If only it was possible to draw a map it'd be very helpful. No, not yet, I'm getting too far ahead of myself.Helena takes off her shoes before putting her feet in the water, moving forward and making some small groans at the cold. I place the basket on the river bank and set foot inside the water at a distance from her."When you see a fish go down the river let me know and I'll try to catch it. If it escapes, then it will be your turn. Let's try to catch the biggest ones, leaving aside the smaller ones" I say to Helena as I hold the harpoon firmly."Yes!" Helena answers, it seems that cold affects her a lot because she has her arms crossed close to her body while she shivers, I can also spot two small pieces of evidence supporting my theory, but I'll be keeping that to myself.At first it's difficult to coordinate, but little by little it becomes much easier and even fun. We are quite successful, only a couple of fish escaped from our deadly harpoons. With the passing of time it als
Walking with the battered creature in my arms, I don't even have time to check it's condition, I want to get back home as soon as possible and take care of it there. I think the state of the rest of the group is pretty good considering every stupid thing they did during the battle.Fortunately, I gave them instructions before things went wrong, I really don't know if they could have beaten the Jackal without my help. What I do know, however, is that I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it alone. As soon as I fell on the floor I knew it, if it wasn't for their help I'd be dead meat now.Now that our battle is over and we're walking again. Hiraku is carrying Ayumi, who still hasn't recovered."What's wrong with her?" Anne asks without the slightest tact."I don't know... she hasn't said a word. But maybe she's just scared" Hiraku replies with a gloomy face.Although we emerged victorious and got a good loot, nobody is happy. I think we all focus simply on walking as a distraction
"Oh! This could work! I'll go to the lake since Anne is there, i'll ask her to help me" Ayumi exclaims with a smile as she runs towards the lake.There are no food reserves, berry bushes haven't ripened yet, so the only thing left to do is to see if there are mushrooms on the ground or maybe go fishing.Although mushrooms are tasty, there's no way to get enough for everyone in the group and I can't go fishing since Anne is sure to be in the lake washing herself.Going out to look for branches is also not a bad idea, I could even try to fell a tree little by little using sticks and stones like I used to when I was alone. Although I rule out the latter because of the amount of effort required, it'd be better to get some appropiate tools before.While I was getting some branches, the rest wake up and start doing their thing. Helena is the last to get up, with the cat still inhabiting her generous cleavage."I can't take it out, it must be cold and it's so cute!" Helena says smiling.Fina
Every place has a history and although most of the time there are no witnesses, all kinds of unusual miracles occur in the midst of the most common places, sometimes strange, inexplicable phenomena that would leave the wisest speechless. Sometimes, nature shows its ugliest face and others, an immeasurable beauty.commentOn that particular day, for the first time in the history of one of the many unnamed lakes, laughter filled the air. Transforming the solemn beauty of a virgin landscape into a frenzy of games and laughter, while three young women bathe together in its cold waters.Anne, Ayumi and Helena enjoy the freedom that only nudity in nature can offer. Their clothes wait on the shore, along with three plant fiber tunics they brought as spares to be able to wash their clothes properly."Anne, tell me, how did you keep your clothes clean all this time?" Ayumi asks"And how did you dry it?" Helena asks curiously, rubbing her neck conscientiously."I usually put my clothes on a fla
Before dawn, Anne woke up shivering, covered in sweat. Although I slept peacefully, I was expecting that at some point she would wake up to go out, just as it happened to me when I was sick. For this reason my sleep today was lighter than usual."Are you okay?" I tell her in a concerned tone of voice"No, I feel bad and I don't want to go to the bathroom alone. Could you please come with me?"It's a strange occasion, this is the first time that Anne asks me for something while being so nice. This rare occasion makes me feel warm inside, she really must be in a lot of pain. Although at first i wanted to take revenge and make fun of her a little, this time I will be the bigger man and I'll support her unconditionally."Okay, come on" I brushed aside the little cat that was curled up on top of me and I groped my way to my feet in the dark.We left the cabin trying to make as little noise as possible, we went into the forest to the latrine area. They are basically holes in the ground at a
"Why does this have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? Sometimes I feel like I was brought into this world only to suffer." Anne complains."Why do you say that? Even if the situation is bad, I still think it's better than dying" helena sighs"What do you mean? Oh! Right, we were supposedly summoned the moment right before of our death.""Come on, don't be like that, try to be a little more optimistic""How can I be optimistic when my stomach growls all day, don't you understand how embarrassed I feel? A lady like me has an image to protect. And I'm so tired that I can't even afford to be embarrassed anymore"The two argue openly as Hiraku walks a little further ahead. For him, who's over fifty years old, the tragedy that befalls Anne is only a light matter. It's normal to get sick from time to time, everyone has been through it, more than worrying about your image, she should be worrying about her life.Even in the world where they come from, where there's high technolog
