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.