Chapter 5

"Phew, I really appreciate it. I never thought you would defeat so many Wild Wolves, and even their boss, so quickly."

The ranch owner smiled at me and extended his hand for a shake.

"That's great, but can you give me the meat of the Wild Wolves after I process them? I want to taste it."

"Of course, no problem at all."

Looking back, I saw the people working on the ranch collecting the bodies of the Wild Wolves.

Our job was to defeat them, and their job was to process and sell them.

The reward for that part would be added to the commission, and I could receive it later, but since there was freshly hunted Wild Wolf meat, I wanted to enjoy it while it was fresh.

"Please, this way. I'll prepare everything while you rest."

The ranch owner said this, and we were led to a cabin.

On the table in front of us was a pot bubbling away.

Inside were various vegetables.

According to the ranch owner, they were plants harvested just before the nearby forest, ranging from crunchy vegetables to those with a slight bitterness, and they were delicious on their own.

On the plate, the Wild Wolf meat was thinly sliced and arranged.

Teresa and I used tongs to grab the meat, swirled it in the pot, and then dipped it in sauce before eating it.

"Yeah, I didn't know this way of eating, but it's really good."

The Wild Wolf meat, which is naturally lean, can be eaten with a clean taste by removing the excess fat in the pot.

Thanks to the thin slicing, it was tender when chewed, and the flavor of the meat spread throughout the mouth.

"This dish can only be made with fresh Wild Wolf meat. The meat starts to smell bad soon after the Wild Wolf dies, so this is a dish that can only be enjoyed right after the hunt."

The ranch owner kept bringing more meat.

The employees who had been collecting the Wild Wolf bodies earlier were also enjoying the pot, eating the meat with relish.

I kept eating the meat, not wanting to be outdone, but after a while, I noticed I was being watched.

When I looked up, Teresa was holding the tongs, about to put the meat in the pot, and was staring at me intently.

"Teresa, I think that meat is cooked enough."

She quickly pulled it out and started eating. What was she observing for?

Until now, I had been bothering Teresa in strange ways, so it was no surprise that she was wary of me.

During our journey over the past few days, she had hardly looked at me except when necessary.

What had changed?

(Come to think of it, she said we couldn't coordinate, but her movements were quite precise.)

Her magic was powerful, as expected, but this time she didn't use such high-powered magic.

When targeting the Wild Wolves, she used magic to control the situation, preventing me, the front-line fighter, from having to face multiple enemies at once.

This time, when I stopped to watch, Teresa noticed and leaned forward, placing the meat and vegetables that had been in the broth into my bowl.

"Ah, thank you."

She didn't respond, but for a moment, her clear eyes met mine before she returned her gaze to the meat and continued eating.