Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside - Volume 11 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cooking Fun

The next morning.

“In the end, we couldn’t get any answers from her,” Ruti said disappointedly.

“She’s an ascetic, so even if we tried to beat it out of her, she’d just endure it. All we can do for now is keep her from trying anything.”

Ruti, Rit, Yarandrala, and I gathered in a tent on the beach.

Tisse felt responsible for Eremite evading detection last night and was staying with Tanta and his family to protect them.

I never would’ve guessed Eremite would contact Tanta while we were fighting. Ruti was probably the only person who could’ve noticed Eremite’s illusion without knowing of it in advance. The moment we moved Ruti away from the camp, Eremite won.

“I didn’t think she’d ever try something like that,” Rit said.

I nodded. “Yeah…”

She’d really outwitted us. There weren’t many people who could pull off such a stunt against us. From Eremite’s perspective, it must’ve taken no shortage of good luck. She’d only managed to use Appraisal on Rit and me. Even if she’d somehow deduced that the Hero was with us, she couldn’t have known whether it was Tisse or Ruti. And that was setting aside Yarandrala and her powerful control over plants, too.

Eremite had used herself to lure out Ruti, but there was a possibility I might’ve left Ruti at camp and taken Yarandrala instead. Had anything gone differently, Eremite could’ve been killed. We weren’t quick to resort to that, but picking a fight with multiple superior opponents was a good way to die in a world filled with conflict.

Using yourself as a lure worked when you had an ally acting separately who could follow through even if you were caught or slain.

Eremite was powerless now and bound up in her little cabin. I’d investigated the place before leaving her there. Other than the usual sort of magic items church members kept, I didn’t see anything special.

There was no doubt that she lived alone.

“There’s no one else odd on the island, right?” Rit asked.

“Yeah, we searched all over last night, but found no sign of anyone but us, the villagers, and Eremite.”

She’d outfoxed us, but she’d been captured and tied up in exchange. It didn’t make any sense. Without any allies, she was powerless now. Why had she gone to such risky lengths alone?

“Was she confident in her strength and assumed she’d win against you and Ruti?” Rit suggested.

“If so, I think she would’ve snuck into camp directly rather than kept to a roundabout method. If she had the power, I’m sure she would’ve simply incapacitated us and done whatever she was after.”

Rit hummed. “True… So what is her goal then?”

Her goal… All Eremite had done was speak with us on the first night, then show up again at the spring on the second day, and lure us away to cast a spell on Tanta last night.

“I’m sure it wasn’t any sort of mental manipulation,” Ruti said.

That meant all Eremite had done was talk to Tanta. She shouldn’t have been able to check his blessing, but there was a good chance that she’d received the same sort of training as Cardinal Ljubo, and could discern the Cardinal blessing on sight.

“All that just to make Tanta a cardinal, though?” Rit commented. “Is that worth risking the life of a high-level Saint?”

I reviewed the facts. “Hmm…”

When reviewing everything Eremite had done, it became clear that her goal was more concerned with Tanta the Cardinal than Ruti the Hero.

Cardinal was an extremely rare blessing, but it wasn’t a one of a kind like the Hero. The church wished to take in everyone with a Cardinal blessing, but not all of them were fit for the organization. Some were released following their education, after it was determined they were unsuitable to climb the organization’s ranks.

Finding one Cardinal wasn’t so critical that the church would go to any lengths. It certainly wouldn’t hurt people to see it done.

“The values of the truly faithful differ from normal people’s,” Ruti answered calmly. “Rather than trying to understand her perspective, it would be better to objectively discern what she’s after by considering what she’s done.”

“From that point of view, it seems pretty obvious that her goal is to have Tanta fulfill his role as a Cardinal,” I said.

That didn’t feel quite right, but there was no choice but to accept it.

“Convincing people to follow that path is one aspect of religion,” Ruti added.

“If that’s true, then the problem’s been solved. Eremite can’t interact with Tanta anymore, and while she seems to have gotten to him a little, he hasn’t given up on his dream of being a carpenter,” Rit said.

Ruti nodded. “Yeah, Tanta can achieve his dream.”

