Chapter 62
The seven companions of Chai seem to have recovered, too.
I was truly worried when I saw how weak and unsteady they were at first.
Now they run around the pond that was made for them.
The pond... I don't have the best impression of ponds, so I cast cleaning magic on it once a day.
Come to think of it, the area around the pond has been changing daily, like a garden. Could it be the Farming Squad?
Before I knew it, there were fish in the pond.
There are other strange things that look like shrimp, too.
I decided not to worry about whatever was sticking its head out.
Once they recovered, I wanted to decide on names.
Of the seven, three are male and four are female.
Most of them have coloring like Chai's, and one of the males is brown with white mottling.
One of the females is brown with red mottling and red eyes, too.
The males are "Chaya," "Chata," and "Charu," the one with white mottling.
The females are "Sau," "Sasa," "Sami," and "Kisa," the one with red mottling.
I came up with them using the "Cha" in Chai as a basis.
My satisfaction level is 100 percent.
I'm sure they like the names—probably... right?
At first, Chai was a little reserved around Core, but lately the two of them often spend time together.
They hunt together, too.
I watched to see how Core would react now that Chai had more companions, but it doesn't seem to have changed anything.
Core and Chai go out together.
I was worried they might split into two separate groups, but it looks like everything's fine. What a relief.
The only unusual thing is that two wolves and one dog are constantly near me.
Are they here to guard me?
Thank you.
Thanks, too, to the two tiny spiders, two tiny ants, and two spiderlings.
Apparently, I'm weak enough to need a whole lot of guards.
Let's do our best.
...
One day, I remembered something.
I remembered seeing oil extracted from camellia seeds on a show about developing an island.
There might be seeds that produce oil in this world, too.
If I had oil, I could eat fried food.
Some of the tree fruits resemble eggplants, while others resemble pumpkins.
I think of them as vegetables, not fruit.
I want to deep-fry those vegetables and eat them with a little fish sauce drizzled over them.
They ought to be delicious.
That said, there are all sorts of seeds.
For now, I need to gather some seeds.
On the first day, I collected several dozen seeds and crushed them, but got nothing.
On the second day, I collected several dozen seeds and crushed them, but got nothing.
On the third day, I woke up to find all sorts of seeds on the table... more than a hundred.
Apparently, the spiderlings and the young ants had gone out in force to gather seeds for me.
Thanks.
I spent the whole day cracking seeds again and again... Magic meant I didn't get tired, but I got bored.
Oh, my fingertips feel strange when I crack open a seed.
When I look at my fingertips, they seem glossy... or at least, I think they do.
A large fruit about the size of my head.
Inside was sticky pulp with a strong, sweet smell, and the center was packed tightly with seeds.
Come to think of it... what do oil-producing seeds look like?
For that matter, I don't even know.
I try a little of the pulp... and regret it.
It's incredibly astringent... Sasa is staring at me with a surprised look.
Maybe Sasa already knew how astringent it was.
Anyway, I'll try anything.
I'll try squeezing the seeds from the large fruit.
Before that, I'll harvest a little more of this fruit.