Chapter 118: Second fall hunting

Fall had arrived once again. Even though it was only his second time in this world, it felt so familiar. Joonbum worked with the others to prepare bows and arrows. He was still far from being perfect, but daily training increased his proficiency. It was not possible to match the Ainos, who had spent decades using bows and arrows, but he was now good enough to hit a target when he needed to.

The reason why Joonbum worked on his archery skill even with his guns was because of the stealth aspect. The guns drew too much attention because of the sound. Prey that seemed confused at first now ran to hide at the sound of nearby gunshots. The gunshots made it harder for the Ainos to hunt, so Joonbum needed to use bows if he were to join them.

*

Doral, who in the lead, stopped and raised his hand. Joonbum, Daryl, and Louise halted at the back. Gumdong, who was sniffing in front of Doral, lowered his head and growled. It was a sign that he had found a target.

“Oh! Over there!”

“That’s a big deer!”

Daryl and Louise shouted as Doral scowled. Joonbum grinned as they were just like him during his first hunt.

“Shhhh!”

Joonbum quieted both men as Doral did last year and even Doral grinned.

“Let’s go!”

Gumdong began moving ahead through the bushes and they followed him quietly.

‘There are more!’ Doral and Joonbum thought as they moved slowly behind Gumdong. There were sounds of movement ahead. There were about ten deer munching on the grass and their huge horns were magnificent. Doral pointed to his target and Joonbum also pointed out his own target. Daryl and Louise did the same and all of them began aiming. Doral waved his hand as the signal.

Four arrows were fired at their targets and Gumdong followed, charging at a nearby deer with an enormous horn and immediately biting down on its neck. The deer screeched as they scattered into the forest. The deer that was bitten by Gumdong struggled frantically to free itself, but it was no use. The deer that was struck by Doral’s arrow jumped few times and fell. Another deer had its heart penetrated by Joonbum’s arrow ran into a tree and fell. However, the two large deer that Daryl and Louise managed to score on their necks and bellies did not die. They were critically wounded, but it was not enough to kill them instantly.

“Dammit!”

“NO!”

They yelled and chased after the two fleeing deer. Doral grinned as Joonbum laughed out loud.

“They’ve gotten better.”

“Of course, they practiced a lot.”

“ARGH!”

“UGH!”

These deer were herbivores. However, they were over four feet tall and 4,000 pounds with a pair of huge horns on their heads. These were the kind of deer that were now charging at Daryl and Louise.

“Wow.”

Even Joonbum was shocked. Both deer were bleeding heavily from their necks and bellies but they fought back at their hunters viciously. Daryl and Louise frantically ran around to avoid being struck by the two dying deer.

“Mr. Doral!”

“Sir Joonbum!”

Both shouted for help at Doral and Joonbum, who were casually watching them.

“You will make all the animals run away if you continue yelling like that.”

Doral shook his head and quickly shot one of his arrows. Joonbum did the same. Two arrows struck their targets and both deer stopped dead, falling to the ground. There were five deer in total.

Doral fired a whistling arrow into the sky as a signal and began skinning Gumdong’s deer. When he finished skinning it, he then gave the rest to Gumdong for food. Gumdong began gorging on its intestines then quickly gorged down the flesh.

Doral with Daryl and Joonbum with Louise worked in pairs to gather the deer blood as they also skinned them.

“Ugh! P-please.”

“Ugh… I feel sick…”

Daryl and Louise both were shocked when they first saw Doral and Joonbum slice open the bellies of the deer. The warm blood was steamy and the smell pierced their noses, making them feel sick.

‘I had a hard time at first too.’

Joonbum grinned, they looked exactly like he did a year ago.

They took out the intestines to place them above the leather and began cleaning out the feces and undigested food inside. Then they began butchering the meat into pieces.

“Wow. You guys got some! We were busted.”

“Same here.”

“Welcome.”

Gazlow and Pree-an had their own team of warriors, and Gumdong’s brother Guardians also came back. Urlook and Heukgu began munching on the bones of the deer that Gumdong had finished eating.

A bonfire was started and Joonbum began boiling bean paste soup. An enticing smell began to fill the area and Joonbum threw in the intestines that they gathered a while ago. Daryl and Louise watched.

“It’s making me hungry!”

