Chapter 34
Things were going well . The weather was great, the beaten path was easy to walk on . And while the forest trees surrounded us, we were never attacked by forest wolves like before . Beowulf’s commands must have reached all of them . Occasionally, we would see a snout poking from the leaves, but we were left untouched otherwise .
“So, Daniela . How far are we to the next town?”
I ask, walking beside her .
“Indeed… I would say that it is six days on foot . ”
“That’s quite far . ”
“I would not say so . All towns are rather scattered unless you are close to the capital . ”
Were they now… Oh well, as long we could still reach it . Imagine if we had to cross oceans or mountains .
The seclusion and peaceful air continued for over three days after that . And I was starting to feel a little rusty . The journey was easy . All we did was eat store-bought food around a bonfire every night and then walk .
But then this all ended because of the rain .
It rained so heavily that I thought it we were in a typhoon . But we just donned our raincoats and continued to walk .
“This weather is atrocious . ”
“Yes… Well, it is a part of any journey . ”
It was not realistic to expect the weather to always be in your favor . And it wasn’t as if the weather had some grudge against me . There was nothing to do but walk .
My boots trudged through the mud as I looked ahead of us . The thick clouds were casting a shadow that made the midday look like it was afternoon . It was even darker in the forest . There were no signs of the clouds parting or the rain letting up . It would be a long time before it stopped raining .
What was scary about this rain, was the drop in body temperature . Also, it obstructed your vision . But this was still my first time traveling for real, I could only imagine what could happen, which was good for reminding me how much experience I still lacked .
After a while, the forest on both sides began thin out, and instead, we were greeted to a vast, open field . There were no trees around, and we caould see to the far off distance . Well, actually it was still too dark and rainy to see that far .
“We have reached the end of the forest . These gra.s.slands mean that we are now in the territory of the gra.s.s wolves . We must be wary of monsters here . ”
“Ah, right . Gra.s.s wolves…”
I let go of the strap to the vintage bag I was holding, and touch the pommel of my steel sword . So there was a high likelihood of fighting on this trip now . It might be more eventful than I had thought .
Daniela used her inherited ability to detect the presence of enemies and increased its range . She detected a few wolves not too far off . Well, it looked like we wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked immediately . Though I wasn’t sure how relaxed I should feet just yet . But it was enough to make me let go of my sword and pick the bag back up . I just hoped that we wouldn’t have trouble when camping out tonight .
We chose a place that had a giant boulder to set up camp . The tent was put up with the boulder at its back . The rain had lessened a little now, but hadn’t completely stopped… I considered making the fire under a tarp, but then realized that it would burn, and so tried making the fire without it . At least the firewood wasn’t damp, as I had stored some in the hollow bag . There was also plenty of small branches to use as tinder . It was a good thing I had saved them from before .
While there was plenty of white smoke, I was relieved to see the fire burning hot as I put a pot over the flames . It was full of the usual soup . Dried meat and freshly picked vegetables . A perfect meal to warm your body in this weather . As I stir the pot and scan my surroundings, I see Daniela return from the rainy fields . I kind of felt like a house-husband as I stirred .
“Welcome back . ”
“I killed all of the gra.s.s wolves that were in the area . ”
“Sorry . For leaving it to you . ”
“We help each other in this party, Asagi . I am hungry now . ”
“Coming right up . ”
We take out the well-worn bowls . The slightly bigger one was Daniela’s This became incredibly obvious during our training camp, but she liked to eat . According to her, she didn’t get fat . Was it a trait of light elves!? I tried asking her, but she claimed that it was not . I was incredibly jealous .
I gave her an extra large serving as she somewhat shamefacedly asked for seconds, but I knew the truth . That time when she had disappeared into the park with a load full of street food in her arms . I don’t know if I had ever seen her look happier .
She took her large bowl and I took my medium one and we sat around the bonfire . It was still raining, so we had the tarp hung over our heads . Something about this scene reminds me of a game I once played, I think as take a sip of the hot soup . The weather may have been terrible, but the taste was amazing . I always felt that food tasted at least 20% better when eaten outdoors .
The pot was emptied in no time . Now the only thing to do was to sleep . Daniela quickly entered the tent before her warmed body could cool off again . And so I stayed outside to tend to the fire . We would take turns watching it . The rain had dyed down even more now, so it was unlikely that the fire needed much attention to keep it burning .
