THE HAWKEYE'S JOURNEY

Prologue

August 2nd , Year 3 Tempest

Ostlich Village, Blumund Eastern Area

THUCK!

"Yosh!" I mutter after my shot hit the exact centre of the target a hundred times in row from sixty feet distance.

Yeah, yeah, I know, but hey! This isn't a competition anyway, just an exercise, so it's up to me how many I'll do it.

I pull out the arrow from the target circle, put it back to its container, and hang my bow in the right place.

I go out from my practice place. The sun is directly overhead. It's noon already.

Ah, ok then, it's already the time. I enter the kitchen on the back of my house, walking to the washbasin and wash my hands.

I take an apron and put it on. Then, I take a large cutting board and put it on the kitchen counter.

I take a block of beef chuck, take a knife, and slice the chuck very carefully to get thin pieces.

I take an onion and cut the onion in half since I only need that much. I cut it into thinly slices and put them into a ramekin. I wrap the remaining onion and put it back to the kitchen's storage. Don't worry! Since today happens to be my turn for cooking, I'll use it for cooking the dinner.

I take a green onion then chop it.

"I'm home!" says someone outside the house.

"Welcome back!" I answer while still chopping.

I hear the front door opened and closed again. Then a man enters the kitchen.

It's my husband, Alfred. We've married each other for nearly four years.

"Oh, have you finished, dear?"

"I have." He's got dirty here and there. He goes to the washbasin and washes his face and hands. Then, he walks and sits at the table.

"Oh, my. You look so tired."

"I am." He sighs. "It was also pretty sudden, ya know?"

I giggle. Ah, yeah. About that...

~SHORT FLASHBACK~

Breakfast time had just been finished. I was sitting at the sofa, relaxing, while Alfred was going out for something.

BANG!

"What the—" I immediately stood up in reflex and looked at the door.

It was Alfred.

"I'm sorry, Isabella. There's a request for me to help defeating some attacking wild monsters on the neighbouring village. Please take care of the house!"

"W-wh—ah, alright, alright. Please, be careful."

He quickly closed the door.

Jeez, my heart rate rocketed in an instant.

~END FLASHBACK~

After I've finished chopping the green onion, I put down my knife and walk to him.

I cast a cleaning magic, and voila! His clothes become clean again.

"Ah, thank you." He smiles.

"Don't worry." I smile back.

I walk back and continue cooking.

I prepare a frying pan, then put in on the stove and set it to medium-high heat.

I add half a cup of dashi, a table spoon of sake, a table spoon of sugar, two table spoons of mirin, and two table spoons of soy sauce to the frying pan, then stir them.

"So, how's your practice today?"

"Why do you suddenly bring it up?"

"Just curious."

"It's just as usual." I close the lid. "I've made a hundred consecutive clean shots."

"Heeeeehhh... a hundred consecutive clean shots are 'just as usual,' you said? As expected from the Hawkeye."

"Ah, please don't call me like that, the Storm Blade."

"Che, now you've also called me with that nickname."

"Well, you're the one who started it, aren't you?"

"I couldn't deny it."

Don't worry Alfred. It'll took hundreds of years for you to defeat me in an argument. Kukukukuku...

Yeah, I know. It's just a lame joke but somehow enough to cheer us up. Anyway, the sauce begins to boil.

I uncover the lid and add the sliced onion. I spread them out evenly, then cover the lid back.

Some minutes later...

The onion starts to look tender.

I uncover the lid and put the sliced beef into the frying pan.

It goes without saying, the delicious smell is starting to spread.

"It smells so delicious," he mutters, but I ignore it.

I cook it until the beef is no longer showing light red colour. I skim off the foam or fat with a fine-mesh sieve.

I turn off the stove then prepare two bowls of steamed rice. I divide the cooked beef and put it over the rice, together with the sauce, of course. I top it with the chopped green onion and pickled red ginger.

Actually, I want a final touch by adding something called onsen tamago. But I don't want to prolong the cooking time. It's not mandatory either, so I think it's unnecessary.

I put the bowls on the tray and put a pair of chopsticks with a chopstick rest near each bowl. I carry it to the dining table.

"Ohhh... this is... Gyuudon, right?"

"Correct."

We fold our hands in the same time, and say, "Let's eat!"

We each took the chopsticks and the bowl, and start eating.

It's really delicious, if you ask me. This food is one of many Tempestian dishes called Gyuudon. The recipe I've used is just a variety, or you can say modification, of the first original recipe created by the newly appointed Demon Lord Rimuru.

Ah, I forget. I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Isabella Smith, née Fletcher. I'm an adventurer. An A-ranked, in fact. Alfred is also an adventurer. An A-ranked as well. So, we don't have to worry about retiring too soon. We often go to adventure together.

Then, why are we at home? Well, since there's no mission given to us by the guild for the time being, so it would be nice to sometimes be at home, relaxing with family, don't you think?

"Even after all these years, Isabella, I couldn't help but keep remembering," he says.

"Hmm?"

"Looking at how our first meeting that day was, no one would think that we'd end up together like this."

"It's just as a saying that goes, 'Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.'"

"And neither I nor you would believe it if we were told before."

"But now, it's been proven, hasn't it?"

"True. I'm truly happy that I met you that day."

"I'm happy, too, that you've saved my life that time."

We smile at each other.

It was half a year ago. We met amidst a nearly destroyed city, on a day known as the Day of Invasion.

It was truly a terrifying day. The city was stained by so much blood and corpses. A day when sadness, anger, hatred, and despair were swirling into one.