182 - - tradition of thunderstorm

Lunch seemed to be a bird dish.

The delicious smells have been wafting from downstairs for nearly an hour already.

Sola, who had been looking at the scenery and polishing her walking stick for some time without a tent and without the need to prepare a meal, finally couldn't stand it any longer and sneaked down the stairs to check on her before being called for a meal.

Moo, who was hungry, cheerfully followed her.

Cooking was done at the edge of the wooden base.

The cooking pot was placed on a large heating board, as if it was dangerous to use a fire.

It seemed that they were cooking a whole sharp beak, and the aroma of rich bird flavor filled the air around us.

The second-in-command, who was stirring the pot, gently approached the girl and the child with shining eyes.

It will be ready soon. Please wait a little longer.

"Yes, it smells so good. I'm starving.

"Moo, I'll definitely have another!　Are you ready for a nuclear meal?"

The vice-captain nodded vigorously at the child's words, and then he grabbed the handle of the pot and lifted it up.

Then he vigorously dumped the contents onto the mud.

Immediately, a young man waiting next to him sticks out a colander and catches only the chicken and the vegetables that have been stewed together.

Sola watched with open mouth as the stewing liquid disappeared into the swamp with steam rising from it.

"Why, why, why!

"What's wrong?"

Why did you throw it away?　Soup!"

"Oh, boiled water. I don't think it's necessary.

"Yes, I have it!　Oh, what a waste ......"

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get enough nutrients here.

Beside the vice captain, a young man lifts up the meat, red carrots, and round potatoes left in the colander.

Sola nodded, not having any words to reply to the young man's lack of questioning.

"Hey, Sola, you want some soup?"

"Uh-huh. I guess so."

While the two of us were dismayed, a folding table was spread out and wooden flat plates were quickly laid out.

Then the chicken, cut roughly from the bone, and the vegetables, which were all shredded, were placed on a plate, and a piece of hard-looking black bread was placed around the edge of the plate.

There were no chairs in sight, so it appeared to be a standing buffet.

There was a small pedestal for Moe.

Thor and Euril, who had come down from the high platform, joined the table, and Sorrugam nodded and said a short prayer.

"Thank you for the blessings of the six gods."

"Thank you!"

Lunch began quietly.

The young people chewed their meat as if they were stuffing it in their mouths.

Sola bites into her chicken in the same way, but takes a few bites and looks at Thor without saying a word.

It seems that the taste was unexpected.

Thor also puts the potato in his mouth to try it out, and sure enough, it tastes just like the ingredients themselves.

Looking around, the young men of the Purple-Eyed Tribe were sprinkling salt from a jar on the table on their food.

"It looks like you're seasoning it yourself, Sora."

"Wow, that's an unusual way to eat."

"To-chan, pour some on Moe's!"

The process of swallowing down the overcooked chicken and potatoes, which had only a salty taste, began.

If they wanted something crunchy, they could take a bite of the black bread, which looked just like tree bark.

Looking at the table, I saw that the sorrugum and the young people were accustomed to eating silently without changing their expressions.

Only one man, a thin man with blue scales on his neck, seemed to have given up on everything.

Seven warriors and one waterman.

Including Thor and the other four, a total of eleven men are currently stationed in this encampment.

They say that up to fifteen people can live here, but any more than that and the presence of people will attract the monsters.

When we finally emptied our plates, the second-in-command, who was serving us, lifted the pot and asked us.

"Would you like another plate?"

"Oh, no, thank you. Thank you."

"Master Mu wanted a refill, didn't he?"

The woman with a genuine smile adds a new piece of chicken to the child's plate without waiting for a reply.

Moe, who had been eating slowly, widened his purple eyes at the fact that his half-eaten dish had finally been restored to its original size.

"Tor-chan, help me ....... Moo has already lost it ......."

Thor scratched the bottom of his chin, trying not to smile at the child's depressed expression as he pulled back his sleeve and whispered to him.

There seemed to be no trace left of the child who had been sitting in the alleyway with a cat, biting into raw meat.

After the meal, the youngsters are going to work alone on repairing the passageway.

