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Chapter 52 – Escort Request (2)

Chapter 52: Escort Request (2)

The next morning, Elene and Aaron emerged from the tent with tired faces.

They couldn’t sleep well, knowing they had to stand guard, and they couldn’t sleep deeply because they didn’t trust Ketal.

In the end, they set out on their journey again, still not fully rested.

Their steps were quick; they had decided to finish this journey as quickly as possible, for the sake of their lives.

But accumulating fatigue was inevitable.

With their nerves on edge, their bodies quickly grew tired.

Eventually, Elene raised her hand.

“Can we take a short rest?”

“No problem. Rest under that tree over there.”

“Thank you…”

Elene walked unsteadily and sat down under the tree.

The quietly blowing wind cooled her sweaty hair.

Growl.

At that moment, a noise rang out.

Elene’s face turned bright red.

Ketal opened his mouth dumbfoundedly.

“Are you hungry? Well, that’s understandable since we haven’t had a proper meal. Alright, wait a moment.”

Ketal looked pleased with himself.

“I’ll cook for you.”

Cooking was part of a mercenary’s duties.

There was nothing better than filling someone’s stomach to open their heart.

But Aaron shook his head.

“No need to bother.”

Barbarian cooking.

It wasn’t cooking, just roasting and boiling without any finesse, not even removing the blood, couldn’t be called cooking.

Aaron had tried it once before.

He would rather eat jerky than something like that.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it tasty.”

But this time, Ketal didn’t back down.

He skillfully gathered branches to make a fire and set up a makeshift cooking platform over it.

Then he hung a pot over the fire.

As the water boiled, he took a flat rock and placed ingredients on it.

Various vegetables came out of his pocket.

Ketal took out a dagger and began to cut the vegetables evenly.

“Hmm?”

Aaron, who was watching nervously, was surprised.

Ketal’s knife skills were very neat.

“Have you learned cooking?”

“It was a hobby of mine.”

In the White Snow Plains, Barbarians didn’t cook.

They filled their stomachs by chewing on the flesh of monsters they had slain, quenching their thirst with the black blood that flowed out.

It felt disgusting every time they ate, but when they had to worry about tomorrow’s life, they couldn’t help it.

After reaching a certain point, he couldn’t bear it anymore.

He had started cooking with the remains of monsters.

There were many problems.

It was difficult to light a fire in the extreme cold of the White Snow Plains.

There were no fresh ingredients, and he wasn’t skilled in cooking.

He had to go through countless trials and errors.

Literally countless trials and errors.

Some monsters exploded when heated, others resurrected.

[PR/N: WTF revived???]

He had almost died several times during the cooking process, but he didn’t give up.

As a result, he managed to make perfect dishes using ingredients from the plains.

‘It was delicious.’

At first, the Barbarians scoffed at his attempts, but eventually, they started looking at him expectantly during meal times.

He didn’t want to remember the plains, but he missed the taste.

He wanted to bring ingredients, but there were no artifacts, so it was impossible.

The outside dishes were delicious too, but compared to the taste of the plains, they were quite boring.

Thanks to his efforts, he could make decent dishes.

Ketal fished out the cooked noodles and drained the water.

Then he took out oil.

“Oil?”

Aaron’s eyes widened.

Oil was expensive.

Commoners used it once a month if they used it a lot.

Ketal generously poured the oil into the pot.

He put the vegetables in and cooked them in the oil until they were done.

The vegetables emitted a strong smell when mixed with the oil.

At some point, Elene and Aaron were staring blankly at the pot.

Ketal put the noodles into the mixture, creating a dish similar to pasta.

It was simple but not tasteless.

“I’d like to cook the noodles separately, but we don’t have the space for that. Sorry.”

“Oh, no…”

When the noodles were cooked, Ketal stirred them lightly and sprinkled spices.

The aroma of perfectly cooked forest dish filled the air.

Ketal finished cooking and took out a wooden fork.

“Would you like to try?”

“…Ah.”

Elene stared blankly into the pot.

A properly cooked dish.

They had only eaten dried or half-rotten food until now.

Such a simple meal was deeply missed.

She wanted to put the oily noodles into her mouth.

Even though the scent wasn’t her favorite, it was hard to resist.

Elene was about to reflexively agree, but then she snapped out of it and shook her head.

“Oh, no. It’s okay. I’m not a fan of oily dishes.”

She fundamentally didn’t trust Ketal.

She couldn’t eat the food of someone she didn’t trust.

She couldn’t know what strange substances he might have added during the cooking process.

“This will do.”

She took out a piece of jerky from her pouch.

Aaron also regained his senses and declined.

“Me too.”

“Is that so? Do you prefer jerky? That’s a shame.”

Ketal started eating the pasta alone.

Elene cut a piece of jerky and put it into her mouth.

