This Hero Sets Camp!

Unlike our previous encounter with the slime, Tael and I agreed to leave the area immediately instead of sticking around and checking our status. After taking the dagger from the goblin I killed, we set out and arrived at a clearing.

"Alright..." I looked up at the sky. The canopy of trees were opened slightly here, so I could see the sky. Stars had begun to become visible. "It's starting to get dark so we should set up camp." I paused and thought back to the survival shows I had seen in the past, recalling the specifics of making a camp. "Tael... Grab some rocks and place them in a circle. I'm going to gather a few pieces of wood so we can have a fire."

"Okay. Will do!" He entusiastically began to look around the area.

I stepped away from the campsite. Tael began gathering nearby rocks and placing them in a circle while I started gathering sticks and tinder. I've never had to gather sticks or build a fire before, but I know that you can't just grab a log and make it work. It's taken many minutes of searching as the floors long grass obscures small twigs, but I've found a few fire starters that I think can work. I've never gone camping before, so I'm actually fairly excited. I know that this isn't some normal camping trip though. We're preparing to kill monsters.

Though it took time, I eventually returned to our clearing, many sticks in hand, to find that Tael had gathered stones and placed them in a circle.

Tael stood proudly with his hands at his hips. "How did I do, Kenji?"

I walked around the circle of stones as I slowly assessed his work. Although I am only an ameteur at camping, I acted as if my word meant something.

I closed my eyes and slowly nodded, as if I held a wisdom that I most definitely do not have. "Good job. This will work."

Tael gave me a proud smile as he sat down on a large rock near the fireplace. I placed the sticks and tinder into the circle of rocks, making sure to carefully place them so that they'll absorb as much air as possible. As I pulled out my flint stick to strike it, Tael took notice.

"Oh, let me handle it!" Tael declared as he pulled out his wand. "Firebolt!"

A streak of flame flew towards me, just barely missing my face. I lurched out of the way as I gasped for breath. As my adrenaline lowered, I could hear the crackling of flames as the fire behind me grew in size. The campfire has been lit.

I slowly shuffled up. "H-Hey, you almost hit me!"

"Sorry Kenji! I'm just happy that I've finally been able to cast my spells." Tael slowly inspected his wand and twirled it in his fingers. "It feels good to unleash my powers for once."

Before I was able to castigate Tael, our stomachs began to rumble in tandem.

I sighed and took off my rucksack. "Whatever… Let's just eat something. I'm starving." I began rummaging through my bag, searching for the cooking supplies.

"Alright! Camping dinner! Let's do this!" Tael punched towards the sky.

I searched the contents of my rucksack as I slowly pulled out pans and dishes. The ingredients for dinner were at the top of the bag, so I pulled them out quickly after I had taken the cooking equipment out.

"So..." Tael slipped off of the rock and sidled over to me. "What are you going to make?"

I inspected the ingredients for any damage that they might have taken while moving. "Considering our ingredients... probably just a soup." I began placing the ingredients in the pan, pulling out my dagger to cut them into parts. "Rudvisk and meat usually works well together if you cook it with water." I jut my hand out towards Tael. "Hand me your water skin."

Tael stepped back. "Why can't you use yours?"

"I can use mine but I want to use yours." We stared at each other for a few moments. "...Come on, man, I bought the ingredients. Be respectful."

After squirming for a moment, Tael reluctantly handed over his water skin. I poured its contents into the cooking pan along with a chopped rudvisk and meat and placed the mixture over the fire.

"The food should be ready in around ten or so minutes." I leaned back as I handed Tael his waterskin.

"Alright!" He hopped back onto the rock. "I am so hungry!"

As the scent of cooking food wafted into my nose, my stomach began to rumble once again.

"You know... Adventuring is tiring work. I didn't realize how hungry I am until just now."

Tael leaned back on the rock and looked towards the sky. "I thought you had that one mundane class that prevented that."

"Let's not speak about that please."

He bolted up. "Why are you so averse to talking about it?" He eyed me suspiciously for a moment before his eyes bulged. "Do you have a dark past like the characters in my stories? Are you the son of a noble? Oh my god! That would explain all your money!"

