“Hmm? You want to start the fire again, Leo?”
When I finished laying out the branches, Leo approached me happily.
“Ms, Lyra. Is that all right?”
“I would be very grateful if Leo would light up the fire. If anything, I would have requested it myself.”
“I see. Well, Leo. You can light it then.”
Upon hearing my words, Leo barked once. And just like before, she breathed fire from her mouth.
It wasn’t too strong or too weak as it burned the branches in the center, and the flames spread out.
“Now the bonfire is completed.”
“Yes. Thank you. And thank you, Leo.”
After being thanked by Ms. Lyra, I thought that Leo would want to be praised, but when I looked, Ms. Claire was already there and petting her on the head.
Leo looked very pleased as she barked.
It was nice seeing them get along.
“Then I will cook the orc meat. While the sun is still high, it would be best to dress the meat quickly.”
“I see. Should I help you?”
“…Indeed… Three orcs is a lot of work for one person, so it would be a great help.”
“Are you going too, Leo?”
When Ms. Lyra and I tried to go to where the orcs were placed, Leo moved away from Ms. Claire’s pets, and came to stand next to me.
Ms. Claire looked a little sad that Leo was no longer within reach.
“Leo. Why don’t you stay here and wait with Ms. Claire?”
As if to reject this idea, Leo lifted a paw and extended her claws out.
…Now that I thought about it, Leo had dressed the meat the first time that we ate an orc…
Oh, well. While it meant leaving Ms. Claire alone, it wasn’t even a minute’s walk from here, so it should be fine.
“Lady Claire. Please sit here by the fire and rest a little longer. As we are close to the river, you will get a chill if you’re not careful. And being warmed by the fire will help ease your fatigue.”
“I did wish to watch the dressing of the orc meat up close… But…very well then. I shall watch from here.”
After Ms. Lyra spoke to Ms. Claire, we left her and walked towards the meat.
On the way, we talked to Johanna, who was pitching the tents, and told her that Ms. Claire was alone.
Upon hearing this, she exchanged a few words with the other two guards. It seemed that she was going to go to Lady Claire now.
Well, the pitching of the tents was nearly finished, so they would be done by the time we were finished with the meat.
“Have you ever cut orc meat, Ms. Lyra?”
“…No, I have not. But I have experience with other kinds of meat…”
Now I was getting nervous…
I had just asked her for no particular reason, and it turned out she had no experience…
But as I wondered what to do, Leo suddenly tried to get my attention.
She extended her claws and waved them in front of me.
“Leo. There are three of them. Can you do it?”
“…She says that she can. Let’s leave it to her then.”
“…Very well. I’m sorry that I was not able to do it.”
“It’s fine. You’ve done enough already, so this is nothing. Besides, Leo really wants to do it.”
Leo was full of enthusiasm.
While Ms. Lyra seemed apologetic, these kinds of things were better done by someone, or some dog, that was accustomed to it.
The dressing of meat was a rather difficult thing.
And so after we arrived at the spot, I left everything to Leo.
“Leo. I’m counting on you.”
“I’m sorry to have to ask you, but thank you, good Leo.”
After Ms. Lyra and I asked Leo to do it, she calmly walked towards the orcs and waved her paw.
As they had already been drained of blood, it wasn’t exactly a reenactment from a horror movie. But the sight of orc meat being chopped up as they flew in the air was still a little shocking.
After Leo had waved her claws for about one minute, she walked back to us with a satisfied expression.
…That was too fast, Leo…
“Ms. Lyra. How is the orc meat?”
I asked Ms. Lyra, who was completely stunned by Leo’s movements. And then we both went to look.
“This… Only a professional cook could have done it this cleanly. It is amazing!”
The orc meat was cut so neatly that it looked like something that could be sold by a butcher.
Of course, it would have to be washed, as it was lying on top of the ground.
“Leo can even…separate the cuts…”
“It looks like it. Um, this might even be better than what a human can do…?”
The orc meat that Leo had cut was separated by parts.
And the meat and organs were also separated.
Even if you thought of orc meat as pork, to cut it with your claws, separate them by parts, and remove the organs was…
“Silver Fenrirs are so amazing…”
I decided to not think about it too deeply, and just pet Leo, who was looking at me with a proud expression.
After that, since it could not all be eaten at once, we set some aside to cook today so the rest could be saved.
Ms. Lyra took the meat that was to be cooked immediately and returned to Ms. Claire by the fire. And then, as if to not waste any time, she took out the pot and vegetables and started to cook.
…Ms. Lyra was likely tired as well, from all the walking in the forest. And so I was very grateful.
Ms. Claire must have been watching Leo work from afar, as she was praising Leo and patting her on the head.
Johanna was watching Ms. Claire and Leo with a smile. But I saw that she would occasionally reach out her hand towards Leo but then withdraw it immediately.
…She should just pet Leo if she wants to.
As I thought this, I went to fetch some water from the river, both to drink and to cook with.
“We finished preparing the tents.”
Just as the sun started to descend, and it grew darker, Sebastian, Phillip, and Nicholas returned after pitching the tents.
I thanked Sebastian and then added more tree branches to the fire, while making sure not to get in Ms. Lyra’s way as she cooked.