Chapter 96 - I Can Just Watch From Now On
After gathering nuts and fruits that could only be picked in autumn, along with many mushrooms, we finished today's hunt and descended the mountain.
Perhaps because the three of us worked hard at gathering all day, the basket on my back felt heavy.
Even if I kept some for preservation, it might be a bit much for just Flora and me to eat.
Instead of going straight home today, I'll head back after sharing some with Fiona-san and Elgis-san.
Our houses are close, so I'll share some with Toak too.
Aisha and Kurune's place is a bit of a distance from my house, so maybe I'll skip them this time? I don't have enough to share with Aisha's whole family, so I'll have to ask them to bear with it this time.
"Aldo-san, are you not going straight home today?"
While I was thinking about that, Kyle, walking beside me, asked with a curious face.
Usually, I would cut across the grasslands and go straight home without going through the path that leads to the village plaza.
"I'm going to Elgis-san's house to share some of this, so I'll stop by the village before heading home."
"Ah, I see."
When I answered while shaking the basket I was carrying, Kyle nodded in understanding.
"That's perfect then. Aldo, remember that boar meat the three of us hunted the other day? The preservation processing is finished, so take it with you."
"...Ah, come to think of it, there was such a thing!"
Now that he mentioned it, the three of us did hunt a boar recently. I remembered asking Lauren-san to handle the preservation processing since he was doing it for other meat anyway.
"You forgot, didn't you?"
"...That's not true."
Since Lauren-san pressed closer, I reflexively averted my eyes.
It wasn't because I felt guilty about forgetting.
"...If you forget next time, I'm going to eat it all myself without saying a word, okay?"
"I'm sorry."
And so, before heading to Elgis-san's house, I went to Lauren-san's house.
Lauren-san's house was located a bit away from the plaza.
Perhaps because he butchered prey and tanned hides, it was a bit distant from the other private houses.
This was likely a characteristic unique to hunters and blacksmiths.
"This way."
Kyle and I were guided by Lauren-san into the storage shed in the back.
Was it prey hunted recently? About four chunks of meat that had been smoked into jerky were hanging from the ceiling. The smell of salted preserved meat and a unique animal scent drifted through the shed.
"This is the boar from the other day. I'll cut some out for you, so wait a bit."
While I was looking around the inside of the shed, Lauren-san began lowering the boar meat hanging from the ceiling using a rope.
Seeing that, Kyle pushed a sturdy-looking table from the corner and brought it under the boar.
The size of the boar the three of us had taken down was very large. Even for the strong Lauren-san, it would be a bit heavy to carry around.
As Lauren-san manipulated the rope and lowered the meat, it landed neatly on the table.
Then Lauren-san began untying the bound rope, and Kyle brought a knife and began preparing to carve it up.
They must have carved things up together many times like this. Both of them were practiced in their movements.
Not knowing where any of the tools were in the shed, I would only get in the way if I moved, so I stayed quiet this time. I observed the deer meat and other things hanging around.
"Ah, this is the fawn that Kyle took down."
"That's right. That's the one I got."
Kyle said somewhat proudly upon hearing my murmur.
"What are you acting all high and mighty for over one fawn? At least wait until you can hunt consistently or hunt a bit more cleanly before you brag. I hate helping with the bleeding and hide processing of a mangled fawn, you know?"
"Ahahaha, sorry."
Hearing Lauren-san's grumbling, Kyle gave a strained, wry smile.
It was a fawn that Kyle had taken down after repeatedly firing arrows over a long time. Naturally, he hadn't taken it down with a single arrow, but had hit the body with arrows many times, so the fawn's body had been covered in wounds.
Most likely, the hide of this fawn was almost useless.
"Well, that happens sometimes."
"Aldo-san, you've never had that happen, have you?"
"For an adventurer, it's quite important how to defeat a monster without damaging it, after all."
If you desperately hunt a monster but the fangs, horns, or scales that could be turned into money are mangled, you won't be able to earn much money.
If it's an emergency monster cull, that's fine, but the basic earnings for an adventurer come from selling monster materials.
How to defeat a ferocious monster without damaging it would be important for earning a living.
"...Defeating a monster that's attacking you without leaving a scratch, adventurers really are on a different level."
"Well, naturally I can't do that every time against monsters, so usually I just try not to damage the parts that are worth the most money."
"And ferocious monsters attack with everything they've got, after all."
In my party's case, Keel was very strict about that, so we used to defeat them without damaging any parts.
Keel would put pressure on us, saying things like "Don't you dare break the horn! Don't you dare crush the eyes!" Well, thanks to that, I think I acquired the skill to accurately strike the enemy's vital points to defeat them. I think the one who had it hardest was Kurune, who was required to perform precise magic manipulation.
"Alright, it's done!"
While Kyle and I were talking like that, Lauren-san had beautifully carved up the meat.
Being a large boar, even just my portion was a considerable amount.
"I gave you a bit extra, so give it to the village chief's house later."
"Thank you very much."
