Chapter 34

Chapter 1: It's been many days since the number of favorites has increased. Everyone, if you want to keep it growing, please add it to your favorites to give me some motivation!

"They're not farmers!" This was the answer Cook gave after seeing the two farmers from a distance.

"How do you know? I think they are." Lori said with great dissatisfaction, answering in a serious tone.

"Look at their walking posture and the boots on their feet. Ask Mitch if you don't believe me." Cook couldn't help but laugh bitterly, not knowing when Lori had started to contradict him.

Mitch, seeing the inquiring looks from Mike and Lori, nodded vigorously and said, "Farmers, due to long-term labor, usually have bent backs. Look at these two. Also, farmers wouldn't wear boots in this season; they would wear shoes woven from grass. Boots are only worn in extremely cold weather."

"Uh, then who are they? They seem to be looking for something," Lori said, then asked.

"Shall we go and see?" Cook boldly suggested, then realized the situation was wrong.

"What do you mean by looking at me like that?" Cook, feeling guilty under the gazes of the other three, asked nervously.

"Cook, I hereby order you to go and find out what's happening," Lori said, puffing out her chest and waving her staff, looking down at him.

"Thump!" Cook immediately squatted down, staring straight at Lori.

"Alright, alright, who do you think is the most suitable among me, Mike, and Mitch? Mike and I have no experience, and you can't send Mitch, she's getting more and more beautiful!" Lori, feeling uneasy under Cook's gaze, retorted irritably.

"Uh!" Cook looked at Mitch. If such a girl were sent, she probably wouldn't come back. As for Lori and Mike, they were the most likely to be exposed.

"Alright, alright, alright!" Cook said, taking off his equipment and gear, leaving only a pair of shorts, and then barefoot, he crept forward. Of course, Little Bad definitely followed.

"Rude guy, taking off your clothes without even saying a word," Lori muttered after a while.

Wody and Kani were elite members of the Ceylon Empire's Royal Guard Corps. This time, they were accompanying the Third Prince to the front lines. Wody and Kani were rare commoners in the Royal Guard Corps, so they were often marginalized. Now, they had been assigned a ridiculous task: to search for broom mushrooms in the forest. These mushrooms, which looked like brooms, had a thin stem and straight, upright caps, and were a very precious ingredient. However, Wody and Kani didn't know what they looked like, so they wandered aimlessly in the forest.

"That damned Andrew, sending us to do something that should be done by hunters. We are warriors, warriors! Oh, these damned vines and thorns," Wody complained, though he was from a commoner family, not a farmer, and had some means, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to join the Royal Guard Corps.

"Exactly, I curse that bastard Andrew, may his big butt be stabbed twice," Kani agreed, looking around.

"Ha, Kani, you must be thinking of visiting Andrew's house if he dies. I heard Mrs. Andrew is very beautiful," Wody laughed.

"Um, I'll tell you, Mrs. Andrew has a very big chest, ..." Cook, listening on the side, couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Men were like this, always talking about women. These two were even making fun of their superior's wife.

"Uh!" Seeing the two about to pass, Cook deliberately moved, stepping on a dry branch. Wody and Kani immediately pounced, and two shiny one-handed swords were pressed against Cook.

"Who are you?" Wody and Kani saw a muddy little boy, who looked like a local farmer.

"I, I, I, I'm a kitchen helper at the ranch!" Cook trembled, and an unknown liquid flowed from his legs as he stammered.

"Kitchen!" Wody and Kani looked at each other, their eyes showing understanding.

"Then I ask you, what are you doing here?" Wody shouted, but he moved his sword away, clearly relaxing his guard.

"That night, I was in the toilet when I heard the ranch gate being smashed open. Then a group of people rushed in, grabbing people everywhere. I was very scared, so I climbed over the wall and escaped into the forest, but I didn't dare go deep because there were fierce beasts," Cook said, seeing the sword move away, feeling more relaxed, and speaking more coherently. Of course, this was all an act. Whether he was really scared or not, only Cook knew.

"Hmm, since you grew up here, do you know what a broom mushroom looks like?" Kani asked loudly.

"Yes, yes, it's very expensive. Are the two lords going to eat it?" Cook nodded. In fact, broom mushrooms usually grew under cliffs or at the base of large trees in dry, sunny spots, not in the forest.

"Good, take us to find them. If you try anything funny, our swords don't recognize people. Hey! What's that?" Wody threatened, then saw Little Bad behind Cook.

"A chipmunk," Cook said, looking at it with a wary eye, like a child protecting a beloved toy.

"Let's go! We must find them before dark, or no one can save you," Wody warned again.

"But, but I'm very hungry!" Cook said, trembling as he walked.

"Here, this is white bread," Kani threw a piece of white bread to Cook, who quickly grabbed it and started eating, though it was all an act.

"Do you think Cook chose the wrong profession? He should have been an assassin," Lori, Mike, and Mitch watched from a distance as the three left, and Lori asked doubtfully.

"Hmm, Cook has a talent for acting. He should have been an actor," Mike nodded, but his conclusion was quite different from Lori's.

"Lords, not to brag, but there are many broom mushrooms under the big trees in the valley ahead. I used to pick them for the ranch owner," Cook became more familiar with Wody and Kani, and started talking more. As for how Cook knew, don't forget Little Bad, who was always jumping around, and the big mouth that occasionally communicated with Little Bad.

"Hmm!" Wody and Kani looked at each other, both on high alert, but they didn't think Cook was lying. If Cook was right, his identity wouldn't be suspicious.

"Look, those big trees over there. Wow! There are so many. The last time I came, there weren't this many," sure enough, when they turned the corner of the valley, there were many broom mushrooms under the big trees.

"Stay put!" Wody and Kani were delighted. With so many broom mushrooms, it was enough. They took out bags to start picking.

"Not good, not good, lords, if you pick them like that, they'll go bad. Watch me," Cook looked around and quickly picked some fresh vines and a type of long, thin grass.

Then Cook sat down and started weaving with the fresh vines. In no time, a crude basket was woven. He put some leaves in the basket, lining the bottom, and handed it to Wody and Kani.

"What about the grass?" Wody looked at the crude basket and asked curiously.

"I'll weave a pair of grass shoes. Lords, I had a pair, but they just wore out. I was about to gather grass to weave a new pair, but then..." Cook said, weaving the grass shoes quickly.

"Hmm, take your time," Wody and Kani, with the basket, started picking broom mushrooms, while Cook weaved the grass shoes. Cook, who had learned to weave grass shoes as soon as he came to this world, was very quick.

Soon, a simple pair of grass shoes was woven, and Wody and Kani had picked many broom mushrooms. Cook looked around and came to a few shrubs, using a large leaf to pick wild fruits, which he wrapped in the big leaf.

"What are you doing?" Wody asked curiously.

"Snack, try it, lords, it's very tasty," Cook bit into a wild fruit and handed one to each of them.

"Hmm, very tasty," Wody tasted it, finding it sweet and sour, while Kani didn't eat it. Cook didn't mind. Thus, Cook carried a few big leaves tied together, Wody carried a basket made of vines, and Kani held a one-handed sword, alertly looking around.

"Truly elite from the Royal Guard Corps, they are clearly very skilled," Cook thought, seeing Kani's alertness and Wody's occasional glances around.