Chapter 08
“Is anyone there?”
Chrome shouted loudly.
Silence.
Serena moved the orb of light toward the fountain in the center of the lobby. Nothing happened. Apart from being dark, it was exactly the same as before they’d left.
“Did the lighting fixtures break, or did the magical power run out?”
The party scattered, each looking for anything unusual. For easier searching, Serena cast the light spell once more. She was nervous it might fail, but fortunately it succeeded this time too.
‘See? When you have to do it, you can.’
As expected, what the body learns lasts. Serena felt a private satisfaction and straightened her hunched shoulders from exhaustion. Her shoulders and back ached from her chest. Having craned her neck searching for traps, it hurt more than usual.
They even checked the cave, looking at the exit blocked by rocks, but couldn’t find anything.
Eventually, the exhausted party gathered near the fountain.
“Since rats can get in, I’ll stay over there.”
Hanson volunteered to rest near the passage.
Chrome brought his cart, rummaged through it, and pulled out a bucket. After a moment’s hesitation, he plunged the bucket into the fountain and scooped up water.
“Can’t just die, right.”
Chrome looked around, holding the rat carcass and the bucket. He seemed to be looking for a place to dress the rat. Near the water would be best, right next to the fountain, but he didn’t know what would happen to water that spilled outside the fountain.
If it pooled without draining, it would rot and stink. He needed somewhere without tiles. At least a place where water could soak in.
“I’ll do it over there.”
Chrome disappeared toward the cave with the rat and bucket. He came back, said it was too dark, and asked for a light orb.
“Can I use the pot?”
“Don’t touch anything else.”
She wanted to see what else was in the cart, but Chrome firmly refused. Chrome pulled out a pouch containing food, seasonings, cooking utensils like pots, and tableware, then covered the cart with a tarp.
“Can’t let the moisture get in. It’ll warp. Don’t touch it for no reason. You’ll get splinters.”
The wood scraps from the lumberyard were raw, green wood. Having the most belongings of the party, he also had the most to offer. Chrome reacted sensitively.
‘Could I sell those splinters to children?’
Did commoner children have calluses on their hands so thick that wood splinters didn’t scare them?
Serena decided to respect Chrome’s property rights and made ice in the pot he’d set out.
The cold ice water passed through her mouth, down her esophagus, and pooled in her stomach—the sensation was sharply clear.
Looking back, Serena hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast this morning.
She was hungry.
Serena picked up the pot with the remaining water and approached Chrome.
Chrome was the eldest of the group. Yet because he was a commoner familiar with blades, he’d fought rats. During breaks, he’d brought the cart himself, and now he was preparing to dress the rat.
It felt wrong to leave everything to one person. It bothered her even more because it reminded her of her grandmother who had raised her in her past life.
‘Though he did bring the cart himself, still.’
She approached him, but Chrome’s reaction wasn’t warm.
*What are you doing here?*
He didn’t say it, but his eyes said exactly that.
Serena handed him the pot of water and looked around to see if she could help.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“Eh? Serena should be resting over there!”
“I’ll help!”
Philia was shocked by the princess’s shocking statement. Lavenda, not knowing how to do anything, crouched down next to Chrome anyway.
Chrome let out a scoffing laugh, then cleared his throat to hide it.
“How can a princess help dress a damn rat? As long as you don’t faint… oh dear.”
Chrome struck the rat’s neck with the kitchen knife he’d taken from the cart. A rat head the size of a grown man’s fist rolled across the floor.
The rat’s head, with its lifeless eyes and bloody tongue lolling out, met Philia’s lake-like eyes.
Unlike Serena, who had seen frozen pollock eyes at the market in her past life, Philia was a true noble lady with no past-life memories.
Having never made eye contact with a dead creature in her life, and it being a grotesque rat at that—that said it all.
Philia’s slender body swayed.
“Ah…”
“Countess!”
“Lavenda, help Philia and take her over there.”
“Yes. Princess, you—”
“I won’t faint, so take her.”
Lavenda hurriedly supported Philia and left.
“I knew this would happen. What help. You’re just in the way, so leave before you see anything worse.”
