Chapter 14: Life in this World, and Local Sourcing

Chapter 14: Life in this World, and Local Sourcing

"Tatsuro! Look over there!" (Ai)

The two have been walking for three hours after the Dispel magic test.

While trying to hide the excitement in her voice, Ai started pulling on Tatsuro's sleeves. In response, the boy looked towards where she was pointing at with curiosity plastered on his face. What he saw was a squirrel-like animal atop a branch of a giant tree, scratching and nibbling at a fruit in its hands.

"So there's those kinds of animals in this forest too That's a bit of a surprise." (Tatsuro)

"Right? I feel like I'm being healed just by watching it. Do you think we can hold it for a bit?" (Ai)

"We don't have that much of a leeway in regards to both time and energy. Please get back." (Tatsuro)

"I haven't even touched it yet. But that's true too We don't even know if our food can last until tomorrow. Too bad, li'l squirrel." (Ai)

"That thing survived in this world where the weak are food for the strong. You should learn a bit from it." (Tatsuro)

"That's true It might think we're threatening it too. Let's just leave it alone." (Ai)

"Agreed." (Tatsuro)

Without wasting any more time, they left the squirrel and were about to continue their journey when a black bird, about 50 cm in wingspan, suddenly swooped in on the squirrel.

"Ah" (Tatsuro)

"Look out!" (Ai)

Surprised at the scene, they could only let out a shout. In their eyes, the squirrel was a sitting duck for the bird. Just as the bird was about to catch the squirrel, a snake suddenly charged out of the other side of the branch and bit into the bird. Struggling to no avail, the bird could do nothing but watch as the snake took its life.

As if oblivious to the entire event, the squirrel continued munching on its fruit. After finishing its fruit, it jumped onto the snake like a mount and went back into the forest.

""""

The two watched on dumbfounded.

"W-what just h-happened?" (Ai)

"I-isn't it a symbiotic relationship? The squirrel acts as a bait for the snake to lure in its prey. In exchange, the snake protects the squirrel from the actual danger?" (Tatsuro)

"Plus an emergency food," is what he thought but, as it might be a pure symbiosis for all he knows, Tatsuro stopped his words right there.

"A-ah Symbiosis. There are animals like that on Earth too, right? Like with the fish and the sea anemone?" (Ai)

"Is it the anemonefish?" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, that! The bear-san." (Ai)

"Calling it a bear is" (Tatsuro)

For a brief moment, Tatsuro imagined a bear and an anemonefish in a comedy show but he quickly chased them out of his mind.

"Squirly's gone so we should get going too." (Ai)

"Squirly? That squirrel-like thing?" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, calling it a squirrel-like thing all the time sounds too bad." (Ai)

"I see." (Tatsuro)

Squirly with that, Ai's naming sense was firmly etched in his mind. If they ever had kids in the future, he would be the one to name them.

Tatsuro vowed with all of his heart.Discover new chapters at novelbin(.)com

Four more hours passed. The sun was blazing right in the middle of the sky and yet, the two were still walking.

"We're halfway through the forest, right?" (Ai)

"Wait a bit, I'm gonna check Yeah, we're halfway through." (Tatsuro)

"Good to hear." (Ai)

"Wow we have a lot of stuff with us now." (Ai)

"Not really They're just low-class imitations. For example, with this stone chopping board, I feel like a knife made of the same material will break pretty quickly." (Tatsuro)

"Oh Then, will you be chopping too?" (Ai)

"Ah, yeah. I'll do that too. I know when it'll break so I can use just enough strength to make sure it doesn't." (Tatsuro)

"Y-yeah" (Ai)

Tatsuro drained the water out from the basin. Grabbing one fish, he placed it onto the chopping board. Carefully inserting the knife under the gills, he put in just enough force to not break the tip of the blade. However, when it came to cutting the fish bones, he miscalculated his force and chipped part of the tip.

After a quick repair, he continued to cut it from the base of the neck down to the stomach. As if he was tracing a pattern, he continued the cut to the tail. He split the fish wide open and threw away its organs and other parts of the stomach. Once that's done, he peeled off the scales before placing the fish back on the tray.

He did the same to the second fish. Although the cut was a bit sloppy this time, he placed it together with the other fish on the tray.

"Tatsuro Do you have experience with this kind of thing?" (Ai)

"Nope. I did this for the first time today." (Tatsuro)

"You didn't even flinch at the sight of the fishes' internal organs so I thought you might be used to it" (Ai)

"No When I was grossed out, I just thought of nothing and continued what I'm doing. I think the [Focus] skill helped me out this time as well." (Tatsuro)

"Eh? I knew it. I should start practicing the [Focus] skill too." (Ai)

"Well, it might come when you need it most for all we know." (Tatsuro)

After saying that, Tatsuro created a sphere of water and threw a few cuts of the fish inside it.

"What are you doing?" (Ai)

"I thought I'd clean them before we cook them." (Tatsuro)

"And that's supposed to make them clean?" (Ai)

"Hmm Just watch me." (Tatsuro)

With a daring smile, Tatsuro made the water sphere spin gently. To not break the shape of the cuts, he cleaned them with utmost delicacy. Once it was over, he placed them all on the grill.

"Next, I will be cooking the dish." (Tatsuro)

"It's time for Fire Magic, isn't it?" (Ai)

"Yeah!" (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro placed his hand below the tripod. While paying attention to the amount of mana he used, he ignited a fire. Cooking the fish carefully, Ai used her stone chopsticks to flip them over once the side facing down was cooked. When the other side of the fish was fully cooked as well, the two lined up while holding onto their chopsticks.

"I'll say this now but, we didn't have any seasonings so I think it'll taste bland." (Tatsuro)

"That's fine. As long as we can eat them, then it doesn't matter if it tastes a little bad. Then" (Ai)

""Thank you for the meal.""

Clasping their hands together and saying the words, they reached out for the fish with their chopsticks and took a bite.

"Hmm It's a bit bland like you said but it doesn't taste bad at all." (Ai)

"Yeah. If it's like this, then it's fine." (Tatsuro)

Finishing that exchange, they continued to finish their food as well.

"Fuuu It's good that we found a way to replenish our food stocks" (Ai)

"Yeah. Even if it's such a simple thing, it still keeps the fire lit inside. With this, the next day looks like it wouldn't be a problem." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, let's keep up the good work on the last day of the march too!" (Ai)

"Roger that!" (Tatsuro)