Ch.146Festival (3)

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I am not a medieval history expert.

Similarly, I don’t know much about things originating from the medieval period.

But I did have vague fantasies about it. That makes sense, since without my sister around, all I could do at home was play games or read free novels and comics online.

What I mostly saw in those media was medieval fantasy.

Adventures and such things.

And when watching those, there was a scene that frequently appeared, which engraved some kind of inexplicable fantasy in me.

The protagonist drinking water from a leather pouch and wiping their mouth.

Especially after suffering from dehydration for a long time, gulping down water looked so refreshing.

I might have secretly wished for something like that.

But when I first received a leather pouch and excitedly drank water from it.

I realized that sometimes fantasies are better left as fantasies.

Just as one becomes an adult only after learning Santa isn’t real, I was in that cold reality when…

“Stick out your tongue.”

“Ah.”

I stopped thinking and put something like a dark brown piece in my mouth.

The piece melted on my tongue, and the taste that spread was sweet yet bitter, with the natural sweetness characteristic of fruit.

Without hesitation, I lifted the leather pouch and drank water.

Strictly speaking, I didn’t need to drink it, but this was connected to an important issue.

Eating, drinking, and sleeping.

These were necessary for me, a homunculus who had now become immortal, to stay sane.

Human actions, human habits would preserve my humanity.

Even my sister had said so. That she eats, drinks, and sleeps. That homunculi like us need to do these things even more to stay sane.

So I consistently ate, drank, and slept.

I rested well even when I wasn’t particularly tired, and tried to develop hobbies.

Though I hadn’t really found a hobby yet.

Still, creating something would make it easier to preserve my humanity.

Thinking this, I masked the staleness of the water in the leather pouch with the sweetness of the hardened fruit jam.

“It tastes bad.”

“You’re right.”

Anyway, the taste of water from the leather pouch wasn’t refreshing like in my fantasies.

Rather, it was the opposite.

The water was unpleasantly lukewarm, and it tasted bad because of the leather flavor.

Tannin, was it tannin?

I heard it’s something used in tanning.

Anyway, that’s what it tasted like. I’ve never tried it before, but that’s what it was like, and it wasn’t good.

It was something difficult to endure unless you were a skilled hunter like Isla or an experienced adventurer like Melody or my sister, which is why Isla often took out her secret weapon when we had to drink water together.

“I’ll give you another piece.”

“Ah.”

It was hardened fruit jam.

Boiled down, spread on a square wooden plate, dried and hardened. Something easy to store, lightweight, and durable even with rough handling.

Something that could be drunk like tea even when I set up camp alone with Lorian.

I put the hardened fruit jam held between Isla’s fingers into my mouth, melting it on my tongue, and thought.

It would have been better if it were sweeter.

But I couldn’t complain in front of the person who made it.

So I smiled.

A pair of blue-gray eyes sparkled happily as they captured my smiling face.

It was Isla.

“Thank you.”

“Lu doesn’t like leather pouches.”

I handed back the leather pouch with an awkward smile, and Isla took a sip from it before slightly wrinkling her cute face.

Her ears fluttered, and her long, plump tail moved up and down.

Isla returned the leather pouch to her waist and walked.

In the middle of the forest where evening was gradually approaching.

We were following footprints in the snow.

It was a task we had repeated many times before, hunting (or rather, me just watching and being a luggage-carrying drone).

But this task was a bit different from usual.

“Ugh…”

First, I was stiff from just waking up.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

Second, Isla wouldn’t let me do anything, saying, “We can’t make someone work on their birthday.”

“No. I’ll do it.”

So I just walked alongside Isla, watching her hunt.

It might seem boring, but it was actually quite interesting because it was new.

You know, like those video platforms where videos of people quietly doing their work became popular.

I was a bit behind on trends since I was busy with part-time jobs in my third year.

If my memory serves me right, videos of people just quietly studying would get hundreds of thousands of views.

Despite showing familiar scenes of studying, they were popular.

And that was just because the person had a good-looking face.

In that sense, Isla was definitely someone who guaranteed excellent “video appeal.”

Snow-white hair, a well-flowing bob cut.

Beautiful blue-gray eyes that made your heart race when they looked at you, framed by snow-white eyelashes.

Like a clear sky spread over a snow-covered field.

There was something captivating about her that made you stare in a daze.

