Translator: Skythewood

Editor: Deus ex-Machina, Rockgollem

When I came to, I found myself inside an unfamiliar forest.

I was lying with my limbs spread out amidst these unknown trees.

「Strange…?」

I propped myself up and surveyed the surrounding with giddy eyes.

This was a forest.

I was inside an unfamiliar forest.

No, I grew up in a prosperous city, so I didn’t have a 「forest I was familiar with」 anyway. But this place felt like the Amazon rainforest, and didn’t feel like j.a.pan at all.

The trees had weird twists and turns.

Giant fern-like vegetation.

Exotic flowers that looked poisonous.

Bird calls I had never heard before.

Layers of leaf canopies blocked out the sky. I couldn’t even tell what colour the heavens was.

Where the h.e.l.l am I?

Most of my body was hidden beneath the thick undergrowth. I started inspecting myself.

I was dressed in white, with white chef uniform, ap.r.o.n and shoes.

There was a black logo on my chest, and it reads 『Shop Tsurumi』.

My hair was wrapped in a bandana, this was my usual attire.

Why was I lying here dressed like this?

I crossed my legs and sat down, trying to recall what happened before I lost consciousness.

And—— While I was s.h.i.+fting my body, my hand touched something.

It was hard and smooth, and felt like polished wood.

I pulled that thing out of the gra.s.s—— It was a Santoku knife in a pure white sheath.

Its black handle fitted my palm well. The blade was 21 cm long.

I recognized the knife without needing to draw it out of its white wooden sheath. This Santoku knife was a prized product from the old knife shop in Kyoto 『Shop Sakaki』. My dad treasured this knife more than his own life.

The moment I laid eyes on this knife, I remember the entire incident.

I’m Tsurumi Asuta.

My family name’s kanji Tsu of Tsugaru, stay and see. My given name could be read as 「becoming fat tomorrow.」

Seventeen years old and in my second year of a public high school. 170cm tall, 58kg and not exceptionally fat. I was born in Kanto Chiba, not in Tsugaru city.

My family runs a diner called 『Shop Tsurumi』. Our business wasn’t bad, or rather, it always had been good until those guys showed up last month.

The building besides us was set to be renovated into a composite entertainment complex, and the new owners requested us to sell the diner to him.

On the surface, his reason was: 「I want to build a carpark here」.

But his real thoughts were: 「I plan to build a food court inside the entertainment complex, and the popular diner right besides me would probably be bad for business.」.

We had no reason to accept his one-sided request, and rejected him firmly. But the other party wasn’t that simple, and appeared to have connections to the underworld. Rumours said that he seized control of his building from the original owners through nefarious means.

And so, when the building renovation started, they started hara.s.sing us.

The steel shutter of the shop was vandalized with the words 「Horribly Polluted」, constant phone calls with no sound, carca.s.s of cats being dumped at the shop entrance… cla.s.sic coercion methods.

Only one of their hara.s.sment methods kept up with modern times. They left comments on review websites, spreading rumours that 「customers visiting this diner often suffer from food poisoning」.

And of course, our usual patrons wasn’t fazed by such rumours and dined here as usual. But new customers and the number of university students visiting after cla.s.s fell, and this reflected on our account book.

Surprised by how much influence such website had made me depressed.

Even so, my dad still said with a smile:

「People actually believe such garbage. It is their loss to miss out on my dish.」

What happened sometime later finally took his smile away.

It should have been just a few hours ago.

Dad instructed me to prepare the ingredients for the evening crowd and went out to stock up on supplies. He had an accident with a pick-up truck and was rushed to the hospital.

After receiving an emergency call from the hospital, I rushed there in my chef attire.

My dad was still smiling on his hospital bed.

Although he was smiling, his legs suffered complex fractures.

His arm and head was wrapped in bandages which were stained with blood in a few spots. A van traveling at 80km/h collided with my dad. Even the doctor was surprised and said: 「It’s a miracle he survived.」

It was a hit and run. Many witnesses said the car plate had been removed, and the driver wore a knit cap and shades, concealing his face.