“It doesn’t feel right…”

I couldn’t help but feel like this wasn’t the end.

“But Eremite can’t do anything, and there’s no one around to help her,” Rit reminded me.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “By our understanding, the danger is past. She shouldn’t be able to escape with a Saint’s skills alone.”

Eremite couldn’t do anything, so we’d won.

“It doesn’t feel like it, though,” I replied. The bad feeling in my stomach was akin to cutting an enemy but never feeling it through your sword. Swordsmen hated that sort of sensation. “We can’t let our guard down.”

Rit bobbed her head forcefully. “You’re right. We’ve still got the rest of today and tomorrow. The boat should come by around noon tomorrow. We’ll need to work hard to ensure nothing happens while making this a happy memory for Tanta.”

We’d need to be cautious, but being overly timid wouldn’t do. We were all supposed to go fishing today. There was no need to worry about Eremite eavesdropping, so we’d be able to enjoy without holding back.

Two days. Tomorrow was our return trip, so we’d probably play on the beach in the morning and then stop by the village to say goodbye. That made today our real last day to do something different and fun.

Upon realizing that, I felt like it’d be a waste not to make the most of our remaining time. It was time to get ready for some angling!

Our list of tasks before casting our rods was as followed:

1. Make breakfast.

2. Make a lunch to enjoy while fishing.

3. Prepare the bait to use for fishing.

“So, are you all ready?”

“““““Yes, sir!”””””

Tanta, Ruti, Nao, and Mido were lined up in front of me.

“Big Bro!”

“What was that, soldier?”

“Captain Red!”

Tanta took my joke a little too seriously, but I was glad he seemed to be in high spirits.

“Wouldn’t it go faster if we divided up the work?”

“An excellent question,” I answered. “You are correct. It would be more efficient to divide the work among separate teams. However, in doing so, you would only get to enjoy one of three fun experiences.”

“Ah!”

“The fun of devising a breakfast menu for everyone to enjoy and that of imagining the sort of flavors we could all have for lunch.”

“That sounds great!”

“Preparing the bait for sea fishing is fun, too. You need to think about what bait would entice a fish.”

“But I don’t know what a fish would like!”

“You should be able to understand at least a little after swimming around the island.”

“Hrmmm…”

Seeing Tanta cross his arms and try to get into the mind of a sea creature caused Nao and Mido to grin.

“Anyway, we’re all going to work together on all three tasks!” I announced.

“Yes, sir!”

Okay, let’s get to work.

Dividing the work was definitely the most efficient method, but going step-by-step together would help Tanta follow along at every point.

“Now then, let’s get started on breakfast,” I said.

Our selection for today was a salmon and coconut milk stew, and grilled mushrooms.

“Hey, how about I show you the adventurer style of cooking?”

Tanta raised an eyebrow. “Adventurer-style?”

I pulled out some preserved biscuits. They were a standard ration for adventurers out on the road. Admittedly, they didn’t taste bad, but eating them every day was rough.

“With some nice ingredients, you can put these biscuits to good use.” I ground them up finely. “If you think about it, they’re basically just flour and salt.”

I put the crumbled biscuits into the pot with butter and let it simmer. After demonstrating it, I had Tanta try.

“So this is how adventurers cook!”

“Traveling with flour comes down to personal preference. Having rations you can eat as is proves handy, but when dealing with an invisible monster, you can scatter flour on the ground to track its movements. That’s why some adventurers carry raw flour around in small packets.”

As an adventurer grew stronger and gathered useful magic items, there were easier methods for dispatching invisible monsters, but the average person without an item box had to make do using limited tools. Flour was a long-lasting food source, but had other uses, too.

There were even branches of the Adventurers Guild that tasked rookie adventurers with coming up with a hundred different uses for a stick.

“Chalk powder can be used, too. It doesn’t need to be flour.”

“Huh.”

Tanta stirred the pot carefully. Watching him do his best was endearing.

“Is time to add the vegetables?”

“Mom!”

Nao and Ruti had finished chopping, so I let Nao take my place managing the stew. Now mother and child could cook together.

