Chapter 70

During the time Shinji had spent in Nastria with soldiers of Chosokabes’ enemy, he had not spotted any single mammal roaming around Nastrian grasslands. Shinji wondered how commoners in Nastria fed themselves.

But insects were there in plenty. He knew it because he was bitten by many flies and mosquitoes. His face and palm had rashes all over them due to the bites. Genzou was also facing the same problem so he had lit paraffin fire inside his carriage to drive away those nasty bugs.
Some soldiers had complained of hunger to Commander Eiga. They had a goat with them but it was planned to be slaughtered in the evening for supper. Shinji was being kicked by thirst unlike the soldiers.
“Don’t glaciers of Hilcastle melt to Nastria?” Shinji asked Eiga with dried lips.
Eiga threw a bottle of water at him. Shinji grasped it, unscrewed the cap, was close to lose it but caught it in time. He gulped water loudly. Shinji didn’t realize when he had finished half of the bottle water. He stopped despite of desire of drinking more and screwed the cap back.
Eiga pulled the bottle by the strap but didn’t drink a single drop from it.
“Did the mage tell us the cure?” Shinji reckoned if he was kind enough to give him water, he would also give him the answer.
“No.” Eiga had the smallest answer.
“So why are we going to forest?”
“He is in western woods. Have you lost sense of direction or what?” Commander Eiga sighed then resumed, “We came here because of hunger.”
They were moving closer to the thin forest.
“There are fruits in this forest.” Eiga squinted at Shinji, “If we are lucky then we may also find rivulets coming from Hilcastle.”
“We might encounter with unwelcoming savages there.”
“This is why I don’t want to spend much time in the forest.” Commander uttered.
Outside the forest they left the wagon with some soldiers to guard Genzou. Then the remaining headed for the forest. Shinji was also one of them but this time they were not on horses. Soldiers outside the forest were making sure the horses would not neigh.
A short walk later they found trees with fruits hanging on them. For Shinji they were as abnormal as it could be. He would never have eaten any of those unknown fruits if he was stuck in Nastria all on his own.
Eiga plucking fruits from smaller trees gave him some confidence. He was also biting some of them. Guards around him also munched some fruits after seeing Commander Eiga doing so.
Shinji had a purple fruit in his hand but he was yet to take it anywhere near his mouth. Eiga signaled him to take bites out of it. Shinji smelled it first and took the smallest bite he had taken in his life. Its sweet-sour taste compelled him to continue eating.
Who needs to eat meat when you can have this? Shinji finished the small fruit within seconds. He only stopped to spit out seeds at times. Water inside it was killing his thirst too.
Soldiers began putting the fruits in their bags. Shinji took handful of the fruits he was having then threw them inside the bag.
“Shinji!” Commander Eiga wiped sap from his lips, “That yellow fruit is the sweetest.” He pointed at the fruit in the tallest tree.
“Climb and bring some of them to me.” Commander left to climb a tree after telling him what to do.
Shinji put his hand in cracks of the tree trunk to crawl his way up of the rough tree. His groans were rubbing against the hard husk of the tree which made climbing painful. The weight of armor pulling him downwards wasn’t helping him either. He continued climbing, cursing Eiga in low voice.
Somehow he made it to the branch from where he could reach to nearest bunch of fruits. Shinji stretched his arm and touched them by his fingertips. Stretching it more, he gripped a fruit. While attempting to pull the bunch altogether, he just plucked a single fruit.
His eyes expanded and breath stopped. Smell coming from the fruit was suffocating him. Shinji’s bones tightened so much that he almost crushed the fruit.
Shinji remembered himself falling but passed out before touching the ground.