Ch.76Lakeside Camping

    After finishing our investigation of the ancient ruins, we decided to head directly to the Fourth Western City instead of returning to Cotton Tail Trading Post as we descended from Mount Evernight.

    While this travel plan might sound reckless at first, there were good reasons behind our decision.

    From Cotton Tail Trading Post, Mount Evernight is located about 30 kilometers to the south-southwest, nearly due south, while the Fourth Western City, Riverside, is situated approximately 40 kilometers to the west.

    If we plot these three points on a right triangle, by the Pythagorean theorem, the distance from Mount Evernight to the Fourth Western City calculates to about 50 kilometers.

    ‘We’ve only been outdoors for one day, so there’s no need to detour through Cotton Tail Trading Post and travel an extra 20 kilometers.’

    If it were an ordinary western city, there might be merit in stopping by to deliver our findings to the Pioneer Affairs Office, but Cotton Tail Trading Post is a lawless extraterritorial zone where pioneer laws don’t apply—hardly a place to bring artifacts of tremendous value.

    “For that reason, let’s camp by this lakeside tonight.”

    “Agreed~”

    “Yay~”

    Considering our fatigue from the night trek through the mountains, we moved at a leisurely pace and set up camp by a lake we discovered along the way.

    The lake’s surface, which appeared to be at least 300 meters wide from our vantage point, rippled gently in the breeze.

    I couldn’t help but smile at the peaceful scene—a pair of swans gliding leisurely across the sparkling water and three ducks gathered in one corner.

    “What a beautiful lake. While it’s delightful to spend a day in such a place… haven’t we stopped our march rather early?”

    “Well, ending our march at 3 PM is certainly earlier than usual.”

    “But we’ve already come more than 15 kilometers from Mount Evernight, right? We should reach Riverside by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, so there’s no need to worry.”

    “Hey! I’ll make some fishing rods, and we can catch fish for dinner tonight!”

    “Fish!”

    Seti’s ears perked up immediately at the mention of fish.

    It wouldn’t be bad to occasionally cook with fresh ingredients sourced locally instead of always eating hard bread and jerky…

    “Come to think of it, I haven’t been paying attention to this, but is it safe to eat ingredients or drink water obtained outdoors?”

    “Plant and animal species are generally safe as long as they’re not monsters. Though I’d recommend boiling water before drinking it, just in case.”

    “What about the possibility of monsters living in the lake?”

    “It’s not impossible, but we have Phyllis in our party.”

    Jessica made a lightning bolt gesture with her finger as she said this.

    Apparently, she meant that any water-dwelling monsters could be dealt with by a single Lightning Bolt.

    After setting up our tents in a suitable spot and deploying barrier magic, we prepared to fully enjoy our lakeside camping experience.

    Mina carved two makeshift fishing rods from long branches that Seti had cut, and they each took one and headed to the lakeside.

    Within five minutes of casting their lines with soaked jerky pieces as bait, Seti reeled in a palm-sized fish.

    Mina followed suit, successfully catching a fish of similar size.

    “We’re only catching enough for tonight’s dinner. Understood?”

    “Yes. I don’t hunt prey I won’t eat.”

    While Seti and Mina were fishing, I helped Phyllis dig up potato roots she had found near our campsite.

    Carefully excavating with a shovel to avoid damaging the potatoes, we unearthed a string of more than ten potatoes, each slightly larger than a golf ball.

    “Oh, these are quite substantial. It would have been a shame to miss them.”

    “Identifying edible plants is essential knowledge for survival in the forest. Potatoes in particular are excellent ingredients—finding just one root can easily satisfy hunger.”

    “Oh, does this mean we get to try traditional elven potato dishes tonight?”

    “Hehe, I’m afraid I can’t meet that expectation. I have absolutely no talent for cooking. At best, I could manage roasted potatoes.”

    “Roasted potatoes are good too. Though I’m not sure how well they’ll go with fish.”

    When thinking of fish and potatoes, fish and chips comes to mind first, but I’ve never made it before, and the amount of cooking oil we have is far too little for fried dishes.

    Maybe I’ll just go with simple roasted potatoes… As I was thinking this, I turned to find Jessica looking at me expectantly.

    Her expression clearly showed she was hoping I would create something new.

    ‘I should make something impressive… Ah, that’s it.’

    I recalled a dish I had eaten at an airport restaurant just before traveling from New York to San Francisco.

    Swiss potato pancakes called rösti—not much more advanced than roasted potatoes, but presentable in its own way.

    It would be the best choice among potato dishes we could make with our available ingredients and cooking tools.

    “Delicious! Another plate of rösti, please!”

    “Could you give me a little more mashed potatoes?”

    “Jessica, if you’re not eating the fish head, can I have it?”

    We enjoyed a hearty dinner of rösti, grilled fish, and honey cheese mashed potatoes as we sat by the campfire at the lakeside while the sun set.

    It would have been perfect with beer or soda, but bottles are heavy and fragile, making them burdensome for long marches.

    Though there seems to be about one dwarf who’s demanding rösti refills while downing whiskey from a flask.

    “I must say, this is unexpected. These are the skills of someone with experience as a chef, not just an adventurer.”

    “I was surprised too when I first tasted Will’s cooking. There are hardly any adventurers who can cook this properly.”