“Sir Joonbum! I’m hungry now!”

Everyone’s bellies began to rumble. Pav and Aiden seemed to be having difficulties resisting their hunger, and so did Daryl and Louise. The youngest men gathered in front of the temporary table made from wood and kept staring at the soup.

‘I guess we can start eating the intestines.’

The chunk of meat was not ready yet, but the intestines seemed like they were fully cooked. Joonbum began pulling out the intestines by using a long fork and served it on the table.

“OH!”

“WOW!”

Everyone shouted at the sight. Joonbum pulled out a knife and began slicing it into pieces. He then moved it to a large dish in the middle of the table.

“Nice.”

“Amazing.”

“Why does it taste so good when it was only boiled?”

“It’s the best.”

“You can’t overcook it. It will make it too tough.”

“Joonbum is the best at boiling the meat.”

Gazlow seemed to be satisfied as he chowed down on the liver and gulped down a beer. Everyone had their own beer as they enjoyed the boiled intestines. There were also Goram, other mushrooms, and plenty of fruit. It was a feast, considering it was just a lunch in the forest. Fall had plenty of food which made it possible.

When they were finished eating, they gathered what they hunted and returned to town. Hunting groups went out on a daily basis to hunt and gather. Mushrooms were gathered to dry and catnip were harvested. Beans were processed to make into bean paste and pepper paste was also created.

Everyone was busy as fall continued. The forest now turned into red and yellow. Galfus also recovered and began tending to her twenty-seven cubs.

The guests arrived at the town. Catherine, together with knights and soldiers, came to visit with gifts from the baron and Jasmine came with the bounty reward from Marquis Beneth. There were also merchants led by Ress, who had come to the town to give Joonbum the promised money. The town was full of people and there was now a campsite dedicated to the visitors.

“Joonbum!”

“Miss Catherine!”

Eina was troubled, but she did not stop her master. She just bowed to Joonbum apologetically.

‘What else can she do?’

The reason for Catherine’s visit was because she could not overcome her trauma when she returned home. She woke up in terror at night, screaming madly and she had lost weight at an alarming rate. Baron Ferric reluctantly let Catherine visit Joonbum for her own health as advised by a healer. Joonbum looked at Catherine who rushed at him and held onto his arm.

‘Oh.’

It was awkward, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. His mother greeted Catherine and told Joonbum to treat her nicely after hearing what had happened.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes! Did you?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t the bed uncomfortable?”

“No! It was really nice. Your carriages are all so nice, Jasmine said she was surprised by them too. I was a little worried when I came here but it was okay. The bed was SO fluffy that I overslept. Oh, and I didn’t have any nightmares too! Hehe.”

Joonbum raised his hand and casually patted Catherine on the head. Eina opened her mouth to stop it but she could not say anything in the end and backed away. Catherine blushed as she smiled happily. Joonbum realized that he had made a mistake, but he did not take off his hand.

‘Well, she likes it.’

Joonbum grinned and tousled Catherine’s hair roughly.

“Hey! You’re messing up my hair!”

“You don’t need to be so tidy in the morning. You should sleep well, eat well, and play well. That’s how you can grow up to be a nice, healthy lady.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Here, follow me.”

Joonbum moved toward a greenhouse.

“What is this? OH! It’s so pretty! What is this place?”

“This is where my mother grows fruit.”

“OH? Really?”

Catherine seemed surprised. It was a greenhouse for strawberries and tomatoes. Joonbum grinned and plucked a strawberry for himself and another for Catherine. She popped it into her mouth.

“OH! This is sweet and sour! What is this?”

“It’s called a strawberry. I brought it from the Daehan Empire. Here, pluck it yourself and try it.”

“C-can I?”

“Sure. It’s ripe when it’s red and big like this. Eina, you can take one too.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Catherine let out a gasp as she plucked a strawberry and ate it. Joonbum continued explaining.

“Come here and eat any fruit you want in the morning. Don’t forget to drink milk too. Then eat a light breakfast afterward. You will grow quickly.”

“Okay!”

Catherine answered brightly as Eina watched her, surprised by her unusual eagerness.

“OH! THERE YOU ARE! Sir Joonbum!”

Joonbum froze at the voice. His pleasant time with Catherine was over.

‘Ugh! That monster woman!’