Chapter 269 - Morning Encounter

Morning Encounter

After everything else was finished, I added the sauce and stirred. The stew was now complete. The sun had come down by now and the crackling fire alone illuminated our little campsite. When it was just me and Daniela, it really felt like we were on a journey. But with more people, it felt like some kind of vacation. Of course, the wildlife that surrounded us weren’t animals, they were monsters. So it really wasn’t a time to relax…

“It’s ready.”

“We have waited long enough.”

Daniela marched to the fire immediately and pulled out the red bowls. They were a little on the large side, but carried the stew nicely.

I poured some into Manager’s bowl next. She had a wooden bowl. It looked like it had seen a lot of use.

“It’s been a while… The last time I had it was when I was staying in a town with lots of farms.”

“I’ve yet to see a place like that.”

“Yes. This town was in the center of a large prairie. They had a lot of sheep and cows. It was a very quiet place.”

That reminded me of the city in the plains. Though, that place wasn’t really a town. In any case, livestock meant you had to worry about monsters. One town we visited was threatened by a lesser wyvern. So having a farming town meant there was some reason that they were able to maintain their peaceful existence. Perhaps it was in a place where monsters didn’t go. Or they had the power to fight them off…

“The mayor of the town was also the Master of the Adventurer’s Guild. And he had an alias.”

“Right…”

So it was the latter. It sounded like an interesting place…

I listened to Manager talk while I poured stew into Lemon’s bowl as well. Then I poured some for myself.

“Alright. Let’s eat then.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Thank you!”

“Mmmggmm…”

Daniela was already on it and seemed to be enjoying herself. Manager seemed to savor every bite. Lemon looked quite happy as well. So, no one was hating it, at least. And so I took a spoonful and brought it to my mouth. …Hmm. It was good. The creamy texture and the sweetness of the milk went well with the saltiness of the chicken stock. But I wasn’t a food reporter, so that was about all I could say about it. It was good. That’s all.

Of course, stew didn’t seem like it would be enough, and so I had another thing prepared.

It was chicken that I had seasoned with a variety of spices we had bought in the capital. After cooking it on a frying pan, I cut it and served it on plates which I passed around.

“I was wondering what that was.”

Daniela said happily as she took a bite.

“Mmm…! This is delicious. The tenderness of the chicken and the savoriness of the fat are wonderful, but the calculated seasoning with the spices has an almost violent impact on the senses. It is more than appetizing… The hot spices and oils combine in a most satisfactory fashion. Is it the chicken’s flavor that allows it to mingle so perfectly with the light, and yet also rich, stew? This combination cannot be matched…!”

I won’t say that her impassioned food review was not in the least bit embarrassing, but I then tried it out for myself. Hmm. It was cooked perfectly. I looked to the side and saw that Manager and Lemon were also alternating between stew and chicken. Well, this was the kind of reaction that filled this cook’s heart with joy… Well, Adventurer.

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Dinner continued rather quietly after that until we had all eaten as much as we could. I stared at the crackling flames and thought about what we would do next. What was happening in Reserentrible now? It would be so much more dangerous if the town had been reversed completely. There would be high-level monsters nesting on the surface. Hell, they could be scattering all over the neighboring lands by now.

As a larger group, I knew that we weren’t quite as fast as when it was just the two of us. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to at least try to speed things up. Maybe we should leave earlier in the morning? I might have to suggest it. And so I brought it up with the others.

“Hmm… Yes, I think Asagi may be right about this.”

“However, we’re going into a forest. Yes, it’s not exactly uncharted territory, but it will take at least half a day on foot. And isn’t there still some distance between the forest and the town?”

“Yeah. About half a day…I think? Uh, Daniela?”

“Yes. We should arrive in the afternoon if we leave in the morning.”

“So, we won’t save that much time…”

“That’s where Daniela and I come in.”

“Oh?”

I told them what I had been thinking about.

“Daniela will use wind magic to launch herself and you two into the air, and then I’ll use Legs of the God Wolf to carry you all over the forest. What do you think?”

“Hmm…you want me to carry Lemon and Rindo?”

“I will be able to pull you all if there’s no weight pulling me down. But I can’t carry all three of you at once.”

“Well, it would save a lot of time. And I’ve experienced the power of Asagi’s skill firsthand.”

Manager said with a chuckle. Well, I had been very serious at the time… But I could be even more serious… I think. It was actually scary that I still didn’t know the limits of this skill. But I didn’t have the best imagination, so I often didn’t get anywhere unless there was a barrier to overcome.

“Very well, we will do that tomorrow. So, what about after we get past the forest?”

“I think I might just keep going until we reach the town.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so. What about you, Daniela?”

“I should be fine. My equipment has enhanced my wind magic capabilities. It is a good thing I won that tournament.”

That jade wind dragon cape was crazy… Daniela was already a master at wind magic. And yet now she could use it more efficiently and likely do even more damage. Yes, I would lose to her if we fought. Well, I couldn’t even beat her during the tournament.

In any case, we decided on what we’d do the following day. And thanks to that, Daniela and I were allowed to have a good night’s rest, in preparation. Manager and Lemon took turns on the watch. We also had the barrier tools, so it seemed like a good, peaceful sleep was all but promised to us.

…There was a time when I believed that.

“Asagi! Wake up!”

I jumped up as Manager’s frantic voice reached me. I grabbed the demon armor sword and flew out of the tent.

The sky had brightened a little, the dawn was close. I looked down again and then activated Presence Detection. Naturally, my eyes shifted towards the forest.

“Sorry. I can’t use Presence Detection as well as you and Daniela. I didn’t notice until it got this close.”

“No, it’s fine. Hell, you should have seen me not too long ago.”

Being on the brink of death several times had helped raise my skill level. But Manager seemed to have traveled with much fewer thrills. It was better not to take such risks.

What Manager had detected was a high-level monster. It was currently in the forest. While it wasn’t moving in a straight line, it was definitely getting closer to us. The fact that its path seemed to sway from side to side had probably made it harder to detect.

By now, Daniela had also come out of the tent and had her bow ready. Lemon was holding her spear. She was a veteran guard and spear-wielder. It was her chance to show what she was capable of.

I unsheathed my sword. Manager also unsheathed her twin shortswords. During the tournament, she had been using blades made of shadow magic, but these were made of actual metal.

“These things? They were from a dungeon.”

“Nice. They were a pair then?”

“Yes. They came out of the same box.”

I see. Dungeon treasures were in boxes. The appraisal glasses I had found were also in a box. Though, the Automata was just discarded. That place had been an ancient elven building. I have no idea if it counted as a dungeon or was something else.

In any case; monsters. Judging by what Presence Detection was telling me, it would come out of the forest soon.

It happened in just a few minutes.

“Woah…I’ve never seen a real one before…”

I couldn’t help but mutter. I had never seen one, but it looked so familiar.

The thick head and two horns. The bushy hair that grew on its back and the muscular body. The massive arms carrying a double-bladed axe. The bare legs that appeared under the loincloth were also thick.

“Minotaur…”

The monster breathed heavily as it took in its surroundings.