Chapter 234: Big Eater Group, Go!
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Gumihou
Gumihou: Lazy physics alert, see if you can spot it!
“It’s this way, I’m sure of it!”
“Yes, there’s no doubt about it. The map says there’s a village at the foot of that little mountain.”
If Shote, the Vice Group Leader says so, then it must be true.
He had such rich, dark brown fur. I wish that my fur were that colour too.
“Hey, hey, Mikane. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Just a little longer, Pel.”
Pel is always hungry. While it was true that we’re known for our great appetites, there are times when we need to be a little more patient.
“This isn’t the time for idle chatter,” said Suko, the only female member of our team. “By the way, Pel, you need to move little further away. Mikane and Shote, you two need to run closer.”
“Running too close will just make us trip over each other!”
Suko’s point of pride was her floppy ears, which I also found cute. However, there was something about her that bothered me a little.
While I was speaking with Suko, she always seemed to be telling me to move closer to Shote. Also, she had this weird way of staring at us and seemed to be panting heavily…
Honestly? She looked rather creepy when she did that. If she keeps this up, males won’t go near her at all. Also, I had noticed her staring at Hakkon and Mishael, or the Red-and-White twins, weirdly, too. Ragged breathing and all!
“Hevoy and… the Leader also makes a good combo… in that case, which of them would be…”
[1] I had also caught Suko muttering to herself while staring at our other comrades with bloodshot eyes. I had heard Hakkon muttered the word ‘Rotten’ quietly to himself, and while I wondered why that word was used, I must admit that there was a certain feeling of rottenness wafting off our female team member.Ah, well, since romantic entanglements within a team often spell the collapse of a party, perhaps this current situation isn’t all that bad.
We had hopped off the Hakkon-summoned moving iron box, parting ways with the team heading towards the Fortified City. Our job was to warn villages that lay directly in the path of the monster army. Our party was chosen thanks to our speed. Also, since we could defeat most of the monsters around here, we won’t be in much danger.
“Hmm, do you smell something burning?”
At Shote’s words, I focused on my sense of smell. There was indeed a faint scent of something burning… no, wait. It was the smell of charcoal.
“Rather than burning, isn’t that the smell of grilling?”
“Yes! It’s the smell of charcoal being used for a BBQ we had before!” Pel cried. His sense of smell was the sharpest. So, he was probably right. “Ah, I’m getting really hungry now!”
“If it’s the smell of charcoal, wouldn’t that mean a burnt-out area[2]?” asked Suko.
As soon as Suko said that, it clicked for me too. I see, so that’s what this smell is.
[2] That deduction proved correct a few seconds later.Spread out before us were the ruins of a burnt-out village. It did not seem very large, and while a few houses escaped the fire, not a single building was left undamaged. That is, there were no houses in a livable state. So, this must mean that no one lived here.
“It’s an abandoned village.”
“No scent of people, and no sounds of life.”
“No food left behind, either.”
“Hmm, what should we do? Well, I’ll go check out the village, you two discuss our next move, Mikane, Shuto.”
Suko arbitrarily declared as she took Pel with her to explore the abandoned village.
The scorch marks were quite old; it looked like several years had passed since the fire.
“Is this really the village on the map? I was expecting a bit more, so this is disappointing,” I said.
“What’re you expecting?” asked Mikane.
“I heard that there was a restaurant here that served food so delicious that your cheeks would practically fall off. Apparently, many people actually made their way here just for the food.”
“What?! Really? Ugh, that’s a real shame.”
Although we’re not quite as obsessed with food as Pel, people of our tribe have a strong attachment to food. That’s why we’re both genuinely saddened by the loss of that restaurant.
[1] Just then, Pel and Shuto returned.“There isn’t a single thing left to eat…”
“But we found this!”
They handed over an iron box containing a letter. It read: Survivors are living at the summit of that mountain. To anyone who wishes to know the whereabouts of their family or acquaintances, please head over there.
“That mountain? That mountain over there?”
“Looks like it. If we run, we’ll reach the top in no time. Shall we eat first?”
“If we’re going to eat, let’s do it after we reach the top.”
“Agreed. Let’s check the summit first, then eat. If anyone is living there, they might even treat us to a feast.”
At that, Pel’s eyes lit up. Looks like he’ll probably endure until we finish the climb. The four of us sprinted up the mountain.
At the peak, we found a single pond and… nothing else. Not a single weed grew around the water. While the surrounding woods were lush and rich with nature, it felt as though wild plants hesitated to grow at the summit, keeping a respectful distance.
