Naming
The next morning.
Like yesterday, I was observing the farm, checking the plants' growth.
Two days had passed since planting the seeds.
Since they went from seeds to lush greenery in just one day, I thought they might be ready to harvest after two days.
"Hmm… still not quite ripe, huh?"
They've borne fruit, at least.
The round-seed vegetables have fully turned red, looking like bright red daikon. At first, I thought they might be ready to eat.
"Kyu~… Kyu-kyu!"
But the spider, who became my companion yesterday, observed the fruit and shook its head.
That means they're not fully grown yet. Harvesting them now would be a bit of a waste.
The teardrop-shaped seeds have produced tomato-like fruits, but they're still slightly green and smell grassy, so they need more time.
The star-shaped seeds have rapidly extended their vines, easily covering the fifty-centimeter branches. Now, they have slender fruits here and there. They're still small, so they'll need more time too.
The flat seeds, as expected, are tubers. Digging lightly, I found potato-like tubers. But when I showed them to the spider, it just shook its head.
Finally, the rod-shaped seed plants.
"Kyu! Kyu-kyu~u!"
The spider raised both legs, making a circle gesture.
That probably means these are okay to eat, but… the issue is the fruit itself.
Yesterday, they had lots of small, colorful flowers, but when I woke up this morning, they'd turned into plain white spheres, their vibrant colors gone, looking rather bland.
They're plain, white, and honestly don't look very appetizing.
But the spider keeps making the circle gesture and nodding, as if insisting they're ready, so they're probably safe to eat.
"If you're that confident… alright, just one."
I plucked a marble-sized fruit, but its skin was so tough that pressing it with my fingers didn't crush it, and shaking it by my ear didn't make any sound.
It's odorless too. It's a bit suspicious, but I won't know unless I try.
"It's a little scary… but here goes. Itadakimasu." (T/N: いただきます, a Japanese phrase said before eating. I think we all know this one)
I pop it into my mouth and bite down.
There's a hard, gritty texture, followed by a crisp inner flesh, but…
"—!? Cough!Cough! What is this!? Hack! S-Salty!?"
It's salty. Overwhelmingly salty.
I hadn't expected such an outrageous flavor, and the shock made me choke.
"Kyu! Kyu-kyu!"
Noticing my coughing, the spider quickly brought a gold apple from inside the cabin.
I grabbed it, split it in half with a pop, and shoved the juicy flesh into my mouth whole.
"Ngh, ngh… Phew, saved… Thanks."
"Kyu~"
It made a gesture like, "Jeez, what a mess," as if wiping sweat from its brow.
Seriously, that was so salty. It was like tossing a chunk of salt into my mouth, honestly.
…Wait a second? Salt? Salt?
"Could it be… this plant grows salt fruits!?"
Even as someone clueless about farming, I know this isn't normal.
Salt is supposed to come from boiling seawater or mining rock salt. Yet here it is, growing as a fruit.
I'd worried that even with vegetables, the lack of seasoning would make food bland, but to encounter salt like this? What a shock.
"Hmm… but eating it alone is impossible. There's a pot like an irori nabe in the cabin, so I could probably stir-fry, but the vegetables aren't ready to harvest yet." (T/N: 囲炉裏鍋, is a traditional Japanese hearth pot)
Even though there's a kitchen-like setup in the cabin, using fire in a wooden structure feels risky.
So, I planned to light a fire outside, heat the irori nabe, and toss in vegetables to stir-fry… but salt fruits alone won't make a dish.
"Ugh… if only I had some meat."
"Kyu? Kyu! Kyu-kyu, kyu~!!"
"…Hm? Wait, whoa!? Where are you going!?"
Suddenly, the spider started hopping, then dashed off at full speed, disappearing into the forest.
What was that about?
No use thinking about it, so I'll focus on watering the farm for now—
◆
Scrape, scrape, scrape—the sound of something being dragged.
Turning toward it, I saw the spider pulling a mass of white threads.
"Kyu-kyu, kyu~!"
With a toss, the spider threw the thread mass, and it rolled toward me with a thud.
Wondering what was inside, I cut the threads with a knife, revealing a blood-covered boar lying inside.
"Uwaaah!?"
I braced for an attack, but the boar didn't react.
Looking closely, its belly had a gash, and its innards seemed completely removed. The boar lay there, eyes rolled back, not making a sound.
"C-Could it be… you did this?"
"Kyu!"
It raised a leg.
"Uh, a tiny spider like you took down a boar that's gotta be over two meters long, all by yourself?"
"Kyu-kyu!"
As if saying, "Obviously!" it raised a leg and puffed out its chest.
Then I remembered something I'd said earlier.
"No way, because I said I wanted meat, you went all the way outside the forest to get it!?"
"Kyu-kyu~!"
As if saying, "Nailed it!" the spider spun around, striking a cute pose.
Still… a boar? And it even gutted it before bringing it back.
Innards spoil quickly and can ruin the meat if left in. Whether the spider knew this or acted on instinct, peering into the belly showed it was completely empty.
I thought it might not have bled it out, but there was a hole where the carotid artery would be, and the bleeding was already done.
So, right in front of me was a fully prepped boar carcass.
"Thank you. Really, thank you, Spider—no, not that… uh, hmm…"
Come to think of it, I've been calling the spider "Spider" or "you," but that feels kind of rude.
It's like someone calling me "Hey, human." For someone who's done so much for me, keep calling it "you" feels wrong.
"…Hey, if it's okay with you, I'd like to give you a name. Is that alright?"
"! Kyu-kyu!? Kyu~!!"
The spider blinked rapidly, dancing excitedly.
That must mean it's happy. In that case, I want to give it a great name.
But honestly, I have no naming sense. In monster-collecting games, I'm the type who skips nicknames.
I never thought I'd be naming something.
Something classic, like Arthur? No, that's too lame. Well, Arthur itself isn't lame, but it doesn't feel right for a spider.
Ugh… I'm stumped. When it comes to naming, I can't tell what's good or bad.
Meanwhile, the spider's looking at me with expectant eyes, and the pressure's making me a bit anxious.
"Hmm, hmm… Spider, spider, right…? Spider, spidah… small, minimum… no, not that. Uh… gray, since it's gray…? Or maybe Grey, instead of Gray…?"
"! Kyu-kyu! Kyu-kyu-kyu!"
"Huh, did I say something good?"
"Kyu!"
For some reason, it pointed at its front legs with sparkling eyes.
Maybe one of the names I mentioned caught its fancy.
"Uh… Spider?"
"Kyu."
It shook its head. Nope.
"Then, Minimum?"
"Kyu."
Another head shake.
That leaves one option.
"So… Grey?"
"Kyu-kyu~!"
It hopped up and down, spinning in circles.
It's probably happy and signaling that it likes this name.
"Alright… from now on, I'll call you Grey."
"Kyu-kyu! Kyu~!"
The spider—now Grey—jumped onto my palm, nuzzling my cheek.
Thus, the first companion I made in this isekai.
Became Grey, my rare friend and ally.