Bab 19: Chapter 19
Now that everything with that viceroy's aid is taken care of, we are on the road again, heading to the supposedly cursed Muno Barony. Still, despite the rumours, everyone seems in high spirits. Lulu and Stato sit talking on the coachman stand of Satou's wagon. Pochi, Tama, and Arisa are still waving to the people who came to see us off as they disappear into the distance, while Pearl sits quietly watching over them. As for me, I am riding one of our horses with Mia, who is giving me lessons, while Liza is teaching Nana how to ride on the other horse. It was a peaceful day if it wasn't for all the people.
"Master, there is a lot of pedestrian traffic heading to and from the gate, so we should take it slow,"
Lulu reports holding the reins tightly as she slows to a crawl while people engulf us. Most of them pass right by without a second glance, but some thieves try to rob us only to be swiftly knocked unconscious. If only the merchants were as easy to deal with. They are pushy, trying to get us to buy spoiled food and expired potions. They must think we are an easy mark because they don't take no for an answer and demand we pay nearly double the market value of the goods.
At least they gave up after following us down the road for nearly ten minutes. But then came the marriage offers and men asking for night services, as Arisa calls it. Some of the men even tried to take my hand, only to freeze when Mia glared at them. She really was a big help back there. It didn't help that most of the men who tried something like that were soldiers returning from battle. I would hate to explain to Earl Kuhanou why most of the soldiers returning from the mines were suddenly beating to a pulp after everything he had done for me.
It was because of Earl Kuhanou that Nana got her new shield. I look at her now and see the golden shield strapped to her back. That shield sure is tough. The monsters couldn't even scratch the surface when we used it against some spider bears. Unforntantly I also notice Nana is facing similar problems to me. Only most people keep commenting on her chest. Looking down, I am painfully aware I am nothing compared to her in that regard. It's a shame most of these soldiers are too injured to survive one of my punches.
Arisa doesn't seem happy either as she shouts at the men, and Satou has to disappear into the wagon to stop her from casting spells. Still, it doesn't last long. As soon as we turn at an intersection, we find the road less crowded. There is still a large column of soldiers on the path leading to the silver mine that seems to be endless, but they no longer bother us. I heard a soft "Achoo!" from Lulu in the coachman stand.
"You should wear this to protect you from the wind,"
"Th… thank you,"
I turn my head just in time to see Satou return to the coachman's stand and wrap a shoulder around Lulu's shoulder. Lulu blushes, and I hear Arisa jealously complain from inside the wagon as Pochi and Tama offer her their coats. One thing I can say about our group is that there is rarely a dull moment during our travels. It would be good if most of our excitement came from things other than combat.
"Watch the road,"
I jump slightly as Mia scolds me for my wandering focus. As I apologise, she takes the reins and steers us back onto the road. It's a good thing she is riding with me. If it wasn't for Mia, I would have started wading through a stream flowing next to the road. At least the others didn't seem to notice my slip up. Lulu is shyly burying her face in Satou's coat while Arisa tries to get her to share, distracting everyone else.
"Road,"
"Sorry,"
I got distracted again, being scolded by Mia as a low-hanging tree branch slapped us both in the face. Mia frowns as she picks leaves and twigs out of her hair before she takes over, guiding the horse. I don't fight her, not after causing trouble twice in quick succession.
"Hero Kura, look! There's a squirrel in that tree, I report!"
"Nana! Watch out!"
Next, it is Liza's turn to be slapped in the face by a tree branch. Nana narrowly escaped the same fate by ducking down and pointing at the squirrel as it flees from us. I feel like a hypocrite as I tell Nana to pay attention to the road, and even Mia gives me a disappointed look. At least now, with Mia in charge of our horse and Nana paying attention to the road, we should have any more accidents.
Looking forward, I can see the border in the distance. A tall mountain range that stretches across the horizon as far as the eye can see. We are still a few hours away, but even from this distance, they look massive. I can see snow covering the top half of the mountains, and I am starting to believe the merchants warned us of how cold Muno Barony is. Even now, I can feel a coldness to the win I hadn't in the city.
Three hours passed, and the temperature dropped rapidly to the point we could see our breaths. We had to stop and put on warmer clothing which somehow turned into a fashion show where Arisa talked us all into modelling for Satou. I swear she must have used physic magic on me without me noticing to get me to agree to that. Satou even gave us all hand warmers he made that make this journey so much more bearable.