“This is fun,” Mido said as he came over. “Thank you, Red. This trip is going to be an unforgettable experience for my family.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Mido had taken care of preparing the salmon.

“I’m pretty clumsy, so it’s a bit embarrassing having someone as good at cooking as you watch me,” Mido confessed.

“You did a careful job. There isn’t a single bone left,” I replied.

Gonz had complimented Mido’s carpentry before, telling me how careful it was. Mido wasn’t gifted with Gonz’s talent, but he still did good, trustworthy work.

“I wonder if I’m a good enough father,” Mido said rather suddenly.

I frowned a little. “Why?”

“I couldn’t have done something like this for Tanta myself. And Gonz knows a lot more when it comes to carpentry. I was a failure as an adventurer, and now I get by with a lot of help from Gonz and Nao. It makes me wonder if I’m a good parent at all.”

“This is supposed to be a fun trip, you shouldn’t worry about things like that.”

“Heh heh… I guess I can’t help but worry if there’s something I should do for my boy now that he’s becoming an adult.”

“Dad!” Tanta raced over to us. “Bring the salmon!”

The stew was coming together. All that remained was to add the biscuit flour mix and let the whole thing sit for a while.

“We should work on the mushrooms,” I said.

Mido nodded. “Okay.”

We got to work chopping the mushrooms that would accompany the stew.

Mido watched my hands carefully.

“You really are skilled, Red.”

“Only because I cook so often.”

For a little while, there was only the sound of mushrooms being chopped.

“Tanta looks…happy. Not just on the trip, but always. So I think you must be a good father, Mido.”

“…”

“I don’t have any children yet, so I’m not really sure, but Rit and I want to have a family like yours…and I want to be a father like you.”

“A father like me?”

“You understand, even if you think you don’t. When we were talking about what skills Tanta should take first, you said that Tanta’s happiness was most important.”

I lined up the mushrooms I had cut with the ones Mido had cut.

“The fundamental nature of cooking is whether the person eating the meal enjoys it or not. Being able to chop mushrooms well or debone a salmon skillfully is nice, but they aren’t the point of the process.”

“You’re saying I’m a good father because Tanta’s happy?”

“Yes. You can be proud of that.”

“You’re really good at encouraging people, Red.” Mido chuckled. There was a faint quiver in his laugh, and I could hear a soft sniffle.

That’s probably enough.

We finished chopping the mushrooms quickly. Mido and I were quiet for most of it.

I took care of finishing the stew. The Cooking skill affected that part, so there was no escaping that.

““Breakfast is ready!””

Ruti and I high-fived, as did Tanta and Nao.

“Now then, before we eat breakfast, let’s take care of the first steps for making lunch,” I said.

“Just the first steps?” Tanta asked.

“Yeah, today’s lunch is going to be crepes.”

““Crepes!”” Ruti and Tanta cheered. It sounded like my sister was even more excited than the actual kid.

“Before we eat breakfast, we should prepare the batter for lunch.”

Eggs, flour, butter, and sugar.

Although I preferred cow’s milk, there weren’t cows on the island, so we had to use goat milk.

“Just blend this all together. Nice and simple.”

“We’re using normal flour this time,” Tanta noted.

“Yeah, we could always break up more biscuits, but it’d be a hassle to break enough to make crepes for everyone.”

The adventurer method I’d shown to Tanta earlier was useful sometimes, but it was obviously easier to use proper flour if you had any around.

“Hahaha.” Tanta laughed, and then he and Ruti started mixing the batter.

Something about blending stuff was always fun.

The two of them seemed to enjoy making the batter for nine people’s worth of crepes.

The breakfast everyone made together was delicious.

Flavor-wise, it might’ve been better if I’d done everything, but knowing we’d done it as a group gave it something special.

“You made this, Tanta?”

“Mhm!”

“This is good!”

Gonz tousled Tanta’s hair with a grin.

I scooped out a bit of salmon to eat. The coconut milk paired with it really well.

“Did you prepare the salmon, Red?” Yarandrala asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s been completely deboned. That’s pretty difficult for anyone who doesn’t usually cook.”

“Haha… Actually, I did that.” Mido raised his hand bashfully.

