Chapter 143

Neighbors (1)

A raccoon that breathed fire from its mouth like some kind of ninja.

As if breathing fire weren’t impressive enough, it was even capable of storing flames inside a bottle.

I had no idea what the bottled fire could be used for, but it was such a unique ability that it was bound to prove useful somewhere.

More than anything, though, I liked its personality.

’That’s the biggest reason.’

It wasn’t merely gentle—it was polite, too. There was no way I could dislike it.

Even the Swift Sloth, who was highly sensitive about its territory, had merely smacked it on the back and done nothing more.

That alone showed just how nice this raccoon was. It made me like the little guy even more.

’Should I let it live with me? It seems perfectly capable of looking after itself.’

Whatever else might be true, there was no doubt this raccoon was highly skilled at handling fire.

Just as I had until now, I would continue to have plenty of uses for fire in the future.

If this fire-wielding raccoon lent me a hand, perhaps I would become capable of doing things I couldn’t manage before.

Even if I didn’t yet know what use it had, I might also get some of that bottled fire as an added benefit.

It had probably fallen down the chimney because it was attracted by the flames, so surely we could come to some kind of agreement.

I would provide it with shelter, and the raccoon would use its abilities for me.

I immediately made the raccoon an offer, using a mixture of words, hand gestures, and body language.

"Keng."

However, the raccoon rejected my offer.

It was surprising enough that it understood me, but it even held out a paw to make its intentions unmistakably clear.

No matter how extraordinary its ability might be, the fact that it had come all the way here surely meant it had no home of its own.

In a forest as hellish as this one, a safe place to live was extremely important.

When I asked why it was refusing, the raccoon picked up a twig lying near the firewood.

Scritch, scritch—

It then began drawing a picture on the ground. I carefully studied it.

Just as its intelligence was exceptional, its drawing skills were nothing to scoff at either.

’First the Swift Sloth, and now this guy. Is drawing a basic skill for animals living in the Forest of Four Seasons?’

Somehow, it seemed better at drawing than I was.

While I was thinking that, the raccoon finished its picture. It had drawn three raccoons in total.

At a glance, they looked like a family. Did raccoons normally live in groups?

"Keng!"

"Oh. This one is you?"

The raccoon pointed at the largest member of the family.

In human terms, it was the head of the household. In other words, the father.

The two smaller raccoons appeared to be its mate and child.

’Then there’s nothing I can do.’

Whether human or animal, the head of a family had important responsibilities.

I nodded to show the raccoon that I understood.

I would have liked to give it some food as a gesture of friendship, but unfortunately, I barely had enough for myself.

The only food I had was extremely salty smoked meat, so it wasn’t suitable.

"Keng. Keeeng."

"Huh? You want some fire?"

"Keng."

"If you want it, go ahead."

Instead, the little guy asked for some fire. I readily gave it permission.

I could start another fire whenever I wanted, and it was hard to even call fire a resource.

The raccoon bowed its head after receiving my permission, then held the twig it had used for drawing against the fireplace.

Whoosh!

A flame blazed to life at the end of the twig.

The twig was tiny to me, but when the raccoon held it, it looked like a torch.

Normally, it should have burned up quickly, but somehow, it burned steadily like a candle.

The raccoon gazed at its brightly burning torch with a satisfied expression.

"Keeeng!"

"Yeah. Goodbye. Take care of yourself. If you ever change your mind, come back here."

With the torch in its paw, the raccoon went on its way.

It was a shame, but perhaps we would meet again someday.

It might have lacked strength, but it was smart. It would find some way to survive.

’Unlike certain others, it’s polite and well-mannered.’

Some bastard had stolen all my Fasting Pills and then tried to settle the debt with bananas.

If possible, I wanted to maintain a steady relationship with the raccoon. First, though, I needed to figure out exactly what the fire inside the bottle was.

I watched until the raccoon disappeared from sight, then accessed the gallery.

Title: Met a fire-wielding raccoon

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the raccoon bowing politely)

(Photo of the raccoon scooping up fire from the fireplace)

(Photo of the raccoon breathing fire)

(Photo of fire inside a bottle)

(Video of the raccoon leaving with a torch in one paw)

I went outside for a little while, and when I came back, there was a raccoon in my house. It was the one that visited my house before, and apparently it fell down the chimney.