A few hours later, we stopped for lunch in the shade of several large boulders. Pochi and Tama wasted no time before they spotted a rabbit and gave chase. Liza follows after them while Mia and Arisa deal with the horses. Meanwhile, Satou has started making ear muffs while everyone else makes lunch.
"I have finished chopping the meat," Pearl says, adding the chopped pieces of some monster meat into the pot I was stirring.
Since it was so cold, we decided to make a hot stew to warm our bodies. As Pearl chops meat, Lulu and Nana prepare the vegetables, and I stir the pot. Between the for of us, we managed to get everything done quickly and start serving faster than I was expecting.
"Did someone add something to the food?" Arisa asks, making me look up at her. To me, the food doesn't taste bad, so maybe she just had something land in her food.
"It tastes better than usual,"
"My mouth is happy!"
"My tummy's happy, sir!"
Liza, Tama and Pochi all chime in, too, with the younger girls jumping with joy.
"I don't believe we added anything,"
"I just chopped meat,"
"I only used what I was provided with I report,"
Pearl, Nana and Lulu shake their heads as all eyes turn to me, but it can't have been me.
"I just used what we had," I quickly tell everyone.
No one seems to believe me. They push the food around and try to figure out what I have done. I didn't do anything, I swear. But my cooking skill advanced to level seven while I was cooking, so maybe that had something to do with it. I will speak to Satou about it later and see if he knows anything about it.
"Seconds!"
"I want more, sir!"
At least Pochi and Tama aren't suspicious of me. They run back to the pot, asking for more and get scolded by Liza for their behaviour despite the fact she looks like she wants seconds too. In the end, we all had seconds while Pochi, Tama and Arisa had thirds. I was surprised Arisa was such a glutton, but she said she was a growing girl, only to pale when Satou suggested bringing out a pair of scales.
After lunch, we are back on the road, but I am riding in the carriage this time as Liza and Satou ride the horses. Lulu is currently teaching Nana how to drive the carriage while the rest of us pass the time in the back of the carriage. Pochi, Tama, Arisa and Lulu are playing a word-matching game with some wooden picture cards while Pearl serves as a referee. So far, Arisa is winning despite the occasional stupid mistake. As for Mia is playing her lute, and I stare out of the back of the wagon, struggling to stay awake. It must be how peaceful it is. I had never felt this tired so quickly before. I close my eyes and drift off to the sound of Mia's music.
<0>
"You really made me put in the effort," The rainbow-haired god of the dragons moans when I open my eyes puffing out her cheeks. "Most people fall asleep in an instant when a god wants them to but you. You had to make me put in more effort."
"I am sorry, I guess," I am not sure why I am apologising. If she wanted me to sleep, she should have asked me to instead of just making me feel tired.
"You guess… while it doesn't matter now. You are here now, so listen to what I have to tell you," The goddess points to me sticking out her chest. I feel she has been practising poses from how stiff she looks. "There is an item in the Muno Barony. It is known as a Choas Jar."
A jar suddenly appears between us. This reminds me of some kind of holographic display I had seen in sci-fi movies and games. The jar itself looks like something from a horror film. I can see this thing appearing in my nightmares, dark black in colour and covered in carvings of skulls. To top it off, there are red jewels in the eye sockets that give off a devilish glow while a dark purple mist emits from the jar.
"You need to locate this jar," The goddess continues. "It is part of the ceremony to summon a demon lord. Capturing this jar will not be enough to prevent the demon lord revival, but it will buy you more time to prepare for that day."
"Where is this jar?" I ask, but the goddess only smiles.
"No idea," The goddess replies, shaking her head. "Us gods can detect anything with humans, but when it comes to demons, they have ways to hide things from us. You will have to locate the demon to find the jar."
"And where is this demon?"
"Oh, look at the time," The goddess suddenly looks at her wrist as a surprisingly modern-style watch appears. "You have reached a checkpoint, and your companions are worried that you won't wake up. Until next time."
"What! Where is the demon?"
<0>
"Master!"
"Hero Kura!"
"Hero Kura!"
I wake up to find Mia, Nana and Pearl shaking my shoulders and looking at me worriedly. Mia has tears in her eyes and quickly hugs me when she notices I have opened my eyes. Pearl quickly straightens up and looks like she wasn't worried about me, but she isn't fooling anyone. In contrast, Nana looks relieved despite her usual blank expression.
"Are you okay? You weren't waking up and kept saying things about demons and jars," Pearl asks, looking my way.
