"Movo Upano mita! (Harvest fowl meat!)"
Led by the Hilichurl Berserker, two Hilichurl Fighters and a Hydro Hilichurl Shaman returned to their camp with plenty of fowl meat.
"Odomu! (Friend!)"
However, upon spotting the Hilichurl Shooter lying unconscious on the watchtower, the Hilichurl Berserker immediately grew alert and grabbed the giant stone axe from its back.
Though crudely made, this stone axe could deliver unbearable pain if it hit someone.
Even some knights of Mondstadt's Knights of Favonius were no match for it.
"Ya ika! (Enemy!)"
The Hilichurl Fighters behind it also immediately tensed up, brandishing their wooden clubs and menacingly lighting torches before charging into the camp alongside the Berserker.
Only the Hydro Hilichurl Shaman muttered some strange incantations even ordinary Hilichurls couldn't understand, hobbling along on its stiff legs as it huffed and puffed its way inside.
Inside the camp, their remaining companions lay scattered about.
They didn't seem dead, just unconscious—some were even groaning in pain.
"Odomu! (Friend!)"
The Berserker approached one of the slightly conscious Hilichurls and lifted it up.
Clearly furious, if it found out who had hurt its companions, it would never let them go.
But the semi-conscious Hilichurl didn't speak—instead, it shakily raised a hand and pointed toward a nearby water barrel.
"Dala? (What?)"
The Berserker glanced at the barrel and immediately understood—its companion wanted water.
So it turned to one of the Hilichurl Fighters.
The Fighter was quick-witted, pulling a chipped wooden bowl from its tattered leather skirt and scurrying to the barrel to scoop up some water before bringing it back.
But it didn't notice the fibrous strands floating in the water—like bits of fruit pulp.
"Odomu!"
The Berserker took the bowl and handed it directly to its weakened companion.
Yet instead of drinking gratefully, the Hilichurl looked at the water with resistance in its eyes.
As if... the water was poisonous.
With the Berserker's level of intelligence, it couldn't understand its companion's hesitation—it assumed the Hilichurl was just too weak.
So, helpfully, it pried open the Hilichurl's mouth and poured the entire bowl of water down its throat.
Halfway through, the poor Hilichurl's eyes rolled back, and it passed out.
"Todo, Todo. (Leave it to me.)"
Seeing its companion "fall asleep," the Berserker finally relaxed.
It gestured to the Hilichurls that had gone hunting with it, signaling them to prepare dinner.
As for the unconscious companions, it would carry them into the hut itself.
Being the strongest in the tribe, manual labor was naturally its duty.
But when the Hilichurls brought the fowl meat to the campfire, they let out strange, panicked cries.
Alarmed, the Berserker thought the attacker might still be around, so it grabbed its discarded stone axe and rushed over.
What it saw nearly made it faint on the spot.
Their pot, milk, fruits, vegetables, firewood—everything was gone.
Only a small bowl of milk remained, sitting pitifully on the ground.
Even their makeshift stove had vanished, leaving only a trail of human footprints on the bare earth.
"ROAR—!!!"
With a furious, red-eyed roar, its anguished cry even drew the attention of the soldiers at Kujou Encampment.
What's wrong with those Hilichurls? Sounds like they got violated or something.
But they had no time to worry about Hilichurls—today, something big had happened in the camp. Many soldiers had acted strangely after drinking the water.
Even the newly appointed General Kujou had been affected.
After investigation, the issue was traced back to the water source.
For some reason, the water brought back by the kitchen squad was unbearably sour—especially the bits with fruit pulp. A single sip could drive a man mad.
The new General Kujou was already handling the matter, but it was unclear whether they'd have a hot meal tonight.
...
Casually tossing some firewood under the pot, Bai Luo sniffed the aroma of the fish soup.
Mmm, delicious.
"Sir, this little one is fine—seems more like she's just asleep."
Tatyana had already examined Sayu and even removed her tanuki outfit to dry by the fire.
Otherwise, wearing wet clothes might make her sick.
Under the firelight, it almost looked like a baked tanuki.
Tatyana didn't understand why the Harbinger kept such a small creature around.
If she remembered correctly, these so-called "ninjas" were part of Inazuma's intelligence network. Wasn't this just openly handing information to the enemy?
But he was her superior, so she could only follow orders.
The Instructor must have some deeper purpose for this.
At the very least, so far, every seemingly random move this Harbinger made had turned out to be correct.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Bai Luo was well aware of how Sayu had been "broken."
Sure, his sunsettias were a little more sour than average, but they weren't deadly.
So far, aside from Guoba, who once swallowed a whole sunsettia, and Beisht, who got juice squeezed into her eye, no fatalities had occurred.
It's just a sunsettia—what's there to be afraid of?
"Fish soup's ready!"
Pouring the soup into a prepared clay bowl, Bai Luo then glanced at the large vat Tatyana had hauled back.
It was filled with fresh milk collected by the Hilichurls.
Since we're here, might as well take some.
So he left a single bowl behind and had Tatyana carry the rest back—vat and all.
But now he regretted it—there was no way the two of them could finish this much.
Worse, it wouldn't keep long. Left too long, it might turn into "yogurt."
Well, guess Sayu will have to bear the burden. She drank plenty of water earlier—seems her stomach capacity is decent.
Kids are easy to fool—just tell her drinking milk helps her grow taller, and she probably won't even care where it came from.
Seeing Tatyana still tending to Sayu, Bai Luo took out three brand-new ceramic bowls and served the soup.
After filling them, he happily picked up his own bowl and sat down to eat.
First, a sip of the broth.
Mmm~ Delicious.
Then some wild vegetables.
Not bad—Hilichurls have decent taste.
Finally, the fish...
The moment he took a bite, his expression froze.
Only then did he remember how these fish had been obtained.
Seems they've been thoroughly marinated...
Ah well, might as well give them to Sayu. She's growing, after all.
After transferring all the small fish from his bowl to Sayu's, Bai Luo sat back down on his stool.
Looking at his own bowl of greens and broth, then at the mountain of fish in Sayu's bowl...
"I'm such a good person."