“Nn… This room looks good enough, I think. What do you say, Sis?”
“Seems fine to me.”
“Nn, then let’s use this one.”

Not like there was much difference between all the rooms anyway. They were all approximately the same size, after all. The only real difference was how far down the hallway you had to go. In other words, it was negligible.

“... We don’t have enough time to clean this place, do we?” asked Karen.
“I don’t think so.”

Karen put her hands on the nearby wall, patting away some of the dirt that was stuck on it.

“We don’t even have anything to clean with down here. And I’d rather get this done with quickly.”
“I guess so…”

Having been left unused for two-hundred odd years, the room wasn’t in a very clean state. It could be much worse, though. The dirt and dust were unpleasant, but that was also all.

“Nn, let’s get this over with quickly and get back to Mrs Korwen.”

I approached the wall opposite the door and pulled out the mana orbs we had brought along. Squatting down, I placed one of them on the ground.

“Well then, here we go.”

I took hold of its internal mana and used it to grow the tentacles. Seconds later, the pink appendages spread out in front of me, covering the wall. The mana orb was more than enough to grow the tentacles until they covered the wall. If I were to convert this into a door, it was just large enough for Korwen to walk through without hitting his head.

“And next is the door…”

Once I gave the tentacles the necessary instructions, the familiar smooth surface formed, replacing the tentacle growth.

“Nn, I’m done.”
“That was fast.”
“Well, there’s not really that much I have to do, after all. This is easy.”

Once I knew how things worked, it was only a matter of getting used to it.

“That’s not very convincing coming from you, Yumi…”
“...”

How kind my beloved sister was to me. Warms the heart.

“Whatever… We’re done with this now.”

The next part would be the actually difficult one anyway. I wasn’t very confident I would be able to connect this place and Melfin. If it worked the same way it did with the one connecting the fort and the camp, then fine… but if it became more difficult because of the distance? I had no idea… But then again, it was premature to say how it’d go. This was, after all, an experiment. The problems that would come up… Well, that was one bridge I’d have to cross then and there, didn’t I?

“By the way, Yumi…”
“Nn?”
“Can you connect the doors when one of them is moving?”
“... Well, I wonder.”

Now that she mentioned it, that had been on my mind as well. This was a pretty good time to test that, wasn’t it?

“Nn, should I make one and connect it with our wagon? A small one, of course.”

Not one where you could walk through. Definitely not. The last thing I needed was a random guest appearing through that door in our wagon. I could already see myself dying from shock if that came to pass.

“Mm. That would be good.”
“Well then. Let me do that quick.”

I took a step back, staring at the wall for a few seconds. I didn’t want one that was large enough to pass through, but it should be big enough to pass small things through. In that case, keeping it at a height that was comfortable to pass things through should be fine.

No need to squat down and push things through a tiny hole near the floor. This isn’t like a gap in a regular door where you push letters through, all secretive… Actually, do people even do that?

I didn’t know… Probably not. Not like it mattered anyway. I chased away the random thoughts and decided on a spot around the height of my chest, right next to the other door. After I grew some tentacles there, I made them form the all-too-familiar door, just large enough for my hands to pass through.

“And that’s it.”
“Good job, Yumi.”
“Nn, praise me more.”
“Yes, yes. You did well.”

Karen’s hand ruffled my hair while she gave me a wry smile.

“I grow on praise, so do it more.”
“You’re a plant now?”
“... Maybe?”

Though I wasn’t very green. Not that I wanted to.

“Mm… Maybe we should water you?”
“That won’t work. I only grow on praises. With Sis’ praises in particular.”
“What a particular plant you are.”

Yes, very particular.

“But I’m fairly sure you won’t grow anymore, no matter how much I praise you.”
“Who knows, maybe I will? You just have to try it.”
“...”

Now, that was one sceptical gaze if I ever saw one.

“I wish you good luck.”
“... Thanks.”

Farewell, my heart’s nourishment… Farewell, my only hope for growing taller.

“Maybe Miss Yumias can help you out?”
“If anything, I have the feeling she’d just make me even smaller.”
“Smaller…”

Karen stared at me, with a long and intense gaze.

“... Sis, no. That’s bad.”
“What?”

Karen tilted her head, confused for several seconds before she finally understood what I was implying.

“Don’t worry, Yumi. You’re fine the way you are. I was just wondering what you’d look like if you were smaller.”
“Huh…”

Well, if that was all, it was fine.

