kscans

Chapter 19 - The Earnest Girl and Her Guardian in the Depths of the Forest

Mireille finished grinding the monster bird's core and took a small breath. Doing by hand what she used to do with a machine was no easy feat.

Suddenly, she felt a gaze on her back and turned around to find Leonhard watching her work intently.

"S, sorry. I’ve kept you waiting."

She wondered how long he had been watching. She tended to get lost in her alchemy work, so she was worried she might have done something embarrassing.

"No, what were you doing?" Leonhard seemed more interested in her work. Mireille pointed to Leonhard’s sword and explained the work she was planning.

"I’ll train to withstand that sword, but... if it reduces the number of times I get blown away, that would be a great help."

He thought about the sword he had been given.

--It’s for fighting monsters, after all. To survive in this Tree Sea, an ordinary sword isn’t enough. The reason he gave me a weapon with attributes is probably because physical attacks alone are not enough against some monsters. If you’re fighting alongside a mage, they can cover for the missing attributes, but if not, a weapon with special properties is definitely useful.

...But, thinking about it now, why didn’t they tell me more?

It’s true that I might have refused if they had asked. But because I trusted the supreme commander, I feel a little deceived, and a bitter feeling spreads in my chest.

--Well, I’m the one who decided to help Mireille. I should just accept that.

"I won’t be able to help during the day once I start work, so we’ll gather a week’s worth of materials and farm produce all at once."

Mireille, remembering the location of the last test cut, explained where certain things were growing. It seemed they could gather a good amount of recovery and defensive materials. Moreover, if she could get permission to gather at night, there were still many more things she could make.

But first, we need to eat.

"Let’s make some food. We’ll eat, then we’ll move."

He removed the burnt parts of yesterday’s chicken, and cooked it with the grains, herbs, and seasonings he had brought.

When he lifted the pot lid, the scent of grains and herbs rose with the steam.

"Wow...!"

Mireille’s eyes lit up. She clapped her hands together and bounced in her seat with joy.

"I, it looks delicious!"

Leonhard served two portions, and the gentle aroma of chicken broth filled the air.

"Um... thank you for the food!"

Mireille’s eyes widened.

"S, so good...!" she said, deeply moved.

Leonhard couldn’t help but smile at her innocent reaction.

"Good, I’m glad it turned out edible."

Mireille nodded with a huge smile and started eating eagerly.

Her appetite and heart were satisfied, and he felt a little relieved.

For the future, while cooking, he carefully taught Mireille the procedure for starting a fire and adjusting the heat.

Her eagerness to learn was one of Mireille’s good qualities. She was still a bit clumsy, but he explained what to be careful about, and they decided to gather flammable plants and branches over the next week and store them on the first floor.

He glanced at her clothes. Ah, they looked good on her, but a blouse and skirt for the outdoors might have been a bit of a mistake.

"Were there no other clothes in the bag?"

When he asked, she told him they were mostly dresses, and the one for outdoors was a stealth-style one.

"Many of the insects are poisonous too, so even if it’s stealth-style, it’s better to wear something that covers your whole body when you’re outside."

Leonhard himself wore an armored shirt woven with magic resistance and slim pants, and he usually wore armor over that, so his gear was stripped of all excess.

Thinking about it calmly, he should have just prepared a few sets of women’s work clothes. All he could think about was just clothes! ...Well, it couldn't be helped. The destructive power of the my-shirt effect was too strong.

Ah, as for the lingerie... it’s too late to say anything now, so I’ll just pretend I didn’t see it. Oh well, he sighed softly.