Demonic System: Harem in Medieval World

14. How to be a Hunter

Part 1

Arwen looked anxious in the mouth of the cave. She paced back and forth with a bottle of antidote in her hand.

“It’s almost dusk now. Where are they?” mumbled Arwen. “I thought they would head straight here to rest after that incident with the venomous plant. Or perhaps they got themselves caught by another one?”

That thought almost made Arwen bolt again to the depth of the forest to find out her human friends. But she was being held back by her hesitation.

“What if they arrive here while I’m out there?” pondered Arwen. “I will just wait here for a little more while.”

Arwen made the right decision. Just after she finished saying that, Devon and Francesca could be seen from the distance walking towards her. It wasn’t clearly visible, but they looked like they’re struggling to carry something.

“Bro Devon! Sis Francesca!” waved Arwen enthusiastically while running to their direction. “I’ve been waiting here for, like, forever!”

“You must forgive us, Arwen. No, actually it was my fault,” told Francesca. “It was my idea to drag Devon with me for a little bit of hunting. You heard me this morning, right? I’m dying for some animal proteins!”

“Looks like meat is back on the menu, boys!” shouted Devon valiantly while puffing his chest out. He put down the sack to the ground with a loud thud, indicating the heavy content inside.

“Do we look like males to you?” cut Francesca sharply. “It’s not boys, but girls!”

“Uh sorry, I just felt compelled to say so,” reasoned Devon while emptying his sack.

“Whoa, you caught quite a lot!” complimented Arwen. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine! Nine rabbits!”

[MISSION FAILED!]

[HUNT 10 RABBITS: FAILED!]

[PUNISHMENT: LOST CONSCIOUSNESS]

“Ahem, do you notice one of them is pregnant?” interrupted Devon before his headache got the best of him. “So it’s ten rabbits!”

[MISSION COMPLETED!]

[HUNT 10 RABBITS: SUCCESS!]

[REWARD: 100 DC]

“Way to go, Sis Francesca! As expected of a huntress!” praised Arwen while looking at Francesca in awe.

[MISSION COMPLETED!]

[HUNT 10 RABBITS: SUCCESS!]

[REWARD: 100 DC]

[CANCELLED]

[MISSION SHOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED BY YOUR OWN]

“Nah, all the credit should go to Devon. I was just looking over him, that’s all,” responded Francesca humbly. Arwen couldn’t believe what she heard. It was just this morning that she found this clumsy teenager got entangled by a natural trap, leaving Arwen no choice but to underestimate Devon.

[MISSION COMPLETED!]

[HUNT 10 RABBITS: SUCCESS!]

[REWARD: 100 DC]

[PS: SORRY FOR DOUBTING YOU]

“Whoa, Bro Dev! Such amazing and rapid character development you got there!” applauded Arwen, despite she still found it hard to digest that fact. “Turns out you’re a quick learner, after all!”

“Well, that’s not a big deal, to be honest,” evaded Devon. “All I did was just trapping the rabbits, that’s all.”

“Give yourself more pats in the back, you gloom-doom!” retorted Francesca. “It’s a very smooth movement for a green newbie like you. While trapping is different from hunting, but still it will lead that way.”

Devon couldn’t help smiling to hear that kind remark. After all of the painful and tragic events they passed through, a gentle gesture like this was something to be appreciated.

“Bro Dev, why are you grinning like that?” asked Arwen, shattering his daydreaming. “We elves also smile from time to time, but with a good reason. Do humans smile without any reason? I personally find that weird.”

“Trust me, as a fellow human, I also think that’s weird. Freakish, even,” smirked Francesca while jeering at Devon. “Dev, why don’t you stop being weird and do us a favour? Gut and skin those hares for cooking, will you?”

“Huh? But it’s like 10 of them!” protested Devon. “Come on, give me a hand!”

“I would, but I need to prepare for the utensils necessary for cooking,” evaded Francesca. “We only ate fruits up until now, so we don’t have any tool for cooking. For now, I need to rely on surrounding items to make do with what we have around.”

Devon grumbled while putting back the hare carcasses back to the sack, before he left to the nearest river.

“Oh, let me drop this before I forgot it completely!” shouted Arwen while taking something out from the bushes near the cave entrance. “When I went back to my village for the antidote, I remember you wanted some meat so I took the liberty of taking these utensils for you. I forgot to hand over the antidote to Bro Devon, though.”

“That’s very considerate of you, Arwen!” appreciated Francesca. “And don’t worry about Devon, he doesn’t need that antidote any more, judging from the looks of it.”

“Now, I think I will focus on getting the fire ready,” volunteered Arwen. “It would cost me no time to gather some firewoods enough for the night.”

As this is their first proper dinner they had in a while, it’s understandable that it took them a long time to finish. Devon spent the most time cleaning up the meat, forcing Francesca and Arwen to come to the rescue. After they finished, it was way too late, so they decided just to have a simple grill to save time.

“Pfuah, that hit the spot!” yelled Francesca after gulping down a piece of grilled meat from the heated stone. “Don’t you think so too, Dev?”

“Agree, but I feel like there’s something’s missing,” wondered Devon.

“Ah, I know! It must be rice, right?” guessed Arwen. “We elves don’t eat meat that much, so I’m unfamiliar with it. But I heard that you humans eat rice with everything!”

“Dumbass! You must have misunderstood. It’s not rice that we eat everything with, but bread instead!” laughed Francesca. “Now that you mention it, I do miss my bread.”

“No, it’s not bread. We are still missing something,” insisted Devon while chewing the tough texture of the half-grilled hare. “I can feel it. What we are missing is, WATER!”

“Oh, I thought it’s humans’ custom to eat without drinking water,” giggled Arwen. “I’ve been feeling thirsty for a while but I hesitated to voice out my concern. I’m afraid it would be rude to question your culture.”

“Arwen, you silly little elf,” chuckled Francesca who found Arwen’s innocence amusing. “Devon, go fetch some water from the river for us to boil!”

“Huh, why me?” asked Devon confused.

“Will you let ladies like us carry that heavy bucket of water? In this dark night?” pleaded Francesca with her puppy eyes. “And you were prepping the hares there, so you must be familiar with the surrounding, I think.”

Devon wanted to lengthen the discussion but he decided to cut it short. His mouth began to dry up and if he needed to take the water by himself, then he would. Devon rose up to head back to the river, moaning and whining along the way. Francesca and Arwen looked at each other and bursted out laughing.