After loading Bob with the heaviest cargo, Hiraku grabbed some stones himself, the rest of us only carried some silver flowers, plant samples and the things we brough on this trip. We need to make some space to gather as many fruits as we can from the strange vines. It looks amazing and I'm sure it will be pretty useful for later, sadly I didn't even get the chance to analyze it since Hiraku was the one to gather them and I still want to keep my analyze skill a secret from everyone.The way back was quite short, mainly because Hiraku was constantly quickening his pace with the excuse that he was worried about Ayumi, he's not really fooling anyone though. Midway we stopped at the marked spot to fetch the fruits and we also took the chance to rest.As soon as the cabin came into view, Hiraku shot out like an arrow, running wildly and screaming"ayumi! I'm back my darling""I'm so sorry for worrying you, you must've endured a lot while I was away" Hiraku says as he hugs Ayumi who uncomfo
Out of everyone, Helena was the least likely to be the culprit. Up until now she had not even shown interest in using it and her work doesn't require the use of heavy tools, it's not that she cannot use it since she's actually quite strong, rather she doesn't want to. she usually spends her time making plant fiber for different purposes, she can even make fiber thread with which she had previously made us some robes.We still don't shake the shocked expression when we see Helena dragging a medium-thick log with one hand and the axe with the other. Yes, she is stronger than she seems, but still it must be a lot of work to carry both.Seeing her, Anne quickly approaches her"what are you doing? why did you take the axe without telling anyone?""Hey? but I did ask Ayumi for it and she told me I could use it as long as I didn't lose it""And what did you want the ahcha for anyway?""Uhm, it's just that the boys will soon start building their cabin and, although the one we live in now isn'
"Move your legs Helena! there are clients waiting!""No I-I, I can't do this after all, Anne, please tell Tsao I can't""If you didn't want to put on the new uniform you shouldn't have made it in the first place"Helena and Anne just finished getting dressed with the new uniform of the tavern. It's a short skirt and a very revealing shirt made out of high quality, yet thin, fabric. It's so tight that it highlights Anne's plump rear and the V cut cleavage is so low Helena's big and tender breasts are almost completely exposed.Tsao is waiting just outside the room to check if everything is alright, or at least that's what he said, but in reality he just wanted to be the first one to see the bountiful treasures the girls had to offer.After comming back from the mayor's house Tsao realized what a dumb move he made, he could've gotten the same results without spending that much money. Now that he knows how much money the tavern made in the past at least he knows he can win the bet, but e
The worst part of the trip was that even after spending so much time, effort and resources, I couldn't get my hands on the elemental stones everyone speaks about. I can always make some more potions, though the silver flower is rare, Hiraku is already planning on sowing them, but I really wanted to see why is this town so crazy about mining. I mean, how can they even afford to go mining when there's so many poor people who in a week or so won't even be able to buy groceries.commentEver since we came back from the mine Rina has been bothering me non stop to bake more bread because the tavern is always full. Normally I would have rejected since I got my own business to attend, but since my skill in cooking is getting better I can't complain.It's late night but the tavern is still open, this is due to the cold but also because many clients have the habit of passing out in the tables and as long as they don't get on Rina's bad side she doesn't mind.She's just a kid but she's so tough
Soon after Tsao's group reunited, the wolves retreated ending the battle as quickly as it started. Among the survivors there were few standing, making Tsao realize how close they were to end up among the casualties. When he met bob he was about to fight a wolf barehanded and Anne would have been a sacrifice just to earn a couple seconds more to a lowly scum who wouldn't even fight for himself.Some people were mourning the dead while others walked around trying to help any survivors. Tsao noticed that there were those who would die after a single bite and those who survived even the most gruesome wounds, but still perished due to blood loss or lack of treatment.As soon as it hit him, he went back to the sled and picked up some potions and bandages looking for survivors.Anne said and Tsao replied nodding silently.They lit a fire with whatever they had at hand while Bob went to look for survivors. Anne started to melt some snow to boil water and brought the sleds near the campfire.T
