Chapter 57
Before long, we spotted signs that looked as though someone had deliberately made them.
Along the edge of the ravine, stones had been stacked in a V to narrow the stream, with a conical vine fish trap submerged at the end.
I knew at a glance. It was a makeshift fish weir and trap for catching food.
Even in the shallows, a crude net woven from branches had been spread out.
A strange foreign woman stood on a dry rock by the water.
I remembered seeing her at the beach. Unlike Miryeong, she had real platinum-blonde hair, not a wig.
Her hair was intricately braided into a bun, and she had vivid green eyes. She wore a dark emerald blouse and gray slacks.
Her slacks looked ready to burst over her alluring hips.
"Alors, c’est vous, Kim Woojin.(So, you’re Kim Woojin.)"
She knew my name?
Was it because I was famous as the guy who'd thrown a meat party at the beach──
I figured maybe the colleague with her had told her, too.
"Well, look who it is! My favorite cutie!
(Look who it is! My favorite cutie!)"
It's been a while.
One of the ponytailed office ladies from the beach—Claire, the paramedic.
Her denim shorts and tight white crop top stood out.
Claire had her hand in the stream, sweeping it around and grabbing things like crayfish.
From the big vine basket she'd set on the rock, it looked like she'd had a pretty good haul.
The American big sis had been doing just fine! What a relief.
Claire sprang out of the water and flung herself at me, holding a fishy-smelling crayfish.
Gah!!
The American big sis's enthusiastic physical affection!
Her big breasts rubbed all over me, making me incredibly happy.
Rub, rub.
"Uuuung~~ Woojin~!! My cutie!"
Claire's over-the-top welcome made me laugh awkwardly.
"It’s good to see you too, Claire.(I’m glad to see you, too, Claire.)"
I looked at the platinum-blonde woman standing behind Claire.
"Solène Laroche. We’ve seen each other before, though we haven’t had the chance to speak.
(I'm Solène Laroche. We've seen each other before, but haven't had the chance to talk.)"
Solène Laroche…
Was she French?
"Solène Laroche?!"
Seoyun practically jumped.
"Assistant Manager, do you know her?"
"You don't know her, Woojin?"
Solène… Solène Laroche.
If I'd seen a beauty with features that distinctive, I couldn't have forgotten her, but nothing came to mind.
"She's a perfumer! And a legendary one at that. The 'Mémoire Blanche' she created at twenty-nine sold over
three million bottles in Europe alone in its first year! Woojin, you work at our company and you don't know this?"
"This is the first I've heard of her."
"She's won the top prize at the World Perfume Awards three times!"
A three-peat at the Worlds… That was pretty impressive.
She didn't look much older than the Assistant Manager, either.
"And they were for fragrances from different brands and different families! There are hundreds of products in the industry
that imitate perfumes she created! Ever since she combined black tea and the scent of wet wood, similar perfumes flooded the market for years."
I'd never seen the Assistant Manager this excited….
Was she really that amazing?
Just looking at her, I doubt I'd have even crossed paths with her on the plane. Why?
Seoyun and I were in economy, while this woman would've been in first class.
Even on a deserted island, her refined bun, which hadn't lost any of its elegance, seemed to have a philosophy behind it.
"I wouldn't know."
"How can this be!"
The Assistant Manager looked ready to faint.
"You don't know Ms. Solène…!"
"Yuna, do you know her?"
"I don't really… But 'Mémoire Blanche' is famous. I think I've heard of it."
A twenty-year-old college student doesn't know its creator but knows the perfume?
She's seriously incredible!
"Madame Laroche, c’est un véritable honneur de vous rencontrer.
(Ms. Laroche, it is truly an honor to meet you.)"
The Assistant Manager spoke French, looking a little more nervous than usual.
"Je m’appelle Kang Seo-yun. Je travaillais dans l’industrie cosmétique en Corée.
(My name is Kang Seoyun. I worked in the cosmetics industry in Korea.)"
Then she introduced Yuna, standing beside her.
