Rationing

Going to the storage hut, Aldara kept looking at Adrian in an unfriendly manner. Adrian just thought of her as a woman of old thoughts. Her thinking revolved around nobles being better people than normal people, while slaves and orphans were basically the same in her mind.

Her daughter on the other hand had been staring at him with intrigue. She was a true warrior, as she loved fighting, and she wanted to always become stronger. So hearing that Adrina had been the savior of this group of survivors, she thought that he most definitely was a strong man.

"Hey, Uhm, Adrian?" Elda started spåeaking, trying to get Adrian's attention.

"Hmmm?" Adrian just looked over her shoulder, looking at her with an indifferent face. "What is it?"

"Could you do a sparring match with me, when we are done with this?" She asked. Her eyes shone as she was hoping he would say yes.

Adara looked at her daughter with a shocked expression. She had not seen her daughter ask anyone around her age to spar, not to mention a young orphan. "What are you talking about Elda? He is an orphan, you should not be around someone like that!" Aldara said with a very serious expression. She did not want her daughter around someone like Adrian.

"What does that matter mother? He is a strong warrior, and he might be able to help me get stronger!" Elda looked at her mother with a confused expression. Does it really matter who she fights?

"Well, I don't mind sparring with you later!" Adrian suddenly chimed in. He thought this was a good time to annoy this noble lady. The smile on his face also sold him, as Aldara clearly saw he only said this to antagonize her.

"Haha great! Let us get this over with then!" Elda suddenly showed a bright smile, which almost made Adrian lose his calm. She hurried her steps, as she really wanted this task to end.

Her mother was shocked, as she had not seen her daughter so excited in a long time. She had always been a prodigy in fighting, as not many instructors could keep up with her in the end. She never had any friends at her own age, as they all were scared of her. In the end, as she turned seventeen, she had no friends to speak of, which let her to be quite lonely.

Aldara did not speak any further, as her daughter was the most important part of her life, so seeing her like this, made her accept Adrian a little.

Adrian on the other hand looked at Elda with a small smile. 'She might be a great warrior, but she has most definitely not seen the cruel part of the world yet!' He could not help but think so when he saw her smile.

As they arrived at the shed with the food inside, they could not help but be a little shocked. There was almost no food in there. There was only a single butchered deer, with a few berries. There were around 60 survivors in the camp, so one deer and a few berries would be hard-pressed to fill everyone's stomachs.

"What is this, this is not enough for all the people!" Aldara said. She was shocked to see how bad the situation was with the food.

"The only thing I can think of to feed everyone is to make a big pot of stew!"

Adrian was also shocked, but he already had an idea of what to do with this. With both berries and meat, they could easily make a big pot of stew. This was something they often did in the orphanage when they didn't have too much food.

"Really? That is something only commoners would think of!" Aldara said as she looked at Adrian with a disgusted look. "Can't we make some better dishes with this food?"

"We could, but do you think that there would be food for everyone then?" Adrian looked at her with an annoyed look. She was not a woman he would ever be able to get along with.

"Why don't we just feed the people that have useful skills?" She looked at Adrian annoyed, if it was up to her, she would gladly sacrifice a few of the people in the camp who had no skill. This would also mean there were fewer mouths to feed.

"You really are disgusting ... Everyone are useful, besides, you don't leave people you can save to die!" Adrian now looked at her with a disgusted look. He hated people who were willing to sacrifice others for their own good.

Elda was just in the background staring at them both. She had also become a little disgusted by her mother. She like Adrian would rather sacrifice her life for others than let others die for her sake, she was a warrior after all.

After this small exchange of words, Adrian did not say anything else. He went over to pick up the meat and berries and went to the middle of the camp. They had set up a small space there, with a circular bonfire in the middle, where one could make some food.

He then found a big pot and started to brew some food together, where everyone could come to eat.

After a few hours of brewing, and a lot of talking with the people, Adrian had finally completed the food. He tried using the berries, to get a bit of sweet flavor with the savory meat. Adrian had never made food before, but he had seen the nuns do it at the orphanage when he was younger, and he still remembers that sweetness can compliment savory food.

"Okay, everyone! The food is ready, spread it to everyone!" Adrian yelled out, not too loudly though, as they still had to be quiet.

All of the people in the camp started to come toward the small open space. Elda and Adrian made servings for everyone. Only Adara was not pleased, as this food was not something noble people should eat.

One of the larger men came over towards the serving spot.

"Sorry sir, there is only one serving per person!" Elda said with a small smile. She tried to be polite, as there was no reason to be impolite to the people in the camp.

"I am one of the warriors in this camp, I need food to keep going!" The man stood tall in front of Elda, trying to intimidate her into giving him some more.

"Once again sir, there is only one serving per person!" She still just showed a small smile at him, repeating what she said before.

"Now listen here girl ... when I say I need food ... you just give it!" The big man started to talk down to Elda.

"Just go sit down sir!" Elda was losing patience, and Adrian could see the annoyance on her face by now. If he did not stop him, he knew that something bad would happen.

"Girl ... Just do ..."

Before he could continue, Adrian started releasing his killing intent. He did not release it all, as he knew that would frighten everybody here. He released just enough to frighten the big man, without anybody detecting anything.

Without saying anymore, the big man left the place. He did not want to show it, but he was truly drenched in a cold sweat. He had felt he stood in front of a war god, who would slaughter anyone who stood in his path. He did not want to keep pressing on, since that would probably mean his defeat, which is why he did the smart thing and left.

"Thank you!" Elda looked over at Adrian with a grateful face. She would not have been able to hold back if he kept being disrespectful.

"Don't worry about it! Let us just get this over with, and then do our sparring match!" Adrian said with a smile, trying to cheer her up a little.