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“…Nya.”
“This should be good enough, right?”
“Mn~”

Sufi puffed out her chest smugly while Noche, skeptical, started unpacking the bag. It looked like Sufi had focused on gathering edible plants that grew in abundance nearby… basically scooping up everything she could find.

There were stems you could eat—slightly bitter but good for digestion. Round, potato-like tubers that grew near large trees. Most of the mushrooms were common, edible varieties too.

However…

“Sufi, this one’s poisonous. So are these two.”
“What!? No way!”

I flicked the poisonous tuber and mushrooms aside.

“Huh? But I double-checked—they’re forest tubers and red-caps!”

A forest tuber is an edible plant that grows underground in forests—like a tiny potato. When cooked, it’s fluffy and tasty, but eating it raw can upset your stomach. It’s recognizable by the distinctive triangular leaves sticking out of the ground.

Red-cap is a mushroom that’s edible but not commonly eaten in this area. It has a subtle sweetness and a red-tinged cap, just like its name suggests. But there’s a look-alike poisonous variety with nearly identical coloring growing nearby.

“Here, look.”

I scraped the skin of the tuber with my fingernail—it revealed a faint green hue. There’s a poisonous variety that looks nearly identical, except for the slightly greenish skin.

As for the mushroom… tearing it open revealed red all the way through. The real red-cap only has red on the surface and white on the inside. This one was the poisonous twin.

“No waaay… I checked so carefully…”

Sufi’s once-proudly raised tail drooped in disappointment. Still, the fact that she had gathered this much in such a short time and only had a few mistakes was honestly impressive.

As far as I could see, everything else in the bag was edible.

These two particular ingredients were notorious—even experienced foragers sometimes got them wrong. That’s why people usually avoided them altogether.

“C-can you really eat all this, nya? You sure you didn’t just grab stuff at random?”

Noche had apparently rebooted her brain and was watching us with open suspicion. Understandable, since this was a matter of trust.

“Our grandpa was an alchemist. I *know* what I’m doing.”
“Nyaa……”
“Sufi, you’re amazing… What about this? Is it edible too?”
“Nope, that one’s medicinal.”

Noche said nothing, just stared at the massive pile of gathered greens. Meanwhile, Filia held a bundle of long, narrow blue-green stalks tied with a thin stem.

“Sufi, you got aserica leaves too?”
“Yep! Found some.”

When crushed raw, aserica leaves can be used for external injuries. If dried in the sun and brewed as a powder, it helps with stomachaches. It’s a versatile medicinal plant often just called “herbs” because of how common it is.

This world has magic, but there are also potions that heal when applied or consumed. The recipe for medicine made from aserica leaves was established ages ago.

According to Grandpa, it was a top-selling item at the Alchemist Guild. If you could make this, you’d never go hungry.

“You can use it, right Alice?”
“…Maybe not without the tools.”
“Aww… right…”

Turning it into a proper medicine required specialized equipment.

We had been stripped of nearly everything, fleeing here with just the clothes on our backs. All I could really do was crush the leaves and apply them directly to a wound. That much, anyone could manage.

So… yeah. I’m still useless.

“Well, anyway—this is what I brought back!”

Sufi puffed out her chest again and looked directly at Noche, who was frozen in place.

“…Tsk. Well, looks like the older sister’s at least somewhat useful.”
“Alice is too—!”
“Sufi, it’s fine.”

Honestly, right now, I wasn’t useful. That was just the plain truth. No point denying it.

“Rrgh—Say it! My sister too! Staying here! Right!?”
“……………Hmph. I’ll allow it, nya.”

With arms crossed and head turned away, Noche muttered her reluctant acceptance—and just like that, things were finally settled. Thanks to Sufi, it looked like everything had smoothed over.

“Sufi, you’re amazing. If you can do all this… the two of you might’ve been fine on your own.”
“…It’d be hard.”

I replied before I realized Filia had been talking to herself while holding a forest tuber.

“Huh?”
“Sufi could make it out by herself if she was alone, but she can’t leave me all by myself…”

Filia seemed trustworthy enough, and Noche hadn’t resorted to violence. So Sufi had judged it safe to move around alone for a short time.

If I weren’t by her side, she could use magic freely, run from monsters, chase prey—none of it would be a problem.

It hurt to admit it, but right now, I was just dead weight to her.

Even so, I knew Sufi would never abandon me. That’s why having allies and a safe base was a huge win for her.

“If I’m in a place where I can rest, then Sufi can move around freely.”
“…I see. Sufi really cares about her sister.”
“Of course! She’s my one and only little sister!”

Sufi answered proudly, chest puffed out again.

She’s also my one and only big sister. No matter how much my past-life memories return or how hazy my sense of self becomes, that’s the one thing that will never change. In fact… now that I’ve calmed down, I find myself clinging even more to the idea of family—the thing I always longed for.

“…Oh right—thank you for this.”
“Huh?”

Since we had a moment of quiet, I decided to thank her before I forgot. That cloth she’d placed over me earlier—it was ragged, but fabric was precious.
I held it out to return it to Filia.

“Ah, that…”
“Filia! It’s late, but we need lunch! And you, little sister! You’re helping, nya!”

Noche cut Filia off before she could finish. Well, I’d managed to return the cloth and say thank you, so I guess it was fine.

“Okay~! …Alice, can you help?”
“Yeah.”

I nodded. Back in my previous life, my hobbies were games, crafting, and cooking. I wasn’t sure how much would carry over to this world, but I hoped I could put some of that knowledge to use.

Right now, I wasn’t really good for much else.

“I’ll help too!”
“Sufi, you worked hard gathering all that stuff. Take a break.”

I gently stopped Sufi, who looked like she wanted to join in. Just this once, I wanted a chance to pull my own weight. I’m not some clingy little wolf who expects to be carried all the time.

So we got to work cooking in the ruined building, even though we didn’t even have a proper washing area. After much struggle, we managed to make “grilled mushrooms and vegetables.” Just starting the fire had been a pain.

There was a lot of it, so Sufi and the others seemed satisfied, but I couldn’t be totally happy. My past-life memories reminded me of how much better food could be.

Turns out, most of my cooking skill had relied on the conveniences of modern civilization.

…Guess I’d better start gathering spices too.