Chapter 8: An Otherworldly Culture Clash

Chapter 8:
An Otherworldly Culture Clash

 

“HERE, MASTER.” Noela pulled my hand as we headed deeper into the woods.

“How much further is this wild plant harvesting spot?” I asked.

“Little more.” Wagging her tail, Noela happily trotted full-speed ahead.

She seemed to be in high spirits, at least. She was quite sour after I accidentally left her with Feris the other day. I told her that I’d do anything to make her feel better, so she suggested that I come with her to pick plants in the woods as she always did. Now, here we were.

“Master, look!”

“What’s up?”

“This tree sign! Close! Noela find plants nearby.”

Before meeting me, Noela came up to this spot almost daily. She’d picked wild plants, then sold them in town or eaten them herself.

Noela stopped in her tracks.

Hrm? Are we here? I used my identification skill to scope out the area, but detected only regular plants—nothing edible.

“Noela?” I glanced at her.

Noela held her nose, her eyes full of tears. “Master, smelly!”

“Huh? Wha…?”

Noela nodded.

Is she talking about me? No…

She pointed at a giant blossom. “Weird. Never seen.”

The poisonous-looking flower was about the size of a small child. Its pistil was swollen; without any leaves or stem, it looked like some creepy monstrosity.

 

Moray Flower: Produces hideous scent only monsters/beasts can smell.

 

I inched toward the moray flower, but smelled nothing. “Ah, well. I’m human, so I guess I wouldn’t. Can’t you just pinch your nose?” I asked Noela, attempting to progress forward.

Noela shook her head. “Eyes hurt a little.”

Wow. It’s that stinky? I’d heard about particularly intense smells affecting the eyes.

I asked whether there was another route, but Noela told me that the other paths were easy to get lost on, which made them dangerous.

“How about we call it quits for today, then?”

“Grrr…but Noela go together with Master.” Her ears drooped sadly.

Noela couldn’t go past the moray flower, but she also didn’t want this trip with me to have been a waste. She’s such a cutie.

Since my guide couldn’t actually progress, I wasn’t sure what my options were. What should I do? It would’ve been pointless to leave her behind. Hmm. If that flower repels monsters and beasts, maybe I can use it for something later.

I got close to the moray blossom and put several petals and some pollen in a bottle, closing it tightly.

“Hmm. Oh!” I exclaimed. “How about I make a deodorizer?”

“Grroo?” Noela’s ears perked up.

Heading back the way we came, I grabbed some aero and a few other plants and flowers as custom treatment ingredients. Then I headed to the stream we’d used a while ago, plopped down, and started making the deodorizer. The bottle glowed, and the liquid inside turned light green.

 

Deodorizer Fluid: Completely removes bad smells.

 

That description kind of reminds me of a toilet freshener, I mused. “Perfect. It’s done. If I put some deodorizer on that flower, it’s goodbye stank!”

“No more smell?” asked Noela.

“That’s the plan!”

“Garrooo!”

We headed back to the moray blossom; I scooped up some deodorizer liquid with a spoon and splashed it on the plant.

Since I couldn’t smell the flower, I had no idea whether the deodorizer worked. I beckoned Noela, and she got close, still pinching her nose.

“Well?” I asked. “Does it still stink?”

“Master! Master! Master! No stink! No stink…!”

“Hey, hey. I got it, okay? Don’t pull on my shirt so hard.”

Noela’s werewolf strength was pretty insane; her pulling at my clothes was basically equivalent to swinging me around.

Facing me with a completely serious expression, Noela took her hand off her nose. It twitched. “Smell really gone.”

“Look at you, getting all serious.”

With no more obstacles in our way, we finally arrived at the spot where the wild plants were, but…

“Gah!” I yelped. “What the hell?! It stinks here!”

It feels like my nose is gonna fall off! Bleh—my eyes sting! What the hell is this smell?!

I glanced at the werewolf girl, who was humming and pulling up wild plants happily. “Noela, are you…okay?”

