"Yeah, no. I don't buy it. I get that the nobles can get shit-brained with too much wealth, but surely not to that degree. In the best case scenario, for us, he is an ex-soldier from some super secret special unit who had to run away because he was betrayed."
The bodyguard commander scoffed, gazing bitterly at the happily humming platinum-haired man watching the pot.
"Boss… how is whatever you said more believable than Norn's story…?"
"That was the point. Shut up."
The other man's face scrounged as if he licked a lemon, and he asked in disbelief, making his commander roll his eyes and shake his head in annoyance.
"...Perseverance… it does smell good…"
After a couple of minutes of silence, the bodyguard commander's stomach let out a growl, and the man slumped, begrudgingly swallowing his saliva.
"Without something like Norn's Pocket Storage to easily put away the prey, getting it to the camp is too much of a hassle. Preserved traditions are definitely the most convenient…"
The man added, staring at the package with the preserved ration, clearly not believing his own words and swallowing saliva again.
By that time, it seemed that the stew was ready, but as the ones responsible for protecting the camp, the bodyguards could not be swayed into eating something prepared by someone untrustworthy.
"Oh, Perseverance…! It's so good!"
…at least, that was supposed to be how things go, but soon enough, the other bodyguard who spent the day keeping an eye on Norn stumbled past his comrade and commander with a bowl of deer stew, devouring it hungrily and moaning in delight with every mouthful.
"Roy? ROY! What the hell are you doing!?"
His comrade had to do a double take to understand what was happening before he called out in pure bewilderment.
"Mnnmn…? Oh! Bern! Boss!? This…! This isn't what it looks like…! I… I'm sacrificing myself as a tester to check whether the stew is poisoned or not! Avenge me if I die! Mmmmmnnn! This is the best stew I had in my life…!"
The weak-willed bodyguard exclaimed in surprise as if he only then and there remembered the existence of his comrades, awkwardly coming up with a lousy excuse in between stuffing his face with the stew.
"Roy. If you get a negative status effect from that, I will kill you myself before the poison does."
"...mnmmh… ummm… mnmgnmn.."
The bodyguard commander took a deep breath and declared with a fierce expression, making Roy swallow whatever he had in his mouth and freeze up… only to stuff another spoonful of the deer stew into his mouth the next second.
"Wh-what are you..?! Roy, you moron, stop eating that! Did you at least use a poison detection scroll or wait for Otto to use his skill?"
Bern stared at his comrade in utter disbelief, baffled by the display of recklessness he would have never expected.
"..."
"..."
Instead of answering verbally, Roy looked over to the side, and Bern and their commander followed suit.
By that point, there was a line of merchants queuing to the pot where Norn was serving the stew accompanied by another bodyguard, Otto, who would use a Poison Detection skill on each serving before the hungry person was allowed to walk away with it.
"Was Otto there when you got a portion?"
"...no comment…"
The commander furrowed his brows and inquired, making Roy mutter before scuttling away with his bowl.
Sometime later, the bodyguard commander, accompanied by Otto, approached the carriage in the middle of the convoy, carrying a bowl of steaming deer stew.
"Why are you here…?"
This time, even after confirming the visitor's identity through the mirror, Doyen didn't open the door and instead asked, her voice passing through another tiny hatch in the side of the reinforced wagon.
"It's food prepared by Norn. Can't live on preserved rations alone. Otto, do the thing."
"Share display. Poison Detection."
The commander showed off the steaming bowl, nudging his subordinate, who used two skills in succession, creating a pale-blue window displaying the composition of the dish before emanating a green glow, signaling no trace of any dangerous substance.
*click*
Without another word from Doyen, the hatch with the mirror and the one for communication shut with a soft sound, and… nothing else happened announcing the woman's stance on the food.
"We'll leave it here. Together with Poison Detection scroll, too. That stew is very tasty, you know?"
After exchanging understanding glances with Otto, the bodyguard commander put a handkerchief and placed the bowl with the stew, a wooden spoon, and a scroll with greenish-purple ribbon on top of it. After another minute passed without any sign from the caravan leader, the two of them left, shrugging their shoulders at each other.
The next day, at daybreak, the door to the carriage opened, and the green-haired woman stepped outside. She stopped next to the bowl of the cold stew on the handkerchief, staring at it for a few moments.
"Good morning, lady boss! Are you going to eat it…?"
"..."
One of the bodyguards passing by with a piece of hard brown bread greeted her before asking, making the green-haired woman glance at him in silence - or at least turn her face towards him.
"No. If you're not too busy, please clean it up and return the Poison Detection scroll to your commander."
"With pleasure!"
Doyen shook her head lightly without exposing her eyes and waved her hand dismissively before flinching a bit at the enthusiastic reaction of the man who dived for the bowl as fast as he could.
As he snatched it, instead of throwing it away, he began to eat the cold stew hungrily.
"Mmmnmnn! It's great even when it's cold…!"
"...!"
The bodyguard was so eager that he managed to deal with the stew in less than a minute. Using the brown bread to clean the bowl, he moaned in delight while finishing it up, giving Doyen quite the surprise.
For a moment, she made a troubled expression - at least at the visible part of her face - but calmly made her way to the first wagon before the satiated bodyguard picked up the scroll and the handkerchief.
:3
Transporting the goods like the Doyen's Caravan did was a long process.
A whole line of wagons couldn't travel nearly as fast as a lone rider and comparing it to traveling by Teleportation Array was simply ridiculous.
It was also dangerous.
