Chapter 13 - A Meal to Remember

Sief saw the necklace in Edgar's hands and looked on curiously, stepping closer and focusing his eyes on the small blue stone that seemed to shine even in daylight. 

"Was he wearing this?" Sief leaned in and held the object. "You just equip it and it works? Besides that, how can I find out what it does?" 

"He was, and there is a way to find out, but you'd need 10 gold coins for that," Edgar smiled and put one hand on his hip, saying, "With that stingy mage's attribute reader, it can be items, but in this region, it should be a simple effect, but worth using." 

"Are you sure you don't want this?" The young man frowned slightly while staring at the stone and said, "No matter how hard I try, I can't tell..." 

Edgar gave a slight smile and put the sword on his back, resuming the path they had been following before, saying, "If it were that easy to tell the usefulness of an item, no one would pay 10 gold coins for that information." He shrugged with a slight smile as he continued. "If you ever get 10 gold coins, just call Kujura." 

"What a funny guy..." Sief turned and followed Edgar, who had stopped walking and was looking at an area Sief was staring at. 

Even after the Shaman's death, on top of a mound of earth, they saw a goblin skeleton raising a dagger and dancing, attracting the attention of other monsters that began to appear, causing Sief to click his tongue and look back at the alpha's body, which was starting to decompose. 

"It's not that one, but as I said, there are other Shamans around here." 

Edgar finished speaking and drew his sword again, advancing against the horde and being followed by Sief. 

More and more hordes of monsters were confronted, but in much smaller numbers, and soon dusk was approaching while the two were near two completely black trees resting in the shadow of a huge mound. 

Sief was panting and sat down, leaning against the tree while Edgar climbed to a high spot to get a full view of the area. 

There was still sunlight and dust being blown wherever he looked, but there were no monsters in the surroundings, causing Edgar to sigh in relief and turn to Sief, saying, "We can rest here tonight. The bridge should be close, and nothing will jump over us here. If anything approaches, we'll see it." He let his backpack drop to the ground and took out some dry branches, placing them on the ground in front of the two. "I'm annoyed you didn't tell me you created a skill, especially one as unique as poisoning. Don't tell me you're still upset about the sword theft?" 

"So you admit it was theft." Sief spoke still with his head down but raised it with a slight smile while saying, "I was thinking about what I could do to face a beast that size. Just being strong and fast wouldn't get me anywhere... so... I thought of something quite simple." 

"Simple?" Edgar raised an eyebrow and gave a slight smile. "What do you mean simple? How can you describe poisoning as simple?" 

Sief brought his backpack to the front of his body and took out supplies given by Tom before they both departed. With a slight smile on his face, he took out the skewers along with the food and said. 

"I don't have a huge sword to swing around, nor do I attack with fireballs. So, to beat something that has all that, I just have to find a way to make sure it can't use them." Sief gave a mischievous smile as he set up the skewers. "It was all a theory I wanted to test on an alpha, which is why I didn't want to use it on those skeletons. After all, there's no way to know if it would even work. Visualizing the poison was difficult, so I started thinking about a time when I got poisoned while foraging for food." 

Sief sighed, and Edgar lifted his head slightly as the assassin continued. 

"Dude, it was terrible. I didn't even realize I was poisoned, and when I ate the berries, I thought they were fine. But when I started feeling nauseous, I dropped them and went home with this horrible feeling." He forced a slight smile and rested his fist on his cheek, saying, "From then on, it was just weakness. I started throwing everything up, and it was such a ridiculous pain that made me want to die whenever it came back. It was a hell caused by a small grape... Foraging without knowledge is terrible, so getting poisoned is pretty easy. Remembering that feeling, I tried to give it form, especially since you talked about visualization. I wanted something that caused that, and as crazy as it seems now, you won't see fire the same way after being burned. It was the foundation, and it worked, though it still has room for improvement..." 

"I see... Based on your sensation, you strengthened your visualization. That was creative, and I think it can be applied." Edgar sat down again, adopting a more serious posture as he watched Sief position the food, then sighed, saying, "So you attacked the shaman knowing the poison would get to him? You know if he had turned into smoke like before, you'd probably be in trouble, right?" 

"I know, but before that, I noticed that even before I struck him, he was already panting." Sief recalled the shaman's first escape and said, pointing the skewer with a slight smile, "Even though I saw it, in the end, it wasn't far from a gamble. But even if he escaped, I knew you were nearby." 

"That I was nearby?" Edgar frowned, saying, "And if I hadn't been?" 

"I knew you were." 

Sief stuck the skewer into the ground near the campfire and leaned back against the tree with a smile, saying. 

"Light it up, I'm starving." 

Edgar continued to stare with a slight frown, but soon he pulled two stones from his backpack and approached the pile of dry branches, striking one against the other and gradually producing a spark. The fire caught on the branches and flared up. Edgar put the stones away again, maintaining his grumpy expression, which Sief watched with a slight smile. After a long sigh, Edgar spoke again. 

"You know you'll be alone tomorrow, right Sifritt?" He crossed his arms and leaned against another tree, continuing, "If you do this again while I'm gone, you won't make it to your sister and will die long before that. Is that what you want?" 

"I won't do it again because I know you won't be there tomorrow." Sief focused his eyes on the flames and closed his eyes, saying, "I just wanted to relax one last time. After all, this might be the last time we're a team. Isn't it? You made that clear." 

