Chương 64: Chapter 60

The tent was silent for the most part, and what little sound was in it echoed from outside. It wasn't spacious, but it wasn't suffocating either, if anything, there was enough room for maybe 1 or maybe even 2 people to fit in here. A soft layer of wool over the ground acted as the bedding, and Chael had also covered the earth with a thick padding of grass below it. The dried fibers crunched under Sobelle's weight as she made her way to bed.

When she laid down, Sobelle realized that she and Chael would have to be pressed against each other to comfortably fit in the bed. Whether or not Chael wanted this was a mystery to Sobelle, but she felt that maybe the merchant did it on purpose. That or Chael saw no need to put space between them since they'd already crossed the line back in the village. Or maybe there wasn't enough wool and Chael improvised, the answer could be anything really.

Regardless, it didn't change the fact that the bed was nice to lay in and that Chael had clearly put effort into preparing the tent. She wanted the two of them to be comfortable during the night, and had done a good job at doing so. Sobelle closed her eyes and prepared to sleep. Shuffling soon came from the tent's entrance. Sobelle's ears picked up the sound of grinding grass, followed by the feeling of someone entering the bed. Warmth washed over Sobelle's side as Chael settled in next to her.

Sobelle resisted the urge to squirm as the merchant gently rubbed her stomach, Chael's arm settled over it before she then proceeded to lay her head next to Sobelle's shoulders. Sobelle thought that Chael would try something, but she didn't.

"I love you. And I'm sorry, I should have been better." Chael murmured softly, the sound tickled Sobelle's ears and it sent a shiver down her spine. Did this girl know Sobelle was listening or did she just apologize all on her own? What did that even do? Apologies should be done in person, not in secret like this one. Silence. Sobelle couldn't sleep for the next half hour, and she was glad when she finally managed to. The night passed by for her in a blur, and it was morning by the time she woke up.

The sun was in the skies, Chael was still asleep, and cold wind whistled just outside their tent. She slowly got up and made her way to the fire pit. She noticed that the fire on top of the wagon was as strong as it was when they left it the night before. It did not need to be fed, but Sobelle chose to do it anyway.

"Thank you, for protecting us the night before." Sobelle clapped her hands together and kneeled in front of the flame. She threw in some firewood and then left to check her traps. When Sobelle came back, she held a few rabbits. All of them looked fairly healthy, though that didn't help with the fact that rabbits simply lacked meat. She made the decision to turn them into rations and it wasn't even a hard one, as turning them into a meal when they still had leftovers from last night was nothing but a waste.

The rabbits were quietly butchered, cut, and then smoked in a makeshift drying rack. Sobelle wasn't sure if any of them would dry by the time she and Chael left to continue their journey but the meat should have progressed well enough that they wouldn't spoil when stored properly. Once that was done, Sobelle reheated the stew from last night and then waited for Chael to come out. The smell must have attracted the merchant, because she came out of the tent rubbing her eyes shortly after Sobelle reheated the meat.

Chael still looked out of it as she found her way next to Sobelle, she sat on the ground, uncaring of the dirt on her dress. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Are we gonna clean ourselves before we leave?" She asked while poking at the meat using the same stick Sobelle used on the fire.

"The nearest village won't appear for another day so we can definitely choose to keep walking. If that's what you want."

"We should keep walking then." Sobelle did not mind her smell. She sniffed her shirt and realized she had no stench, "I don't smell bad, so I don't think we need to clean ourselves. It'll only slow us down."

"Don't you?" Chael pushed her head closer to Sobelle and took a whiff. She frowned.

"Liar. You smell like my father's shoes after a long day of walking." Sobelle raised an eyebrow, she thought that either Chael was lying or she couldn't smell herself. The latter seemed more likely so she decided to believe Chael, "I guess I smell bad then."

"Yes, you do." Chael rested her head on Sobelle's shoulders.