A week passed like it was nothing and the only one missing their settlement was Ayumi who couldn't stand the sight of another woman hitting on her husband. Meanwhile everyone else was faring well, the most successful were Hiraku and Helena, the first was making a killing on his trading business while the latter was so skilled in tailoring that the richest people in town would fight for a set of clothes.Anne, Bob and Tsao decided to join Rudd in one of his mining expeditions. Since Rudd was also a hunter, it was his duty to keep everyone safe on their way to their mining spot.It was the coldest morning they've faced, but they were not alone in this trip. Every three days hundreds of people would gather at the north entrance for what they call the shift change. There weren't many professional miners, but most inhabitants would go into the mines every so often so everyone knew the basics.Tsao analyzed the equipment everyone had but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Most people ca
"Hey miss Rina! Claire did a hell of a job with today's breakfast!""Yeah, I'd like some more bread please!"Everyone is cheerful at the tavern, it seems that they liked my cooking even though I only made some regular bread. The only one who seems down is Claire since she knows she wasn't the one behind today's breakfast success. I don't pay her any mind though and just enjoy my breakfast.When Rudd arrived we're all ready to go. Meeting the mayor is one of the milestones we need to cover in order to become part of the town and earn the trust of its inhabitants. Once we are outside he takes out a coin purse and hands it to Luke, who in turn passes it to Hiraku."I hope this is enough for you, I had a hard time yesterday running from place to place making deals but I managed to sell everything. The pelts were a big hit, but most of the coins come from selling mochi and the croquettes"Rudd looks happy making Helena chuckle. This would be an awful time to tell him that those were intend
"A bit more to the left Ayumi, watch out you're gonna cut him""Shhh, I know what I'm doing"Ayumi does her best to cut Hiraku's hair and she's so scared to hurt him that her hand trembles. We're about to head to the town and the reason Hiraku had to take the risk of being cut is that we need him to look as neat as possible since he's supossed to be our boss."Now the only thing is to tie a bow in Mochi's tails so it can pass as an average one tailed cat, we need to avoid rising any king of suspicion"As soon as we're ready we head outside the cave and set our course straight to the town. Pulling the sled has proven to be quite a difficult task since it's full to the brim with pelts, meat, mochi, croquettes and some trinkets.Bob and Luke are waiting for us just outside the town and they wave their hands at us as soon as they notice our approach. Hiraku walks ahead of us and as soon as we get close to them they bow politely in front of him."Hello guys, so, how did you fare?"The bow
The next day Both Bob and Luke woke up refreshed by the best night sleep they ever had. After meeting up at the entrance Rina greeted them politely."Good morning dear clients, did you find your accomodations to your liking?""Yes! the bed was so comfortable I fell asleep as soon as I lied down""Hehe, thought so, since it's past noon already. Your village must be really far that you were so tired""Miss Rina, has mister Rudd arrived yet?"Rina chuckled after hearing someone speaking about Rudd with respect."Yes, he's been waiting for you since morning, he asked me many times if you were still sleeping"After thanking Rina they went downstairs and found Rudd standing up looking impatient. After exchanging pleasentries they sat down to discuss business."So, mister Ironwood are you ready to talk business?""Yes, I gathered all the funds I could before coming. But first I'd like to ask you a couple questions. Why did you choose to do business with me when you could've just sold your me
"Are you sure this is going to work?""Nothing is certain, but at least it will give us a second chance if things go wrong on the first try"Ayumi and Tsao exchange words while the rest of the group shows signs of anxiety. The plan is to split up before entering the city, Bob and Luke going first and spending the night there, if things go well they'll spend two nights there and everyone will reunite.Tsao provided them with some food and trinkets to trade, telling them tirelessly to pay attention to everything they see. Luke is eager to be the first to make contact, so he walks outside the cave, his excitement overflows and for the first time he looks genuinely happy."Hurry up Bob, we're wasting time""But Tsao said we'll take our time, it must give the impression that we've come a long way""But if things go wrong we will be completely alone""Don't be scared man, just do what I tell you and nobody will mess with us. Just put on your best poker face and don't say anything, just by s
"Quickly! go heat up some soup for Anne, her condition is very bad"I order Helena. My mind feels more agile, clear, it is as if all the distractions dissipated and allowed me to concentrate on the problem in front of me.Helena hesitates for a second before letting go of the curtain and heading into the kitchen, I can hear the sound she makes as she reaches for the utensils she needs to heat up the stew for lunch.What Anne needs is not only rest, she must also eat a proper meal. I've long thought of stamina simply as the amount of energy we can expend before getting tired, but since we've long since had enough food to go around, I completely forgot the importance of eating properly.Surely Anne would recover anyway if she didn't eat now, but eating will allow her to recover much faster. If my assumption is correct, the pieces of this puzzle are fitting little by little.Health points represent just that, health. But it's not as simple as thinking that just because you have a large n