Chapter 67: Back to Valebrook

While they were still on the road, Elias started dabbing the bruises on Evelyn and Elysia’s faces with a handkerchief soaked in Flexi leaf juice.

You could find this leaf pretty easily once you went into the hills or mountains. Even though it was easy to find, its benefits were really useful for everyday life.

When the uncles in the village came back from hunting in the hills, they almost never got away without a few wounds, like scratches or bruises.

If the wound wasn’t too big or serious, all they had to do was rub some Flexi leaf juice on it and wait a few hours until it healed.

But for some reason, those uncles chose not to use it even when they were hurt.

’They say it counts as an achievement. But if their bodies end up covered in scars, doesn’t that just make them look ugly?’

Once he finished wiping the bruises on both girls’ faces, Elias stuck soft bandages on a few spots.

"Alright, done," Elias said before sitting back down in the seat across from Evelyn and Elysia.

"Thank you."

Both of them were still holding their bruised cheeks. It was obvious the wounds really hurt.

Elias didn’t dare imagine what Valeria had actually done to Evelyn and Elysia to leave their faces this beat up.

’I seriously can’t ever make this family angry.’

Elias gulped right away and wiped off the sweat starting to bead at his temples. Then his eyes happened to land on Buka, who was staring out of the carriage.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. I’m just looking at whatever I can see."

’Looks like she’s bored.’

To kill Buka’s boredom, Elias dug into his storage pouch and pulled out a few pieces of jerky. At least he could give her something to pass the time during the ride.

"Want some?"

Buka turned toward Elias before her gaze dropped to the jerky in his hand.

"What’s that? Rotten meat?"

Elias chuckled at Buka’s reaction, which honestly caught him off guard.

"Nope. It’s good meat, totally edible. Well... even though it’s actually Ash Viper meat."

"Ash Viper? You trying to kill me? Every part of its body is poisonous."

*Crunch!

Out of nowhere, Elias bit right into the jerky in his hand. A crisp sound rang out the second his teeth sank into it.

Buka stared at Elias, stunned. Her forehead was even starting to sweat.

"Are you insane? That’s poisonous! Why would you eat it?"

Elias chewed what was left in his mouth for a moment, then swallowed before answering.

"But I’m fine, see?"

There wasn’t a single sign of poisoning on Elias’s body, and Buka kept staring at him with that shocked look.

"B-but that’s..."

*Sigh~

"It’s not poisonous, and it’s not rotten either. It’s cooked meat, and it tastes good."

When Elias held out the jerky again, Buka didn’t take it right away. She just stared at it for a while.

"But why is it a little red? And the smell burns my nose."

"Oh my~"

The jerky in Elias’s hand got snatched away by Evelyn.

"If you don’t want it, I’ll take it."

*Crunch!

It snapped with a crisp sound the moment she bit down. Evelyn chewed slowly, enjoying the savory taste mixed with a little spice from the seasoning coating the surface.

"Mm..."

Her eyes narrowed a bit while a faint smile showed up on her face. Evelyn felt like she was eating a feast that would never end. Every bite gave her that mix of savory and spicy that made her want to keep chewing.

Next to her, Elysia watched her sister in silence.

She swallowed when she saw Evelyn’s expression. Her eyes then moved to the jerky still left in her sister’s hand. Without realizing it, she licked her lips a little before finally speaking up.

"Big Sis, I want some too."

"Yes, of course."

Evelyn smiled faintly and handed it over to her little sister.

Elysia took it and bit off the tip right away. At first she just chewed with that same blank look as always. But a few seconds later, her eyes widened a little.

The savory taste filling her mouth was so good, followed by a light spiciness that only made her want the next bite. To Elysia, it felt like she’d found a snack that could make her lose track of time.

She swallowed the first piece and bit into the jerky again. This time, she took a bigger chunk without any hesitation.

Even the hand holding the jerky wouldn’t stop moving anymore.

Seeing how over the top Evelyn and Elysia looked, Elias could only give a wry laugh.

Buka, who’d been watching how the two of them ate the whole time, started to feel her face heat up a little. She really couldn’t hold back her drool.

"Y-you guys are just exaggerating. I still don’t want it."

Buka quickly wiped the drool away and turned her face to the other side.

But then, a strange voice suddenly sounded right by her ear.

"Buka..."

Hearing someone call her name, Buka whipped around and searched for the source. But after looking left and right a few times, she still couldn’t find anyone.

Then she shouted, raising her guard.

"Who’s there? Show yourself!"

"It’s me, Buka. I’m right here."

"Right where?"

"I’m in Elias’s hand."

Buka’s eyes snapped to Elias’s right hand. There was only a piece of jerky there.

"Is that you?"

"That’s right, it’s me."

