Chapter 24

As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Kurou stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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Akaru, upon hearing the story, clearly frowned.

Anyone would react the same way upon hearing about the man who had betrayed her.

"Really, I'm sleepy."

With that, Kurou stood up from the rock, lifted the large bag, and took the third piece of meat from Yukiwaki.

Yukiwaki looked up at Kurou with a resentful expression.

"I'll cook it later, okay? I bought some salt too."

Yukiwaki hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly grunted and started walking toward the cave with Kurou and Akaru.

Yukiwaki, who didn't know about salt, seemed to decide to wait for the meat due to Kurou's promising words.

Kurou took out the wolf fur and a wool-like blanket from the large bag, laid the fur on the ground, and lay down with the blanket over him.

"Why did a hunter buy fur?"

Akaru asked, sounding exasperated.

"I don't know how to skin or tan properly. Bugs would infest it, so I gave up."

"Huh, how did you survive the winter?"

"When I was alone, I used a fire spirit or burrowed into the ground with an earth spirit. Since Yukiwaki came, it's been much warmer."

Akaru felt dizzy at Kurou's nonchalant response.

"Ah, Yukiwaki, do you need something to lie on?"

There was no response from Yukiwaki, who was lying on top of Kurou's head.

Kurou yawned widely.

"Feel free to rummage through the bag. Well, there's not much for women, and there's not much to expect, but..."

With that, Kurou fell asleep.

When it was almost dusk, Kurou woke up.

On the opposite side of the room, Akaru was maintaining a fire spirit.

"What, you didn't rummage through the bag?"

"No, I couldn't just go through someone else's things."

Akaru scattered the fire spirit and turned to Kurou.

"Ah, sorry, I feel like I'm in the way."

"No, it was just a way to pass the time."

Kurou stretched and took the large bag and the moss-green backpack that was always in the corner, placing them around the hearth.

Then he noticed Akaru's comment about passing the time.

"Ah, sorry. We left in a hurry, so I didn't explain anything. How did you manage to eat?"

"Being taken in is a blessing. I went down the mountain and even worked as a hunter. Yukiwaki hunted a lot for me. I tried to hunt, but I didn't know the area well, so I relied on Yukiwaki's kindness."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I got paid, and it was a promise. But, I should explain more. Did Yukiwaki tell you anything?"

"No, that's the sad part. Yukiwaki brought me food and watched over me, but that's all... no, no petting or anything."

"Ah, sorry, let me explain." As Kurou stood up, Akaru, who had been looking dejected, hurriedly stood up too.

"Well, there's not much. This is the toilet and the bath."

When Kurou touched the middle of a seemingly ordinary corridor, a door-sized hole opened.

Kurou materialized a fire spirit in the room, and a rectangular bathtub appeared in front of Akaru. It was made of compressed earth, almost like stone.

"Huh?"

Without responding to Akaru's small surprise, Kurou continued.

"Water comes from the snow outside or water spirit magic. Heat it to your liking with fire spirit magic. The toilet is next to the bath, but it might be a bit problematic."

Kurou muttered to himself and touched the wall next to the bath, creating another hole.

There, a Japanese-style toilet made of earth sat alone.

However, the bottom of the toilet was infinitely deep, and the bottom was not visible.

"It was originally a Western-style toilet, but Yukiwaki is strangely clean. So, we changed it to a Japanese-style one. After using it, clean it with water spirit magic and dry it with wind spirit magic. Finally, use earth spirit magic to drop a little soil to prevent the smell. I was insensitive, sorry."

"It's okay, but—"

"Right, move over a bit."

Kurou moved Akaru, who looked like she had been tricked by a fox, to the side and touched the wall on the toilet side.

The soil was scraped away, and the wall was outlined like the entrance to the bath. The outlined part was then dug out and connected, and the hole connecting the bath and the toilet was filled with the remaining soil.

"Is this better?"

"Ah, sorry."

Akaru, realizing Kurou's intention, looked apologetic. Connecting the bath and the toilet could lead to various accidents, so Kurou separated them to prevent that.

"Next, let's go."

Kurou touched the wall opposite the bath, and another hole opened, this time with cold air touching Akaru.

Kurou materialized a light spirit in the room.

Akaru gasped at the sight.

"This is the storage room, and these are the prey left by Yukiwaki's parents."

The various sizes of magic beasts, frozen in ice, showed no signs of melting, and the room was kept below zero degrees. It was like a museum displaying dinosaur fossils, except these were living creatures.

"... Ice Submerged White Bear, Great Flat-Horned Goat, Thundering Great Duck, Head Stake Boar, Coiled Horn Great Lizard, I've never seen some of them."

"I don't know their names."

"These are the kind of magic beasts that would require three or four-star hunters to take on. Indeed, those that Ilneic wouldn't consider a problem."

