357 Bartolo and Caccauff (1/2)
I and Bartolo, who were going to draw spring water, crossed a single road on the mansion and set foot on a mountain just beyond a lake in the eastern forest.
Naturally, this is a mountain, so there is no gentle signpost such as a road.
There are countless trees in the vicinity of, and fallen trees and the roots that came out of the ground were growing.
Because people rarely step in, you can see that nature is doing whatever you want.
If you look around, you will almost lose track of the direction in which you have come to the tree, trees, trees, and just in time.
Shadows are dozens of meters high, so there are shadows in the mountains.
It is much cooler than walking in the plains and forests thanks to no sunlight.
I and Baltoro go on a rough road while feeling the cool air with my skin.
”It's pretty quiet.”
”That's right. I don't seem to like many birds today.”
There are no creature shadows around at the moment.
It's very quiet. The occasional wind just shakes the branches and leaves.
The natural scenery combined with the quiet mountain scenery seemed somewhat mysterious.
You can walk in such a quiet place. You can calm your mind without thinking.
Bartolo, who was walking in front, stopped as he was proceeding while enjoying the calm.
”What's wrong?”
”I'm going to take some sap.”
When Bartolo says so, he looks around and touches the nearby trees to check the condition.
”Hey, trees around here can get sap.”
”Oh, boiled down to a syrup and sweet.”
That's right. When the sap is boiled down, it becomes maple syrup.
If this is shaved ice, it will surely play an active role in various areas such as bread for breakfast and sweets.
”OK, this tree?”
When I'm thinking about that, Bartoro bows and lowers my basket on the ground.
Take out a pointed object like a screw from there, stab it into a tree, and turn something like a lever to make a hole.
After a while, Bartolo licks his wet finger as he digs the hole.
”Oh, you hit it in one shot.”
Apparently it reached the pipe through the sap.
When Bartolo puts out the drilling tool, he takes out something like a tube.
It looks like a faucet, but it must have been modified for sap collection.
When Bartoro stabs it into the hole, potapota and sap-like things hang down.
”Do you want to lick a little?”
”Yup”
Raise your hand and catch the sap with your palm.
Surprisingly, there is no stickiness or dirt, and there is almost no smell.
After confirming that, lick it with your tongue.
”Not too sweet”
”Huh, that's right. I can't boil it down yet.”
I have eaten boiled maple syrup, but it was the first time that I had never used sap.
Although it is slightly sweet, it has no surprising sweetness or aroma.
I know the taste of maple syrup and imagine that kind of thing.
The natural sweetness of the tree is good enough.
When I finished licking, Bartolo took the vase out of the basket and started wrapping it around the tree with a rope.
It's a way to put the sap coming out of the tube into the jar.
”You put things in a basket.”
Vases, ropes, tools, etc. will come out in various ways.
”I've come to the mountain!
I don't need to carry tools because I have space magic storage. However, it's a secret, so I'm using psychic instead, but it still seems convenient enough.
The big barrel is floating around me this way, and it's terrible enough without considering efficiency.
Once the pot is tied to the tree, Bartolo repeats the same process in three more places.
I also made a hole once on the way, but I removed the sap tube.
I asked Bartolo to tell me about most places, but it's difficult to find them in one shot.
”Okay, no problem if you collect it on the way back.”
”Once you boil it down, you can cool it with ice magic and make syrup ice.”
”Oh, that's fine!”
I and Bartolo walked while discussing how to use maple syrup.
◆
The gradual road gets steeper as you go deeper into the mountain.
Yes, it has become a full-fledged slope.
It is difficult to climb overgrown weeds and slopes with poor scaffolding.
However, Bartolo has climbed here many times, so he walks in front of Switzerland just as if it were his own garden.
”Is it okay, shaved?”
”Yeah, it's a bit steep, but it's just on the path chosen by Bartolo.”
It's hard to climb, but it's a lot easier, thanks to Bartoro's choice of a route that's easy for me to walk along.
If you came alone without knowing anything, you may have had a hard time.
Yes, Erinora and Emma, when she climbed the mountain with Sheila, Elinora was taking the initiative.
Now, if you think about it, it might have been kindness to me like Elinora unnie.
When I remember such an event, Bartolo asks with a serious expression.
”I guess you're using magic, and if you get tight, can you be honest?”
”Yeah, okay. I'm a type of rester before getting tight.”
It's slow to rest after getting tight. You must rest before your body screams to the limit.