Chapter 1: Before Work

In order to maintain and defend the mansion I’d bought in Karelina, I had to buy some slaves.

I was surprised when Lambert said that, “Buying slaves is best,” but it seemed that the law regarding slaves in this country was solidly-written, and provided a much safer work environment than I imagined it would.

So, I formed a contract with the Tony and Alban families, as well as five adventurers.

I’d procured alarm clocks and taught everyone how to use them, so the next morning everyone gathered at eight o’clock, just like I’d told them.

Good, good. I like that they’re adhering to my schedule.

“All right then, let’s have breakfast.”

I’d already cooked. On the menu was vegetable consommé soup, sunny-side-up eggs, as well as lightly toasted white bread, 100% orange juice, and yogurt. I really couldn’t go along with Fel and the others and have meat right from the start of the day, so my breakfasts were always like this.

When it was just me, a lot of the time I’d just use instant soup, but today I made everything from scratch. All of it was still just really simple stuff, though.

Cut the bacon, cabbage, carrots, and onions into 1cm squares and cook them in an oiled pot. Then, add in water and set to boil before adding in some consommé bouillon cubes and simmering until the vegetables are soft. Lastly, just adjust the taste with salt and pepper to finish the vegetable consommé soup.

It was simple — a perfect soup for breakfast.

I gave it a taste test, and the flavor of the vegetables came through clearly. It was delicious.

I had everyone help me bring the food out to the dining room table. Both the Tony and Alban families seemed very excited to have eggs in the morning. The five adventurers seemed like they couldn’t wait to eat, either.

Eggs might be expensive in this world, but they were cheap through my Online Supermarket. They’d probably be really surprised if they knew that I could buy a pack of ten for only 2 copper.

I was going to have them prepare their own meals in a day or two, once they had everything they needed to get by, so I wanted to make sure to hand over lots of eggs along with all the other food I would give them.

“All right, let’s dig in.”

I’d already served my familiars their breakfast. It was meat as usual, of course.

This morning, I served them orc meat and vegetables with sweet-and-salty-miso stir fry rice bowls. They were chowing down heartily and looked like they really enjoyed them.

Now then, I should dig in myself.

I thought that, because we were having bread for breakfast, we’d need sunny-side-up eggs and sauce...... but none of the slaves were bothering to put anything on their eggs, even though I’d made sure to put out salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

“There’s pepper and Worcestershire sauce there, so put as much as you like on your eggs.”

“P-Pepper?! Having eggs for breakfast is already the height of luxury, but we can even use pepper as well......? Is this really all right, just for breakfast?”

Barthel was surprised, hearing that I’d brought out pepper, and the other adventurers all seemed to react the same way.

The former adventurers had probably all made enough money to spare some for luxuries, and unlike the Tony’s and Alban’s, they would have had some opportunities to taste pepper before. So they would know just how valuable it was.

“Oh. It’s worth a lot here, but I can buy it for cheap with my skill.”

When I said that, the idiot twins put a lot of pepper on their eggs.

Hey, that’s totally too much, right? That’s just going to ruin the egg’s taste...

Well, that’s what I thought, but the idiot twins were still scarfing down the eggs while clamoring about how good it was.

“Hey, hey, big bro Mukohda, can Lotte use it too?”

“Of course you can. This is salt and pepper, and this is Worcestershire sauce. I recommend the sauce, but you’ve probably never tasted it before, so if you’re going to try it, you should just use a little at first.”

“Okayyy!”

Lotte poured just a little bit of Worcestershire sauce on her eggs. Then, she used her fork to cut off a piece from the fried eggs and ate it.

“De-wif-shuss!!” Lotte said, trying to talk and chew with her tiny mouth at the same time.

Looks like she enjoys the Worcestershire sauce.

After seeing Lotte’s reaction, the other children — Kosti, Selja, Oliver, and Erik — all did the same thing and put Worcestershire sauce on their eggs.

I got it, though. Kids would naturally be interested in new flavors they had never tried before. The flavor of the Worcestershire sauce went over very well with the kids, and they all happily scarfed down their eggs with the sauce.

“That looks good, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

The twins were interested in the sauce, but they’d already put salt and pepper on their eggs.

......Wow, they eat fast. You already finished your eggs?!

“I’ll try the sauce.” Tabatha poured some Worcestershire sauce on her eggs.

“Yeah, this is delicious. It’s a perfect blend of saltiness, sourness, and sweetness.”

“Looks delicious. Big sis, give me a bite.”

“Me too.”

“What? You already ate your guys’ share.”

Tabatha paid no heed to the idiotic twins’ demands.

“Grrr...”

“Tch!”

............Hey, don’t look at me, you idiots. I don’t have any extra eggs for you.

Though it wasn’t just those two idiots — both Barthel and Peter had already finished their food and still looked like they wanted more.

I did prepare five slices of bread for each of them, though.

There was no other choice, so I brought out another three bags of ham and white bread. Those who hadn’t had enough quickly went for it.

“All right, you’re all done eating, right? We’re all going to go out now.”

We have the “food” and “roof” part of the three things a person needs to live. Next is clothing.

Both the Tony and Alban families basically came to me with just the clothes on their backs; the five former adventurers had weapons and armor since they needed that for their job, but other than that, they were no better off than the two families. I wouldn’t say that their clothing was worn to tatters, but they were coming apart in places, and their shoes were practically worn through. Nothing they had on could be called pretty, even as pure flattery.

Their current situation was only natural, but since they’d be working at my house from now on, I needed them to look more presentable than they currently did.

“Where are we going, big bro Mukohda~?”

“We’re going to buy clothes and shoes.”

“Clothes and shoes?! You’ll buy us new ones?”

“That’s right. Since all your clothes are so dirty.”

“Yayyy!”

Hearing that she would be getting new clothes, Lotte was bouncing up and down in happiness.

“C-Clothes are expensive, Mukohda. Are you sure?”

“You’re going to be working at my house, so I want you all to present a little better than you do right now. Of course, that applies to you adventurers too, Tabatha,” I said. Tabatha could not find any words to object, since she knew that the way they looked was a far cry from neat and tidy. “Now then, let’s go.”

With my three familiars as guards and with fourteen people in tow, we went shopping.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Hello, Lambert.”

I had taken my fourteen slaves to Lambert’s store.

“Well, if it isn’t Mukohda? Oh? So you’ve bought slaves already, I see.”

“Yes. Thank you for your advice back then. Sorry for imposing on you with so many people even though you’re busy.”

I wasn’t sure what to do since there were some shady people lurking around Lambert’s business, but I couldn’t think of a better place to buy shoes from than Lambert’s.

“Oh no, don’t worry about it. It looks like you did buy some slaves that can fight after all. They look quite reliable.”

“Yes. I had your letter of invitation, so I was introduced to some good slaves who were former adventurers.”

I mean, both Tabatha and Barthel were B-ranked, and no matter how foolish they were, the idiot twins were C-ranked. Even Peter was said to have potential even though he was only D-ranked.

“That’s good to hear. It seems those people have already found out about you, so showing them your slaves like this might be a good idea. If they know you have combat-capable slaves, then they’ll have to be more careful, too.”

That’s true. Even more so for skilled adventurers like Tabatha, probably.

“So, what do you need today?”

“About that — I’d like to order shoes for these fourteen people.”

If they’re going to keep working, I really can’t let them stay as they are...

Lambert, seeing the state of their shoes, seemed to understand.

“Certainly, I understand why you would be hesitant to let them into the house wearing those.”

Thus, Lambert picked out shoes for everyone.

“These ones here are made from red boar pelts. They’re a little bit pricey, but they’re tough and water-resistant, so they’ll last a long while. They’ve also been given a glossy treatment, as you can see, so they’ll match beautifully with any outfit.”

Lambert showed me a pair of glossy, laced, dark brown leather shoes made from red boar hide. They looked good.

I like these. It’s way better to buy something a little pricier that’ll last a while than something cheap that’ll get ruined quickly.

“All right, I’ll take them.”

“Understood. And how about these boots for the former adventurers? They’re made from the same red boar hide as the pair I just showed you, and there’s an iron plate over the toes, so not only are they tough, but they can also be used to attack even if the wearer is disarmed.” Lambert knocked on the toes of the boots as he spoke, producing a hollow metallic sound.

The five former adventurers listened to Lambert with rapt attention, their eyes on the boots.

They certainly do look tough. And that iron plate means kicks will hurt a lot.

“I’ll take those boots for all five of these ex-adventurers here.”

I bought a pair for everyone in their respective sizes. For the kids, I bought slightly too-large shoes to account for their growth.

It seemed that buying new shoes was a rare thing, so they were all really grateful.

The laced leather shoes were 1 gold and 6 silver per pair, while the boots with the iron toes were 2 gold and 4 silver per pair. In total, the shoes cost me 26 gold and 4 silver.

Though Lambert let me off with a flat 26 gold, since we’re friends. All my gratitude, my savior.

“I think I’m going to be asking them to help with the soap and shampoo and stuff, so they’ll be in your care as well.”

“All right. Understood.”

Lambert said that he would send a carriage from his shop to our house to pick up the goods when it was time to restock.

I worried about whether or not those men would attack, but the path from Lambert’s store to my house passed through the middle of town along roads that were fairly populated, so I was told that they probably wouldn’t try anything like that with so many potential witnesses around.

“If anything happens, Lambert......” I asked Lambert to shelter my fourteen slaves, and he gladly agreed.

Lambert’s been taking care of me so much on so many fronts... Let’s give him something next time as thanks.

“Alright then, thanks for taking care of me. Ah, I do have something I want to ask you. Are there any stores you recommend for buying clothes?”

“If that’s what you want, then just go straight from here and take a left on the first corner. You’ll find Martin’s Boutique there. His selection is large, so that’s my recommendation.”

Thus, we left Lambert’s shop to buy clothes.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“If that’s what you’re looking for, then this would be it.”

The owner of the store showed me a black dress with a long skirt that went down to the ankles, covered by a white apron. In other words, it was a maid uniform, in what I thought was called the Victorian style.

Martin’s Boutique, which Lambert recommended to me, did indeed have a large selection, as he said. The owner of the store apparently hailed from the town of Krehl, a place I’d visited before, and he used that connection to get good clothing.

The owner attended to us as soon as we entered the store. I asked what kind of clothes would be appropriate for each group, explaining that the women of the Tony and Alban families would manage the house, the men would work outside maintaining the grounds, and the five former adventurers would be in charge of security.

So, the maid clothes he showed me were for the women who’d be working in the house.

“This is definitely it for slaves who work in a mansion. Not only does this give off a dignified appearance, but stains won’t stand out on a black dress. And even if the apron is dirty, it can just be switched out.”

I see. So that’s why maid clothes are practical.

I bought three dresses for each of the women so they’d have extras to change into (I figured they’d be changing aprons more frequently, so I got six for each of them).

I thought that regular clothes would be better for Lotte, who was only five, but she herself said, “Lotte wants this too!” So, respecting her wishes, I got her the same maid uniform. Though this store was well-stocked in terms of variety and size, it was still surprising that they had a child’s size set of maid clothes as well.

“As for the men, this is definitely what you want.”

The owner recommended a set of olive-colored overalls for the men. The cloth looked thick and tough. I asked Tony, who used to be a gardener, about it, and apparently that was what he used to wear on the job as well.

If that’s the case, then these should be fine.

I bought each of them three sets of overalls, and six shirts since they’d probably change a lot due to sweating.

“And these should be good for the former adventurers.”

The owner showed me a pair of thick grey pants with the threads of a monster called a steel spider woven in, so they were extremely durable. They seemed like they’d be able to defend against blades around the size of a knife. Not only that, but the material was very breathable, so they were very popular with adventurers.

Huh? I kinda want some of these too. They are a little expensive, but since they’re all going to be putting their lives on the line to defend my place, it should be worth it.

I bought three pairs of pants for each of them, as well as six shirts each (and three pairs of pants for myself, of course).

As for their undergarments, I really didn’t want to impose my opinions there (especially for the women), so I had each of them choose five for themselves.

“All right then, that will be 77 gold in total.”

Clothes really do cost quite a bit, don’t they?

I paid for the clothes and left Martin’s Boutique.

The adults all seemed slightly troubled over the extremely generous treatment they were receiving, considering I just bought all of them several sets of clothes. However, I’d much prefer that they looked clean and neat, even if it cost a bit of money.

“I bought you all extra sets, so make sure you are always clean.”

Everyone nodded quietly when I said that. Still, it seemed that clothes were the same as shoes, in that it was rare to buy new ones, so they were all moved, seeing all their new clothes.

As for the men’s underwear and socks, I planned to hand over some sets of my favorite brand from my skill later, since the underwear from my Online Supermarket was cheaper and much more comfortable.

Now then, this should do it for all their daily necessities. With all this, I think I can finally start having them work and cook for themselves tomorrow.

I should hand over food to them too. For the meat, I’ll share a portion of what I have, but I’ll need to get the vegetables from the market. If that’s the case, then I guess the market’s the next stop.

I took everyone’s purchases and stored them all in my Item Box for the moment before leading our grand procession to the market.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“I think that’s all you need for your daily activities, so I’ll be having you all work starting tomorrow. Is that fine?” I asked — to no objections.

“All right then. Also, I think that from tomorrow on you all should be responsible for cooking for yourselves......”

There shouldn’t be any problems with both the Tony and Alban families. The only uncertainty is......

“Tabatha and the rest of you, will you be all right?” I asked.

The five former adventurers looked at each other.

“I’m useless at cooking.”

“Me too......”

“As if I’d be able to.”

“Same here.”

Barthel, Peter, Luke, and Irvine all spoke one after the other.

Well, it’s not as if I expected anything out of those four anyway.

“Uhhh, what about you, Tabatha?”

“Does our sis look like she can cook, Mukohda?”

“Yeah, yeah. You shouldn’t expect anything on that front from our big sis.”

Luke and Irvine continued on, excitedly saying, “That soup big sis made before was just awful, wasn’t it?” But there was a shadow sneaking up on the idiot twins......

*Gong!* *Bonk!*

The idiot twins were met with Tabatha’s fist.

These guys never learn, do they?

“If that’s the case, then you’ll all just have to rely on Aija and Thereza for your meals. Can you two do that?”

““Yes.””

Luckily the two of them had been housewives for a long time and were reliable cooks. Hence, it was decided that Aija and Thereza would work together to cook for all of them, the five former adventurers included.

With Aija’s and Thereza’s input, I bought mostly vegetables that would keep for a long time from the market — cabbages, carrots, onions, and potatoes. I bought three large bags of each.

Then, I bought some tomato-like vegetables, broccoli-like vegetables, and several types of mushrooms, though they wouldn’t last as long.

I told the two of them that they didn’t have to worry about shelf life, but they were housewives to the end. They said that it would be a waste if they went bad, so we ended up buying a lot of things that would stay fresh for a long time.

They really didn’t need to worry about that though — I was considering lending them one of my magic bags. After all, I had gotten a magic bag (extra-large) from Aveling’s dungeon as well as a magic bag (large) from my second time in Dolan’s dungeon.

Fel and the others needed the larger one for when they went hunting, but I could give the women my magic bag (large). It could fit quite a lot inside, and it also stopped time for whatever was inside it, so they wouldn’t have to worry about meat and vegetables and stuff going bad, and I wouldn’t have to worry about them going hungry while I was out traveling.

Of course, I’ll still make sure to hand over some provisions whenever I plan to leave.

Having bought mainly vegetables at the market, on the way back I bought red boar skewers at a stall for lunch. I had to buy some for Fel and the others as well, so it turned into quite the amount, but the old man who owned the cart seemed happy for the sudden windfall.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I was taking a coffee break after having a lunch consisting of the red boar skewers and white bread bought with my skill, when I had a sudden thought.

“Oh right — if you guys are gonna be working the grounds, won’t you need tools?”

I’d served everyone apple juice, so Tony put aside his apple juice and nodded. “Yes. If it’s tools you need, I think the place I always use should have them.”

I see, then maybe I should just go buy them at this store. No, wait a second. Maybe......

I opened up my Online Supermarket.

Uhhh... Gardening tools, gardening tools...... There they are.

“Can I get you to look at this, Tony?”

I had Tony look at the menu and learned that the gardening tools sold through my Online Supermarket were basically the same as the ones people used in this world. At Tony’s suggestion, I bought pruning shears, gardening shears, gardening trowels, and small sickles. I also thought they’d need scythes to cut the lawn, and stepladders (though, as I expected, the Online Supermarket didn’t sell those, so I had Tony go and buy them).

According to Tony, the shop would deliver the items to you if you asked, so there was no need for me to go with him. He told me that 4 gold would be enough to get tools for everybody, but I handed him 5 gold just in case.

“Ok then. Luke, Irvine, go with him as escorts.”

I gave the idiot twins an order, causing them to start complaining, “Why us?”

“You would have been able to buy something to eat on the way home if you had change though... If that’s the case, I’ll pick someone else......”

“Wait just a second! I’ll go! Let me go!”

“I’ll do this job as best as I can!”

You guys... Just say that from the beginning. “Right then... Tony, can you take them with you?”

“Yes.”

After I saw the three of them off, I asked those who stayed behind if they needed any other daily necessities.

“If that’s the case, then if I could get a larger pot......” Thereza spoke up, though she still sounded hesitant.

Now that I think about it, I guess the pot I gave them is a bit too small if they’re cooking for fourteen people. I only gave them small- and medium-sized pots, didn’t I? The frying pan I gave them was also only about medium-sized, so maybe I should give them a larger one, too?

Though the buildings were old, the servant’s houses did come equipped with magic stoves with two burners. So, I quickly opened up my Online Supermarket and bought larger cookware — two sets of each for Thereza and Aija, who would be in charge of the cooking.

With these, they should be able to cook for everyone.

Nobody could think of anything else, so I just told them to let me know if they found that they needed anything.

Also, that stuff about the magic stoves reminded me of something I needed to buy. The magic stoves already came with magic stones installed, but there were things that didn’t — namely, the baths.

I needed to buy magic stones for the bath tanks. I didn’t have any extra-small stones on hand, after all. But where would I buy them?

I guess I should just go ask about it at the Adventurer’s guild for now. I have something I want to ask the guildmaster for, too.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I took Fel and the others with me to the Adventurer’s guild.

The staff member who spotted me jumped up out of his seat — and the guildmaster appeared quickly after that.

“Yo, didn’t we say you’d be coming back tomorrow to pick up everything? Or did you come to take on a request?”

“No no, that’s not it. It’s something different from the sale of monsters......”

“I see. Then I’ll hear it out upstairs. All right?”

We climbed up to the guildmaster’s room on the 2nd floor.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“......Well, I came to report that I bought a house here.”

I shared my real estate dealings with the guildmaster, as well as how I had bought slaves to manage said house, and I told him about the trading company of ill-repute that was watching Lambert’s business.

“ALLLL RIGHT! YES! YES YES! NICE! Now this town has its own S-ranked adventurer!”

Hey, come on, don’t get so excited.

“Excuse me, guildmaster. I may have bought a house here, but that doesn’t mean I’ve decided to settle......”

“What’re you talking about? You not only bought a house, but you bought slaves too, right?”

“Yeah, well... That’s true, but......”

“So, like, you’ll still be traveling a lot as an adventurer, but you’ll be coming back to this town, or something?”

“Well of course, since I have a house.”

“Then doesn’t that mean you’ve decided which town to make your base?”

............Is that how it is?

“At any rate, it’s still great that an S-ranked adventurer has decided to make this place his base!”

I guess this is a really welcome turn of events for a guildmaster. Well, if that’s the case, then I guess it’ll be easier to ask for what I want.

“So, continuing the topic, if something were to happen, I’d appreciate it if you’d shelter my slaves at the Adventurer’s guild.”

I had asked Lambert for the same thing, but it’s best to have options.

“Of course. Easily done. Still, it seems like you’re mixed up in some troublesome stuff.” It seemed that the guildmaster knew of the people in question, the Staas trading company. He put on a grim expression.

“I hear that their backer is Baron Krbec, and both he and the company are real sly. Basically, it’s hard to catch on to their trails.”

From what the guildmaster said, even though Baron Krbec was just a low-ranked baron, he was still a noble, so unless one had hard evidence, there was no way to arrest him. According to the guildmaster,The people up top had been racking their brains over this too.

“Also, this is just my opinion, but the lower-ranked nobility is full of the worst kinds of people. This whole thing is just evidence of that. They should have been told about you by the king, but......”

The guildmaster surmised that they weren’t taking it seriously because, for someone as lowly ranked as a baron, he’d mostly be hearing about me through several layers of relayed messages. Also, the lower-ranked nobles, who were closest to commoners, tended to be much prouder of their noble status, the guildmaster explained with a touch of irony. Given that, they didn’t really care what happened to lowly commoners, and probably wouldn’t really care about what the Staas trading company did, since they produced a lot of profit.

“But if that’s the case, then doesn’t that mean that even if they attack me or my place, unless I have hard evidence, it’ll be impossible to punish either the Staas trading company or Baron Krbec?”

“Well, yeah.”

“It seems like the Staas trading company is slippery as all hell, so if they do attack me or my place, then they probably won’t leave any evidence that leads back to them, would they......?”

“Probably not. Even if they paid someone from the underworld to do it, they’re unlikely to hire them in a way that could be traced back to the company.”

What the hell... doesn’t that mean they’re free to attack as they like?

“Well, the best thing is to not get attacked in the first place, right? The fastest way to make sure of that is to get a backer or some sort of connection that’ll force Baron Krbec and the Staas trading company to stay their hand.”

So, it’s come to this......

I did hear that they probably wouldn’t touch Lambert’s shop directly, since he had Earl Langridge’s favor, after all.

I might have to consider something like that, too.

I considered nobles more trouble than they were worth, so I had avoided them as much as possible until now.

But considering everyone’s safety, I might have to build a connection with a noble, won’t I...... If it was just me, I have Fel and the others, so I wouldn’t be worried, but I can’t afford to shrug this off now. Especially when I’m off traveling. I’d be worried about leaving things as they are. Even if Tabatha and the other ex-adventurers are skilled, I have no idea what those guys will try.

“Do you think I’ll be able to build a connection to Earl Langridge, guildmaster?”

“I thought you’d say that. I’ll have to report that you bought a house here anyway, and you also found that mithril mine before, so it should be fine.”

Oh, things might be easier than I thought. But......

“Should I bring a gift or something, since I’m meeting him?”

“Well, of course. Presenting a gift will leave a much better impression than showing up empty-handed.”

Makes sense, huh~? But if I were to just bring soap or shampoo, it would lack impact, wouldn’t it? They’re already being sold in Lambert’s shop, so the earl probably already has some, after all.

“I wonder what would be good for a present to the earl?”

“Hmmm, when you get to be an earl you can get most things yourself...”

Right? He’s probably rich, after all.

“Would you happen to know of any rumors or anything that would tell me what he would like?”

I had my Online Supermarket, so I could probably prepare something for him according to his preferences.

“Let’s see............ Ah! Oh yeah, I remember that the earl has the same worries as me.”

“The same worries as you, guildmaster?”

“You see......”

The guildmaster passionately talked about his hair troubles.

Apparently, the guildmaster had been at this job for almost 20 years, so given his long relationship with Earl Langridge, they were close enough to talk about personal subjects. And it seemed that one of the subjects that would come up was their hair.

Even though our worlds may be different, I guess this sort of thing always comes up once you get to a certain age.

The guildmaster said that the source of his worries was the hairs he was finding on his pillow and his gradually receding hairline.

Now that he mentions it, I can see it’s receded a fair bit already.

“I’ve tried a lot of medicines, but none of them worked,” he lamented, voice laden with profound grief.

So they’re worried about hair thinning and falling out, huh? There should be something for this in my Online Supermarket, if I remember correctly......

I think I might have seen something like that while I was looking through shampoos and hair treatments for Kisharle......

“If that’s the case, I might be able to do something about it.”

*Clatter*

“WHAT?!!”

The guildmaster stood up, the look in his eyes completely different.

“H-Hey! ‘Do something about it’? Does that mean you have something like that?!!”

Wai—! You’re too worked up, guildmaster!

“I mean, well, I just might have a lead on something......”

“*Ahem* So you’ll be giving that to the earl?”

“Yes, possibly.”

“However, I think you should confirm if it works before you hand it over to the earl.”

............You just want it, don’t you?

“If you give it to him and it doesn’t end up working, the earl’s joy will be short-lived. He could become very angry, you know?”

Well, he does have a point. The effects for stuff like this won’t show themselves that quickly, but at the very least it might be good to make sure it won’t cause a scalp rash or something.

And there’s someone here who totally wants to use it, too.

“All right then, guildmaster. Will you please try it out?”

“Indeed! I will take responsibility and test it.”

The conversation ended with the agreement that I would hand the medicine over tomorrow when I came by to pick up the proceeds from the sale I made last time.

“Tomorrow for sure. Make sure you bring it.”

“I know already. Ah, right. I want some very small Water and Fire magic stones. Do you know where to buy them?”

“Very small magic stones? We sell them here.”

Since the magic tools that adventurers used in their daily lives need very small magic stones, the Adventurer’s guild stocked that size specifically.

I learned I could just buy them at the receptionist counter.

I went and bought three each of the very small Water and Fire magic stones I needed (they still cost 2 gold each even at that size) and left the Adventurer’s guild.

Once I get back, I’m gonna need to use my skill to buy some hair tonic.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Once I got home, I installed the Water and Fire magic stones in the bath tanks in the servants’ houses. I made sure to confirm that hot water would come out; it worked perfectly.

After that, I taught everyone how to use soap and shampoo. While I was doing that, I realized that they would need soap trays, water buckets, and body towels to wash themselves with, so I used my skill to buy enough for all of them.

Meanwhile, Tony and the idiot twins returned. They reported that the scythe for the lawn and the stepladder would be delivered tomorrow morning.

Dinner was a grand feast of pre-cooked foods. I had ginger-fried and miso-fried orc as well as blue bull and peppers stir fry left, so I made rice bowls out of them. I was worried about whether or not everyone would be okay with rice, but fortunately, they were all fine with it.

In that respect, I was just happy that they seemed more interested in how much Fel and the others were clearly enjoying the food. Especially the idiot twins......

“Ah! Hey! That’s Fel’s share! Your food’s over here!”

At some point, the idiot twins had started on one of the steak rice bowls I’d left aside for Fel’s extra helpings.

And of all things, they were eating steak rice bowls with Fel’s favorite steak sauce on it.

“Ah, really? Sorry, sorry. But this sure is good~.”

“My bad, my bad. But we already started, so we can finish it, right?”

*BONK* *THUNK*

As I predicted, Tabatha’s fist rained down upon them, a bit stronger than normal.

“Sorry, Mukohda. And I apologize to you, great Fel, as well. Hey! You two apologize also!!”

““Sorry...””

The idiot twins bowed to Fel in apology while rubbing the spot on their heads where they got hit.

But Fel the meat lover’s rage was not quelled......

*Rumble rumble rumble rumble*

Fel, who had his food stolen, stood in front of the two of them with an angry expression.

“Stealing my food is inexcusable. Insolent ones like you will meet their end in my jaws......”

“Wai—! Now, now, now, let’s just calm down. They both apologized, so just forgive them this time. Come on.” I hurried to stop Fel, who bared his teeth and started talking about some violent things.

And as one might expect, the two of them turned pale in fear after seeing Fel’s expression.

“You would defend these insolent fools?”

“N-No, I wouldn’t put it like that...... But they apologized, and they’re like, my slaves, right? M-More importantly, I’ll make you a more delicious steak rice bowl than the one they just ate. So just calm down, okay?”

I used telepathy to tell him, 《I’ll make you a steak rice bowl with dragon meat.》

Please, spare me from having someone die in the house I just bought.

《Fine. I will let them off for today in exchange. But these two who stole my meat will meet their comeuppance soon. Hmph!》 Fel replied ominously, giving the idiot twins a sharp glare.

Hey now. I’m just saying, but they’re my slaves, so don’t do anything too ridiculous, please.

Really. I’m begging you.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next morning, the fourteen gathered before me looked like completely different people after taking refreshing baths and wearing the new clothes and shoes I bought for them.

“Okay then. I said this yesterday, but the maintenance of the grounds will be led by Tony, while the maintenance of the main house will be headed by Aija and Thereza. The men will also be helping to repack the soaps and shampoos, and at that time you will also be led by Aija and Thereza. Tabatha will be leading security, and one person will be guarding the gates while the rest of you patrol the grounds. I’d like one of you to be on guard, or rather, on watch at night as well, so work that out among the five of you.”

After finishing dinner last night, we had had a meeting about their jobs.

For maintenance of the grounds, I had appointed Tony as the leader since he had experience.

I had Aija and Thereza lead the maintenance of the main house, as well as the repackaging of the soaps and shampoos, which would be done by all the members of the Tony and Alban families. For their part, the children would only work in the morning.

Everybody would work six days a week and rest on the seventh. The pay for the Tony and Alban families would be 1 gold a week for each family.

Their pay had been decided when we had formed the slave contract. I thought it might be too little, but Radoslav the slave merchant had said, “this much pay is already too extraordinary,” and stopped me from raising it any further.

I still think it’s far too little, but I’m paying for their food and other living expenses, so I’m coming around to thinking that it’s fine.

As for security, the men were all the type to do whatever they pleased, or go their own way on things, so I chose Tabatha, who seemed good at taking care of people, to be their leader. I had one of them guarding the gates at all times, and the rest patrolling the grounds. I wanted someone to be on watch at night too, so I needed them to work out a good system. I told them to set up a rotation, and to ensure that everyone had a day off at least every ten days.

Providing security was basically putting their health at risk, so the pay was 1 gold a week per person. I thought the pay was too little, just like with the Tony and Alban families, but according to Radoslav, “This is too much already.”

At any rate, that was how they began work.

Ah, and I also used my Online Supermarket to buy a lot of cleaning tools for Aija and Thereza. I got a set of five dust cloths, buckets, brooms, mops, handheld dusters, adhesive tape carpet cleaner, an environmentally-friendly multi-purpose detergent, and so on.

Of course, I gave them a lecture on how to use everything too.

Lotte was still really young, so I didn’t mind if she wanted to just go and play, but she took a liking to the tape, and she was having fun rolling it around.

I got multiple copies of these tools so that they could use them in their own houses as well.

After all, it feels much nicer to live in a clean house.

After I sent them all off to work, I took Fel and the others and left for the Adventurer’s guild.

Chapter 2: Panacea Hair Power

When I entered the Adventurer’s guild with Fel and the others in tow, the guildmaster appeared immediately, as if he’d been waiting for me.

“Good to see you! So, have you brought that thing?”

“I have, but before that, about the meat and my money for the sale......”

“We can handle that later. Later, I say! All right, we’re going up to my room.”

I was dragged into the guildmaster’s room without any leeway for refusal.

I know you’re anxious, guildmaster, but you’re being way too forward.

The guildmaster and I sat across from each other with a table between us. He looked at me with a gaze full of expectation.

“Great. Show it to me. I will take responsibility and test it.”

I took the hair tonic I bought from my Online Supermarket last night from my Item Box. There was no way I could hand it to him still in the plastic container, so I had moved it into a different bottle.

“Th-This is......” The guildmaster’s gaze was pinned to the bottle of hair tonic before him.

Surprisingly, the Online Supermarket stocked several kinds of hair tonics. They weren’t as strong as what would be sold in a pharmacy, but I suppose the fact that they carried several varieties showed how much demand there was for them.

I guess that just goes to show how many people are worried about losing their hair.

From the entire selection, the one I chose came in a gold-to-black gradated box. Its selling point was that it used the cells at the root to both promote hair growth and prevent further hair loss. It looked like it would work well.

“And, if you use this at the same time, you can look forward to an even greater effect.”

I revealed a shampoo from the same product line as the hair tonic; naturally, I had remembered to repackage this one into a different bottle as well. This shampoo supposedly removed excess sebum and other uncleanliness from the scalp to help the hair tonic permeate through. In other words, by using the hair tonic and shampoo from the same product line, the tonic would have a greater effect.

Last night, I bought both of them after having an, “I see,” moment, but......

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“So, using the shampoo from the same line as the hair tonic increases the effectiveness, huh?”

Hm hm, this might be good. Well, it’s not like stuff like this works right away or anything.

Of course, it’d be better if it did, but these sorts of things only started showing their effects after a while of using them.

Well, it’s an otherworld thing from my Online Supermarket, so the effects will probably be boosted......

But since this was going to be a present for the earl, it’d actually be for the best if the effects showed themselves quickly.

I tried thinking of ways to get that to happen.

“Instant effect... Medicine, some sort of liquid...... Maybe I could try mixing it with different hair tonic I can buy? No, that’s not it. Each company uses their own formulas, so if I mix them together that’ll probably just make the whole thing worse. But then I can’t think of anything I can buy that I can mix into it...... Well if there’s nothing from over there, what about something from over here? If we’re talking about liquid medicines from here, it would have to be a potion... potion... potion............ Ah! Elixir!”

What I landed on was Sui’s Special Elixir. I decided to mix it into the hair tonic I had bought with my skill.

I mean, even though Sui’s Special Elixir doesn’t extend the lifespan, it’s still a cure-all that works on everything else. Wouldn’t mixing some in make the whole thing super effective?

It was a bit simplistic to think so, but it felt true to me.

Thus, I tried adding a drop of Sui’s Special Elixir into the bottle after I repackaged the hair tonic.

When I did, the whole bottle glowed white for a second...... And the hair tonic, which used to be clear, turned a light shade of pink.

“Woah! Th-The color changed.”

My first reaction was to try using Appraisal. When I did............

【Divine Medicine: Super Hair Growth】

A divine medicine made by mixing an otherworld hair tonic and Sui’s Special Elixir (lesser version). Has an excellent effect on hair growth and hair cultivation. Especially effective on thinning or shedding hair.

To the one who has given up: with this medicine, return yourself to your youth through your hair.

“PFFT! ......” I did a spit take.

“‘D-Divine medicine’............ ‘An excellent effect on hair growth and hair cultivation’? ‘Especially effective on thinning or shedding hair’?”

W-Wow, I think I just made something amazing............ And what the hell is this last line here? ‘To the one who has given up...?’ What the hell~?

“W-Well, anyway, it doesn’t look like this’ll do anything bad, at least. At any rate, I can’t say anything until I see the effects for myself.”

Let’s hand this over to the guildmaster tomorrow and see what it does.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

And so, what I had now was the 【Divine Medicine: Super Hair Growth】 that I had made just yesterday.

From my Appraisal results, I have no doubt it’ll work, but I wonder what’ll happen......

“So there’s this one, and the other. And? How do I use these?”

“This is something called shampoo. Use this to wash your hair at night. By washing your hair with this, the medicine will permeate through your scalp better for a stronger effect,” I explained.

“I see. So I use this to wash my hair.”

“After you’ve washed your hair, dry it off carefully, and apply this hair tonic to your scalp slowly by hand. Make sure to massage it in.”

“I massage this in?”

The guildmaster’s gaze was transfixed on the Divine Medicine: Super Hair Growth before him.

“Ah, make sure you only use a little at a time. Even if you use a lot, it won’t make the effect any stronger.”

Probably.

“I’ll make sure to use it tonight.”

After the guildmaster was done speaking, he shut the bottles with the shampoo and hair tonic inside like they were priceless treasures.

“Alright then, after I receive my meat and my money downstairs, I’ll be going home.”

“Sure,” the guildmaster replied vacantly, his mind clearly somewhere else.

I know you’re thinking about the shampoo and hair tonic, but are you sure you’re all right?

I abandoned the zombie-like guildmaster to his own devices and took my leave.

After returning to the first floor, I went to the storehouse on my own and called out to old man Johan.

“Excuse me, I came for my meat.”

“Ohh, it’s you, bro. It’s all ready.”

I took the meat from the wyvern, wild bison, golden sheep, giant horned boar, rockbird, blue bull, giant turkey, and chimera I had left with him.

Hmm. It’s a large amount. Doesn’t seem like I’ll have to worry about running out for a while now, will I?

Then I got the money for the sale of everything other than the meat. I had it all broken down for me, and the total was......

“All told, it comes out to 7685 gold.”

That much, huh? I’m a little surprised.

“Our deals with you are always huge bro, but this time there was a wyvern and a chimera, so...” Seeing my surprised expression, Johan explained the price to me.

Oh right, during the breakdown I remember that the chimera parts turned into a lot of money, didn’t they? The fur, fangs, claws, venom sac, and all its other organs were useful, so they fetched a high price.

“Given the amount this time, we’ll be paying you in platinum and gold coins. The total is 7685 gold, so that’ll be 76 platinum and 85 gold coins. Please check it.”

He handed me a small sack with the platinum and gold coins inside.

“Yes, it’s all here.”

“Come back and bring some more rare stuff, you hear!”

“It all depends on what Fel and the others hunt, but I’ll come back if I get anything.”

Having received the meat and money promised to me, we left the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

It had been three days since I had handed the Divine Medicine: Super Hair Growth to the guildmaster.

In the meantime, I watched over my slaves, built up my stores of pre-cooked food, and otherwise lazed around my house. Fel was muttering complaints since he couldn’t go hunting, but he vented his stress by playing in the large grounds along with Dora-chan and Sui.

The Tonys, Albans, and former adventurers were all enthusiastic about their work. Even the kids’ group — Kosti, Selja, Oliver, Erik, and Lotte — were doing their best at working. Among them, Lotte, the youngest, spent every day rolling around from place to place.

“Lotte gets to eat good food every day, so Lotte will do her best too!” she said.

Makes sense, since I handed Aija and Thereza a magic bag full of orc, blue bull, and cockatrice meat. I guess they’re really happy about getting to eat meat every day.

I had handed over a bunch of seasonings to them, too. They told me that they were happy being able to enjoy so many flavors, as well.

“You know, Lotte loves meat with the ‘yakiniku sauce’ and ‘teriyaki sauce’! They’re really delicious~!” Lotte said emphatically.

Heheheh...

I had also given yakiniku and teriyaki sauces to Aija and Thereza, explaining that any meat they cooked with it would become delicious. It seemed like they had tried it right away.

Lastly, they got a lot of rice from me as well, which I taught them how to steam. They had apparently been copying me lately by making rice bowls.

At any rate, everyone was bursting with motivation since they were eating well. I had wondered if things would work out with those idiot twins, but it seemed that they were the type to actually do a job properly once they got started, so they were properly patrolling the grounds. It seemed that Tabatha was really holding the reins in that regard, so there were no problems at the moment.

It’d be nice if those guys just leave us alone like this, though.

