It’s like I turned this old shopping bag into a magic one, I thought, tossing one fruit after another into the now seemingly bottomless pocket. Thank you, unnamed famous robot!
In total, the baby spiders had retrieved thirty of the large, red fruits. Looking up, I could still see more red between the leaves, but they were apparently finished for now.
Maybe those ones aren’t ripe yet? Either way, I’ve still got more than enough to last me for a while.
I was currently following the baby spiders through the forest, Koa by my side. The baby spiders leaped from tree to tree like a squad of tiny ninja. A little too tiny—I was having trouble seeing them. Eventually, I had to ask them to move to some of the lower branches, which they seemed to understand. Thankfully, the spiders seemed to know where they were going, because I had no idea.
We continued through the forest until suddenly one of the spiders dropped down in front of me, forcing me to stop. Frantically, I scanned the surrounding trees for signs of danger but instead spotted a leafy thicket a few steps away. The spiders had apparently resumed their harvest. In the thicket, I could see a few cabbage-like clusters of leaves, one of which the spiders were carrying out. Like the fruit, it was quite big, around the size of a basketball. I looked at the baby spiders again.
You guys sure are strong... Maybe too strong.
I peeled off one of the vegetable-like leaves from the cluster and tried it. It wasn’t bitter, like I’d been dreading, but had a subtle sweetness. The texture was perfectly crunchy too.
It’s not quite the same as cabbage, but it’s not like lettuce either. It’s kinda in between? It’s hard to describe... Oh well. Either way, it’s delicious.
Sensing my approval, the spiders started harvesting again, one cluster after another vanishing into the depths of my bag. There were quite a few thickets around, making for a bountiful harvest. By the time the spiders had finished, I’d counted at least fifty of the clusters disappearing into my bag.
I feel like they might rot before I can eat them all... I’ve gotta figure out some sort of preservation spells when I get home today.
We’d walked quite far from the mountain by this point—apparently, fruit- and vegetable-producing trees were less common than I’d hoped. What we came across more frequently, though, were monsters. A fair number of them had attempted to attack, but Koa had scared each one off with no more than a short growl.
You’re the best, Koa! Even if your growl scares me too!
Next, the spiders led us to a grove of trees bearing fist-sized, greenish-yellow fruits. The one they fetched for me had an acidic, invigorating scent, similar to that of a lemon. I was also presented with another fruit from the same tree, this one was greenish blue. It was odorless, making me think it a little strange that they’d brought me an unripe fruit, but I dropped it into my bag anyway. Again, the spiders took this as a sign of my approval and got to work harvesting. Soon enough, I had about fifty of the newest fruit too, roughly evenly divided between the two colors.
Three varieties today, huh? Not bad. Probably a good time to call it a day.
I returned home to find the other wolves waiting eagerly. As always, they’d split up for hunting and were waiting to present their spoils. Shion and Chai sat beside a pile of five monsters, whereas Soa and Hio had brought back seven. Kurou, who’d gone hunting alone, proudly showed off his two kills as well. They’d been bringing back more and more monsters with each passing day, but today’s spoils were especially abundant. I patted them all in turn, surreptitiously checking for any signs of injury as I did.
Looks like you all stayed safe today too... Whew.
The wolves (Chai included) tended to eat somewhere between one and three monsters a day, depending on their size. They sometimes tried some of my cooked meat, but primarily they ate it raw after I’d removed the blood vessels and hides. I now left the organs inside because I’d remembered how nutritious they were said to be, though I made sure to remove them from any carcasses they hadn’t been able to finish by the end of the day.
It didn’t take very long to butcher all the carcasses, thanks to all the practice I’d had lately. I’d finally figured out how to skin the monsters (albeit untidily) using magic, which helped the work pass quicker. The first serving always went to the wolves, of course. After skinning the first carcass and casting a cautionary Clean on the meat, I Teleported it onto the wide sheet of wooden boards that served as their feeding area.
Dinner’s up, guys.
Next, I butchered the remaining monsters, putting some aside for today and teleporting the rest to the food storage area in the basement. The hides I put aside too. I hadn’t been able to figure out how to turn them into anything useful yet.
Finally, once my work was done, I called out to Spider Boss, wanting to check if the other baby spiders had grown as much as their siblings. But—
Spider Boss...? You’ve grown a lot too...