55 - welcome party

Preparations for the feast are made in no time at all.

At a short distance from the hearth, wooden boxes are arranged as chairs, and a large board is placed on top of the knee-high barrels, transforming them into a table.

Ninilas, the second son, rummages in one of the tents and returns with a barrel that looks just like the one that served as the foot of the table.

This one, however, appears to be filled.

When the wooden stopper on the side of the barrel was pulled out, a light brown liquid gushed out of the drinking spout.

Ninilas deftly accepted the liquid with his mug and passed it around.

One of the twins takes a plate from the wooden box and throws it into the air, the other catches it with a dejected look and hands it to Diargo, who is crouched by the stove.

The wooden spoon that had been stirring the iron pot is lifted and plates filled with thick soup are placed one after another on the table.

Gugtaf, the third son, was grinding something in a black stone mortar.

It looked like dried green fruit peels with salt and red pepper.

When it was sprinkled into the soup as a finishing touch, the citrusy aroma of the soup came to the surface at once.

Moe couldn't wait to see the delicious smells wafting through the air, and tapped Thor's knee.

Finally, the shriveled outer leaves of the cabbage are peeled off and the fresh inner leaves are placed on the table as a plate.

Then a large sausage, which had been roasting on the stove, was placed on top of the cabbage, its juices dripping down the sides.

A teaspoonful of salted boar fat was also added.

It is the kind of menu you might find in a cheap bar, but in a place like this, far from the city, it is a great feast.

Roloff, the eldest son, stood up after making sure everyone was seated at the table, lifting up the mug of barley wine.

Then, with a proud look on his face, he begins to speak.

Today we had four guests on our riverbank. The famous "mud fisherman" and his friends!　Look, when was the last time you had such a beautiful guest?"

You've never done this before, brother. Get on with it."

"Oh, yeah. This is the best we can do for you. Drink and eat to your heart's content!　Then may the blessings of the six gods be with you!"

"Blessed are the six gods!"

With the sound of toasts, the dinner began noisily.

Thor immediately brings a deep bowl of soup filled with many ingredients to his mouth.

First, the soup, slightly thickened with barley, softly enveloped his tongue.　

After that, the delicious taste of stewed vegetables passed over the tongue one after another, and finally, red pepper and sour green citron finished it off.

Thor sighed deeply as he savored the sensation of the soup going down the back of his throat.

He was curious about the ingredients, so he scooped up a spoon and found round potatoes, onions, and green beans coming out from the bottom of the bowl.

He then put a large chunk in his mouth, which was filled with the flavor of the fish.

"This is ......."

"Oh, that's dried blood-broth fish. Look over there."

At the words of the shieldman, whose bangs are too long, Thor turns his attention to the bank.

He sees several fillets hanging from a wooden frame placed between the tents.

"And they're making smoked fish, too," he said.

As I was told, there was also a large pot on the stove that looked like that.

"We get so much that we try to make sure we don't get tired of eating it," he said.

"Don't you ever go out and sell them?"

It's a long way from here, so it's hard to bring them here. It's hard to bring them here because it's so far away.

Because of the rapid loss of flavor over time, the blood-blown fish meat is only available for purchase until late afternoon of the same day.

It is probably not worth it to bring just one or two fish to this place, where it takes two hours to get to the buying station.

"Besides, if you bring too many fish, they will find out.　

"After all, is it possible to get too much?"

"It's easy here, because it's often caught on the scaffold."

Of course, blood-spewing fish do not come up on land, and most of them disappear into the river bottom when they are defeated.

Bringing in a large number of these monsters, which are supposed to be difficult to retrieve, could lead to suspicion and possible investigation.

"Would you like to take some home as a souvenir?

"Are you sure?"

It was, surprisingly, Euril, who was sitting next to me, whose voice was full of excitement.

Born in the north, she is actually an unrivaled fish lover.

However, being far from the sea, only processed fish is available in this area, and it is quite expensive.

The neighboring former border town of Bossaria has managed to regain some of its territory, but the blockade of the northern road has not yet been completely lifted due to the need for vigilance.

Fish remained hard to come by because of this.

"Yes, please take as many as you can."

"Thank you very much. I'm really looking forward to it.

Yuril's cheeks were slightly stained from the alcohol, and he showed his appreciation by lightly lifting his mug of wine.

Dialgo, who received it with a non-toxic smile, asked Thor in a curious tone.

"But I was surprised. You were out of the forest before I knew it. And not only you, but also your friends ......."

"Yeah, it's a long story. I'll be your junior in this hunting ground, so please take care of me."

No, it's my pleasure. You know, ......, Roloff and the others are being a little reckless, aren't they?　They don't mean to offend, but it's easy for them to get a little carried away, or they don't see what's going on around them sometimes."

"You've been very helpful. And I'm impressed with that. I'm amazed you made it that far."

"You have more enthusiasm than anyone else. I was also guessed by him.

Dialgo glances at his brothers from behind his bangs as they cheerfully down another glass of barley wine.

Then he lowers his voice slightly and asks Thor a question.

"So ......, I heard you came to help us, is it true?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun when it's done. Can we help?"

"...... is that okay?　I mean, um, ......, thank you."

The young man of the brown-horned tribe, who was red up to the neck with a gulp of his beer, continued his story as if muttering.

"Actually, ......, I had the impression that you were a solitary person. But I was surprised to find out that he is not. I can't believe that you would be willing to go along with such a ridiculous story.

"Maybe when you get older, you want to get involved in unnecessary things."

"Is that so?"

"Well, it's my belief that there's actually more to be gained from a relationship without profit and loss.

Oh, I can sort of understand. I was very happy to have met them.

With these words, the burly shieldman looked around the table once more.

The three large brothers are already engrossed in drinking, making loud and silly jokes and occasionally shaking their fists.

Ulil, too, seems to have gotten used to the conversation, emptying his mug at a similar pace, smiling as usual and joining in the conversation with the three of them.

Sora and Moo are competitively devouring their bowls of soup, biting into sausages and letting out a moan.

Beside them, Tapa and Tali, two more narrow-eyed Midoriwa, are busy serving more soup and cutting sausages into bite-size pieces for the children.

Turning to Thor again, Dialgo nodded deeply and lifted his mug.

"Well, ......, it's not much of a pattern, but how about a toast?"

"Yes, to a good meeting and good company."

"Yes, to meeting people and making friends."

The party went on until the sun went down, so Thor and his friends decided to stay over here on the riverbank.

A bunkhouse with a simple tent to shelter them from the rain was hurriedly built, and each of them rolled into it.

Thanks to the sucking grass, there were no insects to disturb them, and the monsters did not come far from the shore.

A cool breeze from the river blows through the tents, which are open from front to back.

Thor and the others stretch out their arms and legs in the safety and comfort of their bare beds.

Thor looks up out of the tent at the night sky as Moo sleeps peacefully in his arms.

The midnight sky was cloudless and the stars twinkled as if they were sprinkled with light.

"It's beautiful, isn't it, Thor?

"Yeah, it's a nice view. ...... there seem to be more stars than in the city."

"Yeah, I guess so. It reminds me of ...... village."

Thor is reminded of the conversation they had at dinner today when Sola, in the tent next to him, replies.

Hey, Thora. Are you enjoying your adventure?

"Yes. We had such a beautiful sky and I really appreciate you bringing us here, Thor.

"...... Okay. Okay, then."

Thus passed the first day of Thor and his family's stay at the Bleeding River.