Her seamlessly hoarse voice abruptly ended with that last sentence as the kids flocked around her like a plague.
The Shaman smiled benignly, ruffling their hair, and patting their heads.
When all the buzz was done and the kids were then settled, she waved her hand signaling me to come.
The two guards beside me looked at me sternly, I guess that's the only thing they could do under the pressure of their respected elder.
When I got close to the Shaman she whispered something to me.
And at that time I did not know how useful it would be.
She then gave me a small object which she tucked at my palms.
"Take good care of this ring. You'll know why in the future." As she winked at me, then signaled me to go.
Having the ring at my palms, I wondered why she said that I would take good care of this ring.
When I returned to where I came, the guards looked at me suspiciously, but they did not press anything and just quietly escorted me to the pond.
Then after a few minutes of walking, we finally reached the so-called pond.
Since I know I am not that proficient in using the spear for hunting fish, I had resorted to tricking these two guards, especially that scrawny guard into catching fishes for me.
I pretended to act suspiciously, gathering roots and small branch stalks along the way, now it became useful.
Right in front of them, I pretended that I was assembling something which had immediately alerted these two idiots.
"You! What the heck are you doing?"
I smirked "Nothing in particular."
"What, nothing in particular... I saw you doing something!"
Awaiting for those magical words, I stood up and shrugged my shoulders.
"Since you are that suspicious of me, why not catch some fishes for this lowly Sulgo that I am?"
Which the guard hesitantly refused...
"Hmph. Why should I do that for you?!" He yelped annoyed with squinty eyes.
"Won't that make you feel better?" I struggled to keep my lips from curling up.
Then after a deliberate contemplation, the guard without uttering any word took the tools I have in my hands and began catching fish.
"Hey! What are you doing?" The scrawny guard confused by this sudden development asked.
"Am suspicious of him, I can't trust him. If it is for the Saman, I'm willing to do this much..." As he said so he focused on piercing the fishes that got above the pond's surface.
Oh, that's so sweet of you mister... I inwardly mocked.
Unbeknownst to them, it is just a ploy on my part so I can use them.
Then hearing his comrade's words, the scrawny guard also helped in catching fishes.
And together, two idiots are seen busily catching fish at the pond.
They even competed on who will get the largest, just to please their haughty Saman.
Well, that works fine with me.
At least I don't have to bother with the quality anymore.
"My baby croc will surely thank you guys, big time! Hehehe"
Chuckling on my own, I helped to gather the caught fishes inside the basket.
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***
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"Here take this slowly" Feeding the baby croc with an improvised feeding tool, from a pieced together wooden sticks that I got from somewhere, I carefully fed the baby croc.
Luckily, after arriving here the two idiots did not bother me, for their muscles had ached from repeatedly stabbing and piercing those fishes.
Next, I cracked the remaining eggs which are not yet hatched into a wooden bowl and began stirring them.
On the other hand, I just grilled the fishes and had mixed a sauce for it.
I planned on giving the Saman, a scrambled egg.
Well, it is a simple dish alright?
The smoke from the fire lingered in the air and the hut was covered in fog.
And because there is no proper ventilation, my first cooking experience in this newfound world became a bit nasty.
Fanning the flames with Anahaw leaves and using a bamboo blowpipe the fire scorched brighter, then after a few more minutes, I finally finished cooking.
Also, I even cooked the Saman some rice.
Speaking of which, their rice is a bit different.
It doesn't look white, it's a mixture of red and brown.
It's my first time seeing one.
Now everything is prepared...
The only thing left for me to do is to decide on which place I should hide this little baby croc.
What followed next?
Appeasing the Saman!
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.
.
...
"Our dearest Saman, here is the meal I had prepared..." Urging the pouting Saman to take her to fill.
The Saman stared at the food in front of her with wide eyes.
The two guards suspiciously looked at me while their eyes alternated between the Saman and the food.
Atop the bamboo table, there lies a glistening dish.
I opted to make an omelette-egg instead of scrambled, due to the excess fish that those two idiots had caught, hopefully this could appease the haughty Saman.
And without warning...
The Saman voraciously ate the meal I prepared.
Munching and eating to her heart's content, she ate like a starved wolf.
Without care as her cheeks puffed into two small balloons, she ate without reservation.
And based on that!
It's mission complete!
As I watched the Saman eating, I noticed the two guards salivating a drool from their mouths.
They looked like they also wanted to eat the dish I prepared.
"Hey! you... How did you prepare that?" the scrawny guard hesitantly asked.
Which I replied with a slight smirk.
Feel the power of my dish! Its the only dish I knew I could be proud of and show off against my wife who is pretty much really adept into cooking.
My Son loved eating my omelette.
And as I thought about that, I could not help but reminisce about my beloved wife, together with my son.
There's no time that I never thought of them.
I felt a pang in my heart, like a void that can never be filled scattering throughout my chest.
Still thinking that this reality in front of me was just a dream.
If so, I desperately wanted to wake up now.
Standing beside the table, I watched the Saman as she finishes her meal, quietly.