It was cold and tough.

The texture was like eating a soggy lump of mushrooms.

There was no hint of the sweetness of meat.

Elene, who had been hesitating, looked at Ketal.

His eating of the pasta didn’t seem elegant, but it looked warm and delicious.

In the end, Elene closed her eyes tightly.

* * *

Their journey to the Kingdom of Denian had now entered its third day.

And during that time, Elene and Aaron had been extremely tired.

They stayed up all night, and their meals were tough jerky.

The meals were bearable since they were used to them, but not being able to sleep properly was a significant problem.

“Ugh…”

That night, Elene, lying in her tent, massaged her feet.

They were swollen and red.

Aaron, with a worried expression, asked.

“Are you okay?”

“I can handle it. Are you okay, Aaron? You seem to be carrying too much weight…”

The watch rotation was decided to be every three people.

However, they didn’t trust Ketal.

Naturally, when Ketal took his turn at the watch, one person had to stay awake.

Aaron volunteered for that role.

In the end, Aaron and Ketal took turns standing watch.

Aaron thumped his chest.

“It’s fine. The elderly don’t need sleep. Don’t worry and get some rest.”

“Thank you…”

Elene tucked herself into the blanket.

Before long, the regular sound of her breathing could be heard.

Aaron looked at Elene with a pitiful expression.

‘Poor thing.’

A person who had grown up receiving everyone’s love was now stepping into such a perilous journey.

But Elene didn’t complain.

Instead, she comforted and encouraged Aaron, who was struggling.

‘I have to protect her.’

She was his responsibility as her mentor and guardian.

Even if it meant risking his life.

Aaron resolved himself once again.

He stepped outside and leaned against a tree.

But.

“…Tired.”

On the third day, not even two hours of sleep.

Even those two hours were spent half-awake, prepared for any emergencies.

The fatigue from all their journeys so far hit him hard.

He had to endure.

But he was sleepy.

Aaron closed his eyes for a moment to reduce his fatigue.

Then he opened his eyes.

The first thing he heard was the chirping of birds.

And sunlight filtering through the leaves.

“Huh?”

He had definitely closed his eyes at midnight, right?

But the sun was clearly sending its light high in the sky.

It was morning.

The meaning was simple.

He had fallen asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

His dazed mind awakened, and his heart raced.

“No!”

He rushed to the tent.

Even if he had only slept for a few hours, it would have been enough.

And during that time, Ketal had been completely free without anyone’s surveillance.

What a stupid thing to do! He had sworn to protect the princess himself just yesterday!

He opened the tent quickly, and Aaron’s pupils dilated.

“Huh, huh?”

“Ugh…”

Elene was still sleeping in the same position as when he last saw her.

The sunlight streaming in through the tent seams seemed to bother her, and she groaned, but her face looked peaceful.

“Are you awake?”

A voice came from behind Aaron, who was foolishly watching her.

There, Ketal was grilling something over the campfire.

“Uh…”

“I didn’t wake her up because she seemed to be sleeping deeply. I’m relieved that she slept well.”

“Th-thanks.”

Aaron said, but he was flustered.

Why hadn’t anything happened?

He must have seen him fall asleep.

Ketal smiled wryly at his expression.

“I know you don’t trust outsiders. I also know I don’t look trustworthy. But I am your escort.”

An escort is a protector.

It was not someone to doubt and keep at a distance.

“I understand you have doubts, but I hope you can trust me. I’m human too. I can get hurt.”

“I, I see.”

In Aaron’s bewildered gaze, he saw what Ketal was grilling.

It was a deer leg.

The wide leg of the deer was cooking nicely over the campfire.

There wasn’t a single burnt part as if he had been diligently turning it.

The oil dripped down into the fire, creating an even more intense aroma.

“Oh…”

Aaron involuntarily opened his mouth.

As his heart truly desired it, hunger hit him instantly.

Ketal noticed his gaze and nodded as if understanding.

“I caught a deer. I removed the blood and salted it, so it should be delicious. Will you have some?”

Ketal held out the deer’s bone to Aaron.

Aaron looked at the well-cooked meat as if entranced.

* * *

“Princess, please wake up.”

“Uh…”

Elene opened her eyes.

She staggered to her feet.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thanks to you. And Aaron?”

“I’m fine.”

But Elene’s face showed guilt.

Aaron had taken on the watch twice for her.

He must have been tired, yet he was pushing himself for her sake.

Elene always felt sorry about that.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. If you feel tired, let me know anytime. I’ll take on the burden too.”

“…Okay.”

“But.”

Elene cocked her head.

“You look much better today.”

Aaron flinched.

“Really?”

“Yes. I can even smell something delicious. Maybe I’m just hungry. I’m having these delusions.”

“Uh, is that so?”

Aaron forced a smile.