Chapter 53
I shrugged at Kaiden and turned to Asdal, adding,
“Ah, but there might be poisonous mushrooms, so don’t eat just anything. Make sure to show them to me.”
Then, Yuanna picked a few mushrooms and held them out to me.
“Are these okay?”
She usually said a lot of strange things, but she was enthusiastic about the tasks she was given, almost like a top student.
I checked that they were beefsteak fungus, the same as what I had picked, and nodded.
“Yes. These are edible. See if you can find more like this.”
At my words, Yuanna nodded earnestly with a determined look on her face.
Yuanna went back to Diego’s side, and after what seemed like a conversation about the mushrooms, they began searching for more together.
No, let me correct that. She was showing Diego the mushroom she had shown me and making him find ones that looked the same.
She wasn’t a top student; she was just a slacker who made others do her homework.
‘I should live like that too.’
Asdal was still doing nothing, leaning against a tree trunk and observing us.
“What have you been eating all this time?”
I asked Yuanna, who was not far away, as I picked mushrooms. Yuanna looked thoughtful for a moment before sighing and answering.
“I mainly survived by gathering berries or collecting shells from the water. It was really tough. Ah! I did catch a rabbit once.”
At her words, Asdal laughed and retorted.
“I was the one who caught the rabbit.”
“What does it matter? There was no one who could butcher it, so we couldn’t eat it anyway.”
At Yuanna’s retort, Asdal closed his mouth as if he regretted interjecting. I was puzzled by their conversation and tilted my head, asking,
“Can’t Sir Diego butcher it? Don’t you usually camp out when you go on Monster subjugation or battles?”
Diego, who had been silently gathering mushrooms next to Yuanna, stopped moving. Yuanna glanced at him and burst into laughter.
Seriously, aren’t Kaiden, Asdal, and Yuanna all people in high positions who should have some refinement? How can they laugh so freely?
“Sir Diego can’t resist anything cute. He loves rabbits and squirrels too much.”
……Huh?
“He’s also very timid and can’t stand seeing anything gross. I don’t know how he became the Imperial Guard Commander.”
Yuanna sighed and shook her head, and Diego’s face turned bright red.
“Th-That’s a misunderstanding.”
“Is it really?”
Yuanna answered casually, and Diego closed his mouth without saying anything. He seemed to think that was for the best.
Hearing their story, it seems like they have no survival skills at all. I wonder how they’ve survived until now.
“I heard you don’t know how to make a fire. How did you manage that?”
“Ah, I happened to pick up a burning ember and used it to survive for a few days until it rained.”
“You……? You picked up a burning ember……?”
I’m hearing about someone picking up a burning ember in this rainforest. The female lead can do anything, it seems.
“I happened to be walking in the forest when I smelled something burning, and when I went to check, some dry leaves were on fire. It was incredibly lucky.”
At Yuanna’s added words, I rested my chin on my hand and fell into thought. It’s a tropical area, so the humidity is high, but dry leaves in this kind of forest……
Well, since it’s hot, maybe it could happen if it was a sunny spot?
Anyway, we gathered a sufficient amount of berries and mushrooms and returned to the cabin.
We shared the water that Luzef had purified and made a fire to boil the mushrooms in water.
Diego and Yuanna inhaled the mushrooms in a state of complete oblivion. And Asdal, who was still suspicious of me, cautiously watched my expression as he ate the mushrooms.
“Before we talk about our future plans…… should we introduce ourselves first?”
“Are there people here who don’t know each other’s names?”
Asdal nitpicked at my words. It wasn’t unexpected, so I lightly ignored him. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s of higher status than me, so I’ll be patient.
“It seems like most of the major figures from the Empire and the Kingdom are gathered here, right?”
Yuanna, who had been silent, carefully opened her mouth.
In reality, the people with the highest status here were Enoch and Asdal, but neither of them seemed to want to take the lead.
Especially Enoch, who seemed too busy putting mushrooms into my bowl to even think about taking the lead.
Enoch said he was working, I said I was enjoying tea time at the mansion, Kaiden said he was on his way to turn the temple upside down, and Luzef said he was praying when they opened their eyes and found themselves here.
The others were not much different from us. Diego said he was doing swordsmanship training, Yuanna said she was praying at the temple, and Asdal said he was taking a nap when they woke up and found themselves here.
Come to think of it, everyone was in their formal attire. It seemed that only Asdal and I were in indoor clothes.
Asdal, who had been staring at me with his chin resting on his hand, opened his mouth.
“I’m a little suspicious of Lady Flone. Even if she didn’t directly kidnap us, isn’t she somehow involved? Lady Flone is the most likely person here.”
Here we go again. I massaged my temples and met Asdal’s gaze with a tired expression.
