Taming The Villainesses

The Hunter had overcome countless trials and hardships, and in the end, made his way toward the broken sky.

I can’t quite recall why he headed there, or what happened to him afterward.

But as far as I remember, for the Hunter, heading toward that sky had always been a kind of destiny—a life’s mission.

And even now, after so many events had twisted away from what was “supposed” to happen, that part had remained unchanged.

When they said they were heading beneath the broken sky, Elga spoke up.

“Then our destination’s the same. If we talk it out properly, maybe it’d be good for your group and ours to travel together?”

It seemed Elga, like me, was considering temporarily teaming up with the Hunter’s party.

“Can’t be a bad deal for you guys either.”

But the aloof priestess Miriam snorted lightly.

“Why should we travel with you?”

There was a trace of resentment in her tone. As expected, she still held a grudge about us sending their party beyond the barrier.

Just then, Mirna stepped forward and interjected.

“Judging by the looks of you, it seems you've spent quite some time here. Then you must know why there aren’t any monsters in this area right now, don’t you?”

“You mean how they’ve all gathered under the sky farther north—inside the city. We know that better than you do.”

“Then you also understand we may not be able to enter that city so easily.”

Mirna’s reasoning was sound. Right now, the Final City of Gargarta was overflowing with monsters. No one knew what might happen once we tried to enter.

If we cooperated, we could expand our strategies and responses. There was real merit in working together.

But Miriam simply shook her head.

“Never really thought about it.”

Blunt as ever. Still, the Miriam I knew wasn’t the kind of person who let personal resentment ruin her judgment. She could separate public from private.

There was something going on.

Some reason they seemed so confident. What was it?

Would it be best to use a little magic to make them spill it?

Shhh.

Just as I subtly moved my fingers—

“Don’t even try it, spell-slinger.”

Shwing.

The warrior woman, who had been sharpening her greatsword, drew the longsword from her hip and pointed it at my throat.

Of course, Stella’s dagger was already in place, blocking it. But the warrior woman didn’t flinch.

“Mages are always up to something. I don’t underestimate you. So don’t go making suspicious moves.”

“......”

Her senses were razor-sharp.

Yeah—this was the level you’d expect from a main character’s party member. The problem was that the mood between our groups was getting more and more strained.

Shrrrk.

It was the warrior who first withdrew her blade.

She carefully slid it back into the sheath on her lap, then took out her whetstone again and resumed sharpening her greatsword.

That was the end of the conversation.

Honestly, even if we had wanted to talk more, the mood had soured enough that no one could speak easily.

At that moment, Mirna leaned toward me and whispered softly:

“Sir Teo, I think it would be best to give up on traveling with these people. They’re like wild beasts—uncontrollable. They’ll only bring trouble.”

Mirna wasn’t wrong.

But I couldn’t ignore how their confident attitude and survival skills might hide some kind of secret—something that gave them a real advantage.

They might know a way to enter the city safely.

And if that were true, I had to find out.

I didn’t want any of my wives to get hurt or fall into danger. Naturally, I wanted to choose the best path forward.

But no further conversation happened in that heavy silence.

In that cramped cave, their group stayed on their side, and we stayed on ours, each of us quietly resting.

***

Night fell quickly in the forest, and strange beastly cries echoed all around.

Probably those floating-head monsters we’d seen earlier.

In this situation, wandering outside was nothing short of madness.

So we stayed in the cave the Hunter’s party had been using as shelter and tried to shake off our exhaustion.

Bubbling...

I was snapped from my thoughts by the sound of boiling water. Priestess Miriam was in front of a pot, peeling the skin off some sweet-potato-like root with a knife.

Nearby were some unidentifiable greens and tiny berries, barely the size of fingernails.

Was it already time for dinner?

I caught Miriam glancing at me.

“We don’t have any food for you, so don’t ask. I’m sure you understand how hard it is to find anything edible this far out.”

She thought we were going to beg for food.

Well, out here in this snowy forest, scrounging for ingredients must be brutal.

Still—

We had no intention of eating those mystery ingredients.

And it’d be rude to ask for their rations anyway.

But we did need to eat.

“Let’s have our own meal.”

Clatter.

I pulled food out from my inventory—《Squirrel Storage》.

Dried meats, fruits, a few other provisions. Some of it was the food we’d traded for with the magic carpet back in Pallen Village yesterday.

Let’s go with that today.

As I began prepping the ingredients, Elga looked surprised.

“Whoa. You’re actually cooking yourself, Teo? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve lived on my own before. I’m no Marmar or Lady Mirna in the kitchen, but I can handle a simple dish or two.”

Tonight’s menu was one of my specialties.

I filled the pot with water and used magic to get it boiling.

