Chapter 32
8. Survival Over Romance
I woke up early in the morning to find Kaiden missing from the cave.
Curious, I went to the cave entrance and looked around. Just then, Kaiden came back, pushing through the bushes.
He met my gaze and crinkled his eyes into a beautiful smile.
“You’re up early today.”
His Wizard Robe was splattered with something black like ink. I frowned and examined the hem of his robe closely.
‘What’s all that?’
“Where have you been?”
I was starting to get used to living with Kaiden.
Kaiden glanced at his attire and shrugged.
“Those Wolf-type Monsters were making a racket all night, so I went hunting. It was driving me crazy. I feel much better now.”
Kaiden spoke about hunting with a smile, but it was a little unsettling. Those ink-like splatters must have been the blood of the Wolf-type Monsters.
‘What if he suddenly goes crazy?’
His constitution caused Mana to accumulate in his body, and he needed to release it artificially.
Since the earring that served that purpose was broken, he might be hunting Monsters to relieve his stress.
The original story was a high-stakes romance novel, so the way Yuanna solved Kaiden’s Mana problem was fitting for the genre. But that wasn’t something I could do.
‘If artificially opening the Mana pathways is the solution, there might be other ways.’
Then, Margaret’s Mana breathing lessons came to mind.
“Mana is like breathing. You must constantly train your core. You possess a considerable amount of Mana, so if you build up your stamina, you will grow quickly.”
That was what Margaret’s Magic teacher had told her. Perhaps that method might work for Kaiden.
Besides, he had said he felt ‘better’ after hunting Monsters.
I decided to put it into action as soon as the sun was fully up.
Now that he seemed more or less okay, I should get Kaiden to work. Preparing meals for three people was too much for Enoch and me alone.
I was carrying firewood when I found Kaiden sitting in front of the cave, resting. I handed him the firewood.
“Enoch went to get coconuts. Can you start a fire until he gets back? You know how to start a fire, right?”
Kaiden took the firewood from me and looked at me with a bewildered expression.
He didn’t seem to know how to start a fire. I sighed and patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.
“Then I’ll tell Enoch to start the fire when he gets back. Can you go get some more firewood? A lot of it.”
I picked up the Spear that was leaning against the cave entrance and grabbed a pouch made of large leaves.
It was difficult to get him to do manual labor without arousing any suspicion.
‘If he does as I say, great. If not, oh well.’
I decided to relax.
“I’m good at starting fires. But I’m too lazy, so I’ll just go get the firewood.”
Kaiden said with a bright face.
Come to think of it, Kaiden was an omnivorous intellectual who absorbed all kinds of knowledge, regardless of the field. There was no way he couldn’t start a fire.
“Great, thanks. I’m going to go hunting.”
“…What? Hunting?”
Kaiden’s eyes widened as he repeated my words in disbelief.
