Chapter 55: The End of the Investigation
I was bathing in the river, completely naked. The water was a bit shallow, so I sat down to wash my hair. It was cold, but better than being covered in blood.
While I was at it, I decided to do some laundry. I had no spare pants, so I just wiped them down—thankfully, they were waterproof. Retze had brought my belongings and started a campfire for me.
“You’re pretty careless about some things, huh? Let me wash that for you.”
“Thanks.”
I hesitated to hand over my underwear, but I was grateful for the help with everything else.
I wasn’t good at cleaning or laundry. Honestly, I wanted to make everything new. I kept the house tidy because Rishu was around. She was smart and never pulled any pranks, after all.
As a result, I found myself sitting on the ground in just my robe, borrowed from Retze, with everything else drying by the campfire.
If there’s a next time, I want to take down the enemy gracefully and return to normalcy with a fresh pair of pants.
Retze was quite meticulous. Well, maybe “meticulous” isn’t quite the right word.
I watched a man dismantling a fox while thinking about this.
He often used hemp rope that had been unraveled for starting the fire, but if there was something else available, he would gather supplies from the forest and prioritize using those. He was careful not to touch the supplies we had brought. He handled the laundry and dismantling with care, yet there was nothing stiff about him.
Dean was supposed to introduce him as a model. When I tried to speak politely to him as the most sensible older guy, he told me to stop.
As I ground nettles into a paste by the campfire, my clothes dried. Thankfully, it was before everyone returned. —Still, the task of making paste was unexpectedly time-consuming. I could grind herbs too, so if there’s a next time, I should bring a mortar and pestle.
“What’s this?”
“A fox.”
“I mean, I get that, but…”
Dean was the first to return, dragging a Three-Horned Giant Lizard and carrying a Mountain Snipe at his waist.
“Hey, I’m back! —What’s this?”
“A fox.”
Chris returned almost simultaneously and asked the same question. He had brought back a Two-Horned Lizard and a Mountain Snipe.
“I get that it’s a fox—”
“I just got back. —What’s going on here?”
Before Chris could finish, Ash and the Butler arrived, bringing a Two-Horned Lizard, a One-Horned Lizard, and two pheasants.
It felt like everyone had returned at once, as if they had timed it for dinner.
“That’s the fox Gene hunted, and a Two-Horned Lizard.”
“Glad you made it back safe…”
“Lord of Dusk, are you injured? That’s impressive for Bronze Rank! A huge success!”
Retze’s words were echoed by the Butler and Chris.
“Well, I do wield a sword like I mean it. But I guess I’m not used to exploration.”
“Indeed.”
Dean and Ash, who had fought alongside me, were the best examples of swordsmanship.
“Putting Gene’s skills aside, I thought we were only getting lizards, but this is bad.”
“Yeah…”
At Retze’s words, Dean and Chris fell silent, while Kanum and I, both newcomers with less than a year here, exchanged glances with the three of them.
“Giant Lizards rarely move long distances, but foxes are different. If there are Three-Horned foxes or wolves around, they could reach the town in no time.”
“And the fact that there are Three-Horned creatures in this area means there’s a good chance that foxes could also become Three-Horned. We already have a Two-Horned one.”
Dean and Chris explained with serious expressions.
“We can’t afford to hunt leisurely. We should head back first thing tomorrow morning.”
Everyone nodded at Dean’s words.
And then, it was time for dinner.
Each of us presented our birds. Well, since I had mentioned that the karaage we had for lunch was usually made with chicken, I guess that’s why? They seemed to have taken a liking to karaage, but two meals in a row!
At least, Dean had brought some hard bread, which I grated to use as a coating for the karaage. Since I didn’t have a grater, I borrowed a reinforcement copper plate from Retze, poked holes in it with my horn, and made do. He looked at me like I was crazy, but thankfully didn’t say anything.
There were no binding eggs, and the seasoning was heavily garlic-flavored, resulting in a rough coating for the karaage. It’s karaage, you know? I didn’t want to use up any more flour here since we wouldn’t be able to make bread on the way back.
—Katsu has a flat image, right?
We each took care of the bird preparation. I thought it was impressive that they had already bled them out, but there was a lot of blood!
As I dropped the meat wrapped in batter into the oil, it sizzled loudly, bubbles rising vigorously. After a while, the sound gradually softened, turning into a popping noise, signaling that it was nearly done. Both sounds were delightful.
The main dish was nettle pasta as planned. For dessert, we had a makeshift rusk made from the leftover bread crumbs, sliced thinly and sprinkled with sugar before frying.
“It’s amazing how a living space is coming together in such a short time.”
“We’ve only just started building the walls.”
I replied to the Butler as he surveyed the campsite.
“Even though I’m not used to exploration, this outdoor life feels like a different dimension.”
“Absolutely. I’ve been on explorations before, but nothing like this, Lord of Dusk.”
Chris agreed with Dean, who spoke with half-closed eyes.
“I feel like I’m eating better than when I was in town…”
Retze stared at the karaage.
The marinade was garlic, ginger, wine, and a bit of fish sauce. I held back my desire to use soy sauce, and since we had no sake or brandy, we used the wine Chris provided. It made for an even more mysterious karaage.
“We’re definitely eating well. This pasta tastes quite good.”
“Yeah. I prefer chicken for karaage.”
Ash agreed.
Maybe it was because I was used to it, but I still preferred chicken over lizards. Especially chicken. And I wanted white rice.
The return trip was uneventful and went smoothly.
Dean asked me to share what happened later, and we promised to meet tomorrow before I headed home. I only stopped by the Guild to greet everyone upon my return and pushed the reporting duties onto Dean and Chris since they were the main ones.
When it came to paperwork or information relayed through others, I could easily push it out of my mind, but when it came to face-to-face reporting, the perk of “not being noticed” didn’t apply. I almost escaped when Kaina was about to guide me to report directly to someone higher up in the Guild.
More than anything, I just wanted to take a bath and sleep in my bed as soon as possible!