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It’s morning.

Hmmm… So sleepy… And I’m the first one to wake up again. Hey, it would be impossible for these guys to go on an outing and camp, right? Won’t they die?

I guess they could make do with their utmost effort… Huh? When I calmed down and thought about it, they only had that one wracked tent. If I didn’t accompany them, would they die? Wah, I did well for accompanying them! For real!

It would be dangerous for those children not thinking far ahead like this, so I had to scold them later.

Leaving that aside, I left the carriage and got ready. Well, all I did was a simple [Washing].

By the way, I guarded myself with a hood outside the carriage all the time. I also had a muffler to protect my mouth. With my long bangs and glasses, my guard was as impregnable as an iron wall.

Ah, right. I couldn’t just use my cloak in this cold weather, so I improvised it into an overcoat last night. It had two layers, and I could put my arms out. It’s something like an inverse cape. If I wore a standard cloak on this snowy day, my clothes would get wet when I raised my hand…

I hadn’t noticed it at all. I was too stupid… You see, I usually secluded myself in the rainy days after all… But I didn’t have any reason to go out on a rainy day, so it couldn’t be helped.

I scanned my surroundings lightly, slightly depressed because of my stupidity. The snowfall had decreased a lot in the middle of the night, but the snow had piled considerably. Now that I think of it, it was hard to open the carriage door.

For the time being, I stored the snow around the carriage and the tents surrounding the bonfire into my [Storage], so we could move out here easily later.

Hmm, the tents were almost piled up with snow. They didn’t die from the cold, right…? But they wore clothes resistant to cold… Anyway, if they were alive, they would come out once they woke up.

For the time being, I set a fire on the bonfire and boiled water in the kettle. I boiled not only one, but three kettles. Since we had nine people, the water would immediately disappear if they asked for the second servings of tea.

The horses were also buried… Let’s do something about the surrounding snow while waiting until the water boiled. However, there were some carriages with large tents in the distance. I could also see many caravans other than us, so there were actually many people here.

It wouldn’t be strange if they already woke up. Instead of using [Storage], I used fire magic and wind magic to generate hot water and melt the snow.

In the meantime, I gave Norn and Bell their breakfast. Today’s meal was a chunk of cooked orc meat. Telling them to hunt in the snow was ‌harsh, you know? They wanted to go, but they put up with me since I wanted them to guard us.

Ryuu woke up when I had completely melted the snow around the carriage. This guy sure woke up early in the morning, huh. Well, it’s good. Maybe he’s suited to guard the night.

“Oh, good morning, Ren.”
“Good morning. You’re early as usual.”
“Yeah. I practiced swinging the wooden sword I received from you before breakfast, so I completely got used to getting up early. But what should I do today…”
“I think you shouldn’t practice today. Your sweat will cool your body, making you catch a cold.”
“Hmm, you got a point… It can’t be helped. I’ll give that up during the trip.”

I started to slowly prepare the breakfast while having small talk and making the fire in the bonfire bigger. Ryuu also got dressed as he chatted with me… I glanced at Ryuu, noticing the short sword on his waist.

“You’re equipping your sword? Where’s the other one?”
“We’re outdoors now, so we should be vigilant, right? Maybe this is meaningless since there are Ren’s familiars. Bringing the longer one everywhere will hinder my movement, so I’m putting it with my luggage. But I bring it to the tent when it’s time to camp.”

Oh, he had been thinking a lot… Good boy.

“Ah, are you preparing breakfast? Do you have enough wood? Should I bring some for you?”
“The firewoods collected yesterday are still enough, so it’s okay. More than that, please help me cook this.”
“Eh? Me? Are you fine with me?”
“Everyone is preparing the meals ‌right? Please think of helping me as a way to gain experience.”
“Uhh… I understand. I’ll do my best.”
“Do you have anything you want to eat?”
“Eh? Anything I want to eat?”
“Yes. You can also tell me if there’s anything you want to try.”
“Can I? Really!?”
“Yes.”
“Eh, then what should I choose… I’m fine with whatever you cooked before, um… Ah, but I’d love to try the ones you talked about too.”

Hm, there were too many choices ‌I became troubled. It would take time, so let’s make something adequately. For the time being, they had to eat a lot so they could keep their physical strength in this cold weather… I know, let’s make the meatball soup I made some time ago.

“Ryuu, please make minced meat with this.”
“Oh? Okay… Are you making that soup?”
“Yes.”
“That was ‌delicious…”

Ryuu minced the meat, chopped the vegetables, and heated the pot with a grin. Hmm, I could cook rice, but…

“Ryuu, do you guys bring any bread?”
“Hmm? We bring some hard-baked bread.”

Then let’s go with that. I’m also eating bread. What’s left was the side dish…

“Have you decided on what you want to eat?”
“Ummmmmmm… There are too many things ‌I want to eat, and there are many foods I don’t know how to describe…”
“… Then, how about the meat sandwich that I made when I watched your study before?”
“Ah! Sure! That was fantastic! Then let’s go with that!”

Yup. I took out my frying pan and prepared this and that. Ryuu, who had nothing to do, brought the bread for everyone’s share and sliced them… I could see that he put a lot of effort into focusing since there wasn’t a hint of clumsiness from him.

I rolled the thinly sliced meat and soaked it in the ginger sauce, then I fried the meatballs and added them to the soup. What’s left was simmering them.

When I was going to grill another batch of meat, Triela and Maricle woke up at the same time.

“Good morning, both of you.”
“Huh? It’s not just Ren, but Ryuu?”
“… Ryuu, are you helping her?”
“Oh, morning. I’ll do it when I have to, you know!”
“… Did you do it properly? I’m worried…”
“Aren’t you too heartless, Maricle!?”
“I’m the one who did the seasoning, so it’s fine. I asked Ryuu to help me do the preparations… The way he handled the blade is better than I expected.”
“Uu… I never thought you would praise Ryuu… No way, I have to work harder.”
“Triela is also heartless…”

Ohh, Ryuu’s eyes become teary. But he did a lot of stupid things in the past, so he should have expected this reaction, okay?

As we continued making breakfast, all the girls woke up. We then finished preparing the meal. Maricle kicked Cain and Boman who were still sleeping, and it’s now breakfast time. Everyone looked satisfied since they could eat a lot in the morning.

By the way, while I was preparing the meal, the people from the caravans around us woke up and started organizing a lot of things. A few of them glanced at us with eyes full of envy. It’s probably because of the smell. I understand.

After finishing the meal, I distributed the tea and started scolding them.

I preached on how they looked down on the situation and poorly prepared for the journey for over thirty minutes. Everyone was looking down at the ground with teary eyes, but that wasn’t enough. I mean, they were all almost dead, okay? Did they really understand?

“When we’re back home, please bow your head to Gim and ask him to teach you how to camp. You should practice how to keep watch during the night, too. In the first place, we are going on a long trip in winter. You…”
“Hey, hey. Miss, that’s enough! I think they all already understand.”

… Who? An uncle with a beard? He looks like an escort of a caravan.

“… I don’t think it’s enough.”
“No way, you have been scolding them for around an hour, you know? They all have teary eyes now, so you don’t have to do it that much, right?”
“… You’re right. Then I’ll stop here. Did you all understand?”
“We’ll reflect on it…”
“I’m sorry…”
“Sorry…”

Hmm, did they really understand?

“Hahaha! Her scolding was harsh, but all I heard from her was the truth, understand? It’s ‌rare to find someone who will worry about you that much, so you kids have to thank her, okay?”
“Yes, we understand…”