"N-No, no! I-I-I'm not the son of a noble! I'm just… some guy."

"Are you sure?" He hopped off the rock and leaned towards me. His eyes squinted in suspicion. "I saw that you have a family name on your status screen. Only nobles have those. I've never heard of the 'Fujima' family, but judging by how much you're hiding it..." He sighed and turned away, shrugging as he sat back down on the rock. "I suppose you have your reasons. Maybe someday you'll tell me about them."

We both sat in silence for a moment. The crackling of the fire was the only noise that could be heard. Eventually, I decided to respond to Tael.

"Maybe someday I'll tell you more about myself." I stirred our meal. "I'm sorry for not telling you about myself right now, but it's just something I'm not really comfortable with."

He leaned back as he pulled the brim of his hat over his eyes. "Heh… So we've both had our fair share of shitty experiences…"

Tael appears to be disheartened for some reason. I don't know much about him either, but from what he's talked about so far I can't expect much good. I don't want to sit in silence either, so I've decided to bring up another topic.

"So..." I fiddled with my dagger. "Why did you become an adventurer?"

"Me?" He lifted up his hat. "It's a long story, but to put it simply it's something I can do and nobody can control me while I do it. What about you?"

I should have expected him to ask me the same question. Now I have to think of a way to say this without sounding crazy.

"I…" I fiddled with the food for a moment as I thought. "...Promised someone that I would defeat the Demon King. I've been preparing to become an adventurer for the past seven months."

"Defeat… the Demon King? That's impossible man! He's been around for longer than my father! People say he can destroy city walls with a single spell!" He kicked at the rock he was sitting on in frustration. "You're just a level zero person. Don't throw your life away, man!"

I sarcastically nodded. "I've heard that before."

Tael crossed his arms and pouted. "Hmph. The person telling you that must have had some common sense then. The Demon King is called the Demon King because nobody can beat him! Let's not even mention the Hell Guardians."

"Hell Guardians?"

"I just said not to mention them… Whatever. They're essentially the right hands of the Demon King. I've heard each of them is the equivalent of a legendary hero in terms of power. According to a rumor I heard, one of them is sieging the Frozen Mist Hills, but rumors are rumors. For you not to have heard of the Hell Guardians though… You must have been living under a rock or something!"

I immediately turned back to preparing the food. "W-Well I was just… focusing on my preparations."

"I suppose that makes sense. I heard that the nobility lives in their own little world and some people don't even know that a war is going on… Oh! I get it!" He snapped his fingers. "You must be the bastard son of some noble!"

"That's…" I stopped myself.

Should I correct him or should I use this excuse he's given me? Surely I can explain it in the future.

"The food should be ready now. Let me split it for us."

Tael quickly slipped off of the stone. "Oh hell yeah! I'm starving!"

I took the soup and portioned it out for two people by pouring it into two separate bowls. I took deep whiffs of my creation as I enjoyed the minute connections of flavor that I had created.

Automatically, I closed my hands together in prayer.

Tael stopped himself from eating as he watched me pray. "You're religious? I usually just dig in... I hope I'm not rude."

"N-no it's fine. Sorry it's just a... force of habit at this point." I pulled my hands apart as I lifted my utensil.

"Alright then!" Tael shouted as he eyed his food. His mouth was watering as he looked over and over at his bowl, his eyes committing unspeakable acts upon the food as he stared.

Instinctively, I took my utensil and said "Itadakimasu" before taking a spoonful of soup.

"Woah! You say that one line! I heard that's a really rare phrase! You're like a story book and a half!" Tael didn't even look up from his food, instead simply expecting me to hear him.

"J-Just eat your food already!"

"Oh, right."

We both began to eat in tandem. This certainly isn't my best creation, but at this point I would eat just about anything. The saltiness wasn't perfect, nor was the texture smooth. This must be the result of an inconsistent flame. Campfires really aren't as good as a stove.

"Wow, this is pretty good. That cook class is really useful!" Tael shouted out as he ate.

A simple "thanks" was all I could muster before I ate spoonful after spoonful.