Jack of all Trades – 143
The Windmill Village
We followed the forest wolf through the forest, and by the time the sun started to set, we arrived at the village. I immediately noticed that the roofs of many houses had windmills. They probably got a lot of wind here then.
“Ruff!”
The forest wolf barked and then darted off. It seemed that we had been right about it being a guard dog here. A lone monster would not have run into the village like that, and the forest wolf had been wagging its tail before abandoning us. I almost thought the tail would fly off on its own.
“Ah, he’s come back! Hey, Mido! Marco’s returned!”
An old man came rushing out of a house after hearing the forest wolf bark…well, actually, he wasn’t that old. Maybe middle-aged. He squatted down to hug the wolf before turning around to call for someone else. This was followed by a young boy appearing from the back of the house. From what I understood of the situation, this sweaty boy was the wolf’s owner. He must have been frantically searching all over for his wolf. Was the older man waiting in the house just in case the wolf returned? I could tell by how happy they were, that they had been incredibly worried.
“Marco! Ah, I’m so happy… But, you’re terribly hurt! …Oh, but were you treated?”
“We helped him because he was wounded.”
I called out once they calmed down and started to inspect the forest wolf…Marco. At this, the two stopped hugging Marco and looked up at us.
“Adventurers… You helped him?”
“Yeah. I found him covered in blood in the forest. So I had him drink some potions.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The boy called Mido stood up and bowed. Daniela patted him on the head.
“But it is a surprise to hear that Adventurers found a monster without killing it…”
They were happy to see their forest wolf returned. However, they could not help but wonder at the reason. They seemed almost suspicious of me.
“Well, I have a connection with the forest wolves. So I try not to kill them unless they attack me first.”
“Oh…?”
The older man rubbed his chin as he stared at me. It was quite rude, to be honest. But given the circumstances, I pretended not to notice. Daniela saw that I did nothing and followed suit.
“Oh, right. Uh…Marco? He led us to this village. And we were wondering if there are any inns here?”
“So you are travelers then?”
“Yes.”
The man looked at our clothes and weapons and nodded.
“This is a very small village as it happens. We have no inns.”
“…I see. Well, we’ll find a spot where we won’t get in anyone’s way then.”
“Then you must stay with us.”
The man suggested with a bright smile. This was a rather sudden change in attitude…though, it was welcome, regardless.
“I believe that I can trust you. Besides, we must thank you for helping Marco.”
“Yes! Please stay with us!”
Mido let go of Marco and stood up so he could pull Daniela and me by the hand.
“Are you sure?”
“Aye. Stay and rest.”
The man started to lead the way. I glanced over to Daniela. ‘Well, I guess we have no choice.’ She said with her eyes. Yeah…we’ll have to accept their hospitality for a night.
“Thank you. Uh…”
“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Yis. And you?”
“I’m Asagi. This is Daniela. Nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure.”
“Aye, the pleasure is mine. Welcome to Dana village. Now, please come inside.”
Yis opened the door for us, and so we went inside. Mido and Marco followed.
The house had multiple rooms and the first one we entered was the living room. There were several other doors connecting from there. According to Yis, he had built the other rooms himself. Indeed, it was unusual for there to be a house this big in such a small village.
Out of the rooms, two were Mido and Yis’s rooms while one was a storage room. The last room was given to me and Daniela for the night. We would also be having dinner with them. It was to show our gratitude to them for letting us stay. Well, I would be the one cooking.
“Do you have ingredients?”
“Yes. As we travel a lot, I keep a lot of things in my bag.”
“I see… A hollow bag. That is rare…”
Yis looked surprised when I pulled out some meat and vegetables from the bag. I felt a little embarrassed. It’s not like I bought it myself… I hope Russell was doing well. I was really starting to miss Fhiraldo. Some of the things that happened really sucked, but the town had so much more to offer, including some great people. Besides, it’s where I met Daniela.
“Hm? What, Asagi?”
“Uhh, nothing. Alright, I’m getting serious tonight!”
And out came the ingredients. Meat, vegetables, fish, fruits. The fish were river fish. I had caught them by attaching a strip of vine and using some sharp monster bones as hooks and then holding it over the water with some bait. The fish looked quite edible. Good, even. It would be grilled with some salt. The meat and vegetables were fried separately with the special sauce. After that, I made some soup. It was a little spicey. The fruits were squeezed to make juice, which balanced out the meal nicely.
I put all of the dishes down on the table and gave Marco some meat that I had cooked separately.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, dig in!”
“Ah, don’t mind if I do.”
“Thank you!”
“Ruff!”
“Munch-munch.”
Yis and Mido put their hands together before eating. Marco barked happily before digging in. Daniela tore into the fish straightway as if she was done waiting. After the first bite, everyone was smiling. Good. I was relieved that they liked it. Now, time to eat my own…
“Hey, Daniela.”
“Mmm..mm..hmm?”
“Where’s my fish?”
“Mmm…gulp. Why, it is right here. In my stomach.”
“…”
I don’t know what it was about Daniela, but all I could think of was, ‘oh, so it tasted that good, eh?’ She really was…there was no use, really.
Isekai ni Kita Boku wa Kiyoubinbode Subaya-sa Tayorina Tabi o Suru Jack of all Trades
