Chapter 145

Neighbors (3)

By subcontracting the work to Papa Raccoon, I had reduced my workload and saved a great deal of time.

Right now, time was more precious to me than gold—no, even diamonds.

Therefore, I planned to manage our arrangement flexibly so that the raccoon wouldn’t become dissatisfied.

’How should I build their shelter, though?’

Since they were neighbors I would be seeing frequently, I considered building a small resting place for them in the yard.

However, I wasn’t sure what kind of structure the raccoons would like.

They had already made themselves a tidy home, so I had no intention of making them move again.

I was only planning a "resting place"—somewhere they could relax comfortably in front of the campfire during the cold winter.

’Building an entire house would be too much. A small shelter should be just right.’

A structure that allowed them to fully enjoy the warmth of the campfire would be enough.

Unfortunately, I had too many problems of my own to deal with, so I couldn’t build it immediately.

The furnace and oven were urgent. A resting place for the raccoon family was not.

As I had said, the raccoon family already had a home, so I could build it once I had some spare time.

’I should at least put down a mat for them.’

I checked the wind direction. With the cave entrance as the reference point, the wind blew from behind it.

Whatever else might change, the wind consistently blew in the same direction, making it easier to design the shelter.

’More importantly, I need to make sure Wonmo doesn’t perceive them as food.’

Wonmo had been plump before entering hibernation, but he had since lost a considerable amount of weight.

In less than ten days, he had rapidly gained weight and then lost it again.

In contrast, the Swift Sloth hadn’t changed at all. Perhaps it possessed some resistance to the cold.

’I’ve already been here for three weeks.’

Today marked exactly my twenty-first day here—three full weeks.

After another week passed, it would be four weeks. In other words, an entire month.

At first, time had seemed to crawl painfully slowly, but recently, the opposite had been true.

It was probably because the sun set early during winter and I spent most of my time inside the shelter. That must have made the days feel shorter.

’That isn’t necessarily a good thing.’

Gaining experience was good, but I still hadn’t acquired any information that might help me escape.

Adapting and escaping were entirely different matters.

Still, it wasn’t as though I had learned nothing at all.

I had obtained the invaluable knowledge that I shouldn’t even consider escaping during winter.

The moment I was swept away by an avalanche, my life would be in danger.

Crackle! Pop!

"Kiing."

"Kking."

I was working on the overall design of the shelter when Mama Raccoon and the baby gathered around the campfire.

Papa Raccoon was away working, but why had these two come here?

’What’s that stuck on the end of the stick?’

The stick in the baby raccoon’s paws particularly caught my attention. Something had been skewered on it.

While question after question arose in my mind, the baby raccoon carefully held the stick in both paws.

It glanced at me, then cautiously approached.

"Kkiing."

The baby raccoon held out the stick it had been clutching so carefully.

For a moment, I wondered if it could manipulate fire like its father, but that wasn’t the case.

I could clearly see a golden-brown grub roasted on the end of the stick.

Most creatures living in the Forest of Four Seasons boasted considerable size, even when they were young.

The baby raccoon alone was about the size of a small dog.

Likewise, the grub skewered on the stick was unusually large.

"...You want me to eat this?"

"Kking."

When I pointed at myself and asked, the baby raccoon replied affirmatively.

Wondering what was going on, I looked at Mama Raccoon. She had both paws tightly clasped together.

Her eyes seemed to plead, Please accept my child’s kindness.

What kind of raccoon could make an expression like that?

’Eating insects is a bit much, but...’

I couldn’t reject a gift given with such sincerity.

If I closed my eyes and ate it just this once, I would probably be fine.

"Thank you. I’ll enjoy it."

"..."

The moment I thanked it, the baby raccoon scampered away.

It hid behind Mama Raccoon’s back.

Apparently, it was shy around strangers. Still, the way it poked only its head out from behind its mother suggested that it was eagerly anticipating my reaction.

I couldn’t crush a child’s(?) expectations. Besides, this was a gift from my neighbor.

After examining the grub, which appeared to have been cooked better than expected, I popped the entire thing into my mouth.

At least it was cooked, so it should taste like protein—

Squelch!

—or so I thought, but a deeply ominous sound came from inside my mouth.

At the same time, something moist and sticky began dribbling out between my lips.

Had I made a mistake by judging an animal’s cooking according to human standards? Or had the baby accidentally undercooked it because it was still young?

I desperately suppressed the disgust and nausea rising from my stomach and forced myself to chew the grub.

’...Right. In an emergency, I might have to eat these things raw anyway.’

I couldn’t disappoint the baby raccoon, so I persevered and ate it.

