Liberation of The Slaves

Chapter 123 – Journey’s Preparations

The following morning, we finally sat down and talked through the plan for our journey.

“I should tell you first, this is my first real trip like this, so I do not even know what preparations we need,” I said to Len.

Len waved it off like it was obvious.

“It is not much. I already have a tent for us to sleep in the forest. So we only need to prepare two other things. The first is food.”

“Food? Can we not just use ingredients from the forest?”

She nodded.

“Yes, we can, but we don’t know how long it will take before we come back here, right? Some ingredients and seasonings in this house might expire by the time we return.”

“Ah, I get it. So you want to use everything we have and turn it into travel food. But is that not too much?”

“It is a lot.”

Len admitted, then smiled like she had already decided.

“Normally, I would not empty the pantry. But this time I want to use it all. It will probably take a week if you help me.”

“Me?”

I laughed under my breath.

“I thought you banned me from the kitchen.”

Her eyes narrowed playfully as if she was giving me a mercy sentence.

“You only need to cut vegetables and other ingredients. I will handle the rest.”

“Haa… You just want me to cook with you, right?”

Cutting things would not take a whole week. This was just her excuse to keep me close.

Len’s cheeks lifted, proud that I saw through her. “Oh, so you are perceptive. Ehe.”

She stuck out her tongue, and my chest warmed in a way that made me want to pull her into my arms right there. But I forced myself to stay on track.

“Alright, what is the second thing we need to prepare?”

“Of course, your equipment.”

“My equipment?”

The word caught me off guard. Then Len tilted her head.

“Why do you look so surprised? You don’t intend to wear casual clothes like that through the Amazon Forest, right? I have become weak, so I need to use my armor too. You also need a suitable sword.”

“Ah, that makes sense. But you told me you are not skilled in blacksmithing, did you not?”

“Yes.”

She admitted, then lifted a finger.

“But that does not mean I cannot make equipment and weapons at all. I can do it, but the result will be worse than dwarves.”

“I see… Well, I suppose it is better than wearing casual clothes. I will leave it to you.”

—————

After we agreed on the preparations, we threw ourselves into a day of cooking.

My job was simple but endless. I sat on the floor with a knife in hand, cutting vegetables, berries, and slabs of meat until my fingers started to move on their own. Len moved around me like a conductor, tasting, seasoning, simmering, and packing everything with the calm confidence of someone who had survived long enough to respect a full stomach.

When we finally lined everything up, I stared at the mountain of pots and provisions scattered across the floor. I asked, half laughing, half horrified.

“How do we even bring all this food?”

The amount was ridiculous. It looked like enough to feed us for two years. It was proof of how absurd the store of ingredients in this house really was.

Len lifted her chin proudly.

“With my magic bag, of course. Its capacity is the best in the world, you know? It even has a function that delays time. Normal magic bags in town do not have that.”

“Delays time…”

I repeated, and my excitement dulled into suspicion.

“So it does not stop time completely. That means the food will still spoil eventually, right? How long will it last in your bag?”

Len was stunned. Her proud smile wavered and her voice trembled.

“Ah… W-Well. Six months, probably.”

I stared at her. She could not meet my eyes. Instead, she scratched her cheek and looked away.

“So you don’t actually have a plan…”

The words came out with a teasing smile that still carried a sting. I sighed, then lifted my gaze toward the air as if speaking to someone just out of reach.

“Haa… Aza, do you have any solution?”

【Wait a moment. I will look for the information.】

We waited. It took an unusually long ten minutes, and that alone told me it was not something she could answer right away.

【There exists a Time element capable of halting time itself. But I don’t know the requirements to obtain it. Historically, only one dragon possessed the Time element, and that dragon died around twenty thousand years ago. People in the current era might not even know it existed, since that history was lost.】

Listening to her explanation, I sighed again

“Haa… That sounds amazing. But it is useless if we cannot obtain it. Anything else?”

【The only viable solution is to learn a skill named Item Storage.】

“Item Storage?”

It sounded like something straight out of the fantasy stories I used to read.

【Yes. It functions similarly to a magic bag, but it can stop time completely. Another difference is that a magic bag can be used by others, but the skill is exclusive to the user. If the user dies, everything stored inside disappears as well.】

The explanation only made it feel even more like the novels.

Len, however, reacted like someone had just offered her salvation.