“So, what did you think?”
“It would be cute.”
“I see…”

Cute, huh… She already called me cute quite often so, honestly, I was wondering what difference it would make.

“Now I wish I could have seen a younger Yumi…”
“... Just for the record, a younger me wouldn’t have been… a girl like me.”

I whispered the last part, just in case someone could overhear us.

“... Oh. You’re right. I completely forgot about that.”
“...”

Now, how should I even feel about that? Should I take it as a compliment that I was acclimating to my new life? Or that I was simply not manly at all?

Not that I had been manly even before that. At least, I don’t think so…

Either way, it sure gave me a few… complicated feelings.

“That’s a problem… I want to see a small Yumi… but I am a little interested in the previous Yumi…”
“... Well, I’m glad you’re curious, but I have no way of showing you either.”
“I guess so…”

Karen looked a little crestfallen at this realisation. But it wasn’t possible, as unfortunate as it was for her.

“Maybe I should ask Miss Yumias, after all?”
“... Please spare me.”

No good could come out of that. If I had learnt one thing about that one, it was that she wouldn’t turn down a chance to mess around.

“Hehe, I’m sure it’ll be fun.”
“For you maybe.”

Suddenly, I was pulled into Karen’s embrace.

“Don’t worry, I’ll remember every little thing about you from her.”
“Now, that only makes me worry even more.”

A shudder ran through my spine from the thought. Yumias telling Karen about me? I had the vague feeling that that couldn’t go well. I had a feeling she might let something about my past slip but I also had the feeling that whatever it would be wasn’t going to be something I would want to remember… Or, to say it in simpler words… It was bound to be something troublesome.

“Yumi.”
“Nn?”
“I know you don’t like Miss Yumias all that much… but I think she is trying to help you as much as she can.”
“If she was, why won’t she just straight-up tell me what is going on?”
“I don’t know… maybe she can’t?”

But what could even stop her? She was so powerful, she fought a war against the great spirits. On her own. And she was still around to tell the tale so it clearly hadn’t done her in either.

“I think… she simply has her own troubles and problems to deal with.”
“Nn… You think so?”
“Yes.”
“...”

Karen’s hand gently stroked my head. She didn’t say anything, only patting me.

“Haa… I’ll try to be a little nicer to her…”
“Mm, I knew you were a good girl, Yumi.”

Karen tightened her embrace, both her arms pressing me into her bosom.

“I can’t promise anything, though. She does mess around with me all the time, after all.”
“That’s fine. I’m sure it’ll go well.”
“...”

Just where was that confidence coming from? I had no idea…

But Yumias having her own problems to deal with? I guess she… did mention a few things…

Right then, the image of the sulphur city came up in my mind. The bag with her sister’s name on it.

She really might have her own problems…

I sighed internally, unsure what to think about it. Yumias was far too much of an enigma for me. I still didn’t know what her intentions were.

“Oh well, no point in thinking about it too much, is there?”
“Yumi?”
“Nothing… Sis, should we go back?”
“That’s fine with me, but…”

Karen looked at me, her face betraying her confusion.

“I just wondered a little about Yumias… intentions… and all that. Nothing much.”
“I see. If that’s all…”
“Nn. So? Should we go back?”
“Sure.”

Great. Our preparations were done already, so there was nothing keeping us here anyway. Except for… Well…

“Sis? If we go back, you’ll have to let go of me.”
“Mmm…”

As reluctant as I was to leave Karen’s embrace, I couldn’t exactly walk like this.

“... Sis?”

Yet, for some reason, I wasn’t getting a reply. Then, just as I wanted to call out to her again. Karen loosened her embrace, only to crouch down… and lift me up?

“Sis?!”

My viewpoint suddenly rose by quite a bit as Karen lifted me in her arms. I wondered for a second whether this wasn’t difficult for her, then remembered how strong she was. No way my weight would even so much as bother her. That still didn’t solve the problem that she was carrying me in her arms.

“Okay, let’s go back.”
”Ehh… Sis? Are we going back like this?”
“Yes.”
“...”

Karen grinned at me, like a child having succeeded at their prank.

“Guess I got no choice...”
“That’s right.”

A giggle escaped her. With my viewpoint so high up, I had to look down for a change. Seeing Karen from a higher viewpoint was… different.

