Chapter 71
A modest grumble from George's stomach occurred just as the forest began to thin and the outside came into view.
"Running low on fuel?"
"Sorry. I just haven't eaten in about ten days."
I see. That can't be helped.
Thanks to body modification, the human body can now endure all sorts of harsh conditions, but the need for food hasn't changed much.
There are modifications that implant something like chlorophyll into the body, but they're generally avoided due to the change in skin color and their poor energy production efficiency.
"I've been on the run the whole time. Couldn't get a proper resupply."
"Then, has Ms. Talmira not eaten either?"
"No. I've made sure the girl eats properly. I had planned to escape all the way to Federation territory."
Apparently, George had been cutting back on his own meals to prioritize feeding Liz. In times like this, it's only decent to not point out a man's stoic endurance.
In that sense, Kait's food situation was much easier. Emotion didn't need to eat, and if push came to shove, Kait could use psychic power to return to the Central Star Cluster. His cooking skills, ingrained during his Earth days, had never once come in handy so far.
Emotion probably never imagined that Kait had a knack for cooking. Well, if she found out he could, she'd probably be pestering him to cook all the time.
"Well, humans do need to eat. Alright, I'll go find us something to hunt."
"Huh?"
"Wait, you haven't reinforced your internal organs? The creatures here might contain substances toxic to Earthlings."
"N-no, I'm fine with that, but..."
"Then it should be okay. Just wait here for a bit."
After telling George not to move, Kait swiftly climbed a nearby tree.
They had moved a fair distance from the Tortoise's crash site, and he was starting to sense signs of wildlife.
Hopefully it's an animal that resembles something from Earth, he thought selfishly, while temporarily enhancing his vision.
"Found one. It's got four legs, which is promising. Once it's butchered, it won't be so bad."
A creature resembling a long-legged armadillo came into view. It was about three meters long—quite large. It didn't seem wary of him, probably because it was a top predator in this area.
Since there was still a chance it could be a sentient being, Kait leapt from tree to tree and exposed himself near the creature.
'Hello'
"!?"
It was unclear whether it could communicate via language, and even if it could, there was no way they'd understand each other. So, he decided to try telepathic communication instead.
The long-legged armadillo (tentative name) stood up on its hind legs, seemingly surprised, and looked around. Their eyes met.
"Kugyaaaaah!"
A threat display. With its front legs raised, it even looked a bit like a bear.
Feeling a bit rude, Kait used psychic power to read the long-legged armadillo's mind. Enemy. Food. Weak. Want to eat. The thoughts were vague and hard to grasp, but it clearly had no intention of communicating.
"Hmm. Then I guess I don't need to consider it a sentient species of this planet."
Even if it turned out to be an evolving intelligent species, as long as he consumed it completely without leaving a trace, it wouldn't be a problem. Kait decided to be pragmatic and narrowed his eyes.
"I won't ask you not to hold a grudge."
"Kaga...?"
He borrowed a branch from the tree he was standing on and channeled his psychic power into it.
Spinning the branch at high speed, he threw it. Under Kait's control, the branch flew straight and cleanly decapitated the long-legged armadillo.
The blood that spurted out was green. "That's not exactly an appetizing color," he muttered, as he levitated the now-lifeless body into the air.
"Alright then, let's get started on the prep."
***
After finishing the butchering of the long-legged armadillo, Kait took what he judged to be enough loin meat and headed back to George. He wanted to retrieve the other parts too, but decided to prioritize the mission and reluctantly buried them.
"I'm back."
"O-oh, Captain! That was fast..."
George's face lit up with joy as his eyes widened.
Probably because Kait was carrying a chunk of raw meat as big as his torso. It was a big animal, and the meat was quite the haul.
"It was a great hunt. Alright, let's get ready to cook."
"W-wait, wait, wait, Captain Kait!?"
"What is it?"
"Y-you're going to cook that!? I-it's green!"
"It's fine. The body fluids of this planet's creatures are just a little green, that's all."
"That doesn't sound fine at all!"
"Taste and nutrients aside, right now filling our bellies should be the top priority."
"Y-yeah, maybe you're right..."
Kait sensed from the conversation that it was probably best not to mention the meat came from a giant armadillo. He levitated the meat into the air and began preparations.
He stripped branches from nearby trees and used psychic power to remove their moisture. While washing the raw meat with the extracted moisture, he gathered the branches into a campfire shape. He trimmed the thicker branches and skewered the sliced meat, placing them next to the fire.
"Ignition, and..."
With a snap of his fingers, a gentle flame rose from the center of the branches.
Once the fire was stable, Kait sat down on the ground. Roasting the meat over the fire, he looked up.
"Not much smoke either. Let's cook it quickly and eat."
"Y-yeah."
They needed to finish eating as quickly as possible and erase any trace of cooking. The lack of smoke was a stroke of luck.
He'd heard that the sentient beings on this planet were primitive but had begun developing civilization. If so, they should at least have the intelligence to roast meat over fire.
With that rationale, Kait bit into the cooked meat.
Juices spread in his mouth. The sweetness of the fat was different from Earth's, but the flavor was within acceptable range. At the very least, it was far better than the food from Ritimiele's homeland. It was actually tasty.
"Not eating? I don't know about toxins, but it tastes good."
"Ah... yeah."
Perhaps unable to resist the aroma any longer, George also sat down on the ground like Kait. He roasted the meat over the fire and swallowed hard.
His first bite was tentative, eyes shut tight.
"Hot—ow!"
The heat seemed to be more than he could handle, but apparently the taste was satisfactory.
He chewed slowly, savoring it, then swallowed. With a satisfied sigh, he took a huge bite for his second.
"Alright, me too."
Kait also took a big bite of meat. It had been a while since he last cooked.
If only he had some salt, it would've been perfect, he thought, as they both quietly focused on their meal for a while.
The next to speak was George. His immediate hunger must have been satisfied, but he still munched on the meat as he spoke with poor manners.
"Still, Captain, you're really skilled, huh?"
"You think so?"
"Yeah. I've got some aptitude for psychic power too, but I could never control it like you do."
"They say this power can do anything if you've got the imagination."
"Really?"
"That's just what my mentor said, so I don't know if it's true. I'm not very imaginative, so I'm not good at creating phenomena out of nothing. But if I have something to use as a medium, like this branch, it's a different story."
"Wow. Then the real Captain Kait must be even more amazing."
"Who knows?"
Kait responded to George's admiring words with a wry smile, avoiding a definitive answer.
The two of them passed the short time until the meat was gone, enjoying some lighthearted conversation.