In order to arrange that, I needed the guildmaster to hurry up and help me make a connection with Earl Langridge. That’s what I prepared the Divine Medicine: Super Hair Growth for.

I hope that it’s actually effective~.

I took Fel and the others with me to the Adventurer’s guild to see how the guildmaster was doing.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

As I entered the Adventurer’s guild, an employee quickly left to go announce our arrival. It didn’t take long for the guildmaster to show himself.

“Ohh~, well met! So, what do you think?”

Seeing the widely smiling guildmaster, my mouth dropped open in shock, a wide grin on his face.

“G-Guildmaster, y-your hair............”

“Heheh... How do you like it? Don’t I look more manly?” The guildmaster gushed happily.

O-Of course he’s happy.

Surprisingly, the guildmaster’s receding hair had all grown back; in fact, it now resembled a lion’s mane. Not only that, but his white hair had reverted back to brown.

After that brief exchange, we decided to resume talking at our leisure in his room on the 2nd floor.

“Wow, you’ve really changed.”

Even though it’d just been three days, his hair situation had changed dramatically.

“Yeah. It’s all thanks to the shampoo and hair tonic you gave me. That hair tonic especially has saved me.” The guildmaster began explaining his experiences using the shampoo and hair tonic.

He said that he had used the shampoo and hair tonic the night I had given them to him just like I told him to: after thoroughly washing his hair with the shampoo, he had applied and massaged the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power into his scalp little by little, before going to bed.

“I was so surprised the next morning! Completely new hair was growing in all the places that had gone bald!”

And the new hair growth was his original color, too. The guildmaster’s hair had turned white with age, but his original hair color was brown. Even the roots of his existing white hair had turned brown as well.

“This is way different from the snake oil I’ve been using up until now. It’s the real deal!”

The guildmaster, having experienced its effects firsthand, eagerly used the hair tonic in the morning as well. And as a result of using it both morning and night......

“When I woke up this morning, I found that my brown hair had grown quite long. So I took the opportunity to cut off all my white hair before I styled it.” As the guildmaster spoke, the guildmaster combed his fingers through trimmed, fluffy looking hair.

“How long has it been since my hair’s been brown? I feel like I’ve gotten ten — no, twenty years younger! GAHAHAHAHA!”

Yeah, I get why he’s so happy. He’s definitely looking younger. So hair color can make people look this different, huh? Well, it has also got volume, too. But it’s not just his hair. His whole physique looks younger, too.

It was sinking in that the line, “To the one who has given up: with this medicine, return yourself to your youth through your hair” from the Appraisal of the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power wasn’t an exaggeration.

“At any rate, it looks like it works.”

“Indeed. I’m living proof.”

“So......”

“I’m going to have to tell Earl Langridge as soon as possible. No, I need to show him my younger form as soon as possible! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

So you want to brag about how young you look, with your thick head of hair, right? I get it.

“I wonder how he’ll react when he sees me? I’m looking forward to it. Hehehe...”

Wow, just how much do you want to brag?

He’d already supplied advance notice, so the guildmaster was going to go see Earl Langridge in two or three days.

“Oh right. Once he sees this effect, he’ll probably want to see you right away. To people like us, that thing is like a medicine straight from the gods, after all. Make sure you’re prepared.”

Medicine straight from the gods, huh............? Well, that’s not wrong. This thing says, “divine medicine,” after all.

I guess it’s finally time to see Earl Langridge. I’ll make sure to be fully prepared for that.

“Also, the merchants started making a fuss after seeing me.”

Apparently, the merchants were the first ones to sense something was up, and after seeing the major change the guildmaster had undergone, they had started showing up every day — especially the merchants who were also balding. They would arrive every day in hopes of getting some for themselves, but they also smelled money to be made, so they were very persistent in asking where the guildmaster had gotten the medicine.

Well, it makes sense since he’s changed this much.

“Of course, I didn’t give them the time of day, but...... Do you have any intention of selling this stuff?”

“Hrmm... I haven’t really thought about it, but I’m not terribly opposed to it if there’s demand.”

“What?! Have you seen my head?! There’s tons of demand! I want some more! Even though I still have some of the medicine you gave me, I’d like to have several more just in case.”

The look in the guildmaster’s eyes as he started ranting was scary.

“W-Well, if I were to start selling it, I think I would do it through Lambert’s store, since we’re friends.”

“The Lambert Trading Company, huh? Tell me when you do.”

I promised the guildmaster, who was completely set on buying some for himself, that I would tell him.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After that meeting with the guildmaster, my familiars and I had a simple lunch of some meat-wrapped rice balls, which I had made three days ago, before we left town to go hunting as per Fel and the others’ request.

Since we started after lunch, we wouldn’t have much time to hunt, so we didn’t go that far away from town. Still, the three of them would probably still go pretty far after leaving me somewhere.

“I’ll be making dinner, so come back before it gets dark,” I told Fel, hanging the magic bag (extra-large) around his neck.

“Understood. Then, we will be off.”

《I’ll go get us a big one!》

《Master — Sui will go pew-pew and get lots of meat, so wait, okay—?》

The three of them said their farewells before they all ran off deep into the forest.

“Now then, let’s start cooking.”

It’d be too much bother to start cooking after they came back, so I decided to use the time Fel and the others would be away to cook; that way, we could just eat on the spot.

“What should I make......? Right. We’re outside, so why not cook up some barbecue?”

But then, what kind of meat should I use? I just got some more meat from the Adventurer’s guild, so I have quite a lot to choose from.

I looked around in my Item Box.

“Hmmm... Okay, I’ll use this today.” I took out some rockbird meat. “Today I’ll do a chick—... I mean, rockbird-centered barbecue.”

This time, I would coat the meat in barbecue sauce. I decided on a sweeter sauce with honey in it that would stay on the tongue for a while.

To make the sauce, you needed ketchup, some other sweet and savory sauce (either Worcestershire or chuno sauce; I went with chuno), honey, and grated garlic (from a tube) all mixed together. It was good with mustard powder, too. I ended up making some with and without mustard.

...After cutting the rockbird meat into nicely-sized pieces and poking holes in the meat with a fork to allow the sauce to soak in better, put the meat into a vinyl bag along with the barbecue sauce to finish up the preparations...

I also made another bag using the barbecue sauce with the mustard powder mixed in . For Fel and the others’ sakes, I prepared a lot of meat of both kinds. Even if it turned out that I made too much, they’d still be good even reheated on a frying pan.

Now all I need are the vegetables (even though the only ones who would eat them are Sui and me).

Dora-chan is okay with vegetables, but he always prefers meat, so he never eats too many, and Fel’s face scrunches up in disgust whenever he even sees one. As for Sui, although it seems like Sui likes meat more, it’ll eat vegetables too anyway.

Anyway, I guess I should buy just enough so I won’t have too much left over.

I opened up my Online Supermarket and picked out vegetables I wanted to eat.

“Yeah, I want some corn... I can just steam it with the husk on so it’s not a lot of work. Oh, and I’ll need asparagus too, right? After that~......”

I selected red bell peppers for their sweetness and eringi mushrooms for their crisp texture. I was going to coat the bell peppers in olive oil before grilling them whole, so I only needed to prepare the asparagus and eringi mushrooms.

For the asparagus, I use a peeler to take away the hard skin at the bottom, and for the eringi mushrooms, I just split them into whatever sized chunks look good.

“Now all the ingredients are ready. All I need to do is prepare the grill.”

I took out the bespoke barbecue grill I had commissioned in Dolan. After I put some charcoal I bought with my skill into the grill’s drawer......

*Rustle-rustle*

I heard the sound of rustling foliage behind me. I stopped what I was doing and got my mithril spear from my Item Box. I had Fel’s barrier around me, and I was still near town, so it shouldn’t be anything too strong, but......

I waited quietly for the enemy to show itself, expecting a goblin or orc to emerge. What appeared was............

“Huh? ...Lars?”

“Hm? If it isn’t Mukohda! What’re you doing here?!”

What came out from behind the brush were familiar faces from my past, the “Phoenix” party.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“I see. So you’re coming back from a request?”

“Yeah. It’s too early to just pack it up and go back to town, though, so we were earning some extra spending money here.”

The members of Phoenix apparently had gone out to a nearby village on a request. It seemed that a pack of grey wolves had appeared in the area, so the request was to exterminate them.

“So, Mukohda, what’re you doin’ here?”

“Ahh, for me......” I told them that I brought Fel and the others to the forest to hunt. “Still, all I do is just wait here, you know? Oh, right. Once Fel and the others come back, I’m planning to eat here. You guys should eat with us. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, after all.”

“All right then, we’ll take you up on that.”

““““Heck yeah!””””

Just like that, the members of Phoenix joined our little barbecue.

The barbecue would actually start once Fel and the others came back, so for now, I just decided to prepare a super-simple consommé soup using some cabbage and bacon (from my Item Box) to hand out to everyone.

~◇~◇~◇~

Cut the bacon into 1cm wide strips and roughly chop the cabbage; then, coat a pot with olive oil and start frying the bacon. Once it has cooked to a certain point, add in water and the consommé bouillon.

Then, add the chopped cabbage; once the cabbage has boiled, season to taste with salt and pepper to finish the dish.

~◇~◇~◇~

“Please wait a little while longer until Fel and the others come back.”

I served the finished soup.

“Oh, thanks.”

I’ll have some too.

“Still, they’re kinda late.” The one who said that while glancing at me was a certain Sidor, who happened to be dating Sandra, an employee in one of the guilds.

“We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors, you know? Like how you conquered Dolan’s dungeon and stuff.” Henk followed up, taking a sip of his consommé soup.

“Yeah, we have. We also heard that you conquered Aveling’s dungeon.” Alois spoke too, nodding in agreement.

“Hey, hey, shouldn’t you talk about how he became an S-ranked adventurer before that? I’ve been bragging that I know an S-ranked adventurer, you know?” César, the youngest in Phoenix, said with laughter.

“No, well, it’s all thanks to Fel and my other familiars......” I replied, sipping at my own bowl of consommé soup.

Even if they say all that, it’s the truth that conquering the dungeon would have been impossible without Fel and the others. I wouldn’t even have been able to rise to S-rank without them.

“Well of course, if you have familiars that strong with you...” Lars said in a serious tone, as though he was picturing Fel.

Oh yeah, that reminds me. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, and Dora-chan didn’t join me until after I left Karelina.

“You know, I got another familiar after I left town.”

“Really? What kind of monster is it?”

“Uhh, they’ll all come back eventually so I think it’d be better for you guys just to see him in the flesh.”

《We are back,》 Fel’s voice rang in my head.

“Ah, it looks like they’re back.”

My three familiars stepped out of the trees.

*Clatter* *Splatter*

Lars dropped his bowl full of consommé soup.

“D-Dragon?!”

The other members of Lars’ party still held onto their bowls of soup, but they were frozen stiff.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I introduced Dora-chan to the still spaced-out members of Phoenix.

“This is Dora-chan; he’s joined me as a familiar. He may be a dragon, but he’s a rare type of dragon called a pixie dragon, so he’s actually fully grown. Still, he’s ridiculously strong in spite of his size.”

“I... see. Man, I was surprised. For a second, I thought you got a young dragon after a Fenrir.”

Lars, he may not be a young dragon, but Dora-chan is still a dragon.

“I totally thought that too. I was like, ‘just what are you trying to do by getting even stronger than you already were’?” Henk exclaimed, causing Sidor, Alois, and César to all go, “Me too, me too.”

Well it’s not like I planned any of this. It’s more like they forced themselves onto me...

《Hey, you humans sure are rude! You know, size doesn’t mean strength! I won’t lose to any dragon that’s just huge, got it!》 Dora-chan complained telepathically.

《Now, now, now, I know how strong you are, Dora-chan. Also, if you show them what you hunted, the members of Phoenix over there will know how strong you are too, right?》

《Oh right. Hehahahahaha! I got something really huge today! Right?!》

《Indeed. We only hunted for a short time, but we managed to catch some fairly good prey.》

《Sui also went pew-pew and got lots!》

Well then, let’s see just what they got.

“Would you mind if I check what Fel and the others got before we eat?”

“Of course. We’re interested in that, too,” Lars replied, the rest of his party nodding along.

I removed the magic bag from Fel’s neck and rifled around inside.

“Is that a magic bag?”

“Yes. I got it from Aveling’s dungeon.”

“A magic bag, huh? How nice.”

“Yeah. But if we want a magic bag, we’d have to try and get it from a dungeon.”

“It would have to be a dungeon, wouldn’t it?”

“Should we try going?”

After seeing my magic bag, the members of Phoenix, who usually only operated in and around Karelina, started discussing going to a dungeon.

“Well, it’s not like they’re guaranteed to appear even when we go to a dungeon.”

I’ve been lucky enough to obtain several, but I’m pretty sure that was only because I was able to go down to the bottom levels. After all, treasure starts to appear more frequently the lower you go.

“I’ll start taking them out for now.”

“Ohh right. Sorry, sorry.”

The first monster that came out was a familiar one.

“A bloody horn-bull, I see.”

《Sui went pew-pew and got that one!》

Sui killed it, apparently. I do see what looks like the remains of an Acid Bullet on it.

《There were a whole bunch of cows Sui saw before, so Sui went and killed them because the cow meat was so good!》

《I see. You remembered well. How amazing, Sui.》

《Hehehe~.》

In all, they brought back twenty bloody horn-bulls.

It’s best to have as much of this as possible since the meat is so good.

“Twenty bloody horn-bulls huh......? Wow......”

“It’s pretty amazing seeing them all lined up like this......”

The members of Phoenix were taken aback, seeing the mass of bloody horn-bulls lined up.

Thank goodness we’re outside...

I stored the bloody horn-bulls for now, and what came out next was...... “Huh? This is pretty big. What is it......?”

What I took out was a lizard-like monster that looked to be around 5m long from head to tail.

“Th-This is......!” After seeing the lizard-like monster, Lars raised a surprised cry.

“Do you know what this is, Lars?”

“Probably. I’ve seen one once before. This is most likely an S-ranked gigant mimic chameleon.”

After hearing that it was S-ranked, the members of Phoenix were sent abuzz.

You’ve still got a while to go if just this surprises you. These guys hunt dragons without batting an eye, you see...... hahaha. Wait, this is a chameleon? Now that they mention it, it kinda looks like one.

《How about it? Amazing, right? I got this one. You know, this thing tried to eat me all cheeky-like. I got so angry I paid him back for that though!》

O-Oh. I see. Looks like you chose the wrong thing to try and eat, chameleon. R.I.P.

“Th-This is... from the Fenrir?”

“No, it looks like Dora-chan killed this one,” I replied.

The members of Phoenix all looked like their eyes would explode out of their heads in surprise. All their bugged-out gazes fixed onto Dora-chan.

《Hehe, how do you like them appools! I’m strong, get it!》 Dora-chan said while flying rings around us.

You know, the guys in Phoenix can’t hear you.

I stored the gigant mimic chameleon for the moment, and next was......

Hm? This one’s pretty big too.

I revealed a huge bird. Its beak was yellow, and it had pitch-black feathers. The bird was about 5m tall and looked like an eagle.

《That is the last one. It is a garuda. It was aiming for the cows that Sui killed, you see. So, I shot it down,》 Fel told me through telepathy.

“I’m being told that this is a garuda.”

“““““...............””””” Lars and the others stiffened up wordlessly.

“Umm, are you guys all right?”

“............Are garudas something you can even hunt?”

“First off, you don’t see them that often. We’ve been adventurers for a pretty long time, and even if we’ve heard of them, we’ve never seen any.”

“He’s right. And they’re flying monsters, too — supposedly, they fly at an unreachable height.”

“And even if you tried to go for it when it was flying low for whatever reason, you’re still going for an S-ranked monster. As if they’d ever go down that easy.”

“We’ve just seen something ridiculous, haven’t we............”

So, why are all of you looking at me? It’s not like I’m the one who killed them.

“Well, it’s Fel, right?” That’s all that needed to be said.

The members of Phoenix all looked at Fel, who was standing there calmly, and all seemed to fall into place for them.

《Hey, more importantly, I am hungry. Is the food done?》

《I’m hungry too.》

《Sui’s stomach is also empty~.》

“Well then, let’s eat.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“This is amazing~.”

“Om nom... it really is.”

“I love this sauce on the meat!”

“Yeah, they go together perfectly!”

“This kinda spicy one is just as good.”

The members of Phoenix were chowing down on the meat from my barbecue grill. My three familiars were also going to town on their own plates that were piled high with meat.

Yeah, this meat is definitely a winner. The savory and slightly sweet sauce pairs really well with the meat.

“I was feeling guilty since you said you were serving us rockbird, which is some really valuable meat, but after we saw that S-ranked gigant mimic chameleon and garuda... Now that I know that getting meat like this is nothing to you guys, all that restraint and guilt seems stupid.”

“Exactly, Lars. Don’t worry about it and eat as much as you want. That goes for all of you, too.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

““““Thanks for the feast!””””

The members of Phoenix just ate and ate. I tried recommending some vegetables to them, but of course they preferred the meat. Fel and the others didn’t fall behind Phoenix either; they all asked for more servings, one after the other.

In the end, all the vegetables were eaten by Sui and me. They were only flavored with olive oil, salt, and pepper, but the asparagus was delicious. The steamed corn I made was also satisfyingly sweet and delectable.

After a while......

“Ahhh... I ate so much.”

The members of Phoenix were full to bursting, and they were all massaging their bellies.

《Indeed, that was delectable. It only reinforces that savory meats are best.》

《Ahh I’m so full.》

《Sui is also really full! The meat was delicious~.》

All that meat I had marinated was completely gone.

Oh man~, they all eat so much. Seeing all the food cleaned out like this is actually gratifying to me too, as the one who cooked all of it. Now all I need to do is pack this all up quickly.

“Well then, let’s go back to town, shall we?”

“Sure... but wait, isn’t it too late? We won’t make it in time. So let’s just camp out here tonight and head into town tomorrow.”

“No, it’s all right. Sui, can you let these five ride you?”

《Okay — wait a second,》 Sui replied, before starting to grow.

The members of Phoenix raised surprised cries.

“Now then, will you guys get on Sui please?”

“Huh? On this slime?”

“The slime just suddenly grew...”

“Wait, what the heck is this slime?!”

“It’s not just the Fenrir and the dragon. Even Mukohda’s slime is amazing......”

“Wow~, this slime!”

“Now now, get on quickly.”

I hurried the surprised and hesitating members of Phoenix onto Sui. And just as always, I got on top of Fel......

“Okay, let’s head back to town.”

We moved at high speed. The members of Phoenix were in really high spirits after experiencing Sui’s speed and how comfortable of a ride it made for.

We made it back to the gates just as they were about to close.

“Looks like we made it.”

“Yes, barely.”

“Still, your familiars really are something, Mukohda,” Lars said in a heartfelt tone, looking at Fel and the others.

“Really.”

“Man, tamers really have it good. I wonder if I can become one if I try to now?”

“Idiot. You can’t just become a tamer like that, otherwise they’d be everywhere. You need talent.”

“But it’s so cool to have a strong familiar~.”

Lars’ companions spoke in turn.

《Are they all fools? As if a strong one like me would form a familiar contract with the likes of them so easily.》

《Yeah, exactly. You’re failures as soon as you can’t put up some good food. Hard pass on becoming the familiar of someone like that.》

《Master’s food is good.》

Ahh, of course. Thank goodness they can’t hear what Fel and the others are saying......

“Thanks for the feast today. If anything comes up, leave us a message at the Adventurer’s guild. All right then, later.”

““““Thanks for the feast! See you!””””

“Yeah, later.”

We split up with Phoenix at the gate.

“Now then, let’s head home.”

I headed back to the mansion along with Fel and the others.

Oh yeah, I never used Appraisal. Are the gigant mimic chameleon and garuda edible?

Chapter 3: I Made a Stone Oven

The morning after my reunion with Phoenix, I was taking it easy at home. And at Thereza’s request, I was building a stone oven near the servant’s houses.

Thereza had been really hesitant to ask, qualifying the request with, “If you can......”

She was apparently good at baking bread and would do so from time to time back in her own home. I kinda wanted to try out a stone oven myself, and I wanted to taste Thereza’s bread, so I quickly agreed.

Thus, I wanted to construct a stone oven, but according to Thereza, the stone oven they’d had at the Alban family house was something that had been there for generations. I tried asking Alban, but he said that he didn’t know how to make one.

I could just ask a professional to do it, but I feel like I could manage somehow with Earth magic.

So I decided to try and make a stone oven myself. I ended up going through a process of trial and error with Alban and Thereza’s input. It was pretty easy to shape the bottom platform for the firewood, but the upper part that was needed to bake the bread was dome shaped and pretty hard to get right.

I’d make it, destroy it, and have to make it again only to destroy it once more.

“Hmm, it’s not going well... I’m imagining it as a dome, but......”

The upper part always ended up warped and just didn’t want to turn into a nice smooth dome. I had used up a lot of MP already, and it was about time for my familiars to make a fuss about food.

Let’s take a lunch break before coming back to this.

I called out to my three familiars, who were laying around or playing in the grounds as they pleased.

“Heeeyy, it’s about time for food!”

Heeding my call for food, they all ran over.

We had lunch in the main house’s living room.

Today’s menu was beef bowls (pre-made with wyvern meat) with eggs on top. Everyone looked like they were enjoying the food as they chowed down. I was asked for more helpings several times before Fel and Sui were finally sated. Dora-chan was already out by that point, and he was lying face up on the carpet.

What a weird sight, seeing a dragon lying face up...... Oh crap, I need to get working on the stone oven. But I just can’t get that dome right... dome-dome-dome............ Hm?

I caught sight of Sui’s jiggly body, which was perfectly round.

Hmmm? Wait, maybe it would work if I had Sui to help?

“Hey, Sui. I’m trying to make something right now; will you help me?”

《Yeah, okay.》

I brought Sui along to where I had been trying to construct the stone oven; for some reason, Fel and Dora-chan tagged along too.

Well, they’re probably just bored.

For now, I just used Earth magic to create the base before moving on to the upper dome shape.

“Just what have you been trying to make since this morning?”

《Yeah. You’ve been making stuff and breaking it over and over again with Earth magic. What the hell are you doing?》

“I’m not playing or anything, just so you know. I’m trying to make a stone oven, got it? A stone oven. It’s for baking bread and can be used to cook a bunch of other stuff too.”

“Oh? So if you use that, you will be able to make good food?”

“If I do it right.”

I got to work making the stone oven as I talked to Fel and Dora-chan. I managed the base just fine. Picturing the dome shaped oven that would go on top, I made it slightly large and roughly shaped.

“All right. This should do it for now. Sui, could you get inside and make the inside about this big? And be careful not to break through the rock.”

《Got it. Sui will try.》

I gestured to Sui, showing how big the inside should be compared to the platform, and Sui entered the rough structure I’d made. Once inside, Sui enlarged and used acid to shape the inside surface.

《Master — is this good~?》 Sui, who was back to its original size, emerged from the inside.

Let’s see...

I peeked inside, and the empty inner dome was smooth to the touch.

“Yep, it’s looking good. It’s perfect!”

《Eheheh...》

I petted Sui, and it jiggled in happiness.

“One more thing, Sui. Can you make the outside round like this too?” I gestured in the shape of a smooth half-sphere as I asked Sui.

《Okay~.》

Sui stuck itself onto the rough, slightly warped outer surface of the dome and started to shape the outside while also making it smooth.

《Like this?》

Ohh, amazing. It took so long for me, and I couldn’t even get it right, but Sui managed it so fast.

“Yeah, it’s good. You’re amazing, Sui~. You can do anything.”

《Eheheh~. Is Sui awesome?》

“Yep. Totally awesome,” I complimented Sui, causing the slime to start bouncing happily.

Seriously, Sui really is good at everything. It’s so skilled and reliable.

“All right, is it done? Use it to make us something good right now.”

No, no, don’t just “make us something” me. Thereza needs to look at it first since she’s the one that asked for one.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Thereza,” I called out to her. She was doing repackaging work for the soaps and shampoos in the main house. The mansion had an underground storage room, and that was where I decided to keep my stock of soaps and shampoos, as well as where the repackaging work took place.

“What is it, Mukohda?”

“I’ve finished the stone oven you asked for, so I wanted you to take a look at it.”

“Huh? Already?”

Once their work reached a good stopping point, I took all the women whom I had asked to do the housework to see the finished stone oven.

“This is it. What do you think?” I asked.

Thereza took a look at it. Her eyes went wide and she stiffened.

“Huh? No good?”

“Nonono, anything but! I was just surprised that you made something so fine! Can I really use this?”

“Of course. You’re the one that asked for it, weren’t you? Ah, but I’ll probably be using it sometimes too.”

“This is yours, Mukohda, so feel free to use it whenever. I’m happy enough just being able to use it whenever it’s free!”

“Hahaha... Then, can I have you make some bread now? I want to try some.”

“Uhh, bake some now? That would be......”

According to Thereza, she would have to make a “bread base” first.

“‘Bread base’? What the heck is that?” I thought, but apparently she was referring to a yeast starter.

“When you let dried fruits soak in water for a few days, some bubbles will appear. That’s bread base, and you mix that with flour to make bread,” Thereza explained.

Oh yeah, I have heard that soaking raisins in water is one of the methods of making natural yeast, haven’t I?

From what Thereza said, bread base would need three or four days until it reached a point where it could be used to make bread, even if she started today.

Too bad.

“Let me have some when you do make bread then, Thereza.”

“Of course. I’ll let you eat as much of my bread as you like. I’m quite proud of it,” Thereza said with a smile.

Lotte was happy too, saying, “I can eat mom’s bread!”

I’m really looking forward to some fresh bread. Still, I did just make a stone oven, not using it would be......

I wanted to use it once to see how well it worked, too.

A stone oven, huh? Stone oven............ Ah! There is something I can make with a stone oven!

“All right! Then I’ll make food today with this. I’ll get ready now, so can you all heat it up?” The branches that the men, who were taking care of the grounds, had pruned would work fine for firewood.

I hurried back to the main house to prepare.

Oh man, I feel like the real deal, using a stone oven and everything. I’m so looking forward to it.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Now then, time to prepare a pizza.”

I knew how to make one, since I’d done it once before. But it was a lot of time and work. You had to knead it until the dough was smooth, and you had to let it proof and stuff, too.

If I was going to make pizza, the biggest issue was that I’d have to make a huge amount — enough for Fel and the others to have their fill too. So it would be a time sink. I could also have used baking powder instead of dry yeast to make a non-rising pizza dough, but even then, with the amount I’d need to knead and prepare, it would still be a big time sink.

“But for times like these, frozen pizza dough is just perfect. It’s served me well back home, too.”

Frozen pizza dough was just as it was named. Dough that was already frozen in the required shape so all you had to do was put on your sauce and toppings. It allowed anybody to enjoy super easy but still delicious home-made pizza.

The best part about making it yourself was customization. Even when making the standard margherita, you could freely adjust the amount of tomato sauce and cheese.

“All right, it’s decided that I’ll be using the frozen dough. As for the kind of pizza... Well, I have to make the standard margherita, right? Then, maybe I should also do a teriyaki chicken pizza for the kids. Then what else would be good? ......Oh, right.”

I looked around in my Item Box.

“Good, good. There’s still some left.”

I was referring to the familiar yellow scallop and tiger prawn-esque vermillion shrimp that I’d bought in Berléand.

Let’s use these for seafood pizza.

With that decided, I needed to buy some stuff from my Online Supermarket: the frozen dough, of course, and canned whole tomatoes for the sauce; then, some fresh basil and mini tomatoes, as well as mozzarella and a bag of mixed cheese.

Once I checked out, it all appeared in the usual cardboard box.

Now that I have all the ingredients, let’s start with making the tomato sauce. Meanwhile, if I let the dough thaw out while still in the bag, I could get to work on other stuff.

I was planning on preparing the pizza dough, tomato sauce, and ingredients so I could just let everyone choose the toppings as they liked.

But first, the tomato sauce.

~◇~◇~◇~

Put the whole tomatoes in a bowl and crush them by hand (some people would keep at it until there was no trace of the tomato itself left; I actually liked having little chunky bits in the sauce, so that was why I was doing it by hand).

Then, coat a frying pan in olive oil and put some minced garlic into the pan (I add a little extra to suit my tastes). Start cooking the garlic on low heat.

Once the contents of the pan have become fragrant, add in the crushed whole tomato to the pan and cook it down. When a decent amount of water has been cooked out, season with salt and pepper to taste to finish the tomato sauce.

~◇~◇~◇~

The tomato sauce would be used for both the margherita and the seafood pizza, so I prepared a lot of it.

After that, parboil the yellow scallops and vermillion shrimp for the seafood pizza. Once they’re parboiled, cut them down into pizza-sized bits...

Then halve the mini tomatoes...

Then, for the teriyaki chicken pizza, take some onions and cut them into thin slices...

Then it was time to move on to the main topping for this one, the teriyaki chicken (or rather, teriyaki cockatrice meat).

Take cockatrice meat that’s been cut into large bite-sized pieces and start cooking them on an oiled frying pan. While cooking, baste the meat with a teriyaki sauce made from mixing together soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar...

Given all the meat lovers I had around, I made sure to prepare a lot of this too.

“All right, this should be good.” I stored everything I made in my Item Box.

“Oh yeah, I’ll need a pizza cutter, too. I wonder if the Online Supermarket has one?”

I checked my Online Supermarket, and they did.

I’m so lucky that they have basically all the cooking utensils anyone would need.

Still, predictably, they were missing something else, so I’d have to make it myself.

“Sui, come here for a second?”

《What is it~?》

“I’d like you to make something like this.”

I explained what I wanted to Sui and had it make the item.

《Is this good?》

“Yep. It’s perfect.”

As expected, Sui made it exactly as I described.

All right. Now, on to the stone oven.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When I returned to the stone oven, the men were gathered too since they’d finished their work for the day. I had asked Thereza to heat up the oven, and she did not disappoint.

“Ah, can you call the security team over too?” I asked the kids, so they all scattered to summon Tabatha and the others, who were on watch.

After a little while, the kids returned with Tabatha’s group of five.

“All right, is everyone here? I made a stone oven, so I was thinking tonight’s dinner would be pizza.”

Everyone looked confused when I said, “pizza.”

Makes sense, it doesn’t exist in this world after all. For now, I guess it’d be fastest to just show them one and have them try it.

I used Earth magic to make a stone worktable and put a chopping board on it.

“All right then, I’ll start making one.”

First in line was the margherita. After spreading lots of tomato sauce on the thawed pizza dough, I tore off pieces of mozzarella and placed them on top before sprinkling the pizza with basil leaves.

Next was the seafood pizza. I spread tomato sauce on the dough before topping it with the parboiled yellow scallops and vermilion shrimp, as well as the halved mini tomatoes. After those were on the pizza, I added in a lot of mixed cheese.

Last was the teriyaki chicken pizza. I spread a thin layer of mayonnaise, then formed a thorough layer of thinly sliced onions on top of that, before adding the teriyaki cockatrice meat. Then, I added more mixed cheese and mayonnaise.

“...They’re like this. For now, I’m going to bake these and everyone can try some. Then you can make more to your tastes.”

Now was the time for the pizza peel that I had Sui make. Pizza peels were like huge spatulas you used to put in and take out pizzas from an oven. I had Sui make one out of mithril.

I picked up one of the pizzas with the pizza peel......

“Oh, make sure to wash your hands, everyone — using soap.”

Pizzas were meant to be eaten by hand, and they’d be making their own after this as well. It’d be terrible if their hands were still dirty.

After everyone went back to their homes, washed their hands with soap, and came back, I put the pizza into the stone oven.

The stone oven baked the pizza nicely. Once the cheese melted and the pizza dough was well done, I took it out.

Then, I put the pizza on the cutting board and used a pizza cutter to separate it into individual slices.

Lured in by the smell of the cooked pizza, I heard everyone gulp.

“Here you go, everyone just grab them as you like. For this meal, you hold the slices like so to eat. Ow, hot! ......But it’s good.”

I gave them an example using one of the slices of margherita pizza, and everyone gathered around, picking up whatever slice struck their fancy.

“Hawhh hawwh, so delicious!”

“So hot! But it’s amazingly good!”

“Whowhh, delicious!”

“I love this melty stuff~!”

It looked like everyone loved the pizza, and they were eating it even while trying to cool it down in their mouths. For the adults, the margherita was the most popular, followed by the seafood. For the children, it was far and away the teriyaki chicken.

“Hey, hurry up and give some to us.”

《Yeah!》

《Sui wants to eat too—.》

Whoops, I need to get on my familiars’ share.

“What do you want?”

“Meat, of course.”

《Meat for me.》

《Sui wants meat~.》

I shouldn’t have bothered asking.

I baked teriyaki chicken pizza for the three of them — with extra meat and cheese, of course.

And after a few minutes...

“Here, it’s done.”

...I put the pizza on a plate and served it to them.

Fel and Dora-chan dug in after cooling the food with Wind magic. Sui didn’t care about the heat, so it just kept absorbing more and more.

“Hm, this is pretty good. More.”

《I love this crispy part! I want more too!》

《Sui likes that the meat and the white melty stuff is together! Sui loves this~!》

It looked like they all loved the teriyaki chicken pizza, and they all quickly asked for more. I hurriedly made another batch and put it in the stone oven.

“Ah, there’s more ingredients there, everyone, so make more as you like. I’ll bake them,” I called out to the slaves, who all started to make their own.

The adults sure are making a lot of margheritas.

Even so, they still had distinctive tastes, so they were doing things like extra tomato sauce on one, extra mozzarella on the other, or no basil on yet another.

It seemed like Tabatha and Barthel went for seafood pizza. Tabatha had extra tomato sauce, extra seafood, and extra mini tomato toppings, but less cheese. Barthel had extra tomato sauce, seafood toppings, and cheese, but no mini tomatoes.

The children — Kosti, Selja, Oliver, Erik, and Lotte — all made teriyaki chicken pizzas. Every one of them. Kosti had extra meat and cheese, Selja had extra cheese, Oliver and Erik went with extra meat and mayonnaise, and Lotte had extra mayonnaise and cheese. Each one of them customized their own pizzas to their liking.

The idiot twins managed to wrap their heads around this easily, to my surprise, as they went half and half on a teriyaki chicken and seafood pizza. They were even bragging about it, saying, “We’re totally geniuses!” The children seemed impressed after seeing what the twins did.

I’m glad to see them all having fun.

With an eye on that scene, I kept on making extra pizzas for Fel and the other familiars. The pizza peel that Sui made was getting a huge workout.

After baking everyone’s pizzas, I finally made one for myself. I went with a margherita pizza, my favorite kind.

Oh yeah, it’s so much better fresh out of the oven.

The three factors of the crisp dough, the garlic-y tomato sauce, and mozzarella combined to elevate the deliciousness of the whole thing.

This is the best!

Everyone appeared to be enjoying the pizzas they made themselves immensely.

The pizza’s a huge success. I used frozen dough this time, but next time I should actually make the dough myself. Oh right, I should teach Aija and Thereza the recipe. It might be a good idea to hand them some dry yeast and have them actually try making one themselves, too.

The only flour here is whole wheat flour, so maybe I should get them to make pizza with that. There’s so much we can do with this, isn’t there? I’m glad I made this stone oven.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Whew, I feel so refreshed.”

I was enjoying a bath with Dora-chan and Sui.

《I really do love baths.》

《It feels good~!》

Dora-chan and Sui do love their baths. We’ve been taking daily baths lately; it’s been great.

I had bought a whole bunch of different bath additives, too. For example, today I was using a yuzu-scented bubbly type that would make the water fizzy with carbon dioxide.

Not only can you enjoy the nice scent of yuzu with this, but it also helps the body warm up and relieves fatigue.

Dora-chan and Sui were also affected by the citrusy scent, as they floated around in the water.

《Well then, we’ll be going to sleep now.》

“Sure.”

《Master — good night~.》

“Goodnight.”

Dora-chan and Sui went up to the 2nd floor.

They’ll be headed for the master bedroom. Fel’s probably already lying down on his personal futons that I laid out over the fluffy carpet in there.

Dora-chan and Sui slept in the same bed as me. The first night here, when we all slept in the same room, I thought it was fine for that one night, so I just fell asleep. I figured we could just divide the rooms later.

But somehow, we’re still all sleeping together.

Whenever it was time to sleep, they all just gathered in the master bedroom like it was normal, and when Sui would say, “Master — let’s sleep together~,” well...

Since Sui spouted such a cute line, I couldn’t bring myself to suggest that we all sleep in separate rooms.

It would just be the usual if we all slept together, so I kinda just gave in and thought: Well, whatever. It’s fine as it is already.

I felt like it was a waste since we had all these rooms to use, but I decided to just ignore that.

So, now we all slept together in the master bedroom.

I wanted to hurry up and sleep too, but I had a job to do before that —namely, offerings for Demiurge.

“Now then, what sake should I pick out today?”

I opened up my Online Supermarket, paging over to my Tenant, Liquor Shop Tanaka.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Oh~? So they’re doing something like this now.”

This time, Liquor Shop Tanaka was selling drinking comparison sets of Japanese sake. The sets consisted of famous bottles from each region, or sets of Junmai Daiginjo, Junmai, or special Honjozo sake from famous brands. It was meant for trying each bottle and comparing them.

I see. Sounds like fun. These seem like the types of alcohol Demiurge would like, so let’s pick from these today.

After browsing the list, I decided on a three-bottle set of Junmai Daiginjo sake from Yamagata. The high customer reviews were the deciding factor.

One bottle had apparently won first place in the world in the sake category at a global alcohol competition, and new bottles were only shipped out three times a year.

The next bottle was from a brewer that only made Junmai Daiginjo sake; it was made from a Yamagata original sake brewing rice, “Dewasansan.” The sake itself was supposed to have a light mouthfeel.

The last bottle was one that was stocked by a certain airline company for serving to first-class passengers.

The set seemed to be wildly popular, with reviews like, “They’re all so tasty and easy to drink,” and, “They were so good we finished them immediately,” or, “This is one luxurious set that allows you to compare Yamagata’s amazing sakes to one another.”

Demiurge seems like he would enjoy this.

Then, for future reference, I decided to look at the “Owner’s daily recommendation.” When I did......

“Oh~, rum huh?”

His recommendation for the day was rum — Japanese at that. I didn’t even know there was such a thing.

“So there’s Japanese rum......”

I read on, deeply interested, and found that Japanese rum was first brewed and sold in 1979, in Tokunoshima in Kagoshima prefecture.

