So Master Evan was preparing an intermediate spell, not just spectating. Has he mastered even an intermediate spell? That's so cool! Eva's eyes lit up again as she looked at Evan. All of the disappointment in her heart was instantly wiped away, and she turned to Mag with a fierce expression. "Exactly! What gives an outsider like you the right to speak ill about Master Evan? He's clearly not the type of person you proclaim him to be!"
Mag was feeling rather speechless as he looked at Eva. This woman was completely hopeless.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's keep going; we have to get to the Illusionary Mist Valley before noon." Sivir looked into Eva's eyes with a serious expression, and said, "Eva, Mr. Mag and the others saved your life just then. You have to be grateful to your benefactors; that is the mercenary way, and a value that our Rose Mercenary Squad has always upheld. I hope you can remember that."
"I..." Eva looked at Sivir and opened her mouth, but lowered her head in silence in the end.
Evan glanced at Sivir before getting onto the carriage. He aimed a vicious glance at Mag before also closing his eyes in silence.
All of the other mercenaries also got onto the carriage. No one said anything further about this depressing situation.
Sam made his way toward Mag with a smile, and offered, "Mr. Mag, do you need me to skin this mink? I'm pretty good at that kind of stuff."
"Thanks for your offer, but there's no need. As a chef, I'm also pretty good at this." Mag shook his head with a smile. He also refrained from saying anything else on the matter. After all, what did it matter to him that this scummy couple was harming each other? He drew his sharp bull-slaying blade and began to skin the mink. Soon, a complete mink hide had been skinned with no blood staining the fur, nor any excessive blood and flesh on the back.
The golden hide was very smooth and soft, with a beautiful streak of purple extending all the way to the tail down the middle, emanating a metallic sheen.
An ordinary Purple Golden Mink hide could fetch around 500 gold coins. However, such a perfect mutant Purple Golden Mink hide could fetch at least 1,000 gold coins or even more.
Mag really did need some money. With the hiatus that he was taking, he would be missing out on hundreds of thousands of copper coins in restaurant earnings. As such, he didn't mind having an external source of income to supplement that loss.
"That's so impressive; it's even cleaner than if I were to skin it. You'd definitely be able to sell it for a good price." Sam looked at Mag with amazement in his eyes as he handed over a water pouch for Mag to clean his hands and blade.
"Thank you." Mag carried the hide and the skinned Purple Golden Mink onto the carriage before sitting down in a corner with Amy in his arms. The carriage continued onward.
Eva looked at the gory skinned Purple Golden Mink, and reflexively scooted away with a hint of fear and concern in her eyes. What if this guy actually forced her to eat the big rat?
"Mr. Mag, are we going to be eating this Purple Golden Mink for lunch?" Dennis asked.
"I was planning on that, but a certain someone said that if Ugly Duckling could catch this rat, then she'd eat it raw. We'll have to ask her for her opinion before deciding if we can have this thing for lunch. After all, she reserved it in advance." Mag turned to Eva with a benevolent smile as he asked, "Isn't that right, Madam Eva?"
However, his smile looked like the smile of a demon in Eva's eyes. The grizzly skinned Purple Golden Mink made her want to puke, and she didn't even want to touch it, let alone eat it raw. She was really regretting the stupid bet that she had made now.
"No, I don't' want to eat something so terrifying." Eva shook her head with pale countenance.
"Big Sister Flat-chest, you're making me very disappointed. How could you go back on your promise like that? I still wanted to know if the big rat tastes good raw." Amy looked at Eva with a disappointed expression as she held Ugly Duckling in her arms.
Eva's cheeks were flushed with humiliation, but she still shook her head firmly. She was not going to eat the Purple Golden Mink raw no matter what.
"Looks like we can have it for lunch, then." Mag smiled as he looked at the Purple Golden Mink's supple flesh with an expectant gaze.
He had tasted roasted bamboo rat in his past life, and he could still recall its succulent flavor. The Purple Golden Mink's flesh was clearly of an even higher standard, and would taste very good roasted.
With his extensive practice in the test field for the God of Cookery, he had developed exemplary mastery in controlling heat and condiments. As such, Mag was confident that he could cook all types of roast meat to a high standard. Even though it wouldn't taste as good as the roast beef kebabs, it shouldn't be too bad.
"That's the first time I've heard of roasting Purple Golden Mink. There are 10 of us in total, though, so one Purple Golden Mink won't be enough to go around. How about we catch some more prey along the way? What would you like?" Dennis asked with a smile.
"Beef would be best," Mag replied.
"Will normal wild cows do?" Sam asked.
"Sure." Mag nodded in response.
"Easy! There's a mountain with a lot of wild cows on the way to the Illusionary Mist Valley. I'll get you one once we get there," Sam promised with a smile.
"Thank you." Mag's eyes lit up. It sure was good to travel with experienced and knowledgeable hunters.
Ugly Duckling lay in Amy's lap for a while before rolling around on the Purple Golden Mink hide. It either really liked the hide, or it was showing off its spoils of war.
While passing by a mountain, Sam instructed Monkey to stop the carriage. He and Dennis went into the forest, and Dennis soon emerged with a large black wild cow on his shoulders. The cow had all four legs bound, and was looking around with horror in its eyes, too scared to even move.
"Squad Leader, the Illusionary Mist Valley is just up ahead. How about we have lunch before continuing?" Dennis asked as he tossed the cow onto the ground.
"Alright." It was probably going to take a long time just to skin and dissect this large cow, so Sivir decided to agree to Dennis' suggestion.
"There's a stream just up ahead. I'll clean up the cow there." Mag rose to his feet and pointed at a nearby stream. The water in the stream was very clear, and it all flowed into a calm pond, which reflected the blue sky like a mirror.
"Alright." Dennis hoisted the cow up with one hand before making his way over to the pond.
The carriage also stopped near the stream.
"Mr. Mag, do you need our help killing this thing?" Dennis asked as he kicked the struggling cow onto the ground.
"No need. It would be great if you could get me some firewood, though. Leave the rest to me." Mag shook his head before making his way over to the cow. He grabbed it by the horns with his left hand and slit its throat with his bull-slaying blade, which he was holding in his right hand. Blood gushed onto the ground as he took a glance at Evan, who was still sitting on the carriage.
Evan also happened to be looking at Mag. Their eyes met, upon which his heart skipped a beat for some reason. He could see killing intent in Mag's eyes, and even though it was clearly a cow that had been slain, a hint of fear welled up in his heart for some reason.
"Eva, are you not coming?" Sivir asked Eva as she jumped down from the carriage.
"I'll have some other food for lunch. I definitely won't eat rat meat or anything cooked by that guy." Eva shook her head with a resolute expression.