It was a carefully planned perfect crime.

Even so, my dad was still smiling. If they really want to kill him, they probably need a dump truck.

「So, when I can be discharged?」

When the heavily injured patient asked with a smile, the young doctor looked troubled.

「No, well, instead of being discharged, you need to undergo a brain scan and operations on your legs...」

「Alright. But when can I be discharged?」

「I can’t really tell at this point… Both of your legs have complex fractures, who knows how long rehabilitation alone would take...」

「I see. I will leave this to you then, but I need to attend to my shop. I don’t mind using a wheelchair, but please discharge me as soon as possible. If I leave my shop to this dumba.s.s, it will close down.」

The dumba.s.s my dad mentioned was me of course.

My dad was a man who would work to his death with his knife even if he needed a wheelchair or crutches.

Even I felt like laughing when I thought about that.

At this moment—— I received a call from my childhood friend Reina.

She told me 「『Shop Tsurumi』 is on fire!」

When I told dad about that, the smile was gone from his face for the first time.

「Asuta! The knife! At least save that knife from the fire!」

I charged out of the room, and returned with a faster speed than my journey to the hospital.

Dad valued that Santoku knife from 『Shop Sakaki』 more than his own life. A real chef will be able to satisfy his customers no matter what ingredients or tools he has! Although dad always says that, he will always say this about the knife purchased at the traditional knife shop 『Shop Sakaki』 in Kyoto and pa.s.sed down from the previous generation: 『But, I can’t do it without this guy』.

Only that knife—— keep it safe.

Despite the hara.s.sment, truck hit and run, fracture in both legs and the terrible business, my dad’s heart didn’t waver—— But if he lose the Santoku knife from 『Shop Sakaki』, his heart would shatter.

That’s why I ran with all my might.

But when I reached the shop, it was already surrounded by dozens of people, and the fire brigade was already here to put out the fire.

However, 『Shop Tsurumi』 was still surrounded by flames, and the smoke rose into the autumn sky of June.

No matter how much more water was sprayed, the shop would definitely be burned completely.

That was how intense the fire was.

Just like a nightmare.

「Asuta-chan…」

Reina stood with a blank stare. When she saw me, she leaned on to me with a crying face.

I grabbed her slender shoulders and nodded—— then charged into the sea of flames.

Chapter 1. The Absolutely Horrendous Dinner

Part 1

And now, I was here.

I shook off Reina and the firefighters and charged into the flames, and now, I found myself in this unfamiliar forest alone. When I made it through the sea of flames back then, I reached the kitchen in a perilous situation and picked up the Santoku knife.

The next instant, the building made an intense sound and started to collapse—— I should have been buried together with the Santoku knife and cooked under the fire and smog.

But there wasn’t any burns on me, or even any scorch marks at all.

And I had the knife that should have burned to crisp with me in my hand.

「This… must be the world after death.」

I tried pinching my cheeks, and it still hurt as expected.

That was only natural, and even if this was the world after death, it didn’t feel like a dream or delusion.

A warm breeze came from the gra.s.s.

It was hot and humid.

I felt sweat drip down my cheeks.

The smooth sensation of the wooden sheath.

…… This was definitely not a dream or delusion.

「I’m really dead!」

I shouted and sprawled down onto the ground again.

It couldn’t be help that I died. It was impossible to survive after charging into such an intense sea of flame.

However—— I couldn’t just watch idly by back then.

I only did something so foolish because I didn’t want to see my dad’s look of despair.

In the end, I couldn’t protect the Santoku knife and even lost my life. That wouldn’t do.

A decade ago, his wife fell to illness. Now, he lost his shop and his son. If he also loses the Santoku knife from 『Shop Sakaki』 —— what then would dad live for?

With the sheathed Santoku knife in my hands, I closed my eyes tightly and gritted my teeth.

