Chapter 51

After showing Rike the custom-made model, I made a few high-end models and was thinking about wrapping up for the day when Sermia and Diana returned.

"Welcome back. Did you manage to hunt anything?"

"Just got back. Yeah, we managed to get a pretty big deer."

"Wow, that's impressive. Welcome back, Diana."

"Thanks. I'm pretty tired..."

"Oh, what happened?"

"Oh, Diana helped as a shikime."

A shikime is the person who, during a hunt, drives the prey towards the archers. So, she must have run around quite a bit in the forest. No wonder she's tired. Sermia can be quite demanding.

"That must have been tough. Both of you, good job. Diana, you can skip today's training, right?"

"Yeah, I probably won't be able to move well today."

"Right. No training today then. After we clean up the workshop, we'll have dinner. Once you've shaken off the dirt, go rest in your room."

"Okay."

"Got it."

With that, both of them headed towards the kitchen.

"Alright, let's clean up the workshop."

"Yes, boss."

And that's how the day ended.

The next day, we all headed to the forest first thing in the morning. I carried the water bottle, Sermia the rope, and Rike the axe. Every time I see Rike with an axe, he looks so much like a dwarf! Of course, he is a dwarf.

Diana was the only one without anything, but she couldn't hide her excitement. She must be looking forward to retrieving the prey she (and Sermia) hunted yesterday. I've given up trying to figure out if she's a tomboy. It's not worth it.

We walked through the forest as a group of four. With more eyes and one more person to sense the surroundings, it might be safer. After all, not many animals would dare to attack a group of four humans. Conversely, if something does try to attack us, it's probably quite suspicious.

It's been six days since we took Diana in. The Karel faction must have realized by now that their pursuit of Diana failed. They will likely start searching for her whereabouts, and "Black Forest" could be one of the candidates. Given that, it might take them a considerable amount of time to reach us, especially since we're making a lot of smoke, which could make us easy to find, just like with Helen. We should probably start being more cautious.

With these thoughts in mind, we arrived at the lake. While Sermia and Diana pulled up the deer, Rike cut down a tree. While Rike and I made the transport platform, Sermia and Diana filled the water bottle. Once everything was loaded onto the platform, we pulled it home. With four of us pulling, it was much faster than before, about 1.2 times faster. The rest of the process was quickly handled by the three of us, excluding Diana. We're all experienced, and the deer was quickly turned into meat.

"Meat is made like this, huh?"

Diana said, sounding both impressed and contemplative. I thought a "normal lady" might faint at the sight, but since she didn't react when Sermia removed the organs the day before, she must have a strong stomach.

"Yeah, it's like this. We take it apart and it becomes meat."

"Yesterday, the deer I chased was still alive until Sermia finished it off."

"That's right. And the meat you've eaten before is no different."

"I see... "

She's really thinking about it. I doubt many nobles have ever seen the process of slaughtering and butchering.

"Well, it's good to be aware that we're taking a life."

"Taking a life, huh."

"Yeah. We live because of those lives."

"I see..."

I ended up giving a bit of a lecture. Getting old has its downsides.

"Aizou is talking like an old man."

Sermia's comment stung.

"That's how I was taught."

I replied weakly.

"Do they teach that in the North? Sounds like something a beastman would say."

Sermia said, sounding impressed.

"I don't know about the whole North, but in my family, we were taught that 'everything has a soul.'"

I should say "in my family," but it's more like the concept from Japan in my previous world.

"Even the forest?"

"Even the forest and the trees. That's why we should be grateful for cutting them down and using them in various forms to live in them. Of course, it's not just trees."

"I see..."

Diana was impressed. I don't want to impose my cultural views, but after living with them for over 40 years, it's hard to shake off.

To lighten the mood, I said brightly,

"Since it's a day off, I'll make something special with this meat for lunch. Look forward to it, okay?"

"Awesome!"

"Yay, I'm looking forward to it!"

Sermia and Rike joined in. Diana, looking puzzled, asked,

"What is it?"

But Sermia and Rike only said, "You'll see at lunch," and we all returned home with the meat.

We dried and salted the deer meat that wasn't for lunch and dinner. For lunch, we had popular deer steaks with a wood strawberry sauce, along with unleavened bread and soup. I want to try making leavened bread with raisin or rye yeast soon.

Before eating, Diana asked,

"In the North... or in Aizou's family, do you say a prayer of thanks at times like this?"

So I said,

"Hmm... Let's try it. Put your hands together."

We all clasped our hands.

"Let's eat."

"Let's eat."

Everyone echoed me.

"Aizou, what does 'Let's eat' mean?"

"It means 'I receive your life,' 'I receive the bounty of nature,' or 'I receive the meal you prepared,' expressing gratitude."

"Wow. Let's do this from now on. It's Aizou's family, after all."

"I don't mind, but are you two okay with it?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Of course, boss."

And so, in our home, the Japanese "Let's eat" and "Thank you for the meal" became our mealtime greetings.