33 A Silent Journey (1/2)

As Edmond gaped at him in disbelief, Aaron continued.

There were many reasons, but he chose the one that he loved the most.

”What can be more valuable than the ability to not care about where you place your food before you eat it? I always used to wish that I could turn my hand into a bowl, so that we could steal more food than just what fit in my hands and Woof's mouth…

He wasn't kidding, at all, as he said this. In the jungle, he didn't even need to think much to remember all the instances when they had had to get away with less food than preferred because in a tight situation, they couldn't exactly use containers of any kind to steal what they wanted like the eggs of ferocious Eagles which were fully capable of gouging their eyes out if they stayed for a moment longer, or all the saved up meat of some Teras which loved to hoard their food in specially built hiding places.

Also, even after obtaining food, he would always have to look for large leaves or some other clean surface to put it on before eating, which wasn't that easy to find everywhere. Many times, he had settled for easy dirty food, too, in such circumstances.

When he had been given the meat yesterday in that plate, if it weren't for the fact that he was completely distracted by the dish, itself, he would have noticed just how amazing it was that such a large piece of food could be transported by a single person.

That was why he had noticed this later on, when he had been handing the plate back to Mrs. Ernst.

It wasn't that this idea was new – over the years, Aaron had tried multiple times to make such bowls out of all sort s of sturdy wood or stone. The problem was that stone was too heavy, and that it was almost impossible to shape it into the exact way he wanted. As for wood, even if he was lucky in finding hollowed out trees which he could use to make bowls, they would often break down in the extreme weather conditions that they constantly had to endure.

Hence, he had asked whether they had a bowl which was as light as what he was holding.

A little bit startled by the request, Ernst had made a small trip to the Hamlet's blacksmith and come back with this bowl which was apparently made by the blacksmith when he was an apprentice for a test by his master.

All this information had been disregarded by Aaron, whose entire attention has been focused on this gift which would revolutionize his life.

Of course, Edmond had begun shaking his head even then, but he hadn't said anything there.

Now, as he heard Aaron's answer, he actually realized that it did make sense.

Serious Ascenders who were constantly on journeys which took them between settlements always carried eating and cooking utensils with them, which were sold in neatly arranged backpacks in the City. Of course, these were costly, but they had high sales due to the sons and daughters of rich families who just loved to shop for any occasion.

Many times, Edmond had stared at those things through the glass showcases of the shops, but the price had always deterred him from entering.

With a sigh, he said, ”Alright, fine. I guess it will be useful. But why did you ask for a string to hang it around your neck like that?”

This was a modification that Aaron had asked for after being delighted with the bowl after receiving it from the former Chief. Of course, the man had been happy to oblige with such a simple request. The blacksmith had been called, who used a special, sharp tool to add two holes on opposite sides at the top through which a string of carefully woven sturdy reeds which were apparently was passed through.

”Simple,” Aaron said, before hoisting up the bowl with his hands and placing it on his head.

This made Edmond burst out laughing, as Aaron looked quite silly, yet the latter had a satisfied smile on his face.

”Against Teras which like to aim for the head for an instant kill, this will prove very useful. Usually, I have to use both of my hands to cover my head in cases like those, but now, I can use them to fight instead.”

This made Edmond choke and stop laughing, while Aaron continued walking forward with that same smile.

At this moment, he was quite proud of himself, as he felt that this was a genius, masterstroke idea.

In fact, it even shielded him from the sun, too, when he kept it like this, although the weight of the bowl pressing down on his head was a tad bit uncomfortable.