I run my hand through my hair without thinking . It had grown quite a bit now . There was no store manager in this world to remind me to cut it . And so I pulled out a pair of scissors from the hollow bag and started to snip at my hair . Back in my world, they had all kinds of nifty gadgets for campers, but there was no such thing here . And so I had bought these separately . I also had Chief make me a small estoc that looked like an ice pick .
“What would you need a tiny estoc like this?”
He kept asking as he made it . But the finished product was amazing . Only Chief could have made something like it .
I cut off roughly a few inches of my hair . I was sure people would say ‘Isn’t it still too long?’ but I would catch a cold if I cut it too short . And that was the bigger danger in the present .
After burying the chopped off hair in the dirt, I take out the estoc and some meat that we had bought . As the hollow bag used dimensional magic, I wondered what would happen if I put raw meat inside, and as expected, it showed no signs of having aged . But I wasn’t sure if it was just the appearance, and perhaps the time had pa.s.sed inside, so I experimented with warm and cold food . There was no difference in temperature . So time really had stopped . However, we had now stuffed the bag until it was full, so we would have to eat the food and create more s.p.a.ce .
I skewer some sliced meat with the estoc and hold it over the fire . Hehe . The one good thing about working all night . A company benefit . Midnight meals . As the meat began to cook, and the juices sizzle, I add some spices that we had stocked up on . Ah, it smelled so good . A real man’s meal . The meat in the flames had turned into the perfect color . The surface would be crispy while the inside was still rare . The trick was to not overcook it .
“Hehe . I think it’s ready . ”
“What is?”
“The meat . This is about perfect . ”
Alright, the juices were starting to drip . Now was the time! Time to eat…?
“That looks very good . Are you going to eat that?”
“Ah…Daniela? Wait, I thought you were asleep…”
I hold the savory skewer in one hand as I turn around . Master Daniela was standing there, looking down at me with folded arms and a big smile on her face .
“Asagi . ”
“…Yes . ”
“Where is my portion?”
“Here you go…”
I gave up the delectable piece of meat to Daniela .
Our first night in the plains was off to an awkward start, but at least we weren’t ambushed by any monsters . I continued to cook more meat until she was satisfied .
It was only after Daniela returned to her tent to sleep that I realized that we had gone through our entire stock of meat .
Things were going well . The weather was great, the beaten path was easy to walk on . And while the forest trees surrounded us, we were never attacked by forest wolves like before . Beowulf’s commands must have reached all of them . Occasionally, we would see a snout poking from the leaves, but we were left untouched otherwise . .
“So, Daniela . How far are we to the next town?”.
I ask, walking beside her
“Indeed… I would say that it is six days on foot . ”.
“That’s quite far . ”.
“I would not say so . All towns are rather scattered unless you are close to the capital . ”.
Were they now… Oh well, as long we could still reach it . Imagine if we had to cross oceans or mountains
The seclusion and peaceful air continued for over three days after that . And I was starting to feel a little rusty . The journey was easy . All we did was eat store-bought food around a bonfire every night and then walk
But then this all ended because of the rain
It rained so heavily that I thought it we were in a typhoon . But we just donned our raincoats and continued to walk . .
“This weather is atrocious . ”.
“Yes… Well, it is a part of any journey . ”.
It was not realistic to expect the weather to always be in your favor . And it wasn’t as if the weather had some grudge against me . There was nothing to do but walk
My boots trudged through the mud as I looked ahead of us . The thick clouds were casting a shadow that made the midday look like it was afternoon . It was even darker in the forest . There were no signs of the clouds parting or the rain letting up . It would be a long time before it stopped raining
What was scary about this rain, was the drop in body temperature . Also, it obstructed your vision . But this was still my first time traveling for real, I could only imagine what could happen, which was good for reminding me how much experience I still lacked
After a while, the forest on both sides began thin out, and instead, we were greeted to a vast, open field . There were no trees around, and we caould see to the far off distance . Well, actually it was still too dark and rainy to see that far
“We have reached the end of the forest . These gra.s.slands mean that we are now in the territory of the gra.s.s wolves . We must be wary of monsters here . ”.
“Ah, right . Gra.s.s wolves…”.
I let go of the strap to the vintage bag I was holding, and touch the pommel of my steel sword . So there was a high likelihood of fighting on this trip now . It might be more eventful than I had thought . .
