Linus had begun greedily devouring the food without waiting for Shiori’s cue, and Alec shot him a sidelong glance before tasting the pork himself. In theory, he should have started with the soup, but Alec just could not resist the flavorsome, appetite-stimulating aroma. A sauce with an exquisite balance of saltiness and sweetness, and the savory taste of smoky, roasted pork spread throughout his mouth. The aroma of ginger and garlic accompanied this rich flavor, tickling his nose.
It was delicious. He began to chew faster, and in the blink of an eye, he’d finished it off, though the sauce that had all those delectable flavors melted into it remained in the bottom of his dish.
A shame it will go to waste, Alec thought. He glanced to the side and noticed Clemens scraping the sauce into his pilaf and mixing them together.
What a clever idea. That way, you’d be able to eat everything without leaving any sauce behind. Impressed, Alec brought some pilaf and sauce to his mouth. The pilaf, cooked to be light and airy, blended exquisitely with the thick, rich sauce. This was delicious too. Once he’d finished the soup—all of the flavorful broth and every little scrap of vegetable—all that was left were his empty dishes and a bulging belly. Though the portions hadn’t been large, the unexpected hot bath and the delicious food left him completely satisfied.
That on its own was impressive enough, but Shiori had said she’d prepare their beds before tidying up and doing the laundry. Alec was surprised that Shiori could have more in store for them. Were there even beds deserving of the name to be prepared in the first place? At most, all she’d need to do was lay out some sleeping bags and blankets.
When Alec next looked at her, Shiori was searching the ground a little ways away from the fire with her hands. She seemed to decide on a spot and then she activated her earth magic. As he watched, the ground smoothed and flattened, then the dirt transformed into fine, soft grains. While that was happening, Shiori activated wind magic in one hand and evaporated the moisture from the soil. When that was finished, the dry grains of earth slowly compacted to form a clean, clear, level area big enough for everyone to sleep on. When Alec touched it, he thought he would feel compacted ground, but it wasn’t as hard as he’d expected. In fact, it had just the right amount of springiness.
“Please take your rest here,” said Shiori. “It isn’t as good as a real bed, but I think it should be a little better than sleeping on normal ground.”
“No, I’m very grateful,” said Alec. “Even this much makes a tremendous difference. I think I’ll be able to rest very comfortably.”
With dinner finished, the other members secured their individual sleeping areas and began preparing for the next day by tending to their gear. Once that was done, they retired for the night after agreeing that they would keep watch in turns of three hours, with two people per shift. As Shiori wanted time to prepare for the morning meal, she requested the last shift. If there were two people on each watch prior to hers, it would mean that Shiori would be alone for her turn. She said that her slime familiar—whose name was Rurii—had the ability to sense danger, so she’d be fine, but Alec was still uneasy about it. He decided to put himself forward for the duty. He was used to traveling alone, so a little loss of sleep wouldn’t present much of a problem.
With the sleeping arrangements settled, Shiori called up water with her magic and used it to wash the dishes. Rurii happily drank up all the water that drained off. Once everything was dried with wind magic and packed away in her knapsack, next up was the washing and a bath for herself.
Interested, Linus called out to her. “How do you do the laundry?”
“Would you like to watch?” asked Shiori.
Seemingly intrigued, both Linus and Ellen drew closer. Clemens had seen it before, so he continued tending his dual swords, but his mouth curved upwards slightly, as though he found the behavior of his travel companions adorable.
Shiori pulled out several pieces of fine mesh that had been sewn into bag shapes from her knapsack. Apparently, they were called laundry nets. She divided up the dirty clothes by their owners, and placed them into the bags.
“Washing can be a little tough on clothes,” said Shiori, “so I use these to help protect the fabric.”
As she spoke, she used her magic to create a column of water. She dissolved some soap shavings in it, then tossed in the laundry nets. With that done, she began to pour magical power into the pillar of water to start up a gentle current within it. The laundry nets spun around and around, and a faint scent of soap wafted through the air.
“In the case of delicate things, like silk or lace, or if something is very dirty, nothing but hand washing will do,” Shiori told them. “But for sweat and dust, this will get things clean enough.”
After a few minutes, she removed the laundry nets. She sent the dirty water outside the barrier, down a gutter she’d made with earth magic. Shiori then created another pillar of water, added a little fruit vinegar to it, and tossed the laundry nets back in.
“Why did you add the vinegar?” asked Alec.
“The acidity of the vinegar counteracts the alkalinity of the soap. This way, they’ll turn out soft and fluffy when they dry.”
Alec paused for a moment, then said, “I see.”
He hadn’t quite understood the beginning of her explanation, but, in short, it would make the washing turn out better. As he watched, the current started back up within the water column and the clothes finished their rinse. Shiori removed them, brushed them with her hands to straighten them and remove wrinkles, and used wind magic to remove some of the water. After that, she hung everything from a rope she’d strung from some tree branches.