Hahaha——Ahahaha—Fufufufu——
A chorus of laughter and joy was heard in the town square of Zihra.
「Man, all of you are lifesavers!」
「 We really appreciate this! We don’t even know if we can repay enough!」
「So tasty~~! It’s been a while since I’ve tasted anything like this~!」
In the heart of the square, a cauldron that Inglis and Rafinha bought for their field marching was sitting on an open fire as the stewed ingredients within the huge pot were giving off steam and a delicious smell. And the people who surrounded the cauldron were all enjoying their time.
In short, it was an emergency food distribution.
「This is what you mean by something we can do…」
「Yeah! See how happy everyone is? I know full well that we need to hurry, but that doesn’t mean we can turn a blind eye to the people suffering right under our noses.」
Rafinha answered Inglis’ comment with a bright smile.
「I do think that this is excellent. It’s evident how happy everyone is.」
「Indeed. I must admit that I thought we brought too much foodstuff for naught, I never expected it would be useful in times like this.」
Naturally, the source of the ingredients used in the stew was the foodstuff that Inglis and her platoon had brought with them. After taking their nap, they brought out the Flygear Carrier that they hid and brought the food outside of it.
The residents of the town seemed surprised that Inglis and her platoon had so much food with them, but more than that, they were pleased with the food distribution. Apparently, they were all having a hard time putting bread on their plate.
「You did great for this town, thanks. You have my gratitude.」 Lahti bowed his head towards Rafinha.
「It’s alright. I just did the obvious.」 Rafinha’s smile was akin to a hundred suns.
Grooowl~
And the rumble of her stomach was just as magnificent. She had given the people her food portions after all, it was only obvious that she had to put up with the hunger.
After all, Rafinha herself wouldn’t touch any of the distributed food.
This applies to Inglis herself, too, but it must have been hard for Rafinha with her enormous appetite to continue enduring the hunger. She ate many times more than a normal human, so her hunger was equally just as much.
That was why this deed of hers was so noble. Inglis, who had been watching over her since she was born, was proud of her. The stomach rumblings weren’t very good-mannered, though.
「…………」
That being said, while indeed Rafinha’s choice of action was admirable, now Inglis had to go along with her as well. It was hard. It was just too hard! She was even more hungry than ever, and yet she could only bite her nails as she watched the food in front of her. Perhaps, this was a most difficult test to pass, even harder than any monster or strong enemy’s attacks.
「What’s the matter, Inglis? You’ve been clamping your mouth.」
「Don’t tell me, you don’t agree with the food distribution?」
「No, that’s not it! It’s just that, if I talk too much, my stomach will only feel emptier…」
Groooowl~
Inglis’ stomach rumbled just as much as Rafinha’s did.
Perhaps noticing this, a small girl amongst the residents waddled over to Inglis and her team. She was probably six or seven years old, not any older than Alina, the girl they met a few days ago and was brought to Ymir by their family.
「Big sisters, are you hungry too? Here, have this!」
She smiled as she offered a bowl of hot pot. How cute she was. In Inglis’ eyes, she was an angel.
「Th-, thank you…」
It would be ungrateful to refuse what such an innocent baby girl offered to her. Rafinha shouldn’t complain if Inglis ate this, too. It was nothing but a small amount for Inglis’ appetite, but she was still happy with it. She should eat it gratefully. However, Rafinha was even stricter than Inglis thought.
「You can’t, Glis! Stop!!」
「Eeh?! Just the tip of the spoon!」
「That’s still a no. If we eat even just a little bit here, we won’t be able to hold ourselves anymore. We will end up eating everyone’s portions! That’s why, you should hold it!」
「U-, uuh……」
「Thank you. We’ll just take the sentiments. Don’t worry about us, you can have it for yourself.」
So much for their luck, their stomachs rumbled loudly right then.
「But, you’re hungry, right?」
The girl tilted her head.
「Uh……Ermm, well uh……」
Rafinha couldn’t seem to come up with a good excuse, but Inglis wouldn’t help her. After all, she wanted to eat the blessed bowl that was offered to her.
「Ah, right!」
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Rafinha looked around and seemed to find an idea.
「You see, big sisters here can’t eat hot food because our tongues are sensitive. That’s why we prefer cold food! Ah, what do I find here!」
She reached out her hand to the snow that was piled up on the roadsides all around.
The town square was surrounded by walls of snow on the parts without a road. She stuck her hand in there and scooped a handful of pure white snow.
Nom!
And then she ate it straight from her hand.
「——?!」
What was she doing? The girl could only think of such.
「Hm~ so cold and tasty! Right, Glis? You should eat some too.」
「Eeh?!」
「Come on!」
「O-, okay…」
Nom.
After making sure that it was, at least, not dirty, Inglis showed the girl how she ate it.
It didn’t have any taste in particular, but…it was cold, and the small ice grains felt crunchy to bite on. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad in terms of mouthfeel.
「See? Big sisters here are good without the stew, okay?」
「O-, okay…」
It seemed that the girl was convinced, tentatively.
「……Hey, Glis. You just thought that it actually wasn’t that bad, didn’t you?」
「But still, it has no taste, you know?」
「So it may be tasty if it has a taste? Ia~n, bring some sugar here~!」
It seemed like Rafinha wanted to sprinkle sugar on it and eat it. Which meant, it was okay for Inglis to eat this, too. Snow is ice, and ice is basically water, so it wouldn’t sate them even if they ate it, but it was better than nothing.
「……Mr. Ian, bring some for me too!」
Inglis raised her hand as well.
「Umm… Are you thinking of eating snow with sugar sprinkled on it? You better not. You’ll upset your stomach.」
Even though he warned them, he still brought the sugar with him, which was very Ian of him.
「It’s alright! Our stomachs aren’t normal……which also bring trouble, though!」
「Well, no guts, no glory, they say…」
「I-, I see……」
Rafinha took the sugar and sprinkled it on the snow substantially, grabbed a large handful of it, and brought it into her mouth in one gulp.
「Ooh?! This is good, just like a dessert!」
「Mn… Not bad?」
「And there’s plenty of it all around!!」
「Emergency ration, right?」
Nom nom, nom nom.
They had more than enough empty room in their stomach and, as expected, they couldn’t stop once they started.
「Ahaha. They’re clearing up snow by eating it~」
「Won’t they be scolded by their mothers if they do that?」
The children looked at Inglis and Rafinha curiously.
「Just, whatever are they doing!」
「What, indeed…」
Leone and Liselotte sighed in exasperation.
Nevertheless, apart from Inglis and Rafinha’s odd behavior, everyone’s expressions were cheerful. The help they offered might have been trivial, but it was still a much-needed help. It didn’t take long until such a peaceful time was, literally, being loomed over by a shadow.