The satisfying breakfast was over. Vince was pacing outside. They were staying in this place for a while, so he wanted to fix the hut for their convenience. Beni was trading on the nearby islands for three days. The soldiers were in charge of bringing their meals until he came back.
They spent the whole morning cleaning the hut's surroundings. Vince wanted to do it alone but the prince insisted on helping.
Two soldiers came at noon to deliver their food. Vince asked for some cutting and digging tools. After cleaning the place, Vince thought of building a toilet.
The soldiers came back after lunch and volunteered to do the digging. Vince gladly accepted their help.
Since he was spared from digging, Vince decided to gather wood for building the toilet. He also wanted to build a fence around the hut. It would be safer if their place is fenced.
When the soldiers knew that he was going to gather wood, they offered to do the jobs too. Vince was gratified. The soldiers were too kind and helpful.
"Are you sure that it's fine? What if your king will look for you?"
Vince asked the soldiers. If it was inconvenient for them, he would refuse their help.
"Esteemed guests, Beni had settled everything. The king won't seek us." A young soldier, probably in his early twenties answered.
Beni left around ten young soldiers to guard them, six came to help while the others guarded the entrance of the hill.
"I will bother you then, but can you please stop calling us esteemed guests? Just call us our names."
"No, Beni said that we should not call or mention your name for safety reasons."
Vince was grateful. These soldiers weren't only helpful but sensible too. "I see, we have to thank you all for protecting us."
"You don't have to. We are just doing our job." Another soldier responded.
"Still we have to thank you all. By the way, do you know where we can find a muddy place? The mud should be pure without any weeds. I think the color should be grayish or yellowish, something like that."
Vince thought of building a toilet, so he was also thinking of ways to make a toilet bowl.
"Dari, what are you using mud for?" Prince Aiji asked. The soldiers were puzzled too.
"I want to make a toilet bowl."
"Toilet bowl?"
Vince stared at their confused faces.
"It's something we put in the toilet. It's like a room attached to the house used to take a dump."
It was awkward to explain this stuff, but these ancient folks were curious, so Vince tried to explain this stuff nicely. But, instead of getting enlightened, the soldiers were fully confused. The prince who was used to Vince's strange actions lately didn't ask any further.
"Esteemed guests, at the foot of the northern mountain, there is a pool of mud, we can bring as much as you need." Another young soldier replied.
Vince was glad. "I can go with you and help."
"No need. We can bring everything you need here. Beni said it's not safe for you to go down yet."
"Okay. We are troubling you all."
"It's no trouble at all." The soldiers humbly replied.
Four soldiers left to gather wood and mud. Two were left digging the toilet. Vince decided to dig another pit in the distance to bake the toilet bowl he was going to make. Prince Aiji helped him. The two that gathered wood came back and forth. After a few hours, they gathered enough to build the toilet, but they continued gathering since they knew Vince wanted to build a fence.
Late in the afternoon, Vince and Prince Aiji managed to dig enough pit to fire the clay. The toilet pit was done too. The soldiers that gathered wood came back. There were piles of wood enough to build the toilet and fence. But the soldiers who gathered clay hadn't arrived yet.
"You've worked hard, I want to treat you to a good dinner..."
"Yes! Esteemed guest, Beni said you cooked delicious food. We want to taste it too!" The soldiers cheerfully responded in unison.
Ah! Vince thought these soldiers were timid, but when it comes to delicious food, they were as ecstatic as Beni.
The glutton Beni probably overpraised his cooking skills, so these soldiers were eager to taste it.
"Sure! I will cook later if the meat and root crops arrive."
"I will go down to get enough meat!" A soldier presented.
"I will go with you. They are also hunting wild chicken today. I will help you clean it." Another soldier said.
"Don't forget the boar meat. Beni said our esteemed guest cooked it deliciously this morning..."
The soldiers were chaotic and excited. Vince was amazed. Prince Aiji was smiling on the side.
"If you have chicken meat, can you bring some lemongrass? It looks like cogon grass but with a distinct fragrant smell." Vince said. If the herb is available, he was planning to cook chicken stew.
"Yes, we have that in our tribe. It's an herbal plant our tribe healer planted."
"That's great. If there is some ginger, please bring some too." Vince added.
"Yes, we also have ginger."
The soldiers who gathered the mud came later. Vince inspected it and thought that he could possibly use this mud. Though he wasn't sure if he will succeed in making a toilet bowl out of this mud, he can at least try.
"Esteemed guest, is this the mud you're looking for?" The soldiers asked.
"Uhm, I'm not sure, but we can try making it tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work. Take some rest now while we are waiting for the food. I will cook our dinner later."
"Really! It's our pleasure to eat our esteemed guest's delicious food." The remaining two soldiers were as excited as the other four.
"I think Beni told everyone this morning how good you cook. These soldiers are very excited." Prince Aiji whispered.
"I think so, but these soldiers are good to us. I don't mind cooking for them."
"Yes, they are. I even wonder why they are this good. Even if Beni is a rich trader, he cannot possibly command several soldiers that belong to the royal family." The prince stated.
That was really odd, but these soldiers were good to them and Vince didn't feel any threat.
"But I don't think they have ill intentions, so my love, don't worry..."
"Yes. I also think so."
They chatted at the corner for a while. The soldiers who descended to get their food arrived. They brought enough wild chicken meat and pork belly. They also bring taro corms, yams, lemongrass, and ginger. Vince was satisfied even though the ginger was smaller in size. The soldiers didn't let him do all the work. They helped him clean and chop the meat. The others were cooking the root crops. A soldier even went back to the tribe to get another pot for the chicken stew.
In the dusk, the hut became lively. They make a huge campfire at the hidden area of the hill.
Over an hour passed, and dinner was ready. They settled everything near the fire. The soldiers were very excited, smelling the fragrant aroma of the fried pork and chicken stew. As they started eating, the soldiers exclaimed their satisfaction one after another.
"The boar meat is indeed very delicious!"
"Beni wasn't lying, it's the best boar meat I ever tasted!"
"How can Beni lie when it comes to food, and this chicken stew is very tasty too!"
"Yes, I can smell the lemongrass and taste the ginger. I didn't expect these herbs to make the wild chicken delicious!"
"From now on, I will cook wild chicken and boar meat this way!"
"Me too, I will teach my mother how to cook this."
"I will teach my wife too!"
The soldiers were very noisy. Vince was pleased hearing those praises especially when prince Aiji looked at him with so much love and admiration.
The soldiers left fully stuffed and satisfied. Prince Aiji gave them some extra food for their companions guarding at the foot.
When they were finally left alone, Vince held prince Aiji's hand and tugged him inside. They had a long day so he wanted to lie down and cuddle his prince.
As they went inside, a young man standing at a distance descended. His every step was very strong and imposing.