“Off we go.”
“Ahh…”

At least, one of us had motivation to spare. With me in her arms, she promptly walked through the door and the hallway, followed by the large hall and then through the tentacle door. Meanwhile, the mercenaries we passed by gave us curious looks, some of them grinning, others whistling. It was embarrassing.

“Hey, Sis.”
“Yes?”
“Can we return to the wagon first?”
“We can, but…”

I could see her wondering why I wanted to go there on her face.

“I’d like to connect the small door with our wagon already. Just in case.”
“Ahhh… Sure.”

Also, the wagon was closer than the dining area… But that wasn’t the reason I suggested this. It really wasn’t. Being carried by Karen was embarrassing, yes, but… I didn’t hate it.

I’d much rather do this without an audience, though…

Not much I could do there…

A minute or so later, we arrived at our wagon.

“Okay, I’ll let you down now.”
“Nn, thanks.”

My legs had returned to earth!

“Maybe I should do that more often.”
“... Please don’t. Or, at least do it when we’re alone.”
“... Okay.”

Ah, she finally realised that we had an audience… Her cheeks were blushing. Maybe this wasn’t too bad, after all.

“Let’s get in.”
“Nn.”

We entered the wagon and then the tentacle room.

“Okay, is here good?”
“I think so?”
“Nn, then let’s take this spot.”

The room was already full of tentacle growth anyway, so I didn’t really have much to grow here. Still, knowing how… bothersome this could be, I held a mana orb at the ready. I definitely didn’T want to get drained of mana again.

“Here we go.”

I let the tentacles form a tiny door, and then connected it with the door in the fort. I could vaguely sense a connection being made. Moments later, the door opened, allowing us to look into the underground room.

“Great, that worked.”
“Good job, Yumi.”
“Nn. Let’s hope this actually works out…”

I had no idea what would happen if the wagon started moving like this. Maybe nothing would happen. Or maybe something would. Although I was quite sure that the tentacles would just… deal with the problem on their own. They were weirdly capable. Despite being only fleshy appendages.

“Ah, Yumi. We forgot something.”
“Nn? We did?”
“The dolls.”
“...”

Right… No, that’s wrong. I hadn’t forgotten about them. I had just, err, delayed it.

“... I’ll call for them.”

Karen answered me with a giggle, fully aware of how I forgot them…

“Dolls, assemble!”

Seconds passed… A minute passed. Something knocked on the outer walls of the wagon, crawled inside through the window and stormed into the tentacle room. Dozens of small wooden dolls, lining up in front of me… as best as they could.

“Ah.”

A tentacle flipped around, knocking down the dolls that had been standing on top of it. Other tentacles followed, creating a mess among the ever-growing number of dolls.

“Remind me to call them outside this room, next time.”
“Will do.”

Some dolls were trying to restrain the tentacles. Not very successfully, I might add. The dolls were quite strong despite their diminutive size, so I was a little surprised to see them knocked to the ground.

“Err, oka,y assemble outside the room. Or we won’t get anywhere.”

The dolls immediately stormed out of the room, lining up orderly. Their numbers kept growing…

“Is that all of you?”

At one point, no additional dolls seemed to come, so I asked them if that was all of them. The very next moment, all the dolls saluted me. Was this a yes? Probably…

”Err, good. Now then, I have some mana for you so come here… Woah! Stay in lines! Lines!”

That was close… They were going to dogpile me again. They definitely were. Glad I was for them listening to me.

“Seriously…”

I grabbed a mana orb and held it out to the dolls.

“Not everyone at once, okay?”

A few dolls moved forward, gathering around my hand and grabbing it. I moved the mana to them and they happily absorbed it. Once they had their fill, they made space for the next ones and moved to the back, where they started to… dance.

The heck is wrong with you guys?

Were they that happy to get some mana? They didn’t even really need it, did they, considering they had their own crystals absorbing mana. Then again, if I looked at it like that, there was no point in what I was doing right now. I was feeding them mana to give them some attention.

As long as they’re happy.

Once I fed the next group, they, too, moved to the back and joined the dancing. What the heck were they doing…

“They’re happy.”
“Nn… Maybe a little too much.”

The third group joined them as well… As did the following ones. Soon enough, all the dolls were on the floor, dancing as if a festival was going on. A doll festival.

“Seriously… Listen, you all… Sis and I, we’ll be away for a while. Listen to the captain in the meantime, got that?”