If I didn’t do that, I think I would burst into unsightly tears.

Reina is probably crying right now…

I couldn’t see my childhood friend who was like a sister to me, or my only living relative, my dad again. My dad lost everything, and everything was taken from me.

… Just what is the meaning of my life?

As I was thinking about that, I heard rustling from the trees beside me.

After that was a burst of ‘Purururu’... That was definitely a grunt of a wild beast.

I stayed on the ground and slowly moved my gaze towards it.

From the shadows of the trees, there was a pair of crimson eyes burning.

What the… is a ghost or demon going to come out?

It might look like a tropical paradise here, but maybe this wasn’t heaven, but h.e.l.l?

I couldn’t help thinking that those eyes look hostile.

Give me a break. I don’t remember doing anything bad in my previous life.

I got up slowly, trying my best to not agitate that thing.

And then—— that thing appeared slowly.

Uwah...

It was a wild boar.

Or something that looked like a wild boar.

That creature was a quadruped that looked like a boar with a giant body weighing roughly 90kg..

Its brown bristles that looked black were as hard as steel wires, and its mane extend from its head all the way to its back like a punk head.

It had short limbs, but they were very thick.

Two sharp tusk protrude out, flanking its flat nose.

Beady eyes were on either side of its face.

Its large round body was short and fat.

The more I looked at it, the more it looked like a boar.

But it wasn’t a boar after all.

Because it had a pair of ivory horns protruding out from its forehead, which were as long as the tusks growing out from its jaw.

「… Uwah!」

I caught a glance of its hind legs kicking off the ground, and it charged at me.

From what I knew, boar could reach up to speeds of 40 km/h, but what about this guy?

As far as I know, boars were omnivorous, but it didn’t have the habit of eating live prey, what about this guy? I thought as I ran with all my might.

I had a hectic time running around when I was still alive, and I still need to run when I’m dead?

I’m dead, so I didn’t need to be afraid. But being stabbed by the sharp horns and tusk of beasts would probably be more painful than my cheeks being pinched.

And so, I was running for my life like a headless chicken.

With no time to look back, I jumped over shrubs, brushed aside branches as I weaved through the trees, running forward without stopping.

I ran and ran -- and catastrophe struck again.

「Uwahhhh!」

The ground sunk rapidly.

It was a trap hole.

The world started spinning and I felt dull pain all over my body.

I fell into the depths of the hole in confusion.

「That hurts…. d.a.m.n it, what the h.e.l.l, that hurts!」

My body laid p.r.o.ne at the bottom of the hole, and I lifted my head.

The forest scenery looked as if it had been cut into a circular shape. It looked roughly 3 metres deep.

If this was dug by humans, it was impressive work.

「d.a.m.n it! This joke is going too far. Really...」

Fortunately, that boar like creature didn’t fall into the hole with me. I kept the Santoku knife I was holding tightly in my right hand into my s.h.i.+rt, and tried to stand up.

That instant, I felt a burning pain in my right ankle.

I seemed to have sprained my ankle when I fell.

I was thrown into the depths of the forest in a state of confusion, ran into an unknown creature that chased after me. In the end, I fell into a hole and sprained my leg.

This was the worst bulls.h.i.+t. The situation was so bad that I couldn’t help laughing.

「No, now isn’t the time to laugh!」

As this was not the time to laugh, I tried getting mad.

「d.a.m.n it all! I don’t know if you are a G.o.d or the devil, but what did I do wrong!? Are my sins really that grave? The way I died might not be worth boasting about, but I don’t remember doing anything that deserve such harsh punishment! If you have a problem with me, then banish me to an even harsher h.e.l.l!」

「… You’re a really noisy man.」

I was surprised, as if someone had hit the back of my head with a metal baseball bat.

In the circular piece of sky above my head, a dark figure appeared.

「… Why’re you being so noisy in a place like this?」

The other party spoke with a tone of a man, but sounded like a young woman.

