"Yeah, no. I don't buy it. I get that the nobles can get shit-brained with too much wealth, but surely not to that degree. In the best case scenario, for us, he is an ex-soldier from some super secret special unit who had to run away because he was betrayed."
The bodyguard commander scoffed, gazing bitterly at the happily humming platinum-haired man watching the pot.
"Boss… how is whatever you said more believable than Norn's story…?"
"That was the point. Shut up."
The other man's face scrounged as if he licked a lemon, and he asked in disbelief, making his commander roll his eyes and shake his head in annoyance.
"...Perseverance… it does smell good…"
After a couple of minutes of silence, the bodyguard commander's stomach let out a growl, and the man slumped, begrudgingly swallowing his saliva.
"Without something like Norn's Pocket Storage to easily put away the prey, getting it to the camp is too much of a hassle. Preserved traditions are definitely the most convenient…"
The man added, staring at the package with the preserved ration, clearly not believing his own words and swallowing saliva again.
By that time, it seemed that the stew was ready, but as the ones responsible for protecting the camp, the bodyguards could not be swayed into eating something prepared by someone untrustworthy.
"Oh, Perseverance…! It's so good!"
…at least, that was supposed to be how things go, but soon enough, the other bodyguard who spent the day keeping an eye on Norn stumbled past his comrade and commander with a bowl of deer stew, devouring it hungrily and moaning in delight with every mouthful.
"Roy? ROY! What the hell are you doing!?"
His comrade had to do a double take to understand what was happening before he called out in pure bewilderment.
"Mnnmn…? Oh! Bern! Boss!? This…! This isn't what it looks like…! I… I'm sacrificing myself as a tester to check whether the stew is poisoned or not! Avenge me if I die! Mmmmmnnn! This is the best stew I had in my life…!"
The weak-willed bodyguard exclaimed in surprise as if he only then and there remembered the existence of his comrades, awkwardly coming up with a lousy excuse in between stuffing his face with the stew.
"Roy. If you get a negative status effect from that, I will kill you myself before the poison does."
"...mnmmh… ummm… mnmgnmn.."
The bodyguard commander took a deep breath and declared with a fierce expression, making Roy swallow whatever he had in his mouth and freeze up… only to stuff another spoonful of the deer stew into his mouth the next second.
"Wh-what are you..?! Roy, you moron, stop eating that! Did you at least use a poison detection scroll or wait for Otto to use his skill?"
Bern stared at his comrade in utter disbelief, baffled by the display of recklessness he would have never expected.
"..."
"..."
Instead of answering verbally, Roy looked over to the side, and Bern and their commander followed suit.
By that point, there was a line of merchants queuing to the pot where Norn was serving the stew accompanied by another bodyguard, Otto, who would use a Poison Detection skill on each serving before the hungry person was allowed to walk away with it.
"Was Otto there when you got a portion?"
"...no comment…"
The commander furrowed his brows and inquired, making Roy mutter before scuttling away with his bowl.
Sometime later, the bodyguard commander, accompanied by Otto, approached the carriage in the middle of the convoy, carrying a bowl of steaming deer stew.
"Why are you here…?"
This time, even after confirming the visitor's identity through the mirror, Doyen didn't open the door and instead asked, her voice passing through another tiny hatch in the side of the reinforced wagon.
"It's food prepared by Norn. Can't live on preserved rations alone. Otto, do the thing."
"Share display. Poison Detection."
The commander showed off the steaming bowl, nudging his subordinate, who used two skills in succession, creating a pale-blue window displaying the composition of the dish before emanating a green glow, signaling no trace of any dangerous substance.
*click*
Without another word from Doyen, the hatch with the mirror and the one for communication shut with a soft sound, and… nothing else happened announcing the woman's stance on the food.
"We'll leave it here. Together with Poison Detection scroll, too. That stew is very tasty, you know?"
After exchanging understanding glances with Otto, the bodyguard commander put a handkerchief and placed the bowl with the stew, a wooden spoon, and a scroll with greenish-purple ribbon on top of it. After another minute passed without any sign from the caravan leader, the two of them left, shrugging their shoulders at each other.
The next day, at daybreak, the door to the carriage opened, and the green-haired woman stepped outside. She stopped next to the bowl of the cold stew on the handkerchief, staring at it for a few moments.
"Good morning, lady boss! Are you going to eat it…?"
"..."
One of the bodyguards passing by with a piece of hard brown bread greeted her before asking, making the green-haired woman glance at him in silence - or at least turn her face towards him.
"No. If you're not too busy, please clean it up and return the Poison Detection scroll to your commander."
"With pleasure!"
Doyen shook her head lightly without exposing her eyes and waved her hand dismissively before flinching a bit at the enthusiastic reaction of the man who dived for the bowl as fast as he could.
As he snatched it, instead of throwing it away, he began to eat the cold stew hungrily.
"Mmmnmnn! It's great even when it's cold…!"
"...!"
The bodyguard was so eager that he managed to deal with the stew in less than a minute. Using the brown bread to clean the bowl, he moaned in delight while finishing it up, giving Doyen quite the surprise.
For a moment, she made a troubled expression - at least at the visible part of her face - but calmly made her way to the first wagon before the satiated bodyguard picked up the scroll and the handkerchief.