Chapter 235

Quest (4)

I finished sorting the golden acorns from the ordinary ones.

Now that they were separated, the ratio was roughly one to five. There really were a lot of acorns in total.

Although more than half of them would probably disappear once I made them all into acorn jelly. I picked up one of the golden acorns.

’What effect does this have?’

The golden apple had made me younger, but I had no idea what this would do.

Moreover, acorns weren’t something people ate raw, so I couldn’t exactly swallow one carelessly.

’Should I mix them together, or make them separately?’

That was another dilemma in itself. I picked up a golden acorn.

After examining it from every angle for a while, I put it in my mouth and bit down.

If eating it caused any problems, I could just drink an elixir.

Crunch! Crunch!

It was a little—no, extremely hard, but not so hard that I couldn’t chew it.

"Bleeergh!!!"

Instead, an overwhelmingly bitter and astringent taste assaulted me.

The disgusting flavor spread throughout my entire mouth. My tongue felt as if it were going numb.

I hurriedly turned on the hose and rinsed out my mouth. Even then, the astringent taste refused to disappear.

"..."

"Blech! Cough! Ugh..."

When I finally regained my senses, Ppareumbo was staring at me as if I were pathetic.

Fortunately, none of my companions besides Ppareumbo had witnessed my idiocy.

With my face twisted into a deep grimace, I entered the cave.

[Hmm? You look as though you’ve been chewing on dung.]

"Close enough."

[Did you actually chew some?]

"I basically ate curry that tasted like shit."

I gave Cain a halfhearted answer and took a mouthful of honey.

The sweetness spread through my mouth, finally making me feel somewhat alive again. These things definitely weren’t meant to be eaten raw.

’Golden or not, acorns have to be eaten as jelly.’

Making that firm resolution, I logged onto the gallery. It was time to summarize everything I had done today.

I had also taken pictures of the squirrel, so all I needed to do was tell everyone what had happened.

Title: I’m back.

Wild Grylls

(A photograph of golden and ordinary acorns piled high)

(A photograph of the newly planted World Tree sapling and the squirrel tending to it)

(A recording-orb video showing what lay beyond the reverse-flowing waterfall)

(A photograph of Wonmo and Tyrano taking a nap)

I finally made it back after going through hell. As expected, this forest really is insane.

One moment, a squirrel is teleporting through holes in trees. The next, there’s a monster beyond a waterfall that flows upward.

Still, it wasn’t as if I came back empty-handed. With that squirrel’s help, I can install portals.

Apparently, it can only do that with World Tree saplings, though. So I got another one.

I’m back now and getting ready to grind the acorns.

I wonder what kind of adventure awaits me tomorrow. Gosh, I’m I’m so excited.

I seriously want to get out of here as soon as possible.

└ Heavenly Demon: You have endured much. Ah, yes. The medicinal herb you sent me this time is quite unusual.

└ Wild Grylls: What does it do?

└ Heavenly Demon: I shall tell you another time.

└ SwordMaster: Just what is that monster in the video? It looks terrifying even through the recording. ;;

└ Wild Grylls: I didn’t manage to record this part, but it started climbing up the waterfall. That’s why I ran. Could you kill something like that, SwordMaster?

└ SwordMaster: Ordinarily, enormous creatures are actually easier to kill. But that one looks rather frightening.

└ You were off writing a horror novel all by yourself, lmaooo.

└ Whoa... Is that the Forest of Four Seasons? No wonder even dragons can’t live there.

└ You really worked yourself to the bone exploring today.

└ Starlight Princess: What is that squirrel? Is it a new friend?

└ Wild Grylls: We became friends after fighting each other. According to Ppareumbo, it’s something like a gardener who manages the forest.

└ Starlight Princess: I see. It’s adorable. Do you have any more pictures?

└ Wild Grylls: I’ll take more the next time I see it.

└ PraiseTheSun: What are those golden acorns? Are they like the golden apple?

└ Wild Grylls: I tried one, and it tasted like shit. I’m just going to make them into acorn jelly.

└ PraiseTheSun: It’s amazing enough that they taste like shit, but making jelly out of them is amazing too. You can make jelly from acorns?