Swallowing was the most dangerous part. Calling its taste and texture the worst in history would still have been an understatement.

"D-Delicious!"

"Kkiing! Kking!"

"Kiim."

When I raised my thumb and praised it, the baby raccoon bounced around excitedly.

Mama Raccoon stroked the baby’s head, but she kept glancing nervously at me.

Apparently, even she knew that her baby had served me an undercooked grub.

Title: The baby raccoon gave me a present

Wild Grylls

(Photo of the baby raccoon holding out a stick)

(Photo of a thick grub skewered on the stick)

That herb wasn’t the only gift I received from my neighbors. The baby raccoon personally roasted this over the fire and gave it to me, lol.

It was a little undercooked, but I endured it and ate the whole thing.

└ Heavenly Demon: I think this every time I see them, but they truly are creatures who understand courtesy.

└ SwordMaster: Ugh. Why is that grub so huge? Is it because it lives in the Forest of Four Seasons too?

└ Wild Grylls: Probably. Everything here is enormous.

└ Did the bug taste good?

└ It looks so plump that it almost seems delicious.

└ Ugh;; Are there actually people who enjoy eating bugs?

└ Don’t knife-ears eat them? They have that nature-loving image, so they probably eat insects too.

└ Let’sGrowTrees: What?! We don’t eat insects! Elves enjoy meat too!

└ Elves eat meat? I can’t imagine that.

└ That’s probably just a stereotype. Knife-ears are incredibly good at politics, and that’s how they built their nature-loving image.

└ Yeah. I heard they used that image effectively because they were positioned as the opposite of the demons. They also have the World Tree.

└ Even now, they get criticized a lot over their tree-planting campaigns, so that image still exists. But they don’t eat bugs, lol.

└ What do dark elves eat, then? They live in the desert, so meat must be scarce.

└ Praise the Sun: Why would we need meat when we have sweet dates? Lol.

└ There are so many dark elves who got diabetes from eating those, lololol.

└ They really are sweet. Dates are one of their biggest exports.

└ So, Grylls, did it taste good? It looks so plump and delicious.

└ Wild Grylls: The moment I bit into it, all its guts burst and spilled out of my mouth.

└ Gyaaaaaagh!

└ Uwaaaaah;;

└ Ugh;; Just imagining it makes me want to vomit.

└ Did you still finish it?

└ Wild Grylls: The baby raccoon was watching me expectantly. How could I refuse? I forced the whole thing down.

└ The baby raccoon did that to mess with you, lololol.

└ Pure evil, lololol.

└ So it was a devil raccoon, lololol.

└ Devilcoon, lololol.

└ Starlight Princess: That’s strange. As far as I know, raccoons normally wash their food in water before eating it. Why did this one roast its food over a fire?

└ Someone here still doesn’t understand the Forest of Four Seasons. There’s a reason for everything.

└ Starlight Princess: And what would that reason be? If you’re about to spout more nonsense, then go away.

└ Because all the raccoons that washed their food in water are already dead. Didn’t you see the river in front of Grylls’s house? A frog that sprays deadly poison jumped out of it, lol.

└ That’s... surprisingly convincing!

└ The Forest of Four Seasons is so terrifying that it forces animals to defy their instincts.

└ Starlight Princess: For once, that wasn’t a completely idiotic statement.

I had heard that before as well. Raccoons supposedly washed their food in water before eating it.

The raccoon that fell into despair after trying to wash cotton candy and watching it completely disappear had been hilarious.

Still, perhaps because raccoons were quick learners, I remembered it no longer washing the cotton candy after losing it two or three times.

Maybe the raccoons in the Forest of Four Seasons had learned something similar—that water was far more dangerous than fire.

’Is that also why they developed the ability to manipulate fire?’

As someone in the comments had said, it was strangely convincing. It wasn’t entirely implausible.

Afterward, I ate a bite of smoked meat to wash away the disgusting taste lingering in my mouth.

It was literally just to cleanse my palate, so it was closer to a snack than a meal.

’Bananas are the best snack, though.’

Thinking about snacks reminded me of the banana the gorilla had given me.

It had thrown the banana at me as if to say, Take this instead of your Fasting Pills and get lost.

It had been an utterly shameless deal, but the banana itself had been genuinely delicious.

Unfortunately, that banana was a specialty(?) found only in the jungle.

I had no desire to enter the gorillas’ territory, so no matter how much I wanted another, I had no choice but to endure the craving.

’Does this forest not have any fruit or anything?’

There were plenty of mushrooms, but almost no fruit. Even when I found some, it was never anything I particularly wanted to eat.

