
<Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!??>
Uwah!?
Extra-sama, that mysterious loud scream!
What, what is it!?
<That appearance, it’s unmistakable! Emi! That mushroom is the parasitic mushroom!>
Pa, parasitic!?
That has an ominous ring to it!?
What is it!?
<It’s a mushroom with the strange ecology of dispersing spores that infect any humans who inhale them, turning them into mushroom monsters in an irreversible manner!>
Scaryyyyyyyyyyyy!?
That’s way beyond just a “strange ecology”!!
<It’s fine. With the mana distortion Emi has undergone, you should be able to resist it without issue. It’s not a harmful existence for you.>
Even if it’s not harmful for me……
What about those people wandering these parts yesterday, whether adventurers or nut gatherers? They seemed pretty weak, didn’t they?
<Well, you may have a point. But it doesn’t really matter either way.>
It does matter!?
<You see, this parasitic mushroom is actually……incredibly delicious.>
……………………Seriously?
<Seriously. I saw it on the Gourmet God’s isekai broadcast and the Mushroom God’s broadcast too, so there’s no mistake.>
……………………*gulps*
By the way, this really is the parasitic mushroom?
Not a misidentification or anything?
<Yes, no mistake. While it is strange to find them growing here, completely outside their known distribution range.>
Yes! That’s the dangerous one—-!!
The poisonous mushroom that kills those who accidentally eat it—-!!
<It’s fine. You won’t die from accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms at this point.>
Are you saying it’s fine in THAT sense!?
<You dug up and ate something tuber-like when hungry on the prairie before, didn’t you?>
Yeah. It was sweet and delicious.
<Looking back, that was a potent toxin.>
Bfuh!?
<See, see! It’s fine, right!? Poisons don’t affect you anymore! Let’s eat the parasitic mushroom!>
U, umm……but still……
<Still uneasy? Then Emi, try tearing that mushroom vertically.>
Eh? Why? You can identify the real thing if it tears straight or something?
Well, I’ll try it……Here.
“Gyaaaaaaaa……”
<See? You heard that scream-like voice from the mushroom, right? That’s the signature of the parasitic mushroom!>
Scary!
Scary!!
That’s making me even less inclined to eat it!!
<You mercilessly hunted and devoured all those poor creatures crying out in the wild, but now you’re getting spooked over a mere mushroom’s cry?>
Scary!
Looking back on myself, I’m scary!
A ruthless predator, huh!
I have no intention of stopping since it’s to survive!
I don’t want to die, after all!
I’ll keep surviving, trampling over anything in my way!
Gugyugyugyugyurururururu……
Ahhhh—!!
Dammit!
This mushroom has such a nice aroma!
My body! Craves it!
My instincts command me to eat the mushroom—!!
Eii!
*chomps!!*
munch munch……
munch munch, munch munch, munch munch……!
munchmunchmunchmunch, munchmunchmunchmunchmunch!!
Deliciouuuuuuuuussss!!!
How can it be this tasty even eating it raw—???!?
<Ah, that rich umami of the concentrated mushroom! The faint sweetness and mysterious saltiness! The crisp, juicy texture! ……Well, Emi? I was right to recommend it, wasn’t I?>
Yeah, it really is……delicious.
Thank you, Extra-sama……for telling me about such a delicious thing!
……I want more.
Looking around, I confirmed parasitic mushrooms growing at the bases of the surrounding kirkree trees.
I pluck them out by the roots and stuff them into my mouth!
Delicious……delicious!!!
<Wonderful……it was delectable. The only regret is having devoured them all, meaning we can no longer taste that deliciousness again, I suppose……>
Savoring the aftertaste, Extra-sama laments wistfully.
However.
Please wait a moment, Extra-sama!
<Eh?>
I sniff my hands permeated with the mushrooms’ wonderful aroma.
Then I take a deep breath, inhaling the morning air wafting around!
…………Hmm.
…………I’ve got it!!!
<Yes!?>
Extra-sama!
Thanks to constantly honing them in the wild, my sense of smell has been trained to superhuman levels……if I may say so myself!
In other words!
The other parasitic mushrooms! Lurking in these mountains!!
I can track down their locations!! Based on that rich aroma wafting about!!!
Such a feat is child’s play for me!!!!
<Eeh!? A, amazing! Just like a truffle pig!!>
Who’re you calling a pig!?!
Come to think of it, I’ve heard the term “truffle pig” in my previous life too, but how does Extra-sama know about it?
<…………I often watched broadcasts from gods other than the Ardystian ones too. I’ve picked up knowledge of various worlds.>
Hmm……?