What? Is it just me? This whole area stinks!

 

Birukosou: An extremely odorous wild plant. Many avoid its unique taste/aroma. However, some enjoy eating it.

 

Noela cheerfully picked the birukosou; she had a bunch in her hands.

That’s it! And—wait—Noela’s eating them like it’s no big deal?!

“Got many, Master!”

“Y-you sure have!” Is this plant sort of like natto? Smelly but tasty? Is that it? I do like natto, but birukosou might be a bit beyond me.

“Master, take!” Noela sunnily offered me a birukosou plant. “Eat! Master, eat!”

Is she serious? No way, no way, no way, no way, no way. Gah! I-It stinks so bad that I’m about to cry. People in this world eat these? I suddenly empathize with all the foreigners who can’t stand natto, I marveled.

“Look, Noela—I’m really sorry, but I can’t. It stinks too much, and—”

“Grrooo?! No stink! Wrong!” Noela’s expression was now sullen.

Whoops. Looks like that offended her. Guess she must really love this stuff. She did say she used to come here every day. Wait—what if I use the deodorizer I just made? This birukosou stuff stinks so much, it’s affecting my breathing.

I poured a bit of deodorizer onto the plant.

“Huh? The smell’s…gone?” This stuff is amazing! This must be how Noela felt earlier.

“Master, serious face.” The young werewolf girl turned to me and, once again, offered me the wild birukosou.

There’s no rule against eating something I used the deodorizer on. It should be fine to consume.

“Master, Master! Tasty, tasty.”

“Are you sure?” I closed my eyes and took a small bite.

Crunch, crunch. The birukosou’s essence spread through my mouth, and a powerful stench rose through my nose.

Almost immediately, I spat out the plant. “Blegh! Sorry, Noela. This is too much for me.”

“Gwwrrr…”

Disappointed that she couldn’t share her favorite food with me, Noela slouched sadly. Nonetheless, she continued to pick wild plants.

Man, folks in this world think that stuff’s tasty, huh? This might’ve been the first real shock I’d experienced since arriving. We all have our likes and dislikes, Noela. I hope you can forgive me.

Eventually, Noela and I headed back. Mina greeted us. “Welcome home! Ah—I know that aroma.”

Inside Noela’s small backpack was a load of those wild birukosou plants. To my surprise, the stench didn’t seem to bother Mina.

“Hey, Mina. Do you think this stuff’s tasty?” I asked.

“Absolutely! And Mikoto said she loves them.”

Mikoto was a young girl from a village near Kalta. She sometimes visited the drugstore on errands. Apparently, she’d taught Mina that peeling the birukosou got rid of the vile smell and made it taste better.

“You mean, you don’t eat it as is?”

“Of course not, Mr. Reiji,” Mina replied. “It smells much too putrid to eat like that.”

Is that so? I hadn’t even considered that, since Noela just munched away on the stuff. If you prepare it properly, it’s perfectly edible…?

For dinner that evening, Mina prepared a dish of the foul plants. I took some of the stir-fried birukosou on the dining table and cautiously brought them to my mouth.

What the hell? This smells kind of appetizing.

“Oh…this is good.”

If I’d tried them stir-fried first, I think they would’ve been too much for me, I mused. They probably seem delicious because I already experienced the birukosou’s gross scent at its full power.

“Garrooo.” Noela had the most victorious look on her face, as if she were saying, “Told you so!”

“I found some strange medicine in your bag, Mr. Reiji,” Mina told me.

“Oh, that? It’s deodorizer fluid. Just a dash of that stuff erases nasty smells.”

“Gosh! You’ve created yet another product?!” she exclaimed. “In that case, let’s leave it in the washroom!”

“Ha ha! I should’ve known we’d end up using it there,” I chuckled. “This world’s no different from the last.”

Later, I put the deodorizer on the drugstore shelf with the other goods. It ended up selling like crazy to housewives.