“Oh! Wow, you did really good!” Yarandrala praised.

Mido’s face reddened a bit. “Heh heh.”

Tanta puffed out his chest in a show of pride for his father.

He really is a good father.

Once we finished breakfast, it was time to make crepes for lunch.

Naturally, everyone pitched in.

Preparing the ingredients and cooking the batter were my jobs, while everyone else would fill and wrap the crepes how they preferred.

There was a lot of seafood to use, of course, but we also had sausage, scrambled eggs, fresh vegetables and fruit from the island, pickles, and some candied fruit I’d brought along.

By breaking up the work this way, my Cooking skill would ensure everyone got to eat something tasty, and they’d still get to choose what went into their crepes.

“Lettuce, sausage, scrambled eggs, slices of salmon, shrimp…”

“Whoa, Tanta, if you add all of that, it’s bound to burst.”

Gonz looked a bit amazed as Tanta added the things he liked to the crepe one after the other.

Kids always liked meals that let you add whatever you wanted.

Tanta’s family had fun watching as he wrapped up his crepe.

“Look, Red!”

“Mine looks tasty.”

Rit and Ruti showed me their handiwork. It seemed they’d enjoyed this as well.

Looks like it was a hit with everyone. Hmm… What about mine? The crab looks tasty…

Once lunch was ready, all that remained was to make the fishing bait.

“We’ll be using flour again,” I said.

Flour really was handy.

“Are you going to make a bait dumpling?” Tanta asked.

“Oh, I’m surprised you were able to guess.”

“We’ve made them for fishing in the river back in Zoltan!” Tanta explained.

It wasn’t a secret method or the like, so it wasn’t too surprising that he knew about it already.

““A bait dumpling?””

Rit and Ruti both cocked their heads. Honestly, it was a small shock that Rit didn’t know about bait dumplings.

“I don’t really know much about fishing, but don’t you usually use insects or small fish as bait?” she inquired.

“Fishing has a pretty long history, so people have used lots of things,” I said.

“I assumed we were going to use the crabs Gonz and I gathered.” Rit held up a bag of little crustaceans.

They’d been broiled, and the bag had been wrung out to remove excess water.

“The crabs are part of it, yeah. Thanks for gathering them.”

While we were making breakfast, I’d asked Rit and Gonz to pick up crabs on the beach.

“Can you break them up a bit for me?” I requested.

“Roger!”

While Rit got to it, I chopped some garlic and mixed it into the flour.

“Then we add the crab and a bit of water until it gets a paste-like consistency, and there you have it.”

“Huh. It really is a dumpling.”

Once the dough was ready, all that remained was to shape it into little balls and put one on your hook.

Whether dumplings or insects and worms were better bait depended on the fish you were after. However, gathering enough bugs would’ve been a lot of work with nine people fishing today. Dumplings, which could be made in mass, were more accessible.

In Zoltan, there were shops that sold bait, but not out here.

“What to put in the bait dumpling is really up to personal choice. You can bring a lot of options and see how the fish respond and change accordingly,” I said.

Rit’s face brightened now that she understood. “Interesting. There’s lots of possibilities!”

“I made them with what we could get together easily, but if nothing bites, we can try another recipe.”

Adjusting tactics was part of the fun of fishing.

Dumplings could have different ingredients mixed in on the spot, and people who were squeamish with insects or worms could use them, making them perfect for light-hearted fishing.

“We need to make enough for nine people, so everyone should pitch in!” I said.

With that, Tanta and the others hopped to it.

The doughy consistency felt nice in the hand, and Tanta got into kneading the dumplings.

Today’s theme was definitely “things that are fun to make.”

Judging by everyone’s expressions, it looked to be a success.

“That should be enough! Let’s go fishing!”

Everyone cheered in response.

Let’s make this another fun day.

The complex coastline on the eastern side of the island was likely the result of the sea currents.

“It gets deep quickly as you move away from the beach, making it a bit too dangerous for swimming,” I remarked.

“But it looks good for fishing,” Tisse replied. I don’t know where she got it, but Tisse donned a proper angler’s outfit and had sunglasses on. Mister Crawly Wawly was wearing a fishing cap, although it probably didn’t do any— No, I guess it blocked direct sunlight, so maybe it did have a purpose this time.