└ Maybe they can in the Central Plains?

└ I’m from the Central Plains, and I’ve never heard of anyone making jelly from acorns.

└ Let’s just accept that Grylls is an omnivore.

└ Even the gorilla acknowledged him as a beast, lol.

└ Wild Grylls: My mom used to make it all the time.

└ Damn it, I fell into another WB trap.

└ Let’sGrowTrees: Then is that squirrel going to raise the World Tree sapling?

└ Wild Grylls: Probably? Though it’ll all burn down if a dragon finds it.

└ Let’sGrowTrees: It resembles Ratatoskr from the legends! How wonderful! Just look at how adorable it is!

└ Don’t you mean horrifying?

└ Wait, are you planning to use that to designate teleportation points? So you can travel back and forth more easily?

└ Wild Grylls: Yeah. I’m going to test it. If it works, my chances of escaping will increase.

└ Congratulations. They’ll probably double.

└ Even doubled, they’ll still converge on zero, lmaooo.

└ What difference is there between 0.001 and 0.002? Lmaooo.

└ Aren’t his chances much lower than that?

The moment I showed them the results of today’s exploration, people flooded into the thread.

Anonymous users and named users alike voiced all sorts of opinions, and the number of upvotes rose rapidly.

I wouldn’t be broadcasting any kangaroo fights for a while, so what was I supposed to do with all these points?

’I’ll use them the next time there’s a sporting event or something.’

After posting a few replies, I made another thread asking a question.

To make acorn jelly, I first needed to grind the acorns.

For now, I was washing them thoroughly to remove the astringent taste.

Who did I make do it? Kkobong, of course.

He grumbled about it, but he followed instructions well, so I was growing increasingly fond of him.

’Everything in the auction house has mixed reviews.’

That was why I made a post in the gallery myself.

I asked if anyone had a suitable tool for grinding acorns.

└ Starlight Princess: I have something suitable. Would you like it?

└ Wild Grylls: You have a cooking utensil?

└ Starlight Princess: Something similar. If you need to turn a hard substance into powder, it should prove useful.

└ Wild Grylls: Don’t you use it yourself?

└ Starlight Princess: I already have something better. While I’m at it, I’ll also give you a sieve for sifting the powder.

It felt as though she was dumping her unwanted junk on me, but I accepted it gratefully. They were things I needed, after all.

A short while later, I examined the cooking utensils—if they could be called that—which I had received from the Starlight Princess.

First was a cylindrical tool used to make powder. There was a round opening in the center.

At first glance, I thought it was a millstone. It even had a handle.

Whirrrrr!

"Oh!"

However, it was different from an ordinary millstone. I realized that as soon as I grasped the handle.

When I circulated my mana and held the handle, it began spinning on its own.

It wasn’t a blender but an automatic millstone. That was fascinating in its own way.

’Is this what happens when magic develops in place of science?’

In any case, I had obtained a useful tool. All that remained was the preparation.

I checked the acorns Kkobong had finished washing.

Since I intended to serve them as dessert rather than a side dish, I had instructed him to wash only the golden acorns.

"Hey, Kkobong."

"What?"

"I can’t put them in whole, so crush them a bit. I’ll give you a mortar."

"Got a problem with that? I won’t feed you."

"Bad guy."

Only after Kkobong crushed the acorns with the mortar I had purchased from the auction house was his work finally complete.

All that remained was to put the roughly crushed pieces into the millstone.

Normally, I would have needed to place a bowl beneath a millstone, but this one didn’t require that.

Grind, grind, grind, grind—

The moment I put the acorn pieces into one opening, powder poured out of another.

I had no idea how it was constructed, but it truly was fascinating.

After grinding all the golden-acorn pieces, I sifted the powder once through the sieve.

’Now I mix this with water...’

I added about two spoonfuls of salt so I could season it properly.

After stirring thoroughly to dissolve the salt, I poured the mixture into a pot.

This was where things became important. Bringing it to a boil was simple, but there was a particular moment when it would begin to thicken.

I had to lower the heat at that exact point to prevent a disaster.

’It’s difficult to regulate the heat here.’

Instead, I removed some of the firewood. That should be enough.