Since it was purely hard work, only Thor and Sora decided to accompany us for a tour.

Following the young men carrying wooden planks, we step into the muddy sea.

It is hard to tell from the appearance, but the swamp has shallow and deep areas, and it seems that there are clearly defined areas where one can walk.

However, on rare occasions, the shallow part of the swamp is cut off, and wooden planks are used to supplement the pathway.

They wander through the swamp carrying a large amount of wood, and replace the rotten planks by shoveling out the mud at the appropriate places.

It was quite hard work, but the young men continued to do their job without wasting any words.

"That's a lot of work, isn't it?"

"But it's an important mission."

The corrosion of the black mud was one thing, but there was another major cause for the wooden planks falling apart so quickly.

Sola shouted in surprise when she saw the black mass on the planks start to tremble as she lifted them up.

"Wow, is this thing alive?"

Yes, it's swamp slime. They eat the boards.

"Aren't you going to exterminate them?"

"There aren't that many of them, and it's cheaper to replace the boards than to ruin the weapons.

"I see. Well, can I take him down?

"Yes, please!"

Slime is still slime, even if it's a different size.

Sola poked and prodded it with her sword, and the heap of black mud collapsed easily.

He quickly collects the bodily fluids in the container of a thin shell that he carries as a matter of habit.

As he puts the twisted sword back in place, the young people watching him shout out.

"...... Wow! So the rumors are true after all."

"Is that the ? Can you believe it?　It's completely restored."

"This explains why they said they sealed up the big noxious gas hole. Yeah, it's great!"

Perhaps this has changed the way they look at us, but the young people are now willing to answer a few more in-depth questions.

"Do you do this kind of work all the time?"

"Yes, I'm still getting used to it.

"Breaking in?"

"The miasma is so thick here that we can't do too much yet."

A young man with his nose and mouth covered with a cloth replies to me briskly.

The penetration of this miasma was so threatening that Thor and the others were only allowed to stay for a maximum of four days.

"How long is this acclimation period?"

We have been here for more than six months, and we are still not allowed to engage in combat.

"That long? So you're not going to beat that thing?"

When Thor pointed to an ominous figure standing in the distance, a giant of mud poison, the young man shook his head with a ridiculous look on his face.

I've heard that we can barely defeat one of those giants a year.

"Oh, that few?"

"They are very strong, and I heard that it will be a joint battle between the three factions. So I have yet to see them up close.

Asking for more details, it seems that the Mud Poison Giants suck up mud from the ground and regenerate it endlessly, so they are not an opponent that can be pushed around so easily.

The basic battle strategy is for the shieldmen to take turns taking on the attackers, slowly surrounding them and attacking them while searching for the location of the spirit nucleus.

It also seems that it is very difficult to control the monsters that gather at the sign of human presence.

In addition, it is necessary to prepare the body to withstand the vortex of poison and miasma brought by the giants in order to participate in the battle.

It seems that it is not so easy to challenge the ordeal of promotion to rank A.

Thor scratched his chin in silence at the fact that he would need the help of other factions, although he had expected some difficulties.

"Are we going to wait until then while we work on this all the time?　How can you put up with that?"

"Yes, that's the tradition of the Thundering Band!"

The repair work took about three hours.

When I returned to the encampment with the young men, who looked satisfied with their work, I was greeted by a black Moo covered in mud.

"Wow, Moo, what's wrong?

"Ohanamaru..." "Ohanamaru..." "Ohanamaru... It went like this, and then it went like this, and then it went like this, and then it went like this, and then it went like this, and then it went like this, and then it went like this.

Mu, who had no time to spare due to the lack of handrails on the stairs, had been riding his beloved sled in circles around the monster-free encampment.

He was going so fast that he couldn't make the turn and overturned.

Sola, get me some water!　To-chan, fix the stone!"

While Thor the broken storm crystal stone from overuse, Thora washes the child with water from the rain crystal stone attached to her staff.

The young men of the Purple-Eyed Tribe gasp and roll their eyes at this impossible scene.

But Thor and the others look at the floor of the resting place and are equally astonished.

Lying randomly on a log was a huge snake with a blue outer skin.