Chapter 86

After arriving at the first night's lodging, everyone got off the carriage.

Even though we took breaks, we were mostly seated. My body is stiff. This is too much for a 35-year-old with a pot belly.

Moreover, while I don’t get motion sickness, my butt is going to be in bad shape because there are no cushions. I don’t want to be asked if I have hemorrhoids. I might end up becoming a landlord.

While doing radio calisthenics to loosen up my body, I get strange looks from the people around me.

“I’ve been sitting for a long time, so I’m loosening up my body.”

When I say this, the gazes scatter. But, before I know it, they start looking at me again. I decide not to care.

The cooking is done by the passengers. I get three people to gather ingredients and firewood from the surroundings. I was in charge of watching the luggage, but the others, after eating their preserved food quietly, are preparing to sleep, wrapped in blankets.

I hadn’t had the time to observe, but I somehow accepted that this was how it was supposed to be.

The lodging place has a river nearby. Riz managed to secure a few birds and is preparing to clean them.

Rott is gathering firewood, and Fia is collecting wild herbs. There were some strong-smelling herbs like leeks, so I thought about making a bird stew.

“Does Fia eat leeks and such?”

“I eat them because my mom said they’re edible, but they’re not very tasty, are they?”

Hmm. It must be the wisdom of farmers. Riz said she hasn’t eaten them before.

While preparing the environment to hang the pot, Rott brought the firewood. I rearranged the firewood and twigs, and gathered dry leaves.

I lit the fire in the firebox with a flint, gently blew on it to make the embers bigger, and then transferred the fire to crumpled paper, lighting the dry leaves.

Then, I slowly blew air to spread the fire to the twigs and confirmed that it had spread to the firewood.

I hung the pot and used water magic to produce hot water, pouring it into the pot.

I can now heat a pot’s worth of water to around 70 degrees when I have some free time. My steady efforts are paying off.

Gradually, the fire grew larger, turning the bottom of the pot red.

By then, Riz had cleaned the birds, and I was mincing them on a wooden plate with a knife, along with the leeks.

I crushed the preserved food, mixed it with the mince, and formed it into balls with a spoon, dropping them into the boiling pot. I also chopped the organs and added them.

While waiting, I washed the wooden plate with hot water around 80 degrees, scrubbed it with a brush, and rinsed it again with hot water.

When the pot started to smell, I added the chopped herbs and stirred gently.

I tasted the soup and finished it with salt.

I had everyone bring their cups and divided the soup among them. Since there was a lot of bird meat, I set aside some for breakfast the next morning.

I dipped the preserved food into the soup and sipped it slowly, savoring the warmth.

“Ah! Leader, that’s so unfair!! Why is the food outside better than in a restaurant!?”

Fia shouted unreasonably.

“Yeah, you should open a restaurant with this taste.”

Rott agreed.

Riz, looking happy, quietly continued eating and refilled her own cup.

“Ah, Riz, that’s unfair!!”

Fia hurried to speed up. Well, there’s enough for two cups each.

I noticed the gazes of the others, but I guess it’s inevitable with the smell.

I stood up and approached where the passengers were gathered, apologizing for the disturbance.

They didn’t seem to have any negative feelings or malice, just curiosity.

Well, it’s not often that a party makes elaborate meals outdoors.

I chatted for a while and then moved away from the group. It’s better to move to prevent any trouble.

When I returned, the pot was completely empty. Fia looked satisfied.

“Ah, super satisfied. Eating something warm when it’s cold is so happy, isn’t it?”

Is this the culprit...? She’s only had one cup.

With a slightly sad feeling, I washed all the dishes and the pot with hot water, scrubbed them, and dried them with clean rags.

I handed out my own cup and spoon to each person.

The cups are wooden to prevent them from breaking.

Each person bought their own preferred cup: Riz has a bird design, Fia has a boar design, Rott and I have plain ones, but they are different shapes, so they are easy to distinguish.

The spoons are indistinguishable, so I’ve given up on them. I could mark them, but it’s not worth the trouble.

When the passengers realized the fire wouldn’t be extinguished, they approached.

We are planning to camp as part of the training. I don’t think there’s any danger, but it’s better to train when we can.

While chatting, a musician in the group took out a lute-like instrument and started singing.

At first, it was a quiet song praising the kindness of the gods, then a bright song celebrating the autumn harvest, and finally a fierce song evoking the terror of monsters in a town. I listened without really paying attention.

While there isn’t a specific profession called a bard, these musicians spread news in an entertaining way due to the lack of other means of information dissemination.

The musician made a grand bow, and a heroic melody began, telling the story of a hero saving a village from a great calamity.

At first, I didn’t feel anything in particular as I listened.

The hero, sensing the village’s crisis, eliminates the forest goblins with two beautiful maidens.

Still, countless goblins keep appearing from everywhere.

After gathering, the leader of the goblins appears and attacks the village to destroy it.

In the final battle on the plain, the leader of the goblins defeats the maidens, and just as they are about to be killed, the hero comes to their rescue.

The hero then defeats the leader in a one-on-one battle and receives praise from the country. The song ended there.

The passengers applauded and praised the performance.

Me? I was thinking, “That’s the previous story!!” the whole time. The story was exaggerated and full of lies.

Wow, is this how people are evaluated around here? I felt so embarrassed that I started acting strangely halfway through.

Riz was looking at me with a heated gaze. Fia, who was made one of the fallen, looked dissatisfied. Rott was nodding in agreement.

I thought the media’s distortion of the news in Japan was scary, but this glorified hero worship is too much. What if something goes wrong?

Since I’m on the middle shift tonight, I tried to quickly wrap myself in a blanket and go to sleep, but I was too embarrassed to fall asleep. I tossed and turned, eventually managing to drift off.

At least the next morning, I can say I felt the worst.