The Hermit Peach tastes heavenly

The search continued as we encountered the phenomenon known as the Mana Spot.

「For some reason, there’s fewer monster presences.」
「Master, they don’t come near this place.」

We always felt the presence of monsters to the point of hating it when we were exploring inside the Forest of Death, yet I sensed that there were fewer of them around for some reason, but if even Kaede sensed this then there was no doubt about it.

「Less miasma? No, I can barely feel any.」
「For there to be hardly any miasma inside a monster nest, that is unusual.」

As Sophia said, monster nests where monsters run rampant are fundamentally areas encroached by miasma. Even when exterminating the monsters of a small monster nest and liberating the land in order to reclaim it, it is necessary to first purify the land.

We headed in the direction that wasn’t monster nest-like.
I could feel the air gradually becoming purer until we reached a mysterious space.
In one of the vastest monster nests in the continent, a mysterious space where mana was dense but miasma couldn’t be felt existed.

「…………amazing.」

「……how beautiful.」
「Uwaa! So pretty!」

A marvelous tree.
It was about 10 meters high, but its trunk was thick and the branches protruded sideways and spread greatly.

「What a wonderous tree.」
「Yes, this must be the Hermit Peach Tree.」
「Yup, no doubt.」

It was truly a mysterious tree. A normal tree would have fruits that form from the flowers, but this tree had verdant leaves, pretty light pink flowers, and pink fruits that seemed to shimmer all coexisting.

「I’m sure of it. This is the Hermit Peach Tree.」

Suddenly, Dryas appeared.

「Uwaaa! You startled me so could you not just appear and talk like that? In the first place, how did you get here?」
「Fufu, don’t sweat the details. If it’s by you, the Protector of the Spirit Tree and Keeper of the Sanctuary, we Great Spirits are able to manifest anytime.」

「……that’s hardly convincing, but well, it’s fine this time. More importantly, is there anything I need to make note of when harvesting the Hermit Peach?」

I learned beforehand that the Hermit Peach was a very delicate fruit. It begins to spoil the second it is picked, so if the harvester didn’t have an Item Box like mine, it would be difficult to return with.

「Nothing in particular. Takumi, if you put what would be used for the Soma in the Item Box, it would be all right. You do not need to fuss too much about how to harvest them either. That aside, why don’t you try some freshy picked? The Hermit Peach has the best taste.」

When Dryas said so, she took a peach herself and bit into it with a very happy expression.

We mimicked Dryas, each reaching out for the fruit.

「!? Uwaa!! ……this is amazing.」
「!! This is a Hermit Peach……」
「So sweeet! Takumi-sama! It’s delicious!」

The Hermit Peach was actually so astoundingly sweet that I inadvertently exclaimed. Sophia and Maria were also impressed by its taste.

Akane and Lulu-chan were in ecstasy as they ate it. Marnie and Laeva even shed tears.

「……how wonderful…… for a fruit to be this sweet……」

To Berkut, the taste of the legendary fruit seemed to be astounding.

「Hey Dryas. Do you think it would be fine to take a bit of a larger portion of this Hermit Peach?」
「No problem at all. Only you folks would be able to come to a place like this to harvest the Hermit Peaches, it would be fine even if you pick all the fruits this tree has at this moment.」

According to Dryas, even if we take all the ripe fruits this tree has right now, it would bear fruit to a new batch before long so it would be alright.

Since we got Dryas’ seal of approval, in addition to the ones to be used for the Soma, we harvested all the peaches that caught our eye.

「Everyone, hand me the seeds of the Hermit Peach that you ate.」

Dryas gathered the seeds from everyone. I asked about what she would use the seeds for.

「What will you do with the seeds?」
「Grow it in the Sanctuary.」
「Eh? Grow it in the Sanctuary?」

Wasn’t it some legendary fruit? Seeing my surprised face, Dryas shook her head.

「Takumi, what are you saying? The Sanctuary has the most legendary tree there is, the Spirit Tree.」
「Takumi-sama, I think it is much too late.」
「Eh, what do you mean?」

When I asked Sophia what was too late, apparently there were already a lot of rare plants being raised in the Sanctuary without me knowing it. So rare that some were said to have been extinct in this world……

「I didn’t know……」
「My apologies.」
「Sophia-chan isn’t at fault. It was because I asked the Elves to manage the vegetation in the Sanctuary.」
「Well, it’s not like there’s a harm in it so it’s fine.」

In the Sanctuary, there was no one who would aim for the rare plants, so what’s a few more?

At Dryas’ instructions we collected several leaves, flowers, and branches for grafting, and just to be sure, I placed a marker down and then teleported back into the Sanctuary.