She furrowed her brows and rested one hand on her chin.
She continued to gaze at the crackling campfire, trying to remember.
Human food, what did it have in it?
Paper… was made from goats, and,
The earth… was from dwarves, right?
Right, the restaurant.
What did they sell in human restaurants?
She fell back into thought again.
Her experience with restaurants was limited to three times.
The first time, she went in without knowing what it was.
The second time, she mistook it for an inn and left immediately.
The last time, she entered out of curiosity, but it was so sweet that she only took one bite before leaving.
‘…Even these fragmentary memories are necessary.’
She tried to recall memories that she hadn’t intentionally stored.
As she rummaged through her mind, vague images began to surface.
The loud noises.
The smell of oil.
The bubbling sound.
And,
The people busily moving around.
Once seated, the waiter handed her the menu.
Strange things she had never seen before.
No matter how much she looked, she couldn’t tell what was what, so she just pointed at something randomly.
A little while later, the food arrived.
A yellow round disk, white and fluffy, that vanished as soon as it touched her mouth.
…It was very sweet and unpleasant, with something piled on top.
She glanced sideways.
The human who ordered something similar to her was starting to cut the round disk with a knife.
Then, he cut it into pieces as big as his thumb and put one in his mouth.
‘That’s how it’s done.’
She carefully picked up a knife and tried to follow suit.
The disk was thicker than a plate, cut smoothly, and tasted so awful it nearly contorted her face.
When she prodded it with a fork, it sank in easily, and when she put it in her mouth, it felt soggy.
Before she even swallowed, the overwhelming sweetness spread in her mouth.
“…Ugh.”
The indescribably unpleasant taste overwhelmed her tongue.
There was no magic to it, the white part was cold, and the yellow disk was warm, but it squished and melted away like mud in her mouth.
“I can’t eat this.”
She set down the object on the table.
Shaking her head, she got up and left the seat.
She thought someone called her from behind, but she didn’t pay attention.
‘There’s no way I could serve something so awful.’
She thought of something else.
Things humans carried around and ate on the streets.
The things the children sometimes begged for.
And then…
‘…Ah.’
She remembered.
Looking at the campfire, her memories became clearer.
The big pot bubbling with steam on the hearth in the center of the inn.
When the owner stirred the pot with a ladle,
A sour, hearty smell filled the air.
Back then, she was sitting alone at the most remote table.
The humans were busy ladling out the contents of the pot into their own bowls.
And as they ate, smiles appeared on their faces.
“Ah, it’s warm.”
“Stew is the best in winter.”
Right, that was called stew.
Another memory popped up.
Someone had approached her while she was watching them.
It was the innkeeper.
“Why aren’t you having some, sir? Try it.”
She hadn’t planned to eat at all, but noticing her empty table, the innkeeper placed a bowl of stew in front of her and left.
She cautiously took a spoon and stirred it.
The brown broth, with bits of colorful chunks floating inside.
She stared at it for a while, and then, under the innkeeper’s subtle gaze, she took a sip.
“This…”
It tasted much better than she had expected.
It was thick and hot,
And the smell wasn’t too bad.
At least, it didn’t have the terrible sweet taste that made her tongue tingle.
“…Stew.”
She muttered slowly as she got up from her seat.
That should be something even a child could eat.
Plus, there was a pot in this hut as well.
It had been left unused and abandoned in the corner, but…
She reached for the old pot from the corner, pushing aside withered branches, rags, and leather that had been scattered around.
She found a rusted, broken pot.
She wiped off the dust and inspected it.
“Hmm…”
It wasn’t bad.
The bottom was still firm, and there were no holes.
The edges were slightly rusted, and there was dust inside,
But on the outside, there were black scorch marks.
‘It’ll clean up.’
She gathered a few rags and headed outside.
She rolled up her sleeves.
She slowly poured water from the well onto the pot as she carefully scrubbed it.
She applied pressure to her hands.
And made sure not to dent the pot.
She cleaned off as much rust and dust as she could.
After some time, the pot finally looked clean enough to use.
“…Done.”
She swept her bangs out of her eyes and stood up.
Creak—
“Ah, it broke again.”
She kicked the board that had served as a door aside.
She stood before the pot filled with water, holding it in her hands.
She noticed a rod hanging above the fireplace.
“…I guess it should hang there.”
It was the first time she realized what the rod was for since coming to this hut.
But,
The pot’s handle was broken, so it couldn’t be hung.
‘I guess I’ll just hold it.’
She added some more logs to the fire and waited for the flames to rise.