Rum was brewed from sugar cane, so apparently it was more commonly brewed in southern areas like Okinawa or Kagoshima.

Certainly, when I think of rum I think of southern countries.

It seemed that Japan’s domestic rums had recently won prizes at an international show. And among those rums, the one that the owner recommended was made in Okinawa, in Minamidaitoujima. The description also explained that the rum was both coloring and additive-free, and that it was made using sugar cane grown in Minamidaitoujima.

Rum was known for its high alcohol content, but the owner recommended the one that was only made to be 25% alcohol. It was easier for those who weren’t used to rum to drink it, so he wanted people new to rum to try it. The owner suggested trying it with water or on the rocks, which gave it a great taste and bouquet with a faint sweetness.

“This looks good too. I sent him wine last time, so let’s try sending him rum this time. And I need to get that, of course......”

“That” was a premium Kantsuma set. This time I picked out a set that had a good balance of western and eastern foods.

After I checked out the cart and placed the items on a cardboard altar......

“Please accept these, Demiurge.”

＜Ohh, you came through. I’ve been having a lot of fun with these recently.＞ Demiurge sounded happy.

I’m glad he liked it.

“Like last time, I’m sending more than just Japanese sake. This time, I’m giving you rum as well. It’s strong, so please enjoy it with ice or after cutting it with water.”

＜Oh~? That’s something to look forward to. That ‘wine’ you sent last time was pretty tasty. It went well with meat and cheese.＞

It seemed like he had enjoyed the wine last time.

＜Oh yes, I need to tell you something. Their house arrests will be over soon. They’ve already experienced your products from the other world, so I bet they’ll contact you immediately. I have told them not to coerce you into anything, so if they get to be too demanding, feel free to tell me.＞

“I’ll do that, thank you.”

＜The divine realm has precious little in the way of entertainment — nothing fun really happens, you see. Even gods need to have fun. They’re not bad at heart. They might cause you some trouble, but I’m counting on you to treat them well.＞

To Demiurge, the other gods and goddesses are all like his children, so I kind of get why he said that. Though I’m not entirely moved by that......

“It’s fine. If they ask for too much I might refuse, but I don’t dislike them or anything.”

Not to mention I already received their blessings. Also, my own affection was probably the reason why I kept up with them every week after all that. I mean, if I really hated it, I would have just returned my blessings and ignored them.

＜Hearing you say that makes me really grateful. But, as I’ve said, if they get too selfish with their requests, make sure to tell me. I’ll scold them reeeallll thoroughly. Ho! Ho! Ho!＞

“Hahaha, sure. If that ever happens, I’ll report to you and have you scold them.”

The offerings that I had placed on the cardboard altar disappeared in a faint light.

“I see, so they’re going to be freed...... It’s been a while, so they’ll probably want a lot. But they did do well in enduring their punishments, all things considered.”

After all, they had gone as far as to send oracles if I was late in my offerings, before.

Now that I think about it, we’ve been together a long time. And it’ll have been a while since I last spoke to them, so maybe I’ll be a bit more lenient.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I had nothing to do for the last few days, so I just lazed around at home. Fel and the others were making a fuss about going hunting, though.

“The guildmaster said he wanted to go see Earl Langridge, so when he comes back, I have to ask him how it went. I don’t know when he’ll be back, so we can’t go far.”

Using that as a convenient excuse, I planted myself at home.

Being able to laze around the house is always a good thing.

Fel was sulking, though. He left me with an ominous proclamation, saying, “We are definitely going to a dungeon after this, got it?” But I pretended not to hear it.

Today as well, I was relaxing in the living room drinking some coffee when......

“Big bro Mukohda, you have a guest!” Lotte, entering the living room, informed me.

“Who is it?”

“Ummm, ‘the guild... master’? Is what he said.”

The guildmaster, huh? So he came all this way.

“All right then, can you show him in?”

“Okay!” Lotte said before leaving the room. After a little while, she came back with the guildmaster in tow.

“Welcome, guildmaster.”

“Yo, I’ll be making myself comfortable.”

I showed him to a seat, and the guildmaster plopped right down.

“Lotte, can you go tell your mom and the others to bring some tea?”

“Okay, got it.”

I figured coffee was a little too bitter for the people of this world, so I asked for tea.

The tea for guests was a high-quality tin of tea I had bought with my skill. I had tried drinking some before and it wasn’t very astringent, so I thought it should be fine.

“Still, this is a mighty luxurious place you bought.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to buy something like this either, but things just kind of ended up this way......”

“I heard you bought some slaves too, but I was surprised to see Tabatha of ‘Tiger Fang’ at the gates. Man, I heard that she became a slave after failing a quest, but I never expected you to buy her.”

Why do I feel like I’m being made out to be completely heartless from the way he said things......? Wait, more importantly, Tabatha’s party’s name was “Tiger Fang?” And by the fact that the guildmaster remembered that name, they must have been pretty strong.

“You really splurged, didn’t you? Buying an ex B-ranked adventurer. I heard about the Staas trading company, but I don’t think even they’d attack an active S-ranked adventurer’s house so easily.”

“That’s probably true for while we’re here, but I don’t know what will happen if we’re out traveling. I have other slaves here who can’t fight as well, you see.”

You can find idiots in any place, after all.

There’d also be the type that would be all-too-willing to do things other people would never consider. Since I was in a position where I couldn’t rule out Staas attacking us in a way that couldn’t be traced back to them, security really was important.

As it was now, Fel was here, and he was a fighting force that could defeat an entire army, so we could afford to relax.

“Well, you’ve gone and conquered two dungeons, so it probably won’t hurt your wallet at all. GAHAHA!”

“Hahaha, it’s all thanks to Fel that I’ve gotten some money.”

For now, we’ve earned enough to not have to worry about money.

“When I talked to Tabatha, she said she was thankful. Her exact words were, ‘I’m living better than I was back when I was an adventurer.’”

“No, well, we’re not some kind of sweatshop here or anything.”

“Hm? ‘Sweatshop’?”

“Never mind, don’t worry about it. You wouldn’t get it.”

While we were talking, Aija came carrying tea. It seemed there was some for me too, and as it so happened that my coffee had gone cold, so I happily took the tea.

“Enjoy.” Aija handed the guildmaster some of the tea she brewed. Giving his thanks, the guildmaster took it and drank some.

“What good tea.”

Yeah, it really was. I taught her how to brew good tea since I knew how to do so myself, and it seemed she’d been practicing.

“Well, you can probably guess, but I went to see Earl Langridge......”

The guildmaster recounted what had happened when he’d gone to see the earl. Apparently, when the earl saw the guildmaster, his eyes popped wide open. And he immediately asked, “What happened?!! What did you do?!”

Well of course. I mean, he showed up with a really thick mane of hair like he had back when he was young. And he was all the more shocked because of his own hair worries.

“So, I told him about the shampoo and hair tonic I got from you, and he bit into that subject hard.”

The guildmaster told me that he was grilled about it a lot. He was asked stuff like, “Will it work immediately?” and, “So is your hair color thanks to the hair tonic too?”

“When I told him that I got this way after three days and nights of use, he told me to hand it over immediately. Gahahaha!”

“Oh yeah, have you kept using the hair tonic every day since you got your hair back?”

“No, that stuff is really effective. If I kept using it every day, my hair would grow too long, and I’d end up having to cut it every day.”

Ohh, so it’s too effective. Yeah, having to cut your hair every day would be awful.

“So, I’ve been applying the hair tonic after properly shampooing my hair first every three days when I start having to worry about my hair falling out. That’s how I’m maintaining this current state.”

It seemed that after three days, while the hair wouldn’t start to fall out and thin, the roots would turn white again. That meant that in the guildmaster’s case, using it every three days was perfect in order to maintain his healthy hair. I gathered from what he said that the effect might differ from one person to another.

“Whoops, let’s leave me aside for now. We need to talk about the earl. So you see, the earl decided to come here.”

“......What?”

“Well, you see......”

The earl, who saw how effective the shampoo and hair tonic was, had tried to leave with the guildmaster. As you would expect, he had been stopped by his servants, but it was decided that he would be stopping by soon.

Apparently, the excuse that was created on the spot was to observe the Adventurer’s guild.

“It looks like he’s coming to observe the Adventurer’s guild that’s become the base for an S-ranked adventurer —that excuse makes it easier to talk to you.”

Hey, wait, then that means the earl is gonna come here?! I totally thought I was going to be visiting him though.

“So, the earl will probably arrive in town the day after tomorrow.”

“Huh? That’s fast.”

“Don’t say that. After seeing the effects, of course he’d be in a hurry. So that’s how it is. Please drop by the guild early in the morning the day after tomorrow.”

“All right, got it.”

I said my farewells to the guildmaster after our conversation.

The day after tomorrow, huh?

I’d already decided what to give the earl, but I hadn’t yet gotten it ready.

I can’t just repackage the stuff into a different bottle, so I’ll have to spend some time tomorrow thinking about what to do, won’t I?

Gossip: The Three Heroes ~We’re Getting Married~

“Hey, you guys ready?”

“Wait a second.”

Kanon and Rio were looking at the house we’d been renting, filled with emotion.

“We’ve lived here together for almost three months......”

“Yeah. And now that it’s time to leave, I kind of don’t want to let it go......”

I knew that feeling. We had been renting this place ever since we came to this country, and still were even when we finally got to a point where we could live comfortably, too.

It’s not like I don’t get how you guys feel, but we’re still going to be together from now on. That’s exactly why we’re leaving, too.

“Then do you want to just not go to the capital?” I said, and the two of them turned around forcefully.

“What do you think you’re saying?! There’s no way we can just not go!”

“Yeah! It’s for our precious wedding ceremony!”

“Haha! I was joking! I’ve been looking forward to having you two officially become my wives too, you know?”

Once I said that, Kanon and Rio went red in the face.

“Kaito, you idiot......”

“You say some really embarrassing things with a straight face sometimes, Kaito......”

“What the heck? It’s true, so what’s wrong with it?”

I didn’t really get what was wrong, but the two of them got even redder.

“Geez!”

“No, don’t Kanon. Kaito just totally doesn’t get it.”

“You guys are making no sense. Anyway, come on, we need to leave.”

After I said that, Kanon grabbed onto my right arm, and Rio grabbed onto my left.

So this is what they mean by flowers in both hands.

The two of them grinned as they looked at me. Seeing their smiles, I felt happy as well.

After all, it was only a little while before calm smiles like this become unthinkable.

In order to protect the smiles of Kanon and Rio, who were to be my wives, I felt that I needed to become even stronger. With that thought in mind, we set out for the capital.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Nothing really big happened to kick off our romance that led to marriage. It was inevitable that men and women would start becoming conscious of each other as members of the opposite sex if they were living under the same roof, right? Especially if they’d fought through some hard times together. Still, I was really worried about it at first.

While we were living together, I realized that I wasn’t just full of myself, and that Kanon and Rio actually liked me. I liked Kanon and Rio too, so I was honestly happy, but I couldn’t pick one over the other...... I’d never fallen in love with two people at the same time before, so I was really troubled over it.

I never expected to fall in love with two people at once, either. I had always thought that that was just being unfaithful, and I had sworn I’d never do it. But now that I was faced with that situation, I realized that I couldn’t do anything about it — I was already in love with both of them. And given that both Kanon and Rio liked me as well, I just couldn’t pick one of them over the other.

However, Kanon and Rio came to an answer before I, who was wallowing in indecisiveness, did.

One night, after having dinner, the two of them spoke up.

“It looks like you’re worrying about who to choose between Rio and I, but you don’t really have to.”

“Yeah. You don’t have to choose one of us.”

“......Wha?”

I couldn’t understand what Kanon and Rio were getting at. As if I could date the two of them at once. Something like that was unforgivable.

“He really doesn’t understand, Rio.”

“Yeah. He hasn’t realized at all, Kanon.”

Kanon and Rio looked at each other as they talked.

“Kaito, this is another world. Common sense from Japan doesn’t apply here.”

“Kanon’s right. This isn’t Japan.”

Then, the two of them explained themselves. What they told me that day was a shocking truth that peeled back the scales from my eyes.

Shockingly, this world didn’t care about monogamy. Polygamy was A-okay.

Of course, you had to have the economic ability to support your wives, but it wasn’t rare to see men who were well off with multiple wives.

In fact, it wasn’t unheard of for nobles to have four or five wives. And there were even some with about ten wives on the top end.

While I was busy being indecisive, it seemed that Kanon and Rio had an idea and looked it up.

“Even though this stuff is easy to figure out if you just look into it a little.”

“Really. But Kaito always just worries about stuff by himself.”

I was still ensnared by Japan’s common sense, so I was thinking that dating the two of them at once was not only unfaithful but something like a betrayal to my partners.

“So that’s that. You don’t have to choose between us. Of course, I wouldn’t want to share you with someone who wasn’t Rio, though.”

“Yeah, me too. I think I’m fine with sharing you because I’m doing it with Kanon.”

“Kanon, Rio......”

I’ve been indecisive and weak, haven’t I?

“Kanon, Rio, will you two be my girlfriends?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah!”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

That was how we had started dating each other. And after some research, I found that we were just at the age where marriage was acceptable.

Surprisingly, I learned that people might get married as early as age 14 or 15; on the other hand, when a woman passes 20, it was said to be too late for her.

So I put a lot of thought into the idea.

The deciding factor for me was the fact that Kanon and Rio were popular among other adventurers. Even in the Adventurer’s guild, whenever I got even a little far away there was no end of men who would come and try to hit on them. It was understandable — Kanon and Rio were so beautiful — but I really didn’t like it.

But not even adventurer guys would try to lay their hands on someone else’s wife, so I couldn’t wish for anything better than being married to both Kanon and Rio.

That was why I proposed to the two of them. I gave them engagement rings and everything. There was no tradition of exchanging rings in this world, but I felt like a proposal really needed rings anyway. I used up all the money I’d saved since I had become an adventurer here and bought them: an emerald ring for Kanon, who was born in May, and a ruby ring for Rio, who was born in July.

I didn’t have too much in the way of savings, so the stones were small, but the two of them were very happy.

And of course, the two of them said yes to my proposal.

In this world, since there was no such thing as a family register or anything like that, as long as you pledged to each other in front of a priest in a church, it was official.

Normally you would go to a church dedicated to the god you believed in, but it seemed any church was fine for those who didn’t worship any gods in particular. It looked like people were really accommodating in that aspect (although that was only true in this country).

As for other countries that guaranteed freedom of religion, it seemed that there were only the countries of Erman and Leonhardt to the east, and the newly founded Quine Republic that was formed out of a group of small countries to the south. When I heard that, it really impressed on me how lucky we were to have run away to this place.

I was considering which church to go to, since we had a lot of different options in this town, when Kanon and Rio stopped me.

“This is an important once-in-a-lifetime thing, and since we’re doing this either way, I want to have the ceremony in a church in the capital. A while back, I heard that the churches in the capital are really big and pretty.”

“I want to have the ceremony in the capital too. Apparently, it’s really recommended to use the Goddess of Earth’s church. I heard that she has a lot of believers because this place has really strong agriculture, and so it’s the prettiest among the churches.”

It seemed that Kanon and Rio had really done some digging.

“I heard about the Goddess of Earth’s church too! I heard that the Goddess of Earth symbolizes abundant harvest, but that also means being blessed with children and having a happy marriage. So that’s why her church is the most popular for marriages.”

“Yeah! It’s still a bit too early for children, but I wanna be happily married forever!”

It seemed that both Kanon and Rio were set on having the wedding ceremony at the Goddess of Earth’s church in the capital.

But marriage ceremonies are really simple; all you’re doing is pledging your vows in front of a priest...... Well, it’s a man’s job to grant the wishes of his wives anyway, right?

“All right then, let’s go to the capital.”

““Yeah!””

Just like that, our trip to the capital was confirmed. We had talked about traveling to a bunch of different towns before too, so I was already looking forward to seeing the capital.

Chapter 4: Nobles Are Scary. Nobles Are Super Scary!

It was finally time for Earl Langridge to come. Today, the Adventurer’s guild was packed even this early in the morning.

“The earl is coming today. But, he’s here to observe, so you all act as usual,” the guildmaster warned his employees and the other adventurers.

Meanwhile, the earl had arrived. As one might expect, when he came in, the entire guild turned eerily silent until the earl himself said, “I am here to observe today. Go about your business as you normally would,” so everything returned to normal, though with an awkward feeling.

The earl was quite big, and he looked to be in his mid-40’s. As for his looks, he seemed like a handsome-yet-stern guy. He resembled the fifth 007 — an insanely cool-looking middle-aged man. Anyone would be jealous of someone who looked that good.

But my gaze kept going, and when I got to the top of his head............

He was balding beautifully. His hair was brown, but his hairstyle looked more like how the first 007 looks today. Since he’d be really cool otherwise, the feeling of disappointment from that was all the more immeasurable. Of course he’d want to use something immediately after seeing what happened to the guildmaster if he was like that.

I felt like I was being rude, but I totally understood why he wanted the tonic after seeing the earl in person.

After that, since his excuse was that of observation, the earl was led on a tour of the Adventurer’s guild by the guildmaster. Once that was over, the two of them went up to the guildmaster’s room on the 2nd floor.

Of course, my familiars and I were along for the ride.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Earl Langridge, this is the S-ranked adventurer, Mukohda.”

The guildmaster introduced me, and I gave my own greeting in turn.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Earl Langridge. My name is Mukohda.”

“Well met. I have heard many rumors about you. So, that over there is the Fenrir?”

None of my three familiars seemed to care that the earl was present, and they were all sleeping clumped together behind my seat.

“Hey! You’re being rude to the earl! Wake up!”

Seeing how Fel and the others were acting, the earl’s attendants lost their temper.

“Shut up, human. How dare a human like you order I, a Fenrir, to do anything? Just who do you think you are?” Fel said in a low voice, menacing them.

All right, all right, stop baring your teeth. Like you’re one to talk Fel. Just what do you think you are?

“Eep...!”

Ahh~, look, the retainers have totally turned pale. They’re shivering so much they might just fall over.

“Calm down, Fel.”

“Hmph! Those puny humans are the ones that tried to order I, a Fenrir, to do something. They are too big for their britches. Right now, you are the only one whose words I would consider heeding. I will absolutely not stand for other humans telling me what to do. If any of you keep offering insolence to me, I will destroy this entire town. No, this entire country.”

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

Fel, come on. Just shut up for a second. And would you quit saying such scary shit? Like destroying towns or countries? Like, everyone’s gone totally silent because of that. And can’t you see, the retainers there look like they’re about to faint. They’ve fallen over and everything. Even the earl, the knights who were with him, and the guildmaster are all looking pale. What am I supposed to do with this atmosphere?

“Uhhh, ehh... Well, he is a Fenrir, so if you would watch what you say...... Of course, I’ll restrain him as well as I can, but I can’t guarantee anything if all the blood rushes to his head. I’m really sorry......”

I don’t think Fel would do that, though. But he does actually have the power to blow away a town or even an entire country.

“Y-Yeah, understood. Right, everyone?”

When the earl spoke, everyone else nodded in agreement. The fallen retainers had been carried out at some point and were no longer around.

“You don’t need to be so formal, Mukohda. We will act as the king has proclaimed. You will be free to act as you please in this country. And we will never attempt to coerce you, since keeping the Fenrir here is of national interest.”

“Thank you very much. Hearing you say that puts me at ease. I feel like I can stay in this country safely.”

“And having you set up a base here, in my land, is a wonderful thing.” The earl grinned widely.

The earl said that Fel being in this country was of national interest, so that probably meant that the fact that I set up a residence here would help him politically.

Well, as long as he doesn’t do anything to us directly, I don’t mind being used like that, I guess.

“Anyway, I would like to change the subject. That medicine......”

Ah, right. My present to the earl.

“I have prepared it for you. Please, take it.”

I took out the medicine I’d prepared yesterday from my Item Box. It was a set of presents packaged into a chest I got from a dungeon. After some thought on what would be a nice way to package everything, I had landed on this. I ended up using a mimic’s treasure chest (large) I got from Dolan’s dungeon; the chest had some gemstone decorations, so it looked good.

“Inside, you’ll find soap, shampoo, hair treatment, and a hair pack.”

Thinking that if there was too little, it’d be a poor present, I had packed the chest full.

“These are products sold at Lambert’s shop, right? My wife and daughter love using these. I will gladly take it.”

It seemed that the earl’s wife and daughter were good customers of Lambert’s, so I suppose it was only natural that they had used them before.

“And this is......”

I placed a second small chest in front of the earl. This was also a treasure chest I obtained from Dolan.

In order to make it feel special, I had put the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power that the earl so desperately wanted inside.

Of course, I had also included the shampoo that would amplify the effects. I presented him with two bottles of each.

“Ohh! Is this it?!”

The earl opened the chest, and he picked up the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power, his eyes fixed on the bottle.

“If I use this, my hair will become like Willem’s, right?” the earl asked me, looking deadly serious.

Earl, that look is scary...

“The guildmaster told me that it affects people differently, but there’s no doubt your hair will grow,” I said, nodding confidently.

I mean, it’s made with Sui’s special elixir. And even with Appraisal, it says that it’s got a powerful hair growth effect — “a divine medicine for thinning or shedding hair.”

The effects were obvious with one look at the guildmaster.

“Hm. Then I will try it today.”

And so I taught him how to use it.

“The social season is close at hand. I was lucky to be able to get my hands on this before then.” The earl grinned once again.

Seems like nobles compete on looks, too.

The earl used to be a handsome guy, but the feeling of disappointment I get looking at him now is no joke. However, with the power of the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power, he should be able to go back to being a stern, dapper older man.

I bet a guy like that just overflows with mature glamor, so he seems like he’d be really popular. Huh? Should I not have handed over that Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power?

That was what I wondered in the depths of my heart, before the earl spoke up.

“By the way, I’ve heard a little about this from Willem. It seems you are being troubled by some shady people?”

The guildmaster must have told the earl a little about my situation.

“Yes. It seems to be related to the soaps and shampoos. They haven’t tried anything directly yet, but......”

“Be at ease. I’ll make sure they won’t dare do anything to you or yours, Mukohda. It might be time to collaborate with the capital and crush them once and for all. The awful rumors about them have been going on for a while. They’re already unforgivable. The capital will probably happily help.”

Did he just say something really scary with a huge smile on his face, like he was talking about breakfast? He’s going to crush Baron Krbec and the Staas trading company, right? Nobles are scary. Super scary.

“Oh, yes. Would you be willing to provide me with this regularly?” the earl asked me, cradling the chest with the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power inside it like it was his precious treasure.

Whaaat? You were just talking about crushing someone, and now you’re talking about that? You’re changing the subject way too easily, Earl.

“S-Sure. I was thinking of asking the Lambert trading company when I want to sell it.”

“Hm, if you were to sell something like this, it should not be for everyone. Make sure you talk this over with Lambert carefully.”

I had only vaguely thought that if I was going to sell it, it would have to be through Lambert’s store, but the earl might be right. Even though it was only a little, there was elixir in it, so I would have to set the price high...

“I think you already understand, but I get priority for this. Understood?”

“Yes, of course.”

I know already, Sir Earl.

After all that, the earl left. But as he was leaving the Adventurer’s guild, we put on a little show. Of course, the guildmaster and I saw him off, and at that time we had everyone as a witness......

“It’s a great thing, to have an S-ranked adventurer residing in my territory. Mukohda, feel free to call on me whenever you need anything, no matter how small. I’ll come to help as quickly as possible.”

The earl smiled widely as he spoke, patting my shoulder.

“All right, I’ll be relying on you if I need anything,” I replied to the earl with a smile as well.

The crowd, who saw this exchange, probably thought I was close friends with the earl.

Then, Earl Langridge rode off in his carriage.

We stood there until the Earl’s carriage was no longer visible. Then, I asked the guildmaster something.

“Guildmaster.”

“What’s up?”

“Back there, when the earl talked about crushing them. Was he being serious?”

“Well, if he went that far, he probably was.”

“......Both Baron Krbec and the Staas trading company?”

“Probably. He said he would collaborate with the capital, so neither will be able to get away. Especially for Baron Krbec. He’s been overlooked up until now because he’s nobility, but that probably won’t fly this time. If the country’s going to be seriously doing some digging, that means they have no intention of being lenient. They’ll crush his entire house, and the Staas trading company’s leadership, from the president on down, will probably be made into criminal slaves and sent to the mines.”

Urgh............

I freaked out a little as the guildmaster continued, “They’ve been going too far. They’re getting what they deserve.” And that was that.

Well, I’ve heard a lot about the bad things they’ve been doing, so they probably do deserve it. But you know, crushing an entire family and making them into criminal slaves is...... you know?

“If we compared you, with your Fenrir, to Baron Krbec and the Staas trading company, it’s very clear which one is of more benefit to the country.”

Whaaat, it’s our fault? But I didn’t really even do anything.

“Now, now, don’t worry about it. Baron Krbec and the Staas trading company will be dealt with. And they probably won’t be able to do anything to you. So just relax and enjoy your life and adventurer activities here. I’m counting on you!”

Counting on me? Sigh... Well, it’s great that one of the things I’ve been worrying about is taken care of. But now I have no reason to stay at home.

“Fel and the others will probably start bothering me about dungeons......” I muttered to myself, looking up at the 2nd floor where Fel and the others were still at. They were still napping in the guildmaster’s room and hadn’t bothered to come down with us to see the earl off.

They’re all self-centered to the end.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

It was the day after the earl stopped by the Adventurer’s guild. Fel spoke up after eating his fill of a miso-fried orc rice bowl for breakfast.

“All right. We are going to a dungeon.”

As I suspected, once all my business was taken care of, Fel immediately brought up the subject of a dungeon.

《Oh! We’re going to a dungeon?》

《Dungeon! Dungeon!》

Hearing that, both Dora-chan and Sui started going on about dungeons too.

“No no, we’re not going. I still haven’t gotten the wyvern mantle I ordered from Lambert.”

That’s right. The mantle. That was also one of the reasons why I came back to Karelina. I’ve been looking forward to the mantle, too.

“Mrr, how boring.”

《Whaaat, we’re not going to the dungeon?》

《Dungeon...》

Man, everyone likes dungeons. I don’t think a dangerous place like that is something anyone in their right mind would enter willingly, though. I’d really rather just take it easy at home. Still, if we just stayed home all the time, Fel and the others would start building up stress. Just when I started considering taking them out to hunt...

“““Good morning.”””

“Good morning, big bro Mukohda!”

...Aija, Thereza, Selja, and Lotte, the youngest, arrived to start working.

“Good morning, everyone.”

They all seemed to be carrying something......

“Here you go, big bro Mukohda. It’s bread that mom made!”

“Ohh, Thereza’s bread? Thanks!” I received the bread from Lotte.

“Oh, it’s still warm.” It must have been fresh out of the oven.

“We thought Fel and the others would want some, so we brought over a lot.” Thereza smiled.

So they’re all carrying bread. Wow, they really baked a lot. That’s wonderful.

“I tried baking two kinds of bread using the bread base I made and the bread base you gave me, Mukohda.”

“Hmm~, is that so? I’m looking forward to it.”

I had everyone bring the bread they were carrying over to the kitchen.

“All right then. We’ll get to cleaning.”

“Thanks~.”

Aija, Thereza, Selja, and Lotte all went down to the basement room where the cleaning tools were kept. Most of the cleaning tools kept here were ones bought with my skill, so I usually had them kept out of sight.

“Now then, let’s try some right now.”

Each loaf was round, and around 20cm in diameter. It really seemed like bread from the countryside. It was bread made with whole wheat flour, which was common in this world.

I cut a slice and tried the bread plain first.

“Thereza’s natural yeast bread is dense and hard.”

But, maybe something this hard is actually perfect to enjoy the whole wheat flour’s wholesome and deep flavor. It’s fresh out of the oven, so the crust is still flaky and crisp. Fantastic!

Next was the bread made out of the dry yeast I gave her.

“This one is softer and fluffier than the one Thereza made with her natural yeast. Lightly toasting this would bring out the smell of the whole wheat better. It’d probably be amazing.”

Either way, both kinds of bread would definitely go well with something salty.

If I remember right, I should have some cheese and ham in my Item Box...... There it is.

I sandwiched some ham and cheese between some bread, and chomped into it.

“Ohh~, as I thought. Both breads go great with a salty flavor!”

This would be perfect for a really hearty sandwich with meat, I think. Hm, sandwiches, huh......? All right, let’s have a picnic today!

I was going to take Fel and the others out hunting anyway, so this would be better if we were going outside of town.

The weather is good today, too. It’s perfect for picnics. I’ll just have them drop me off on some grassy field and I’ll make some nice sandwiches there. Meanwhile, Fel and the others can have fun hunting. Yep, that sounds perfect. All right, let’s do it.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“All right then, I’ll get it ready, so don’t be too late.”

“I know. Make sure you cook a lot.”

《I’m eating lots too, got it?》

“Yeah, I get it.”

We were currently on the huge stretch of plains to the west of town so that Fel and Dora-chan could hunt in the nearby forest. It was the same place we had exterminated that herd of bloody horn-bulls before. Since this was one of the hunting grounds for beginner adventurers, I could see distant adventurers peering this way.

《Master — Sui will go play, okay?》 Sui “ran” (or more like crawled) around the plains. It said it wanted to play, so it was abstaining from hunting.

“Sure. Ah, don’t go too far, okay? Also, there are other adventurers here so be careful. You’re stronger than they are, so don’t attack them.”

If they took an attack from Sui, then the beginner adventurers would die instantly.

《Okaayyy.》 Sui replied happily before disappearing into the grass.

“Now then, I should get to cooking.”

I brought the magic stove out from my Item Box.

As for the sandwiches I’ll be making...... it’s going to be super luxurious dragon steak sandwiches and boiled pork sandwiches using orc meat.

I figured it was nice to use really good meat every once in a while, so I decided on earth dragon meat for the dragon steak sandwich, and orc general meat for the boiled pork sandwich. I normally used regular orc meat, so I had a decent amount of orc general meat to spare. And this would be the first dragon meat in a while, so my familiars were excited to eat it.

I’m kind of worried. I don’t know if the bread Thereza shared with me will be enough.

I had pretty much all the ingredients I needed on hand, so all I needed to buy with my skill were some vegetables I was missing.

“All right, then let’s start with the boiled pork since that’ll take longer.”

Place a chunk of orc general meat into a pot and add in enough water to submerge the meat. Then throw in some spring onions that have been cut into bite-sized pieces as well as some thinly sliced ginger, sake, and salt. Once everything is in the pot, start heating it.

Once the pot is brought to a boil, make sure to scoop out any scum that forms. Then, set the heat to low and continue boiling for about thirty to forty minutes to allow the heat to penetrate all the way through the ingredients.

Meanwhile, I started on the dragon steak sandwich.

Simple is best when it comes to dragon steak. Simply grill some earth dragon meat that’s been lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, and once it’s coated in steak sauce, sandwich it between some of the lightly toasted and buttered bread baked by Thereza (the ones made with dry yeast).

There were no vegetables — just meat and bread.

I believe the combination between the savory and very wholesome tasting bread and the hearty and delicious dragon meat will make for the best duo.

For the steak sauce, I decided against the usual product line and went with something different.

Of course, the usual sauces were delicious enough, but with this bread, I figured a soy-sauce-based steak sauce flavored with black pepper and roasted garlic would pair well. I’d bought and used this sauce several times, and it had quite a lot of the black pepper flavor and spiciness. It was great.

“Great. It’s done. Now let’s try some~.”

*Chomp*

I bit into the dragon steak sandwich I had just finished.

“Mmmmmmm! It’s amazing!!”

It was delicious (though there was no chance it wouldn’t be), and I had no complaints.

“Ahh~, so good! Oh no, I can’t stop myself.”

The first dragon steak sandwich ended up in my belly.

“Whoops. Ate all of it. Haha! Oh man, this is way too delicious.”

I regrouped and made another one.

While I was making sandwiches, my worries proved correct, and I was soon running low on the bread Thereza gave me. So, I used my skill to buy some more whole-wheat and white bread to continue making sandwiches.

“Whew, this should be enough for the steak sandwiches. Next are the boiled pork sandwiches.”

The boiled pork finished cooking while I was making the steak sandwiches, so all I needed to do was prepare the lettuce and sauce to go with it. The lettuce just had to be washed and torn into decently sized pieces, and I decided on a powdered mustard sauce.

Take powdered mustard, soy sauce, honey, and vinegar, mix them all together, and salt to taste to finish it. If I had some, maybe using balsamic vinegar instead would draw out more richness and make the sauce better...

Once I finished the sauce, I started assembling boiled pork sandwiches. I lightly toasted and buttered some of Thereza’s remaining natural yeast bread, added lettuce, and then the boiled pork on top of that. Then, I spread the powdered mustard sauce on top of the pork and closed the boiled pork sandwich.

“Let’s see, this needs a taste test.”

I took a bite out of the newly finished boiled pork sandwich.

“I see, I see — the boiled pork goes great with the spiciness and acidity of the powdered mustard sauce. Combined with the texture of the bread... it’s perfect.”

While I was chowing down on the boiled pork sandwich in a way that could no longer be called a taste test, I heard Sui’s voice in my head.

《Master—!》

“Hm? Sui?”

《Behind you.》

I turned around and saw three young male adventurers running towards me at a frightening speed.

“Wha—?”

《Yaayyy!》

Sui bounced up from the grass onto my chest.

“Huff huff huff... Old man... give us that slime!”

The three young adventurers had reached me. The fact that they were here meant that they were probably beginners.

“Yeah! That slime is our prey!”

“Don’t you dare steal from us!”

Whaaa~t? What’s going on? Sui, what did you do?

《Heheheh~, we played tag!》 Sui told me while jiggling happily in my arms.

Tag...... So Sui was playing.

“Ahhh... Uhh, this slime is my familiar,” I told the angry boys.

“What? Familiar? Where’s your proof!”

“Yeah! Yeah!”

“Hand over the slime!”

......The blood’s rushed to their heads; they’re not listening at all. Geez.

《Sui, can you tell me about how you met these boys?》

《Ummm, Sui was playing and these people came over and tried to kick Sui. So Sui dodged. Then, they all kept trying to kick or hit me with their swords, so Sui dodged allll of it.》

I see, I see. So they encountered each other by chance, and the three of them thought Sui was a regular slime, so they tried to kick it. Then Sui dodged, and everyone started attacking. And Sui dodged all of that too. Is that what happened? Well, of course they wouldn’t be able to hit Sui, given how it evolved all the way to a huge slime and has a high agility stat.

《Also, master, you told me that Sui couldn’t attack, so Sui just kept dodging them. Then, they started chasing me. And Sui won’t lose at tag~!》

Ahaha, you sure won’t, Sui. I get it now. So that’s what happened.

“You’re telling me to hand it over, but my slime here, Sui, is stronger than all of you. If it fought seriously, you’d all die in an instant.”

Sui’d just shoot out some acid and everything would be over. For real.

“What kinda nonsense are you spouting, old man! You sayin’ we’re weaker than some slime?!”

“Yeah, old man! As if some slime’d be stronger than us!”

“Yeah! Yeah! Sayin’ that we’re weaker’n a slime, you tryin’ to pick a fight, old man? ‘Cuz it’s on!”

After hearing me claim that Sui was stronger than them, the adventurers seemed incensed.

I only spoke the truth, though. It seems like slimes have an image of being weak, but that doesn’t apply to my Sui, here. More importantly, you all need to stop calling me “old man.” I’m still in my 20’s, so I’m no ‘old man.’ Definitely not............ right?

Well, setting that aside... I was wondering what to do about this situation when one of the boys made a noise like he just remembered something.

“Hey, wait a second. Weren’t there rumors about an S-ranked tamer coming to town?”

“Oh yeah, I remember that. But didn’t that tamer have a huge wolf-type magic beast?”

“Yeah. But I heard that there was also a small dragon and a slime.”

The three of them started whispering to each other.

You guys, I can hear everything.

It was probably because my stats had increased with my higher levels, but my hearing had gotten a lot better.

By the way, I think those rumors are about me.

All three of their gazes concentrated on Sui, who was hugged to my chest.

“““Slime......”””

Yep, a slime. They aren’t here right now, but I also have a huge wolf (Fenrir) and a small dragon (pixie dragon).

《Master~, what about food?》

Even in this uncomfortable atmosphere, Sui kept going like everything was normal.

“Hmm, not yet. Fel and the others aren’t back yet, and we should eat together.”

《Okaayyy. Sui is hungry, but Sui will wait for uncle Fel and Dora-chan.》

Ahh, my Sui is so cuuuute!

I was happily caressing Sui when I once again heard the three boys whispering to each other.

“I-It’s true there’s a slime, but where’s the wolf and dragon? They’re not here.”

“Exactly. And that old man looks nothing like an S-ranked adventurer.”

“You’re right. He doesn’t look like a strong S-ranker.”

Hey, hey, that’s rude you guys. I know you’re just saying all that because you think I can’t hear, but I totally can. And I might not look like an S-ranked adventurer, but there’s no doubt that I am. I guess I should let them know now.

“Ahh, you guys, I also have other familiars too......”

“Hey, who are these whelps?”

“Ah, welcome back Fel. You too, Dora-chan.”

《Yo! We’re back~.》

Fel and Dora-chan had returned. It was perfect timing, but when I was about to return to explaining things to the three adventurers......

“Huh? They’re all frozen.”

Both their eyes and their mouths were agape, and they weren’t moving.

They aren’t blinking, either. Are they okay?

“Heeeyyy...” I waved my hand in front of their faces, and they finally came back down to earth, blinking.

“A huge wolf......”

“A small dragon......”

“A slime......”

“““S-ranked adventurer?”””

The three of them asked at the same time, all looking at me.

You guys sure are in sync.

“Well, kind of,” I answered.

The three of them all gradually got paler and paler. Then......

“““W-WE’RE SO SORRY!””” they all shouted, bowing deeply.

“Sorry for being so rude!”

“We were just putting on airs because we just became adventurers!”

“Please excuse us for saying all of that!”

“““WE’RE SORRY!”””

Oh my~, now they’ve gotten all meek. Well, I don’t like how they called me “old man,” but it’s not like they actually did anything to me. Sui even got to have fun, thinking they were just playing.

“Well, it’s fine. It’s not like you actually tried anything. But you all should be more careful next time. Not all adventurers are like me,” I told them. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey, never mind those whelps. I am hungry.”

《Me too.》

《Sui is also hungry~.》

“Ahh sorry, sorry. It’s already done. Just wait a second.”

I brought out everyone’s share of dragon steak sandwiches and orc general boiled pork sandwiches.