“Hmm, there’s nothing here.”
“You’re right. Cleanly and completely empty.”
“But isn’t this pond weird? It’s a perfect square, like a lunch box.”
“Ah, you’re right. It’s quite large for a pond, but the fact that it’s a perfect square is strange.”
Was it built as a reservoir? But, there’s no visible irrigation system nearby as far as I can see. Just what could this square pond be built for?
“Hey, look, there’s an iron box here, too! It looks just like the one we found in the ruins.”
The box Pel found was indeed identical to the one from the abandoned village. Inside was a letter that read: We have migrated to the village to the northwest.
There were only four names on the list. Clearly, the fire had taken a terrible toll.
“There’s a village a bit off our route. Should we check it out?”
“Yeah, we’d better warn them so that they don’t get into the path of the monster horde.”
“Ah, wait! There’s more written on the back of the letter!” Pel exclaimed.
At this, I turned the letter and squinted at the writing.
“Let’s see. It says ‘Beyond the trees to the northwest, we left a vegetable patch. If the crops are edible, feel free to do with them as you wish.’”
Since this was written years ago, what vegetables there were left must have gone to seed or been ransacked by animals and monsters. But still, we decided to check it out, just it case.
It took us less than a minute on foot to find the location.
“No way… this is incredible…” Suko gasped as she stared, her mouth hanging open like an idiot.
In fact, the rest of us were also staring at the incredible sight with our mouths wide open.
Stretched out before us was a farm. An actual farm with colourful vegetables, fruits and other crops. It was clear that the farm had not been tended to because the plants had invaded each other’s territory. With bright red tamita growing cheek-to-jowl with zyugiuma.
“I don’t even like vegetables that much… but these look delicious!”
“To think this fresh, green scent could affect my stomach this much.”
“We can eat these, right?”
“Y-yeah. But don’t eat everything. I’m sure other animals eat here too.”
Even as I cautioned the others, I was struggling to suppress my own urge to gorge myself on the vegetables before me. That’s how appealing they looked.
“W-well then, let’s dig in!”
“Let’s eat!!”
We all threw ourselves at the vegetables. I grabbed the tamita closest to me, gave it a quick polish on my shirt and bit in.
“Hyaaahhh! W-what is this?! The juice is flooding my mouth… this rich, yet spicy flavour, aaahhh!”
I didn’t even know what I was saying, but this vegetable was insanely good. That much was certain!
“Wha is dis? Wha is dis? Mmmph, sho gud!”
Pel’s cheeks puffed out to more than double their size, and his eyes drooped with happiness. His mouth was wet with vegetable juice, but he didn’t care at all as he continued to shovel food into his face. He usually eats nothing but meat; his appetite here was unbelievable.
“This flavour… It’s even better than the vegetables we got from Miss Kikoyu… but it still somehow reminds me of it?”
I heard Shuto mutter to himself as he savoured the food. I tried to maintain some decorum and took a more thoughtful bite. The quality of the tamita was incredible, but the taste still felt oddly similar.
“I’d love to have Ramis cook with these.”
I definitely agreed with Suko there. If our great cook Ramis, who could make ordinary vegetables taste great, she could probably turn these crops into something incredible that would make anyone drool just thinking about it.
“I wonder if Hakkon is okay…”
Thinking of Ramis made me remember Hakkon, who was always on her back. To buy time for everyone to escape, he had protected the exit and ended up buried in the dungeon. Not a single one of our comrades—ourselves included—believes that Hakkon is dead… or broken. We believe with absolute certainty that he’ll return.
“Eating these vegetables makes me crave Hakkon’s sweet tea.”
“True. I’d love to eat this with some Karaage.”
“Once we’re done eating and taken a breather, let’s head to the other villages. We need to get the warnings out quickly so we can regroup with everyone.”
We all looked at each other and grinned. That’s right. Let’s get this over with, regroup with Hakkon, and have some Karaage with that usual fizzy drink!
“Let’s do our battle cry!”
We performed the shout, our ‘Hungry Demon Squad’—no, the ‘Big Eaters Squad’—uses when we’re getting serious.
“VUOOOOOOOOOOO!”
[Gumihou: Ohohoh? Sounds like a patch of ground just up and left that place]
[1] Added details for clarity [2] Funny that they could ‘smell charcoal’ a few years after the fire. An abandoned village should smell like rot and decay, not ‘like charcoal’. Maybe if it had just been burnt within the year, but even then, it should smell like ‘burnt stuff’ in general and not ‘charcoal’. Way to stretch the physics.
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