Once it had thickened sufficiently, I added about two spoonfuls of cooking oil.

After roughly thirty minutes, it would become so thick that stirring it with a spatula would be difficult.

’Done.’

Finally, all I had to do was transfer the thickened mixture into a suitably shaped container to serve as a mold.

Once it had fully set, the acorn jelly would be complete.

"Sir! We’re getting dinner ready, so come out!"

I called Ludwig over and began preparing the meal.

Perhaps they heard my voice, because Wonmo and Tyrano also came crawling out, still groggy.

"No. That’s for dessert."

"Kyuu?"

Wonmo became curious about the acorn jelly along the way, but I immediately stopped him.

If even Wonmo, who preferred meat, was interested in it, it must have looked quite appetizing.

Afterward, I browsed the gallery while preparing a fish dish with Ludwig.

’Is there anything like soy sauce?’

While I was at it, I also wanted to obtain some chili peppers. Soy sauce, however, was absurdly expensive.

I had heard that oil and soy sauce were extremely expensive in the old days, and it seemed things were similar here.

The existence of mana and magic had thrown the balance of technological development strangely out of alignment.

I purchased a soy sauce with reasonably good reviews and sent a message to GrowBigAndStrong.

[Wild Grylls: Hello, GrowBigAndStrong. Are you there by any chance?]

[GrowBigAndStrong: Ah! Hello, Grylls! What can I do for you?]

[Wild Grylls: I was hoping to get some seeds. Do you happen to have chili pepper seeds?]

[GrowBigAndStrong: I should have some if I look around. Would you like them?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. Is there anything you’d like in exchange?]

[GrowBigAndStrong: I’d like to receive some more soil... Would that be all right?]

I purchased chili pepper seeds from GrowBigAndStrong, a farmer to his very core.

Using soy sauce alone would be a little bland, so I intended to slice up some chili peppers and add them to it.

’I should get some garlic later too.’

Having a vegetable garden seemed to improve the quality of my meals by the day.

I enjoyed a pleasant dinner with my companions, then prepared dessert.

"All right, let’s try it. This is called acorn jelly. It’s a dish from the country where I used to live."

[It looks somewhat like konjac jelly.]

"The texture is fairly similar."

The long-awaited moment to taste the acorn jelly had arrived.

Perhaps because it had been made from golden acorns, the jelly was golden rather than brown.

It looked as though it ought to taste like lemon. Nevertheless, it was undeniably acorn jelly.

"Piiiii..."

Perhaps its soft, wobbly appearance seemed too strange.

Unlike Wonmo, who would eat practically anything, Tyrano hesitated.

"Tyrano, you don’t have to force yourself to eat it."

"Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp!"

The moment I said that, Wonmo began enthusiastically devouring his share of the acorn jelly.

"Then again, Wonmo might eat all of it."

At my next remark, Tyrano gave me a look that clearly said, I can’t let that happen!

He also began happily eating the lightly seasoned acorn jelly.

I chuckled at the sight of the two of them before leisurely tasting my own portion.

It looked soft yet pleasantly chewy. It seemed to have turned out exceptionally well.

It had been a long time since I had eaten acorn jelly. I wondered how it would taste.

These weren’t ordinary acorns but golden ones, so surely the flavor would be different too.

"Oh."

Nutty.

That was the first thought that entered my mind as soon as I tasted it.

Ordinary acorn jelly was slightly bitter with a mild nuttiness. Eating it with soy sauce added a salty taste.

This, however, had an exceptionally intense nuttiness. It almost felt as though I had taken a mouthful of sesame oil.

It was delicious. If I had eaten this during the meal, its richness would have overwhelmed every other flavor.

"Delicious."

"It is good."

"Kyuu! Kyuu!"

"Piiiii!"

Everyone praised the acorn jelly.

The ingredients were so exceptional that they probably would have earned praise no matter what I made with them.

"This is delicious. If I’d known it would turn out this well, I would’ve gathered more—"

Before I could even finish speaking—

Psssssssssh!

Steam began rising like a rice cooker announcing that the rice was done.

From where?

From Ludwig, who was sitting directly in front of me. And it wasn’t just him. The same thing was happening to all my other companions.