“Hm. It has been a while since we have had dragon meat.”

《I’ve been waiting for this!》

《So delicious~.》

All three of them started to chow down on the dragon steak sandwiches they were so looking forward to.

Of course they’d start there. You guys, make sure you try the boiled pork sandwiches too, since they’re also good. Now then, what did they bring back?

I checked the inside of the magic bag that Fel gave back to me. What I found were......

“Woww! There are five cockatrices!”

“There’re even cockatrice eggs! Aren’t those really hard to get?”

“Yeah. Cockatrices get really violent after laying eggs, I hear.”

As I took the monsters out of the magic bag to confirm the contents, the three adventurers were watching.

Huh? You guys are still here?

The next monster that was revealed was a large brown one with splendid antlers.

“I-It’s a giant deer!”

“That’s B-ranked!”

“Wow~.”

And last was a huge, long, and thin monster.

“......I-It’s a black serpent. I’ve seen it in the encyclopedia; there’s no doubt.”

“Isn’t the black serpent A-ranked......?”

“That’s a black serpent... It’s the first time I’ve seen one......”

Their three pairs of eyes were glued on the black serpent.

Black serpents are delicious, so Fel always gets a lot of them. I bet if I tell them that we eat this pretty regularly, they’ll be surprised.

“Wanna touch it?” I offered, since the boys had never seen an A-ranked monster before and they seemed really interested, and......

“““Can we really!?!”””

“S-Sure.”

They came over really quickly.

Well, they’re new adventurers, so I’m sure they don’t get many opportunities to touch an A-ranked monster.

The boys hesitatingly reached out their hands to touch the black serpent.

“Ohh~, its scales are so smooth.”

“I knew that. Leather stuff made from black serpent skin is really really expensive.”

“Just how much is this one monster worth?”

The three of them talked among themselves.

“I wanna be able to hunt a black serpent by ourselves someday.”

“Yeah. I wanna raise my rank and get to earning lots of money.”

“Let’s do our best to become high ranking adventurers!”

Sorry for thinking this while you’re all getting excited, but weren’t you all in the middle of a request? If you’re aiming for higher ranks, then you need to complete your requests...

“What happened to your request?”

“Oh right! The request!”

“It was for horn rabbits.”

“We still need to get two more!”

My reminder seemed to light a fire under them.

“Thanks for showing us something cool!”

““Thanks!””

The three of them tried to leave after saying that, but I stopped them.

“Just wait a second......”

Dragon steak sandwiches will probably be too much for them at this stage, so it has to be this one.

“Here. Eat these, and do your best.” I handed the three of them some boiled pork sandwiches.

“Can we really have this?”

“Young people don’t need to hold back. Go ahead and eat.”

“““Thanks!”””

The three of them left with sandwiches in hand.

They must have eaten them almost immediately, since I could hear a voice off in the distance going, “Delicious!”

“So S-ranks eat stuff this good!”

“Let’s definitely climb the ranks!”

“Yeah. Let’s become highly ranked adventurers, earn piles of money, and eat stuff like this every day !”

“““Yeah!”””

It’s nice, being young~.

“Hey, I want more. Give me a lot of the dragon sandwiches.” Fel asked for more dragon steak sandwiches.

《I want more dragon too!》

《Sui too—.》

Dora-chan and Sui did as well.

The dragon steak sandwich really is good.

I served them all seconds, but I made sure to eat the boiled pork sandwich.

And I’ll have this from my Online Supermarket......

*Psshhht*

*Gluglugluglug*

“Ahh~, delicious.”

Then, I took a bite from the boiled pork sandwich, and another gulp of beer.

“As I thought, this makes a good pairing. I just knew that this boiled pork sandwich would go well with beer~.”

I was drinking a really bitter and sharp beer from K-company that I’d liked for a really long time. That, along with the boiled pork sandwich with its spicy and acidic sauce, made for an exquisite pairing.

It’s not great to be drinking beer in the middle of the day, but I just can’t help myself.

Blue skies, invigorating breezes over the grassy plain — it was perfect picnic weather for enjoying beer with a really good meal.

“This is the best.”

The dragon steak sandwich was more popular with Fel and the others, so I ate their leftover boiled pork sandwiches.

Once we had all filled up, we laid there under the warm sunlight, and the sleepiness came...

It seemed to be the same for Fel and the others too, as Dora-chan and Sui were snuggled up to Fel, who was laying on his side as they all slept.

“Oh man, I’m really sleepy...... Well, Fel’s here, so just for a little while...” I thought, using Fel as a pillow too.

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

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

......

“Mnn......”

The first thing I sensed was the smell of grass. Then, I opened my eyes, and the scenery slowly came into focus.

“Ah! We’re at the plains!”

Dusk had fallen, and not a single person was on the plains aside from us.

“Fel! Wake up!” I tried to slap Fel awake as fast as I could.

“Hmm? What?”

“Dora-chan, Sui, you wake up too.” I also attempted to rouse Dora-chan and Sui. “If we don’t hurry and go back, the gates will close!”

“Hm? Is it already that time?”

《Huaahh~, that was a good nap.》

《Zzz...》

The nap felt so good, we all ended up oversleeping.

“Hurry! Hurry!” I scooped the still-sleeping Sui into my bag and jumped on top of Fel.

“All right, I shall get us there.”

“Yes!”

Fel was true to his word, and he blasted off towards town at an incredible speed. I clung on to him desperately so as not to be thrown off. Thanks to that, we somehow managed to make it.

Thank goodness we didn’t end up having to camp outside after I went through all that trouble to buy a house.

Chapter 5: Fel’s Boot Camp Special Edition ~A Grudge Deeper Than The Ocean~

“Hello, Lambert.”

“Ohh, Mukohda! Welcome.”

I greeted Lambert, who just happened to be outside his store. I had come to discuss the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power that I had presented the earl with the other day.

“There was actually something I wanted to talk to you about......”

“Does it have something to do with the earl’s visit the other day?”

As expected from a merchant of his caliber. He probably already knows that I met with the earl.

“Yes. To tell you the truth......” I told Lambert all about my meeting with the earl. Of course, I also explained the effects of the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power.

“So that’s what happened......”

“Sorry for just throwing your name in, Lambert. You were the only person I could think of who could sell this stuff.”

I really do have no one else to ask but Lambert. After all, he’s the only merchant who I have some trust and history with.

“It seems like it has a really amazing effect, but as a merchant, I really would have to confirm what it does before I can sell it......”

Well of course, since there’s money involved.

I figured this would come up, so I had prepared some shampoo and Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power last night.

“All right then, I’ll leave a sample here, so please confirm the effects yourself.”

“Understood. I could use this so I won’t have to worry about sparse hair, but I know an employee this would be perfect for, so I’ll have him try it.”

I made sure to teach Lambert how to use it.

“Oh right, and as for the wyvern mantle you ordered, it will be ready in a few days. I saw it in progress, and it’s looking wonderful. The craftsman himself said that you won’t see work this good very often.”

“Oh~? I’m looking forward to it then.”

If both Lambert and the craftsman say it’s really well made, then that just raises my expectations further.

“Also, the belt, sheath, and shoes are already done. Do you want them now?”

Oh right, I completely forgot because I was focused on the mantle, and my current shoes and belt have been just fine, but I did order a belt and shoes as well.

I figured I’d be happier getting everything all at once, so I asked Lambert to hold on to them.

“All right then, I will contact you once we’ve confirmed its effects.”

“I’ll be counting on you.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Mukohda, there’s a messenger from the Lambert trading company. Apparently he wants you to go to his store immediately.”

I was just about to take Fel and the others out hunting since they were nagging me about it when Thereza came to me with that message.

It’s only been two days since I made the trip to Lambert’s store. Is the wyvern mantle done already? But then why does he want me over immediately......? Well whatever, I’ll find out when I get there. At any rate, I just need to go right now.

“Well, you heard her. We’re not going hunting today.”

“What?!”

《What did you say?!》

《Whaat~?》

We had just been about to go, so the three of them seemed unhappy.

“He asked for me immediately, so there’s no other choice. I’ll take you all tomorrow. If you want, we can even go to the Adventurer’s guild and see if there’s a decent request.”

“Mrr, fine. Lambert’s is that hide store, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“I will take you there quickly, and once you are done, we are going to the Adventurer’s guild to check their requests. If we are going to accept one, it must be worth the effort. Also, if there is one, we are accepting it immediately.”

Whaaat~? Doesn’t that mean that, depending on the request, we might leave immediately?

《Oh, that’s a great idea.》

《Will Sui get to go pew-pew and fight~?》

Dora-chan and Sui were both happy with the idea.

Oh, fine. Geez......

“Fine. For now, we need to get to Lambert’s first.” I got on Fel’s back and we headed for Lambert’s store.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Sorry for calling you here on such short notice.”

Lambert was waiting in front of his store.

“It’s fine. Did something come up?”

“We shouldn’t speak here. Please, come inside.”

Led by Lambert, we went to the back of the store. After we sat down, a maid poured us some tea before Lambert started talking.

“To tell you the truth, I got an urgent message from Earl Langridge......”

According to Lambert, right now Earl Langridge was heading to the capital.

Oh yeah, didn’t he say something about the social season?

And it seemed like he ended up staying in Viscount Bertone’s territory on the way......

“I was told that Viscount Bertone was surprised when he saw Earl Langridge... So he mentioned your hair tonic, and Viscount Bertone seemed really enthusiastic to get his hands on it.”

I guess Viscount Bertone is also worrying about his hair. Well, of course he’d want the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power after seeing what it does.

“The message demanded that I reserve at least fifty bottles just for Earl Langridge’s share, for now. Also, I was ordered to not sell the hair tonic to anyone without an introduction from the earl.”

That earl sure is shrewd. He’s using the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power to build connections between nobles.

“I also agree with only selling it to people with the earl’s introduction. I had my employee try the hair tonic you gave me, Mukohda, and the effects were surprising. It was only two days after using it, and he was almost unrecognizable. If it’s that strong, then each bottle should be 50 gold. And even then, many would consider that cheap. After all, just considering these results, there’ll be many who’ll pay any price to have it.”

50 whole g-gold...... for just one bottle...... Huh? But it only cost me 3 silver... Not to mention, I took that 3-silver bottle and split it up into two smaller bottles.

I know I added in Sui’s Special Elixir, but each bottle only had a single drop in it. I had Sui’s Special Elixir stored in a bottle the size of a certain nutritious drink famous for getting people bursting with energy and vigor. Just how many bottles would that make? I didn’t know, but I could predict that it would be quite the number of bottles.

Still, 50 gold, huh......? Medicines for hair recovery deserve respect.

“Although I say that it’ll be considered cheap, the price itself necessarily markets towards those with money. In that case, the method of requiring introduction from the earl will reliably ensure that we reach those we want to target, so I believe it’s a good method.”

Yeah... 50 gold isn’t cheap. But I bet all the nobles and merchants who are worried about their hair will crowd the earl asking for introductions...

I decided to leave the method of sale up to Lambert. The fifty bottles for the earl probably included any he would need to introduce the product to other people, so Lambert asked to sell it to him as cheaply as possible. I decided to give him the earl’s share for free, as an offering to the earl.

“Are you sure, Mukohda?”

“The earl is taking care of a certain troublesome incident for us, so this is totally worth it.”

“Then I’ll make sure to tell the earl that this is an offering for him.”

After that, we discussed the wholesale price of the tonic, and it was decided that one bottle would be 33 gold.

I worried about whether or not that was too much money, until Lambert explained: “This is what I heard from the earl, but we’ll all be able to make so many more connections through this, so this entire venture is nothing but profit for me.”

I’m being treated so well by Lambert. I’ve thought about it for a while now, but I really ought to give him something as thanks.

“You’ve been taking such good care of me, Lambert. So as thanks, please, take this.”

I took out a red serpent skin that I got as a drop from Aveling’s dungeon from my Item Box.

“Th-This is... a red serpent skin!”

“Yes, it dropped from Aveling’s dungeon. Here.”

“H-Here? Nonono, Mukohda! Red serpent skin is so rare a person probably will never get one in their entire life, you know?!”

“It’s fine. You’ve treated me really well, Lambert, and I’d like you to take this and continue our relationship in the future.”

He gulped. “............C-Can I really take it?”

“Yes. In exchange, please allow me to continue coming to you for advice.”

“Of course.”

Lambert’s eyes were glued onto the red serpent skin. “It’s wonderful......”

He nervously picked it up.

“Mukohda......it’s been my dream to obtain a red serpent skin. I’ll never forget this favor,” he said, tearing up.

It was worth giving it to him just to see him so moved. But I’ll keep it a secret that I still have more.

“Oh yes, I got so emotional that I almost forgot, but your order is done. I’ll bring it over now.”

Ohhh~, my wyvern mantle was finally finished! A maid came in and set the mantle, belt, sheath, and shoes onto the table.

“Here you go. Please, try it on and see how it fits. If anything needs improvement, I can have it fixed.”

At Lambert’s suggestion, I immediately went to try the stuff on.

The items were a calming dark gray, and each one felt really nice as I put them on. Most of all, I liked how light they were.

“These feel really nice. I feel like I’m already used to them. I really like how light they are.”

“I’m glad you like them. Wyvern hide excels at retaining warmth. It’s also water-resistant. The mantle especially will be useful during rain.”

Ohh, that would be nice. Up until now I would brute force things by relying on Fel’s barrier. And since some areas experienced frequent rain, I figured there would be some cases where I wouldn’t be able to rely on that.

“I’ll wear this home. How much will all this be?”

I handed over the wooden claim-ticket that I had been holding onto back to Lambert. I had yet to pay the remainder of the price for the wyvern hide items, but when I asked......

“No, you don’t need to pay.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t make you pay after you gave me something like this. Hahaha.” Lambert was hugging the red serpent skin, clearly treasuring it.

No, no, this and that are totally different matters. Or so I thought, as I insisted on paying. But Lambert stubbornly refused to take my money.

“Well then, I’ll come back.”

“You’re always welcome, Mukohda,” Lambert said, a glowing smile on his face. I decided that I was fine with how things had turned out.

As soon as I exited Lambert’s store, Fel sent a telepathic message.

《All right. It seems that you are done. Next is the Adventurer’s guild.》

Ahh~, right. I had forgotten that.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

As we entered the Adventurer’s guild, the guildmaster came downstairs immediately.

“Ohh, your timing is perfect. I was just going to send for you.”

“Huh? Did something happen?”

“Well......”

Apparently there had been a lot of orc sightings recently in the eastern forest. A C-ranked adventurer party had been sent to scout it out, and they’d just come back. According to their report, there was indeed an orc settlement there.

“The location of the settlement is bad. There are several villages near the eastern forest, and the settlement is really close to one of them. We need to take care of this immediately, but there’s only one B-ranked party and two C-ranked parties available right now. That’s a little low for an orc settlement extermination request. It would’ve been great if we had at least 2 more C-ranked parties... And that’s where you come in.”

The guildmaster firmly grasped onto my shoulder.

“Will you go?”

The guildmaster has my shoulder in a vice grip... He has absolutely no intention of letting me refuse.

“An orc settlement? Boring. No.” Fel made sure to say that aloud so the guildmaster could hear.

《I don’t want to have to deal with some weakling orcs, either...》 Dora-chan also voiced his refusal telepathically.

《Sui is fine as long as Sui can fight and go pew pew~.》

For some reason Sui loved to fight and was okay with anything.

“............Hey, your Fenrir, our last ray of hope, is saying no. Can’t you do something about that? He’s your familiar, right? Convince him to go. Come on.”

You know, “come on” doesn’t help...

“Fel, Dora-chan, can’t we just do this real quick on the way to the forest to hunt?”

“Weak opponents like orcs are boring.”

《I’m with Fel on this one. There’s no point in fighting weaklings. It’d be better to go into the forest and find something strong to fight.》

“Indeed. I have no doubt we will find something more worth hunting than orcs. This can be left to............ Wait, I do not mind if you take this request.”

“Hm? What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

《Yeah. They’re just orcs, you know?》 There was a lull in the conversation, so I indulged my curiosity as to Fel’s change of heart.

“Dora, you are free anyway. Just do as I say this time.”

《If you say so Fel.》

“Huh? You’ll really take it? It’s kinda scary how the Fenrir suddenly said okay though...”

“Now, do not worry about that. Hehahahahaha!”

Fel, that laugh is terrifying. You’re planning something, aren’t you?

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but you’re okay with taking the request, right?”

“Indeed. We will take that request.”

“I see, I see. That’s great.”

With Fel’s assent, the guildmaster looked relieved. I looked at Fel suspiciously.

He’s definitely plotting something.

“What? I have said I will accept it. There are no problems, right?” Fel responded shamelessly to my suspicious gaze.

The guildmaster’s completely leaving everything up to us, and I can’t refuse now, so I’ll do it, but... Will everything be fine?

With a touch of worry in my heart, I listened to the guildmaster’s directions to the orc settlement. We decided to head out tomorrow, since it would be night by the time we reached the settlement if we left now.

“Okay then, I’m counting on you tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next morning...

After a proper breakfast, we were preparing to head out and exterminate the orc settlement......

“Hey. Bring those beastfolk twins,” Fel suddenly suggested.

“What? Why those two?”

“We will bring them to the orc settlement.”

“Bring them? You’re planning to take them along on this request?”

“That is correct.”

“I’ll ask again: why?”

“You are being annoying. Just bring them.”

“Don’t just order me to bring them. I’m asking you why you want them with us.”

“Mrrr, anyway, if you do not bring those two, I will not be doing the request!”

Fel just would not budge on the issue.

“You won’t do it? You just said you would yesterday! You......”

“Hmph! I will not go.”

Geez...... Even after promising the guildmaster we’d do it today, this guy......

“Oh fine. I’ll bring them. Just wait.”

There was no other choice, so I went to get the twins.

At this hour they should still be in their house.

“Heeyy, excuse me?” I knocked on the door.

“Ah, Mukohda. What is it this early in the morning?”

Tabatha was the one that opened the door. She invited me in, but I didn’t have much time, so I declined.

“To tell you the truth......” I told her that we were about to go to exterminate an orc settlement for the Adventurer’s guild, and that Fel wanted me to bring the twins.

“I don’t know why he wants my brothers specifically, but I’m sure Lord Fel knows what he’s doing. Also, you’re our master, Mukohda. No matter what your reasons are, we can’t say no to something you ask.”

“Sorry —I know you need to guard this place, too.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s thanks to you that no one’s trying anything right now. Before, there were people that seemed like underlings of that company loitering around, but they’ve disappeared completely.”

I reported to Tabatha and the others that I made a connection with Earl Langridge and that was why those men disappeared completely.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that I had a lot of secrets stored in the main house, so I had to have them continue their watch.

“I’ll go get them, so please wait a moment.” I heard Tabatha shout, “Luke! Irvine! Come here!”

“What is it, sis~?”

Not just Luke and Irvine, but Barthel and Peter also showed up.

“The two of you are going with Mukohda today,” Tabatha told them.

They replied, sounding confused: “What? Why?” and, “Just us two?”

“Oh, for some reason Fel wants me to take you two with us. We’ve taken on a request to exterminate an orc settlement. Will you come with us?” I asked. Luke and Irvine both excitedly replied, “We’ll go! We’ll totally go!”

“It’s really comfortable here, but if this keeps going our bodies will dull.”

“Yeah. I’ll be able to go wild for the first time in a while!”

It’s nice that the two of them are into it, but will it really be fine? Fel’s totally plotting something......

Peter was looking enviously at Luke and Irvine who had the opportunity to fight monsters for the first time in a while —until I heard Barthel start whispering to him.

“Hey, I think staying here is better. Just think about it. Do you think Mukohda, an S-ranked adventurer, would need to get help to destroy a settlement? There’s definitely something going on.”

That’s right, Barthel. Your ninety-two years of age aren’t just for show. There’s no doubt that Fel’s plotting something, but even if I ask, he isn’t going to tell me. For now, I have no choice but to take the twins with us to the orc settlement in the eastern forest.

“Right then. I’ll be borrowing them.”

“Sure. You two, make sure you don’t cause trouble for Mukohda or Lord Fel!”

“We’re C-ranked adventurers ourselves, so there’s no way we would~.”

“Yeah. Who do you think we are, big sis?”

“Hmph! I’m saying you’re just useless little brothers. Please take care of them, Mukohda. If they don’t listen to you, then feel free to whip them into shape.”

“N-No, they’re both C-ranked adventurers, so it’ll probably be fine.”

I took Luke and Irvine with me to where Fel was waiting.

“Okay, they are here. Then let us be on our way.”

In order to leave town, we made for the eastern gate.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Sui, can you give those two a ride?”

《Okaayyy.》

Sui grew to a size where they could get on.

The twins made a fuss. “Woah!” “It got huge!”

“Now, now, get on.”

““O-On this?””

It was understandable that the two of them hesitated after being told to get on a slime.

“It’ll be fine. Sui feels nice to ride, you know?” I said, and the two fearfully got on top.

“Ohh, it’s soft!”

“So jiggly.”

“All right, you’re both on? Then let’s go.” Of course, I rode on top of Fel.

Fel and Sui both ran fast.

“Woaaahh! Fast!”

“Whooohooooo! Go! Go, slimecoach!”

As soon as we got going, those idiot twins started going wild. The two of them were very excited to be riding on top of Sui, so they were leaning really far forward. I was truly worried they’d fall off.

Fel even said, “If they fall, then we can just leave them where they lie. There should be no problems.”

Still, we somehow managed to safely make it to the spot in the eastern forest where the guildmaster said the orc settlement was, and in just under an hour.

“We’re walking from here, right?”

“Indeed. Be careful they do not notice you. That goes for you two as well,” Fel spoke, glaring at the idiot twins.

“Oh come on, we know already.”

“Yeah! We used to be adventurers ourselves, after all.”

It seems that being former C-ranked adventurers counts for something.

We moved forward through the forest towards the orc settlement.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“There it is......”

The orc settlement was in a gaping, empty clearing in the forest.

Maybe they actually cut down the trees themselves to build their settlement.

It was crude, but there were several huts dotting the area. We hid behind the trees, watching the orcs in their settlement.

“Hm. There are around a hundred and fifty of them. I do not sense an orc king.”

So says Fel. Still, that many?

《Orcs are numerous, if nothing else,》 Dora-chan muttered telepathically as he watched the settlement.

《There’re so many~. Can Sui go pew-pew and get them all~?》

Sui was raring to go at the sight of them all.

“Now wait a second, Sui. We will not do anything this time.”

《Whaaat~?》

“We are only spectators this time. Let us go find something worth hunting.”

《I don’t want to fight some weak-ass orcs so I’m fine with that, but then who will crush the settlement?》

“Hehahahahaha... That is......” Fel looked over at the idiot twins. Pulled in by that, Dora-chan and Sui faced that way as well.

“Hm? What?”

“Why’re all your familiars looking at us?”

“They want you two to go and finish off the orcs,” I said, and I got to see the twins’ stupefied faces for the first time. Then, after a long moment......

““Whaaat?!””

“Nonono, it’ll be impossible with just us two.”

“Yeah. Look at how many orcs there are. Please stop with the awful jokes~.”

Well, it’s probably not a joke. So this is what Fel was planning. But why these two?

“It is no joke. Go.”

“Nonono, I told you already it’s impossible. Are you telling us to go die?”

“Yeah! Asking us to go in, just the two of us, is like making us go commit suicide!”

Understandably, the idiot twins were offended at what Fel said. But......

“No need to worry. As a special treat, I bestowed you with my magic. You will not die. If you still will not go......” Fel bared his teeth and opened his mouth, as if he was just about to eat them. “Would you like to be eaten by me? Hm? You may choose. Either you go kill the orcs or you get killed by me.”

Fel presented the twins with that dilemma. The air he was giving off was completely different from usual, and the twins both seemed terrified.

“Which will you two choose?”

“......W-We get it! We’ll go!”

“We just have to go, right?!”

The idiot twins readied their swords, and after a breath to steel themselves, they crouched down and snuck closer to the settlement. Once they were close enough......

“Fuuuck! Let’s do this!”

“Graaagghh!”

The two of them jumped forward and charged into the orc settlement.

“““““Oooooiiinnkkkk!””””” The orcs swarmed around the two of them, bellowing out war cries.

“Take this!”

“Hraaaagh!!”

The twins persistently cut down orcs one after another. However, the orcs were too numerous, so the clubs that the orcs wielded began raining down on them.

“Tch! There’s too... many of them! Raaggggh! Yaaaarrgghh!!”

Even while being grazed by the orc’s clubs, Luke continued to cut down orcs.

“Fuck! Fuck! DIEEE!!”

Irvine was also desperately swinging his sword and downing orcs, even while being struck by their fists.

“““““OOIIINNNKKK!!”””””

The second wave of orcs assaulted Luke and Irvine, who were fighting desperately......

“H-Hey, are they gonna be okay?” I asked, watching the two of them fight. No matter how I considered the situation, they were at a complete disadvantage.

“I have given them a barrier strong enough that they will not die, so they should be fine.”

You... Just strong enough so they won’t die?

“Aahhh!!”

Luke took one of the orc’s fists full on. Seeing that, Irvine cut into the orc that struck his brother, hollering, “BASTARD!!”

But in that gap......

“Watch out!”

Another orc attacked Irvine from behind with a club.

Just as Fel claimed, it seemed that thanks to the barrier, they would not be killed instantly or knocked unconscious, but it also seemed that there was still an impact, as both of their faces were screwed up in pain.

“Th-This is bad! We have to save them!!”

“I am telling you they are fine. This is their punishment. With this, they should learn their lesson.”

“What? Lesson for what?”

“For eating my food.”

“............WHAAAAAAAAT?!”

“They took my steak rice bowl.”

Y-You............ I kind of remember that happening... but isn’t this just excessively vindictive?

“Nononono, just how long ago did that even happen? Like, days! You’re being way too obstinate!”

“Hmph! In truth they should have paid for eating my food with their lives. But I am letting them off with just this much punishment. You should be thanking me.”

Thanking you? As if. Geez... grudges over food run deep. Wait, aahhh... the twins are really beat up now.

“Geez, whatever. Just go save them.”

“Mrr, they will not die. It is fine. Also, if you are so worried, you go save them. Hm, that is a good idea. It will be training for you, too.”

“Ha?! W-Why me?!”

“For training. Also, you have your Perfect Defense skill from the gods, no? There should be no problems.”

“Nonono, there are so many problems.”

Huge problems. Just think about what it’s like to charge into that from my perspective. Even if I have Perfect Defense, it won’t protect my emotions.

“Just go.”

*Push*

“Wai—!”

Fel, that asshole! He pushed me with his front leg!

“Oink!”

Grk! They noticed me!

The orc that noticed me charged over with fierce momentum —and several more orcs followed after it.

“Crap! I’ll remember this, Fel!!”

I took out my mithril spear from my Item Box.

DAMMIIIITT! WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME!

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*

Just calm down. I’ve fought orcs many times in the dungeon. I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. Hooooohh~. Okay.

“““““OOIIINNNKK!!”””””

“Raagh!” I thrust at the orc leading the charge against me, aiming for its heart.

*Thud*

Another orc to the right threw a punch. It didn’t hurt since I was being protected by Perfect Defense, but......

“Getting punched just makes me angry! YAARGH!!” I thrust at the heart of the orc that had attacked me.

After that, I continued to take on the orcs one by one, stabbing them in the heart to finish them off.

“Whew......” I took a breath, but I had no time to rest. The next wave was coming.

“““““OOIINNNKKK!!”””””

“Tch! All these things have going for them are their numbers! Whoops, Stone Bullet! Stone Bullet! Stone Bullet!”

*Whoosh*

The pebbles I launched flew like shotgun pellets.

“““Oink?!!”””

Since I’d leveled up, the power of my magic must have gone up too. The shotgun-like pellets pierced straight through the orcs.

Then, there was only one left, taking cover on the ground. And as for him...

“Take this!!”

I stabbed into its chest with my spear.

“Whew......I don’t have time to be held up here. I need to go save those twins!”

I hurried over to where the twins were being surrounded by orcs.

“Hey! Hold on, you two! There’s a lot less of them now! Just a little more!”

The two of them were fighting hard, and there were only about half as many orcs now compared to when the fight started.

““Mukohda!!””

“Just a little more!”

““Got it!””

The twins, who cheered up a little after seeing me, dug deep and continued to cut down orcs.

“Damn! I won’t die here!”

“You know it! We’re going back home!”

The two of them were covered in wounds.

Fel claimed that he had put up a barrier strong enough so that they wouldn’t die, but it seemed he just meant that they wouldn’t suffer a fatal injury.

Even so, the two of them were desperately swinging their swords. I assisted them, and together we lowered their numbers.

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

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

......

“Hah! Hah! Hah!”

“O-Oink......”

“I-It’s over............”

We finally defeated the orc general that stubbornly stayed alive until the very end. I couldn’t even tell how long the fight went on for. The twins had already fallen over, exhausted. They hadn’t suffered any fatal wounds, but they were covered in shallow ones, and their breathing was feeble. I couldn’t muster the strength to move either.

“So, you are finally finished.”

My three familiars came over.

“Don’t give me that. You could have helped out a little.”

《You were taking so long that Sui and I wanted to help you. Right, Sui?》

《Yeah. But Uncle Fel said not to.》

“Hmph! Of course. If we helped, it would be no punishment at all.”

Grrrr... Fel, you bastard! If Dora-chan and Sui helped, then this would have been over so much quicker. But it’s no use complaining now.

“Here. I’m too tired to bother picking them all up. You guys retrieve them.”

I handed the magic bag over to Fel so they could at least help by picking up the orcs.

“Fine. Dora, Sui, both of you help as well.”

《Oh, fine.》

《Sui just has to gather these piggies, right?》

Fel and the others worked to retrieve all the dead orcs.

“Hey, you two alive?”

“S-Somehow... I am......”

“M-Me too......”

“Drink this.”

I handed over some of Sui’s high-grade potions from my Item Box.

“A potion......? Thanks......”

“Thanks, Mukohda......”

The two of them slowly downed the potions. After a little while, their wounds had recovered, and the two of them stood up.

“Whew... well, it all worked out.”

“Yeah. We managed to survive somehow.”

“It’s all thanks to your help, Mukohda.”

“Right. If you hadn’t shown up back then, we woulda been in danger.”

““Thanks, Mukohda.””

In a rare turn of events, the twins were acting humble.

Well, it’s only natural to be like this after going through such a dangerous event.

“Having you say that made all this worth it.”

“Still, Fel’s really awful.”

“Yeah. Telling just the two of us to go and stuff.”

“Ahh. That... was a punishment from Fel, apparently.”

““Punishment?””

The twins seemed confused when I said it was a punishment, so I reminded them about how several days ago, they’d eaten one of Fel’s steak bowls.

“Huh? But we apologized for that.”

“Right? Also, didn’t you make another one, Mukohda?”

“You’re right about that. But it seems like Fel just won’t forgive someone else taking his food. According to him, ‘In truth, they should have paid for eating my food with their lives.’”

Hearing that, the twins were stupefied.

“Th-This all happened to us over some food......?”

“Just for food......”

“I get how you feel, but grudges over food are really terrifying. Just make sure you two don’t steal Fel’s food again,” I said, and the two of them frantically nodded.

Even if they hadn’t learned from Fel’s punishment, those idiot twins probably wouldn’t touch Fel’s food again after this.

Man, I’m tired. This is just a thought, but this time I was totally just a side victim who got hit by the sparks, wasn’t I? Dammit.

Lesson: Those who steal Fel’s food will be met with swift death. So, don’t touch Fel’s food.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The final tally for the orcs Fel and the others retrieved was four orc generals, twelve orc leaders, and one hundred thirty-six orcs.

The fact that they were all beaten by just the twins and me meant that we’d had to work quite hard. The upshot was that their bodies were pretty mangled, and Fel complained, “What a waste of meat.”

As if I care. Who has the luxury to care about the meat in a situation like that? The twins and I had our hands full just desperately swinging our weapons.

Once the orcs were all picked up and we were about to go home, I noticed our awful state. Both the twins and I were soaked in orc blood spatter.

I really shouldn’t go back like this...... Or rather, if I did show up at the gates like this, I’d definitely be stopped.

I considered just going all out and taking a bath on the spot, but while I had a change of clothes for myself, I didn’t have anything for the twins. And even if I wanted to lend them my clothes, with their muscular bodies the sizes just wouldn’t fit......

Ah, right!

“Sui, can you split up and clean all this blood?”

《Okay~. It’ll just take a little bit.》

Sui started to jiggle before splitting into smaller clones. There were three of Sui for each person. The twins were surprised that the slimes jumped on them, but I calmed them down. “It’s fine. This is one of Sui’s abilities.”

After they witnessed the clones absorbing the blood and cleaning them up, they understood.

“If we just went back like this, they might not have let us in.”

“You’re right, Mukohda. With how soaked with blood we were......”

“Yeah. At the very least, we’d be questioned about what happened. Thanks to Sui’s clones, we managed to clean ourselves up a bit from our blood-soaked appearances...”

“Let’s go home.”

It had already gotten quite late, and there was no longer any time for Fel and the others to go hunting. It was decided that we’d go hunting again at a later date, so the three of them quieted down. We headed back the same way we came, with me on Fel’s back and the twins on Sui. On the way back, the twins didn’t say a word.

They must be incredibly tired.

Out of consideration for the twins, I decided to drop them off at the mansion first before reporting in to the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

As we entered the Adventurer’s guild, an employee quickly got up to call for the guildmaster.

“Oh, you’re back.”

“Yes, somehow.”

“You look really tired.”

“Please, don’t ask......”

I’d had something really horrible happen to me. It was normal for that to turn into a source of trauma.

“I’m not sure what happened, but I trust the elimination of the orc settlement went well?”

“That was successful, yeah. There were quite a lot of orcs, though. Can I ask you to buy them?”

The guildmaster and I walked over to the storehouse.

“Yo, Johan. It’s a sale.”

“Oh, it’s you bro. What is it this time?”

“Orcs. He took on the destruction of an orc settlement.”

“Ahh the one in the eastern forest, right? Then bring them out, bro.”

I took the orcs out of my Item Box.

“Hm? They have a lot of wounds. That’s unusual.”

Johan, man, you should leave that alone.

I still had a whole bunch of orc meat that I had gotten in Nijhoff, so I just asked them to give back the orc general and orc leader meat, and sold off everything else. The guildmaster looked really satisfied to get a ton of orc meat, which was in high demand.

“Then I’ll have it all ready by the day after tomorrow.”

“All right. Then I’ll come back the day after tomorrow.”

Given my exhaustion, I left the Adventurer’s guild as quickly as possible. And when we got home—

“Hey. I am hungry.”

《Me too.》

《Sui is also hungry...》

Since it had taken so long to kill all the orcs, we had ended up skipping lunch. I was famished, too. However, I was too tired to make anything.

For times like these, I’m so glad I made stuff beforehand~. What should we have~? Right, let’s have yakitori rice bowls.

I packed steamed rice into bowls, layered on some shredded cabbage, and added a bunch of rockbird yakitori coated in sweet and salty sauce to finish the bowl.

“Here. It’s done.” I served it to my familiars.

《All right! Looks good~.》

《Yayyy!》

Dora-chan and Sui jumped on the food immediately. But Fel......

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Why does my portion have more vegetables?”

“......It’s normal, isn’t it?”

“No, there are more.”

“What? If you don’t want it, then you don’t have to eat it.”

“Grrr...”

Fuhahaha!

I had put twice as much cabbage in Fel’s portion as in Dora-chan’s and Sui’s. He deserved at least this much payback for making me fight all those orcs in the name of “training.”

Now then, I should eat too.

Yep yep, this sweet and salty sauce makes the meat so irresistible. And the shredded cabbage serves as a nice refresher.

At some point Fel had clearly given up, as he reluctantly started to eat.

Fel, this isn’t all that’s in store for you. I still have a lot of shredded cabbage. Your extra servings are getting double-cabbaged, too. You don’t eat vegetables normally anyway, so this is the perfect chance to make up for that. Heheheh.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We’d eaten, and I’d had a bath, and just when I was about to sleep......

＜Finally, finally! We’re free~. Sweets! Give me sweets from the other woooorrrlllld! Waaaahhh!＞

＜Facial lotion and cream! I need facial lotion and cream right now! Give it to me now, please! I’m begging yooouuuu!＞

＜Please! Pleeaaase give me beer!＞

＜............Cake and ice cream.＞

＜W-Whiskey, please...... Whiskey............＞

＜Booze booze booze! Whiskey whiskey whiskey! I need whiskeeeyyyy!＞

Suddenly, the gods’ pleas were ringing through my head.

............Such chaos.

“P-Please calm down. I’ll listen to all of you,” I said, and then came the storm of apologies.

＜Waaahhhh, zorreeeeeeee. I’ll stop causing so much trouble, so please don’t take away my joooy!＞

＜Sorry. I’m really sorry. I’ll stop being so selfish. So please give me beauty products. I can’t even imagine life without beauty products from the other world now. Please. Pleeaaaasssee!＞

＜My bad!! Once a week really was too much, wasn’t it? I’ve really reflected on things. So please, beer! Give me beer!!＞

＜Asking for things once a week might have been too much. I regret doing that. So please give me cake and ice cream once more.＞

＜We regret being so picky and annoying about each of our orders. The alcohol from the other world is just too good. Especially whiskey — whiskey is just exceptional. We were entranced by it. Right, War God? We’re sorry for causing you trouble.＞

＜It’s as the Blacksmithing God says. We were blinded by the whiskey and ended up being way too picky. We’re really sorry about that. We apologize.＞

＜＜For the love of the gods, give us whiskey! ＞＞

Oh, the gods must have been really affected by that house arrest. They’re so desperate it’s kind of creeping me out though. Like, Ninrir’s totally blubbering. I think I can even hear her wailing.

I somehow calmed them down, and listened to what they had to say. It seemed that, along with the house arrest, Demiurge had also given them some stern words.

＜The Creator God told us that, if we forced you to do too much, he would forbid us from having contact with you ever again. He said that you’re nice, so you might just laugh and accept our selfishness, but he wouldn’t forgive us for it.＞

Demiurge must have scolded them all pretty hard, if Ninrir of all people — the useless goddess addicted to the sweet life — had become so meek.

＜She’s right. If that were to happen, then we would never again have the chance to obtain those wonderful products from the other world. And if it came to that...... No! I don’t even want to think about it!＞

I get it. After all, Kisharle’s twice as hooked on otherworld beauty products as any normal person. Also, I’ve heard that for stuff like this, once you’ve had the best, you can never just go back to an inferior product. I remembered that lecture from my beauty-product-addicted sister.

