Outside the camp, in the wooden shed, Mino worked quickly. She skinned the small lizards and three mice, removed their insides, tied them up with rope, and hung them over the firepit to smoke.
The girls rubbed sand on their hands, scrubbing away the blood. Without water, sand was all they could use to clean themselves.
"Why is Luciel taking so long? What’s he doing?"
Mino’s blue eyes were fixed on the shed door, worry creeping in.
"It’s been a while... could something have happened to him?"
It had taken her over an hour to prepare the lizards and mice. Now, idle, and with Luciel gone so long, she felt both lonely and insecure.
"Oh, Luciel is so capable... nothing could have gone wrong," she whispered to herself, shaking her head to calm the panic rising in her chest.
She focused on moving things in the shed.
"This pillow has to go... and this quilt made from wild rabbit skin."
"The bed frame needs to be taken too, otherwise we’ll have no place to sleep."
"Take the wooden bowl, and this bucket can hold water..."
Mino hesitated, reluctant to part with anything. Even the shed door seemed precious. Every item in this shed had been collected and made together with her older sister—it carried too many memories.
Suddenly, the shed door creaked open, and a shadow slipped inside.
"Who’s there?" Mino’s face changed instantly. Her reflexes were sharp; she drew the bone spur from her waist and edged toward the shed wall.
The three-colored lizard hissed a few times, gradually revealing itself from invisibility. The most update n0vels are published on N0veI.Fiɾe.net
"You... you’re Xiaocai?" Mino stared at the strange-looking lizard in astonishment.
She hesitated, then said, "If you are, nod."
The lizard ignored her and twisted its body to tug at the ropes.
Only Luciel could have trained a lizard to carry things , Mino realized, feeling a bit foolish. She sheathed her bone spurs and said, "I’ll help you."
As she approached, the lizard paused, letting the five rolls of cloth, the wolf skin, and the sword slip free from the ropes. It then left the shed, carrying the items for its owner.
"Hey! Where’s Luciel?" Mino shouted, but the lizard didn’t look back.
Though the domesticated beasts had evolved, their intelligence was only like that of a two- or three-year-old child—they couldn’t understand her words.
It seems it doesn’t understand me at all, Mino sighed.
She turned her attention to the five rolls of cloth, the wolf skin, and the sword. She stroked the cloth, blue eyes shining.
"These fabrics are so soft... must be made from high-quality animal hair. But... where did Luciel get all this? Five rolls of cloth could make dozens of outfits."
Reluctantly, she put the cloth down and lifted the wolf skin, which was taller than she was.
"This wolf skin... it’s definitely from a fierce beast," she murmured, hugging it excitedly. How did Luciel get these things?
She guessed aloud, "Maybe Luciel told the leader about the Bloodbeard attack... and these are the rewards?"
It seemed plausible. These items might have been gifted for information.
After a moment, Mino set down the wolf skin and picked up the sword.
"Swords ... only hunting team members use them."
Her guess seemed increasingly likely.
The shed door opened again. The tricolor lizard returned, carrying a cloth bag.
Mino hurried to untie it and watched the lizard leave. Curiously, she opened the bag.
"Eh? Eh??" She froze. The bag was filled entirely with dried meat.
Suddenly, her previous guess seemed flawed. Could simply reporting information make the leader so generous?
Luciel didn’t steal from the leader’s house, did he?
Mino looked between the jerky, the cloth, the sword, and the wolf skin. No way... the careful leader wouldn’t reward these. Luciel must have stolen them.
Quickly, she tied the cloth bag and hid it under the bed, just in case anyone came searching.
"Tonight, we hide. Tomorrow, leave before dawn."
"Luciel... even if we leave, why did he take so many things? Why not just move them to the little Black Tortoise and hide them in the back?"
Yes... that’s better. When Luciel comes back, I’ll discuss it with him.
Mino carefully hid everything, walking around the shed as she thought about the best way to conceal it.
Go back? No... impossible.
She had never even considered returning what Luciel had taken.