Chapter 48

Returning home with the new giant ant.

I was worried if it was okay for it not to be in the cave, but the giant ant didn’t seem to mind.

It should be fine.

Chai curled his tail when he saw the giant ant.

...Huh?

It’s not scary, but are you okay?

It seems to be fine when looking at the giant ant.

I still can’t fully read the atmosphere, but it should be fine.

Chai, it’s okay, it’s a friend.

It’s hard to say "giant ant," so I decided to give it a name.

"Shuri"

I hope it likes it.

...

We need to do something about the stump field, but sorry, I’ll put it off.

Today, I want to confirm if the fruit that tastes like salt can produce salt-like crystals from its juice.

If I can use it as a seasoning, it would be better if the crystals are easy to adjust.

So, straight to the kitchen.

Everyone, feel free to do as you like.

The total number of fruits harvested is 65.

It’s a considerable amount, but no problem.

I cut the fruits and poured the filtered juice into a ball made of silver ore.

The juice was more than I expected, and even with just five fruits, I got a decent amount.

I’ll try with five for now.

I gradually warm the juice with magic to evaporate the water.

As the water evaporates little by little, I noticed some dirt, so I filtered it again.

To avoid burning, I did it little by little, little by little... and the salt sherbet was complete.

I put a little on my hand and tasted it.

It’s salty.

Phew, a bit of a thrill.

I filtered it again with a clean cloth and dried the remaining with wind magic.

Finally, I successfully obtained salt.

I didn’t expect to get it from fruit juice.

Meeting Shuri and obtaining salt, today is a good day.

I infused the gold ore with magic.

The image in my mind is a container with a lid.

"Transform"

I put the salt I made into the container and worked hard to turn the remaining fruits into salt.

I made a total of four containers.

Finally, I got the salt I’ve been wishing for!

After this day, my magic fine-tuning skills improved considerably.

I must have been quite focused on fine-tuning the magic to get the salt.

The carrot in front of me, that’s it.

Eating the meat with a hint of salt, it’s a blissful moment.

The usual meat is several times more delicious.

Next, I want eggs.

Mayonnaise, garlic would be nice too... and dashi, there are still many things I want.

...

When I went outside, I couldn’t find the stumps.

...Where did those numerous stumps go?

??

Looking around, I saw a hole in the corner of the cleared area.

A huge hole.

Shuri’s face appeared from the hole.

...Ah, it’s an ant, of course.

I found the young ants carrying the stumps.

They put them into the hole... are they using them?

Just, thank you for reducing my workload.

I can see the one-eyed ones surrounding the area with wood where the hole is.

They seem to be trying to make a roof to keep the rain out.

They can work outside too, that’s impressive.

...By the way, where did that knowledge come from? Not from me.