Now that I have found myself a weapon, the next thing for me to do would be to gather the amount of bowls that I needed. However, before proceeding with that, I decided to deal with the sword first.
My plan was to hide the sword somewhere nearby, in a place that I could use to my advantage if a battle would occur.
A big two-story building that has only one stairway and a narrow one at that, this is where I decided to bring the sword. Walking up to the second floor, I then placed the sword on the floor, positioning it on the right side of the stairway.
I did not do anything complicated to hide it. All I did was cover it with straws to stop it from reflecting light.
My plan was set. I believe that this strategy of mine to be the best in versatility, as it would be viable in many possible scenarios.
There was no better way for me to prepare, and this was all I could do with how much I knew of myself, my situation, and how much I knew of those who could be my enemies. This is the art of war, the knowledge, and mindset that I am forced to make use of in this world where I have not been treated well so far.
Nodding in satisfaction, I walked up to the second floor to take a peek at the group of nine again. Fortunately, there were also gaps in this building for me to look through.
Those around the cauldron were still doing the same thing. Some of them were still sitting on the ground, others still surrounded the cauldron, while some hesitated to go closer to the cauldron.
No, there are some changes, although barely noticeable. The girl that I had temporarily blinded earlier, it seems that she was now in charge of checking on the heat of the food. I think she might have wanted to inspect what had blinded her earlier but was stopped by those guys because of how her sudden actions had drawn their attention.
Seriously…
Time was running out more and more, and at any point in time, that group of savages might just flip that cauldron and eat the food from the ground out of anger. I didn't want that, guessing that they were my fellow people who could be of use to me. It'd be a shame seeing them act like stray dogs, which is why I have to hurry up and teach them proper etiquette! If they're going to be like dogs, they at least need to be trained by me!
"Dogs, trained by me…" I mumbled as this word kept repeating in my mind. The words 'stray dogs' made me think of some plausible scenarios. The fact that we had been mistreated like dogs in cages, and the thought of us having a destined path to become like the stray dogs that fight amongst themselves for food...
What if they're trying to raise us like pets?! From the moment I became conscious to now, I was imprisoned once, given limited food, and now I witnessed a possible group of people who are forced to share food amongst each other without having any idea how!
That might just be a plan of the evil people unknown to us! A plan that has at least a 99.99% chance of succeeding only if there isn't someone like me who has the knowledge of living in a society!
"Ho... Ho... Ho..."
I panted. I was mind-blown by the thought of such a well-devised plan and was also tired from running.
"If that is really the setup, then I have to say, I'm very unlucky to have come into this world. Sigh… I've been reincarnated into the life of a soon-to-be slave. Great!"
After mumbling to myself in frustration, I stopped thinking about it. I have already prepared myself for the worst scenarios, so either way, I am going to escape this rotten hell.
To survive or to die, that's all there is to it. There is no need to complicate things any further until another big thing happens. For now, I have thought about everything already. Doing more will only drive me to insanity!
It didn't take too long for me to return to the prison area. Perhaps it's been more than ten minutes already since I had left the center of the town, perhaps not.
The double doors have no gaps for me to peek at. I did not rush through them. I threaded cautiously, careful of a soldier or assassin who might be patrolling the area.
Fortunately, there was no one who aimed to kill me. The only person, alive, was the unconscious girl in the prisoner area
After a while, I returned and saw the figure on the ground. She was still motionless and there was no sign indicating that she gained sense during my absence.
'Seems like she's going to be like this for longer...'
I was standing before the girl while in thought, and then I kneeled on one knee and felt her pulse and breathing.
The girl appeared fine, simply asleep peacefully with a look that suggested that she did not give any damn care about her surroundings.
'Well, she is a kid. An uncivilized one too…' I thought silently.
My eyes moved towards the nearest cell room because I knew there were plenty of bowls in there! I paid no attention to the girl any longer, as my priority changed back to that of gathering bowls.
That one room contained more than ten empty bowls, it was enough. Unfortunately, those were dirty bowls, and without a doubt, there was no water to wash them…
Since there were eleven bowls that I needed, I decided to take all of them at once. With the bowls in between my arms I could no longer sprint, but I was able to walk fast enough thanks to my long legs.
Perhaps it took me twenty minutes, I wasn't sure, as I didn't count the seconds that were passing as I walked from point A to B.
Even though so much time had passed, surprisingly, the group of savages had not eaten yet.
From what I can guess, earlier while that kid was getting a feel of the heat, it was technically still too hot to already feast on by now. This might be the reason why they haven't started yet. They were waiting for the food to get cold.
I abruptly barged in and showed myself with bowls tucked between my arms.
"With such a large and thick pot it's going to take at least more than two hours for the food to fully cool down. Let me show you how it's done!"
My introduction was so sudden and out of the blue, it caught them off guard. It was a given that they did not expect my arrival, and every one of them had warry looks because of this.
However, their wary looks quickly disappeared when they saw me approach the cauldron. It seems they were relieved to see someone else other than themselves volunteer to check on the heat of the food for them!
'They sure are simple-minded.' I thought to myself, as I stuffed the nine of them with nine bowls while taking a quick glance at them with my eyes, up and down.
No longer paying any heed to those left to me and to those on the right, I placed the unnecessary bowls on the ground, slowly, so as to not dirty them. With only one bowl left in my hand, I then used it to scoop the food into the bowl.