The Last Night
According to Daniela, this last wolf pack had wandered into this area by coincidence, and there were not likely to be any further attacks. And so I returned to my bed. Then a few hours later, she woke me up and we traded places.
I tended to the fire as I gaze up at the sky that was a little different to the one on earth. Just like it was on that first night, there were three moons that shone down on the lands. I wondered how long it had been since I first arrived here. It was probably over a month now. So it was one month since I had been swept away on this violent wave that was now my everyday life. Too bad I couldn’t celebrate this anniversary.
The sun rises from the east. It was always incredibly beautiful, the way that the sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees. I add some firewood into the weakened bonfire as I begin to prepare for breakfast. That being said, Master Daniela had devoured all of our raw meat, so it would just be a soup.
I hold my hand over the pot which contains dried meat and imagine that water is running from my palm. Once there is enough magical water inside to cover the meat, I put the pot over the fire. This is how I've been cooking recently. I imagine that it is soft water, so it doesn't taste too bad. It is also safe to drink without having to boil it first.
As the broth begins to boil, I remove the harshness with a spoon and discard it on the ground as I wait for the meat to become soft. It was about time to go and wake up Daniela.
"Daniela. It's morning."
"Mm…already…"
She sits up and runs her hands through her messy hair. The gesture makes my heart beat a little faster. I think.
"You should wash up, then we'll eat."
"Mmm…"
She kicked away her blankets as she scratched her head. I figured that she wouldn’t fall back to sleep since she had at least answered me. And so I return to the kitchen.
I panicked a little when I saw that the pot was about to boil over, and moved it further from the flames. This would be a lot easier with a tripod. I think as I toss in some vegetables that I removed from the hollow bag. They used to sell tripods for holding up pots over fires. I considered making one out of wood, but it would just burn. It was also possible to stack up some rocks and place sticks over it, but the pot didn't have any holes for the sticks to go through. Next time I would make a separate place away from the flames, I think with a nod. The vegetables were cooked through now, and so I removed the pot completely away from the fire. Daniela had just arrived after washing her face. She still looked sleepy, but my special soup would wake her right up.
"Today's soup is quite good…"
"Thanks. I did my best."
Food was important for any journey. I was not about to go on such a difficult trip while only eating preserved food. Warm food was necessary for maintaining your humanity.
"If things go according to schedule, we'll arrive at the next town by tomorrow, right?"
"That is right. The town is called 'Spiris."
"Spiris…"
My imagination runs wild as I hear this new name. What kind of a town would it be? Hopefully, it wasn't too different from Fhiraldo, with its many kind people. And no shitty adventurers. Right?
We quickly cleaned up and prepared to set off again. If we could get through this forest by tomorrow, then we would arrive at Spiris. So, what would be the monster of the day…
It wasn’t just monsters that lived in the forest. There were many animals as well. Boars, deer, rabbits, and monkeys. There were also small critters like squirrels that would always be running up trees in the corner of your vision.
However, it looked like we were to be greeted by some good old goblins this time.
"Gagwaarrr…"
The death cry sounded as the last goblin's body fell heavily to the ground. I take the goblin's rusty blade and stash it away into the hollow bag before standing up again.
"Asagi, why do you keep the goblins' weapons?"
Daniela asked as she flung the blood from her sword and returned it into its sheath.
“Well, at the end of the day, it’s all iron. I can sell them to blacksmiths.”
"Ah… I have never thought of doing such a thing."
"Just making a little pocket money, really."
But I wasn’t wasting time either. It was more money than one might expect. And iron could be used for anything and was handy to have around. It could be used for weapons, armor, and everyday items.