Chapter 268
The goblins were slaughtered swiftly and then we took a short break .
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“Well, we are a group of three Rankers and veteran town guard . It would have been unfathomably embarrassing if they put up much of a fight . ”
Daniela muttered as she drank water from the bottle I had bought her . She was right . Staying on your guard was good and all, but goblins were goblins . I couldn’t feel nervous about it no matter how much I tried . And to think there was a time when I ran for my life back in the Fhiraldo forest…
Once we had all finished quenching our thirst, we started walking again . While there were more trees now, they were still short and thin . We weren’t quite inside of the forest yet . These trees didn’t even have fruits . What if they were monsters in disguise…? No, if they were, they would have fruits in order to attract their prey .
“I just remembered something that happened a long time ago…”
Daniela suddenly began as she looked up at the sky . Daniela didn’t often talk about her past . And so I listened carefully .
“This is when I was a guard for a merchant caravan, and we had to travel through a forest . And so I and another Adventurer went on ahead to make sure there were no monsters or bandits on our route . While we walked, I looked up and there was a branch with fruit hanging from it . ”
“Ah, the blessing of the forest!”
“Aye, it looked quite delicious . And the man who I was with saw it too, and he immediately asked if he could pick it . He did not wait for a reply, and went running straight towards the tree . ”
This guy didn’t sound very smart . Anyone who was nearly as cautious as I would not have gotten close to it .
“So, what happened?”
“It was a monster tree . ”
“What!”
“Ahh . ”
“I see . ”
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Lemon . Me . Manager .
“Yes, the trunk of the tree suddenly spread open… Rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth tore into the man’s torso as he was caught . I was not so experienced back then, and panicked . I pulled out my bow and unleashed un arrow . Most amusingly, it went straight into his bottom . ”
Daniela was the only one laughing . I doubted it was very funny for that guy as well…
“The man was so surprised that he started to jerk around madly . And that ultimately helped him escape the tree’s grasp . I was able to calm down and deal with it after that . So you see, my arrow saved that man’s life…”
“That’s a terrible story…”
“Asagi, you can rely on me if you ever find yourself in a similar situation . Though, I cannot promise that you will come out of it with the same number of ass holes . ”
“You wouldn’t dare!’
I had been expecting a story that would teach me something useful… But well, Lemon and Manager were chuckling, so I suppose it served to create a peaceful atmosphere . Hmm . And now that I think of it, I at least knew to be more wary of trees with fruits… It did seem a little forced . But I would take that lesson .
Just as the sun started to fall, the forest came into view . At this point, we had encountered goblins, grass wolves and other weak monsters . Daniela had suggested that the labyrinth disaster had caused a lull in traffic, which in turn meant that monsters were widening their area of activity . But even with the disaster, there were still people traveling to Reserentrible . Adventurers saw it as a chance to make a name for themselves . Merchants were willing to brave the dangers for the business opportunity . So while there may have been more monsters than before, it was not by much…I think .
We chose a place on top of a small hill to set up camp . It gave us a good view of the forest . Of course, it would make us quite visible to others, but…at least we would be able to see them as well . We used the dome-shaped tent that Daniela had brought, and Manager used her own tent . The first tent that Daniela bought had been blown away by the Wind Dragon…and so she got a new one . That incident had made me feel like I should have a backup, but I wasn’t able to find another one that I liked . Still, I bought a simple triangle tent, because I didn’t want to have to rely solely on Daniela’s…but it was kind of small for two people .
I watched as the others pitched the tents with skilled ease . At the same time, I took some firewood out of the hollow bag .
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“You seem to have everything you could need in there, Mister Asagi . ”
“I only have what we need . Except for…”
“Except for?”
“Friends . ”
“…”
I enjoyed her rare, put-off reaction as I lined up the firewood and used an ignition tool to light a tree branch . Then I put that into the pile of wood and used my cape to fan it until I could see that it had caught on fire . The flames slowly spread until I had a magnificent bonfire in front of me . Now, to cook an easy meal . As I took out an assortment of ingredients out from the bag, Lemon spoke to me in a cool voice and offered to help .
“Alright, you can peel these potatoes then . When you’re done, just toss ‘em into that bowl . ”
“Understood . ’
I was thinking about a stew . Besides, it would probably be very nostalgic for Manager .
As for how to make it…the lady at the store taught me . Though, I’ve never made white sauce before, so it was a little scary . But it would surely work out . I would make it with butter, flour, and milk .
“Gah…my wrist hurts . ”
It was surprisingly easy when following instructions . However, my wrist was now in pain…
“I cut all of them . ”
“Alright . Now chop up the meat and fry it . I’ll do the vegetables in the meantime . ”
“Understood . ”
It was a lot easier when you had someone to help you . N-not that Daniela never helped me . That’s not what I’m saying at all…
Lemon cut the meat and fried it right next to me . When the meat was cooked just right, I tossed in the vegetables . While she fried them together, I stirred the white sauce and looked around to see where Daniela and Manager had gone . The two were just coming up the hill to where we were .
“There were no monsters nearby . And we set up the barrier tools . ”
“Thank you . Dinner will take a little longer, so you’ll have to wait . ”
“Hmm, very well . ”
Daniela went towards our tent . Manager watched as we cooked .
“Stew, eh? I’ve never eaten that outside . ”
“But you’ve had it in this world?”
“Yeah . At a dining hall . ”
“Right . ”
It was actually pretty common .
“It is one of my favorites . So I’m looking forward to it . ”
“You should . ”
“Yes…”
Manager nodded and then walked over to Daniela’s tent . Yuri vibes…
Just then, Lemon tapped me on the shoulder .
“What do I do next?”
“Hmm? Ah, we’re going to use some secret stock . ”
“Ohh…”
I took out some chicken soup that I had made on a previous trip . Lemon looked amazed at the sight of the golden liquid, but it really wasn’t anything special . I poured a bottle of the stuff into the pot . Then the potatoes went in and I turned up the heat . Now, we were mostly finished . And so Lemon and I stared at the fire as I occasionally scooped out the scum from the surface .
“Still… This is an interesting group to be traveling together . ”
“Yes… It was fun watching the tournament with you two . But I hadn’t expected Miss Rindo to join us . And now we are traveling… Sometimes, I don’t feel worthy . ”
“Of course, you are . And I’m glad you’re here with us . ”
“It’s very nice of you to say so!”
She said with a laugh . I suppose she felt bad for being the only one who was new to adventuring . But that was a mistake .
I was the newcomer in the group . Lemon had years of experience fighting against monsters . Manager had also traveled a great distance and met many people . And then there was Daniela .
On the other hand, I didn’t have much experience fighting humans or monsters . I was only Rank because of borrowed powers . So, who was really the newcomer? Lemon should be proud of her position .
Of course, I didn’t say any of that . I just stirred the sauce with my wooden ladle .
Maybe the thing I needed most was courage . I had a long way to go .