The dolls stopped dancing, turning all towards me with their faceless heads. It was a little creepy…

“... If you behave, I’ll give you some mana again.”

That got them raising their arms up in the air. Glad they were so easy to motivate.

“Okay, then, back to your work. And be good.”

The dolls saluted and then returned whence they came.

“They really love you, Yumi.”
“You think so?”
“Yes.”

Karen giggled, amused.

“As long as they don’t dogpile me…”

It was troublesome if they did that… but they hadn’t this time. So that was a step in the right direction.

“Okay, do we have anything else we should do, Sis?”
“I don’t think so. We could report to Mr Captain that the preparations are done?”
“Nn, we’ll probably see him when we depart anyway.”
“Then, I can’t think of anything else.”
“Good. Then let’s see if Mrs Korwen has finished her preparations, too.”

Karen and I left the wagon, making our way back to the dining area. Upon arriving, we could see how the women were already cleaning up everything. Breakfast time was over and most of the mercenaries were working now. Although a few odd mercenaries were still sitting here and there, drinking. Considering the lack of scolding from anyone, they probably were off-duty. Maybe guards that had worked through the night.

“Oh, Yumi, Karen. You came at just the right time.”

Greeting us was Mrs Korwen, a big smile on her face. Right behind her were Rina and Lily, already in the middle of… kneading something.

“We’ve come, Mrs Korwen.”
“You done with everything?”
“Nn. We finished all our preparations.”

Save for food, of course.

“What good girls you are. Then, come here. Oh, and take one of the aprons there.”

After we took an apron, Mrs Korwen nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and gesturing the cooking area.

“I’ve already prepared everything. I’ll teach you as best as I can.”
“Nn, thank you.”
“Thank you, Mrs Korwen.”
“No problem. Then, let’s begin shall we?”

Now then, I had been looking forward to this for a while now.

“Cucus bread is mashed Earth Cucus, mixed with flour and water, then baked. So, first we have to mash the Earth Cucus.”
“Nn…. By the way, what are Rina and Lily doing?”

Those two had been so focussed on their work, they didn’t even have time to greet us.

“They’re already kneading the dough. Don’t worry, you’ll join them soon enough.”
“Nn, okay…”

Seeing how those two were… exerting quite a lot of strength, kneading the dough… Would I be all right?

“Anyway, here, have some Earth Cucus. Now, just mash them until there are no solid bits left.”

We received the Earth Cucus from Mrs Korwen and did as we were told, mashing them with the help of a wooden… masher. If you could call the solid block of wood that.

“Good, good. Once you’re done, mix it with water. Take a ladle and stir it well.”
“Nn, like this?”
“Yes, that’s good. Now, add the flour. You need about just as much flour as you need Earth Cucus. Good, that’s right. Now comes the hard part.”

While stirring, the mixture slowly thickened, turning into a dough. I was a little surprised how only these three ingredients turned into dough.

“Now, you knead it.”
“Nn, okay. How much?”
“Until it won’t stick to your hand anymore.”

The hard part would begin now, huh… I pressed the dough, deforming it a little. It was… quite resilient, pushing back my fingers. I stared at the dough for a few seconds before sighing and starting to knead it… to the best of my ability. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t very good at it, my lack of strength showing.

“Ugh… This is hard.”
“Are you okay, Yumi? Should I help?”
“No, it’s… fine, Sis… I’m trying…”

Now I knew why Lily and Rina didn’t even have time to look at us. This… was quite difficult.

“Mm, Karen, yours is already good like that.”
“Ah, okay.”

Well, wasn’t someone fast…

“But what strength… Karen, dear, do you want to help us with cooking in the future? We could certainly use someone with a bit of strength in her arms.”
“Ehh? That’s… I’m sorry but…”
“I see. That’s unfortunate.”

My arms… hurt…

“But if you change your mind, don’t hesitate, okay?”
“I’ll think about it…”
“Good, good.”

How much longer… would I have to… do this?

“By the way, Yumi… You are kneading, right?”
“... I… am…”
“...”

I could do this. I would do this!

“... Well, I think that’s good enough,” said Mrs Korwen after watching me for a while.
“Haaa… Haaa…”

My arms… hurt like hell…

“Now, with the dough done, we can start the fun part. Adding what ingredients you want in the dough.”

The filling, huh…

“Have any of you already thought of something?”

Not really… I didn’t know what would even fit with this. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one wondering. Lily, who had finished kneading as well while I was busy, asked Mrs Korwen about it.

