As a short-lived species with extremely high adaptability, human beings are much more tolerant of environmental changes than long-lived species that are stubborn enough to refuse to leave their birthplace throughout their lives. The elves' most magnificent swordsmen, magisters, and forest archers take at least half a human century to cultivate, and dwarves are not considered to be independent warriors until their beards reach their necks.
It only takes 3 months for human recruits to complete the transformation from farmers or city boys to soldiers.
Of course, if judged from a harsh perspective, the quality of human soldiers is far inferior to that of other secluded tribes, but this powerful and rapid adaptability is indeed a major reason why humans are now spread all over the world.
From winter to summer, various events occurred one after another in a few months, causing the samurai of the Aoda family to undergo an almost nirvana change. From the young warrior who showed off his power and thought he was invincible in the world at the beginning, he gradually accepted setbacks but stood up again, becoming restrained, profound, but straightforward.
Perhaps that's why, after nearly an hour of bloody battle in the cave, they came back bruised and breathless.
Only then did he become like a few people from Rigar, and began to feel the beauty of simplicity.
The cold moonlight falls equally on everyone with different backgrounds regardless of high or low status. The hot summer days begin to subside in the mountains after dark. The wind blows down one after another, because basically everyone is sweating profusely. The night breeze feels like It feels extra cool.
"I really want to take a bath." Mira grabbed her collar and smelled it, muttering softly. Her clothes were all stuck together. After an hour of candles and torches, combined with the stench of the cave and various blood stains from the battle, the smoky smell aggravated the smell and made her even more irritated. But now that I'm traveling, even a simple shower is a luxury. I can only use a lot of peppermint ointment to cover my body to cover up the smell, and then put on clean clothes when I return to the camp.
On the way down the mountain, Ah Hui and the old pharmacist woke up one after another. Although the old pharmacist who fell down woke up later, his mental state recovered faster. On the contrary, it was Ah Hui who screamed a few words after waking up. He said "Master Torataro" and passed out again.
The hurried young man put her down and kept shaking her as if he was afraid she would die, until Mira scolded her and stopped her, "Do you want to kill her?"
The exhausted group descended the mountain very slowly, and when they finally returned below, several of Torataro's Chinese companions immediately ran over from the fire to ask for help.
Whether this is true concern or hypocrisy is unknown. These people do choose to retreat in the face of danger, but lack of courage and indifference are not absolutely synonymous - the Luoan girl who watched with cold eyes thought, her His eyes turned to Ryunosuke and his party who were camping alone in the distance.
It is understandable for a young man without much fighting ability and experience to be timid about fleeing. After hearing the introduction from the former county magistrate, she also understood the subtle relationship between Ryunosuke and his party and Torataro and the reluctance to help caused by various other problems. It's understandable to a certain extent, after all, everyone just meets each other by chance. But considering the battle inside the cave, if Ryunosuke and his party agreed to assist, they wouldn't have to fight so reluctantly with their strength.
Even if they advance faster, maybe the other two people can be saved.
She shook her head and told herself that this assumption was meaningless. Ryunosuke and his party did not owe her anything. It was just the fatigue and dissatisfaction caused by the injury after the battle that was deflecting resentment. She had to control her emotions.
Just as she was thinking this, the Luoan girl felt her hair being ruffled again.
"It's a bit oily. I'll find a hotel to wash up later." The sage shrugged with a flat expression, while the angry white-haired girl stared at him and stamped her foot hard.
"Poor sir." She read this sentence in Avenella. The people next to her only knew that her tone was a little angry but they didn't understand the meaning.
After returning to the camp, the group sat down as if they were collapsed on the ground. The missionaries who stayed here, Sakura and the other samurai who stayed behind set up the camp. After discussion, Torataro, whose luggage was lost, also borrowed He walked into one of the tents and took Ah Hui inside.
Because Torataro refused to let other men enter to help take care of him, and the Luoan girl, Lulu and Miss Doctor were all exhausted, Sakura, who stayed in place to conserve her strength, took on this responsibility.
As a former oiran in the past, it was common for others under her to be injured when encountering unreasonable guests, so Sakura also mastered some skills in taking care of others and even basic healing.