"... Can you hunt Zaur?"

"Impossible. You don't have any hunting companions, and even if you had ten of him, it would be impossible. For example, without Maxim, the members who hunted Ilneic would probably be able to. Most of them are three-star, except for the deputy leader."

"Isn't Zaur a four-star?"

"He hired excellent hunters to raise his stars. I think he's actually a six-star."

"Hmm. Then, can Yukiwaki hunt them?"

"I don't know Yukiwaki's current strength, but Ilneic itself is a magic beast that can be hunted by three-star hunters if they prepare thoroughly and can find it. It's difficult for a regular Ilneic to take on these magic beasts alone. That Ilneic is out of the ordinary. A regular Ilneic should be about one or two times larger than Yukiwaki, but an Ilneic as big as a connected elephant has no record."

As Kurou showed interest in Akaru's explanation, Akaru shivered.

"Ah, sorry. It's cold here."

Saying that, Kurou led the light spirit out of the storage room, which immediately closed.

"So, this is the workshop and laboratory."

Back in the room with the hearth, Kurou opened a hole next to the still sleeping Yukiwaki.

"Come in, I'll close it soon. Yukiwaki doesn't like the smell here."

Akaru hurriedly entered at Kurou's words.

Kurou closed the hole and floated the light spirit near the ceiling.

"There are all sorts of suspicious things... wouldn't the authorities be a problem?"

Akaru looked at Kurou with a squint.

There were green, purple, and blue liquids and powders in earthen bottles, half-drawn magic circles, and scattered horns, fangs, threads, and fur fragments.

"Well, it's for self-defense. Look, there's a target over there. If you want to practice archery or magic, this is the place."

"Sure, I guess."

The protruding part of the convex room had a lot of depth, making it suitable for practicing projectile weapons.

"Hey, do you use a bow?"

Akaru looked around the room but saw no bow and arrows.

"I can't make a bow and arrows, so I use a boomerang and magic."

Kurou picked up an L-shaped boomerang from the side and threw it with a spin.

The boomerang flew in a straight line and pierced the clay figure at the back, crushing its head.

"Is that a Three-Horned Deer's antler?"

"That's what they said, are they famous?"

"Not famous, but apparently, there was a tribe that used them for hunting in ancient times. Now, they're a kind of high-end interior decoration. A six-star hunter could probably hunt them, but they live in much colder regions, so they're rarely seen."

"Wow, you really know a lot."

Kurou, impressed, said this, and Akaru blushed slightly.

"I was drilled in writing and basic knowledge of this world for half a year at the academy, and then I studied hunting for a year. I was surprised myself, but I never thought being a hunter would suit me so well."

"Writing, as in writing?"

"Yes. Can you speak and read?"

"Ah, so all summoners have automatic translation?"

"Yes, of course, people in this world don't have such abilities or magic. There might be some autonomous magic that's kept secret. But, it's ridiculous how much I struggled with English in Japan."

"I see. By the way, is a year 400 days?"

"Huh, oh, right. It's not written in the magic textbook. Yes, it's 406 days, and there's no leap year. The way to count days—"

"Guau!"

Suddenly, a cry was heard, and the room's entrance opened.

There stood Yukiwaki, looking as if demanding to be fed.

"Let's eat, then."

"Sure."

Yukiwaki was the master here, and Akaru seemed to understand this well.

Kurou took his place by the hearth, rubbed the meat of the Azure Eagle with salt, and skewered it on a thin stake, placing it around the fire spirit.

In an earthen pot made with earth spirit, he added a thumb's worth of oil, coated the meat with salt and pepper, and dusted it with flour. When the oil was hot, he put the meat in.

He also put the bones of the Azure Eagle and some wild herbs and water into an earthen pot, sealed it with a lid, and increased the heat with an additional fire spirit until it turned blue.

"I'll help."

"Great, then put the Katsuretsu-like dish on a plate."

Kurou handed Akaru an earthen plate and wooden chopsticks.

He reduced the heat of the pressure cooker and made a hole in the lid on the side where no one was. A high-pitched whistle sounded as steam escaped.

When the steam was gone, he opened the lid, took out the bones, broth, and herbs, and seasoned them with salt and pepper.

He put them in a bowl and handed it to Akaru along with the black bread he had bought. Akaru had already finished putting the Katsuretsu-like dish on the plate.

"It's been a while since I've had a proper human meal."

Kurou nodded in satisfaction at the Katsuretsu and bird soup with black bread.

He had already given Yukiwaki a piece of meat that was half-cooked and browned on the outside. Yukiwaki was now closing his eyes, chewing slowly, and savoring the taste.

"Huh?"

Akaru looked exasperated.

"Surprisingly, you can cook, but more importantly, how much magic power are you using? It's clearly a lot."

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