Chapter 1: No Way, God of All Creation!

“All right then. We are leaving.”

《Right on, let’s go!》

《Master, we’re leaving~.》

“Sure, sure, have fun.”

All three of them dashed off into the forest and disappeared.

Like yesterday, we were spending the day at a forest near Aveling. Personally, with all the shocking events that had happened yesterday, I couldn’t really muster any motivation though.

Hahhh~, to think Feodora’d be almost 200 years old with four kids and a grandkid......

By the way, from what I’d heard, her grandkid in Dolan was a ten-year-old boy. Apparently, since elves aged slower than humans, he still only looked five.

He was Feodora’s first grandchild, so she doted on him a lot. It seemed that the reason her party had ended up staying in Dolan close to a year was because Feodora hadn’t wanted to leave him.

My love died before it really got a chance to bloom.

Heh, I wonder if it’s just my fate to be like this wherever I go......

No, it’s still too early to give up. One day, one day surely, I’ll...!

“Excuse me, how about we start butchering?”

“Huh? Ah, ahh... Yeah. Let’s start. Let’s start now.”

Oh yeah, Elrand’s here. Whew, okay. Let’s change gears and get to work.

This time, on the table that I’d made with Earth magic yesterday, there was a red boar that was just under two meters long. It was one of the monsters Fel and the others had hunted down yesterday.

First thing is always draining blood, so take this vampire knife and in the body it goes. I have no idea how it works, but it’s sucking in blood really fast.

Yep, this knife’s doing work today, too.

The knife, which seemed extremely dangerous and evil, compelled me to use Fel’s super-high-powered Appraisal on it, but this is how it ended up:

【Vampire Knife】

A knife made using magic iron with vampire bones mixed in. This knife, which hungers for blood, will suck blood without end. Wounds made with this knife are more difficult to heal from and won’t clot well either. Depending on circumstances, it can become lethal.

It was just a knife, but it was pretty brutal.

‘Depending on circumstances, it can become lethal’? If wounds are harder to heal and clot, that means even the slightest ones can kill, right? But still, as a blood draining knife it’s extremely convenient to have. I still have my doubts, but, w-well, it should be fine as long as I don’t hurt myself with it...... probably.

Once I was done draining the boar’s blood, Elrand started his butchering lecture.

“First, open up the belly while making sure not to damage the innards. Be careful, if you damage the innards here it ruins the meat.”

From Elrand’s explanation, it was best to do this with the blade of the knife tilting upwards, so I did as he said.

“Right. That’s right. It’s fine to take it slowly at first. What’s important is that you don’t damage the internal organs.”

I did as Elrand said, and slowly cut an opening while making sure not to damage any organs.

Yeah, this is going well.

The belly opened wide, exposing the boar’s innards.

Oh, this really is different from a cockatrice. The red boar’s innards are bigger and seem more tightly packed. It’s honestly gory and gross. Still, it’s been totally drained of blood, so I’m somehow managing to hold on to my composure.

After taking a deep breath, I looked straight at the red boar.

“This organ and this organ both contain feces, so be especially careful when handling them. For this part that contains fecal matter, remove it along with the surrounding meat and skin, and dispose of it along with this other feces-containing organ that’s connected to it.”

As I thought, this part’s filthy, so we’re getting rid of it.

“The other organs would normally be disposed of too...... Are you going to eat them?”

“I’d have to take a look, but maybe.”

I did plan to eat them, but that would have to happen after appraising them.

I’m leaving it to you, Mr. Appraisal.

............From what I could see with Appraisal, red boar organs were completely useless.

Too bad.

Almost all of them came with the sentence, “Edible, but is extremely smelly, and has an awful, gamey taste.”

So, they could be eaten, but given that it says right there that it’s bad, there’s no need to go out of my way to eat them.

Thus, I removed all of the useless organs and tossed them in a hole I made with Earth magic. After that, under Elrand’s instruction, I cut off the head and gently peeled off the skin so that I wouldn’t damage anything.

“Now that we’re this far, all that’s left is to separate the meat into cuts. So we’re almost done.”

As I thought, when it comes to something huge like a red boar, it takes a lot of time. I do think I did fairly well for my first time, though.

Just when we’d reached a decent stopping point, Fel and the others came back from the forest.

Lunch ended up being yakitori rice bowls using the leftover yakitori from yesterday. It was a simple dish; I just put shredded seaweed on rice and laid a bunch of yakitori pieces with sauce on top.

Once they were filled up, Fel and the others happily went back into the dense forest. As for Elrand and I, we reopened the butchering class.

Once we’d finished separating the red boar’s meat into cuts, we started on a second boar.

After draining its blood, I opened up the belly while being careful not to damage anything......

“Whew, it’s finally over.”

With Elrand’s instructions in mind, I somehow managed two entire red boars.

It only occurred to me after I started butchering these: Is it really fine to do as we’ve been doing? Just eating the meat immediately after getting it from the Adventurer’s guild? The monster meat has been delicious even though we’ve been doing that, so I haven’t really cared before, but don’t they say that beef and pork and stuff is better after having some time to age and mature? I’ve heard stories of hunters leaving boar meat in a cold stream after draining them and taking out the innards, too. I know I shouldn’t be making one-to-one comparisons between monsters and earth animals, but what if it actually makes the meat better?

“Elrand, aren’t we going to age the meat?”

“Age? What’s that?”

Looks like Elrand doesn’t know.

“Uhh, you see, when you store meat for a certain amount of time in a cool place, it becomes more delicious. Or so I’ve heard......”

“Hahaha~, no way. We do use cold storage places to preserve the freshness of meat. But in the first place, monster meat is always more delicious the fresher it is.”

From what Elrand said, for monsters as the freshness drops, the flavor also drops. So as long as you didn’t use salt and turn them into jerky, the meat would turn black and start emitting miasma in about seven-to-ten days.

Of course, once that happened, it would become inedible, and would just start to rot from there. Given that, conventional wisdom apparently suggested that the fresher monster meat was, the more delicious it would be.

I see. Up until now, all I’ve done is receive the meat from the Adventurers guild and stuff it into my Item Box, so to be honest I have never really been concerned about that.

The biggest problem is that the meat could rot, but with the time-stopping effect of my Item Box, it hasn’t been a problem, after all. So freshness is the most important thing for monster meat, huh? Thank goodness my Item Box stops time, then.

“So will today’s dinner be something using this fresh red boar?” Elrand hit me with a look full of hope and expectation.

Please stop expecting so much out of me. Still, I did finally manage to butcher a red boar on my own.

Red boar... its taste is somewhere between pork and wild boar, right......? Pork, boar, pork, boar............ maybe a miso-flavored botan hot pot?

Okay. Tonight’s dinner will be botan hot pot!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Once we got back to the inn, I got what I needed with my skill and started preparing dinner. The recipe for botan hot pot was something I’d learned from watching a neighbor back at my parents’ home when he’d made it and shared it with us after catching a boar.

Fel and the others were singing a chorus of hunger, so I concentrated on speedy cooking.

~◇~◇~◇~

Take a clay pot filled with water and add bonito, seaweed, dashi base (powdered), grated ginger (from a tube), sake, soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and miso, bringing the mixture to a simmer. When the time is right, take some freshly butchered red boar meat, cut it into thin slices and add them to the pot, cooking the meat at a low heat. Carefully scoop out any scum that forms, and once the meat is partially cooked, add in the vegetables.

To prepare said vegetables: cut some daikon radishes and carrots into strips so that they easily cook, untangle the shimeji and enoki mushrooms, cut some Chinese cabbage into bite-sized chunks, and cut the spring onion diagonally.

Lastly, once the vegetables are cooked through, add some potherb mustard and it’s finished.

~◇~◇~◇~

All it takes is cutting the ingredients and boiling them, so it’s super easy.

It went well with greater burdock too, but I didn’t want to bother washing any, so I decided to go without today.

I made many pots for my three familiars.

“Here. It’s hot so be careful~.”

Fel started eating after cooling it down with Wind magic, and Dora-chan did the same thing. Sui seemed to be just fine no matter how hot it was.

“I was a little disappointed hearing we would be having red boar, but this is pretty good.”

《The meat is soft and delicious.》

《So gooood!》

Thankfully, the botan hot pot went over well.

“Now, let’s eat too.”

Elrand and I shared a single pot. “I always thought red boar meat was to be grilled... But it’s good boiled too~.”

Yep, yep, it’s good. Red boar meat is delicious, but more than anything this soup is amazing. It’s perfect, with the sweetness of the vegetables and the juices from the meat seeped into it. Heheheh... I’m looking forward to the after-dish.

After Fel and the others had several pots’ worth, it was finally time for the finisher.

Lastly, use the remaining soup with some udon...... Simmer it gradually... and great. This should do it.

“This is the final hurrah of hot pots. The udon finisher.”

I thought they would have a hard time with their first taste of udon, but the chewy feeling was well received by everyone.

Personally, I was greatly satisfied by my first udon in a while.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Elrand and I had come to the Adventurer’s guild next door to our inn. It was finally time to sell the dungeon drops.

(My three familiars were waiting at the inn. I had left them lots of snacks just in case, so even if we went a little long, it should be fine.)

When we reached the receptionist, we were quickly led to the guildmaster’s room.

“Sorry for taking so long; we’re eager to get started. Oh, and we have another guest here as well.”

Next to Nadiya, who came to greet us, there was a small, neatly-dressed white-haired old man who looked to be in his late sixties.

“Let me introduce you to the guildmaster of the Merchant’s guild, Hanson.”

Having been introduced by Nadiya, Hanson put on a smile and introduced himself once again.

“Yes, I’m Hanson, the Merchant’s guild guildmaster here in Aveling. Pleased to meet you.”

I suppose it really is the mark of a huge town’s Merchant’s guild guildmaster. His attitude is humble, and he even treats a younger person like me politely.

“My name is Mukohda. Pleased to meet you. This is the guildmaster from Dolan’s Adventurer’s guild, Elrand. We were the ones who conquered Aveling’s dungeon.”

“I’m Elrand. I’m usually in Dolan, but due to ‘circumstances,’ I joined Mukohda on his exploration of the dungeon.”

It wasn’t ‘circumstances,’ Elrand......

“Sorry for rushing this, but let’s move on to the sale. We’re busy right now, you see. So, what we want to buy is......”

Since the Adventurer’s guild and Merchant’s guild were cooperating to buy things, they listed quite the amount.

The list went as follows: corrosive liquids, fragments of skeleton bone, white caterpillar strings, gray caterpillar strings, anesthetics, killer ant jaws, killer ant knight shells, killer mantis scythes, giant killer mantis scythes, killer hornet venomous stingers, killer hornet (special individual) venomous stingers, killer hornet queen venomous stingers, venom tarantula strings, venom tarantula (special individual) strings, giant centipede shells, killer camel cricket teeth, giant cockroach shells, giant cockroach claws, ghoul poisoned claws, big bite turtle shells, big bronze iguana skins, red killer crocodile teeth, and red killer crocodile skins. Additionally: dark balls x30, black serpent skin x30, black anaconda skin x15, red serpent skin x5, and crimson asp skin x10.

They also wanted all the very small, small, and medium-sized magic stones, and all the gemstones like rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.

Lastly, they wanted the magic bag (medium), although it didn’t come from this dungeon.

When I actually heard the list, I was surprised at the amount they were buying.

Of course, I expected it from the Adventurer’s guild, but it looks like the Merchant’s guild also decided this was the time to spend big since they could buy it directly from an adventurer.

As Nadiya put it: “There’s not that many chances to buy so much all at once, you know? We can’t just let that opportunity pass.” And Hanson apparently felt the same way.

It seemed that the Adventurer’s guild definitely wanted the bug-type materials that would become weapons and armor, and that the Merchant’s guild wanted the strings and skins, as well as gemstones, no matter what. For the extremely useful magic stones, both sides wanted as many as they could get. And as for the magic bag, it seemed that both guilds had wanted it, but after some negotiation, it had been won by the Adventurer’s guild.

Nadiya had a very satisfied face as she said, “You don’t see magic bags around that often, you know?”

It looks like a regular somewhat dirty cloth bag, though. At any rate, I’m just grateful that they’re buying so much, since they’d just waste away in my Item Box otherwise.

“That’s what we want to buy — are there any problems?”

“I’m fine with it. What about you, Elrand?”

“Yes. Of course I’m fine with it.”

“Then let’s confirm the goods. Given the amount, let’s move to the storehouse.”

Led by Nadiya, all of us moved to the storehouse.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Once we reached the storehouse, I found employees of both guilds waiting for us.

“Okay then. Will you show us the goods?” Nadiya asked. So I brought out all the drop items from my Item Box that were on the list. The goods I brought out were all confirmed on the spot by the employees of both guilds.

“There’s no problem with any of it, guildmaster. In fact, they’re of amazing quality.” An older-looking Adventurer’s guild employee reported to Nadiya after confirming the drop items.

“Same here. These gems are especially wonderful. Just as one would expect out of a dungeon.”

And right afterwards, a person that looked to be a Merchant’s guild employee reported to Hanson.

“If there’s no problem then, would the price we talked about before be all right, Hanson?”

“Yes.”

While Hanson nodded, Nadiya whispered something to a nearby employee.

“Alright, Mukohda, Elrand, I’ll break down the sale for you.”

Elrand and I responded, “Yes,” so Nadiya started immediately.

“Uhh, then let’s start with the corrosive liquids. These go for 7 silver each, so all of them will come out to 23 gold and 8 silver. Next, the skeleton bone fragments are 5 silver each, so all of them will be 13 gold. Next, white caterpillar string is worth 2 silver each, so that’s 27 gold and 6 silver. Next, gray caterpillar string is 4 silver each, so all of it will be 12 gold. Next...............”

Given the amount, Nadiya’s breakdown lasted a long while.

“Continuing on, the opal (medium) will be 260 gold, the amethyst (medium), will be 150 gold each for a total of 300 gold, and the aquamarine (large) will be 490 gold. All together, that comes to 21,200 gold.”

...............Wha? Twenty... one thousand and... two... hundred?

...............WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!

“Th-This is... Wow, what an amazing number it’s become......”

While my surprise was a matter of course, Elrand also seemed shocked.

“Hahahah! So Dolan’s guildmaster is surprised, too? Well, chances to buy so much at once don’t come often. Both our guilds really splurged.”

“That’s right. For the Merchant guild, this is a rare chance to get high quality dungeon items directly. We’d fail as merchants if we held back here.”

Well that’s just grand, I guess. Still, 21,200 gold...... Like, my Item Box already has so much gold in it I’ll never be able to spend it all. Even if I was sharing this with Elrand, there’s so much gold. Like, what are you telling me to do with it?

“Then let’s get the payment finished. There’ll be way too many coins if we try to pay in regular gold, so we’ll be paying in platinum coins. This is 212 platinum coins. Please confirm the amount,” Nadiya said, handing me a heavy-looking bag.

When I looked inside, it was stuffed full of platinum coins. With Elrand’s help, we counted the money.

White gold coins: one, two, three, four, five...............

Elrand counted 100; I counted 112. So in total, it came out to 212 platinum coins.

“Y-Yes, there’s no problem.”

“That was a good deal. Thanks.”

“You have the Merchant’s guild’s gratitude as well.”

“Now then, it’s gonna get busy from now on.”

“The same for the Merchant’s guild. We’ve managed to obtain so many good items. Right now, there are many people from our guild waiting with bated breath for this,” Hanson said, laughing.

Looks like they’re happy to be busy. These two are hard workers to their roots, huh? Unlike a certain person next to me.

With the deal done, both Elrand and I returned to the inn.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When I got back to the inn, I found my familiars hungry.

“......So you’re hungry, huh?”

“Indeed.”

《Food, quick.》

《Master — Sui is hungry—.》

Honestly, I would rather quickly give Elrand his portion of the money first, but it looks like I won’t be allowed to do that... Oh well, it’ll have to wait until after food.

All three of my familiars were staring at me silently.

The pressure to hurry up and cook is......

I still had some rice I steamed in the morning, so I guess it had to be rice bowls.

Don’t call me a one-trick pony. It’s simple and fills you up and is delicious. I think rice bowls are the best.

Let’s use the red boar meat I butchered yesterday. So what would be good............ Okay, let’s do that: super-spicy rice bowls, starring gochujang chili paste as the main flavor.

After buying vegetables and gochujang with my skill, I quickly started cooking.

~◇~◇~◇~

Cut the carrots into vertical strips around 3cm long, and cut garlic chives to the same length. Then lightly wash some bean sprouts. (It’s a hassle, so I’m the type to not remove the root ends of the bean sprouts. I hear that they have some nutritional value, too. I do sometimes actually take the time to trim them if I feel like I’ll be bothered by them in a soup though.)

Oil up a heated frying pan, and start cooking thin-cut slices of red boar meat. After a quick sear and once the color of the meat changes, add in the carrots and bean sprouts and continue frying until they wilt before adding in the garlic chives.

After that, add a mixture of soy sauce, sake, gochujang, sugar, grated garlic, and sesame oil, and cook while coating everything in it.

Once that’s done, layer a bunch of the spicy meat and vegetables on top of the rice bowls, top with white sesame seeds, and the super-spicy rice bowl is done.

~◇~◇~◇~

“Here. It’s done.”

When I placed the food in front of them, they jumped on it as if they couldn’t wait any longer.

“Mm? This is good. The spiciness tingles on my tongue. It whets the appetite.”

《Yeah. I like spicy things a lot, so this is great for me.》

《It’s spicy, but Sui can handle this much. It’s delicious!》

I made the next batch with less gochujang so that Sui could enjoy it too. That seemed to be the right call.

Elrand and I had our own normal-sized bowls. “Here you go. Your share, Elrand.”

“Oh my, this smell is really appetizing, isn’t it~?”

True to his word, Elrand immediately stuffed his face full.

Well then, I should start eating too...

Yeah — this is simple, but as good as always. I just love the spiciness of the gochujang.

“This spiciness goes really nicely with this white ‘rice.’ I feel like I can eat more of this than usual.”

Yeah, but your concept of ‘usual’ is anything but, isn’t it? I’m starting to think that I might as well give Elrand as big a bowl as Fel and the others.

The spiciness of the dish must have driven their appetites higher, as all three of my familiars, and Elrand as well, had more servings than usual.

After they’d filled up on the spicy rice bowls, we took a break to digest. Elrand and I had roasted green tea, while Fel and the others had cider.

“Ah, right. I need to hand over your share of the money from earlier, Elrand.”

“I don’t need any of it as long as you sell the rest of the dark balls to Dolan, though.”

“No no, that’s not good. We went through the dungeon together.”

“If that’s the case, then like we talked about earlier, I’m fine with about a third of the treasure out of the hydra’s treasure chest.”

“No, that’s way too little, isn’t it? Let’s be fair and split this evenly.”

“No, no, I’m saying that’s way too much.”

“Then I’ll give you a third of it. I won’t go any lower than that.”

“No, no, one third is still way too much.”

“No no no. It’s not too much, I’m telling you. I’m going to make you accept this.”

After a while of chorusing ‘no’ at each other, Elrand and I finally reached an agreement of 50 platinum coins. I wanted to push through to a third no matter what, but Elrand just wouldn’t assent to that. So I broke down, and suggested 50 platinum coins even though it didn’t amount to so much as a fourth of the amount. Somehow, I managed to get that one to pass. I was still left with a huge amount of money, though.

It’s nice that I never have to be troubled for it, but having too much money is also another problem. It probably seems like a truly first-world problem to be troubled that you have too much money, though. At least, from someone else’s perspective.

For me, I just keep amassing more and more money. I have no idea what to use it on, and I’ve never had so much money, so I’m actually scared that I’m too rich. There’s nothing I really want these days, and there’s only so much money I can spend on my Online Supermarket, so maybe it’s best to buy something big to lessen the burden on my wallet.

After that, I handed the 50 platinum coins to Elrand before we started talking about our future plans.

“Let’s quickly head for Dolan.”

“Whaaat? Why can’t we take it easy here for a bit longer?”

“What are you saying? ‘We’ aren’t really in a hurry, but you have to be, right Elrand? You’ve been leaving it all up to Ugohl until now.”

“That’s true, but I think Ugohl will be fine...”

I know that Ugohl is really good at his job. With Ugohl around, I bet that things will run smoothly for a while. But you know, you are the guildmaster of Dolan’s Adventurer’s guild. At least in name. Without you, I think there are a lot of things that can’t be decided upon.

“If you’re any later than this, Ugohl will be super angry, you know? Actually, I think he’s angry right now......” I said, and Elrand sunk into thought for a little bit.

He must have remembered something, as he muttered, “Oh yeah, he did say to take care of things quickly or something, and to come back immediately, I think......” Elrand’s face got visibly whiter by the second.

“W-We should probably go back quickly......”

Right?

As a result of talking with Elrand, we decided to prepare for the journey tomorrow and set off early in the morning the next day for Dolan.

Personally, for my preparations, it would just be preparing lots of food. Let’s make some now, and spend tomorrow cooking a huge amount.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After yesterday and today, my preparations for travel were perfect.

I used all of the cockatrice and red boar I’d butchered to make the usual karaage and other fried foods, as well as miso-marinated meat, ginger-fried meat, and ground meat for Hamburg steaks and meat soboro.

I used the rest of the red boar and golden-backed bull meat to make mixed minced meat. I used it to make a ton of gyoza — it had been a while since I’d made any. I tried making grilled gyoza, fried gyoza, and even gyoza soup with lots of vegetables in it: a simple but delicious soup made with gyoza, vegetables, and chicken stock.

Other than that, I made some more fried seafood with the fish we got in Berléand, as well as a soy sauce and butter-flavored foil bake with tyrant fish and lots of vegetables.

Because sometimes, you just really want seafood right? Speaking for myself, anyway.

Since I got the Cook job in my stats, my movements had gotten a lot smoother and faster. I ended up getting a little full of myself and making a lot of food. I even made a cream stew using cockatrice meat.

I’d never made cream stew until now since I preferred demiglace stew, but it was still good in its own right, and there are times when you just crave it. I used a roux brimming with the blessings of Hokkaido, the same one that we used back at home, so the flavor came out relaxing and nostalgic.

Secretly, I ended up getting a bit sentimental while tasting the stew. I won’t be able to go back to my world anymore, huh......

After I finished cooking all the food for our travels, I went with Elrand to the Adventurer’s guild before it got dark to tell Nadiya we’d be leaving tomorrow.

When we did, I gave Nadiya both plain and matcha pound cakes that I’d made in Berléand, saying, “It’s sweet, so try it whenever you need a break.” She was really happy with it.

The female employees looked really jealous seeing that, so I left some for them, too. They all raised a cheer, even though it was still work hours.

For girls who are weak to sweets, pound cakes are a great present.

After returning from the Adventurer’s guild, it was time for dinner. I made a rice bowl using the pork cutlets I fried up in the afternoon along with some sauce.

Lay some shredded cabbage over rice, then cover in a sauce made from chuno sauce, ketchup, mirin, and sugar mixed together. And then, lay a pork cutlet that’s been roughly coated with a katsudon sauce on top of that......

Yeah. It’s really good.

The sauce-drenched katsudon was well received by everyone, enough that I was asked to make it again.

After everyone filled up, Dora-chan, Sui, and I enjoyed a bath before we had to go out and travel. This time, Elrand was with us, so we wouldn’t be able to leisurely take a bath on the road like usual.

So the day was spent busily like that, but I still had one thing left to do.

Tomorrow we’ll be leaving for Dolan, and I’d honestly like to go to sleep already... But even though everyone else has already gone to sleep, here I am on my own, still awake.

The thing I had to do was fulfill a promise.

It’s annoying, so let’s get this over with quickly.

“Are you guys here? Everyone~?”

As soon as I called out to them, I heard the thudding sounds of many running feet.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Just like always, I lined up what the gods wanted on cardboard altars.

Ninrir wanted Fumiya’s cakes, like always. She chose a huge amount of cakes and sweets today, enough to give me heartburn just by looking.

Kisharle also asked for beauty products, as usual. She was worried about the lack of luster in her skin, so I got her some rinse-off facial packs. I also got her some more bath additives, including some fairly expensive German bath salts.

For Agni, it was her favorite beer. This time, I bought her a case of Y-bisu beer. For the rest, I got several six-packs, including A-company’s premium beer and S-company’s black label beer.

Ruka had Fumiya’s cakes and ice cream. She also asked for the Hamburg steaks that I made, fried seafood, and gyoza.

Hephaestos and Vahagn, the liquor-loving duo, of course asked for more booze from the Tenant, “Liquor Shop Tanaka,” focusing on whiskey. Apparently, they had their eyes on a lot of different ones due to having me tell them about the rankings last time, so they decided relatively quickly this time. I had to spend more time telling them all about the daily and weekly whiskey rankings, though.

After checking out everything in the cart, I put everything on the cardboard altars......

Great, this should do it.

“Here you go, everyone.”

The items on the cardboard altars disappeared one by one, and I heard the gods cheer.

Whew, it’s over.

＜＜HOLD YOUR HORSEESSSS!!!＞＞

As soon as I was about to go to sleep already, I was stopped by a pair of deep voices.

“Geez, what?”

＜What do you mean, ‘what?’!!! Did you forget your promise?＞

＜That’s right! Didn’t you say that we could each get something we like extra? I won’t let you forget!＞

............Ah. Oh, yeah — I did say that, didn’t I? I totally forgot.

Sorry.

＜Hey, what’s this?＞ I heard one of the goddesses say.

It seemed like the liquor-loving duo was explaining what happened to the goddesses.

＜What?!! Is that true? So you guys can do something useful sometimes.＞

I heard Hephaestos and Vahagn object to Ninrir’s words, saying, ＜What do you mean, sometimes?＞

＜More importantly, does that include us?＞ Agni asked.

“Ahh, yeah. Sure. Of course it includes you.”

Well, it’s basically like a special bonus for the gods.

“However, it’s one each, and only something up to around 1 gold.”

＜Oh~? ‘Around 1 gold’... that means we can go over, right?＞

The one who reacted so shrewdly was Kisharle.

“Just a little. I’ll refuse anything that exceeds it by too much,” I answered, to which the goddesses all cheered.

“Then I’ll be taking your orders, so... ah, remember what I said. One each.”

First was Ninrir.

＜I’ve already decided! Heheheheheh, I’ve been wanting to eat this since I saw it. That huge square cake with lots of red fruit on top!＞

Square-shaped huge cake............ This?

There was just one strawberry cake on the whole menu that seemed to fit the bill exactly. It was a cake for a huge party and many people.

“This one, Ninrir?”

＜That’s right!! That one!＞ shouted Ninrir, excitedly.

This one? It’s really huge, you know?

The price was about right, at 1 gold and 1 silver.

Well, it’s within limits, but more than that, is she planning to eat this all by herself?

............Given her history, that useless goddess Ninrir actually would. Yeah, she’d totally eat it, while doing that ‘Muhhaaah~’ noise she does. It seems like it’s hard for gods to get sick, but they did say that it’s not like it never happens, right? I hope she’s watching out for diabetes.

......She should have been reading my thoughts, but she’s so excited she just hasn’t noticed, huh? Hahaha, Ninrir really is just awful as a goddess.

With those thoughts running through my head, I added the whole cake to the cart.

＜I’m next! Heheh... to tell you the truth, I’ve also wanted a certain cream for a while now...＞ Kisharle said happily.

Hey now, I said around 1 gold, okay? The more expensive beauty products really are expensive, so control yourself.

From what Kisharle said, it was a cream for use during the night.

“Uhh, do you remember who makes it?”

＜It should be...... That one. Right there.＞

I was pointing out the items in order from the menu, and Kisharle spoke up around the SHISYOUDO section.

So, for creams to be used at night, she must mean night cream, right?

I looked at the night creams, and Kisharle spoke up once again.

＜There! That one!＞

Huh? This one?

...Whoa! Expensive!! It’s 1 gold and 2 silver! Wait, it’s that expensive and you only get 50 grams......?

W-Well, if it’s this much I’m okay with it. But still, 1 gold and 2 silver for 50 grams...... Beauty products sure are something.

“Next is......”

＜Me!＞ Agni’s energetic voice resounded in my head.

“Will it be beer for you, Agni?”

＜Yeah. But I only get one, right? A case of beer won’t cost an entire gold, so I’m feeling like I’m losing out.＞

True. Even on the more expensive side, with A-company’s premium beer or a box of Y-bisu, beer doesn’t go all the way up to 1 gold. Oh, wait......

I had seen something in passing while I had been looking through my new Tenant, the liquor shop Tanaka.

Uhhh............ Oh, there it is.

As I flipped through the menu for liquor shop Tanaka, I saw what I was thinking of.

“What about this?” I introduced Agni to a slightly expensive gift set of beer, coming in a black bottle with a golden label. It was 1 gold for a case of thirty.

“It says, ‘A dream beer obsessed over by brewers,’ here. It goes on: ‘Its taste is slightly bitter and deep, a taste that surpasses other beers.’”

＜Ohh! That sounds good! Dream beer’s a great name! I’ll take that.＞

Slam that in the cart, there.

“Next is Ruka.”

＜............I want something delicious I can eat now.＞

Something she can eat now? So something that’s already been cooked? I did say only one each, and there probably isn’t anything the Online Supermarket sells that costs an entire gold............ Ah!!

I thought of a certain possibility and switched over to the gift menu.

Oh there’s a lot here, isn’t there? There’s domestic brand-name beef for sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, and grilling, too. They all look good. Wait, Ruka wants to eat it immediately, so ham would be better, I think. Let’s see............ Oh, this might be good.

“How about this one?” I pointed Ruka to a pack of domestic, carefully selected name-brand ham and roast pork. “With this, you’ll be able to just cut it and eat it as-is, or you can cut a thicker piece and grill it to make some ham steak. Both are delicious.”

＜Meat from... another world......... Good. *Schlrp*＞

Hey, did you just suck back some drool? Given Ruka’s reaction......

“Should I get this?”

＜Yes.＞

That was quick.

I’ve gotten it before as a gift for Obon or year’s end, and high grade-ham like this is truly great. It’s the best as a snack with beer when you cube some and cook it lightly before flavoring it with some grainy mustard... Oh crap, I need to move on.

“Next is Hephaestos and Vahagn, right?”

＜Yup! It’s us. You already know what we want, right?＞

＜Yeah. Give us that.＞

＜＜We want the twelve-year version of the world’s best whisky!＞＞

Thought so. The twelve-year version should be 1 gold and 2 silver, right? Beyond that, the eighteen-year version jumps upwards in price, and the twenty-five-year was over 100,000 yen, wasn’t it?

W-Well, compared to that, 1 gold and 2 silver is pretty reasonably priced, I guess.

“So I should get you a bottle each?”

＜Indeed. A bottle each.＞

＜Yeah. I really want to take my time tasting this one.＞

And so, I added two bottles of the twelve-year aged version of the world’s best whisky, made by a Japanese distiller.

Great. This should do it.

I once again lined up all the items on cardboard altars.

“Well then, please take them, everyone.” And with those words, the items on the cardboard altars disappeared.

Once again, I could hear the gods cheer. And right after............

＜What’re you all doing, gathered around like that?＞

I clearly heard a hoarse old man’s voice.

＜NWHOA!＞

＜Whoa!＞

＜Kyah!＞

＜Ah!＞

＜GUOH!＞

＜Geh!＞

And I heard all the gods make surprised noises.

＜＜＜＜＜＜G-God of All Creation............＞＞＞＞＞＞

W-What...!!!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

＜So? What are you all doing?＞

In front of the highest-ranked god of all, the God of All Creation, the gods could only hem and haw.

＜Ninrir, you have to be the one to explain things here. You were the one who met the otherworlder boy first, after all.＞

＜Yeah, yeah!＞

＜......Ninrir is best.＞

＜You’re the one who found him first, right?＞

＜In these cases, the one who’s known him the longest has to speak.＞

The other goddesses and the liquor-loving duo both pushed all responsibility onto Ninrir.

Wow, that’s just heartless.

＜W-Why is it me that has to do it?! Why can’t it be one of you?!＞

＜What are you saying? You were the first one to give your blessing to the otherworlder boy, so you have to do it!＞

That seemed to be Kisharle’s voice.

＜Hey, are you done figuring this out yet?＞

＜Sorry for making you wait. Ninrir will explain for the rest of us.＞

＜Grrrr... Kisharle... all of you... I’ll remember this,＞ I heard Ninrir speak grudgingly.

＜So Ninrir will be the one speaking? Well? Go on.＞ The Creator God’s voice mercilessly pressed her for an explanation.

＜No, uhh, you see............＞ Against her will, Ninrir started to recount what had happened with me up until this point.

＜So, if I’m hearing this correctly, Ninrir, you realized that an otherworlder summoned here through the ritual of hero summoning had a mysterious unique skill called ‘Online Supermarket,’ which is able to obtain food and other things from his world. So you gave him a blessing as an excuse for extorting him for things from the other world? Then, knowing this, Kisharle, Agni, Rusalka, Hephaestos, and Vahagn all joined in?＞

All the things the Creator God was saying were completely true, and since none of them could deny it, they had no choice but to stay silent.

＜YOU IIIDIIIOOOOOOOOOOTS!!!!＞ His angry cry was loud enough to surprise me. The Creator God’s thunderous wrath struck the other gods.

＜You’re all gods, so what were you thinking, ganging up on one of the subjects you’re supposed to protect!!＞

＜N-No, we weren’t ganging up on him! No, wait, we really weren’t. We all properly gave him blessings, so......＞ Ninrir was completely freaked out and speaking with the Creator God without any sense of formality whatsoever.

＜Even though you granted him your blessing, the fact that you’re extorting offerings itself is wrong!! Have any of you asked for anything from the ones you’ve given blessings to up until now? Hm? How about it?＞

＜Ummm......＞

＜Th-That’s......＞

＜Uhhh......＞

＜............＞

＜N-No, you see......＞

＜No, uhhh......＞

The Creator God only seemed more imposing by the minute, and the other gods couldn’t even get out a straight answer.

＜The fact that you won’t answer means that you haven’t, right? In the first place, blessings are something you give to those you recognize will better the world. You all should know that already.＞

It seemed like the other gods couldn’t even respond to the Creator God’s point.

This whole time I’d only been talking to them and hadn’t actually met any of them face-to-face, meaning I didn’t know how any of them looked, but I could just imagine them all simultaneously drooping their heads in shame.

＜Have goods from this other world really led you that far astray? Okay, I will see myself. Let me look.＞

I heard some rustling noises. It seemed like the Creator God was looking through all the different things I’d sent over to them.

＜You... You all have been receiving things like this......? As a punishment, I will be confiscating all of it.＞

＜＜＜＜＜＜Noooo!＞＞＞＞＞＞

Oh... Oh my. All of it, huh? They’ve all gotten completely addicted to this stuff, are they gonna be okay? I don’t think Ninrir can survive without cakes at this point. And Kisharle just got that night cream she was looking forward to, too. Even Agni told me she started drinking beer every night with her meals. Ruka always gives the weakest reactions, but she seemed really interested in that gift set of ham. As for the liquor-loving duo, I can’t even imagine them living without whiskey at this point.

With that in mind, if all of it gets confiscated, even I’m starting to feel a little sorry for them. It’s true that it was a lot of bother to do it once a week, but the blessings and things they gave me did in fact help a lot. Especially when we went into dangerous dungeons and things. Since we’ve been involved all this time, I guess I should help them out a little.

“E-Excuse me... God of All Creation, is it?” Fighting through my nervousness, I called out to the God of All Creation.

＜Ohh, so you’re the rumored otherworlder? I am the creator of this world. You may call me Demiurge. Sorry for causing you so much trouble.＞

“My name is Mukohda. Pleased to speak to you. And it wasn’t that much trouble...... When I was first summoned to this world, I really was lost on what I should do, but I’ve met some nice people, and I’m living properly now.”

Yes - now I have Fel, Dora-chan, and Sui too. I’ve met a lot of different people, and it’s been pretty fun. In any case, the whole reason I ended up here was because of the country of Reijseger, who did the hero summoning ceremony. So if there is anyone to blame, it would be that fucking shady-ass country.

＜The king pig, huh...... That country really never does anything decent, but the current king is even worse than usual.＞

Oh... Right, everything I think is clear as day to the gods. Sorry for being so crass.

＜It’s not wrong to call him a king pig, since he only puts effort into growing his own profits and has fattened up because of it. You know, I too was thinking it was about time to do something about that country. Truthfully, gods shouldn’t be interfering too much with the lower world, but...... It’s just... You know that country’s trying to use the taboo hero summoning ritual once again?＞

“What? They’re going to try again after us?”

＜Well, you see............＞

After that, the God of All Creation told me all about that shady king pig, the country of Reijseger which he led, and the three high schooler heroes who had been summoned along with me.

＜You know that Reijseger is currently in a war, no?＞

“Yes. It should be against the neighboring country of Marveil, if memory serves......”

One of the reasons I had been in such a hurry to get out of that place was because it looked like they were about to start a war.

＜That’s right. And, they were planning on sending in those three heroes into the middle of the war.＞

Wow...... Wait, no, that country just might do it. With their stats, if they just level up a little, they could probably clean up pretty handily on the battlefield.

“So, what happened to the three of them?”

They hadn’t been that nice to me, but we were all from Japan, so I was curious. If they really had been sent out to war......

＜They’re fine. They realized they were being deceived with filthy lies, so the three of them ran away.＞

From what the Creator God said, the three of them had been assigned beautiful men and women as instructors, and as they had grown close, the teachers had tried to “gift” each of them with a magic tool called a “Dominance Bracelet” which would have turned them into something like slaves. And actually, one of them, the girl named Rio (the short cute one with the bob cut, if I’m remembering right), had been successfully fitted with one, causing things to seem pretty bad for a while.

But while they were out hunting monsters to level up, her left arm with the “Dominance Bracelet” on it had gotten cut off in battle...... Whether that was good luck or bad, it seemed to have brought that Rio girl back to her senses, and along with the other two who had already gleaned what was going on, she had managed to escape the kingdom of Reijseger.

“So, where are they right now? Also, if that Rio girl lost her left arm......”

From what I’d learned, even if they did flee, the surrounding countries weren’t all that great, either.