Then I tore off chunks of the dried meat and dumpling dough and tossed them in. I opened a familiar packet, lifted it to my nose, and sniffed carefully.

“......”

Sniff-sniff.

My sensitive half-fairy nose checked for edibility.

Even sealed packets can go bad, after all. A stomachache in a place like this would be a nightmare.

Thankfully, it was still good.

Four packets should be enough. There was plenty of meat and sausage already.

Ssssskk.

I emptied the powdered soup from each packet into the boiling water. In moments, the pot turned a deep red.

The spicy, savory smell spread quickly.

Stronger than I expected—so strong I had to cast a barrier spell on the cave entrance to keep the scent from luring monsters.

Soon, the entire cave was filled with the nostalgic scent of ramen broth. I used to eat this stuff all the time when I lived alone.

Back then, I was so sick of it.

But smelling it again now—it was oddly comforting. My stomach growled.

One by one, the ladies sat near the pot. In this chilly cave, the warm broth by the fire was a blessing.

Time to add the noodles. A few sausages, too. In just a few minutes, it would be perfect.

It was starting to look more like budae jjigae than ramen.

“Teo, how much longer?”

Narmee, who’d been staring at the boiling water like a kitten watching a fishbowl, shivered.

She must’ve been starving. I answered calmly.

“Three more minutes. In the meantime, let’s each prep our bowls and utensils.”

Three minutes.

Waiting three minutes—

It’d been a long time since I’d done that. A spoonful of ketchup during this wait would really deepen the flavor...

Too bad I didn’t have any.

Ramen with tomato ketchup—it sounds horrifying if you’ve never tried it, but it’s surprisingly good.

Maybe I’ll ask Marmar to make some for the next meal?

“Three minutes are up!”

Narmee raised her hand.

Soon, the six of us sat around the pot, eating together.

Slurp— The sound of slurping filled the air, along with Narmee’s “Hot!!” and Mirna’s quiet scolding: “Narmee, eat like a lady.”

Elga took a ladleful of soup, sipped it, and said:

“Thought it’d taste weird—but it’s surprisingly good. The warmth is seeping into my bones. Reminds me of the stew the field cooks used to make during war campaigns.”

Elga, raised on the battlefield since childhood, actually had pretty humble tastes. It suited her.

What about the other ladies?

“I thought we’d have to survive on bugs and roasted birds. It’s my first time eating this kind of meal in a cave.”

Stella seemed genuinely amazed to be having actual human food while camping.

Honestly, she was right. In any other worldline, we’d probably be roasting that shrimp-flavored maggot over a fire.

As she gently stroked my head, Stella smiled and said:

“Didn’t know you could cook like this, Teo. You’re surprisingly domestic.”

I turned toward the queen.

“Lady Ayra, does it suit your taste?”

“It’s a bit salty. But I think it’s perfect. We’ve been sweating a lot these past couple days.”

Her long ebony hair brushed back behind her ears so it wouldn’t touch the bowl—elegantly poised.

When Ayra eats it, even this improvised mess of ramen looks like some kind of gourmet dish.

For a moment, I thought—

I could’ve cooked better if I’d practiced more.

I should’ve learned properly when I had the chance.

“This is delicious!”

“Narmee, quiet while you’re eating...”

“Says the one who’s only picking out the sausages...”

“W-What?!”

“Lady Mirna, you’ve got the same tastes as Senior Alastor. He always picked out the sausages too. I wonder if Elga has the same palate as her father?”

“Me? I eat anything. It’s Ayra who’s the picky one.”

“For a queen, culinary taste is a matter of national pride.”

So noisy—and yet, it was lovely.

Sitting in a circle and eating like this made it really feel like we were family.

Even if I wasn’t eating, I felt full.

Zzzhhh—

Then, I felt a pair of eyes locked on me.

Glancing over, I spotted the brown-haired warrior woman watching us from afar.

“......”

Her gaze was sharp—like a predator eyeing a rabbit.

For a moment I wondered why—

But it didn’t take long to figure it out.

She was hungry.

The warrior was a big eater. Surprisingly, she was also a bit of a foodie.

There’s no way weird herbs or shrimp-flavored bugs could satisfy her.

Maybe this could be a bargaining chip?

Clink.

I ladled out a portion and held the bowl toward her, asking lightly:

“Want to try—”

Before I could even finish, she snatched the bowl out of my hand.

Like a half-wild street cat stealing sausage or ham straight from a person’s hand.

She brought the steaming hot broth to her lips and downed {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} it in one big gulp like it was warm barley tea.

Then, wiping her mouth, the warrior asked:

“How many more of those packets do you have? Trade them to us—for information.”