Buka eyed the jerky suspiciously. She even tilted her head a bit, like she was checking whether that thing could really talk.

"Quit messing with me. You’re just a piece of meat."

"Really? Then why do you keep staring at me?"

"Because I’m making sure you’re just a piece of meat!"

"Eat me..."

"Wha-"

"Chew me..."

"Stop talking!"

Buka hurriedly turned her face away. She tried to ignore the voice, but the savory smell with just a hint of spice drifting off the jerky only teased her nose even more.

"Swallow me..."

"I said stop!"

"I’m delicious..."

Buka bit her lip. Her gaze flicked back to the jerky still hanging right in front of her face.

"I’m savory..."

"I told you I don’t want it!"

But drool had started dripping from the corner of her mouth. Buka wiped it off with the back of her hand and turned away again.

"You’re gonna love me..."

"I’m not falling for a cheap trick like this!"

Even while she kept refusing, she couldn’t tear her eyes off the jerky. Until finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.

In an instant, Buka snatched the jerky Elias was still holding. She stared at it for a second before opening her mouth and taking a pretty big bite.

*Crunch!

The moment her teeth tore into it, Buka’s eyes went wide.

’Ah...’

That strong savory taste spread all through her mouth. The crispy texture, the seasoning soaked deep into the meat, and the little bit of spice lingering on her tongue made Buka feel like the whole world had suddenly been filled with pure bliss.

’This is...’

She kept chewing. Every time her teeth ripped into the jerky, the deliciousness just seemed to pile up more and more.

’All this time... I’ve been missing out on something this amazing?’

Tears started rolling down from both her eyes.

’Why am I only tasting this now...?’

Buka bit into the jerky again, greedily. This time the tears came down even harder. Snot even started running out of her nose as she kept chewing with no intention of stopping.

Faced with that sight, Evelyn and Elysia could only glance at each other.

Then both of them looked back at Buka with a small smile they couldn’t hide.

"Fufu~ She can actually be this adorable, huh."

"She looks like she’s enjoying it a lot."

Seeing someone who’d been so arrogant before, now crying while savoring a single piece of jerky, was obviously a pretty funny sight to them.

Unlike Evelyn and Elysia, who were giggling as they watched the girl, Elias just grimaced in disgust.

He leaned his body back a little as he watched Buka still busy chewing, with tears and snot all over her face.

’...What the hell is wrong with her?’

And just like that, Buka cried for a really long time over nothing but a piece of jerky.

* * *

The trip to Valebrook Village didn’t actually take long. It only took a day to get there.

Later that night, before they reached the inn, Elysia had suggested to Alistair that they continue traveling so they could arrive at the village sooner.

At first, Alistair was a bit lost on how to answer. He then glanced over at Elias, like he was asking him for help.

It was true that sooner was better. But Elias himself didn’t feel any rush to get to the village. Since it was already night, traveling would be kind of dangerous, because monsters or bandits could show up anytime.

Sure, with Evelyn and Elysia around, they could beat any bandits and monsters easily. But Elias’s Caretaker spirit was still really strong. To him, relying on them every time there was danger wasn’t an answer.

And then there was Buka. Maybe it was because her body looked like a kid’s, but she got tired faster. She’d even fallen asleep on Elias’s lap back when they were still in the carriage earlier.

On top of that, Buka had just cried for a pretty long time. So it was only natural that she’d knocked out right away.

Alistair must’ve been exhausted too, since he’d been driving the carriage the whole day.

In the end, Elias firmly turned down Elysia’s suggestion and told everyone to rest at an inn first.

Even though there was a bit of disappointment in her heart, Elysia accepted the decision in the end.

’Seriously though, why is she so impatient? Her attitude is still childish, body aside.’

Seeing Elias spacing out without saying anything made Evelyn a little worried. She thought something serious was weighing on his mind, when it really wasn’t that serious at all.

"Elias, is something wrong?"

Elias flinched a little before turning his eyes to Evelyn’s face. Her brows were slightly knit together, showing she was genuinely worried.

’Looks like I made her worry?’

Elias quickly gave her a faint smile to show there was no problem.

"I’m just a bit nervous after not seeing my little sister for a few months."

Hearing that, Evelyn’s expression went back to normal. She let out a sigh of relief.

"That’s pointless, Elias. Because we’re already here~"

Hearing they’d arrived, Elias immediately looked toward the window to check Evelyn’s words.

And sure enough, from inside the carriage he could see the villagers already gathered, almost like they were waiting for Elias to come home.

In the middle of the crowd, there was a beautiful girl with long black hair and blood-red eyes. She was smiling sweetly and waving at the carriage, like she could actually see Elias looking at her.

"Mira..." Elias muttered with a smile toward Mira.

* * *