How did she know I was here after I made my way through the maze-like complex path?

“Shouting here won’t carry your voice outside. There’s a barrier.”

She told me in a dry voice.

“A barrier?”

“Yes. That’s why I told you, you won’t be able to get out of here.”

She looked down at me contemptuously as she spoke.

Her words about me not being able to leave weren’t just a common threat. She was simply stating a fact.

I unconsciously swallowed due to tension.

“I really don’t know who Ceras is. So can’t you just let me go? I’ll swear on the Goddess Gaia. I really don’t know.”

“Well, we’ll soon find out whether what you said is true or false.”

Saying that, Spinel snapped her fingers.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the sound of wind blowing from the edge of the cliff echoing.

“……”

“Spinel?”

Spinel’s brow furrowed.

Then, she muttered something incomprehensible. It seemed to be an incantation to cast a spell.

When the incantation ended, silence fell once again.

From the looks of it, the magic didn’t seem to be working well.

“Why isn’t it working? Don’t tell me that liar Ceras tricked me again.”

“……”

She grumbled and threw the spellbook she was holding onto the ground.

Then she turned her head towards me.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll make you talk by force.”

“…What?”

“Well, breaking an arm or leg should make you talk.”

“…What? W-wait a moment! That’s too…”

Grumble…

Suddenly, my stomach growled loudly.

“……”

Grumble…

And it happened twice.

Let’s just break an arm or leg instead.

I felt like dying of embarrassment at the sound of my stomach growling in such a serious situation.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes…”

It made sense to be hungry since I had barely eaten breakfast. Thanks to that, I avoided motion sickness, but if I had known I was going to die like this, I should have just eaten everything. Then I’d feel a little less wronged.

“You’re quite something. Wait a moment. I’ll bring you something to eat.”

“What?”

The person who had just threatened to break my limbs hesitated for a moment, then turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, saying she’d bring food.

As she turned her back, she waved her hand, and simultaneously the surrounding scenery changed, and I found myself back inside the cave.

I had experienced teleportation a few times with Michael’s help, but he had always accompanied me then.

However, it seemed Spinel could move the target without accompanying them herself. Even with my limited knowledge, her magic seemed more advanced.

Why would someone so talented in magic live secluded in the mountains?

Ah, this is not the time to think about such things! I need to escape quickly!

As I headed towards the exit to attempt another escape, Spinel returned before I could even set foot outside.

And on her shoulder was a wild boar as big as a house.

Spinel threw the boar on the ground and said,

“Eat.”

“…This?”

“Yes.”

“……”

It feels like our eyes met, but am I supposed to eat that? It’s a creature that seems to have died recently, still covered in bristly fur.

Just looking at it made me nauseous, so I turned my head away.

“Um… Is there anything else? Not an animal, but fruit or… even roots would be fine…”

“For someone who asked for food because they were hungry, you’re quite picky.”

Seemingly annoyed, Spinel’s eyebrows raised slightly.

I thought it was impolite to say this after she had gone to the trouble of bringing it, but even so, how could I eat this!

In the end, as I just held my grumbling stomach unable to eat, Spinel irritably went out of the cave again.

Returning in less than 3 minutes again, her hands were full of fruit.

At the fragrant sweet scent, I mindlessly grabbed a few fruits. Although they were unfamiliar even in this world, they were juicy and sweet.

After hastily devouring a few, I started to feel full.

“Ah, I’m full.”

“You’re full after eating just that little…”

Spinel clicked her tongue, looking at the still plentiful remaining fruit.

“But why did you share food with me? You said earlier that you were going to force me to talk about Ceras.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“So?”

Still not understanding, I asked her again.

“It would be troublesome if you died of hunger before talking about Ceras.”

“What?”

When I asked what she meant, she raised her chin slightly and said confidently.

“Don’t humans die when they’re hungry? That’s why they always go around saying they’re starving to death. Did you think I wouldn’t know even that?”

Looking at Spinel insisting that she was right, I couldn’t think of an appropriate response.

“Y-yes. That’s right. Humans die when they’re hungry. So we need to eat meals regularly.”

I didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding she had, but if she sincerely believed that, there was no reason not to take advantage of it.