Apparently, he had added extra for Elgis-san's sake.
When I thanked him for that, Lauren-san wrapped the meat in many layers of cloth while smiling bashfully.
Since I couldn't carry several large chunks of meat home as they were, I decided to pack the cloth-wrapped meat into a box to take home.
"Well then, I'll be heading back for today."
"Yeah! Next time you stop by, take a break at our place!"
"Yes, I'll do that."
I would have liked to relax and have tea with Lauren-san's family, but I needed to stop by Elgis-san's house today.
I'll come again when I have more time.
After waving to Lauren-san and Kyle who were seeing me off, I started walking toward the village plaza.
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"Oh, Aldo-san. Are you on your way back from hunting?"
As I was walking through the plaza toward Elgis-san's house, Fiona-san called out to me.
Since there were other women present, she seemed to have been talking to the village women about something.
The gazes of the women other than Fiona-san also turned toward me.
"Yes, that's right. I brought some things to share."
With a large basket on my back and a bow hanging at my side, it was obvious what I had been doing.
"I wonder what you caught today?"
Perhaps because she heard I was sharing, Fiona-san asked with great interest.
"Today I mainly gathered nuts, fruits, wild vegetables, and mushrooms that can only be picked in autumn."
When I said that while lowering the basket, Fiona-san and the other women all peered into the basket at once.
Well, it's faster to show them than to say it.
"Oh, what a large amount. It must have been your first time in the autumn forest, Aldo-san, so it must have been hard to remember everything?"
"Yes, the mushrooms in particular were very hard to remember. I couldn't afford to carelessly bring something back and let Flora eat it."
"Ufufu, I'm happy to see you're taking such good care of my daughter."
Being met with Fiona-san's satisfied smile, I started to feel a bit embarrassed.
I felt like I had just blurted out something incredibly lovey-dovey.
"Ah, there are egg mushrooms!"
"The texture is good and they're delicious, but aren't they hard to chew?"
"No, no, that's what's good about them!"
"Ah, I want to add egg mushrooms to the soup for dinner."
The other women were talking happily while looking at the ingredients.
It would feel like a bit of an awkward atmosphere if I only shared with Fiona-san here. Besides, I felt like the women were casting expectant glances my way.
"If you'd like, please take some. There's quite a lot."
"Thank you!"
"Well then, don't mind if I do..."
"Aldo-san, I'll pay you back in a different way next time!"
When I said that, the women began to carefully select ingredients with joy.
"I'm sorry about that."
"No, no, there really was so much today that Flora and I couldn't have finished it all, so I don't mind."
The ingredients to be shared with Toak had decreased significantly, but he probably wouldn't mind much.
"I see, that's good. Oh, there are figs. Flora loves these, so she'll be happy if you peel them for her."
"Is that so!"
That was happy information. I'll make them tonight's dessert.
"...When Flora was little, she was bad at peeling them, so I used to peel them all beautifully for her."
Fiona-san said, looking somewhat nostalgic.
"I would have liked to see such a cute sight of Flora."
"Fufu, Aldo-san, you can just watch her from now on."
"That's true. First, I think I'll peel the figs beautifully and let her eat them."
"Ufufufu, I think she'll give a cute reaction in a different sense."
While we were having such a conversation, the women thanked me and left with their respective ingredients.
Apparently, they were going to add the ingredients they received to their dinner immediately.
I called out to Fiona-san as she watched them go.
"Ah, come to think of it, there was one more thing to share."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Smoked boar meat."
When I opened the wooden box I had set down, Fiona-san let out a voice of admiration, "My!"
Naturally, for something like this, it would have to be a barter unless it was for family.
"Is it alright if I take this too?"
"Yes, please take this large chunk."
I handed the large chunk of boar meat to the hesitating Fiona-san.
"Thank you as always."
"No, no, I've been receiving vegetables from Elgis-san and Fiona-san too, and we're family, so don't worry about it."
Saying the word family made me feel somewhat embarrassed myself. But somehow, it was like a warm word, and I felt a strangely soft feeling.
Fiona-san, who had received the meat from me, thanked me and tried to head home, but after taking two steps, she turned back as if she had remembered something.
"Oh, that's right, Aldo-san. I told Flora this morning, but would it be alright if I went to your house tomorrow afternoon?"
"Um, that's about coming to see our house that you mentioned the other day, right?"
"Yes, Flora said it depends on your schedule, Aldo-san."
Fiona-san nodded gracefully at the words I said as I recalled.
Come to think of it, she had said before that she was curious about our life, or more strictly, Flora's life.
There's no hunting tomorrow, so there shouldn't be any problem.
"Yes, I have no problem with that either."
"That's good then. Well then, Elgis and I will visit tomorrow at noon."
"Understood!"
After replying to Fiona-san, I left the plaza quickly.
Since Fiona-san and Elgis-san were coming tomorrow, I had to prepare the house.
Flora, who is probably well-prepared, is likely already cleaning or something, so I have to help.
I hurried home along the path that was being dyed madder red.