I was wondering what kind of ability it had, and it turned out to be insanely good at handling fire;;

Are there any raccoons with fire-related abilities? If there are, let me know.

Oh, and I wanted to recruit it as a companion, but it refused because it’s the head of its family. Bit of a shame.

└ Heavenly Demon: What a rare and remarkable trick. It is accomplishing something that would be difficult even with Daoist arts.

└ SwordMaster: I’ve never seen a raccoon like that in my life. What is it, a dragon? It’s breathing fire;;

└ Wild Grylls: It ate the fire and then breathed it out. Can mages do that too?

└ SwordMaster: I’m not sure. I don’t know much about that.

└ Starlight Princess: If someone tried that, their mouth and tongue would burn to a crisp.

└ Wild Grylls: Even if they just ate the fire?

└ Starlight Princess: This isn’t some strongman sideshow. Why would anyone eat fire?;;

└ The very act of eating fire is bizarre, you know;;

└ Aren’t there monsters that eat fire?

└ There are, but raccoons don’t, lololol.

└ All-Father: Fascinating. I could understand water, but a raccoon with an affinity for fire...

└ Wild Grylls: Do raccoons shoot water from their mouths?

└ All-Father: No, but they do have a habit of washing their food in water. Perhaps this one roasts its food over a fire instead.

└ Wild Grylls: Oh;;

└ All-Father: But what exactly is that fire inside the bottle? It has piqued my interest.

└ Wild Grylls: It may be hard to believe, but the raccoon scooped up the fire and put it inside the bottle. It scooped flames from the campfire like someone cupping water in both hands.

└ All-Father: Hmm... I would like to study it, but unfortunately, I don’t believe I have enough time at present. If it would not be too much trouble, could you wait two days?

└ Wild Grylls: Understood. It’s nothing urgent.

└ All-Father: Thank you.

└ Don’t tell me that’s some kind of essence too.

└ Who knows? It might also be nothing special, lol.

└ By the way, do raccoons live in groups?

└ I think it depends on the individual.

Everyone found the raccoon fascinating.

They seemed particularly skeptical about the part where it ate fire.

Well, this was the Forest of Four Seasons. It was probably best to simply accept it and move on.

’It probably won’t visit often.’

I had never seen the raccoon until winter arrived.

During the other seasons, it had probably remained within its own territory and the surrounding area.

Now that winter had come, food nearby must have grown scarce, naturally forcing it to venture farther away.

Would such a tiny creature really be able to continue surviving in this forest? I was a little worried.

’It has a special ability, so it should manage.’

It had already adapted well to the Forest of Four Seasons. It might even have a better chance of surviving here than I did.

In any case, now that the raccoon had left, I counted the Iceblooms I had remaining.

I still had about two left, so I could probably use them for something.

I might also find more if I searched the surrounding area.

’I should probably postpone gaining cold resistance, right?’

If I mixed one with something and ate it without the Starlight Princess’s help, I could end up in serious trouble.

But simply leaving them unused also felt like a waste.

’Mixing one with mandrake and giving it to Praise the Sun might not be a bad idea...’

I checked how much elixir I had left.

After mixing some with the mandrake, I had about three and a half bottles remaining.

Since there was always a chance that Wonmo, the Swift Sloth, and I could all be injured at the same time, that amount was the absolute minimum I needed to keep.

’It feels like mixing it with that fire would work perfectly.’

The fire the raccoon had put inside the bottle.

Couldn’t I mix that with an Icebloom?

However, that was merely a guess. I couldn’t be certain. I absolutely needed an expert’s opinion.

Unfortunately, even the All-Father was currently unavailable, which made things difficult.

’I’ll just get some next time.’

I still had plenty of time, so there was no need to rush.

More importantly, didn’t I need to train myself to control cold energy first?

That wasn’t all. Once winter ended, the number of things I needed to do would increase exponentially.

’The bricks, cement, and sand can go here...’

