Chapter 18

After bringing the tree deer close to the house, I hung it upside down on a nearby tree and began to skin it. The knife was incredibly sharp, and before I knew it, the skinning was done.

Before I beheaded it, Sermia pointed to the antlers and said, "Look here, there's a break mark, right?"

"Wow, really?"

When I looked as she said, there were marks like broken branches all over.

"It's because of its size. When it panics and runs from forest wolves, its antlers inevitably hit something."

"Wow, you can really see that."

"Right?"

Sermia said proudly. I think it's impressive to have this kind of knowledge.

"The internal organs were already removed, what did you do with them?"

"If you leave them around, the wolves will come and eat them. Even if they don't, they'll return to the forest anyway."

"I see."

Letting nature take its course, I guess. In my previous world, doing something like this would cause various problems, but here it's not an issue.

When I cut the meat, it looked similar to what I had seen in my previous world.

"What about the remaining bones?"

"I'll go a bit further away and dispose of them. The wolves will eat them too."

"Doing this often, they might start following us."

"There are some that do, apparently."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Even if they don't follow, creatures that smell like beastmen or humans are less likely to be attacked. They know they can get decent prey without hunting themselves."

"They're smart."

"Yeah. Otherwise, they wouldn't survive in this forest."

"True."

If they recklessly attacked hunters, they would end up being hunted themselves. There are stragglers, but they don't seem to be many.

For lunch and dinner that day, we decided to grill the tree deer meat. The rest was hung up to dry for jerky. Since we use fire almost every day and the temperature is high and the humidity is generally low, it should work well. Eventually, we'll probably want a smokehouse or a storage shed.

The next day was Sermia's hunting break. It's a custom. Even if she brings back a lot of meat, they can't consume it all, and it's to prevent overhunting and reducing the population.

So, I decided to have her help with some work today.

Today, we were making a longsword, so I had her help with applying clay to the wooden mold.

"This is kind of fun."

"Right?"

It's a bit like playing with clay. I'll do the part where I break it and bury it in sand. I was happy to see the mold come out cleanly when I broke it.

Next, I had her help with removing the flash. She used a hammer to knock off the excess that had solidified. I showed her one example, and she did the rest.

"Wow, this is fun too!"

"Good, then take care of the rest."

"Okay!"

While she was doing that, I finished the blades. I completed two that day.

For about two days, I had Sermia help me, and we completed four longswords to replenish the stock.

"Today, I'm going hunting."

"Okay, have a good trip. Don't overdo it tomorrow when you go to town."

"Got it. I'm off."

I waved her off as she nimbly crossed the underbrush and disappeared into the forest. Well, I'll get started on the next project.

The more variety in what I can make, the better. After making knives and longswords, I decided to make a spear next.

I chose a branch about 140 cm long from the branches I had set aside while making the wood and began to shape it into a pole. Once the long pole was ready, I moved on to making the spearhead and the butt spike.

For the spearhead, I hammered a sheet of metal into a square prism, extended the base into a cylinder to fit the shaft, and sharpened the tip to a point, combining a square pyramid and a cylinder. I also added some blades, but for the first time, I made it a thrusting-only spear.

For the butt spike, I shaped a piece of iron the same weight as the spearhead into a cylinder, processed one end to fit the shaft, and made the other end slightly pointed.

Once the tempering of the spearhead was complete, I attached it and the butt spike to the shaft, and the short spear was finished. Since this was my first time making it, I made it a "top-of-the-line model." I can't sell it, but if Sermia gets more guards, I might give it to one of them.

I finished one short spear that day. Thanks to the combination of magic and my cheat, it probably would have taken much longer otherwise. I thought about that while putting out the fire in the workshop, checking the drying meat, and finishing the day's work.

Just as I was thinking about starting dinner, Sermia returned.

"Welcome back."

"J-just got back."

Sermia, blushing. I'm blushing too, so I hope she gets used to it soon.

"What did you catch today?"

"Woodleaf birds today."

Sermia held up two birds, about the size of crows from my previous world, with wings that resembled the leaves in this area. The birds in this forest must use camouflage. It must have been difficult to find and shoot them. I think Sermia is probably skilled, but the fact that she only caught two is evidence of that.

"Then, let's use them today."

"Sure, I'm looking forward to it."

First, I plucked the feathers. I kept the primary feathers, which were a beautiful emerald green, to use for decoration when the opportunity arose. I continued plucking the rest. The body feathers could be used for bedding or pillows, but Sermia said, "Not many people use woodleaf birds for that," so I gave up. It doesn't seem like there would be much anyway. In my previous world, I heard that the feathers of birds suitable for this purpose can yield a lot even from a small body, so they probably aren't suitable.

After plucking the feathers, I singed the down with a magic stove and then opened the belly to remove the internal organs. There were probably edible parts like the gizzard and liver, but I decided to discard them this time. Sermia also said, "We don't eat them much."

I separated the breast meat, wings, and thighs at the joints, and the meat preparation was complete. I decided to grill it with just salt.

We had a slightly luxurious dinner with tree deer soup, grilled woodleaf birds, and unleavened bread.

"I might not need to buy salted meat again tomorrow if we keep this up."

"Sure, I'll bring more back."

"Thanks."

I said, smiling.