Night fell, and Sovell, Artoria, and Kay lit a fire near their tents.
Merlin had already left. Before leaving, he had given Artoria a flower petal. If she encountered any trouble she could not resolve, tearing it apart would let him know.
The firewood crackled in the flames, casting light over everyone's faces.
"Lia, Kay, want to try some?"
As he spoke, Sovell pulled a dozen or so pieces of jerky from his pack and offered them to the two.
Artoria took the jerky and studied it for a moment.
"Hm? Jerky?"
"Dried Bear Meat. Hard to come by—a taste of the north, and quite good."
Some salt, a little spice to mask the gamey smell, and a variety of local seasonings. Boil it all in a large pot, take the meat out, dry it in an oven, cut it into pieces, and bag it.
A job perfectly done.
Artoria cautiously brought the rock-hard jerky to her mouth and took a bite.
"Mmm... it does taste good, but it's rather hard on the teeth."
The moment she delivered her verdict, the girl's cheeks flushed once more, and her breath grew scorching hot.
"Artoria! Hey, Sovell, what exactly is this Dried Bear Meat?!"
Sovell looked at Kay innocently and replied,
"It's just Dried Bear Meat."
"Tell me the truth..."
Before Kay could finish, the girl's complexion suddenly returned to normal, and she interrupted him.
"So much magical energy! Sovell, where did you get this jerky?"
"From a King Beast in a forest up north. After killing it, I simply asked a family to make its carcass into jerky.
"Well? Didn't it instantly replenish the magical energy you lost this morning?"
In the eastern Central Plains, where dietary therapy was highly valued, bear meat had long been considered an excellent remedy for weakness and a means of strengthening muscles and bones.
A hundred years in the future, a physician in Seres surnamed Sun would record the following in the "Dietary Treatment" section of his work:
"Bear meat: sweet in flavor, warm in nature, nontoxic.
"Treats wind-induced numbness, contracted sinews, and weakness of the five organs."
"Treats wind-induced numbness, contracted sinews, and weakness of the five organs" essentially meant that bear meat could dispel pathogenic wind, improve the flow of vital energy and blood, and loosen the sinews and channels.
As a King Beast, the Giant Bear naturally possessed considerable "medicinal potency."
Its flesh also retained the King Beast's magical energy. For inhuman beings like Artoria and Sovell, it was a powerful tonic too-a high-density source of magical energy.
"I left some for Sir Ector as well. It might help his back."
Meanwhile, Ector stared thoughtfully at the large bag of jerky in his storeroom and the letter attached to it.
"A King Beast, made into jerky... well, I might as well try it."
At the words "King Beast," the corners of Kay's mouth twitched twice. Then he too grabbed a piece of jerky and stuffed it into his mouth.
His face soon began to redden as well, and his breath grew just as hot.
"Pretty good."
For once, the knight Kay offered some praise. However...
"Brother Kay, your nose is bleeding."
The girl beside him pointed at his nose as she spoke.
"For Kay's body as it is now, it might indeed be a little too nourishing. Here, wipe it off."
With that, Sovell handed Kay a handkerchief.
Suddenly, a little black dog leaped out of Sovell's armor and nuzzled his calf.
"Woof~"
"All right, all right. There's some for you too."
Sovell stroked Barghest's head and held a piece of jerky to her mouth.
"Actually, ordinary people can eat jerky made from normal beasts or magical beasts without any trouble.
"But not King Beasts. The mystery in their bloodlines and their high-density magical energy make their meat better suited to emergency rations for ordinary people when their stamina or magical energy runs out. It isn't suitable for everyday consumption.
"For Lia and me, though, any kind of meat is fine. The only difference is how much energy it provides."
"Phew~ There was a little mishap, but I feel surprisingly full of strength now."
Seeing how unusually excited Kay was, Sovell offered a few words of advice.
"Kay, I'd suggest running a couple of laps or sparring with Lia a few times before bed. Otherwise, you might not be able to sleep later. You've got too much energy in your body right now."
"No, we've been sparring for ten years. Fighting her is no fun. If I'm going to fight... I'll fight you."
"Me? Are you sure?"
Kay picked up his sword and rose to his feet.
"Let's give it a try. Artoria's right here, anyway."
"I don't know how you two met, but I can tell what's going on between you.
"I've heard you killed a King Beast, but I need to cross swords with you to know for myself. If you aren't even stronger than me, you won't be able to protect her."
Hearing such openly provocative words, Artoria immediately tried to intervene.
"Brother Kay..."
Before the girl could get her words out, Sovell accepted the challenge.
"Hah? All right, let's try it. One round to decide the winner?"
"One round."
"Two-handed swords or sword and shield?"
"Sword and shield."
"Sure."
Sovell then picked up two sticks to use as swords.
Kay took his shield from his luggage as well, preparing to fight.
Sovell summoned the Wind King Shield and tossed one of the sticks to Kay.
"Here, catch."
The two stood opposite each other, facing off.
"Tch, I really can't let you have a bite of everything from now on.
"We can't have a fight every single time, can we? So-when do we start?"
"Don't worry, just this once. Whenever you're ready."
Both held a shield in their left hand and a stick in their right.
Sovell angled the Wind King Shield at his side, pointing the tip of his stick straight ahead.
Kay held his shield upright in front of him, resting his stick across it with the tip pointing down.
Thud!
Kay struck first, only to hit the Wind King Shield.
Sovell swung at Kay's lower leg, but Kay ducked and dropped his shield, blocking the attack.
The next instant, both struck at an opening in the other's defense. Each attack was also blocked by the other's stick.
Sovell and Kay had completely different styles.
Having used a two-handed sword for years, Sovell relied primarily on his stick in combat.
Whether attacking or blocking, he used the stick whenever possible, displaying exceptional proficiency.
But Sovell's left and right hands were not actually well coordinated.
His right hand swung the stick through sheer strength alone, brute force overcoming its inertia to hammer out an impenetrable line of defense.
The shield in his left hand merely helped him block and did little to improve Sovell's performance.
Kay was different.
Compared with Sovell, the knight Kay placed greater emphasis on technique to compensate for his inferior strength.
The coordination between Kay's hands utterly eclipsed Sovell's.
His shield was not merely a tool for blocking, but a weapon that worked in tandem with his attacks.
His well-practiced sword-and-shield disarming techniques were passed on by word of mouth among Britain's knights, earning him the name "Kay the Tactician."
Several times, Kay's shield nearly disarmed Sovell as he attacked. With no other choice, Sovell had to cut his own attacks short and forcibly pull his stick back to avoid defeat.
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