The Hunter had overco countless trials and hardships, and in the end, made his way toward the broken sky.
I can’t quite recall why he headed there, or what happened to him afterward.
But as far as I rember, for the Hunter, heading toward that sky had always been a kind of destiny—a life’s mission.
And even now, after so many events had twisted away from what was “supposed” to happen, that part had remained unchanged.
When they said they were heading beneath the broken sky, Elga spoke up.
“Then our destination’s the sa. If we talk it out properly, maybe it’d be good for your group and ours to travel together?”
It seed Elga, like , was considering temporarily teaming up with the Hunter’s party.
“Can’t be a bad deal for you guys either.”
But the aloof priestess Miriam snorted lightly.
“Why should we travel with you?”
There was a trace of resentnt in her tone. As expected, she still held a grudge about us sending their party beyond the barrier.
Just then, Mirna stepped forward and interjected.
“Judging by the looks of you, it seems you've spent quite so ti here. Then you must know why there aren’t any monsters in this area right now, don’t you?”
“You an how they’ve all gathered under the sky farther north—inside the city. We know that better than you do.”
“Then you also understand we may not be able to enter that city so easily.”
Mirna’s reasoning was sound. Right now, the Final City of Gargarta was overflowing with monsters. No one knew what might happen once we tried to enter.
If we cooperated, we could expand our strategies and responses. There was real rit in working together.
But Miriam simply shook her head.
“Never really thought about it.”
Blunt as ever. Still, the Miriam I knew wasn’t the kind of person who let personal resentnt ruin her judgnt. She could separate public from private.
There was sothing going on.
So reason they seed so confident. What was it?
Would it be best to use a little magic to make them spill it?
Shhh.
Just as I subtly moved my fingers—
“Don’t even try it, spell-slinger.”
Shwing.
The warrior woman, who had been sharpening her greatsword, drew the longsword from her hip and pointed it at my throat.
Of course, Stella’s dagger was already in place, blocking it. But the warrior woman didn’t flinch.
“Mages are always up to sothing. I don’t underestimate you. So don’t go making suspicious moves.”
“......”
Her senses were razor-sharp.
Yeah—this was the level you’d expect from a main character’s party mber. The problem was that the mood between our groups was getting more and more strained.
Shrrrk.
It was the warrior who first withdrew her blade.
She carefully slid it back into the sheath on her lap, then took out her whetstone again and resud sharpening her greatsword.
That was the end of the conversation.
Honestly, even if we had wanted to talk more, the mood had soured enough that no one could speak easily.
At that mont, Mirna leaned toward and whispered softly:
“Sir Teo, I think it would be best to give up on traveling with these people. They’re like wild beasts—uncontrollable. They’ll only bring trouble.”
Mirna wasn’t wrong.
But I couldn’t ignore how their confident attitude and survival skills might hide so kind of secret—sothing that gave them a real advantage.
They might know a way to enter the city safely.
And if that were true, I had to find out.
I didn’t want any of my wives to get hurt or fall into danger. Naturally, I wanted to choose the best path forward.
But no further conversation happened in that heavy silence.
In that cramped cave, their group stayed on their side, and we stayed on ours, each of us quietly resting.
***
Night fell quickly in the forest, and strange beastly cries echoed all around.
Probably those floating-head monsters we’d seen earlier.
In this situation, wandering outside was nothing short of madness.
So we stayed in the cave the Hunter’s party had been using as shelter and tried to shake off our exhaustion.
Bubbling...
I was snapped from my thoughts by the sound of boiling water. Priestess Miriam was in front of a pot, peeling the skin off so sweet-potato-like root with a knife.
Nearby were so unidentifiable greens and tiny berries, barely the size of fingernails.
Was it already ti for dinner?
I caught Miriam glancing at .
“We don’t have any food for you, so don’t ask. I’m sure you understand how hard it is to find anything edible this far out.”
She thought we were going to beg for food.
Well, out here in this snowy forest, scrounging for ingredients must be brutal.
Still—
We had no intention of eating those mystery ingredients.
And it’d be rude to ask for their rations anyway.
But we did need to eat.
“Let’s have our own al.”
Clatter.
I pulled food out from my inventory—《Squirrel Storage》.
Dried ats, fruits, a few other provisions. So of it was the food we’d traded for with the magic carpet back in Pallen Village yesterday.
Let’s go with that today.
As I began prepping the ingredients, Elga looked surprised.
“Whoa. You’re actually cooking yourself, Teo? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that.”
“Believe it or not, I’ve lived on my own before. I’m no Marmar or Lady Mirna in the kitchen, but I can handle a simple dish or two.”
Tonight’s nu was one of my specialties.
