Hiroshi looked at Harumiko lying on the bed. She really slept so peacefully — never moving around, just staying in the same position from night till morning.
"She must be exhausted after all the running around yesterday. I'll let her sleep a bit longer. I'll sort out these things first before waking her up. Tonight we won't have a soft bed anymore — we'll be sleeping in the trees. She might as well enjoy this while she can," Hiroshi thought as he stood by the bed watching her sleep.
Then he turned to the side and started organising the food he had just bought. He had bought quite a lot, but if they ate some for lunch, they would be able to carry the rest easily.
"What should we have for lunch? If we don't eat enough, we'll get hungry too soon. And we'll need plenty of energy this afternoon — carrying all these things and walking such a long way. We definitely need a proper meal," Hiroshi murmured happily, looking at his supplies.
He opened the packages and sorted them out. He took out some meat and vegetables to prepare for their midday meal, and packed the rest away to take with them for the journey ahead.
"This way we'll have a full meal at noon. If I eat plenty of meat, it'll keep me going for ages — I won't feel hungry even after walking all afternoon."
"And if we do get hungry in the forest, we can always hunt some wild animals. That's a good backup plan. Oh, and I bought a little salt too — makes roasted meat taste so much better," Hiroshi whispered, looking at the small bag of salt with a smile.
Hiroshi was always very thorough; he planned everything clearly and never left things to chance. Knowing they would be travelling through the forest for days, he had bought salt in advance so their food would be tasty.
"These compressed rations are really convenient. You can eat them just as they are, or add a little water and they heat up by themselves — especially the meat ones. It's amazing! Now we can have hot food whenever we want, even at night," he said admiringly.
He packed all the remaining food into his backpack. It had plenty of space at first, but once everything was in, it was completely full — no room left for anything else. If they wanted to carry more, something would have to be left behind.
"This trip to the village was... well, quite something. We bought so many things and spent so much money. I definitely won't come back here again. The Lake of Mirrors was okay to see once — nothing special really, apart from the clear water. And the stalls around the lake were such a rip‑off!" Hiroshi muttered, looking at the two large travel bags.
He was right — there really was no reason to return. The lake had nothing unique except its clarity. Most people here were just keen to do business anyway, targeting travellers who wanted to see the sights, and charging them high prices.
Hiroshi checked the time — it was just past nine o'clock. He walked slowly to the window, opened it, and looked outside.
"Hard to believe it's already after nine and still almost no one around. This village is so quiet now, but lively at night — completely different from Konoha."
"To be honest, I don't like this atmosphere. A village should have people out and about from morning till night — that's what makes it feel alive. It feels so strange seeing the streets empty all morning and busy only at night. But never mind — we're leaving this place soon. Soon I'll be back in Konoha, where I can rest and enjoy myself properly again," he thought, looking down at the empty street.
It was 9:00 AM, and still hardly anyone was out. Most people preferred staying at home, sleeping late, eating with their families, or just relaxing indoors.
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