"I'm fine," I assure them as I sit up. I am still feeling a little sluggish, but apart from that, I am perfectly okay. "But there is more trouble than I thought in the Muno Barony."
I call Satou over and tell everyone about my dream. Unlike before, nothing is stopping me from passing on my knowledge. I explain my meeting with the dragon god, the warning of a demon in the Muno Barony, and I describe the chaos jar down to the last detail. They listen, and Satou seems to be up to something, but I don't question him and continue my story. It is unfortunate that the goddess didn't tell me where the demon was, but I am sure we will manage somehow. After we were done, everyone had some questions, but I didn't have all the answers. Dinner that night was quieter than usual as everyone took in the news.
I must have been out for hours. When I woke up, the sun had already set, and we had arrived at a campsite Satou had selected. According to the others, I didn't miss much. We barely passed by any other carriages and reached a fort on the border without any trouble. The only problem was we couldn't cross the border at night due to the threat of attack from vampire bats and giant venomous insects.
The others thought I was tied and let me sleep until we reached the campsite but then panicked when I didn't wake up. I had to apologise to Pochi and Tama. They were the ones who were sent to wake me up, and I had scared them by not responding. Lulu, Liza, Mia, Nana and Pearl were just as worried, so I apologised again to them. I think Satou was the only one not worried, but he must have known through his hud skills that I wasn't in any danger. The only person I didn't apologise to was Arisa. Arisa was more upset that she didn't get to show off a nurse outfit she had made to Satou than she was worried about me.
Dinner was already made by the time I had finished telling everyone of the demon and saying I was sorry for scaring them. It was then I realised I did miss something. According to Arisa, Satou had given Lulu cooking lessons. From what I hear, she did a good job, but as a result, we had more steaks for dinner than we could possibly eat. Even the beastfolk girls couldn't finish them all. Pochi and Tama collapsed, rubbing their stomachs, saying they would burst if they took another bite.
Now it was time for bed, and since I had already slept, I took the first watch with Pearl as Satou sat off in the distance, trying to build something, claiming he couldn't sleep. When I asked what he was making, he just said he was experimenting with a few ideas he had. I wasn't sure what he was trying to do, but I could tell Satou was doing something with magic circuits. I just left him to it and sat by the fire with Pearl listening to the buzz of insects and howls of wolfs. I am pretty sure I would be freaking out if I was back in Japan, but I feel completely at ease here. Looking up, I see the moon is full, and I hope that doesn't mean a werewolf would attack us.
"So, how long have you been speaking to the gods?" Pearl asks, drawing my head back down from the stars.
"Ever since I earned the hero title," I tell her. "Most of the time, I can't repeat what I am told. I don't know who it happens to, but it is like someone holding a hand over my mouth if I try to say something I am not supposed to."
I think Saou and Arisa are the only ones I told this to before. I couldn't tell them much about my talks with the goddess, but they believed me.
"I'm surprised you could communicate with the gods so clearly," Pearl says. "From what I heard, oracles usually only get given vague, unclear visions from the gods."
"I'm not sure what is different with me," I reply, thinking it over. "It might have something to do with the goddess only contacting me in my sleep, but I can't say for sure."
"Maybe," Pearl thinks about it for a moment. "But at least the god of the dragons gave you a clear vision of the chaos jar even if they couldn't tell you where it is."
"Yeah, hopefully, we can find it quickly," I hope we can find it before a demon lord shows up.
<0>
The following day we departed at dawn and arrived at the border fort. It isn't that big, just a small wall with a few buildings and about twenty guards at most. I was expecting something more after hearing the rumours of what was happening in the Muno Barony. Then again, with the fighting over the silver mine, maybe this is all the troops Earl Kuhanou could spare to man the border.
"Hey, you're the guy from yesterday. I've heard that the Muno Barony is in such desperate poverty that the robbers from there have been coming this way instead. You gotta be careful, not just with bandits and soldiers but even with ordinary villagers,"
"We will. Thank you for your advice,"
A soldier approached us as we reached the fort and greeted Satou. He is a tall man with a friendly smile, but he makes Muno Barony sound worse than I already heard. This guy even put the soldiers of the Muno Barony in the same category as bandits without even batting an eye. Satou must have made a good impression on him the day before as they exchange some small talk before we are sent through with one final warning.