I filled the pot with water and used magic to get it boiling.
Then I tore off chunks of the dried at and dumpling dough and tossed them in. I opened a familiar packet, lifted it to my nose, and sniffed carefully.
“......”
Sniff-sniff.
My sensitive half-fairy nose checked for edibility.
Even sealed packets can go bad, after all. A stomachache in a place like this would be a nightmare.
Thankfully, it was still good.
Four packets should be enough. There was plenty of at and sausage already.
Ssssskk.
I emptied the powdered soup from each packet into the boiling water. In monts, the pot turned a deep red.
The spicy, savory sll spread quickly.
Stronger than I expected—so strong I had to cast a barrier spell on the cave entrance to keep the scent from luring monsters.
Soon, the entire cave was filled with the nostalgic scent of ran broth. I used to eat this stuff all the ti when I lived alone.
Back then, I was so sick of it.
But slling it again now—it was oddly comforting. My stomach growled.
One by one, the ladies sat near the pot. In this chilly cave, the warm broth by the fire was a blessing.
Ti to add the noodles. A few sausages, too. In just a few minutes, it would be perfect.
It was starting to look more like budae jjigae than ran.
“Teo, how much longer?”
Nare, who’d been staring at the boiling water like a kitten watching a fishbowl, shivered.
She must’ve been starving. I answered calmly.
“Three more minutes. In the anti, let’s each prep our bowls and utensils.”
Three minutes.
Waiting three minutes—
It’d been a long ti since I’d done that. A spoonful of ketchup during this wait would really deepen the flavor...
Too bad I didn’t have any.
Ran with tomato ketchup—it sounds horrifying if you’ve never tried it, but it’s surprisingly good.
Maybe I’ll ask Marmar to make so for the next al?
“Three minutes are up!”
Nare raised her hand.
Soon, the six of us sat around the pot, eating together.
Slurp— The sound of slurping filled the air, along with Nare’s “Hot!!” and Mirna’s quiet scolding: “Nare, eat like a lady.”
Elga took a ladleful of soup, sipped it, and said:
“Thought it’d taste weird—but it’s surprisingly good. The warmth is seeping into my bones. Reminds of the stew the field cooks used to make during war campaigns.”
Elga, raised on the battlefield since childhood, actually had pretty humble tastes. It suited her.
What about the other ladies?
“I thought we’d have to survive on bugs and roasted birds. It’s my first ti eating this kind of al in a cave.”
Stella seed genuinely amazed to be having actual human food while camping.
Honestly, she was right. In any other worldline, we’d probably be roasting that shrimp-flavored maggot over a fire.
As she gently stroked my head, Stella smiled and said:
“Didn’t know you could cook like this, Teo. You’re surprisingly dostic.”
I turned toward the queen.
“Lady Ayra, does it suit your taste?”
“It’s a bit salty. But I think it’s perfect. We’ve been sweating a lot these past couple days.”
Her long ebony hair brushed back behind her ears so it wouldn’t touch the bowl—elegantly poised.
When Ayra eats it, even this improvised ss of ran looks like so kind of gourt dish.
For a mont, I thought—
I could’ve cooked better if I’d practiced more.
I should’ve learned properly when I had the chance.
“This is delicious!”
“Nare, quiet while you’re eating...”
“Says the one who’s only picking out the sausages...”
“W-What?!”
“Lady Mirna, you’ve got the sa tastes as Senior Alastor. He always picked out the sausages too. I wonder if Elga has the sa palate as her father?”
“? I eat anything. It’s Ayra who’s the picky one.”
“For a queen, culinary taste is a matter of national pride.”
So noisy—and yet, it was lovely.
Sitting in a circle and eating like this made it really feel like we were family.
Even if I wasn’t eating, I felt full.
Zzzhhh—
Then, I felt a pair of eyes locked on .
Glancing over, I spotted the brown-haired warrior woman watching us from afar.
“......”
Her gaze was sharp—like a predator eyeing a rabbit.
For a mont I wondered why—
But it didn’t take long to figure it out.
She was hungry.
The warrior was a big eater. Surprisingly, she was also a bit of a foodie.
There’s no way weird herbs or shrimp-flavored bugs could satisfy her.
Maybe this could be a bargaining chip?
Clink.
I ladled out a portion and held the bowl toward her, asking lightly:
“Want to try—”
Before I could even finish, she snatched the bowl out of my hand.
Like a half-wild street cat stealing sausage or ham straight from a person’s hand.
She brought the steaming hot broth to her lips and downed {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} it in one big gulp like it was warm barley tea.
Then, wiping her mouth, the warrior asked:
“How many more of those packets do you have? Trade them to us—for information.”
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