<More importantly, Emi! If you can track mushrooms by scent, you’d better hurry! The parasitic mushrooms are said to be most delicious before noon when their caps unfurl and start dispersing spores! The longer time passes, the more their flavor deteriorates!>
Wh, what did you say!?
That’s no good!
We can’t have that……!
I must urgently locate the other clusters and devour them all!!
Activating 【Body Strengthening】 at full power, I dash off from that spot!
The shockwave cratering the ground and toppling the creaking kirkree trees with cracking sounds, but I can’t afford to worry about that now!
<The time limit is about 4 more hours, I believe! Hurry, Emi!!>
* * *
…………It’s morning.
The morning dew dripping from the kirkree leaves strikes my cheek, waking me up.
“…………Nn, nn”
I sit up groggily and stretch thoroughly.
An involuntary yawn escapes me.
My bed last night was a large, large branch of a kirkree tree.
Even while sleeping, I can use 【Silverfish】, so I never fall to the ground.
……Good morning.
<……Fuwaah, good morning Emi.>
Extra-sama awakens too.
Rubbing my eyes, I look down below.
The endless green fields stretching beyond the fortress city of Liheid at the base of the Ranrananga mountains are glistening under the morning sun.
The cloudless, clear sky gradually brightens.
The faint white moon still lingering seems about to set soon.
The crisp, chilly autumn air feels pleasant.
Not needing covers, I rarely wake up from the cold these days.
My body must be getting sturdier.
It rained a bit last night, but I just slept through it without much issue.
Gugyuururururururu……
……I’m hungry.
<It’s breakfast time, huh.>
Standing up and rubbing my eyes, I use 【Silverfish】 to walk straight down the kirkree tree trunk to the ground.
For me currently, walls or tree trunks are no different from the floor.
I can ignore gravity and walk anywhere.
Once on the ground, it’s time to gather nuts.
Kicking aside damp, rain-scented fallen leaves as I walk.
The kirkree nuts I had finished eating last night seem to have fallen again overnight, scattered all over.
Unlike earth’s chestnuts, each one is massive, so they’re easy to find without effort. That’s convenient.
Trying to stop me from taking their lives to the future, the spiky shells desperately resist, but fuhuhu, these measly needles can’t injure my body!
I don’t even need 【Body Strengthening】.
I casually peel off the shells, extracting the contents.
The beautiful brown nuts glisten radiantly under the morning sun when revealed.
Ah, what a nice aroma.
I can’t hold back any longer!
I chomp right into them, shell and all!
<By the way, normally you’re supposed to crack that shell by striking it with a mallet. The inner nut is steamed and used as filling for buns and such, according to the Gourmet God’s isekai broadcast I watched.>
Ooh, I’d like to try that sometime.
It’s impossible for me currently, though.
My hunger is far too indiscriminate.
Oh, there’s a dead rat bleeding out.
<It must have been hit by a falling kirkree nut.>
Upon checking with 【Mana Perception】, a considerable amount of the mana originally dwelling within its meat has leaked out.
Evidence that some time has passed since its death.
I prefer fresh meat brimming with mana from a freshly hunted kill, but oh well.
I’ll eat anything edible.
munch munch
* * *
After continuing my breakfast for a while, the area was completely cleaned up.
No kirkree nuts or rat carcasses remained.
I’ve become a proper forest cleaning lady!
Just as I was considering hunting for a snack next, I discovered something I hadn’t seen once yesterday.
It was a small brown object poking out from the base of a kirkree tree’s roots.
What could it be?
In size, perhaps slightly smaller than a ping pong ball or so.
The color, as mentioned, was brown.
However, upon closer inspection, the varying shades created a horizontal striped pattern.
Feeling the surface, it had a rather dry, coarse texture.
Plucking one revealed the inside hidden under the brown exterior had white gills……
Ah, it’s a mushroom.
<Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!??>
Uwah!?
Extra-sama, that mysterious loud scream!
What, what is it!?
<That appearance, it’s unmistakable! Emi! That mushroom is the parasitic mushroom!>
Pa, parasitic!?
That has an ominous ring to it!?
What is it!?
<It’s a mushroom with the strange ecology of dispersing spores that infect any humans who inhale them, turning them into mushroom monsters in an irreversible manner!>
Scaryyyyyyyyyyyy!?
That’s way beyond just a “strange ecology”!!
<It’s fine. With the mana distortion Emi has undergone, you should be able to resist it without issue. It’s not a harmful existence for you.>
Even if it’s not harmful for me……
What about those people wandering these parts yesterday, whether adventurers or nut gatherers? They seemed pretty weak, didn’t they?
