Ch.295295. Mountain Lord (4)

After pushing my way through with the formidable force of two superior beasts, insisting on meeting the Mountain Lord.

“Is it this way? Quite far.”

[….Yes, it is.]

I was being guided to the Mountain Lord’s location by an intermediate beast that resembled an Owl Bear but was subtly different—more like a griffin with an owl’s upper body and a bear’s lower body.

According to the intermediate beast, the Mountain Lord normally lived in the dwelling made from the largest tree in the village we had just visited, but since falling ill, he had moved to a natural hot spring in a nearby cave for recuperation.

The hot spring, situated at a point where the earth vein’s energy was released in the form of heat, possessed healing properties. So there was meaning behind the decision to relocate specifically for recovery.

Regardless of the details, continuous exposure to the earth vein’s energy would stimulate the unique magical immunity, which would certainly be enough to at least slow the progression of the illness.

[Isn’t this… a trap?]

‘No, Meary. This isn’t a trap. It would be too crude to kill a superior beast.’

Of course, Meary’s suspicion that this might be a trap had some credibility, but the spontaneous nature of the situation significantly weakened that doubt.

Given that they seemed well aware of the power possessed by superior beasts, the intermediate beast wouldn’t act recklessly, knowing they couldn’t handle the consequences of attempting something like a trap.

Anyway, as we headed toward what was said to be their leader’s hideout…

[Oh. Is that an orchard?]

‘It seems so. And it looks well-maintained.’

As we moved toward what appeared to be a small volcanic hill of rocks, we spotted what was clearly a well-managed orchard.

Fruit trees of almost identical size grew in an orderly fashion at regular intervals, and the careful arrangement of trees by type was further evidence of the orchard’s excellent management.

Because of this, I expected the fruit trees themselves to be nothing special, but…

[….Huh?]

‘….Hmm?’

The moment we could clearly see what was hanging abundantly from those fruit trees, Sophia and I couldn’t hide our bewilderment.

And for good reason—the identity of the fruits growing on what we thought were fruit trees was actually…

‘Sophia, that’s meat, right?’

[….Yes. Raw meat. The kind that would be delicious grilled.]

Raw meat—chunks of flesh from other living beings were growing on the trees like fruit.

[Is there a problem?]

“…May I examine one of those fruits?”

[Ah, you mean the meat fruits? They’re not fully ripe yet… but alright.]

After seeing my reaction and carefully answering his question while hiding my bewilderment, I waited briefly until the owl bear-like beast returned with several pieces of meat (fruit) and handed them to me.

And this meat… although I had already confirmed it with my own eyes when I saw it being picked from the tree, touching it directly confirmed that it was indeed real meat.

Not only did it have a stem-like attachment that seemed to supply nutrients, but from that stem, fat-like structures spread throughout the fruit, further confirming its nature.

In particular, this meat resembled red meat similar to beef, and its taste was close to raw beef… perhaps like slightly less fishy raw beef.

‘….Seeds?’

The seed embedded inside, resembling cartilage or bone connected to what appeared to be tendons, was an added bonus.

‘Wow, it’s really meat.’

[….Oh! You’re right, it really is meat.]

Of course, one might wonder why we’re so surprised by meat growing on trees in this bizarre fantasy world…

But in truth, meat growing on trees is indeed something remarkable even in this world.

Surprisingly, the components that make up plants in this world don’t deviate much from Earth’s plants.

Even carnivorous plants that bind their prey with vines and eat them alive, plants that secrete oil from their stems to create flames, or even plants that use magic are no exception.

Their stems and leaves don’t differ significantly from typical plant components; there might be metal plants, but “animal plants” are virtually non-existent.

Well, to be precise, it’s not that there are no plant-like things made of animal material…

Such things are mostly demon-plants originating from the demon realm, made of flesh and skin with blood flowing instead of sap, and even having bark-like organic shells or bones… but these are exceptions.

And in this context, we had discovered the mind-boggling concept of “meat growing on trees.”

Moreover, these weren’t ordinary pieces of meat; surprisingly, they appeared to be meat that had already undergone some processing.

The red meat fruit with properties similar to beef resembled steak meat that had already been prepared, or there were meat fruits that looked like lamb chops with bones sticking out.

Some meat fruits resembled what’s commonly called “whole pork belly” or even looked like pig legs, and there were others that resembled prepared chicken parts.

Wings, drumettes, drumsticks, prepared chicken breast, and even chicken feet. Looking at these fully plucked and prepared meats popping out was enough to make me feel like my “common sense” was crumbling.

But regardless of this “common sense,” we immediately recognized the potential these meat fruits held.

‘Sophi, don’t you think this… could be useful?’

[I agree. It seems incredibly useful.]

No matter how much the overall quality of life improves over time, meat remains precious and expensive. Even in rural areas where various types of meat can be obtained relatively easily due to the presence of wildlife, cities are a different story.

The meat available to urban poor might be rat meat of questionable origin, or meat from stray dogs or cats—low-quality meats at best.

Occasionally, they might beg for salted meat that’s beginning to rot despite being heavily treated with salt and saltpeter. This is virtually the only way for urban poor to access meat.

…Even in rural areas, most meat comes from poached rabbits, legally hunted small birds, or low-quality meat from butchered stray dogs or wolves that appear near villages.

In this context, trees bearing meat fruits could contribute to increasing the meat supply and lowering overall meat prices.

While there are some practical issues and limitations, their usefulness remains undeniable.

Anyway, while we were distracted, discussing the meat fruits…

‘…We have arrived.’

At some point, we had reached the cave where the Mountain Lord was said to be recuperating.

※ ※ ※

After entering the cave entrance, cleverly hidden by the surrounding terrain—likely concealed by the beasts…

[Wow… it’s beautiful…]

[It’s sparkling…]

We momentarily couldn’t take our eyes off the beautiful interior of the cave.

Perhaps because it existed at the point where the earth vein’s energy welled up?

The interior of this cave, dense with magical energy, was far from a bleak, rocky cavern.

Throughout the cave, water that appeared to be hot spring water containing abundant magical energy trickled to form streams, and various plants grew inside, creating a fantastic, dreamlike atmosphere.

For instance, vines with golden glowing flowers and fruits hung down from various parts of the cave, and plants resembling wild grass and flowers grew from the soil on the floor.

In particular, plants called “glowing dandelions” scattered floating luminous bodies similar to fireflies throughout the cave, and the combination of these with the glowing plants created an even more fairy-tale-like landscape.

Additionally, clear pools of what appeared to be hot spring water were scattered throughout the cave, and surprisingly, fish that looked like subspecies of “moon fish” lived in them.

And in the deepest part of this cave…

‘Sophi, that Mountain Lord…’

[…He looks very ill.]

We discovered the Mountain Lord, who was said to have been bedridden with a serious illness, soaking in the natural hot spring.