Chapter 372

While Megumin continued bombarding Beldia’s castle with Explosion every day, Haruto, Kagura, and Kanna were busy traveling through the wilderness and collecting ingredients.

One day, as the three passed a fork in the road, they encountered a voluptuous young "woman" sitting atop an enormous tree stump.

She appeared to be in her early twenties and wore a sleeveless black top with a purple ribbon tied across her chest. Her long, fluffy green hair cascaded smoothly down her back, while a blooming pink flower decorated the hair beside her right temple.

A narrow black marking ran vertically down the center of her forehead, with another dark stripe slanting upward across each cheek. Rather than detracting from her delicate features, the markings gave her an unusual kind of beauty.

The young woman sat quietly on the stump with both hands resting on her knees, staring blankly into the distance.

Haruto slowed slightly and studied her.

An ordinary traveler might easily have been deceived by her beautiful appearance and forlorn expression, but Haruto could immediately sense that she wasn’t human.

Her presence felt far closer to that of a plant.

More importantly, her aura was intimately connected to the enormous stump beneath her.

Haruto thought for a moment before understanding dawned on him.

A Tranquility Princess.

The evolved form of a Tranquility Girl.

These monsters used human bodies as nourishment.

They assumed the appearance of pitiful young women, deliberately provoking a powerful protective instinct in passing travelers. Those caught by their influence would willingly remain beside them, refusing food and water until they eventually starved to death.

Their corpses would then become nutrients for the monster’s growth.

Beautiful on the surface, but extremely dangerous.

Haruto, however, had little interest in eating this particular Tranquility Princess.

It possessed intelligence and a humanoid body, which immediately killed whatever appetite he might otherwise have had.

As for the huge stump beneath her, that looked useful for little more than firewood.

"Let’s go. No need to bother with her."

Haruto continued walking.

Kagura and Kanna had also noticed that there was something strange about the "woman," but since Haruto had decided to ignore her, neither sister saw any reason to interfere.

Unfortunately, while Haruto’s group had no intention of bothering the Tranquility Princess, the monster had no intention of letting them leave.

Its location was fairly remote, and adventurers rarely passed through this area.

Now that potential prey had finally appeared, it naturally couldn’t waste the opportunity.

"You... are humans?"

The Tranquility Princess spoke softly.

Her voice was as gentle as a spring breeze passing over a lake, carrying just the right amount of loneliness and vulnerability.

At the same time, a faint floral fragrance silently drifted from the blossom in her hair and spread through the surrounding air.

The scent was light and refreshing, yet contained a strange magical influence.

The moment Haruto, Kagura, and Kanna inhaled it, all three stopped walking.

Their previously alert bodies relaxed almost immediately.

Tears gathered in the Tranquility Princess’s eyes as her long eyelashes trembled. She looked as though she might start crying at any moment.

"Would you... be my friends?"

"I’ve been alone here for such a long, long time. Nobody ever stays to talk with me."

"I really... really love humans."

Her voice carried a cautious, almost desperate plea.

Kagura and Kanna stared at her with slightly unfocused eyes.

Then Haruto suddenly chuckled.

"Heh. Interesting."

The pitiful expression on the Tranquility Princess’s face stiffened.

She looked nervously toward Haruto, unable to understand why her ability seemed to have no effect on him.

The sound of Haruto’s voice abruptly snapped Kagura and Kanna back to their senses.

Their eyes regained their clarity, and both immediately turned wary gazes toward the Tranquility Princess.

Neither knew exactly what had just happened, but they were both certain that something had affected their minds.

And the source was obviously the monster in front of them.

Seeing their vigilance, the Tranquility Princess intensified the floral fragrance around her.

This time, however, Kagura and Kanna were already prepared and remained unaffected.

Haruto took two steps forward until he stood directly in front of the stump, looking down at the Tranquility Princess with an intrigued smile.

"At first, I thought you were just a monster with no culinary value."

"But this fragrance you release is actually pretty interesting."

"Just smelling it relaxes the entire body and eases mental tension."

"If the pollen itself were consumed, I imagine the effect would be considerably stronger."

Haruto’s eyes brightened.

"This could make an excellent seasoning."

The Tranquility Princess froze completely.

’Seasoning?’

This human...

He was looking at her pollen and thinking about seasoning?!

Before she could process that absurdity, an overwhelming pressure erupted from Haruto’s body and crashed down on her.

The Tranquility Princess went deathly pale.