＜Don’t worry. Right now, the three of them are in Marveil. They became adventurers like you and formed a party together.＞

Oh, is that so? I’m a little relieved. But, Marveil, huh? Isn’t that the country that’s right in the middle of a war with Reijseger? They have the title of “hero,” so I wonder if they won’t just be used by the nobles and royalty of Marveil instead?

＜In that respect, they’re fine for now. The royal palace knows of them, but hasn’t tried to make contact. Marveil is a powerful country in its own right, you know? It has lots of people who are much stronger than the three “heroes” right now, so they don’t really feel the need to talk with them. In fact, they actually feel it would be dangerous to do so — if they send the three heroes out to war now, there’s a danger of Reijseger accusing them of kidnapping or something.＞

That makes sense. From what I’ve heard, they’re not above kidnapping or using magic tools for subjugation, so making accusations is certainly the kind of underhanded thing that kingdom would do. Man, they’re just the worst.

＜Indeed. It’s just as you think. After all, that kingdom has failed to realize their own merits and instead tries to increase their territory through underhanded means. It seems that they’ve done these kinds of things so many times that they’ve finally angered Marveil’s king, too.＞

Apparently Marveil was pretty angry, and they were planning to completely destroy Reijseger through this war.

＜This time, the country of demonfolk is moving too.＞

Oh yeah, both Marveil and Reijseger border the country of demonfolk.

Marveil was basically treated as untouchable by the demonfolk territories, but it wasn’t as if they didn’t interact at all, so it seemed that the demonfolk were helping with Marveil’s plans to destroy Reijseger in the imminent war.

Just neighboring that country brings no end of trouble, so of course the demonfolk would happily help, huh?

＜Even if I don’t help, Reijseger will probably be destroyed in the near future.＞

Well, with that king, sure.

“Ah, so, you said that the three of them were adventurers. So the girl who lost her left arm too...?”

＜Indeed. It seems that girl specializes in support magic, so even with one arm she’s doing pretty well for herself.＞

I see, that’s good.

...Wait, no it’s not. There’s still the fact that a teenage girl lost an arm. It’d be nice if I could do something......

I mean, I technically could. I do have Sui’s special elixir. But, to the kingdom of Marveil......? Hmm, what should I do.........?

With Fel, it isn’t impossible to get there, but that country’s right between us... If I pass through with Fel, they’ll definitely try something. It’s a place that’s just nothing but trouble, so I don’t want to get anywhere near if I can avoid it... Hmm, if I just offer the item, is it possible to ask the God of All Creation to deliver it to them?

＜What, are you concerned about the girl who lost her arm?＞

“Yes — they’re people from my homeland, after all. Also, while it’s different here, in my world they would still be considered children. Letting a child — especially a girl with a future ahead of her — be maimed would be......”

＜You really are too kind, aren’t you? Well, that is one of your good points. All right. I shall deliver that elixir for you.＞

“Really?”

＜Don’t worry, doing this much is no problem at all, I say. However, just handing it to them will probably raise their suspicions. You know, it seems those three are about to get married, so they’re traveling to the church in Marveil’s capital. And it looks like they’re going to enter a nearby dungeon on the way, so let’s make it so they ‘luckily’ find an elixir.＞

...............Hm?

“W-W-W-W-Wait a second. Did you just say, married?”

＜I did indeed: those three are getting married.＞

...............Married? The three of them?

＜Polygamy isn’t especially rare in this world, you know.＞

...............Polygamy. That pretty-boy high schooler... with two beautiful girls............

＜Overcoming harsh trials together brings men and women closer and fosters love. Oo-hoo-hoo-HOO!＞ the Creator God said, laughing.

...............WHAT THE HELL?!! Married? Huh?! I shouldn’t have sympathized! They’re totally fuckin’ happy!

Ah, but I guess it’s still nice that Rio girl is gonna get healed. But also, I’ll never forgive that damn pretty-boy high schooler getting two cute girls! Fuuuucckkkk! Even though I can’t get a girl myself!! I mean, that pretty-boy needs to go explode!!!

...............

............

......

＜......Have you calmed down?＞

“Sorry for getting worked up.”

I mean, they’re getting married...... Well, it’s true that they went through a lot, so it’s not strange that they got a lot closer, but they’re all high schoolers, you know? It’s way too early to get married in your teens, right?

......Ah, but if I think about it, in this world lots of people are already married at their age. So I guess it’s not that weird? Huh? But that would mean I’m............

Aghh! No, I have to stop. The more I, as a single man, think about it, the sadder I’ll get. It seems like they’re doing well for themselves, so I don’t need to worry about them. So, let’s just let this be.

It might have been too late now, but there was something I needed to ask the God of All Creation.

“God of All Creation, is it possible for me to, you know... return to my world......?”

＜Nope.＞

Yep, that was immediate. Thought so. He said the hero summoning ritual was a taboo, so I expected reversing it to be impossible.

＜Indeed. In the first place, the hero summoning ritual is an act that simply opens up a hole in dimensions, after all. And sending someone back would be the same: the ritual itself is a most dangerous thing to try in the first place. This time, the hole was small, so it closed by itself, but if it hadn’t, and if, instead, it had expanded, this world — and of course, your world that was connected to it — would have been destroyed.＞

The end of the world?! But, couldn’t the gods do something about it?

＜Don’t be foolish. It’s not like we can do anything just because we’re gods. When a hole between dimensions expands, it does so all at once. It’d be a dimensional collapse. If that were to happen, no god would be able to do anything about it.＞

Ohhh... So it was that dangerous... Thank goodness neither world was destroyed.

Hearing that Reijseger was slated for destruction did put me at ease though.

Well, that’s probably the fate of that king pig eventually. It just goes to show, not all those who have power can actually wield it.

＜Was there anything else you wanted to ask of me?＞

“No, I’m fine. I heard everything I wanted to hear.”

＜If that’s the case... Now, what should I do about these idiots......＞

Oh yeah, the other gods are still there.

We had digressed from the subject, but earlier the Creator God had gotten mad at the others and was going to take away all their offerings, so they were sounding really downtrodden. I felt that that was about enough.

Speaking for myself, they gave me blessings, which allowed me to ignore status effects. That was really helpful. Fel and the others were already strong, and with the new blessings they got even stronger. It was true that having to offer things once a week was a lot of hassle, but as long as they didn’t ask for anything too far-fetched, I was more or less okay with it.

As I was thinking that, the God of All Creation’s voice resounded in my head: ＜Naive.＞

＜You’re too naive. Naive as a newborn babe. Not only did they fail to report to me, the god that should know of this first, but they ganged up on you and hounded you for things. There needs to be an appropriate punishment.＞

Hmmm. If the God of All Creation says that, I guess it can’t be helped.

＜Grrr... You should try a little harder,＞ Ninrir, that divine disappointment, said resentfully; the other gods all chimed in as well, murmuring ＜Yeah, yeah!＞

＜You all need to be quiet already.＞

In response to that, the other gods all grunted in discontent.

＜I place all of you under house arrest for a month. Of course, you will be forbidden to contact Mukohda during that time. Go repent quietly in your homes.＞

＜N-No waayyyyy! Th-The cake...... Sweets from the other world............ If I can’t taste that, how will I liiive?!＞

＜N-No way...... Facial lotion, milky lotion, beauty cream, body cream...... one month...... if I run out...... NOOO!!＞

＜My beeeer! I don’t have any left, you know! How can I live an entire month without beer?!＞

＜Candy and food............ Candy and food............ Candy and food............＞

＜NOOOOOOOOO! M-My whiskeyyyyyyy!!!!＞

＜HUHHHHH?!! An entire month without booze?! No way, man!!!＞

The Creator God’s sentencing summoned a storm of agonized wails.

＜Oh shut up. I can extend that to two months if you like? Hm? How about it?＞

As soon as the Creator God said that, the other god’s cries of unhappiness stopped on a dime.

＜Geez, you all are... *Sigh*... Just go back to your homes and cool your heads.＞

The sound of dragging cloth and heavy footsteps slowly faded into the distance.

＜Hoooo, my... They finally left.＞

Oh well. Do your best over this month, gods.

＜By the way, Mukohda. I do have a request for you.＞

“A request? Anything, as long as it’s something I can do.”

He’s the most important god of this world, so I’ll do anything I can.

＜Ohh, I see, I see. My, the fact that you say that is really great. To tell you the truth......＞

According to the Creator God, he was actually a friend of Earth’s god, and they would meet every once in a while. A little while ago (I’m a little curious how much time counts as ‘a little while ago’ to gods), he had been treated to food by invitation of Earth’s god......

＜And there was a certain alcohol that Earth’s god said was special. It was so good...＞

Apparently both gods loved alcohol, so whenever they would meet, they’d drink and have great conversations about it. Still, Earth was far more advanced in culture than this world was, so they almost always drank Earth alcohol.

＜Recently, it seems that Earth’s god has gotten into Japanese sake. The special bottle he served was also Japanese sake, and Japan is your country, right?＞

“Yes. I’m Japanese.”

＜I figure you might know about good Japanese sake. I won’t demand it, but I’d be really happy if you could give me a bottle.＞

Sure, sure. I get it. In the end, whenever something happens, no one will be better to rely on than the God of All Creation, so if there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. If I think of it as some kind of insurance, this is cheap. But, I’m not that well versed in sake, so I’ll be relying on the rankings in the liquor shop Tanaka, though. The rankings are based on sales, and I’m fairly sure that anything that sells can’t be bad, so I’ll be fine.

Anyway, I opened up my Online Supermarket Tenant: “Liquor Shop Tanaka.”

I looked over the menu for Japanese Sake, and immediately abandoned all hope. I had never bothered to get familiar with the other categories since the liquor-loving duo were obsessed with whiskey, but the one for Japanese sake was also separated into really detailed categories. There were a lot of very specific categories like: Junmai Daiginjo, Daiginjo, Junmai Ginjo, Ginjo, Junmai, Honjozo, Futsushu, Nigori Sake, and Sparkling Japanese Sake. If you weren’t a fan of Japanese sake, it would be completely impenetrable.

I should just give up and look at the rankings already. I switched over to the monthly rankings for Japanese sake and picked out three good-looking ones.

First was a Junmai Daiginjo that dominated third place in the monthly rankings in spite of how expensive it was, so I figured it had to be worth it. It represented the Niigata prefecture, and it was at the top of their most popular line during the brand’s inception, so they named the store after it. It was mellow and round in the mouth, with a soft and harmonic taste, according to the ad copy. The description went on to recommend cooling it to better enjoy its fruity taste.

Next was uncontestedly first in the monthly rankings, a sake from the Yamaguchi prefecture. It was apparently famous because the Japanese prime minister had once gifted it to the American president, and it appeared in some anime movie or something. It was written in the description that it frequently appeared in good Japanese sake rankings, so it was undoubtedly delicious. It seemed to be the standard of its line, and the most popular product. It was described as sweet in the mouth and smooth on the tongue, and in spite of the sweetness, the aftertaste was nice and sharp. It was recommended for aperitifs or to accompany a meal.

And the last one was ranked seventh, but the description said, “The Japanese Sake that’s most popular overseas,” so I chose it. A three-star chef in Paris had given it his stamp of approval, so it was quickly rising in popularity. The description said that it was a Ginjo sake that reminded one of fruits from southern countries, and its mellow sweetness never felt boring.

Of course, I got a 1.8 liter bottle of each one. And for snacks, I also got a premium Kantsuma gift set. It was a little expensive, but it was delicious and didn’t require any cooking. It was a twelve-can set including sardines in smoked oyster oil, black pork kakuni, corned beef, and other stuff.

Now then, let’s leave all this on a cardboard altar......

“God of All Creation, please take these three bottles and some snacks.”

＜Much obliged.＞

No, no — if I can get by with just this much, it’s cheap. After all, you’re the world’s most important god. I’m going to keep gifting the God of All Creation things from now on so that he keeps taking care of me. The other gods wanted once a week, so I’ll try to keep the same schedule for him too. Unlike the other gods, he isn’t persistent and annoying, so I’m really thankful that he’s leaving it all to me.

“Please take care of me from now on, God of All Creation.”

＜Indeed, indeed. I will. For starters, I’ll give you my blessing. Only a (small) one, though — if I were to give you a regular blessing, you’d stop being human. Ho! Ho! Ho!＞

Ohh, you mean I’d become like a demigod or something?

＜Something like that, probably. You would have a human body and abilities, but you’d be immortal.＞

I-Immortal? Whoa.

＜It’s a blessing every member of royalty or anyone in power wants, you know?＞

He told me that he had once given his full blessing to a hero who had saved the world, and that was when it had become known to confer immortality on the bearer. But being immortal didn’t mean the person was unable to die; a large enough wound could still kill you, and the hero had died after suffering just such a wound in battle against a magic beast.

＜The opponent was that Fenrir’s uncle, if I remember correctly.＞

Whoa, it was one of Fel’s relatives... and Fel’s uncle no less. So doesn’t that mean that Fenrirs are super strong? The hero that fought a Fenrir must have been no joke either.

＜By the way, my blessing (small) will give you about the same lifespan as a long-lived high elf.＞

Huh? I don’t know how long a high elf lives, though.

＜Elves live around 500 years. Long-lived high elves have about three times that lifespan, so just around 1,500 years, I think.＞

F-Fifteen hundred......? What? My lifespan just became 1,500 years? I have no idea if that’s good or bad. I guess it’s nice that I can enjoy this world to its fullest? It looks like all three of my familiars live a long time, so I’m not going to be lacking for friends.

＜Of course it’s good. With that long of a life, even someone with your terrible luck in love should be able to find someone.＞

Ah! That’s true!

...............No, wait a second. Then instead of getting a longer lifespan, wouldn’t it be better to just ask for a better love fortune?

＜That’s boring, though...＞ he whispered.

Huh? God of All Creation, did you just say something?

＜All right then, it’s about time so I’m going to cut the connection.＞

“W-Wait a second, God!”

＜Farewell－!＞

Hey! God of All Creatiooon! Come on, give me luck in love! Not more lifespaaaaannnn!!!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the early morning, when the darkness of night had just lifted and the morning mist was still in the air...

After having finished a quick breakfast, we were currently in front of Aveling’s gate.

“Well then, let’s be off to Dolan.”

“I still kind of want to take it easy for a bit, but I suppose there’s nothing for it. Let’s go.”

My god, he’s still saying that?

“There’s still the butchering of the red dragon to take care of, too. That’s why we’re going to Dolan again.”

“That’s right! There is that to look forward to, isn’t there~? Eheheheheh, I got to go into a dungeon with Dora-chan, and once we’re back in Dolan, I’ll get to butcher a red dragon too! This is the best!”

Ahh, ‘zat so? He’s not a bad guy, but sometimes it gets really tiring to keep up with him. I’m remembering why Ugohl has such a tough time. Let’s just get the red dragon butchered quickly and get far away from Dolan.

“It was really great that I got to be with you, Mukohda. I made the right decision to come see you in Aveling after hearing about you in the capital,” Elrand said sincerely.

Geez, I don’t know who told him that, but he really needs to keep his mouth shut. I can only hope that Ugohl doesn’t get mad at me too.

Ah, by the way, I appraised myself first thing in the morning, and it looked like this:

【Name】 Mukohda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

【Age】 27

【Race】 Kind of Human

【Job】 Victim from Another World, Adventurer, Cook

【Level】 62

【HP】 405

【MP】 391

【Attack】 382

【Defense】 379

【Agility】 324

【Skills】 Appraisal, Item Box, Fire magic, Earth magic, Perfect Defense, Double Experience Gain, Familiars (Contracted Magic Beasts): Fenrir, Huge Slime, Pixie Dragon

【Unique Skill】 Online Supermarket

<<Tenants>> Fumiya, Liquor Shop Tanaka

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir (Small); Blessing of the Goddess of Fire, Agni (Small); Blessing of the Goddess of Earth, Kisharle (Small); Blessing of the God of All Creation, Demiurge (Small)

I don’t know if it was because I was from another world, but up until now I didn’t have a race entry. And now I do. I wonder if the world recognized me after getting Demiurge’s blessing? I have no idea.

But on top of that, the most perplexing thing is the fact that it says, “Kind of Human.” Like, what the heck does that mean, “kind of?” I was told that Demiurge’s blessing is too powerful, so it’s probably thanks to that, but “kind of” is way too much, right?

Like, feeling like I’m being excluded from the human race is a little......

And my lifespan is extended to around 1,500 years too, you know? I’m gonna have to tell Fel and the others after this.

There’s no point in thinking about it now, so I guess I just have to go with the flow. For now, let’s just hurry up to Dolan.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Ah, I can see Dolan now. Thank goodness we managed to reach it before sunset.”

“So... We’re already here...” Elrand said, sounding somewhat reluctant.

“Now, let’s hurry up and get inside and head for the Adventurer’s guild.”

Ugohl is definitely waiting for us.

“Sui is far too skilled, isn’t it? We got here in only half the time it usually takes. Well, it’s not just Sui though. All of you are really skilled.”

Yep, that’s right. Everyone’s really skilled, and it saves me every day.

It was thanks to them that I got to become an S-ranked adventurer. And the fact that, even after everything that happened, I was able to live and act as an adventurer freely and comfortably was all thanks to them. Especially Sui. Its growth was outstanding.

Thanks to that, even with Elrand here we got to Dolan so quickly. I was riding on Fel’s back like always, and Elrand was riding on Sui, who was the size of a one-person cart. At first, Elrand was surprised, but once he got used to it, he started to get really excited. With Elrand around, from our perspective we moved slower than usual, but even so it was still much faster than the normal travel time.

“The food is good, and Sui is nice to ride, and at night I can sleep soundly. It was the best trip. If traveling was always like this, I’d actually want to keep going,” Elrand said, to which Dora-chan instantly telepathically messaged me, sounding disgusted.

《I’m not traveling with this thing ever again.》 Dora-chan was a little angry.

After all, in his love of dragons, Elrand would make a pass at Dora-chan over every little thing. I understood why Elrand felt that way, but every time I told him that Dora-chan hated his behavior, he wouldn’t listen, either. In the moment, he’d say “I understand,” but right afterwards......

Well, he’s just a guy that LOVES dragons, so I understand why he’s like that. Rather, the entire reason he came over to see us was because of Dora-chan.

But, that’s also the reason why he keeps striking out with Dora-chan.

《We’ll be saying goodbye to him soon, so just bear with it a little longer,》 I answered Dora-chan.

《Tch! Fine. Then I want to eat turtle meat today. It’s been a while.》

Sure, fine. Today’s dinner will be soft-shelled turtle hot-pot, as Dora-chan wants.

“Well then, let’s go Elrand.”

“Yes.”

We joined the long, snake-like line in front of the gates, waiting for our turn. The people waiting to enter stared in shock and surprise though, seeing me ride Fel, a huge wolf, and Elrand riding Sui, a huge slime.

Come to think of it, seeing an elf riding a slime is kind of a surreal sight.

The gate guard was also surprised seeing us show up all of a sudden like that, but he let us inside without a fuss. That part was all thanks to the guildmaster.

Now then, it’s time for the last hurdle. Immediately after entering, the Adventurer’s guild was right before us.

Time to face the music...

Gossip: Three Heroes ~Daily Life as Adventurers~

Now that we’d entered Marveil, we started living as adventurers. We already had Adventurer’s guild cards, so it was the fastest way. At Lampertz, the first village we entered on the border, we sold off half the orcs we’d finished off to earn some traveling expenses.

After that, we stayed in the village a few days and rested. After all, until then we had been unable to rest peacefully, and all three of us were bone-tired.

Then, once we’d rested, we decided to travel to a largish city nearest to the village after getting directions from the villagers. That town, Orlova, was the place that currently served as our base of operations.

Since we’d arrived, we’d been working as adventurers the entire time. Thanks to that, we had climbed up to C-rank.

I was a little worried about what would happen for a while, but now that we were adventurers like this, we were somehow managing to make a living. Kanon and Rio had both started smiling a lot more like before, so I was really glad that we had made it to this country safely.

Adventuring puts your body on the line as your only asset, and everything is the adventurer’s own responsibility, so there are parts of it that are hard, but the three of us always help each other, and now we’re freely living to our fullest in this other world.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Isn’t this request good? With this we can be back by the end of the day,” Kanon said, pointing to a request. The paper that was posted on the board asked us to kill five orcs. The conditions were to bring back five orc corpses as they were, so the less damaged they were, the bigger the reward would be.

“I think it’s good too,” Rio agreed.

Orc meat was a popular food ingredient. All three of us really had hated the idea of it at first since they were humanoid like us, but orc meat wasn’t that rare in the world, and it was treated just like any other kind of meat. Like the saying goes, “when in Rome,” so we’d tried eating it, and it was actually pretty good.

In Japanese terms, it would be like high-class brand-name pork.

Aside from knowing that it’s orc meat, it would be more than edible, and now that our disgust has faded, we were eating it without any difficulty.

In this world, orc was considered to be pretty good meat, so it was really popular. In fact, there were a lot of restaurants that advertised their orc dishes on their signboards. Thanks to that, there was a lot of demand for orc meat, and it was almost like subjugation requests for them were permanently posted up in the guild.

“Five orcs, huh? We can do it, I think. Actually, since orcs are in such high demand, let’s hunt more than five.”

“You’re right. If it’s us, it’s possible.”

“Yeah.”

It’d be really hard for a normal adventuring party to bring them back without a magic bag or someone with an Item Box, but all three of us had Item Boxes. Not only that, but they were pretty much infinite in size.

We took the request paper off the board and brought it to a now-familiar receptionist.

“Now then, let’s go hunt some orcs.”

The three of us headed for a forest to the southeast of the town, where the orcs were.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Shh! ......There’s an orc.”

“There’s three... Let’s do it as usual, just like we talked about. It’s your turn, Rio.”

“Yep. Got it.”

Rio activated her specialty Water magic without an incantation. A water ball formed above the orcs’ heads, completely enveloping them. The orcs, who could no longer breathe, writhed in confusion and desperation, trying to escape from the water ball. Taking advantage of that opening, we......

“Kanon, let’s go!”

“Yes.”

The two of us jumped out. Me, with a longsword, and Kanon with a spear.

“Hah! Taahh!!”

“Yahh!”

We stabbed our target orcs in the heart. I took on two, while Kanon finished off one. The three orcs fell, lifeless.

This method of hunting orcs was the result of a lot of trial and error from us. With this method, we could hunt orcs without much effort and finish them off for sure, all while doing the least damage to their bodies.

“Great. Now we just need two more,” Kanon said, putting the orc she killed into her Item Box.

“Yeah. But, let’s not focus on just five — we should just get as many as we can.”

Rio, who had regrouped with us, nodded in agreement.

“Our rent is coming up soon too. We need to earn money where we can.”

I nodded. In this town, we actually rented a single house instead of staying at an inn. We had stayed at an inn at first, but when we’d calculated costs, we had realized that it would be way too expensive to continue doing that. Rio was the one who’d suggested that renting a house might actually be cheaper, so we’d decided to do it. Luckily, we managed to rent one. It was a little run down, but everyone had their own room, and the rent was reasonable enough for us to actually be able to afford it.

It was a little far from the Adventurer’s guild, and it was small, but since it used to belong to a merchant, it had a bath in it. That’s what had sold us on the house. In this world, only wealthy nobles could afford to take baths, but as Japanese people, it was pretty hard to do without them. Apparently, the bath was unusable without charging the magic stone, but Rio was good with Water magic, and I was good with Fire magic, so we had figured we’d be able to make it work somehow. And in fact, we did manage it without too much trial and error. Rio would use magic to fill the bath with water, and I’d launch an appropriately small-sized fireball into it. It was a simple method, and at first, it had been really hard to adjust the temperature. We were used to it now, though.

I liked the life I had now, with the three of us. In order to keep this lifestyle up, we needed to work hard and take requests diligently like this every day.

“Kaito, Kanon — there are orcs,” Rio whispered.

We faced the way Rio was looking, and...... “There’s four of them, huh? Kaito, Rio, let’s do it just like before.”

“Yeah.”

“Got it.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Whew...”

I put the three orcs we had just killed into my Item Box.

“Let’s leave it here for today.”

In the end, we managed to bag sixteen orcs. It was a pretty good haul.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m hungry~,” Kanon said.

Now that she mentioned it, I was too.

*Gurgle~*

As soon as I noticed that I was hungry, my stomach growled. Hearing that, both Kanon and Rio started giggling.

“Don’t laugh! I can’t help it, I’m hungry.”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s way past lunchtime, but let’s eat before we go back,” Rio said.

“Yes, let’s!” Kanon chimed in enthusiastically.

We moved to a comparatively safe area in the forest and had a late lunch. Rio took a pot out of her Item Box — our Item Boxes stopped time, so it was still hot.

“Smells nice~,” Kanon said, holding up her bowl like she just couldn’t wait.

“Today is stew,” Rio said while stirring the contents of the pot. It was mysterious how Rio managed it even though we didn’t have any pre-made roux. Rio said she did it with some wheat, or something — I didn’t understand at all, though.

“Kaito, bowl.”

“Yeah.”

Kanon already had her share served. I also gave my bowl over to Rio, and she poured out lots of stew for me.

“Well then, let’s eat.”

“Yep.”

“Yeah.”

“““Thanks for the food.”””

When I put the stew into my mouth, the mellow sweetness of the vegetables along with a creamy taste filled my mouth. Rio really was good at cooking.

“So good~. It’s really nice being able to eat hot food in places like this.”

Kanon was right. At first, we had just bought food at a stall and put it in our Item Boxes, but doing it that way cost way more than we had expected. So, we had tried field rations, but they were just awful.

Those things aren’t edible, I swear.

After that, we’d tried to cook food ourselves, and that was where Rio really showed her stuff.

“Yeah. Rio’s the greatest.”

“Aww, I’m nothing special. This is normal.”

Rio is humble and always says that, but I think she’s really good at cooking.

“Well sorr-rry for being bad at cooking.”

“No way. You helped me too, Kanon. With my arm like this, I have to leave all the peeling and stuff to you.”

“I was even awful at peeling stuff at first, too. I felt really bad about it back then. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have helped my mom more often.”

“But Kanon, you’ve been doing the laundry and stuff too!”

“Laundry is easy to do with magic. But cooking is... Why is it that anything I make turns out bad?”

I felt sorry for Kanon, but it was probably best to just leave the cooking to Rio. That would guarantee a delicious meal.

Still......

“From where I’m sitting, the both of you are really amazing. I’m completely useless at chores, after all!”

Cooking? Laundry? Heck is that? As if I could do any of it.

“That’s not something to be proud of, Kaito.”

“Hehehe... Really?”

Kanon looked exasperated; Rio just laughed.

“Ah, there is something I can do. Heat up the bath.”

“Ahahah! Yeah, that’s right! You might be the best at heating up the bath, Kaito.”

“But that’s all you’ve got, Kaito. You need to be more thankful to Rio and me!”

“Sure, sure. I’m super thankful to the two of you,” I said, and both of them laughed.

We had some tough times, too. This place was not Japan, and there were a lot of inconvenient things about life here. But, with Kanon and Rio here, I felt that I was happy. In order to protect this lifestyle, I was going to do my best as an adventurer.

Chapter 2: Don’t Defy Ugohl

It’d been a long time since I’d visited Dolan’s Adventurer’s guild.

“I’m baaack~!” Elrand said in a carefree tone.

Ah, an employee’s running now that he’s seen Elrand. He’s probably going to get Ugohl.

After a while, Ugohl came, heralded by the sound of hasty footsteps.

“Ah, Ugohl — I’m back!”

“............DON’T ‘I’M BACK’ ME!! YOU IDIOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!” Ugohl’s yell echoed through the Adventurer’s guild. Even the super-buff macho adventurers that happened to be around looked surprised.

“How many times did I tell you to come right back after you finished your business in the capital?! Huh?! And even though I did all that — ALL THAT — why did you still go into the dungeon at Aveling?! My god, you’re just... You... AAAGGGGHHHH!!!”

Ugohl’s super mad. No, he’s extra mega super mad.

“N-No, you see, when I was about to come back, I heard that Mukohda was heading for the dungeon at Aveling, and I thought, ‘Man, I sure would like to go with him,’ so......” Elrand recoiled in the face of Ugohl’s wrath.

“So? What if Mukohda was going to Aveling? Why did that mean you needed to go? You just wanted to leave, didn’t you?!”

“N-No, b-but... Mukohda’s familiar is a pixie dragon, you know? As a dragon lover, I couldn’t just let the chance to go on an adventure with a pixie dragon like Dora-chan slip by......”

I don’t think that’s a decent excuse, Elrand. I think you’re just adding fuel to the fire.

“You...... I thought you were an idiot to end all idiots, and it looks like I was right, wasn’t I?!”

Hearing that Elrand just wanted to go on an adventure with a dragon, of course Ugohl got even angrier.

“Isn’t it too much to keep calling me an idiot like that, Ugohl?”

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH CALLING AN IDIOT AN IDIOT?!!!”

Whoa. Y-You shouldn’t be talking right now, Elrand. This time it’s clearly your fault.

“Just how many times did I tell you? ‘We’re incredibly busy right now, so once you’re done with your business come back immediately.’ In fact, I think I was really insistent about it!”

“Th-That’s......”

“I won’t let you say you didn’t hear me!! In the first place, you......”

Ugohl is getting more and more excited. I should probably make my escape now before I get hit by any sparks.

《Hey, Fel, Dora-chan, we’re leaving.》 I told the two of them through telepathy. By the way, Sui quickly fell asleep in my bag after we entered the Adventurer’s guild.

《Y-Yes, that sounds wise.》

《Y-Yeah. Let’s hurry up and leave.》

We quietly exited the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Thank goodness we managed to get out of there safely.”

“Indeed. I do not know why, but he was really angry at that elf man.”

《It’s because he’s so annoying. Serves him right.》

Dora-chan’s being kind of cruel...

“I’m thinking of heading to the Merchant’s guild now. I think I want to rent a house here too. It’s better for it to be big, right?”

“Indeed. Bigger is better.”

《I vote for bigger, too. Of course, there needs to be a bath.》

As if I would rent one without a bath. Dora-chan’s totally crazy about baths, isn’t he?

“I’ll get one with a big bath. Fel hasn’t had a bath in a while, so once we’re settled in, he’s getting one.”

“Hm? A bath? I am not particularly dirty, so it is not necessary.”

“That’s not true. We went into a dungeon, and we’ve even been traveling since then. There’s probably lots of dust and dirt and gravel and stuff on you. Frankly, I wanted to have you take one when we left the dungeon, but the inn’s bath was too small. I’m going to properly wash you in a huge bath after we rent a house.”

“Mmnnrrrrr...”

While I was talking to Fel, we had reached the Merchant’s guild. This time I didn’t have a letter of introduction, but I was also a merchant, at least technically, so I had my own guild card. And even though a lot had happened, in the worst case I did already know the guildmaster, Adriano, so it would probably work out somehow.

For now, I simply waited for my turn to see a receptionist.

“Excuse me, you see......” Once it was my turn, I explained to the receptionist my desire to rent a house for about a week while making sure she could see my familiars behind me. In order to gain trust, I showed her both my shiny S-ranked adventurer guild card as well as my Iron-ranked Merchant’s guild card.

“M-Mukohda the S-ranked adventurer? So you’re also registered at the Merchant’s guild. Please wait a little,” the receptionist said, her voice coming out shrill and tense. She walked away.

Should I not have shown her the shiny one? But if I’m going to borrow a house, it’ll cost some money, so shouldn’t I show that I have the money at least?

After waiting a while, the receptionist came back with the guildmaster, Adriano, as well as a male employee of medium build who looked to be about 40 years old.

“It’s been a while, Mukohda.”

“Nice to see you, Mr. Adriano.”

“I heard about you — that you beat the dungeon in Aveling.”

“Yes, well... kind of.”

He really does have sharp ears; I can see why he’s the guildmaster.

“You must have lots of drop items and gems, so it’d be great if you let us buy them...”

“All the gems that dropped in Aveling were already sold there.”

Too bad, all the gems were snapped up right away.

“I see, that’s too bad. So you’re looking for a house to stay in with your familiars, yes? This here is Nikolai; he heads the real estate department. Please feel free to direct any and all requests to him.”

Adriano introduced me to Nikolai, who was in charge of the real estate department.

“All we want is a house big enough for even Fel to easily get in and out of, and that has a large bath.” I told Nikolai my conditions, and he showed me three properties.

The first one was an 8LDK (that is, eight bedrooms, plus living room, dining room, and kitchenette space), so it was fairly large, and it used to belong to a noble. The second residence was a 9LDK that was large, but a little old, and also used to belong to a noble. The third residence was a 7LDK that was a little small, but it was close to the center of town, and used to belong to a merchant.

After seeing all three in person, I decided on the first property. The building itself was relatively new and clean, and Fel could easily fit inside. Most importantly, the bath was large and magnificent.

I guess I should have expected that from a former noble residence.

The rental fee was 78 gold for a week; I paid Nikolai and took the key.

“I’ll ask them to butcher the red dragon tomorrow, so for now we can just take it easy.”

《Hey, you promised. Dinner’s gonna be turtle meat, got it?》 Immediately, Dora-chan chimed in with telepathy.

“Yeah, sure. I know already.”

“Turtle meat? Sounds good.”

Ah, that means I’ll need to prepare a lot of it, doesn’t it?

That night, dinner was soft-shelled turtle hot pot. For the first time in a while, we all had our fill of turtle meat.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next morning, at the Adventurer’s guild—

When I asked the receptionist at the front counter to talk to Elrand, I was led to the guildmaster’s room.

“Elrand......”

There’s Elrand... Well, it’s a matter of course that he’s in the guildmaster’s room, though.

He was quietly taking care of paperwork at his desk with eyes like a dead fish, under Ugohl’s supervision.

“Welcome, Mukohda. I’ve heard from this idiot guildmaster. This time you have a red dragon with you, right?”

I-Idiot guildmaster? Ugohl’s treatment of Elrand has gotten even worse, huh? Well, Elrand totally deserved it, so I know how Ugohl feels.

“Y-Yeah. I was thinking it’d be nice to have it butchered, and also if I could sell off anything......”

“Of course! Man, all of the earth dragon parts we bought from you before sold for a high price~. The dungeon-spawned items were the same, but the earth dragon has brought a lot of profit to this guild.”

The profits must have been quite substantial, because this time Ugohl was all smiles.

“Ugohl you beast! You demon!! How could you have sold off the earth dragon’s fang that I was going to make into a dragon sword?!”

From the other side of the desk, Elrand shouted at Ugohl while looking like he was about to cry.

Ah, Ugohl did just say that he sold all of the earth dragon’s parts, didn’t he? Which means, he also sold the fang that Elrand was holding on to so preciously.

“Hmph! Say whatever you like. You’re at fault for doing whatever you want. Once I put the fang up for sale, it got bought immediately — at an unbelievably high price, too.”

“Waaaaahhhhh!!” Elrand started to cry big teary droplets.

No matter how much of a pretty-boy elf you are, I don’t want to see some old man cry.

I left him alone.

“Let’s leave that idiot guildmaster alone for now...... Mukohda, there’s no doubt that the red dragon will be even more valuable than the earth dragon. Please, let us buy some of it.”

“Yes. Then can I ask you to do the butchering immediately?”

“Of course — let’s head to the storehouse now. Idiot guildmaster, we’re going.”

“So I can butcher the red dragon?!” Elrand said, his face morphing into a smile.

Wow, this guy just immediately stopped crying after hearing he could butcher the red dragon. I don’t know if I should just call him carefree or what...

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Bring it out here, please.”

Elrand, all smiles, egged me on with, “Hurry, faster!”

I brought the red dragon out onto the same work table as the earth dragon from before.

“Ohhh~...”

“So this is a red dragon......”

Both Elrand and Ugohl had their eyes glued to the red dragon on the worktable.

“According to Fel, this red dragon’s still a young adult, so this is actually pretty small.”

“This is......” Ugohl looked stunned. No surprise there — if a twelve-to-thirteen-meter-long dragon corpse counts as “small,” well...

Elrand, practically glowing, was muttering: “To think I’d be able to butcher a red dragon after an earth dragon with my own hands, how lucky can one man be......”

“So, how long will it take?”

“Let’s see... I want to take my time and go over all of it, probe every nook and cranny, so I’d really like three days.”

You just said “every nook and cranny” like with the earth dragon, didn’t you Elrand? It isn’t surprising that a dragon lover wants to check out a lot of things, but every single thing he says sounds creepy and disgusting.

“Idiot guildmaster, you don’t need to take three whole days. With your skills it should be done in a day, surely?”

“W-What are you saying, Ugohl? It’ll take three! I want to check out a lot of things!”

“‘Check out’? You just want to stare at it, don’t you? There’s a lot of work to do, so finish it in a single day. I won’t let you object,” Ugohl said with an air of finality. Elrand groaned, scrunching up his face.

Elrand at least seemed to know that it was his fault, so he didn’t really try to object. Well, it’d definitely turn into a scene if he did though.

“Ah, I’ll be deciding what we buy. If I leave it to that idiot guildmaster, he’ll just make choices based on his own greed.”

“Ghhh......”

That’s exactly right, Ugohl.

Ugohl’s spot-on logic sunk all of Elrand’s hopes.

“We’ll have this done by tomorrow afternoon, Mukohda, and I’ll have decided by then what parts to buy. So please come back at that time.”

“S-Sure......”

No one can defy Ugohl, can they?

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When I got back from the Adventurer’s guild......

“Alright, Fel, I’m going to wash you now.”

“Mnurrgghh, right now?”

“Since I have time, yes.”

“Uurrnngghh... Fine.”

Once I’d declared that I would be washing Fel, he slipped into an attitude of bleak acceptance.

《Oh? You’re taking a bath? Then I will too.》

《Sui also wants a bath!》

Hearing talk about a bath, both Dora-chan and Sui said they wanted one.

They both love baths, after all. All right then, let’s have them all get in first, then I can take my time washing myself after.

《Whew~, baths really are great...》

《It feels so goood~.》

Dora-chan and Sui were both floating around in the wide bath, looking like they were having the time of their lives. As for me, I currently had my pant legs and sleeves rolled up as I scrubbed Fel down.

For now, Fel was quietly accepting being coated in soap bubbles. Of course, I used the usual vet-recommended shampoo.

