After we return to the camp, Emily then makes a campfire while I clean and polish my equipment. Starting with the ARs, I take apart the receiver, the magazine, the buffer tube and thoroughly clean them with the brushes I and oil them with the kit I had.

“Mitsuha why do you keep tinkling with those weapons? If you continuously toy with them, they’ll get angry you know?” Emily says.

“Emily-tan, I’m cleaning them. Even though these guns are notorious for their resistance to dirt and mud, it’s still best to clean them thoroughly if one doesn’t want them to jam while operating.” I reply.

She then leaves me to myself and focuses on the meal prepping. After a while, I finish my check on the weapons, the AKs and ARs are still in good shape, I doubt that they’ll ever jam in combat. However,…it’s pretty bad that the ammo count is pretty low since there are only: 80 rounds of 5.56, 48 rounds of 7.62, 3 m1911 magazines of 9mm and 4 extra shots and only 7 12 gauge shots left. There is some equipment for making rounds in the jeep but there are still problems like primer powder, gunpowder and maybe other things like the battery for electric scopes and sights.

I should better think of another way to replicate the ammo or at least find chemicals to make their primer and discharge powder.

Another issue I’m facing that the fuel I found might not work with this engine. I plug the PDA into the car’s computer system and work out what model it was. Fortunately, this model can take all the types of fuel I found. However, I should distil it to get the best result. I put on a small fire, several glass containers as drippers and a cloth as a mean to catch the impurities. After finish setting up the preparation, I then check on the weapons one more time and plug in the electric scopes for the guns to the solar charger.

As I ramble, Emily-tan then comes and sit next to me, in her hand was a hearty summer soup filled with different types of roots and fruits found in this jungle.

“Here, have some…Say “ah”~” She addresses me to give me a spoonful of the soup.

“ahh..~” I close my eyes and open my mouth, awaiting for her soup.

*GOMP*

I chew on the chewy roots of the soup while savouring the sweet and sour taste of the broth. It was somewhat nice, it needs some salt though. However, it baffles me that she’s able to create such a dish in the middle of nowhere.

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“Hm~ Umai! This tastes good!” I compliment her intensively.

“I’m glad that you like it…Have some more.”

After a while, we finally finish the pot of soup. Even after finishing it, the chewy taste and savouring flavours still stick on my tongue, making me crave for more.

“How did you even make this? And even so, where did you even get the ingredients” I ask her about the delicious soup.

“Back when I was small, my mother usually led me out to the edge of the forest to play. Our family butler usually went there to find roots and things to make soup with. Curious about the ingredients and their exotic taste. He showed me how to identify edible roots and give me some instructions on how to cook them. Spring water was also a necessity for cooking that’s why I went to that spring to take a bath. With my leather canteen, I went up the top of the spring and fill in the canteen to avoid dirt and other gross things in the pool down there. Then I braise everything for a while and serve.” She says.

I sit there in amazement for her talent. Unlike how I thought at all. Emily was not some spoiled rich child, but rather a soft-spoken, talented woman. Not only she saved me but also made me a meal from literally nothing but roots, this shows how much of a gem she was.

“AH! I almost forgot.” Snapping back to reality, I then remember that I should check on the distilling process. Fortunately, even though the process had ended and the fire was still on, the mix didn’t explode even I thought I completely ignore it. Using the PDA which I plugged into the jeep, I then scan for the suitability of the distilled fuel for the jeep and luckily, It is usable for the jeep.

“Looks like we’re in business,”I say with a smug smile, satisfied with my result.

I then take the container of liquid and pour the fuel into the car and try starting it up. Upon turning the keys, the roar of the V8 engine filled the sky, startling Emily who was tidying up the camp.

“A…AAAAAAAAH! A Saber lion.” She shrieks.

“No…no…no it’s just a car, it’s an engine-driven machine.” I pop up through the gunner roof and give her a shout.

“C..c-ar? So to be short it’s not a lion?”She trembly asks me.

“Yes Emily-tan, it’s some of the things that are like the guns I have. I’ll tell you how they work later, but now we can finally get you home.”

“Won’t it take 5 days to ride from here?” She asks.

“Not really, it’ll just be 3 hours or so of driving if I can identify where we’re at. If you don’t mind…I would like to have a look at the map so we won’t get lost.”

“No, please I wouldn’t really want to get lost as well, you should study the map carefully.” She then gives me a contemplate look of relief after what I said.

I then study the map carefully and even had the PDA scan it so we would have a backup. After a while, Emily also has finished her cleaning and loading the things on to the cars. I close the gunner seat, reload and turn on safety for all the weapons as well as putting some extra magazines into my vest.

With no more time to waste, we then drive away from our campsite into the breezy afternoon winds.