Chapter 8
Smelly Things are Delicious?
“Master, here . ”
Noela advanced step by step into the forest while pulling my hand .
“Are we not there yet? At the place where we can harvest edible plants .
“Little more . ”
With her tail wagging from side to side, Noela walks like she’s having fun .
I think her mood has gotten better recently .
Previously, when I had forgotten Noela and returned to the store, she had become upset .
When I said I’d do anything she wanted as an apology, she said she wanted me to come with her to the usual forest to harvest edible plants .
And that’s where we are right now .
“Master, look, here . ”
With an excited face, Noela pointed at some fallen wood .
“What about that?”
“This tree, sign . We’re close . Noela always, around here, harvests . ”
Before she met me, seems like she’d come to this harvesting spot to harvest edible plants, selling them in town and eating them herself .
Noela, who was proudly walking, stopped her steps .
N? Are we there already?
Looking around at my surroundings with the Appraisal Skill, there are a ton of weeds and no vegetation you can eat .
“Noela?”
When I look, she’s pinching her nose with teary eyes .
“Mashter, shtinks . ”
“? Eh, what? … Stinks?”
Noela nodded her head up and down .
Stinks…?
I do? … probably not, na…
“Something I haven’t seen before, weird, is here . ”
A little ways from Noela’s pointing finger, a giant flower is blooming .
It has a poisonous look to it and an inflated, bulging pistil .
It was around the length of a small child .
It was an eerie flower without stalk or leaves .
[Utsubo Flower: a flower that produces an unpleasant scent that only monsters and beasts can sense . ]
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I took a few steps closer to see, but I can’t sense anything .
“Ah . It’s because I’m a human . – It’s fine as long as you pinch your nose, I guess?”
When I made to go ahead, Noela shook her head side to side .
“Eyes, hurt a little . ”
Is it too stinky?
Sometimes the stimulus from stink can make your eyes spin, na…
When I asked if there were any other routes, it seems like it’s easy to get lost any other way, so it’s dangerous .
“Should we stop for today?”
“Ruu… Master, outing together … ruu…”
Noela’s ears drooped .
Even if she says that … if Noela, who knows the way, can’t move forward, there’s no point to me going ahead .
… This flower .
If it’s effective for warding off monsters and beasts, then I might be able to make something from it .
I approached it, put several petals and some pollen in a bottle, and closed it up, airtight .
Noela hasn’t moved forward from earlier, but she doesn’t want to make the outing with me pointless- .
Noela’s quite the cute one .
“U-n . … Ah . In that case, should I make something that will erase the smell?”
“Ru?”
Myokon – Noela’s ears stood up .
Returning along the path we came, I picked several types of plants and flowers, like the aero that became the ingredients for potions from before .
Arriving at the river we went to before, I improvised a deodorizing medicine .
The bottle’s contents glowed, and it became a light green liquid .
[Deodorant: Completely clears away unpleasant odors . ]
… That’s something like commentary for a restroom air freshener .
“Alright, made it . If I spray this on that flower, the smell will be completely cleared away . ”
“Smell, gone? Smell . ”
“Probably; it should be fine . ”
“Ru-♪”
We went along the path back to that giant flower from just then, and I used a spoon to scoop some of the deodorant from the bottle and sprinkled it on .
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I can’t smell it at all, so I can’t tell if it worked .
Beckoning with my hand, I called Noela over, and she came while pinching her nose .
“How is it, Noela? Is the smell still there?”
“… Not there! Not there, Master! Master! Master-!”
“Yeah, I got, I got it, so please stop tugging on my clothes with all your might . ”
A werewolf’s power is amazing, so I’m being shaken around left and right .
Removing her hand from her nose, Noela sniffed deeply with her nose twitching, then turned to look at me with a serious face .
“Disappeared . Smell…”
“You’re so surprised you turned serious . ”
Passing the obstacle, we came to the place where edible plants were naturally growing .
However .
“Buw!? Stinks -! What the hell is this smell!?”
It feels like my nose is gonna warp .