Among the exhausted samurai group, Narumi and Yajiro suffered relatively serious injuries. It was just an emergency treatment before and it was not reliable at all. Now that they relaxed, they started to feel pain again. The old pharmacist who returned with them started to check the injured people again. Although Henry took the disinfectant supplies he brought with him to fight, the old pharmacist still had many backups in the medicine cabinet where he left them.
The old man who saved his life called himself Ken, and the young master quickly became familiar with him and called him "Ken" as the ashigaru people called him. Such a title from a nobleman flattered the old pharmacist who was born as a commoner. Henry and his party wanted to pay him for the potion, but he declined in every possible way.
"It's just some homemade potion, how can it compare with the life-saving grace." Although he is poor, his integrity is still there, and his healing skills are indeed outstanding. After the treatment, Yajiro, Narumi and others discussed for a while, He made a request to Mr. Jian to work for the Qingtian family and go on the road with them to become an accompanying pharmacist.
"If the young master doesn't mind that this old body is holding him back." It is rare for a commoner to find an official position in a noble family. Although he was a little older and the distance Yajiro told him was far away, he hesitated at first, but in the end he still accepted it. got this job opportunity.
With the addition of a professional pharmacist accompanying the team, the team's logistics in all aspects are more secure. Although Henry is a sage, he has some knowledge of medicinal herbs and healing, but he has specialization in the art, and some herbs are unique to the Crescent Continent. After all, the sage has to stay in Rigar for a long time and can only use them. Some practices common to both places.
Despite this, his level of knowledge allowed him to make up for Jian Ye's knowledge gaps in some aspects, so the two struck up a conversation, and soon they started chatting happily, leaving the others alone.
The bored Luoan girl originally wanted to rest, but she couldn't sleep because of the sticky discomfort and muscle soreness. She glanced around and saw that Yajiro, Narumi and others were inspecting the equipment; Galeva and Miss Doctor were checking the equipment. While recording various things and communicating with each other, Lulu ran to the camp to look for food, while Sakura was taking care of Hui. The only free missionary and his group were silent in their tent. She also felt that the priests were too bored and had nothing to talk about. In the end, it was the aroma from the campfire that attracted the Luoan girl's attention. After a hard fight, she felt thirsty and hungry, and those who had planned to stay in the camp had also made preparations early.
"It's assorted porridge. It's been cooked for a long time." The ashigaru in charge of cooking introduced it. The fresh aroma and rich mist immediately dissipated when the pot was removed. The yellow rice that had been cooked for a long time became soft and easy to eat, and what was added to it was some dried river fresh food purchased previously. Carefully picked and deboned fish and shelled and decapitated river prawns are soaked and rehydrated before being boiled.
The umami flavor of aquatic products permeates it, and chopped unknown local wild vegetables are added in small amounts - the Ashigaru people show their consistent craftsmanship. This is a delicious thing that meets the standards of Kazuto cuisine, Mira She could eat it, but at this moment she frowned slightly.
"What's wrong, miss? Don't you like it?" Because she is a distinguished guest in the house, the Ashigaru two also addressed her with honorifics, but the Luoan girl shook her head: "I just don't feel like eating it right now."
The light and umami-flavored food is admittedly simple and healthy, but my exhausted body after the battle screams "This is too bland!". She was a little hesitant, and seeing this, the two ashigaru looked at each other, but there was nothing they could do for the time being.
At this time, Lulu, who had no patience to wait for the porridge to be cooked and ran to the camp to find dry food, suddenly ran out screaming: "Water, where is the water?" She stuck out her tongue and kept fanning it with her little hands, while in Luo Miss An handed her fresh water and immediately raised her head and drank it in big gulps.
"What's going on?" Mira asked after Lulu finished breathing, and the girl from the Yi tribe said with a big tongue: "I ate the long and pointed red fruit, and it seems that I thought it was very sweet."
"Like fire," she added.
"Ah, that one was exchanged from Ryunosuke-sama. I heard that it was traded by a wax ink merchant. I was wondering if the lady and husband would like to taste hometown food more." The Ashigaru replied, and When they went to get it, Mira's eyes lit up when she saw it.