"If you encounter any unreasonable demands on the other side of the fortress, you just run back here. Once you've crossed the border, our soldiers can come right to your aid,"
"I appreciate your concern. If anything should happen, I'll be sure to take you up on your kind offer,"
I feel we will have a rough time on the other side of the border. The way the guard warns us gives me the feeling that it won't be the first time his soldiers have had to come to travellers' aid. As our carriage begins to move, Satou and I ensure everyone stays inside the carriage apart from Pearl and Liza, who rides the horses and Satou, who drives our carriage. Pochi and Tama want to ride the horses, too, but w keep them inside out of view.
As we travel from the fort, the road becomes noticeably rougher with more bumps. I was expecting there to be only a short road between the borders. Still, instead, we travel for ten minutes and round a corner before Satou brings our carriage to a halt. We are out of view from both forts on each side of the border when Satou jumps down and says he will do some scouting. Plenty of people volunteer to go with him, but he only takes Liza along in the end.
I look out the back of the carriage as Liza and Satou climb a nearby hill until they are out of sight. Satou must have detected trouble up ahead with his map. Further up the road, I can see a small rope bridge barely wide enough to fit our carriage and the edge of the fort on the Muno Barony side of the border. At first glance, nothing seems wrong, but then I see creaks in the wall when I look more closely, and a large tail briefly swings into view.
"I smell blood, sir,"
Pochi quickly puts everyone on edge just as a loud roar reaches our ears. In an instant, everyone draws their weapons, but nothing happens. That is until the mountain near the fort starts to collapse, and a massive cloud of smoke engulfs the fort. Seconds later, there is only silence as the smoke clears.
We stayed on guard for several minutes until Liza returned and told us it was safe to move up. Still, none of us put away our weapons as we approached the fort, which had somehow been crushed by the body of a giant hydra, but then the monster vanished. Satou is there, so I guess he must have hidden it somehow. The others didn't seem to have noticed the hydra, so I kept quiet about it so I didn't cause a panic.
As soon as Satou joins us, we are on the move again despite Arisa crying bout not being able to search the crushed remains of the fort for treasure. Nana and Liza are riding horses while Lulu drives, and the rest of us play old maid in the back of the carriage. It's strange how peaceful it feels after what happened and knowing where we are heading.
After two hours of travelling, we were nearing the first village of the territory. We sent Nana and Liza out ahead as scouts in case these people were hostile, but they returned unharmed. I had wanted to go with them, but Nana insisted she could handle this job.
"Several men and women are sitting on the side of the road some distance ahead, sir,"
"Hero Kura, they did not appear to be hostile, I report,"
The people turned out to be the head of a village, his granddaughter, and two other young serf women. We could see them as we approached, and it didn't look like people were waiting to ambush us. In fact, everyone else seems to be hiding in their homes, peaking out from their windows and doors.
"I wonder why they are there,"
Satou thinks for a moment, but no one thinks it is because they are up to something. We slowly approach, being careful not to run them over as we come to a halt. We have plenty to give them if they want food, thanks to Earl Kuhanou. I heard Satou muttering under her breath about them being starving, so maybe they hope to trade something for food.
Satou and I took over the coachman stand as soon as Liza and Nana gave their reports while Pochi, Tama and Pearl waited at the back of the carriage. If this is a trap, we should be able to deal with it. But as we get closer, I don't feel like we are in any sort of danger. In fact, they see friendly as the man who turned out to be the village elder quickly leapt to his feet when he saw us coming. He smiled as he waved and flagged us down.
"Can we help you with something?"
"I'm the chief of the village over yonder. You're a peddler, ain'tcha?"
I'm surprised the man isn't freezing as he is skin and bone and only wearing thin-looking clothing full of holes. Come to think of it, the two women sitting nearby should have definitely frozen to death since they are wearing very revealing outfits. They stare at Satou as they whisper to each other while a little girl draped in a coat a few sizes too big for her watches from behind a nearby tree. I smile as she sees me, but she only hides herself away.
"See, there's something we'd like you to buy,"
"You don't mean those serf girls, do you?" Satou asked, but the village chief shook his head.
"No, no. Come over here,"
"Sure,"
The girl I spotted comes out from hiding, shyly standing just behind the village chief, peaking up at us. Now that I can get a better look at her. She is just as thin as the village chief. I hope all the villages in this territory aren't as bad as this one, with children slowly starving to death.
"What I want you to buy is my granddaughter. She's still young, but if she grows up anything like my daughter, who was the most beautiful girl in the village, she's sure to be…."