Her voice was a little deep and hoa.r.s.e. Her tone might be cold, but it sounded nice to me.

Spa.r.s.e sunlight through the branches illuminated her from behind, which made it hard for me to discern her face.

So humans exist in this world too. I felt relieved, and decided to reply first:

「As you can see, I fell into a hole. I don’t know who dug this hole or why they did it, but this prank has gone too far.」

After a moment of silence, the girl said with an even colder tone:

「… This trap is set by me.」

「Eh?」

「I can’t fill my stomach even if I catch a human. This is meant to trap Kiba beasts. You know how much effort I put into digging this hole?」

「Eh? No, this is… my bad? Should I apologize to you?」

「……」

「Hmm, but I’m really sorry about messing up your work. I will apologize to you, so could you help me out of this hole?」

「… It’s just this deep, you should be able to climb out yourself.」

That figure seemed to be leaving, so I continued in a hurry:

「No, I actually sprained my ankle when I fell! It’s not that serious, but I can’t get out by myself. Sorry to trouble you, but can you lend me a hand?」

「… Who cares. Just starve to death here.」

That figure vanished.

「Wait! That’s too cruel! Hey, save me!」

She didn’t answer.

Was she really planning to leave me to die?

「Hey! Please! I will really starve to death here! If you have even a little bit of conscience left, then come back!」

「… You’re a really noisy man.」

I couldn’t see her, but I definitely heard that girl’s voice.

After that, something weird fell in.

It was vines growing all over the forest.

Five of them were bundled together. I gave it a tug, and it felt really secured.

「… Hurry and climb up.」

Huh, so she was planning to rescue me from the very start.

What a cheeky girl. In modern terms, she was a 「Tsundere」.

No matter what, I felt her compa.s.sion, and considering the strange situation I was in, her actions made me even more grateful. I should give my sincere thanks once I climbed up. I thought as I stepped onto the wall.

My sprained ankle still stung, but it wasn’t unbearable. Although the crumbling dirt made it hard to scale, I still climbed with all my might.

But… this situation is really confusing.

If this was h.e.l.l, why would a saviour appear when I was at a loss? That was strange.

What I felt through my senses were very realistic too, just like when I was alive. I couldn’t tell that 「I was really dead.」

Nevermind, things would sort themselves out in the end. With the last bit of my strength, I finally reach the surface.

I escaped the hole safely.

Nightfall was probably imminent, and the surroundings were turning dark.

「That hurts… Thank you. For saving my life.」

I collapsed onto the gra.s.s, and lowered my head in thanks to the girl saviour who rescued me.

That girl stood with feet apart, crossing her arms as she waited for me. She then quietly pointed the thing in her hand towards my nose.

It was a sabre, with a glint in its silver blade.

Part 2

「So, who exactly are you?」

The glimmering sabre stopped right before the tip of my nose.

This sabre was no joke, 80cm long and 10cm wide. It was ruggedly made, as if it was modified from a hatchet. Even so, the blade was grinded to a razor sharp edge. With this sabre, she could probably cut through the bones and sinews of her prey.

Now wasn’t the time to be impressed.

「W-What’s the matter? Greeting me like this suddenly is dangerous! I already told you that I will apologize for messing up your trap!」

「Shut up. Hurry up and answer my question.」

The girl was calm and collected… But her cool demeanour was making me afraid.

I sighed, and alternated my gaze between the girl’s face and the sabre’s blade.

「I want to ask you first, where is this place? This doesn’t feel like the world after death…」

「This is the foot of Mount Morga, called Forest’s Edge.」

「… Mount Morga?」

「This is Western Kingdom Selva, territory of Duke Genos… Where the h.e.l.l did you come from?」

I was completely lost.

But I could only answer honestly.

「I came from a country named j.a.pan. Chiba prefecture of j.a.pan. Do you know?」

「j.a.pan… Chiba prefecture…?」

She never heard of that before. How could she have?

This world had nothing in common with 「j.a.pan」 in all sorts of ways.

