11 – Gastronomy (2)
Although Harold had a good sense of smell, he never expected it to be this good.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
Sia followed Lucion closely and asked. It was rare for Zion to be surprised by something.
“What is it?”
“It’s a Daylily. It’s a rare plant that can only be found in the wild. It’s a stroke of luck to find it. I can’t believe we found it.”
“I see.”
Sia didn’t ask Lucion how he knew about it. It was obvious that he had read about it in a book.
“The Daylily withers after a day, just as its name suggests. It’s lucky enough to be able to see it.”
“But it just looks like any other long grass, right?”
Lucion immediately plucked a stalk of the grass. Then he handed it to Sia.
“Try it.”
It had only been two days since they started camping, but Lucion was already close to being a wild man. He climbed trees and ate fruits he found.
Even so, eating grass was something Sia had never seen before.
Though unfamiliar, Sia decided to try it since Lucion was doing it.
“Hmm…”
She cautiously held it.
The texture was no different from other grasses.
It was slightly softer than the grass they used for the flute.
But that was it.
It’s just a long stretch of green grass.
Sia carefully rolled up the grass and put it in her mouth.
The shape is somewhat strange, but it’s not something anyone else would notice.
What does it matter if Sia becomes stronger?
Harold didn’t come looking for her just to brighten his eyes for no reason.
Above all, the One-Day Grass was effective as a potion.
“What do you think? They say you become smarter if you eat the One-Day Grass.”
What does it mean to ask if she’s become smarter?
It would be strange if eating this made her instantly smarter.
“I don’t feel much different, but… the taste is quite pleasant, though.”
She wouldn’t eat it again if she didn’t have to.
She chewed on the taste with that expression.
‘It must be because it’s a type of grass.’
It seemed like she would have to cook it if she wanted to give it to Sia.
“Let’s gather some grass in the morning and head back.”
“Yeah. But if it only produces seeds in a day, we won’t be able to gather much.”
Lucion tilted his head.
What unfolded before their eyes was a field of nodaji grass.
A potion party that one might see once or twice in a lifetime.
They had to take everything with them.
“I’m going to take it all. Eating makes you stronger.”
“This?”
Just by eating, you become stronger.
Naturally, taking a lot would be good.
Already, Harold was shamelessly tearing up the grassy field and devouring it.
Lucion recalled the past.
“What was this called again?”
A remedy was spread out before their eyes.
If what he heard in his past life was true, it was said to be a term used by magicians for a magical explosion in progress.
“If you cast a chant, you can keep food from spoiling. Not permanent, but at least several times.”
“You mean you can store it….”
At the mention of lasting a long time, Lucia’s eyes lit up. It was joyful in itself to gather one’s own belongings. After all, Lucia found an excellent potion good enough to make a god jealous. Let the sweeping begin.
Rather than Lucion…. He would definitely eat more.
‘Wouldn’t that be the way to catch up?’
Over a long period, Lucion and Lucia collected all the visible Daylily Grass.
#
Back at the campsite, they laid out a stone slab and roasted the dragon on top of it.
“It’s delicious indeed.”
Thick leg meat and chewy Daylily Grass. When you put it in your mouth and chew, a substantial juice oozes out.
The texture of the steak, tender and juicy, paired with the Daylily Grass, keeps the meat from becoming monotonous.
Lucia seemed to be delighted with the food, squeezing her cheeks and expressing her joy with her whole body.
“So delicious.”
“Wow!”
Howard replied as well.
They had been fighting over a piece of meat for a while, but the wagging tail was proof that they were having a good time.
Lucion also satisfactorily grilled the meat until the fire went out.
They spent such a luxurious time, and the day was coming to an end.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Lucion.
“Is this… really okay?”
It was such a happy time that he felt guilty, but Lucion had decided to simply enjoy this time.
#
A week had passed.
“Wow! Woof woof!”
Howard eagerly wagged his tail, as if he was excited about eating another meal.
Following behind, Lucion felt the passing of time once again.
Howard’s fur was still long, but he had grown quite a bit and his four legs were moving.
Of course, when you see Howard playfully teasing his feet, it’s hard to feel any emotion other than cuteness.
Sia asked,
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“Where shall we go this time?”
There were always many terrifying things in the places that Howard guided them to.