“Mrs Korwen, what kind of ingredients are usually used with this?”
“Usually? All kinds, to be honest. Fruits go well with it, as does meat. Most vegetables are fine as well. That’s what makes Cucus bread so convenient, after all. You can add most ingredients and have something edible.”

Made me wonder a little why this wasn’t more popular. It wasn’t even particularly hard to make. Apart from the kneading.

“As long as you don’t start adding some crazy things, of course. Anything liquid is likely to cause a mess, too. And Spirits forbid anyone adding blood again.”
“... Blood?”

I was a little scared to ask but… the hell?

“Yes, blood. We had a girl that got some blood from her lover at the time, don’t ask me how, and then she added it to the bread. Let me tell you, the result wasn’t pretty.”
“...”

The relationship, the bread, or both? Probably both…

“She also tried adding certain other things from her lover… Fluid things…”
“...”

The choice of bodily fluids was rather limited if you excluded blood. And I sure as hell didn’t want any of those in my food, ever. Even if it came from Karen, some things were just… unsanitary.

“Err, Mrs Korwen, what happened to that girl?”
“She married a farmer in Krohmea and left the mercenaries around ten years ago. I don’t know how they’re faring now nor do I want to. She was a pretty girl and kind but a little out there when it came to love.”

That was, admittedly, relatable. I wouldn’t want to know either. If that girl did things like that I dreaded what else she had done.

“Anyway, back to the Cucus bread. There was also someone who tried to add Aprams to it. We had to force him to eat his own failure.”
“... Those really sour fruits?”
“That’s them, Rina.”

Yeah, I could see where this was going. Just hearing about that made me lose my appetite. They were far too sour.

“Nn… What to do…”

The choice of what to add… was difficult.

“Sis, do you have any ideas?”
“Mm… I don’t know. Maybe fruits would work? It is bread, after all.”
“Fruits, huh…”

If I recalled correctly, there were several kinds of sweet fruits, including dried fruits.

“Then, let’s go with fruits. I think that’s good, too.”
“Okay.”

We both chose different fruits so we could share later, too.

“I’ll go with meat!”

Lily fetched some pieces of meat, likely dried or smoked or something, and immediately threw it into her dough. That left only Rina.

“Mmm… I’ll go with fruits, too.”
“Good. Then, everyone should add their ingredients to the dough. After that, we’re going to bake it.”

Mrs Korwen watched us diligently as we all followed her instructions.

“That looks good. Now, we’ll only have to bake it. Here, put them on this plate. Right, and now we put it on here.”

There wasn’t a proper oven here, only a makeshift fireplace. Not like that seemed to stop Mrs Korwen as she put the metal sheet with the dough on top of the fire, held only by a simple metal structure.

“It’s not going to take long, only around a quarter-hour. The dough is going to rise after a while, but don’t worry, that’s normal.”

We all nodded, as we watched our rations slowly baking.

“Mrs Korwen, how long will these last?” I asked.
“The ones with fruits should last well over two weeks. The one with meat around one week.”
“That’s surprisingly long.”

No wonder she suggested using them instead of rations.

“That’s right. And it’s not even hard to make, right?”
“Nn, I’m a little surprised. Why does nobody make this?”
“Well…”

Mrs Korwen giggled before looking towards the mercenaries, a little further away.

“The problem is simple. You have to prepare it before moving out.”
“Huh?”
“Dried jerky, hard bread and dried fruits all keep well for a very long time. There is no need to prepare anything. They can just take them and focus their attention on other things.”
“I see…”

It was simply… too much effort.

“But if it tastes better than rations, you’d think more people would do this…”
“A few actually do. Fenna and her girls sometimes make some. And I know that Merim is quite fond of it, too. But in his case, it’s Helma who makes it. Taddick makes his own sometimes, too.”
“Huh…”

But not many would bother…

“Nn… What about the Black Guards, though? Lily?”
“I didn’t even know about this bread until just earlier…” Lily answered me.
“...”

Not even one of them… But they probably didn’t even know about this recipe in the first place, it seemed. Otherwise, Lily would remember.

Anyway, now she knows. Or rather, now we all know about it. It already smells great. If it tastes even half as good as it smells, I’m definitely going to make this in the future again.

After all, if you had the choice between rations that were… tasteless at best… and food that was actually decent… who wouldn’t choose the latter?

Too many, it seems.