Harvesting Vegetables
"Kyu-kyu!"
The next morning, Grey raises its front legs, forming a circle.
This gesture means "okay" or "all good," and behind Grey is the lush, green farm.
Yes, three days after tilling the hard soil and planting seeds, today marks the start of Grey's ripeness check for the vegetables.
After a few minutes, it seems all the vegetables are ready to eat. Grey nods with satisfaction, making the circle gesture.
"Finally! They're all good to eat, right?"
"Kyu!"
Grey nods.
Petting Grey's head, I decide to harvest the freely thriving vegetables.
"This is… the round-seed one, huh?"
The round-seed vegetable is a root crop, resembling both daikon and carrot. Its flesh is as large as a daikon but dyed a vivid red like a carrot.
Well, carrots are more vermilion, so this might be an even deeper red.
I pull it out and wash off the soil with water magic, holding it in my hand.
It's about thirty centimeters long, as thick as a daikon, with a faintly sweet aroma that oddly stirs my appetite.
"Hey, Grey, is it safe to eat this raw?"
It looks so delicious I want to bite into it, but if it's not safe raw, that'd be bad, so I check with Grey.
"Kyu~… Kyu!"
Grey, likely sturdier than me (I think), sinks its fangs into the vegetable and nibbles with its small mouth.
"…How is it?"
"Kyu-kyu~!"
Grey chews the red daikon-like vegetable for a moment, swallows, and hops once, its eyes sparkling as it nods repeatedly, as if saying it's delicious.
"You're eating it so eagerly… Alright, I'll try…"
Grey's sparkling eyes make me swallow my saliva, and I bite into the daikon-or-carrot-like vegetable.
The skin is tough like a daikon's, but the flesh is crisp. The texture is like eating a pear.
Yet, the flavor is like a strongly sweet carrot.
The more I chew, the more juice flows out, like a pear. The sweetness spreading in my mouth feels like eating candied carrots. (T/N: グラッセ, a French term for glazed vegetables.)
This delicious without cooking? If I heat it, it'll probably get even sweeter.
It might even work as a sugar substitute to elevate dishes—I have a feeling it could.
"Man, this is tasty. But what's it called? Daikon, carrot, pear… Since it's sweet like a pear and looks like a daikon, I'll call it Pear Daikon for now."
The carrot element got ignored due to my lack of naming sense, but oh well.
The carrot traits are mostly in the color and leaves, so Pear Daikon or Carrot Daikon works fine until I learn its real name.
"Alright… next up, this one."
I pick up a vegetable grown from the teardrop-shaped seeds, looking like a tomato.
It's exactly like a large tomato, with a slightly vermilion-tinged yellow color.
The color suggests it might need more time, but Grey nods that this tomato is ripe, so I decide to eat it myself without having Grey taste-test.
"…Hmm. It smells kind of spicy. I'm not a fan of tomatoes, but let's see…"
I take a big bite.
The tomato's characteristic slimy juice flows into my mouth, but the taste is tomato-like yet not quite a tomato.
I know this flavor well.
"! T-This… It's slightly spicy and zesty, but it tastes exactly like ketchup…!"
Even people who dislike tomatoes often love ketchup.
This tomato has a hint of spiciness added, with a deep richness that grows the more I chew.
For a name… simple, but Ketchup Tomato fits.
"This could be cooked down into a sauce or diluted with hot water for soup. Grey, want to try?"
"Kyu, kyu."
Grey shakes its head.
It seems the smell isn't to its liking, as it shows less interest than it did for the Pear Daikon.
Forcing it to eat would be cruel, so I finish the Ketchup Tomato myself and move on to the next vegetable.
"This is… the star-shaped seed vegetable, but it's obviously those, right?"
The vegetables from the star-shaped seeds look familiar from my previous world.
Not just one kind, either.
Hanging from the vines are four types: cucumbers, eggplants, okra, and bell peppers, all large and vividly colored.
"Let's try them."
They seem safe to eat raw, so I harvest one of each and pop them into my mouth one by one.
The cucumber is… just a cucumber. Nothing special, but it lacks that typical grassy smell, if I had to note something.
Next, the eggplant. It's faintly sweet raw, but it's just eggplant. Grilled with miso meat sauce, it'd probably be amazing.
Now, okra. My first time eating it raw—it's oddly tough and lacks the expected sliminess. Honestly, it's not great.
This is one of those you shouldn't eat raw. I'll fry or boil it next time.
Finally, the bell pepper. It has that characteristic bitterness but is incredibly juicy and easy to eat. If it's this good raw, it'll be even better cooked.
"Kyu, kyu-kyu!"
"Oh, Grey likes the bell pepper, huh? Tasty?"
"Kyu!"
I thought Grey might skip this since it didn't eat the Ketchup Tomato, but surprisingly, it's interested in the bell pepper, munching away with its small mouth.
Well, it's eating the seeds I removed, crunching them like snacks, enjoying the texture.
Come to think of it, Pear Daikon had a great texture too. Maybe Grey prefers foods with enjoyable textures over flavor.
"Alright… last up, the flat-seed vegetable. This is obviously a tuber, right?"
Pulling the vine, I unearth light brown tubers from the soil.
Their appearance, shape, and size are exactly like potatoes, with a potato smell, so I'm not tempted to eat them raw.
"Man, with all these vegetables, cooking's gonna be fun. If only I had mushrooms…"
"Kyu?"
"Hm, Grey. You know about mushrooms?"
"Kyu-kyu!"
Grey scratches the ground with its front legs, drawing a picture.
It's exactly the mushroom I was picturing, shaped like a matsutake. (T/N: 松茸, a prized Japanese mushroom)
"Some mushrooms are poisonous, but edible ones are really delicious."
"Kyu! Kyu, kyu!"
Grey points a leg toward the forest.
"Are there mushrooms in the forest?"
"Kyu!"
As if saying, "Yup!" Grey nods.
I didn't spot mushrooms during my forest exploration, but maybe they're there if you look.
I'm not an expert on mushroom cooking, but mushrooms have their own unique umami (a savory flavor), making dishes far tastier when included.
You can sauté them, make soup, dry them, or even fry them. Mushrooms are surprisingly versatile.
"Alright, Grey! Go find some non-poisonous mushrooms safe for humans. Meanwhile, I'll make dishes and chopsticks."
"Kyu!"
"This is your chance—I'm appointing you as the official Food Procurement Captain. What do you say, up for it?"
"Kyu! Kyu-kyu, kyu~!!"
Liking the title "Food Procurement Captain," Grey salutes with a front leg and scurries off into the forest.
Watching Grey's shrinking back, I turn to crafting essential household items from wood.