＜The Creator God was pretty serious this time, too. So we all had a talk, and we decided to properly apologize and ask you to provide for us again. I mean, I’d hate to not be able to get any beer either, since it’s been my greatest source of happiness these days.＞

＜......I would also be sad if I couldn’t eat cake and ice cream anymore. I want to eat more.＞

Agni really loved her beer, and Ruka also seemed to love ice cream after all.

＜I’m also the same. I don’t even want to consider the possibility of never drinking whiskey again. To me, whiskey truly is the water of life.＞

＜Agreed. Just thinking about not being able to have whiskey anymore gives me the chills. In my opinion, whiskey is the perfect alcohol. Once anyone tries whiskey, they’ll never be satisfied with the stuff from this world.＞

The liquor-loving duo, Hephaestos and Vahagn, who were whiskey enthusiasts, seemed to really have thought about what had happened and why.

“Ahh, it’s fine everyone. I’ve gotten your blessings, so I don’t plan to stop making offerings to any of you as long as you all keep it in moderation,” I said, and I heard all the gods cheer.

Ninrir even said, ＜Daaank Zhyoouuu＞ through her tears.

“But I really do think that once a week is too much. If at all possible, I’d appreciate it if we could just do this once a month......”

＜Of course, there’s no problem with that. Right, everyone?＞ Kisharle said, and all the other gods agreed.

After that, we talked a little and decided to set the allowance each month at 4 gold each, based on their previous allowance of 1 gold per week. Given that calculation, I didn’t especially mind the arrangement. Also, we agreed that they would simply request items they wanted and leave the fine details to me, because having to listen to them order off the menu every session ate up a lot of time.

Still, their basic desires wouldn’t change. Ninrir, of course, wanted sweets, especially dorayaki. Kisharle wanted beauty products like shampoo, hair treatment, body soap, facial lotion, and cream — all from the usual product lines. She also wanted to stock up, and so asked for two copies of everything. Agni of course asked for beer, but she left everything else up to me. Ruka had been asking for the same thing all this time, cake and ice cream. The liquor-lovers, Hephaestos and Vahagn, stayed true to form, and so they said they would be fine with anything as long as it was whiskey.

Because this would only happen once a month, things would get much easier since I would now have the leisure to pick this stuff out in my free time. And if I stored them in my Item Box, even perishables like Ninrir’s and Ruka’s sweets wouldn’t go bad. Given rough estimates and a budget of 4 gold, I couldn’t prepare everything everyone wanted straight away. So, since the plan was to take it easy tomorrow, I told them that I would hand it all over tomorrow night.

Still, I could clearly tell that what I said disheartened them, since they’d already been on their best behavior for so long. I mean, the deflation in their voice was so obvious, I kind of started to feel sorry for them.

It seems like the items Demiurge confiscated before were shared among his servants, too......

I might be too soft, but I decided to give them the items that Demiurge confiscated from them as a bonus. It wouldn’t be much effort, since I could just go through my purchase history.

“Um, everyone, this is everything that was confiscated from you. I’ll only do this once, though. So please, take it,” I said, and when I placed the items on the usual cardboard altars......

＜You’re so nice—! Waaaahhhh!＞

＜You really are a good person. Thank you.＞

＜What a great guy. Thanks man.＞

＜......Thank you.＞

＜I’m so grateful. If you ever need anything, just say the word. I’ll do anything I can to help.＞

＜Yeah. Me too. If you ever find yourself in trouble of any sort, give me a call. Especially for things like fighting. No one can match me in that. If anything happens, I can just subdue the problem with my power!＞

And just like that, everyone’s spirits were lifted. Although one of them said something really ominous sounding.

“Okay then, I’ll call again tomorrow night,” I said, and my connection with the gods cut with a snap.

“Whew. This should be fine for now. Still, the measures Demiurge took to fix things worked really well. Well, I’m just glad I got them down to once a month.”

Right, let’s get to sleep.

I entered the master bedroom where my familiars were already asleep, and laid down on the bed. That’s when I had a sudden thought.

“I fought so much today, I guess I should check my status.”

While still laying down on the bed, I chanted “Status” in a whisper.

【Name】 Mukohda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

【Age】 27

【Race】 Kind of Human

【Job】 Victim from Another World, Adventurer, Cook

【Level】 77

【HP】 464

【MP】 457

【Attack】 446

【Defense】 438

【Agility】 364

【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, my level had gone up quite a lot. I’d thought I was starting to level slower since I went into some dungeons and raised myself by quite a few levels, but I guess with the sheer amount I’d killed, it turned into quite the large amount of experience, even if they were just orcs. My Double Experience Gain skill also probably had something to do with it, though.

Still, level 77 huh? I’m almost there to my 3rd Tenant at level 80, huh? I didn’t really mean for that to happen, though. Hmmm, what should I get for my next Tenant...... I’m kind of interested in what will pop up.

Well, it’ll happen when it happens.

“Huaagghh~, I need to sleep already.”

Having lost to my drowsiness, I fell asleep just like that.

Chapter 6: Mukohda Cultivates a Field

After having breakfast, Dora-chan and Sui were playing in the yard, and Fel was relaxing on the fluffy carpet in the living room.

When I told them that we wouldn’t be leaving today, they all seemed sad about it, but they didn’t complain given what happened yesterday.

There was no way I’d be up for hunting again after yesterday. So, I was going to spend the entire day relaxing at home, and I’d pick out my offerings to the gods while drinking coffee, as I planned last night.

I made some drip bag coffee instead of the instant stuff. The unique smell of coffee wafted through the room.

“Mmm, smells nice......”

I opened up the menu of my skill while enjoying my coffee.

“Ninrir’s share is up first. So I need to look at Fumiya.”

She wanted a lot of dorayaki, right? One a day would mean I need to buy thirty. Wait, there’s no way Ninrir’ll be satisfied with only one a day... Then...... Right, how about this?

I spent an entire gold coin just on her favorite dorayaki. I bought fifty of both kinds, a hundred in all.

“This should be enough. Haha! Next is......”

Fumiya was holding a cheesecake fair, so I got one each of the smooth cheesecake, lemon rare cheesecake, Camembert cheesecake, cheese Mont Blanc, and others. Beyond that, I also added some cake slices and some confectionery gift sets. Since it was quite a lot, when I checked out it came to me in three boxes.

“Right, this should do it for Ninrir’s portion. Next is Kisharle’s.”

Gotta start with the facial lotion and cream.

I bought some slightly expensive ones, like I’d recently started getting her. If I didn’t, she was sure to get really mad. Just two sets of that came close to half her allowance.

Next, I searched for shampoo, hair treatment, and body soap. Even though this was a supermarket, they had quite the selection of that sort of stuff.

Right. Let’s go with this. It says that it moisturizes dry hair and makes it glossy and easy to style. And it comes with refills too.

As for the body soap, I bought something new. It apparently contains elements that preserve body heat and don’t wash off, so it leads to soft and moist skin. It also came with refills, further incentive to buy it.

I managed to get everything Kisharle had asked for, but she still had some allowance left, so I also bought some face washing foam, massage cream, and facial sheet packs from the same line as her facial lotion and cream. I also used up the rest of her allowance with hair packs and bath additives and stuff.

“Next is Agni, so that means beer.”

For Agni’s portion, I bought beer by the case.

First has gotta be Y-bisu beer and the premium stuff from S-company. They’re Agni’s favorites.

Then, I decided based on Agni’s tastes and went with the standard S-company’s black-label beer.

“Next is...... Oh, this looks good.”

I was looking at a Y-bisu beer that was a little pricey and advertised itself as “the result of aiming for the pinnacle of beer.”

I haven’t tried this yet, either... Let’s do that next time.

“I guess I’ll look over here.”

I opened up the menu for Liquor Shop Tanaka.

“Oh, they’ve got local beer comparison sets. Let’s get one.”

It seemed like there were a lot of local beers being produced recently, and there were even people claiming that local beer was better than beer from famous brands. Thus, I decided to buy some of the local stuff. There was also a world beer comparison set, so I got that one as well. And with the rest of the money, I bought several varieties of six-packs.

“Next is Ruka. She wanted cake and ice cream, so it’s gotta be from Fumiya.”

It seemed like Ruka was a big fan of ice cream, so I bought vanilla and chocolate ice cream cakes, as well as lots of ice cream cups in several flavors. After that, I also bought the line of cheesecakes from their event just like I had for Ninrir, as well as a series of cake slices and confectionery gift sets.

*Gulp*...... There’s quite a lot for Ruka, too. I thought the same thing when it came to Ninrir, but is she really going to eat her way through all of this? Well, I’ve heard that since they’re gods, it’s easy for them to store things in spaces that don’t allow the passage of time and are refrigerated on top of that, so even if they can’t eat it all, they could save it for later. I guess it’s not a problem.

“Next is the liquor-loving duo, Hephaestos and Vahagn.”

I can’t not give them their favorite, world’s-best-whiskey, right? After that I’ll just rely on the rankings.

This time I bought all of the first five spots on the daily rankings.

In first place was a Scotch whisky. It appeared in a novel written by a famous novelist, and it was widely known for being easy to drink.

Second place was a Scotch from the only distillery on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. Apparently, it smelled strongly of peat and was quite funky. But, word of mouth was that it was quite addicting.

In third place was a Bourbon whiskey that was favored among Bourbon connoisseurs for its heady fragrance and taste. It was a bit strong, but it was said to be quite delicious on the rocks.

Fourth place was a whisky named after the father of Japanese whisky. When I looked at user comments, I found that there was a drama based on the father of Japanese whisky, and there were people who ended up trying it because of that, and they found it delicious enough that they started buying it regularly.

Lastly, in fifth place was a Canadian whisky that was made to be presented to the king of the United Kingdom, so its bottle was shaped like a crown. Of course it tasted good, but it also looked cool in the bottle, so it was popular for its more luxurious feel.

After that, I also chose several seemingly decent bottles from both the weekly and monthly rankings. That liquor-loving duo would be the ones drinking it, so I figured having enough bottles for the two of them would be prudent. Thanks to that, I ended up with quite the amount of whiskey.

“This should be it...... No, I might as well get Demiurge’s share while I’m at it.”

So, I started picking out Demiurge’s usual share. I was looking at sets this time as well, and... “Oh, so they have something like this too. Right, let’s get it.”

I ended up with a three-bottle set of the Niigata prefecture-representing sake from that famous brand I had given him before. It was a set of Junmai Daiginjo, Ginjo, and Special Honjozo sake, all from the same brand so that one could compare the different types of sake. It seemed interesting, so I decided on that. Finally, I of course bought the premium Kantsuma sets that Demiurge enjoyed with his drinks.

“Now this is it. Still......” Since each god had so much stuff, the living room was covered in boxes.

“It might be better to just hand them over in their boxes without opening them so that I don’t mistakenly give stuff to the wrong gods. I bet they’ll be more excited that way, too.”

I figured that I would need a way to differentiate which box went to whom, so I bought an oil-based magic marker with my Skill. Using the marker, I wrote their names on their respective cardboard boxes.

“This should do it.”

Now I just needed to stuff these in my Item Box.

“Hey. I am hungry.” I heard Fel’s voice from behind me.

“Huh? Is it already that time?”

It seemed that I had ended up whiling away the entire morning just ordering things.

“Ahh, so this kind of thing does happen,” I muttered to myself, glancing at the time. Shopping just ended up taking a lot of time. I was right to have the gods wait a day — I figured it would take a while.

Now then, I should make food before Fel’s stomach starts to rumble.

Of course, it would just be stuff I’d already made, just like breakfast.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After we all had a lunch of blue bull beef bowls with poached eggs on top, everyone lazed around. Fel was once again on his side in the living room, and Dora-chan and Sui were snuggled up to him, taking a nap.

For my part, I looked through my Online Supermarket, shopping for myself as I drank some drip bag coffee.

“I’ll buy ten pairs, just to have extras.” My socks were worn out, so I was buying more.

After that, I went to refill my bath additives since I’d used a lot of my stock from my daily baths. I added some of the usual yuzu-scented stuff with carbonation to my cart.

“I should buy some different ones every once in a while.” I’d just been using this yuzu one lately, so I also tried buying one that was scented with four types of herbs.

Let’s try it out tonight, I thought to myself as I continued shopping.

“Mukohda, we’ve finished repackaging everything you asked us to.”

“Oh, that was fast.”

I had asked the women who worked in the house to repackage the shampoos that I had gotten from my skill, as well as the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power.

“We had that ‘dropper’ you gave us, so we completed it without difficulty. And Selja is very dexterous, so it didn’t take long,” Thereza reported; Selja looked downward, embarrassedly.

Selja’s shy and doesn’t like to assert herself too much, but she works well on the spot, I see. It also looks like she’s good at detailed work. Even though she’s so young, she makes sure to properly get all the small and hard-to-reach places when cleaning.

Of course, the dropper Thereza talked about was something I had bought through the Online Supermarket. I thought a dropper would be really useful for adding Sui’s Special Elixir to the tonic, so when I had checked my Online Supermarket hoping it was there, I had found it. I immediately bought one and made sure to give it to them when I gave them their current task.

“There’s still quite a lot left over, so I’m returning it to you.”

Thereza handed back the bottle with Sui’s Special Elixir in it. Just as she said, there was quite a lot left inside.

For now, I had been asked for two hundred bottles of Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power, including the fifty to be presented to the earl.

So, I can make that much with just this small amount of Elixir, huh?

“I might ask you to do this again, so I’ll be counting on you at that time. You too, Selja,” I said. Both Aija and Thereza replied affirmatively; Selja also nodded bashfully with her “Yes.”

Lotte, too, chimed in: “Lotte will try her best too!”

“Is there anything else you need, Mukohda?”

I gave it some thought. The house was decently clean, and all the repackaging was done. I was planning to just use stuff I had made already for tonight’s dinner — there wasn’t really anything that needed doing right now.

“Not for today. It’s a little early, but you guys can go home if you like,” I said.

“Then let’s go shopping.”

“What’re you going to go buy?”

“We’re running out of vegetables, so we were thinking of going to get more.”

“Huh? I handed you the magic bag, right? You can just buy a whole bunch and put it in there,” I said, and Aija and Thereza looked troubled.

“Even though it’s gotten safer and we don’t need guards anymore, if we brought that with us, we’d be targeted by unsavory sorts.”

“......Ah, right. I see. Magic bags are worth a lot, aren’t they?”

I had an Item Box myself, so I only ever thought of the magic bags as something to give to Fel when he was hunting, but to the rest of the world, they were pretty valuable.

Huh? If that’s the case, then have they been going out to buy vegetables a lot?

I asked, and they confirmed it. They still had a bunch of the flour and vegetables that would keep that I had given them at first, but the tomato-like vegetables, broccoli-like vegetables, and other vegetables and mushrooms that we had gotten in small numbers (because they wouldn’t keep) were something they seemed to be buying once every three days or so.

According to Thereza, who was a former farmer, “If we buy it in town, it’ll be a little wilted and kind of expensive, but there’s no helping that.”

It seemed that Thereza’s family used to raise their own vegetables to eat, so compared to that, food bought from the market in town would be a little lacking in freshness.

“All right then, we’re going shopping so please excuse us.”

“Excuse us.”

Both Aija and Thereza said, with Selja imitating them.

“Bye bye, big bro Mukohda!” Lotte energetically said, waving her small hand.

I saw them off while also waving goodbye.

Still, vegetables huh? It’s true that for vegetables, the fresher the better. Especially for ones that don’t keep well. Why don’t we just go all the way and make a field? My land is big enough for it.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“So I just need to till it like this, Alban?”

“The ground has become soft, so that will be enough. Magic really is amazing, isn’t it? I never thought it could be used like this.”

Using Earth magic, I was tilling a plot of land next to the three servant’s houses behind the main house. Making a field could potentially yield a lot of food if it was taken care of properly, and I thought it was interesting, so I decided to get on it right away.

This is still kinda just a hobby, though.

Of course, I had the former farmer Alban with me as an advisor. As soon as I talked to him about starting a field, he agreed enthusiastically.

It seems like he really does like to work with the earth, thanks to being descended from generations of farmers.

At first, I had considered making the field in front of the main house, but my familiars had objected. I figured it would be fine since the grounds were so wide so they could spare a little bit of space, but they still refused. So I had decided on this spot.

Now that I thought about it more, having the field right next to the servant’s houses would be best. I was planning to leave most of the field maintenance to Alban and his family anyway, and the field would provide food for them, so it would be better for it to be closer to their houses anyway. But given the location, it could only be about as big as a tennis court, so it might be really small from Alban the former farmer’s perspective.

Well, I guess it’s just fated to be something like a kitchen garden.

So I started making the field with that mindset, and I had to start with tilling the land. And because using a hoe would take too long, I decided to try doing it with magic — I figured it had to be possible. Magic was all about the caster’s mental image, and when I imagined tilling the earth and making it softer, it worked out.

I still couldn’t do all of it at once, though. After pouring in my magic power, I managed to do a patch three meters square with a single spell. Taking breaks in between, I repeated the process of imaging and casting twenty times.

“Whew~, this should be about it. Heyyy, I’m counting on you to form the ridges,” I called out to Alban, Oliver, Erik, Tony, and Kosti who were on standby. They all took their hoes (which they had gone out to buy while I was using my magic) and started making ridges for the field. Naturally, Alban the former farmer was good, but so were Oliver and Erik, who helped out, and for their part, Tony and Kosti were also learning from Alban as they went.

“Wowww~, it’s a field! There’s a field here now!” Lotte, who was back from shopping, was bouncing around excitedly.

“Mukohda, this is......”

“My......”

“It’s a field......”

Thereza, Aija, and Selja were surprised seeing the sudden appearance of a field.

“Oh, well, you used to be farmers, so I kind of thought that if you had a farm you could grow some fresh vegetables.”

It will help everyone eat, so it’s not wasteful.

“Hey hey, big bro Mukohda, what’re you gonna plant in the field?” Lotte asked innocently.

Oh yeah, I haven’t thought of that yet. I just had a vague idea to make a field for vegetables. “What do you want me to plant, Lotte?”

“Mmmm... my old field had lots of potatoes.”

Potatoes, huh? So they’re popular in this world too.

“Then maybe I’ll plant some.”

“Okay!”

“Other than that......”

It might not be a bad idea to just go all out and try raising some vegetables and fruits from my world.

While I mulled that over, Alban called out. “We’re done, Mukohda.”

“Oh, good work. All right, this is a good place to stop, so let’s take a break for now.”

I looked through my Online Supermarket thinking that I wanted to serve something as a snack, and melons topped the Deals menu.

Melon, huh? It’s got seeds. That might be good. Maybe they’ll really thrive thanks to the power of being from another world. And even if they don’t sprout, I can just have Alban plant something else. It might be worth a try, at least.

I’d decided, so I went with my favorite: watermelon.

The Online Supermarket’s inventory didn’t really reflect the seasons, so they were selling watermelon like it was just natural that it was there.

By my reckoning, the Online Supermarket didn’t connect to the “real” one in Japan, but was more like some sort of magic that recreated it. So, I figured that the skill must just be showing me the same inventory from back when I was using the “real” one.

I mean, even though there is some indication of seasons changing, like with events and stuff, they still sell stuff that’s out of season like it’s normal too.

Well, that was nothing more than speculation, and I was just happy that they sold me stuff regardless of the season. Thanks to that, I could buy anything as soon as I got the idea. All that aside, I bought some honeydew and watermelon as everybody’s snacks.

At some point my familiars, who were sleeping, had come over.

“You guys are here too? Want some fruit?”

“Of course.”

《Totally.》

《Sui wants some~.》

I had Aija and Thereza help me cut up the honeydew and watermelon. Meanwhile, I had the children go call over the security team. For Fel and the others, I cut away the rind and served it to them on a plate.

“This is honeydew, and this is watermelon. The honeydew is sweet, while the watermelon is both sweet and watery.”

Fel and the others were scarfing the fruit down.

“All of you should eat too. Ah, this watermelon has black seeds, so save those. We can plant those in the field. I’m thinking of using half this field to raise fruits and vegetables, watermelon included, from my world. Alban, what do you think?”

“Of course that’s fine. I’m interested in that, too.”

I’d already separated out some honeydew seeds. Now that I’d gotten Alban’s go-ahead, I decided to look through my Online Supermarket after we were done snacking. It had a gardening section, so I figured they should be selling vegetable seeds too.

“So sweet~!” Lotte seemed happy, with her mouth full of honeydew.

“This red one is so juicy, on top of being sweet. I’ve never eaten anything like this before.” Alban’s eyes opened wide after trying the watermelon.

Yep, that’s right! Both honeydew and watermelon are technically vegetables, though.

Everyone else was also exclaiming about how sweet they were.

But......

“Tabatha, why’re those two crying?”

The idiot twins were crying while they ate, saying, “This sweet stuff hits hard, don’t it?”

“Oh... I’m not sure, but I think it’s probably because they haven’t had meat yet today.”

I inquired further, and learned that those meat-loving twins had only had bread and eggs for breakfast and lunch. Today’s menu was soup with orc and lots of vegetables made by Aija, but just hearing the word “orc” caused the idiot twins to go pale and refuse to eat.

“The soup Aija made was really good though...”

Orc meat huh? I get it. With how desperate that fight was against the orcs yesterday, it’s understandable that they lost their appetite after hearing about orcs.

I had worried over that last night too. In the end, I decided on just doing rockbird yakitori rice bowls.

Well, I did eat orc like normal this morning in the form of a meat soboro bowl, though. But those twins were covered in wounds caused by those orcs... It’s easy to imagine how little they want to remember what happened. I figured they’d be a bit hardier than that, though. They’re more sensitive than I expected.

Even though I knew I shouldn’t laugh, I couldn’t help but let out a little snort.

Once the break was over, I bought seeds using my skill. Just as I suspected, there was a wide variety for sale. For now, I bought everything that caught my eye: lettuce, cucumber, tomato, eggplant, corn, and pumpkin seeds.

Once I showed Alban and the others the packages with the pictures of the vegetables on them, it turned out that they’d never seen any of the vegetables other than the lettuce and tomato.

Actually, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, and pumpkins should be planted after sprouting, but since we were just testing things out, we planted them as seeds. From what I’d heard, this town stayed warm all year, so it would be fine to plant them even now.

Along with the honeydew and watermelon, we tried planting each type of seed in its own row. Everyone helped, so the work was quickly done.

Once we finished planting the seeds, we spread some fertilizer. I had picked out some liquid fertilizer at the same time I was buying seeds.

I handed Alban, Tony, and the others their watering cans, and I mixed in some of the concentrated liquid fertilizer inside. Then each of them took turns watering the field.

“It’d be great if we can raise those swee-eet fruits~!”

Lotte was all smiles as she talked. It seemed like she had really taken a liking to the honeydew.

“Yeah. It’d be great if it goes well.”

I hope the power of the other world gets these things to grow well.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Aaahh~, I love baths!”

《They feel so good every time~!》

《So good—!》

This night as well, I was taking a bath with Dora-chan and Sui. I soaked in the waters and relaxed my body, which was tired from making the field.

I was trying out the herb-scented (chamomile) bath additives that I had bought in the afternoon. The scent was on the sweeter side, but it wasn’t bad.

As a Japanese person, every day I once again appreciate how nice baths are. I’d be fine just staying here forever, but that’s not gonna be possible with Fel and the others around, is it? They all have the idea of going to a new dungeon in their heads, too. I won’t be able to avoid it. They’ll probably make a huge stink about it soon.

*Sigh* I don’t wanna go to a dungeon...

While I was thinking deeply about the subject, I continued to leisurely soak in the bath.

“Ahhh~...”

《Huaahhh~...》

Was that Dora-chan? He sounds like an old man.

I opened up my eyes just a pinch to take a peek, and saw Dora-chan, floating in the water and looking like he was really enjoying it. The sight of him floating along while scratching at his belly exactly resembled that of an old man. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight as I closed my eyes once again.

Right before I was about to fall asleep because it felt so good, I managed to force myself out of the bath. I called out to Sui, who wasn’t coming out.

“Sui, we’re getting out.”

Sui just kept floating along, giving no answer.

《Hey, is Sui asleep?》

“Huh?”

《Zzzzz......》

“He totally is.”

《Thought so. Geez, that kid......》

I dried Dora-chan off with a towel before doing the same to Sui while it was still asleep.

《I’m tired too, so I’ll take Sui and go on ahead to bed.》

“Hey, you sure you’re all right?”

《Ha! I can at least carry something that weighs as much as Sui, dumbass,》 Dora-chan said, before picking up Sui, who was a little bigger than him, with both arms.

“Oh, looks like you’re fine. Then I’m counting on you.”

《Sure, sure.》

Dora-chan flew up to the second floor while carrying Sui. I changed into some sweats instead of my usual pajamas and headed for the living room. I actually wanted to just head straight to sleep, but I had made a promise.

Sitting on a chair in the living room, I called out to the gods.

“Are you all there, everyone~?”

＜We’re here! We’ve been waiting!＞

＜We’re here!＞

＜Yo! We were waiting for you!＞

＜Yes. Waiting.＞

＜Ohhh! F-Finally!!＞

＜Indeed!＞

It seemed that everyone was waiting on standby, on edge for just when I would call.

But they couldn’t have been waiting this entire time, could they?

＜We waited! We waited allll this time! We were watching while you picked out our offerings, you know?! Ever since then, we’ve been so excited, we just couldn’t help it~!＞

O-Oh... Th-That long? Doesn’t that mean you watched me the entire day, Ninrir?

＜Sorry. But we were really looking forward to it, you know?＞

＜Exactly. We were so excited, we just couldn’t help ourselves. Please overlook it.＞

＜I was looking forward to cake and ice cream.＞

＜I’ve been itching all day to try out the whiskey you picked.＞

＜Yeah. We noticed you got quite the selection. We couldn’t help but be excited to drink them.＞

Well, when they put it like that, it’s not like I don’t get it. Especially since I just handed them their special bonuses that had been taken away yesterday. If they were looking forward to it that much, then I guess I should hurry up and send them their stuff.

“An entire month’s worth of offerings is too much to parcel out, so I’ll be sending them to you still in their boxes. Once you receive them, make sure you check the contents carefully. Now then, starting from Ninrir...”

I took out the cardboard boxes labeled with Ninrir’s name from my Item Box.

“If you were watching, then you should already know that I chose a selection of sweets and confections centered around dorayaki. Please receive them.”

＜Thank you—! Waaah! I-It’s been so long since I’ve had dorayakiiiii!＞

The cardboard box disappeared in time with Ninrir’s cry. Right after that, I heard the sound of the cardboard box being ripped open. Then......

＜Dorayakiiiiiii! It’s so goooooood!＞

............Yeah, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.

“Uhhh, next is Kisharle. Please accept this.”

I retrieved the cardboard box marked with Kisharle’s name from my Item Box.

＜Th-Thank you! I ran out of facial lotion and cream! You’re my savior. I’m so glad... so glad......!＞ Kisharle said, sounding relieved from the bottom of her heart.

Then, Kisharle’s box disappeared. Just like with Ninrir, I immediately heard the sounds of the cardboard box being opened.

＜Facial lotion and cream! Finally, I finally got what I wanted!＞

Just how dependent are you on those things, Kisharle?

“N-Next is Agni, right?”

As soon as I retrieved and put down Agni’s portion from my Item Box, it disappeared.

＜Thanks, man! Yes~! You totally know what I like! That beer I got yesterday was so mind blowing that I already finished it. Now I’ll have enough cold beer to last me a while!＞

Whaaat~? Y-You already drank it? There was quite a lot in what I gave you......

I was a little worried that what I just gave her wouldn’t last her a month given how much she managed to drink in a day, but she had no choice but to make do.

＜I’m next. Please give me ice cream.＞

S-Sure. Did she run out?

“Uhh, this is your share, Miss Ruka.”

Once again, I took a cardboard box out from my Item Box and it, too, quickly disappeared.

＜Thanks. Ice cream~ ice cream~...＞

Heheh, she must have really wanted ice cream.

＜＜We’re next!＞＞

“Yeah yeah, I know already. This is Hephaestos and Vahagn’s portion. Hup.”

I lined up some boxes that were quite a bit heavier than the other goddess’ portions.

＜Ohhhhh! It’s the whiskey we’ve been waiting for!＞

＜Yesterday’s whiskey was good, of course, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to taste all these too!＞ At the same time Hephaestos’ and Vahagn’s excited voices rang through my head, the boxes disappeared. Then came the sounds of the cardboard boxes being ripped open.

＜Ohh! You totally get us!＞

＜Yeah. You really do get that we want to try a whole bunch of different whiskeys. As expected!＞

＜Hey, War God! This one and this one are new!＞

＜Oh! You’re right! Right, we’re starting from these!＞

＜Of course!＞

＜Ah, by the way, if you ever need anything, give me a shout. I’ll be sure to help you out.＞

＜Indeed. The same goes for me. I’ll do anything.＞

“O-Okay. I-I’m fine for right now, so......”

......Hephaestos and Vahagn are way too excited. Well, the same goes for all the gods though. They were all starving for this, after all.

“Well, I’m done now, so let’s just hurry up and sleep.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After waking up and enjoying a hearty breakfast, I heard a panicked voice calling out for me.

“M-Mukohda! It’s terrible!”

“Hm? Oh, it’s Alban. Morning. What’s got you so panicked?”

“Th-The field! The field!”

The field?

Alban was so panicked that he just kept repeating that, so this conversation was going nowhere.

“Did something happen to the field?”

Alban nodded frantically.

“Then let’s go take a look.”

I told Fel and the others that I’d pop outside for a look. When I headed for the field we had just made yesterday with Alban in tow, I found everyone else there, staring at the field.

“What’s wrong? Why’re you all here?”

Even while thinking this was strange, I looked over at the field. Then......

“W-What the hell?!”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Surprisingly, the seeds we’d just planted yesterday were all nearly grown with a thick set of fresh, healthy-looking leaves and buds.

“A-Alban, is the land here incredibly fertile or something?”

“N-No, I’ve never heard of anything like that......”

Then is this really through the power of the other world? But...... isn’t this way too much? I never even imagined it would grow this much in just one night. All I was hoping out of the otherworld bonuses was maybe something like slightly faster-than-normal growth, or like, growing even when it normally wouldn’t, like with the out-of-season honeydew and watermelon I got with my skill.

No matter just how much stronger stuff from the other world is, this is really unexpected. Are the seeds I got that full of otherworld power?

......No, wait a second. Maybe it’s not the seeds, but the fertilizer we used yesterday?

Plagued by the possibility, I took the fertilizer bottle out from my Item Box. Then, when I looked closely at it......

“Gah......!”

“What’s wrong?” Alban called out to me, noticing I was frozen and staring at the bottle of liquid fertilizer.

“The liquid fertilizer we used yesterday... it was too strong...”

I thought it was one cap’s worth for a liter, not one cap’s worth for ten liters.

Oh maaan......

It was ten times stronger than it should have been. I had used a four-liter watering can, so I’d put in four caps’ worth. And I sprayed the fertilizer on extra-thick......

When I talked to Alban about it, he told me that, in this world, farming relied on the land a lot more. They basically just tilled the land and planted the seeds. Once that was done, at most, they would make sure to weed the fields.

So even when I asked them about the nutrients in the soil, it didn’t really click for any of them. They just figured that having more nutrients would be better than less.

“Big bro Mukohda! The buds got bigger!”

While I was racking my brain over what to do, Lotte came over and tried to pull me somewhere by the hand.

I couldn’t believe it. The buds were growing before my very eyes.

“Whoa! W-W-What do we do?! U-Uhh, you have to fertilize stuff in the gourd family like melons and squash, right?!” I asked Alban.

But there was no way he’d know. After all, all this stuff was from the other world.

“Calm down, Mukohda. The bag the seeds came in should still be here; it has to say something......” I said to calm myself.

I took out the packet of seeds we had planted yesterday.

“H-Huh? Cucumbers are gourds too?”

The packet had a set of instructions written on it. It looked like cucumbers didn’t need to be fertilized. I checked the instructions for the squash too, and confirmed that they needed fertilization, as I had expected.

“The way to do it is......”

The flowers with a swell at the bottom are female, while those without the swelling are male.

Pick the male flower, then remove all the petals so only the stamen is left. Then, gently poke the stamen into the female flower’s pistil until pollen is left on it, and it’s done...

Also, it seems that if you only allow around three gourds per stem, it’ll produce sweet squash.

As for the honeydew and watermelon, I hadn’t bought the seeds directly, so I had no instructions to read off of. However, I figured that since they were all in the gourd family, they should probably be cared for the same way as the squash.

At any rate, with how much they had grown in a single night as well as how large the buds were, there was no doubt they’d bloom today. The plants wouldn’t produce fruit if they weren’t pollinated, so I needed to do it.

“Alban, all of you stop your yard work for now and work on this field for the day. Other than that, the rest of you resume your normal duties,” I declared. Lotte raised her hand, responding with an energetic, “Here!”

“Lotte, what’s up?”

“Big bro Mukohda, Lotte wants to work on the field too!”

Her mother, Thereza, had a troubled expression as she exclaimed, “This child!”

“Haha! Field work, huh? Then make sure you listen to your father.”

Lotte responded to that with a smile and a nod. Lotte didn’t really count as part of the working force no matter what she wanted to do, so there wasn’t really a problem with allowing her to join the guys.

After that, the women returned to the main house, and the security team went back to guarding the gate and patrolling the grounds.

As for me, I stayed and taught the remaining men and Lotte how to pollinate plants. I also told them to only allow three buds to grow on each stem. Since they used to be farmers, they understood immediately. It’d probably be fine to just leave it all up to Alban.

“From the looks of things, they’ll bud really soon, so watch it closely. Once buds start to form, pollinate them,” I told them, to which they all replied affirmatively.

“Lotte will watch for the buds too!”

“Yeah. If you see one, tell your father.”

“Got it~.” As soon as she said that, Lotte held a staring contest with one of the stems.

“Right then. Alban, I’m counting on you.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“What happened?”

“Oh, uh, you see... the seeds we planted yesterday......”

I told Fel about what I saw at the field.

“I understand, but what is wrong with it growing fast?”

“It’s not bad, but it’s definitely not normal. Wouldn’t you be surprised?”

“Is it that sort of thing?”

Uh, “that sort of thing?” You know, anybody’d be surprised if something they planted yesterday was already flowering.

“I mean, Fel, you have absolutely no interest in plants, do you? Judging from how you just said, ‘that sort of thing?’”

“Indeed. None at all.”

Oh, he went and declared it.

“Come on... why did you even ask, then?”

“Mm, I just felt like it. More importantly, we are going hunting today, yes?”

Oh right. I did promise to take them. But I need to head to Lambert’s store and the Adventurer’s guild today too......

“Hey, you cannot be planning on telling me that hunting will be delayed again. Hm?”

Urggh...... Fel’s look is scary.

“Uhhh, no, it’s not like that. I was just going to go to Lambert’s to drop off some product and then we needed to go to the Adventurer’s guild after that......” I glanced over at Fel as I spoke.

“Even so, that will not take the entire day, no?”

“W-Well, that’s true, but......”

Personally, I wanted to take today easy if at all possible.

“Why do you not just say things clearly? We are going to hurry and finish your errands before we go hunting. Dora, Sui, we are leaving.”

Oh... so Fel’s already decided we’re going hunting huh?

“Hey, we are going.”

“Wait! I need to go get the stuff I’m delivering, so just wait a second.”

“You are being too slow. Hurry it up.”

Yeah, yeah. Damn.

I asked the women to bring the shampoo and Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power up from the basement. I stored the items in my Item Box, and when I climbed up the stairs, I found Fel and the others waiting for me.

“All right, let us go. Get on.”

Fel didn’t let me get a word in edgewise as he hurried me on to his back, and we headed for Lambert’s store.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When we arrived at Lambert’s store, it was so early that we found it empty. I asked one of the employees to call Lambert.

“Good morning, Mukohda.”

“Good morning. I came to deliver the product.”

“Ohh! That’s great! Come, come, in here.”

I followed Lambert to a room in the rear of the store.

“Okay then. I believe the order should have been for two hundred bottles, including the portion to be presented to the earl.”

I retrieved the boxes with the shampoo and Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power packed inside from my Item Box. Lambert planned to sell both the shampoo and the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power as a set, since the shampoo strengthened the effect of the hair tonic.

“I was planning to send you a messenger to ask about your progress tomorrow. To be honest, the earl is waiting anxiously for the results of his request......”

Apparently, the earl’s huge change had sent waves through the nobility, and he’d been inundated with questions from other nobles demanding to know what happened. And since answering their questions would be mostly impossible without the products at hand, the earl seemed to be keen on hurrying Lambert. For that reason, Lambert was going to quickly depart to the capital to deliver the hair tonic in person.

“Now I’ll be leaving within the next couple days for the capital.”

Lambert told me that he’d go as soon as his preparations were finished. A prospective buyer would need an introduction from the earl, but Lambert expected the earl to be swamped with people who wanted to buy, so he told me he would be bringing an extra fifty sets on top of the fifty reserved for the earl.

50 gold for a bottle seemed pretty exorbitant to me, so I started to worry about whether or not the tonic would actually sell, given how many Lambert was bringing along. But Lambert himself was fully confident that he’d sell out.

“You’ve seen its effects, right? No one who’s even a little worried about their hair will hold back on this.”

I mean, sure, but it’s just hair, right? Like, whether you have hair or go bald, it doesn’t affect your life, you know? And we are asking 50 gold for just a bottle. I can only imagine that people would hesitate.

But according to Lambert: “Those who are worried about their hair will pay anything to fix that. If you look at it from the other side, this is a cheap price to pay to get rid of one of your worries.”

Now that he mentioned it, that might be true. But it wasn’t something I had to worry about, so I couldn’t relate anyway.

Oh right, I need to tell Lambert about the guildmaster, since he was the guinea pig for the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power instead of me.

“Lambert, I need to tell you something......”

I told him about the guildmaster, who was the first to try out the tonic.

“I see, the guildmaster...”

“That’s right. So, he wanted to be able to buy some if I were to sell it...... He doesn’t have the earl’s introduction, but could you make an exception for him?”

Lambert told me that since the earl learned about it through the guildmaster, it should be fine to sell to him.

That’s great. The guildmaster really wanted it, after all. It’s expensive at 50 gold a bottle, but the guildmaster earns a lot, so he should be fine. Well, I’m leaving all the sales stuff to Lambert, so it’s all up to him and his endeavors if he wants it anyway.

