Breakfast

The wolf pack disappeared.

It was time for Rienta to have the midnight snack she had just mentioned.

But at this point, the snowfield, riddled with craters, didn't seem like a suitable place.

Just as I was pondering this, the sound of rapid hoofbeats rang out.

Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came.

A white flag with a red fringe printed on it, Scales, appeared on the snow-covered plain.

"It's the Norm Knights."

Frieren recognized who owned the flag.

The knights moved quickly and arrived beside the group in no time.

After a long run, the horse stopped and was panting heavily. The middle-aged man at the head of the group did not dismount, but simply reached out to comfort the horse he was riding.

Then he looked at the devastated snowfield surrounding Rienta and the others.

The situation is already quite clear.

Those Magical Beast that gave them so much trouble are probably gone forever.

After a moment of silence, the middle-aged man recalled a message he had received earlier.

So he dismounted, took the reins, and explained to Frieren:

"Because the Magical Beast in this area have been behaving strangely, we've been following them all this way."

"I never expected it to be you guys."

Frieren tilted her head but didn't speak. She did know that the Knights of Norm Merchants patrolled the Northern Plateau.

But she had never seen this knight before in any memory.

Seemingly noticing Frieren's confusion, the knight captain smiled and said:

"We have received Norm Norm's message."

Thank you for your help.

The scene before us speaks volumes.

But the Knight Captain still wanted to get accurate information from Frieren and the others.

After expressing his gratitude, the knight captain paused briefly before continuing:

"Those Magical Beast?"

Frieren smiled and said softly, "Those in this area have all been taken care of."

After receiving confirmation, the knight captain breathed a sigh of relief.

Putting everything else aside, at the very least, with these extremely fast Magical Beast gone from the Schumar Snowfield, things will be much easier for them.

Their patrol mission is not yet complete; they still have much to do tonight.

The knight captain bowed respectfully to Rienta and the others.

I've already expressed my gratitude once, so there's no point in saying it again.

He simply mounted his horse, made a gesture to the other knights, and then looked at Rienta and the others.

"Well then, we'll be going now."

Having said that, the captain of the knights gently spurred his horse and tightened the reins slightly.

The horse understood immediately, turned around, and galloped off into the distance.

Watching the Knights' departing figures, Stark sighed:

"To think we've actually made it to this border region, that's impressive."

Rienta also agreed with this statement.

But what he was thinking about was the Norm Trading Company itself.

As a chamber of commerce

They control the grain supply across the entire Northern Plateau.

They even dispatched knightly orders to garrison villages and patrol various regions.

Food supplies are essential to the people's well-being.

The Norm Trading Company has grand ambitions.

Frieren glanced at Rienta, who was deep in thought, and assumed he was considering the menu for later.

"I heard they are a knightly order responsible for patrolling their assigned area."

A night breeze swept by.

Frieren was unusually sentimental.

It wasn't like this at all when she last came to the Northern Plateau.

"It seems the Northern Plateau is gradually changing as well."

Fern didn't understand what Frieren meant, but the chilly night wind made her instinctively hug her arms tighter.

"It's completely night now."

After seeing Fern's actions, Frieren hesitated for a moment, then looked at Rienta:

"Rienta, haven't you decided on the menu for our late-night snack yet?"

"Ah?"

Rienta stared blankly at the serious-looking Frieren.

His mind was now filled with various alternate-world versions of "Are kings and nobles born with special privileges?", "The Battle of Xuanwu Gate", "I am the king", and a series of other somewhat abstract but inexplicably reasonable scenes.

Frieren repeated, "Midnight snack!"

Rienta snapped out of her daze, looked around at the mess, and said helplessly:

"Lady Frieren, let's find a place to camp first."

After saying that, Rienta remembered the Thunderfall from earlier.

Frieren had been slacking off the whole time, suddenly went all out after hearing that there would be a midnight snack if they quickly dealt with the Magical Beast.

It's hard not to overthink this.

Then Rienta added, "It's not convenient to cook here."

Hearing this, Frieren was very happy and went to find a suitable campsite.

Frieren quickly found a suitable place.

Rienta and Fern worked together.

The late-night barbecue on the snowy plains lasted for a full two hours before finally stopping.

The next day.

Because of last night's late-night snack, Fern also woke up late, which is unusual for him.

The sun is shining brightly now, and a fragrant aroma wafts from outside the tent.

After tidying up, Fern shook the still-sleeping Frieren.

"Lady Frieren, it's almost noon."

"Get up quickly."

"(=ω=)"

Frieren heard Fern's calls, but she didn't want to get up now, because she was dreaming of eating delicious food.

She snuggled closer to the warm blankets, pulling the slightly drafty covers even tighter around herself after Fern's shoving.

He mumbled sleepily, "Just five more hours of sleep..."

Fern frowned, no longer attempting to negotiate with words.

He grabbed the blanket and yanked it hard.

Frieren: "(≥ω≤)"

"You'll freeze to death if you don't get up now."

After giving Frieren an ultimatum, Fern left the tent.

Seeing that Rienta was preparing breakfast (lunch), after quickly washing herself with the hot water and towel that Rienta had prepared, she rolled up her sleeves and went to help.

"Rienta woke up very early today."

"It's all because of that guy Stark."

Rienta replied somewhat helplessly, her eyes fixed on the large chunk of beef in front of her, which was almost cooked through.

This is what they'll need for their noodles later.

Besides beef, there was also minced meat sauce, chicken giblets, and braised eggs that had been soaking overnight.

"Sizzle."

Fern didn't respond, quietly making fried eggs. She knew that Rienta liked dishes with lots of side dishes.

Especially those lush green vegetables; every time she goes to buy supplies, Rienta always buys a lot of different kinds of green vegetables.

It was quite late when we finished our late-night snack last night.

Even she woke up a little late this morning.

What's more, Rienta, who loves to sleep in.

At this moment, Frieren also sleepily walked out of the tent and headed towards the source of the fragrance from her dream.

"(╯▽╰) Smells so good~"

Fern stopped Frieren from approaching, pointing to the hot water in the distance:

"Lady Frieren, please wash your hands!"

"All right."

Rienta set the stewed beef aside for later use.

I went to the work surface and started kneading the dough.

"We're having noodles for breakfast this morning. Which kind do you want?"

No need to ask, just choose whichever you like: beef or minced meat sauce.

But we still need to inquire about the specifications of the noodles.

Fern: "Thin noodles."

Frieren: "I'm also a thin ramen noodle."

Stark: "I want knife-cut noodles!"

Rienta: "Knife-cut noodles rejected!"

Stark: "..."

The noodles cook very quickly, and they're ready in no time.

After adding their favorite toppings to their bowls, Rienta and the others began to enjoy their brunch.

Of course, Rienta still prepared knife-cut noodles for Stark in the end.