Chapter 37: Before Crossing the Suspension Bridge (Part one)

On this night, the students were happy to hear the story.

Some of them were still half-convinced that they’d be able to go down the mountain, and some of the girls even shed tears of joy.

I’m sure they were feeling a bit nervous.

Even though they were talented boys and girls, they were still too young to be away from their parents in a place like this.

The unusually cold and snowy weather must have made some of them think of death, and it was no wonder that they thought they would finally be saved.

“It’s time for a change, Ren-dono.”

“Oh, is it that late already?”

It was just before the date changed.

A knight came to take over from Ren who was keeping watch over the night.

Ren returned inside the fort.

The rugged interior is illuminated by torches. The lights illuminating the walls moved from side to side as the flames swayed with the slight passing draft.

I went to the fireplace at the back of the entrance and warmed my cold hands.

(I think I’ll have something warm to drink.)

As soon as I decided to do so, I headed for the cooking area of the fort.

I had been to this place several times since I arrived at the fort.

I remembered that I had visited there to check on the few remaining rations, and also to check on the rations after hunting monsters the other day.

I walked along the cold passage, which wasn’t insulated, and put my hand on the wooden door that sat at the end of the passage.

With a low creaking sound that almost gave me goosebumps, I stepped beyond the openings.

“……”

“……”

The moment I entered the kitchen, I saw Fiona inside, and she let out a cry.

The first guest, Fiona, was standing in front of the sinks that lined the cooking area, washing dishes by herself. Ren exchanged a few words with her and then picked up a copper one-handed pot to boil some water.

As he approached the old-fashioned hearth, he saw that it was already alight.

“Would you like to use it as well, adventurer?”

Fiona came to Ren’s side.

In her hand was a one-handed pot, just like Ren’s. 

“Yes. I wanted to have something warm to drink before going to bed.”

“Ah… me too. I thought I would make some tea after I finished washing the dishes.”

“So that’s why you had the fire going. Do you mind if I boil some water with you?”

“Yes, of course.”

Ren took advantage of Fiona’s kindness and drew two cups of cold water from the water bottle beside the fireplace.

He placed a one-handed pot on the stove and listened to the sound of the wood popping.

(…… awkward)

The two of us were itching to remain silent.

But Fiona kept her promise of non-interference with the adventurers and didn’t try to talk to Ren herself.

Naturally, Ren didn’t feel free to talk to her either.

In fact, they had nothing to talk about.

However, they started walking at the same time.

At that moment, we looked at each other’s faces for a moment to see what was going on, and it seemed that we both attempted to find tea leaves at the same time.

Without exchanging a word, the two pretended not to notice each other and headed for the cupboard.

They picked up several tea leaves in small bottles and searched for their favorite tea leaves, relying on the aroma.

(I didn’t know they carried all this stuff.)

 It seems that emergency food and other supplies are brought in under the direction of the Clausel family. Adventurers and knights who receive requests come and prepare for situations like this one.

Thanks to them, we can at least enjoy a cup of tea.

(I’ll have this one.)

Ren’s hand reaches for the bottle of tea and the moment he touches it.

“Excuse me…..”

“No, no! It’s not just the adventurer, it’s me too…!”

By coincidence, their fingertips overlapped in front of the bottle.

The two of them twisted their bodies in a panic as if they had unexpectedly come in contact with boiling water and took half a step away from each other to mend their smiles.

They couldn’t hide their surprise that they had chosen the same tea leaves.

“If you like, I can brew it for you?”

Ren suggested.

Fiona, unable to bear the thought of remaining in the same strange mood, said, “Is that all right?” Ren followed her lead and said, “I don’t know if it’s good for your taste. But I’ll brew some” while remembering the methods the maids taught him.

He pours tea brewed from tea leaves that are obviously not well-preserved into a cup that isn’t expensive at all.

“…… Oh, it’s delicious.”

Fiona then said, steam leaking from her lips.

Since there was no such thing as a chair, the two of them enjoyed the tea while standing.

“I see you’ve learnt how to make tea before, Adventurer-san.”

“Only a little.”

“I was surprised to see that you’re much, much better than I am.”

“I’m not even close. Besides, being the daughter of the Ignat family, you don’t get many chances to brew your own, do you?”

“Well…. I was sick until recently, so I tried to learn from the servant who talks to me. But I was too clumsy.”

Fiona turns over with a smile and hides her embarrassment behind her cup.

“The tea was important for medicine, so I tried to learn it myself. Partly because I preferred to be physically active when I could move, I tried my best, but I could only brew tea that was flattering and not good.”

“Tea is really difficult to make, isn’t it? —- but is it for medicine?”

“Yes. The medicine I was taking is said to be better absorbed if taken with tea rather than water.”

“Heh” Ren nodded.

“I guess the medicine still makes a difference when you use monster material.”

“It seems so. Haha …… what is it to a layman like me…”

In the village where he was born, Ren had been taught by Riggs, a medicine woman, that medicines were to be taken with water. It seems that this is because the drink used to take the medicine can cause changes in the medicine’s effects —-.

Of course, this is not true for all medicines, but basically, it’s better to use water.

“But if you can drink it with tea, then it’d be deceptive even if the medicine is bitter.”

“As you can imagine, that made it much easier to drink.”

While they were chatting, the cups they were holding were empty.

Noticing this, they both headed for the watering hole.

“I’ll take care of the cleanup.”

“No! I can’t leave it to the young lady.”

“Adventurer-san, you have treated me to tea, so don’t worry about it. You can at least let me clean up after you.”

Then, after Ren left.

“Strange…… Why is he so easy to talk to?”

She washed the cups for both of them, wondering why they were somehow on the same wavelength.

After she finished washing them, she wiped them with a cloth and put them back where they belonged.

“—- what was that?”

Fiona noticed something and wondered.

She was talking to Ren about the medicine earlier, and the words he had said had somehow crossed her mind.

“Did I say anything about medicines made from monster materials…?”

She turned on the faucet where the water was running and, incidentally, tilted her head as well.

She left the cooking area and went to the fireplace and sat down on a crude wooden bench placed there, but she felt somewhat dazed.

The flames and warmth of the fireplace made her think of an unexpected expectation.

“Oh? Fiona-sama.”

A knight appeared and spoke from a few steps away from Fiona.

“I think it’s time for you to get some rest. You’ll have to leave early tomorrow.”

“Eh, yes… sorry…..”

The knight was right.

Fiona, realizing that staying up late here would be a nuisance, hurriedly got up from the bench and tried to leave the fireplace.

“—- Umm!”

Fiona raised a somewhat panicked voice to the knight.

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