"But I think I like it, if this is how you smell every time you sweat a lot from working hard, then I definitely need to get used to it."

"Do you?" Sobelle felt amused at the implications underneath the merchant's words. She leaned in and smelled Chael's neck, "you also don't smell as bad as I thought you'd be, it's not disgusting, maybe salty? I don't know."

"Stop!" Chael giggled and pushed Sobelle's head away.

"You're not allowed to sniff me like that unless I tell you directly, okay? That's so mean!"

"Mean? Why would it be mean?" Sobelle tried to get another sniff of Chael's neck but she was harshly pushed away. She pouted, "why? Why do you not want me to smell you?" She grabbed Chael's wrist and held the merchant in place.

"Tell me."

"B-because I don't smell good." Chael muttered weakly.

"I don't want you to do that when I haven't cleaned myself so... I just don't want you to do that okay? I want you to like it when you take in my scent."

"I don't mind this though." And Sobelle really didn't. She was used to the smell of sweat by this point, and it wasn't like Chael's scent was unbearable.

"Not minding it isn't enough!" Chael suddenly snapped. She paused and quickly realized what she just did, "Sobelle, I'm sorry, okay? I just don't want you to think I smell bad. Or even that I smell like sweat! I want you to think that I smell good. That's it."

"What a weird thing to get so fixated over." Sobelle laughed, she didn't get why Chael was so adamant on keeping herself from smelling bad but Sobelle couldn't care less.

"You're a weird one."

"No? You're the weird one. Most women our age would do everything they can to keep themselves from smelling bad in front of their lovers, while you don't." Chael hadn't intended for Sobelle to blush from her words, but was glad that it happened. She grinned, "what? Are you feeling shy from being called my lover? But that's true isn't it?"

"I'm leaving." Sobelle let out a playful huff and stood up. She briefly checked on the rabbit meat she was smoking before going back to Chael.

"We should eat, and then continue moving."

"Mhmm." Chael confirmed with a hum.

"Are you gonna train for this morning as well?"

"I will train, but not in the morning." Sobelle didn't want to forsake the Gods' request, but at the same time, she also didn't want to waste the early morning.

"Maybe in the afternoon, who knows."

"I'll be carrying the cart by then." Chael snapped her fingers and clicked her tongue. She glared at Sobelle, who was about to say something.

"No, I will be pulling the cart. You can't just do this alone Sobelle, you need some time for yourself too..." Chael reached for Sobelle's hand.

"And I don't want to treat you as some work horse. Okay? We're in this together." Sobelle looked at the side of her palm where she and Chael's skin met. It felt hot to the touch for some reason. She nodded, "okay, I'll let you pull the wagon if that's what you want." Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to rest while Chael did some work.

"But we don't have to stop once I start training, we can just keep moving."

"That's the plan." Chael agreed.

"But wouldn't it be difficult for you to stop and train every time the wagon gets far enough?"

"I'll just run ahead of you, that should give me enough time to finish my set of push ups." More than anything, it was lifting weights that Sobelle was worried about. Mainly because she had nothing to lift around here.

"We should be fine."

"Then that's settled." Chael grabbed a wooden bowl and scooped up some of the heated stew. She started eating.

"And once we reach the village, we'll be able to get some proper rest."

"Yes." Sobelle picked up her own bowl. She went silent as she ate, and for a second, she wondered how that one village would fare should the greenskins. also attack it. And speaking of Goblins, the quest the Gods gave her finished and now she was being rewarded. Sobelle silently watched the boxes progress and did not slow down in her eating. [Goblin quest finished! Calculating rewards...] [Title [Goblin Slayer I] Acquired!] [Goblin Slayer I - You are 25% more effective when fighting greenskins] [Technique [Ambush Tactics] Acquired!] [+4 Endurance!] [+4 Attack!] [+4 Dexterity!] [20 Strength Reached! Calculating Reward...] [20 Endurance Reached! Calculating Reward...]