I cut him off there. "You want to sell your own granddaughter into slavery?"
"If she stays here in the village, she'll starve to death, like as not. The soldiers at that fort might kidnap or kill her…." The village chief averted his eyes bitterly.
It seems things are worse here than I had heard. I was expecting to find hungry people, but I didn't expect people to be desperate enough that they would be willing to sell their own children into slavery.
"By my reckoning, she'd be better off getting bought by a kindly seeming merchant such as yourself,"
I don't like it, but I find myself agreeing with the village chief. The girl should stay with her family, but if it stopped her from starving to death, I would have been willing to buy her if it wasn't for the fact I would be facing dangerous demons in the future. The chief looked at Arisa, Mia and Lulu as they peaked out of the carriage. He must has decided we were trustworthy based on how healthy and well-fed they were.
"Please buy me, Mr Merchant." The chief's granddaughter spoke very clearly for such a young girl. Her expression was solemn, and she looked so desperate. "Please! If the village can buy rations with the money, so many young children will be able to make it through the winter…."
Arisa and Lulu were looking at Satou, awaiting his response, but he didn't even seem to consider buying her. Despite the way the girl looks at us, he doesn't reconsider.
"I'm sorry, but I have plenty of slaves,"
The young girl lowers her head, looking like she is about to cry. I feel bad for her and a little bit mad at Satou for making her sad, but it is better this way. She looked like she wanted to run away as her grandfather questioned her.
"Chief, is it our turn to negotiate?"
The two skimpily dressed girls jump up at Satou's refusal running closer when the chief gives them to go ahead. They throw off their clothing as they approach until they are wearing nothing at all.
"Mrrr, lewd,"
"E… excuse you!"
Arisa and Mia leapt out of the carriage to cover our eyes. I can understand why Arisa is covering Satou's eyes, but why is Mia blocking my view?
"S… so cold!"
"Yes, it's especially cold today."
Through Mia's, I saw the two women hunch over for a moment, shuddering in the frigid air.
"Mr Merchant, wouldn't you like to buy yourself a good time?" The older of the two serf women struck an odd pose as she launched her sales pitch. "The price is one copper coin, or you can fill this pouch with grains and potatoes."
"Ah, of course, meat is welcome, too! It doesn't have to be anything as fancy as rabbit or bird. Any meat will do just fine, even rats or monsters," Added the younger.
"I don't need any slaves or 'good times,' but there is something else I'd need," Satou says.
Satou and I finally remove the tiny hands blocking our view and jump down from the carriage. The girls and village chief look at us confused, but it will make sense soon. Mia and Arisa follow us, frowning at the still naked ladies, but they don't try to blind us again.
"Something else? I'm not sure what else you're hoping to buy from a remote village like ours…."
"What I'm looking for is information,"
"Information?"
"I want you to tell me anything about the current situation in the Muno Barony," Satou nodded.
"I'm just a simple farmer. All I know is what goes on in our village and the ones nearby,"
"That's good enough. I can offer you brown wolf meat in exchange for the information,"
As he admitted, the village chief could only tell them about the surrounding area. Still, he did confirm the rumours we have been hearing. Poor crop yields for the last three years have created a famine, and the villager's efforts to gather wild plants have depleted all the local plants in the area. This drove the local wildlife deeper into the woods, making them too dangerous to hunt.
"We sold some of the girls from the village to a slave trader early in the fall, so we were able to stock up for winter with that money, but…."
"Did some thieves show up or something?"
"No, most of the thieves around here are just penniless young folk from neighbouring villages. They're not so heartless as to steal our stores for winter."
"Of course not!" One of the women interjected. "Those thieves are our best customers."
"Unlike those soldiers in the fort, they even give you food afterwards," The other added.
"I heard they were heading to the next territory over because there's no one to steal from here,"
"Yeah, they said they were going to a far-off town 'cause of the recent fighting in the silver mines,"
"If that were the case, we'd have just given up and accepted it. But it was a tax collector… He took almost a third of our winter reserves, saying it was a wedding gift for the baron's daughter." The village chief heaved a weighty sigh.
"You didn't appeal or anything?" I ask.
Thirty percent seems a bit high. If I were there, I would have accused the collector of corruption. Most likely, only a tiny percentage of that food was for the gift, and he took the rest for himself.
"If we did, they'd demote the whole village to serfdom,"
"That can't be right," Satou looks like he is thinking the same thing I was.