I made preparations in advance for when the weather warmed.

As soon as the thaw began, I planned to build an oven and a furnace.

I also had an emergency exit to consider, so there was a lot of work ahead of me.

’How should I build it so it won’t get swept away by an avalanche?’

An avalanche would probably occur about once a month.

And it wasn’t just avalanches. I had no idea what other kinds of natural disasters might strike.

I would need to survive another two weeks or so before I could understand the rules of this damned forest.

’It has to be extremely sturdy. Should I just construct a small building?’

Since I had bricks and cement, I could erect a building for the oven and furnace.

It would take a long time, but its durability would be guaranteed.

Of course, it would be a different story if some abnormal monster like the Boss Gorilla appeared.

There was truly nothing I could do about something like that. As long as the structure could withstand natural disasters, that would be enough.

’I need to use the space as efficiently as possible and build a separate drainage channel... This is giving me a headache.’

It might have been different if I had gone to university, but unfortunately, I had only graduated from high school.

I hadn’t had enough money, and I had been too busy struggling to survive from one day to the next.

At least I had learned a few useful things in the military. That was some consolation.

I bought a large sheet of paper and drew the cave and the surrounding area on it.

’A rectangular design would probably be the safest choice.’

If I wanted to do that, I would need to cut down more trees.

I planned to clear the path that the Boss Gorilla had personally created.

I spent the entire day working on the design, and before I knew it, the dark night had arrived.

Snow began falling after nightfall, but it wasn’t a blizzard. It was just ordinary snow.

’Is this another sign that the weather is warming?’

According to the journal my Great Senior had left behind, the weather should warm up in another two or three days.

I needed to accomplish everything I could before then. If I was lucky, perhaps I could even go hunting.

I added more firewood to the flames and sat beside the Swift Sloth.

Except when it was eating, this guy seemed to spend all its time in front of the fireplace.

’Winter has its advantages, but I still hate it.’

The most inconvenient part was that the sun set early and rose late.

The reduced activity of the other animals was certainly beneficial, but the same applied to me.

I sat silently before the fireplace until something suddenly occurred to me, prompting me to stand.

’This isn’t the time to sit around. More snow could accumulate overnight.’

So I diligently scattered salt around. Since I didn’t have calcium chloride, I had no choice but to use salt as a substitute.

The emergency exit was still only in the design phase, so it was better to prepare in advance.

With that, I finished preparing for the end of the day. The night was long, and there was nothing else to do.

’At least the gallery has found something new to talk about.’

Thanks to the recent sporting events, discussions about El Dorado had almost completely died down.

In other words, the subject was on the verge of being buried.

I didn’t particularly care, but that probably wasn’t good news for the people outside.

’The people outside can handle that themselves.’

All I could do was wait for winter to end.

I quietly passed the time after uploading a post to the gallery to conclude the day.

"Hey. Aren’t you going to sleep?"

"Forget it."

The Swift Sloth could continue staring blankly into the fire if it wanted.

Hoping that another blizzard wouldn’t arrive before dawn, I quietly closed my eyes.

I had no idea what would happen next, but whatever came, it would certainly be difficult rather than easy.

’Knowing this would happen, should I have forced the raccoon to stay?’

With that thought in mind, the next morning dawned.

"Keeeng!"

"Uh..."

The moment I woke up, the raccoon greeted me from outside the cave.

And it wasn’t alone. It had brought its family with it.

There was a raccoon that appeared to be its mate, as well as a baby raccoon hiding behind them.

The family radiated an unmistakable We’ve moved in atmosphere.

"Keng!"

"...What’s this?"

The father raccoon held something out to me.

At a glance, it resembled an ordinary balloon flower root or wild ginseng, but its color was extraordinary.

It was as white as snow, practically advertising to the world, I am a miraculous medicinal herb.

"Keeeng! Keng!"

Still bewildered, I accepted the herb. The raccoon bowed deeply at the waist.

Its mate and baby did the same. The shy greeting from the baby raccoon was especially adorable.

’...Did they come to hand out rice cakes to their new neighbor?’

It seemed I had unexpectedly acquired some new neighbors.

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