episode_0005

“Was the meal satisfying?”

“Yes…! It was really delicious.”

After finishing the meal, Camilla nodded vigorously in response to Raon’s question.

There was not a single lie in her words or actions.

To some, it might be nothing special. Or it might be a potato that they have eaten so much that they would never want to eat it again, but to her, who had been living on the streets for a long time, the potatoes that were filled with his warm heart were so delicious that they made her forget all the delicacies she had tasted long ago.

That’s why Camilla showed a strong reaction as if everything was okay when she saw him looking a little dark.

Despite her actions, Raon couldn’t hide his expression of regret. And that was understandable.

“If it were as it was originally, I wanted to give you baked potatoes and sweet potatoes this morning, but a mouse came into the house during the night and ate half of the sweet potatoes, so that’s it..”

This morning, sweet potatoes and potatoes. Raon had planned to treat her to breakfast using these two ingredients, but late at night, when everyone was asleep, a rat had infiltrated from outside and eaten the sweet potatoes that were set out to be eaten the next day, so in the end, they could only eat potatoes for breakfast.

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do about it. This isn’t Raon’s fault.”

Camilla looked at Raon, who was blaming himself, and offered words of encouragement.

Even though I couldn’t eat the sweet potatoes he had tried to prepare for me, the potatoes he had given me were so delicious and warm.

Camilla was truly satisfied with that alone, knowing that the food had been made with sincerity for her.

There was nothing lacking and not a single sharp point.

That’s why Camilla was very satisfied with the breakfast she had today.

Raon, who saw Camilla’s true appearance, smiled as if he felt a little relieved.

“That’s fortunate then..”

“It was really delicious. I wanted to eat the potatoes that Raon made every day..”

At Raon’s words, Camilla unconsciously blurted out the words she had been keeping in her heart.

I got caught up in the atmosphere and ended up saying things I didn’t need to say.

Camilla quickly realized this and turned her head to stare at his face.

“Really? If you eat only potatoes every day, you’ll get sick of it.. I’ll make you a tastier dish next time.”

His expression was bright and clear as he looked at her.

“Ah….”

At Raon’s sincere words, Camilla’s face turned red like a ripe carrot.

Soon she lowered her head and covered her hands with both hands to hide her face.

After all that commotion, Raon was wandering around the kitchen, looking for something, and while Camilla was feeling a little strange at his busy appearance, he spoke to her.

“I think I’ll have to go up the mountain for a bit.”

“Why..?”

Camilla asked the reason for Raon’s sudden remark.

Raon answered her question.

“I need firewood for the brazier, and I’ll also gather ingredients for dinner tonight. The only plants growing in the field are sweet potatoes and potatoes, so I want to make something delicious for dinner at least.”

Raon spoke to her, seeming a little embarrassed.

He was going up the mountain tonight to get ingredients for a meal he would make for Camilla, and also to get some firewood that would be running out soon.

Of course, he had firewood that could last about three days, but since he was already climbing the mountain, he wanted to get some wood to use as firewood.

Here he held in one hand an axe suitable for cutting down trees.

Having lived in these mountains for a long time and knowing well which creatures inhabit which areas, he tried to find the ingredients needed to make the food he would prepare for her tonight.

At Raon’s words, Camilla shouted urgently.

“I.. I..! If it’s okay with you, can I come with you?!”

Camilla asked Raon to take her with him as he was climbing the mountain.

“Well.. I wish I had more helpers to help me.. But Camilla, I’m sure the fatigue hasn’t completely gone away yet..”

However, Raon hesitated to go with her, worried about her physical condition which had deteriorated due to her long period of homelessness.

“I’m so proud! I don’t know about anything else, but I’m confident in using my body! No matter what, I can’t lose to strength!”

Camilla actively persuaded Raon and asked him to take her with him.

It wasn’t that I doubted him.

But the reason I tried to help him so actively was…

‘I want to help Raon in some way..!’

Because I wanted to repay the person who took me in.

And another is to ignore the pain of conscience that stabs at one’s heart.

She was using Raon for her own gain.

Despite his status as a warrior, he lied and said he was an ordinary human being, and he went into hiding even more for fear of people’s cynical gazes at him as he returned to the cold streets.

So, in a corner of her heart, she was tormented by the guilt of deceiving him by taking advantage of his naivety.

She wanted to help him escape from this suffering, even if only for a moment.

“Well.. If you say so, could you help me out a bit? I’m not going to do anything that difficult, so I’ll be back home in about 3 hours.”

Eventually, thanks to her active appeal, Raon asked her if he could go to the mountain with her.

At Raon’s words, Camilla nodded with a bright expression.

So they carried on their shoulders an axe to chop firewood and a backpack to carry food and firewood.

So the two of them walked forward with powerful steps.

***

The two people entered the mountain like that.

They were wandering around the mountains, gathering various ingredients.

I picked mushrooms growing on rotten trees and checked the fish traps I had left the day before by the stream.

“Wow.. wow I caught a fish..!!”

And in the process, they caught a fairly good sized fish and their faces filled with smiles.

The ingredients they gathered right now are so diverse that they can make enough food to eat from tonight until tomorrow night.

They started cutting down trees with axes before the sun set.

The sun seen from the mountains disappears earlier than the sun seen from the village.

Anyone with even a little knowledge about mountains will know.

That the mountains are never safe places.

There are terrifying beasts living in the mountains that can directly threaten people’s lives, and no matter how good your night vision is and how well you know the terrain of the mountain, you should never go near the mountain when it’s covered in darkness.

That’s why Raon, who knew this better than anyone else, cut down trees to use as firewood with her before the sun set.

When they set out, their backpacks, which had been empty at the time, were filled to the brim with food and firewood.

“Thank you so much for helping me today, Camilla. Thanks to you, I won’t have to worry about firewood for a while!”

Raon was delighted to see the backpack full of firewood.

When Camilla first approached the tree with an axe in hand, Raon was worried about her.

I wonder if I’m forcing myself to help someone while my body hasn’t fully recovered yet.

Isn’t this why unexpected accidents happen?

Raon looked at her with worried eyes, having such uneasy thoughts.

[Thud–! Thud! Thud—!!!]

Raon, who saw Camilla’s fighting spirit, soon realized how useless his worries were.

Camilla swung her axe just three times at a tree several times her size, and soon the mighty tree collapsed under her blows.

I couldn’t help but be amazed.

He felled a sturdy tree with just three blows of the axe, which would have taken dozens of blows to bring it down.

Thanks to that, Raon was able to obtain a very abundant supply of firewood.

I was selecting the ones in the best condition and taking them home.

Before they knew it, the mountain they had climbed was beginning to become thick with darkness, and when they looked up at the sky, a beautiful night sky was illuminating the sky ahead of them.

“The sun has already set.. I think I should go down the mountain a little faster.”

When he realized this, he told Camilla about it and quickly walked back home to get back as soon as possible.

After the sun sets, the mountain transforms into a completely different place.

They wanted to get down the mountain as quickly as possible because they didn’t know what kind of danger might be lurking.

[Ughhh…]

Just in front of them, a sound like the roar of a low beast was heard.

Sensing danger instinctively, he roughly grabbed Camilla’s hand and hid behind a tree.

Soon the moonlight illuminated the creature’s appearance and revealed its identity.

What appeared before them was a strangely skinny bear with its bones exposed.