“All right then. I’ll get your payment ready, so please wait a moment,” Lambert said before leaving the room. After a while, he came back with a bag in hand.

“Here it is. Please confirm the amount.”

I looked inside and found 51 platinum coins.

Huh? Isn’t this too much......? From my agreement with Lambert, I should be getting 5 silver for the shampoo and 33 gold for the hair tonic per bottle. Outside of the portion for the earl, I should be getting paid for one hundred and fifty sets, which would make 75 gold for the shampoo and 4950 for the hair tonic for a total of 5025 gold. But 51 platinum coins means he just gave me 5100 gold. That’s an extra 75 gold.

“Lambert, there’s too much money in here.”

“I couldn’t stand for not paying you for the earl’s share, so I added a little extra. Sorry for it being too little.”

“No no, that was the deal to gain the earl’s backing. I can’t take this money and cause trouble for you, Lambert.”

“Trouble? Not at all. It’s thanks to you that I’m selling soap and shampoo and have earned so much. I’m attracting more customers now, too, which raises the sales of my leather goods. Not only that, but you’re even allowing me to sell this hair tonic, which is a surefire hit. This money only represents a small portion of what you’re giving to the earl would be originally worth, but please take it,” Lambert said, smiling.

Hmmm, he’s never going to take back the extra money, is he? Oh fine. I’ll just take it this time.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept it.” I stored the bag of platinum coins in my Item Box.

After that, we made small talk for a while before I made my leave.

“All right then, be careful out there Lambert. Give my greetings to the earl.”

“Yes, thanks for your concern. Depending on how well sales go in the capital, I’ll be asking you for more bottles. I’ll be counting on you when that time comes.”

I exchanged parting words with Lambert before leaving the store. Lambert asked me to guard him until the capital, but I politely refused. After all, the capital just seemed overly troublesome.

“Right. You are done, yes? Next errand.”

Hurried along by Fel, who wanted to get to hunting, we headed off for our next destination: the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

As we entered the Adventurer’s guild, the guildmaster came to see us immediately. Someone must have tipped him off.

“Yo, you’re here. Right then, to the 2nd floor.”

“No, that’s......”

“Hey. We are going hunting after this. Make it quick.”

《Yeah, since we’re going hunting.》

《Hunting—!》

“Well, that’s how it is.”

The guildmaster and I looked at Fel, who was acting like this was a matter of course, as well as Dora-chan, who was flying over Fel, and Sui, who was riding on top of Fel. He couldn’t hear Dora-chan and Sui, but it seemed he understood that they all wanted to go hunting.

“Haha! Hunting, huh? We’ll profit from that too, so I’ll have to make this quick, won’t I? Right then, let’s go to the storehouse directly.”

With us in tow, the guildmaster headed for the storehouse.

“Hey Johan, we’re here.”

And of course, Johan was there to greet us.

“You’re here, bro. The orc general and leader are done. I have the meat ready.”

I received the meat for the orc general and leader.

It’s impressive how fast old man Johan works. Though he was complaining about how he still needed to dismember more orcs after this as well.

According to him, when I had left the orcs here the day before yesterday, he had worked with the other butchers to get my order done in a hurry. I still had quite a lot of orc meat in storage, after all, so I had only asked for the meat from the elite variants and just sold off everything from the run-of-the-mill orcs.

It might be a lot of work, but do your best.

“As for the breakdown of this sale: all the orc meat and testes comes out to 2 gold and 2 silver per orc. For a hundred and thirty-six orcs, that’s a total of 299 gold and 2 silver. Then, there’s the orc leader and orc general testes. Right now, the demand for the testes of elite orc variants is high, so those are worth a little more. The orc leader is 11 gold and the orc general is 12 gold. All told, you’ll be getting 322 gold and 2 silver.”

Old man Johan put a bag of money down on the table.

“I prepared the money for you in large gold coins this time. Inside you’ll find 32 large gold coins, 2 gold, and 2 silver. Check it, please.”

I checked inside the bag.

One, two, three............ Yep, it’s all here.

“It looks good.”

“Right. Then next is your reward for the extermination. It was a sudden request, so I added a little extra on top, another 200 gold. I also prepared that sum in large gold coins, so please check the amount.”

I received a bag of money from the guildmaster and found all twenty large gold pieces inside.

“Yes, it’s correct.”

As soon as I stored both bags of money into my Item Box, Johan spoke up, seeming like he had found an opening.

“Hey by the way bro, did you manage to get anything unusual?”

“Well, a little...... Ah, can I get you to take care of it?”

I thought of the gigant mimic chameleon and garuda that Fel and the others had caught the last time they had all gone hunting.

No matter how I look at it, that thing isn’t edible. This’ll be better than just letting it sit in my Item Box forever.

“Well, maybe after I look at it. You bring some good stuff, but you also have crazy stuff like that orthrus, chimera, and earth dragon. You easily produce stuff that a guild our size just can’t really deal with,” said the guildmaster.

Crazy? That’s not my fault though... Fel and the others just kill them on their own. I can’t stop them.

“If you put it like that, that makes it harder for me to bring them out... These’re S-ranks too......”

“Geez. S-ranks? Well just show us for now.”

“Uhhh, then......”

I brought out the gigant mimic chameleon and garuda from my Item Box and set them out in a free spot in the storehouse.

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

““PFFFFFT!””

Both the guildmaster and Johan did a spit take.

Filthy!

“A-A gigant mimic chameleon?!”

“This one’s a garuda! This is the first time I’ve ever seen one in the flesh. Ever since I met you, bro, I’ve been seeing monsters I only ever thought I’d read about in books one after another. Hahaha!”

Don’t laugh like that, old man. Aren’t you the one who wanted me to get rare stuff? You too, guildmaster. Don’t be so surprised. I already told you they were S-ranked.

“So, will you buy it......?”

“Yeah, no. It’s impossible.”

Thought so.

“Well, we might be able to do something with the gigant mimic chameleon in a little while. I mean, we just bought a chimera off you, y’know? It’s too bad, though.”

The guildmaster claimed that he’d be able to do something about the chameleon after the money for the chimera came in, but it would be impossible at the moment. The gigant mimic chameleon’s meat wasn’t fit for consumption, but aside from that, its hide, organs, tongue, and blood were all usable materials. On top of that, the chameleon usually lived camouflaged deep in the forest, so it was apparently hard to find in the first place. That was why, whenever one appeared on the market, it was always expensive, and the guildmaster always felt disappointed that he couldn’t afford it.

“Well, this time we have to let it go. If you don’t manage to sell it somewhere else, come again later.”

“Okay.”

According to the guildmaster, the garuda was “only sellable at the capital or in a dungeon city.”

I guess this one gets to stew in my Item Box for a while too.

“Oh right, do you have a minute, guildmaster?”

“What is it?”

“Uhh, it’s about......” I looked up at the guildmaster’s hair, and he seemed to get it.

“Ohh, that!”

“Yes. I’m starting to sell it at Lambert’s store. So......”

I told him that it was set so one had to have the earl’s introduction to buy it, but I made sure the guildmaster was an exception.

“Ahh, izzat so? Still, 50 gold, huh? Well, I guess it’s cheap for how much it does. I’ll just have to work hard even during off days...”

“‘Work hard on off days’? Are you going to take up a second job or something?”

“Well, rather than a second job, it’s more like I’ll be coming out of retirement a little.”

From what the guildmaster said, even if an adventurer retired, their registration was still kept on record, so if they ever needed money, they could just hunt some monsters and sell them. This was especially true for high ranking adventurers.

“I used to be an A-ranked adventurer, you know?” The guildmaster grinned.

If that’s the case, he’ll probably be fine. Work hard and buy all the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power you like.

“All right then, we need to leave. Fel and the others are starting to look very impatient.”

“Sure. You’re going out hunting now, aren’t you? Be careful. Well, you’ll probably be fine.”

As soon as we left the adventurer’s guild, Fel and Dora-chan started complaining.

“Sorry, sorry.”

“For crying out loud, how many times have I told you to make it quick? You...”

《Fel’s right. Sui’s fallen asleep and everything.》

Dora-chan was right; Sui had dozed off in my bag at some point.

“I said I was sorry. But I didn’t take as long as you’re all saying. There’s still more than enough time to go hunting. Let’s just go.”

“Hmph! Get on.”

“Fine, fine.”

As soon as I was on top of him, Fel walked briskly towards the gates.

Chapter 7: Barbecue with Fresh Vegetables

“Then let us go.”

《I’m gonna get something big today. You just watch!》

《Master — Sui’s gonna go pew-pew a whole bunch and get lots of good stuff~!》

“Sure. I’m looking forward to it.”

“At any rate, you know what you need to be doing, yes?”

“I know, I know already. I’ll get it ready.”

Fel nodded, satisfied, before leading Dora-chan and Sui into the forest.

“He told me to get it ready, but......”

We had come to the forest after our visit to the Adventurer’s guild. After an early lunch, Fel and the others went out hunting. During our early lunch, Fel had remembered something......

“Oh yes, we have not eaten the chimera’s meat yet. What happened to that?”

To be honest, I panicked a little. I was purposefully not using it.

I mean, with how it looks...... it has a lion’s, a goat’s, and a dragon’s head (albeit, the dragon part looks more like an alligator), with a venomous snake for a tail. Anybody who lays eyes on that thing would think twice about eating it.

My Appraisal said it was edible, even going so far as to say it was the highest grade of red meat which could be grilled or boiled, but I couldn’t help being a little skeptical. And even without the chimera meat, I had lots of other meat in store, so I had never had to use it until now. But Fel wouldn’t let it go......

Even if I use something else, Fel will probably be able to tell since he’s already tasted it, too. I guess I’ll just have to give up and use the chimera meat.

I took the chimera meat out of my Item Box.

“The meat’s a really pretty red, but that’s just the meat......”

If I wasn’t told that this was chimera meat, then I’d probably happily use this.

“For now, I won’t know what it’s like until I try some...”

In order to see the flavor for myself, I cut off a small bit of the meat and seasoned it with salt and pepper before grilling it.

“I’m eating orc meat easily now. Chimeras are fine. Yeah, totally fine.”

It was the same for orcs too. I used to have an aversion to eating them, but now they were just like any other meat to me. While telling myself it’d be fine, I took the piece of meat and nibbled at the edge of it.

............It’s good, I think.

I then bit off about half of the remaining piece of grilled meat. I chewed slowly and deliberately.

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

“Sooo goooooooood...”

Appraisal tells no lies.

With every chew, the umami practically oozed out. It tasted similar to beef. I had once had some New York-style dry-aged beef at a restaurant. This was similar. Back then, I had been really impressed. I remembered thinking to myself, So, red meat can taste this good...

The strong flavor of this meat, which burst out with every chew, would enchant even somebody who only tolerated meat.

“I really was just prejudiced about its looks. If it’s this good, it doesn’t matter that it’s a chimera. Haha!”

Now the problem was how to cook this meat. It’d be a waste to slice meat this good too thinly, so I might as well make something big and hearty that you could really sink your teeth into. If I wanted to maximize the taste of this meat, it had to be a steak. And I’d only season it with salt and pepper.

However, just steak on its own is kind of boring. I should make one more dish......

Since Appraisal said it was good boiled too, I could make a stew, but it’d take too long to cook it enough to be soft and tender.

Hmmm...... Ah, how about frying it? It tastes close to beef, so it might be nice to fry it like a beef cutlet.

Chimera cutlet? Right — let’s do that.

With that settled, I needed to shop for ingredients. I’d need flour, eggs, and panko breadcrumbs for the crispy coating. Simple would be best for enjoying this cutlet, so just wasabi soy sauce should be good for the dressing.

In that case, I’ll need good quality wasabi and soy sauce.

“Oh, this looks good.”

I was looking at a naturally-brewed fresh soy sauce. It was a little expensive, but for something as good as chimera meat, it had to be high quality.

I also bought an entire fresh wasabi root, which I planned to grind myself. And I found some salt extracted from roasted seaweed that seemed like it would go well with the cutlets, so I decided to buy that too. I’d used that kind of salt before; it was a larger grain, and milder than normal salt. It was quite good.

“Now then. Let’s start with the steak.”

For the steak, I used the usual method to grill it with aluminum foil.

I used the pepper in the grinder that I’d bought before, and I used the salt I’d received from the members of Shadow Warrior back in Aveling. I was told it was rock salt from Mt. Yermolay.

I ground up some of the pink-colored rock salt to try it. It had a pleasant taste, mild and round.

Thus, I made chimera steak seasoned with freshly ground pepper and rock salt.

*Gulp*

“...Taste-testing is the privilege of the cook, right?”

I took a bite.

“Ahh~, delicious.”

Every time I chewed, the meat’s juices spilled forth, reinforcing the feeling that I was eating really high-quality meat.

I almost can’t help myself...

I somehow managed to suppress the urge to keep eating and started on the next dish, the chimera cutlet.

I seasoned both sides of the chimera meat with the same salt and pepper I had used on the steak just now. Then, I thinly coated the meat in flour before dipping it in an egg wash to help the panko stick on properly. Once that was finished, I fried it in hot oil until it turned a light brown.

While being careful not to burn myself on the nicely browned chimera cutlet, I cut into it.

*Crisssp*

Every slice was accompanied by a satisfying crispy sound.

“Great, it turned out well.”

The inside was medium rare, the best possible outcome.

“Heheheh, now a taste test......”

I grated a small amount of wasabi on the freshly fried and sliced cutlet before taking a piece, dipping the end into the fresh soy sauce, and taking a bite.

“This is so amaaaaaziiing...”

The breaded surface was nice and crisp, and the meat inside was soft and juicy.

The crunchy bite and rush of meat juices tastes so good with the wasabi and soy sauce.

“This is irresistible.”

I couldn’t stop myself from taking a second and even a third piece.

“Wait, I can’t just keep eating this with wasabi and soy sauce. I need to try it with that seaweed salt.”

For the next piece, I tried it after adding some of the seaweed salt.

“Ohhh~, this is pretty nice too.”

The seaweed salt was slightly sharp and brought out the taste of the meat. I ended up having a second piece with this seasoning as well.

“Oh no, I need to stop. It was so good I ate too much. But could this be good enough to rival dragon meat?” I talked to myself about the chimera’s tastiness.

The chimera wasn’t as big as a dragon, so there was less meat. There was only enough for this meal, and at best two more after. And I was almost out of earth dragon meat, too......

I’m going to have to carefully consider how and when to use the meat, won’t I... Good meat always goes away fast. Well, there’s still lots of tasty meat available in this world, so I’ll probably get more later anyway.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“We are back.”

“Oh, welcome.”

My familiars had returned from hunting.

《I’m so hungry~.》

《Sui is also hungry~.》

“I have food ready. More importantly, how was the hunt?”

《Well... Fel?》

“Hm. We had bad luck today.”

《Sui couldn’t go pew-pew much today...》

I checked inside the magic bag Fel was carrying.

Three red boars, four cockatrices, and......

“This is really big. Is it a goat?”

It was a huge black goat, around twice as big as normal. It had curved horns and a very muscular body.

“That is a monster called a black goat. Its meat has a peculiar flavor, and I do not like it very much. But it is what we found, so we hunted it.”

When I used Appraisal, I found that it was a B-ranked monster, and that its meat was edible but gamey. Fel was right.

Now that I think about it, I’ve never had goat before. But I have heard that it’s very gamey. It might be fine to just sell the whole thing.

《That’s it for today,》 Dora-chan said sadly.

“Well, days like this happen. It’s amazing you got even this much. Also, I can butcher red boars and cockatrices myself in a pinch if I have to, so there’s no problem hunting as many of those as you can.”

《You say that, but...》

《Sui wanted to go pew-pew more...》

“There is no helping it. Any large monsters within my detection range today were too far away.”

“Now, now, there’s always next time. More importantly, you’re all hungry, right? Let’s eat.”

“Indeed. The meat is......”

“Of course, it’s the chimera meat you wanted.”

I served everyone a plate with steak on it.

“The meat is amazingly delicious, so I just seasoned it simply with salt and pepper.”

My familiars quickly dug in.

“Mm. Good!”

《I’ve never eaten chimera before. This is really good meat!》

《So delicious—!》

“It really is, isn’t it? Even though it looks like that.”

Everyone was eating, engrossed by the delicious flavor of the chimera. Even I, who ate quite a bit while taste testing, couldn’t help myself.

“The salt and pepper is good, but steak sauce should work too. Want any?” I asked Fel, who loved the stuff. He nodded, so I served him another steak with his favorite garlic-flavored steak sauce on top.

“This is delectable. The salt and pepper were plenty good, but I honestly prefer this. This flavor further brings out and emphasizes the flavor and umami of the meat,” Fel said, continuing to chow down.

《Ah, I want some too.》

《Sui wants some too—!》

Seeing Fel enjoy his so much, Dora-chan and Sui jumped on the bandwagon and asked for the steak sauce. When I complied, they seemed like they really enjoyed it, saying, 《This is good,》 and 《Sui likes this too—!》

Going with the flow, I also added the steak sauce to my own portion. The garlic flavor really whetted the appetite, and I couldn’t stop eating.

“Oh, it’s all gone. This garlic flavor is dangerous.”

I need to be careful not to eat too much — there’s still another dish waiting in the wings.

“I made another dish. I tried frying the chimera meat in oil. You can have this with some wasabi and soy sauce, or with seaweed salt. Wasabi’s a little bit spicy. Would you rather not have that, Sui?”

《Hmmm, Sui doesn’t like spicy things, but Sui will try a little—.》

I served them two cutlets each, one with the soy sauce mixed with wasabi, and the other with the seaweed salt.

Sui was just trying out the wasabi and soy sauce, so I only gave it half of a cutlet for that one.

“This is delicious. This one especially.”

It looked like Fel clearly preferred the soy sauce mixed with wasabi. Fel said that the seaweed salt wasn’t bad, but the wasabi and soy sauce went really well with the meat with its sharp, biting spices.

《I prefer this one with the seaweed salt.》

It looked like Dora-chan liked the one with the seaweed salt. While he didn’t hate the wasabi mixed with soy sauce and the potent spices that brought out the meat’s flavor, the seaweed salt allowed the umami of the meat to hit him even harder.

“How about you, Sui?”

《Hmm, this spicy one isn’t good. This salt here is much better—!》

As I expected, the spiciness was too soon for Sui’s child-like tastes.

Sui said that the seaweed salt was good, but there should be something else that would suit Sui’s tastes better.

“Eat this for now Sui. There’s something else I think you might like, so wait a bit.”

I served Sui another cutlet with seaweed salt and got to cooking. I bought a can of demiglace sauce with my skill and started heating its contents on a frying pan along with some ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Then, I added a little sugar and butter before checking the taste.

“Yeah, this is good.”

I put the finished demiglace sauce onto some chimera cutlet.

“Here you go, Sui.”

《Wooow~, it smells good!》

Sui absorbed the chimera cutlet with demiglace sauce.

《So delicious~. Sui likes this the best—!》

It looked like the demiglace sauce fit perfectly with Sui’s tastes. It must have actually really liked the demiglace sauce, as Sui ate piles of it.

“Mm? What is that? It looks good. Give that to me too.”

《I want that too.》

Fel and Dora-chan, who had seen what happened, asked for the sauce too.

“You too, guys? Wait a second.”

I served Fel and Dora-chan some cutlets with demiglace sauce.

“Mm, this is pretty good as well.”

《Yeah. It is.》

It seemed that, unexpectedly, Fel and Dora-chan took to the demiglace sauce quite well.

《More—!》

“Already? Hold on.”

“More for me as well. I want both steak and this cutlet.”

《More cutlet here too. With the seaweed salt.》

“You guys too?”

I readied extra portions for everyone. And just like that, we enjoyed the chimera meat until dusk.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After my familiars had gone to sleep, I went to the living room.

“Now then. One more thing to do. I need to make my offering to Demiurge......”

I retrieved the cardboard box with Demiurge’s offering in it from my Item Box.

I had sent my offerings to Ninrir and the others yesterday, but I didn’t think it was proper to lump Demiurge in with the rest, so I had delayed by a day. Just like I had done for them, I was leaving Demiurge’s offerings in the box.

“Please accept this gift, great Demiurge.”

＜Ohh, thanks for doing this so often~. Hm? It’s in a box today?＞

“Yes. I thought that it would be more exciting to have to open it.”

＜You’re right about that. Then I’ll open it now.＞

As Demiurge spoke, the cardboard box disappeared. I could hear the sounds of it being opened.

＜Oh! You gave me this bottle before.＞

“Yes. All three of those bottles may be from the same brewer, but one of them is a Junmai Daiginjo, the other a Ginjo, and the last a special Honjozo. The point of the set is to try out different types of sake from the same brewer.”

＜Is there a difference? If they are all from the same brewer, they should be pretty similar.＞

“Uhhh, the difference between the three types is... Basically, the method of brewing them is different. There are differences in how polished the rice is, how much yeast there is in the mixture, the amount of extra alcohol added in, the temperature it’s fermented at, and other stuff. There’s a lot of differences like that, so even if the brand is the same, the flavor ends up very different. This set is something picked out so you can discover and enjoy those differences.”

＜I see. The flavor of sake is truly a well that runs deep. I will try these tomorrow with my supper.＞

“The usual Kantsuma snacks are there too, so please feel free to enjoy those with your alcohol.”

＜Indeed, indeed. Those really pair well with sake. I’m looking forward to it. Ho! Ho! Ho!＞

Demiurge’s calm laugh rang through my head.

＜By the way, how were they?＞

Ahh, the gods, right?

“If you’re talking about the other gods, they contacted me the day before yesterday,” I reported.

＜I see. So that was why they were so happy.＞

“Was it that obvious?”

＜It was. Ninrir was even humming a tune while skipping along.＞

Ninrir...... I know you’ve finally gotten your hands on some sweets after an entire month, but isn’t that just too much?

＜However, from what you said, they seem to have sincerely repented.＞

“Yes. It seems your punishment worked wonders. They all apologized, and Ninrir even cried.”

She had been absolutely wailing. The other gods seemed haggard too, just judging from their voices. Then, after all of them got what they were longing for, it seemed like they were on cloud nine even though they were so meek and quiet before.

＜I see, I see. It seems they’ve grown at least a little.＞

Demiurge sounded a little relieved. I supposed that, to him, that meant that the gods, who had grown a little too big headed, had learned their lesson.

＜I can’t go around apologizing to just anyone. I am a god, after all. However, no matter who a person may be, they must make amends for causing trouble.＞

Well, it wasn’t that much trouble, but I can’t deny they were being selfish.

＜It seems that they’ve repented, so it would make me happy if you would play along with them for a while more.＞

“Okay. I’ve had them agree to offerings only once a month, so it’ll be fine.”

It’s only once a month, and they won’t micromanage me, so it’ll be a lot easier than before.

＜If they start getting too selfish again, tell me right away.＞

“Hahaha! If that ever happens, I won’t hold back.”

＜Good. Well then, later.＞

“Yes, later.”

My connection with Demiurge cut off with a snap.

It really is reassuring to have the God of All Creation in your corner. Well, it looks like those other gods were all sorry too, so there probably won’t be too much trouble in the future.

“Now then, I’ve finished what I needed to with Demiurge — let’s sleep.”

I joined my familiars in the master bedroom.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After breakfast, I headed to the field.

“Good morning, everyone.”

In the field, the Tony and Alban families as well as the security team were busy harvesting the honeydews, watermelons, cucumbers, and the like that were ripe.

“Good morning, Mukohda.”

“Good morning.”

Tony and Alban, the heads of their respective families, greeted me before the others chimed in and I heard a chorus of “good mornings.”

“Morning big brother Mukohda! Look, look! They’re huge!” Lotte said, holding up a large, round tomato.

“Ohh, they are huge.”

“Right? The others are really big too! Over here!” Lotte pulled on my hand and led me into the field.

“Sorry for harvesting without your permission, Mukohda. It grows so fast that if we left it alone any longer, they’d start to rot.”

Alban, who was harvesting eggplants, turned towards me and apologized.

“No, I think you made a good decision. It’ll be a waste to let these beautiful specimens rot after we took so much trouble to raise them.”

Honeydew melons, watermelons, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, corn, and squashes... every single one of the seeds that we planted grew well. In fact, they had grown so well that they were about fifty percent larger than normal. I worried that they would be lacking in flavor because they were so big, so I picked some corn from a stalk that happened to be nearby.

“Yep, it’s huge. The beard-like hairs here are nice and tufty too. It’s also pretty hefty.”

I peeled the ears of the corn and found the cob packed with firm, whitish beads.

“The whiter the corn is, the sweeter it is, right?”

It was possible to eat corn raw, so I nibbled off a piece of it.

“So sweet! What the hell, this is super sweet!”

Each piece of corn was firm and juicy, as well as shockingly sweet.

“Huh? Is corn supposed to be this sweet? This is way different from any corn I’ve eaten.”

I had a sneaking suspicion, so I used my Appraisal......

【Corn】

Corn, a vegetable from another world. Having been exposed to abundant nutrients as well as this world’s magic atmosphere, it has grown to become a specimen of the highest quality. Each stalk only produces ears once.

It really was because of the fertilizer. And the atmosphere, too — that apparently influenced things.

It’s true that magic didn’t exist back on Earth... Wait, then are the other ones like the corn?

I suspected as much, so I used my Appraisal on the other plants too. They were all the same as the corn — all of the highest quality.

Well anyway, them being so good and delicious doesn’t cause any problems, so that’s fine. But they all said they’d “only produce once,” or something to that effect. That means that in order to grow more, we will need to plant seeds once again. It’s too bad, but I can buy as much as I want from my Online Supermarket, so it’s not really a problem.

“Mukohda, we’re done.”

Alban was holding a bag that I had bought for daily use. Inside, I could see obviously fresh and juicy cucumbers with a very enticing green color. The others also had bags in hand that were filled with vegetables and fruits.

“There were more than I thought.”

“Yes. And they’ve all grown to a size I’ve never seen in my life.”

The plants that were grown in this field grew so well it even surprised Alban, the former farmer.

“Okay then, let’s taste test these right away.”

“Yaaay! Lotte wants that sweet one we ate before!”

“The honeydew and watermelon, huh?”

They had probably all had breakfast, so I decided to go with Lotte’s desire and make a dessert with honeydew and watermelon.

“Right then. I’ll go get Fel and the others, so wait here.”

I had everyone wait while I went back to the main house to call my familiars.

I couldn’t have anyone else do it, since they all freeze in front of my familiars without me there. Sui the slime aside, they were all scared of Fel (a big wolf) and Dora-chan (tiny, but a dragon). Even Lotte, the epitome of freedom and the uninhibited, wouldn’t carelessly go near Fel and the others. Although she was probably thoroughly lectured about doing so from her parents. It did seem she held some interest, though. In any case, I had to be the one to call them myself.

Once I came back with Fel and the others in tow, I had Aija and Thereza help cut the honeydew and watermelon. Just like before, I removed the rind for Fel and the others before cutting them into cubes and serving in a dish.

“All right everyone — try some.”

The instant the fruit went into everybody’s mouths, they all shouted, “Sweet!”

Lotte was eating voraciously, the sides of her mouth dripping with juice.

Sui, who liked sweet things, also seemed happy, saying, 《This one is sweeter than the one before. It’s delicious.》

It looked like Fel and Dora-chan also liked the fruit. They were wordlessly stuffing themselves.

“I should try some too. I’ll start with the honeydew.”

Lured in by the sweet smell of the honeydew, I put a piece in my mouth. The melon was ripe and juicy and of course sweet. It practically melted in my mouth with every bite.

“This is crazy sweet. It really is better than the ones from before.”

Sui was right, it was sweeter and better than what I could buy from my Online Supermarket. I tried the watermelon too, and that turned out to be the same as the honeydew: juicy and sweet. All of us enjoyed the amazingly sweet watermelon and honeydew to our heart’s content.

But, if these are so amazing, it makes me want to try the others... Hmmm...... It’s time for...

“Right. Everyone, you can all have the day off. Let’s have a barbecue!”

“Mm? Is barbecue that one where you use charcoal to cook meat? That is good. Cook a lot of meat.”

《Meat cooked with charcoal? That stuff smells really great, and tastes just as good!》

《Good smelling meat! Sui wants to eat lots!》

After hearing the word “barbecue,” Fel and the others were excited.

Hey, it’s not going to just be meat. The purpose of having a barbecue this time is to eat the vegetables we just harvested.

“E-Excuse me, the day off......?”

Tony looked troubled. The others also had similar expressions.

“It’s thanks to all of your hard work that the grounds have become nice and pretty, and the same goes for the inside of the house too. It won’t matter if you all take one day off.”

In response to what I said, the expressions of the members of the Tony and Alban families got a little happier.

“It’s the same for the security team. There’s no one stupid enough to attack in broad daylight.”

“True, it’s thanks to you those annoying bastards are gone,” Tabatha replied.

“Only the biggest of idiots would attack an S-ranked adventurer’s house in the first place. And only those who would be brainless even by those idiots’ standards would attack an S-ranked adventurer’s house when they don’t even know if they’re there or not. Anybody who’d do that deserves to die,” Barthel said. The other members of the security team all nodded and said, “Yep.”

“Which means there’s no problem taking a break today, right? Thereza, Aija, and you too, Selja, I need help preparing the barbecue.”

If I had to make enough food for everyone, including my familiars, there would be a ton of prep work involved, even if it was just cutting the meat and vegetables.

“Umm, I’d like to... the field......”

Alban was sounding hesitant, attempting to restrain himself.

“Then can I get you to help pull out the seedlings?”

“Yes!”

Tony and the security team volunteered to help Alban. The work was done quickly, and the field was left empty.

“Mukohda, is it all right for me to plant potatoes?”

Alban told me that some of the potatoes they’d bought had sprouted eyes and couldn’t be eaten any more.

“Of course. You’re the one responsible for this field Alban, so use it as you like. Ah, also — I need to hand this over to you.”

I gave him some extra vegetable seeds, including lettuce and cucumbers, as well as some fertilizer.

“A-Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah. However, it seems like these crops only bear fruit once, so be careful about that. Also, about this fertilizer......”

I warned him not to put in too much, explaining that a little less than half the cap would be fine for the watering cans I had given them.

“Right then. I’m going to go prepare the barbecue. Aija, Thereza, Selja, let’s go.”

I took the three of them back to the main house, with Fel and the others following me.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We split up the work for preparing the barbecue and got started.

I had Aija, Thereza, and Selja cut the vegetables. For the lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes, we just made them into a salad since they’d be best eaten fresh. The eggplants would be grilled with the skin on, and the corn would be steamed, so we left those as they were.

The squashes were huge and their rinds tough, so I cut them into pieces. I would have struggled to cut the squash before, but now with my current level, I could easily do so without much effort.

I took out the seeds, cut the squash into thin slices, and left the rind on. It was darkly colored and looked sweet, so I was really looking forward to eating it.

Next was the meat.

“All right everyone, this is how you cut blue bull and orc meat.”

We were cooking for a lot of people, so I needed those three to prepare a lot of meat. Meanwhile, I would be preparing something else with a different meat.

“I’m going to make that with rockbird!”

I used all the rockbird meat I had left to make Jamaican jerk chicken.

Before I came to this world, I had searched it up on the internet when I had heard how delicious it was, and after making it myself, I had to agree.

I had been craving it, and it would be even better after grilling it. As I was now, it would be easy to make something delicious.

First, I needed ingredients from my Online Supermarket. I bought lemon, onions, garlic, and jerk chicken seasoning, which would be the anchor of all the flavor. Jerk chicken seasoning came in powdered form, as well as a goopy, saucy marinade in a bottle. I always recommended using the marinade since it would soak into the meat better.

While I was shopping, I also bought the usual barbecue sauce and the charcoal I’d need for the grill.

“Now then. Let’s get started on the jerk chicken. Though it’s not going to be that intensive.”

First, poke some holes into the rockbird meat with a fork, and squirt some lemon juice on top before letting the meat sit for a while. Then, take a vinyl bag and put in some grated onions and garlic, as well as the jerk chicken seasoning...

I also threw in a little honey I had on hand. With the marinade ready, I put the rockbird meat into the bag and massaged the flavors into it for a while, before leaving it alone to marinate.

“Right, let’s go back to everyone else.”

I stored the huge amount of food in my Item Box and joined the rest of the party.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Okay. Everyone has some sauce, right?”

I passed around forks and a bowl of sauce to everyone.

“I’m going to start cooking the meat now, so just take what’s finished as you please and add the sauce. Also, this squash is already done. I tried a little bit just now, and it was very sweet. You can eat it as is.”

As for my familiars, I set aside their portions on their own dishes.

“Here you go.”

They happily dug into the meat coated in the sauce.

“Mm, this is good.”

《I really love meat cooked with charcoal.》

《So delicious!》

Grilling with charcoal really does make the meat taste different.

“Delicious!”

“The grilling imparted some flavor and smell to the meat. This is great.”

“It’s amazing paired with this sauce.”

The Tony and Alban families, who got on really well, were pecking at their food together. As for the security team... Yep, they were gobbling down the food without a word.

Hey now, you don’t have to eat that fast. There’s still more. Oh. Looking closely, two of them are crying.

“Ahh, meat’s so good......”

“Agh, I love meat......”

The idiot twins were overcome with emotion, their faces stuffed full of blue bull.

Even though they liked meat enough to cry about it, the two of them still wouldn’t touch the orc meat. What had happened before must have turned into quite the traumatic episode.

Well, they’ll probably get to eating it again eventually.

“Ah, don’t just eat the meat. You all need to try this salad, too. I prepared a lot of different dressings, too.”

“So, we’re supposed to eat these raw vegetables with this, uh... ‘dressing?’”

“That’s right, Alban. This here is sesame dressing, this one is Japanese dressing, and this one is French dressing. I recommend the sesame — its savory flavor is great.”

“I see. Then I’ll go with that.”

Alban did as he said and tried some salad with sesame dressing. He must have really found it to his liking, as he started giving some to his wife, Thereza, and his kids too.

Salad really is the staple for vegetable dishes. I need to eat some later, too. But first I want to have some meat. I can’t help myself after experiencing the smell.

I put the next batch of meat on the grill and ate some of the meat that I’d set aside for myself.

“Yep. It’s good. This sauce really is the best for this sort of thing.”

“Hey. More meat.”

《Me too!》

《Sui too!》

“Sure, sure. Wait a little.”

I grilled a mountainous extra serving of meat for Fel and the others.

Oh, looks like the eggplant is finished — it turned out well. Grilled eggplant is perfect when the skin just starts to burn.

“Aija, take over please. Everyone loves their meat so make sure you put on a lot of it.”

I left the grill to Aija and called out to Fel after taking a bowl from my Item Box.

“Fel, can you make some ice in this bowl? Just some small pieces will be fine.”

“How annoying. I am eating.”

“Yeah, sorry. But I need it to peel the grilled eggplant.”

“Fine. Here.”

The bowl was filled with ice shards.

“Whoa! Too much!”

I didn’t want to waste it, so I transferred the extra ice to my Item Box. Once that was done, I added water to the bowl of ice and soaked the grilled eggplant in it for about thirty seconds. I’d scored around the eggplant’s stem before grilling, so I just had to peel the skin off starting from there, and it all came off easily. Then, I cut the eggplants into bite-sized pieces and lined them up on a plate before sprinkling some bonito flakes and mentsuyu on top......

“The grilled eggplant is done.”

I served it up. The children and security team weren’t very happy with it, but Alban, Thereza, Tony, and Aija were wolfing it down. It clearly hit the mark; they all said it was delicious. Of course, I enjoyed some myself.

Grilled eggplant’s amazingly delicious.

Meanwhile, the steamed corn was turning out great. It was sweet, so it was immensely popular with the children. Kosti, Selja, Oliver, Erik, and Lotte were all entranced by it. Even Peter, who surprisingly liked sweet things, was already onto his second cob.

I liked corn myself, so I added more to the grill.

Still......

“This barbecue is making me want some booze...”

“What? Booze?!!”

Barthel the dwarf instantly picked up on the word booze.

“I-Is there any? Tell me!”

“Want some?”

“Of course. My life here is several times better than my life as an adventurer, but there’s only one downside. And that’s the fact that there’s not enough alcohol.”

“Huh? But haven’t you been going to buy alcohol regularly, Barthel?”

I’d heard that Barthel would always go into town for alcohol on his days off, though.

“Of course, but I want to go all out sometimes.”

Well, he is a dwarf.

“All right then. Let’s put aside manners and social standing for today. We’re all drinking,” I said, and the adults (especially the security team made up of former adventurers) all gave a hearty shout of excitement.

I quickly set to buying canned beer for the adults and juice for the kids.

“This bottle of juice is for the kids. Just unscrew it like this to take off the lid. And the adults get this canned beer. Open up the top like this so you can drink out of it.”

I taught everyone how to open their drinks.

“Right. Everyone has a drink, right? Cheers!”

“““““Cheers!”””””

*Glug-lug*

“Aaahh! Amazing! I never thought cold booze would be this good! This just stirs my appetite for meat!”

“It really is good! The feeling as this cold stuff goes down the hatch is just the best!”

“Good booze and good meat. We’re living the life!”

Heheheh, I know right? Bu-u-ut! There’s still something that goes even better with beer. And that’s what I got started on yesterday. It should be just about done marinating.

“Okay! I’m going to go grill some meat that’ll go even better with this beer.”

Using Earth magic, I created a table to set my vinyl bag on. I proceeded to move the rockbird meat from inside the bag to the grill. While the meat cooked, a spicy smell started to waft throughout the area.

“W-What’s this delicious smell......?”

“It’s making me hungry...”

Everyone’s gazes were fixed on the jerk chicken.

Grill one side, then flip... Right. This should do it.

“Here, help yourselves,” I said to everyone else, who started happily munching on jerk chicken as I piled up Fel and the others’ servings in their dishes.

“And for you.” I served Fel and the others.

“Oh? This dish smells very different. Hm...... Yes, this is quite good. It could stand to tingle a little more, though.”

《Oh ho! It’s just a little tingly, that’s perfect.》

《Yeah. It tingles, but it’s delicious!》

The jerk chicken was well received by Fel and the others too.

“Oh! This is irresistible! It’s perfect with this cold alcohol!” Barthel said after taking a huge swig of beer. I was using the extra ice Fel had produced earlier to cool the beer, but at the rate Barthel was going, he’d down the lot.

“Hey! Barthel, you’re drinking too much!”

“Yeah!”

The idiot twins protested, but Barthel didn’t seem to care.

“It’s first come, first served for these things!” he said as he opened up yet another can.

“Waaagh! You opened another one!”

“Hahaha, there’s more beer. I told you today was free, right? Drink as much as you like.”