“Hey, scrub a little harder around the base of the neck.”

“Here?”

“Indeed. There.”

*Scrub-scrub* *Scrub-scrub*

I put a little more power into it.

“Good. Next is my right flank. Be a bit more forceful.”

Sure, sure. You really are demanding.

*Scrub-scrub* *Scrub-scrub* *Scrub-scrub*

This time I used a little more strength than before.

“Good, good. You are doing pretty well.”

With these sorts of exchanges continuing on, I washed Fel in his entirety.

“Whew, that should do it. Sui, I’m counting on you.”

《Okaayyy.》 Sui washed away the bubbles coating Fel with his tentacle shower.

All that’s left to do is wash Fel’s face...

“Okay. It is done.”

“Now listen, it’s a huge bath this time, so before you start saying ‘I will not get in’—”

“I will not be getting in.”

Fel, come on, you don’t have to reject it that fast.

《The bath feels so good, though.》

《Really.》

Sui and Dora-chan both chimed in while they floated around in the bath.

It’s kind of sad, even though getting into a hot bath feels so nice...

“Hmph! I am leaving.”

“Ah! Wait a second!” I hurried to stop Fel, who looked like he was going to shake off all the water at any second. I quickly retreated to a place where I wouldn’t get wet.

“Okay—!” I said, and Fel shook heartily from head to toe.

《Whoa! Peh! Ptoo! Ptoo! Hey, you got your fur in my mouth!》

《Yaaayyy!! So much water went everywhere! So coool! Uncle Fel, do that again!》

“I am leaving.”

This is just chaos......... I mean, after shaking off all the water, Fel is trying to leave like he no longer has any business here, Dora-chan is all angry since Fel’s fur got in his mouth, and Sui is happily oscillating in the water...

“Ah, if you’re going to lie down, do it after drying yourself off.”

“Hmph. I know already.”

After Fel left, I toweled off Dora-chan and Sui. When I accompanied Dora-chan and Sui to the living room, Fel was lying down in the center.

“You are finally here. I am thirsty. Give me the usual.”

《Oh! Sounds good. That sweet milk tastes so much better after a bath.》

《Sui wants some too—.》

Sure, sure. The usual, right?

I bought the usual fruit milk (and canned coffee for myself) with my skill and poured the fruit milk into each of their personal bowls.

“Hm, this is delicious.”

《It’s gotta be this after a bath! It’s so good!》

《It’s sweet and delicious!》

While everyone looked like they were really enjoying their fruit milk, I downed a can of coffee.

I still had about half the food I’d made for the trip out of Aveling, so I used that for lunch. By the way, the menu was fried seafood and a butter-soy sauce-flavored foil bake. They all really loved meat, and our meals always ended up full of it, so having seafood for the first time in a while really hit the spot.

After everyone was satisfied, we spent time relaxing. My three familiars each napped in whatever spot they found most comfortable. It was a little too long for a “nap” though; they slept soundly all the way until dinner. I got swept along and also ended up dozing off on a fancy sofa.

For dinner, I used the rest of the travel meal I had prepared, and it ended up being a feast of gyoza. We had grilled gyoza, fried gyoza, and a gyoza soup with lots of vegetables.

Gyoza really is good. The combo between gyoza and beer is perfect.

And after dinner, I finally took a leisurely bath by myself.

“Whew, this is nice every once in a while,” I muttered to myself, stretching out my legs, which the spacious bath easily accommodated, and enjoying myself to the fullest.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Just as Ugohl had said, the next day in the afternoon, I went to the Adventurer’s guild with my familiars, where we were immediately led to the storehouse.

“We’ve been waiting, Mukohda. Please, this way.”

When I entered the storehouse, I found Ugohl and Elrand waiting for me in the back.

“Hey, we will be waiting in that empty space over there,” Fel said, and he and Dora-chan headed off to that place.

《Master — Sui will wait with Uncle Fel.》 Sui jumped out of the bag and joined Fel and Dora-chan.

“Right then, I’ll be talking over there, so behave.” I walked slowly towards where Ugohl and Elrand were waiting.

“What happened, Elrand?”

Elrand’s eyes were lined with some distinctly dark bags.

“Don’t worry about him. This idiot guildmaster didn’t listen to me and pulled an all-nighter.”

According to Ugohl, once I’d left the red dragon to Elrand, he’d started to inspect the body all over instead of starting to butcher it. But, since a promise had been made, Ugohl had urged him on, saying, “Hurry up and start butchering.” So Elrand had reluctantly gotten to work, but it had taken a lot of time since he had also been examining the body as he did it.

“I’m not a demon, you know. I didn’t force him to stay up all night to do his job at all. And in any case, just butchering it wouldn’t have taken this much time.”

“What are you talking about, Ugohl?! A chance to butcher a red dragon only happens once in a blue moon, so I have to take my time and look at all of it! But then you...... There was no choice, I had to stay up all night!”

Ahh, is that what happened? He’s objecting to what Ugohl said, but in the end Elrand just stayed up all night for dragons. Well, it’s what Elrand decided on his own, so whatever. I shouldn’t have bothered sympathizing with him thinking that he was made to stay up all night working.

“*Sigh*...... Let’s just leave this idiot guildmaster alone for now. I’d like to move on and explain everything that came out of the red dragon. Is that fine?”

Ugohl splendidly interrupted Elrand, who growled in vexation. Oh, as expected of Ugohl — but in my opinion it’s Elrand’s own fault for choosing to do all that.

“First is the meat. Since you want all of it, it’s currently being stored in a refrigerated place. We’ll hand it over later.”

Yep. Meat is the most precious thing to us, so I’ll make sure to get it later. The earth dragon’s meat was incredibly delicious, so I’m expecting a lot from the red dragon’s meat.

“Then there’s the blood, here; in all, the count is 227 bottles.”

There were bottles filled with a red liquid lined up across the worktable.

I did think there would be a lot, but 227 bottles, huh......? I guess it’s not that hard to believe given how big the body was, but still, that seems like way too much.

“And these urns contain the liver and other innards.”

There was a line of urns filled with organs. If I remembered right, they were ingredients for elixirs and other stuff, and had many uses.

“And lastly, these are the rest of the materials.”

I followed where Ugohl’s finger was pointing to another worktable, on top of which were fangs and bones and the hide, as well as a magic stone that was the biggest one I’d ever seen.

Yep. It’s all so uselessly big.

“So, as for what we’d like to buy......”

The first thing that Ugohl wanted was the dragon’s blood — twenty-five bottles of it, at that. Since I had 227 bottles, it wasn’t really that much, but last time they had only bought two bottles of the earth dragon’s blood.

While I wondered bemusedly whether or not twenty-five bottles would be too much, Ugohl went on, “You know, the earth dragon blood we bought last time sold in an instant even though the price was pretty high. In fact, there was a mountain of people asking if we had any more, so I’m confident that this red dragon’s blood will definitely sell.”

I have heard that dragon blood is something like a panacea, so there’s probably an endless amount of people who would want it.

“Hence, I’m going to offer 160 gold per bottle.”

160 gold per bottle? You know, these days I’ve stopped being surprised hearing these numbers... Hahaha...

“Then there’s the liver. This time, we’ll be buying the whole organ. The earth dragon’s liver was bought by a certain person for a surprisingly high price; I can only imagine just how much money a red dragon’s liver would command. I want to be clear: we definitely want to buy the whole thing this time, not just half of it. Thanks to you, Mukohda, we’re able to afford so much more here at Dolan’s Adventurer’s guild! Hahahahaha!”

Yeah, I can see this red dragon’s parts being sold for a lot of money. I get why Ugohl’s so happy.

“I’m hoping you’ll sell us this liver for 3,700 gold.”

O-One liver? For 3,700 gold? Dragon materials are no joke.

After that, the list went on to the heart and lungs, then the eyes. According to Ugohl, since the dragon’s innards would all be used for different medicines (all with amazing effects), he wanted to buy all of them at a high price.

I don’t know just what medicines they’ll turn into, but I can’t imagine medicine made out of dragon organs tasting decent. I don’t think I’d be able to stomach it.

I tried to sell Ugohl on the earth dragon parts as well, saying, “If they’re that popular, want to buy the earth dragon parts, too?” But he declined, saying, “If it was possible, I would, but not even our budget stretches that far......”

Too bad.

“And lastly, the fang.”

“Ugohl! I knew you’d come through!”

The second Ugohl said that he’d be buying a fang, Elrand, who had been incredibly quiet up until now, was revived.

“What are you spouting, idiot guildmaster? I didn’t buy this fang for you. We’re going to be selling it.”

“Aww, come ooonnnn!” Elrand dropped his shoulders in disappointment after hearing the lack of room for negotiation in Ugohl’s statement.

Did this guy seriously think he was buying it in exchange for the earth dragon fang he sold off? Elrand, the world just isn’t that easy.

“Hahh, let’s just leave him alone. So, the twenty-five bottles of dragon blood comes out to 4,000 gold, the liver will be 3,700 gold, the heart will be 4,000 gold, the lungs will be 3,600 gold for the pair, the eyes will be 1,700 gold for the pair, and lastly, the fang will be 3,000 gold. All in all, your total will be 20,000 gold. Is that fine?”

20,000 gold huh? Hahaha... Thanks to Fel, I’ve been raking in money left and right, so I must have built up some resistance.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Like last time, we’d like to pay in platinum coins. So that will be 200 platinum coins. Please count them,” Ugohl said, handing me a bag.

I examined the contents of the bag. After counting the coins, it came out to exactly 200 platinum coins.

“Yes, there’s no mistake.”

“This was a good deal for us. Thank you very much, Mukohda.”

“No no, the pleasure was all mine. The only place I can ask to butcher a dragon is here, after all. I’m also happy I was able to sell off so much of it right away. Well then, as for the rest of the materials......”

Just when I was about to store the rest of the materials, a voice interrupted us.

“WAIT JUST A SECOND!!”

It was Elrand.

“You idiot guildmaster, what grand reason could you possibly have to interrupt us with such a loud voice?” Ugohl said, looking exasperated.

“You don’t have any objection to me using my own money to buy something for myself, right?!”

“Out of the red dragon’s materials? Well, if you have enough money to do so, it’s your own money, so why not? That is if you have the money for it. Naturally, Mukohda here has to agree to it, too.”

Elrand, Ugohl’s looking at you like you’ve lost your marbles. No matter how much Elrand loves dragons, it really wouldn’t be enough for me to let something from a red dragon go for free.

“Heheheheheh... I have money, you know~?” Elrand was grinning from ear to ear.

............Ah, right, the money I split with him from Aveling’s dungeon. Agghhh, Elrand has 50 platinum coins on him.

“Mukohda! Please sell me one of the red dragon’s fangs!” Elrand shouted while shoving a bag that he took from his Item Box at me.

“Huh? Oh, uhh......”

Ugohl was staring at us. His eyes were scary.

“Please! Sell me a red dragon fang!”

“Well... uhhh... Please calm down, Elrand.”

“PLEASE~!” Elrand clung to me, looking desperate. “I’M ASKING FOR THE FAVOR OF A LIFETIME! PLEASE, SELL ME A RED DRAGON FANG!!!”

“I’m telling you, just calm down!”

“PLEASE~!”

“W-Wait! Elrand!”

“A RED DRAGON’S FANG!!!”

“I-I GET IT ALREADY! I... I’ll sell it to you!”

In the end, I lost to Elrand’s persistence.

“Yes! Thank you so much, Mukohda!” Elrand, a full-grown adult, danced a little jig of happiness. “Alright then. Here’s your money.” Elrand handed me a bag.

I peeked inside, and saw all 50 of the platinum coins I gave him, rebounded back to me.

“This is too much, Elrand.”

The fang I had just sold to the guild was only 3,000 gold coins. This was 20 platinum coins too many.

“Ah, then use the rest to sell me some red dragon claws! Please!”

......There’s nothing else to say. This dude’s basically perfected loving dragons. He just paid out of his own pocket for expensive dragon materials.

I felt like there was no other choice, so I sold him the claws too.

“Eheheheheheh... Look, a red dragon’s fang and claws... Such awesome things are mine, only mine...... I’m so happy~.”

Elrand, that old man elf... For a while now, he’s been rubbing his face up and down the red dragon’s fangs and claws while muttering to himself. It’s like he’s achieved a complete and pure happiness by himself or something.

...That really is just creepy, Elrand.

Ugohl was looking down at Elrand like he was a pitiful madman.

“Sorry, Ugohl......”

“Don’t be. That idiot guildmaster can be incredibly persistent when he really wants to be.” Ugohl said with a thousand-yard stare.

He’s had his fair share of suffering, hasn’t he?

“I can understand what you’ve had to go through.”

Leaving Elrand alone, happy in his own little corner, I went with Ugohl to retrieve the rest of the red dragon’s materials and meat.

“Well then......”

In my heart, I cheered Ugohl on so that he’d continue to do his best. I’ll treat you to something good in the near future.

...I’m feeling really tired for some reason. Let’s hurry back.

I headed for where my three familiars were waiting and found everyone in a deep sleep.

“Hey everyone, we’re going home,” I called out to them. They woke up right away.

“So, it is finally over. Hey, you got the meat, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. Let us go back quickly and eat the meat.”

《Red dragon meat, huh? Sounds delicious!》

《Dragon meat—!》

Everyone is totally looking forward to eating the red dragon meat tonight. Looks like I won’t be able to relax when I get back — woe is me.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I was in the kitchen of the residence we had rented in Dolan. As fitting of a stately mansion, it had a large kitchen with all the expected amenities. And right now, in front of me in this fancy kitchen lay a large lump of red dragon meat, in all its imposing glory.

For dinner, I’d be serving red dragon meat. Red dragon meat was a red meat that resembled earth dragon meat, though this meat looked much leaner.

“This has gotta be the first thing, right?”

Just like the earth dragon’s meat, it’s gotta be dragon steak for the first taste of a red dragon’s meat, right?

I brought out the sun-dried salt and black pepper jars with their own built-in grinders from my Item Box. Then, I started cutting the red dragon’s meat into thick-ish slices for steaks. I’d be grilling them the usual way for red meat steaks.

After oiling up a frying pan and heating it up over high heat, I seasoned the red dragon meat with salt and pepper right before cooking it. As soon as the red dragon’s meat touched the hot frying pan, the sizzling sound and appetizing smell of cooking meat filled the kitchen.

I took a deep breath. “Smells good.”

I started with high heat before reducing to low, and then I turned the steak over and did the same thing to the other side. Once the steak was done, I plated it and wrapped the plate in aluminum foil to let the meat rest and have the residual heat cook the insides of the steak. Once it’s well-rested, the steak is done.

“Steak really is great. It just looks delicious right from the start.”

As a special treat for the chef, I had a little taste test.

*Munch-munch*

“So goood~!” Since it was also a dragon, it was as tasty as the earth dragon’s meat.

The red dragon’s meat maybe tastes a little wilder, more gamey. It might be nice to roast this in big chunks like roast beef... Roast dragon huh? Sounds good. And I could put some gravy made from the dragon’s own meat juices on it ...... *Gulp* I feel like it would hold up nicely to this dragon steak... Ahh... Either way, red dragon meat is so delicious.

The red dragon’s meat seemed lean and somewhat tough at first glance, but it wasn’t that way at all. It was soft with just enough chewiness to really feel like you were eating something substantial, and every bite was bursting with meat juices.

Just a little more...... I thought, taking another mouthful. Before I knew it, around half of the dragon steak had disappeared.

“Whoa! It was so good I couldn’t stop myself from eating too much.”

Being too delicious is kind of a problem, huh? Because it’s so good — the best meat I’ve eaten since the earth dragon — I’ve lost all sense of proportion and self-control.

In the end, the red dragon’s meat was just as good as the earth dragon’s meat. Which one was better was a matter of preference, so it was really hard for me to rank them. Is all dragon meat this good?

I did tell Fel and the others to leave any dragons they came across from now on alone (at least, so long as the dragon doesn’t attack first), but this was making me want to take that back. Dragon meat was just that delicious. Given how tasty the dragons I’ve eaten so far have been, I can’t help but want to try the rest too... I won’t tell them to aggressively look for dragons, but now I don’t think I’ll complain if they happen to bag one while they’re on the hunt.

Well, at any rate, dragons weren’t creatures that appeared all that often.

Now then, let’s leave those thoughts for later and concentrate on cooking up more steaks. If I take too long, they’ll all impatiently barge into the kitchen.

I started cooking Fel and the others’ portions, one steak at a time.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Hm. It has been a while since I have had red dragon meat, and it is as delicious as I remember. As I expected, cooking it makes it very different,” Fel said as he tasted the dragon steak that I had seasoned with just salt and pepper.

《Even those arrogant assholes taste good when they’re just meat, huh?》 Dora-chan said, happily stuffing his face with red dragon steak.

《Dragon meat is so gooooood!》 Sui was likewise thrilled about the steak’s flavor, excitedly jiggling as it engulfed the meat.

Everyone was scarfing down dragon steaks in the spacious living room.

“It really is delicious, isn’t it? The earth dragon’s meat was good, but this red dragon meat is certainly a worthy challenger.”

I’d eaten a lot of dragon steak while I was cooking it in the name of “taste testing,’” but I still had room for more of this meat in my stomach.

Right now, I was eating a steak with onion flavored steak sauce. The sauce went perfectly with the dragon meat. The dragon meat, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, was good, but having it with steak sauce was even better.

“Even though I rarely get to eat dragon meat, all the ones I have tasted are pretty good.”

I see. So dragon meat really is good no matter which kind of dragon it is.

“If that’s the case, then it might be good to just ignore what I said last time about leaving dragons alone and just hunt them. Well, only if you find them while hunting, though,” I said, and Fel nodded emphatically.

“Indeed. That is a good idea. Ever since I met you, I luckily keep finding dragons, even when they are normally rare things. I think making sure to obtain them when we find them is a good mindset. After all, dragons are delicious.” Fel was completely on board.

It’s a bother because I have to come to Dolan to get it butchered, but for how delicious it is, it might be worth it. Still, it’s not like dragons are that easily found in the first place. In fact, we were really lucky to have found a red dragon after an earth dragon.

“Hey, I want more. Next time use that.”

《Me too.》

《Sui too—.》

Sure, sure. Steak sauce, right? Let’s start with garlic flavor.

All three of them put down one dragon steak after another. Even I managed to eat two extra-thick steaks.

Dragon steaks are way too delicious.

“Whew~, I sure did eat.”

“Indeed. I am full.”

《Me too. I think I ate a little too much.》

《Sui is also fuulll!》

After eating our fill of dragon steaks, we took a break to digest.

“Ah, right. I have something to tell you all.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“To tell you the truth......” I told them all about how I got the Creator God Demiurge’s blessing.

“.........And so, I now have the God of All Creation’s blessing. So it seems my lifespan is now like 1500 years or so.”

“Ohh, that is great for you! It is good news for me, too. Now I can enjoy delicious food for 1,500 years! FFHAHAHAHAH! I had given up, thinking that human lives were short. But now, 1,500 years, huh? Hm, good. Truly good.”

《Yeah, now not only do I get as much food as I want for 1,500 years, it’ll all be delicious! That Creator God or whoever does good work!》

《Mmm, so Sui gets to be with master for a loooonnngggg time and gets to eat the good food master makes, right? Yaayy! Yayy! Sui is happy!》

Everyone’s kinda excited... But you know......

“You’re all happy, but does that mean I’ll have to keep feeding all of you for 1,500 years?”

“What are you saying? Of course you will. You are our master. As a master, you have a responsibility to your familiars.”

Fel, guy, don’t make a face like I’m saying something crazy here. I did consider that I’d be with you guys for a while, but if it’s going to be 1,500 years, won’t they get tired of the food? From what they said just now, they’re not even close, though.

...So that means, for 1,500 long years, I’ll have to keep cooking and feeding them? Well, even I’m attached to them after being with them through so much, so maybe I should just give in and accept this as fate? It might be hard, but it’s probably not going to be that bad.

Well, I’m fine with cooking, but they’re all going to have to get their own ingredients. It’s not like I have the ability to get the meat they need myself. I’m putting my foot down!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next morning, Fel and the others were as full of energy as usual and made a fuss right from the start, saying, “We want dragon meat!” But as anybody else would think, dragon meat right from the start of the day was way too luxurious.

I calmed them down by reasoning that if they ate it too much, it’d disappear in an instant, but even so, they still looked like they wanted it. I promised to make it for lunch.

So for breakfast, we had meat soboro omelets using prepared meat from storage. I made the omelets filled with meat soboro, sandwiched them in bread rolls, and topped it all with some ketchup to finish. The sweet and salty meat soboro matched well with the omelet and bread for a delicious taste.

Fel and the others (well, just Fel, really) kept complaining that there was too little meat though. I just told him to suck it up because he’d be getting dragon meat for lunch.

After talking it over with Fel and the others, we decided to take it easy until lunch, and then head for the forest to hunt in the afternoon. Actually, they all wanted to go to the dungeon, but we had already conquered it before, and I had somewhere I wanted to go, so I convinced them to just go to the forest in the afternoon.

It seems like all three of them are itching to get into a dungeon since we’re in a dungeon city. I might be forced to go in again at this rate, won’t I?

For now, we were just taking it easy, and just as I’d promised, I served them dragon steak for lunch — luxurious dragon steak sandwiches, to be exact.

...Lightly toast some white bread and spread butter on one side of one of the slices. Spread mustard on another slice and use the bread to sandwich a thick dragon steak topped with some shredded cabbage and garlic flavored steak sauce...

After seeing it in its full glory and smelling its appetizing aroma, even I caught myself salivating.

Thus, all three of them had their fill of dragon meat. Fel alone got a special sandwich without any cabbage though.

After filling up on dragon steak sandwiches, we headed to the Adventurer’s guild in order to give presents to Ugohl, who seemed tired from work, and Elrand too, while I was at it. I went with sandwiches because they seemed easy to eat on the job, and part of the reason I went with steak sandwiches for lunch was because of that. So I made some extras for the two of them, and with sandwiches in hand, it was off to the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The employees were used to us, so they immediately led me up to the 2nd floor and the guildmaster’s room without me having to say anything. When I knocked and opened the door, I found both Elrand and Ugohl silently going through paperwork.

“Ah, Mukohda, please wait just a little bit,” Ugohl said while writing something on a piece of paper. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Was there something you needed?”

“No, I’m sorry for interrupting you while you’re busy. But I’m also the reason why there’s so much work, so...... Here, for you.” I produced the dragon steak sandwiches from my Item Box and handed them to Ugohl.

“This is......”

“They’re sandwiches with red dragon steak in them,” I said, and Ugohl’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“D-Dragon meat......”

“Yes. It’s not much, but please eat this and do your best.”

“Dragon meat... Even a king would be lucky to taste it once in a lifetime.........”

Huh? Really? I just got it, so all I did was make some extra while I was cooking up lunch for Fel and the others. But, hearing that, I guess it really was a little extravagant to use dragon meat. I probably should have gone with red boar or cockatrice, huh?

“*Gulp*......C-Can I really have this?”

“Of course. That’s why I gave it to you.”

Don’t hold back, just stuff your face.

“Th-Then......”

“WAIIIT RIGHT THERE!! W-What about mine, M-Mukohda? Don’t I get any?!!”

Aw come on Elrand, stop making a face like you’re about to cry. I have some for you too.

“I have your share right here Elrand, just calm down,” I said, putting down a dragon steak sandwich in front of him.

“Yes! It’s red dragon! Red dragon! To think I’d get to eat red dragon right after having earth dragon! It’s nice to have friends, isn’t it? You’re the greatest friend I’ve ever had, Mukohda!”

Geez, stop getting so worked up. Even though you were about to cry earlier, now that you have a dragon steak sandwich in front of you, you’re all smiles.

“Ah, also, this.” I handed Ugohl and Elrand each a basket full of treats. “This is the same pound cake I gave you before. You two like sweet things, right?”

“Wow! Thanks!” Elrand, who did like sweets, peeked into the basket and celebrated.

Meanwhile, I whispered to Ugohl: “Your basket also has red dragon meat in it, Ugohl. Please share it with your family.”

“Are you sure about this?” he whispered back.

“This time you and your family were the most troubled because of this. It’s only a little reparation, but......”

“Even though you were also troubled by that idiot guildmaster... Thank you so much for everything, Mukohda. But are you sure it’s okay not to give that idiot guildmaster any red dragon meat?”

“Do you think he’d be able to cook raw meat?”

“......That’d definitely be impossible, huh?”

While Ugohl and I were whispering to each other, I heard Elrand go, “Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmmm?” Elrand, who had been all smiles, was suddenly looking back and forth between the sandwiches frantically while letting out confused noises.

I tried calling out to him. “Elrand, what happened?”

“Uhhh, is it just me, or is Ugohl’s dragon steak sandwich thicker, Mukohda......?”

The reason Elrand was looking around so much was because he was comparing his sandwich to Ugohl’s.

“............It’s just your imagination.”

“Really?”

“It’s your imagination.”

That’s right. It’s just his imagination. I totally didn’t make Ugohl’s dragon steak any thicker or anything. Honest.

“More importantly, you haven’t had lunch, right? You can eat it as a snack while you’re working, so please enjoy.”

“Hah! That’s right! Well then............” Successfully distracted, Elrand quickly bit into his dragon steak sandwich.

“S-So good...... The earth dragon was good, but this is also delicious. Ugh! I-I’m so happy~!”

Oh come on, don’t cry while you’re eating.

“Hahh...... Let’s just leave that idiot guildmaster alone for now. Once he’s done eating, I’ll make sure he works properly. So I should eat now, too.”

Ugohl also bit into his dragon steak sandwich. “It’s incredibly delicious. I never thought the day would come where I would be able to taste dragon meat......” Ugohl was savoring each bite as if he was unable to fully express how much the flavor moved him.

As someone who’d recently been eating dragon meat fairly regularly, it was making me feel like running away.

“Uhh, well then, I’ll be leaving now. Please do your best with work,” I said before quickly leaving the guildmaster’s room. Fel and Dora-chan, who were staying quiet, followed me.

“Yaaaaawn~... Finally, it is over.”

《Whew, we finally got away from them.》 Dora-chan was so wary of Elrand that he spent the entire time hiding behind Fel.

Sui was, as always, napping deeply in my bag.

“That’s all I wanted to do, so let’s head to the forest.”

“Indeed.”

《Let’s go.》

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

As soon as we reached the forest, all three of my familiars happily started hunting. I gave Fel the magic bag (extra-large), so they’d probably be fine. And while they were out......

“Time to practice butchering. What should I use? ......I still have a lot of monsters that haven’t been taken apart yet... Of course, there’s more cockatrice and red boar, but there are also the ones that Fel and the others got before we came to Dolan......”

I checked the contents of my Item Box.

Wyverns: nope.

Wild bison: this is also a little too big, I think.

Golden sheep: this one has golden wool that seems valuable, and I’m not confident I’d be able to take that off cleanly, so I shouldn’t lay a hand on it.

Giant horned boar: as if I could butcher an entire light truck-sized boar by myself!

Rockbird: well, it’s big, but I think I’d be able to manage it.

So, it’s between the cockatrice, red boar, and rockbird, huh?

“Right, let’s go with the rockbird. I managed to butcher the cockatrice and the red boar already thanks to Elrand’s instruction, so let’s try something new this time.”

Pluck off all the feathers, and... in goes the vampire knife. Of course, all the feathers and other stuff that will sell go into the Item Box.

I cut and sliced the rockbird with my mithril knife while remembering the steps to butcher a cockatrice.

“Whew. This seems about right.”

Some of the cuts I’d made seemed a little rough and jagged, but for the most part it went well.

After appraising its innards, I found that while they were edible, they were disgusting. Oh well.

Meanwhile, Fel and the others returned.

“Welcome back. You were fast today.”

It was rare for them to be back while the sun was still high in the sky.

“Yes. The area around here lacks any good prey.”

“Ahh, Dolan’s a dungeon city, so maybe it’s because there are so many adventurers around? It’s not as if all the adventurers are in the dungeon all the time, after all.”

The fact that there are so many adventurers probably means that monsters around here get hunted pretty regularly. Still, there’s no way Fel and the others got nothing, right?

When I checked inside the magic bag...... many indigo-colored cows spilled out. They weren’t that big, but they had horns and looked exactly like black wagyu cows, only with indigo hides instead of black hides. When I used Appraisal on them, they turned out to be C-rank monsters called “blue bulls.”

“There’s kind of a lot here for there not being any ‘good prey.’”

“Indeed. We did find a herd of blue bulls. They are numerous, if nothing else.”

《You know, Sui went pew-pew at the blue cows and got a lot of ’em!》

《These ones were basically all taken down by Sui. I found a huge bird, so I killed that one.》

Is this the huge bird Dora-chan’s talking about? It was a huge turkey-like beast that seemed about 2-meters tall. When I appraised it, I learned that it was a B-ranked monster called a “giant turkey.”

In the end, there were thirty-eight blue bulls and four giant turkeys in the bag.

“There’s actually a lot in here.”

“Yes, well...”

With this, I now have quite a lot of unbutchered monsters in my Item Box, so I guess we should get them taken care of in the guild. I was just about out of beef, too. Even though I learned how to butcher for myself, there was a limit to how much I could do by my lonesome, after all. It really had to be the guild if I was going to ask a place to take care of a bunch of these.

While throwing the blue bulls and giant turkeys into my Item Box, I remembered something I had realized when I had been checking my Item Box’s inventory earlier. Elrand had asked for me to sell the dark balls and other stuff that would make for good weapons and armor that I got in Aveling’s dungeon whenever I arrived in Dolan, but since he never brought that up again, they were still in my Item Box.

What should I do with these? I don’t really care myself, but I guess it would be best to try asking the Adventurer’s guild tomorrow.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next day, when I went to the Adventurer’s guild, I was shown to the 2nd floor immediately. Both Elrand and Ugohl had tired expressions on their faces.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Sorry for interrupting your work, Ugohl. To tell you the truth......” I gave him the gist of what Elrand had asked me to do in Aveling.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner, you idiot guildmaster?!”

“Why? You know you kidnapped me and confined me like this as soon as we got here, Ugohl. And I’ve been so busy with work since then that I completely forgot.”

“Idiot guildmaster. Don’t make me out to be some kind of kidnapper. The entire reason we’re stuck in here is entirely your fault because you ditched your work and went to play.”

“Grrrr......”

Elrand, when will you learn that you can’t win against Ugohl?

“So, what did you get from Aveling’s dungeon?”

“Here, take a look.” I showed him the list of what was left.

“From what Elrand said, you’d be looking for dark balls and anything that can be made into weapons and armor...” I said, pointing to the list, while Elrand explained the uses of dark balls to Ugohl. “So I think they’d sell for a pretty good price.”

“I see. From what I’m hearing, they’d be great for use in a pinch. If we explain what they do beforehand, they should be pretty popular.”

After looking at the list for a while, Ugohl asked to buy all of my venom tarantula venom sacs, venom tarantula (special individual) venom sacs, killer camel cricket paralyzing poison, giant killer camel cricket paralyzing poison, giant cockroach paralyzing poison, gigant cockroach exoskeleton, gigant cockroach claws, dark balls, and the big bronze iguana (special individual) skin.

I thought that he was going pretty heavy on the poison, but from what Ugohl said, poisons (especially the paralyzing kinds) were always in relatively high demand among adventurers, so he wanted to get some while they had room in the budget.

Thinking about it, it certainly was a good idea to try to paralyze monsters before finishing them off, so it might be a good thing for adventurers to have. I didn’t need it, though.

“Alright then, I’ll go prepare the money immediately.”

“Ah, wait there are some monsters I want you to butcher, so can you handle that at the same time?”

“Well then, let’s head to the storehouse, shall we? And I’ll have you produce the items I just asked for as well.”

“Me too, Ugohl!”

“No. You stay here and do your work properly. If you ditch this, I won’t be responsible for what happens. Now then, let’s go, Mukohda.”

Sure. That was awesome, Ugohl.

Before Ugohl’s might, even a formerly-S-ranked adventurer and guildmaster like Elrand could do nothing.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Well then, see you again tomorrow after noon.”

“Yes. At that time, I’ll have the monsters butchered and the money ready.”

I had asked them to butcher two wyverns, two wild bison, three golden sheep, seven blue bulls, and one giant turkey. I kind of thought it might be too much, but Dolan had a lot of butchers employed, and when I had asked Ugohl, he had assured me it would be no problem, so I went ahead with this list.

With my current stores of meat, it should hold us for a while. And with all these different kinds of meat, I feel like there’ll be a lot of variety to enjoy. Now then......

“Hey, do we really have to go?”

“Of course.”

《As if we wouldn’t!》

《Dungeon!》

Of course we’d end up going back into a dungeon. Just popping into the forest for a bit could never satisfy the three of them.

“All right, but we aren’t going down into the deeper floors, got it? We only go as far as just before the field dungeon floors. We went to the trouble of renting a nice house, so we’re going to come back up by tomorrow. You hear?”

“Indeed.”

《I get it already.》

《Dungeon, dungeon!》

Do they really get it......? Still, I don’t have the ability to stop these people since they’re so excited to go, so oh well. Let’s go, I guess.

Chapter 3: Dolan’s Dungeon, Again

We were in Dolan’s dungeon for the second time.

Of course we completely skipped the first fifteen floors that were rife with adventurers, and even beyond the 16th floor, there was nothing that could oppose Fel and the others. Given that, I talked them into starting from the giant’s zone on the 22nd floor.

With that decided, we headed to the 22nd floor in a quick dash. Each floor’s boss had been defeated by Fel and Dora-chan in a single hit, and it didn’t take that long to get to where we were.

“Sui, we’re at the 22nd floor.” I called out to Sui, who was still in my bag...

《Yayy! Sui will beat lots!》

...And it popped outside.

In front of us was a familiar giant tunnel-like passageway, walled with exposed rock. As we went forward like we owned the place, we found a large hole on the right. In a wide, dome-shaped room, a bunch of trolls and minotaurs were lurking.

《Sui will go—!》 Sui said, before leaping in without waiting for a response.

《Aww... I was too late,》 Dora-chan muttered, sounding frustrated.

“Now now, you can just go next time, right? Just leave this one to Sui.”

《Tch! Oh fine!》

We watched Sui fight from the entrance of the room. The over 3-meter-tall giants raised a battle cry when they noticed Sui. Even so, Sui didn’t falter.

*Pew-pew-pew-pew-pew*

Sui shot one Acid Bullet after another, felling the trolls and minotaurs. Its aim was terrifyingly accurate, precisely piercing large holes through heads or chests. Sui, who’d leveled up, was far too strong an opponent for mere trolls or minotaurs.

《Master — they’re allll dead!》

“Oh, that was fast. That’s awesome, Sui.”

Well then, let’s pick up the drops and move on to the next fight.

Everyone helped pick up the drop items, and we moved on to the next room.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We proceeded quickly, with a lunch break in the middle, until we reached the 24th floor. It was clear that all three of them fighting together was far too much for anything around, so they’d been fighting in turns, but even so they made it look too easy. After all, all three of them had leveled up since the last time they’d been here. Even alone, they were massacring the giants in a flash.

I had also leveled up, but I still couldn’t even be compared to them. All three of them were so strong, neither the trolls, nor the minotaurs, nor even the spriggans in the giant’s zone could make for decent opponents.

So in the time it took to get to where we were, I had managed to retrieve a huge number of drops, including several gems dropped from spriggans.

I’m feeling like it’s about time to go back to the surface, but they’re probably not satisfied yet, huh?

《Right! I’m next!》 Dora-chan excitedly flew into the room.

*Thudsshh-thudsshh-thudsshh-thudsshh-thudshh*

Dora-chan, clad in Fire magic, freely flew through all the giants, opening up large holes in their bodies as he went.

《Not yet!》

*Thudsshh-thudsshh-thudsshh-thudsshh-thudshh*

With holes pierced through them by the fast-flying Dora-chan, the giants in the room kept falling. The trolls and minotaurs and spriggans all tried to attack Dora-chan, but he was far too fast, so there was no way they’d even come close.

*Thudsshh*

Ah, the last spriggan just fell.

《It’s over! So, the way I fight’s pretty cool, isn’t it?》

Ahh, sure, of course. You don’t need to look so smug. More importantly hurry up and start collecting drops.

Everyone helped to pick them up, but even so, that took longer than it took Dora-chan to finish the fight.

《Master — Sui is hungry—.》

“Indeed, this is probably a little soon, but it would be nice to have a meal.”

According to Fel, there was apparently a safe area a little further ahead.

“Then let’s stop exploring for today and have dinner there.”

We headed for the safe area that would be our camping spot for the night.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Now then, what should we have for dinner? I do still have stuff I pre-made, but it’s not quite enough for how much Fel and the others eat... Oh well, I guess I’ll make something.

We were the only ones in the safe area, so I felt free to bring out my magic stove.

“I’ll get dinner ready, so just drink this and wait,” I said, pouring some cola I bought into deep wooden dishes for Fel and the others.

This should buy me some time. What should I make? It’s gotta be something easy and quick to make, right?

I rifled through my Item Box.

That’s right. Let’s use the rockbird I just butchered. Something simple using rockbird......... Ah, let’s do a super easy soy-sauce-and-mayo grilled rockbird. That will only require me to massage in some flavors and grill it. On top of it being easy, it doesn’t generate a lot of dishes I need to wash, so it’s a great idea. And it’s delicious, too.

I already had everything I needed to season the dish on hand; all I was missing were the spring onions to sprinkle on top as a garnish. It wasn’t really necessary, but having it improved the looks as well as the taste. Once I bought the spring onions with my skill, I started cooking.

~◇~◇~◇~

First, pour in mayonnaise, soy sauce dashi, and grated garlic (from a tube) into a vinyl bag and mix it all together. Then, take some rockbird meat that’s been cut into bite-sized pieces, poke holes in the meat with a fork to help the flavors assimilate better, and add it to the bag.

Once that’s done, massage the marinade into the meat and let it sit for about ten minutes. (This time, I used soy sauce dashi, but mentsuyu also works.)

After that, start grilling the meat from the skin side on a heated frying pan, and once it’s well-browned, flip the meat over and grill until the heat cooks into the center. (The oil in mayonnaise serves double duty here, so there’s no need to oil the pan.)

