Ch.97 Yesterday was Fish, Today is Meat

Vester's POV

"...Yawn...Good morning..."

As I'm spraying mist water on the mandarin orange seeds, I hear a voice from behind me.

I stop watering the plants and turn my head towards the source of the voice, and there stands Cern-san, who had just woken up, rubbing her eyes looking half-asleep.

"Good morning. You're up early."

"Hmm...? What time is it now...?"

"Well, I guess it's roughly between 6 and 8 am."

"Roughly..."

Summer mornings get bright early. So I predict it will be around 6 or 8 am. It could be 9 or 10 am., but the temperature doesn't feel that high so it's probably not that.

A clock would be really useful in situations like this.

I'll add a desk clock to my mental shopping list.

"What were you doing...?"

"It's my daily watering routine. I've started watering these mandarin orange seeds."

I point to a mound of earth that has no evidence of tilling and is only barely raised that it's questionable whether it can even be called a field, and explain what it is.

The small mounds of soil, spaced about 2 meters apart, were created through three simple steps: I used my telekinetic powers to dig holes, plant seeds, and cover them with soil.

I've heard something about needing leaf mold or something, but I don't really know what leaf mold is, or if I need to give them nutrients or anything... so I don't have any knowledge about soil preparation and I just plant the seeds as they are.

For now, I'll just let it grow like this, and if there are any problems, I'll go to the library or the farming guild.

"Hee."

"It will take some time since I'm growing them from seed."

Even though everything is created to look just like reality, a game is still a game. Not everything is the same.

Due to the game's mechanics, trees grow back to full size in three days even if you cut them down, and naturally occurring plants like medicinal herbs also regrow after three days. There seem to be exceptions, though, like trees inhabited by fairies, which don't fully grow within that timeframe.

It's been a while since the official release, and if things continue as they did in my past life, the number of players will only keep increasing.

The system is designed to prevent situations where resources are completely depleted and wiped out, making it impossible to harvest them again for several years. The AI is working hard to ensure that players and NPCs don't face any problems.

Incidentally, the first batch of mandarin orange seeds I planted were spaced 1 meter apart, but considering how they would grow, I thought that might be too close together, so since then I've been planting them about 2 meters apart.

Since I don't know how big it will get, even 3 meters might not be enough.

"Is that so..."

"...You don't seem interested."

"Sorry, I'm sleepy... yaawn..."

She was the one who asked the question, but she didn't seem interested. That's what I thought, but maybe her curt reply was because she's sleepy.

Well, even if that wasn't the case, I can understand why she'd feel that way.

You know how you end up giving a mediocre response to a topic you're not interested in? Even if you don't mean to give a half-hearted reply.

When the other person's explanation was less interesting than you had imagined, you struggle to figure out how to react, and ended up with something that was just a quick, makeshift response.

That kind of response always conveys to the other person that you're not interested. It makes you want to ask if you're giving off some kind of aura.

In any case, it's rude to ask a question and then give a response that suggests you're not interested.

Conversely, responding in the same way to a topic you're not interested in, initiated by the other person, is about a 50/50 chance.

Giving a response that suggests you're not interested isn't necessarily rude, depending on the person. If the other person senses this and changes the topic or ends the conversation, neither of you will waste any time.

You'll probably be seen as someone with communication problems though.

"Oh, you should wash your face in that lake over there. There are monsters there, but they won't attack you."

"Okay..."

The girl, now a ghost, replied in a soft, gentle voice. With slightly unsteady steps, she walks to the lake to wash her face.

Yesterday, she told me what had happened to her, crying again midway through, and after she finished speaking, tears streaming down her face, she suddenly collapsed into sleep as if a string had been cut.

She must have been really tired, because she fell fast asleep as soon as she calmed down.

Seeing this, Nabla-kun realized that sleeping on the ground would hurt her body, so he used a branch to let Cern-san lean against him.

"There's nowhere to sleep, so what can you do?" That's what he was saying while he was doing it.

Even though they were constantly bickering and saying they hated each other, he's still kind to her in his own way. I don't know why, but my heart skipped a beat.

Apparently, ghosts don't feel pain, so you don't need to worry; they can sleep perfectly fine even on a rocky outcrop.

Speaking from memories of my past life.

"I'm not jealous at all though."

Huff, snort. After finishing watering the plants, I head towards a campfire.

I'm currently preparing breakfast there.

This cooking method involves using telekinesis with the left hand holding the meat in place, while using telekinesis with the right hand to forcibly stab a branch into the ground near a campfire and roast it.

Following yesterday's grilling of Pacific Saury on a stick, today I'm grilling Poison Lizard (Gift Lizard)'s meat on a stick.

These Poison Lizard (Gift Lizard)'s meats are what we obtained when Takemaru-san, Sakidori Midori-san, and I went hunting together.

Since I don't have cooking utensils such as a frying pan or a pot yet, cooking outdoors like I did at the guild is impossible.

Some manga protagonists are incredibly knowledgeable and capable of creating things they don't have, but I don't have that kind of knowledge, so it's impossible for me.

I vaguely understand that you can make plates by shaping clay and firing it, but I have absolutely no idea what kind of clay I need, where to find it, or if there's anything else I need. I don't even know what temperature to fire it at, so it's probably faster to just buy it.

You'll probably feel more attached to something you make yourself, but you can also develop an attachment to something you buy. Whether you make it yourself or not is really just a matter of personal preference.

"Hey, over there, is that the spot where you caught that fish we ate yesterday? I saw something swimming there..."

While I'm watching the meat cook, Cern-san returned from washing her face.

Apparently, she saw the Pacific Sauries swimming.

"That's right. It's strange, isn't it? They swim by flapping their legs while moving their fins."

The answer to a question I had before about their swimming techniques was that they use both the fins and the legs. Quite surreal.

Perhaps because they're using their whole body, they get tired, and they open and close their mouth to take in oxygen frequently, almost constantly gasping for air.

"Well, yeah...it's kind of strange, but every time they swim, their tail fin and legs keep hitting each other, so I was wondering if they're stupid."

"They're evolving in an interesting way, aren't they?"

"...Yeah, I guess so."

She sat down next to me, saying, "That monster is kind of gross, after all."

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〘Quest Generation Mechanism ②〙

Last time, it has been explained that NPCs can issue quests to players themselves, but not all NPCs are aware of this.

When a demigod (player) first stepped into the game world (on the release day of Mystery of Life 1), they received a message from God at the church, and at the same time, they were given information about what they could do to help the people in this world.

The church at that time followed God's instructions and spread information throughout the world, but that was a very, very long time ago.

Few people bothered to create quests for demigods, so it was forgotten, and now only the royal family and the upper echelons of the church know about it.

Therefore, 90% of the quests related to NPCs are automatically issued by the God (AI).

〘Consumable Item: Grilled Poison Lizard (Gift Lizard)'s Meat on a Stick〙

★☆☆☆☆

A piece of Poison Lizard's meat sprinkled with salt, impaled using a tree branch washed in fairy lake, and grilled near a campfire.

This meat, grilled to perfection for a moist and juicy texture, has a mild flavor. It's perfect for those on a diet.

Because splintered tree branches are used, multiple pieces of tree bark and other debris are mixed inside the Poison Lizard's meat. Be careful, as you will suffer damage each time you chew.

• +10 HP after you finish it

• -2 HP each time you chew and swallow

• +7 VIT for 120 seconds after you finish it

Creator: Vester, Blood-Rotten Tree Fairy

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