Chapter 15
Thanks to Zen’s suggestion, I changed metal tempering magic to alchemy magic. Not too sure about this t.i.tle, if someone can suggest something else, I'd be grateful. Here are the raws: 回復術士は弱肉強食の街にたどり着く. Thanks for reading~
A one horned rabbit luckily appeared, which I then defeated, handled the meat, and started a fire to do some cooking. Naturally, it's for today's dinner.
Monster's meat contains miasma, which is poison for a human’s body, and it is considered taboo to eat it. However, apart from the miasma, it also has a factor that can be used to make someone stronger inside it.
The factor changes depending on the monster, so there is no meaning if you just continue to eat the same monster over and over again.
For example, if I were to take in the factor of this one horned rabbit…
"Oh, my talent value for physical attack went up by 2." (Kearuga)
Just like that, it raised my talent values. My status is comprised by multiplying my level and talent values. Although it only went up by 2, I'm still happy that my base talent values went up because as your level rises, the differences in your talent values become big differences.
I then use【Transformation Heal】on the meat that I handled. Using the foundation of a theory an old, great hero made, I removed the miasma which activated the factor. It's not like just eating any monster makes you stronger either, as you'll need to check if it is a suitable factor each and every time.
The thing that is terrifying, is the fact that without using【Jade Eyes】, a hero who's called Souji was able to find out how to remove the miasma and also found the factor inside it. In addition, there are even rumors that he had left numerous papers, but he is a few hundred year old hero, so most of them are gone. I really do want to look through them all at least once. Souji is the sword saint's ancestor, so perhaps Kureha, the sword saint I used【Recovery Heal】on, would let me look through their treasured doc.u.ments to repay her favor. If I ever meet the sword saint again, I guess I'll request that. (TL Note: OK, so this means that Kureha is going to be in his harem right? Woo at least he'll have one decent person in his harem.)
"Now then, I should concentrate on my cooking." (Kearuga)
It seems my thinking had gone into a weird direction. Rather than thinking about the future, right now I should be thinking about today's dinner.
I cut up the meat of the one horned rabbit, and chose to make the most delicious part of it, the leg meat, to make our dinner. I'll make the remaining meat into jerky and stock it. It is purely because I want to increase the amount of preserved food we have, and also to feed it to our new companion we'll be getting soon to raise her talent values.
I thinly cut today's portion of meat, sprinkle some salt onto it and then fry it. At the same time, I bring out our preserved food which is bread, and cut it in half. Putting the nicely grilled meat on top, I then add dried tomatoes and heated cheese as toppings.
Although it is a simple meal, it's finished with this; a toasted sandwich with a one horned rabbit's leg meat inside. In addition, by boiling some medicinal plants, I prepared an instant tea.
It became a menu that you could enjoy, considering we are camping outdoors.
"Freya, let's have dinner." (Kearuga)
As I smiled at her, Freya who was watching me cook made a blank face.
"Kearuga-sama, that's incredible. I was surprised at how great your skills were." (Freya)
"Well, it's all about getting used to it." (Kearuga)
"It looks so tasty even though it is meat from a monster." (Freya)
"It actually is tasty, if you just eat it, you'll know." (Kearuga)
"But, the poison" (Freya)
"Have faith in me, I've already removed the poison." (Kearuga)
I pa.s.s Freya a sandwich with the one horned rabbit's leg meat inside it. Right now, she is not princess Flare; she is Freya, a convenient attendant. Therefore, I'll be troubled if I don't raise her status values.
Freya timidly receives the toasted sandwich from me. The violent charm from the meat's sweet fragrance, the tomato’s freshness, and the melted cheese makes Freya's stomach start growling.
Considering we walked the whole day and smells this fragrance right when she's hungry, it can't be helped. While blus.h.i.+ng, she continues staring at the toasted sandwich. That expression is overflowing with expectation, and it seems that her fear of eating a monster has blown off.
"Um Kearuga-sama, do we not have knives or forks?" (Freya)
Come to think of it, Freya used to be a princess didn't she. She
"You eat this kind of food like this." (Kearuga)
Because I can't be bothered to explain it, I show it to her by biting into the toasted sandwich.
The juices from the leg meat overflow in my mouth. That seducing taste becomes tightened by the acid in the tomato. (TL Note: Sorry, I wasn't sure what this meant, here are the raws: くどくなりがちなそれをトマトの酸味が引き締めた) Although the bread which was baked until it was really hard to be a preserved food is hard to eat on its own, the dried out bread together with the meat juices and cheese make a flavour that is just right. If I were to explain it in one word, it's delicious.
"So you eat it in that vulgar way. But it still seems delicious." (Freya)
As she says that, Freya bites into the toasted sandwich, although a bit reserved, her eyes start sparkling as she chews on it. And then…
"Delicious!" (Freya)
She says while having a face that's beaming with joy.
"I didn't know that monsters were delicious, and my stomach doesn't hurt either. From now on, let's actively continue eating this!" (Freya)
Freya acts like a small animal as she restlessly eats the toasted sandwich little by little.
