Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 4 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 4===

“……We have to do our best tomorrow.”

Monica looked the comrades of her unit after they gathered in the living room once again.

Drawing a map on the giant graph paper laid out atop the table, she wrote down the patrol route in red pen.

“Nash’s unit will probably finish patrolling their assigned area tomorrow. At the very least, I’d like for us to follow suit. We have to go around the assigned area all in one day.”

“We will depart at four in the morning and return late into the night. ……We’ll walk way too much and have muscle pains the next day.”

Propping herself up on her hands against the table, Kagura muttered in a soliloquy.

The route drawn on the map was basically a net. There was no telling how far it would take to walk the entirety.

“Tomorrow will be a day of endurance. We’ll be departing at four in the morning, so keep that in mind. We’ll finish off here for today, so each of us should rest up.”

“The first and second floors both have three rooms each so there was an excess in rooms. The first floor will be for the men with the second floor for women. Here, these are the rooms’ card keys.”

Kagura indicated the card keys upon the table.

“I’ll just say this ahead of time, but if you come up to the second floor in the middle of the night, I’ll shoot with you with a stun gun, no questions asked.”

“Fool, like I’d have any interest in brats with no sex appeal like you guys.”

Vaiel took the card key and snorted.

“Fu, you don’t understand; true, my body is still not fully developed, but a slender body that seems like it would snap with only a touch has its own merits. Especially that one time Monica helped───”

“Why are you throwing my name out right there!?”

Monica covered up Kagura’s mouth that was speaking.

“A-at any rate……save the stamina for engaging in entertaining conversation for tomorrow.”

Monica took a card and folded her arms.

“Now are there any questions? If not, we’ll end off here.”

“Ah, just one thing……it’s not really that big of a thing.”

The three gazes fell in this direction as Sheltis timidly raised his hand.

“……What are we doing about dinner?”

The unit once again felt nervousness run at this instant.

“This is a problem.”

“Yes, this is a grave issue.”

Looking into the refrigerator stationed in the kitchen, the female pair of Monica and Kagura grimaced.

Within the freezer were vacuum-sealed bread, vegetables and smoked meat that was salted to preserve it. On the shelf beside it was a full assortment of spices. The variety and amount were both bountiful so it was well enough for three days or even a week, but the problem was───

“''Fumu, fumu. The things that can be eaten without cooking are really just the packaged bread and bottled water. Well, if they were cooked they couldn’t be preserved so it really can’t be helped.''“

At {{furigana|machine crystal|Ilis}}’ calm words, the two female representatives exchanged looks again.

“……Kagura, can you cook?”

“……Monica as well, this is your time to shine as the unit captain.”

“……You know that I was an apprentice Priestess. I put all I had into my training and had no time for something like cooking.”

“……I also am working as a researcher for the Tower Control Bureau alongside being a Guard.”

It would appear that both of them were weak at cooking.

“……Kagura, what’s this flat iron tool?”

“……According to what I’ve read, it seems to be known as a frying pan. You use it like……this as a weapon to hit your opponent, I think.”

“……It seems like you could use it as a shield too. But why is there a weapon in the kitchen?”

Correction. Weak wasn’t how it would be described. Staring fixedly at the frying pan, the two ladies were discussing some frightening things with serious expressions.

“U-um, you two……a frying pan is for frying things……”

“Sheltis!”

“Y-yes!?”

In an instant, the two of them overlapped their voices and turned towards him.

“How good are you at cooking!?”

“No……I’m sorry if you were expecting something but there’s not really a big difference between us.”

His position was different from them; rather than using it for cooking or such, he spent every spare hour training with his twin swords.

“This is bad, really bad. As I thought, somebody’s going to have to take the plunge and try cooking.”

“However, Monica, taking a risk here is not a good idea. Rather than everybody here retiring tomorrow from stomach pains, it would be best to go with the packaged bread”

“But that won’t be enough for us───”

The two who had started discussing again didn’t notice. There was a fragrant smell filling up the kitchen they were in.

“Hmm, there’s a good smell.”

Sizzle……the first one who realized that there was the sound of something being fried was Sheltis. Turning around, he found a young man with smoked meat and vegetables atop a frying pan on the fire.

“Eh, don’t tell me, Vaiel can cook?”

“‘Course. As a man, what would one do if he couldn’t prepare the meals he ate.”

While heating the ingredients on the frying pan, he quickly cut the remaining meat and vegetables into bite-sized pieces and spread them over the nabe. Solid soup and salt and pepper, with just the peel of dried fruits that had been sliced thrown in for the scent. Amongst that, a toaster that had been set up who-knows-when had browned bread peeping out.

To do this much in such a short time ─── this man, he’s capable!

In response to the spectacle unfolding before their eyes, the three exchanged looks with their eyes shining.

“……It’s a complete loss; who would have thought that we’d find the unit’s final weapon here.”

“Yeah, I thought Vaiel was a capable man. As I thought, the men of my unit are different.”

“It came, it’s here! With this, our victory tomorrow is unshaken!”

The three sent a grand applause from behind him but───

“Ahh? Ain’t you guys misunderstanding something?”

“Eh……”

The three’s expressions froze.

“Who said I’d make your portions? Like I’d do something that much of a pain in the ass.”

“…………”

“You guys are naive. You’re not kids, so nobody’s going to help you if you’re in trouble.”
[[image:Eden04_233.jpg|thumb]]

Vaiel didn’t notice as he immersed himself in his lecture, arms crossed.

That Monica, Kagura and Sheltis had each grabbed the weapon nearest them and were edging closer.

“Got it? If you do, then make your portion yourself……mm? What’s with you guys, standing there wordlessly with a frying pan, pepper grinder and chopping board───”

“Hand over dinneeeeeerrrrr!”

The three that had gone wild attacked.

“Guhaaa!……Y-you guys! Three against one is cowardlyyyyy────────────!”

Pushed down in the blink of an eye, Vaiel caved in to the force of numbers.

At the same time, in a cottage far away.

“…………”

In the other cottage, I’sa the examiner, could hear the sequence of events coming from the wiretap as she sighed in exhaustion.

“A unit that has internal strife from stealing food……this is terrible.”