"Hey~ Kokkoro, I just happened to find some non-toxic mushrooms nearby — let's grill them together!" Pecorine came jogging back, cradling a massive armful of mushrooms as she followed a small, translucent wind spirit. Behind the tiny tiara ornament perched in her hair, a single ahoge drifted and bobbed in the breeze with a rhythm all its own — and the considerable chest constrained beneath her clothing drew the eye just as insistently.
"Ah — Hero, you're awake!"
"Hello, Miss Pecorine. Please, just call me Jhin — I really couldn't claim a title like 'Hero' with a straight face." Having introduced himself, Jhin didn't forget his manners. "I owe you an apology for what happened when we first met. My descent got knocked off-course by the explosion, and I had absolutely no way to control where I landed."
"N-no, no, it's fine!" Pecorine was visibly uncomfortable with the topic. She waved her hands at him in quick succession, then pivoted away from it with all the subtlety of a battering ram. "More importantly — let's eat first!"
Jhin wasn't about to drag the subject back up like some oblivious fool and ask whether she'd forgiven him. He retrieved a small knife from his storage space, selected a few slender, supple branches from the bundle of firewood Kokkoro had gathered, and whittled them into skewers before handing them over to Pecorine.
"Here you go, Miss Pecorine."
"Oh — is this the Hero's power? Pulling tools out of thin air like that."
Pecorine took the skewers and began threading the washed mushrooms onto them one by one, then angled them beside the fire to roast slowly in the residual heat.
She had learned that lesson the hard way during her travels — hold food directly over an open flame and you'd end up with charcoal every time.
"It's not really a Hero's power — just a little device for storing things." Jhin finished carving enough skewers in short order, then moved over to Kokkoro's side to help her with the rest of the ingredients.
"Master, I can handle all of this myself." Kokkoro watched Jhin chop and prep with a skill that clearly surpassed her own, and her sense of self dissolved entirely. She was supposed to be his dedicated guide — and right now she felt thoroughly unqualified for the role.
Seeing her face cycle through an expression of pure, helpless bewilderment, Jhin couldn't help himself. He reached over and gave the top of her head a gentle pat, his smile easy and warm. "I already said — we're family. It doesn't matter who does what."
"You two have only just met and you're already this close — I'm honestly jealous." Pecorine watched the warm, domestic little exchange with a soft smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. There was something about the way they were together that she genuinely envied.
"Because Kokkoro is a good kid."
"Master..." Kokkoro's cheeks bloomed pink. The headpat felt far too nice, and she knew it — which was exactly why she forced herself to stay alert, puffing up with indignation. "I am not a child anymore. By elven reckoning, I am one hundred and ten years old in human years!"
"Then Kokkoro is a good girl," Jhin said without missing a beat, and began ruffling her silky white hair with even greater enthusiasm.
Kokkoro's head drooped. She pressed her hands between her knees and squirmed, her pointy elven ears — a dead giveaway for any elf — already flushed a deep, unmistakable pink. A soft, mortified sound escaped her, somewhere between a whimper and a whine:
"Auu~"
"The food looks like it's done — shouldn't we..." Pecorine wiped a small, involuntary trickle from the corner of her mouth and gently reminded the two of them.
"R-right, let's eat! Master, Miss Pecorine — I'll serve the soup!" Kokkoro shot to her feet like a spark and put as much distance between herself and Jhin as the campsite would allow.
That headpat was absolutely terrifying. I lost myself completely without even realizing it. I must never let him pat my head during anything important — that's a surefire way to ruin everything.
Jhin watched Kokkoro flee his "clutches" with a helpless, amused laugh, then picked up a skewer of grilled mushrooms fragrant with their earthy aroma and bit into one.
The rich, savory depth of the mushrooms bloomed across his palate — tender yet springy, filling the mouth with a satisfying chew. It hit a hunger he hadn't even fully registered, and with his body screaming for fuel on top of that, an entire skewer was gone in two or three bites.
"Mmm~ These grilled mushrooms are so good!" Pecorine's face was the very portrait of bliss. She cradled one cheek in her free hand and swayed gently from side to side in a small, happy rhythm.
Two bottomless pits demolished the entire supply of grilled mushrooms in the time it took Kokkoro to ladle out the soup. Jhin had set one skewer aside for Kokkoro — a quiet little gesture that Pecorine noticed without comment, though it nudged her opinion of him noticeably higher.
Someone who could remember to save food for a companion even while half-starved was someone who genuinely valued the people around them.
"Master, Miss Pecorine — your soup is ready. ...Wait, the mushrooms are already gone? That was fast."
Jhin took his wooden bowl and nudged Kokkoro to sit down. "I saved you a skewer — it's really good, try it."
"Thank you, Master." Kokkoro accepted the skewer. She wasn't particularly hungry, so she nibbled at it slowly, savoring each small bite.
The other two were considerably less refined about it. They blew on the steaming soup just enough to keep from scalding themselves, tipped the bowls back in a few large gulps, swiped the corners of their mouths with the backs of their hands, and immediately reached for the rice balls. The palm-sized onigiri had been crisped over the fire on one side to a golden, fragrant shell that smelled of toasted rice — just looking at them was enough to make the stomach growl.
In less than ten minutes, every bit of food Kokkoro had prepared was gone. She herself had finished one mushroom skewer and one bowl of soup.
Jhin pressed a hand to his stomach — still only about thirty percent full. Unlike Pecorine, who was clearly making a conscious effort to hold back, he had zero intention of suffering through hunger quietly. He spoke up without hesitation. "I'm not full yet. Kokkoro — how far is the nearest city from here?"
"Very far. If we set out now, we'd probably arrive late at night."
"Then forget it. Let's look around nearby for something to hunt — starving isn't a solution."
Left to her own devices, Pecorine could have sprinted back to the city easily enough with the help of her equipment. But she wasn't on her own right now — and after mooching a meal off Jhin and Kokkoro, she couldn't possibly have the gall to just run off alone to a proper restaurant. When Jhin's suggestion landed exactly where she needed it, she threw both hands up in enthusiastic agreement.
"I know which monsters around here have the best meat — let me lead the way!"
"Tonight's dinner is in your hands, Miss Pecorine."
"Leave it to me!" Pecorine declared with a confident thump to her generously-endowed chest. After the three of them cleaned up the makeshift campsite, she immediately took point, leading them at a brisk pace toward the forest in the distance.
Deep Forest Boars had a small habitat out there. She'd found the sheer numbers of the herd a bit much to handle solo before — but with two companions now, they'd definitely be able to come back loaded down.
"Those two... they still haven't split up?"
A shadowy figure concealed in the tall grass at a distance twitched the fluffy cat ears atop its head and stamped its foot in irritation.
"Not that I can be blamed for any of this. You're the ones who chose to stay near that person. If you end up dead — go ahead and curse him for it."
____
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