“Shouldn’t be too dangerous, right?”
“Well, even if it gets risky, Sia can handle it, can’t she?”
Lucia, who replied nonchalantly, felt a slight urge to complain. However, she strangely found herself smiling, feeling somewhat useful.
“Is that so?”
Lucion thought that Sia was easing the tension.
However.
That wasn’t the case.
#
‘I didn’t actually wish for something like this.’
Happy.
But she wished for Sia to grow stronger.
Isn’t it too comfortable now?
Thus, she couldn’t help but wrap her head around it.
‘Should I forcefully create a crisis?’
Even defeating the strongest troll on the surface in one shot and devouring the strongest dragon in the sky seemed insufficient. Now, at this moment? A method to stage a crisis didn’t readily come to mind.
Short of a dragon attack, there seemed to be no imminent danger.
Even playing the role of a villain was out of the question.
Wasn’t it revealed that she was pretending to be weak?
Thinking back now, it was quite frustrating.
She hadn’t given it much thought, but upon reflection, it was even more so.
“I can see the divine power… You found out that I’ve been protecting Sia all this time.”
It felt like a thief stepping on his own foot. Lucion, who had laid out iron plates even in front of the king of a nation, couldn’t hide his embarrassment in front of Sia.
When Sia stared at him intently, Lucion didn’t know what to do.
Facing Lucion’s suspicious and mixed gaze, all sorts of thoughts followed.
Maybe, is this what he’s thinking?
He protected me, but acted wickedly on the surface!
It’s so obvious.
Lucion saw everything!
He pretended to be twitchy, but he protected me!
It feels like my throat is tightening.
Embarrassing memories come to mind.
I pretended to be in crisis, but I deliberately acted pathetic!
I did, didn’t I?
“You pretended not to know about it?”
I admit it.
Lucion is one step ahead in acting.
It’s unfair. It’s unfair and frustrating. To have hidden it until now.
#
Lucion, tearing at his hair.
I wanted to hide somewhere.
“It wasn’t a lie from the beginning.”
The words I uttered when facing the dragon come to mind.
– “No matter how fierce it looks, if Sia wishes it, I won’t get hurt.”
Trying to act cool seems to have done it all.
“And there were several other times….”
I don’t want to remember, but I remember.
Because I was somewhat satisfied.
– “It’s frustrating, but Sia, I’ll open the way, run away.”
Ugh.
I need medicine.
I felt like I was foaming at the mouth and about to collapse.
If there was a magic that could erase memories, I would turn certain moments into blank canvases, but even if there is, it’s a problem, because the person I’m dealing with is Lucia.
The genius of the century who will become a saint in the future.
It was impossible to manipulate the mind of a girl who would become a saint just by being an ordinary court magician.
“hahahaha. It’s all ruined.”
“Huh?”
Sia asked as if wondering what happened.
“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”
There’s nothing I can do.
There was no answer.
“…It’s in the past. It’s in the past.”
Hadn’t they already learned it painfully? The past cannot be undone. They decided to only focus on what was important.
They were busy just thinking about the future.
They had to conquer the Demon King to survive, didn’t they?
Even if they moved frantically, it would still be insufficient.
#
The information was endlessly lacking.
Even if they speculated about what they had, it was just predictions like the Four Kings having poisonous techniques, illusion magic, overwhelming defensive magic, and so on.
In the first place, such miscellaneous techniques were resolved at the Divine Power stage. They were counter techniques.
“Poison can’t penetrate Divine Power.”
“Even if trapped in an illusion, they were armed with enough mental fortitude to escape.”
“Physical defense is somewhat resolved through bodily strengthening with Divine Power. They can even launch Divine Attacks in the first place.”
The real problem was,
In a situation without Divine Power.
In a situation without anything to eat.
Like finding a way to survive.
“Battle always takes a long time.”
The challenge of a party consisting of geniuses ended with them barely reaching the Demon King’s castle over a long period of ten years.
Therefore, they needed to have long-lasting stamina.
‘Even those who have a strong stomach can be effective. There are many repulsive demons among them.’
Memories of the octopus-headed demon woman he had encountered in his past life. The horror still lingered in Lucien’s mind like a nightmare.
The demon officer swinging his foul-smelling tentacles.