"Et voici Cha Yuna. Elle fait partie de notre groupe.
(And this is Cha Yuna. She's part of our group.)"
This was someone important enough to make the Assistant Manager tremble as she introduced herself…
Solène's expression had barely changed since the beginning.
"Enchantée, Madame Kang. Et enchantée, Madame Cha.
(Pleased to meet you, Ms. Kang. And pleased to meet you, too, Ms. Cha.)"
She looked at Seoyun for a moment, then gave the faintest smile.
"Votre français est excellent.(Your French is excellent.)"
"Merci……."
Seoyun lowered her head, cheeks flushed like a successful fangirl.
Solène looked at me again and said,
"Quant à ma carrière… je crois que vous venez de la rendre plus impressionnante qu’elle ne l’est réellement.
(As for my career… I think you just made it sound a little more impressive than it really is.)"
"That was a fair description. Ms. Solène, you're quite remarkable."
"Your French is excellent, too, Mr. Woojin. Are you in the same industry as Ms. Seoyun?"
Well, yes, but───
Since she said anyone in the industry would know this amazing person, I didn't want to introduce myself as a company employee for no reason.
"I'm a wizard now."
"?"
Solène tilted her head, as if it were some kind of riddle.
"What are you and Claire doing here?"
"We were catching crayfish and fish~ There's a pretty good haul here."
She really had caught quite a lot. I was a little envious. Crayfish that size…
Even when I ran Detection magic over them, the freshwater fish and crayfish caught here showed no notable defects.
If anything, they were brimming with mana.
What did that mean? They were good for people to eat.
"Why, my cutie? Want me to share some?"
"I'd appreciate it."
"Hah-hah. No~ No matter how much my cutie asks, I can't share our precious food."
"How about a trade?"
"A trade?"
Claire's eyes widened.
"Don't you miss the meat you had back then?"
As if I'd been waiting for her to ask, I took out the boar meat for trading, wrapped in pandanus leaves inside my bag.
Wild boar meat, fresh as ever thanks to <Preservation>, with its grain still intact!
"Wow!"
Claire's eyes lit up immediately, as though she recognized the quality of the meat.
"How? How? Did you just butcher it?"
"That's right. It's in excellent condition."
"Mmm~~ Not bad, cutie. You really know how to survive on a deserted island."
I don't know anything about that…
If anything, I wondered how big sis was doing so well.
"Is Ms. Solène your new partner, big sis?"
"Hm? Yep. Ms. Solène can tell everything by smell. She's got an incredible talent."
"By smell?"
Was that a legendary perfumer's specialty?
"It's not as amazing as you make it sound. I can tell if food smells unusual or is starting to spoil, that's all."
"Ms. Solène even found where the crayfish were hiding~!"
"I only distinguished the fishy smell by the water from the scent of wet mud."
That's impressive.
I found them using magic, but did that mean Solène had a sense of smell on par with Detection magic?
Magic was obviously better overall, but if someone had honed one sense to its absolute limit, that was a skill you couldn't dismiss.
"In any case, trading for meat sounds like a reasonable offer, Claire."
"If it's meat my cutie brought, I can trust it…… Mm-hmm!!"
"Big Sis Bika butchered it."
"Haa~~ Then it'll taste even better…."
I looked through the pile of crayfish Claire had caught.
She caught that many……?
Surviving on a deserted island was no joke…
"Ugh…. What have Miryeong and I even been doing?"
Yuna drooped.
"It's okay, it's okay…. You two don't have superhuman senses of smell or anything."
"But we do have spirit readings…."
"……."
Honestly, those spirit readings only seemed to get the bad stuff right……
I shouldn't say that, should I?
The Five Grains Spirit might get angry.
"Here! How about this much?"
"Eek!"
At the sight of the freshwater crayfish Claire presented with a ta-da, both Yuna and Seoyun screamed.
I was startled, too.
She'd pulled out a crayfish the size of a human head.
Seoyun gulped as she watched it, still alive and moving its legs.
"You caught one on a whole different level, big sis."
