Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Personal Chef of the Sorceress Who Can’t Eat Alone.

Episode 2: Believe Me Anyway

Indeed, as Gordon kept mentioning the mage, Karem could finally witness the sorcery of the girl, Catherine Marigold Athanitas.

“Kid. Age and name.”

“Oh, Karem. I’m 10 years old!”

“Catherine Marigold Athanitas. Mind your manners when addressing me.”

And the magic that the boy, Karem, witnessed for the first time was indeed astonishing.

Just a very simple snap of her fingers.

That alone froze all the corpses, flesh, and puddles of blood around them.

And though Gordon grumbled incessantly, he worked diligently to clean up the scene. Of course, Karem could guess why Gordon was working so hard.

In his past life, it was natural for a person to rot and return to the soil according to the laws of nature when they died.

But in the continent of Europa, even a neglected corpse could turn into a very dangerous monster, fitting the fantasy setting—the so-called undead monster. People who were left unattended or died unjustly were at risk of turning into undead.

It was natural to have a proper funeral, and if that was not possible, they would burn everything to prevent one becoming an undead.

That’s why Karem also worked hard to make the bonfire that Gordon or Catherine had prepared even bigger.

Of course, it was necessary to burn dozens of corpses right now, and fortunately, there was a forest and broken wagons that could be used as firewood.

“But Sir Gordon.”

“Hoo, just call me by my name. We’re both former serfs.”

“Then, Gordon?”

Gordon nodded and threw the frozen corpse into the large bonfire.

“Hup, alright. Anyway, if you have any questions, ask them quickly. There are still piles of corpses to burn.”

“There are wagons and mercenaries, but not a single horse?”

“Oh, horses?”

Karem’s question was reasonable. Surely, they wouldn’t have made workers or mercenaries pull a loaded wagon?

Karem had often seen merchants visiting the village once a week with a wagon, and it was always pulled by horses.

Of course, sometimes bipedal birds known as runners, often seen in games, pulled them instead of horses. But there was no sign of wagons that runners could pull at this raid scene.

“Huuu. Griffons are all crazy about horse meat. They might have thrown a family party.”

“A family? Did several griffons attack, not just one?”

“Four in total. Our stupid employer was secretly transporting griffon eggs.”

Gordon pointed to a wagon that was still partially intact.

Unlike the other wagons, this one was so badly damaged that it was almost unrecognizable.

Karem knew what griffons were.

A fantasy creature or monster with the upper body and wings of an eagle and the lower body of a lion, larger than a bear. In his past life, he had only seen them in pictures, and in his current life, he had only heard about them.

But griffon eggs?

“Then you got caught up in the wrath of a griffon family that lost their baby?”

“Well, the job was a disaster. Only two survivors. But there’s at least one piece of good news.”

Good news? What good news could there be when the mercenary job failed? Karem tilted his head in confusion, and Gordon smiled brightly as if his fatigue had disappeared.

“The dead guys and everything in the wagons are all ours now.”

“Huh, what? Ours?”

“Of course. Even if the honorable mage and I wanted to take everything, it’s too much for us alone.”

Gordon grabbed Karem’s shoulder and turned him from the bonfire. There were piles of weapons and leather pouches stacked up.

“When did you manage to pile all that up?”

“Of course, I moved them while transferring the corpses. But you’re lucky.”

“Lucky?”

“Unlike me, who started with nothing, you get to start with some capital.”

Gordon lightly tapped Karem’s chest with the back of his hand as if congratulating him. Indeed, he was right.

A 10-year-old runaway serf with no connections or property wouldn’t have many opportunities even if he went to the city.

People wouldn’t look kindly on him, and it would be difficult to settle down. If unlucky, he might even fall into a criminal organization.

Though it was unsettling to think the items had been near corpses until just moments ago.

“Indeed…?”

“That’s right—hmm!?”

Whoosh—Thump!

Gordon quickly ducked his head, and an ice chunk whizzed past like a bird. It was Catherine.

The sorceress glanced at Gordon with disapproval and froze the puddle of blood.

