Chapter 50: A piece of life

Pardon me guys, I’m still adjusting to the night time translation. Thanks again for understanding.

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After showing Rike the production of the custom model knife, I ponder whether I should make some high-end model or end the work here and at that moment, Samia and Diana came back.

“Welcome home. Were you able to hunt some game?”

“I’m home. Yeah, we’ve hunted a pretty big tree deer.”

“Oh, that’s amazing. Diana too, welcome home.”

“I’m home. Hah-, I’m tired…”

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

“Ah- that? I asked Diana to work as the beater you see.”

During a hunt, the beater is responsible for driving the prey to the front of the archer’s bow. In that case, she should have run and moved around quite a bit. In addition, it’s also inside the forest so it would really make her tired. Samia also did not go easy on her.

“That was tough. Both of you worked hard. Diana, is it okay if we take a break from today’s training?”

“Yes. As you can see, I can’t move well with this being the case.”

“Right. We won’t have practice today then. I’ll prepare our dinner after cleaning up the workplace, so after cleaning of the dirt on your body, rest in your rooms first.”

“Ye~s”

“Okay”

Both of them head towards the kitchen.

“All right then, shall we clean up the workplace?”

“Yes Boss”

And so, this is how the day ended.

Dawn, the next day.

All of us are headed to the forest first thing in the morning. I am carrying the water jars, Samia has the rope and Rike holds the axe. Still, every time I see this, Rike holding an axe really gives a strong picture of a dwarf. Well, it’s natural because she’s indeed a dwarf.

Diana is the only one who’s empty-handed but she can’t hide her excitement. It’s a prey she (and Samia) hunted yesterday after all so she’s looking forward to collecting it…. I also stopped trying to find out if she’s a tomboy. There is no need to find that out.

Then the four of us went inside the forest. We have more eyes compared to when it’s only the three of us, one more person can sense if there’s a presence of another person so it may be said that the degree of our safety has increased. Well, there aren’t that many animals that attack a group of four humans in the first place. To put it the other way around, it’s pretty suspicious if they come after us.

Six days have passed since I hid Diana. Karel’s group should soon know that the pursuers failed to capture Diana. In that case, they would be looking for Diana’s whereabouts and it is not strange that the “Black Forest” is one of the prospects.

Still, I think it will take a considerable amount of time for them to reach here while they’re searching because they will go through a forest where ordinary humans could die. However, our place emits a lot of smoke after all, so it can be easily found like when Helen came. Considering that, it’s time to be cautious.

With that in mind, we arrived at the lake. Rike cuts down a tree while me, Samia, and Diana pull up the tree deer. While Rike and I are making the carrier, I asked Samia and Diana to fill the water jars with water. When the things are placed on the carrier, we just need to pull it to transport them. With the four of us pulling it, it’s much faster than before. We arrived home about 1.2 times faster than when we pulled it before. The rest of the process is done by three people (except Diana). The three of us have become accustomed to it so in no time, the deer quickly turned into meat.

“Meat can be prepared like this huh.”

Diana says so while looking like she’s impressed or just thinking about something. This is probably the time to faint for a “normal young lady”… Is what I thought but, the day before, she was also present at the scene where Samia removed the internal organs and it seems that nothing happen in particular. She’s got quite the guts there.

“Yeah. It will be dismantled into meat this way.”

“It’s a living deer until I chased it yesterday and Samia-san killed it.”

“Well, that’s right. And that’s the same meat that Diana-san has eaten so far.”

“R-Right…”

She’s thinking about it a lot. Aside from the common people, the nobles rarely look at the place where they are slaughtered and dismantled.

“Well, shouldn’t it be fine with being aware that we receive a life like this?”

 “Receive a life huh?”

“Yes. We are alive thanks to that life you see.”

“I see……”

Somehow my words sounds a little bit like a sermon. That’s why I don’t want to get old.

“Eizou is saying something like my grandfather did.”

Those words of Samia prick my heart.

“I was taught that way at home.”

I replied faintly.

“Do they teach that in the north too? Just like the beastmen huh.”

Samia was impressed.

“I don’t know what the whole north is like but at least at home, I was taught that『everything has a soul』.”

When I said “at home”, it’s the concept in ​​Japan in my previous world.

“Even those in the forest?”

“Yeah, even those in the forest as well the trees in there. That’s why I was told by my old man that I must be grateful upon cutting it, using it in various ways, and live with it. Of course, it’s not just for the trees.”

 “I see……”

This time Diana is the one impressed. I don’t want to do anything like invading the cultural sphere here, but after living there for more than 40 years, I can’t help but think like that. The place has become gloomy so as much as possible, I say things brightly.

“I’m off today so I’ll cook this meat for lunch, look forward to it, okay?”

“Okay, Hooray!”

“Wah-, I’m looking forward to it!”

Samia and Rike took the bait. Diana on the other hand has a confused look.

“What is it?”

However, both Samia and Rike just say, “You’ll know when it’s noon”. Then everyone goes inside the house with the meat.

Other than lunch and supper, the venison is either dried or salted. So for our lunch today, I made the well accepted venison steak with raspberry sauce. The rest is unfermented bread and soup. One of these days, I’d like to try making fermented bread with raisins or rye yeast.

Before eating, Diana asks,

“In the north… I mean, at Eizou-san’s house, do you have a prayer of gratitude at this time?”

“That’s right… Then, let’s try it. Put your hands together.”

All members then put their hands together.

“Itadakimasu”

“Itadakimasu”

Everyone repeats after me.

“Eizou, what do you mean by “Itadakimasu”?”

“It’s main purpose is to express your gratitude like,『Thank you, I’ll receive your life』or, 『Thank you, I’ll receive the blessings of nature』 or 『Thank you, I’ll receive the food that you have prepared. 』”

 “Heh-. Then let’s do this from now on. It’s Eizou’s house in the first place.”

“I don’t mind, but, is that fine with you two?”

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

“Of course it’s fine Boss.”

And like this, the Japanese-style “Itadakimasu” and “Gochisousama” became the appreciation for meals at my home.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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