"Ms. Solène said there was a smell of black metal, long folded, under a rock, so I reached in. And there it was!"
What's with "the smell of black metal, long folded"…… I thought the translation magic had glitched.
Seeing Seoyun tilt her head, too, confirmed that big sis's way of putting it was unique.
Was it a superpower?
"It's nothing special."
Solène spoke in a calm voice, arms folded.
"I only smelled the scent of a shell that had grown for a long time where the light couldn't reach."
"……."
That's kind of cool…
Like some martial arts master~ perfumer~!
I felt bad for Miryeong and Yuna, but this was definitely a group with strong survival skills.
Solène, who could learn things others couldn't through her sense of smell, and the wild, athletic Claire.
The giant freshwater crayfish those two had caught were definitely worth trading for meat.
But my Detection magic picked up two more giant ones beneath the lid of the big vine basket.
"How about we take those two as well?"
Claire's eyes narrowed. For a moment, I thought I saw her wondering, 'How did he know?'
"Even for my favorite cutie, that’s a pretty bold ask. Those two are gonna cost you extra.
(Even if you are my favorite cutie, that's asking a bit much. Those two will cost you extra.)"
……Do I have to bring out everything?
The Assistant Manager and I exchanged glances.
"Let's bring those out and trade them, too, Mr. Woojin."
With her approval, I took a ripe red fruit out of my bag.
It's the red hawthorn fruit's turn!!
Heh heh heh!!
Behold this beautiful, vivid-red form!
I heard Claire and Solène swallow.
Hey, hey~
Think you can resist?
You see, this is a very sweet fruit you wouldn't easily find if you'd only foraged in the eastern rainforest!
There aren't even any red hawthorn trees or anything like them here!
This bright red fruit must look irresistibly tempting.
"…Ah."
Solène's lips moved slightly.
"An unbelievable, sweet fragrance."
Ye~
"Nice try, cutie.(Good try, cutie.)"
"Huh? No? Then should I put it away?"
As if testing Claire's coy reaction, I started to put the red hawthorn fruit away, but Claire grabbed me.
"…I'm curious. What exactly is that?"
"It's a red hawthorn fruit. It's incredibly sweet and juicy. The moment you take a bite, ooh."
"Ugh…. I saw you guys eating it at camp before. It looked so delicious…."
"Come on, take as much as you like. If you hand over those super-giant crayfish, that is."
Claire and I met eyes.
It was a little battle of wits over food, the most precious thing on a deserted island.
We were both sure we had top-quality goods.
Claire turned to Solène and asked,
"Ms. Solène. What do you think?"
"It's all excellent. If we can trade them for nine ripe fruits, we won't be losing out at all, Claire."
Ms. Solène, nice!
"The scent of a drop of ripe flower honey on red silk warmed by the sun…."
Her scent descriptions were still so much like modern art that I had no idea what she meant.
"Hmmmm…."
"Nine fruits, huh? Fine, we'll give them to you. We've eaten quite a few ourselves."
"Cutie! Don't underestimate me. You didn't offer that trade just because you wanted the crayfish…?"
Good grief, this woman…!!
Tougher than I thought, huh? That's right, you've got the vibe of someone who's survived this long!
Then taste it.
I cleaned one fruit and held it out.
"Try a sample."
"……Ugh!"
As if lured by its sweet fragrance, Claire took the fruit.
That was when it happened.
The instant Claire's eyes gave in to temptation,
Seoyun struck, as if she'd been waiting for it.
"Then, if you like it, you’ll throw in five large fish and one freshwater crab as a bonus. Deal?
(Then if you like it, you'll throw in five big fish and a freshwater crab as a bonus. Deal?)"
"Ahh!! R-right at this moment!? Ngh……"
Oh. Assistant Manager!!
As expected, a capable employee was different. She hit them with a follow-up here?
A perfect combo!
Come on, this is five kilos of prime boneless wild boar. Huh?
We had to make sure we got what we could out of them.