~◇~◇~◇~

I plated the cooked rockbird before sprinkling on some finely chopped spring onion to finish the dish.

Since it was so easy, I used all my burners to their full potential and made a lot.

I already knew how it tasted, but I still did a little taste test since I made so much.

“This rich flavor is good too.”

In keeping with my preferences, I added in a lot of extra mayonnaise to make it taste even richer.

Truthfully, I should probably have held back on the richness, but I just find it so irresistible... Uhh... yeah. L-Let’s just not worry about it today.

“It’s done~.”

I put the plates full of food down in front of the three of them, and they all jumped on it as if they’d already been waiting too long.

“Hm, this is good. I love the rich taste.”

Fel likes that I added in extra mayo, huh?

《This is great!》

Dora-chan also seemed to love the richness that came from extra mayo and was eating with gusto.

“So delicious!”

Sui also seemed to like it, as the slime jiggled a bit as it ate.

Mayo and soy sauce really make for a great combo.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

*Sigh*... Oh man, I sure stuffed myself.

The mayo-and-soy-sauce-flavored meat was way too good, so I ended up eating too much.

Though I had made a huge amount, Fel and the others asked for several more helpings, and we ended up easily eating all of it.

《Master — Sui wants caaake...》

Sui, you’re still hungry?

《Oh, something sweet, huh? Great idea.》

“I will eat too.”

You too? Dora-chan, Fel? Well, I did promise them cake twice a day, and they hadn’t asked for any yet today...

I opened up Fumiya’s menu with my skill.

Oh, they’re starting a new event.

“Looks like they’re holding a strawberry fair.”

“Hm? Strawberries? You mean those red fruits?”

“That’s right. They’re the ones that are always on the cakes you eat, Fel.”

《Strawberries! They’re sweet and tart and delicious! Sui wants looooots!》

Sui loves strawberries too, after all. Still, lots huh? Lots might be impossible, but I could give them an extra one for three total. They’ve exercised a bit in the dungeon, after all.

“Well then, I’ll get you guys three today. What do you guys want?” I showed them what was on the menu for the strawberry fair.

“I will have the usual,” Fel said, but...

“...Wouldn’t you like this one better?” I pointed out a limited premium shortcake.

“How is it different?”

It didn’t look that different, but apparently it used wheat from Hokkaido and pure fresh cream. Also, it seemed to use huge, specially bred and selected strawberries. I explained as much, convincing Fel. “All right then, I will take this one.”

Just the word “premium” induces desire, doesn’t it? So that’s three premium shortcakes for Fel.

“What about you, Dora-chan?”

《I was gonna ask for pudding, but that looks good too.》

Dora-chan seems a bit lost looking at the menu. If that’s the case, then this should fit Dora-chan perfectly.

“Then how about this? Strawberry pudding-shortcake.”

《Ohh! That exists?! Right! I want that! Give me three!》 Dora-chan’s eyes were all sparkles at the prospect of the wonderful combination of pudding and strawberry shortcake.

So that’s three strawberry pudding-shortcakes for Dora-chan.

“What about you, Sui?”

《Ummm, uhhh......》

Sui, seated on my lap, was looking through the strawberry fair menu and trying to choose as if its life depended on it.

《Master! Sui wants this one!》 Sui used a tentacle to point out a strawberry roll cake, which looked cute with its pink strawberry cream wrapping up actual strawberries.

“This one? What else?”

《Umm, this one, same as Uncle Fel!》 The next one Sui pointed out was the same premium shortcake that Fel had asked for. Sui had probably just heard me describe it to Fel and thought it sounded good.

“Sure sure, this one. What about the last one?”

《The last one...... this!》 The last treat Sui asked for was a strawberry pie that had custard cream within its pie crust and lots of strawberries on top.

“So, this one’s last.”

I checked out with the cart full of treats for the three of them.

“Okay, here it is.” I put all their cakes on their own plates and served them out.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying their cakes very much. I watched them eat as I relaxed with some drip-bag coffee.

“So peaceful...... Even though we’re in a dungeon.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Haahh!”

My mithril spear ripped apart a minotaur’s belly. Along with the minotaur’s death cry, its innards spilled out of the new hole. The minotaur fell and, after a few seconds, disappeared.

“Ugh... I totally saw everything......”

I picked up the dropped meat and put it in my Item Box before going to look for my next opponent.

Right now, we were in the huge boss room of the 25th floor, the last floor in the giant’s zone. Of course, up until now we’d encountered basically no problems, so since this was the last boss room, I decided to try fighting a little myself.

“Guoohhh!”

The troll I found raised a hearty battle cry as it headed towards me. Thus, my next target would be a troll.

As one might expect, my three familiars were completely handling all the other monsters, and the troll was the only one coming towards me.

That’s so helpful, man. Right, let’s make sure to kill this troll.

“Fireball!” Magic didn’t work great on trolls, but I slammed a volleyball-sized Fireball into the troll anyways, since it would also serve as a distraction.

“Ggarggh!” The Fireball exploded. But the troll wouldn’t die from just that much.

...Just how tough are these things?

While the troll was still faltering because of the fire in front of it, I swiftly approached it from behind, and I used my mithril spear to cut off both of its feet from around the ankles in a single swing.

“Gaaahhh!” The troll screamed as it fell to its knees.

And quickly, I aimed for the troll’s neck and...... *Slice* I guillotined it using my mithril spear (made specially by Sui) with its amazing cutting edge.

I don’t care that people might say that attacking it from behind is unfair. I’m a wimp, after all. I’m going to take any advantage I can get.

The troll dropped its hide. I picked it up and put it in my Item Box, and that was when Fel contacted me telepathically.

《A big one is coming towards you. Try fighting it.》

Whaaat...... Wait, if he says big......

“Gggaahhhh!”

“IT REALLY WAS A SPRIGGAN!”

A spriggan, which was even larger than a minotaur or a troll, approached me with thudding footsteps.

《You have the Perfect Defense skill given to you by the gods, do you not? There is no need to be so afraid.》

“NONONO, THAT THING’S JUST SCARY I’M TELLING YOU!”

《It is fine. Do it.》

IT’S NOT FINE! I’m a Japanese person, from peaceful Japan, you know?! Even if I have Perfect Defense, it’s just impossible to tell me to not be afraid when something that huge is coming at me!

None of my other familiars came to help; they must have been looped in by Fel.

Fuuuuuuck~! Fel you bastard, I’ll remember this!

“Guooohhh!”

“Fuck! All right — for now, Fireball!!!” I launched my life’s greatest Fireball, sinking almost half my magic power into it. The over 1-meter wide Fireball cut through the air before it hit the spriggan, which became a ball of fire itself.

“Gh! Ghghgaaahhh!” The spriggan, engulfed in flames, flailed about. It rolled around on the ground, desperate to put out the fire, and before long it stopped moving.

“............Is it dead?”

“Ghgohh......” As soon as I thought it was dead, the spriggan popped right back up.

“Geh!”

The spriggan glared at me, looking incredibly angry. And......

“Ghggoooooohhhh!” The spriggan, now berserk with rage, screamed before coming at me once again.

“OF COURSE THIS WOULD HAPPEN———!” Using the rest of my magic power, I created three volleyball-sized Fireballs and shot them at the spriggan.

The spriggan, probably still carrying the damage from the first attack, got hit by all three of these Fireballs and fell to its knees. “Gaahh!”

“Now! Hah! Hah! Hah! Take thiiiissss!!” Using my mithril spear, I stabbed at its heart area many times in a frenzy. When I finally pulled out my spear for good, the spriggan fell over, dead. Then, it disappeared and dropped a magic stone and an opal.

“Whew~. Managed it, somehow......”

“So, you can do it if you try.”

“What the hell do you mean by that, Fel! Don’t just shove something that big and strong at me all of a sudden!!”

“Hmph! I only helped you become a little stronger, since you are far too weak.”

“While it’s true that I’m weak, you know that there’s such a thing as being mentally prepared, right?!”

I mean, in the first place, don’t put me on the same level as all of you, geez!

“How much more mentally prepared do you need to be? We are in a dungeon. All there is to do is defeat an appropriate number of enemies.”

Kkkhhhh! Everything he says is technically correct. It’s so goddamn frustrating!!

At that moment......

《Master — this way—!》

《There’s a treasure chest!》

I heard both Sui and Dora-chan call out to me. I turned around to where the voices were coming from, and they were right — there definitely was a treasure chest in the back of the room against a wall. I hurried over.

“Hohh, what a pretty treasure chest.” The treasure chest, which was 50cm wide and 30cm tall, was white with silver lining, and a jewel decorating its clasp.

This chest looks like it’d be worth quite a bit. Still, just laying your hands on treasure chests in this dungeon is a big mistake. Sure, they open right up if you just undo the clasp, but it’s almost guaranteed there’s a trap here. For now, I need to use Appraisal.

【Treasure Chest】

A treasure chest trapped so that a pitfall will open in front of the chest when someone opens it. If someone falls into the pitfall, they can never escape.

Like, absolutely no good...... “Never escape?” So you’re just dead!

These traps were very dangerous. I wasn’t even sure if Perfect Defense would work on pitfalls.

Right, let’s sidle up against this wall, and use my mithril spear to......

“Hup.” I managed to undo the clasp, stick the mithril spear in between the lid and the chest, and lift it open.

*Clank*

As soon as I opened the chest, the floor in front of the chest fell to nowhere.

“Wheww, this dungeon never lets up, does it? So glad I have Appraisal.”

While watching out for the vanished floor, we peered into the treasure chest.

“This is......” Appraisal.

【Magic Bag (Large)】

A magic bag that will hold the equivalent of a hundred bags (large). Stops time inside.

“Ohh! It’s a magic bag (large) that stops time!” There was nothing else in the treasure chest, but just the bag was plenty good.

Let’s keep this. I always had Fel carry around a magic bag (extra-large) when they went hunting, but it might be nice to have Dora-chan hold on to this too. It’s been tiring, but getting this magic bag (large) at the end is neat, at least.

“Now then, let’s go back.”

“Mn, can we not go a little farther?”

《Whaaat? Let’s keep going, come onnn.》

《So soon?》

“No. It’ll be the field dungeons after this, remember? You already promised to stop here. We’re going home,” I said, and everybody booed and complained, but I shut them up by offering earth dragon and red dragon steak for dinner, as well as five of Fumiya’s cakes each.

“Now let’s go back.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Whew, the surface really is nice. We were only down there because of Fel and the other’s selfishness, but it was nice that we got fifty hunks of minotaur meat and a magic bag (large). I’m tired so I really just want to go back to the house, but there’s all the stuff I left to the Adventurer’s guild yesterday, so I need to go.

“We’re going to the Adventurer’s guild before we go back.”

“I am hungry. Finish quickly.”

《Whaaat? But I’m hungryyy...》

《Master — Sui is hungryyy.》

“Sorry, sorry. I just need to pick up the meat, so I don’t think it’ll take too long. And we’ll eat right after we come back. All right?” I calmed them down before we headed for the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When we got to the Adventurer’s guild, I went to the receptionist, where I received Ugohl’s message. Apparently, he was busy at the moment, so he was sorry to have to ask me to head to the storehouse myself. Since I was one of the reasons he was so busy, I felt a little guilty as well.

For now, I did as the message said and headed to the storehouse. I greeted several butchers who I’d seen many times and was let in quickly.

“I’ve heard from the sub-guildmaster. Since you’re going to be keeping all the meat, we have it stored in the cold storage area.” The employee showed me to where they were keeping the meat. I’d come to this place several times, such as when I came to retrieve the dragon meat, and it was filled with slightly chilly air.

“Okay then. Here are your two wyverns, two wild bison, three golden sheep, seven blue bulls, and one giant turkey.”

One by one, I received the meat from the employee and stored it into my Item Box.

“I have the payment here from the sub-guildmaster, so please come this way.”

After leaving the refrigerated area, I followed the employee.

“Well then, this is your payment.” There were two small bags placed on the worktable. “First, for the drops from Aveling, there’s 644 gold from ninety-two venom tarantula’s venom sacs, and from the venom sacs of the special individuals......”

The employee broke down the sale of the drops from Aveling’s dungeon. All in all, it was 3098 gold. There was quite a lot, but I wasn’t surprised by it now.

Next was the sale of the rest of the parts of the wyverns and wild bison and other stuff I left with them.

“Two wyverns come out to 1120 gold, and two wild bison come out to 40 gold. Next is...............”

“So, with everything together, not counting the meat, it will be 1251 gold in total. Combined with the money from your dungeon drops, that comes out to 4349 gold. So, here is your payment: 43 platinum coins and 49 gold coins,” the employee said, pointing to the corresponding small bags. They held the platinum coins and gold coins respectively.

“The sub-guildmaster left a message saying that we didn’t have enough large gold coins, so he paid in platinum and gold coins.”

Sure, that’s totally fine. I’ve never used any of my large gold or platinum coins up until now, after all.

When I took the money and was just about to go home, I was stopped by the employee.

“Ah! That’s right, please wait a second!” The employee ran over holding something.

“I had to give you this, from the sub-guildmaster,” he said, handing over a basket that had until recently contained pound cakes and red dragon meat sandwiches for Ugohl.

What could it be?

After leaving the Adventurer’s guild, I opened it and found two letters inside along with a single pot that was just big enough to fit almost perfectly inside the basket. I opened the letters; the first one was from Ugohl’s wife, Thyrza, while the second was from his son Michael and daughter Milana.

“I am Ugohl’s wife, Thyrza. Thank you so much for your precious dragon meat. We enjoyed it very much as a family. Your sweets were also very, very delicious. Please accept these dried fruits as a symbol of my heartfelt thanks.”

And:

“Thanks so much for the delicious meat!”

—Michael

Lastly:

“Thanks so much for the delicious sweets!”

—Milana

It seemed the dragon meat and pound cake went over well. Girls were probably weak to sweets in this world too, since it looked like Thyrza especially had loved the pound cakes. I could also tell that Michael and Milana were both trying as hard as they could to convey their feelings even through their shaky handwriting. Especially Milana’s writing — I was only barely able to make out what she wrote, so she had probably just started learning to read and write.

I’m feeling kinda happy now.

I opened up the pot and found a variety of handmade dried fruits packed densely inside, all done by Thyrza. I tried one; a simple, mellow sweetness that wasn’t cloying spread throughout my mouth.

I read through the letters once again and felt warm inside.

“Why are you grinning like that?”

Fel...... Why did you have to say grinning like that? Just when I was feeling really nice. *Sigh* Whatever.

“All right, let’s hurry up and go home and have food.”

“Indeed.”

《Food, food!》

《Food~.》

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Just as I’d promised, we had earth dragon and red dragon steaks for dinner. All three of my familiars ate until they were full to bursting. Thanks to that, I was really tired.

Afterwards, I also got them five treats each from Fumiya, as I’d promised. I’d thought that they wouldn’t need any dessert since they had gorged on the steaks, but apparently sweets were different. They said something like, “Sweets go into a different stomach” — like girls do.

Fel must have liked that premium shortcake from last time, as he got five of those. Dora-chan, same as Fel, must have really liked the strawberry shortcake-pudding yesterday, since he got three of those and two of the usual custard puddings. Sui continued on his tour of the strawberry fair, and got a strawberry no-bake cheesecake, a strawberry Mont Blanc, a strawberry chocolate tart, a strawberry roll cake, and a strawberry mille-feuille. Basically, it was strawberry-everything in Sui’s order.

While they enjoyed their cakes and I had my coffee, I appraised them. Though we did go into a dungeon, it was only for a short while this time, so I didn’t think our levels would have changed too much, but I did it anyway just in case.

I appraised them in order of: Fel, Dora-chan, then Sui.

【Name】 Fel

【Age】 1014

【Race】 Fenrir

【Level】 945

【HP】 10142

【MP】 9768

【Attack】 9429

【Defense】 10157

【Agility】 9954

【Skills】 Wind magic, Fire magic, Water magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Lightning magic, Holy magic, Barrier magic, Rending Claws, Body Reinforcement, Physical attack resistance, Magic attack resistance, MP Efficiency, Appraisal, Battle Boost

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir; Blessing of the God of War, Vahagn

As expected, at Fel’s level, just that much wouldn’t be enough to level up. But still, those stats are amazing every time I see them.

【Name】 Dora-chan

【Age】 116

【Race】 Pixie Dragon

【Level】 199

【HP】 1229

【MP】 3450

【Attack】 3307

【Defense】 1158

【Agility】 4032

【Skills】 Fire magic, Water magic, Wind magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Lightning magic, Healing magic, Bombardment, Battle Boost

【Blessings】 Blessing of the God of War, Vahagn

Dora-chan was level 197 before... so he leveled up twice, huh? He is at a high level too, so leveling up twice with just that much work is probably really good.

【Name】 Sui

【Age】 4 months

【Race】 Huge Slime

【Level】 42

【HP】 1731

【MP】 1694

【Attack】 1709

【Defense】 1716

【Agility】 1727

【Skills】 Acid Bullet, Potion Creation, Cloning, Water magic, Smithing, Giganticize

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Water, Rusalka; Blessing of the God of Blacksmithing, Hephaestos

If I remember right, Sui was level 38. So it leveled up four times? Sui does have more room to grow. Still, now that it has evolved some, I feel like it’s gaining levels a lot slower than before.

To be honest, given how brief our dungeon dive was this time, and given how strong all of them already were, I wasn’t really hoping for much. So Dora-chan and Sui’s gains were just an unexpected bonus.

And lastly — me. Still, I had only fought a little bit at the very end, so I probably hadn’t leveled up all too much.

【Name】 Mukohda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

【Age】 27

【Race】 Kind of Human

【Job】 Victim from Another World, Adventurer, Chef

【Level】 66

【HP】 413

【MP】 401

【Attack】 393

【Defense】 385

【Agility】 331

【Skills】 Appraisal, Item Box, Fire magic, Earth magic, Perfect Defense, Double Experience Gain, Familiars (Contracted Magic Beasts): Fenrir, Huge Slime, Pixie Dragon

【Unique Skill】 Online Supermarket

<<Tenants>> Fumiya, Liquor Shop Tanaka

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir (small); Blessing of the Goddess of Fire, Agni (small); Blessing of the Goddess of Earth, Kisharle (small); Blessing of the God of All Creation, Demiurge (small)

Oh, I leveled up four times! The fact that I leveled up so much even though I only fought a little at the end is probably thanks to my Double Experience skill. Yep-yep, I’m doing pretty well for myself. Especially since I’m not trying to forcefully raise my level at any cost, and I’m just fighting when it’s opportune.

While I was using Appraisal, everyone finished their cakes. As expected of how full their bellies probably were, they all looked sleepy. I gave Fel a light brushing, and after I bathed with Dora-chan and Sui, they all immediately went to sleep.

I was going to call it a night too, but I suddenly remembered: “I need to make an offering to Demiurge.” But unlike the noisy goddesses and the liquor-loving duo, Demiurge was completely leaving things up to me, so I was really thankful for that.

I quickly opened up my Online Supermarket and scrolled through “Liquor Shop Tanaka’s” menu. Now was the time for the useful rankings to shine. I didn’t know much about alcohol, so these kinds of things were really convenient.

“Demiurge likes Japanese sake, right......?” I looked through the rankings of Japanese sake.

Hmhm...... Oh, this might be nice.

The first one I chose was a bottle brewed in the Fukui prefecture. It was Junmai Ginjo that was 9th on the monthly rankings, so it didn’t quite qualify as a high-ranker, but I decided on it when I saw the store owner’s little mark of approval over it. It was also pretty affordable, and apparently it was the most popular of its line. It seemed that the taste and fragrance of the sake superbly blended the natural umami of rice into it.

What should be next? ......This one might be nice.

The next one I chose was 8th on the monthly rankings, but 2nd on the weekly rankings. The fact that it was in both ranking lists, and the fact that it was so famous that even I knew the name clinched it for me. It represented Niigata prefecture, and it was advertised as being like the legendary original sake of famous myth. It felt smooth, light, clean, a little spicy, and had a refreshing aftertaste.

After choosing the first and second bottle from the monthly and weekly rankings, I chose the last one from the daily rankings. It was a bottle that shone in first place in the daily rankings. It was a little expensive, but its blue bottle was unique and pretty, so I decided to splurge a bit on it. It was from the city of Sado in Niigata, and it was written in the description that it was made by fermenting for long periods of time at low temperatures to make a daiginjo with a mellow scent and a delicate-yet-deep taste.

Of course, they were all 1.8-liter bottles.

After that, I got the same brand of snacks as last time, a premium Kantsuma gift set — though it was a different assortment, naturally. This time, it was a twelve-can set of black wagyu roast beef, black pork bacon and chashu, and young ayu sweetfish pickled in oil.

When I checked out, it all came in the usual box. I took out the contents and lined them all up on the makeshift cardboard altar.

“Great. It’s done. *Ahem* Uhhh...... Oh great Demiurge! Please accept these!”

＜Hm? Oh, Mukohda. Are you sure?＞

“Yes, of course. I don’t want to call it an exchange, but it would be nice if you would help in times of need, please.”

＜Hm, indeed. I understand. As I said before, I do plan to give you some leniency.＞

Oh thank you, thank you so much, God of All Creation!

The stuff on top of the cardboard altar disappeared with a faint light.

＜Ohh, these are different from last time, and so are the snacks you called Kantsuma as well. This is nice, no? I’ve been enjoying these with my sake recently. I’m very pleased. Feel free to do this again if you like.＞

As you will~! Never mind “if you like” — I’ll do it every week. I’m counting on you, Demiurge. Heheheheheh... I got his verbal agreement. Now I’m prepared for anything that happens. After all, I’m stuck alive for 1,500 years now. Even though I have my familiars, I’m not safe from everything without the power of the God of All Creation.

After finishing my offerings to the great Demiurge, I fell into peaceful sleep, reassured.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Since we planned to leave Dolan tomorrow, I was going to spend all of today preparing. And that meant making food for the trip. I started cooking from early on in the morning, making things like the usual karaage, pork cutlet, Hamburg cutlet, Hamburg steaks, and miso-marinated meats. I also made meat soboro, tonjiru, and seafood soup, all of which were very customizable.

“Whew, this should be it. I ended up making a lot.”

Ever since I gained the chef job, my cooking’s gotten a lot smoother, so I’ve started making too much...... Well, having more’s never a problem. It’ll get eaten anyway. All of us in the house are big eaters, after all.

“Still, I didn’t expect to still have this......” I was holding a bowl of mixed minced meat, which consisted of orc meat and minotaur meat drops from the dungeon.

“I got carried away and made a little too much.”

I mean, Sui’s special mithril mincer is so easy to use, I don’t even need to use any force and it keeps churning out meat, so I just......

“Hmmm, I don’t want to leave it like this, so I guess I’ll make something with this ground meat. What should it be, though?”

Ground meat, huh~? Ground meat...... Oh! Let’s do that!

What I thought of was, of course, meat pie. I had made it once before when I had ended up buying too much ground meat when it was on sale. I searched up a recipe on the internet which turned out to be unexpectedly easy. When I actually made it, the pie was ridiculously tasty.

“Great. Let’s make some meat pie!”

Now that that was decided, I bought what I needed with my skill. I already had all the seasonings I’d need, as well as the eggs to make an egg wash for the surface of the crust, so I bought the onions and carrots I’d be mixing with the ground meat as well as frozen pie sheets from the market.

~◇~◇~◇~

After mincing the onions and carrots, oil up a heated frying pan and cook until they wilt. Then, add in the ground meat and mix it together while cooking, adding ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, granulated consommé, salt and pepper, and nutmeg (this is personal preference) to taste. Lastly, sprinkle in some flour; once it’s all mixed properly, turn off the burner and let the heat dissipate.

Meanwhile, cut the thawed frozen pie sheet into four equal portions, and score the two pieces that will go on top of the pie several times, leaving about a centimeter around the edges.

After layering the cooked ground meat filling onto the two unscored pieces that make the base of the pie, egg wash the edges of the pie sheets in a mixture of egg yolks and water. Layer the pie sheets that have been scored on top, and crimp the edges closed with a fork, creating a rectangular pie. Egg wash the top of the pie to bring out gloss, and bake in the oven until it’s nice and brown.

~◇~◇~◇~

This time, I followed the recipe and used onions and carrots, but it was also possible to just use frozen mixed vegetables if I were to ever not feel like going through the trouble. It might also be nice to use curry powder to make a curry-flavored meat pie. I could also switch up the shape to the classic round shape, or a triangle, or I could even make easy-to-eat mini pies that were also square or rectangular like the one I had just made.

Since the dish can be customized to preference in taste and form, let’s make some more later.

While all that was running through my mind, the meat pie finished.

“Ohh, it looks good, all nice and brown like that. I’m going to have to taste test this.”

Losing to the tempting smell, I popped a bit in my mouth.

*Crssp*

“So good......”

I just loved the fragrant crispiness of the pie. And the well-seasoned ground meat filling inside paired great with the crust. And since it was so filled, it got full marks for volume.

“Hey, you seem to be eating something good there. Give it to me, too.”

《Don’t forget me.》

《Sui wants some toooo!》

............Even though I was just taste testing it after it was done.

Lured by the smell, Fel and the others were on standby. There was no other choice, so I gave them a plate full of meat pie each as a snack.

“Oh right. Ugohl’s wife Thyrza gave us dried fruits. I should make some pound cake.”

I was planning to go report to Ugohl and Elrand in the evening that I’d be leaving tomorrow, so I decided to take the chance and make some more presents for them in the form of a dried fruit pound cake.

With that thought, I hurried to bake some pound cake with dried fruit inside. It was simple to make, so it didn’t take too long. Fundamentally, it was just adding dried fruit to pound cake batter and baking it.

I’ll gift them some of this along with the meat pie.

I went to the Adventurer’s guild with my baked goods in hand.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When I arrived at the Adventurer’s guild, I was immediately shown to the 2nd floor by an employee. There, I found both Elrand and Ugohl buried in a mountain of paperwork.

“Ah, Mukohda! Ugohl, Mukohda’s here! A break! Let’s take a break!”

Elrand’s desperate, isn’t he?

“Please wait just a little bit, Mukohda. Idiot guildmaster, keep working. I will be keeping Mukohda company.”

“Nooooo~!” Elrand had tears in his eyes.

In the first place, it’s your own fault for playing around anyway. You reap what you sow.

My condolences.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Mukohda. What do you need today?”

Ugohl’s just completely ignoring Elrand, huh?

“I’m just here to report something...... Ah, thank you so much for the gifts earlier.”

“Think nothing of it. My family was very happy since you gave us so much, so it was just a little thank you.”

“Well I’ve come with presents, which are also in thanks for that. Here you go,” I said, handing Ugohl a basket. Inside were the dried fruit pound cakes and the meat pie.

“No fair, Ugohl!”

“You get some too Elrand, stop panicking.” I laughed resignedly as I handed Elrand his portion.

“I believed in you, Mukohda! Thank you!” Elrand looked really pleased as he checked inside the basket. Seeing Elrand like that, Ugohl let out a deep sigh.

“I came here today to tell you all I’m leaving Dolan tomorrow.”

“Ohh, is that so?”

*Clatter*

“Whaaaaat?! M-Mukohda, you’re leaving?!!” Elrand jumped up really forcefully and yelled. He was so forceful that his chair was knocked over and away.

“You’re being too loud, you idiot. Calm down.”

“A-As if I could be calm! Mukohda’s leaving!”

“Huh? What are you saying? Mukohda’s an adventurer; it’s natural.”

Exactly, Ugohl. Adventurers travel.

“W-Well that’s right, but I think it’d be fine if he stayed a bit longer...... That’s right!! Mukohda, why not make this place your base? Dolan has a dungeon, and I think it’s a really good town! Hey, you think so too, right?!”

As Elrand said, this town was big, and I liked it, but...... “Uhhh, I don’t have any plans for that at the moment.”

Or rather, I don’t have any at all, ever.

“Whaaa~t? Come ooonnn. D-Dora-chan’s going away......” Elrand hung his head in despair.

You’re letting your true feelings leak out, you know.

“Um... So, that’s my plan. Thanks for looking out for me.”

“Please come back soon, Mukohda.”

“Of course.”

............So I said, but I probably wouldn’t come back for a while. Not that I’d say that aloud, but it’d be annoying to do so. And most importantly, Dora-chan was totally creeped out right now.

“Okay then. Let’s meet again in the future,” Ugohl said, and as soon as I quietly left the room, I heard a voice inside shout, “DORA-CHAAAAAAANNNN!”

All of us ran out of the guild, cringing.

《The dungeon here was fun, but I don’t need to go back for a while......》 Dora-chan said quietly, shivering.

Love that’s too strong can give the recipient trauma sometimes, huh?

By the way, this entire time Sui was asleep in my bag.

“In any case, where do we go next?”

I’d already decided on our next destination, so I had an answer to Fel’s question.

“Next, we’re going to the town we visited when we first entered the country, Karelina.”

“That place, huh?”

“It’s a little fast, but I need to go pick up the wyvern mantle I asked for, after all. Also, I have an idea. Tomorrow, we’re leaving as soon as I return the key to this place to the Merchant’s guild first thing in the morning.”

“Indeed.”

《Sure. Let’s hurry up and get outta this place.》

The next morning, we left Dolan and made for Karelina.

Gossip: The Gods During Punishment

In his large mansion, the Highest and Supreme God of All Creation Demiurge was currently immersing himself in his greatest enjoyment these days: otherworld sake and snacks.

“Are they really reflecting?” He wondered aloud, before lightly waving an arm, causing a half-transparent window to open up in front of him. It displayed the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir, who was currently under house arrest.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the home of the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir——...

As if fresh from a mourning vigil, a depressed atmosphere filled the place.

“*Sigh*...... Otherworld sweets............” Ninrir muttered while laying on her bed. Unlike before, she looked clearly wilted.

Finally, her connection with Mukohda had been revealed to the God of All Creation, and she had received a harsh scolding and punishment from him. On top of having all her offerings from Mukohda confiscated, she had been placed under house arrest for a month. The punishment was heavy. Of course, during that time she was forbidden from contacting him.

“Cake...... Pudding...... Dorayaki......”

All the different sweets she’d tasted up until now. They all floated up one by one in her mind.

“I sure want some dorayaki...... *Gulp*”

Having thought of her favorite, dorayaki, Ninrir couldn’t stop the saliva from building up in her mouth.

“One month...... I know he’s the God of All Creation, but this is just cruel...”

She was cut off from the other world’s sweets for an entire month. It was basically torture to Ninrir, since she could no longer be satisfied with the world’s honey or dried fruits after having tasted the sweets from that world.

“One month is too long......”

One week into the month-long house arrest proclaimed by the God of All Creation, Ninrir’s heart was already about to break.

“*Sigh~*...... Why didn’t I save any of my sweets? If I had even a little left this would have been......”

Even though Ninrir had been getting so many sweets from Mukohda, she never saved any of them. Instead, she simply ate them all.

“I’m such an idiot......”

Along with past regrets, a proverbial demon began to whisper into her ear: “Why not sneak an oracle to ask him for some sweets?”

“Nonono, I can’t, I can’t! If the Creator God found out, I wouldn’t get let off with just a month!”

Ninrir’s inner demon spoke up once again: “Then he just doesn’t have to find out.”

“As if he wouldn’t!! He’s the God of All Creation! Whew~... Calm down, Ninrir. And get rid of these evil thoughts. If I don’t, something bad will happen...... If I’m not careful, I might never be able to taste otherworld sweets again, let alone having to endure a month without them!”

Ninrir shivered at the very idea and erased the demon in her heart.

“It’s hard, but I have no choice but to withstand it......”

Clinging on to the light at the end of the tunnel which was the end of her house arrest, Ninrir clenched down on the desires in her heart.

“My, Ninrir really does lack perseverance. Well, she did manage it, so I suppose I shall let it go.”

While enjoying otherworld sake and snacks, Demiurge muttered, “This stuff from the other world is delicious, isn’t it? It’s not like I don’t understand how Ninrir feels.”

“Well, if she didn’t abide by what I said, she really would be unable to taste otherworld sweets ever again. Ho! Ho! Ho! Now then, let’s look at Kisharle next.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the residence of the goddess of earth, Kisharle——...

Kisharle’s home was filled with a tense atmosphere. Kisharle, who was in her own room, was pacing in front of her bed, seemingly irritated.

“One month, a whole month......”

Kisharle was racking her brains over how to get through her house arrest. Now that she’d already started using beauty products from the other world, she could no longer even imagine life without them.

“I’m good on shampoo and hair treatment.”

Armed with Mukohda’s advice, Kisharle had stocked up reserves of two kinds of shampoo and hair treatment so she could use whichever she fancied. Right now, she still had about half a bottle left of each.

“I still have half of each, and one bottle each of shampoo and hair treatment I haven’t touched yet, so I’m fine on that.”

Within reach, Kisharle had a set of shampoo and hair treatment she hadn’t touched yet.

“I also have enough body soap. If worst comes to worst, I can just use bar soap, too.”

Kisharle stocked two kinds of body soap so she could change if she liked, also under Mukohda’s advice. She had about a third left of one bottle, and the other one had just been opened. And as Kisharle said, even if she ran out of body soap, she still had three bars of soap, so she still had quite a bit of leeway on that front.

“The problem is maintaining my face. And that’s the most important thing......”

The otherworld skincare products had changed Kisharle’s skin to such a degree that it was almost unrecognizable. It was smooth and supple, and perfectly taut, just like a hard-boiled egg. Thanks to the power of otherworld skincare products, Kisharle had obtained skin that any woman would be jealous of.

“As for the beauty lotion, facial lotion, and cream I’m using right now... They all work really well, and they’re perfect for my skin, so I don’t want to run out, but......”

For the beauty products that Kisharle was currently using, her beauty lotion was still over half full, but her facial lotion and cream were getting low.

“I don’t even have one left of this facial lotion and cream!!”

Back then, she’d assumed she’d have plenty of time to restock, so she was only considering asking for more the next time.

“Also, there’s the cream that I’ve wanted for a while now...... That one’s got to be really good. If I had that, my skin would become even prettier......”

Kisharle thought back to the night cream that had been confiscated by the God of All Creation.

“At any rate, if I run out, it’ll all be over. Before that, I’ll have to make do somehow with just the facial lotion and cream I got before...... It feels worse than the one I’m using now, but that can’t be helped. I just need to get through this.”

Kisharle still had cheap facial lotion and cream that she’d gotten before, so it seemed she was going to be using those.

“If, just if, those run out............ NOOOOOO!! I don’t want to even think about that! As if I could ever go back to using olive oil like before! Facial lotion! Beauty lotion! Cream! I used that trifecta to obtain a perfect skin that anyone would be jealous of! This skin! My precious skin......!”

It looked like Kisharle was really dependent on the other world’s beauty products.

“*Huff*... *Huff*... *Huff*...... I can’t think about running out. No matter what, I’m going to get through this month. Once I manage that, my skin will be safe. Let’s do this, Kisharle!”

Kisharle pumped herself up.

“......... I suppose even goddesses are women. A woman’s attachment to beauty sure is scary...” Demiurge muttered sagely.

“Well, if she’s that attached to beauty, that just means this is a good punishment for her. Ho! Ho! Ho! Let’s see Agni next.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the residence of the Goddess of Fire, Agni——...

Agni’s home was filled with tension. She was pacing around her place with heavy footsteps, as if she was trying to hold down her irritation.

“I want beer............”

Unable to consume her beloved beverage, Agni was frustrated. She did have some alcohol to drink... However, it was merely ale from this world, which she had been imbibing before she had known about the beer from Mukohda’s world.

“Lukewarm ale’s no good. It’s gotta be that ice-cold beer...”

Imagining the taste of an ice-cold brew and the feeling of it going down her throat, Agni reflexively gulped.

“Fuuuuck! An entire month............”

Agni drooped her shoulders in depression at the thought that she wouldn’t be able to taste that wondrous beer for an entire month.

“That Creator God is so cruel... Telling me to not drink that for an entire month...”

Beer after a good sweaty workout. Beer after a bath. Beer with dinner. They were all great things.

“NNUOOAAAGGGHHH! I WANT BEEEEER!!!!”

Agni had been drinking beer as much as she wanted every day from the stockpile she got from Mukohda. Now, she couldn’t even have a single drop. But her thirst for beer hadn’t gone away.

“It sucks, but there’s nothing I can do about it, huh? It’s not like I can defy the God of All Creation’s sentence.”

With the truth hitting home, Agni once again drooped her shoulders in defeat.

“Why didn’t I save any......? Even though I had quite a lot of beer............”

Agni used to have quite the stockpile of beer from all of the cases she had received. Nevertheless, she had already gone through all of it.

“Even though it’s only natural since it’s so good, I should have left just a little......”

That was completely true.

“Now that it’s come to this, there’s nothing for it. I’ll just have to make do with ale for a month, huh?”

Even though she knew that, Agni still couldn’t shake her thirst for beer.

“Alcohol from the other world is really good, after all,” Demiurge said, taking his glass of sake and downing it.

“Yep, it’s good.”

Next, he tossed some of his favorite snack, kantsuma, into his mouth.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! This punishment was perfect for Agni, who’s hooked on that otherworld beer... ‘lager,’ was it? Let’s see, next is Rusalka. How’s she doing?”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the home of the Goddess of Water, Rusalka——...

This place alone was peaceful, as usual.

“......Let’s have some ice cream.”

Rusalka retrieved her favorite cup of vanilla ice cream from the Item Box exclusive to gods. Recently, she’d been enjoying these after dinner.

“Heheh......”

She scooped up the snow-like white ice cream with a spoon and took a mouthful. The cold ice cream quietly melted in her mouth; the strong taste and thick consistency of milk spread. The flavor was perfect - sweet without being cloying, with a fragrance of vanilla that tickled her nose.

“This really is delicious.”

Rusalka slowly enjoyed her vanilla ice cream.

“That was good.”

She placed the empty ice cream cup on the table.

“Mm, I want a little more......” Rusalka muttered, before reaching into her Item Box and taking out an individually wrapped baumkuchen. She broke open the wrapping and started munching on the pastry.

“This is good, too.”

Rusalka fully enjoyed the moist, sweet treat.

“So satisfying. I will eat more tomorrow,” she said, smiling as she remembered all the sweets she still had in her Item Box.