"Such overconfidence, even when you're wrong, you don't give in." Edgar stared at Sief, who gave an amused smile, but the swordsman soon went to his bag, saying, "Alright, let's enjoy one more time since it's also our last meal. Make more skewers." 

Hearing this, Sief opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow, saying, "No way, if you want to eat more, use your share." He closed his eyes again, saying, "I'm saving some for Beatrice. Besides having to escape a giant monster, she must be starving." 

"I know, idiot. Use my share." Edgar tossed something, and Sief opened his eyes, surprised by the leather bag that hit his face, making him frown slightly while Edgar said with a smile, "Since you're earning more, you cook. If it turns out horrible, I'll take an extra skewer, and it'll be from your share." 

"I'll cook for you, but I'm not eating your share. You also have to continue your journey." Sief opened the bag with furrowed brows but soon said, "After all, if you want to go to a capital, why not come with me to Dokkel?" 

"I have to find someone first, though you wouldn't be a bad duo, but you need to improve a lot before you can walk with me." Edgar gave a slight smile and closed his eyes, saying, "Cook for both of us. After all, who knows when we'll see each other again. A parting with a promise to reunite requires a feast. Besides, I'll pass through a nearby town and buy provisions. Use enough ingredients to fill our bellies today." 

Sief heard the crackling of the fire as he fixed his eyes on Edgar, but soon sighed, saying, "Did I make you feel sorry because of the poison thing?" 

"Believe it or not, no, I just want to enjoy one last hearty meal with you." Edgar opened his eyes, still smiling, and continued, "But promise me that you'll keep going until you find me, even if you have to bring your sister along. Or take her to Forta and live there. When I find out, I'll send a letter to both of you. Tell your sister about the great swordsman who saved your life today." 

His tone was arrogant and clearly jocular, but Sief smiled and nodded, saying, "You got it." 

Edgar opened his eyes, raising one of his eyebrows, but leaned forward as he watched the young man prepare more skewers, which were soon placed near the fire. Gradually, the ingredients cooked, and the two began to eat, mixing the ingredients with the meat to create varied flavors. 

Sief ate with a smile while Edgar laughed and reacted to each bite, until slowly the food on the skewers disappeared. When they finished, Sief lay down on the ground, groaning slightly due to his wound, but soon looking up at the starry sky as he let himself rest after a whole day of fighting monsters. He squinted slightly, wondering if Beatrice was seeing the same sky, but soon a shadow approached his side, and Sief saw Edgar lying down nearby, keeping a certain distance while sighing and looking in the same direction. 

"Feeling melancholic, Edgar? Geez, it was just a few black grapes." 

"It's not that, idiot." Edgar's tone was softer, surprising Sief, who looked at the swordsman with a serene yet smiling expression while contemplating the stars. "I'm just feeling the goodbye. I can't deny it was fun, and I'll miss this. Even if it was for less than three days." 

"Yeah, a lot happened this week. But in the end, I just want to find my sister." Sief sighed and closed his eyes, saying, "I thought about becoming an adventurer while growing up, but since it's just me and her, I only think about staying by her side until she's healed. I've never thought about anything else." 

"You really love your sister, that's good." Edgar kept the smile on his face and closed his eyes, saying, "If I were to say, it would be a waste. You're creative and strong even though you're young. Besides..." 

Edgar sat up and looked at Sief, who kept his eyes closed, making the swordsman chuckle as he continued, "You have a talent for being an adventurer from what little I've seen. And like I said, we'd make a great team." Hearing this, Sief opened his eyes, staring at Edgar, who continued, "Besides, it's clear you have something special. Even without knowing how to use mana, you already had a skill. If that's not talent, I don't know what is." 

"Talent? A skill? Those strange points in my attributes?" Sief watched Edgar lie down again and continued looking up, saying, "How can you call it talent if I didn't even know it existed? And even if it is a talent, how can you guarantee the skill isn't worthless?" 

"I don't know, but you have an abnormal resilience. After all, even after all those blows and cuts, you kept fighting, didn't you?" Edgar laughed, entertained, and said, "After taking so many hits from the giant in the cave and still walking the same day, wow... it would be quite a unique skill..." 

"Resilience skill... it can't be that..." Sief looked at the bandages redone on his body, noticing there was no blood on them and all the major cuts only ached, making him sigh as he said, "It shouldn't be, at least." 

"That's not for you to decide, smarty. Since when did you become the expert on skills?" Edgar smiled and turned, lying on his arm while concluding, "But if you only want to stay with your sister, it's good that it remains so. After all, you two can take care of each other and protect one another. It's a pity, but that's what we have for today." 

Edgar smiled and relaxed his face, closing his eyes slowly until Sief said, "I would like to, but in the end, she's what's most important to me, and I know if I were to adventure, she would come with me..." Sief turned his face with a slight smile and sighed, saying, "But thanks for the offer." 

"You're welcome." 

As soon as he spoke, Edgar took a deep breath, and a loud noise came, making Sief open his eyes, startled. However, a horrible smell soon filled the area, making the young man groan, grabbing the empty food bag and throwing it at Edgar's head, who laughed, saying. 

"What? I thought we were among friends." 

Sief rolled away and moved, covering his nose. 

"I thought so too."