Chapter 431: A Stroll
I walked through the streets of Kanum with the children.
“Gene, over here!”
Tina beamed at me.
“It’s faster if we go this way!”
“Shortcut!”
En and Baku tugged lightly at my hand.
Kanum’s outer walls are mostly shared, with houses built closely together. However, between the larger shops on the main street, there are occasional gaps wide enough for a person to pass through.
Originally, the back of these shops belonged to families running businesses. But now, many of them have changed hands, and it’s more common for unrelated people to live there. It seems that back in the day, alleys leading to the houses had doors, but nowadays, many of them are missing, and even when they do exist, the locks are often broken.
The children are quite knowledgeable about these broken doors that allow entry and exit. Tina and the others have picked up this knowledge while playing with the local kids since coming to Kanum.
The information exchanged among children as playmates is not to be underestimated. They know which places to avoid because of scary residents and have made promises to block off paths to hide from adults.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
As I was pulled along by the children, I released a few Pill Bugs from my pocket at various spots.
I placed the Pill Bugs in areas where En, Baku, and Tina could play, ensuring they were out of sight and less likely to be attacked. If the opportunity arose, I also allowed for some aggressive takeover.
“If something with a nasty smell comes after these little ones, trip them up, okay?”
“Got it! I’ll trip them with my toes!”
“I’ll make them slip!”
I called out to the Spirits in the alley, the Spirit of the cracked cobblestones, and the Spirit of the smooth cobblestones that had been trampled.
I also asked the Spirits of the city walls, the Spirit of refuse, the alley Spirits, the Spirits of the old stone walls, the Spirit of the cracked cobblestones, and even the Spirits of the swirling winds, who mostly stayed in the same place and didn’t move.
I enlisted the help of the Spirits that could move, like the Wind Spirit and the Light Spirit of the afternoon, as well as the Spirit of the night.
I received guidance on where to hide or escape in case of emergencies and positioned some larger Spirits. In fact, I asked the Spirits present to share some of their magic power to assist.
After passing through the children’s secret passage, we arrived at a square lined with food stalls. The popular item at this time of year is hot offal stew. I didn’t eat it since the shared utensils they handed me were a no-go. They don’t wash them!
Today, I decided to treat the kids, so I bought something a bit pricier than their usual snacks.
“Is this good?”
“Yeah!”
“Yay!”
“Meat!”
At the stall we stopped at, a pot was bubbling with pork salted and stewed with leftover vegetables, and next to it were loaves of bread about the size of two fists stacked high.
No worries, the bacteria here are within safe limits, and this stall comes highly recommended by meat-loving Dean.
“Hey, four of these!”
“Sure thing!”
Using a two-pronged fork, the vendor speared the meat and pulled it from the pot, slicing it quickly—though not exactly thin. He split the bread in two, piled on enough meat to overflow, and drizzled a bit of the stew’s broth on top.
The children each received their portions and, as they stepped away from the stall, took big bites. I had eaten something similar on the island not long ago, but this meat had a better flavor. The portion was generous too.
Each serving costs two copper coins. A couple of decent sausages would be around a copper coin or a small copper coin. On the island, this level of meat might cost double.
Demon Beasts are scary, but the bounty of the Demon Forest is rich.
But the seasoning is definitely better on the island. With Naruadeid being nearby, the spices and seasonings that come in are abundant, so it’s only natural. Some things do come into Kanum, but the flavor and aroma tend to fade.
“Shiva’s cooking is tastier.”
I’ve delivered various ingredients to her, but I think she’s the best in Kanum. She has an incredible talent for tasting unfamiliar ingredients and adding them to her dishes.
“Mom’s cooking is delicious, but this is good too!”
“It’s tastier when you eat it secretly!”
“Sometimes it’s delicious!”
Tina, En, and Baku chimed in.
—Not that it’s a secret from Shiva, though. I made sure to get permission to eat out. In fact, I’m keeping the fact that I got permission a secret from the kids.
“Have we covered most of it?”
I asked the children while sitting on the steps of someone’s back entrance, enjoying our meal.
“I think so.”
“Yeah.”
“It should be covered.”
It seems the children feel they’ve thoroughly explored their play area.
“I’ve asked around about various things, but the only truly safe places are near Dinoss and Shiva, so be careful elsewhere. Just think of today’s precautions as a simple charm.”
Letting my guard down is the most troublesome.
“I’ll be careful. But I want to get strong enough to protect us if something happens—if you hadn’t come, Gene, we would have been caught.”
Tina furrowed her brow slightly.
When Tina mentioned that time, she was likely referring to when a scoundrel on horseback had taken a child hostage to threaten Dinoss and Shiva at the place where her family had been hiding.
“Don’t take too many risks. Even if you’re strong, recklessness can lead to trouble. …But Tina was really cool in front of En.”
I recalled how shocked I was to see the sight of the young girl protecting her little brother.
“Yeah. I saw Dad and shouted in a place where I shouldn’t have. I have to do my best.”
Now that I think about it, Tina had shouted when Dinoss was being kicked, alerting the enemy. It seems she’s already received some educational guidance from her parents.
“Next time, I’ll do my best to protect you, Tina.”
“Yeah. First, we’ll all work together to escape.”
Baku and En seem to be progressing well in their legendary Gold Rank training. I realized I hadn’t really done much, and took a big bite of the meat-stuffed bread.
Today, following the children around taught me a lot, and I found it enjoyable with a strange sense of nostalgia and thrill. So, it was all worth it.