The Peerless Kobold - Chapter 228
Once again thankful for the blessings of the forest, I retrieved the luggage that was left in the plains before the battle started, and headed for the adventurers who had borrowed a huge pot from the transport corps and had started making dinner.
“You must be tired right after the battle earlier, is there anything I can do to help?”
“Oh my, Mr. Archer… Are you alright though? Weren’t you sent flying earlier?”
Conversely, when I called out to Grace who was leading the adventurers even after the battle, she expressed concern over my condition.
“I’m fine, one of my companions is a mage who healed me.”
“I see, then can you please make soup stock out of the dried fish over there?”
“Grace, do you have anything for us to do?”
“Then, after you wash your hands, please cut the vegetables with Edgar.”
Adventurers don’t normally follow a chain of command, but the highest-ranked Gold adventurer among us was very popular, so the adventurers, including Ares and Riberto, gladly helped with the cooking.
(Well, I guess these guys are enthusiastic because she’s beautiful…)
In a sense, the sight of these unfamiliar and rough-looking men with dangerous hands cutting up spinach and rapunzel[1] made me feel nostalgic and reminded me of my mercenary days.
Anyway, I couldn’t afford to dilly dally either, so I removed my gloves and after carefully washing my hands, I threw the dried cod, dried scallops, and smoked venison with bones into a large pot and brought it to a simmer.
“Gau~, waffa kuruuoaoon.” (Gau~, something smells nice)
My sister who was perched on my shoulder in small fox form excitedly tapped her front paws to urge me to give her some, so I used some tongs to pick up some dried cod that had been used in the soup stock and cut a small portion of the white meat with cooking scissors. After it had cooled down a little, I offered it to Dagger who took it in her mouth.
“It’s not done yet, but you can have some of this for now.”
“Kyua~♪” (Yummy~♪)
While I was doing this, Muriel and Zachs, who had perhaps regrouped on the way, returned from their duties and helped with meal preparation.
“Ah, Archer, I have to put the easy-cooking vegetables soon.”
“I’ll leave it to you, it’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“Alright people, bring your bowls and line up!!”
“Sure thing!”
Edgar’s booming voice rang out and the adventurers who were preparing their equipment brought out their small bowls and spoons and lined up, while the other adventurers and I also changed places and joined the queue after.
“Now, let’s have some, shall we?”
“N, this looks pretty good, doesn’t it?”
Even though there wasn’t any alcohol because we were still on duty, it was important to make merry a bit to chase away the feelings of gloom after the battle. Including the soldiers, everyone present was aware of this, so we spent a somewhat lively dinner in celebration of taking down the Valley Ant queen that evening.
The next day, the subjugation force searched for a river that comes from the northern side of the mountain to replenish our water supply.
The mountain range that runs from the north to the east is quite far from the sea, and because of the low rainfall, the terrain was covered in short grass, but it is known that the water stored in the mountain range gushes out from the foothills and forms several tributaries.
If this were not the case, it would be impossible for the Valley Ants to build a nest since they are unable to sip the dew that adheres to plants just like the small ordinary ants do. Therefore, if they were to move, they would not stay very far from where their original nest was.
After we arrived at the river without encountering any problems and replenishing our water supply, we returned to the city of Warren after a one-and-a-half-day of traveling.
========================================================================
Translator’s Notes:
[1] Rapunzel (ラプンツェル) – is a hardy vegetable that is entirely edible and has parsnip or radish-like roots. Source
