Welcome to the Demon’s Cabin - Chapter 31

It was certainly not the case that this march had been such a desperate struggle from the very beginning.

“Good morning, Mr. Idris.”

“Yes, good morning, Ms. Irene.”

Indeed. There had been no problem at all, up until the point they exchanged their usual morning greetings and ate the breakfast Idris had prepared. It was truly a pleasant start.

The words Idris spoke were the beginning of this disaster.

“Um, Ms. Irene. I was wondering if we might look for some useful plants in the forest today.”

“Pardon? Did you not say before that there did not seem to be many edible fruits?”

“That is true, but that only applied to the fruits, and I did not know this before, but after reading the book, it seems there are various edible plants. It was so vast and detailed that I think it would have been very good if I had read it sooner. I would like to look around the back forest alone for a moment…… would that be alright?”

Since he requested it so earnestly, she could not refuse. It was not a difficult task in the first place.

It was only natural that she, who had been accompanying Idris all along, rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward to help.

‘And the result is this…….’

She did not know how many hours it had been. Idris was busily rummaging through every nook and cranny as if he intended to ransack her entire territory. She wondered how long this had to continue. Since it was an activity shared with Idris, it was not so terrible as to make her shudder, but the boredom was unavoidable.

‘I feel like I could gather mushrooms like this instantly if I just threatened a few monsters.’

Hm? Mushrooms?

“Mr. Idris! Look at this mushroom. Is this not the same edible mushroom we picked earlier?”

“……! Put that down immediately. It is a poisonous mushroom.”

Idris’s eyes widened as he pointed at a white mushroom with a brown cap. His fingers are covered in dirt, Irene thought, and before the thought could even fully form, his hand went back to the ground to finish digging up some kind of root.

“It looks exactly the same, though?”

“Exactly where……? No, never mind. Anyway, it is different, so put it down. If you eat it, your tongue will twist and you will see stars, no, hallucinations before your eyes.”

“I understand.”

Irene tossed the mushroom away without a hint of regret. Idris seemed to watch the spot where the mushroom fell intently, but Irene did not care.

“But if we harvest everything, will the seeds not dry up and make it worse?”

“It is fine. I am controlling it sufficiently. Actually, I intend to place more significance on exploration than harvesting today.”

“…….”

Irene smiled, her eyes crinkling elegantly as if she had resigned herself.

Let us give up quickly. It seemed they would spend the whole day digging up grass. Idris’s obsession was truly beyond imagination.

It was fortunate she had come wearing low-quality clothes because she thought she might be sitting on the dirt floor, for if she had come wearing well-bleached linen or a silk blouse instead of this cream-colored, coarse linen, she would have been a bit sad.

She couldn’t just leave Idris alone because it was a bother! This was the agony of one who detains someone.

Irene shook her head with exaggerated movements.

“Mr. Idris, what about this? There is a larva inside the tree. I believe I heard they are rich in protein.”

“Th-that, well, as I mentioned, I have bad memories of bugs that gnaw on furniture. They are edible, so if you wish to eat them, I will not stop you.”

“Well, then I will pass as well.”

It seemed the food situation was not desperate enough for him to overcome his trauma and chew on bugs.

* * *

“……Ms. Irene, is this perhaps burning?”

“Pardon? Oh! My goodness, you are right. One side has turned pitch black.”

At the remark from Idris, who was walking in with several pieces of well-split firewood, Irene hurriedly turned the palm-sized fish skewered on a stick. It was the result of the fishing Irene had secretly started when Idris was exploring the side of the valley, unable to endure the boredom. Perhaps because she had not faced them directly, she found it incredibly fun to watch the fish foolishly bite the hook and be pulled up splashing from the water.

Perhaps because it was a flowing valley rather than a lake, Idris also nodded, saying he thought they could eat it all. He explained something more, but she did not particularly want to chew over his words.

The crackling flames roasted the fish with its mouth open to a golden brown. Idris set the firewood, which he must have spent a great deal of time chopping down, by the fireplace.

“I will roast them now. Ms. Irene, please rest a little.”

“……Yes.”

Watching Idris, who sat before the fire and began to skillfully turn the fish skewers, Irene felt a subtle sensation and forced the corners of her mouth upward.