    “Yes. Will’s cooking is delicious.”

    While I’m embarrassed by the praise, what surprised me was that the rösti I confidently presented as a dish from another world was already widely known in Grantis.

    It’s not strange for similar foods to develop in places where the same edible crops grow, but I never expected even the name “rösti” would be the same.

    ‘Oh my, are you making rösti? I love that!’

    When Jessica asked me that as she saw me frying the shredded potatoes in oil, I was truly caught off guard.

    To save face as a drifter in this crisis, I came up with a side dish with intense flavors.

    The sweet and savory honey cheese mashed potatoes, flavored with honey and cheese, received high praise as a side dish to the otherwise mild rösti and grilled fish.

    It was a humbling incident that made me reflect on my arrogance in thinking I could conquer the palates of this world after the success of my quesadillas.

    ‘In that case, next time I’ll make kimchi… no, that might be a last resort.’

    Having made kimchi myself during my bachelor days, I could certainly make it in Grantis if I had the ingredients, but even in the 21st century with Korea’s elevated global status, kimchi remained a polarizing food among Westerners.

    I should probably be cautious about attempting “Do you know kimchi?” in Grantis.

    After our lively dinner, we had coffee to cleanse our palates and buried the fish bones and potato peels in the ground.

    The frying pan, cups, and dishes were cleaned in an instant with Jessica’s Clean Up spell.

    The cleanup after our two-hour luxurious dinner took less than ten minutes.

    “Ahh~ I ate so much~”

    “Lying down right after eating will give you indigestion. Besides, you drank alcohol too.”

    “Oops.”

    Mina sprang up like a coiled spring, perhaps feeling something rising in her throat.

    Jessica and Seti, and even Phyllis, ate heartily—I wondered where all that food went in her slender body.

    “I’d like to walk around the lake to help digestion, but would that be dangerous?”

    “With Seti and Phyllis, we could detect most monsters before they find us… but honestly, I don’t feel like fighting right now.”

    “Yeah. I’m too full to run around.”

    “OK, then let’s just sit here and enjoy the night sky.”

    Despite the gentle glow of the campfire illuminating our surroundings, the stars in the night sky remained undimmed.

    In the center of that night sky, a thin crescent moon and one particularly bright star showed off their presence.

    As I gazed at this picturesque scene that resembled the Turkish flag, Phyllis murmured softly:

    “Seeing Titania shine so brightly, today must be a blessed day.”

    “Titania?”

    “That’s the name of the bright white star next to the moon. It can only be seen between the 24th and 30th of each month when the crescent moon is out, and on the opposite side of the moon, there’s a star called Oberon that can only be seen between the 1st and 6th of each month. The names Oberon and Titania come from the king and queen of the fairy folk who are said to have lived in Grantis long ago.”

    Pointing to Titania in the night sky and the yet unseen position of Oberon, Phyllis shared the elven legend of the fairy stars.

    Long ago, Grantis was home to tiny magical beings called the “fairy folk” or “fairy race.”

    The fairy king Oberon and fairy queen Titania, leaders of the fairy folk, were also guardians of love who first spread the culture of weddings in Grantis. Though they rarely showed themselves to other races, it was said that whenever a wedding took place somewhere, a fairy would invariably attend as a guest to bless the newlyweds.

    However, when dark magical energy engulfed Grantis, the fairy folk, unable to endure it, abandoned the earth and departed for the moon in the sky.

    King Oberon and Queen Titania devoted themselves to establishing a new fairy kingdom on the moon while always worrying about the other races left on earth.

    Concerned about his wife’s face filled with anxiety, fairy king Oberon made a suggestion to Titania one day:

    ‘Since our fairy folk do not work at night by rule, wouldn’t it be fine to leave the palace while the moon is shadowed?’

    Thus, Oberon and Titania decided to take turns leaving the palace to check on the earthly situation during the days when more than half of the moon was darkened.

    Titania appears next to the moon for six days when the crescent moon is waning, and Oberon for six days when the crescent moon is waxing.

    “I knew about the mysterious stars that appear and disappear next to the moon, but I didn’t know they had such a romantic legend…”

    “So why is today a blessed day?”

    “Oberon is a fairy who blesses the fulfillment of unrequited love, while Titania blesses pregnancy and childbirth. It’s said that when Titania shines this brilliantly, she’s rejoicing because someone will be blessed with a child tonight.”

    “A child…”

    Upon hearing this, Jessica and Seti both blushed deeply and simultaneously looked at me.

    Phyllis smirked at the two of them and then said in an excessively serious tone:

    “Fairy magic cannot be blocked by spells or incantations. If you plan to continue adventuring, it would be best to sleep quietly tonight.”

    “P-Phyllis, really!”

    “Um… if it’s Will’s child…”

    “Whew~ Seti, how bold!”

    “OK, everyone calm down. Especially you, Seti—no excitement. What Phyllis told us is just a legend, right, Phyllis?”

    “Hehe. No comment, I’ll say.”

    Phyllis gave us a meaningful smile, winked at the three of us, and retreated to her tent.

    Mina also slipped away as soon as she made eye contact with Seti, leaving the three of us by the midnight campfire with only an awkward atmosphere between us.


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