Chapter 46

Since it would be a waste to leave the large amount of peat fuel we made, I decided to take it back with me. Since I also buy solid fuel, this will save me some money.

When I greedily filled my leather bag to the brim, it became incredibly heavy, and I almost stumbled, but Deputy Captain Berry offered to carry it for me.

"Thank you, Deputy Captain Berry."

"Don't worry about it. It's good exercise."

Deputy Captain Berry is handsome as always today.

Rieselotte walked while gazing at Amelia with a dreamy expression.

"Hey, Rieselotte, if you keep looking around, you'll fall again—"

"Kyaa!"

Is this a recurring thing? Once again, Rieselotte almost tripped and fell due to the mud, but this time, Deputy Captain Berry pulled her up just in time.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes... Thank you."

She threw the bag of peat fuel she was holding, and Deputy Captain Berry's quick judgment and reflexes in helping Rieselotte were truly admirable.

"Please try to focus on walking and be alert to your surroundings while we're moving. Monsters can suddenly appear."

"I'm sorry."

Rieselotte looked dejected after being scolded by Deputy Captain Berry.

I realized I should have pointed it out when I noticed I was also looking at Amelia and felt regretful.

However, it's a good thing she didn't fall and get covered in mud.

An hour later, we returned to the base.

The men had a simple lunch with bread, dried meat, and pickled vegetables.

When I mentioned that we had eaten soup, Urgas looked envious.

"We'll be staying at a nearby village tonight, so we should be able to have a proper meal."

The captain said.

Apparently, we need to take the mud catfish's head to the village to confirm with the victim that this was indeed the monster that attacked them.

I see. In cases like this, where there's a possibility of a misidentification, it's important.

We returned to the village where we had left the carriage.

There's a small village about a thirty-minute walk from the Calkuk Marsh. Its name is Crescent.

The houses are built on stilts, and tall trees grow abundantly. The women were wearing revealing clothes, probably because of the heat.

We walked to the village chief's house. The captain was carrying a bag with the mud catfish's head inside.

This large bag was prepared in case the captain brought back the monster's head. I didn't expect it to be useful so soon. By the way, it's made of leather, and the captain paid for the materials.

When we came to pick up the carriage, there were hardly any villagers around, but today we saw a few.

Some people leaned in to get a better look, probably because knights are rare.

"Wow, it's a knight! So cool~"

The village children, who were watching from a distance, pointed and shouted.

"There's a really tall and beautiful lady! I've never seen anyone so pretty!"

That's not a lady, but a man. I didn't want to ruin their dreams, so I kept quiet.

"There's a big dog! Woof woof!"

A small child was excited to see Gar. Even though he's a wolf beastman, not a dog. The gentle Gar wagged his tail, and the children cheered.

"Is that a foal?"

"No, it's not. It's a hawk."

"It's not a hawk, it's a quadruped beast."

The griffin's fame is low, it seems. The villagers started to buzz. Approaching them was—

"That is the proud griffin, the hawk lion."

Rieselotte pointed at Amelia and spoke proudly.

"A hawk lion...?"

"Is it called a hawk lion?"

"Yes! In ancient times, it was revered as a divine messenger that protected the royal family, a miraculous creature with a gentle heart and noble spirit."

Amelia, who was introduced by Rieselotte, seemed uncomfortable with the attention from the villagers. Perhaps reading the atmosphere, she stopped, weakly spread her wings, and let out a hesitant "Quo~."

The villagers cheered and started to bow, saying, "Thank you, thank you."

Rieselotte looked satisfied that her griffin introduction was successful.

More and more villagers gathered, drawn by the cheers.

When someone mentioned that we might have defeated the man-eating lizard in the Calkuk Marsh, the crowd applauded and cheered.

It felt like a triumphal procession. How did it come to this?

"Mom, there's a little girl too!"

"Oh, really? She's so brave~. We should cheer her on."

"Go, go~"

The little girl they were talking about must be me. Embarrassed by the cheers from a ten-year-old boy, I pulled my hood deeper over my head.

