The sun was slowly faded into horizon and the sky was getting dark. Two wooden buckets were filled with fish. Zhen enjoyed the long time he spent fishing.
"MASTER ELF, WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?!" Zaltar shouted, losing his patience.
It is already a long journey, and they had spent almost half of the day just relaxing by the lake.
"Oh, bandit boy, why with the anger? Are you in a hurry?" replied Zhen still sitting back in his folding chair.
"I mean, why are we resting here for so long? Our destination is far away. It'll take days and we're increasing the distance!"
Zhen just laughed at the complaint.
"Faster, slower, the destination is the same. We'll still get there. My business in there is not that urgent and you are still my underling. Why are you panicking like that?"
Zaltar was silent, unable to utter a single word. Everything he said was true, but this was the first time he had seen someone who enjoyed wasting time. Moreover, someone as strong as Zhen who just seemed to relax with whatever he was doing.
While they were arguing, Zhen's wolf came from the bushes carrying a dead deer.
"Woah, it turns out you're useful. Good job, dog," Zhen said happily but was replied with a groan and a glare from the wolf.
"I guess she doesn't like being called a dog, master elf."
"No need to worry about small details. By the way, stop calling me that, it's a bit annoying. Just call me Zhen."
"Alright then, Mister Zhen."
Zhen still didn't like the suffix (mister) but there was more important than that now. "Bandit boy, please skin the deer, cut its neck, cut its torso in half lengthwise and gut it. The dog might like the deer's entrails."
The wolf bit Zhen's ankle.
"Ouch! Damn dog!" Zhen smack the wolf until it howled in pain.
Zaltar do what he was ordered to do while Zhen prepared the campfire. The elf started the fire using simple fire magic and then skewered the fish he had caught with a stick he had cleaned.
In front of the campfire, a large number of fish were lined up, waiting for their turn to be burned on large fire.
"Mister Zhen, I have cut the deer in half." Zaltar said, holding up the two halves of the deer.
It looked very meaty and the entrails had been removed.
"Alright, we'll finish this fish first." Replied Zhen who immediately stood up and stabbed the two large pieces of raw meat with a big wooden stick then stuck them near the campfire.
The wolf ravenously ate the deer's guts and Zhen had already started eating his first fish.
The elf was surprised to see Zaltar who didn't even touch a single fish that already grilled.
"What's wrong? Eat it, if it's cold, it doesn't taste good." Zhen said while munching on his second grilled fish.
"How much can I eat, Mister Zhen?" Zaltar asked somewhat hesitantly.
"How much? What do you mean how much? Just eat as much as you want."
The big man just gaped in confusion. "Wait, but I'm... Technically some kind of slave and -"
"If you starve, you'll be useless. We have a long way to go and I still need you."
" But..."
"If you really want to help me, eat a lot."
Zhen offered a skewer of grilled fish.
Although somewhat reluctant, Zaltar took it and ate it. There is no slightest thought of asking for portion of rations occurred to him because so far, for him, the one who was the strongest ate first, while the weak one ate the leftover.
"It's feel a bit strange." Zaltar chuckled and ate his grilled fish.
"Strange? What's strange? Is this lake fish tasted different from the fish you usually eat?" Zhen was still chewing while asking questions.
"No, it's not that, I'm almost in the same position as a slave at this point but you're telling me to eat as much as I want. It feels very strange."
Zhen paused and swallowed then looked at Zaltar.
"That's right, maybe it's a cultural difference. To summarize it like this, as long as you work for me, I am responsible for you, including your food and also your life."
Zaltar laughed out loud.
'What the hell with this guy? Before this, he slaughtered 20 people with innocent faces then cut off my hand and foot, and now he's talking about taking responsibility for my life?' Zaltar thought to himself as he continued to laugh.
Zhen continued eating and Zaltar was still laughing as he munched on his grilled fish.
After all the fish had been eaten, it was time to burn the venison.
As they grilled the herbivorous meat, Zaltar started a conversation with Zhen.
"Mister Zhen, you seem very strong, but why do you look so relaxed as if... have no purpose in life."
Zhen raised one of his eyebrow, "What does that mean?"
"I mean, people who are as strong as you must be aiming for something big. Like becoming a king, or a martial arts expert, or aiming to be the strongest."
"What do you mean? Living quietly and peacefully is also a goal of life."
Zaltar's head exploded of such an idea. Living peacefully was the goal of life? Never had he met anyone who could be as strong as the elf in front of him now without burning desire to conquering something.
Zaltar laughed once again, "It's really a great thing to be born as an elf, if you're an elf, age doesn't matter. So, you can pursue that kind of goal."
"Hmnn... I guess if I were born a human, my goal would still be the same. Living peacefully without the burden of thoughts is the best thing in the world."
Zaltar still laughed, "No, that's not it, if you become a king, you can eat delicious food every day, and have many subordinates to order around, and be recognized by many people. You don't think of things like that?"
"Eating delicious food every day? Perhaps, that's why I came to the Utone kingdom, there are important cooking ingredients that I want. And when it comes to subordinates to order around..." Zhen pointed at Zaltar.
"Aren't you a subordinate I can order around?"
Zaltar was now just chuckling as the conversation was starting to get serious and he was now starting to understand the ideology of the elf who sitting in front of him right now.
"But, Mister Zhen, If you were a king, you could laze around without having to do anything."
"Unfortunately that's impossible, it's impossible to live a peaceful life 100% with reliance on others."
Now Zaltar was even more confused.
"Wait a minute, you want to live a quiet life but you don't want to rely on others. Why? that doesn't make sense."
"tskckck, it seems you don't understand. When you become hedonistic and over-reliance as the goal of your life, you will lose your instincts as a living being."
"Huh?"
"For example, when you always depend on food cooked by a chef, you will lose your cooking ability and when the chef is not around, you will starve to death."
Zaltar tried to rationalize that sentence. "But then, you only need to be a king who can cook. The ingredients are already provided by the people."
"And in that case, I'd have to stay in one place forever and be responsible for my people."
"But being a king doesn't mean you should taking care of the people."
"It can be true, I don't have to. But that also means I have to be ready when my people try to kill me silently every time."
Zaltar scratched his head in frustration.
"So, what exactly do you want, Mister?"
Zhen smiled, "A life like this."
"Huh?"
"I have the freedom to do anything, go anywhere. I have nothing to worry about because I depend on myself and am only responsible for myself."
Zaltar was silent as if hit by a divine epiphany and then he realized one thing.
"Wait a minute, if you can do anything, why do you need me?"
Zhen began to turn his venison so that it would cook evenly.
"Me asking you to be my coachman doesn't mean I can't be that. I just want to rest and relax in the carriage."
"Ah... I see "Zaltar was beginning to understand Zhen's mindset, but he immediately thought of something.
'If he can, that means he doesn't need to. But he still order me to, but he said not to depend, but he said he could be a coachman, but he said he wanted to relax, so, that means he needs me, but he said he only depends on himself, but -"
Zaltar was swallowed up in his own thoughts and almost scorched his brain's capacity to think.
"There's no need to think about it. Take your meat ration. If you don't rotate it, the meat will be half raw and half burnt."
The big man dismissed his own thoughts and focused on the most important thing right now.
Burning the venison nice and good.