Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 424

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.