章 16: Simplified Past

"Kareena, I'm back. I caught a rabbit again today." Moving the roughly made spear fence aside, I stepped into the cave, greeted by the familiar earthy scent mixed with the faint smell of wood smoke. My eyes quickly found Kareena, lying snugly on the leaf bed, her chest rising and falling rhythmically as she breathed softly.

[Oh, she's asleep.... I should find things to make a softer bedding and pillows. Sleeping on that was a little uncomfortable.]

Trying not to make any noise, I sat near the entrance and started skinning the rabbit using the sharp stone knives that I could now make pretty skillfully.

Hanging the rabbit hide and meat on the drying rack for the blood to drain out, I threw out all the parts that I still don't know how to use and placed the rabbit bones into the pile of bones at the corner of the cave.

Waiting for the meat to be cookable, I started working on crafting the things I've thought off that would be useful for my situation using the materials I have as well as recreate the things I've made with better materials.

Time passed in a blur, the rhythmic scraping of bone on stone filling the cave as I lost myself in the work. By the time I finished making a few bone skewers to replace the wooden skeweres we've been using and some other things, it was almost evening as the sun sunk into the tall tree lines, the forest becoming colder and darker.

It was only when the light began to dim that I realized how much time had passed. The fire beside me burning low, casting long, flickering shadows across the cave walls.

[I can't wash these things today, it seems.]

I looked over at the drying meat, noting that it would need to be cooked soon. Setting down the bone tool I was working on, I gathered some kindling and added it to the fire, stoking the flames back to life. The fire crackled and popped, the warm light chasing away the growing darkness.

With the fire blazing, I retrieved the rabbit meat from the rack and began to cook it.

The familiar sizzle of meat hitting the hot stones filled the cave, and after a few minutes, the aroma of cooked meat wafted out.

As the smell intensified after flipping it a few times, Kareena drew a soft hum as she stirred, bringing my attention to her.

"Master?" Sounding groggy, Kareena slowly sat up, her white hair a messy halo around her head, her horns just peeking through.

"I'm here, Kareena.... How are you feeling? Are you still sore and tired?" Seeing her messy look, I smiled.

"Mmm, I don't feel sore anymore, master." Kareena uttered as she focused her hazy eyes on me.

"Good to hear that. Come, food should be ready in a few minutes." Tapping the seat beside me, I gestured for her to join me by the fire.

Moving closer towards me, Kareena sat close beside me as she watched the meat being cooked, her mind still seemed to be wandering in her sleep.

"Hmmm, master," Kareena stiffled a yawn as she turned to me. "You said you came from a different world, right? What is it like to live in that world?"

"My world? Hmmm." Pausing for a second, I thought of how I could describe a place she had never seen before and vastly different from our current environment.

Finally, I opted to give her a simple explanation so as to not confuse her. "My world is very advanced. The whole planet has been occupied by humans. The planet covered with big cities filled with tall stuctures and humans everywhere."

"Humans were the apex, but as humans became the rulers of planet. They started to become greedy, and humans started fighting each other for wealth as well as land. Wars were everywhere. Large parts of the world were ingulfed in huge conflicts. Most of it died down a little after a while, but then it sparked again in recent years, with multiple factors coming into play." I continued as I flipped the meat over again.

"War reached the borders of our country when I was about ten years old. As I was the youngest in my family with a pretty large age gap between me and my siblings, my mother asked for me to be sent me back to her home country to live with my maternal grandparents that were were far from the wars. Even though the war wouldn't largely impact my family."

"My families, both paternal and maternal sides were powerful and rich but had a lot of enemies, so my grandparents decided to hire private tutors to teach me until I was old enough to think clearly for myself. I didn't do much of anything other than studying and practicing self-defense."

"When I turned fifteen, I was finally enrolled into a university under a pseudonym and socialize a little. But other than that, I continued bettering myself and helped my grandfather in his work a little, learning how to fully fulfil my future responsibilities. And I just woke up here one day."

"So as I was pretty sheltered, I haven't really experienced the world much, only experiences working with my grandfather and help him do some small chores here and there, but I do know the history and the present status of the world globally from studying.... And from the novels I read as a hobby." Placing a few of the steaks onto a large leaf, I handed it to Kareena. "Here. Did that answer your question?"

Turning towards her, I saw Kareena's light blue eyes staring straight into mine as she accepted the food.

"It sounds... complicated, master. But I'm glad you're here with me now." Her voice was soft, tinged with something I couldn't quite place and her soul core weakly radiating a familiar emotion but was too complex for me to unravel and confirm.

Looking into her deep pearly eyes, I smiled and patted her head. "I'm happy you're here with me too, Kareena."

"And Kareena, I've said this before. But you shouldn't call me master. You're not my servant. Call me hubby or something."

"But... you're my master, master." Kareena insisted, staying firm with calling me master.

"In what way? I'm your husband. You're my wife, not my maid. You shouldn't be calling master." Not understanding why she would want to call me master, I sighed and skewed the meat with the wooden skewer I was using to cook.