“You’re teaching the kid some good stuff.”

“Oh, honorable mage. Did I say anything wrong? You’re going to take a good share too, aren’t you?”

“Of course.”

Catherine responded confidently, not backing down from the irate Gordon.

“Just as people eat bread, magic consumes gold rapidly. So, it’s only natural to seize any opportunity to get more.”

“Then why?”

“If the things you’re supposed to take care of melt while you’re goofing off, I’ll have to do the work twice.”

Catherine pointed to the frozen remains on the other side of the bonfire, waiting desperately for someone to clean them up.

Anyway, she wasn’t wrong. So, grumbling, Gordon started moving the corpses again, and Karem resumed gathering firewood from the surrounding wagons.

Anyway, all he had to do now was gather firewood to burn the corpses.

At least it was easier than moving frozen corpses and blood ice like Gordon.

By the time the sun tilted diagonally past noon, thanks to Gordon’s efforts, all the corpses had been cleared.

Of course, that didn’t mean the work of the remaining people was entirely over.

As Gordon began to gather the belongings of the dead that had been loaded in the wagons, Karem quickly joined in.

The remnants of the wagons were filled with wooden boxes containing various wooden fragments, stones, and rusty scrap metal, essentially trash.

While Gordon was a bit disappointed as he opened all the boxes in confusion, Karem headed towards the last remaining, less damaged wagon with Catherine.

“Ah, that wagon is a food wagon.”

“Food?”

“Yes. Instead of a high fee, they provided food.”

“They stole griffon eggs, but they fed you well?”

Indeed, as Catherine said, the wagon with broken wheels was filled with food. Karem suddenly thought it looked like a fantasy merchant’s food cart.

A small barrel was half-filled with apples, next to it were bundles of sausages, hardening barley bread, several packages of jerky, and hardtack.

Other wooden boxes were filled with turnips, carrots, celery, cabbage, onions, and garlic. Around them were various cooking utensils like pots and pans, and large cheeses of different colors rolling around.

When they opened a wooden box the size of a jewelry box hidden in the corner of the wagon, they found several lumps of butter covered in salt.

Looking at them, Karem suddenly remembered he hadn’t had lunch.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, it’s way past lunchtime.”

“Well, there was a lot to clean up. Want an apple?”

“No, first let’s see what we have—”

At that moment.

Growl.

A quiet but distinct cute sound was heard.

To compare, it was like the sound of water draining from a sink. Specifically, the sound of a hungry stomach demanding food.

Although Karem was in his growth phase and had been working, the sound just now didn’t come from him.

Then the remaining person was obvious.

“….”

“What, what?”

“Lady Athanitas. If you’re hungry, would you like an apple?”

Karem repeated what Catherine had said. It was half a joke, but Catherine, who paused and hesitated for a moment, raised her hand and made a fist.

Then she smacked the cheeky boy.

“You little brat.”

Thud!

“Ouch!”

It felt like a pain piercing through his skull, but Karem didn’t protest. After all, he had teased her.

But indeed, her stomach growling cutely was understandable.

They had been working hard well past lunchtime, cleaning up the caravan that had gotten caught in the griffon family rescue operation. Karem had felt his stomach churning for a while.

And the same went for Catherine, whose stomach had cutely asserted itself, and Gordon, who had done the most labor.

“Since we’re at it, let’s have a proper lunch, even if it’s late.”

Karem bent down and picked up a pot and a frying pan.

“Ah, this cool and heavy feeling. It’s been a while.”

“Well, I can’t cook, so I’ll leave it to Gordon—”

“No, I’ll do the cooking.”

And Karem immediately felt Catherine’s gaze on him.

When he turned his head, he could clearly see the question in her eyes, “What is this serf saying?”

There was only one thing Karem could say.

“Lady Athanitas, there are plenty of ingredients. Just trust me and give it a try.”

In this life, Karem was a serf, but in his previous life, Garam was the man who grilled meat when others ate it.

Above all, Karem’s hands were itching as soon as he saw proper cooking utensils for the first time in 10 years.