They both looked raring to go.

One person breaking out professional gear when a group of friends came together for fun was a little odd, but I was glad Tisse was excited, if nothing else.

“Wow, Tisse!”

“Heh heh, you’ve got a good future ahead of you if you can recognize how impressive this is, Tanta.”

Tisse and Mister Crawly Wawly were practically sparkling.

Although Tisse maintained her usual blank expression, I had to imagine her eyes looked a little smug behind those sunglasses.

“All right, Red! I challenge you!”

“I didn’t know anything about fishing last time, but I’m different now.”

Rit and Ruti were both in high spirits, too.

I couldn’t afford to lose.

“No way…”

I lost. Utterly.

“Yay!” Ruti flashed Vs with both hands.

She was the undisputed champion in terms of most caught.

Tisse had landed the largest.

I was second in both categories, although the gap between the two first-place winners and me was tremendous. I’d never had a chance at winning.

“We were secretly practicing.”

“We went fishing together.”

Only now did Ruti and Tisse happily reveal their secret.

It was a little frustrating, but I was glad to see my little sister growing up.

“At least you got second place.”

Rit sounded disappointed. She hadn’t hooked much of anything. She’d come in seventh place, even losing to Tanta.

“I beat Ms. Rit!”

“Good job, Tanta!”

“That’s my boy!”

Tanta’s parents gathered around him to celebrate.

Mido and Nao had mostly aided Tanta, so it was more like the three of them had collectively defeated Rit. Still, this hadn’t been a genuine competition. Rit making a show of losing was part of what made this fun for everyone. I suspected she was playing it up a bit.

She really was kind.

“Red! When we get back to Zoltan, we’re doing special fishing training, just the two of us!”

Determination suddenly ignited in her eyes.

Yeah, she really was kind. Probably.

I guessed we could go fishing together again when we got back.

As we joked around, there was a powerful gust. Mister Crawly Wawly almost lost his hat, but he managed to hold it down.

“Red.” Yarandrala was looking up at the sky. “We should finish up fishing.”

“Awww, but it’s still so early!” Tanta whined.

It was probably best to listen to Yarandrala.

“Sorry, Tanta, but a storm is coming,” Rit explained.

I only had a vague feeling there might be a storm, but the two spirit users were confident.

“It looks like we might not be able to go back tomorrow,” Rit added.

Yarandrala nodded. “You’re right. Ships won’t be able to sail out.”

“It’ll be that bad?” I asked.

“Yeah, anything smaller than a large ocean-faring vessel won’t be able to handle it.” Yarandrala had captained a ship in the past, so I trusted her judgment on that.

“When we get back, we should pack up the tents and find shelter in the village,” I said.

“Aww, we’re even putting the tents away?” Tanta was sad. Our trip was going to be extended, but putting away the tents made it seem to him like it was ending early.

I patted his head.

“You can always come again, if you want to.”

“…Yeah.”

Coming out here was a little bit of an adventure, but if Tanta raised his blessing level, he could drive off any of the monsters around Zoltan. Once he could, the trip here would be no problem at all.

In fact, he’d be able to go almost anywhere other than the Wall at the End of the World. The freedom of childhood would end soon, but in exchange, Tanta had the freedom of adulthood waiting for him.

So long as he was free to choose, he could take whatever path he liked.

We divided up the fish we’d caught and put them into our bags.

They would do just fine for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast.

The big one Tisse caught was too large, though, so she tied it up with a rope and carried it over her shoulder.

What should I even do with an eight-meter-long tiger shark?

Once we reached our camp, we quickly packed up the tents. Breaking down camp went a lot faster than setting up.

Rit put the packed-up tents away in her item box.

It was over in no time.

“The weather’s still pretty nice. Is a storm really on its way?” Gonz asked.

The sky was bright, but there were lots of clouds.

“Look, the fishing boats are coming back.” I pointed out to the water.

“Huh, they are.” Gonz’s eyes widened in surprise.

