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?