Chapter 7

Chapter 006: Hunting

Mew and Sharik walked and walked, and when the sun had moved from its zenith to the west, they finally arrived at the hut.

The hut looked as if it would collapse at any moment due to lack of maintenance. Originally, hunting huts needed to be maintained and the wood replaced at least once a year. However, after Mew's grandfather passed away, Mew no longer went hunting alone and thus could not maintain the hut.

Sharik circled the hut and tapped the dilapidated roof with the sheath of her sword.

– Rustle

"Wow… Is this thing going to collapse tonight?"

"This looks bad on the outside, but it's still sturdy inside."

Mew felt a bit embarrassed by the poor condition of the hut but tried to act as if it was fine, tapping the thickest and sturdiest-looking piece of wood with his palm.

– Thud thud

"Since dust is falling, could you stop that?"

"Sure."

Sharik opened the entrance to the hut and went inside.

The interior was dark, as the hut was reinforced with wood and old animal hides, blocking out the sunlight. The floor was covered with small branches and leaves to prevent the cold, and there were wooden bowls and other items scattered around, with a hearth in the center.

"Is there a metal pot?"

"A metal pot? Oh, yes, there is."

Mew followed Sharik into the hut and found a dented metal pot in a corner.

"It's here. But why?"

Mew asked, holding the dented and dusty pot as he followed Sharik outside.

"We need to cook something. Aren't you hungry?"

Sharik answered, brushing off the dust from her clothes. With those words, Mew felt the intense hunger he had been suppressing due to tension.

"Oh, finally, potatoes…?!"

In fact, he had been so hungry from walking all day without proper food that he deeply regretted not admitting his hunger when Sharik first asked. He couldn't bring himself to suggest boiling potatoes to the intimidating knight, so he had walked until he was nearly fainting.

Mew excitedly took the dented pot to the side of the hut and began cleaning it with the white snow.

The pot was covered in dust from being stored for a long time. Despite the cold, Mew, driven by hunger, blew on his hands and diligently scrubbed the pot.

After cleaning the pot, Mew filled it with snow and started building a temporary hearth with dirt and stones a short distance from the hut.

First, he dug a small hole, stacked stones, and smeared dirt between the stones to secure them, even creating a vent for air.

"Hmm? Do we have a flint?"

Just as he was about to go into the hut to find a flint, Sharik stopped him.

"Fire? I've got it."

Sharik then drew her sword from its sheath.

– Swoosh

"Ah!"

Mew was both flustered and frustrated by her sudden actions. She seemed to have a habit of being destructive and violent at unexpected times.

– Whirr, Thud!

When Sharik struck the pile of branches with her mana-infused sword, strong sparks flew. However, the sparks that landed on the branches quickly died out.

"Well… It's not working well. Maybe it's because of winter. In autumn, it catches fire with one strike. Hehe."

Feeling a bit embarrassed that her impressive sword swing didn't start a fire, Sharik blamed the weather, the season, and the humidity as she put her sword back in its sheath. This time, she took out a dagger from her belt.

– Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape

Sharik infused the dagger with mana and vigorously rubbed it against a nearby stone.

After rubbing it about twenty times, she inserted the dagger into the pile of branches in the temporary hearth.

– Sizzle, hiss, crackle, crackle

The mana-infused dagger, being extremely hot, quickly ignited the branches, which were damp from the snow, causing them to burn fiercely.

"Wow! Wow!"

"Hahaha!"

Mew, despite being intimidated by the noble knight, couldn't hide his amazement and excitement. To him, it seemed like Sharik had performed magic. Sharik, seeing Mew's reaction, smiled proudly.

"Hehehe."

"Wow, wow… wow…"

Mew continued to marvel as he added more branches to the hearth. Placing the dented pot on top, he felt the fire was strong enough to quickly melt the snow and boil the water.

"Here, hold this for a moment."

Sharik unfastened her sword sheath and placed it next to Mew, then unrolled her cloak from her shoulder and handed it to him. Then,

"Boil the water."

She left these words and walked into the forest.

'She must have needed to use the bathroom… After all, she hasn't gone since we left.'

Mew, who hadn't eaten and was too busy being scared and embarrassed by Sharik, as well as sweating from walking and running, didn't feel the need to go.

"What a curious person."

While watching the snow in the pot melt, Mew gently touched the sword sheath Sharik had given him.

The sheath was surprisingly heavy.

It was very different from the wooden sticks he used to play with as a child, imagining they were swords.

'Swords are this heavy…'

Mew carefully touched the sheath, then turned his head to check if Sharik was nearby in the forest.

Not seeing her, he swallowed and gently grasped the hilt of the sword with his right hand.

The cold, heavy sensation of the hilt against his hand was new to him.

The rough texture of the hilt on his palm.

'Can this really cut people…'

It was the first time Mew had touched a sword. While worried about when Sharik would return, he couldn't resist the curiosity to see the blade and slowly pulled it out.

– Swoosh

The sword, perhaps due to the white snow and the setting sun, gleamed even more brightly.

The silver-gray blade was clean, with no chips or marks despite Sharik's earlier forceful strike.

"…"

This was the first time Mew had seen a real sword, especially one belonging to a knight.

