The Hellish Meal in the Contaminated Land
Squelch... squelch...
I kept trudging across the parched earth, dry as red clay.
All that met my eyes was an endless horizon stretching out forever and a cloudless blue sky glaring down mercilessly.
That was when I first realized it.
How maddening a pure blue sky without a single cloud or sun could be.
...I'm going to die.
I swear, I'd never endured anything this grueling in my life.
This place was hell—enough to make me nostalgic for the suffocating routine back at the church...
I glanced to the side, where the rest of the party trudged along.
The Hero, Arang, the Lenn and Nenn twins, the dwarf Annie, and Seria.
They must be exhausted too, right...?
No, the Hero definitely was.
Lately, his irritation and anger had been plain as day.
"I'm the star of this party. A Hero doesn't do menial chores, does he?"
Ever since that declaration, the Hero truly hadn't lifted a finger.
Cooking, laundry, gathering ingredients, scouting, setting up tents—all the miscellaneous tasks fell to everyone except him.
"Leon Donaud. You're a member of this party before you're the Hero. Why aren't you doing anything?!"
Seria de Valstein had been furious about it.
But back then, every other party member except her had sided with the Hero.
Looking back now, I regretted it deeply...
Doing camp chores in the Contaminated Lands was no ordinary hardship.
Laundry with barely any water to be found.
Setting up camp without a safe spot in sight.
Scouting and night watches, never knowing when some grotesque beast might lunge out.
And the hardest of all was cooking.
There were no ingredients to be had here!
Our supplies had run out over six months ago.
No jerky left—we had to forage nearby.
Even foraging in normal wilderness was tough, but this was the Contaminated Lands.
A twisted realm warped by the Demon King's mana, where every creature had mutated.
Mana poisoning tainted everything; you couldn't eat just anything, only specific safe types.
"Wait... what were you all even thinking, coming here?"
Only Seria de Valstein knew which plants, mushrooms, and mosses were edible.
She taught us a few kinds, and we cooked mainly with those.
"There's a forest up ahead. Let's camp there tonight."
Seria pointed to the distant black woods.
She planned most of our campsites and battles.
Kaboom—!! Crash—!!
The moment we entered the forest, the party combined forces to fell the beasts.
"I'll set up the tents..."
"I'll scout for a river nearby."
"I'll go set up the barrier..."
Everyone stated their roles and scattered.
"Oh. Seraphina's on cooking duty today."
Arang glanced back just before leaving.
"Me...?"
Was it my turn already?
Arang handled laundry and finding streams for washing up. I wanted to ask if I could go foraging with her.
"Yeah..."
But her weary response made it hard to speak up.
Her once-glossy fur was dull and matted, dark shadows under her eyes.
Arang, whose speech had been halting at first, now spoke more properly from sheer exhaustion.
"I'll be back."
In the end, I forced a smile and turned away. Probably just an awkward twitch of my lips.
I skipped colorful mushrooms. Avoided grass with spots—that meant mana poison buildup. Moss was safe, so I gathered it...
After painstakingly picking only the edible stuff, my basket was barely full.
...This amount means soup again today.
The thought of their revolting flavors drained the strength from my legs. I slumped onto a nearby rock.
I stared blankly at the black trees, their leaves long gone.
I wanted to recall some good memory, even if imagined.
When I was chosen as Saintess? When the Hero and I went to plays and circuses?
No, those wouldn't come.
"Selphy. I made a snack—wanna try it?"
The delicious snacks and meals Abel made for me...
"Selphy, just sit and rest! I'll check it out."
Abel's constant tender care...
"Abel..."
No matter what, only Abel's smiling face kept surfacing.
I hadn't realized before. Abel had always handled everything without complaint.
But in truth... it was this grueling. All his efforts had hidden immense toil behind the scenes.
When I get back, I'll see Abel... and thank him.
Swish.
I grabbed my basket and stood.
Bubble bubble...
I added the ingredients and boiled them.
Not enough volume, so I had to simmer out the broth to stretch it.
Salt... sugar... various spices...
The spices lasted longer since they stored well, but balancing flavors was still incredibly hard.
Strange—Abel's always tasted great. If he were here, I'd ask... no, he'd have made it himself.
"Hoo..."
I stirred vigorously, sweating, and managed a decent amount of soup.
As the party members returned one by one—
"Dinner's ready."
I announced it was time to eat.
"Urgh—...!"
I saw the Hero stretching as he got up.
While we worked, he'd been napping alone off to the side...
Anger surged with the thought, but I shoved it down fast.
He's the Hero—the party's star. Of course he rests...? Just endure a little.
"Here."
I ladled soup into bowls for my seated comrades.
No share for me... but I hoped it tasted okay.
Clink...