She wasn’t concerned at all about a month’s house arrest.

“I’m so great for saving up,” Rusalka praised herself.

Rusalka hadn’t blindly consumed all the sweets that Mukohda had given her like Ninrir had. Instead, she’d preserved them in her Item Box and enjoyed them little by little. Thanks to that, if she paced herself, she’d just barely be able to enjoy her snacks for a whole month.

“This is a secret from everyone. Especially Ninrir — she can never, ever find out.”

It was only natural for Rusalka to think that. If Ninrir were to ever find out there were sweets from the other world around, she’d probably come charging in. No, she definitely would. If that happened, even the snacks that Rusalka had so painstakingly rationed to last a whole month would be gone in an instant thanks to Ninrir.

“I won’t give any to Ninrir. They were given to me, so I will enjoy them,” Rusalka said, moving on to joyfully plan out what to eat tomorrow, remembering everything she still had in her Item Box.

“Even though they like the same things, she’s really different from Ninrir, isn’t she? Rusalka’s young, but she’s the most responsible of all of them. Her punishment isn’t really a punishment now, but......”

Demiurge wondered what he should do.

“Everything she got before is hers, after all. I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Rusalka was unexpectedly cunning.

“Next is Hephaestos.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the God of Blacksmithing, Hephaestos’ house——...

Usually, the place would be echoing with Hephaestos’ loud voice, but right now all was quiet.

*Clang*

Hephaestos placed an empty wooden cup on a table.

“*Burp*...... *Sigh*~”

After downing some lukewarm ale, Hephaestos heaved a deep sigh.

“Now that I’ve tasted whiskey, ale just isn’t strong enough...”

Hephaestos’ love of alcohol was unrivaled. Even though he couldn’t enjoy whiskey for a month because of the house arrest, he couldn’t ever consider not drinking altogether. Although he did settle for the ale, Hephaestos was far from satisfied with it when measured against otherworld whiskey, for which there was truly no comparison.

“House arrest for a month, huh............? We weren’t trying to stretch that otherworlder that far, though...” Hephaestos said to himself, but it wasn’t true.

Demiurge, as he watched on, wanted the man to realize how berserk he had gotten over alcohol. More than anything, the liquor-loving duo had no idea when it came to choosing whiskey, so they always took up the most time with Mukohda.

“So I won’t be able to taste whiskey for a while, huh? This is hard......”

Hephaestos was completely hooked on whiskey. One of the big draws of whiskey was that each had its own unique fragrance and flavor, despite the alcohol being so strong.

“It would have been better if I’d saved a little, but that would be impossible to ask of us...”

These days, the biggest source of enjoyment for Hephaestos was drinking the night away with the War God Vahagn, who loved alcohol just as much as Hephaestos did. Together, they’d talk about and review the quality of each bottle as they drank them down. Both of them were unmatched in their love of alcohol, and they both had the same tastes, as they thought that whiskey was the best otherworld drink. When they had good booze to drink, they never ran out of topics to discuss.

“All that discussion over whiskey was so fun............ Oh yeah, I wonder how that 12-year whiskey the God of All Creation took tasted?”

Hephaestos thought back to the world’s best whiskey that both he and Vahagn had enjoyed so many times. Said 12-year whiskey was more expensive than the one they usually had. And given that it commanded such a price, that probably meant that it tasted that much better.

*Gulp*

Imagining that taste, Hephaestos couldn’t help but salivate.

“*Sigh* I want whiskey so bad.”He thought, but of course there was no whiskey left.

“I’m bored of ale too. Oh well, I guess I’ll have some mead......”

Hephaestos poured some mead into a glass and drank it.

“......Sweet... and weak.”

Both ale and mead were what Hephaestos had before he learned of whiskey. However, now that he’d learned the taste of the sublime alcohol that was whiskey, ale was almost just water, and he could only think of mead as far too sweet for its strength.

“It would be so nice to have some whiskey soon......”

“Hephaestos, I know that you and Vahagn pour an inordinate amount of passion into alcohol. I don’t believe you two will be able to stay quiet now that you’ve gotten to know alcohol from the other world, though.”

Alcohol from the other world was delicious. If one liked alcohol, they would understand Hephaestos’ feelings. However......

“But I can see you taking up too much of Mukohda’s time because you’re so enamored with alcohol. It’d be nice if you’d reflect on that, but... The last one’s Vahagn, the duo’s other half, huh?”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the War God Vahagn’s residence——...

A displeased voice echoed throughout the halls of Vahagn’s home, which used to be quiet.

“Fuck! This booze is too sweet!!”

Vahagn cursed his now-empty glass of mead, scowling in displeasure. After getting tired of drinking so much ale, he had switched over to mead.

“It’s gotta be whiskey...... There’s nothing better.”

Vahagn, like Hephaestos, was unable to be satisfied now that he’d tasted whiskey from the other world.

“A whole month, huh......? It’s not like I’m trying to go against the God of All Creation, but I think a whole month of house arrest is too much...”

Vahagn was more than a little unsatisfied at having to sit through an entire month of house arrest.

“I mean, we didn’t ask that much out of him. We even gave him blessings. Also, we put some pretty rare skills on him too.”

Although that was true, whether or not Mukohda actually wanted all that was a different matter.

“Well, if that’s what the God of All Creation says it’s not like I can do anything about it, so I just have to get through this month somehow, but... A whole month............”

And in the meanwhile, he’d be absolutely unable to drink any whiskey.

“I want whiskey......”

It was a strong drink unlike anything else Vahagn had had up until then, and each bottle had its own unique flavor and fragrance. He was entranced by the fact that it changed so much depending on where it was brewed and by who. To the alcohol loving Vahagn, whiskey had shown him an entirely new world.

“I really want to spend all night drinking with that Blacksmithing God again. That was so fun......”

Vahagn thought back to the days spent drinking with Hephaestos. Conversations about whiskey flowed like a river, and they would argue about what to order next. That had been unexpectedly fun.

“Ahhh, dammit. We were supposed to be drinking that 12-year world’s best whiskey and talking about it too—! That one’s gotta be delicious. I mean, it’s just a better version of the one we’re always drinking.”

Vahagn thought of the 12-year version of the world’s best whiskey that the God of All Creation had confiscated from him.

“I wonder how it tastes...”

Even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to drink it, Vahagn couldn’t stop his imagination.

“Aaaaaggghh! I want to drink whiskeyyyy!” Vahagn shouted from the bottom of his heart.

“Vahagn, I know you’ve been occupying all of Mukohda’s time right along with Hephaestos.”

Demiurge could tell that he was quite enamored with whiskey from the other world.

“I really can feel their tenacity when it comes to loving alcohol. It’d be nice if they can reflect on that during this month and calm down, though.”

Demiurge took a swig of the sake he had on hand, letting out a sigh of relief.

“It looks like they’re all feeling the month-long punishment, at least a little. It seems as though getting them to give up on things from the other world isn’t going to be an option, though. Well, I’ll need to talk to Mukohda about that, won’t I? He’s a pretty nice guy, so he probably won’t completely cut off relations with us gods. It doesn’t look like he’s planning anything like that, either. Although we can’t keep doing things at once a week like before, though. At any rate, I should talk to Mukohda about that once these fools’ punishments are up.”

Chapter 4: Mukohda Buys a House

I could see a familiar townscape past the open doors of the gate.

“It’s Karelina...... Great, let’s hurry and get in.”

“Indeed.”

《Yeah.》

I was on Fel’s back as he ran to Karelina with Dora-chan flying beside us. By the way, Sui was fast asleep in my bag, as usual.

The gate guards were a little alarmed; it’d been a long time since they had seen Fel, but I could see the comprehension dawn on their faces when they noticed me on his back, so there wasn’t really any problem. Even though Dora-chan was here too now, I was let through quickly once I showed them my shiny gold S-ranked guild card.

The power of a shiny gold S-ranked guild card really is no joke.

As I walked through the familiar streets in town, I somehow felt like I’d “returned.” This was the first town I’d visited after coming to this country, after all, and we had stayed for quite a while, too. It really was a town with a lot of memories and feelings behind it.

“First, let’s go give our greetings at the Adventurer’s guild.”

All of us headed for Karelina’s adventurer’s guild. It was a return for Fel, Sui, and I, but it was the first time for Dora-chan.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When we entered the Adventurer’s guild, the receptionist, who remembered us, hurried to get up.

I smiled a little at the nostalgic display.

You don’t have to get so worked up, you know?

It didn’t take long for a ripped and energetic looking old man to come over. He was the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s guild in Karelina, Willem.

“Ohh! Long time no see!”

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“I heard you became S-ranked!”

“Yes, thanks to your guidance. Also, I have a new familiar now — Dora-chan, over here,” I said, and for some reason Dora-chan latched onto the back of my head.

Dora-chan, guy, your claws are digging into my head and it hurts.

“Uhhh, this is my new familiar. A pixie dragon......”

“Haha! So, you even made a dragon one of your familiars!”

“Pixie dragons are rare, and this one is actually fully grown.”

“Gahaha! Rare, huh? To me, you’re even rarer since you’ve got three familiars following you.”

I mean, when you put it like that... It’s true that I’ve never even seen another adventurer with three familiars, and tamers themselves are already rare.

“I’ll be asking you for a lot while you’re here, got it? I’m countin’ on you.”

“Okay. I’m planning to stay here for a while. For now, I just came to greet you......”

Oh, that’s right. Since I’m already here, might as well ask them to take care of some butchering. Of course, I’ll sell them everything but the meat. Even though I learned how to butcher for myself, I couldn’t handle anything big, and I could only manage one or two at a time. I really can’t beat a professional. The rate at which we go through meat is no joke, so I should try to refill when I can.

“Also, maybe I could provide you with some goods...?”

“Oh, really? The stuff you bring in is always top-notch, so we’ll be happy to take care of it. Let’s hurry up to the storehouse,” he said, practically zooming towards his destination. We followed him to the storehouse.

“Yo! Johan! There’s a familiar face here!” When we reached the storehouse, the guildmaster called out, summoning a familiar, grim-looking old bald man from the back.

“Ohh, it’s you, bro! It’s been a long time! So, does the fact that you’re here mean that you have something to sell? Everything you bring in is always something rare, so I’m totally excited for anything you throw at me. Let’s see it.”

“No, it’s not anything that amazing this time.”

I had only sold about half of what we caught in Dolan to Dolan’s Adventurer’s guild, so I was just thinking that I’d sell the rest here.

“Um, let’s see......”

I brought out the rest of the monsters that we hunted in Dolan one after the other: eight wyverns, three wild bison, three golden sheep, a giant horned boar, two rockbirds, ten blue bulls, and three giant turkeys. It seemed like there was a lot of meat to be harvested off of the light truck-sized giant horned boar, so I asked them to do it right away. As for the blue bulls, I had so many that I stopped at ten for the time being.

“Wyverns? And golden sheep, and even a giant horned boar! Just what I expected out of you, bro.”

Seeing the monsters that I brought out, Johan sounded surprised. According to him, golden sheep and giant horned boars hadn’t been seen in Karelina’s Adventurer’s guild for a couple of years now.

“It’s been a while for me, too. Everything you bring in really is great.”

It seemed that the guildmaster felt the same, and he was looking mighty pleased.

Huh? Wait, could it be that they still have some leeway to do more?

“Umm, could I ask you to butcher a little more?”

“Hm? Ahh, sure. It’s fine. Thanks to you, we’re gonna have some more money in our coffers soon, after all,” the guildmaster said, grinning from ear to ear.

Hmmm~, izzat so? If that’s the case, I’ll show you the chimera and orthrus that got rejected the last time I showed them anywhere because they were worth too much money. How ‘bout that?

“Then, how about these ones that I showed you before?” I produced the chimera and orthrus. “And this.” On top of that, I added a dim gray rhino, which had also been languishing in my Item Box.

““............”” Both the guildmaster and Johan were silent.

“Ummm......”

Johan let out his breath in a hiss. “So that’s how it is. That’s the chimera and orthrus from before, right? And a dim gray rhino? You brought in some rare things again.”

“Yes. A while back, Fel and the others......”

Without even finishing that thought, the two of them understood.

“How about it, Johan?”

“The dim gray rhino is rare, but I’ve butchered one before so it’s not really a problem. As for the chimera and orthrus, of course, I don’t have experience, but I think I could try...”

Old man Johan was a lot calmer this time since it was his second time seeing the chimera and orthrus. As for the guildmaster, he sank into thought for a while after hearing old man Johan’s reply.

“Hmmm... let’s buy the dim gray rhino. But it really would be impossible to buy both the chimera and the orthrus.”

“If both are impossible, does that mean you’d be able to buy one of them?”

“Indeed. I’ll buy one of them. Everything you’ve brought in has made us a lot richer, after all. I’ll ride this wave and try to profit even more.”

Either the chimera or orthrus, huh? Both of them had basically been pickling in my Item Box, so I’d really like to get rid of even one of them while I can. If I were to just leave them in my Item Box forever, I’d honestly forget they existed at some point. Now then, which one will he buy?

While I was turning that over in my head, I heard Fel’s voice.

“The chimera.”

“The chimera?”

“Indeed. It is edible.”

Ahh~, yeah, Fel did say something like that, didn’t he? Wait, the chimera is really edible? Even though it looks like that?

I worriedly looked at the eerie form of the chimera. “Uhh, is the chimera really edible?”

“No, I’ve never heard of anything like that. What about you, Johan?”

“Neither have I......”

Both of them reported that they’d never heard of chimera meat being edible.

Hmmm~, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The people of this world didn’t know that soft-shelled turtle was edible either...... In times like this I should use Appraisal.

【Chimera】

S-ranked monster. Edible. Top-class red meat. Delicious whether grilled or boiled.

............So, chimeras are edible. And they’re top-class red meat? When it looks like that, of course no one would be able to tell.

For now, I knew it was edible, so I asked them to take the chimera. Of course, I had them give back all the meat.

“Well then, please.”

“Sure thing. Let’s see... Come back in four days. We’ll have the money for you then, too.”

After saying goodbye to the guildmaster and old man Johan, we left the Adventurer’s guild.

Now then, next is Lambert’s place. It’s about time for him to be needing more soap and shampoo and stuff, too. There’s something personal I want to ask him about as well.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“It’s been a long time, Mrs. Marie.”

When I got to Lambert’s store, Lambert’s wife, Marie, came out to greet me. “Oh my, Sir Mukohda! It has been a while! So, you’re back in Karelina!”

“Yes, after a long time away. It looks like the soap and shampoo are selling.”

Women were crowded around the corner of the store where the soap and shampoo were being sold.

“It’s all thanks to you. Every day is a success. However, there is a limit to our stock, so to prevent anyone from buying us out, we’ve been limiting sales to one-per-customer. Even though it hurts my heart to do so......”

Ahh~, thought so. I figured they’d be running low on inventory about now — the last time I had restocked them was back in Berléand.

“Yes, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to speak to Lambert today. Is he in?”

“Please wait a little bit.” Marie sent an errand boy to call Lambert, and the man himself rushed out immediately from the back of the store once he got the message.

“It’s been a while, Mukohda!”

“It sure has, Lambert.”

“The wyvern mantle you commissioned is undergoing final adjustments right now, but it’s very well done!”

“Oh! I’m looking forward to that~.”

“I think it’ll still take about twenty more days, though.”

“Of course, that’s just fine.”

I did come back quite a while before the promised date of delivery after all.

“It looks like you have some business with me, so please, come to the back.”

I was shown into the back of the store by Lambert. Since we’d be talking about soap and shampoo as well, Marie accompanied us.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Sorry for getting straight to business, but would it be fine to talk about restocking first? Marie’s looking really nervous over there, after all. Hahaha...”

“Oh, you! But it’s true that all the things like soap and shampoo that we buy from you are running low, Sir Mukohda. I’d feel sorry for all the customers who come to buy them if we were to run out, too.”

......How should I put it... they’re as great a couple as always. If I keep getting exposed to them, my HP will wither away, though.

“Sir Mukohda has come back, so I would like it if we could restock soon. If possible......”

Marie said that she would like the same amount I sold to them at Berléand as soon as possible. With that amount, while they would still have to refuse anyone trying to buy too many, they would finally be able to lift the one-product-per-customer limit.

The amount I sold them in Berléand, huh......? It’s so much work to repackage them into pots and wooden boxes... I get why they want it as fast as possible, but I’d like it if I at least had all of tomorrow.

So, I said I could have it ready before noon the day after tomorrow, and Marie agreed. With that finished, Marie hurriedly went back to the store, as it seemed she was concerned about the goings-on there.

“Sorry about that. Marie is having a lot of fun with work these days.”

“It’s nice to see women working.”

“True enough. Marie looks like she’s having a lot of fun every day, so I’m overjoyed as well...... So, what did you want to talk to me about, Mukohda?”

“Right. To tell you the truth............”

I told Lambert what had occurred to me a little while ago. Basically, I had decided that I wanted a house. I had been renting houses wherever we traveled, but I’d started to think that a permanent house would be really nice. It would have to be spacious, so that Fel and the others could live without feeling too constrained, and I wouldn’t have to worry about them either. And it would be nice to have a well-equipped kitchen and bath, among other amenities. Of course, the fancy mansions I had been renting had all of those features, but I had a lot of money now thanks to Fel, so I figured I’d be more than able to afford a nice mansion. And most importantly, having a home to return to was a good thing.

There was no question we’d still be leaving on journeys, but the feeling was completely different when you had a house to return to. So, when I tried to think of a nice place to buy a house, the best place I thought of was Karelina. I had also considered Dolan, but if I got a house there, I could see Elrand coming and going as he pleased, so I ultimately rejected the idea. Dora-chan would probably hate it too. So, if I really were to buy a house, it would have to be in Karelina.

“Huh~, so you will take up residence here. That’s great!”

“After all, you’re here Lambert. Thankfully, you’re someone I can ask about a lot of stuff like we’re doing now.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

“So, I’d like to ask, if I were to buy a house here, would going to the Merchant’s guild really be the best choice?”

“Let’s see... It would depend on what kind of house you want, but I do think going to the Merchant’s guild as a middleman would be the safest choice. So, what kind of house are you hoping for, Mukohda?”

If I were to buy one, I really would like something about the size of the mansions I’d been renting up until now, a place that Fel could easily go in and out of, with large rooms, and a well-equipped kitchen and bathroom and such, and a large backyard too, if possible.

I explained what I wanted to Lambert, and he slapped his thighs.

“There’s one that fits perfectly with your conditions, Mukohda! And it’s already furnished too, so you can move in immediately!”

Apparently said house used to be a high-ranking noble’s villa, and although it wasn’t near the center of town, it wasn’t too far away, either, so not only was it well placed for shopping, its grounds were also large. The mansion itself was big, at a surprising 14LDK (fourteen rooms, plus living room, dining room, and kitchen). Along with the 14LDK main house, there were three small residences for servants, apparently.

“It was let go due to certain circumstances, so it was left to the Merchant’s guild to maintain, but given how grand the property is... The price of it is so large, it’s been hard to find a buyer, it seems.”

Lambert also belonged to the Merchant’s guild, so he had apparently been told to introduce any potential buyers to them.

“I’ve heard that you became an S-ranked adventurer, Mukohda, so I was wondering if you’d want it.”

Oh? So he really did know. But just how high is the price? If I can afford it with my money, looking at it would be an option, at least.

“So, how much is it?”

“It’d be 12,000 gold. You might think it’s expensive after all that, but given how large the land is and its location — not to mention the mansion itself — it’s actually on the cheaper side. Not only that, but it comes furnished, so it’s quite the bargain.”

12,000 gold, huh? It is expensive, but I can afford it. In fact, I could pretty easily do so. Lambert said it’s got a lot going for it, so it might be a good idea to at least give it a look.

“Hmm... I don’t know if I’ll buy it, but can you show it to me, at least?”

“I see. Then we’ll have to ask the Merchant’s guild, so let’s go now.”

I felt like I was dancing in the palm of his hand a little, but if I was going to buy it anyway, doing so faster would be best, so I followed Lambert to the Merchant’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Thanks to Lambert’s introduction, I managed to talk to the head of the real estate department, Nestori, and we were quickly allowed to go see the property. It was about twenty minutes’ walk from the Merchant’s guild.

“This is it.”

“............Huh? H-Here?” In front of Nestori was a really magnificent gate. Not only that, but a pair of two-meter-tall stone walls extended out from either side of the gates.

“Now now, come in.” Nestori opened the gates with his keys and urged us inside.

After proceeding for a while on a paved stone walkway surrounded by beautiful greenery, we finally got to see the mansion.

“How about it? It’s a wonderful mansion, isn’t it?”

My jaw dropped at the sight of it.

No, rather than wonderful or anything like that............ Th-This... It totally isn’t the type of house for a single person to live in.

I remembered a special article in a travel magazine I had seen some time in the past. “A luxury space you’ll only experience once in a lifetime.” The thing being introduced by such a catchphrase was a super high-class foreign hotel that was kind of like a hideaway. In Japanese money, it would cost several hundreds of thousands of yen a night to stay. This place was just like that.

In front of the chalk-white walls of a mansion that could be called a castle, I was speechless.

“It’s magnificent every time I see it~.”

Lambert, don’t just call it magnificent so lightheartedly. I mean, it is true that it’s magnificent. It is, but... you know, why would you introduce a single adventurer to something this amazing?

I was totally imagining something similar to the mansions I’d been staying in during my travels. Of course, even those had been really luxurious by my standards, and I was thinking that one of those would be the height of luxury.

But, seeing the alabaster walls of the mansion before me, it couldn’t even be compared to what I had stayed in before. Its size was completely different, and there were many plate glass windows, which were supposed to be really expensive.

“Please look at the yard, too. Not only is it spacious, but it’s filled with greenery.”

Just as Nestori claimed, the grounds had been maintained wonderfully, and was filled with thick greenery surrounded by trees.

“Indeed. For a human’s house this one is fairly large.”

《Yep yep! There’s some trees too, so I think it’s good.》

《Yaayyy!》

“Ah! Hey!! Fel! Dora-chan! Sui!!”

Fel ran around the space, Dora-chan flew, and Sui went bouncing after them.

Ahh! Fel’s tearing up the lawn and leaving behind divots everywhere he runs! I did tell them that I was planning to buy a house, but I never said that I had decided on this one!

“Hahaha! Looks like your familiars like this place.”

“Seems so~.”

Both Lambert and Nestori are acting like it’s someone else’s problem! I haven’t decided that I’m buying it yet, got it?

“Fel, Dora-chan, Sui... I haven’t decided if I’m buying the house yet. Behave yourselves.”

“Mm... Why not here? I like it.”

《I like it too.》

《Sui also likes this place~.》

Grrrr... Were they planning this?

“Now then, let’s look inside, shall we?” Nestori opened the double doors to the ivory-colored palace. Fel and the others, who were satisfied after having had their fill of the grounds, followed us inside. The entrance was extravagantly wide, as if the builders were saying, “what, you were expecting a regular house here?” Even Fel, who was large, could easily stand inside, and the same went for the stairs that went to the 2nd floor.

“It’s huge, right? And look up.”

I did as Nestori said and looked up to see a large chandelier.

“It’s a chandelier that uses crystal beetles. You don’t see any this big that often. Of course, there are light magic stones inside, so by filling it with magic power like so......”

Nestori let his magic power flow through a black palm-sized panel that was set on the wall next to the door, and the chandeliers started to glow.

“The magic stones used here are of really good quality, so they’ll last almost ten years.”

What the hell is this decadent place...... It’s so rich that I’m filled up just being in the foyer.

“Let’s come over here next.”

...............

............

......

Nestori, you’ve only shown me the first floor, but honestly, I’m out of energy. I mean, I’m not even sure if these are hallways or whatever, but they’re decorated with vases and art and stuff I can’t even guess the value of, and each room is thoroughly carpeted with really soft and plush carpet that is obviously very expensive. And on top of that, the kitchen is so huge, it’s like it goes on forever...... There are even two stoves that were just like my four-burner stove. There are even stacks of plates and utensils ready to use... Lambert wasn’t kidding when he said I can move in immediately.

And the bath! The bath! I thought mansions I stayed in before had big baths, but this one blew those out of the water. And it was even an expensive one with flower patterns on it. The faucet had a magic stone in it, and it spewed perfect, temperature-adjusted water nonstop.

And the toilet! The toilet! Up until now, I had only been using latrines. Even the fancy mansions I’d rented while traveling were like that, so I’d figured that’s all this world had. But the toilet here was a flushing one that used a water magic stone. According to Nestori, it was the most recent model of toilet that was all the rage in the capital. Even in Karelina, only a couple places had these, apparently.

I was really enticed by the bath and the flushing toilet, but this place was way too fancy and I couldn’t calm down.

“Now then, I’ll show you around the second floor.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen inside, but it’s so luxurious I can’t help but sigh~.”

Lambert, you’re totally here just to sightsee, aren’t you?

“Please come this way.”

Nestori showed us the master bedroom.

“The first thing I want to show you is this bed.”

The bed was far too huge; it made me want to ask just how many people could fit on it.

《Ohh, now isn’t this comfortable looking?》 Dora-chan said as he dived into the bed.

“Ah! What do you think you’re doing, Dora-chan!”

《Ohh! So soft!》

《Sui too!》 Seeing Dora-chan do that, Sui also jumped onto the bed.

“Ahh! Sui, you too?!”

《Yayy! Master — this is super soft!》 Sui was happily bouncing on top of the bed.

“You two! What do you two think you are doing, Dora? Sui? ...But still, this house is certainly nice. I like whatever this is here very much,” Fel said, lying down on the soft carpet.

You guys......

“............Sorry.”

“No no, I’m glad it looks like your familiars like the mansion as well as the grounds, Mukohda.”

Even though I haven’t decided to buy it yet. You guys are all taking way too many liberties!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Yes. Now then, I have received 12,000 gold in the form of 120 platinum coins. Here are the keys.”

There were several keys bound by a ring; from Nestori’s explanation, there was a key for the gate, a key for the main house, and keys for each of the servant’s quarters.

Even though I would rather have had something only slightly better than the mansions we’ve been renting in our travels......

*Sigh*~. Those bastards.

I ended up having to buy this palace, and it was really making me want to complain about these children. It was fine that we all went to see the house and were shown around by Nestori, but all three of them had said that this place was good and refused to leave. Even though I had tried to tell them we could decide after seeing other places, they had refused to listen and kept repeating that they liked this place.

And now I’m all alone at the Merchant’s guild, too. It must have been really comfortable for them, since no one even tried to move.

There was nothing to be done, so I just bought the place.

“Man, S-ranked adventurers sure are amazing, to pay 12,000 gold out of pocket. I’m so proud to know you, Mukohda.”

Lambert, I never planned to buy this house...... *Sigh*... Whatever. There’s no use complaining now.

I parted with Lambert in front of the Merchant’s guild, and I returned to the white palace that had just become my home. But, what should I do with all the rooms? It’s just us four......

Chapter 5: Mukohda Buys Some Slaves

The next day, I bought all the soaps and shampoos I’d be delivering to Lambert’s store during the morning. Then, I immersed myself wholeheartedly in repackaging work. If I didn’t, my mind would end up wandering.

I had sort of just gone with the flow when I’d bought this place, but I had already hit a stumbling block. Now that I was thinking about it calmly, this place was way too huge. I didn’t know what to even do with all the space.

Like, how do I even clean this huge mansion? And the grounds are huge too, not to mention there are so many trees, so it probably needs a lot of maintenance. I totally get why there’s three whole houses for servants. With a mansion this big, it’d be impossible to maintain it without hiring people.

I had seen the houses for servants too. They were just single-story houses and seemed perfectly fine for ordinary living. To be honest, I’d much rather live there.

Still, this entire area is my possession now, so...... I don’t like the thought of letting it all fall into disrepair. More than anything, I’d feel like, “why did I even buy this house then?”

Now that I’d bought a house, in order to maintain it as well as assisting me with repackaging the soaps and shampoos I was supposed to hand over to Lambert, I considered hiring one or two people. But no matter how I think about it, that wouldn’t be anywhere near enough for this place, huh?

Ahh~, no matter what I do my mind ends up wandering... Geez, and those guys...

“Even though I’ve got so many worries, they’re all so carefree......” Not far from where I was fretting, Fel and the others were energetically running around the wide grounds. Thanks to immersing myself in my busy work, I had ended up finishing faster than I expected even though I was preoccupied about everything.

“No matter what, I’m gonna have to hire people, huh...... and not just a handful. I’m going to have to be prepared for way more than that.”

Luckily, I had money, so I was fine with hiring several people, but what was really important was......

“If I’m going to hire someone, they have to be able to keep a secret, above all else...”

Especially since there was a significant chance of them finding out about my Online Supermarket skill due to the fact that I would be asking them to repackage soaps and shampoos as well. Even if they didn’t know exactly what the Online Supermarket skill did, they would definitely find out that I was supplying the soaps and shampoos that were all the rage in town. And if that happened, they really would need to be able to keep a secret.

Also, I still want to travel around and see the world, too...... With that in mind, I’d really like someone I can trust to maintain and protect the place while I’m gone.

“A trustworthy person with tight lips, huh......? How would I even hire a person like that? Would I ask the Merchant’s guild? Or is there a different place that offers such services......? I’m not really sure how the hiring process works in this world. Nothing will happen if I just worry about it by myself, so I really should go ask Lambert about this, huh?”

Lambert’s a merchant, so he should know something about this. All right. Let’s go ask him tomorrow after I drop off these soaps and shampoos.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next day, I delivered the same amount of product as I had in Berléand to Lambert, and after accepting payment I broached the topic of hired help.

“Lambert, there was something I actually wanted to talk to you about......”

I asked him how I would go about hiring trustworthy, tight-lipped people to manage my house and help with the soap and shampoo trade.

When I did, Lambert replied immediately: “In that case, buying a slave would be best.”

“S-Slave?”

I started to get cold feet at the mention of slaves. I did know of the existence of slaves, and I’d seen some on the way to this country, but to think I’d end up buying them......

“Oh, right, your country didn’t have any, did they Mukohda? The slave system in this country is really solid, and it’s very beneficial to both those buying and those being bought.”

From what Lambert said, this country’s slave system also functioned as a sort of safety net for the weak.

The first reason it worked well was that everybody was registered. When you bought a slave, both the slave and their owner would always be registered. And each prospective slave owner was required to guarantee a certain standard of living to their slaves, reinforced by the registration.

Next was the contract system. A contract was bound between the prospective owner and their would-be slave. The contract stated the required amount for a slave to buy their freedom, as well as a slave’s wages, among other stipulations, all of which were freely negotiated between the two parties involved. Apparently, there was normally a clause that required the prospective slave to protect any information they may have gained while still under contract. Thanks to that, the owner’s information was secure. Said information protection clause extended to any time after the slave bought their freedom as well, so it was really reassuring.

Not only that, the contract was a really strong one bound by magic. Once it was formed, a black circle appeared on the base of the slave’s right thumb, and if they ever breached the contract, it would quickly expand to color the slave’s entire right hand, marking them clearly. That measure might make it seem like the slave was at a disadvantage, but the slaves could also report breaches of contract to any nearby knight brigade station, after which the brigade would conduct a thorough investigation.

With the two important pillars of registration and the contract, both the owner and the slave could be arrested for a contract breach, and, depending on the circumstances, forced to pay incredibly large fines. For example, if a slave were to buy their freedom, or the owner was to give the slave their freedom out of goodwill, the contract would end. However, if the slave were to run away, the contract wouldn’t end, and they would be arrested and punished accordingly. As for the owner, if they forced the slave to do something not in the contract or failed to pay the amount stipulated by the contract, they naturally would be found guilty. Punishments in this world were severe, and pretty much only resulted in either execution or becoming a criminal slave — the latter, in this case.

It seemed like all the countries here were the same, and if one became a criminal slave, they would be stripped of all rights as humans and fated to be constantly abused.

“In other words, slavery is just a kind of contract. Also, this country treats its slaves better than others. There basically aren’t any people who would bother putting themselves at risk of becoming criminal slaves by violating their contract, anyway.”

I see. That makes sense. If the system is built like this, then it would be foolhardy to try and break it with all the risks involved.

“I would recommend buying an entire family.”

“An entire... family?” Unable to comprehend what he meant, I repeated Lambert’s words back at him.

“It’s exactly as I said,” he replied.

Apparently, it was fairly common for entire families to become slaves thanks to debts or a poor harvest. Those slaves would normally wish to be sold as a family in order to avoid being separated and scattered to the four winds. However, the slave merchants were also running a business, so it wasn’t as if they’d absolutely honor that wish forever. Normally the merchants would try to sell them as a family for a standard three months; if they still hadn’t sold by then, then they would start to sell them separately.

“If you were to buy them before they get sold separately, I imagine the family would feel a debt of gratitude towards you. Everyone I’ve bought works hard — enough to impress even me. And they would never do anything to cause a loss to my store, either.”

Oh? Is that what would happen?

“Families of slaves tend to think about the stability of their lifestyle first and foremost. Almost all of them continue to work at the same job even after buying their freedom.”

Since that was the case, it seemed that Lambert basically always made sure to buy families of slaves whenever he was in the market for them. According to him, buying an entire family would be a little expensive at first, but considering their productivity and higher morale, they were actually well worth the cost.

An entire family, huh? I guess I should consider it. But if I were to buy a slave anyway, I’d like some cute girls... N-No, it’s not like I’m thinking of anything weird. Not at all.

I-It’s just... I’m a guy, too, and if I was going to live together with someone, I’d like it to be a cute girl. That’s just natural for a man, right?

“Ahh, also, if you’re going to buy a slave, it might be a good idea to buy one who can fight, too.”

“Huh? A slave who can fight?”

“Yes, to tell you the truth......”

Lambert started talking with a serious expression.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“So, I think it’s best if you prepare yourself for any eventuality. If you’re there, Mukohda, you shouldn’t have any problems, but you’re an adventurer. You’ll probably be leaving your house a lot......”

What I heard from Lambert was a little troublesome. Thanks to the fame of our soaps and shampoos, there’d been people sniffing around Lambert’s store. Lambert had an idea of who the culprit was, but it wasn’t like they’d done anything obviously illegal, so Lambert, unable to send the knights after them, was troubled as to how to deal with the situation.

It seemed that the culprit was another merchant company that didn’t have the best reputation, even though they were based in a different territory. Said company was one that had found success in a single generation thanks to their willingness to do ruthless and vicious things without batting an eye, and although they even frequently caused trouble for the Merchant’s guild, they were sly and never left a trail. The Merchant’s guild honestly wanted to crush them if they could, but they were unable to get their hands on any decisive proof. That, and the fact that they seemed to have backing from some mysterious nobles, meant that the guild’s hands were tied.

Even Lambert, in a streak of uncharacteristic martial attitude, said, “I’d happily sic the knights on them if they were to show their hand... They’re simply sniffing around right now, but if they realize you and I are close, then they’ll be able to put two and two together. There’s no guarantee that you won’t be found out as my supplier, Mukohda.”

What Lambert said made sense. I regularly came to this store, and if they were to follow up on that even a little, it would be pretty easy to find out that I was the one supplying them with soaps and shampoos.

“Luckily, my store is heavily favored by Earl Langridge, who presides over this area, so they can’t make any direct moves, but I don’t know if they’ll try anything against you, Mukohda. And even if they won’t touch you, an S-ranked adventurer, they might aim for an opening while you’re gone and infiltrate your house. I wouldn’t put it past them.”

If I was found out as the supplier of Lambert’s soaps and shampoos, then of course they would think that there’d be something in my house. In fact, I had already considered leaving some there, too. I’d leave a huge amount of soaps and shampoos stored in some unused room, and just have that be repackaged and regularly shipped to Lambert.

Hmmm... this means I’ll have to think seriously about security, won’t I? Since ensuring safety should be a top priority now that I’ve decided to hire people. For now, I’ll follow Lambert’s advice and hire some slaves that can fight.

“You’re right, Lambert. I’ll buy some slaves that can fight.”

“That’s probably for the best. I’ll introduce you to the merchant I always use. I’ll write the introduction letter right now, so please wait a while.”

Letter in hand, I left Lambert’s store. With Lambert’s recommendation and introduction, I was feeling pretty secure about the whole thing.

Let’s hurry up and get to the slave trader.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

《Hey, are you going somewhere again? I want to go hunting.》

“Indeed. I would also like to go hunting.”

Both Dora-chan and Fel declared their desire to hunt. By the way, Sui was quietly sleeping in my bag, as usual.

“No, not today. I’m going to go to a slave merchant right now.”

《Whaaat~?》

“What, we are not going? How boring.”

Boring, huh......?

“What? You know this is important. Do you not want to keep traveling? I’m trying to find someone to manage the house while we’re gone, you know? If you’re okay with staying here forever instead of traveling, then we can go hunting if you’d like.”

“Mm, we will travel. We have just heard of an interesting sounding dungeon, have we not? We will definitely be going there.”

《Yeah. I definitely want to go to that dungeon.》

Damn, so Fel and Dora-chan haven’t forgotten about the dungeon. Personally, I’d like to travel anywhere but a dungeon city. It’d be nice if they were to somehow forget about this while we’re here.

“Anyway, I just bought the house so I’m scrambling to get everything in order. Once everything’s calmed down, we can go hunting, so just bear with it for a while,” I said, and both of them reluctantly agreed.

After following Lambert’s directions, we reached a building that I couldn’t tell was a store.

“Is this really it? ......Oh, there’s a sign.”

There was a small sign. So small, that I almost missed it. It said, “Radoslav Trading Company” on it.

“Looks like this is it.” It was the name of the place Lambert had told me about.

I used the knocker on the tightly closed door. When the door opened, a rough-looking skinhead peeked through the gap.

“Excuse me, I was introduced to this place by Lambert......”

When I showed him my letter of introduction, the skinhead took it and silently closed the door. After a little while, the door opened up once again. This time, what appeared was a skinny man with sharp eyes who looked to be around fifty.

“I am the owner here, Radoslav. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“My name is Mukohda. Pleased to meet you.”

“I have seen your letter of introduction from Lambert. Now then, please, come inside.”

We followed Radoslav into the store. Inside, I saw the skinhead who had opened the door last time standing next to the entrance.