“In that sense, I should eat a bit more if I don’t want to die.”

“More? Didn’t you say you were full?”

“Just eating fruit isn’t enough. Humans need to consume carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in a balanced way to avoid dying.”

“Car… what?”

Spinel asked back, confused by the unfamiliar words. I continued, praising her again.

“Of course, you probably know all this already, Spinel.”

“Haha, …O-of course. I know that too.”

Saying that, she coughed a couple of times.

“S-so what else do you need now?”

“Well, we’ve consumed carbohydrates from the fruit, so we need to consume fats and proteins from meat.”

“There’s meat right there, isn’t there?”

“…If I eat such tough meat, I might die.”

“Why?”

The sight of it dead with its tongue sticking out completely killed any desire to eat it.

Trying hard to look away from that sight, I turned to Spinel.

“The human body is really weak, so if we eat meat incorrectly, we might get sick and die. Of course, you probably know this too, Spinel.”

“…Y-yes. I know. So, what should we do?”

Despite her answer that she knew, her question suggested she didn’t know at all.

“Well, we need to grill it over fire.”

“If it’s that, I’m good at it.”

Finally seeming to have found something she knew, Spinel wore a proud expression.

Then she snapped her fingers. A flame quickly flared up and disappeared.

“I’ll grill it for you.”

“Wait a moment! If we grill it here, the cave will fill with smoke. How about grilling it outside?”

If we made smoke in the mountains, the people who were probably looking for me by now might see it and come. Even if not, if we could just get outside the cave, I might find a chance to escape.

But Spinel answered nonchalantly.

“Don’t worry about that. I can remove the smoke with magic.”

“Ah…”

Because of her careless personality, I keep forgetting. That she’s quite an exceptional mage…

Cooking with Spinel was a disaster. It was a challenge from the start, trying to stop her from just burning the meat recklessly.

The fortunate thing was that there happened to be a pot, knife, and some spices in the box she had.

Thanks to that, it seemed we wouldn’t have to tear into a whole roasted pig with our mouths.

As we lit the fire and watched the prepared meat cook, I asked Spinel.

“Um, Spinel. Do you know Selvas?”

“Selvas? What’s that?”

Her response showed no interest. It seemed she had never heard of the place called Selvas either. Maybe she wasn’t the witch of Selvas?

“No, never mind if you don’t know.”

I quickly concluded, poking at the meat. It seemed to be cooked enough, so I put a piece on a plate and handed it to Spinel.

“Why me?”

“It’s nice to eat together, isn’t it?”

At those words, Spinel reluctantly took the plate.

“…You’re giving me this tiny piece to eat?”

“Tiny? I cut it big on purpose!”

It was a piece of meat big and thick enough to be filling for one person. Yet Spinel grumbled about how small the meat was.

After examining the meat for a while, she picked it up with her hand and tore into it.

“…There’s a fork and knife too…”

“What?”

“…Ah, it’s nothing.”

Right. They say even dogs aren’t bothered during mealtime. I decided to respect her eating method to let her eat comfortably.

Unlike my expectation that it would be tough because it was wild boar, the meat was tender and full of juices. It was delicious even though we only seasoned it with salt and pepper.

“It’s more delicious than I thought. Isn’t it?”

It wasn’t as good as the food from the mansion, but it was still edible. The meat itself being tastier than it looked also helped.

“Give me some more.”

Spinel, who had already finished all her meat, said as she held out her plate. I grilled some more of the remaining meat and put it on her plate, and once again she devoured it in the blink of an eye.

“…What magic did you cast on this meat?”

“Pardon?”

“This is the first time I’ve eaten something so delicious. Give me more.”

“More?”

“Let’s not do this. Let’s just eat all of that.”

Saying that, Spinel picked up the remaining pig and brought it to me.

Ugh… I could still see the pig’s head, which I hadn’t gotten used to yet. Really, she’s going to eat all of this huge thing? What kind of stomach does she have? Besides, to grill all of that…

“What are you doing? Hurry up and cast your magic.”

“……”

Looking at Spinel urging me in the midst of all this, I let out a small sigh.

“Please help me prepare the meat.”