"It's true. Haven't you heard about Tonza Village? They made the whole settlement into serfs, and now no one lives there,"
"Do you know who the baron's daughter is intended to marry?"
"According to that tax-collecting scoundrel, it's some hero,"
A hero. I wish the dragon god had told me that wired hero, as Arisa called him, was here, but Satou seems to doubt her, and so does Arisa.
"Say, village chief. How old might this baron's daughter be?" Arisa jumps forward as she asks, nearly bumping into Satou and me.
"I believe he has one nineteen-year-old and one twenty-four-year-old,"
"Is that so? Thank you. Pardon me for interrupting,"
Apparently satisfied by the chief's reply, Arisa retreated into the horse-drawn carriage.
"I'm sure the fee he took was poppycock, but the part about her getting married is true," he continued. "I heard it from another village chief, too."
"I see. Thanks. I'll get your payment together, so please wait a moment,"
Sato and I retreat back and take out a Satou pretends to gather food out of the carriage only to pull it from his storage. As for me, I take out a bag of fertiliser and some seeds. When the Witch of the Forest of Illusion heard of my request for food, she devised a different plan. She gave me several bags of fertiliser she made herself and some seeds from plants in the forest that grow rapidly and are edible. Combined with these seeds can give a yield of crops within twelve days.
This changed things as Earl Kuhanou provided me with enough food for a few towns while the witch gave me these seeds and fertiliser for the village. Our hope is to end the famine by handing out supplies this way. I was a little worried that people in the village might starve before the crops grow, but Satou stepped in and agreed to provide some food for the villagers.
When we return with the supplies, the village chief is at a loss for words while the two older girls cheer and the young girl starts to cry. Besides giving them enough wolf meat to feed the village for a few days, Satou also gave them two bags of rice. If they are careful, they should have enough to eat while they wait for the crops to grow.
"O-oh? But this is so much…."
"There more," I tell him handing over the seeds and fertiliser. "These seeds only take twelve days to grow with the fertiliser and will give you better crop yields in the future."
I am not sure how it works, but according to the Witch of the Forest of Illusion, the fertiliser will enrich the soil for the next three years. Hopefully, with multiple villages giving good yields for three, this famine will be over soon.
"There is no way we could accept just a gift for the information we provided," The village chief seemed hesitant. Still, when I told him these were relief supplies from Earl Kuhanou, he reluctantly accepted. "Thank you. Our village is in your debt."
The village chief bows and his granddaughter does the same despite me telling them it wasn't necessary. I warned them to keep the supplies hidden before we parted ways. The village chief did invite us to stay the night, but we turned him down. Once we got underway again, Lulu took over driving the carriage while Pochi and Tama sat next to her. They cutely played a game of I spy together as Satou and I settled down in the back of the carriage. It is peaceful travelling, even though thieves control most of the countryside.
"Why did you ask about the baron's daughter's age earlier?" Satou asked Arisa as soon as the village was out of sight.
"I wanted to find out whether the hero was real or not,"
"How would that question help?"
"Remember how I told you that I'd met a hero before?"
Satou nods his head, looking like he is remembering something terrible. Is the other hero really so bad?
"Why are you making a face?"
"Forget it. Just go on,"
"You see, that hero actually had a Lolita complex,"
Oh, so he's that kind of person. I have met several people like him, who are mostly very creepy. I am surprised I don't see Arisa making the sort of face Satou had just made. Instead, as Satou looks surprised, Arisa tries to kiss him. I don't make any move to stop Satou as he pinches her nose in response. It is better than seeing him kiss a kid like he had with the dryad.
"Owie! Goodness, you could stand to be a bit nicer to me. Let's see… I met Hayato Masaki, the hero, in the castle of my old homeland. When he saw me, he shouted in this weird voice, like, 'Yes, Lolita! No touching!' Until a woman in his retinue smacked him."
"I see. So based on that, you know the hero must be fake?"
"That's right. Want to hear more about him?"
"Eventually, but not right now,"
I was interested in hearing more but maybe later when we are actually going to meet. For now, I think about this fake hero and wonder what they are up to. Maybe he is after the baron's money or trying to take over the territory. Or could he really be in love with the baron's daughter and lied so they could be together?
<0>
By the time the sun started setting, we had visited another village exchanging supplies for information before moving on. We didn't learn anything new this time, but this village was in even worse shape than the rest. Apparently, some big-time merchant's son came through and burnt a few houses down for fun before forcing himself on one of the village girls. I was tempted to track him down, but he can wait until after I deal with the demon in this territory.