So he’s security, huh?

The entrance opened into a hallway, lined with several doors. It seemed that negotiations were always done in private rooms. We headed for a room in the back; I listened to him talk on the way and learned that this store was closed to those without an introduction. Since they dealt in slaves, and the prices were always necessarily high, they refused casual buyers for safety reasons. I guess when it comes to the sale of people, the amount of money that moves around really would be a lot.

We entered a room, and I was shown to a seat. The room was painted calm colors which matched the furniture, and all the furniture gave off a high class feeling without being gaudy. When I sat down in the leather upholstered seat, a maid came from somewhere and offered tea. I took a sip of it.

Yep. It’s good.

“According to Lambert’s letter of introduction, you’re looking for ones that can manage your house as well as some that can fight, yes?”

“That’s right. Also......”

I told him that I’d prefer a cute, real-life, bona fide maid for maintaining the house. “Also, uhhh... if possible, a girl that would be okay with that as part of their contract......”

When I said that, Radoslav gave me a look of pity.

Huh, what? It was really embarrassing to say that, but I mustered up my courage because I figured it would be nice to have if I’m buying someone anyway.

“Mr. Mukohda, could you be from a foreign country?”

“Yes.”

Yes, a foreign country. Or rather, a foreign world.

“Mr. Mukohda, you’re probably referring to a sex slave, but in the first place that kind of slave does not exist in this country. It’s possible to force a physical relationship through this contract, but there probably wouldn’t be any slave who would agree to that in the first place. There isn’t any demand, after all.”

“Huh? No demand?”

As if that’s possible! All men would want a woman in their lives! There’s no way there’s no demand!

“If you’re going to pay a huge amount of money anyway, you’d be better off picking someone from the red-light district for a night than buying a slave for that.”

...............Good point.

“Since that’s the case, there are no slaves who will agree to that. Any woman who would probably ends up in the red-light district instead of here anyway.”

Makes sense. Any woman who’s fine with that would make more money there anyway, and they wouldn’t have to become a slave.

The red-light district, huh......? I knew that existed, but I’ve never gone, huh? Maybe I’ll try going next time.

Now that that was settled, I looked over at Fel and Dora-chan, who were sleeping in a corner. If I moved, Fel and the others would definitely follow. If I could trick them or get them to stay somehow......

...Nope, that won’t work. If I took too long, Fel and the others would track me down by smell, probably. And if I were to take Fel and the others with me to the red-light district............ Nope, never.

Sad times. Every single one of my dreams is crumbling to dust. I’m getting depressed again.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

There were two families lined up in front of me, for a total of nine people.

Why do I have such bad luck with women......? *Sigh~*

As for how it turned out like this: I still asked Radoslav for some cute maids at least, saying, “Then some cute women to serve as actual maids. I won’t compromise on that......” But according to Radoslav, the ones I wanted weren’t available.

It wasn’t as if there weren’t any cute girls being sold as slaves, but their desires didn’t match mine. Apparently in this country, for the first three months of being for sale, merchants prioritized the slaves’ wishes, so that’s how things ended up like this. Good-looking slaves were always in demand, so regardless of gender, almost all of them got sold within their first three months. Naturally, it was the same for the cute girls I wanted too — Radoslav would prioritize what those girls wanted......

Apparently, every single one of them wanted to be sold to a noble or a merchant. Slaves weren’t paid much, but nobles and merchants always paid more. For slaves, having even a little higher pay was better for the purposes of buying their freedom. I understood where they were coming from.

I’m an adventurer, so that’s probably why they avoided me. Like, I can’t really nitpick a decision like that......

Radoslav knew I was an S-ranked adventurer, and had explained to them that, as an S-ranked adventurer, I wasn’t any worse than a noble or a merchant. Unfortunately, it seemed that adventurers carried the impression of being boorish and violent, so none of them agreed.

But Lambert did introduce me to this store, so there’s no way I can go home empty-handed, right? So for now, I’ll ask to see entire families, as Lambert recommended......

...And that was how this moment came to be.

“This is the Tony family, and the Alban family.” Radoslav was showing me two families.

First was the Tony family. There was Tony, the father (33); Aija, the mother (30); the first son, Kosti (13); and the first daughter, Selja (9). The Tony family had become slaves due to debt. Aija had apparently fallen ill, and the cost of potions, as well as alms for a priest to cast healing magic had put them deep into debt. Aija, the ill person in question, had significantly recovered due to these measures that then put them in debt, so although she wasn’t completely healthy, she was at least up and moving. If I looked closely, I could tell the color on Aija’s face wasn’t great.

According to Radoslav, Tony was a skilled gardener, and was recommended for residences with a lot of greenery. And it seems that the son, Kosti was taught a bit by his father too, so he would be plenty useful. As for Aija, along with being able to handle any sort of household chore flawlessly due to being a housewife, she had also worked in an eatery before she had become ill, so she could cook too. And Selja had started taking care of chores after Aija had taken sick too, so even though she was only nine, she could handle that sort of thing to an extent.

Next was the Alban family. There was Alban, the father (30); Theresa, the mother (28); Oliver, the first son (10); Erik, the second son (8); and Lotte, their only daughter (5). The Alban family had originally been farmers, but had to become slaves due to a bad harvest.

From what Radoslav said, Alban had a fruit orchard, so he could maintain the grounds just like Tony.

Oh yeah, didn’t my grounds have fruit trees too?

The sons Oliver and Erik helped Alban with work, so they could help in that area too, I was told. Theresa, as the housewife of a farmer, could also take care of household chores, and she could even butcher small monsters. Lotte was only five years old, so they wanted to excuse her from work.

I started to understand why Lambert recommended buying entire families. I mean, they were all desperate. Of course they’d feel grateful if they were bought as a family.

I understand why you’re desperate, but please, stop looking like you’re begging me like that......

All nine of them were looking at me, somehow communicating their pleas with just a look.

“We’ll work our hardest! So please, buy us! Please!!” The one who said that was Kosti, the oldest son of the Tony family.

Then, his little sister Selja followed up, bowing as she said, “Please, mister.”

The father, Tony even bowed deeply and shouted, “Please, buy our entire family!”

The mother, Aija, did the same.

“We’ll work hard too, mister! So don’t split up our family! Please!” Oliver, the first son of the Alban family, also started shouting as he bowed. His parents, Alban and Theresa, also bowed deeply. Seeing both his parents and his older brother do that, Erik also bowed even as he looked ready to cry. The tiny Lotte didn’t seem to know what was going on, but even so she pulled off a small bow as she said, “Pwease!”

...............

Ack! ............ You guys, you hit my weak points so accurately... I have no resistance to this sort of thing!

I’m not a fan of the way they’re calling me, “mister,” but if children are begging so earnestly, who am I to complain? ...I’m not heartless enough to ignore these people......

“......I’ll take both families, Radoslav.”

“Thank you very much.” Radoslav was all smiles.

Both families, realizing they wouldn’t be split up, collapsed with relief as they started crying.

After all of that, both families went to whatever was on the other side of the door for registration. The Tony family was 500 gold, while the Alban family was 510 gold. As a price for people, I felt it was really cheap, but according to Radoslav......

“This is actually really expensive for commoner families like the Tony and Alban families. On top of that, buying back one’s freedom usually costs twice what they were sold for, so if they were to try to buy back their own freedom, it’d take several tens of years.”

I have lots of money thanks to Fel and the others, but for an average family, it’s true that would be really expensive, huh...... Well, as long as they do their jobs, I’ll have nothing to complain about, and I’d like it if they keep living as they have been. Since I’ve gone and bought them, I’ll at least make sure of that.

I hadn’t gotten the cute maid girl I’d wanted, but that was probably some sort of fate. According to Lambert, families that were bought together showed their gratitude in hard work, so I would just look forward to that.

............... If I don’t think of it this way, I won’t be able to stand it. Sob.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“So, will we be looking at battle-capable slaves, as we had discussed before?”

“Yes, please.”

Getting back on track, next up were the combat-capable slaves. After a while, a bunch of ripped men who looked distinctly battle-hardened came out in succession (along with a couple of women in the mix as well). According to Radoslav, all of them had become slaves due to debt.

The first one was a former C-ranked adventurer. He looked to be in his early-30’s; he was on the slender side, and not much taller than me. But unlike me, he was more of a “thin macho man,” and he was still totally ripped by comparison. His eyes were also sharp, and it seemed that he had been a scout back in his adventurer days. However, the reason for his debt was gambling...

They say it’s easy to get addicted to gambling, so I think I’ll pass on this guy.

The next person was a former mercenary who had drifted in from the alliance of small countries. That area was constantly fraught with small skirmishes, so a lot of mercenaries plied their trade there. He was an old man in his 40’s with a stern look, and he had a lot of scars on his arms, as well as a black eyepatch. He looked crazy strong, and exactly like a certain soldier from a famous action game. However, he was in debt because he had gotten drunk and gone on a rampage, destroying a store to create his debt.

I’m not sure about hiring a bad drunk...... I guess I’ll pass on him too.

The third one, a previously D-ranked adventurer, was also in debt due to gambling, and the fourth one was a macho ex-C-ranked female adventurer that once again, was in debt for gambling.

I really can’t accept ones that fall into debt because of gambling or booze...

Just as I started to assume the next one would also be the same, a decent candidate finally appeared. The fifth person used to be a D-ranked adventurer, and was still in his early-20’s. It seemed that one of his ancestors was a giant; those genes must have been dominant in him, because he was a huge, buff, tough-looking dude who could have been over 2 meters tall. He kind of resembled a gorilla. Even though he was so huge, his eyes were tiny, giving him kind of a simple and honest vibe.

The reason for his debt was his mother’s illness. Apparently, he had gotten pretty deep in debt to pay for potions and healing magic to treat his mother’s illness. In the end, his mother died anyways, but his debt still remained, and he had to become a slave. From what Radoslav said, he was just on the cusp of promoting to C-rank, so he should be pretty helpful.

Isn’t that great? He’s a keeper.

The sixth one was...... Oh, wow that’s a really nice six-pack.

It was on a tiger beastman macho lady who was in her late-20’s though. She looked a little taller than me, probably over 180cm in height. She seemed like she’d have a lot in common with the heroic guildmaster of Aveling, Nadiya.

This tiger beastman macho lady was a former B-ranked adventurer, and Radoslav told me that the reason for her debt was because something unexpected had happened during her last request, causing her to fail it. Thanks to that, she had been shackled with a hefty fine as a penalty, and with her paltry savings, she had been unable to pay it — hence her present circumstances.

Surprisingly, the seventh and eighth slaves were the tiger beastman macho lady’s younger twin brothers, a pair of formerly C-ranked adventurers who were also in her party. Of course, their reason for being in debt was the same, and thus they had all become slaves together. Just like their macho older sister, the younger brothers were both over 190cm tall and absolutely ripped.

Radoslav really seemed to be pushing the three of them. I also thought they were hirable. They were right at the top of my list.

The ninth slave used to be an F-ranked adventurer, and he was saying that the reason for his debt was because he was tricked, but I didn’t believe it. And more importantly, an F-ranked adventurer was kind of too low in rank for me to leave the house to him. After seeing the macho lady, I could only see him as inadequate.

The tenth person was a dog beastman who used to be a C-ranked adventurer. He was in his mid-30’s and looked pretty strong, but he was also in debt due to gambling.

“There’s quite a lot of people here who have gambling debts, aren’t there, Radoslav?”

“Yes. Especially since the mid-ranked adventurers have some extra money to spend. There’s a fair share of people who get sucked in.”

I kinda get it. Back when I was working at my old job, there were some colleagues who were the same way. When they started getting paid, it looked like they quickly got addicted to pachinko. I never talked to them because we were in different departments, but it seemed like they were partying hard, going to all sorts of different pachinko places. I heard they’d even taken out loans, and I remember feeling relieved that I never had any interest in gambling.

I guess gambling just exists in every world, huh? Even in this one, it seems. Gambling doesn’t interest me, but let’s make a note to be extra careful not to be sucked in.

“Now then, the next one is the last slave. He used to be a B-ranked adventurer, so his strength is assured, but he’s definitely got his quirks... Or should I say, he’s really stubborn......”

The last slave, the eleventh, was a dwarf. His 150cm tall frame was packed with muscle, and he looked like an old man with a huge beard. When I heard the reason for his debt, I was shocked and exasperated.

Radoslav told me that just like the macho lady and her younger brothers, he was indebted from a failed request, but unlike them, he could have paid his fine if he had really wanted to. Apparently, he had been in a party of five, and they all had to pay when they failed. Of course, the fine was steep, but if they had each sold their equipment and used their savings, they could have paid.

However, this old dwarf stubbornly refused to sell his main weapon, a hammer. In the end, he was the only one who could not pay his fine, and he ended up a slave.

“Even though he’d even have some money left over if he just sold his hammer...” Radoslav muttered.

“Hm?! I will never sell it!! That hammer is mine! I had to go see the master craftsman Dusan so many times before he finally agreed to make it for me, for a huge sum! That’s my treasure! I’d rather be a slave than hand it over to someone else!” The old dwarf shouted, with an indignant look. It was obvious to see that he had an abnormal degree of attachment to it.

But you know, if you paid so much money to have him make a hammer, you should have some savings too, right?

When I asked that question, he replied, “I saved up in order to convince Dusan to make it for me. As if I would keep saving after I got what I wanted. It all went into booze!”

All into booze? I guess I should have expected that from a dwarf. For some reason, the macho tiger lady and her twin younger brothers are nodding in agreement though. Hmm... what should I do?

Right now, I was considering the macho tiger lady, her twin younger brothers, the D-ranked-but-promising gorilla-like giant, and the stubborn dwarf, since I really did want to avoid people who fell into debt thanks to gambling or alcohol problems. But just in case, I quickly used Appraisal on all eleven of them.

All five of the people I was considering seemed good. Other than that, the first one, the ex-C-ranked adventurer who was a scout had several good skills like ‘concealment’ and ‘throw.’ And the ex-mercenary guy who looked exactly like a certain soldier from a famous action game also seemed powerful, with his sword skill and his leadership skill.

But the reasons for their debt...... I wonder if just five people will be fine as guards?

If it turns out not to be, I can just think about buying more then. For now, I think I’ll just stick with those five.

I told Radoslav that I’d be buying the five of them.

The tiger beastman macho lady was named Tabatha (28), and her two younger brothers were Luke and Irvine (they were both 24), the gorilla-man with the giant blood was named Peter (20), and the stubborn old dwarf was named Barthel (92). Tabatha, Luke, and Irvine were 1,400 gold for the three of them, Peter was 380 gold, and Barthel was 680 gold.

As I thought, combat-capable slaves are more expensive.

After registering the five of them, I paid the total sum of 3470 gold to Radoslav for all the slaves I bought. Then, the agreement of terms for the contract went smoothly. For my end, I paid particular attention to the confidentiality clause of the contract.

Still, all I wanted was to make sure they would never reveal anything about my origin or my skills and other personal details. Both the soaps and the shampoos had to do with my skill, so those should be covered as well. In the contract itself, it forbid revealing any of my personal information, so I figured it should be okay. I made sure to confirm that part several times.

With the contracts bound, all fourteen of them were handed over to me, and I introduced them to Fel and the others.

“Hello. I’m Mukohda, the one who bought all of you. And these are my familiars.” I introduced them to Fel, who slowly got up, and Dora-chan. I also opened up my bag and showed them Sui, who was sleeping.

When I introduced Fel, they all reacted with alarm, especially the five former adventurers, who reflexively took up fighting stances. I quickly covered with, “They’re my familiars, so it’s fine. I’ll explain in more detail once we get back to the house.” Somehow, that managed to calm them down.

Then, with the fourteen of them in tow, we left Radoslav’s store.

“If you ever need more slaves, please pay us a visit,” Radoslav said with a full-faced smile.

I guess I would be treated as a VIP customer since I just bought over a dozen slaves at once. Well, I didn’t have any plans to buy any more, though.

For now, I decided to return to my home, taking along all of my new slaves.

Chapter 6: Job Orientation

I brought everyone with me back to my house, and every single one of them stared open-mouthed when they saw how grand the whole thing was.

Right? Right? I shouldn’t be saying this as the owner, but I totally get how you feel.

For the moment, we were gathered in the biggest living room on the first floor, but everyone was too busy staring at the lavishness of the interior.

There was a table with ball and claw feet that could seat several people, but fourteen people was way too many, so I just had them sit on the floor. The carpet was deep and soft, so it should be fine.

The last time I’ve had to speak in front of so many people was back when I was still working my job, huh? I’m a little nervous.

“Uhh... I already introduced myself earlier, but I am Mukohda, the one that bought all of you. I’ll be in your care from now on,” I squeezed out through my nervousness. Both families returned a “Pleased to meet you,” and the five adventurers just silently bowed their heads.

“I am an S-ranked adventurer, and I also play at being a merchant in my spare time. And, these are my familiars that I introduced you to earlier as well...... Fel.”

“Indeed. I am kin to the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir, and a Fenrir. My name is Fel. You are all his slaves, so you will obey me, too. Understood?”

*Sigh* What do you mean obey you?

Wait! Agh! Both the Tony and Alban families are frozen after seeing Fel talk! It looks like all the ex-adventurers kinda figured it out, but actually seeing him talk is still a shocking sight.

“Ahh, so, this is Fel, a Fenrir. I’m kinda keeping the fact that he’s a Fenrir a secret, but it looks like some people can just tell, so it’s fine as long as you don’t spread the news everywhere you go. It looks like you five adventurers knew, right? He’s acting all high and mighty, saying he’s a legendary magic beast and stuff, but he’s basically fine if you leave him alone. So just keep in mind that he’s here.”

“Hey, what do you mean, ‘leave him alone?’ I am proud kin to the Goddess of Wind.”

“Ahh, sure, right. I get it, I get it. Okay, next is Dora-chan.”

“Grrrr...”

“So the next one here is a pixie dragon. His name is Dora-chan. He’s a dragon, and this is his adult size. He won’t become any bigger than this, so please don’t be afraid. This one is also fine if you just basically leave him alone.”

Dora-chan flew around me and waved his right hand, as if to say, “Yo!”

“And the last one is...... Come out, Sui,” I said, and Sui popped out from inside my bag.

“This is Sui, a slime. You can just leave this one alone too.”

Sui bounced around me.

Then, Theresa, the mother of the Alban family, showed a bit of her gutsy, motherly spirit and slowly raised her hand. “Um, master, may I ask a question?”

Master, huh? I mean, I guess from their perspective I am their master, but it kinda doesn’t feel right. In the first place it’s making me cringe hearing people address me with such formal language.

“Ahh, Theresa, you can just call me Mukohda. All of you can just call me Mukohda. Being called ‘master’ all formally like that doesn’t really feel right...... Also, you said you had a question?”

“Um, if that is master’s—”

“Please, call me Mukohda.”

“Uhh, if that is master’s wish, I will do so. Also, please don’t be formal with me, either. Also, my question was this: You told us to leave the familiars alone, but what about meals?”

A perfectly valid question. But............

“I’ll be taking care of all the meals for us. More importantly, what I want to ask you all to do is......”

I gave them all their assignments. The women of the Tony and Alban families would maintain this main building. This place was huge, so it would probably be a really hard job, but I wanted them to do their best. Given its size, I wouldn’t make them clean it end-to-end every day. Like, just doing half of one floor and then half again the next day — something like that would be just fine. Basically, as long as they didn’t let it get obviously dirty, and kept some semblance of order and cleanliness, it would be fine.

Then, for the guys, I would have them help maintain the grounds. They’d mow the lawn and tend to the flower beds and trees and stuff. There was a lot to do there too, so I wouldn’t require them to keep the entire place free of weeds all the time or anything like that. As long as it was fairly well maintained, it should be fine. Basically, as long as there was no place that was just clearly full of weeds and hadn’t been maintained at all, I felt it would be OK.

“Also, there’s something else I would like you all to do...... I checked this when we formed the contract, and this has to do with my skills, so please don’t reveal this to anyone. Of course, that goes for you five too, although you won’t have anything to do with this job.”

I waited to make sure they understood; they all nodded in response.

“Do you all know of the soaps and shampoos and stuff that are being sold at Lambert’s store?” I asked, and Tabatha raised her hand.

“It’s a little expensive, but it’s that soap with the really good smell, right? I have one too.”

“Huh?!! You have one, sis?!”

“When did you buy something like that?!”

“Oh, shut up! I’m a girl too, you know!”

So even super adventurer-like macho ladies are interested in soap and shampoo and stuff.

“Oh, yes, Miss Tabatha—”

“Mukohda, Theresa just said the same, but please, don’t be so formal with us. We’re all your slaves, after all,” Tabatha said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“R-Really? Then, I’ll do that.”

Miss- I mean, Tabatha’s right. They are in fact all my slaves. I guess I don’t really have to be formal with them at all. I guess I just need to get used to this, a little at a time.

“We got derailed, but yes, that good-smelling soap. I’m the one selling that to Lambert.”

I was considering telling them all about my skill, just in case. That way, I wouldn’t have to bother with being all secretive. We’d be together a long time, so they’d probably find out eventually, and, if I made it clear right from the start, it should be less shocking and they’d get used to it faster.

In the first place, it’d probably be stranger to expect them to not figure something out from the plastic containers and colorful labels and designs and strange words they were going to see when I asked them to repackage all that stuff. Rather than getting found out while being sneaky, I decided it would be better to just tell them straight up — all while reminding them of their contractual secrecy, naturally.

“So, as for how I’m getting it, that has something to do with my skill...... Well, it’ll be faster to just show you.”

I had everyone take a spot behind me, and opened my Online Supermarket, just like always.

“This is my unique skill, the Online Supermarket.”

Both the Tony and Alban families were speechless, and the five ex-adventurers were making a fuss, saying, “The heck is that?”

“I can use this skill to get convenient things from another world.”

“Another world? Then does that mean mast— sorry, you are a ‘Hero?’” asked the dwarf, Barthel.

He really is the oldest one. Not only that, but he used to be B-ranked, so it’s not strange that he knows stuff like this.

“No, I’m not. In my case, the short explanation is that I was caught in the hero summoning and came to this world by accident. I’m just a normal person. But, thanks to that, while I might not be good at combat, I have a convenient skill like this. Well, anyway, it’s much faster to show you all than to explain it. Just watch this in action.”

I decided to just give them a demonstration. I manipulated the menu, adding soap and shampoo to the cart. I was planning to give them to everyone as supplies. Surprisingly, all the servant’s houses came with baths, even though the houses were pretty small.

With a mansion this big, I suppose you’d require some level of cleanliness from your servants. It’s a good thing. Baths feel good, and I’d personally like them to be clean, too. It’d just be really weird if I asked them to clean my house while the cleaners themselves were filthy.

*Growwwl*

I heard a soft grumbling sound, and I looked around. Selja from the Tony family was looking down with her face beet red.

Well, we did take a long time doing this, so I guess they would get hungry. I do want to get all this explanation done beforehand, but this is perfect timing — let’s just get them something to fill their bellies with from my Online Supermarket.

What should I buy......? Well whatever, let’s just get snack buns. Oh, and orange juice would be nice too.

Right, and checkout...

When I pressed the checkout button, a cardboard box appeared in front of me. I heard oohs and ahhs sound from behind me.

It’s just the usual thing to me, but I guess that kind of reaction is natural.

I peeled open the cardboard box and took out what was inside.

“You guys are probably hungry, so for now listen to me while you eat this,” I told them, handing out snack buns.

Then, I opened up the 1.5 liter plastic bottle of orange juice and took out enough cups for everyone.

“As for drinks, everyone, just serve yourselves,” I said, and Aija, who had experience in an eatery, immediately got to pouring everybody’s share before handing them out.

Looks like Aija’s going to have no trouble with handling daily life at least, although it’s hard to say she’s fully recovered from her illness. Of course, I’ve already thought of a way to get her working from now on, too.

Once everyone had their share of food and orange juice, I returned to talking. “Just like that, I can obtain things from another world. So, what I want you all to do is......”

I told everyone they could eat while they listened, but for some reason, none of them were eating.

......Ahhh, I get it. They don’t know how to open it.

“Uh, this is how you open it.” I demonstrated by opening my own packaging. When I did, Fel popped up, hearing the sound of the wrapper being opened.

“Mn? That is that sweet bread, no? You know, eating by yourself is unfair. I will also have sweet bread. Give me some.”

《Ahh, he’s right! No fair!! I want sweet bread too!》

《Sui will also eat sweet bread!》

Dora-chan jumped on Fel’s bandwagon, and Sui started making a fuss too since it liked sweet things.

“This was just supposed to be a small snack, and I was gonna make dinner after this though......”

Pressured by Fel and the others making a fuss about wanting to eat bread, I ended up buying a ton of it with my skill. After I removed the wrappers and piled them all up on some plates, I served it to the three of them.

“I’m talking to these people right now, so just take this and be quiet. Once I’m done, I’ll make dinner.”

They must have been satisfied with the bread, since all of them telepathically said, “Got it.”

“Sorry for making you...wait, why haven’t you eaten? You can eat while you listen, you know?”

She must have been unable to win against their hunger and curiosity, as the youngest child of the Alban family, Lotte, opened up her bun and bit into it.

“So deliciouuusss! It’s so fluffy and sweeeet!” she said, with her little mouth full of food.

“Now then, why don’t you all dig in?” I urged them on, and everyone finally laid their hands on their food.

I heard exclamations of “Good!” “Sweet!” and “Soft!” being thrown about.

Selja, whose stomach had just let out a cute grumble, was currently biting into her snack, looking like she was experiencing heaven. It seemed like they all liked the orange juice too, since they were all gulping it down.

I guess I should eat too, I’m a little peckish myself.

For my own portion, I had a red bean bun and canned coffee.

Yep, this stuff really is good. And it’s gotta be canned coffee to pair with red bean buns.

While I was thinking stuff like that, I felt a tugging on my pants. Looking down, I saw that it was Lotte.

“Hey, hey, mister. Lotte wants more fluffy white bread.”

At that, her parents, Alban and Theresa, hurriedly jumped forward, faces pale.

“Hey! Lotte! We’re so sorry, Mukohda!”

“We’re really sorry about that. You apologize too, Lotte!”

“No no, I don’t mind. More importantly...... Don’t call me, ‘mister,’ Lotte. Call me ‘big brother.’ Got it?”

If I let her call me ‘mister’ from now on the damage to my psyche really would be...... I have to stop that at all costs.

“Okay! Got it. So, big brother Mukohda — Lotte wants more fluffy white bread.”

Children really do adapt fast.

“Hmmm, I can give you more, but it’s almost time for dinner... If I give you more bread now, won’t you be too full for dinner? Are you sure? I was gonna make some really good food~...”

“Good food?”

“That’s right.”

“Then Lotte will wait!”

“I see. Then it’ll just be a little longer.”

“Okay!”

Yep, it’s best for children to be earnest like that.

After that, I explained to them that I needed them to repackage the soap into wooden boxes and put the shampoos and hair treatments into pots. Once I was done explaining everything I could think of for the moment, I moved on to the five ex-adventurers.

“Next are you ex-adventurers. Miss...... ahem...... Tabatha, Luke, Irvine, Peter, Barthel — as for your jobs, I basically just want you to guard this place. It’s got to do with this shampoo and soap: after hearing about its success, there are some annoying people sniffing around.”

I told the five of them what Lambert told me.

“Staas Trading Company, huh......?”

“I don’t hear anything good about those guys...”

All five of them started talking about the company’s bad image. Basically, they had a reputation for acts of cold-blooded and excessive viciousness.

“I’m an adventurer, so I’ll be leaving this place a lot. I need you five to guard the place while I’m gone. Of course, you’ll also need to do that even while I’m here.”

It’s kind of an annoying job. But,they’re all pretty powerful, so they should be up to the task, at least.

“Understood. I’ll do my best.”

The other four said the same as Tabatha.

“If something happens, Tony family, Alban family, come see either me or these five. Got it?”

The ex-adventurers could fight to a certain extent, so I didn’t worry about them, but I did worry about the Tony and Alban families; I told them to make sure they had at least one of the five adventurers guarding them if they ever needed to go outside of the grounds.

Still, it might be best to have somewhere everyone can evacuate to if something happens. Let’s talk to Lambert and the adventurer’s guild about this later.

All that’s left is to show them to the servant’s houses, I guess — they do need to know where they’re going to be sleeping, after all. I feel sorry for Lotte, but food will have to wait until after that.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“All right then. Please follow me, everyone, I’ll be leading you to where you’ll be living from now on. Lotte, just wait a little longer, okay?”

“Aww, fine,” Lotte said, pouting with puffed-out cheeks.

Seeing that, her older brother Oliver cuffed her over the head. Erik looked panicked, and their parents immediately apologized.

It’s so charming, seeing them act like such a tight-knit family. I’m still a little envious of Alban for having one though.

With everyone in tow, we left the main building, and I showed them to the servant’s houses behind the main building. “This is where you’ll all be staying.”

“Huh? C-Can we really stay in a house?” Tony asked, looking surprised.

“Yes. These are the servant’s houses. It’ll probably be too stressful if we were to all live together, so please. This is for the good of all of us.”

I wouldn’t be happy living with strangers the entire time either, since I wouldn’t be able to relax. I’d be keeping the main building to myself. I decided to basically only have them around during the day when they were working.

“Dear, this is way better than the house we were living in......” I heard Theresa mutter; it sounded to me like it just kinda came out of her though.

In response to that, everyone from the Tony and Alban families nodded in agreement.

“There’s three houses, so the house on the left......”

All three of the servant’s houses were the same, so I divided them among everyone. The one on the left went to the Tony family, the one in the middle went to the Alban family, and the one on the right went to the adventurers.

“Sorry for sticking you alone in a house full of men, Tabatha, but please use room assignments or something to deal with it.”

“No, it’s no problem at all. I never even thought I’d be able to live in a place as nice as this. I’ll probably be able to live way better than when I was an adventurer,” Tabatha said with earnest happiness as she looked at the house.

Even though she was with her two younger brothers, I was thinking it wouldn’t be proper for a woman to be in a house full of men alone, but since the Tonys and the Albans had their own families, I could only divide things this way. There was no way I could split the families apart to better even things out, after all.

“No need to worry, Mukohda. There’s no man alive who’d attack big sis. I mean, if anyone was manly enough to do that in the first place, I think I’d want him to make her his wife.”

Oh no, Luke, that’s a really cruel way to say things. It’s true that Tabatha’s tall and incredibly macho, so it’ll really depend on someone’s tastes, but I think she’s plenty beautiful, what with her strong will and well-defined face.

“Right? She’s too old already anyway. You know if Peter and Barthel want they can feel free to go for her. If you do, you’re basically locked into marrying her though. GAHAHAH!”

Wow, Irvine too?

“I’ve already decided to only marry a fellow dwarf.”

You don’t have to answer him, Barthel.

Peter, stop averting your eyes.

Luke and Irvine were laughing uproariously seeing Barthel’s and Peter’s reactions.

But is this fine? There’s someone with the face of a vengeful demon behind you.

*Thump* *Thubthump*

Both Luke and Irvine tasted Tabatha’s iron fist at the same time.

These twins are idiots, I see.

Getting back on track, I gave them all a tour of their houses. The houses were identical, so I just showed them the adventurer’s house, which was closest.

“They’re all the same.” I had them all follow me to see the inside.

Each house was a 3LDK — more than enough to live in, in my opinion. There was a well in front of the three houses too, so there was no problem with water.

“Also, each house has its own bath,” I said, causing a cheer from the ex-adventurers, who seemed to have taken a bath before.

I get it, since houses with baths in them usually belong to nobles or merchants. I bet both the Tony and Alban families hadn’t ever had a bath, in fact.

“However, it needs a water and fire magic stone, so I’ll get those supplied later. Once the bath becomes usable, please use it as much as you can. I’d prefer you all to be clean too, after all,” I said, to which they all nodded.

For the servant’s bath, there was a tank placed next to the bath where the water and fire magic stones would be set in it to make the hot water. From what I’d heard when I bought the house, a magic stone smaller than the tip of one’s pinky would be just fine. Still, magic stones were pretty expensive no matter their size, so even without using them, the well out front meant that there would still be no problems living there. Nevertheless, since there were baths here anyway, I wanted them to make use of them. As a bath-loving Japanese person, I wanted them all to experience how good baths felt.

“All right then. I’ll hand over everything you’ll need to live here. Since we’re already here, I’ll start with this house.”

The servant’s houses were furnished, but they had no daily necessities apart from that. I opened up my Online Supermarket and first bought futons for everyone. Sleep was important, after all. I picked out pretty decent futon-and-sheets sets from what I saw being sold. I took out some soap and shampoo and stuff that I just bought out of my Item Box. After that, I also bought plates and utensils, as well as a bucket to get water with. Then, I also picked up a toothbrush set.

Good oral hygiene is important too, you know.

Toothbrushes did exist in this world, but they were just unraveled wood fibers, and didn’t feel very good to use. Since that was the case, there was no one who seriously took care of their teeth, and it seemed that there were many people suffering from cavities. Every once in a while, I had come across somebody with really bad breath, too.

I taught them all how to use the brushes, telling them to brush their teeth every morning and evening. I heard one of the idiot twins, Irvine, mutter, “ugh, way too troublesome...” So I replied, “If you really want to get cavities, I won’t stop you. But nobody likes a guy with bad breath.” Irvine checked his own breath and groaned. Seeing that, Luke also checked his breath, and groaned the same way.

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. These two really are idiots!

By the way, I couldn’t get cavities due to my blessings, apparently, but I still brushed every day anyway since it felt bad if I didn’t, and I wanted to prevent bad breath.

After that, I did the same for both the Tonys’ house and the Albans’ house, and told everyone to just tell me if they needed anything else.

Now that I’ve supplied all their houses, all that’s left is food at the main house, right?

I planned to cook for everyone until life calmed down. Once it did, I’d hand over ingredients and seasonings and have them cook for themselves. Today was the first day, so I was planning to go a little fancy to help energize them.

Let’s have Aija and Theresa help. But, before that...... the first thing I need to do when we return to the main house is to heal up Aija.

Once we were back in a living room in the main house, I called out to Aija.

“Excuse me, is Aija still not feeling well?” I asked, and the husband, Tony, immediately bowed his head with vigor.

“We’ll get her healed somehow! Please, please don’t let us go!”

The son, Kosti, and the daughter, Selja, both looked uneasy, and Aija was gripping onto her own clothes.

Looks like they’re misunderstanding me in a bad way. That’s way off the mark, you know? I bought all of you, so I’m not letting you all go so quickly.

“No, no, not that.”

Oh this is too troublesome. It’ll be faster to just use Appraisal.

When I appraised Aija, her status showed that she wasn’t fully healed from a lung disease. In her current state, it was looking like all the treatments that put them into debt were working and her illness had settled down, but it wasn’t completely gone yet.

If that’s the case, then I’ve got to use this, huh?

I took out one of Sui’s Special Elixirs (lesser version) from my Item Box. I hadn’t used any since giving one to Darryl and Iris, who I had met in Dolan, so the rest were still stowed in my Item Box. I had two bottles left, sitting completely untouched. I handed them a small bottle containing Sui’s Special Elixir.

“Please drink this. It’ll cure your illness.”

Aija took the elixir, but hesitated.

“Excuse me, is this a potion? The color is a little different from what I’ve seen before......” Tony cautiously asked, sounding worried.

Well, it’s his wife, so I get where he’s coming from.

“That’s an elixir. It’ll heal any illness in one shot,” I said, and all five of the former adventurers did spit takes.

Gross.

“Nonononono, Mukohda — a-an elixir?! You can’t give that to her!” Tabatha jumped forward and said.

“I thought you’d have one, Mukohda, since you’re an S-ranked adventurer and I heard you conquered Dolan’s dungeon, but big sis is right. You can’t use it here for this! Why are you just using it willy-nilly on a slave?!!” Luke followed up on Tabatha’s exclamation.

Wait, they know I conquered Dolan’s dungeon?

“Th-That’s right!! Just how much do you think you can get for just that one bottle?!! It’d be enough to buy all of us here and still have some left! You can’t just let go of a treasure worth that much for this!” Irvine shouted passionately.

“Yes, that’s right!! There’re lots of people who’d pay any amount of money if they hear about an elixir!” Barthel said, sounding really flustered.

Peter was just repeatedly nodding in agreement to what everyone else was saying.

No, you know, even I wouldn’t just be throwing around things I got in a dungeon like that. But this is......

“No, even though this is an elixir, it’s just a lesser version. It’ll heal illnesses and wounds, but it won’t extend one’s life. Also, I had this made myself, so I didn’t get it from a dungeon,” I explained. The five of them stared in shock.

“Y-Yourself?”

“............Hey, are elixirs something someone can just make?”

“I remember — I heard this from an elf I met a long time ago. There’s a recipe for it, but with the ingredients it requires, it’s said to be probably impossible,” Barthel, the oldest, said, and the other ex-adventurers all gulped.

“So, what are the ingredients?”

“Like a dragon’s liver and blood and stuff, it seems. The elf told me it uses a bunch of other really rare ingredients, too.”

...............I kinda wish you five wouldn’t stay so silent.

“W-Well, how I made it aside, the point is this isn’t something irreplaceable to me. So I’m having Aija use it. Now now, put it all down in one go.”

Now, while the five of them are still stunned, drink it!

Everybody in the Tony family was giving me their thanks while crying.

I get it already, stop bowing like you’re worshiping me.

Kosti and Selja, both in tears, shouted, “We’ll work our entire lives!”

Guys, you’re children — you can just help out a little.

“Uhhh, Aija, could you hurry up and drink it?” I urged. Aija bowed deeply before drinking Sui’s Special Elixir.

As soon as she finished, Aija’s body began to glow white. Everyone was surprised at the sudden glow, but it settled down quickly.

The Alban family, who had quietly watched it all happen, looked shocked. The five adventurers were also wide-eyed in surprise.

This was the first time I’d ever seen someone drink the elixir, so it was a surprise to me too. Even I felt a little worried.

“A-Are you okay?” I asked Aija quickly, and she laughed while crying.

“I’m fine......! It’s always been so painful, and I always felt so sluggish, but right now... right now, I’m completely fine!!”

Hearing what Aija said, the Tony family all hugged each other and celebrated.

