Chapter 19

After the fierce blizzard subsided, we began to descend the mountain.

We placed the young noble on a stretcher made from a mat and the long weapons of Gar and Zara, and carried him with "heave-ho" and "hoist-ho."

There was talk of what to do if we encountered a battle on the way, but when I pointed it out, the captain said something outrageous.

"At that time, we'll definitely leave him behind and run away."

"Hey, that's terrible!"

The captain let out a hearty laugh, like a bandit. When I felt disbelieving, Zara told me, "It's a joke, so don't worry." Since his face looked so fierce and his words sounded serious, I thought he should stop making confusing statements.

The sun was setting outside. If we didn't hurry back, it would become pitch dark.

We didn't waste time talking and descended steadily and quickly.

When we returned to the headquarters of the knight squad, the young noble was immediately treated by a doctor.

Fortunately, it seemed he only had minor injuries. The nurse praised us for the good first aid.

After the report, the noble uncles came to thank us. They were overjoyed, even shedding tears, as they had been told that the young noble had a high chance of not surviving.

I thought it was good, but it wasn't over yet.

"Tomorrow, we have to go and retrieve the luggage."

It turned out that everyone except me had abandoned their luggage. Since valuable items were also in it, we had to go back to the mountain to retrieve them.

"Also, we were told to check the dead snow bear's body."

Urgas and I simultaneously exclaimed, "Oh noooooo…"

It seemed we would have to stay here for one night. I thought we could return by carriage, but apparently not.

I had a vague feeling that it would be like this, but Urgas, who had believed without doubt that he could return, was holding his head and kneeling on the ground.

"What's wrong? Do you have something to do in the capital?"

"No, I don't. I don't even have a fiancée."

The captain's face stiffened at the mention of a fiancée.

Everyone pretended not to notice, but he had a bright red handprint on his cheek since morning. The swelling had subsided now.

He must have been asked, "Which is more important, me or your job!?"

I really wanted to see it in person, but it's easier to say when it's not about me.

Urgas was still depressed.

"Then what's wrong?"

"The food here doesn't suit my taste."

"Well, that can't be helped. This is a hastily set up facility. There's no chef here."

Indeed, the soup we had at noon was quite strong.

It was actually quite bad.

Urgas, with tears in his eyes, insisted that he wanted to eat something delicious.

"Urgas, I can't promise it will be delicious, but I can try to make something."

I thought I could make something better than what was served here.

"Really? That's okay?"

"Yes, it's fine."

"Thank you, Lislis medic!!"

Urgas shed a tear. It must have been that bad.

While thinking about what to make, the captain suddenly brought out an object in front of me.

"If that's the case, use this."

"Ah!!"

It was a piece of meat from some animal without a head. Probably a mountain hare, judging by its size.

It had only had its head cut off, and the fur had not been removed; only the blood had been drained.

"What is this?"

"We hunted it in the mountains during the rescue."

He had secured food in case he couldn't join up with Urgas.

I took the mountain hare from the captain.

It was surprisingly heavy when I took it, causing me to wobble.

"Are you okay, Mel? Are you tired?"

Zara supported my back and looked at me. I shook my head to indicate I was fine.

I wasn't at my limit yet.

For now, I decided to cook outside to avoid getting in the way of the kitchen staff.

I asked the captain to get permission from the higher-ups.

Gar would fetch firewood, and Urgas and Deputy Captain Berry would get ingredients.

Zara offered to help me.

While waiting, I started to butcher the hare.

First, I tied its hind legs and hung it from a tree.

I made cuts in the legs and began to peel the skin.

"Oh, you're good at this."

"My father was good at hare hunting."

"I see."

In the village, butchering small animals was a woman's job. So, by the time you were ten, you were well-trained. As a child, I used to cry while butchering.

I removed the internal organs, separated the meat from the bones, and cleaned them with snow.

"Zara, you're also skilled."

She had been butchering the hare efficiently. I thought she had learned it in the mess hall, but that wasn't the case.

"I used to eat only hare."

"Is that so?"

When I asked what kind of dishes she ate, she mentioned some unexpected cooking methods.

"Like a soup made with blood."

"Wow!"

Apparently, living in a snowy region made it difficult to secure food, so they didn't waste even the blood from hunted animals.

"In my village, we also made blood sausages."

"Of course. What about blood pudding?"

"I've never heard of it."

Blood pudding is made from animal blood, spices, and wheat, and is rich in iron.

It is served with a wood strawberry sauce.

"I can't even imagine what it tastes like."

"Hmm, like a failed pancake?"

"A failed pancake... That sounds like a strange dish."

I was slightly intrigued. Since iron deficiency is common, it might be good for me.

"Talking about such things to other girls, they say it's disgusting."

"That's true. Every culture has its unique aspects."

In my village, we made dishes from fermented beans. When I mentioned this, Zara was surprised.

I thought it was a common dish, but one day, when I served it to a traveling merchant, he wrinkled his nose and said, "I've never seen such a smelly food!"

That's when I realized it was a traditional dish from my village.

"I see, you ferment beans."

"Yes, the smell is terrible, and I don't like it."

Zara said she wanted to try it. I thought she was brave.

After we finished butchering, the captain and Deputy Captain Berry returned.

It seemed we had permission to cook outdoors.

I would process the meat, while the others would help by cutting vegetables and tending the fire.

First, I put snow in a pot and added the hare's bones to make stock.

While waiting for the snow to melt, I pounded the meat to make ground meat. This time, I also crushed the soft backbone.

I used plenty of spices to mask the meat's odor.

Once the snow melted and the pot boiled, I skimmed off the scum, removed the bones, and added distilled alcohol.

I added the vegetables cut by Deputy Captain Berry and let them simmer for a while.

When the pot started to boil vigorously, I added the meatballs with hare bones.

I skimmed off the scum again.

Finally, I adjusted the flavor with spices, and the "hare meatball snow-melt pot" was complete.

In the dim light, we relied on the lanterns to serve the dishes.

The knights on patrol were staring at us, but at that moment, our hunger outweighed our embarrassment.

The meal was ready.

The captain took a bottle of forest apple wine from my bag.

"Captain, that's not allowed!"

"Don't worry. No one important will come here."

He poured the forest apple wine into cups for everyone. It seemed he wanted to make us all accomplices.

After a pre-meal prayer, the captain pushed the cups filled with wine to each of us.

Everyone held their cups with a wry smile.

"You did well today. Don't hesitate to drink."

It was unlicensed homemade wine, but I thought, "Whatever," and clinked glasses.

The alcohol seemed to seep into my tired body.

Urgas and I, who are not good with alcohol, drank the forest apple wine boiled in the pot for our second cup.

It was also delicious.

We also started to eat the hare pot.

I took a sip of the soup. I was surprised by the sweet broth. Even with the captain's rough bloodletting, it was quite delicious. Indeed, winter hares are tasty.

The meat was similar to chicken. The meatballs were fluffy, and the spices were well-seasoned, so there was no gamey smell. The bones added a pleasant crunch.

Everyone ate in silence.

I could tell from their expressions that they enjoyed it.

I was glad it suited their taste.