“Um, Sis…?”
“Yeah?”
Hephaestus called to me with a surprised expression.
“What did you just say?”
“Noah, Hephaestus. Should we finish our meal first? I think it would be better to wrap it up quickly and wash up.”
“Huh? No, just now Noah was-”
“…Hephaestus, please.”
“Uh, um… should we? Hehe…”
Ruby, grabbing Hephaestus’s shoulder and cutting her off, frantically pointed to the campsite.
Then, almost dragging the supported woman, she started walking.
Hephaestus glanced at me for a moment before quickly following Ruby.
As expected… did I grab her too roughly?
I should be more gentle next time.
As I trudged along, passing through the curtain Ruby had set up, a delicious smell assaulted my nose.
The menu was the barbecue we talked about earlier, and mushroom soup!
“Noah, come sit!”
Ruby patted the seat beside her.
All three of us had really bad expressions before, but now they seemed quite alright.
Maybe it was because there was delicious food in front of us?
“I’m really sorry again. Did you say Noah-nim…?”
“Ah, um… yes, yes…”
The woman who looked at me with a surprised expression wore a kind smile and bowed her head.
“I’m… Mariel. I’m sorry and… thank you. If it weren’t for you, Noah-nim, I would have really… twice… sniff I’m really… really grateful…”
“Uh, um… you, you went through a lot…”
Tears were dropping to the ground, so I gently patted her shoulder.
After quite a while like that, Ruby handed Mariel a bowl full of soup and chased away the gloomy atmosphere.
“Miss Mariel, let’s eat first and then talk?”
“Ah, yes, thank you…”
“This is for Noah.”
“Wow…”
Unlike Mariel, I received a plate piled high with meat!
“Okay, Hephaestus, here’s yours too.”
“Thanks…”
Hephaestus’s bowl had a decent amount of meat in it.
So, is that why her voice sounds so weak?
“Umm… Hephaestus, eat a bit more meat…”
I moved a few pieces of meat from my plate to Hephaestus’s bowl.
“Huh? Sis, are you saying you’re eating so little?”
“Ah, no… um… it’s, it’s okay.”
Actually, it’s not okay…
I was holding the Great Sword in one hand, so I carefully shook my plate and passed the meat over…
Too much went over!
I should’ve just used a fork…
“Your expression doesn’t look like it, though?”
Seeing me, Ruby quietly smiled and put a few more pieces of meat on my plate.
“Well, then there’s nothing left for Ruby to eat…”
“There’s more here, so eat plenty. It’s fine.”
“Umm… okay. Thank you…”
I bowed my head and picked up a fork.
“Oh, Mariel, too. Soothe your stomach with the soup, then eat the barbecue.”
“Ah, no. I’m fine with this-”
“It’s okay. Eat enough.”
Ruby smiled brightly and handed Mariel a plate with meat and vegetables.
And thus began our cheerful dinner.
We chatted about everything from Hephaestus’s sleeping habits to Ruby’s cooking experience.
Then there was my drunken antics too… A lot of stories went back and forth.
Finding it hard to join the conversation, I quietly chewed my meat.
Mariel began to drink the soup like it was water.
She must’ve been really hungry.
I quietly poured her water and brought it in front of her.
“S-slowly please…”
“Urk Yes, thank you.”
Mariel, with her head bowed, continued to keep her plate at her lips as she drank another four bowls afterward.
“Ha, did everyone eat well?”
“Yeah. Ruby, your cooking is incredible…”
“My stomach… feels like it’s going to burst…”
“Hoo… I’m full! Shaman… it’s an honor, really…”
Hephaestus lightly clapped her hands.
I kept patting my bloated belly.
And Mariel instantly downed her remaining soup before nodding off.
“Okay! Let’s go wash up! I want to wash off quickly, whether it’s cold or hot water!”
“Sure. Let’s just tidy up this first.”
“Then I’ll tidy up here, so you go ahead.”
Mariel suddenly jumped up and began organizing the things.
“No? No way. We’ll do it together. Let’s go wash up together.”
“Ah, no, I can’t possibly… with a Shaman…”
“Mariel.”
“Y-yes?”
Ruby’s suddenly stern voice froze Mariel in place.
“I just said I’m not a Shaman right now… If you keep saying it, I can’t help it.”
Ruby took the dishes from Mariel’s hands and continued speaking.
“Then, as your Shaman, I’ll say it. Rest and let’s go wash together. You’re a patient right now. You have to be careful with even small movements.”