That’s so nice~. But I’m not rude enough to get in the middle of this.

Aija was looking healthy now. The color of her face had gotten better, too. When I used Appraisal on her to check, I saw that her illness was gone.

Great! Just what I expected from Sui’s special elixir — it works perfectly.

Now then, it looks like the Tony family has calmed down, so next is the meal Lotte’s been looking forward to.

Meanwhile, the idiot twins were whispering to each other: “He really used an elixir on a slave.” “He’d be able to play around for his entire life for one of those. What an idiot.”

You guys really shouldn’t be calling your owner an idiot.

They were probably trying to keep that a secret, but I can hear everything. Actually, shouldn’t whispering secrets like that fundamentally be done in a quieter voice? Those idiot twins are so stupid, I can’t even work up the will to be mad.

*Sigh*

As soon as I thought that, Tabatha once again brought her fist down on the two of them, since they could be heard by everyone. Naturally, she made an earnest apology.

Those twins are... uhh... stereotypical muscle-brains, or something. Although I can’t seem to bring myself to hate them.

“Well then, I’ll go cook dinner. Theresa, can you and...... Aija help?” I asked.

“Of course,” Aija said. It seemed like she was overflowing with energy now that she’d recovered.

“Oh, Selja, can you help too?”

“Yes!” I’d heard that Selja could hold her own with house chores.

Now then, let’s get cooking.

I took the three women to the kitchen.

Clearly, we would be making hot pot. Hot pot is perfect for bonding over. It’s easy to make and delicious — perfect for big parties like this.

This time I was planning on making a hot pot out of the various kinds of seafood I got from Berléand, as well as salted chicken hot pot using rockbird meat.

First, I bought any ingredients I needed with my skill. I’d already told everyone about my skill, so I felt free to use it in the open. I bought all the vegetables I’d need to put into the hot pot. I’d definitely need Chinese cabbage, and I thought the rest could just be carrots, spring onions, enoki mushrooms, and tofu.

All that was left was the all-important hot pot broth. I didn’t want to bother, so I just bought pre-made broth with my skill.

Don’t discount it just because it’s store-bought. It’s pretty damn good.

This time, I went with a pack of broth that you could just dump straight into the pot. The best thing about it was that there was no need to dilute the broth. I could just dump it straight into the pot and heat it up, so it was very easy and low-effort, and it was great whenever I’d used it before. I bought a dashi with bonito and seaweed for the seafood hot pot, and a dashi with chicken stock for the salted chicken hot pot. For the finisher, I was planning on zosui soup and ramen, so I made sure to buy some noodles since I didn’t have any.

After that, I just need knives for Aija and the others, don’t I? Although this kitchen is stocked with everything needed to cook, the knives in this world are a little big and hard to use.

I also bought a peeler for the carrots. I figured that for Selja, a peeler would be better than a knife.

Now then, time to start cooking. Well, I say cooking, but it’s really just cutting ingredients and boiling them in broth.

I asked Aija, Theresa, and Selja to cut the vegetables.

“Selja, you peel the carrots.”

I taught her how to use the peeler. “Hold down the carrot like this, and move the peeler like so...... And just like that, the peel is off. You try it.”

Selja took the peeler, and timidly started to move like I taught her. “Wow! Amazing!! It came right off!” Selja was excited that the carrot was perfectly peeled.

“That’s great! Okay then, there’s kind of a lot, but can you peel everything here?”

“Okay!” Selja replied, smiling and full of energy.

“Aija, Theresa, I’d like you two to cut the vegetables, so this is how you handle Chinese cabbage......”

I scored the root of the cabbage’s stem before peeling off the leaves and washing them. Then, I cut the leaves into chunks. As for the white stem, since it was so thick, I cut it into thin pieces along the fibers.

“And cut the carrots that Selja peels about this size.” I cut the carrots into strips at around the size where it would be easy to boil.

“For the spring onions, cut them diagonally like this after giving them a light wash.” Of course, I cut the onions diagonally.

“For these enoki mushrooms, cut off this bottom part, then just untangle them like this so that they’re about this big.” After cutting off the base of the enoki mushroom, I untangled them just enough that they wouldn’t be completely undone and become too small.

“For this tofu, cut it horizontally like this, then cross it like this.” I cut the tofu into eight even pieces.

Just what one would expect out of professional housewives; even when dealing with an ingredient like tofu for the first time, they cut it well.

Both Aija and Theresa were amazed by how thin the knives were. From what they told me, in normal households, using a single-edged knife was a matter of course, so a lot of the time, the softer ingredients would just be squished rather than cut under the thicker and blunter knives of this world.

They really liked the fact that the knives I bought with my skill practically slid through the ingredients, and they were really happy when I said that they could take back the knives, cutting boards, and peeler.

Since I only bought the one peeler for Selja, I’ll have to get another one later, too huh?

I bought a T-shaped peeler, so I should get I-shaped peelers as well for potatoes and the like. Potatoes were a fairly popular vegetable in this world, so they appeared often at meals.

I was going to get a set for the five adventurers too, but I wondered: Can those people even cook? I would have to ask about that later.

Now then, leaving that aside, I should get to work on the seafood and rockbird meat.

I took out the aspidochelone, tyrant fish, and small hard clams that I got from Berléand from my Item Box. I figured the white meat fish, aspidochelone and tyrant fish, as well as the small hard clams (basically, they were slightly larger Asian clams), would be perfect in a seafood hot pot.

The aspidochelone and tyrant fish were already in slices, so I just cut them down into more manageable sizes. I made the cuts for my familiar’s portions a little bigger.

As for the small hard clams, I just washed them a little after cleaning out any sand and dirt.

I also simply cut the rockbird meat into bite-sized pieces. I could form the rockbird into chicken meatballs, but right now everyone was waiting, so I didn’t have enough time. Rockbird meat itself was already delicious, so it’d probably be fine as is.

After that, all I had to do was warm up the pot with the broth in it, add in all the ingredients, and boil it all to finish. Using the two four-burner stoves in the kitchen as well as the one I had on me, I turned all of them on at once and started making hot pots.

Once the broth was hot, I had Aija and Theresa help me add in the ingredients.

“So once all the ingredients are cooked, it’s finished.”

The broth was bubbling, so they seemed to be cooking well.

“I think it’s pretty much done.”

“It smells good.”

“It really does.”

“It smells so nice~!”

“Now then, they’re all probably hungry, so let’s hurry and eat.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

First, I had Aija and the others help me to serve Fel and my other familiars. If I left them for later, Fel would never shut up about it, after all.

“This is a seafood hot pot, and this one is a rockbird hot pot.”

“Mn? I am fine with just the meat one.”

“Now, now, this one’s good too, so try it.”

“Mm... Fine.”

“It’s really hot, so be careful. There’s going to be something special afterwards with the soup, so leave some.”

Dora-chan would probably be full once he ate the finisher, but Fel and Sui would probably still want to eat more and more.

I’ll just have to deal with that with whatever I already have made in my Item Box, huh?

After serving Fel and the other familiars, I moved on to the others. I hurriedly bought some heat-resistant mats to lay on a huge table in the dining room that I then laid the hot pots on.

The Tony and Alban families got one each of the two kinds of hot pots. The former adventurers had fewer people, but they seemed to be able to eat a lot, so I readied a seafood hot pot and two salted chicken hot pots. For myself, I picked a seafood hot pot.

“Wooww~, it smells so good!” Lotte, who’d been waiting all this time for food, looked with sparkling eyes at the sight.

“I promised you good food, so here it is. Now, sit over there,” I said, and Lotte sat down where I pointed with a little grunt.

“Everyone else, sit anywhere there’s room.”

Great. Everyone’s seated now.

“This is a dish from my home, so I don’t know if you’ll all like it, but give it a try. This one is a seafood hot pot, and this one is rockbird,” I said, and once again the five former adventurers did a spit take.

“R-R-Rockbird’s a really expensive ingredient!”

“Big sis is right! Even us B- and C-rankers who earn a decent amount of money can only eat it enough times to count on one hand!”

Tabatha and Irvine shouted, sounding worked up.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. It’s not rare to me. Just eat.”

All three of my familiars were gourmands, so it can’t be helped that I always end up with stuff like this, right? And for rockbird meat, there’s more being butchered by the Adventurer’s guild right now too.

“B-By the way, but what is this seafood?” Barthel fearfully asked.

“Delicious white meat fish,” I answered. “Anyways, it’s fine as long as it’s good, right? Right? So rather than all that fussing, let’s just hurry up and eat.”

Luke and Peter must not have been able to win against their appetites even with their surprise, since they were already drooling even as they waited. The Tony and Alban families weren’t eating either after seeing the surprise of the five former adventurers, though.

Lotte looks like she really wants to eat, too. Oh fine.

I scooped out a portion of my own hot pot and started eating.

“You all split your own food amongst yourselves, too,” I said, and everybody finally, slowly, started serving themselves.

I just used whatever was already in the house for dinnerware, and the previous owner must have had some specific tastes, since all the plates were attractive pieces of what looked like white bone china, decorated with charming flower patterns. They didn’t match the pots I used for the hot pot at all.

“So gooooood! Big bro Mukohda, this is delicious!” Lotte smacked her lips in enjoyment after eating some of the rockbird hot pot.

“Right? It’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!” Lotte was smiling as she happily bit into the rockbird meat.

“Ohh! So fish could be this good......”

“It really is delicious. It’s been a few years since I’ve had fish, but the ones I had before were nowhere near this good.” Alban and Tony seemed keenly moved as they tasted the seafood hot pot.

Right? Right? Aspidochelone and tyrant fish break down really well in the mouth, and their light and simple flavors hit really well with each bite.

When I explained that it was fish from the sea, I learned that neither of the families had ever had sea fish before, since aquatic monsters could also be hunted in inland rivers and lakes, and it was rare in this world to eat fish in the first place.

The other children — Kosti, Selja, Oliver, and Erik — all looked like they were really enjoying their food and eating as much as they could. Aija and Theresa were laughing through their tears, seeing their children enjoy themselves like that. “It’s been a long time since they’ve been able to eat their fill. Thank you so much!” they said.

Makes sense, since it’s really rare for a slave to be able to eat their fill. Even if the adults can bear with it, it’s hard for children to have empty stomachs.

“Eat up, everyone,” I said to the kids, and they all nodded with full faced smiles.

The five former adventurers dug in with gusto, which made sense for how big they were. They ate like they were racing each other, all the while exclaiming about how good the food was. I kept one pot to myself, but as I expected, I couldn’t finish it all, so when I asked them, “Do you want it?” the idiot twins and Peter took the whole pot like they were robbing me.

While that was going on, I put on the finisher for Fel and the other familiars since they’d finished their pots, and once our own pots were empty, I showed everyone the final surprise of hot pots.

“You see, these pots are delicious right down to the end.” I took the pots, which only had soup left, and heated them up a little on a portable stove. Then, for the seafood hot pot I added rice and a beaten egg on top. For the salted chicken hot pot, I added in the ramen noodles I had bought and cooked it for a while in the soup.

“Okay. This should be good. The finisher is zosui soup and ramen.”

Apparently, this was a really impressive thing to do since eggs were rare, so the Tony and Alban families looked like they were really enjoying the zosui soup. The ramen didn’t seem to be popular with them, but I wanted some for myself, so I went with that.

After scooping up some noodles with the soup, I added a little bit of butter on top.

*Slurrrrrrrp*

“Salted butter ramen is so gooood~...”

Right after I started enjoying my salted butter ramen finisher, I felt everyone’s gazes......

I guess they’re really surprised that I’m loudly slurping my ramen.

“Ahh, this tastes better if you slurp it like this,” I said, which led to all five of the former adventurers trying the ramen. Only Peter was able to slurp properly. But it looked like they all liked the taste, so it was finished quickly.

“Whew, I sure ate!”

I’m completely satisfied. The finishing touches of a hot pot really are great.

All of them — the Tony and Alban families, and the five former adventurers — looked satisfied as well.

“Hey. I still want to eat.”

《Sui too!》

《Haha! Fel and Sui really eat a lot. I’m already full.》

.........So there were some who weren’t satisfied. I served Fel and Sui some karaage and Hamburg steaks that I had pre-made in my Item Box.

For today, I had the Tony family, the Alban family, and the five former adventurers go back to their houses to rest.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We were taking a rest in the living room to digest. I was drinking coffee, while my three familiars were laying on their sides on the fluffy carpet.

Oh, that’s right. It’s about time for me to make an offering to Demiurge. Let’s see, I’ll take a look.

While continuing to sip on my coffee, I opened up my Online Supermarket. When I opened the menu for my Tenant, the Liquor Shop Tanaka, I found that they were holding some sort of wine festival. During this event, one of the owner’s employees who had a sommelier’s license would carefully pick out wines to advertise specially.

“Hmm~, wine huh? Wine is popular...”

Oh yeah, my boss back in my former world really liked wine, and every time all of us in the company went out to drink, he’d talk endlessly about it.

I leaned back in my chair and looked at the wine specials. When I did, Sui popped up onto the chair.

《Master — what are you looking at?》

“Hm? This? I’m wondering what I should offer to god.”

《God?》

“That’s right. It’s an offering to ask them if they’ll watch over us.”

《Huhhh...》

I couldn’t tell if Sui got it or not. But it seemed like it was interested in what I was looking at, and was peeking at the screen.

“You are making an offering for Ninrir, no? Make sure to do a good job,” Fel warned me, moving just his head as he lay on the carpet.

“No, this isn’t for Ninrir.”

After all, that goddess is currently in the throes of house arrest.

“What?!! Are you planning on not offering anything to Ninrir?!”

“No, you see, I’m offering this to the God of All Creation, who’s more important than Ninrir. It can’t be helped. Or what? Are you going to complain to the most important god of all, the one that created this entire world, Fel?”

If you are, then go complain to Demiurge. It’s not my fault.

“Grr... Th-That is......”

Demiurge is the most important god of this world, so even Fel can’t complain, I bet.

Fel seemed reluctant, but he had to relent.

When I returned my focus to the screen, Sui was also staring at it.

《Hey, hey master, is this food?》

“Hmmm... This is alcohol. It’s too soon for you, Sui. Oh, that’s right, rather than this, wouldn’t you rather have a cake, Sui? You haven’t had any today, right?”

《Cake! Sui will eat!》 Hearing cake, Sui started bouncing up and down.

“You guys want some too, right? Fel, Dora-chan?”

“Of course.”

《I’ll have some pudding!》

I opened Fumiya’s menu and took everyone’s requests.

“Of course, I will be having the usual. That one really is the most delicious.”

Acting as if it was only to be expected, Fel asked for two strawberry shortcakes.

《It’s gotta be pudding for me.》 Dora-chan also asked for his favorite dessert. There was a new strawberry milk pudding, so I told him about it, and he asked for one of those and one of the usual custard puddings.

《Sui wants this and this!》 Sui chose a blueberry tart and a strawberry roll cake. He was apparently in a mood for those two today.

I served everyone their treats, and then I went back to looking at the menu screen for the Liquor Shop Tanaka as I sipped on my second cup of coffee.

Wine, huh......? I’ve only given him Japanese sake so far, so maybe wine will be fine this time?

I decided to add some of that on top of the usual Japanese sake in my offering to Demiurge. However, I wasn’t well-versed in wine either. In situations like these, it was best to just take advantage of recommendations.

The first bottle I chose was the owner’s most recommended wine, a white wine from Germany. Apparently, almost all the wine Germany made was white wine; among those, this wine was the face of all white wines made with Riesling grapes. The description said that it was known as a wine that Bismarck loved to death, and the fresh, fruity scent and acidity gave a sweet and refreshing feeling on the palate.

The second bottle was a French wine that the employee with the sommelier license recommended the most. It became famous after it appeared in a well-known manga about wine. The description said that it was balanced and delicate, having a well-harmonized flavor: a very delicious wine for its price.

It shouldn’t be a mistake to choose these two. After all, they are being pushed the hardest by the owner and the sommelier.

For the Japanese sake, I picked those from the rankings as usual — the weekly rankings this time.

The shining top of the weekly rankings was a sake from the Aomori prefecture, which had gained popularity through word of mouth. It was known for being refreshing on the palate while still having a very deep and complex taste.

And I got one more bottle, the 2nd in the rankings.. It was a Junmai Daiginjo from the Fukushima prefecture that had a label made of traditional Japanese paper. There were a lot of reviews really singing its praises, saying things like, “It’s seriously good,” and “I’m definitely getting this again,” so it should definitely be a good choice.

With two bottles of wine and two bottles of Japanese sake in the cart, I also added in a premium Kantsuma gift set, as usual. I also bought some Camembert cheese and smoked cheese to pair with the wine this time.

“Right. This should do it.”

After checking out my purchase and getting the delivery, I placed the items on top of the cardboard altar.

“Please accept this, Demiurge.”

＜Ohh, it’s you. Sorry for troubling you every time.＞

“This time I included alcohol made with a fruit called ‘grapes,’ please try them. Of course, there is still Japanese sake. I also have the usual Kantsuma snacks, and some cheese to pair with the wine.”

＜Ohh, I’m looking forward to that. Ho! Ho! Ho!＞

The wine, Japanese sake, Kantsuma gift set, and cheese all disappeared in a glow of faint light.

“All right. Today was pretty busy, so let’s hurry up and take a bath and go right to sleep.”

《Bath?》

“That’s right. You’ll take one too, right Sui?”

《Yeah!》

“What about you, Dora-chan?”

《Of course I’ll get in.》

I enjoyed the spacious bath along with Sui and Dora-chan.

Oh man~, a huge bath where I can stretch my legs and relax is just the best!

Dora-chan and Sui also immediately took a liking to this house’s huge bath. They looked like they were feeling really good when they swam for a while, before they started to just float.

After relieving our exhaustion in the bath, we all fell asleep quickly in the similarly huge bed.

............But for some reason, I was once again with all of my familiars. It was so natural when they said, “Goodnight~” that I thought nothing of it, since it was as usual.

Come to think of it, with this many rooms, it’s not like we have to sleep together at all.

...Well, I guess it’s fine for today.

Extra: The Phantom Liquor Store

In a certain smithy in a certain town...

A dwarf who usually spoke loudly was taking care to bring his face closer and whisper.

“Hey, Radim, is it true?”

“Yeah. I confirmed it at the Merchant’s guild.”

“Even though you showed me the letter from your apprentice Jörn, I thought it was just a hoax... But to think it was really true...”

“Didn’t I let you try some of the real thing? Well, even so, I still only half believe it’s real myself, honestly.”

Jörn, my former apprentice, had gone on to set up his own smithy in a different town. Half a year ago, he sent a letter, the first for a long while, as well as a wooden box. In the letter, Jörn wrote about a phantom liquor store.

There were a lot of rules you had to follow to visit said liquor store, but no one seemed to mind, since the alcohol you could buy there was so unbelievably exquisite that it was hard to believe it was of this world. It had so many delicious alcohols that no one had ever seen before, and the letter declared it as a dream store for dwarves — nay, heaven itself.

And in the box was the treasured alcohol sold at the phantom liquor store. At first, I thought of the claim as the ramblings of a fool, but I wasn’t about to blame the alcohol for that, so I happily drank it.

And the instant it touched my lips...

The feeling couldn’t be just described as surprise. It was strong enough that for a moment, I forgot who I was. It was stronger than anything I’d ever had, but it also had an indescribably deep fragrance and complex taste.

It was delicious. Aggressively so.

Delicious enough that I, as a dwarf, a member of the race that is said to be suckled on alcohol since birth, can easily declare it to be the best booze I’ve ever tasted in my life.

After that, I once again read over Jörn’s letter carefully, so as to gain as much information about the phantom liquor store as possible.

First point: the phantom liquor store was elusive. If you wanted to find it, you would have to be amazingly lucky.

Second point: Only a very small number of people were allowed in the store.

Third point: In order to enter, you must follow a multitude of rules. Those rules were:

One: For those who heard of this store from someone in another town, they may only bring themselves and up to ten other people that they trusted to obey the rules with them.

Two: Those ten who were told about the store must never speak about the store to anyone else.

Three: For those who heard of this store from someone in another town, they may tell only one person in another town about this store.

Four: When tasting the products in the store, you must never raise your voice or make a fuss.

Five: There was a buying limit in the store. One customer may only buy up to five bottles of a given brand.

Six: Never ask about the source of the alcohol sold in the store.

Seven: Never ask about the identity of the store’s owner.

Eight: If you somehow found out about the owner’s identity by chance, you must never spread that information.

Nine: The store could close even during sale hours if the rules were broken or if the owner judged that the business could not continue operating.

...It seemed that that was it for the important rules. Apparently, there were other minor rules too, but the letter said that it would be fine as long as you obeyed the owner.

In a nutshell, all you had to do was not question the owner’s identity or sources, and to be quiet and well behaved while enjoying the booze. I really wanted to brag about the fact that he had a bunch of really good alcohol, but it was important to hold back.

From Jörn’s letter, I could tell that Jörn himself was probably the one who had heard about the store from someone else out of town. And the rules said, “Those who have heard about the store from someone else in another town may tell only one person in a different town about this store.”

For him to send a letter to me means he trusts me that much. I can’t call myself a man if I waste my apprentice’s feelings and efforts.

So, I carefully picked out who I could trust with the information about this phantom liquor store. I was pretty damn careful, if I say so myself.

And the people I picked were two of my closest friends, Ladomir and Germain. I felt like I could trust the two of them, and that they would properly follow the rules.

I showed the two of them Jörn’s letter and explained what had happened, but they didn’t believe it at first. Of course, that was only natural. Even I had thought it was a dumb stunt or something at first.

However, once I let them taste the alcohol Jörn sent me, their eyes blew up wide and round, and after their surprise they instantly believed me.

After that, all three of us prayed every day for the store to come to our town. According to Jörn’s letter, when the phantom liquor store opened shop, the Merchant’s guild would have a notice with certain words posted up on their notice board.

Those words were: “aburi kalbi.”

I didn’t understand the meaning, but at any rate, the letter said that once those words appeared on the board, I should go to the desk at the guild and ask, “Please tell me how to get to the store,” and they would hand over a paper that detailed where the store was and its hours.

Those who saw the words and asked, “What does aburi kalbi mean?” would obviously not receive the paper; they would simply have the words, “aburi kalbi,” returned to them as is. It was set up so that those who knew what the words signified (if not their actual meaning) would see them there and know why, and only they would be able to find the store.

It was a really troublesome process, but it had to be done to get into the phantom liquor store.

So, in the half year since I had received Jörn’s letter, I had my apprentices go check the Merchant’s guild every day. And today, the apprentice I sent informed me that there was a paper that said, “aburi kalbi,” posted up on the notice board.

I immediately told Ladomir and Germain, and the two of them ditched their work to come meet me.

“So, do you know where it is?”

“No, not yet. I’m going to go to the Merchant’s guild now to get the paper with the location on it myself.”

“Alright! I’m going too!”

“Of course!”

So, all three of us went to the Merchant’s guild, and succeeded in getting the paper with the store’s location on it before returning to my workshop.

“Okay, I’m opening it.”

“Yeah.”

“Go for it.”

The three of us held our breath as we looked at the paper.

“I see... so it’s there.”

“It’s open a little after noon, huh? Then there’s still time.”

“Indeed. I just can’t wait. By the way, Radim, have you decided on anyone else to go see this phantom liquor store other than us?”

“That’s...... I know we all are unequaled in our love of alcohol, and of course we’d want to brag about the fact that we got some delicious booze. Like where we got it, and stuff, right? But there’s a lot of rules you need to follow to visit this phantom liquor store. When I thought of that, you guys were the only ones I was sure would be fine.”

“It’s an honor to know you trust us that much.”

“Well, if any of us was going to brag about booze, it’d be to one of the other two of us, anyway.”

“So that’s how it is. The people I want to brag to most are you two, Ladomir, Germain. And for Ladomir it’s Germain and me. And for Germain it’s Ladomir and I. We normally go drink together, us three. So, if it’s just us, we’ll be able to keep a secret.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“It’s been a while, I guess I’ll open up a liquor store again.”

I was currently staying in a certain town because of a request from the Adventurer’s guild. Said request had ended, so all that was left was to stay out the days I’d already paid for at the inn where I was staying. I decided to use this free time to open up the liquor store I ran as a hobby for the first time in a while.

The reason I had first started this store was extremely simple: even though I was registered to the Merchant’s guild, I never did anything merchant-like. The only actions that would qualify would be selling some shampoo and stuff to Lambert’s store. I figured that should be fixed, and I felt like I wanted to try running my own store.

At first, I thought about doing a grilled skewer stall, since I had ordered a BBQ grill in Dolan and everything. In truth, I actually had everything ready, but my gluttonous trio......

While I was preparing the food, all three of them were fidgeting like they wanted to eat and kept glancing my way... I already told them that this was for my stall, and even though I already fed them, they still did that.

And Sui even started wheedling, saying, 《Sui wants to try a taste...》 When it did, of course Fel and Dora-chan had to be included too......

So, I had concluded that a food stall would be no good, and I had given up on the idea. Pretty much all the meat I’d prepared went into their stomachs. I had gone all out and cooked quite a bit of meat, but once I said that I was giving up on the stall, all three of my familiars, the gluttonous trio, had gleefully put it all down.

I figured that anything to do with food wouldn’t work, so I had to go back to the drawing board for ideas. If I was to sell something from my Online Supermarket, pretty much everything would be like OOPArts to this world, so I rejected the idea.

Then, I had considered the tropes of isekai light novels and stuff. That is, salt and sugar and pepper and stuff. I’d probably earn quite a lot (in fact, I had sold some salt and pepper when I had just arrived here to make some funds, and it had come out to quite a bit), but it was clear that selling too much would cause a ruckus, so I rejected the idea. If a whole bunch of expensive pepper started circulating around, there’d be no doubt someone would try to find out what was up.

So after a lot of thought, I had landed on alcohol. After all, I was able to get so many more different kinds of liquor now that I had my Tenant, the Liquor Shop Tanaka. This world already had alcohol, so it wasn’t going to be too expensive. The reactions I got from eateries I’d given the alcohol to had been really good, so I figured it would work.

I mean, this world has so many alcoholics.

However, the alcohol I’d be selling wouldn’t be from this world, so I thought it might become the subject of rumors — and I really wanted to avoid that. It would just be annoying if people started asking around about my sources and stuff.

So, I decided on some strict rules for the store.

Anyway, although I felt a compulsion to try running a store, I was pretty at ease about the whole thing since I felt like it would be fine to stop if it didn’t work out well. When I had first opened up shop, it had been under circumstances like this — that is, when I had free time in a town I happened to be staying in.

And the person I chose as my first customer was a dwarven adventurer I’d gotten friendly with during my stay in town by the name of Jerome; I figured for alcohol, it would be best to go with a dwarf.

At first, he was full of complaints about the rules being too strict, saying, “As if I’d bother with an annoying store like that!” However, his attitude changed quickly once I had him try some whiskey I bought from my Tenant and I told him that’s what I’d be selling.

When I told him that the rules must be strictly adhered to, Jerome said, “I really want to brag about it if I ever have some good stuff, but it’s different if I have to follow some strict rules to get it in the first place. It’s impossible for a dwarf to break a promise when it has to do with alcohol.”

So, the people that Jerome brought with him were the members of his adventuring party. I’d thought he was a solo adventurer, but it turned out that one of his party members had been injured, so they had just happened to be on break. And all four of the other members of his party were dwarves...

Jerome probably was very insistent on impressing the rules upon them, but at first, they looked at me like I was really shady.

But you know, as soon as I showed them all the whiskey, brandy, vodka, rum, wine, beer, and Japanese sake I had in stock, the colors of their eyes changed immediately.

On top of that, each one was very affordable, so depending on the type it was possible to stock up on several brands. They really latched on once I told all of them that all the different kinds of alcohol tasted different. They’d never tried any of my liquors before, so they were quickly charmed by all the alcohol I showed them, and the dwarves all quickly quieted down in order to properly obey my rules.

So, since my first time running the store had gone well, I would occasionally open up shop again whenever I had a chance. And now, I’d decided to open up shop in this town.

I rented a warehouse and opened my doors. My familiars were with me just in case, but it seemed like they had absolutely no interest in alcohol, so they quickly fell asleep in a corner of the building.

As for me, I took a wooden table I had bought in this world from my Item Box and lined up samples of whiskey and brandy and stuff on it. I had all my stock in my Item Box, so whenever anyone bought something, I could just take it out and hand it over.

With all my preparations complete, I waited for customers, and immediately I heard banging on the door and voices.

“Password?”

They would have to say the phrase that was posted to the notice board of the Merchant’s guild.

“Aburi kalbi.” It was a low voice that replied. The intonation was so weird that I really wanted to laugh, but I fought hard not to.

I was the one who thought it would be fun to choose a little tongue twister for the password, though, since the Japanese for “braised beef ribs” would be difficult to pronounce.

I bit back laughter that had already half-escaped. “Ahem... come in.”

I opened the door, and my customers entered.

All three of them were dwarves. Or rather, all of my customers had been dwarves ever since I had started this store.

When I asked a dwarf who had come to my last opening about that, I found out that it was apparently because the only ones dwarves felt they could trust with matters pertaining to alcohol were other dwarves, and only ones who were friends, at that.

So, these three dwarves, who were probably completely aware of the rules, were acting calm and quiet. However, all three of them had their eyes fixed on the alcohol on the table.

“I believe all of you are fully aware of the rules, but I will ask you to please make sure you follow them anyway,” I said, and the three dwarves nodded with meek expressions.

I know that they all are really bursting with things they want to say though, like how the bottles of alcohol on the table are far too clear, or how the labels on the bottles are far too vivid and colorful.

“These are the types I have in stock. If you ask, you can sample any you like.”

At my words, I could see the dwarves’ eyes give off a glint. “So that means we can try drinking it?”

“Yes.”

“All of it?”

“Yes. That is fine — if you think you can actually down them all, that is. A lot of these are strong.”

“You’re not lying, right?”

“Of course not.”

Once I said that, the three dwarves looked towards each other, a grin creeping up on their faces.

Huh? Was that a mistake?

I had readied a lot of types of liquor with high alcohol percentages, like whiskey, brandy, vodka, and gin, among others though...

“““Then if that’s the case, please!”””

The three of them jumped right into asking for samples, so I retrieved some glasses from my Item Box.

“Well then, first is this alcohol that has been especially favored among you dwarves. It’s called whiskey. Each whiskey differs a lot in flavor depending on who brews it, so please try them yourselves. Oh, and also, it’s very strong, so be careful.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll take more than any normal amount of alcohol to down us dwarves,” the dwarf in the middle boasted, full of confidence. I returned a strained smile.

Getting back on track, I first poured them a Japanese whisky for the common people that was very affordable and came in a square bottle.

“Here you go.”

The three of them, after smelling the whisky, downed it all in one gulp.

I know I didn’t pour any of you a full glass, but you didn’t have to throw it back like a shot......

“Ahh~! The strong stuff is always so good!”

“Yeah. And it smells pretty great, too.”

“The flavor is so complex, it’s indescribable...”

The three of them looked like they wanted to keep drinking, but that ended the tasting for this one. On to the next.

“The next whiskey is this.”

The next one I poured for them was one that had been developed to be marketed towards Japan, labeled with a white horse. The signature smokiness of whisky was well balanced in this one, and since it was developed for Japanese palates, it was also easy to drink.

“Hohh, this is quite different from the last one. So they can be this different, even though they’re both whiskies...”

“The bouquet on this one is more brilliant than the last.”

“The last one had a deep taste, but it left the mouth really quickly. But this one, it really reverberates, I feel. The taste just keeps going, even after I swallow.”

As expected of alcohol lovers. Even though it looks like they’re just chugging it down, they’re actually properly tasting it.

After that, I continued having them taste the whiskeys before moving on to brandy.

“Next is an alcohol called brandy.”

First up was a French brandy in a unique bottle, with a mouth that was tilted slightly diagonally. Apparently, this brandy was soft on the palate and smooth down the throat.

“This one also seems strong, but it’s so easy to drink.”

“It’s just slightly bitter... I can’t really describe this fragrance.”

“It’s soft on the tongue too, I can almost feel some sweetness, it’s not bad.”

And the tasting continued......

“This one is the last. Now, if you will tell me what you would like to buy, I will prepare it for you.”

The three dwarves made good on their word. They had tried all the alcohol I had to offer, and handily. It was a little scary.

“They’re all so good that I want to keep drinking, but I suppose it can’t be helped since this is just a sampling...”

“Right? But what should we buy? They’re all so good that I can’t decide.”

“I brought as much money as I could, but even with all that I can’t buy everything, so it’s going to be a hard decision.” As I stated in the rules they could only get up to five of a single brand. I had told them the prices of every bottle when they were tasting them, but even though they were all pretty affordable, the price would naturally pile up if a person tried to buy too many. Almost every time, I saw my customers pick five or six different brands to get five bottles each of after a lot of deliberation.

“Okay, I’ve decided!”

“Me too.”

“Yep, me too.”

...............

............

......

“Thank you for your patronage~!”

The three dwarves left with satisfied expressions, carefully carrying huge bags and saying, “Just what I’d expect out of a phantom liquor store...”

“......No, isn’t it weird for the three of them to buy every single brand I had?”

Oh man, dwarves really do go crazy for alcohol, don’t they?

Before buying every brand of alcohol I had, the three of them all said, “As if we could let this chance go!”

On top of that, for the stronger ones like whiskeys, brandies, and vodkas, they had bought up to the limit, five bottles of each. I wasn’t sure how they were going to carry it all back since they bought so much, so I gifted them some bags I had on hand and told them, “They’re glass, so be careful not to let them break.”

Still, a dwarf’s passion and attachment towards alcohol really is amazing, isn’t it?

I only open up shop every once in a while, but as long as dwarves exist, I’ll have a really secure source of income, huh?

Afterword

Hello, this is Eguchi Ren.

Thank you so much for picking up “Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill 7: Red Meat Steak and the Creator God’s Judgment”! Finally, the 7th volume is on sale.

I never even dreamed that this series would go on this long. I know, from the bottom of my heart, that I was only able to come this far thanks to all you readers. Thank you all, I really mean it!

In the 7th volume, a change comes upon Mukohda’s life. Did anyone expect it? He buys a house! And thanks to his familiars, he uses his savings...... And regrettably, Mukohda’s terrible luck in love is still in full effect (lol).

And just like last time, volume 7 of the main series, volume 4 of the comic, and volume 2 of the spinoff where Sui is the main character, “Sui’s Great Adventure,” all go on sale at the same time! I know I shouldn’t be saying this since I wrote all of it, but both the main comic and the spinoff comic are really interesting! Please try those out too. I have no doubt you’ll like them!

To Masa-sensei who handles the illustrations, Akagishi K-sensei who draws the main comic, as well as Futaba Momo-sensei who draws the spinoff comic, my great editor I, and everyone else at Overlap — thank you so much for everything!

And lastly, I’d love it if you all continue to read about the carefree and heartwarming otherworld adventures of Mukohda and Fel, Dora-chan and Sui in “Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill” in its web novel, light novel, main comic, and spinoff comic forms!

I truly hope to see all again in volume 8.

Bonus Short Stories

Bonus Short Stories

Ugohl’s Family Get-Together

“I’m back.”

“Welcome home, dear.”

I handed the basket in my hands to my wife, Thyrza, who came to greet me.

“Oh my, what’s this?”

“A present. You know, the guy from before......”

I’d already received a sweet called “cake” from Mukohda before. I told Thyrza that he returned to this town recently, and that he gave us a present because I’d been taking care of him.

“Oh, is that right? Sounds like he’s actually taking care of us,” Thyrza said happily.

She probably thinks it’s more sweets inside. Common people like us don’t get to enjoy sweets very often; Thyrza and my children were very happy with the sweets I received last time.

But this time, it wasn’t just sweets — of course, there were sweets, but I also received something even more amazing.

“Thyrza, try to remain calm and listen. To tell you the truth, it’s not just sweets. I also received some dragon meat.”

“............Huh?” Thyrza’s expression was blank with shock.

“Dragon meat, I said. To be specific, red dragon meat.”

“Red... dragon......” Thyrza hurriedly checked the contents of the basket. Inside, there was a hunk of meat wrapped in leaves. I already checked myself, so I knew it was there.

“This... it’s really............”

“Yes. It’s red dragon meat.”

“Dear, what did you do?!” Thyrza cried, trembling because of the meat she found in the basket.

I know how you feel. Even royalty and nobility may only get to have something like dragon meat once in their lives. And I just took one home that was given to me as a souvenir. Still, it’s not like I asked for it myself.

“Calm down, Thyrza.”

“As if I could calm down! It’s dragon meat, you know?! Dragon meat! Is it even possible to get something like this for free?! Dear, did you beg him for it or something?!”

I see, so that’s what Thyrza is worried about. But no matter how worried she is, I really didn’t do anything......

“Listen to me, Thyrza. Mukohda’s rank as an adventurer is the highest, S-ranked. There are only a few of them, but any adventurers who can reach that height are all uncommonly strong. But you know, from what I can tell, Mukohda is far and away stronger than even other uncommonly strong S-ranks. After all, the familiars he has following him are all abnormal. This hasn’t been made public, but this wasn’t his first time defeating a dragon,” I said, and Thyrza’s jaw dropped again.

Defeating one dragon was already a great feat, so of course she’d be surprised hearing it wasn’t his first time.

“He brought in an earth dragon before. And this time it was a red dragon. And Mukohda keeps all the dragon meat from the dragons he brings in instead of selling it to the guild. Actually, he does that for all his edible monsters. He enjoys all the meat of the monsters he brings in along with his familiars.”

Thyrza was once again shocked after hearing what I said.

This held true for all of the Dragon’s parts, but by selling the meat one could live in leisure their entire life. That was why, when one thought about it, keeping the meat for himself was a rather eccentric thing to do.

“So, right now Mukohda has all of the dragon meat off a red dragon on him. This piece I was given this time is just him sharing a little, apparently.”

“Just sharing a little dragon meat......”

From my perspective, that’s a really strange thing to say, but it’s probably actually true for Mukohda.

“He has enough that he even brought the guildmaster and I red dragon meat in between two slices of bread and called it ‘refreshments.’”

