Chapter 31: Aftercare Following Bleeding

It took a little while for the blood to stop dripping from the fish during the bleeding process.

There still wasn’t much water accumulated inside the “Small Box.” Since the goal was just to quickly rinse the bled fish, Ren wanted to use as clean water as possible—but after washing the first fish, the water turned red. From the second fish onward, he first removed clumps of blood in the already reddened water, then rinsed them further using water magic.

After finishing, he stored the fish in a burlap sack and tried pouring some of the bloodstained water into the river.

Splash, splash.

The moment the blood-mixed water flowed into the river, fish immediately began gathering. Seeing this, Ren frowned and instinctively stepped back.

“Ugh… it’s like they’re starving for blood…”

Watching the swarm, Ren felt slightly unsettled. Come to think of it, the water he poured into the river had been created with his water magic—so perhaps the fish were reacting to his magic power. Still, to him, it looked as if they were crowding around the blood.

He dug a hole in the ground and buried the remaining water along with the blood from the bleeding process. He briefly considered simply dismissing the “Small Box” and letting everything disappear, but worried it might reappear later, so he decided burying it was safer.

Once the hole was ready, he quickly dumped the blood in and hurriedly covered it before any three-eyed eagles could catch the scent. He stomped the soil down firmly, then looked up at the sky to make sure there were no shadows overhead. Letting out a sigh of relief, he relaxed.

After that, he decided to return home.

He figured the mansion’s cook would be able to prepare the magic fish.

“Master Ren, thank you as always.”

When he brought the bled fish to the mansion kitchen, the head chef, Aron, accepted them with a smile.

“Will it be served for dinner?”

“Yes, of course.”

Hearing that it would be prepared for dinner, Ren smiled slightly.

With the ingredients safely delivered, he went to the well behind the mansion to do some washing. He cleaned the burlap sack he had used for carrying the fish. Some blood had seeped through, leaving dark reddish stains on the outside.

“Oh, right. I should draw some water.”

Now that he knew he could store water inside the “Small Box,” he decided to carry well water with him. He soaked the sack in water, then created a wooden tub–sized “Small Box” and began pouring in well water, storing it one after another.

“I wonder how much it can hold…”

Ideally, Ren wanted to carry enough water to thoroughly rinse off magic fish or horned rabbits after bleeding them. He also thought it would be good to have a decent supply for drinking.

“Water’s important! I’ll store plenty.”

He continued drawing water from the well and pouring it into the Small Box. Just as he was about to create another one, he suddenly heard the faint sound of something like a twig snapping.

Ren’s shoulders jolted, and he quickly turned around.