CH 224

We found a shallow cave, so that’s where we’re camping. There’s some danger that it will collapse, so I also didn’t forget to reinforce it with Earth Magic.

We also set up tents because of the wind.

We’re taking turns keeping watch, and I’m currently watching over our surroundings with Hikari.

That said, I don’t see any reaction worth taking notice. Hikari is on alert, but we talk about all sorts of things.

“Master, what’s the tastiest thing you’ve eaten?”

“That’s a difficult question… Hn, I guess what I ate in the royal capital.”

It all tends to revolve around food.

She also has a lot of questions about the food in my world. She’s very interested in it, because I’ve been cooking things that are similar to what I had before.

That said, I can’t replicate it perfectly.

“Even better than this!?”

She asks many times with a shine in her eyes.

Well, the ingredients were different, and so was the skill of people cooking.

But talking to Hikari reminds me of what I ate there, and makes me want to give it a shot too.

I think Hikari plays a big part in me not forgetting about my old world. At least when it comes to food. Well, I also think about it when I try to come up with stuff to cook.

As I hear the crackling fire and see the side of Hikari’s face illuminated by it, I think about how it looks as young as she is.

We keep talking, until eventually, light starts shining into the cave. Is it morning already? I was so focused on our conversation that I completely lost track of time. Of course, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t also paying attention to keeping watch.

“Master, breakfast?”

“Yes. Is there anything you want in particular?”

“Meat!”

Keep your voice down. You’re going to wake everyone up.

And I can’t just make meat, or the others will complain, so how about vegetable soup with tomato sauce, and meat skewers?

And as I think about what to make and start cooking, the others start waking up. Were they drawn by the smell?

Hikari looks to be looking forward to it the most, as she hums while she waits. Her face is back to being a little unemotional, but it’s perfectly clear that she can’t wait.

“It really warms the body.”

Everyone’s eating the soup with a cheese topping and bread. We won’t last the day without a good breakfast.

We clean up, and get going right away.

We find some steep inclines here and there, our footing gets worse, and we start to get kind of impatient about not advancing as fast as we want, but we really can’t rush things here, and we just have to bear with it and take it slow.

“It looks like we’re following a forest path from here. Everyone be careful. I’m counting on you, Sera.”

“All right. I’ll be cutting branches that are in the way, so don’t go too fast.”

And since the wood she cuts down can be used as firewood, I make sure to collect it. Halfway through the back and front row switch positions, so I go in front.

It’s a little dark in here, because the thickly grown branches block most of the sunlight. It doesn’t disturb our walking, but the toughest part is the cold. We don’t get the warmth from the sun, and the icy wind that blows from time to time cools our bodies.

Even the thick clothes we’re wearing don’t block the cold completely, so we also have cloaks and robes on. They kind of get in the way when we fight, but it’s better than not being able to move at all because we’re too cold.

And for that reason, we have to be more careful than usual about our surroundings, and I keep Presence Detection active at all times while we move.

“Master, there’s a storm coming.”

“Sora, a storm is coming.”

Sera and Chris say all of a sudden.

Sera’s ears twitch, and magic energy swirls around Chris.

I look up, and see what little light was reaching us disappear. I feel like the temperature is going down too.

Would it be dangerous to keep going? I don’t have any mountain climbing experience.

I look around in a relatively large area with Map. This place is rich with earth, so maybe I can use my magic to make a house. It’s been a while but… I’m sure it’ll be fine.

We move to an empty space I found with Map that looks good, and I start using magic. Rurika and Chris are surprised, because I didn’t do this in the dungeon.

“Hum, what is this?”

“It’s a house. It’s not very big, because I didn’t have a lot of space to work with.”

“No no, this is a little, no, this is very strange.”

Rurika looks to the other three, hoping they would agree, but they just tilt their heads.

“Is this magic too?”

Chris on the other hand just sounds intrigued, as she touches a wall made of dirt.

“It’s an application of Earth Magic. Let’s just go in for now. It looks like it’s starting to rain.”

We go in one at a time, as a few drops start falling.

I basically just managed to make the exterior. It’s bigger than a tent, but smaller than an actual house. We can lay down sheets and sleep on them, but I still need a proper cooking area.

Especially somewhere the smoke can leave from.

“Sera, look after the fire. We need to keep warm.”

They said a storm is coming, so I should reinforce the walls with magic energy a little more.

“How are you doing that, Sora?”

Asks Chris, and I explain after she puts on magic energy seeing glasses.

That said, it’s not like there’s a certain formula or anything. It’s pretty much like infusing a weapon with magic energy.

“So you used pure Earth Magic, not Alchemy to build the house?”

“Hn…Maybe a bit of both, but it’s like I solidified the dirt to give it a solid shape. Like I used magic energy to make it solid, I guess?”

“…It sounds like it needs a lot of magic energy.”

“Ah, maybe. Using skills means it doesn’t use as much as it should, and my natural healing is pretty fast too. I guess it would normally be pretty tough for someone to do this alone.”

Not that I’ve ever seen anyone else do it.

Chris looks exasperated, but keeps watching until I’m done.