Smoke
Once I confirmed that the fire had extinguished, I returned to Kimishima.
Kimishima, still leaning against a tree, was calmly breathing. Her complexion had improved significantly. Perhaps the abilities gained through the ascent of the stairs were starting to integrate. I breathed a sigh of relief and closely examined the egg I held in my hands.
Gulp.
Recently, I’d been eating nothing but biscuit-like portable food. Despite the odd size, was this really an egg? But could we eat the egg of a monster? Warm thoughts of putting it on hot rice, enjoying the taste of egg-cooked rice, filled my mind.
I loved pouring soy sauce on freshly cooked rice, then gently cracking an egg over it. Without stirring the egg, just spreading the yolk over the rice. When you took a bite, the rich flavor of the egg, combined with the fragrant soy sauce, was irresistible.
Gulp.
…No, no, no. Eating the egg of an unknown monster raw was dangerous. It must be cooked. Cooked egg dishes, like omelets, were fantastic. Maintaining a semi-soft inside, flipping the pan back and forth, trapping the goodness inside. The sensation of it quivering slightly when you plated it was delightful. Inserting a knife smoothly would make the yolk flow out—pure happiness.
Gulp.
…Where’s the frying pan? Damn it. I can’t cook. But wait, this shell seems even harder than an ostrich egg. What if I just heat it directly? Yeah, boiling an egg is nice too. Especially, I liked hard-boiled eggs more than soft-boiled ones. Sprinkle some salt, take a crunchy bite, and feel the hardness that almost makes you choke—such texture. Yet, the egg white is smooth.
Yeah.
When Kimishima wakes up, let’s discuss it. I can’t make fire, but maybe she can.
Hehehe.
Hehehe.
I wrapped the egg in the shirt I wasn’t wearing and gently stowed it in my backpack.
“Uun…”
After a while, Kimishima finally woke up. She opened her eyes with a sluggish expression and stared at my face for a while.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
“W-what happened?”
“…”
What’s wrong? Was Kimishima still not feeling well? She didn’t say anything, and I felt anxious.
“Sensei… did you go somewhere?”
“W-why?”
“When I woke up, I was leaning against a hard tree…”
“Oh, um, sorry. Did it hurt? No, was there a monster.”
“A monster… that can’t be helped. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, uh-huh. The monster was injured, or at least, it was dead when I approached.”
“I see… that’s good…”
Kimishima, now sitting up, leaned towards me. I hurriedly supported her body.
“It’s warm…”
“R-right…”
“Yes, very…”
“Huh? Hey, Kimishima?”
“Suu… suu…”
While leaning on me, Kimishima fell asleep again. I didn’t know what to do, so I waited patiently until she woke up again.
…
…
“Doesn’t it smell… burnt?”
Upon waking up, Kimishima, as her first words, noticed the smell of burning. So, I explained the recent events. I didn’t know why it was burning, but maybe it received fire magic and escaped. And then, it died without the fire going out, potentially causing a wildfire.
Kimishima didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the egg.
“Are you sure it’s okay? What if it’s half-hatched when you crack it…? I don’t want that.”
“No, no, no. That won’t happen. If there was a normal egg here, it would make sense, but it’s a monster we’re talking about, right?”
“Umm. When you put it that way… yes.”
Yes, thinking normally, everything was strange. Did it suddenly lay eggs in the face of death? Did it carry the laid eggs with its feet? Or was there already an egg here?
Well, it might be wrong to apply the common sense of our world’s animals to monsters. It was full of mysteries.
Still, doing it right away wasn’t easy. There might be something coming near the smoke, and there was anxiety. For the sake of that luxury later, I put it back in my backpack.
“Shall we walk for another 1-2 hours? Can you do it?”
“I’m fine. I feel much better now.”
“Good. You seemed quite sleepy earlier.”
“Sleepy… did I?”
“Oh, no. I mean, you looked like you wanted to sleep.”
“Sorry for the inconvenience…”
“No, no, no. It’s not a bother. Yeah. It would be nice if we could go up the Ladder little by little and get physically better.”
“Yes.”
From there, we returned to the road and continued our journey.
The path gradually inclined, resembling more of an uphill climb, like ascending a hill. Nevertheless, the two of us, smoothly ascending the stairs, continued up the slope without any particular signs of exhaustion.
As the sun began to tilt, coloring the sky with a red hue during the evening glow, we reached what seemed to be the top of the ascending path. Though, to be precise, it felt more like climbing the shoulder of a mountain due to the presence of a mountain on our left.
Upon reaching the top, the area was sparsely populated with trees, giving it a more grassy field-like atmosphere. The presence of scattered rocks might have contributed to this. Because I had sprinkled the water inside to extinguish the fire, I had to fill my water bottle. While drinking it down, I surveyed the surrounding scenery.
Huh?
Still quite a distance away, I could see a settlement surrounded by walls along the road. And from the depths of that settlement, a thin trail of smoke was rising.
“Kimishima!”
“Yes?”
I called out to Kimishima, who was filling her water bottle next to me, and pointed towards the location where the smoke was rising.
“Ah…that…”
“Ah… there might be someone…”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”
“But, how far is it? It might be quite a distance.”
“Yes… but just a little more, I think…”
I felt an urge to run towards that smoke… but the sun was already beginning to set. It seemed challenging to go now. Although I wanted to hurry, moving in the dark held uncertainties. Also, rushing towards those people with monsters in tow would be the worst-case scenario.
We found a suitable spot and decided to make another leafy tent to rest.
Maybe we could meet people tomorrow.
Light penetrated the previously unseen darkness, and we spent the night with hope for tomorrow.
Access 10 Chapters ahead of the Novelupdates release on our Patreon. <3