“So Mukohda must be a really great person. I totally thought that he pushed the dragon meat onto you and asked you for something ridiculous in return, since you’re so nice.”

“Ahahahahaha! So that’s what you were thinking. Mukohda’s not that kind of person. You call me nice, but I don’t even come close to him in that category.”

“Heheh, seems like it.”

“He told us to enjoy it as a family, so let’s not waste this chance and enjoy it tonight.”

“Yes. I’ll go all out today and use the pepper. I’m getting all tense, thinking that I’m going to be cooking dragon meat.”

“You’ll be fine, you’re good at cooking. I know you’ll make that already delicious dragon meat taste even better.”

“Aww, dear, you won’t get anything by flattering me, you know?”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Woww~, it’s meat!”

“It smells so nice~!”

Seeing the grand meal placed on the table, my children gathered in front of it.

My oldest son, Michael, is 6 years old, and my oldest daughter, Milana, is 4. They’re both precious children to Thyrza and I.

“Yes, yes, now settle down. We’re going to pray before we eat.”

““Okaaayy.””

““O Goddess of Earth, Lady Kisharle, we humbly partake of the fruit of this great earth!””

Although their speech was slow and unsure, they never got stuck or tripped over their words. I couldn’t help but smile, seeing the evidence of Michael and Milana’s daily growth in front of me.

“This meat is so bii-ig.”

“Looks goo-ood.”

Seeing Michael and Milana’s glittering eyes after seeing the thick meat, Thyrza and I also broke out in wide smiles.

“Heheheh, you know, that meat is something special your dad got from an adventurer he knows.”

““The meat is special?”” Both Michael and Milana tilted their heads in confusion.

“That’s right. The meat is special. What kind of meat do you think it is, Michael? Milana?”

“Orc, maybe?”

I shook my head no to Milana’s guess.

“Hmm, dunno. What kind of meat is it, dad?” Michael asked after failing to figure it out after a long stare. I answered: “You see, that’s dragon meat.”

“Whaaat, dragon?! You can eat dragons?!”

“Wooow! Big brother, it’s dragon meat!”

Both Michael and Milana’s eyes were wide as saucers.

“It’s really delicious, so try it.”

““Okay!!””

The two of them tried their best to properly cut out a portion of the meat, and, having succeeded, popped the pieces into their respective mouths.

““Mmmmmm!””

“It’s good!”

“So gooood!”

Michael and Milana’s faces were consumed by a smile.

“Hahaha! Right? Right? Just so you know, even kings rarely get to eat dragon meat.”

“Wooww, so this meat is amazing, isn’t it~?” Milana said, popping a second morsel into her mouth.

“This meat is really good! I wonder if adventurers always get to eat meat this delicious? If that’s the case, maybe I’ll be an adventurer when I grow up too,” Michael (who had a tendency to eat a lot) exclaimed.

“Now now, Michael. Not all adventurers can hunt dragons, you know? In fact, the adventurer who gave me this meat is S-ranked, the highest rank of adventurer. You need a lot of luck, ability, and dependable comrades to become S-ranked. Also, regardless of ranks, being an adventurer means risking your life. It’s a really tough job, so you don’t have to decide if you want to be one right now. You’re going to school next year, Michael, so your dad here thinks you should learn as much as you can, and then decide after that. There’s a lot of jobs other than adventurer out there in the world, after all.”

“I see... You might be right, dad. I mean, I kind of want to become a chef, too.”

Thank goodness, I somehow managed to suppress his desire to become an adventurer for now.

None of what I said applies to Mukohda, though. He’s just special. Well, more like it’s his familiars that are special.

I don’t know if I’m qualified to say this as a former B-ranked adventurer, but the job of adventuring is honestly not worth it. On top of always having to risk your life, if you don’t at least become C-ranked, it’s basically impossible to earn spending money. I can’t allow my cute Michael to settle on such a worthless job.

“Okay then, I’ll be the wife of the adventurer who gave us this meat!” Milana said innocently, causing me to freeze on the spot.

“Wi-... -fe?”

“Yeah! Isn’t becoming an ‘essranked’ adventurer really hard? So if I become the wife of that ‘essranked’ adventurer that gave us this meat, I’ll be able to eat lots of good food!”

“No, no, I think that’s going to be impossible. After all, your ages are just too different, Milana.”

“Whaaaat? I can’t? But mom and dad’s age are super far apart too...”

Grk......She hit me where it hurts. It’s true that Thyrza and I are twenty years apart in age. BUT! I won’t hand my cute Milana over to anybody! I don’t even want to think about her as a bride!

“Heheheh... Dear, from what you’ve told me, he sounds like a very good person, so he might not be a bad choice. It seems like he has a tendency to be too nice, but he can also be considerate enough to give you snacks and dragon meat.”

“Even you, Thyrza......”

“Mom, the adventurer who gave us this meat is also the adventurer who gave us the sweets?”

“That’s right.”

“Wooww~, then I really do want to be the wife of the adventurer who gave us this meat! Because the meat was delicious, and the sweets were super delicious!”

“Grrrrr~... No, I won’t hand her over! I’ll never let Milana become a bride! I’m not giving Milana to you, Mukohdaaaaa!”

“*Sigh* Dear......”

Mukohda Attempts to Butcher by Himself

“Do it like this... and hup! That’s one done for now.”

I had been taught how to butcher monsters by Elrand, but I was afraid I’d start to forget if I didn’t keep practicing. So today, I was planning on trying to do it by myself since I had some free time. And practicing butchering came with the fringe benefit of getting more meat.

I was going to be butchering a cockatrice I had on hand. Fel and the others usually killed a lot of them when hunting, so it frequently appeared on the menu for us.

“Still, this thing is really convenient, isn’t it?”

I was talking about the vampire knife I’d obtained in Aveling’s dungeon. It was a really ominous knife described as being “ever hungering for blood,” but that made it perfect for draining blood from meat. If I had to drain blood without it, I’d probably just fail.

The stench and color of blood is really... stimulating, after all. But with the knife, all I have to do is stab it into the monster and draining blood is just that easy. Thanks to this knife cleanly and completely draining monsters, I don’t feel any aversion to butchering monsters, so work goes smoothly.

“Great. Let’s keep going with the next one.”

While remembering what I was taught, I carefully walked myself through the steps of taking apart monsters. Once I’d gone through five cockatrices and got a decent amount of meat, I decided to stop there.

“Whew~, it’s over.”

I managed to cleanly remove the innards too, so I thought I did a pretty good job. But I wouldn’t be using the meat today. The innards, either — I was going to save those to eat later. What I was going to do now was prepare the cockatrice meat to eat tomorrow.

When I looked at the cockatrice’s bone-in thigh meat, a strong craving for roast chicken welled up inside me. More specifically, the salty-sweet stuff they start selling around Christmas.

It felt so good to take a huge bite out of those things. The food paired well with beer, too. I made it once myself; after a night of marinating in the refrigerator, the flavors were all nicely soaked in. It was delicious.

And in a happy coincidence, the place we were renting just happened to have a refrigerator-like magic tool in it.

It’s like the world’s telling me to make it, right? So, let’s start preparing to make roasted chicken leg, or rather, roasted cockatrice leg.

First, stab the bone-in cockatrice thigh with a fork to open up some holes so the flavors seep in better...

While I wanted to eat roast chicken leg, the cockatrice’s bone-in thigh cut was too big and it would be impossible for me to eat, so I decided to use a different cut.

Now, let’s open up some holes in this cut too.

Once the meat was prepared, the next step was to make the marinade.

I prepared a huge vinyl bag to marinate the bone-in cockatrice thigh cuts in. In the bag, I added sake, soy sauce, mirin, honey, and grated garlic and ginger (both from tubes) before mixing it all together in the bag. Then, I added in the meat cuts and massaged them. After that I left them to rest in the refrigerator-like magic tool overnight.

I’m really looking forward to this marinated roast chicken.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Heheheheheh, it’s finally time to cook the meat I prepared yesterday. Ohh~, looks good and ready!”

Now all I have to do is roast this in the oven.

The oven that was installed in this kitchen was big, but not enough for us.

After all, my group is made up of huge gluttons. The amount they eat is no joke.

So, I took out my magic stove and used its oven as well.

After spreading out a cooking sheet on the tray, I lined up the cuts of cockatrice meat that were soaked with flavor. Then, I put them into the preheated oven to cook. Meanwhile, I would occasionally use some extra sauce to baste the meat using a brush all while watching the roast......

“Just a little more, I think?”

After basting the meat again, I checked how it was doing. Deciding that it needed a little more time, I closed the door once again.

*Gulp*

I heard a loud sound from behind me. When I turned around......

“Fel, Dora-chan, Sui......”

The gluttonous trio were lined up, staring at the oven.

Well, it is letting off a good smell. I get how they feel, but it’ll still take a little longer.

“I-Is it done yet?”

《Agh~, this smell is driving me wild!》

《“Sui wants to hurry and eat~!》

“It still needs a little longer. I’ll serve you when it’s done, so wait over there!”

“Mmrr, hurry up.”

“Even if you tell me to do that... There are times when good food takes a while to cook.”

The gluttonous trio disappointedly returned to the living room after hearing that. Watching them from behind, I smiled exasperatedly.

“Even though ‘just a little more’ is just ten minutes...”

After watching the meat cook for a while longer......

“Right... That should be good.”

I retrieved the finished roast cockatrice from the oven.

“Mmm, smells good.”

I almost want to just bite into it now, but that hungry hungry trio is waiting in the living room for this...

I brought out the finished roast cockatrice to my gluttonous trio. They all jumped on the food as if they had been waiting for far too long.

They feasted silently, entranced. Fel was even crunching down on the bones.

Well, I can’t deny that this thing is irresistible just from the smell alone. Now then, I should eat too.

“Whoops. Before that......”

*Pssshhh*

*Glugluglug*

“Whew~, beer is so good.”

And a taste of the roast cockatrice...

“This was a huge success. It’s delicious!”

It’s not thigh meat, but it’s still good. As expected, this thick, sweet-and-salty sauce is amazing.

While I was eating the roast cockatrice, with its heavy flavor, of course......

*Glugluglug*

*Pphhaahh~*

“This! This is just the best!”

Confessions of a Dungeon Core ~Aveling’s Dungeon~

I am the core for a dungeon in a town named Aveling.

By the way, my dungeon is named after the town - hence, Aveling’s dungeon. But the town only sprouted because I was here, not the other way around. So don’t get that backwards.

Anyway, setting that aside...

Just recently, my dungeon was finally (or rather, for the first time in 200 years) conquered.

The ones who managed this were a human and an elf, along with a Fenrir, a pixie dragon, and a slime. It was a strange group of adventurers.

While I was observing this strange group, I came to understand that the human had tamed the Fenrir, pixie dragon, and slime.

If it was the long-lived elf, who was strong, I would have barely been able to believe it, but I thought it was weird for the human to have tamed a Fenrir.

For starters, are Fenrirs even tamable by humans? Fenrirs are supposed to be legendary magic beasts, right?

I had thought to use one in my dungeon too, but since I was too weak, I couldn’t produce one. How did he manage it when I couldn't?

There was the pixie dragon, too. I didn’t have any in my dungeon, but just at a glance, I could tell that he was filled with unimaginable magic power, and very strong.

Even the slime was a far cry away from the usual small fries, even though common sense says they were the type of weaklings to place around the first floor.

It didn’t seem like the human himself was that strong, but the rest of them more than made up for it, so I continued to observe them all as ones I needed to be careful of.

But still, at the time I had confidence that my dungeon would be able to deal with them. My dungeon was conquered once before, but I learned from that and continued to strengthen each of my floors so that there were no holes in my defenses, even as I expanded.

My hard work paid off, and while I can’t say I was completely satisfied, I was aware that it really came together. I followed the common guidelines for dungeons, placing weak monsters on the shallow floors to call in the adventurers (or rather, the humans that would become our nourishment) to explore deeper and wider. And the deeper they went, the stronger the monsters got, making progress harder. And I spread some undead floors around to crush the wills of the adventurers, too.

In my opinion, I achieved a perfect balance with this layout. As proof, many adventurers did actually seem to break in the undead floors.

Just like that, I continued to pile up the fruits of my efforts. This dungeon as it is now can be said to be the crystallization of all of my hard work.

No matter if there’s a Fenrir, it shouldn’t be easily beaten.

............I did think that... once upon a time.

Like, what the hell!? The speed they’re progressing at is just nonsense!

That lone makes me want to yell out my complaints, but the elf, Fenrir, pixie dragon, and slime all basically ran over all the monsters I hand-selected to fight them like they weren’t even there.

And while I was still reeling from that, they passed through the middle floors and got to the lower floors. I hadn’t seen anyone get past the 17th floor lately, but they easily went past that wall. The strength of the Fenrir, the pixie dragon, and the slime strength just wasn’t normal.

Actually, I know that Fenrirs are powerful, but are pixie dragons really supposed to be that strong?

I know they’re no pushovers, but it was way tougher than I expected.

The slime, too. When did slimes become able to shoot acid like that? Everything about that group is just ridiculous and overblown.

I panicked a little when they passed the 17th floor, but I still figured it would be okay, since I had some really ferocious monsters placed on the 20th floor and below. But they still just charged through like the monsters weren’t even there.

Then, the ridiculous group finally made it to the last floor, the 26th. At that point, I was feeling the danger, like a stone had dropped in my gut (and I don’t even have a gut).

But since the 26th floor was my last bastion of defense, I had placed down some really powerful undead there. When I remembered that, I figured that even this group couldn’t just break through them so easily. I’d deployed a whole horde of undead like ghouls, mummies, all types of skeletons, wraiths, and liches, and even an emperor lich for the last boss. My defenses were perfect.

At least, I thought they were......

Geez~, what the hell! WHAT THE HELL!!!! Isn’t that weird?! Isn’t that strength just weird?!

Even I got shivers from how easily they busted through the 26th floor. They’d finally reached the bottom level.

But I still kept telling myself it’d be fine. After all, the boss of the last level was the strongest monster I could manage to summon, a hydra. The hydra’s hardiness was on a whole other level. Of course, its strength left nothing to be desired, either. Even with a Fenrir, there was no way they’d match up to a hydra.

The hydra had nine heads, and as long as all nine of them weren’t killed at once it wouldn’t just die. Even they wouldn’t be able to kill all nine of the hydra’s heads at once, right?

............No, they did it. Easily, too. It was a Hydra, you know?! A hydra!

Not even a Fenrir would be able to attack nine heads at once, and even if the pixie dragon and slime helped, at most they’d be able to hit seven at once. So I didn’t think the hydra would die so easily, but......

The Fenrir, pixie dragon, and slime each killed three heads.

The hydra died instantly.

Instantly! Seriously, I’m just done.

At any rate, they already beat the dungeon, so there’s nothing to be done. I just have to keep making the dungeon stronger, so that it won’t get conquered again. I’ll steel my resolve again and try my best.

But for right now, just leave me alone. I hope that ridiculous group never comes into my dungeon again. That’s the only thing I wish for, wholeheartedly.

The God of All Creation Likes Japanese Sake

I poured some sake into my favorite mithril cup and took a big gulp.

“It seems to be different from what I drank last time with Earth’s God, but this is still pretty darn good. Japanese Sake is as scrumptious as I thought it would be.”

I had a pal, the god who managed a place called “Earth.” He shared some special sake he’d become a fan of recently, and it was far better than anything I’d expected.

And just when I started hankerin’ for more, I learned of a fellow by the name of Mukohda, who’d been summoned from Japan, a country from my friend’s world. It just so happened that Mukohda obtained a ‘specially interesting skill when he crossed over to my world: it was a skill to obtain goods from Earth, or more specifically, from Japan, where Mukohda hailed from.

Well, he couldn’t obtain everything, but it seemed like he could certainly obtain sake, so I politely asked him to provide me with some. And I did tell him that I wouldn’t pester him with oracles like the other gods.

After all, those idiots were ganging up on him and routinely harassing him. Honestly, how can they even call themselves gods?

And yet, Mukohda listened to their selfishness. He was truly too nice. Maybe he didn’t mind too much since he was given their blessings in return, though.

However, now that I’d learned about their hijinks, I couldn’t just let it slide. As punishment to those fools, I took all the items that Mukohda had just offered them, and placed them under house arrest for a month.

There was a storm of complaints from those half-wits, but there was no way I would cave to their bellyaching. As soon as I asked them, “Would you like to make it two months?” they instantly gave up and went back home, bawlin’ all the while.

How is it that they can be so much trouble?

“Well, that’s enough about them. Now is the time to imbibe some sake.”

The scent of fruit wafted gently from the sake-filled cup. “Words can’t do justice to this wonderful bouquet.”

Japanese sake was made from a grain called rice, but I could smell a sweet, fruit-like smell coming off of it. It was real mysterious. I liked that the fruity taste refreshed the palate and how easily it went down.

“That’s what makes it so irresistible.”

I refilled my cup with sake; it had become empty before I even realized it.

“That’s right. Mukohda said that he sent along some vittles to go with this sake, no? Lessee here......” I rifled around in the box that contained all the items I’d been given.

“This should be it. He said that this was something to be eaten as-is. If memory serves, I have to raise this tab, then pull back, and the lid should open......”

*Snap!* *Fsssss*

“Ohh, it’s open. Hm, is this some type of shellfish? Let’s try some.”

I jabbed at the shellfish, which was immersed in oil, and brought it to my mouth.

“Oh-ho! This is delicious.”

I couldn’t put in words how flavorful the shellfish was, but its savory taste spread through my mouth.

“Oh no; if I eat this, I’ll go through the sake even faster,” I said to myself, continually chugging down sake.

“Hoo boy~! I love this.”

And once again, I reached for more of the shellfish snack.

“Hm. This strong flavor goes well with sake.”

After chewing on the shellfish, I reached for my mithril cup again.

“Mm, empty already......?”

I considered calling it a day here, but the taste of this sake was just extraordinary. The feeling of hankering for a little more wouldn’t stop percolatin’ inside me.

“Holding back isn’t good for health. This should be fine once in a while... Okay, just one more.”

I reached for the bottle of sake that I’d already opened, but then the bottles I hadn’t opened yet caught my eye.

“......Let’s try a new one.”

There were still two bottles I hadn’t touched yet.

Hmmm, which one should I pick......?

“All right, it’s settled — this one.” I popped it open and poured it into my mithril cup.

“Oho! This one smells good too. But it’s different from the one before. It does have the smell of fruit, but this one is sweeter. How does it taste?”

I audibly quaffed the new sake.

“Mmm, this is quite delicious. The taste is so bracing it almost has a sharpness to it, but the mouthfeel is still round and mellow. Hmm, they’re both delicious. It’s hard to say which one I prefer.”

With the shellfish to keep me going, I steadily chugged through this cup as well.

“It’s already gone. Too bad, but I need to stop here for today.”

I really wanted to keep going, but if I continued drinking like a fish, it would all disappear down my gullet before I knew it.

Feeling like I was being pulled by the short hairs, I put away the bottles of Japanese sake.

“Well, I still have one bottle I haven’t opened, so let’s enjoy that one tomorrow. From what Earth’s God said, there’s a near infinite variety of sake, so the point is to enjoy as many of them as possible.”

Mukohda said he’d give me more, so it seems like I’ll be able to enjoy a lot of them. So I’ll look forward to that while I continue watching over Mukohda.

Mukohda’s Cooking Class Part 6

We were taking a bit of a trip on Fel’s request.

Although in all respects it might have seemed like I didn’t mind it, camping out for days on end takes its toll. So we stopped at a town, just for two or three days.

It was a small town, and you could count the number of inns on one hand. We were staying at the only one that happened to allow familiars. As always, I was borrowing the backyard to make food when......

《Hey, who is that brat?》

《Does that little pissant have something she wants out of us?》

《Dunno.》

There was a little girl of about ten years, with her brown hair in braids, peeking over at us from behind the support beam of the familiar’s shed.

If I remember right, she’s the innkeeper’s daughter, Liliana......

When I first met her, she hid behind her mother’s leg, and she seemed like a shy, quiet, well-behaved child.

Just what does Liliana want with me......?

《Hey, hey, did you want something?》 At some point Sui had moved over to Liliana’s feet, and it poked at her leg with a tentacle.

“Kyah!” Liliana, who hadn’t noticed Sui approaching her, jumped upwards in surprise.

I locked eyes with the girl.

“Uh, umm...... Sorry!” Liliana apologized before trying to run away.

I hurriedly stopped her. “Wait a second! Didn’t you have something you wanted to ask me?” Liliana, hearing my question, stopped on the spot.

“.........”

“I won’t know what you want if you just stay quiet like that. It’ll be fine, just ask,” I prodded, trying to sound as kind as possible, until Liliana finally seemed to steel herself.

“Uh, uhh, mom and dad’s anniversary is soon. So......”

...Summarizing what Liliana said, she basically wanted to make something delicious for her parents’ anniversary. That’s when she saw me cooking in the backyard and had the idea that she could ask me to teach her how to cook.

“I see. Your parents, huh?”

“Yeah...... Please, teach me how to cook,” Liliana asked, clasping her hands in front of her chest like she was praying.

What a really nice kid. Full of filial piety. Well, that’s great and all, but just how good is she at cooking? I can’t allow someone else’s child to get hurt, and that’ll affect what kind of dish I teach her, so I need to ask her.

“So, have you cooked before, Liliana?”

When I asked her, Liliana shook her head, seeming troubled.

So she’s never cooked before. “Then what can you do?”

“Uhh, I helped peel potatoes before.”

“Huh, that’s amazing,” I praised her, and Liliana started to act shy and a little embarrassed.

If she can peel potatoes at that age, that’s good enough.

“So what kind of ingredients can you get? I’ll use that to decide what to teach you.”

After a little bit of thought, Liliana replied, “I think I can get dad to share some potatoes and sausages.”

Hm, potatoes and sausages? If that’s the case, then there’s a perfect dish that uses both of them. It’s easy to make too, so Liliana can even do it herself.

“All right. Then I’ll teach you a dish you can make with potatoes and sausages, Liliana,” I said, and Liliana’s face just lit up.

For Liliana’s sake, time to open up an emergency cooking class.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“All right, the potatoes are all peeled, right?”

“Yeah! I do it all the time, so they’re perfect.”

“Then cut them in half like this, before cutting them again into thin slices.”

“Got it. I’ll try.”

With a serious expression, Liliana used her favorite knife, which she always used to peel potatoes, to cut them thin like I showed her.

If we had access to a microwave, we could cut the potatoes thicker and just heat them up, but given the lack of a microwave and the fact that I was trying to keep things simple this time, I decided to just cut them thin so that the heat would penetrate better.

“Take the thinly sliced potatoes and soak them with water like this,” I said, demonstrating with a bowl of water.

“Why?”

“Err, have you ever had potatoes turn a weird color after you cut them and just cooked them like that?”

“Oh, yeah, maybe......”

“This is so that doesn’t happen. Also, potatoes are full of starch, so if you don’t do this before you cook them, they’ll stick together, and that looks bad.”

“I see~.”

“Since you’re going to be giving this to your parents, you don’t want it to look bad, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s start cutting the sausages while they’re soaking. Do it diagonally like this.” I cut the sausages into slices about 5mm thick. Liliana tried to imitate me as she cut the sausages.

“Now that this is all done, we’re moving on to cooking. Look closely.”

~◇~◇~◇~

Oil up a frying pan and start cooking the potatoes after they’ve been dried off. Once the potatoes have turned clear around the edges, add in the sausages and give them a light sear together before seasoning with herb salt. (I really wanted to add pepper too, but pepper’s really expensive in this world. This time, I used herb salt I obtained in a town that I’d stopped by before. Liliana’s family, or in other words this inn, had their own herb salt using their own dried herbs, so I could probably get away with at least this much.)

After that, just keep pan frying until a little burnt color starts to appear. Then, the dish is finished. That’s when you need to taste test it, and then add more herb salt if the flavor is too thin.

Lastly, plate everything up, and sprinkle on some dried parsley for color. I’d already confirmed that this world had a dried herb that resembled parsley, so I didn’t think that would be a problem.

~◇~◇~◇~

“Here. This is a potato-and-sausage stir fry with herb salt seasoning.”

“Wow~!”

“How is it? It’s easy, right?”

“Yeah! Even I can do this!”

“Okay, now try eating it so you know how it tastes.” I urged her on. Liliana skewered a potato and sausage together with her fork and shoved them into her mouth.

“Issh gud.”

“That’s good to hear.”

I ate some too. As I expected, it needed pepper for the taste to really come together, but it still wasn’t bad.

Liliana and I continued chowing down, and the plate was soon empty.

“All right then Liliana, do your best.”

We’re going to be leaving this town tomorrow, after all. So this is all I can do for you.

“Thanks, mister! I’ll do my best and make my mom and dad happy!”

Come on Liliana, at least call me big bro...... If you keep calling me mister like that, that’s gonna make me sad...

While I was hanging my head in depression over Liliana’s chosen form of address, she said, “I’ll go practice on my own now,” and left.

That was when I felt a weight on my bowed head and shoulders. Fel was on my left shoulder, Dora-chan was on my right, and Sui had gotten on top of my head.

“Are you planning on just having us smell the food but not get to eat?”

《You’ll give us that food, right? Of course, right?》

《Sui wants some tooo!》

............

“Fine, fine. I’ll make some more. Will that make you happy?”

“Put in extra sausage.”

Of course, Fel asked for more sausage.

《Ohh, that’s a given.》

《Loooooots of meat!》

Dora-chan and Sui raised their voices in agreement.

“Fine, fine. I get it!”

First Time Cooking

My name is Liliana. My family runs an inn in the town of Forsius.

I wasn’t that good at talking to other people, so I couldn’t work at the reception desk like mom does, but I didn’t hate helping out where I could, like cleaning rooms after customers leave, or helping dad, who works in the cafeteria on the first floor, by peeling potatoes.

It was a lot of work sometimes, but when I helped out, I got to talk to a lot of customers, so it was fun. We got customers like merchants from way bigger towns than this one, like the capital, or adventurers that traveled from town to town a lot, and sometimes even customers from another country altogether.

I want to go to another town someday too...

Recently, a new customer started staying with us. He had a sorta strange face that you don’t really see around here. He was kinda old and had three familiars with him. There was a big wolf and a small dragon, and also a slime.

The big wolf was kinda scary, but I wanted to try touching the small dragon and the slime... I won’t do it because they might get mad if I did, though.

So the strange old adventurer guy would do strange things. He wouldn’t eat at my dad’s cafeteria, but instead he cooked for himself. And he even ate with his three familiars.

But you know, all the food he made smelled really good. So I thought that the old adventurer guy was good at cooking, and I was a little jealous of his three familiars.

But I had an idea while I was watching the good-at-cooking-old-adventurer-guy. And it was about my mom and dad’s anniversary, which was happening soon.

I always wanted to give them a present. But I could never think of something that would be good. But seeing that older adventurer cook good food, I thought it would be nice to have mom and dad eat something I made.

But I’ve never cooked before...... I’ve peeled potatoes, but actually using a knife to cut things or using fire to cook things was still too dangerous for me, so dad wouldn’t let me try it.

Even though I want to cook delicious things for mom and dad... Will that old adventurer guy teach me how to cook, I wonder?

While I was thinking about that, I was peeking in on the older adventurer guy in secret, until I got found out.

He asked me what I wanted, so I told him about my mom and dad’s anniversary. Then, I told him I wanted him to teach me to cook.

I thought it might be no use, but the old adventurer guy did actually teach me. It was something that would be fine even for me, since it was my first time.

When I told him that I would peel potatoes to help out, and I could only get potatoes and sausages as ingredients, he taught me an easy dish with just those ingredients. It was something called, “potato-and-sausage stir fry with herb salt.”

First, peel the potatoes, then cut them thin, and soak them in water...

From what the older adventurer guy told me, if I didn’t put the potatoes in water, they’d turn weird colors and stick together when I cooked them. That was the first time I ever heard that.

Then, cut the sausages diagonally. Once that’s done, put oil in a frying pan and start cooking. Ah, when you’re cooking the potatoes, wait until the edges get a little clear before putting in the sausages. Once they’re all mostly cooked, season it with salt that has dried herbs in it. Then keep cooking for a little while longer, until it's just a little bit burnt looking. That’s when it’s finished.

Then, taste it to see if it needs more salt, he said.

After that, put it all on a plate, and sprinkle some of this dried green herb on top. That’s so it looks better.

The older adventurer guy let me try some of what he made with me, and it both smelled good and was super delicious. I never knew sausages could be used like this. I mean, I totally thought sausage was just something you cooked and ate by itself.

Even though this food was really delicious, I still thought I could make it myself, so I was really happy.

Then, the day after he taught me how to cook, the older adventurer guy left town. Since he taught me how to cook, I practiced several times more by myself in secret after that.

At first I would overcook the food or I wouldn’t season it enough, but the last time I tried, it came out delicious.

And today was my mom and dad’s anniversary. It was finally time to cook for them.

◇　◇　◇　◇

“Mom, dad, wait here a little while. Don’t go anywhere, ‘kay?”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“What happened, Liliana?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry!”

I sat mom and dad down in the cafeteria and told them to wait a little.

“All right. It’s okay. It’ll be delicious as long as I do it like I did before.”

Though I was a little nervous, I began to cook the recipe taught to me by that older adventurer guy.

..................

............

......

“Whew, it’s done. And it tastes perfect.”

I put the dish, which turned out perfectly, on a plate, and I brought it out to mom and dad.

“Mom, dad, happy anniversary! I made this — try it!”

“Liliana......”

“You......”

“Hurry! Hurry!”

I urged mom and dad along cuz I wanted them to eat already.

“Liliana, this is delicious.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, of course. I wouldn’t lie. Haha..... It really is delicious, Liliana... *Sniffle*...”

“It really is, Liliana.”

“Hey mom, why is dad crying?”

“Heheheh, it’s because he’s so happy.”

“I see.”

From what mom said, dad was crying because he was so happy. Suddenly, dad looked at me even while crying.

“Hagh! ......Your dad never taught you how to cook, Liliana. Did someone else teach you this?” he asked through his tears.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Who was it?”

“Um you see, he was staying here just recently......”

I told mom and dad about the old adventurer guy with the three familiars that stayed with us recently.

“Son of a...! So it was that damn adventurer?! I’ll never let him have my Lilianaaaaa!”

“Geez, dear......”

I didn’t really understand why dad was yelling, but I was really glad that both mom and dad said it was good!

After that, our inn gained another signature dish.

Selja’s Secret

My name is Selja, and I’m almost nine years old.

There’s four people in my family: my mom, dad, and big brother. We’re working together with our neighbors, Uncle Tony’s family, as well as Tabatha and some other former adventurers, for Mr. Mukohda.

After coming to Mukohda’s house, every day’s been really fun, even though just a little while before, all I could do was worry about what would happen to us.

We’re all slaves, all of us: my family, Uncle Tony’s family, and the former adventurers too.

I thought being a slave was something way more sad and painful, but I was totally wrong.

Both mom and dad said that’s how it normally is, and that we’re only able to live this well because Mukohda, who’s like a god, bought us.

I think they’re right. After all, our life as slaves now is way better than our previous life. Before, we lived freely, but we weren’t well off.

Dad was a gardener, and he helped maintain the estates of nobles and rich merchants.

But then, mom got sick......

Dad did all he could for mom. He managed to scrounge up money for potions that were normally too expensive for us to get our hands on, and he even donated a lot of money to the church to have a priest cast healing magic. Even my big brother and I helped by taking care of the house as best as we could while mom was sick. But mom just wouldn’t get better......

And the debt from the cost of potions and donations to the church just kept piling up. Dad couldn’t keep up with what he earned just from his job......

So all of us became slaves as a family. But dad was still trying his hardest, and he asked to be sold to someone who would buy us as a family. While we were still waiting to be sold by the old man who was the slave merchant, I was really worried about what kind of person we would be sold to, and if we would be bought together as a family and stuff.

So when we finally got sold, I was so nervous I was actually feeling sick. But when I learned that we were all bought together and we didn’t have to get separated from each other, I felt just a little relieved.

It turned out we weren’t going to get separated, but I still thought that we would have to do a lot of hard and painful work, since we were still slaves. But I was going to deal with it, since at least I’d still be together with my family. I thought I would have to try my hardest, with mom still sick.

Though I was still a little nervous, we were led to the house of the man that bought us, Mukohda.

Mukohda was a really amazing adventurer with a bunch of really strong-looking familiars following him. And we were told to work at his amazingly big house. I thought we were going to be made to start working immediately, but......

My stomach rumbled, and Mukohda, who realized that I was hungry, gave us some food. It was really delicious. I was embarrassed that my stomach rumbled, but I got to eat bread that was sweeter and fluffier and more delicious than anything I’ve ever had before, so I was really happy.

I’m not sure how he did it, but it had something to do with Mukohda’s skill, which can summon lots of food or something. That’s how he got the bread, I guess.

I thought that was really amazing, that he could summon food this delicious. I figured work would be next after eating the fluffy bread, but I was wrong. Next, he showed us to where we would be living.

When I saw it, I was really surprised. I mean, it was way bigger than the house we lived in before. And there were three of those houses too. One house was for us, the other one was for Uncle Tony and his family, and the last one was for the adventurers.

He then gave us the pots and utensils and stuff we needed to live in them.

I was really surprised. I had to ask my mom and dad, “We are slaves, right?”

And after that, he even healed my mom’s sickness!

Because of all of dad’s efforts, mom’s illness stopped at her being able to barely live a normal life, but she wasn’t fully healed. If she went even a little too far, her condition would quickly worsen.

But Mukohda gave mom a potion. Mukohda said it was an elixir, and when mom drank it, her body glowed and she was healed!

All of us were so happy we cried.

That night, the “hot pot” that Mukohda fed us was really delicious... I’d never eaten fish before, but when I tried it, it was super delicious. Also, I ate the meat of a monster called “rockbird.” The adventurers were surprised since it was a really expensive meat from a monster. I wondered if it was really all right for us to eat it, since we were slaves, but Mukohda said he could get as much of it as he wanted, so we shouldn’t hold back.

The rockbird meat was so good...

After that, we started working at Mukohda’s house, but it wasn’t hard at all. In fact, every day was really fun.

Everyone — mom, dad, big brother, Uncle Tony’s family, and even the adventurers — looked like they were having fun every day, even though we were slaves.

I’m so glad that we were bought by Mukohda.

It became like a habit for mom and dad to say that they could never show their gratitude enough to Mukohda, and I thought the same way. Mukohda’s a really kind and good person, after all.

This is a secret that I haven’t told anyone yet, but when I grow up, I want to be Mukohda’s wife.

It’d be nice if that comes true...

Fel, Dora, and Sui Discuss Meat

The following conversation takes place entirely via telepathy.

“That red dragon meat we ate before was so good~...”

“Indeed. I am always reminded: dragon meat is first-rate.”

“Dragon meat was super good, wasn’t it?”

The gluttonous trio were remembering the red dragon they had the other day, entranced by the memory.

“The more I chew, the more meat juices just burst into my mouth......”

“Indeed, indeed. The higher quality the meat, the more flavor and juice it has.”

“You know, you know, it’s really good, and Sui can eat tons of it~.”

The conversation about red dragons between the three of them was lively, showing no signs of stopping.

“Dragon meat really is on another level.”

“Especially since obtaining it is so rare.”

“You say that, but you also got an earth dragon, didn’t you Fel?”

“True enough. When you get like me, as long as you know where they are, dragons are fairly easy to hunt,” Fel said, sounding somewhat proud.

In return, Dora snorted, saying, “Hmph! Brag all you want. Anyway, cooked meat gets even better when you put that steak soy sauce on, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed. It would not be too much to call that seasoning magic.”

“It’s like cheating, how dragon meat becomes even more delicious with that stuff.”

“That was so good~.”

“He says that just salt and pepper is best for tasting the flavor of the meat, and of course that is good, but having meat with steak sauce is also delectable. Especially that garlic flavored sauce; that one is just special.” As Fel spoke, drool threatened to leak from the edges of his mouth.

“So you like the garlic flavor, Fel? I like the grated vegetable flavor myself. Personally, I think the flavor of the red dragon meat pairs best with the grated vegetable-flavor steak sauce.”

“Hm, it is true that one was not bad.”

“Uhh, you know ー Sui, you know? Uhhh...... Sui liked all of them!” Sui spoke while happily bouncing around.

“Sui~, if you just say that, that ends the conversation. Well, it’s true that they were all delicious, though.”

“Fuhaha! Sui is correct, they were all delicious, that is true.”

“Oh right, I had something I wanted to ask you, Fel.”

“What is it?”

“Both the earth dragon and the red dragon were on their own level of deliciousness. Have you ever had other dragons?”

“That is what you wanted to ask?”

“Yeah. If they’re that good, wouldn’t you be interested in how other dragons taste?”

“Dora, you sure ask some strange things, even though you are also a dragon.”

“I mean, that’s true, but even if I’m a dragon, it doesn’t mean anything if they’re not a pixie dragon specifically.”

“Hm, you might be right about that.”

“So, what’s the answer?”

“Other than earth dragon and red dragon, I have eaten green dragon and blue dragon, as well as ice dragon.”

“Oohhh! That’s quite a lot!”

“Yes, well.”

Fel sounded like he was bragging, slightly.

“So, how did they taste? Are they delicious, seeing as they’re dragons?”

“Indeed, they were delicious. However, the ice dragon is of a slightly different nature to other dragons, you see. Ice dragon meat is more like fish than actual meat.”

“Whoa~, is that so? I want to try some.”

“Sui wants to try some toooo!”

“Fuhaha! There might be a chance to in the future.”

“That’d be nice.”

“Yeah~.”

“Mmm, all this talk of dragon meat has made me hungry.”

“You too, Fel? I’m the same.”

“Sui is also hungry~.”

The gluttonous trio locked eyes.

“Since we have talked about dragon meat so much, do you not think that we might as well eat dragon meat?”

“Yep, yep, you’re right. It did make me want to eat dragon meat.”

“Sui also wants dragon meat...”

“Let us push him strongly for it.”

“Agreed!”

“Let’s ask master~.”

The gluttonous trio scampered over to Mukohda with light steps.

After that, Mukohda had to field a fierce attack from the three of them saying, “We want to eat dragon meat!”