Chrome’s hands kept moving as he spoke. He skinned the beheaded rat, split its belly, and removed the innards. He washed the rat meat with water from the fountain, then rinsed it again with the water Serena had brought.
“Oh, my hands are cold. It’s almost done, so you should go too. Ah.”
Chrome looked alternately at the fresh rat meat and the cold water, as if something had occurred to him.
“Can you make fire, Princess?”
“Can’t you start a fire yourself?”
“I have a flint, but no fuel. Can you make fire like you made ice?”
“My fire magic studies were shallow…”
Ice—she’d studied hard because she’d be sad if she wanted some right away and couldn’t have it. Fire? When would a princess ever need to start a fire? Cold? The furs awaiting Serena’s selection were piled high in the warehouse.
She could cast a flame spell, but its duration was short. It wasn’t the kind of magic that could maintain a fire long enough to cook, as Chrome wanted.
“I suppose. I’ve heard mages can make flames burst, but never heard of them cooking with fire. What to do about fuel.”
There was moss in the cave, but it was damp and wouldn’t burn well, and there wasn’t much of it. Chrome placed the bucket of rat meat by the fountain and searched his cart, but came up empty.
Originally, you could just gather some branches from a nearby forest for fuel. That’s why Chrome carried flint and a bit of oil, but not fuel itself.
Overcoming her dizziness with love and loyalty for Serena, Philia approached and asked.
“What are you looking for?”
“To cook, I need to start a fire, but I have no fuel.”
“There’s plenty of fuel over there. Isn’t all of that fuel?”
Philia innocently pointed to the items in the cart. Indeed, the cart was piled high with wood scraps.
“Philia. Your eyesight must be failing from exhaustion. Those aren’t fuel—they’re Chrome’s carvings and toys.”
The carvings and toys were crude and roughly finished. But you could tell what they were meant to be, and the toys were painted for some decoration.
‘Though they’d give you splinters.’
“They’re merchandise for a merchant-craftsman to make a living. Not fuel.”
“But you could use them as fuel. There’s a lot. Hey, I’ll buy those.”
Chrome, who had been quietly listening since he couldn’t interrupt the princess and countess, answered gruffly.
“See, Countess. If I was going to use these as fuel, would I have been searching the cart? They might look crude to your noble eyes, but I’ve made my living with these. A married lady like yourself should know better—”
“Would this much be enough?”
“I can’t take that. Ah, you’ve seen through this poor bumpkin’s circumstances. I’m honored.”
It was too much money to refuse. Chrome split the toys and carvings on his cart into suitable pieces for burning.
“You’ll get splinters, so Princess, Countess, and you, masseuse girl, don’t touch it. I’ll do it all. And you, soldier.”
“I wasn’t sleeping!”
Hanson, who had been dozing near the passage, jumped up and shouted. It was pitiful rather than pathetic.
“I will compensate all of you for your hard work, so don’t worry.”
“Oh, what a thing to say.”
“I wasn’t sleeping! I’m awake! I’m fine!”
After dressing the rats, cooking was also Chrome’s job. Chrome forgot his fatigue, spurred on by the gold coins he’d received for the fuel, and worked busily.
He started a fire, seasoned the rat meat, and put some dried grains he had into the pot to make porridge.
While the meat cooked, he used his carving knife to select pieces of suitable size and carved spoons and bowls.
The savory smell of bubbling rat meat wafted through the air. Serena’s stomach growled like thunder. The others seemed similarly affected, hovering near the pot holding their bellies. Even Hanson woke and swallowed his saliva.
“Could it be a confined space? Is it okay to light a fire like this?”
Lavenda voiced her doubt in a somewhat loud voice, as if expecting anyone to answer. Chrome was busy, Philia didn’t know, and Hanson probably didn’t either. Serena was the only one who could answer.
“Even if we can’t see them, there must be ventilation. The smoke is dissipating now, isn’t it?”
“That’s true.”
“It’s done.”
Chrome lifted the pot lid. Steam burst out and then dissipated. The slightly oily, cloudy broth, the barley and oats soaked in the stock, and the cooked meat looked delicious.
