"I am edible. Humans and non-humans alike call me Nectar Cube" [Nectar Cube].
"Don't even touch me, best case, I just itch for you, worst case, you might die like the adventure the other day" [Poison Ivy]
"I... I am an edible beetle, but please, spare me! I have children at home" [Beetle A].
"Eat him! He took my lover!" [Beetle B]
"NO! That's your fault for cheating on her!" [Beetle A]
"Even beetles have this problem..." [Diana]
So far, things are going well for my group. Using my blessing to the fullest, I scour the area for any edible food and drink. It's second nature to me, and Titania's blessing has made it much easier. Even plants and animals I have never read about or heard of can tell me what they are and what will happen if humans interact with them.
When I brought my loot to the hut I'd created with earth magic, Neloufa and the others had already boiled the water so that it was safe to drink. I can just use water magic and make it drinkable, but that's made of mana, and as such it's generally considered not safe for consumption, hence the water I brought earlier.
Tio and Neloufa make a pretty good team, as they're both better cooks than I am. While I've learned a few tips from the chef about my cooking skills, I'm sure they've cooked at home even more often than I have. They're having fun and humming a song at the same time, especially Neloufa, which makes the others look at her. As for the other three, they're also having a good time. From the looks of it, I'm sure this is the first time the three of them are trying to cook.
"Should we stir in more?" [Marianne]
"But it's already boiling?" [Kara]
"What if there are still sediments in it?" [Mara]
"I think it's already safe." [Diana]
"Really?" [Marianne]
"Meow" [Fie]
"True. By the way, this is all the food I brought" [Diana]
"You know a lot about herbs and fruits" [Tio].
"I notice that none of the knights, adventurers, or teachers are stopping you" [Kara].
"Others have been stopped several times while picking poisonous and toxic substances" [Marianne].
"Hehehe, I guess I am" (Can't tell them it's my blessing that makes it so much easier for me) [Diana].
Our group already has shade, food and water. But there's no meat yet, and I wanted to venture further into the forest. I tell them that and
"Let us do the work" [Marianne].
"Right. I can't stand not contributing" [Mara].
"I share your feelings" [Kara].
"Just to be clear, you wanted to kill a wild animal" [Diana].
They nod hesitantly.
"You three are fine with killing a small rabbit, or a sparrow just bringing food for its young, or even a cute deer trying to drink from a river" [Diana].
"Ye...YES!" [Kara]
"Cer... Certainly!" [Mara]
"Don't... Don't underestimate us!" [Marianne]
"Alright, but hunting is not as easy as you think" [Diana]
"Goodluck" [Neloufa]
"We will improve this hut and shade in the meantime" [Tio]
Since they are determined to do so, I bring the three of them along. I simply follow the footprints of any wild animal, and with the guidance of the forest, the job becomes easier. On the way, there are some other students who were chased by goblins, snakes and the like, for which I simply kill those things and tell them to go back. They disagree and try their luck again. I even tell some students that they are picking up a poisonous fruit, but they don't care and just pick it up.
(The teacher looks like she's deducting marks from these students) [Marianne]
(Poor them. They should have listened to Diana) [Mara]
After arriving at a small river, the four of us spotted a young deer. It looks delicious, and since the three of them wanted to try and hunt for their meal, I give them the chance to do just that.
"Now!" [Mara]
"Windblade!" [Kara]
"Earth spear!" [Marianne]
And the deer run away. They look disappointed. Of course the deer run away when the three of you basically charge right at them. I tell them they're underestimating the animals. They live in a more extreme environment than we do, so their will to protect themselves is better than ours. They will fight or flee at the slightest sign of danger. The three nod and want to try again, but first
"Slight Electrocution" [Diana]
There's a group of fish nearby, so I electrocuted them so that if the three fail, we'll have some fish to eat.
And they try again and again. After a few hours have passed. Just as we are about to go home
"HELP US" [?]
"THE DEVIL" [?]
"THE THING" [?]
"Huh?" [Diana]
"Is something wrong?" [Kara]
"No... nothing..." [Diana]
This is disturbing. It's like when I heard Kara and Mara asking for help to dispel their curses, but since I'm not sure where the voices are coming from, I asked the forest for help. The trees, the flowers and the insects, they respond positively and will tell me if they have found anything.
I brought back our catch and the results are as follows
Diana - 8 fish, 6 small rabbits, 3 sparrow , 5 wild chicken and 1 adult deer
Kara - nothing
Mara - nothing
Marianne - nothing
"You three did your best!" [Tio].
"Surely these herbs you are carrying are from your own observation, right?" [Neloufa]
Actually, I am the one who found these herbs as well, but none of us tell her that. Kara, Mara, and Marianne look defeated as they fail to hunt.
"Diana, can you use your earth magic to make a hole and fill it with cold ice magic? We can use it as our meat storage" [Tio].
"I will!" [Diana]
"Preparing a deer will be difficult, so how about we store the deer first and just cook the fish, rabbit, chicken, and sparrow to share with others" [Neloufa].
"We will help!" [Kara, Mara, Marianne].
As dusk approaches, our group is already preparing the meal for the night. Some of the others who did not hunt have been given our share of the potion. There are others who are still struggling to set up a tent or something, so I help them with my earth magic.
"Your party is really good," [Adnan]
"You're doing great too" [Diana].
"Not as good as your group, that's for sure" [Adnan].
The night is getting darker as the sky is filled with many stars, and so the first day of this trip comes to an end.