To me, the more surprising thing was that simple fishers had noticed signs that only the first-class spirit users had spotted. I guessed there were some things that only people who lived here on this island and on this sea for so many years could sense.

People were impressive, building up an instinct that could match hints from spirits, if only in their one particular area of expertise.

“Hey, Red,” Rit whispered in my ear. “What should we do about Eremite?”

“We can’t just leave her…”

She was a high-level Saint. Ordinarily, a storm wouldn’t be any sort of problem for her. She’d lived here on her own for five years, after all.

“She’s bound, can’t leave her cabin, and shouldn’t be able to use magic. It’s a pretty rough position for a spell-focused blessing like the Saint. I guess it would be best to check on her.”

“Who should go?”

“You and I are probably best. I don’t want to let Ruti get appraised, and I’d rather leave Yarandrala as the backup since she can communicate with the forest plants. Tisse and Mister Crawly Wawly are focused on protecting Tanta and his family, which leaves us.”

“Roger!”

“We can slip away after we check in with the village.”

Naturally, we’d tell Ruti, Yarandrala, and Tisse about the plan, but there was no need to worry Tanta and his family or make the villagers suspicious.

Once the storm passed, it’d be time to leave the island. Then we could free Eremite, and everything would be over.

After that, she could continue her isolation as much as she wanted.

“Thank you for taking us in,” I said.

“Of course. We were just about to go to you,” replied the village chief.

The villagers gave us a warm welcome when we reached their settlement.

“It was a sudden storm. The fishers came back in a hurry, too.”

Windows were being shut and folks were stowing things that had been left out.

They were really quick to take action.

As expected of people of the sea. They’ve experienced lots of storms.

“Leave the fish you caught to us. We’ll make something great with it.”

“Thank you. The food during the feast was delicious too, so I’m looking forward to dinner.”

“Thank you as well. We can’t go out to fish during the storm either, so you offering to share with us helps.”

We decided to share our catches of the day with the locals. We’d reeled in too much for nine people, so this worked out perfectly.

Ruti had caught so many fish that her bag was almost overflowing, and Tisse’s tiger shark was so enormous that I’d worried how to prepare it.

Plus, I wanted to enjoy the lobster Mister Crawly Wawly had caught with his thread while it was still fresh. Really, sharing our spoils with the villagers was a great help.

“There isn’t much here, but please take it easy until the storm passes.”

There wasn’t any sort of lodging for guests here, so the village chief was letting us stay in his home.

We’d all be huddled together in sleeping bags on the floor, but it was a lot better than camping out in a storm.

“Umm…” Tanta raised his hand. His face looked serious.

“Hm?” answered the village chief.

“What about the ship that you made?”

“We moved it into the woods, but it might get broken in the storm. That’s just how it goes around here, though.”

There were a lot of storms in and around Zoltan, so it was just accepted that things might be wrecked. A big part of why the people of Zoltan were naturally lazy came from the climate being what it was. Even if they worked hard, poor weather could still dash their efforts.

Tanta was born and raised in Zoltan, so he knew that, but…

“Can’t anything be done?” He sounded frustrated.

“I appreciate the feeling, but…” The village chief scratched his head, a bit unsure how to put it.

His expression made it clear he believed this was a lost cause.

Tanta didn’t seem ready to believe that yet, though, so he worked hard to think of something. Perhaps an older Tanta would’ve found a solution, but the current one didn’t.

Ruti smiled as she watched him.

“…I’ll carry it here.”

“Big Sis?!”

“I can do it… I’ll protect the ship you helped make.” Ruti smiled slightly.

“Thank you!”

“Mhm.”

My sister could definitely carry a half-built fishing boat to the village without any trouble.

The vessel was only in its second day of construction. Losing that much work was an acceptable loss for the villagers. However, Ruti wanted to protect what Tanta had helped build. No one who would actually use the fishing boat had asked for help, so this had nothing to do with the Hero’s impulses.

This was merely Ruti’s desire to protect a boy’s memories.

Seeing her natural heroic determination rather than the compulsions of her Divine Blessing made me happy.

“Red,” Rit called.

“Yeah, let’s go check on Eremite now.”

