CH 33

Chapter 33 - The Night Before the Dungeon Challenge

It was late in the evening.

Other than the people standing on guard, everyone else was preparing dinner. Since there were no cooking utensils available, they basically roasted goat or mutton on skewers around the campfire. The seasoning was simple, just rock salt.

The crackling sound of wood burning was everywhere. It was the sound of life. Some people were gathered around the fire as a family unit, while others were enjoying the meat with other like-minded friends.

I looked around and was able to find the campfire where Thor and her friends are.

I approached and sat down by the fire. On my right was Gabriel, and on my left were Thor and Sheila. Sareha was on the other side of the fire.

“Thank you for your hard work, ani-sama.”

Sareha, looking a little tired, gave me a friendly word of encouragement. I wonder if he’s been reading grimoire in his room since then.

“Here’s your meat. It’s freshly cooked.”

“Try it, Henri. It’s probably good. Yes!”

Sheila handed me a piece of meat on a skewer. The herbs sprinkled on the meat gave it a nice smell.

I bit into the meat with no manners whatsoever. The meat juices fell to the bottom, but I didn’t care. There were no people who cared about manners here, and besides, it was a grassy field down there, so it didn’t matter if it got dirty.

“Oooh…… delicious.”

It was even better than I expected. It seemed that rock salt was used, and every time I bit into it, the sweet taste of the meat spread to my mouth.

“You too, Sareha-san.”

Sareha was also handed a skewer of meat by Sheila. It’s been a few days since we arrived in this meadow, but he still hasn’t gotten used to this wild style of eating.

“Don’t be shy, Sareha. Take a bite.”

“Y-yes. Then thank you for the meal.”

He bit into the meat with his small mouth. His cheeks were slightly red as if he was embarrassed to be chewing while everyone was looking at him.

“Ah …… delicious. It’s delicious, anisama.”

“It’s been a long time since you’ve had a meal without worrying about it being poisoned. It’s refreshing to eat without silverware, too.”

Silverware tarnishes with poison. It’s an essential part of a royal meal.

“Yes! But it was difficult because silverware would be hidden in the royal palace. How did our brother get the silverware?”

“At the end of the month, the head chefs are having a stock-up meeting. It was easy to sneak into the dining room that day, so they stole a few sets.”

“Ehh! I didn’t know that!”

You don’t have to be afraid of being poisoned here. That alone makes it good for me to come here.

“The talk about the royal palace is too tragic. Henry……. Can’t we have some more fun memories to share?”

“Yes, yes. Is there anything, onii-san?”

I looked at Sareha, who looked troubled. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of anything either.

“Hmmm, we’ll just have to make some fun memories from now on! That’s right!”

“Onee-chan…… is a mess.” (TN: 雑 = rough; crude; sloppy; messy, miscellaneous)

We continued eating around the campfire.

We got off to a slow start, but a good meal makes for a smooth conversation. We talked about the Beastmen who had become our new neighbors, saying how cute the children’s beast ears were and how we were surprised by the strength of the warriors.

It was true that the Beastmen were far superior to the Human in battle. They must have higher basic physical abilities.

We also talked about the future.

We were still making the same healing potions, but Sheila said she wanted to try other potions. If we could make potions that won’t ruin the alchemy guild’s market, we could get the human country’s money.

A potion that would be in high demand and yet not upset the existing market balance with a new invention. The only thing I could think of was a “Hair Growth Potion”, but Sheila was surprisingly positive about it. She said it was not impossible to make.

There was a lot to talk about, but everyone started to talk less and less, probably because they were getting overwhelmed by sleep.

“We should go to bed. You guys look sleepy. You two can go sleep at home, or do you want to sleep here?”

“Yes. Here’s one for Henry and the others.”

She handed me one of the blankets.

After handing it over, Thor and Sheila put on the blanket made of fur together. They were about to start sleeping with Gabriel as their pillow.

“Is there only one?”

“We only use one blanket, too. You can use it with Sareha.”

“Fufu, good night, onii-san. Sareha-san.”

Sareha looked at me apologetically.

“Sareha, come here. Don’t be shy.”

“Y-yes. Excuse me.”

We both put on the blanket. I lay down on the opposite side of the blanket from Sareha, as it would be annoying if I breathed on him. The fire was already extinguished by pouring water on it, so there was only the light of the moon around us.

“Are you cold?”

I talked to him over my back.

“No, I’m fine. Aren’t you cold, nii-sama?”

“No problem.”

The conversation was over. I could hear Thor’s chuckle faintly.

After a few moments of silence, Sareha opened his mouth.

“Fun memories. I couldn’t say it earlier, but I have a few.”

“What is it?”

“I used to sleep with my mother like this.”

I turned to face Sareha. The moonlight shone thinly on Sareha’s face.

“I see.”

“I used to crawl into her bed when it was thundering outside. She would tell me stories about her homeland until morning.”

“Her homeland, Sareha’s homeland, was a desert area in the south. What kind of place is it?”

“Yes. There is an endless expanse of sandy landscape and bazaars are held in the oasis. It is also famous for its cities, which are ruled by people called Mamools. The Mamools are said to be a group of highly educated former slaves.”

“A former slave as a ruler? What a dream story.”

Use your abilities, not your status, to govern. It was like a dream story. It was different from the system of governance in the kingdom, which was built by the hereditary succession of royalty and nobility.

However, no heroes or remarkable people were conveniently born from the people of the kingdom. In the end, nobles and others had to become the rulers.

“From the way you’re talking, I take it you haven’t seen your mother in a while.”

“Yes. I think she’s somewhere in the palace, but I’m not allowed to see her.”

It’s unlikely that she was dead. Sareha’s mother was married from abroad. Killing her would be a diplomatic issue and would affect the faction war.

“Let’s go see her someday. We’ll get the power that no one can complain about and enter the palace through the main gate with dignity. Search the palace from top to bottom, and we’ll find Sareha’s mother.”

“……! Yes, nii-sama.”

“After that, we’ll burn the palace to the ground.”

“Eh …”

That’s at the top of my “Things to do when I get my powers rating” list. No one can stop me.

“Mother huh? I used to sleep with her when I was little.”

“I’m sorry, nii-sama, that was insensitive.”

“That’s not what I meant. I can’t see her anymore, but I have enough memories of her.”

But as the years go by, my memory of my mother faded. First, I forgot her voice. The next time I tried to remember her face, the outline became blurred. Only the memory of her importance remained in my heart.

“The blanket’s not covering us properly. Come a little closer.”

The blanket was slightly shorter in width. Thor must have chosen it on purpose.

I got close enough to feel Sareha’s body heat. It was already spring, but it could get cold at dawn, and we didn’t want him to catch a cold before we enter the dungeon.

“Tomorrow we have to go to the dungeon in the morning. Let’s go to bed.”

“Yes, nii-sama. Good night.”

I shut my eyes. After a while, I heard Sareha’s sleeping breathing. Feeling a nostalgic atmosphere, I surrendered my body to slumber.