Celebration or Panic?
The food problem was temporarily solved.
For Lina, at least.
Because Ray was still running on pure determination, stubbornness, and dedication.
It has been over a month since he ate anything.
The nutrients he had created were going into Lina's meal.
Originally, the nutrients were enough for five meals for Lina.
But then they ran into a problem.
-"Papa, do you have snacks?" Lina asked while tugging on Ray's sleeve.
"Yeah, sure." He handed her some beef jerky he made from his mana and nutrients.
Lina took it and started eating it while walking together with him.
On the outside, Ray was calm and composed like he always was.
But on the inside... he was panicking.
"Now this is something I didn't account for." he admitted. "I knew she was eating more than usual."
He glanced over at Lina who was munching on the jerky while humming happily, no clue about the worries of her father.
"She's growing now." he thought to himself. "I don't know if I should celebrate it or curse my luck for it to be now of all times."
After walking for a few hours, Ray managed to spot a woody area in the distance. Even if it wasn't guaranteed to be the same as the first one where they found some fishes, the trees might still have some fruits on them.
"Well, fuck." he thought. "Am I using all the luck in my life right now or what?"
After getting to the woody area, he looked around in search of a river or something, in case he could find some fishes or something.
But after searching for a few minutes, he didn't find anything.
But fortunately, the trees had some weird fruits growing on them.
Ray kicked the tree and a few fell down. He picked one up to examine it.
"I've heard that every single fruit that grows in the Calm Plains is edible with a few exceptions." Ray thought as he examined the fruits closely.
He then created a knife and cut open the fruit.
"Still, no harm in checking. Better safe than sorry."
The fruit smelled really sweet and instantly filled the air with it's aroma. The fruit was shaped like a carrot but juicier and fluffier.
It was a seedless fruit, meaning the Plains grew the tree themselves.
Which also explains why these trees are so little in quantity.
If they had seeds, other animals would eat it and throw the seeds away which would create new trees over time.
"Good. Seems like it's edible."
He then turned around to tell Lina.
"Lina. Wanna eat some frui-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he froze in place.
This little rascal, Lina, was already eating the fruits.
Not only that, she had already eaten two.
Ray stood frozen in place for a few seconds.
Then he blinked.
And blinked again.
Then he finally spoke.
"Lina."
"Yes, papa?"
"Did you eat the fruits?"
"Yes, papa."
"..."
He got quiet for a few seconds. Then he said...
"Glutton."
That hit Lina's nerve. "I'm not a glutton!" she pouted while protesting.
"You are." Ray said as he sat down next to her. "You ate three fruits while I was checking if the fruits. Looks pretty gluttonous to me."
Lina got angry and started punching Ray.
"Ouch! Okay, stop it!" Ray laughed, pretending to be hurt by her punched, even though to him, they were just light boops.
Lina finally stopped punching him but still continued pouting.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I won't call you a glutton again."
"Really? You promise?"
He stayed silent for a second.
Then another.
Then another.
Then he said: "Instead, I'll call you 'Mini Glutton.'"
Legends say Ray got scolded pretty hard after that.
At night, Lina slept peacefully while Ray sat next to a tree.
He held a fruit in his hand, looking at it as if it would give him the solution to is problems.
He stared at the fruit for a few minutes, not sure what to do.
After staring at it for a few more minutes, he finally took a bite.
"Damn, that's good." he almost yelled, but suppressed his voice.
He ate the whole fruits.
Then another.
Then another.
He ate three whole fruits. This was his first meal ever since he got into the Calm Plains.
After eating, he burped and laid down, looking at the stars in the sky.
"I'm definitely gonna doubt it every time there aren't a few monsters rawring in the distance and a few bounty hunters after me, aren't I? Too much calm ain't so healthy."
He said as he drifted off to sleep. Finally with a full stomach.
Not really full, but at least something in it.
What would Ray's next course of action be?
Will he really be able to continue now that he knows Lina is growing and is now eating way more?
Or is he gonna do something reckless again?
To be Continued...