Chapter 375

While Haruto was observing the Tree Turtle from above, Kagura flew up with Kanna and Yunyun.

“That turtle is enormous!”

“And there really is a tree growing on its back!”

Kagura stared at the gigantic creature in amazement.

Yunyun looked equally awestruck.

“It’s much bigger than I imagined.”

“Come on. Let’s land on its back.”

Haruto headed toward the Tree Turtle first, with the other three following close behind.

The Tree Turtle showed no reaction whatsoever to their approach. It simply continued plodding forward at its usual leisurely pace, every step slow and steady.

Compared with its mountain-like body, the four humans flying around it were simply too insignificant to deserve its attention.

After landing on the broad shell, Haruto turned toward the Golden Apple tree.

Rather than immediately harvesting the fruit, however, he first walked around the enormous tree with obvious curiosity, then crouched to examine where its roots merged with the turtle’s shell.

The Golden Apple tree’s root system had completely fused with the Tree Turtle.

Massive roots plunged directly through the shell and into its body.

Haruto used the Gourmet Restaurant’s analysis ability to examine the relationship between the two and quickly discovered that the Tree Turtle continuously supplied the Golden Apple tree with mana, providing the energy required for the fruit to grow.

In return, nutrients produced by the tree through sunlight were transferred back into the Tree Turtle, allowing the enormous creature to survive without needing to eat.

The two organisms existed in true symbiosis.

If either one died, the other would soon follow after losing the life-supporting relationship they depended upon.

With his curiosity satisfied, Haruto finally looked up at the gleaming Golden Apples hanging among the branches.

Fruit cultivated through a Tree Turtle’s mana couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

He flew up to one of the thick branches and plucked the nearest Golden Apple.

Its skin was perfectly smooth, and the fruit was noticeably heavier than its size suggested.

At the same time, an intensely sweet and refreshing fragrance drifted from its golden surface, rich enough to make anyone intoxicated from the smell alone.

Haruto harvested more than a dozen additional apples but stopped after taking roughly one-third of the fruit on the tree.

There was no reason to strip it bare.

If the Golden Apples proved good enough, he intended to take the entire Tree Turtle with him anyway.

Once he finished harvesting, Haruto descended and handed apples to Kagura, Kanna, and Yunyun.

“Here. Let’s try them.”

Haruto raised one to his mouth and took a bite.

Crunch.

Sweet juice immediately flooded his mouth, washing across his tongue before sliding down his throat.

The flesh was delicate and exceptionally juicy, carrying a fresh, pure sweetness that seemed infused with the fragrance of nature itself.

Beneath that sweetness was another faint, distinctive aroma that lingered pleasantly throughout his mouth.

At the same time, a warm current of energy entered his body along with the juice and slowly spread through every limb.

Even Haruto felt instantly refreshed and invigorated.

More importantly, he could clearly sense his Gourmet Cells becoming unusually active, greedily absorbing the dense energy contained within the Golden Apple.

“Delicious…”

Haruto closed his eyes and carefully savored the lingering flavor.

Compared with the Golden Apples he had tasted in the world of Toriko, those from the KonoSuba world contained considerably more energy.

In terms of flavor, however, the two were simply different rather than superior or inferior. Each had its own strengths.

Kagura, Kanna, and Yunyun were equally delighted with the taste.

“Excellent.”

Haruto nodded in satisfaction.

Now that he had confirmed the Golden Apples were genuinely outstanding ingredients, there was naturally no chance he was going to leave the Tree Turtle behind.

He quickly moved to the top of the creature’s head.

The Tree Turtle still paid him no attention, not even bothering to lift an eyelid.

Haruto drew a deep breath as Nen gathered around his right fist.

“Hah!”

He drove his fist forward.

The blow slammed directly into the center of the Tree Turtle’s forehead.

THOOM!

A deep impact erupted through the air.

A visible shockwave spread outward from Haruto’s fist.

The Tree Turtle, which had been leisurely walking forward only a moment earlier, suddenly froze in place.

Its enormous eyes, each almost as large as a millstone, snapped wide open before slowly losing focus.

Then the strength vanished from its four massive legs.

The mountain-sized body collapsed heavily onto the ground.

“Haruto, you’re incredible!”

“You defeated something that huge with one punch!”

Yunyun stared at him in disbelief.

She had fought plenty of monsters herself, but she had never seen anyone knock out a creature of this size with a single barehanded punch.

“I’m reasonably strong, that’s all.”

Haruto smiled before transferring the unconscious Tree Turtle into the Gourmet Restaurant.

With that taken care of, Haruto’s group continued traveling under Yunyun’s guidance.

Inside a snowy mountain range, they captured Ice Crystal Rabbits, Snow-Tusk Boars, Blizzard Bears, and various other monsters.

To thank Yunyun for serving as their guide, Haruto also prepared plenty of dishes for her along the way.

The clear-braised Ice Crystal Rabbit soup simmered until the broth turned rich and milky white, with golden droplets of fat floating across the surface. A scattering of chopped scallions and white pepper completed the dish, giving the already savory soup an even brighter aroma.

For another dish, Haruto served thin slices of plain-boiled Ice Crystal Rabbit with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, minced garlic, sesame oil, and a small amount of Fire Dragon Chili. The rabbit meat was pleasantly springy and naturally sweet, without the slightest trace of gaminess.

The hind-leg meat of the Snow-Tusk Boar was minced and mixed with mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots to make enormous braised meatballs. The moment someone bit into one, rich juices burst from the tender meat.

Half a month passed almost before they noticed.

During that time, Haruto’s group captured an enormous quantity of monsters, while Yunyun’s level rose dramatically as well.

At last, she accumulated enough skill points to learn her first advanced spell—

Light of Saber.

“Congratulations, Yunyun. You finally learned advanced magic.”

Haruto offered his sincere congratulations.

“Thank you, Haruto-san, Kagura-san, Kanna-san.”

“If it weren’t for all of you, there’s no way I could have learned advanced magic this quickly.”

Yunyun looked at the three of them with genuine gratitude.

Whenever they hunted monsters, Haruto and the others frequently weakened their prey without finishing it off, deliberately leaving Yunyun the final blow so that she could gain the experience.

That was the main reason her level had risen so quickly.

“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have found nearly this many monsters either. We should be thanking you too.”

Kagura smiled and affectionately ruffled Yunyun’s hair.

Haruto completely agreed.

Yunyun had traveled through many regions and knew where a wide variety of monsters could be found.

Her knowledge had dramatically increased the efficiency of their ingredient hunting.

Yunyun didn’t argue, though she still felt that Haruto’s group had helped her far more than she had helped them.

If possible, she honestly wanted to continue traveling with the three of them.

But now that she had finally learned advanced magic, it was time to return to Axel.

Early the next morning, Yunyun came to say goodbye.

“I’m going back to Axel.”

Her expression was unusually determined.

“I’ve learned advanced magic now. This time, I’m definitely going to defeat Megumin!”

“Yeah. I’m sure you can do it.”

Haruto gave her an encouraging smile.

It probably wasn’t going to happen.

Still, there was no harm in encouraging her.

Finally, Yunyun bowed deeply to all three of them.

“Thank you so much for taking care of me these past few weeks.”

After seeing Yunyun off, Haruto decided it was also time for them to stop hunting monsters for a while and take a proper break.

Their relentless ingredient gathering had produced an enormous haul, but after weeks of constant travel and hunting, even they were beginning to feel tired.

Kagura and Kanna readily agreed.

And so, Haruto left the world of KonoSuba with Kagura and Kanna and returned to the world of Food Wars!.