<Well, you may have a point. But it doesn’t really matter either way.>
It does matter!?
<You see, this parasitic mushroom is actually……incredibly delicious.>
……………………Seriously?
<Seriously. I saw it on the Gourmet God’s isekai broadcast and the Mushroom God’s broadcast too, so there’s no mistake.>
……………………*gulps*
By the way, this really is the parasitic mushroom?
Not a misidentification or anything?
<Yes, no mistake. While it is strange to find them growing here, completely outside their known distribution range.>
Yes! That’s the dangerous one—-!!
The poisonous mushroom that kills those who accidentally eat it—-!!
<It’s fine. You won’t die from accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms at this point.>
Are you saying it’s fine in THAT sense!?
<You dug up and ate something tuber-like when hungry on the prairie before, didn’t you?>
Yeah. It was sweet and delicious.
<Looking back, that was a potent toxin.>
Bfuh!?
<See, see! It’s fine, right!? Poisons don’t affect you anymore! Let’s eat the parasitic mushroom!>
U, umm……but still……
<Still uneasy? Then Emi, try tearing that mushroom vertically.>
Eh? Why? You can identify the real thing if it tears straight or something?
Well, I’ll try it……Here.
“Gyaaaaaaaa……”
<See? You heard that scream-like voice from the mushroom, right? That’s the signature of the parasitic mushroom!>
Scary!
Scary!!
That’s making me even less inclined to eat it!!
<You mercilessly hunted and devoured all those poor creatures crying out in the wild, but now you’re getting spooked over a mere mushroom’s cry?>
Scary!
Looking back on myself, I’m scary!
A ruthless predator, huh!
I have no intention of stopping since it’s to survive!
I don’t want to die, after all!
I’ll keep surviving, trampling over anything in my way!
Gugyugyugyugyurururururu……
Ahhhh—!!
Dammit!
This mushroom has such a nice aroma!
My body! Craves it!
My instincts command me to eat the mushroom—!!
Eii!
*chomps!!*
munch munch……
munch munch, munch munch, munch munch……!
munchmunchmunchmunch, munchmunchmunchmunchmunch!!
Deliciouuuuuuuuussss!!!
How can it be this tasty even eating it raw—???!?
<Ah, that rich umami of the concentrated mushroom! The faint sweetness and mysterious saltiness! The crisp, juicy texture! ……Well, Emi? I was right to recommend it, wasn’t I?>
Yeah, it really is……delicious.
Thank you, Extra-sama……for telling me about such a delicious thing!
……I want more.
Looking around, I confirmed parasitic mushrooms growing at the bases of the surrounding kirkree trees.
I pluck them out by the roots and stuff them into my mouth!
Delicious……delicious!!!
<Wonderful……it was delectable. The only regret is having devoured them all, meaning we can no longer taste that deliciousness again, I suppose……>
Savoring the aftertaste, Extra-sama laments wistfully.
However.
Please wait a moment, Extra-sama!
<Eh?>
I sniff my hands permeated with the mushrooms’ wonderful aroma.
Then I take a deep breath, inhaling the morning air wafting around!
…………Hmm.
…………I’ve got it!!!
<Yes!?>
Extra-sama!
Thanks to constantly honing them in the wild, my sense of smell has been trained to superhuman levels……if I may say so myself!
In other words!
The other parasitic mushrooms! Lurking in these mountains!!
I can track down their locations!! Based on that rich aroma wafting about!!!
Such a feat is child’s play for me!!!!
<Eeh!? A, amazing! Just like a truffle pig!!>
Who’re you calling a pig!?!
Come to think of it, I’ve heard the term “truffle pig” in my previous life too, but how does Extra-sama know about it?
<…………I often watched broadcasts from gods other than the Ardystian ones too. I’ve picked up knowledge of various worlds.>
Hmm……?
<More importantly, Emi! If you can track mushrooms by scent, you’d better hurry! The parasitic mushrooms are said to be most delicious before noon when their caps unfurl and start dispersing spores! The longer time passes, the more their flavor deteriorates!>
Wh, what did you say!?
That’s no good!
We can’t have that……!
I must urgently locate the other clusters and devour them all!!
Activating 【Body Strengthening】 at full power, I dash off from that spot!
The shockwave cratering the ground and toppling the creaking kirkree trees with cracking sounds, but I can’t afford to worry about that now!
<The time limit is about 4 more hours, I believe! Hurry, Emi!!>