In the world I lived in, boars didn’t have horns and girls wouldn’t walk around with huge blades on them. Furthermore, that girl’s looks —— I had never seen someone who looked that way.

Her skin tone was dark, as brown as dark chocolate.

But her hair was dark blonde.

And her eyes were deep blue.

That girl’s brownish blonde hair was very long, and was tied up with straps into a strange pattern. In the dim light, her blue eyes looked strong and sharp.

Her facial features were well proportioned.

The corners of her eyes were raised a little, like those of a cat’s. She had a thin nose and small pink lips —— the lines around her cheeks were soft, making her look young. She should be about my age.

Her looks were really outstanding.

I wouldn’t hesitate in calling her stunningly gorgeous.

Personally, I think her brown skin matched with her pink lips looked really s.e.xy.

But what was with her attire?

A thick fur cape draped down her shoulders —— cloth with beautiful patterns were wrapped around her chest and waist.

The intrinsic patterns on these two pieces of cloth didn’t feel cheap at all, but her dressing was a little too s.e.xy.

Aside from her clothes, she had a necklace filled with beast horns or tusks. She had bangles of nuts on her wrist, and a sheathed knife hung on her shapely waist. Those were all that she wore, and the rest of her smooth brown skin were laid bare. There were some strap-like things on her feet, which should be shoes.

Even though this mesmerizing and scantily clad girl was standing before me, my only thoughts were 「She sure is scary」.

Although her facial features were cute, her expression was fierce.

A fire burned in her eyes, and just like a real cat, her cute lips were pursed together tightly.

She was tall for a girl, and appeared rather slender.

But she didn’t feel weak at all.

The girl showed her arms, legs, shoulders and abdomen, and they were as tight as a whip, without a single bit of fat. There were also plenty of white scars on her skin, which reflected how tough her life had been.

She was filled with powerful strength, or should I say primal life force. Modern men had become slaves to technology, and would never exhibit such power.

Even so——

What was that smell?

My heart was filled with questions when I came face to face with this extraordinary girl.

It was a complicated fragrance.

A bitter sweet smell, akin to completely ripe fruits.

It had a mysterious feel to it at the same time, like budding flowers on the verge of blooming.

The fragrance was refres.h.i.+ng and soothing, just like herbs.

But it had a violent nature, like a strong spice.

It also smelled like the meat and oil of animals, a b.l.o.o.d.y scent.

These scents mixed together in a complicated matter, stimulating my nasal cavity.

I didn’t want to brag, but since I was young, my dad let me apprentice in the kitchen, so my sense of smell was more keen than others. More importantly, this smell was making me hungry… When I thought this far, my body seemed to know what I was thinking, and my stomach growled.

The girl’s raised blade wavered a little.

「What are you scheming?」

「I’m not scheming anything… I’m just hungry.」

My stomach rumbled again.

How unsightly.

The girl raised her beautiful brow, and showed a ferocious face.

「Hey, stop kidding around. Are you making fun of me?」

「I’m not kidding. This is a normal body reaction, I can’t help it. Because you have a delicious scent, so my stomach is reacting.」

「What do you mean? I don’t have any food on me. Because of you, I couldn’t get anything today.」

「Well, I will apologize for wasting your efforts…」

My stomach went 「Growl」 again, overlapping with the ending of my sentence.

My stomach was making too much noise.

Sigh, this was bad. The girl scowled her face further, and her shoulders started trembling.

Was I going to face death again for such a dumb reason?

「Anyway, I have no intention of making trouble on your turf. I got left in this place with no idea what is happening. I’m confused too. If you don’t like it, I can leave right away...」「Growl!」

This was really bad.

No matter how sincere my apology was, my stomach kept interrupting me.

As I was thinking all that—— the girl suddenly turned her head.

Her right hand was still threatening me with her sabre, but she was covering her mouth with her left hand.

Her shoulders were trembling harder.

「… What’s the matter?」「Growl?」

Her blade drooped onto the ground.