"P-Ppareumbo, you too?"

Ppareumbo, Kkobong, Wonmo, Tyrano, and even Largo, who had stopped after a single bite.

At first, I thought I was the only one unaffected. In reality, the others had merely blocked my view; a faint wisp of steam was rising from my body as well.

"W-What in the world is happening?"

"?9%%...?"

Ludwig asked me what on earth we had just eaten to cause such a reaction.

Since I had just asked practically the same question, I couldn’t answer him.

Fortunately, the steam gradually faded before long.

Just as I began wondering whether this was a unique effect of golden acorn jelly—

"Kyueeeeeek!!!"

"Pieeeeeeng!!!"

For some reason, Wonmo and Tyrano suddenly began shrieking.

Startled by the noise, I turned toward them and saw something peculiar.

Both of them were clutching their noses with their front paws and writhing in agony.

I was about to ask what was wrong when—

"Guh?!"

A terrifying stench forced its way into my nose.

It was powerful enough to obliterate every trace of the golden acorn jelly’s rich, nutty aroma.

The stench was so intense that even breathing through my mouth was difficult.

’P-Poison? I need to get a gas mask...!’

I urgently reached out to search for one.

That was when I noticed something strange on my arm.

It looked as though years of accumulated grime had suddenly clumped together, turning pitch-black.

The moment I saw it, I unconsciously brought my arm closer to my face.

"Sniff, sniff."

After smelling it—

"Bleeergh?!"

I realized that the stench was coming from my own body.

No. To be more precise, it was coming from everyone’s bodies.

Ludwig’s arm, which he was clutching while suffering with his nose plugged, was even worse.

Black grime covered more than half of it.

’C-Could it be?’

I thought I had a rough idea of the golden acorn jelly’s effect.

Knowing what it did, however, didn’t change the fact that the stench was unbearably foul.

In the end, I reached a conclusion.

"F-First, Ludwig!"

"#967?"

"Take off your clothes! We need to wash, even if the water is cold!"

We had to wash ourselves, even if it meant using cold water. Heating enough water would take far too long.

It couldn’t be helped if it was cold. If we left this stench untreated, I felt as though we might suffocate to death.

[How fortunate. I possess no sense of smell.]

I deliberately ignored Cain, who alone remained perfectly calm.

"Ah! That’s right! Tyrano! Can you use your breath to heat some water?!"

"Pieeeek!"

"If you can endure the smell, I’ll make you some candied sweet potatoes!"

"P-Piik?"

Thankfully, Tyrano’s breath brought the foul-odor incident to an end.

Even so, bathing everyone took a considerable amount of time.

The same went for Largo. Given his enormous size, washing him was far from easy.

"Hey, you little bastard! Hurry up and wash! You stink!"

"..."

"Sir! Catch that bastard! He’s only fast at times like this!"

Most difficult of all was Ppareumbo.

Even though he knew how badly he smelled, he stubbornly refused to bathe until the very end.

Perhaps because all the waste had been expelled from his body, even Ludwig joined the chase, but Ppareumbo kept deftly slipping away.

He wandered around with both arms raised like some kind of monkey, and we simply couldn’t catch him.

Just as we were about to give up—

"Kyuuu..."

"Piiiii..."

Wonmo and Tyrano began subtly edging away from Ppareumbo.

They might have been family, but even they wanted to avoid something that filthy.

Perhaps sensing their reaction, Ppareumbo finally submitted to his bath without a struggle.

It seemed he was weak when it came to the children too.

And so, another eventful day came to an end.

While Grylls quietly wrapped up his day, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring—

"Heavens above! This is a miracle! An herb capable of reviving even the dead can truly be considered equal to the legendary Herb of Immortality!"

"If we can cultivate this herb, we will be able to recruit every unfilial child under heaven into the Demonic Cult!"

Yu Sowol was listening to Physician Song’s impassioned speech.

It wasn’t that she was particularly interested. She was listening simply because this was advice from the Demonic Cult’s finest physician.

’Is it truly that significant?’

She was sincerely puzzled.

Indeed, she couldn’t help but be puzzled.

After all, it was an emotion that only those who had experienced it could understand.

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