The rainy season has arrived in the great forest.
The rain, which began falling in the middle of the night, didn’t stop by dawn, and its intensity gradually increased.
The cave that I’ve made my base is fairly comfortable. I was worried about rainwater coming inside, but it hasn’t been much of a problem. Since the entrance is sloped, no puddles form inside.
I’m worried about the wind and rain picking up, but for now, the shower curtain I bought through the summoning magic online store seems to be enough.
“The clouds are making it dark, but with the lantern light, I can still get by. Since it’s the rainy season, I might as well focus on reading.”
I had assumed that I could only summon items directly sold at the convenience store, but while I was bored, I checked the entire product list and realized that there’s an online shopping section for the convenience store.
When I tapped on it, I found magazines, comics, novels, photo books, and even specialized books.
“There are even idol and anime discs. I suppose buying movie tickets with special bonuses is pointless though.”
Unfortunately, I can’t watch the discs since I don’t have a player. The gaming consoles are listed, but since they don’t charge here, I gave up on that.
“Ah, but I bet Haruto would bring a gaming console even while camping. Anything he brings becomes a cheat device powered by the creator god’s power, so he could play endlessly.”
Knowing him, if he knew he could buy new game software here, he’d probably get obsessed and play nonstop, so I’ll keep quiet about it.
By the way, the convenience store’s online shop also sells limited edition goods from anime, games, and popular artists, and I was happy to be able to buy a T-shirt.
The loungewear available at the 300-yen store is only for women, though.
The T-shirt I bought is part of a rock festival merchandise line for the summer, and the design is pretty cool.
“Yeah. I’ll tell them about this. You can never have too many T-shirts, right?”
Another pleasant surprise was the gift section. It has not only midyear and year-end gifts, but also wedding and baby shower presents, and I was especially grateful for the catalog gift options.
High-quality bedding and towels are essential for a comfortable life. I could only afford sheets, blankets, and pillows from the 10,000-yen range, but I was still happy.
“Oh, and the luxury fruits are nice. It could be fun to try planting fruit seeds from fruits that aren’t in this world.”
The creator god has suggested I don’t have to worry about invasive species, so I think I’ll try growing them at some point.
The high elves are a forest-dwelling race, so they should be good at cultivating plants.
“…Well, that’ll be something to do after I get through the rainy season. Until then, I’ll just enjoy reading.”
Since I had some time, I decided to buy the entire set of a popular comic I had been curious about.
Once I finish reading it, I’ll send it to my cousins. It’ll be a good change of pace for them.
Fortunately, I’ve accumulated quite a bit of points from hunting non-stop these past few days.
“Hm, this novel looks interesting too. It’s a long one, and I hesitated to start it, but I have the time now, so I’ll give it a try.”
I added a series of more than 20 volumes to my cart. I also picked up some nature and healing books about small animals. I want to be healed by cute, fluffy creatures.
I also secretly bought a photo book of my favorite actress. I won’t be sharing that one with anyone.
“Since I reincarnated in another world, I want to get along with a girl I like… though there’s not a single person here.”
I still haven’t met any inhabitants of this world, which is strange. Well, I’m not too eager to get attacked, so it can’t be helped.
“Not meeting any humans is probably because this is a demon realm—this vast forest. But at least I want to meet a cute, fluffy creature. I want to cuddle it. At this point, even a Kesaran Pasaran would do to help me feel better…”
I hugged a cool stuffed animal I bought from a 100-yen store tightly. It’s fluffy. Not alive, though.
“Most of the animals I can find here are monster beasts. They attack when they see me. I wish I could tame a cute monster…”
Unfortunately, even the horn rabbits in this world, which are fluffy, have a menacing look and are aggressive.
I’ve found some magical beasts with nice fur, but none of them are cute.
“…I’ll have to wait until I leave the great forest.”
Sighing, I decided to focus on reading while enjoying some tea and cookies.
For lunch, I had deer meat katsu sandwiches and some leftover pot-au-feu. The shredded, crunchy cabbage and tartar sauce went perfectly, and it was delicious.
It’s bad manners, but meals I can eat with one hand while reading are great.
The popular comics were all interesting, and I finished them quickly.
“My eyes are getting tired now. I’ll take a break and maybe cook something in the afternoon.”
Since I’ve got the time, I’ll use a recipe book I bought to prepare some food in advance.
I have a ton of monster meat stocked up. There’s rabbit, deer, wild boar, a pig-like creature, chicken, and lizard meat. I can use them all.
Unfortunately, I haven’t encountered any beef monster beasts yet.
“There are cow and horse monster beasts? That’s exciting.”
According to a magic book I checked, those monsters are quite common in the deep levels of dungeons. Moreover, both are said to be delicious. I’ll definitely hunt them.
Since I don’t have them right now, I’ll try recipes for pork dishes using the boar and orc meats I have in stock.
I made ginger-fried orc meat, pork chops with thin slices of boar meat, and miso stir-fried boar. I also made asparagus wraps and cabbage rolls.
I have a two-burner stove, so I cooked both stir-fry and stew at the same time.
My brown stew, made with plenty of orc meat and a whole onion melted in, was my pride. It’s great with rice or bread, so it should be perfect for leftovers.
“…Cooking is actually pretty fun.”
All the recipe books had clear instructions, making everything easy to cook. I tasted everything, and it was really delicious.
I was happy with how the flavors turned out.
“Maybe I’ll try some Japanese food tomorrow.”
I marked recipes for meat and potatoes, sukiyaki, and teriyaki chicken. I also remembered I wanted to make miso soup in advance. I’ll buy a few more pots from the 100-yen store.
“Miso soup and tonjiru would be great. If I catch any fish, I’d like to make fish soup too. Also, I should cook some rice. There’s a clay pot, right?”
Once it’s done, I can store the rice in the clay pot in my item box and have freshly cooked rice anytime.
If I’m making rice, I’ll need curry too. I’ll make a big pot of that as well.
Since I have lots of bird monster meat, I’d like to use it in a white stew.
“Then, it’s time for deep-fried food. I’ll fry everything at once since it’s a hassle.”
I’ll make fried chicken, pork cutlets, tempura, croquettes, and meatballs. The tempura will be mostly vegetables. I also want some soft-boiled egg tempura. I hope I can gather some wild plants after the rain stops.
If I listen closely, I can hear the sound of rain hitting the leaves.
The small creatures celebrating the blessed rain sing their songs, weaving through the great forest.
“Even if it’s just two weeks, if it drags on, it could be a month. I’ll try to enjoy the rainy season in the great forest.”
