Volume 9 Chapter 2 Family Service
"Tomorrow's a holiday!"
I returned to my lodge, and we started talking about tomorrow's plans during dinner.
Cirrul suddenly broke into a bright smile, looking like a cheerful young girl her age.
"So, tomorrow's a whole day off, and we can spend it together, right?"
"That's right."
"Yes! I'm so excited!"
She seemed really happy.
Come to think of it, Cirrul usually spends most of the day cooped up in her room doing her job. It must get lonely.
And since it's a rare holiday, I didn't want to let her spend it like usual.
Maybe I should try out this "family service" thing.
"So, Cirrul, do you have any plans for tomorrow..."
"Nope."
"Uh, do you have any work..."
"Nope."
"Okay, got it."
Her quick responses were a bit scary.
"Well, in that case, why don't we go to the forest together?"
"A forest date!?"
Cirrul jumped up with a loud "Thud!".
"...? Well, I was thinking we could do some things that'll be useful for the future."
"Useful things for the future!?"
"Yeah. You're like family to me, Cirrul."
"Family!?"
"So, I thought I'd teach you all sorts of things you don't know."
"All sorts of things!?"
"Y-yeah, that's right."
"I understand! I'll get ready right away!"
"Uh, we're not going until tomorrow, though."
"I just can't sit still!"
Cirrul started packing her bags, leaving her dinner untouched.
Her tension was really high. If she's this happy, I should've done this sooner.
Family service. Maybe I stumbled upon something good.
'...What's good about that, I wonder?'
Juju snatched Cirrul's dinner while making a silly face.
"What's good about what?"
'I don't know, so it's fine... Yawn'
Juju started scratching her back and crawled into a miniature bed she made out of a basket.
She must've gotten sleepy after eating dinner. Her carefree lifestyle is really enviable.
"Sir Noroa! I'm all ready!"
"Ah, you're quick."
"I prepared for this a long time ago, just in case!"
"Are you an esper or something?"
But, I thought I'd try a family service.
My actions are already anticipated a few steps ahead, it's like I'm making a declaration of intent.
Well, if she's excited about it, that's fine.
...Better than being hated, I suppose.
* * *
"――So, the tent setup has 2 main ways to do it. We should avoid setting up near the river because of the risk of flash floods. And then, we'll scatter iron powder to repel monsters and garlic vinegar to keep away beasts and insects around us..."
In a forest a little ways away from Ravenyard.
I was lecturing on how to set up a tent, and Cirrul timidly raised her hand.
"Um, Sir Noroa?"
"What is it?"
"Isn't this, like, an adventurer's lecture or something?"
"That's exactly why we came here."
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Cirrul looked puzzled.
It's funny. I guess it didn't get through to her.
"Just to make sure, I'll say it again ―― from now on, we're going to learn about adventuring."
"S-so..."
It's for Cirrul's benefit.
When I thought about it, all I could think of was teaching her about adventuring.
After all, Cirrul's an adventurer too, and teaching her about adventuring know-how would be beneficial for her future. Well, it's not just for adventurers ―― it's useful knowledge for any traveler.
Even though I was a G-Rank not too long ago, I have nearly 10 years of experience in adventuring. I'm a veteran, in a way.
So, I can teach her about the tricks of adventuring.
When I explained it carefully, Cirrul's eyes welled up with tears for some reason.
"Waa, I got scolded by Sir Noroa again..."
"I'm not scolding you."
I'm not doing that kind of Spartan education. I'm the type who praises and encourages.
"Well, if you're tired, let's take a break. We've walked quite a bit, after all."
"Eh? I'm still fine, though..."
"The trick to taking breaks is to take them before you get tired."
If you get tired first, it takes longer to recover your energy, and you might not be able to move when it counts.
So, I don't want to push her too hard from the start. Especially for beginners, she hasn't grasped her own performance yet, so she's prone to getting hurt if she overdoes it.
That's why I decided to take a break in the newly set up tent.
Even when adventurers rest, they do it with full power.
While keeping an eye on our surroundings, I kept my knees bent, ready to move at any moment.
"Uh, um..."
On the other hand, Cirrul seemed tense due to the unfamiliar outdoor experience, fidgeting with her hair. She kept changing her sitting position, looking restless.
"...Hmm"
She closed her eyes, looking determined, and then bumped her shoulders against mine.
"...~~~"
Cirrul's face turned bright red, as if it was burning.
"A, au... Sir Noroa, this is..."
"It's okay. I understand without you saying it."
"Eh?! That..."
"You're keeping your body warm by sticking close to me."
"......"
Indeed, Cirrul's thinking was correct.
Even during breaks, it's crucial not to let your body cool down.
If your body cools down, your movements will become sluggish, and that's a basic rule for adventurers.
I didn't teach her that yet, but she's already aware of it. She's got potential.
"A, um..."
Cirrul glanced at me with a flicker of her eyes.
"...It's just the two of you, isn't it?"
"Eh, Juju and the twins are here too? They're all tired and sleeping."
"......"
"Ah, that's right. The water bottle is empty. I'll go get some water."
I'm a considerate guy, after all.
I headed towards the nearby river, filling the pot with water from the fastest-flowing part.
Then, I used a cloth with charcoal to filter out the impurities and poured the water into the bottle.
"Can we drink river water?"
"Yeah. I think it's okay, but you're not used to it, so you might get symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or bloody stools."
"Huh?"
Cirrul's movements came to a sudden halt.
"Vomiting, diarrhea, bloody stools..."
"Oh, it's okay. I have recovery medicine."
"That's different from what I know as 'okay'..."
Well, it's unavoidable that there's resistance. But this is also part of the training. I need to toughen up my heart.
"Cirrul. What's the next most important thing for an adventurer after equipment, do you know?"
"Is it true love?"
"Uh, no."
Not even a hint of hesitation.
"The correct answer is being able to go on an adventure."
"Being able to go on an adventure?"
"Yeah, it's about survival ability. Being able to obtain food and water in any environment and survive is crucial."
To defeat monsters, one might have to wander around in dungeons or forests for days. An adventurer's specialty is fighting, but if they can't survive until then, it's meaningless. Even if they're alive, they can't defeat monsters if they're starving.
"In other words, having resistance to raw water is essential."
"...Huh?"
Water is something one can't judge just by looking at it.
Thinking "oh, animals drink it, so it's safe" or "there are fish and insects, so it's clean" is just a false sense of security.
Just because it's clear doesn't mean one can let their guard down, and whether or not they get sick from it varies from person to person. If it's contaminated with animal feces or corpses, they might get sick from water they've been drinking until now.
But people can't always be boiling water, either.
There are water purification tools, but they're mostly for nobles... At the very least, they can't survive without drinking from a flowing river.
That's why training to resist raw water is like a rite of passage for adventurers.
"Sir Noroa, teach me just one thing."
Eventually, Cirrul asks with a determined look.
"――Do you like girls who have diarrhea?"
"Huh?"
"Do you get excited when you see a girl with diarrhea... or something?"
Wait, am I being suspected of having a scatological fetish?
"No, I don't have any abnormal interests like that."
"So, are you going to start liking them from now on...?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
In the end, I decided to just boil the water normally.
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