Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Seaweed Soup of Longing (3)
Winter could not shake off the strange feeling of coincidence. She herself had long heard the rumors about the Duhein Family.
Hunters of the waves. Beasts of the sea. Those titles referred to an absolute affinity with the unique environment of the sea, and furthermore with water itself.
They also carried the air of experts when it came to the act of hunting. However, Davide, whom she interacted with rather closely, made it difficult to notice such traits.
She could fully agree with the part about being a beast, but hunting? She tilted her head.
“Here. Eat.”
“Thank you… Mm. Thank you.”
Because of that, she found herself looking suspiciously at the wild boar hind leg that had been handed to her. The atmosphere did not feel like that of someone from the same Duhein Family.
Bereninche was truly a woman befitting the Duhein name. Not only her nimble movements, but also her sharp senses for finding prey.
On top of that, she had the skill to snatch her prey in a single strike. Unlike Davide, she was smooth and swift. This pitiful wild boar had fallen victim to exactly that context.
The moment she disappeared saying, ‘Wait a moment.’ The hunt had ended with the trifecta of ‘whoosh, swish, squeal.’ It felt absurdly anticlimactic.
“Ah, this is so bland I could die. This is seriously pissing me off!”
The same Bereninche who had displayed such ferocity somehow ate the wild boar with elegance. Since they were camping, there were naturally no utensils.
With practiced skill, she brought a large leaf, wrapped the boar in it, and steamed it as it was. After cooking it for nearly an hour, she was now eating the leg in a rather feminine manner.
Davide had none of that sort of feeling. His meal was a completely mannerless scene of a real beast devouring prey. But the younger sister before her was filled with decorum, unlike him.
Had Bereninche always been like this? From Winter’s perspective, who was having her first meal with Bereninche, it felt extremely unfamiliar.
“You didn’t bring any salt, right?”
“…Possessions are prohibited.”
“There’s no rock salt around here. Hm.”
For everyone else, this was surely a survival struggle of whether they would eat or not. But Bereninche was facing a problem of satisfaction—whether she could eat deliciously or merely eat.
Bland? Well. Her conscience pricked a little, but the wild boar was incredibly delicious. Normally, wild boar should have been full of its characteristic gamy smell, but because Bereninche steamed it using the leaves she brought, none of that smell remained.
Instead, the leaves left behind a subtle fragrance that seeped into the meat, which was rather pleasant. The saltiness was not that bad either.
It was a little bland, but not to the point of being seized by such intense frustration.
“Hmm. This won’t do. I’ll go find some rock salt or something.”
“Oh. I’ll go too.”
If someone would solve the problem even if you just stayed still, of course that would be thank you—from Davide’s standpoint. But Winter, who tended to be unnecessarily diligent, deliberately got up from her seat.
Since she was not particularly hungry, there was no sense of regret. Bereninche also did not stop Winter from following her.
Rock salt appeared all over the world, so it was not particularly difficult to find. But when one deliberately tried to find it, it simply did not appear. That was the way of the world.
They searched thoroughly for nearly an hour, yet nothing came into view.
“Hmm. I’m starting to get annoyed.”
“…P-please calm down.”
At this point, it was understandable for irritation to build up. Leaving aside the fact that they could have just eaten it as it was, the group had even postponed their meal to go searching.
The meat had probably cooled completely by now. There was a device to prevent wild animals from approaching, so it would not disappear somewhere, but it was still regrettable.
Winter trembled as she tried to calm Bereninche, who had begun letting out rather frightening remarks. Her presence was far more intimidating than Davide’s.
Neither Davide nor Bereninche spoke words that could simply be ignored. Whether it was the older brother or the younger sister, both were the type who would truly do what they said.
Especially Bereninche. In that regard, she was even more troublesome.
“Damn it. I was hoping we might at least find a red tree.”
“A red tree?”
“Yeah. Its fruits and flowers are salt. Especially the salt made by grinding the flowers—it has an incredible fragrance, so it’s treated as quite a luxury item.”
“Oh.”
She let out a sincere admiration. Of course Bereninche overwhelmingly surpassed her in combat ability, but when it came to knowledge of hunting, there was hardly anyone who could match her.
Bereninche burst into a cheerful laugh at Winter, who kept expressing admiration over things she considered trivial. She lightly patted Winter on the shoulder and, as usual, strode forward confidently.
“Hmm? Hm?”
“Is something wrong?”
“I smell a faint scent of the sea?”
“Huh?”
Naturally, Winter’s reaction became strange. No matter how you looked at it, they were in the mountains. The sea was quite far away, so there was no way such a smell could be detected.
But this sea-colored girl’s eyesight, hearing, and even her sense of smell were on the verge of surpassing human limits.
And Winter knew very well that she did not lie, so although puzzled, she did not refute Bereninche’s words.
“This complex salty fishy smell. It’s definitely the scent of the sea.”
“Shall we go check?”
“Yeah, why not. I was getting bored anyway.”
Bored. Haha. Even though she looked so relaxed, they were currently in the middle of their midterm exam. If things went wrong, they could freeze to death, or worse, be bitten to death by beasts.
