Chương 68: Bears Were Eating Grass

When morning came, Kichan immediately walked toward the valley. Riphiel had tried to explain the valley's master throughout the night. She made three attempts: once while Kichan was washing the pot, once while he checked the salt pouch, and once more just before he fell asleep. At the first explanation, Kichan answered, "Yeah." At the second, he asked, "Do they have more salt?" At the third, he was already asleep. So Riphiel started again in the morning.

"The valley's master is likely not an ordinary monster. The elves have only left boundary records, and even large monsters avoid it. Do the orcs not also refuse to enter recklessly?" Kichan opened the pouch inside his clothes and checked the salt. A little still remained. A little of the black pepper-like grains remained too. Only enough to count with his fingers remained.

"I need more." Riphiel lowered her voice.

"You might have to stake your life."

"You worry a lot."

"It is truly dangerous."

"Don't say ominous things." The saber-toothed tiger's ears lay back, and its steps slowed. Even Valkyrie was quiet at the end of Kichan's sleeve. Normally it would have popped in response to steam or the sound of water, but today it stayed flat in a leaf shape. Only Dust was excited. On Kichan's shoulder, it flicked its legs slowly, twisting its body this way and that as if sniffing new scents. Kichan glanced sideways.

"Why are you excited." Dust flicked a leg. It was impossible to tell whether it meant there was something good or something to steal.

"Don't do either." Dust pretended not to hear. The path to the valley grew rougher. The paths around the elf village had been soft, covered in wet moss, but here tree roots jutted out and stones were many. The leaves grew thicker, and patches of black soil showed through the low grass. Then Kichan stopped first. In the clearing ahead, there were two bears. They were big. Seriously big. One came up to Kichan's chest at the shoulder, and the other was even thicker.

Their fur was dark brown, and their front paws were the size of a human torso. Just by their appearance, they looked like they ate nothing but meat. But the two had their heads down, digging in the ground. Turning over dirt, tearing up and eating something like roots. Kichan watched for a long while.

"Huh? A bear is eating grass." Riphiel said quietly.

"It is better to avoid them." Kichan looked at the bears. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"That's meat."

"Extremely fierce bears."

"That's meat."

"Those two attack even when not hungry." Kichan touched his stomach.

"That's meat." Riphiel was speechless for a moment. The saber-toothed tiger lowered its body low. It was closer to a posture of dissuasion than preparation to fight. Valkyrie rose round from the end of the sleeve as if poking its head out, then went back in. Kichan raised his wake-up rod.

"Do you know how to work leather?" Riphiel paused.

"Are you asking about post-hunt processing first?"

"Wasting it would be a shame." At those words, the two bears ahead raised their heads. Dirt and root fragments clung around their mouths. One growled low, and the other turned its body toward Kichan. Kichan said.

"Here they come." The bear charged. The ground shook. Riphiel raised her bow, and the saber-toothed tiger slipped to the side. Dust pressed flat behind Kichan's shoulder. Valkyrie tried to spread like a shield, but Kichan pressed it with his hand.

"Save it." The first bear's front paw came down. Kichan did not dodge but stepped one pace inside. The tip of the wake-up rod struck the ground beside the bear's front paw. Thud. Dirt flew, and the bear's center wavered. The moment its foot lost purchase, Kichan turned the wake-up rod sideways and pushed between its front leg and shoulder. The bear's body crumpled sideways. The second bear charged from the side. Kichan lowered his body. The wake-up rod grazed below the bear's jaw.

It didn't even hit properly, but the bear's head went up and its large body reeled backward. Riphiel stopped with her bow in hand. There was nothing for him to do. The saber-toothed tiger also slowly swayed its tail, as if knowing this. Kichan did not damage the bears more than necessary. One collapsed as the strength left its flank; the other lost direction at the sound of the wake-up rod striking the ground and dropped to its knees. Then one more time — he precisely pressed the center behind its neck.

The clearing went quiet. Kichan caught his breath and said.

"Today's meat is handled." Riphiel muttered quietly.

"Your appetite is scarier than the valley's master."

"I heard that."

"Sorry."

"Not a wrong statement, though." Riphiel had even less to say. Kichan went to the ground the bears had been digging. Thick roots were exposed in the soil. The outside was earth-colored and the skin looked tough. Pulling one up, a sharp smell rose. Kichan stopped. Sniffed again. Behind the dirt smell, there was a spicy scent. It was not exactly the same. But it was unmistakable. It smelled like garlic. Kichan was quietly still for a long while. Seeing that silence, Riphiel grew uneasy.

"Is it poison?" Kichan said quietly.

"No." Kichan lifted one root.

"Garlic." Kichan peeled a little of the root's skin and smelled it. The Voynich sensation faintly reacted. There was no poison. The kind that would upset the stomach if eaten raw in large amounts. Kichan nodded.

"Should grill it." Kichan sliced the bear meat thin. There was not much fat, but the flesh was firm. He used only a very small amount of salt. He crushed only a little of the black pepper-like grains too. He sliced the garlic-tasting root thin and placed it between the meat. As the stone plate heated, the smell filled the forest clearing. First the rough smell of meat. Then salt. Then the spicy fragrance of pepper. Finally, the sharp smell of the garlic-tasting root rose. The saber-toothed tiger sat.

Riphiel sat too. Dust was already at the edge of the plate. Valkyrie went pop above the steam. Its light was a little brighter than yesterday. Kichan ate a piece and closed his eyes.

"Done." Riphiel could not counter this time either. The bear meat was tough, but once the salt, pepper, and garlic-tasting root went in, it became a completely different taste. The more he chewed, the more oil came out, and that sharp fragrance followed behind. Riphiel ate a piece. Quietly pushed his plate forward. Kichan looked at Riphiel.

"Didn't you say it was dangerous earlier." Riphiel said seriously.

"It is a dangerous taste." Kichan paused.

"You learned something useless."

"Thank you."

"That's not a compliment." Dust quietly retreated backward with a piece of meat in its mouth. Kichan saw it and did not stop it. This time it was not stolen but a shared piece. Valkyrie gathered the moisture from the roots into small droplets and set them on the back of his hand. The leaf-shaped pattern appeared and disappeared briefly. Kichan looked at the back of his hand.

"Does it taste good to you too?" Valkyrie went pop. The answer was still vague. The root bed the bears had been digging continued in the direction of the valley. As Kichan dug the soil, the soil at the tips of the roots was black and damp. There was also a strangely salty smell. Seeing that soil, Riphiel's face stiffened.

"These roots do not normally reach this far." Kichan dug up a few more roots and said.

"Then if I go to their origin, there'll be more." Riphiel muttered quietly.

"It is becoming not a valley of terror but a pantry of ingredients." Kichan put the roots in his pouch.

"Not bad."