Daniela used her inherited ability to detect the presence of enemies and increased its range . She detected a few wolves not too far off . Well, it looked like we wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked immediately . Though I wasn’t sure how relaxed I should feet just yet . But it was enough to make me let go of my sword and pick the bag back up . I just hoped that we wouldn’t have trouble when camping out tonight
We chose a place that had a giant boulder to set up camp . The tent was put up with the boulder at its back . The rain had lessened a little now, but hadn’t completely stopped… I considered making the fire under a tarp, but then realized that it would burn, and so tried making the fire without it . At least the firewood wasn’t damp, as I had stored some in the hollow bag . There was also plenty of small branches to use as tinder . It was a good thing I had saved them from before
While there was plenty of white smoke, I was relieved to see the fire burning hot as I put a pot over the flames . It was full of the usual soup . Dried meat and freshly picked vegetables . A perfect meal to warm your body in this weather . As I stir the pot and scan my surroundings, I see Daniela return from the rainy fields . I kind of felt like a house-husband as I stirred
“Welcome back . ”.
“I killed all of the gra.s.s wolves that were in the area . ”. “Sorry . For leaving it to you . ”.
“We help each other in this party, Asagi . I am hungry now . ”.
“Coming right up . ”.
We take out the well-worn bowls . The slightly bigger one was Daniela’s This became incredibly obvious during our training camp, but she liked to eat . According to her, she didn’t get fat . Was it a trait of light elves!? I tried asking her, but she claimed that it was not . I was incredibly jealous
I gave her an extra large serving as she somewhat shamefacedly asked for seconds, but I knew the truth . That time when she had disappeared into the park with a load full of street food in her arms . I don’t know if I had ever seen her look happier
She took her large bowl and I took my medium one and we sat around the bonfire . It was still raining, so we had the tarp hung over our heads . Something about this scene reminds me of a game I once played, I think as take a sip of the hot soup . The weather may have been terrible, but the taste was amazing . I always felt that food tasted at least 20% better when eaten outdoors
The pot was emptied in no time . Now the only thing to do was to sleep . Daniela quickly entered the tent before her warmed body could cool off again . And so I stayed outside to tend to the fire . We would take turns watching it . The rain had dyed down even more now, so it was unlikely that the fire needed much attention to keep it burning I run my hand through my hair without thinking . It had grown quite a bit now . There was no store manager in this world to remind me to cut it . And so I pulled out a pair of scissors from the hollow bag and started to snip at my hair . Back in my world, they had all kinds of nifty gadgets for campers, but there was no such thing here . And so I had bought these separately . I also had Chief make me a small estoc that looked like an ice pick
“What would you need a tiny estoc like this?”.
He kept asking as he made it . But the finished product was amazing . Only Chief could have made something like it I cut off roughly a few inches of my hair . I was sure people would say ‘Isn’t it still too long?’ but I would catch a cold if I cut it too short . And that was the bigger danger in the present After burying the chopped off hair in the dirt, I take out the estoc and some meat that we had bought . As the hollow bag used dimensional magic, I wondered what would happen if I put raw meat inside, and as expected, it showed no signs of having aged . But I wasn’t sure if it was just the appearance, and perhaps the time had pa.s.sed inside, so I experimented with warm and cold food . There was no difference in temperature . So time really had stopped . However, we had now stuffed the bag until it was full, so we would have to eat the food and create more s.p.a.ce
I skewer some sliced meat with the estoc and hold it over the fire . Hehe . The one good thing about working all night . A company benefit . Midnight meals . As the meat began to cook, and the juices sizzle, I add some spices that we had stocked up on . Ah, it smelled so good . A real man’s meal . The meat in the flames had turned into the perfect color . The surface would be crispy while the inside was still rare . The trick was to not overcook it
“Hehe . I think it’s ready . ”. “What is?”. “The meat . This is about perfect . ”.
Alright, the juices were starting to drip . Now was the time! Time to eat…?.
“That looks very good . Are you going to eat that?”. “Ah…Daniela? Wait, I thought you were asleep…”.
I hold the savory skewer in one hand as I turn around . Master Daniela was standing there, looking down at me with folded arms and a big smile on her face
“Asagi . ”. “…Yes . ”. “Where is my portion?”. “Here you go…”.
I gave up the delectable piece of meat to Daniela
Our first night in the plains was off to an awkward start, but at least we weren’t ambushed by any monsters . I continued to cook more meat until she was satisfied It was only after Daniela returned to her tent to sleep that I realized that we had gone through our entire stock of meat