Chapter 785: NASM - 785

"There wasn’t much else to prepare for breakfast, and none of the animals are out foraging yet, so it’ll just be vegetable soup and rice porridge for us," Hiroshi said to Harumiko with a smile.

She nodded, looking pleased. "That’s perfectly fine. We shouldn’t eat anything too heavy first thing in the morning anyway. Something light like this is actually quite nice."

"And it smells delicious! It’s really making my appetite grow — I can tell I’m going to eat a lot again today," she added softly, stepping closer to the pot.

Hiroshi added a few more sticks of wood to the fire, then sat down comfortably on the ground.

"It’s still early, so we’ll set off right after we eat. I slept so well last night — I feel completely refreshed and full of energy. I’m sure we’ll cover a huge distance today," he said, smiling at her.

Harumiko nodded in agreement. "Me too. That was one of the best sleeps I’ve had in ages, even better than in some places we stayed before. I feel great, and my stamina is fully back too."

Hiroshi nodded, picked up a spoon, and gave the soup and porridge a good stir.

"We’ll be eating very soon. After breakfast we’ll rest a little, pack our gear, and then hit the road," he said, setting the spoon aside.

She nodded and went over to freshen up by the stream. Washing her face with cool water really helped wake her up even more.

"The water in this forest stream is so cold! And it’s still summer — imagine how freezing it must be in winter. It probably freezes over completely. This forest really is strange... well, actually, I think all streams in this world are like this," she murmured softly as she washed.

Meanwhile, Hiroshi lifted the lid of the pot to check if everything was cooked. To his surprise, even after simmering for so long, it still wasn’t quite ready — they would have to wait a bit longer.

"Who knew making rice porridge would take this long? It feels like such a waste of time... though I guess we have nothing better to do right now, so it’s fine! Haha!" he laughed, sitting back down.

He turned to watch Harumiko as she washed herself. The sight of her there, surrounded by nature, felt familiar and incredibly beautiful.

"This view is so lovely. Especially right now — though I bet it would be even more stunning at night, or at sunset... the colours would make it look so poetic. But honestly? Harumiko looks beautiful from any angle — I really have to admit that," he said softly, admiring her silhouette.

Her face felt numb from the cold — the water was icy, just like in the middle of winter, yet it was still summer. It felt so strange.

"Better finish up quickly. I don’t want to stay in this cold water too long. Even though it’s summer, mornings and evenings are still quite chilly," she said softly, hurrying to finish.

"Though if I could find water this cold at midday, it would feel absolutely wonderful!" she added with a grin.

Time passed slowly. Hiroshi stayed by the fire, keeping an eye on the food, until finally everything was fully cooked — breakfast was ready at last.

Harumiko had finished washing up by the stream, and even managed to put on a little simple makeup. She walked over and joined him.

"Finally! That took forever — nearly an hour just to get this porridge ready! But I bet it’s going to taste amazing after all that effort," Hiroshi said softly, fetching their bowls and spoons.

He began ladling the warm porridge and vegetable soup carefully into their bowls.

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