“Wow! That is a great skill!”

She suddenly leaned in close, her hands clasped together in excitement.

“Darling, this is our only solution to store the food properly. You must learn it while I make the armor and weapon for you!”

“Haa… Okay…”

I surrendered to the inevitable.

So while Len worked at the forge and workbench, I spent a month learning the skill, using it again and again until it settled into my body like a new instinct.

Item Storage

Lv. 2

A versatile skill that enables the user to store a variety of items within a space dimension. Additionally, the skill possesses the ability to halt the passage of time within each storage space independently, ensuring that perishable items such as food remain fresh and unspoiled.

As the skill level increases, so does the storage capacity, allowing the user to store a greater quantity and variety of items.

Current limit:

Maximum item types: 20

Maximum units per type: 99

The resemblance to fantasy novel skills was almost uncanny, especially because it came with a clean interface that listed what I had stored. A normal magic bag did not do that. With this, I did not have to keep everything memorized in my head.

At level one, the skill could store ten types of items. At level two, it doubled to twenty. Since we had fifteen varieties of provisions and each one took up two pots, level two was needed.

The nice part was that the level rose naturally through use, so I did not have to force it anymore. If we kept relying on it in daily life, it would grow on its own.

Once that final piece fell into place, Len called me with a voice so bright it sounded like she was showing off a treasure.

“Darling! It is ready!”

I stepped to the table as she presented the equipment on the table before me, and my breath caught.

“Red?”

A sword, snug in its scabbard, an intricately made suit of armor, sturdy boots, and a flowing cloak. Everything carried the same dark crimson hue, like dried blood under candlelight.

Len’s excitement faltered when she saw my surprise.

“I made them from Red Wolf pelts, and scales and fangs from a Fire Drake I hunted before. Sorry. It is all I had on hand. Do you… dislike it…?”

Her voice dipped at the end, and her shoulders drew inward in a way that made her look smaller than she ever should.

“Ah, no. Not at all.”

I said quickly, stepping closer.

“I was just surprised. I thought my first armor would be plain brown leather, because newbie adventurers in my hometown usually wear that. Thank you, sweetheart.”

Len’s eyes softened, and she lifted her chin again.

“There is no way I would make mere leather armor for you, darling! Leather armor is not enough for monsters in the Amazon Forest. This armor should be able to take a few hits from A-Rank monsters.”

“Well, that is reassuring,” I said, then swallowed. “Even so, I hope we do not meet any A-Rank monsters or above.”

【Master, you just raised a flag again.】

I froze. “...Damn.”

“Flag?”

Len asked, blinking in confusion.

【It means someone expresses hope that something will not happen, but it inevitably happens.】

“Ah, don’t worry, darling.”

Len said, then smiled as if she found it funny.

“A-Rank monsters usually stay near the core of the forest, far from our path. Even if we meet one, you can run with your Short Teleportation to save your life. You don’t have to worry about me because I can—Mmmm!?”

【Ahnn?!】

I kissed her before she could finish.

Len’s eyes widened, and even Aza sounded startled, but Len melted into it a heartbeat later, her hands finding my shoulders as she kissed me back with a warmth that made my thoughts blur.

When I finally pulled away, my arms were still around her neck, and my forehead hovered close to hers.

“There is no way I will leave you alone.”

I whispered softly.

“So don’t talk like that anymore, please.”

Len blinked, then laughed softly, her breath brushing my lips.

“You should let me finish. Did you forget we have that title that lets me teleport to your side? I was going to say you don’t have to worry about me because I will use it to teleport to your location.”

“Eh…?”

I loosened my hold, embarrassment rushing into my face.

“I really forgot…”

She chuckled, clearly enjoying herself.

“But I love that you worry about me. And…”

She paused for a moment.

“You kissed me so suddenly that my body got hot.”

This time she was the one who leaned in, arms wrapping around me, eyes half-lidded with playful hunger.

“W-Wait!”

I stammered, gesturing toward the gear on the table.

“At least let me use Appraisal on the equipment first!”

“No.”

Len murmured, pressing closer.

“I can’t hold back anymore.”

“Hey—Mmmm!?”

【Ahhnn?!】

She stole my protest with another kiss, deeper and more insistent, and my resolve crumbled far too easily. The armor and sword could wait. In her arms, everything else became distant, like the world had been pushed outside the door and locked away.