But when taking into account the cost of teleporting goods, the cheapness of traveling by land justified it all, especially considering that the goods could be sold in the settlements along the way to the main destination.
However, in the case of Doyen's Caravan traveling through the wilderness, the main destination was the only settlement within hundreds of miles - if not more.
That was why two weeks since Norn joined the caravan passed in a blink of an eye.
The platinum-haired man somehow became the unofficial head cook, and the hunter provided the fresh food.
It wouldn't happen only because of a stew, no matter how good it was. As it turned out, though, Norn's culinary skills and wide range of dishes would easily allow him to open his own restaurant if he saw fit.
Actually, some merchants offered to sponsor him to some degree in starting such a business, although Norn didn't take them seriously.
"Mister Norn~"
After the evening meal, the platinum-haired man was unexpectedly approached by one of the girls from the service tent calling out to him with a playful expression.
"Hmm? Oh, do you want another serving? There are some leftovers I planned to add to the breakfast, but we can keep it a secret."
Norn opened back the lid of a pot he was about to store in his Pocket Storage and winked at the girl, playing along.
"Fufufu~ Noo~ Nope. It's not about that~!"
"?"
The girl chuckled, waving her hand dismissively and making the platinum-haired man tilt his head intrigued.
"We, I mean the other girls and I, were wondering when you will visit us? With the load you must be carrying by now, I'm sure you want a woman's touch to lift such a burden, and we're eager to do just that~"
The girl smiled suggestively, leaning forward to intentionally make her outfit a lot more revealing.
"Oh! That sounds great! I was thinking about asking for help with that but didn't know if that's okay."
Norn perked up and agreed with a bright smile, storing away the pot with leftovers, with his eyes not wandering off the girl's face.
"Let me guess, the guys were keeping you away from our tent, weren't they? They're such worrywarts! But that's why we all feel safe~"
The girl swayed from side to side, giggling, before looking to the side at the passing bodyguard, winking at the man who immediately straightened his back as if rejuvenated by a spell.
"Sure. I'll come by after finishing cleaning here."
"Okaaay~ I'll be waiting~"
Norn smiled and motioned at the space where he prepared the food earlier, and the girl called out happily, winking at him one more time before going back to the service tent,
"Hohoho~! That one had her eyes on you for quite some time. She must be eager to experience your skills for herself."
The same bodyguard who the girl winked at while returning, approached Norn, and nudged him in the side.
"I'll do my best to meet her expectations, then!"
"Pffft! Sure. However, don't place too many expectations on yourself, and pace yourself properly. Those girls have way more experience than you think and will squeeze you out to the last drop before you know it."
Norn declared, making the other man snort before advising him while patting his shoulder.
"Understood!"
"Have a good night."
The platinum-haired man nodded vigorously, and the bodyguard tapped his shoulder once more before going on his way.
A bit later, after Norn was done with cleaning, he wiped his hands in a handkerchief, looking towards the starry sky.
"There should be at least one or two of them with an affinity for either fire or water magic. If I teach them how to cook with the aid of spells, we could really cut down on the time of preparation, and I would be able to craft more weapons and maybe try making some accessories too~"
He hummed to himself happily, already planning what points should be addressed first with the girls from the service tent.
Ever since he first started making food, Norn was feeling a bit bad about taking the work away from the girls who would serve the food and drinks before he took over.
And so, the innocence incarnate made his way to the service tent, completely unaware of its actual purpose.
"Sorry for the intrusion…"
Norn didn't hesitate to enter, sliding through the fabric door with a polite greeting, unaware of being watched by the two bodyguards who always kept their eyes on him.
"Thank Perseverance! Lady boss was growing uneasy."
"Don't get me wrong, I can understand where she's coming from, but her way of thinking goes a bit too far."
Roy breathed out, to which Bern scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, on the one hand, she might be convinced that all men are only a single step away from assaulting the first woman they see, and it is a bit disrespectful, but on the other hand, what other caravan has a traveling brothel tagging along with them? My pride can suffer some baseless accusation if there's an eager wench waiting for me to… huh…?"
Roy rolled his eyes at his comrade and declared, only to let out a confused gasp when the fabric of the service tent's door rustled in distress.
"Sorry for the inconvenience! It was my misunderstanding!"
The source of the movement was none other than Norn, with his face crimson red even in the light of the magic lamps by the corners of the tents, bowing his head apologetically toward the tent's insides before hurriedly walking away staring at his feet greatly embarrassed.
"...the hell?"
Roy and Bern looked at each other in confusion at the unexpected sight.
The next moment, one of the girls draped in a thin blanket followed Norn outside but didn't run after him, staying in the passageway with a troubled expression.
"Mister Norn! There's no need to be shy! Haaah… what a prude…"
The girl called after the platinum-haired man but he hid behind one of the wagons, clearly avoiding any attempts at conversation, making the girl breathing out in disbelief.
"..."
After a moment, she glanced at the two bodyguards barely within the circle of light cast by the camp lights and smiled playfully, spreading her arm and blanket she was wearing open, revealing a perky body unobstructed by a single piece of fabric.
"Hmhm~"
She then wrapped herself back up and motioned her head towards the tent, beckoning the men to follow her.
"Well… Good luck with the Norn duty."
"Wha…?! You bastard!"
Roy was the first to act, jokingly saluting Bern and leaving him flabbergasted while he jogged after the girl, following her inside the tent.
The thing was, Bern did not find the platinum-haired man immediately. As for the reason…
;3
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GOT IT