Chapter 10 – Lizard’s turn

 It wasn't just Doushi who visited Falco and Shou.

One of them is Gina, the cook. She's always making a whole pot of soup, and she's a great cook, as expected.

“Shou's soup is no losing to it”

Falco brings it up, but it's not like I won or lost because delicious food is delicious. It was more that she was this world's first woman that Shou was looking forward to discussing the food with her.

“Shou!”

Gina is the one who is watching Leon's usual hug with a raised right eyebrow, looking amused. According to prior information, he is a womanizer, estimated to be about 100 years old.

“I don't know the exact year, but that's about it”

And that is about Falco. Gina came to see Falco's adopted child, who said she was doing her best to cook. Shou's mouth dropped open when she saw Gina. With slightly darker blonde hair and pale green eyes, she was a woman, yes, an adult woman.

“Oh, my sweet little girl. Come to One-san”

I can't blame her for saying that, and I knew she wandered off after all. As expected, she didn't lift me up, but she did give me a hug. Unfortunately, my face was around her stomach. It smelled good.

“Shou may be small, but he's still a man. There's no one who doesn't go to Gina”

Leon teased. Huh?　What are you talking about?

“It's not!”

“Oh, well, don't be shy. Hey, Gina, you can give me a hug too”

“If only you were as cute as she is?”

“I told you, it's not! Falco!”

Falco is rolling with laughter. Oh, jeez!

“Now, Shou, why don't we leave these idiots alone and get in the kitchen?　I heard you had some questions about cooking”

“Yes, Gina-san, about the ingredients and seasonings”

“I'm fine with Gina. Then let's see it in action”

“Yes!”

From there, I was obsessed. We talked about seasonings, how to cook fresh meat, and vegetables that could be used in the winter. We talked happily as they trained their swords and poked fun at Falco, who sometimes came to look at them like they were bored. Gina knew that Shou was a girl,

“Some of the guys are gonna say things about you when you tell them you're adopted a girl, so why don't you just keep quiet until they find out?　I'm sure they'll find out when you come to town. Make sure you've formed a bond with Falco and that you don't lose him by then. You're going to be okay”

She looked at Falco, who was wandering around and said so.

“Now, I'm going to tell you what to do with all those edible plants and lizards out there”

“Lizards you mean the ones that sit still?”

“Haven't Falco taught you yet?　If you stay outside, before you know it, a bunch of them come to you and steal your body heat and they are a nasty monster. Along with herbs and slime, they're a great way to earn some pocket money for the kids. You can only eat a few parts of it, but it is simple and very delicious”

It's less common than the slime, but sometimes they stay still in the sunshine. It's about the size of two adult palms. I was surprised at first because it's a regular lizard, but Falco didn't say anything about it or move, and I didn't pay any attention to it until now.

“Falco, why don't you let her hunt the lizard?”

“Shou didn't like holding the sword, and unlike slime, it's like, you know, it's like killing ......”

“I'm speechless. Any gentle girl could not be a bride unless she could at least hunt and cook a lizard. If she can hunt slime, she'll be fine, right?”

“I will try it”

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to, except for the food I'd be eating. Still, it was nice to see Falco's concern, and Shou smiled at Falco, who mumbled about being a bride or something being too soon, as a way of saying thank you.

Falco was surprised. Shou lived a funny life every day herself, but she didn't talk much and her expression never changed. For some reason, Shou smiled at him. The power of that smile was overwhelming. The only thing I could do now was to hug her as a memorial. When I wandered over to Shou, Gina told me this was not the time to do so and chased me away. I wondered why.

The lizards are basically still, so all it takes is a sword to pierce them from directly above. There aren't many lizards around town, so they are easy for children to catch, but they are also very hard to find. That said, if one is not careful, they move quickly when not looking and are being attacked. There are quite a few of them around the hut, so I probably should have told her about them. Or rather, I should have taught Shou everything I know.

But while Falco was thinking about that, Shou was learning how to hunt lizards from Gina.

“Oh, yeah, Shou. You're good. What?　Are they on the other side?　Oh, wait, yeah, we're killing pretty much everything. Yeah, six of them anyway. There's a lot of them here. Are you ready to strip them?”

The parts of a lizard that can be eaten are the thighs and tails of its hind legs. Two lizards are enough for one person's meal. We cut them off easily, peel off the skin and collect the magic stone. Magic stones could be sold for the same price as the slime.

After harvesting the lizards, I head to the kitchen with great enthusiasm. It tasted as light as a chicken breast. Shou, who was tired of eating mainly dried meat, was very happy to know that the lizard had a light taste like a chicken breast. I steamed the meat, cracked it open with my hands and made a salad. It's also good to eat it with a strong seasoning on bread. It can be pounded raw and made into dumplings and pickled vegetables. While I was preoccupied and talking to Gina about it,

“Shou, you've handled it so well for your first time ...... Why don't you train at my place when you come to town?”

She said. That's great too. Falco was reluctant, but he was happy to see that Shou had a lot of things she could do.

“I'm not going to do everything at once, Falco. I want to do things little by little over the years. Same as now. While Falco is working, I'm going to try to do a lot of things. And I'll come home to the same house with Falco. I'll always be with Falco”

“Tha, That's right. Shou's not going to leave me alone, right”

“Of course, I do!　I'm the one who's causing you trouble”

“You are not bothering me!　I've had nothing but good things since I picked up Shou”

Is it?　Shou laughed. Falco laughed too.

“Oh my, they're friendly with each other”

“Even as you grow up, the scars from your childhood are still around. Besides, potions can't heal a broken heart”

“Oh, you mean about Lyla”

“Yeah, that was a bit”

“She was a genuine hunter, Lyla. It's not that she did anything wrong. She just wasn't cut out to be a mother. And I can't tell her to have kids”

“Hopefully, Shou will be able to heal you”

“Anyway, I'll take care of Shou as best I can. I'm looking forward to seeing you in town”

“It really is”

Gina and Leon watched the two close friends and envisioned Shou and Falco looking forward to the spring that would bring them to town.