An enemy so disgusting that just the thought of them could make you vomit up everything you had for lunch.
“Just thinking about it makes me sick again.”
Lucien clenched his teeth and suppressed his nausea.
#
Sia looked into Lucien’s face. The atmosphere was strange today.
“…Your face looks the same as usual?”
A mischievous expression.
But whenever she stared at him, somehow her expression would melt away.
It was the same this time. When Sia looked at him, Lucien turned his head as if feeling burdened.
She could hear the voice of his heart.
“Don’t come too close.”
That was Lucien’s heart, but Sia paid no attention and approached him.
“Oh no.”
Too close.
No matter how bad his mood was, whenever Lucien saw Sia’s face, all the nightmares would miraculously disappear. The trauma would evaporate.
“Well, objectively, you’re beautiful.”
It wasn’t just flattery, she was truly beautiful.
Living closely with the friendly siblings, I made an effort not to look at Shia in detail, even if it was deliberate. However, at times when Lucia raised her hair or her clothes revealed a glimpse, pretending calm required quite a bit of energy.
On a day like today, Shia persistently inquired.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Nothing’s wrong.”
“It doesn’t seem like nothing.”
She scrutinized Lucion with concerned eyes.
As someone committed to becoming a priest, I couldn’t just leave a suffering party member alone.
Shia tried to stare persistently until the problem was resolved, and Lucion persistently tried to escape.
The winner was Shia.
“Look.”
They faced each other.
Once again, Shia’s appearance was observed.
No particular thoughts arose.
Just that she was pretty, was the extent of the impression.
And.
‘Come to think of it, Shia is sixteen.’
‘She probably wants to wear pretty clothes and meet more people.’
‘She’s doing it for survival, but isn’t it a bit too much.’
All sorts of worries surfaced.
Lucion is the only friend, and even among colleagues, Harold is everything.
Sia wants to live a safe life, but ironically, Sia isn’t offering anything she desires.
“Living like this, what’s left in the end?”
With that thought, Lucion stared straight at Sia.
Straight ahead,
Let’s gift the present.
Sparkling blue eyes met each other.
But as they truly faced each other, Sia quickly averted her gaze. Just like that, if Sia was like that, Lucion must have had a face overflowing with coherence. It’s equally embarrassing to both.
“……Why.”
“Just. Just stay… still for a moment.”
Lucion infused a compelling force into the gaze fixed on Sia. Stay still. A compelling force, under the name of sanctity, rendered Sia unable to move.
Slowly, from Lucian’s head to toe, scanning.
It’s been the same for two years.
She hasn’t grown taller.
For two years, she alternated between wearing a white uniform protected by sanctity.
Her long golden hair tied once at the back of her neck and once more around her waist. Before becoming a priestess, she learned martial arts and dressed in a robe optimized for combat.
No matter how she adorned herself, it would be beautiful.
“Sia tried to match her clothes to mine as much as possible.”
Realizing that now is almost laughable, Sia tried to coordinate her attire with Lucion’s.
As a former knight in her past life, Lucion enjoyed various clothes. As someone responsible for order, her attire was always neat and tidy.
Following Siado Lucion, I wore as neat clothes as possible.
Fortunately, conquest suited Sia quite well.
Even in simple attire, Sia’s eyes sparkled to the point of dazzling.
With such a beautiful person right beside, the past I had avoided despite being able to see it felt tangled.
‘Did I think too much?’
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Openly facing each other actually felt more comfortable.
Come to think of it, I never had the confidence to truly look.
Whenever I gazed at Lucia, it was always her last appearance that overlapped.
Not anymore.
It’s okay now.
Because it’s a past that has already passed.
That’s how I saw it.
A different future might come.
I was confident it would be different from before.
Thinking that way, I felt at ease now.
‘Indeed, I was too conscious.’
It’s okay to gaze. It was an inconsequential matter.
However, this time, Sia seemed uncomfortable.
“Well. What are you looking at? Huh.”
Fragile.
Even if they were called priests, a man and a woman were camping together.
Shia’s eyes, avoiding eye contact, rolled around.
In fact, Shia wanted to escape right away, but the binding force of Lucion’s compulsion did not release her two legs.
Since sacred power is volatile, someday the restraint would be released, but not immediately.
