The Blue Forest

Dark clouds have been blanketing the sky since morning. Looks like rain is coming soon, so I'll just do a quick forage for mushrooms and edible plants in the nearby forest and head home.

Today I'm heading to the 'Blue Forest.' I have no idea if it has an actual name, but nothing else came to mind, so I just named it after how it looks. Remember how my house is surrounded by trees? Among all those trees, the ones in the eastern forest have white trunks instead of brown, and their leaves are a blue-tinted green — that's why I named it the Blue Forest. Sometimes in spring, you can spot purple leaves among the blue ones too.

Since my food options are limited, I've gotten into the habit of trying anything I've never seen before. Just a tiny bite to figure out if it's edible — that's the process! The food list in my diary only had a few items. A new food source is a very welcome friend!

Would you eat a blue leaf? Yeah — normally you'd take one look and think, nope. The color is just weird! When I first saw them, my immediate thought was:

'If I eat that, I'll probably die, right...?'

But I bravely ate it anyway. You think that's too reckless? I can't help it. Have you ever eaten the same thing three meals a day for nearly a month straight? After a while it stops feeling like eating — it feels like you're just fueling a body, like an animal! So I have no choice but to actively look for anything new to eat. That's why I just went ahead and tried the blue leaf. And surprisingly, it tasted sweet! Ever heard of a sweet-tasting leaf? I may have lost my memories, but even I know leaves aren't supposed to taste like that. After that first taste, blue leaves became an important food source for me. After a hearty meal of delicious meat, chewing on a blue leaf puts me in such a great mood! I'd love to recommend it to you too. Silvia's Recommended Dessert #1! (Since the blue leaves were tasty, I tried the purple ones in spring too — but they have no flavor, so don't bother!)

Blue leaves aren't the only food source in the Blue Forest. You can find various mushrooms growing under the white trees too. Lately, I've been visiting the forest just for the fun of discovering new mushrooms. There are so many types beyond what's listed in my diary! Oh right — you need to be extremely careful when trying unfamiliar mushrooms for the first time. Eat the wrong one and you might never open your eyes again. There are lots of poisonous mushrooms, so don't go eating mushrooms recklessly just because of my brave stories.

How do I tell poisonous mushrooms from edible ones, you ask? Simple! I feed them to Rui!

I think my first visit to the Blue Forest was about a month after losing my memory. Back then I was even more obsessed with food than I am now, and I wandered everywhere looking for it. I checked where the fruits and plants from my diary grew most plentifully, and anything I'd never seen before, I'd give a sniff and then pop it straight in my mouth. Same with mushrooms! I recklessly picked various mushrooms and grilled them. When I was about to grill a red-capped mushroom, Rui — who had been quietly following me around — blocked my hand with an adorable front paw.

"Rui, what's wrong?"

"...Are you fearless? Lots of mushrooms are poisonous, you know!"

"Won't it be fine if I grill it?"

"If you die being that careless, who's going to be responsible for my meals?"

"Ahahaha! It'll work out somehow!"

"Sigh. Never mind. Give me the mushroom, master. I don't get sick from poison, so I'll eat it first and let you know."

"Really? You can eat poison and not get sick? How is that possible?"

"Quit asking and hand it over."

Just as Rui worried, the red mushroom was indeed poisonous! According to Rui, if I'd eaten it, I would have lost all sense of direction, staggered around until I collapsed somewhere deep in the forest, and died of dehydration. I still don't know exactly what Rui is, but what a helpful cat! Anyway, since then, I always go to the forest with Rui to identify what's edible and what's not.

It looks like rain is coming soon today, so I need to head home quickly. I'll just grab the mushrooms and plants I already know and hurry back! Oh right, do I have any meat left at home? Rui barely eats unless there's meat or fish... But with rain on the way, there's nothing I can do. Today's lunch and dinner: mushroom stew!