I added more cans of beer to the cooler and opened my second can.

“Ohh! You’re the best, Mukohda!”

“You really are!”

“You guys change your tune quickly, don’t you? Geez. Hahaha!”

“Hey, I want more!”

《Me too!》

《Sui too!》

“Sure. Just wait.”

I sent another pile of jerk chicken my familiar’s way.

“Eat lots.”

“We’re eating too!”

“Of course!”

Everyone had a beer in one hand as they gathered around the spicy jerk chicken.

Barbecues really are better with lots of people.

Chapter 8: Let’s Go to the Meat Dungeon!

“It is about time we go to a dungeon.”

The day after our barbecue, Fel started to complain. Of course, both Dora-chan and Sui reacted to that and started piling on about going to the dungeon.

And so it was decided. I was at a complete disadvantage in numbers when it came to a vote. Everyone else liked dungeons, after all. To Fel and the others, it was like a fun attraction.

But to adventurers, it’s a matter of life and death.

Just like that, it was decided we would be going to a dungeon, and when it came time to decide which dungeon to go to, Fel immediately wanted to go to the one in Brixt.

It was a dungeon that was known for being challenging, and it was in the neighboring Kingdom of Erman.

“I am interested in that hard dungeon in the neighboring country that one adventurer we met before told us about. He gave you a teleportation stone from there, did he not?”

Fel remembers everything.

He was referring to the teleportation stone to the 30th floor of said dungeon I received from the A-ranked adventuring party, “Ark,” who we met in Aveling’s dungeon.

It was the type that had unlimited uses, meaning we could come and go anywhere up to the 30th floor. Given that, Fel immediately brought up the dungeon in Brixt.

There’s no doubt that Fel was motivated by the fact that it was rumored to be hard. But I refuse! As if I’d go all the way to some dungeon that’s hard.

From what I’d heard, it was even harder than Dolan’s and Aveling’s dungeons. So of course I wanted to avoid that. That was why I put my all into recommending a different dungeon — Rosendahl’s dungeon, known as “the meat dungeon.” It only had twelve floors and wasn’t very hard, but almost all the drops were meat, so it would be very profitable for us.

From what I’d heard, Rosendahl owed its prosperity to the dungeon, and there were a lot of good eateries thanks to all the dungeon’s meat. And it was said that there were even some meats that were only available in this dungeon. Since I had to take care of a bunch of meat lovers, the dungeon was perfect for us.

I carefully and thoroughly explained these points, which tilted Dora-chan and Sui’s interests towards the meat dungeon.

Finally, even Fel conceded. “The low difficulty of the dungeon makes it boring, but the fact that some meat is only available there makes me want to try it.” So, it was decided that we would be going to the meat dungeon.

It seemed that Rosendahl was a long ways away from Karelina, but I had Fel so it would be a lot faster than traveling by a normal carriage.

Since that was the case, I first had to talk to the people working at my mansion.

After they’d all gathered round, I told them about my intentions to go to the meat dungeon. The Tony and Alban families seemed momentarily concerned, but they seemed relieved when I told them that I would prepare food and daily necessities for them in advance, as well as pay them in full for three months before I left.

Also, I gave Tony’s son, Kosti, a certain job. Before, he had attended a free school held in a church, so he was not only literate, but he could also do simple calculations. So, I had him manage the stocks of shampoos and soaps, as well as the number to deliver to Lambert’s store.

He was perplexed at first, but I told him, “It might seem daunting, but I chose you because you’re suited for it. Do your best,” to which he gamely nodded.

I figured he’d need writing implements to help him manage the stores, so I handed him all he would need after I taught him how to use them: pencils, erasers, and notebooks. He seemed really pleased. Selja and the other children of the Alban family, on the other hand, looked jealous. That was when I thought of something.

“Tabatha, aren’t you literate and don’t you know some math?”

“Well, kind of. Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

“No, well, I was just wondering if you’d teach the children to read and write and do math...”

“Whaaaat? M-Me?”

“Yeah. You’re good at taking care of people Tabatha, I think you’d be a good teacher.”

“M-Me, huh? A teacher......”

“I’ll give you separate pay for it, so could you? It’ll be good for the kids’ future to be able to read, write, and do math.”

“For their futures, you say...... Then I’ll do it. I don’t know if I’ll do a good job, though.”

I asked Kosti to assist. It was probably a lot of work since he had to take care of the basement stores too, but he seemed motivated when I told him I’d pay him extra as well.

“E-Excuse me, I need to ask you a favor......”

Peter, who was normally quiet, raised his voice. Listening to him, it turned out he wanted to learn as well.

“I became an adventurer without ever learning that stuff...... But there’s a lot of inconvenient things that come with not being able to do all that......”

He continued on to say that whenever he needed to read a job post, he needed to have someone else read for him, and whenever he needed to fill out a form, he had to get someone to help him with that too. Most importantly, since he couldn’t work with numbers, it was easy to fleece him out of change during transactions.

Someone who couldn’t do simple math wouldn’t notice right away at least, and even if they did and complained, the other person could just play dumb. At that point, the chance was already gone and there was no proof, so in the end, an uneducated person would just have to swallow their dissatisfaction.

Are there stores that would actually do that? That was my first reaction, but they were actually quite common.

“Once someone looks at you and thinks you’re dumb and uneducated, they’ll start ripping you off without a second thought,” Luke said, his face scrunched in disgust.

“Exactly. And even if you manage to notice and bring it up, they can just say, ‘Oh, my bad,’ and that’s the end of it. They can just claim it was an honest mistake.”

Irvine and Luke also made disgusted expressions.

“Ahh, for math I’ll be having you guys help me out along with Kosti. Then we’ll all be studying reading and writing together.”

“What?!”

“Why?!”

Tabatha dropped a bomb, eliciting wails from Luke and Irvine.

“I mean, the two of you can do math, but you’re not great at reading and writing right? Especially your handwriting! It’s barely legible. You’ve been given a chance to study up after becoming an adult, so stop complaining and think of it like a favor.”

It seemed like Luke and Irvine knew that was true. They groaned when she called their writing barely legible.

“U-Ummm......” Tony spoke up. “C-Can we... Uhh... Can we also study with you guys?”

“Hm? You guys too?”

“Yes. We can’t do any of that, so if you’re teaching, then we’d like to learn.”

He continued on to say that while he and Aija could at least write their own names, the others were completely illiterate and unable to do simple calculations. Apparently, they’d never been taught any of that in the first place. Actual schools were really only available to nobles and the filthy rich. While churches offered free schools in some of the larger towns these days, there had been nothing like that when Tony and Aija had been children. Even now, the church’s free school only opened a few hours a week and taught only the basics of literacy and math. It sounded more like a kindergarten.

I see, so the literacy rate of this world isn’t that high, and it’s not weird for Tony and Aija to not be literate.

Tony and Aija were illiterate and couldn’t work with numbers, and since they had been having financial trouble, they had sent Kosti to the free school. They had actually wanted to send Selja as well, it seemed, but due to Aija’s illness, they’d no longer had the leeway to do so.

“Excuse me, please let us in too!”

That was Alban and Thereza. They’d lived in a village all their lives, so they’d had no chance to get educated. They were completely innumerate. The village chief and his son were the only ones who were numerate. Whenever there was an exchange of money or some sort of big contract to be formed, everyone in the village relied on the two of them.

But Alban and Thereza always questioned whether this was the right way to do things. It wasn’t as if they distrusted the chief or his son, but they just couldn’t shake that one idea. After all, they’d never been able to confirm anything for themselves. That’s why they wanted to take any chance to become educated.

“Age doesn’t matter. If anybody wants to learn, feel free to join. It might be hard with this many people, Tabatha, but please do your best.”

“Of course. They’ve been taking great care of us, after all.”

The understanding that they would be able to get educated dawned on them, and all four of the parents seemed happy.

“Hey, Barthel, I see you acting like this has nothing to do with you. You’re going to help out too, got it! I know you learned how to do this stuff over your looooong life!”

“W-Why me?! I’ve never taught anyone before!” Barthel, who suddenly had the ball thrown to him, panicked.

“And I’m the same. But we’re doing it anyway!”

“It’s impossible, I tell you!”

......This should work perfectly for dwarves, I thought, and instantly bought something with my skill.

“Here, take this Barthel.” I handed Barthel a cup with a brown liquid inside it.

“Liquor? Why are you giving me this all of a sudden? I’m gonna drink it, though.”

Barthel downed the entire cup in one gulp. Then...... his eyes widened into saucers.

“W-What the hell?! What is this?!?”

Mwahahahahaha! That, my friend, is my special anti-dwarf secret weapon!

It was the same Japanese whisky of reasonable price that came in a square bottle that I had given to the dwarf who made my barbecue grill.

“That’d be better than money for your payment, wouldn’t it Barthel?” I said, and Barthel’s attitude instantly changed.

“Y-You’ll give me this amazing booze?! I’ll do it! I’ll do whatever you want!”

There goes the dwarf.

“Hey, is that stuff really that good?” Luke and Irvine were full of interest.

“You wanna try some, too?” I asked, and they nodded fervently. I poured some whisky in cups for the two of them.

*Gulp*

“Wheeerrgghh—?! The hell is this?! My throat! It’s burning!”

“Ghhrrrgghh! Th-This stuff’s way too strong!”

Luke and Irvine both grimaced over how strong the alcohol was.

“Hah! The strength of this stuff is what’s good about it. And it’s got its own unique smell and taste. It’s better than anything I’ve ever drunk before, you know!”

“Stuff like this is only good to dwarves!”

“Yeah!”

“Heh, and that’s perfect for me. I’ll be keeping this good stuff all to myself!”

I tried to calm down the three of them before their argument truly kicked off.

“Now, now. So Barthel, this alcohol here is fine for your payment, right?”

“It is. I want it.”

“How about two bottles a month?”

“I want more!”

“Then three.”

“Come on, Mukohda. Think of the future!”

“No. Three bottles a month. It needs to be balanced with the others’ rewards.”

I laid down the law, and Barthel seemed a little disappointed, but he was still grinning over the knowledge that he’d be able to obtain some of my whisky.

“Ah! Wait, Mukohda, what do we do about security while everyone’s studying? Basically everyone’s participating in this, right? Even though it’ll only be two or three times a week, that still means a couple of times where no one will be on guard.”

“Oh, yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

Actually, I’d already been thinking of setting up some magic tools for security. I got some info about those tools from the guildmaster, so I was planning to get them set up before we left. I said as much to Tabatha, and she seemed relieved.

“Right, then that’s that. I need to get ready for the journey too. We’ll probably be leaving for Rosendahl in about three days, so I’m leaving this place to you guys.”

After that, I gave the same writing set I had given to Kosti to everyone else as well, and they all looked happy.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After I reported my intentions to everyone else, things got busy.

First, I had the magic tools for boosting security set up. It was a tool that set up some sort of simple barrier — an alarm system, basically. Including installation, it cost me 850 gold, but it was necessary.

After that, I needed to let Lambert know of my plans, so I visited his store, but he had already gone to the capital. According to his wife, Marie, he was gleefully traveling to the capital with twice as many adventurers guarding him as usual.

“I heard it all from my husband. He was really excited since the deal this time is a big chance to expand the store.” Marie was smiling as she spoke.

Well, he’s going to be selling the Divine Medicine: Hair Growth Power to nobles with the earl’s introductions, so this would be a huge chance for a merchant.

I was leaving the business side entirely to Lambert, so I was really rooting for him to do his best.

I told Marie that I was heading for Rosendahl and its dungeon before introducing Kosti to her. I was going to leave the matter of the shampoos and soaps entirely to Kosti, so I told her to talk to him whenever they started running low on stock in the store. As for the payment, we agreed that they would hand over wooden tags at the exchange recording the transaction, like when I ordered my wyvern mantle, which would allow me to take all the tags when I came back to town to have them counted up and paid in full.

After that, I went to the Adventurer’s guild to report to the guildmaster.

The guildmaster tried to stop me, saying, “You could totally stay in town for a while longer though...” However, Fel and the others were already in full “I want to go to a dungeon” mode. I told him that it was already decided, and that we’d be gone for no more than three months. This caused him to relent with an, “Oh fine,” though he still complained about it.

Then, I made an express order to Johan since I wanted to secure as much meat for the trip as possible. I kind of felt bad for him though, especially given that I had foisted upon him five orcs, some blue bulls, a few cockatrices, a bloody horn-bull, and a rockbird to butcher in order to feed everyone else at the house.

I wouldn’t have minded sharing a bit more with them, but I was stopped by Aija and Thereza. Since this was precious food we were talking about, I figured that having more would be better than having less, even though I only planned to be gone for three months. However, the two of them yelled, “It’s too much!”

But they have the magic bag I gave them, so it won’t rot or anything. Isn’t it fine?

At any rate, my stores of meat had dwindled accordingly, so I needed old man Johan to work hard. I was considering saving some meat from the dungeon to split with him as a present.

I had given Aija and Thereza a large supply of seasonings, bread, eggs, and milk as well. As for flour and vegetables, I went out with them to stock up. And just in case it wouldn’t be enough, I also left them some money to use for food expenses, so they shouldn’t be in danger of starving.

The hardest thing to suffer in life is having to go hungry. So I’m giving maximum consideration to prevent that.

I handed everyone three months’ worth of daily necessities and paid them in advance as well. And because Rosendahl was supposedly quite far from here, I made a lot of food for the trip.

I reported to Demiurge and made an early offering as well. I sent him two weeks’ worth of stuff today. Specifically, I gave him the same Yamaguchi-prefecture sake three-bottle set that I’d offered before, the one that had been gifted to the American president, as well as an Aichi prefecture set, and some brandy. The Aichi-prefecture sake was said to be getting a lot of attention from foreigners.

I’d given him wine and rum before, so I went with brandy this time. I chose a bottle that could be said to be the basic brandy, one that tasted mild and was fairly easy to drink for someone new.

Of course, I also included some premium Kantsuma as well.

Like that, I spent my days busily preparing for my trip. Three days after the decision was made for us to go to the dungeon, I was finally ready.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Everybody who worked at my house came to see us off.

“I don’t think we need to worry about you, Mukohda, but be careful anyway.”

“Thanks, Tabatha, and I’m counting on you while we’re gone. You seem the most reliable, after all.”

“I know already. Just leave the place to me while you’re gone.”

Tabatha should be able to take care of anything that comes up.

“You’re going to the meat dungeon, right? We’re looking forward to what you bring back.”

“The meat from that dungeon’s crazy good.”

The twins were grinning wide.

“Good meat?! Lotte loves meat! Lotte wants to eat some too!”

Lotte reacted to what the twins said and started hopping up and down.

“Hahaha! I’ll make sure to bring some back.”

I’m gonna have to bring back lots of meat to present to this meat-loving carnivore, won’t I?

“All right then everyone, we’re off.”

“““““See you soon!”””””

“We’re off to Rosendahl, you three!”

“Indeed.”

《Yeah!》

《Dungeon!》

We headed off to the town of Rosendahl, otherwise known as “the meat dungeon.”

Extra: Let’s Go to The Hot Springs!

“Whew~, this feels great.”

《Yeah.》

《So good!》

I was taking a bath with Dora-chan and Sui. Leaning against the sides of the tub, I had my feet stretched out and my eyes closed. Dora-chan and Sui were floating in the water, looking comfortable.

By the way, the bath additive I was using was a hot spring one I had found in my Online Supermarket. It made the water milky white and the smell was just a little sulfurous. It was supposed to really rejuvenate the skin. It was a cheap and easy way to enjoy a hot spring in one’s own home.

But still......

“This isn’t bad, but an actual hot spring would feel much better...” I ended up saying, causing Dora-chan and Sui to stop floating around and swim over.

《Hot spring?》

《Master — what’s a hot spring?》

“A hot spring is a natural bath where hot water comes up from the ground.”

《Wow~, baths like that exist? Sui wants to get in one.》

“I wonder if they exist here? Have you heard of anything like it, Dora-chan?”

《Hot water that comes up from the ground? Hmmm......》 Dora-chan clamped on to my shoulder and lost himself in reverie, closing his eyes.

《......Ah! Oh yeah, I remember meeting another pixie dragon a long time ago by chance, and he told me about something like that.》

Dora-chan’s eyes snapped open as he remembered.

“Huh? There’s really hot springs in this world?! Where? Where?!” I was suddenly way more interested. In my enthusiasm, I ended up grabbing Dora-chan by the armpits and holding him up.

《Where was it~... Hmmm............》

Dora-chan once again sunk into thought, trying to remember the details. But......

《No good. I can’t remember!》 Dora-chan declared.

“Aww, maaan~.”

I had gotten my hopes up, thinking that I’d be able to enjoy a hot spring here, but those hopes crashed and burned.

《It’s not like I can do anything about that. I just can’t remember. It was a long, long time ago in the first place,》 Dora-chan said, sulking.

“Haha! Sorry, sorry. Well it’s not like I have to go right now. It just would have been nice to go. Hot springs feel good, after all.”

《Does it really feel that good?》

“Yeah. Natural baths are really different from just a house bath.”

《I see. I’m getting curious now too after hearing you talk it up that much. Urgh~, why can’t I remember...》 Dora-chan knocked on his own head, trying to jog his memories.

“Now, now, you can’t help it if you can’t remember. Also, for things like this we should hear from the oldest person here anyway.”

《《Oldest~?》》

“Yes, oldest. Don’t we have someone who’s lived for over a thousand years?”

As soon as I said that, it seemed the idea clicked for Dora-chan, as he replied with a nod. 《Right~!》

《Uncle Fel~!》

It seemed Sui got it too.

“Exactly. Once we get out of the bath, let’s go ask Fel.”

The best way to find out anything we didn’t already know was to just ask Fel, since he’d been living for a thousand years already.

《Best, huh? You’re right though. Fel really might know.》

“Yep.”

《It would be nice if Uncle Fel knows~.》

“I hope so too, Sui.”

With that decided, we got back to relaxing in the tub.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Ahh~, that felt good.”

《So good—.》

《It was nice~!》

Dora-chan, Sui, and I had spent our time enjoying a bath.

As had become habit for Dora-chan and Sui after a bath, they were drinking fruit milk. He hadn’t taken a bath, but Fel was enjoying some too. As for me, I’d recently taken to mineral water.

I downed the rest of the mineral water and took a deep breath.

“Right. Fel, I have something I want to ask you. Do you know of any hot springs? It’s basically a place where hot water comes up from the ground.”

“Hot water from the ground? Why would you want to know about something like that?”

“Call it a hot spring. And it has a lot of effects. It depends on what kind of water comes out, but it can ease exhaustion or even heal wounds and skin diseases. Most importantly, getting in one feels good.”

“Getting in? So it is basically a bath, then.”

“Well, yeah. Do you know of any place like that?”

“Hmmm......”

Having finished his fruit milk, Fel seemed to become pensive, idly licking the edges of his mouth.

“Hm, now that I think about it, there was a place like that at the foot of a mountain.”

《Oh~. You were right, the oldest one really did know.》

《Oldessst~!》

“H-Hey!”

Dora-chan, Sui, don’t say that in front of Fel.

“Hey, what did they mean by oldest?” Fel looked at me suspiciously.

“Uh, well... Like, you’re over a thousand years old, Fel. So it’s not wrong......”

“Are you implying that I am elderly?”

“N-No! I didn’t really mean it like that...”

“Not like that? Then like what? Hmm?”

Fel closed in on me threateningly.

“Hey now, come on... Just leave it at that, will you? We need to get back to hot springs.”

《Hot springs~. Sui wants to go to one~!》

“Hmph! You have treated me like an elderly person. I will tell you I am still young and in the prime of my life!”

“Hah... Haha! I know that! Come on, Dora-chan’s asking too. Keep talking about hot springs?”

“The place where hot water comes from the ground, yes? As I just said, I have seen places like that several times at the foot of mountains.”

As expected, Fel, the longest lived among us, was very knowledgeable.

“Right, right, that’s what I’m talking about. Hot springs come up near mountains a lot.”

“Hmm... However, if you are planning to use one like a bath, then we should either go to the one at the foot of the western or eastern mountain.”

According to Fel, other places had very little water, or were clearly dangerous since the surrounding vegetation had all died.

“East or west, huh?”

I thought of the now familiar map that I had been overcharged for by some adventurers. It was a bitter experience. I took the map out from my Item Box and opened it.

“West is...... Grk! It’s not in the Holy Kingdom of Rubanov or the Geisler Empire, is it?” I made a disgusted expression while I stared at the map, which caused Fel to lean in to see.

“I do not know which countries you mean, but it is not that far from the ocean.”

“Not that far? That kind of sounds like the Geisler Empire since it has a coast. It could also be Marveil, but......”

“That would be impossible. From this map we are looking at, Marveil shares a border with the demonfolk’s territory, see?”

“Oh.”

“It should be quite a ways from there.”

“Then there should be no doubt that the western mountain is in the Geisler Empire. That rules out the west.”

I really don’t want to wander into a country ruled by a straight-up military dictatorship.

“Then it’ll have to be the east. Fel, about where is the hot spring at the foot of the eastern mountain?”

“That one should not be far from the ocean as well. After all, I remember reaching the ocean the next day and eating a sea serpent. It was pretty good.” Fel had shut his eyes, recalling the taste of the sea serpent.

Hey, I can see that you’re about to drool, Fel.

“If it’s east and near the ocean, then it would have to be here in Leonhardt or in the Kingdom of Erman. Yep, yep, looks good to go.”

This country was safe and stable, and Erman was allied with Leonhardt and much the same.

“Right. Let’s go to the hot spring at the eastern mountain.”

《All right! Hot springs! I’m looking forward to it~!》

《Sui is also looking forward to hot springs~!》

“Hm? We are going? I would rather go and eat seafood, though.”

“Ahh, sure, sure. We’re close to the ocean anyway. We can go after the hot springs then.”

“Mrr... the hot springs are first? Fine. But in exchange, you will feed me good meals when we get to the ocean.”

“I know, I know. I’ll prepare a feast.”

The trip seemed like it would be a bit long, seeing as we were starting from Karelina, which was closer to the border than the center of the country. But we weren’t really in a hurry. I figured it might be nice to travel slowly and enjoy the scenery, so to speak.

Hot springs and the bounty of the sea, huh? Seems like a fun trip.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Fel finally stopped.

“We are here.”

I slowly crawled off of Fel’s back and sat down on the spot.

“F-Finally......”

“You need to get used to this already.”

《Yeah. Just how many times has Fel given you a ride already?》

《Master — you okay~?》

Grr, Sui’s the only one who ever worries for me. Also, I’m pretty used to it already, you know? But... but, like...... “It’s because you ALWAYS run too fast, Fel......!”

“What? You complain every time, so I have been slowing down just for you, you realize? It would normally only take me three days, but we have taken six,” Fel said, sounding like he had already heaped on concession upon concession for me.

“And I’m saying you’ve been wrong from the start! I’ve said this already! We aren’t in a hurry, so let’s go slowly and enjoy the scenery.’”

“Hmph! What will enjoying the scenery accomplish?”

“Accomplish? It’s fun, and pretty, and makes you feel things.”

“It does not. How about you, Dora?”

《Oh man~, I don’t get that either.》

Sigh. Geez, these emotionless monsters~... Anyway......

I stood up with a grunt of effort. A field of rocks stretched out before me, and in the distance, a mountain towered into the sky. And a little ahead, I could see a white wisp wafting upwards.

“Is that...?” I walked towards the steam. “Oh, this is a nice atmosphere.”

Surrounded by rocks, there was a hollow formed in the ground where hot, clear water pooled.

I bet the water actually carved this natural basin itself.

From here, the hot water flowed down, creating a small stream.

《Hey, hey, master — is this a hot spring?》

“It is.”

《Yaaay! Sui’s gonna get in~!》 Sui, who had heard from me that hot springs felt good, suddenly took a dive into the water.

“Wait! Sui! We need to check the temperature first!”

I didn’t make it in time. Sui was already in the water.

*Plop*

《Aaahh~ This is so nice...》

Sui seemed to be comfortably floating in the water.

“Huh? It’s not hot?”

《It’s perfect~.》

《What? I’m getting in too! Go!》

“W-W-Wait! Dora-chan, you too?!”

*Sploosh*

Having heard Sui’s impressions, Dora-chan also dove into the water.

《Aaahhh~, this is the best~.》

Just like Sui, Dora-chan floated around comfortably in the water.

“Huh? It’s fine?”

Dora-chan and Sui both seemed perfectly fine, so I slowly and fearfully put my hand in the water.

“......It’s a little on the hot side, but this is completely fine. What the hell was all my caution even for?”

As soon as I realized that, I had no choice but to get in. I disrobed at lightspeed and of course......

*Sploosh*

“Aaahhh~ This is so nice~.”

As I soaked in the natural spring water, I could feel my stiff and knotted muscles loosen up.

“Hot springs are nice even in another world~...”

《It feels so good doesn’t it, master~?》

《You were right. This hot spring feels really good~.》

“Aaahh~...”

Dora-chan, Sui, and I enjoyed the hot spring.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me: Do hot springs in this world have healing effects? So, I used Appraisal. When I did......

【Zavadil Springs】

A hot spring located at the foot of Mt. Zavadil. Magic water hot springs; colorless, transparent, and potable.

Effects: Heals exhaustion, muscle pains, stiff shoulders, gastroenteritis, cuts and gashes, burns, and skin disease. Recovers magic power (slight).

“Hmm? Magic water hot springs?”

I should have expected this from a hot spring in a world with magic.

So, there’s magic in this spring. The healing of exhaustion, muscle pains, stiff shoulders, gastroenteritis, cuts, burns, and skin diseases is normal, but magic power recover (slight) is...... It’s still a mystery how much “slight” is, though. Well, whatever. It feels nice, and that’s all that matters.

“Oh right. Why don’t you get in too, Fel? You won’t get many chances to get in a hot spring.”

《It feels good~!》

《It feels nice, Uncle Fel!》

Dora-chan and Sui piped up in agreement with me, but Fel just made a disgusted face.

“No. You all can just soak by yourselves.”

“Aww, but this hot spring is apparently magical. It says it recovers magic power, you know? Only ‘slightly,’ though.”

“Hmph! Sleeping would have a much greater effect than soaking myself like that! Also, I have not used enough magic to need to recover anything anyway,” Fel said, before getting away from the water, as if he was evacuating a disaster area. Once he was far enough away, he laid down.

“But hot springs feel so good~...”

《Right~?》

《Yeah~.》

“Aaahhh~!”

Dora-chan, Sui, and I relaxed and gave ourselves over to the hot spring.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“That felt nice~.”

《Hot springs are the best!》

《It felt really good~.》

We took our time enjoying the hot spring, and even then, the three of us were hesitant to get out.

I was warmed right down to my core and feeling good.

《Give me the usual thing we drink after a bath.》

《Sui wants that too!》

“Sure, sure. Fruit milk coming right up.”

“Hey. I want some too.”

At some point, Fel had joined us and cheekily demanded fruit milk.

“Sure, of course. Here’s some for you too, Fel.”

Like always, I opened up my Online Supermarket and bought some fruit milk.

Then......

“Hmm, I think I’ll have that today instead of mineral water. It’s still early, but it should be fine sometimes. And buy.” I went through the motions and like always, a cardboard box popped up in front of me.

“All right. It’s here.”

I quickly opened up the cardboard box and took out the contents.

“Fruit milk and beer for me~. Both of them are nice and cold.”

I retrieved my familiar’s dishes from my Item Box and poured the fruit milk out for them.

“Here.”

I served up the dish to each of them, and they started drinking and looking like they were really enjoying it.

《Ahh~, it’s so nice and cold! This is the best thing right out of a bath~!》

《It’s cold and delicious~!》

“It is delicious even without taking a bath, though.”

That’s uncalled for, Fel. It’s a step more delicious exactly because we’re fresh out of a bath. Of course, the same goes for my beer. So, I should join them.

*Psshhht* *Gluglugluglug*

“Aahhh! Delicious! I wonder why beer tastes so good right after a good soaking~?”

I had chosen a sharper, more bitter beer. Since I was drinking it after a bath, that sharpness lead to a refreshing taste. At least, that was the established opinion. So I had chosen this beer, and......

“I was right to choose this beer~. Banzai for baths!” I chugged down the can quickly.

“I kind of want another can, but it’s still the middle of the day. It’s probably better to stop now even though I feel like it’s not really enough.”

“Hey. It is about time; I am getting hungry. Hurry up and cook.”

“I figured as much. It’s long past time for lunch...”

《I was all caught up in the bath and didn’t notice, but Fel’s right. Now that I remember, I’m hungry.》

《Sui is also starving~.》

“So hurry up and make food.”

Right after Fel spoke, his stomach grumbled, as if to hurry me along.

“Haha! I’m hungry too, so I’ll get cooking. I prepared something good for today, too,” I said, bringing out my special barbecue grill that I had made in Dolan.

After hearing that the hot spring would be at the foot of a mountain, I figured it would be perfect to enjoy the “outdoors feeling” to its fullest. So I thought that having a barbecue was the only choice and planned accordingly.

The meat was already prepared, and I was basically the only one who ate vegetables, so I just got what I wanted to eat for that.

First, I stoke the charcoal and make sure the fire is stable......

“Right, everything’s ready.”

I took out the meats that I’d marinated in special sauces from my Item Box.

The first one I’d prepared was orc meat cut into just-right sized pieces (slightly thick was perfect) and marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sake, grated garlic, grated ginger, gochujang chili sauce, white sesame, sesame oil, and some apple juice (my secret ingredient).

The second was cockatrice, once again eyeballing the cuts. The cockatrice was marinated in a sauce made out of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey, grated garlic, and powdered mustard.

The third was bloody horn-bull spareribs. I had parboiled the ribs with some ginger so that the meat would fall off the bone. Fel and the others would just crunch down on the bone as well, but that was mainly for my benefit anyway. I had cut the spareribs into pieces, bones and all, and as mentioned, parboiled the ribs after scoring the meat. Then, I had marinated the ribs in a sauce made from marmalade, ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, and grated garlic.

Each one of the meats was marinating in a huge bag. For my meat-loving gluttonous trio, I made sure to provide them with a variety of flavors.

I took the meats out of their respective bags and started grilling. As soon as it hit the hot grill, the sizzling sound and savory smell of cooking meat filled the air.

“I-Is it ready yet?”

《I can’t wait any more.》

《Master — when’s it done?》

The gluttonous trio was being driven past their breaking point by the sound and smell of the cooking meat.

“I just started cooking. It’ll be a while.”

They were staring transfixed at the grill, as if they couldn’t wait a moment more.

It’ll be a little longer, I tell you.

I checked how far along the meat was, using my tongs to flip the ones that needed it. Then, after a little while......

“Okay. The orc meat and bloody horn-bull spareribs are ready,” I said, piling the meat up in front of them.

The gluttonous trio, who had been waiting on standby, jumped on the meat and started scarfing it down as if they’d been waiting their whole lives.

I put down a second batch of orc meat and bloody horn-bull spareribs on the grill. Once that was done, I bit into my own bloody horn-bull spare rib.

“So good~! I just love this sweet sauce and the little burned bits. I was totally right to parboil this thing. It just falls off the bone, and since it was already partly cooked, it doesn’t take too long to grill, either.”

I finished off a rib quickly.

“I wonder how the orc meat is?”

I took a bite of the orc meat, which I’d marinated in a Japanese-style barbecue sauce.

“This one’s great too~.”

Japanese-style sauce with a soy sauce base is always going to be good though.

“Ahh~, I want some beer!”

I couldn’t stop myself from voicing that desire due to the barrage of flavors I was being met with that provoked the desire to drink.

“Hey, if you want to drink that much, why not just drink? More importantly, more meat.”

Fel, who seemed to have heard my mutterings, retorted to my self-restraint while also demanding more meat.

Even though I’m holding myself back since I just drank one. Grrrr...

“Hey. Meat.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know already.”

I piled up a veritable mountain of the finished cockatrice meat as well as some of the second round of orc meat and bloody horn-bull spareribs onto his plate. Seeing the food, Fel seemed satisfied and quickly started eating again.

《Hey, give me more meat too!》

《Sui too—!》

Following in Fel’s footsteps, Dora-chan and Sui also demanded more. Even while wearing a long-suffering smile, I heaped up mountains of meat for Dora-chan and Sui, about the same as Fel’s portion.

“You all eat so much whenever we have a barbecue...”

I get it though, since charcoal-grilled meat smells so good, and the taste doesn’t disappoint either.

With that in mind, I bit into my own grilled cockatrice.

“This is amazing too~!”

It made me want beer as well, but I fought through the desire. Or at least, that was the plan......

“Drinking alcohol in the middle of the day really does make me feel some guilt... So I just have to drink something non-alcoholic!”

Thus, I decided to just enjoy this barbecue with some non-alcoholic beer.

“Hey. More meat.”

《Me too!》

《Sui wants more meat too—!》

“Sure, sure.”

The gluttonous trio and I continued to enjoy the barbecue to our fullest until the huge amount of meat I’d prepared disappeared.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Dora-chan, Sui, and I really took a liking to the hot springs, so we decided to stay an extra night.

After that, we arrived at the ocean that Fel was so looking forward to, but......

“That’s a huge storm......”

There was a huge storm raging over the sea, so we couldn’t even get close to the shore. Thanks to Fel’s barrier, we didn’t get soaked, but I really didn’t want to get closer.

“I will be fine.”

“Nonono, even if you’re fine, I won’t be, Fel.”

《I don’t think we should be going in during this weather, either,》 Dora-chan chimed in, also wary of the terrible weather.

“See, Dora-chan agrees with me.”

“Mrr, but what about the sea serpent?”

“We can just come again. Let’s just go home. Come on.”

“Grrrrr... But that means only you three were able to enjoy this trip.”

“Maybe in terms of objectives. But didn’t you enjoy the barbecue at the hot springs too?”

“W-Well, that was not bad, certainly.”

“See? We want to come back anyway to get in the hot springs again. So we can just come back then.”

《Sui wants to get in the hot springs again! Then we can eat lots of meat~!》

“Haha, right Sui.”

“Hmph! Then it is a promise. We will be back.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I know.”

Afterword

Hello, this is Ren Eguchi. Thank you so much for purchasing Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill 8: Stone Oven-Baked Pizza and the Elixir of Life!

We’re at volume 8! Volume 8! Overlap published volume 1 in November of 2016, and we’re finally at volume 8. It’s thanks to all of you that this series was able to continue this long, and I am truly thankful.

Volume 8 follows volume 7 in being centered around life in Karelina, but it’s still exciting due to a sudden idea from Mukohda that results in something absurd. It was fun for me as a writer, so if you all enjoy it, that would make me happy as well.

And wow! There’s going to be a special edition of volume 8 that comes with a drama CD! This will be the 2nd drama CD, following after volume 5! This time I wrote a script specifically for this volume, so please consider the special edition with the drama CD.

In addition to the cast of wonderful voice actors from the last CD, we now have a new actor for Dora-chan, and the sound quality will be even better. It would be great if you all enjoyed the CD as well.

Also, volume 5 of the main comic and volume 3 of Sui’s Great Adventure, the spinoff where Sui is the main character, are also being released at the same time! Both series are being received very well, and as the original author, nothing makes me happier. Please consider buying those as well.

To Masa-sensei who draws the illustrations, Akagishi K-sensei who is in charge of the main comic, and Futaba Momo-sensei who draws the spinoff comic, all the voice actors who took part in the drama CD, my editor “I,” and everyone else at Overlap — thank you all so very much!

Lastly, everyone, please continue to read the laid back and heartwarming otherworld adventures of Mukohda in Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill in web novel, light novel, and comic forms. I pray that I see you all again in volume 9.

Bonus Short Stories

Mukohda’s Cooking Class ~Cooking with Sui~

“Now then, what should I make for dinner~?” I whispered to myself. I was in the kitchen, pondering what to make for dinner.

《Meat~!》

“Woah! Oh, Sui. You’re here.” I thought I was alone, so the reply startled me. “Hm, you all do like meat... Actually, it’s more like none of you will eat it if it isn’t meat. So yeah, I’ll definitely be cooking meat.”

《Yaaay!》

......

Sui was still in the kitchen. I felt like a gaze was being leveled at me.

What?

“Uh, what’s up Sui? I’m going to be using fire, so it’s dangerous to be here.”

《Sui is strong, it’s fine. Hmph!》 Sui said, not moving an inch.

“Seriously, is there something you want?”

《Umm, uhhh, Sui kind of wants to cook too~...》

“I see... But I already told you, I’m going to use fire, and blades too...”

《Sui can’t?》 Sui was already starting to shake in sadness......

“I-It’s not that you can’t. Definitely not. But you have to listen to what I say and be careful.”

《Okay!》 Sui showed its joy by bouncing up and down a few times.

But...

“Really... what should I make?”

I continued to ponder that while Sui watched me, excitedly bobbing left and right.

If I’m going to be making it with Sui, then I can’t do anything too complicated. Yeah, it has to be simple...

“Ah...” I remembered the huge amount of ground meat I’d prepared a while back with Sui’s help.

“Right. Let’s make meat soboro.”

《Soboro?》

“That’s right, Sui. Remember? You helped me make a whole bunch of ground meat before, right?”

I plopped a bowl filled to the brim with ground meat down on the table from my Item Box.

《Ahh! Sui helped turn the thing to make small meat!》 Sui was talking about the special mithril mincer it had made. I had Sui turn the crank for the mincer, grinding up large amounts of orc and bloody horn-bull meat. While Sui’s special mincer was very effective, it was still tiring to have to make large amounts by myself. It had been a big help when Sui said it wanted to help.

“You helped make this ground meat, Sui, so let’s cook with it.”

《Yeah, okay!》

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Sui, are you ready?”

《Sui is ready!》 Sui snapped a tentacle straight up and made an excited reply.

Normally, I went for a sweet and salty soy sauce flavor, but just doing the usual would be boring. So this time, I decided to go with a miso flavor.

“All right then, I’ll be putting the seasoning in this bowl, so once I give it to you, please make sure to mix them really well.”

《Okay!》

“Inside the bowl goes sake, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and miso and...” I squeezed out a tube of grated ginger. Meanwhile, Sui was paying rapt attention to what was going on.

“Here, please mix this.” I handed Sui a whisk to make it easier.

《Okaaay!》 Using the whisk, Sui set to mixing up the seasoning.

“Good. Well done. Once the seasoning is finished, next is the meat.”

Oil up a hot frying pan and put in some orc meat...

“Take four chopsticks and use them to cook the meat until it’s loose, just like I’m doing. And make sure that the ground meat doesn’t burn or stick to the pan.” I showed Sui an example of how to do it first.