‘If only I didn’t know what it was.’
“Here, Princess first.”
Chrome ladled a full bowl of rat meat porridge for Serena, for whom he’d specially sanded the bowl to prevent splinters in her delicate hands.
“Thank you.”
“Next, our merciful Countess.”
“I’ll take mine without the meat.”
“You need to eat meat to keep your strength. That’s why you’re all bones, you know.”
Chrome carefully picked out the few bits of barley and oats for Philia’s bowl. Some meat had fallen off the bones from cooking, but that couldn’t be helped.
“Next, our soldier. Have plenty of meat.”
“I’ll eat well.”
“Lastly, the good-kicking masseuse girl. You said you’re from Vieta? Amazing, truly.”
“Please take yours first, Chrome. Thank you.”
After Chrome ladled his own portion, the pot was empty.
“Enjoy your meal, everyone.”
Chrome took the first spoonful of rat meat porridge. He showed no signs of reluctance.
“Since everyone’s been working hard, I seasoned it a bit strongly.”
“Yes.”
“Okaaay…”
Everyone had been hovering around the pot from hunger, but when it came time to actually eat the rat meat porridge, they hesitated to lift their spoons.
Serena was grateful that this world didn’t have the culture, like in her past life, of waiting for the elder to lift their spoon first.
If such a culture existed, everyone would have been watching Serena until she ate the rat meat porridge.
‘Ugh.’
After being reincarnated as a princess, to have to eat rat meat.
She never imagined that after being born as a princess and enjoying all kinds of delicacies, she’d end up eating rat—something she’d never even eaten in her past life.
‘Since ancient times, rats have been a useful protein source for humans. After the harvest, farmers would dig up rat holes in the fields, gathering the grain and catching and eating the rats—it was even said to be a pleasure. Even before I died, there were countries that ate rats depending on the culture. Honestly, it’s better than bugs, right?’
The reason I’ve been hesitating all this time is to let the hot porridge cool!
After finishing her self-brainwashing, Serena took a bite of the rat meat porridge. As Chrome had said, it was salty and had a slight gamey smell.
‘I don’t know what to make of it.’
It was gamey, but it was a kind of gaminess she’d never encountered before, so she had no words to describe it. While Serena mobilized her limited vocabulary, the others, inspired by the princess’s courage, tasted the rat meat porridge.
“It’s delicious!”
“It’s warm and comforting.”
“It’s not good…”
Philia was a party pooper, but everyone was satisfied to have a warm broth-based meal.
Hanson seemed hesitant at first, but his eating speed gradually increased, and he emptied his bowl in no time. The others were slower but similar.
Only Philia was picking at her spoon, so Serena scolded her.
“If we’re going to move tomorrow, you have to eat even if you don’t like it.”
“Yes, I know.”
Philia held her breath and ate the porridge little by little. Serena handed her the canteen Hanson had been carrying so she could swallow more easily.
“Hurk, hah!”
“Don’t choke—even if you hold your breath, chew properly.”
“Yes.”
She was tired, but her stomach was full. With the fire going, she was also warm.
Small smiles formed on the faces of those who had been frightened by the sudden disaster.
Hanson started dozing off again, and Philia was still fiddling with her non-responsive communication device.
“I’ll go rinse these.”
Chrome moved to rinse the pot and bowls. Serena started to stand up, then stopped.
She was too tired. She just wanted to collapse and sleep. She was confident that even if someone poured ice water on her, she wouldn’t wake up.
What woke Serena, who had been dozing like Hanson, was Lavenda’s voice.
“Princess.”
“Hm? What is it?”
The masseuse from Vieta, who had come to another country to earn money and been hit by disaster, was the only one among the five whose complexion remained poor. Being foreign was unsettling, but her condition was especially bad.
“I don’t mean to contradict your opinion, but… is this place really a mausoleum?”
“I know it seems strange for a mausoleum. Because of Huji’s closed geography, it has many cultures distinct from the continent, but the royal mausoleums are particularly unusual.”
“But I have been to a place similar to this.”
“Similar?”
Lavenda’s face turned pale, and she wrapped her arms around herself.