"I didn't know that you could make such delicious things with these ingredients. Kearuga-sama, you're amazing." (Freya)
"Well, I can't make exquisite stuff, but I can do the minimum to have a good meal while on a trip." (Kearuga-sama)
"That's still plenty, it really is amazing. To think I had even forgotten Kearuga-sama's cooking skills, I'm a failure as an attendant. I want to hurry up and get my memories back." (Freya)
For one moment, Freya had a sorrowful face, but she went back to normal and went back to eating again. She really does eat it deliciously. That fact made me a bit happy.
After finis.h.i.+ng eating, I chose to give her some advice.
"Although I agree that monsters are delicious, don't eat anything other than the monsters I cook, or else you'll die from the miasma." (Kearuga)
Removing the miasma is something that definitely can't be done if you don't know the method. It is so complex that I can't even explain it in words. Also, even if someone does know the procedure, the degree of difficulty for the magic used is too high. For this reason, this method probably hasn't been spread much to others.
At the very least, I won't be able to eat a monster someone else prepared because I'll be too scared.
Freya sprouts out her after a meal tea. It was a warning for her because if I left her alone, she seems likely to try and hunt a monster herself to eat. Well if I say this much, she probably won't do anything weird.
We spent one night in the forest, and I slept while having one part of my consciousness stay awake to be on the lookout. Although I did burn the incense which I purchased in the town and has the effect of keeping beasts away, the forest at night is scary. There are both beasts and monsters there. This sleeping while being on guard is something is a technique that doesn't rely on the abilities I got from【Imitation Heal】.
When I look at Freya with a sidelong glance, I see that she is sleeping comfortably without a fragment of wariness. It's probably because she unusually overused her body, and I thought that it was a bit cute. (TL Note: NOOOO he better not fall in love with her!!!!)
Today as well, I had fun with Freya's body before going to sleep. Because her memories are gone, Freya who thinks that I'm her beloved happily accepts it.
"I'll need to make sure her feelings don't transfer to me." (Kearuga)
Since she became Freya who has no memories, when I see her innocently yearning for me, my heart becomes disturbed and I become anxious that my hatred towards Flare might fade away.
I decided to not kill princess Flare, and instead use her as Freya.
I have multiple reasons for that, and the first one, is that she has a lot of war potential as the hero of magic. She also has the double EXP for the party she's in, and is a powerful ability that can even have stacked effects. Rather than killing her, making use of her as a tool is more humiliating.
So that I can become the strongest, I'm just doing this to princess Flare to get my revenge. That's why I will use her and make her into a s.h.i.+eld if danger to my body comes my way. I'll use her until the very last moment, until she's in tattered rags, and then dispose of her. By no means did I hesitate in killing her.
In the first place, she's only the first person. My revenge still hasn't finished, he sword and gun heroes are still remaining. Although I can use those two, I'm going to kill them anyways to not unnecessarily bother my mind more than it is right now.
The next morning, we removed our campground and departed. As for our breakfast, I used the remaining meat from yesterday and made soup.
Before we departed, I checked my status. The monster's factor from yesterday had adapted into our body, so our physical attack talent values had increased by 2. Due to that, my physical attack went from 130 to 132, and Freya's went from 70 to 72.
Although it looks like there weren't any big changes, if we continue to pile it up, it'll become a big change. Although taking in any more of the one horned rabbit's factor has no meaning, only the types of monsters which have an adapting factor can make you stronger little by little. (TL Note: Umm what? Idk what this means, but I think it's saying that the rabbit monster has an adapting factor which grows stronger over time?)
The next day, we went at a speed that goes beyond my imagination and it's thanks to Freya becoming more used to doing physical labor. Because of that, she was able to show the real power from her status, and we had reached Ra.n.a.litta before the sun had completely set.
Ra.n.a.litta is different from other town because you basically don't need an identification confirmation, and can easily enter the town. As we entered the town and started walking around, a carriage which was going at an unthinkable speed came and just barely pa.s.sed us.
Although that was quite dangerous right now, in Ra.n.a.litta, it is an everyday occurrence. When I look at it again, in the cargo part of the carriage, it is made into a cage, and I could see cat eared girls being restrained with chains while holding the cage and crying. They most likely kidnapped them from a demi-human village to sell them as a slave.
I had immediately been overwhelmed by the liveliness and disorder of this town.
It was different from the square and tidy kingdom townscape, because this town had disordered building and citizens that only thought about their own convenience. The sounds of voices attracting customers or angry roars are always reverberating, and even though it is the evening, the town continues to s.h.i.+ne as an unsleeping town.
Ra.n.a.litta is called by a lot of different popular names, such as the place where numerous crimes occur and illegal commodities are being sold, the【Town of Darkness】. The laws established are unclear, so everything is your own fault and there are always fights breaking out, which is why it becomes a paradise for stronger people, the【Town of Survival】. However, for that reason, this town is the liveliest town which has a lot of money circulating, and lets you become rich, the【Town of Gold】.
In this town, the prices of lives are cheap, so if you put your guard down for just a bit, you'll lose everything. To become the one who takes, it is necessary to be strong and smart, so I'll be the one who takes.
Now then, after I find an inn, I should immediately go to buy a slave. I'm going to get myself an excellent s.h.i.+eld.