I picked up Sui and situated it in front of the burner, and Sui used its tentacles to skillfully manipulate the cookware.

《Master — how is it?》

“Nice job. You did great, Sui.”

《Ehehe~...》

Sui had messed up a little bit, but that just added to its charm.

“Right. Once the color of the meat changes, it’s about finished.”

《You’re right~! The meat looks all white-ish!》

“Now, this is where you add in the seasonings you just mixed, Sui.” I dumped the bowl of mixed seasonings into the frying pan. “Sui, make sure to use your chopsticks to help cook the meat. And make sure it doesn’t stay in one place and burn.”

《Okaaay.》 Sui continued to use its chopsticks to stir the orc meat around to cook it. The nice scent of miso gently rose from the pan, and Sui stopped stirring.

“Sui, it’ll burn.”

《Ah!》 Startled, the slime hurried to resume stirring.

Eventually...

“All right, we’ve cooked off all the moisture, so it should be good now,” I said, turning off the magic stove. “It’s done.”

《It’s done!》 Sui must have been really happy, as it started swinging the tentacle that was holding the chopsticks upwards.

“H-Hey, don’t swing around chopsticks like that.”

《Sorryyy~.》

“Heheh, do you want to give it a taste test?”

《Yeah!》

Sui and I used spoons to scoop up some warm and freshly done orc meat miso soboro and brought it to our mouths.

“Good, it’s turned out well. It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

《It’s so goood~!》 Sui wiggled left and right with the spoon still inside it.

“Miso flavored soboro is delicious, right? The miso really gave it such a deep flavor, don’t you think?” As I reflected on the taste of the miso soboro, I noticed a tentacle stretching forward suspiciously...

“He, that’s enough.”

《Gyah!! Sui got caught~!》

“There’s no time to be snacking, Sui. We still need to make a lot more of this.”

《Uncle Fel and Dora-chan eat a lot, after all~.》

“Hahaha! You know you eat a lot too, Sui.”

《Hehehe, yeah. Sui eats lots too~!》

“So we’re going to need to make a lot more.”

《Okay!》 Sui and I continued to cook up more orc meat miso soboro.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

.........

Sui focused intensely on Fel and Dora-chan, who had bowls in front of them.

“H-Hey, what is this?”

《It’s hard to eat with Sui staring at us like that...》 Fel and Dora-chan’s expressions were stiff and tense.

“Sui was the one that made that orc meat miso soboro bowl. That’s probably why he’s like that.”

“I was wondering why I could not see Sui anywhere. So that is what it was doing.”

《Ummm, Sui made this while master taught Sui!》

I packed white rice from a clay pot into Fel’s large, deep dish, before adding on a heaping helping of the orc meat miso soboro that Sui made. Then, I made a small divot in the center and put a soft-boiled egg inside. Lastly, I sprinkled some white sesame on top to finish off Sui’s special orc meat miso soboro bowl.

By the way, Sui said that it wanted to try cracking the soft-boiled egg on top, so I let it try. Though I felt really nervous about it.

I bet Sui’s really anxious about whether or not everyone will think that the miso soboro bowl that it made was delicious.

“Hurry up and eat it.”

“O-Okay.”

《Y-Yeah.》

Slowly, hesitatingly, Fel and Dora-chan started to eat the food.

《Hey, hey, hey, how is it?》 Sui relentlessly asked Fel and Dora-chan.

Hey, hey, hey, stop rushing them for impressions.

“Y-Yes. It is good, Sui.”

《Yaaay!》

Upon hearing Fel’s reply, Sui bounced around like it was doing a little jig.

《Hey, hey, what about you, Dora-chan?》

《Y-Yeah... I-It’s good.》

《Yaayyyyy!》 Sui resumed bouncing its little dance.

“Okay okay, I know you’re happy, but you should eat too, Sui.”

《Okaaay!》

Sui started digging into its share of the orc meat miso soboro bowl.

《Eheheh, it’s so good~.》 Sui seemed extremely pleased.

And right besides Sui, Fel and Dora-chan secretly started a whispered conversation with me.

“Hey, stop letting Sui cook.”

《Yeah.》

“Why?”

“I cannot properly taste the food if I am going to be rushed for opinions like this.”

《Exactly. And since it’s Sui, we can’t really be honest either.》

“Ahaha! Well, isn’t it fine every once in a while? You can play along at least a little bit, can’t you?”

“You say that, but...” Fel scrunched his nose, and both he and Dora-chan moaned, seemingly troubled.

“I’m sure this is just a phase. Sui’s at the age where it wants to try things out.”

That only caused their expressions to grow worse. Even so, Fel and Dora-chan completely polished off their shares of the food.

Rumors in the Divine Realm ~Ninrir~

Among all the lower-ranked gods that served the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir, the most popular topic of discussion recently was how she’d changed. And although the people around her had of course noticed, the person herself hadn’t.

Or maybe she was just pretending not to...

Even while her changes were becoming the hot topic among her followers, Ninrir kept living her slothful life. All her followers worried over whether they should tell her or not.

Meanwhile, Ninrir continued to live indolently, ignorant of the worries of her followers.

“Hmmm... I’m so bored...” Ninrir muttered as she lay down on her bed, spacing out. “But I don’t want to move right now. Maybe I’ll just take a nap...”

There just might have been a servant passing by Ninrir’s room at that moment. And that servant may have heard Ninrir’s muttering. If so, that servant probably retorted in his heart that it isn’t that Ninrir doesn’t want to work right now, it’s that she never wants to work.

“No, wait a second. That’s right! I still had some of that!”

Ninrir went digging around in her special divine Item Box with basically infinite capacity.

“Found it!” Ninrir had in her hand a small object wrapped in something colorful. It was a candy that she’d obtained through Mukohda. She’d forgotten about them at some point, and there were several more left in her box.

Ninrir undid the wrapper and tossed the round candy into her mouth. As she rolled the candy around inside, the sweet flavor of fruit spread throughout.

“Muheheheh, it’s so sweet~. Sweets are so nice~.”

Ninrir flapped her legs happily on the bed. Then, she suddenly sat upright.

“But this amount isn’t satisfying enough,” she sighed. “Why can’t he ever be nice and attentive and make his offerings early~?” Ninrir groused, blatantly ignoring the fact that she was the one who ate all of his offerings almost immediately, even though she received a massive amount every time.

“Well, I know it’s useless to expect anything out of him already. He’s just so dense when it comes to this stuff... He’s even started talking back and saying mean and stingy things. In the first place, he......” Ninrir sat cross-legged on her bed while she complained to herself.

“Ugh... this feels a little tight...”

Well, of course. When you cross your legs like that, your clothes are going to feel tight if they aren’t at least a little loose to begin with.

That is, Ninrir’s clothes, which used to be a little loose, had been gradually becoming less so.

But Ninrir hadn’t noticed the fact that she’d been gorging herself on enough sweets to even change a god’s physique, which wouldn’t happen under most circumstances.

So, Ninrir’s introspection ended with “It’s probably nothing,” and she once again lay down on her bed.

The servants who looked upon Ninrir’s transmogrified body all murmured among themselves.

“Miss Ninrir’s definitely gotten fatter, hasn’t she...”

“Yes. She used to be so slender it made people jealous, but...”

“We can’t really get sick, and our bodies don’t change, so it’s hard for us to get fat or to slim down. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be... right?”

“““Just what happened?”””

Completely unaware that her servants were whispering about her behind her back, Ninrir was lazing around on her bed, scratching an itch on her butt. Her servants, seeing that, all heaved a collective sigh.

“She’s basically one of those ghoularr sea lions* that live in the northern sea, isn’t she?”

“That’s going too far, isn’t it? She’s not that fat yet. But I get the feeling that it’s only a matter of time...”

“Her previously slender body became like that in such a short time, after all...”

The servants all thought back to when Ninrir used to be slender.

“““Fare thee well...”””

*A monster that grows to be around 5m long and resembles a sea lion. It lives in the northern seas. Its biggest distinguishing feature is how fat and round it gets. It eats smaller aquatic monsters and is very gluttonous. If it feels like its meal will get stolen or interrupted, it will even attack monsters larger than it. It is often used as a comparison to fat people.

Rumors in the Divine Realm ~Kisharle~

“Hmhmhmm~♪ Bath, bath, ba-a-ath~♪”

While humming a song, the Goddess of Earth, Kisharle, headed towards her bath. She was followed by several lower-ranked gods who sighed, awestruck by her beautiful form.

“You’re so pretty every time I see you, Lady Kisharle......”

Her perfectly curvy figure was the ideal and envy of women everywhere, and her almond-shaped eyes gave off the impression of a bewitchingly beautiful woman. There were many lower-ranked gods that admired her for her looks alone. Many of Kisharle’s followers and servants volunteered for the position, so she was surrounded by her devoted fans.

“Yes, but don’t you think she’s gotten even prettier recently?”

“I think so too. She was so worried about her skin, but recently it’s been so smooth and vibrant.”

“That’s not all though. Her hair has become silky and glossy too......”

“““Ahhh~, she’s so dreamy......”””

Kisharle’s servants all melted as she passed by.

“Oh, that reminds me. I heard that her hair and skin are becoming the cause of rumors among the other gods’ servants as well.”

“I’ve heard about that too.”

“Me too.”

“This might be something only we can notice since we serve Lady Kisharle and come into close contact with her regularly, but... doesn’t she smell really nice?”

“So you noticed that too? I’ve been thinking that for a while now.”

“Same here. Like, the smell of flowers just comes wafting off her, doesn’t it?”

“And it fits Lady Kisharle so well...”

The servants put their hands to their chests as they stood for a moment, enraptured by the memory of that smell.

“I might have a clue as to the source of that smell.”

“Me too.”

“And of course, I do as well.”

The servants all looked at each other and nodded.

“It’s got to be the bath, right?”

“Yes. I think the cause is the ‘shampoo’ and ‘hair treatment’ that Lady Kisharle has started using recently.”

“There’s also the ‘body soap’ that she’s been using to wash herself with.”

“The nice scent is especially strong just after Lady Kisharle is fresh out of her bath.”

“Still, I’ve never seen anything like that before...”

“I wonder where Lady Kisharle got her hands on them?”

“I want to try using the same things Kisharle does...”

The servants all took a moment to imagine what it would be like to use the same products and get even a little closer to Lady Kisharle, their object of admiration.

Meanwhile, Kisharle had finished her bath and was walking down the hallway to her room.

“Oh my. What are you all doing in a place like this?”

“““W-We’re very sorry!”””

“Haha, it’s fine to talk, but keep it in moderation, you hear?”

With that, Kisharle left, smiling.

“She smells nice...” One of the servants whispered.

But Kisharle heard it. “Oh, you can tell? This scent is very nice, isn’t it?”

The servants all nodded furiously.

Kisharle, in a good mood, said, “Wait just a minute, please,” and returned to her room. Then...

“It’s different from the one I use, but this one still smells pretty nice. I’ll give it to you,” Kisharle said, handing them a rose-scented bar of soap.

“A-Are you sure?!” The servants were all surprised over the sudden gift.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m not using this soap anyway.”

So the servants gratefully accepted the gift.

“It smells nice~!” They were entranced by the smell of the soap.

“All right then. Later!” Kisharle said as she returned to her room to do her daily skincare routine.

Rumors in the Divine Realm ~Agni~

Agni was in a large yard on the grounds of her palace.

“Come on, come on, come on! You’re all way too weak! Come at me!”

Today, just as always, Agni had roped the lower-ranked gods into spearmanship training with her.

After seeing their comrade get blown away, the other low-ranked gods that were roped into morning practice were trembling in fear, thinking they were next.

“Like, hasn’t Agni been really energetic lately?”

“Yeah, I thought so too.”

“There’s been rumors about Agni being more energetic among the gods from other houses too.”

“So that’s why the training’s been harder these days...”

“Yeah, exactly. Oh, did you know? There are more people trying to skip morning practice now since it has become so harsh.”

“Yeah, I heard about that too. But all they did was say, ‘I’m feeling a little under the weather,’ right?”

“They’re idiots, aren’t they?”

“They sure are. Agni just yelled at them, saying, ‘You idiots. You’re still gods, even if you’re low-ranked. As if a god could ever be sick enough not to train!’ And then she punished them herself.”

“So the reason why more people have been claiming that upper-ranked gods have asked them to do stuff and not joining morning practice is...”

“Because we know that being under the weather won’t work as an excuse.”

They all sighed.

While some of the lower-ranked gods were talking, the training continued.

“Raaaahh!”

“Gah!”

Unable to stop the spear that Agni swung at him, the low-ranked god was blasted away.

“Who’s next?!”

Agni, who was exploding with energy right from the morning, looked around at the lower-ranked gods.

Their ranks were filled with whispered squabbling over who should go.

“You go.”

“No, you go!”

However, if the gods didn’t reach a conclusion soon, Agni would get frustrated. And when Agni got frustrated, the training got even harder...The gods knew that, so one of the lower-ranked gods that was a veteran of these sessions eventually volunteered.

“I-I’ll go!”

“Nice, nice! Come on!”

“Hiyaaahh!”

The brave veteran charged at Agni.

“Haahh!”

The two spears met with a clang. But...

“You move pretty well, but you’re still a long way from being able to fight me! Take this!”

Agni used her brute strength to send the lower-ranked god flying.

“Argh... D-Damn...” the defeated god groaned before he lost consciousness.

The other gods, who saw it happen, turned pale.

“Whew, I worked up a good sweat. I guess this is enough. Right, morning training is done for today!”

Hearing that, the low-ranked gods all breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, Agni returned to her room with a spring in her step.

“Heh heh heh... Now that I’ve worked up a good sweat at morning training, I’m looking forward to this~!” Agni said as she reached her room. She stuck her hand into the usual pot.

Ever since Mukohda taught Agni that beer was much better cold, she started storing it with ice and water in a special pot she made that would prevent condensation from forming.

Agni fished out an ice-cold beer from the pot. With practiced motions, she pulled open the tab and chugged down the beer like it was water.

“Aaahh! So good! This is it! This is what life’s all about!”

Even though it was still morning, she began to drink.

“Beer is just the best after a good amount of exercise!”

Agni was feeling good, haven been able to enjoy her favorite drink in its best condition. She brought the can up to her lips again to take another chug, but...

“O-Oh. It’s already empty.”

Agni shook the can to make sure it really was empty before turning her attention to the cooling pot.

“If I drink too much, then I’ll get complaints about how much I’m drinking, won’t I? But... it should be fine sometimes, right?”

Agni gave a flimsy excuse before reaching into the pot for a second can. Though she said, “once in a while,” she’d been doing the same thing for several days straight —a fact she completely ignored.

*Psshhht* *Glug glug glug*

“Aaahhh~, beer is so amazingly good!”

Rumors in the Divine Realm ~Rusalka~

When people refer to “Miss Ruka,” they mean Rusalka. The young Goddess of Water was famously silent and inexpressive. But recently, she was much more expressive than usual.

She had never made those expressions for or about anyone, but sometimes she would suddenly break into a small smile, or seem sort of sad, or look like she was worrying about something.

Miss Ruka had become quite expressive indeed. And her servants all found that very endearing. The change had become the hot topic among them.

“Hey, hasn’t Miss Ruka kind of gotten... softer, recently?”

“You thought that too? I agree!”

“She still doesn’t talk, but she’s way more expressive than she used to be.”

“Right?”

“For sure.”

“Ah, a little while ago, I saw Miss Ruka smiling!”

“Aww, I’m so jealous... I only managed to see her wrinkling her brow like she was worrying about something.”

“I saw her looking down all sad.”

Ruka’s servants excitedly talked about how their master was doing recently. Then...

“Ah, it’s Miss Ruka.” One of the servants spotted Miss Ruka. “It looks like she’s deep in thought.”

The servants saw Miss Ruka with crossed arms and closed eyes, either nodding or shaking her head at intervals.

“She’s started counting on her fingers.”

“I wonder what she’s counting?”

The servants continued watching their master while wondering what she was doing. Miss Ruka counted with her fingers, repeating the process several times before giving a firm nod. Then...

“Ah, she’s laughing.”

“She really is!”

“What an adorable smile~!”

Seeing Miss Ruka’s expression gave the servants a warm feeling. Meanwhile, the goddess herself must not have noticed that she was being watched, since she started skipping down the hallway with a smile on her face.

“Miss Ruka’s skipping?!”

“Something must have happened that made her really happy!”

“We’re so lucky that we managed to see this!”

The servants started speaking louder because of their excitement over seeing their master do something unexpected. Miss Ruka must have heard it, since she immediately stopped skipping and started looking around. The servants all panicked, covering their mouths with their hands and hurrying to hide somewhere.

Miss Ruka tilted her head in confusion and probably concluded that it was just her imagination, as she once again began skipping down the hallway.

Once she’d disappeared, the servants all breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was dangerous, Miss Ruka almost found us.”

“Yeah. But I was so surprised that Miss Ruka started skipping!”

“Me too! She’s always so quiet, so it’s all the more impactful.”

The servants nodded at each other, excited.

“It seemed like she was having a lot of fun, though, right?”

“It really did. I wonder what happened?”

“It’s got Miss Ruka looking so happy. I’m really interested in finding out.”

The servants looked at each other, and in perfect sync, all silently decided to follow after their master. As they quietly chased her, taking care not to be found, they saw Miss Ruka entering her room. The servants peeked inside, and they saw their master with her hand in her Item Box while shaking her head.

“I wonder if she has something in her Item Box?”

“Something that has her so excited...”

“Something that we’ll be able to see.”

The servants quietly concentrated, trying to see what their master would fish out... But she suddenly turned around, and Miss Ruka’s eyes locked on theirs.

“......”

For a while, both sides were completely silent...

“Do you... need something?” Miss Ruka asked, leveling a steady gaze at her servants.

They hurriedly replied, “N-No.”

“W-We were just passing by.”

“Th-That’s right.”

“Y-Yes, exactly.”

Flustered, the servants gave their excuses and hurriedly left. After seeing them off, Miss Ruka muttered, “I was just at the best part...” before regrouping and once again looking into her Item box.

“Which one should I have......?”

Unlike a certain other Goddess, Miss Ruka wanted to be able to enjoy her treats for a long time. She’d already made a proper plan and schedule, so she still had enough otherworld ice cream to be able to pick and choose flavors.

“In the end, it has to be vanilla...”

Miss Ruka ended up choosing her favorite flavor. Taking the cup in hand, she took a spoon to the vanilla ice cream and brought some to her mouth.

“Amazing.”

With that one word, a smile bloomed on Miss Ruka’s face wider than any of her servants had ever seen.

The Arrival of the Fried Egg Fad

“Here’s this week’s groceries.” I handed a week’s worth of meat and other things to Aija and Thereza, who handled all of my slaves’ food.

“I also threw in some extra eggs,” I added, to which the two of them smiled.

I wonder though, why don’t they ever get tired of having so many eggs? I’m giving them a rather large amount this week too.

“Thank you very much. With this, we can have fried eggs.”

“Everyone loves fried eggs.”

The two of them spoke with glowing expressions.

“So you really were having fried eggs...”

“Yes. We started serving them after being taught by you, Mukohda.”

“It feels rather extravagant in the morning, so it’s very popular.”

On their first day, I had cooked them all fried eggs as a low-effort breakfast.

I mean, all you do is crack an egg and cook it. Plus, it goes great on toast.

I served it as a way to cut corners that day, but everyone was thrilled that they were able to eat them. I later learned that eggs in this world were a rare ingredient that was hard to get ahold of. I’d just been using my Online Supermarket to buy eggs, so I’d never really cared to learn that.

Apparently, people in this world had only recently started to tame bird-type monsters, so towns of Karelina’s size were starting to see eggs being sold in small numbers. Even so, that didn’t change the fact that from a commoner’s point of view, it was a very luxurious thing to eat.

At any rate, when they first ate the fried eggs, they were all very grateful, so I made sure to give them eggs whenever it came time to restock their groceries. At first, that caused them all to shrink back, saying that they couldn’t accept such an expensive thing on top of all the meat they were getting. Thanks to Fel, I always had tons of meat on hand, so I had been sharing some with them.

I had tried to convince them by saying, “If I buy them with my skill, it’s only 2 copper for a pack of ten. In the world I came from, eggs are really cheap, and meals like the fried eggs I served you are actually really common for breakfast.”

That finally got through to them, and Aija and Thereza had apparently spread that information to everyone else. That led to them all asking for fried eggs for breakfast, and the dish became really popular. They kept saying that they wanted to eat it again, so Aija and Thereza sheepishly made a request of me. “We don’t need as much meat, so could you please give us more eggs?”

“That’s fine. I can get you as many eggs as you want and you can still have your meat.” Thus, I had been giving them more and more eggs.

Since then, I had also taught Aija and Thereza some other easy egg recipes like omelets and scrambled eggs. I figured they’d eventually crave some variety, but it seemed fried eggs never fell from being their most popular dish. “Fried eggs show off the deliciousness of the egg the most, and the flavor changes depending on the seasonings you use, so you won’t get tired of it even if you eat it every day,” they said.

Yep, that’s true. Fried eggs with runny yolks are to die for. Well, the yolk part depends on the person, I guess. The people of this world don’t like to eat raw food, so that seems like a tall hurdle for them to accept runny, not-quite-done yolks. All of my slaves liked their fried eggs well-cooked over a low heat. When you think about it, even if it’s a super-simple dish that just requires cracking an egg into a frying pan, it can vary a lot in flavor depending on how long you cook it and what seasonings you use. I suppose there are some dishes that can hit the spot no matter what your preferences are or what you feel like at the moment.

Fried eggs sure are deep and complex, huh?

I idly asked Aija and Thereza, “So what do you two think is the best with fried eggs?”

“I think Worcestershire sauce is best. The strong and complex flavor really pairs well with the egg as well as the toast on top of that. Worcestershire sauce is peerless.”

Aija was in the Worcestershire camp. Thereza, on the other hand...

“No way, salt and pepper are much better! They don’t get in the way of the egg’s original flavor. If you want to actually taste the egg and not the sauce, salt and pepper is the way to go.”

Thereza was in the salt and pepper camp.

“What?! No way, Worcestershire is......”

“You’re delusional! Salt and pepper is......”

Both Aija and Thereza refused to back down.

Even in an entirely different world, the question of what to put on fried eggs still caused controversy.

“Which one do you think is better, Mukohda? It has to be the deep flavor of Worcestershire sauce, right?”

“No way, salt and pepper is better since it doesn’t overpower the egg’s flavor.”

Hey now, why’re you involving me in this?

Well, I was asked, so I replied, “I do like Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper, but if I had to choose, I think soy sauce is the best.”

Aija and Thereza looked at me with doubtful expressions.

“Soy sauce is fine if you only use a little, but it’s so salty...”

“Yeah. It also smells kind of...”

Hey! Don’t you dare diss soy sauce in front of me!

A Chat Between Tony and His Wife

“They’re both asleep.”

“I see. Want some of this?”

I offered some of the wine I was sipping to my wife, Aija.

“I’ll have some,” she said, retrieving her cup.

I poured some wine into the cup she put down, which was made out of glass so astonishingly clear I would swear it wasn’t of this world.

“No matter how many times I see it, it never ceases to amaze me......”

“I know. I never thought we’d ever even see a glass cup.”

Glass products were always exorbitantly expensive. Enough so that the only ones who could ever afford them were nobles or merchants. The fact that we were using some right now as slaves was like a dream come true. The glass was also startlingly clear. It couldn’t even be compared to the glass cup I managed to get a glimpse of once when I went to a noble’s house for work.

The two of us continued to look at the deep red of the wine showing perfectly through the cup. Then, we both took a sip of the delicious wine.

“Is this wine different from what we had last time?”

“Oh, good job noticing. I told Mukohda that we enjoyed the wine we got, and he said, ‘Oh, the two of you like wine. Then you’ll probably get bored of always having the same one, right?’ Then he gave me several different bottles of wine.”

Mukohda tended to give us other supplies on top of the regular ones for daily life.

“My, again? But if that was just for us...”

“Haha! Mukohda wouldn’t do that; you know this already. The others got things they liked as well.”

“Heehee, that sounds like him all right. We’re slaves, but our master is just too good a person.”

“Ahaha! No joke!”

What Aija said was undeniable. From what Mukohda told us, it seemed that he came from a different world. According to him, his world had long since abolished slavery. There existed something called “human rights” that protected a person’s “inalienable human dignity.” Which meant that everybody was guaranteed a minimum quality of life.

I didn’t really understand with my limited education, but none of that changed the fact that we were slaves.

Nevertheless, unlike other countries, this country didn’t abuse their slaves. In exchange for their freedom, they were guaranteed a place to live and food to eat. And if they weren’t provided that, their owner would be punished.

So I could say this with certainty: the “minimum” that Mukohda talked about wasn’t the minimum at all. Our life right now was so unencumbered and plenteous that it almost made me forget that I was a slave.

“I wonder though, is it really all right for us to live like this?”

“It’s fine, I’m sure. Mukohda’s the one that wants us to live like this, after all. You know, even with how good we have it, he’ll still ask me if we’re troubled in any way, or if we need anything, every time I see him.”

“Heehee, you’re probably right. Living like this is more than enough.”

Exactly. Not only did he give us this magnificent house, he was also giving us more supplies than we need for daily life and even pays on top of that. There’s no way we’d need anything else.

“Ah, right. When he gave me this wine, Mukohda also tried to hand us some ‘wine glasses’ to drink it with.”

“Wine glasses?”

“Apparently they’re glasses specifically for drinking wine. Of course I refused. Even the glass cups we have now are too much for us. I told him that having glass cups just to drink wine was way too extravagant.”

Aija seemed relieved to hear that I refused the glasses.

“We already have to take so much care in washing these glass cups. If we had some wine glasses too, I’d be trembling with nervousness just from having one in my hand.”

I nodded in agreement. I’d be too nervous to even taste the wine if I was holding something like that myself.

“But you know, Mukohda argued that it doesn’t cost all that much to get things from his world with his skill.”

“Heheheh, that Mukohda...”

Mukohda tended to carelessly say things like that, which was troubling. Even this glass cup I was using now shouldn’t be something that someone like me should ever own.

“We really were lucky that we were bought by someone like Mukohda, weren’t we?”

“You can say that again. I owe it to him that I’m able to live like this with my family. If things kept going like that... If we were bought by someone other than Mukohda... I’m sure I would have died by now.”

“You’re right. After all, even though our entire family tried everything we could and went so far as to drive ourselves into slavery, we couldn’t heal your illness.”

“And right now, I’m so healthy that it’s like I was never sick at all.”

“All our happiness right now is thanks to Mukohda. I’ll never be able to repay him for all this...”

“I don’t know if working our entire lives will be enough, but I know I’ll try.”

“Yeah.”

The two of us felt deep gratitude for all the happiness Mukohda brought us.

A Chat Between Alban and His Wife

After the kids all went to bed, I settled in with my evening drink, something I had recently started looking forward to every night. I was drinking the “whiskey” given to me by Mukohda. The beverage had a unique scent and flavor, and was also really strong, so I liked to add a little water. By doing so, I felt that the taste would get a lot mellower and just better overall.

Though apparently my fellow ex-adventurer slaves, like Tabatha and Barthel, can hold their drink and take it neat.

After cleaning up, my wife, Thereza, plopped herself down opposite me with a sigh.

“You want to drink too?”

I offered my wife some, but Thereza shook her head no.

“I’m having this,” Thereza replied in her distinctly country accent, revealing some “umeshu,” an alcohol flavored with fruit. The two of us enjoyed our drinks while snacking on some extra orc and pepper stir fry that was left over from dinner.

“Ahh, amazing,” Thereza said after taking a large swig of her alcohol and breathing a sigh of contentment.

“Still, I wonder if this is really all right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we’re slaves, right? So isn’t our life right now just too good?”

“True...”

I couldn’t deny it. Even though we’re slaves, our lives were totally comfortable at the moment.

“Sorry for saying this, but we’re living better than we ever did as farmers.”

“Ouch. You didn’t pull any punches, did you?”

Our family used to run an orchard in a small village named Sandell. I had inherited it from my father, and enjoyed a meager living, enough so that we could at least enjoy one meal a day.

But we had terrible yields three years in a row, which made even our meager existence impossible to maintain, and the entire family had to become slaves. If we hadn’t, then we would have starved to death. It was an all-too-common tale.

If you became a slave, then at least you’d be able to eat, even if you were forced into hard labor. All of us were prepared for that, our youngest child Lotte aside. But......

“Hahaha! But this life is fine, isn’t it? It’s what our master, Mukohda gave us.”

“But like, living this well just makes me question what slaves even are... you know?”

It wasn’t like I didn’t understand what Thereza was getting at.

“Well, that’s true, but this house and all our food and stuff was given to us by Mukohda, right? Our master keeps asking us if we’re having any problems at every turn, too, even though that’s impossible with how good a life we’re living.”

“Heheheh, true. He also tells us that working too much is bad, and that we should rest at least one day out of the week.”

“Ahahahaha! Exactly! The entire point of slaves is to make them work, right? But he keeps telling us to take a break!” After the two of us had a good laugh over the topic, we took another swig of our drinks.

“We were lucky, weren’t we? That such a nice guy like Mukohda bought us...”

“For sure. He’s so nice to Oliver, Erik, and Lotte.”

“We can’t be thankful enough to him.”

“Yeah, no matter how grateful we are, it won’t be enough. I didn’t mind becoming a slave myself, but I felt so bad about our children having to become slaves too. They’re having so much fun these days, though.”

Thereza was right. Everyone spent every day full of energy and laughter. As a parent, just that was enough to make me happy as well.

Something surprising happened recently, too.

“Our children wrote their names for me the other day, did you know? Kosti from next door taught them how, apparently.”

“Wow, really? That’s great!”

“Right? We can’t even write our own names, but all our children learned how. That’s amazing.”

“At the rate we were going, they would never have been able to do that...” Thereza spoke softly.

But she was right.

“We’re gonna have to do our best to make it up to Mukohda, won’t we?”

“Yeah. It’s all we can do to pay him back.”

Thereza and I resolved ourselves. We continued to talk and drink late into the night.

A Chat Between Former Adventurers

“Ahh~, it’s whiskey time! I can finally drink!”

Barthel and Peter had come back after changing watch shifts with my little brothers, Luke and Irvine.

“You’re being way too loud, dwarf. Can’t you try to come in a little quieter?”

“Hah! It’s finally time to drink, so no.”

“Finally? You drink literally every day.”

See? Peter’s nodding in agreement.

“Booze is the water of life for us dwarves, you know. We need it every day,” Barthel returned without batting an eye.

“Whenever the shift change gets close, Barthel just won’t shut up about alcohol.”

See? Even Peter, who’s normally quiet, is complaining.

“Oh, stop nagging. That just shows how much I look forward to it,” Barthel threw back before quickly moving for his room. He probably went back to retrieve the booze he was storing there. As if he was following after Barthel, Peter went back to his own room as well. Then......

“Aahh~, this stuff is so good, I never get tired of it!”

After removing his leather armor and leaving his prized hammer in his room, Barthel came back with a bottle of liquor in hand and quickly started drinking.

“Geez, and you immediately start drinking. Look, here’s some food. You eat up too, Peter.”

Our meal was cooked by our fellow slaves, Aija and Thereza, in addition to the food for their own families. But we always ate in our own house.

Today’s meal was stir-fried orc meat and peppers, with potato soup on the side. Barthel continued to drink with his meal, while Peter ate silently.

“You know, we get such good food and good booze. This is a great gig,” Barthel said, and Peter seemed to agree.

“We get to rest regularly like this, too,” I added, since today was my day off.

“I was so surprised to hear we would have days off even though we’re slaves......” Peter mumbled. Barthel and I agreed, laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation.

Well, even if they’re guaranteed a living, slaves usually get worked like mules, after all.

“You know, this isn’t how slaves are supposed to be living in the first place, is it?”

“Gahaha! My life right now is way better than it was when I was an adventurer!”

Barthel laughed happily before downing his entire cup of whiskey, which was poured into an incredibly clear glass cup.

“Yeah, true, since we get a house and food to eat every day for free.”

As long as we stayed here, there was no need to worry about a place to live or food to eat. Just that was enough to make us grateful.

“That’s not all. He also gives us everything else we need for daily life too. He even supplied us with leather armor and swords since he said we’d need it for security,” Peter added, and Barthel and I nodded in agreement once again.

“Right. These are about the same quality as the leather armor I bought for myself as an adventurer. And I was B-ranked, so I used a pretty good set. And these are just as good!”

“This is actually way better than the set I used as an adventurer. Like, what kind of eccentric buys something like this for a slave?”

Back when I was an adventurer, I was so desperate to get the best weapons and armor I could, and yet... Look, Peter’s nodding in agreement. He feels the same way.

Peter used to be D-ranked, so it looked like he’d been through a lot. He probably felt the pain of having to scrounge up for equipment way more than me. When it comes to an Adventurer’s income and expenses, you barely break even as a C-rank. Under that, you live day to day like a pauper.

“I only became a slave because I refused to let go of my hammer, but I guess I made the correct choice.”

“What? As if. Normal slaves don’t get it this good, you know? We were just lucky. Insanely lucky.”

“Gahaha! You got me. Tabatha’s completely right, it might just be that we were insanely lucky.”

Having heard us, Peter mumbled, “We might have used up an entire lifetime’s worth of luck.”

“Wahahahahahaha! Maybe! But I’m fine having used up that much luck. We’re living like this even though we’re slaves! We even get spending money!”

Peter and I nodded furiously in agreement. Even though we were slaves, we were given a fairly large amount of spending money. Nowhere else in the world treated their slaves this well.

“This is all thanks to Mukohda...” I said, and Barthel and Peter were once again sent into a nodding fit. I didn’t say it, but I had my little brothers to take care of, so when I became a slave, I spent every day worrying about what was going to happen.

But thanks to being bought by Mukohda, we were living like this.

And yet......

“If we keep living this peacefully, I worry that my sword skills will rust...”

“Indeed. With this lifestyle, all the instincts and reflexes we’ve cultivated as adventurers will probably fall by the wayside.”

“It’s just too peaceful.”

“What a problem to have...”

Eventually I’m going to have to try and get Mukohda’s permission to go into the nearby forest to train, won’t I? Normally, slaves aren’t that free, but Mukohda would probably allow it as long as I tell him why.

The Rejuvenated Earl

Normally the start of the social season would be a depressing thing, but not this year. Finally, it was time to partake in the first social gathering of the season, a party.

Gaze upon my new form, all of you!

I was dressed in my best, smiling as I touched my thick, dark brown hair that was smoothed down.

I feel like I’m ten — no, twenty years younger.

I thought back to my last meeting with Willem, which was the turning point in my follicular fortunes. Willem was the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s guild in Karelina who had approached me two months ago. I’d already known Willem for a while, so at first I thought he’d finally given up and started wearing a wig. He told me about his fear of his receding hairline, which only further receded as the years went by. I had the same worries, so we became close, and whenever we met, we’d exchange information on different hair growth medicines.

As if to mock all that effort, he had no longer shown any signs of ever having had a receding hairline. Instead, his thick mane positively flowed in the wind.

The last time I’d seen Willem before that was a couple months prior. I knew from experience that there was no way for him to have grown that much hair in such a short amount of time, so I had assumed that it must be a wig.

No matter how bald I became, I strongly objected to wearing a wig, because in the end it was still fake. It had reached the level of a conviction for me, so I’d sworn an oath to never resort to such an unnatural look. So at the time, I’d secretly harbored feelings of pity for Willem. But then he told me that it wasn’t a wig.

On a closer look, I could see that there were none of the telltale clues of fakery — the thick brown hair actually looked natural. But I couldn’t bring myself to believe him so easily, especially because I’d never heard of any treatment that could accomplish such a feat, even in my vast experience with many different hair tonics.

I said to Willem, “That’s a wig. Don’t lie to me.” To which he replied, “You can touch it if you want. Then try telling me it’s a wig.”

Since he was going that far to insist it was real, I touched his hair, and it was as he claimed. The hair had firm roots growing straight out of his scalp. To my absolute shock, it didn’t budge even when I pulled on it. I asked him what he had done.

It turned out that the cause of Willem’s full head of hair was a “hair growth shampoo” given to him by an S-ranked adventurer named Mukohda who had settled in my territory. That adventurer had a Fenrir as a familiar and was being watched by the state. He was important enough that there was a blanket notice to not make contact with him. The fact that the “hair tonic” and “hair growth shampoo” were procured from this man lent credibility to its purported effects.

At any rate, I had Willem make plans for a meeting with Mukohda as soon as possible.

When I finally met that adventurer, he turned out to be a normal-looking man with a plain face that could have blown in from anywhere, though the Fenrir projected so much power it practically knocked the wind out of me.

Just as I’d heard from the capital, Mukohda seemed to have good control over his powerful familiar. Although I first thought that I had ended up saddled with a troublesome resident, I now believed this may have actually been a godsend.

Moreover, he turned out to be quite attentive. Along with the “hair growth shampoo” and the “hair tonic,” he also gifted me a set of soaps and shampoos that had recently become popular in the region. My wife and daughter were really interested in these ones in particular, as it happened.

I immediately tried out the “hair growth shampoo” and “hair tonic,” and surprisingly, they showed their effectiveness on the first day. I definitely felt a small amount of growth on what used to be my completely smooth head. Three days later, I could clearly see dark brown hair growing on my head, though the coverage was still thin.

Having directly confirmed the results, I started to use the “hair growth shampoo” and “hair tonic” even more diligently. After a week, I had a thick and full head of hair, and it was like I’d never been bald. Even my wife and daughter were surprised.

When I met up with my eldest son several days ago, whom I left in charge of our residence in the capital, well... Hahaha! Just remembering it brought a laugh to my lips. I couldn’t imagine a more surprised look than the gobsmacked face he made when he saw me and cried out, “F-F-Father?!” No, not even if I tried.

I imagined my second son would be just as surprised whenever I next saw him, since he was currently out in the sticks on military duty.

Still, this must be good news for my sons, since I imagine that they can’t help but imagine that they are looking at their own futures whenever they’ve looked at my bald head before.

At any rate, that doesn’t matter right now. It’s finally time. Finally. Right now, I am more confident than I’ve ever been. And I’m also more grateful than ever that Mukohda decided to settle down in my territory. After all, he said that he’d give me priority for his “hair growth shampoo” and “hair tonic.”

Anyway, there’s no doubt that I’ll be the center of attention at today’s party. Hehehehe, I’m so looking forward to it.