Shiori followed the strangely panicked Alec to the shade of a tree where a gentle wind blew, and fell into a light doze as her body cooled to its natural temperature. When she next opened her eyes, it was past six in the evening and she woke with a start to find she’d been asleep in Alec’s arms.
“Yeah, we might have overslept,” he said, grinning as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.
Even then, it was still light in the sky thanks to it being early summer, and the knights’ base camp was very lively. The knights were very excited, largely because the evening’s meal was set to be something of a modest celebratory banquet.
“A victory dinner...” said Shiori. “So they’re preparing food for us too?”
“Looks that way...” replied Alec.
The two still remembered Nils’s and Ellen’s past dining experiences with the knights, however, and found it difficult to muster much enthusiasm. Neither Nils nor Ellen could have been called picky in their tastes, but the knights’ fare was apparently nigh unpalatable. Shiori and Alec would have preferred to avoid such a meal entirely, but circumstances being what they were, it wasn’t like they could easily turn the offer down either.
As they walked towards the medic tents with shoulders slumped, Nils informed them that Leo was overseeing the meal preparation that evening. He was quite talented as a cook, and Nils was hopeful that his past nightmare was now just that: a thing of the past. The news came as quite the relief.
“He’s handed out recipes to the crew and he’s making sure they’re made properly. Seems like he wasn’t particularly pleased with how the knights were cooking for themselves either,” said Nils.
“I...I see,” uttered Shiori.
“One of the reasons he first learned to cook was so that he could at least eat something decent on his days off.”
“Wow, that bad, huh?” commented Alec.
Rumors didn’t travel very far when they concerned the support unit, but it was true to say that, with the baths and the food, that which impacted the morale of the troops was finally being addressed.
“But you know, food is so important to health that I really think that’s what they should focus on. Putting taste aside for the moment, undercooked dishes are just bad for you, and if you don’t know anything about removing scum or bitterness or unwanted tastes from your ingredients, you might end up eating poison.”
“Hear, hear...”
With some ingredients, the harmful effects weren’t immediate; instead, they sapped at your health over time. This was not to mention the many ingredients that needed to be properly prepared to ensure they didn’t cause any detrimental effects.
This deeply rooted problem—and lack of knowledge—in the knight corps apparently stemmed from the fact that so many of them hailed from the upper classes, where they simply ate what was prepared for them. Many had been calling for the importance of better education on such matters for quite some time.
“It’s a culture that hails from a time when only the nobility could become knights, and it was commonplace for all to have their own servants,” said a nearby medic. “Many knights in the corps don’t even know how to acquire ingredients, let alone cook them. There are training courses on outdoor cooking, but many pay them little mind. But if you rely only on the rations you carry with you, you’ll be at a complete loss when you find yourself needing to fend for yourself without them.”
Some of the knights being treated by the medic were clearly guilty as charged—they made a point of avoiding any and all eye contact.
“We had a roasted cockatrice incident that has since become the stuff of legends,” continued the medic. “It was cooked as it was, feathers and all, and they didn’t even take out the innards. The end result was practically toxic, and I think the stench alone could have killed a man.”
“The scent was the real killer,” added another. “It got into our uniforms and our tents. Oh man, it was so bad.”
“The whole time, we just stank to high heaven.”
“And a whole wild cockatrice was completely wasted, just like that...”
Alec slumped dejectedly. It was a pain he knew all too well.
Clemens—the man with whom Alec had ruined an attempt at a game bird roast—was at the back of the medic tent. He was dropping in and out of wakefulness and was currently asleep. Nadia was watching over him.
“He was awake not so long ago,” she said, wiping the sweat from his brow, “but he drank his medicine and went straight back to sleep.”
Her fingers traced the outline of his face and paused at his cheek. She rubbed it gently before cupping it in her palm. She was checking his temperature and the softness of his skin, but even in that simple gesture, Nadia’s feelings for Clemens were clear.
He’s warm. He’s alive.
“Do you know what’s next for him?” asked Shiori.
“Nils is going to look after him,” replied Nadia. “At first, there was some talk of having him go to one of the knight corps’ medical facilities, but eventually we decided it would be best for him mentally to be with someone he’s already comfortable with.”
Nils’s dispensary included basic hospital facilities, and Clemens would stay there while Ellen visited him for his treatment.
“Well, that’s a relief,” remarked Shiori.
“And having him at the infirmary means I can watch over his nutrition as well,” said Nils. “The porridge recipe in my herbal cuisine repertoire is just about ready.”
“Yeah, but...what about the taste?” asked Alec, looking a little worried. “Is it like that nutritional tonic you gave me?”
Alec cringed as he thought back to the taste—like withered leaves and mud boiled in cheap wine. Nils chuckled.