Chapter 5: Fel’s Boot Camp Special Edition ~A Grudge Deeper Than The Ocean~
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.