For such a situation, it seemed far too carefree. But that thought soon faded. The Water Spear that had instantly gained the upper hand against a Fiendbeast.
She was someone who threw such a terrifying thing as casually as stretching her arms. There was no way she would feel threatened by something like this. With the posture of someone who had already given up on questioning it, Winter simply followed behind.
“Oh?”
“What? You two.”
The path they followed, drawn by the sea scent that should not even exist here, gradually grew brighter. It was clearly because someone had lit a campfire, and Winter unconsciously began to tense up.
As a rule, strangers were something to be wary of first. It might be different in the peaceful Academy, but in a place like this, maintaining a foolishly carefree attitude would not be good.
What they encountered turned out to be a remarkably persistent connection. There was Davide, whom one could practically say she saw every day, and the professor who had devised this very exam.
“This place. Well, what was it. It’s the professors’ area. Students should head back now.”
“Yes. Excuse us for a moment.”
The professor, his face full of annoyance, issued an order for Bereninche and Winter to leave.
But unfortunately, Bereninche was too distracted by the smell of the sea. She asked for permission anyway and approached.
The professor and Davide tilted their heads, wondering what was going on, but when they saw Bereninche walk straight toward Davide’s mess tin, they had a bad feeling.
“What’s this?”
“Seaweed soup.”
“Seaweed? I see. That’s why I smelled the sea.”
Nodding to herself, she eventually scooped some of the seaweed soup from the mess tin. Davide’s gaze became slightly tired, and the professor’s face filled with disbelief.
Meanwhile, Winter alone stomped her feet awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
“Hm? What is this. It’s good?”
“Hey, hey! Right? It’s good, isn’t it! Professor, I’m telling you, it’s good!”
“Don’t lie! You call that food?”
And just like that, they immediately started arguing. When she heard the words seaweed soup, the first thing that came to Winter’s mind was ‘why’.
Why would anyone go out of their way to eat that. Why would anyone go out of their way to bring that. Why would anyone go out of their way to cook that. Winter could not understand any of it.
Bereninche, saying it was delicious, had practically settled down there, and Davide was even ladling the soup for her personally. Then there was the professor clutching the back of his neck at the bizarre antics of the two Duheins.
A sitcom-like situation had unfolded in less than a minute. Winter, the only normal one there, could not adapt to the gap at all and ended up feeling completely left out.
“Hey. You there, the white-haired student.”
“Yes. Yes? M-me?”
“Yeah, you. Come here and try some of this. Honestly, bringing something like this—”
“What’s this sharp taste? It’s better than I expected.”
“Ha! You’ve got some taste, huh? Are you from the Seongju Bae clan?”
“Seongju? What’s that supposed to be?”
The conversation was steadily descending into chaos. It was rare to see Davide this excited.
Even so, this was still a student and faculty member together. Was it really okay for them to mingle like this? They were in the middle of an exam, after all.
At this point, Winter had begun abandoning many of her concerns with a whatever happens, happens attitude and took a seat next to Davide.
With an excited face, Davide washed the lid of the professor’s mess tin and poured soup into it. Winter stared at the mess tin lid without enthusiasm.
“……”
“It looks tasty, right?”
She could not possibly say something like that. The soup was green. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to call it light green. The seaweed, which was close to black in color, did not look very appetizing.
Still, since it had been handed to her, she mustered up considerable courage. In the first place, they were members of the same order, so it was not as if he would give her poison.
The professor’s reaction bothered her a little, but she recalled that she had never had any trouble with Davide when it came to food.
“Hm? Oh. This is.”
She tightly shut her eyes and ate the seaweed. Something slippery entered her mouth, and she soon realized that it was quite chewy.
A strangely pleasant chewiness. For a moment she admired the texture, which was far better than expected, but soon after, a powerful torrent of flavor surged up and Winter froze.
“…Winter?”
“Krk. Kha! Kyaaaak! Uaaak!”
Davide cautiously called out to Winter when he saw her suddenly stiffen while chewing the seaweed.
She did not react at all to his voice, but when Davide grabbed her shoulder, she finally responded.
Who could have expected such a painful scream to come out? Winter collapsed, clutching her throat and writhing in agony, and the professor hurried over.
He shoved his fingers into her mouth to make her vomit and immediately splashed water over her. Seeing that scene, Davide stared blankly, thinking it was some kind of stomach cleansing.
“Krrr. Kraak! Aaaak! It’s spicyyyy! So saaaaltyyyy!”
Soon Winter began wailing. Her face was already soaked with tears. With her face buried in the ground, she was letting out piercing screams.
“Uh. Hm.”
Even Bereninche, who had been eating the seaweed soup deliciously, lost her appetite at such a tremendous reaction. She quietly set down the lid of the mess tin.
“Did you poison it?”
“As if I would….”
“Then why is she like that?”
“I don’t know either. She’s saying it’s salty and spicy, but I don’t get it.”
“It’s perfectly seasoned and perfectly spicy though?”