However, it didn't give him any great excitement or impression. It was just surprisingly heavy and incredibly sturdy, which was interesting, but nothing more.

– Swoosh, click

The long blade was firmly re-sheathed.

Mew placed the sword straight next to the stone and turned his head to check if Sharik was coming back.

'She must be doing a lot of business… It's a big one, a big one.'

Since Sharik didn't return quickly, Mew broke a branch, cleaned it with snow, and stirred the pot to help the snow melt faster. He then took out Sharik's bag of dried rations and his own bag of potatoes.

'What do knights eat when they're outside? What does it taste like?'

Mew wanted to open Sharik's bag of dried rations to look at and taste the contents but resisted.

If he took even one piece, Sharik would immediately notice.

'She might draw her sword and swing it again. Ugh… I'll wait and ask to eat one later. Maybe she'll give me one… If she's generous, she might give me two, which would be great.'

Mew calmed himself and resisted the temptation of the dried rations. As the water in the pot began to boil, he took out five potatoes from his bag. These were his remaining assets and lifeline.

Although he was very hungry and could easily eat three or four, he needed to be frugal. He decided to eat two and save the rest for the night or the next morning.

'What if Sharik asks for raw potatoes?! Should I just boil two? I can boil the rest for breakfast tomorrow… No, maybe I should trade potatoes for dried rations? But what if she hits me for suggesting a trade…?'

Mew's food supply consisted of only a few potatoes, so he couldn't help but seriously consider his options. Although his lifespan was reduced to three years by Ariel, the reality was that he would starve to death in the winter if he ran out of potatoes.

"If Grandfather were here, he would have found a way…"

His late grandfather used to hunt in the mountains during winter, gather leather and herbs, and trade them for valuable food in the village. Left alone, Mew, who hadn't learned all of his grandfather's skills, found it extremely difficult to survive the winter.

'Sigh. I don't know… Even if I eat well, I can only live for three years, so what's the difference if I die a bit earlier?'

Surprisingly, Mew quickly gave up on life and placed all five potatoes in the pot, sitting in front of it to watch his last food cook.

Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to the rolled-up cloak Sharik had given him.

The red cloak with beautiful flower patterns.

Mew, who had never touched such luxurious fabric in his life as a mountain dweller, marveled at its softness as he stroked it.

'Wow… It's so fine and soft…!'

While enjoying the texture, he noticed a pleasant smell and sniffed the cloak.

– Thud, thud, crunch, crunch, crunch

Sharik, who had gone into the forest, was pushing through branches and returning. Mew, startled, quickly put the cloak down and placed it on the stone.

'Did she see me?!'

– Crunch, crunch, crunch

Mew, feeling as if he had been caught doing something strange, calmed his heart and glanced at Sharik.

"Ah?!"

But Sharik, holding two birds in her left hand and a rabbit in her right, plopped down in front of the pot.

"Oh~ You're boiling potatoes?"

Sharik, seeing the potatoes, smiled approvingly and placed the birds and rabbit on a small pile of stones.

"Wow! Did you catch all of these?"

Mew, wide-eyed with surprise, asked.

"Yeah. What's the matter?"

Sharik, acting as if nothing was wrong, asked casually.

"No, no… I mean, you went in there and… caught all of these in that time? Wow!"

Mew knew that hunting in the mountains was not easy.

Even his grandfather, who was skilled at hunting, would spend several hours to half a day setting traps, laying snares, tracking, hiding, and using a bow to catch a rabbit or a bird.

But Sharik, in the time it took to do a big (and possibly small) business, had caught two birds and a rabbit. Moreover, the animals were already gutted.

"What do you think I am? This is easy~!"

Sharik, satisfied, puffed out her cheeks.

A knight of Sharik's level could use mana to move quickly through even the roughest terrain.

Even if animals were hidden in the snow or underground, they would still emit a mana aura, which Sharik, as a high-level knight, could easily detect.

Although, in reality, as soon as she entered the forest and Mew was out of sight, she had run around frantically, throwing daggers at any birds or rabbits she found, gutting them, and then running back to the hut, all while maintaining a dignified and composed appearance.

Despite her efforts, seeing Mew's wide-eyed amazement and surprise made her secretly feel satisfied and happy.

Since this morning, Mew's constant reactions of surprise and amazement had strangely made her feel good. Each time he was surprised, embarrassed, and flustered, Sharik realized she was smiling or even laughing, which surprised her several times.

It was so unusual for her to feel this way, but she found this naive, ignorant, yet pure and kind mountain boy somehow likable.

"You boil the potatoes. I'll cook these here."

"Yes!"

While Mew boiled the potatoes, Sharik surrounded a few large stones and placed branches inside. She then infused her dagger with mana and began rubbing it against a stone.

'This time, I'll show you my fantastic cooking skills! You'll be amazed again~! Hehehehe~!'

Occasionally, the owner of the Harem Knight Corps

Author: Shinnaeun Jaka

Cover: Bbakal

Planning/Editing/Proofreading: Shinnaeun Jaka, Jeong Jae-hoon, Jeong Jae-hoon

Publication Date: August 17, 2020

Publisher: Cheongha Books

ISBN: 979-11-970944-0-8(7)

E-mail: [email protected]

Price: Non-commercial

Copyright 2020. Shinnaeun Jaka. All rights reserved.

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