After entertaining those pointless thoughts for a while, I closed my eyes and circulated my heart method.

The overall design of the shelter was more or less complete. All that remained was to wait for the next season to arrive.

I had nothing else to do until then, so training was my only option.

’The cold energy is gradually gathering, little by little...’

The process of separating the cold energy from my mana was also progressing smoothly.

Everything was difficult at first, but once you gained momentum, things became easier.

That didn’t mean I was neglecting my swordsmanship training. I understood the importance of maintaining balance all too well.

"Whew."

By the time I finished a reasonable amount of training, it was already lunchtime.

I was just considering getting something to eat when—

"Keeeeeng! Keeeng!"

The raccoon’s cry came from outside.

Rather than a shout, it sounded closer to a scream.

Judging by the voice(?), it seemed to be Papa Raccoon.

The moment I heard it, anxiety surged through me, and I hurried outside.

There was no one in the yard, but the scream had come from the raccoons’ home.

After arming myself, I headed toward the tree where they lived.

"Rssssss—"

"Keeeng! Keng!"

As expected, my neighbors were in danger.

A huge snake was slithering up the tree.

Papa Raccoon stood at the entrance to the hollow, fiercely resisting with a torch in one paw.

Mama Raccoon and the baby were probably inside.

"You bastard!"

I immediately charged at the snake.

Perhaps it sensed my presence.

Boing!

Incredibly, it seemed to bend its body slightly before launching itself backward like a spring.

Its elasticity was astonishing, and its movements were entirely befitting a creature from the Forest of Four Seasons.

"Shaaaaaah!"

After briefly landing on another tree, the snake coiled its body and launched itself at me again.

Inside its enormous maw, I saw fangs dripping with venom.

I would have panicked in the past. By now, however, my body had grown accustomed to the Forest of Four Seasons.

I lightly twisted aside to evade the snake’s charge, then slashed downward with my sword.

Slice!

The Heavenly Demon’s sword, combined with an aura-infused strike, cleanly severed the snake’s body.

As if being cut apart weren’t enough, its entire body began freezing from the wound outward.

I had fought the Steel-Scaled Snake before, so I didn’t bother holding back, just in case.

Thrash! Thrash! Crackle!

The snake thrashed violently at first, but it wasn’t long before its entire body froze solid.

I didn’t stop there. I cleanly severed its head.

That should have killed it for good.

’If a snake that should be hibernating has awakened...’

This confirmed it.

Winter truly was coming to an end.

I kicked the frozen snake’s head far away, then turned around.

Still holding the torch in one paw, Papa Raccoon wore an expression of immense relief.

"Are you all right?"

"Keeeng."

Papa Raccoon bowed deeply as if expressing his heartfelt gratitude.

His family had also poked their heads out of the hollow and thanked me.

’Thank goodness he had that torch. Otherwise, they would’ve been eaten.’

Most animals were afraid of fire. Snakes were no exception.

Moreover, Papa Raccoon could breathe flames from his mouth, so the snake must have found him troublesome to approach.

Since the raccoon still had that hidden card to play, the two had probably been cautiously watching each other for an opening.

I briefly considered scattering snake repellent around the tree in the near future. Meanwhile, the raccoon family climbed down.

"Keng!"

Papa Raccoon then tapped the frozen body of the snake.

Was he suggesting that we eat it?

"You want to eat this?"

"Keeeng."

"Hmm..."

I looked down at the snake.

It was quite large, so there would be more than enough for us to share.

I had never eaten snake before, but... it would be a waste to throw away prey I had already caught.

Even leftovers wouldn’t be a problem. Now that I had a refrigerator, storing them would be easy.

"All right. Let’s eat it."

After receiving my permission, Papa Raccoon gestured for me to wait and returned to his home.

A moment later, he came back holding something.

"Keeeng!"

What Papa Raccoon had brought was a mushroom.

It looked like an ordinary brown mushroom.

I preferred to avoid mushrooms whenever possible, but he must have brought it for a reason.

The thought suddenly occurred to me that he might even know what effects it possessed.

"What does this do? I’m a little wary of mushrooms..."

"Keeeng."

Had he understood me?

Rather than answering with words(?), Papa Raccoon demonstrated through his actions.

Thrust! Thrust!

He vigorously thrust his hips back and forth.

He even pumped both arms energetically in the same rhythm.

There was no need for an explanation. I could easily guess what it meant.

Apparently, men were all the same, whether human or animal.

’But even if I eat it, I have no one to use the effect with.’

Was he teasing me because he had a mate?

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