Holding the pot of water, she carefully placed it into the fire, making sure the flames reached the bottom of the pot.
“Boiling well.”
Now,
The remaining problem was the ingredients.
As I watched the water boil, I struggled to recall the ingredients in the stew.
‘…Let’s see.’
Brown broth.
Chunks cut into regular sizes.
Some were brown, some yellow, some red, and there was even orange.
The textures were all different, I think.
Some were soft,
and some were firm.
The yellow one, when I squished it with my tongue, reminded me of the kind that crumbles like wet dirt.
I still don’t know what most of them are, but I knew one thing.
‘Rabbit meat.’
The owner had said there was rabbit meat in it.
I wasn’t sure which chunk was the rabbit meat, though.
“…I need to catch a rabbit.”
I placed the pot down next to the hearth and got up from my seat.
Before leaving, I looked at the child.
The child, still with eyes closed, was breathing more peacefully than before.
Their complexion was much better.
When I touched their cheek, it felt warm.
I was relieved the effect of the horn had worked.
“I’ll feed them again when I get back.”
The blanket had shifted a little, perhaps from the child tossing around.
I turned the blanket once and carefully covered the child’s body.
“I’ll be back soon.”
With those words, I set out to catch a rabbit.
The forest was calm.
The breeze was cool, but the sunlight above was still warm.
“Let’s see.”
Should I dig the ground?
Or fly and look from above?
Either way, it’s been a while since I’ve done either.
“It’s still bright.”
From experience, flying when it’s bright tends to get annoying.
I hoped there would be a rabbit outside, so I slowly began to walk.
How long had it been?
The leaves stirred slightly.
I faintly felt a presence.
‘…There.’
Beyond the grass, I could see the round body of a rabbit.
It seemed to be grazing, its head bent down as it moved.
I lowered my body.
I approached quietly, not making a sound.
“Got it.”
I grabbed the rabbit by its ears and lifted it up.
It started making strange sounds, perhaps because it was in pain.
“Quiet.”
I sighed and held it in my arms.
Though it was trembling, it was calmer than before.
“…Now, what do I do with this?”
Holding the rabbit, I stood still for a while.
Dragons mostly eat meat, and some rumors say they enjoy cannibalism, but I’ve never done that.
It’s fishy and tough.
Meat isn’t really my thing.
I’m not sure about others.
Dragons don’t really care much about their kin.
Right.
I guess it’s best to ask the party involved.
“How should I eat you?”
The rabbit just trembled in my arms.
The same as the child inside the cabin.
No answer from either of them.
“…Sigh.”
I looked down at the rabbit.
Its body was small and its fur as white as snow.
‘A fool that doesn’t blend into the surroundings at all, standing out.’
That was my brief thought about the rabbit in my arms.
“At least it’ll be useful in winter. Why did you come out now?”
Well, it would be dead soon anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
I hugged the rabbit tighter and turned back toward the cabin.
Now that I think about it,
I had overheard a hunter in the market.
He said that when preparing a rabbit,
You need to skin it and remove the fur.
I hadn’t listened to the part about ‘how,’ since I never planned on doing it.
“If I had known, I should’ve paid more attention back then.”
What should I do?
Should I scratch it with my nails?
But if I do it too roughly, it might turn into a mush and be inedible.
“…Should I just throw it into boiling water alive?”
The rabbit struggled.
It seemed like that was not a good idea.
“Alright. I’ll kill it first and then put it in. …Ow, why are you biting me?”
As I slowly walked back to the cabin, the bright sunlight was replaced by a red sunset covering the forest.
“The day passes quickly.”
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the cabin.
The door was already half broken, but it was still a door.
‘…I’ll need to replace it.’
I pushed the door open with my shoulder.
The fire was thankfully still burning.
The child, too.
Still alive and breathing.
“Should I feed them the horn first?”
I adjusted the rabbit in my arms to free one of my hands.
The rabbit trembled lightly in my embrace.
Ah, right.
“Should have killed it outside.”
If I kill it inside the cabin, the blood will splatter everywhere.
Then I’ll have to wipe the floor with a damp cloth.
Just imagining it seemed like too much of a hassle.
“…I’ll have to go outside.”
I sighed and started moving toward the door again.
Just as I was about to push the door open with my shoulder─
“Ugh…”
A small sound,
A faint sound that seemed like it would disappear any moment.
But─
In this silence,
It was so distinct and clear.
I slowly turned my head.
The child’s eyelids were trembling ever so slightly.