And that wasn’t all.

When our eyes met and I was lost in a daze, Isla would hold my gaze for a moment and then smile gently.

A fresh, kind, affectionate smile permitted because we had already become intimate.

There was something about it that made me smile back without even realizing it.

But there was one more element added to this.

The unfamiliar, mesmerizing professional work.

You can see it in videos uploaded to famous platforms.

Someone in work clothes cleaning a gun.

Someone carving wood to make a bow and shooting it.

Someone building a cabin.

Such videos inherently have a magical quality that makes you watch them blankly, which is why they get good views.

Now, what if an incredibly beautiful woman is doing such work in a video?

The views would be guaranteed. That’s why I briefly thought:

If all this ends and there’s a typical return to the modern world (though I don’t particularly want to go back).

Let’s record videos of Isla hunting and upload them.

“Lu.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Over there.”

What interrupted my thoughts was a hand gently pulling at my collar and a tail softly poking my cheek.

I fought the urge to put that tail in my mouth and looked up.

There was a beast in that direction.

A kind of beast not seen on Earth.

It looked somewhat like a buffalo, but with a more sleek appearance.

A predator that looked like a mix between a buffalo and a wolf.

In reality, if it charged at me, I could kick it and split it in half, but that would ruin the meat’s flavor.

I nodded to Isla and lowered my posture, and Isla smiled gently as she drew her bow from her waist.

The bow that burned with light, “Morning Sun.”

An item used by Isla’s tribespeople who had come to hunt me before.

Not a great item in the forest where night was falling, but Isla held it as if it didn’t matter.

The beast raises its head. Our eyes meet. But the beast probably can’t see properly because of the light from the bow.

It’s like shining a flashlight in someone’s face. They can sense something is wrong, but can’t grasp the exact situation, so they freeze.

The opening created lasts less than 0.5 seconds.

For the previous Isla, without a pre-loaded crossbow, it would have been too short a time.

I noticed her necklace rattling slightly, and I felt a certain energy.

Having become accustomed to anti-magic power while using the Black Knight’s armor, I could tell what kind of energy it was.

Magic power.

Isla channeled magic power into her hands.

The “skill” she couldn’t use until now due to being a half-transformation tribe without magic power now shone in her hands.

The hunter’s level 10 skill that remains useful even at level 20.

Shadow Piercing.

Effect: Instant shot and guaranteed hit.

Swish—!

A sharp wind sound echoed. The light arrow formed on the bow flew like lightning.

And.

Thud!

It pierced the beast’s head. The beast staggered, not even realizing it was dead, then collapsed to the ground.

I unconsciously whistled, and Isla, wagging her tail at my reaction, approached the prey.

There was no need for a confirmation kill.

The Shadow Piercing skill Isla used guaranteed a hit.

Until now, she couldn’t use it because it consumed magic power, but once activated, Shadow Piercing couldn’t be blocked unless interrupted beforehand or countered with a defensive mage’s barrier.

How could a mere beast block it? I nodded as I looked at the hole left in its head after the light arrow disappeared.

I reached out to move it, but a white hand gently took mine.

“I’ll do it.”

“I know, I know. Can I at least pull the cart?”

“It’s your birthday.”

That meant no. I awkwardly smacked my lips as I watched Isla dragging the prey that must have weighed at least 200kg.

Isla’s necklace was emitting a faint light.

Despite having received an explanation beforehand, I found myself unconsciously looking at the necklace whenever this happened.

Isla threw the dragged prey onto the sled, then picked up the extended rope in front of the sled and pulled.

“Let’s go.”

The sled was already piled high with prey. Probably more than we could eat before winter ended.

Yet Isla said she went hunting every day. As if compensating for something, or confirming something.

I followed her as she walked.

“Isla.”

Her tail swayed gently. I looked at her tail while choosing my words.

Even then, I couldn’t say what I wanted to.

That day, the day Isla and I became one.

The wound I thought had been resolved still remained within her.

It couldn’t be helped.

‘That necklace is an accessory made from the fruit formed by the essence of the being who was Selma. It’s an item that makes Isla a complete transformation tribe member.’

I recalled Ortemilia’s explanation and smiled bitterly.

Isla was still blaming herself.

For gaining power only after everything was too late.

For ultimately not being able to do anything.

I followed such an Isla back to the divine temple.