Oeh- .
… Uwa, my eyes also hurt! What is this smell!?
“Noela, are you o …kay?”
When I looked at Noela, she was humming in a good mood, going, “Ru-ru-ru-,” and picking edible plants .
Why? Is it just me?
This whole area stinks - .
[Bilko Grass: A kind of edible plant that gives off a strong smell . There are a lot of people who dislike it, but there are also people who like to eat it . ]
And Noelsan is carrying them, a lot of them…
She’s gathering them like she’s having fun…
– It’s thaaaaaaaat!
Eh . Noela is also munching on them!?
“Master-! A lot, picked!”
“Y,yeah…”
Is it that? Something like natto? Something stinky that is delicious? Like that?
I like natto, but … this is a little - .
“Aruji, here . ”
Noela happily presented the edible plants to me .
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Uw!? S,stinks so much, I,I’m crying–
“Eat . Master, eat . ”
Should I try it?
– Nopenopenopenopenopenope .
The people in this other world eat this?
. I fully understand the feelings of the foreigners who can’t stand natto…
“I’m really sorry, Noela, but I can’t . It stinks too much-“
“Ru!? Isn’t, stinky! Isn’t, stinky!”
Muu; Noela got sulky .
Somehow, it seems these edible plants are Noela’s favorite .
It’s something she’s saying to take and eat, na .
Ah . Right . The deodorant I made just now .
I’ll use this .
It stinks so bad I’m having trouble breathing .
Taking it out, I sprinkle it lightly .
“… Huh . The smell disappeared…”
The deodorant’s amaaaaaazing!
“Master . Face, serious face . ”
Noela, you were like this earlier .
Noela presented the edible plants to me again .
There isn’t anything you shouldn’t eat among the ingredients for the deodorant, so there shouldn’t be any problems eating something with it sprinkled on, but …
“Master, Master . This, tasty taste . ”
“Really…?”
Closing my eyes tightly, I tried it .
Munch munch; I chewed it .
– The essence is spreading in my mouth!
That intense smell shot through my nose .
I unconsciously spat out the edible plant that was in my mouth .
“Hoe- . – Noela, I really can’t . ”
“Ruu…”
The ears of Noela, who was unable to share the joy of something she likes, drooped .
Everyone has their own tastes and likes, Noela, so I hope you’ll forgive me .
Even so, Noela harvested quite a lot of the edible plants .
So the people in this other world eat this while saying it’s delicious, huh?
It’s my first culture shock .
When we reached our house, Mina came to greet us .
“Welcome home- . Ah . This smell is . ”
The small backpack on Noela’s back has a lot of edible plants in it .
But Mina doesn’t have a disgusted look at all .
“Hey, Mina . Is this good? Everyone eats it?”
“Yes, that’s right- . Washing it in hot water will reduce this fierce smell, and after that you can saute it or pickle it~”
“… You don’t eat it as it is?”
“What are you saying, Reiji-san? The smell is too intense so you can’t eat it as is . ”
I see . Noela was eating it like that so I didn’t know, but it’s something you eat after cooking it .
For dinner, Mina set out a dish cooked from the super smelly edible plants on the dinner table .
Picking up the stir-fried edible plants, I timidly put it in my mouth .
“Ah . … It’s good…”
Hm… how to say it; I might be able to get used to this smell .
If this was the first time I ate this, I’d probably think I couldn’t deal with it .
But I had that intense smell in my mouth, so I can eat this and think it’s delicious .
“Ru-“
Noela is making a super smug face . Like she’s saying, “Look, see?”
“Reiji-san, there was a medicine that I haven’t seen before that came out of your bag . ”
“Aah, that’s a deodorant . If you sprinkle it around, it will completely clear away smells . ”
“! If that’s so, then let’s leave some in the restroom! I’ll do that! You’ve made another useful item again!”
“As expected, the place you’d use it in this world is the same, na . ”
– When the deodorant was put on the shelves in the future, it ended up selling explosively to homeowners and housewives .