Chapter 8

A short roar echoed through the mountains.

The young monster, even after its parent, who had been staring at it, fell and its body was covered in ice and thrown somewhere, never took its eyes off. It stood with its short ears perked up, not making a single unnecessary sound.

What was it looking at?

It didn’t rush to the scene but continued to stare at its parent’s form.

Takuto wondered if he would have rushed there.

If the young monster had rushed, would he have rushed too?

He calmly reconsidered, thinking he probably wouldn’t have.

It was the way of nature, something beyond his control. What could he have done? He probably couldn’t have done anything, let alone reached the place.

With his current strength, he probably couldn’t even cross the valley to reach the place where it had died.

He tried to rationalize it, but it still made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t sit still.

The young monster fell backward with a thud.

Takuto reflexively reached out, and the soft weight of the young monster fit perfectly into his hands.

The young monster seemed to be tired and sleeping, its chest rising and falling slightly.

Takuto carried the young monster back to the inner room, where the larger space made him feel a bit overwhelmed.

He wondered where to put it to sleep.

He took off his work jacket, folded it, and placed the young monster, wrapped in the towel he had around his neck, on top of it.

Next, he rubbed his stomach, thinking about food.

He rummaged through the food storage and found a deer-like creature, which seemed safe to eat. It had three crescent-shaped horns. The temperature was a bit low, but it was too heavy to lift, so Takuto decided to butcher it right there. He had never done butchering before.

"Fire!"

The ice around him began to melt slowly, but it would take until nightfall for the fire spirit to materialize.

Even with a large knife, it was impossible to cut through the ice.

The blade didn’t even dent it.

Takuto suddenly remembered that he had wrapped himself in a fire spirit for warmth.

He released a small amount of magic around the knife to attract the fire spirit. The fire spirit did drift over, but it was just a warm knife.

He gradually increased the amount of magic.

The knife glowed red, and when he placed it on the ice, it began to melt.

It wasn’t a magic sword; it was just heating the knife inefficiently with magic.

Indeed, Takuto, feeling dizzy, managed to butcher only one of the deer’s legs.

He carried it back to the room, used earth spirit magic to create a simple hearth, and placed the leg, which he had separated at the joint with the hot knife, on it.

Finally, he directed the fire spirit from the knife to the hearth and fainted.

Leaving the fire unattended and fainting was extremely dangerous, but there was nothing he could do.

Magic power doesn’t recover easily. It’s because the excess life force is pooled during sleep. The excess production and the container for pooling also gradually expand with the use of magic, reducing fainting and pain, but just like not everyone can become an Olympic athlete, it requires patience and pain.

Takuto had only just reached the level of an average person in this world.

"Mii-mii, mii!"

Takuto woke up with a start at the soft pressure on his face.

The young monster was still making noise, probably hungry. The room was filled with a burnt smell, but it didn’t seem to be completely black with smoke, so it was probably just right.

Takuto sat up, picked up the young monster, and looked at the hearth, where the fire spirit had diminished.

A completely blackened deer leg sat there. It seemed to be burnt all over, even though it hadn’t been flipped, suggesting that the fire spirit might have played a trick.

Perhaps the fire spirit had thoughtfully covered the meat with fire.

If you continue to give magic to the same fire spirit, it might understand your intentions and act accordingly, but since humans can’t visually confirm spirits, you can’t choose to do so. It would be different in a completely sealed space, but there are few places where spirits can’t enter.

This was probably a coincidence due to the extremely low number of fire spirits in this place.

Takuto sat cross-legged and picked up the knife.

He hadn’t considered the fur on the leg.

Takuto scraped off the burnt fur on the hearth and thinly sliced the well-cooked meat underneath to taste it.

There was no salt, but the meat, which he hadn’t eaten in a long time, made him feel a bit excited. It was a bit burnt, but he managed to cut off another piece and brought it to the young monster’s mouth.

The young monster made a "mii-mii" sound but didn’t eat it.

It seemed to be sucking on the meat.

The young monster couldn’t eat the meat.

This was a situation Takuto hadn’t considered. Since the parent monster had brought the meat, it was normal to assume it could be eaten.

The parent monster had placed meat that the young monster couldn’t eat and died.

Had it entrusted its child, or had it just been pitied and received charity from Takuto?

The parent monster’s intentions were unclear. Perhaps there was no clear intention. Animals are animals.

Takuto thought for a moment.

He put the meat and the young monster aside and went outside.

When he returned, he had a pot-like container filled with snow.

He placed it on the hearth, increased the fire spirit, and took out a portable food, similar to a baguette, from his backpack, cutting it with the knife and dropping it into the melting snow.

This food, which had sustained Takuto for 180 days, was surprisingly well-balanced in nutrients, and Takuto, who had only eaten this, had hardly ever been sick.

He stirred the thick mixture with the knife, cooled a small amount on his finger, and brought it to the young monster’s mouth.

The young monster sucked it up.

It seemed to be a newborn.

Takuto repeated this several times.

While doing so, he wondered why the parent monster had rushed to the cave, slept together, left the meat it couldn’t eat and its child, and then fought and died.

Was it entrusted?

Was it given charity?

There was no clear way to communicate with it.

Was there a consistent answer?

After a long time of searching for an answer he couldn’t find, the young monster fell asleep.

He gently wrapped it in the towel and placed it on the folded work jacket, then ate the completely cooled meat.

The cold, tough meat still satisfied his tongue and stomach.

After eating, as Takuto was about to fall asleep, a cool breeze made the fire spirit flicker.

Takuto rubbed his eyes, which he had forgotten to close, and stood up to close the cave’s entrance.

In the moonless, pitch-black night, a small firelight was visible on the opposite mountain.

He wondered if it was still there, then gave magic to the wind spirit and asked it to do something.