The warm sunshine of the morning seemed to have broken the flow of wind from the previous evening. The temperature had risen and the heat that characterized the plantations south of the capital was beginning to make itself felt.
Noises from the carriage interrupted Yoichi's yawn, and he stretched his arms upward and turned his gaze in that direction.
Believing that he had been the first to wake up, he was astonished to find that Shioko was no longer there, on her straw mat. The archer didn't seem to be around, but Taya was still tied to the tree along with the other two horses.
The sounds of Enatsu came from the carriage, while he was waking up from his long sleep. Perhaps the effect of Ryutaro's ointments had worn off and the still open wounds were causing him pain.
When Yoichi got up, Kenji opened his eyes and stretched his legs, emulating its tamer's behavior. Amazingly, both of them had recovered their strength almost completely: the bruises on Yoichi's arms, particularly concentrated on his deltoid and triceps muscles, were gone.
The lactic acid on his joints no longer burned, and the pain in his spine traumatized by the rhino demon's violent blow had turned into a mild, bearable discomfort.
Without asking too many questions about his very quick recovery, Yoichi went to check on his friend's condition. Resting both hands on the high edge of the carriage like an owl perched on a tree branch, his head peeped inside the rectangular wooden wagon.
Enatsu's eyes were still closed and Rokuro didn't look to be awake either. The long damp leaves that wrapped around both of their wounds had become dry and thin as if they had given up all their fluids during the night.
Before Yoichi could wake Ryutaro and ask him to medicate Enatsu again, another noise attracted the gatekeeper's hearing. Walking briskly toward the camp, Shioko was returning from her morning hike.
Over her shoulder, some bushmeat was tied to a piece of string that passed by her quiver. Two rabbits and a kind of duck had been hunted and slaughtered by the archer, who had independently taken charge of providing breakfast for her fellow travelers.
"Good morning, Shioko," Yoichi smiled, standing in front of the carriage.
"Breakfast is served," she exclaimed, tossing the bushmeat on the ground near the remains of the bonfire and placing her equipment on the mat. "While I light the fire again, you can go and get more water. There's a well over there, right in the middle of the rice field... bring the bucket and fill it up," added the red-haired tamer, clearly hungry.
Yoichi carried out his companion's commands without complaining. When he grabbed the empty bucket lying on the ground next to Ryutaro, the gatekeeper remained motionless, while the rays of the sun hit his long dark red kimono.
An unusual serenity enveloped the cultivated fields during the early morning hours. By the time Yoichi went to the well, lowering his bucket into it and filling it with fresh, clean water, the farmers had already been hoeing the land for several hours.
The humble locals cordially exchanged greetings with the young tamer, who quickly returned to the large oak tree. Ryutaro was standing in front of the carriage and was treating Enatsu's wounds, replacing the dried leaves with sterile white cloth gauze.
At the same time, the scent of the animals already skinned and stripped of limbs and head cooking on the fire attracted Kenji's sense of smell. The little dragon quickened its pace, reaching Shioko before its tamer.
In the short time that Yoichi had been collecting water from the well, the archer had cleaned the meat and skewered each piece of if to wooden sticks, which were resting on stones in front of the fire.
"Come closer with the bucket, please," Shioko politely asked, speaking to Yoichi. She scooped up some of the water from the bucket and threw it onto the blade of the dagger she had used to skin the bushmeat, cleaning off the still-warm blood.
In about an hour, the tamers ate breakfast together with Ryutaro and Enatsu, who was awake but not very alert due to the perennial fatigue caused by his wounds. Thanks to the gatekeeper's attentive care, the young merchant seemed not to suffer intense pain, but he still couldn't move from the carriage.
Shioko had proven to be a skilled hunter as well as an unerring archer. Before her companions awakening, she had provided them with something to eat, shortening the time on the schedule.
The sound of tamers chewing frantically diminished until it disappeared, replaced by the sound of the weak wind that began to blow again. To get something to eat, Enatsu lifted his torso slightly off the woody surface of the carriage, resting the weight of his body on one elbow.
Suddenly, a strange sound caused by the merchant caught everyone's attention. "Uh? What the fuck?!" Enatsu thundered, jerking up. "Aaargh! Help, help me!" he yelled.
"What's going on! Enatsu! Are you alright?!" Yoichi boomed, hurriedly approaching the carriage to make sure his friend was not in danger.
Shioko remained in her position near Ryutaro, who was wrapping up the straw mats, ready to get back on the road. Both the archer and the gatekeeper sensed no danger whatsoever.
"There's a demon! There's a little black demon staring at me! Oh my god! It's terrifying!" Enatsu screamed again. Crawling back to the bottom of the carriage, the merchant shifted the weight of his body to the side opposite to the direction indicated by his eyes.
Rokuro followed his movements, whilst having heard nothing.
Yoichi grabbed the dagger given to him by Takamori Sada and pulled it from his belt. Kenji hurried to follow its tamer, ready to intervene if needed.
The point indicated by Enatsu was exactly on the other side of the carriage, in the area hidden from those who were near the remains of the bonfire. Calmly and circumspectly, the young tamer advanced in silence, his dagger clutched in his hands.
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