The sound of metal bowls, and the party silently slurping soup.
Their faces said survival eating, not enjoyment.
Yeah... it probably tastes bad... with these ingredients and my poor seasoning.
"Ptoo— spit...!"
Suddenly, someone spat out their food.
"Hah... hah... urgh...!"
"H-Hero...?!"
The Hero wiped his mouth, drool dripping.
"Seraphina! You made this?!"
"Y-Yes!"
I jumped at his fierce shout and answered.
"You expect me to eat this crap?!"
...It tastes awful, huh.
"Salty, bitter! No meat or solids at all! Didn't you taste it while cooking?"
I couldn't help it.
I'd never properly cooked, and ingredients were scarce.
I couldn't respond to the Hero and looked around.
I sensed the others thought the same—they'd cooked before too.
I pleaded with my eyes for support.
But they all looked away. No one wanted to irk the Hero.
"No supplies left?"
The Hero turned and asked.
"Supplies... ran out long ago, Hero."
I held back tears and told him.
Whoosh—!
He glared at me savagely.
"No supplies... We have to make do with local ingredients! Proper meals are impossible here!"
I couldn't hold my anger and yelled at him.
"Seraphina. Are you talking back to me, the Hero...?"
"Th-That's not—!"
His icy gaze made me falter.
Click.
"Enough tantrums, Leon Donaud."
Seria returned from tidying up and spoke.
"Ah... Seria's here?"
The Hero flashed a kind smile at her, like nothing happened.
"With supplies gone, cooking from local plants means lower quality. And you're the one who burned through most of them, Leon Donaud."
His lips twitched at her words, devoid of warmth.
"No... Seria, try it. You'll be shocked? Then you'll get why."
"..."
Seria approached and took my bowl.
I winced as her lips touched the soup.
We'd never been close. I'd avoided her, and she either ignored me or shook her head like I baffled her.
Of course she'd side with the Hero and trash the soup's taste...
"It's got plenty of nutrition."
...She defended me?
"You used only the safe ingredients I told you about. In this contaminated land, it's decent fare."
For the first time, I felt grateful to her.
"Hah!"
The Hero gasped and approached her.
"Come on, Seria. Why say something you don't mean? As fellow nobles, you know. This is inedible. Right?"
As his hand reached for her shoulder—
Smack—!
"Leon Donaud."
She slapped it away, her purple eyes glaring fiercely.
"Since when do you treat me like this?"
"What...?"
"At the Academy, you called me 'Lady Seria' and used honorifics every time."
Seria smiled only with her lips, eyes cold.
"Seria de Valstein..."
The Hero called her name, face grim and expressionless.
"Um...!"
Tension crackled; caught between them, I felt like I was on pins and needles.
"Haha! Yeah, back then at the Academy. But we're comrades now? Let's be casual."
The Hero turned away laughing, easing the strain.
Clink... clink...
The horrific mealtime dragged on—soup barely swallowable, or maybe dripping out.
"I'm off to bed."
As night fell, Seria de Valstein rose to sleep apart, as always.
"Ah...!"
Usually a relief when she left, but tonight I wished she wouldn't.
"What? Something to say, Saintess?"
"...No."
She turned and vanished into the forest shadows.
"..."
I stared into the dark for a long while, then headed to my tent.
So tired today... I just want to sleep...
Swish—
The glowing magic orb lit the tent: the Hero bundled in blankets, others asleep on either side.
Eh...? I'm not on first watch today.
Swish. The Hero opened his eyes and looked at me.
"Seraphina."
"Yes... Hero."
"Why don't you take all the night watches tonight?"
"Pardon?"
What was this?
We rotated watches to manage fatigue... All of them? Stay up all night?
"Wh-What do you mean...!"
I shouted and looked at the others.
All eyes closed, pretending not to hear—either already agreed with him or glad to sleep.
"There are... terrifying beasts outside...?"
My voice trembled with tears.
"You're the Saintess, Seraphina. You can heal yourself and cast protective spells. No problem."
"But—!"
Absurd.
"Talking back to me, the Hero, again?"
His red eyes flashed menacingly; I couldn't speak.
Rustle—...
"Sob...!"
I slipped out, tears I'd held back spilling.
My cooking upset him? Or blames me for his clash with Seria?
Thud...
Legs gave out; I collapsed by the campfire.
Whoooosh—...
Cold wind howled like ghosts.
Grrr... grrr...
Grrrooo—...!
Twisted beast cries echoed from afar.
So cold, so scary.
Old memories surfaced...
Wolves howling and circling at night.
"Selphy! Stay behind me!"
"Don't worry...! I'll protect you, no matter what."
Just a boy himself... yet Abel staked everything to shield me.
"Abel... I'm scared... sob..."
I miss Abel.