Fortunately, the captain was also wearing a hood today, so we avoided a bandit scare. He apparently wore it to hide his beard because he was too lazy to shave.

In the midst of this, a plain young knight muttered in dissatisfaction.

"I wish I looked more striking, so people would fuss over me."

"It's just embarrassing."

Urgas seemed to want to be fussed over. If he showed off his archery skills, the village girls wouldn't ignore him, but he probably wants to be fussed over for his looks.

Suddenly, the village girls let out a high-pitched squeal. It turned out Deputy Captain Berry had waved at them with one hand.

"What is this feeling of being outshone by Deputy Captain Berry?"

"Don't worry. Urgas is also incredibly handsome and wonderful."

"Thank you, Nurse Lislis. Even though you read it like a script, it made me happy."

While chatting, we finally arrived at the village chief's house. Being freed from the spectacle, I felt relieved.

The inside of the house was quite spacious. The floor was covered with a carpet with a unique pattern like ivy, and animal bones from hunting were displayed on the walls. There were no tables or chairs. It seemed polite for men to sit cross-legged.

The village chief was in his forties, younger than I imagined. He had a small child who, upon seeing me, shouted, "Fairy!" I decided not to shatter the child's dream and replied, "Yes, I'm a fairy."

Only Urgas burst out laughing, so I made a mental note to remember that.

After greeting the family, the village chief spoke with us for a while. He seemed deeply moved that we had come from afar to defeat the monster.

The conversation turned to the main topic. We called the victim's family to confirm.

A young man in his mid-twenties arrived. He seemed to be the victim's grandson.

The captain opened the bag. Out came the mud catfish, which had almost no external injuries.

"This is it, this is the man-eating lizard!! This is what... what happened to grandpa..."

Indeed, it seemed he had mistaken the lizard for a catfish. He must have been in a panic and made a mistake.

The young man shed tears and bowed to us.

"Thank you... Now we can live in peace..."

It turned out that the family had been fishing in the Calkuk Marsh for generations. They lived by catching fish and other creatures from the marsh.

The village chief patted the young man's shoulder to encourage him.

It seemed that only one villager had been a victim. Encountering the giant mud catfish was just bad luck.

The atmosphere became somber, but the village chief suggested having a meal.

"You must be hungry. I've had some food prepared for you."

When the village chief clapped his hands, women carrying dishes started to enter one after another.

The floor was covered with carpets, and large platters were set out. The dishes were filled with meat dishes I had never seen before.

Herb-roasted lake chicken, skewers, steamed bread, a whole roasted fish, and the clams we had eaten yesterday. A large pot of soup was also there. I wondered what it would taste like.

The villagers had prepared a feast with fresh fish and meat from the Calkuk Marsh.

The village chief's wife poured the soup from the pot and handed it to us.

"This is mud catfish soup."

W-What!?

It seems the mud catfish is a local specialty.

I looked at Rieselotte, who was sitting next to me. She was rolling her eyes.

Noticing our subtle reactions, the village chief, after the women had left, said we didn't have to force ourselves.

However, we couldn't waste the food. I decided to be brave and try it.

When I stirred the soup with a spoon, I came face to face with a mud catfish. It was about the size of a pinky. They apparently eat smaller individuals.

Rieselotte, who had been watching me, let out a short scream, "Eek!"

Deciding to start with the soup, I pushed the mud catfish to the bottom of the plate.

Gathering my courage, I took a sip of the soup.

There was no mud taste at all. On the contrary, it had a good broth, probably due to the abundant herbs.

I scooped up the mud catfish that had sunk to the bottom and, gathering my courage, bit into the body.

"Ugh~"

Next to me, Rieselotte, who had also come face to face with the mud catfish, let out a scream.

The mud catfish was surprisingly soft. The bones were thoroughly cooked.

"Hmm, it's white meat. It has a mild flavor but is quite fatty and delicious."

The flesh was tender and melted in my mouth.

Rieselotte, who didn't have to force herself, bravely tried it too.

With teary eyes, she told the village chief, "It was delicious."

She must have swallowed it whole without chewing properly.