For now, we have to set up camp. Lulu and Mia feed the horses while Pochi and Tama brush their fur. Pearl and Liza are sparing while Satou cooks dinner and Arisa helps fish. Our campsite is set by a small river, and after everything I have seen so far, I am hesitant to fish, but we can always give what we catch to the locals. Unfortunately, we couldn't catch a thing when we returned to camp.
A piranha-like monster did attack us, biting Arisa's head before I could cut it down. It might have been worth trying to cook, but Arisa angrily stomped on it until she was satisfied running the creature. The core was still intact, so I recovered it before burying the destroyed remains of the monster. It was only a grade one, but it might be helpful for something.
"Master, come kiss my hand and make it better,"
Arisa instantly ran over to Satou when we returned as she put on an act. Rubbing her hand and acting like she is still hurt despite the fact I healed her with the life magic spell Healing Aura as soon as I killed the monster. The spell may only be a weak healing spell, but it was more than enough for the injury Arisa obtained. It doesn't take long for Satou to see there isn't even a scratch left behind and send her away.
I'm not sure what Satou is cooking, but when we return, I see he has Pochi and Tama's full attention. They practically drool as their tail wags, and their eyes watch Satou cut a large slab of meat into smaller portions.
"Master, is that by any chance…?"
"I don't know if it's edible, but I figured I'd try it once,"
Liza seems to know the meat. She and Pearl walk over sweaty from their sparing match with a few bruises here and there. I probably should have kept an eye on them and ensured they didn't get carried away. I move over to them and caste Healing Aura again, taking care of those bruises without them knowing.
Satou cuts the meat into smaller pieces that are easier to cook so effortlessly that I am shocked to see Liza struggle to do the same when she starts to help. Satou made it look so easier. Lulu couldn't even scratch the meat when she tried to cut it, and Pochi and Tama had to work together to make the smallest of cuts. In the end, Satou and I were the only ones able to cut the meat effortlessly.
"Cheats," I hear Arisa mutter under her breath as I help Satou cut the last of the meat.
I left Satou to finish cooking as everyone watched and settled down in the grass, watching the stars start to appear one after the other. I used to travel for hours for a view like this back in Japan, but I can enjoy it every night here. Wolfs are howling in the distance, which is a little unnerving, but I know they are no threat to me. Closing my eyes, I feel the wind brush over me. When I open them, I find Nana looking down at me.
"Hero Kura," Nana says, kneeling next to my head. "I have been told that a woman's lap is a comfortable place to lay one's head. Please use my lap instead of the ground, I suggest."
"Mrrr," It doesn't take long until Mia appears. She kneels down on the opposite side of me and pats her lap. "Here."
"Oh, aren't you popular," Arisa comments as she skips by giggling.
She kept making comments like that as Mia and Nana debated why their lap would make a better deal. It was hard to follow Mia's short sentences, but in the end, I think Mia won. But by that time, I was back on my feet, making her frown as Satou dished up the meat he was cooking. It smells nice, whatever it is. Oh, it's Hydra meat. My Appraisal skill activated the moment I looked closely at the meat. I should have used it early instead of spending all this time wondering what it was.
I felt bad for Pochi and Tama as Satou samples the meat. They look so sad at not getting to taste the meat that their animal ears flatten. I'm sure Satou will let them taste some of the meat once he is sure it is safe. He holds the meat up to the fire examing the dark meat before bravely taking a bite. If it were me, I doubt I could have eaten it. Everyone watches Satou chew and swallow the meat before he turns to us.
"Would anyone else want to try some?" Surprisingly everyone raises their hand, including myself.
"Mmm! I'm rather afraid to ask what kind of meat this is, but it's delicious, so I'll let it slide,"
"'liiish!"
"Meat is just the best, sir,"
Arisa, Pochi and Tama all liked the meat, and they chewed with satisfied smiles on their faces.
"It really is delicious," Liza commented. "What method of preparation would suit it best, I wonder?"
"Ahh…that was really good. It's sort of like rabbit, so maybe a stew?" Lulu suggested.
"Skewers would be an excellent choice as well, I advise," Nana added.
"Stew sounds excellent, too," Liza said, "but since it's so big, I think it might be nice to stuff it with vegetables and steam it."