The girl’s face was blushed.

「Hey? Are you feeling unwell?」「Growl? Growl growl?」

「Pfft」, the girl made a strange sound.

She was staring at me through the tears in her eyes.

「Enough… Stop that...」

Even her voice was turning weak.

That worried me even more.

「Even if you ask me to stop…」「Growl. Growl growl growl...」

The girl sat down on her b.u.t.t with her hand still on the hilt of the sabre.

She then started laughing out loud, 「Bwahahaha!」

Ara, her smiling face looked so cute.

So she was just trying to hold back her laughter just now.

After she laughed for a while, she wiped away her tears and stood up. She pointed her sabre at me and spit out these words:

「… I will kill you.」

「Why?!」

I was still sitting on the ground, and backed away in a panic.

But the maw of the hole I crawled out from earlier was still waiting behind me.

The steel blade inched towards my nose.

「This is the most shameful moment of my life… I will definitely kill you.」

Even in the night, I could see that her face was beet red.

Was this her feeling of shame? Or the ultimate in tsundere? That couldn’t be!

No matter what, I couldn’t die here.

When my hand touched the edge of the hole, I raised both hands in surrender.

「If my obnoxious stomach hurt your pride, I apologize! This is all the fault of my stomach being empty! Speaking of which, I haven’t ate since noon!」

「……」

「I’m really confused! I don’t know where I am, and why I’m here, all of this just confuses me! I am completely befuddled, if you kill me, then why the h.e.l.l did I…」

Why did I jump into the sea of flames at the cost of my life?

When I thought about that, my throat tightened and the words didn’t come out.

I was at a loss, and could only look back at the girl.

There was a sort of glint in the girl’s blue eyes, as if she was looking at an unfathomable creature.

「… I don’t understand what you’re saying either.」

She lowered her blade a little.

「Aren’t you a citizen of the Rock City?」

「Rock City? Like I said, my home is a country named j.a.pan.」

「… I have never heard of a country by that name. So, you’re not a citizen under Genos’ rule huh.」

The girl finally lowered her blade after saying that.

But the doubt and suspicion in her eyes lingered.

However… I felt a complicated wavering emotion that seemed to be hidden behind her fierce eyes.

「… Tell me more.」

The girl said softly.

「Let’s head to my place. If you are not willing to come, I will leave you here.」

「… You’re willing to bring a man of unknown origin like me home?」

「Night is falling. I don’t have time to answer your question here… Let me tell you first, if you don’t prepare a fire beforehand, you will lose your life if you stay inside the forest.」

The girl picked up the leather sheath she dropped by her feet, and sheathed her sabre. I looked at the girl’s majestic figure, then propped myself up with my hands and stood up.

「I understand, I will do as you say… By the way, I haven’t introduce myself. I’m Tsurumi Asuta.」

「Suroomi… Yazuka?」

「No, Tsurumi Asuta.」

「Choorumi Yasuka……」

She was too cute.

Because the subject was saying this with a serious face, she looked even cuter.

「Hmm. If it’s difficult for you to p.r.o.nounce, just Asuta would do. What’s your name?」

「……Ai Fa.」

She left her name and turned her back to me.

She had a slender body, but she was shorter than me. Around 167-168 cm.

She was about average height, thin and slender, so how did she lift that scary sabre with just one hand? Maybe she had different muscle or bone density, and the structure of her body was unlike any people I know.

As I was thinking leisurely about all that, the girl glared at me sideways.

「What are you doing? Don’t your feet hurt? Hold onto my shoulder.」

「Huh, is that fine?」

「Time is precious, hurry up.」

I was a little hesitant, but I still put my right arm over Ai Fa’s right shoulder.

The next second, she elbowed my chest.

「I didn’t tell you to put your arm around me. I just told you to grab my shoulder.」

「Uwah… I see.」

I patted my chest softly as I grabbed Ai Fa’s left shoulder with my right hand.