"It's chili!"
"K-Kapsikun?" The pronunciation of the Raman language made the two ashigaru dizzy, and even though Mira was dancing, she still couldn't explain it clearly to them in the half-baked Kazuto language.
"It's a seasoning with a very spicy taste, roughly similar to the ginger from Crescent Continent." At this time, Henry, who had finished communicating with the old pharmacist, came over and rubbed Mira's head again, and explained this way.
"Ginger, so it can make people warm?" "But it's summer now, isn't this a little inappropriate?" The two Ashigaru exchanged this, and the sage glanced at the river shrimp in the pot, and then looked at it. I took some of the remaining water from the side and touched my chin.
"Are there any seasonings like onions and garlic?" he asked, and the Ashigaru hesitated a little: "Sir, are you talking about meat dishes? Yes, there are, but adults don't like to eat them because of the strong smell. "
Kazuto's diet is generally light, unlike Rigal's preference for relatively pungent flavors. To be fair, the lighter ones are relatively better for people's health, but after a hard fight like this, the ones with a stronger smell may be more attractive.
"Let me do it. If you are interested, you can learn from it." Because of the Rigal approach, seeing that the Ashigaru were not very good at it, Henry stepped forward.
"It's been a long time since I've had a teacher cook." The happy Luoan girl ran back to the camp to look for sake, while Henry picked up the cleaned river shrimp, and then took the dried garlic handed to him by the ashigaru. Started processing quickly.
Although the samurai did not like to eat meat dishes with a strong smell like garlic, the people at the bottom still often stocked up on it. Dried garlic is relatively durable and has certain health value, so the Ashigaru people also carried some in small quantities. .
Henry took out the pan and scooped up a spoonful of lard from the clay pot with a wooden spoon and poured it on. Although the weather was very hot, the lard was still lumpy. After spreading it with a spoon, it gradually melted under the heat of the campfire. At the same time, the sage used the kitchen knife used by the ashigaru to chop the peeled garlic into fine pieces.
Then add it in when the oil has melted. After a few stir-fryings, the aroma immediately permeates the camp, attracting onlookers including samurai who don't like such flavors.
"I never thought that sir could be so good at cooking." Narumi was somewhat impressed, although the reason he admired was very strange.
"You may not be used to it, so I won't add too much." The sage said, and then processed the pepper a little bit.
After frying in garlic oil, the rehydrated river shrimps and chopped chili peppers were added together. After that, they were stir-fried and soaked in oil to absorb the soup. Then he turned away the burning firewood, leaving only smoldering charcoal fire. Grill slowly.
"It smells so good." Lulu sniffed her nose after drinking a lot of water.
"The taste is really appetizing." Even the samurai who didn't like heavy food were interested.
"This is a dish from the country you call Lamo, although shrimp is more commonly used there." While Henry was explaining this, the missionaries also ran out of the camp, obviously planning to get some food. .
"There are too many monks but too few rice porridge." There are many people but the number is limited, Narumi sighed, and Henry shrugged.
"Eat it with porridge." "That's right!" "You two's hard work can't be wasted."
"And wine." The Luoan girl with an expectant look raised the sake in her hand and shouted, and the sage turned back and glanced at her: "You..."
The combination of the hot but light porridge and the spicy river shrimp with a strong flavor as a side dish, although the spiciness was further enhanced by the heat, made most of the samurai get angry and drink water or eat while eating. Sake actually complements each other.
The fresh and light porridge is better eaten with the rich side dishes, and the way of eating a mouthful of porridge with a mouthful of side dishes dilutes the taste. Not only samurai, but also missionaries who don't like Japanese food become acceptable. .
"What does it smell like?" After Ah Hui stabilized, Ying also came out and immediately joined the ranks of opening the small stove.
After running back to report to Ryunosuke, Joshua, Torataro and others, who were attracted by the smell, and the newly joined old pharmacist worked together. In the end, everything was eaten cleanly, and the group was full of wine and food. Lying lazily away from the bonfire, blowing the night wind and feeling the leisurely moonlight.
Life may be more comfortable than this.
