A Feast of Rush Boars
I dodged the first Rush Boar's charge. It was fast and ferocious, but its path was a straight line — easy enough to avoid.
The real problem was that there were three of them. Evading one attack meant bracing for the next, and while I was busy weaving between the other two, the first boar would already be gathering itself for another run. Their coordinated assault left no room for carelessness.
"Hup."
I managed to keep dodging, but the forest hemmed me in. There simply wasn't much space to move.
In a wooded battlefield, an ordinary animal would lose power for lack of a proper run-up. These were magical beasts, though — even a short leap carried enough force to kill.
Crack! Crunch! Thud!
I steered one Rush Boar's charge into a tree. The beast came through unscathed. The tree snapped clean in half.
As I recovered my stance, another Rush Boar snorted and fixed its eyes on me.
I swallowed hard and readied myself to dodge again.
There was truly no time to breathe.
"When is Sis getting here…"
I still had stamina left, but every near miss from the Rush Boars was shrinking the ground I could safely stand on.
The moment I muttered that complaint and twisted out of another attack, something cut through the air with a sharp whoosh.
Squeeeal!
Whatever had flown through the wind struck a Rush Boar square in the flank. The beast screamed.
"Sorry I'm late."
Emma appeared with her sword in hand — and the blade was already thick with blood. She'd run into magical beasts of her own, then.
Hard to give her grief for being late under those circumstances.
"No, it's fine."
If she'd been ambushed too, the delay was only natural. The three Rush Boars must have sensed the pressure rolling off her, because they broke off their attack on me and turned to watch her warily instead.
Emma sprang forward and planted herself in front of me, ready to shield me.
"You all right?"
"Yeah. I can dodge attacks like that."
She said nothing more, only stared the beasts down. The Rush Boars hesitated, edged back, then spun and fled at full speed.
"Whoa — they ran just from Sis's presence?"
"You didn't know?"
Emma flicked the blood from her blade and slid it back into its sheath.
"We're going back. Now."
Once you'd crossed paths with magical beasts, lingering in the forest was a risk. The scent of blood could draw more of them — or worse.
She wanted us out of danger immediately. Even so, leaving the spoils behind felt like a waste.
"We should at least take the Rush Boars you killed."
"…Fine."
She looked a little put out, but she followed my lead. When we reached the place she'd fought, five Rush Boar carcasses lay sprawled across the ground.
"Wow. With this many, the whole village could throw a meat party."
"You think so?"
The real issue was the weight. Each one tipped past a hundred kilograms. Even with Emma's mana-backed superhuman strength, hauling them all alone had its limits.
"Let's get them to the edge of the forest first, then call for help."
"Okay."
Emma carried two at a time. I dragged one behind me. It took a long while, but we finally got all five Rush Boars out past the treeline. Then I headed into the village to spread the word.
Edible magical-beast meat was precious. The moment the villagers heard, they cheered and started preparing.
"Gather everyone who can butcher — hurry!"
"Hah, finally some real meat again."
People who'd been standing by leapt into motion. Leaving only those needed for farm work and a bare minimum to guard the village, nearly everyone else turned out. More than thirty people loaded tools onto carts and set off for the outskirts of the Forest of Delusion.
A little over an hour later, we arrived to find Emma still standing watch. I'd left her there in case scavengers came for the kills — thankfully, nothing had attacked.
"It's real!"
"That's our future village chief!"
"Five of 'em — enough to feed the whole village and then some!"
The men were especially thrilled. The village had no spare capacity for livestock, so meat was rare. Now and then someone brought down a small animal on a hunt, but never enough to share around.
Magical beasts were another matter entirely — hunting them was the problem. Without someone of Knight Class like the Instructor or Emma stepping in, they were nearly impossible to take down, and people got hurt trying.
Against that backdrop, five Rush Boars was a windfall.
The villagers set on the carcasses at once and began butchering. Magical-beast hide was normally tough enough to turn a blade, but death had softened them; the knives went in without much trouble. Still, the work was hard, and everyone put their backs into it.
"Watch the bones and the hide!"
"I said be careful with the hide!"
Whenever someone less skilled threatened to ruin a pelt, sharp corrections rang out.
"Look at all this meat!"
An ordinary animal might yield under fifty percent after butchering. These beasts were big enough that the yield was solid, and the villagers made no secret of their delight.
I listened while I gathered herbs from the surrounding undergrowth.
Once the butchering was done, they separated meat, bone, and hide for transport. When everything was sorted, Emma and I headed back to the village as well.
I stopped by the house first to put away the materials I'd collected. By the time I came back out, the whole village had turned into a festival.
"Everyone looks busy."
"Yeah."
On one side, people were smoking meat. On another, they were trimming cuts and setting up grills. A big bonfire was going up in the center amid a lot of cheerful noise, and others were collecting glue and lard.
Emma watched it all with a blank expression. The person who'd made this celebration possible wasn't enjoying any of it.
"What's wrong?"
"Today was dangerous…"
"Nothing actually happened, though."
Was she hung up on me getting ambushed? She didn't answer.
"It's because I'm weak, isn't it?"
If I'd awakened mana the way she had… I used to want that desperately. Lately, though, even that wish had gone quiet.
Coming back to the village, settling into a peaceful, unhurried life — that was when the thought had crept in. There's no way back anyway, is there? It would be hard. Dangerous. So isn't living like this fine enough?
