Chapter 23

The next day, the three of us headed to the lake. I brought a water jug and an axe. First, we made a log transport platform, but when I started chopping the wood with the axe,

"O, o, Master! This!?"

"Huh? Oh, this axe?"

"This is really amazing!!"

Rike got extremely excited. I should have shown it to him yesterday...

"Do you want to try it?"

"Can I!?"

"Yeah. Be careful, it cuts like crazy."

"Okay!"

Rike took the axe I handed him. It’s kind of giving off a strong dwarf vibe.

"Here I go!"

Rike struck the axe against the tree. A satisfying thud echoed, but it looked like nothing happened.

"?"

Rike looked puzzled, so I called out to him.

"Move back, it's dangerous."

"Huh? O, okay!"

Rike moved back as I told him, still puzzled.

"I heard the sound, but there was no resistance..."

Yeah, that’s right.

"Just wait a moment."

"?"

I turned to Rike, and just then, the tree started to slide down on the side opposite where Rike had struck it.

"Whaaat!?"

Rike shouted in surprise. Sermia said,

"You get scared, right? I felt a bit weird the first time I saw it too. But Eizou was totally calm."

She was sympathizing. So that’s what she was thinking back then...

"Anyway, it cuts like this, so be very careful when using it."

"O, okay."

Rike, who was a bit hesitant, seemed to have gotten the hang of it after that and chopped down about four trees, processing them into logs.

"Not bad at all."

"I've done similar things before."

If we were going to expand, that makes sense. We tied the logs together with ropes.

"Alright, let's head back."

I called out, and Sermia waded into the lake where she had submerged the deer. It looked pretty deep. It would be fine for Sermia and me, but Rike might be on the edge.

"Rike, wait here for a moment."

"Okay."

I approached where Sermia was, and there was a deer of considerable size submerged. It might be over two meters long.

"Wow, it's huge."

"Right? I wounded it once, but it still tried to escape, so it took some time to catch it."

"Sure, it must have."

It must have been a struggle to submerge it here with this size.

"That must have been tough. Good job."

"Hehe."

Sermia was genuinely happy with my praise.

First, Sermia and I pulled the deer to where Rike was. With Rike's help, we managed to pull it to the shore relatively quickly.

Then, just like before, we dragged the deer onto the log transport platform, secured it, and filled the water jug with water, securing it as well. With the preparations complete, the three of us dragged the transport platform.

It took us about 30 minutes to get back home.

Now, it was time to butcher the deer. Given its size, it was more difficult to lift than before. The process of skinning it wasn't much different from last time, but Rike was amazed by the sharpness of the "serious model" knife.

Sermia and I, who use it regularly, don't cut unnecessary parts, but if you're not used to it, you might cut the skin or damage organs that shouldn't be damaged (like the bladder, gallbladder, and large intestine).

I had promised to show Rike the "high-end model" today, but maybe the "serious model" knife would be good for him too.

Despite the deer's large size, it was quickly transformed into meat. The amount of meat was proportionate to its size.

"With this much, even if we all eat a lot, it should last us two weeks. Thanks, Sermia."

When I said that, Sermia said,

"R, really? Then I'll bring more next time!"

She said it happily.