“Can’t I look? I just wanted to see how tall you were.”
“Ha.”
A sigh escapes.
Shia forcibly released the compulsion more easily than expected.
Perhaps because she didn’t want it to be released.
Lucia scolded Zion with slightly annoyed eyes.
Then responds informally.
“Am I a kid?”
“Well, yeah.”
As expected?
Lucion answers as if it’s obvious.
“Ha. You’re a kid too…”
“Well, well.”
Lucion nodded as if acknowledging it this time as well.
Even though she had said it herself, she wondered if this conversation sounded like that of elementary school students.
Lucia didn’t want to taste the bitter feeling of defeat.
However, a counterattack plan didn’t come to mind easily.
Was there no way to counterattack this impassable situation?
Lucion was like an impenetrable wall.
Of course, he didn’t really want to win. Over the past two years, Lucion knew how warmly Lucia had embraced him.
“It’s the same now.”
Even though they were engaging in a tense battle, Lucion was handling Lucia very cautiously, almost to the point of invisibility.
So, to some extent, was it okay to show off a bit?
Lucion had no idea.
He wanted to raise Lucia strongly.
But the one raising Lucia to be weak more than anyone else was Lucion himself.
#
Ignoring Shia, who was bewildered, Lucion redirected his full attention back to the forest.
There should be no room for arrogance no matter what happens.
Although he momentarily eased the tension, where Harold was guiding them was a place with the looming danger of death in any form.
This time, even Lucion sensed a crisis.
Despite that, he continued to walk forward as if nothing was wrong. That was the role of a party leader. If he showed tension, Shia would get even more nervous.
From the beginning, he was in a position to seek out crises.
“We’re almost there.”
“Ah, I see.”
Sia was sulking.
But she had a question.
Surely they grew up together, yet how did Lucion know things he hadn’t experienced? She asked with a voice tinged with frustration.
“Truly impressive, Zion. How do you know all that?”
It was a slightly mocking tone.
Lucion’s attention briefly diverted to Sia, who was trailing behind, following her lead.
“It’s hard to explain.”
Experience had accumulated. That was all that could be said. It was a collection of records from battles in the wild.
If she had to explain…
“I can smell it.”
“Smell?”
Sniff.
Sia wrinkled her nose and tried to catch the scent, but she couldn’t sense anything like that.
Lucion saw his former self reflected in Lucia.
Once, Lucion himself had tried to imitate the Master, wrinkling his nose to catch a scent.
It was a futile effort.
“It’s not something you pick up in a day or two, Sia.”
Thanks to ten years in the border defense forces, he was able to perceive humidity and taste by holding the air in his mouth.
Capturing a sense of strangeness in the approaching wind.
“The warmth of blood mingling with the cold air feels quite alien.”
Veteran knights and warriors with decades of experience all do the same.
Thanks to being able to read the wind like a book, they avoid stepping into dangerous places. Thus, the wind serves as quite an informative intermediary for adventurers living in the wild.
“When a spirit passes by, the air in the vicinity becomes oddly crisp.”
“When the forces of darkness advance, the scent of dried dust and decaying leaves fills the air.”
The aroma of a feast that Hauld had captured.
It was a scent Zion had also experienced.
“A spicy fragrance… probably Trithan.”
The tree monster Trithan.
A tree monster whose ripe fruit is used as a spice.
Also known as the lord of the forest.
If you take only the fruit, you can gain quite a substantial profit. If done well, it may secure future provisions.
However, dealing with an old Trithan is awkward.
“Trithan is not a member of the [Wild], but the owner of the [Wild].”
Recalling the memory of encountering Trithan in a past life.
Even with an army, it couldn’t be subjugated.
A monster of such magnitude that, despite living for three thousand years, a single Trithan held off an army of thirty thousand.
A creature that might be questionable to call just one.
That is Trithan.
Lucion fumbled with the memory of how vast the forest was.
In this forest, there seemed to be the impossible.
The size of Tritan is proportional to the size of an average forest.
It’s a reasonably extensive forest, but an inconvenient place for an aged Tritan to reside. A place with scattered clearings is, after all, a comfortable spot for Tritans.
The Tritans in this densely wooded area, even if well taken care of, were barely a few hundred years old.