I wasn’t hurt that badly, so this was enough to help me walk.

The girl was wearing a thick fur cape anyway, so I could only feel the rough sensation of her cape.

「… You’re hiding a knife in your chest?」

「Eh?」

I stopped in surprise.

When I put my arm around her, my chest lightly brushed her back. She could feel that even through such a thick piece of hide?

Compared to her elbow to my chest, this reaction was much scarier.

「You noticed in that short amount of time? I have no intention of harming you, so don’t worry.」

「Why do I need to worry? If you want to hack me down, you can give it a try.」

Ai Fa glanced back at me, and said with an icy gaze:

「But if you tried that, I will cut your windpipe ahead of you. If you think I’m bluffing, you’re free to try me… Asuta.」

Part 3

And hence, Ai Fa and I advanced through the forest in the evening.

It was almost night fall, and the surroundings were dark.

「All because you wasted so much of my time. We need to leave the Kiba beasts’ activity zone quickly.」

My hand was on Ai Fa’s left shoulder as I took care not to strain my sprained right ankle and inched forward. I asked back: 「Kiba beast?」

「You set that trap in order to catch those things? Are you referring to that boar like creature?」

「… Boar?」

「Yes. Dark skin, round and stout with horns…」

「That’s a Kiba beast, you saw one?」

「I saw one, or rather, it was chasing me. That’s why I fell into that trap.」

「How laughable. When a Kiba beast is attacking you, you should climb up tall trees. That’s common sense.」

「Like I said, I don’t know such common sense.」

I said as I looked at the shoulder I was holding.

「I want to ask, is that fur cape made from the hide of a Kiba beast?」

「Of course. I’m a denizen of Forest's Edge. People of the Forest's Edge will routinely hunt Kiba beast, eat their meat and make a living selling their horns, tusks and hide.」

Ai Fa carefully pulled aside the shrugs, and glared at me with annoyed eyes.

「… And those citizens of Rock City, mock us, the people of Forest's Edge as 《Kiba eater》.」

「Hmm? But why? Boars are delicious.」

I wasn’t trying to brag, but during winter break during my second year in middle school, I partic.i.p.ated in a farm life experience organized by hunting hobbyists, and butchered boars and deer over there. The boar stew I ate back then was absolutely delicious.

「… It’s not a 『boar』, it’s Kiba beast. Kiba beast meat are tough and smelly. They say the people of Forest's Edge who eats the Kiba beast, have the same stench.」

「You’re not smelly at all, your smell is very fragrant.」

Ai Fa’s eyes looked even more unhappy.

Well, girls around this age were hard to handle.

For the sake of Ai Fa’s reputation, I need to make it clear that she didn’t just smell like meat and oil. Her scent was mainly that of bitter sweet fruits and refres.h.i.+ng herbs, which complement the fragrance of the meat perfectly, and kept stimulating the part of my brain that control my hunger.

「But seriously, my sense of smell is really keen. Kiba beast must be delicious.」

「… There’s no distinction of food being delicious or not.」

Ara, that was rude. I might still be apprenticing, but I was still a chef. Were those words a challenge against me?

But in this situation, it would be useless to preach about my world view. So I kept my mouth shut and focus on walking quietly.

We walked in the forest like this for about 15 minutes—— Suddenly, my field of vision became wide.

We walked out of the forest.

The sun was about to set.

The orange light illuminated the settlement in the valley.

Ah… So people really lived in this world.

I was overwhelmed.

The surrounding was dark, so I couldn’t see very clearly, but this stony clearing was made by clearing the forest, and wooden houses were spread spa.r.s.ely across the place. Red light could be seen inside those lodgings, and white smoke from the cooking of dinner rose into the sky.

… See, don’t it smell delicious?

The fragrance from the protein of meat and spices melded into the air.

In order to not agitate Ai Fa, I tried my best to suppress my stomach’s growling.

「It feels serene outside the forest, not bad. Roughly how many people live here?」