“Wow…”
I quietly admired Ruby’s splendid demeanor.
Hephaestus reacted the same way as I did.
And Mariel…
“Sniff sniff…”
Started crying again.
Ruby sighed as if she expected it and hurriedly began clearing the dishes.
Ugh… I guess I should help too.
I immediately got up from my seat and quickly gathered the plates.
Then Hephaestus, who had been slouching, quickly got up and started collecting forks and cups.
“Noah, you rest.”
“Huh…?”
My hands, gathering the plates, stopped.
Why me?
I’m not the patient!
Seeing me stand still, Ruby approached and quietly whispered in my ear.
“Mariel would definitely feel uncomfortable just standing there, so you sit over there.”
“Oh… is that so…?”
Yeah, I mean.
I, who also felt uncomfortable standing alone in this party, could only imagine how uncomfortable Mariel must feel.
“Yes, please.”
Ruby patted my backside encouragingly.
“Uh… okay, I understand.”
Reluctantly, I shook off my hands and slowly walked over to where Mariel was.
Like approaching a sleeping cat…
As I approached, Mariel startled and jumped up from her seat.
“Ah, uh… Ah, stay sitting…”
“Not at all. I’ll sit if Noah-nim sits.”
“Oh… really, it’s okay…”
“It’s fine.”
Super uncomfortable… like, unbelievably uncomfortable.
Fighting monsters is way more comfortable!
I didn’t even feel this tense when fighting the Minotaur earlier!
Sweating bullets, I plopped down beside Mariel.
Only then did Mariel cautiously settle back down.
“…Thank you again.”
“Y-yes…”
Ah… I can’t breathe…
I envied the carefree Hephaestus over there, tidying up the space happily…
*
“Okay, then… you might find it a bit hard, but could you tell us what happened?”
After washing up at the Valley we had mentioned earlier and preparing for the night, we lit a fire.
Not an open fire, but one kindled inside a stone contraption that looked like a drawer brought by Hephaestus…
It was so fascinating that I touched it here and there, only to burn myself… and got scolded by Ruby a lot…
“Ah… yes. So, after I arrived at Ursphere, everything was fine. But that night-”
After a series of incidents, Mariel continued her story in a slightly more relaxed atmosphere than before.
She mentioned running a small flower shop in Loholan, and how, you know… she came to Ursphere to discuss things since a trade route had opened up.
After completing a smooth negotiation and on her way back to her lodging, she got kidnapped.
The kidnappers were from the organization called the Red Scorpion, just as Ruby had said.
She said she’d clearly seen the distinctive red scorpion tattoo on the neck of one of the kidnappers.
And when Mariel tried to talk about what happened after she was abducted, she started crying again, and Ruby had a tough time calming her down.
“Haah… I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. If you want to cry, cry more. It’s fine.”
Mariel, holding warm coffee, curled up and trembled.
“While undergoing… various cruel situations, an opportunity arose.”
“An opportunity?”
“Yes… They had a precious plant they took care of dearly. But… someone who was also kidnapped with me broke that pot…”
As Mariel barely got a grip on her tears, fresh tears began streaming again.
“That… that person… while getting beaten… I… I ran away… sniff…”
A precious plant?
While patting Mariel’s back, Ruby cautiously opened her mouth.
“Could you tell us what that plant was? Any features or how it looked?”
“Umm… It wasn’t a small pot. At least about the size of my torso… it was purple, and the vines were all tangled up… Ah! The leaves looked just like tears…”
“Huh? Purple and tear-shaped?”
Hephaestus suddenly perked up and interrupted Mariel’s words.
“Yes, it looked like that… and it shed a leaf once a day, saying it would take it to the boss…”
“Was that plant called ‘Eliximona’?”
“Ah, yes! I think I heard the name Eliximona. Uh, how did you know? I’ve never heard that name before…”
“Ah… no, that shouldn’t be possible…”
Hephaestus’s expression turned seriously tense.
“Hephaestus? Are you okay?”
“Ah, um… this might sound strange, but… let me explain that our master could never be that kind of person? Ah, um…”
“Trust me. Just stay calm and tell us.”
Ruby gently squeezed Hephaestus’s shoulder, who was stuttering with tears in her eyes.
And what came out of Hephaestus’s mouth after a while of gasping was.
A statement that disrupted the situation, something quite shocking.
“Eliximona… is the only plant that Yuria-haksaeng created. And… it’s the last one in this world…”