With the ripe red hawthorn fruit right in front of Claire, she had no choice but to bite into it.
Crunch.
"Uuuung!!"
I thought hearts were about to shoot from her eyes.
The overpowering taste of the red hawthorn fruit, bursting with sweetness.
It's hard to find such pure, concentrated sweetness in nature.
We were going to trade it for the overpowering umami of seafood!!
"Cutie, I love you! Deal!"
We got three huge crayfish, along with the bonus fish and freshwater crab.
The three crayfish, their pincers tied with thick vines so they couldn't move, writhed on the ground.
One extra-large one weighing four kilos, and two large ones around two kilos each.
With this haul, we'd cleaned out all the crayfish for today. We could have a party!
How happy would the group back at camp be?
Seoyun was delighted, too, and high-fived me.
Smack!
"Great job, Mr. Woojin! You're Employee of the Month, after all."
"It was thanks to your bold budget approval, Assistant Manager. That follow-up negotiation was impressive, too."
"Wow, those crayfish are enormous……."
That's right.
The extra-large one alone must weigh well over four kilos.
I was surprised by the super rock crab, too, but what the hell……
Was this crayfish practically a monster?
It was amazing that something like this could grow in the island's freshwater.
The eastern tropical rainforest wasn't to be underestimated.
Even we, who'd started out in the southern forest, had found prey worth drooling over.
We immediately exchanged our goods.
Carefully, so we wouldn't hurt the crayfish.
They were alive, but just in case, I cast Preservation on them.
I didn't know if it would work.
In any case, I cast the spell because I wanted to bring them back in the best possible condition.
Yuna squatted down and sketched the giant crayfish and fish we'd scored.
"That was a good trade, cutie! Come visit us again next time. Oh, can I come visit where you live?"
"Sure. If you can find it, come on over."
"Ahaha! What's that supposed to mean? You won't even give me your address?"
"Our address is somewhere in the southern forest…."
The communal entrance code is Fence 3555.
It doesn't mean anything.
"That was a good trade, Mr. Kim Woojin."
"Thank you for recognizing the value of the red hawthorn fruit, too, Ms. Solène."
"Hehe…."
It was a good trade with good people.
"Is your hideout around here, too?"
"Yep! It rains a lot here, so we live under a rock overhang on a high rocky ledge~!"
"A rock overhang on a rocky ledge…."
Even if it wasn't a cave, somewhere like that could work.
As long as there was no risk of rapids or falling rocks……
"Be careful, cutie! Here, you can get caught in a sudden downpour if you let your guard down."
When it came to rain on this island, the Assistant Manager had already learned that lesson the hard way.
Seoyun smiled awkwardly and said,
"Thanks for the advice."
* * * *
By the time we climbed back up, quite a bit of time had passed.
"How did you think to trade with them right away?"
"I brought it along for that purpose."
Our camp had an overwhelming amount of meat supplies.
The ratio was about 90 percent meat and 10 percent everything else combined.
Trading something we could get relatively easily and in large quantities for other precious goods──
That had probably been one of humanity's first bits of wisdom for survival.
We'd just come back from making exactly that sort of beneficial exchange.
"Let's look for more. I think there are still a lot of things here we don't know about."
The thrill of exploring had made Seoyun extremely enthusiastic.
Well, we did get a lucky spirit reading, so maybe we should keep looking……
Or had we already hit the jackpot? I had a feeling these crayfish would yield a ridiculous amount of meat.
"I'll look, too!"
With the two of them this motivated, I had no choice but to follow suit.
I naturally followed behind them.
A little while later……
"Ah!"
Yuna seemed to have found something and hurried over.
"Over here! Could you come this way?"
What had she found?
Where Yuna pointed, a thick vine was wrapped around a tree trunk.
Its palm-sized, dark green leaves glistened with moisture, and several thin green strands hung down beneath them.
When I got closer, I realized they weren't stems.
Round fruits, a little larger than millet, were densely packed along long spikes.
……What was this?
Grapes…… no.
It looked like green beads strung together along a line.