The only calm ones were the Duheins. At Bereninche’s tentative question, Davide answered indifferently.
Why would he poison it? That would be pointless. Wondering if something really was strange, he drank the seaweed soup again, but it still just tasted good. The same went for Bereninche.
The two of them wore puzzled expressions as they tried to adjust to the reactions of the two ordinary people.
“She’s not dead, right?”
“It would be a bit much to die from eating food.”
“Right? It’s not poisoned, and it’s not food with poison in it.”
“…Wa. Water.”
Only then did Winter regain her senses and weakly ask for water. The professor, who had somehow ended up with a pitiful expression, slowly poured water into her mouth.
“Ah… Ah…”
“Hey, are you conscious?”
“Huh? Uh? Professor?”
“…Why are you looking at me like it’s the first time you’ve seen me?”
“Huh? What. Where am I?”
It starts from there? Watching Winter suddenly show signs of memory loss, the professor closed his eyes. Being a professor was truly a difficult profession.
The professor looked at Davide with an expression of admiration. Simply with saltiness and spiciness, he had erased a person’s memory. Should this not be considered magic?
And why on earth were the siblings completely fine? The moment it entered the mouth, the saltiness felt like it shriveled the esophagus, and the spiciness felt like the tongue was burning.
Why were they eating that so deliciously, getting along so well?
“Duhein. Duhein. Right. You’re Duheins.”
“Professor?”
“Haha. Duhein. Hahaha! Yes, Duhein!”
Suddenly, the professor began laughing like a madman. The reaction had now become downright chilling, and Davide clearly showed signs of discomfort.
Bereninche also had no idea what was going on, but she judged that this was definitely not a normal reaction and was quietly edging away.
Still, since it had been handed to her, she mustered up considerable courage. In the first place, they were members of the same order, so it was not as if he would give her poison.
The professor’s reaction bothered her a little, but she recalled that she had never had any trouble with Davide when it came to food.
“Hm? Oh. This is.”
She tightly shut her eyes and ate the seaweed. Something slippery entered her mouth, and she soon realized that it was quite chewy.
A strangely pleasant chewiness. For a moment she admired the texture, which was far better than expected, but soon after, a powerful torrent of flavor surged up and Winter froze.
“…Winter?”
“Krk. Kha! Kyaaaak! Uaaak!”
Davide cautiously called out to Winter when he saw her suddenly stiffen while chewing the seaweed.
She did not react at all to his voice, but when Davide grabbed her shoulder, she finally responded.
Who could have expected such a painful scream to come out? Winter collapsed, clutching her throat and writhing in agony, and the professor hurried over.
He shoved his fingers into her mouth to make her vomit and immediately splashed water over her. Seeing that scene, Davide stared blankly, thinking it was some kind of stomach cleansing.
“Krrr. Kraak! Aaaak! It’s spicyyyy! So saaaaltyyyy!”
Soon Winter began wailing. Her face was already soaked with tears. With her face buried in the ground, she was letting out piercing screams.
“Uh. Hm.”
Even Bereninche, who had been eating the seaweed soup deliciously, lost her appetite at such a tremendous reaction. She quietly set down the lid of the mess tin.
“Did you poison it?”
“As if I would….”
“Then why is she like that?”
“I don’t know either. She’s saying it’s salty and spicy, but I don’t get it.”
“It’s perfectly seasoned and perfectly spicy though?”
The only calm ones were the Duheins. At Bereninche’s tentative question, Davide answered indifferently.
Why would he poison it? That would be pointless. Wondering if something really was strange, he drank the seaweed soup again, but it still just tasted good. The same went for Bereninche.
The two of them wore puzzled expressions as they tried to adjust to the reactions of the two ordinary people.
“She’s not dead, right?”
“It would be a bit much to die from eating food.”
“Right? It’s not poisoned, and it’s not food with poison in it.”
“…Wa. Water.”
Only then did Winter regain her senses and weakly ask for water. The professor, who had somehow ended up with a pitiful expression, slowly poured water into her mouth.
“Ah… Ah…”
“Hey, are you conscious?”
“Huh? Uh? Professor?”
“…Why are you looking at me like it’s the first time you’ve seen me?”
“Huh? What. Where am I?”
It starts from there? Watching Winter suddenly show signs of memory loss, the professor closed his eyes. Being a professor was truly a difficult profession.
The professor looked at Davide with an expression of admiration. Simply with saltiness and spiciness, he had erased a person’s memory. Should this not be considered magic?
And why on earth were the siblings completely fine? The moment it entered the mouth, the saltiness felt like it shriveled the esophagus, and the spiciness felt like the tongue was burning.
Why were they eating that so deliciously, getting along so well?
“Duhein. Duhein. Right. You’re Duheins.”
“Professor?”
“Haha. Duhein. Hahaha! Yes, Duhein!”
Suddenly, the professor began laughing like a madman. The reaction had now become downright chilling, and Davide clearly showed signs of discomfort.
Bereninche also had no idea what was going on, but she judged that this was definitely not a normal reaction and was quietly edging away.