While Ruti was taking care of the fishing boat, Rit and I headed to Eremite’s cabin.

The wind was growing stronger, and black clouds filled the sky.

At this stage, even I knew for certain that a storm was closing in.

“Looks like it’s bound to start raining soon. Let’s finish this up quick and head back.”

“Right.”

We ran through the woods.

A forest was perhaps the best environment for Rit’s Spirit Scout. She moved through the environment without ever losing speed.

“I can see it ahead,” I said.

“That’s her cabin? Pretty solid construction for something made by just one person,” Rit commented.

“She’s a high-level Saint. I imagine she used magic to cut down the logs and place them.”

It wasn’t a luxurious lodge by any stretch, but it was much better than the hermit standard of tree branches woven together with mud daubed across the structure.

“It has a solid base formed of four posts stuck into the ground. The logs weren’t just placed straight onto the ground, so it should be able to withstand the storm to some extent,” I noted.

Rit frowned. “What’s the point of the solitude then?”

Like Ares the Sage, Eremite the Saint had access to clerical and arcane magic. She could handle almost anything by herself.

A half-elf Sage friend of mine once erected a castle of earth on a battlefield using magic. That went to show how powerful a spell could be.

“Oh, visitors.”

Upon stepping into the cabin, I saw Eremite sitting in the chair, exactly as I’d left her.

“You sound in good spirits,” I said.

“Yes, this is also a good adversity.”

Eremite was bound to her cabin by chains, with her hands tied up using a special knotting technique to ensure her fingers couldn’t move. She couldn’t use a spoon and had to eat directly from a bowl.

It couldn’t have been very pleasant, but keeping her from using magic was necessary.

“A storm is approaching,” I explained.

She nodded. “So it would seem.”

“That’s why we’ve come to check on you… We were thinking of closing the windows and doors. That wouldn’t be a problem for you, would it?”

“No. I am forbidden to ask others for aid during my solitude; however, it is not forbidden for me to receive aid. I am grateful that you offered of your own initiative.”

“Your home will be able to withstand the storm if we do that for you, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay, then for the sake of the Saint who can’t move freely, we’ll help of our own initiative.”

Rit and I quickly sealed up the place.

“It’s unfortunate that the field outside will go to waste. A little longer, and there would have been some lovely eggplants… I look forward to them every year.”

A quick look told me the vegetables hadn’t been growing well, owing to either the poor soil or the lack of sunlight because of the trees.

“I would have liked for Tanta to enjoy some.”

“Is making food for others the work of a holy woman in solitude?”

“Ordinarily, it would be forbidden. However, Tanta is a fellow servant of God.”

“That’s for Tanta to decide,” Rit shot back at Eremite sharply.

That’s enough preparation for the storm.

“Is that sufficient?” I asked.

“Yes, thank you very much for your help.” Eremite smiled faintly as we left.

“I don’t like it!” Rit had a grim look on her face. “She’s absolutely planning something!”

“That definitely wasn’t the look of someone whose plans have been foiled,” I agreed.

It was troubling that we still didn’t know what exactly she was after.

“Rit, would you?”

“Sure thing.”

She formed a seal and cast a summoning spell.

“Little guardian, crawl forth from the spirit tree… Summon Spirit Gecko!”

There was a pop as a little spirit vortex formed, and a small lizard appeared in her hand.

“Please keep an eye on her.”

The gecko looked up and stuck out its tongue.

Eremite’s cabin was too far from the village for Rit to maintain her link with the summoned spirit beast. Calling a spirit to keep watch was only valuable if the creature could inform the summoner if something happened through its telepathic connection, but that only extended about 100 meters.

However, a spirit gecko was different.

When a spirit beast received a significant amount of damage, the summoner felt the shock of it. And a lizard could remove its own tail. Unsurprisingly, it had no combat ability to speak of, and the only long distance message it could send was that it had removed its tail, but that was plenty. A spirit gecko was incredibly useful, far more than a first look suggested.

Rit’s summon clung to the backside of one of the pillars holding up Eremite’s cabin. It would be safe from the storm there.

With that done, we returned to the village, all the while hoping nothing would happen.