The cauldron bubbled.
Hikari and Ella watched it boil.
They were in an old abandoned castle.
It was the only place in town spacious enough to house them.
Two rows of wooden ammunition crates stacked vertically along one wall.
The cannon hole in the roof was patched over by tent cloth.
A larger tent cloth large enough for a command tent laid on the ground where Hikari was to sleep.
As her meal cooked, Hikari listened out for sounds.
"That guardian ghoul delayed our advance. Had to commit a squad of knights to deal with it. Took some serious injuries. Those regenerating buggers that could heal from cannon hits are tricky to deal with."
It sounded like it came from the command tent.
"How is progress through the swamp? The timetable says we should be in Carla within the next two days."
"Two days? If you mean the advance scout parties reaching Carla in two days sure. Establishing a solid road into Carla in two days that is wide enough to support a stable supply line guarded from the crocodiles? Who came up with that time table anyway?"
"The funding and supplies we prepared are only enough to meet this time day. Stop complaining and get on with it!"
The cauldron lid rattled.
Their piping hot stew was ready.
Ella's tail popped out of her robe.
She held her bowl up.
Hikari dipped her ladle into the cauldron.
They ate.
The cauldron was recycled from an old forge.
Traps heat well.
Spacious enough for both of them to eat.
"Gosh, that meeting was rough."
Ria walks in.
She takes off her cloak and hangs it on the wall.
A plain inner shirt and pants was her frontline outfit.
She sits down beside Hikari.
"Same old bickering. I guess having a high profile guest show up for a raid brought those people into the same tent. I'm just not sure if it's a good thing."
Ria pulled her hair in frustration.
The sound of iron being pushed on the uneven ground.
Ria looked up.
Hikari pushed her bowl of stew in front of her.
The hulk of metal was a huge bathtub for her.
"Eat."
Ria looks up.
Her usual cold expression.
But she had been with her long enough to feel a subtle warmth.
Donk. A pan and a spoon knocked against the tub as they were telekinetically yanked over.
Ria grabs them.
Hikari fills up her pan by tilting her ladle over it.
"Mmm… this stew actually tastes quite good. The soldiers are loving it too. The bean paste acts as the base. I heard you made it. Beans are usually quite tough to chew. But after being grounded to mush by your strength, they actually make a nice thick base. I taste a subtle saltiness. It's nicely seasoned too. No wonder the soldiers love it. Strange, I heard the salt stores were running low."
Ria puts spoonful after spoonful of stew into her mouth.
Her frustration from earlier melts away.
"My lady."
"Yes?" Ria looks up timidly.
"The ghoul."
"Oh that… It gave me the fright of my life. I was close to wetting myself. I practiced drawing my weapon. I hit the target board dozens of times with my musket. But my hands… "
"Eat."
Ria scoped another spoonful of stew and slurped it down.
Hikari had crushed the ingredients into smaller bite sizes.
It was very filling.
She didn't mind the rugged taste when eating with Hikari.
"You shoot well."
Ria swallows abruptly. She timidly looked up at Hikari swallowing an entire ladleful of stew.
"Um.. thanks. But it's only because you set it up for me… I still have a long way to go… it would appear that the drill hall doesn't-"
"Eat."
Hikari reaches her ladle into the cauldron.
Ella holds up her bowl.
Hikari fills it up for her.
"How's things?"
Ria swallows.
"Nothing for us to worry about. The swamp creatures had gotten stronger from the influence of the mist. It's not that we don't have the combined force to power through them. It's just that taking casualties complicates things."
She takes out a bunch of letters from her pocket and opens them.
She feels Hikari gaze turn towards them.
"Don't worry. There are not the Ahem* fan mail that you usually get. Letters from father, he's still working hard to find raids for you that would raise enough for at least some semesters of your study at the academy. The current raid is certain not to cover it. The compensation for the wyvern raid can only be spent in Herdial. We can free up some of our reserves but it's still not enough to be enough."
Hikari glances through the paper.
They were quest postings. A sketch of the monster and the number printed at the bottom.
"Obsidian whale… hundred thousand silvers…"
Ria leans over and flips the paper.
She quickly skims through the fine print.
"Nope! Not workable. A hundred thousand spire silvers sounds like a lot. And indeed, it would cover a good chunk of the tuition. But the cost of just shipping and sustaining you at that distance plus the taxes we have to pay after would eat up most of that."
"Liberate the corrupted church of Silora… two hundred thousand silvers…"
Ria leans over and checks the details.
"Nope! It's not just burning some corrupted vines around an old church claimed by the mist. It's a year-long contract to gradually cleanse a territory of its corruption. I doubt that after subtracting the cost this contract will yield more than just having you build more farms."
"An abyssal dragon… one million-"
"Nope! Nope! Nope! Complete suicide. A fleet of hundred battle zeppelins attempted it. A third came back intact. I doubt the posting is even serious."
Hikari glances through the other postings.
Ria checks the back one by one.
She shakes her head.
"Ria, I can do it."
"I'm sure you can. But a raid isn't just about defeating the monster. There's a lot of logistics behind it. The reward generally has already been priced in the cost of just reaching some secluded location. Unless we get investors behind us, we won't be able to front the cost."
Ria scrapes the last bit from her pan.
The giant bowl shuffled towards her.
"No thanks- i'm"
"Eat."
Ria flinched.
She reached her spoon into the tub and filled up her pan.
Half. That was all she could take.
"What are these?"
Hikari spread out another pile of posters.
They were the size of her thumb.
"The ones Loena gave us. There is no shortage of paid work in Herdial if you are a great monster hunter. We could consider it. The money we make there could be used to buy what we need to maintain your body. Bringing the coin back is troublesome under the current trade arrangements."
"Nice."
Ria shakes her head.
"It's not nice. We're going to have to borrow to get through the first semester. If a viable raid shows up then, we can take a leave from the academy. Hopefully things will have improved by then."
Hikari finishes the rest of her bowl.
She stands up and stretches, her palms touching the ceiling.
"Any missions?"
"Ah, the scout master would have something for you. There's a cluster of dire ents blocking the way to Carla. Boosted by the influence of the mist. Shouldn't be a challenge for you isn't it?"
Hikari assembles her armour.
Her sword in her hand.
The blade of the wyvern order.
The blacksmiths had polished it as best as they could.
Its rune inscriptions shined.
"I'll be back."
She straps the sword onto her back.
Ella licks her bowl clean.
Her lady blushes.
She stares up at her towering knight in full armour as the giantess stretches her arms, readying herself for a fight.
"My lady?"
"Oh! Um… That reminds me. We still have to deliver two more shipments of bean paste for the troops. It's been a great hit so far. In fact, I quite like them myself. Don't take too long out there. We'll return to the estate again once you're back."
Hikari bends down and touches her boot tip.
"Yes, my lady."