"Doesn't that seem a bit too extravagant? It sounds like something you'd have at a festival feast,"
Lulu, Liza and Nana quickly huddle together after sampling the meat debating the best way to cook the meat. In my opinion, putting it in a stew would be the best. The meat is chewy and rubbery but doesn't taste too bad. Pearl seems to like the chewiness of the meat, though. She says it feels good in her mouth as she slowly chews, trying to hide the smile on her lips. Mia was the only person who didn't eat some. She frowned, staring at the meat, looking bored as we all enjoyed the taste testing.
"Mrrr,"
Mia frowns, puffing out her checks as she watches us, causing Satou to poke her inflated cheek.
"If you puff up your cheeks like that, they'll never return to normal,"
"Satou,"
Satou does hand her some dried fruit he had, making Mia smile. She wastes no time in popping some of the fruit into her mouth.
"Yum,"
"What do you think we should make with these?"
"Hmm,"
Mia thinks about it. I don't really know any vegetarian dishes either, so maybe I should look into learning some. I'm sure letting Mia eat only dried fruit on our trips can't be good for her. Meanwhile, as Mia thinks, Satou brings out the next dish he prepared, and I think I might sit out on this one.
"Springyyy?"
"The meat man has a good mouthfeed, sir!"
"Yes, it has a very nice mouthfeel. If we could successfully deal with the bitterness, it would be even more delightful."
The beastfolk girls enjoyed the insect legs so much that I tried one just to see how they tasted. They are better but not inedible. I don't think I would want to eat them regularly, but if I had no choice, I suppose I would eat them again.
"We'd have to either cut around these hard streaks or slice it more thinly,"
"Ugh, gross! It might be better as ground meat, but the taste wouldn't be worth all the effort,"
"I can eat this if I have to,"
Lulu and Arisa didn't like it either, but at least Lulu thinks of ways to improve it. I hope she finds a way so I would find it more bearable if I have to eat them again. Pearl is much harder to read. Her expression is blank, and her voice gives little about how she feels about this meat.
"Hero Kura, I would like to rid my mouth of this taste, I entreat,"
Nana had the worse reaction out of everyone, so I gave her something to drink to wash it down with. Arisa and Lulu also asked for some, and in the end, everyone had a glass of my juice. After we drank, Lulu set about making dinner with help from Liza and me while everyone else entertained themselves. Pearl is proving to be popular today as she now trains Pochi and Tama, with Nana joining in after asking for my permission. Satou has disappeared into the carriage to work on something while Arisa and Mia draw pictures in the dirt with sticks.
By the time dinner is ready, Satou has a surprise for everyone. We were about to bring over the food we found multiple kotatsu waiting for us. Mia and Arisa are already sitting there looking satisfied, while Pochi and Tama look underneath the kotatsu flashing their underwear.
"Aaaah! No winter is complete without a kotatsu,"
"Mm. I want oranges,"
"So this is a kotatsu?"
"Yeah. You can try it, too."
"Is this another magic tool of your creation, master? How very wonderful. I look forward to using it on night watch,"
"Kotatsuuu?"
"It's warm inside, sir,"
Pochi and Tama finally emerge from underneath the kotatsu as we all sit for dinner. Satou had somehow made five kotatsu for us, so there was plenty of room for everyone. They require magic to be provided to work, but I got the hang of it… eventually. Mia nearly bad me from it because I accidentally provided too much magic, nearly cooking our legs.
After a peaceful meal of small talk and delicious food, Satou showed us how to assemble and disassemble the kotatsu we settled in for the night. We had to request the night shift watch because a few of us couldn't provide the kotatsu with their magic well enough to work, but it won't be a problem.
It was a quiet night. I think it was the first time I wasn't woken by a monster attack in a long time. Over breakfast, I learned from Nana that we had Satou to thank for that. During their shift, he had made a holy sword last night that created a huge pillar of light and gave off a monster repelling effect. When I asked Satou about the sword, he let me see it. It wasn't as strong as my holy sword but would still cut down a demon if needed.
Satou even told me what he learned about the demon. Apparently, it could divide its body, making timing our attack extremely important. We would have to wait until the demon is whole or all its doppelgangers were in one place. This demon is going to be annoying to deal with. Unfortunately, Satou couldn't find the chaos jar, but I'm sure we will locate it with more time.
Now, as the sunrises, we get on the road again. We have people to help, bandits to arrest and a demon to kill. If only we knew how dangerous our future encounters would be. I'm sure we would have whipped that demon out right away if we knew what he was planning at this moment in time.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone