Jujutsushi Wa Yuusha Ni Narenai

「Well, not that I can make fire if I keep rubbing a pole of wood non-stop.」

All hail civilization.

Since I had already gathered the branches around this area, the preparation for the bonfire was completed.

Let's ignite the small branch first!

「Ah, dammit, why won't it bu—Ouch!?」

Dammit, it seems I underestimated the art of making fire.

If I keep lighting the branch for a long time, the fuel of the lighter might run out quickly. It would be better if I managed to ignite it quickly.

「Is this the pattern where I should start by burning the paper first?」

Tch, can't be helped.

「Yeah, good job, keep burning like tha――」

I threw the burnt paper and yet again, it burned out immediately.

The fire transferred to the twig, alas, it didn't get bigger.

「Cr*p, this is more hardcore than I thought….」

I thought building a bonfire was a piece of cake with my lighter, alas, it seems I had really underestimated its difficulties.

No, wait a minute, take a breath first, calm down. I'm pretty much aware of the reason for that. The twig that ignited first was too big.

「Ah right, fallen leaves, I've to fill it with fallen leaves!」

It was literally everywhere and easier to be used to ignite than a twig.

Thus, I ran around the riverside to gather the fallen leaves. However, since it still had some moisture from the ground, I could hardly find any dry leaves around.

「Dammit, ain't this already evening!」

Well, this much should be enough, I mean, the sun had already set by the time I gathered this much.

Cr*p, at this rate, we'll be surrounded by total darkness when night comes. The one thing I could do right now was use the smartphone battery. But it had to be saved for the last moment, this wasn't the time to use it.

「Okay, calm down first, I'll definitely make a bonfire this time.」

I ripped the second paper from the loose leaves and lit it up with a lighter.

Sshh!That's the sound of a spark… And it died.

「Fudge.」

Ssh! Ssh!

The spark only stayed for a short while before it completely died.

「Fudge… It's out of fuel…」

Ar-Are you kidding me?! I actually used up the fuel for making the bonfire.

「In the end, my biggest failure was actually using the lighter to make a bonfire rather… Making a bonfire is impossible for a civilized man…」

Se-Seriously, what should I do now?

If I failed to make a bonfire, I wouldn't be able to eat the fish caught by Kinako. Should I just eat the raw fish while preparing for the worst situation due to parasites? I mean, do I really have no choice but to eat sashimi?

「NUAAAAAAAAAAAA, WAIT, I BEG YOU PLEASE! PLEASE BURN A WHILE LONGER! JUST ONE MORE TIME PLEASE!?」

In the end, the fire went off, leaving only the spark from the ignition stone.

Dammit… I'm screwed… This lighter was already useless.

「… Hi」

At that moment, what I saw was not a spark or fire, it was something else.

「Need fire?」

It was a human stick-like figure glowing red that came out from the nozzle of the lighter.

「Ah, are you by chance, the so-called spirit of fire!?」

「Fire, bu~rn.」

「Bu~rn.」

「Fi~re~」

The glowing human stick-like figure similar to the one I saw on the medicinal plant cast a fire-like red glow and shouted like an arsonist.

Was this the reason the fire wouldn't come out?

「I beseech you, Spirit of Fire-sama! Please light the fire for this lowly greenhorn of survival life!」

Thus, I abandoned my pride as a modern and civilized human and bowed before the Spirit of Fire-sama―― And their answer was…

「Mera~」

「Mera~~~a!」

When the spirit raised a "Hurrah" like cheer, a dim flame lit up on the silent lighter.

「Ooo, yeah, you did it! Thank you――uWAAAAAAAAH!?」

The next moment, the small fire turned into a fireball and flew up.

That was a close call. My face was so close to the fire a moment ago!

Though the fireball startled me, the place it landed was exactly the lump of twigs that I had prepared.

Thus, after a grueling attempt, the bonfire was created with just a single fireball.

「The flying fireball is dangerous but thanks a lot.」

When I closed the lid of the lighter after expressing my gratitude, the spirit of the fire had also vanished as if they were sucked inside the lighter.

Wait, could it be that you are living in there?

===

Thus, I skewered the ayu-like fish and baked it by the side of the bonfire. It continued to crackle until it was well-cooked.

「Ouch, it's hot! It's hot but delicious!」

I only used simple rock salt for seasoning for its oily white meat, but perhaps because it was freshly caught, it really tasted delicious.

Maan, this cool survival lifestyle was something that I had always been yearning for. As expected of me, I passed through the trial with a breeze.

Though I could only start grilling the fish in the evening after the Spirit of Fire lit up the bonfire, I suffered quite a lot before that. I had to start with preparing the skewer before grilling the fish.

And once I got the branch for the skewer, the process of skewering the fish itself was the next big challenge.

And once the grilling began, I had a hard time controlling the fire. And despite the fancy words, all I did was change the distance between the fish and the bonfire.

After the end of the gruesome process, the delicious aroma of the fish wafted. However, the area around the bone was still raw. Turns out, grilling fish until it was completely well-cooked was a hardcore job… I had only grilled one fish so far. When I was about to prepare the second, the sun had completely set, and we were surrounded by total darkness.

「Haa, maybe I just barely prepared a proper meal.」

Although it couldn't be called a substitute, I should have eaten the bento for lunch. Better than letting it rot for nothing. Let's eat it while it's still edible.

Too bad I couldn't get rice in this forest.

This was the first time I ate the rice sprinkled with fried egg that I should get bored with very carefully, enjoying every single bite of it.

It wasn't just rice. I honestly had no idea if I could even get another chance to eat this bento box again.

Especially this main dish, the fried bean curd…

「Pu~, Krr…」

「Oh, what's the matter, Kinako? Are you curious about its taste? You must be curious, right?」

As I savored the fried bean curd that might become the last one I tasted, Kinako who ate the raw fish was looking at me with undisguised greed.

「That meal, looks delicious, Relight.」

「Well, this is the last meal that I brought from Japan. You can even call it the Last Supper.」

「Looks delicious.」

「Right? It's super delicious… Do you want to try it too, Kinako?」

「No, Relight. Important. Last meal.」

「Ah, you're absolutely right―― Still, it's better to enjoy this together, Kinako!」

I scraped my desire to monopolize the last bite of Japanese food, stabbed one of the fried bean curds with my chopstick, and offered it to Kinako.

「No, Relight!」

「Don't worry about it! This is the only way for me to repay what you've done for me, Kinako.」

Kinako had already saved my hide so many times in just one day.

My heart was about to break when I was left alone in the forest.

Yet, Kinako came and accompanied me.

We got attacked by a horde of gomas.

But once again, Kinako beat our attackers.

Even the fish for our dinner this time.

Kinako was the one who caught the fish for us.

Yes, I wouldn't be able to do anything without Kinako, I would have died for sure if I were by myself. I might not have even survived the first day.

And yet, how could a useless baggage like me eat deliciously by myself?

「I'm weak. Humans are weak and are at the mercy of the mother of nature. I might end up becoming a piece of baggage for you tomorrow, not to mention that my leg is also pretty weak.」

「Relight, don't worry, about that.」

「Don't worry Kinako. I fully understand just how useless I am.」

Dammit, I couldn't help but want to cry admitting my weakness.

I mean, now I had fully realized just how useless I was.

「That's why since this is the last fried bean curd… I want to share it with you.」

「Relight…」

「Look, you want to have a taste, eat up!」

Kinako seemed to be trying to hold his desire for a while now, however, there was a strong appetizing aroma emanating from the fried bean curd that was reheated on the bonfire.

Kinako's drool was like a waterfall.

I wouldn't say it was improper. I mean, raw food was the norm for a bear like Kinako, that's why the taste of cooked meat would be like something from another dimension for him.

「Thank you, Relight.」

「Don't worry, you're my best friend, right?」

Thus, Kinako ate the fried bean curd.

「――Puu! Pu, Puu, SO TASTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!」

「Hahahaha, I told you it's delicious right!」

「Delicious! ASTY! SUPERB!!!」

「Okay, another one!」

「NMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

Yeah, it's super tasty. Yup, eating together made the meal feel much tastier.

===

THE NEW PROJECT:

Journey of The Childhood Friend Who Got Betrayed by Sword Saint

The Protagonist of Isekaied Story With Cheat And Harem Has No Idea That All Of The Heroines Has Already Been Stolen By Me~Urgh, My Stomach Is Killing Me~

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