Chapter 24:

Eres kicked her feet happily on the over-turned log, her knee tapping against Leo’s. The group surrounded the fire; the tantalizing smell of soup drifted in from the hanging pot, accompanied by a low bubbling sound. 

Celise and Arille tended the pot, adding ingredients Ed had gathered from the forest, and the game Eliza had managed to kidnap from the foliage. Eres passed a pitying look to the poor rabbits Eliza had dragged to camp. May your soup be yummy, and your exit clean.

Leo leaned, stretching his back. Eres slapped the small of it, chuckling. “Does the young master need back support? So old already?”

He snorted. “Ah, yes. Could you massage it? It may help this old man.”

“Maybe after dinner, if the level of sincerity is convincing.”

Leo nodded quickly. “Of course, how could I not be sincere in matters concerning my own wife?”

Eres, about to respond, flushed a bit as her stomach growled with fervor. That soup’s smell really was tempting. Just how good would the soup made by her friends be? They’d never cooked for each-other after all, and they were only kids.

She feared it might be on the level of censorship, but surprisingly the color, smell, and consistency looked fit for human consumption. Eres was pleased with her capable young wards. Was this the pride of parenthood? Her guiding hand must be in full force today. She nodded to herself as Celise poured out the bowls.

“Wow,” Celise said, “It smells delicious! I wasn’t sure it would come out well...”

Arille smiled. “It’s my first time cooking as well. Maybe Lady Celise is so virtuous, she has a hidden talent for cooking?”

Celise waved her hand. “Don’t be silly, this is just the result of good luck and capable friends.”

Eres snorted. This princess, so modest! If her cooking talent were half as good as her talent for sleeping, she might be able to open a five-star restaurant. Though her skills in sweet-talking were equally impressive. 

Celise passed Eres and Leo a bowl before turning back to converse with the others. Eres and Leo put their heads closer together, whispering.

“Do you think it might be…?” Eres asked.

“Maybe. It is a princess’s cooking.”

Eres swallowed. “Did you bring toilet paper?”

Leo nodded. “And medicine.”

“…So well prepared.”

They both spooned a bit, eating it. 

Celise, noticing their action from the side, turned towards them. She brightened, clasping her hands together, fingers fidgeting. “I-Is it alright?”

Eres smiled. “It’s wonderful, princess. Consider me impressed.”

Leo stood, setting the bowl down. “Indeed. I feel recharged after just one bite.”

Eres jumped up, setting her bowl aside. She flexed her arm, smiling. “I could fight a hundred bears!”

They, without a word exchanged, picked up their packs and walked to the edge of the forest. The group looked at them, bewildered. 

Arille raised an eyebrow. “Where are you two going so late?”

Eres chuckled. “Arille, our strength is lacking. We must train vigorously!” 

She waved over her shoulder as they nearly ran into the tree-line. 

Arille frowned, absentmindedly eating a spoonful of the soup. Her throat bobbed. She stood, smiled at Celise, and threw herself into her tent, leaving the bowl behind.

Ed’s face was pale-white, his hand trembling as Celise looked at him. He tried to smile, but his face felt paralyzed. He mumbled something inaudible before he, too, slipped into his tent. 

Celise looked at each bowl, still full, annoyed and somewhat hurt. It couldn’t possibly be that bad, right?

She picked up Arille’s bowl, slurping as she tried it.

What appeared to be soup could only be described as a devil’s spit. The texture had some sort of film where all the seasonings she’d added adhered to. It was part flavorless water and part over-seasoned slime, with bits of gamey rabbit meat chucked in. Was it the herb Ed had gathered? Or was it because she didn’t skim the water?

She gagged, spitting it out. This was, without a doubt, the foulest thing to ever enter the mouth of someone from her bloodline. Would her ancestors disown her for such a crime…?

Celise rubbed her eyes, stared at the soup, and woefully disposed of it. 

Eres collapsed against a tree, joined shortly after by her young master. They looked at each-other, cheeks gaunt and weary. The atmosphere was that of two deserters escaping from a military encampment.

Eres blinked tears away. “Please tell me you brought the goods.”

Leo nodded. He yanked a bundle of something from the pack he’d grabbed when leaving. 

His hand unwrapped the tantalizing form of pastries they’d smuggled in without telling the group. Eres sighed in relief.

This was, indeed, the ill-gotten gains of their shopping trip. She pulled several from the pile and gorged herself on them. The taste of the soup was still fresh on their tongues, an acrid, all-encompassing curse. For Eres, with her sensitive tastebuds, that she could speak at all after trying it spoke to the strength of her self-control.

Thankfully, food bought with the money of their foolish friends was still delicious. She and Leo finished the pile off in record time, patting their stomachs. 

Eres sighed. “We still have two more days of this. What if she wants to cook again...?”

Leo flinched. “…I don’t think I brought enough toilet paper.”

“Hey,” She said, “Why don’t you cook? Isn’t it about time you bust out some amazing camping skills for your wife?”

“Eres, don’t be silly. Neither of us have such an amazing skill.”

Eres leaned over, nudging his arm with hers. “Speak for yourself. I’m a piano virtuoso.”

“Piano. You?” He snorted. 

She brushed her hair back, smug. “Jealous?”

“How could I be jealous of a lie?”

“Tsk, Leo. You underestimate the strength of this young maid.”

Leo laughed. “What kind of neet knows piano?”

Eres wagged her finger. “Hmm? Do you underestimate the depths of my obsession? I read a piano-battle manga when I was a teen. I begged my mom to buy me a keyboard for two months.”

He snorted. He slumped down, crossing his stretched legs over one another. “Why have I never seen you play, then?”

Eres shrugged. “I’ll play you something when we get back.”

They sat in silence, listening to each-other’s breath. Eres looked around, a serene expression on her face. 

Ah. 

Hmm.

Um.

She blinked rapidly, standing. 

Leo looked up. “What’s wrong?”

Eres looked back at him, her face sweating. “Leo…you remember which way we came from, right?”

“…”

“…”

Eres tentatively pointed in a direction. “M-maybe that way? There’s some broken branches…”

Leo rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We’re doomed.”