Once that idea took root, something in me had given way.
"No."
"I know. Protecting me is hard on you."
Watching her today had made me feel pathetic. What happened to the me who swore I wouldn't give up? Ugh. Pathetic. Maybe Holy Power was more realistic than mana after all?
"Yuli, it's not like that at all. I mean — yes, I was worried, but…"
For once, Emma was stringing more than a few words together.
"No. I keep asking you to help with gathering, help with compounding — I've been working you too hard."
As the next village chief, she already had more than enough on her plate. Even a hunt like today's was a service to the whole village. Family or not, she wasn't someone I had the right to monopolize.
"I'll hold back for a while."
"Yuli."
The smell of cooking meat drifted from every direction. Smoking, open flame, griddles — they were cooking Rush Boar every way they could think of.
I stepped past Emma and headed over, ready to enjoy meat for the first time in a long while. True to a boar-type magical beast, the flesh was tough and reeked of game, but in this world even that was something to be grateful for.
Maybe it was the good meat. Villagers started hauling out the liquor they'd been hiding at home, and the celebration kicked into full gear.
Emma and I drank, too.
"Yuli, you're not a burden. Not ever."
"I get it already — give me some space."
Once the alcohol hit, she latched onto me and wouldn't let go. Who knew this tough older sister of mine was such a lightweight…
The villagers watched us with warm, fond looks. Did they have any idea how much that made it worse?
I sighed, stuffed a huge mouthful of meat from my plate, and washed it down with more drink.
Emma kept drinking. I ended up looking after her once she was too far gone to think straight.
I tried to take her to our foster parents' house, but the distance was too much in our state, so I brought her to mine instead. I was tired from drinking myself, so I just laid her on the bed, threw a blanket over her roughly, and left the room for my own.
As always, the goddess statue was waiting when I stepped inside.
"Sigh… Goddess, I'll do my best. So please — just give me some of that Holy Power, or whatever it is."
Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, wasn't she? If I kept making useful things like the antidote I'd crafted this time and spread them around, would she acknowledge me? That was the kind of work the Metis Church was supposed to do…
Or maybe the knowledge from my previous life?
I didn't want to be a burden on Emma anymore.
So please, Goddess — give me strength.
If the knowledge I carry is something this world needs, I'll offer it up whenever you ask.
Maybe it was the drinking, but when I woke the next morning my body felt hot.
"Uuugh."
I'd only meant to have a light drink to take the edge off the stress, then gone further — and this was the result.
Still, I clearly remembered getting Emma home properly, so at least I hadn't done anything stupid.
I left my room and checked on her. She was sleeping with a scowl on her face.
"Hah… maybe I should make hangover soup."
I held my liquor reasonably well; I felt more or less fine. Emma, on the other hand, was grimacing even in her sleep — the hangover had her in its grip.
I wanted hangover relief myself, but more than that, I needed to make soup for her.
I struck a flint to light the hearth and used a water-generating magic tool to fill a pot.
While the water came to a boil, I prepped the vegetables. For hangover duty I had something special ready — a red vegetable, a spice that packed a chili-like heat.
"I feel weirdly full of energy today."
Was it yesterday's meat? I'd drunk plenty, yet instead of a miserable hangover I felt brimming with strength.
I hummed as I cooked. Leftover meat from last night, vegetables, the spicy seasoning, and a generous hit of the pepper I'd been saving — the result was a sharp, bracing soup.
I tasted a spoonful…
"Ahhh! That's the stuff!"
It cleared the head right out. Without the meat it might have been a little thin, but with it? Good enough that two people could fight over the pot and neither would notice if the other dropped dead.
I set out plates and utensils, then went to wake her.
"Sis! Morning. Time to eat."
"Nnngh."
She couldn't even open her eyes properly, writhing in misery.
"Hangover? Then you need to get up even faster."
"Yu… Yuli…?"
She cracked one eye and looked at me.
"Breakfast's ready. Come on, get up."
"Okay…"
She struggled upright and started walking in a wobbly line. I didn't help — I went straight out and ladled soup into a bowl.
"Here. Eat this and clear your head."
"Thanks…"
Still pressing her temples, she managed a spoonful.
The moment she tasted it, her eyes went wide — and then she started shoveling it down. Spicy and sharp really was the cure for a hangover.
I filled a bowl for myself and dug in.
Soft-cooked vegetables and meat, that clean heat…
"Ahhh! Whoever made this is a genius!"
I polished off one bowl with shameless self-praise and went back for seconds.
"Want another, Sis?"
"Yeah."
After a full breakfast I slumped back in my chair.
"Ugh, I'm stuffed. Feels good."
Emma still looked wrecked from the hangover. She studied me steadily, brow furrowed, looking me over again and again.
"Yuli… something's off about you today."
"What?"
I checked myself over. Nothing seemed strange. I opened and closed my fists, testing how I felt — better than yesterday, actually.
"I feel full of strength, though?"
I squeezed my fists tight. Oddly, I really did seem stronger. Emma was still staring at me hard.
Then she stepped in close and started patting me down without warning.
"S-Sis?"
It was genuinely startling. I twisted away and tried to bat her hands off, but she was faster.
"Mana?"
Huh? What was she talking about?
"Mana? What do you mean?"
"I don't know."
Something had happened to my body? It had felt off since morning — warm, overflowing with power… Wait. Had I actually awakened mana?