Even the flower in her hair wilted, while the roots beneath the stump trembled violently.

For the first time, genuine terror filled her eyes.

This human was far too powerful.

Under his gaze, she suddenly felt less like a predator and more like something already plated and waiting to be served.

"Easy. Don’t move."

"Let me collect a little pollen. As long as you cooperate, I won’t hurt you."

Haruto eased back the pressure slightly.

Faced with such an overwhelming difference in strength, the Tranquility Princess abandoned any thought of resistance.

She obediently lowered her head and allowed Haruto to collect a small pinch of pale-yellow pollen from the flower.

Haruto used the Gourmet Restaurant’s analysis ability on it.

The result confirmed his expectations.

When consumed, the pollen could greatly soothe the nerves, stabilize emotions, and induce an exceptionally deep state of relaxation.

It also carried a distinctive floral fragrance that could be used as a seasoning to enhance the freshness and complexity of other ingredients.

Haruto smiled in satisfaction.

Just as he thought, it really could be used in cooking.

Then he looked back at the Tranquility Princess with an amiable smile.

"Looks like I’ll have to take you with me."

"You don’t produce much pollen at a time, so I’ll need to collect it over a longer period."

Naturally, the Tranquility Princess didn’t want to go.

But after remembering the terrifying pressure Haruto had just unleashed, she didn’t dare resist.

Under his instructions, she gathered up her roots and allowed herself to be transferred into the Gourmet Restaurant.

Haruto selected a suitable location, replanted her, and said, "All right. You’ll live here from now on."

"I’ll provide all the nutrients you need. You just focus on producing pollen for me."

The Tranquility Princess nodded.

Since resistance was impossible, she might as well accept her new situation.

Haruto was about to leave when another thought occurred to him.

He turned back.

"By the way, are there any others of your kind nearby?"

The Tranquility Princess hesitated before answering obediently.

"There... are two Tranquility Girls beside the road to the east."

"Oh? Then you’ll have company soon."

Haruto smiled.

Following her directions, the three quickly located the two Tranquility Girls.

They were smaller than the Tranquility Princess and appeared to be only around twelve or thirteen years old.

Haruto released just enough pressure to make his intentions clear.

Neither monster dared resist, and both were transplanted into the Gourmet Restaurant alongside the Tranquility Princess.

Haruto dusted off his hands in satisfaction and was just about to continue searching for ingredients when a series of quacks came from a nearby river.

He turned toward the sound.

A duck was leisurely swimming across the water.

At first glance, it looked remarkably similar to a mallard.

There was just one rather important difference.

Strapped across its back was an enormous leek.

The leaves were fresh and vivid green, while the thick white stalk looked crisp and exceptionally high quality.

Haruto’s eyes immediately lit up.

"A Leek Duck!"

This was an extremely rare, high-quality ingredient in the world of KonoSuba.

Leek Ducks were peculiar monsters that naturally carried a leek wherever they went.

More importantly, if the duck was cooked using the very leek it carried, the flavor of its meat could be brought out to the absolute limit.

In other words, it was practically a perfect ingredient that came packaged with its own seasoning.

Despite their rarity and culinary value, Leek Ducks themselves were remarkably weak and almost completely lacking in aggression.

Haruto moved immediately.

Before the duck could react, he closed the distance, caught it by the neck, and lifted it straight out of the water.

"QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!"

The Leek Duck flapped its wings frantically in terror, but naturally it had no hope of escaping Haruto’s grip.

Haruto examined his catch with satisfaction.

The duck was wonderfully plump, which meant the meat should be excellent.

The leek on its back was also thick and fresh, clearly of outstanding quality.

More importantly, Haruto knew Leek Ducks were social creatures, just like ordinary ducks.

If one appeared in an area, there was almost certainly an entire flock nearby.

"Come on! Let’s search around here!"

Haruto grinned.

"We’re eating Leek Duck today!"

Kagura and Kanna immediately joined the search.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before the three discovered more Leek Ducks hidden among a thick patch of reeds beside the river.

Ducks of various sizes scurried through the reeds, each carrying a fresh green leek across its back.

Haruto, Kagura, and Kanna moved at once.

The entire flock was captured in short order.

Altogether, they caught fifteen Leek Ducks: one large male, five plump females, and nine young ducklings.

After some consideration, Haruto decided to butcher one of the adult females for a taste.

The remaining Leek Ducks would be transferred into the Gourmet Restaurant and raised as breeding stock.