On the eastern side of the Sabnock Plains. Atop a small hill near the wetlands.
Rest, Yuri, Urla, the maid, and a knight named Ostley—the five of them decided to set up camp at that spot.
"Time for dinner! Let the cooking begin!"
"Cooking… yay!"
Yuri declared the start of cooking, and Urla raised her clenched fists overhead in excitement.
Behind them, the maid… they had only just gotten around to asking her name, was a woman called Earlie, and she was clapping her hands together.
"…………"
"…………"
Yuri and Ostley were left standing there, bewildered.
The two of them handled the odd jobs—setting up the tent and such—at a slight distance, watching the others with timid unease.
"Cooking… want to make."
"Oh? Have you ever cooked before, Urla?"
"…………Bread… burn?"
"Oh my. The fact that you said 'burn' instead of 'bake' tells me you've got no cooking experience whatsoever! Don't worry, I'll teach you!"
Yuri thumped her chest confidently. The large mass of flesh jiggled.
"I've been cooking since way back! Lately, Primula's been teaching me, so you could say I've reached the level of a master without exaggeration!"
That's definitely an exaggeration… Rest retorted silently in his head.
Viola and Primula had both told Yuri that her cooking skills were far too rough and careless.
"Now then… for today's main dish, I'm thinking of using this ingredient—worm meat!"
"Ugh!"
Rest couldn't help but cry out.
What Yuri took out was a portion of the worm they had harvested as materials.
Most of the defeated worm had been handed over to the soldiers of House Lavender, but she had apparently secured a piece for herself.
The eerie lump of meat was placed on an improvised preparation counter that Rest had made with earth magic.
"When you think of camping, you think barbecue! Let's use this meat to make skewers!"
"……Questionable."
"Oh, you're wondering if this is even edible? Don't worry—my instincts are telling me this is gonna work!"
"……Surprised."
"Yeah, it'll probably taste surprising. All right—let's begin the prep work!"
Yuri pulled out a massive meat cleaver.
It was the kind of large knife that could cut through the bones of cattle or horses.
"Oh wait, before cutting, I need to wash the meat and get the mud off first… Rest, do it for me!"
"Sure…"
From a distance, Yuri called out to him.
He really, really didn't want to.
He considered pretending not to hear, but Yuri raised her voice even louder.
"Rest! Rest! Can't you hear me, Rest?"
"I heard you, I heard you! I can hear you!"
With no other choice, Rest answered.
He walked over to the prep counter… and used water magic to wash the mud off the surface of the worm meat.
"Thanks, you were a help."
"……Are you really going to eat that? After washing off the mud, it's got this black and purple mottled pattern, you know?"
"Of course I'm eating it. Absolutely."
Washing it had only made it look even less appetizing… but Yuri remained brimming with the intention to eat it.
"Handle these vegetables too. Also, start up a fire and heat up the iron griddle. I'll make something delicious right away, so just wait."
"……Right."
Rest went about the tasks with a strained expression on his face, then headed back to the tent setup.
"Now then, let me peel the skin off this meat. It's too tough to eat as is."
"Peel."
"Oh, nice work, Urla."
"Hunter."
"Right, right… you're good at hunting, so skinning your prey comes naturally. Next, let's cut it into manageable sizes."
"Shocked."
"Oh, you're surprised? A bunch of little bugs just came pouring out from inside! Perfect timing—Rest just got the fire going, so let's grill them to death."
"Sizzle sizzle, grill."
"That's the spirit. Still, this smells awful. Let's marinate it in a garlic-based sauce to get rid of the stench. I'll chop up some herbs and sprinkle them on too."
"Where from?"
"Where did I find them, you ask? They were growing around here, so I picked some. I've never seen this kind before—the leaves are as red as blood, and if you leave them alone, they sprout legs and try to run away… but, well, it's probably fine."
A terrifying conversation drifted over to them.
Rest and Ostley, who were working side by side, locked eyes and shuddered.
"C-Count Clover…"
"……Let's just stop thinking about it. Empty your mind and don't listen to their voices."
The two men threw themselves wholeheartedly into the tent setup, determined to distance their minds from the hellish cooking taking place nearby.