Rice for Enoch's Second Expeditionary Unit

Chapter 01: The Blessings of the Forest in the middle of a Wild Bandit's Group

How did this happen?
That though crosses my mind again as I look at the bandits in front of me - no, I mean... as I look at the faces of these knights.

In this deep forest, is where they had been relentlessly hunting monsters.
After all, that is the mission of Enoch's Second Expeditionary Force.

"Well, how many did we kill this time?"

The captain asked the Vice-Captain, Miss Berly.

"Captain Rudetink: twenty, I have seven, Gal eleven, and Urgas five."

"At this rate, we'll be done by tomorrow. Hey, rabbit, keep track of the numbers."

A big, bearded, strong man commanded me.
That man is the chief of the bandits... 'the chief of the knights' ... the captain of Enoch's Second Expeditionary Unit.

I let out a hefty sigh and wrote down the numbers in my notebook.
The number of monsters defeated today is...

"Wild Hare, you're of great help."

"I'm not a hare, I'm Mel! My family name is Squirrelly."

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Rice for Enoch's Second Expeditionary Unit

Chapter 02: Wild bird spear skewers

After saying that I wouldn't be able to sleep in the open... I didn't count ten stars before falling asleep.
But it was only because I was so tired!

In the morning, I went to the lake to wash my face with Vice Captain, Berly.

This lake, that has the water fairy's blessing is so clear and beautiful.... The water I scooped up by hand and drank, it was delicious.

I poured some water into my helmet, saving it to prepare breakfast and left.

"Oh, stray rosemary!"

In the woods, we discover an aromatic herb.
"The pale blue small flowers, yes! It's stray rosemary"

With its pale blue flowers, has a clean but strong flavor and, is a great addition to soups and meat dishes.
They are also used to remove disgusting odors.
There were a lot of them growing there, so I didn't hesitate to pick them.

The second-in-command, Vice Captain Belly, spoke to me in a sincere manner.

"Doctor Squirrelly, you're really amazing," he said, "it's just a wildflower to me. In my eyes, they're all the same"

"Our daily lives depended on it!!"

I've been told that I was the fastest at discovering and picking herbs up.
Is it too fast for you? It's hard to underestimate the poverty-survival skills that have been ingrained in me over the past eighteen years.

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Rice for Enoch's Second Expeditionary Unit

Chapter 03: Disgusting dried meat

After the mission of two days ended, we returned to the Knights' dormitories.
My only thought were that I wanted to take a bath as soon as possible, because I've been sleeping in the open with mud and bugs.

The Captain ordered us "to disperse" in front of the Knights' gate, but moments later he called me, when I was about to follow Vice-Captain Berly back to the women's dormitories.

"Hey, Wild Rabbit"
"Yes?"

I responded to him by mistake, but I'm not a wild rabbit! I'm Mel Squirrelly!

"Are you angry for some reason?"

"The captain got my name wrong, A headless wild bird appeared in front of me by surprise. Oh, and he picked my ears with his fingertips to make fun of them. Yes, it was very uncomfortable."

"Oh, that's...!"

He said, "I'm sorry" in a voice almost inaudible.

As I'm a very generous person, I'll forgive him.
Still, I was surprised that he was worried about me.
In my mind, I apologized for calling him "bandit chief" and after saying "goodbye" finally went to the women dormitories.

The bath was already heated by the dorm maid.

A large tub full of hot water. What a luxury!

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Rice for Enoch's Second Expeditionary Unit

Chapter 04: Dried wild boar and pork

Together with Urgas, we headed to the market to buy something.
I was actually nervous because it was my first time in the market in the royal capital.
There were many pickpockets, so I heard, that's the reason why I put a string attached to my purse and clutched it in front of my chest.

"Doctor Squirrelly, it's fine. No one will pickpocket a knight."

"Mmmm, I don't know"

People who steal from others are in a cornered state of mind and you never know what they'll do.
You can never be too careful.
　
Besides, the content of my purse is the result of my effort saving up for so many years, I earned it by using my neighbors' borrowed books instead of buying.
What I'm trying to say is... There's money on it! To let it go for a moment, it's dangerous.

About a thirty-minute walk from the knights dormitories, we arrived at the market district in the royal capital.
The goods are displayed on platforms under tents.
The sight of the shops lined up in many rows was a sight to behold.

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Rice for Enoch's Second Expeditionary Unit

Chapter 05: Steak wrapped in pie

The cleaning and drying of the meat is finally over for today.

It will take about ten days to finish the process, and I sincerely hope that we don't get called to a next expedition until then.

It seems that there are different kinds of tasks that are assigned to us according our unit.

Sometimes, we are ordered to go to slay demons with no time to rest, and sometimes it takes a whole month to complete the task.

Tomorrow I'm going to bake bread with my natural yeast.
I want to use a kitchen stove, but I wonder if I can find someone who will lend me one.
The cafeteria have one but it will be difficult to ask them if they can rent it to me.

Being able to increase the variety of preserved food, is something I greatly desire now.
Bread and dried meat only is not enough.

Dried fruit cakes, biscuits, etc. Food that can be conserved for a long time.
It would be delicious to apply jam or liver pate on bread. But will the jars be too much baggage?　
If we have some vegetables in oil or something like that, so we wouldn't have to worry about suffering nutritional deficiency.

Oh, and bivalves in oil would be nice too! So delicious!!

For the Forest Elves, seafood from the sea is a luxury.
I wonder if it can be obtained some cheaply in the market, next time I'll check that out.

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