Chapter 3: Somehow, I’m Doing Well as an Adventurer

I got off Fel when we reached the Adventurer’s guild in Karelina, and we went in together.

Our return happened to overlap with the time that most adventurers would return to the guild, and the inside was packed with adventurers. So, we lined up for the counter.

《With this you should become that F-rank thing, no? So we should be able to head for the shore tomorrow, yes?》 Fel asked telepathically.

《Even if I become an F-rank, I still plan to stay here a little longer.》

《Why?》

《For one, I want to visit Lambert’s store, the merchant we saved from those thieves.》

《Then, we leave tomorrow or the day after?》

《Don’t be in such a rush. The shore won’t run away.》

《Mm, that is true... but I always feel so constrained in human towns, and the bedding at the inn is especially bad.》

《Ahh, that shed, huh?》

Fel was a little too big for the kennel at the inn. It was just about big enough for Fel to lie down and have a tiny bit of space left over. It probably felt all the more confined because, in our travels up until now, we’d been sleeping freely under the stars.

I do feel a little sorry for him...ah!

《Should I spread out your futons in the shed? It should be a little more comfortable then.》

《It should. Please do so.》

《Well, it shouldn’t be that long, I think, so just bear with it for a while, please. I’ll make some good food for you in return.》

《Understood. Do not forget the good food.》

Yeah yeah. Whoops, it became my turn while I was busy having a conversation with Fel. I handed my guild card over to the receptionist.

“Goblin subjugation, was it? Do you have their right ears as proof?”

“Yes. Uhhh, here.”

I handed over a bag full to bursting with goblin ears.

“Wha? No, this? Huh?”

Sorry, it looks like you’re flabbergasted, but this isn’t all of it. I continued to give her another three bags filled just as much as the first: a total of four bags, with a total of 227 goblin ears inside.

Man, am I glad I bought extra bags. Hm? Is the receptionist okay? She’s not saying a word. The receptionist was peering into the four bags, aghast.

“Uhmm— Are you alright?”

When I said that, the receptionist came to with a start, saying, “Please wait a minute,” before hurrying off somewhere.

After a little while, the receptionist returned. “The guildmaster would like to see you so please follow me. Your familiars too, please.”

I nodded, sending Fel a telepathic message to follow along.

We entered the guildmaster’s office on the second floor. It looked a bit larger than a normal room since it was the guildmaster’s office, but Fel only barely fit.

“I am Willem, the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s guild here in Karelina.” Willem the guildmaster was white haired, with a stern looking face that had many wrinkles carved into it. From his face, he looked to be in his 60s, but he was tall, and his properly-trained build said to all that he was still active and healthy.

“I’m Mukohda. Pleased to meet you.”

Was it a mistake to take out all those goblin ears at once? The guildmaster called me and everything, after all...

“That familiar over there is a Fenrir, if I’m not mistaken.” Rather than a question, it was more like he was stating his conclusion for confirmation. It really did seem like the guildmaster already knew, so it looked to me like there was no way to bluff him here.

“Yes. His name is Fel.”

The guildmaster looked at Fel and whispered in awe, “To think I would lay my eyes on a legendary beast...”

Yeah, any normal person would be really surprised and react like that if they looked at Fel knowing he was a Fenrir. Ah, if we’re talking about familiars, I should probably introduce Sui too, just in case.

“Uhmm, I do have another familiar other than Fel...” I took Sui out of my bag and held him up.

“This is Sui; it’s a slime. It seems Sui is special — unlike a regular slime, it’s really strong.”

“A-A slime is...?”

“Yes.” I nodded emphatically in response to the guildmaster’s question. It seemed like the guildmaster was regarding Sui like a regular slime, but it wasn’t. Sui was super strong.

“*Cough* W-Well, you have a Fenrir following you, after all. You probably have a few secrets to keep.”

Yes, you’re correct about that.

“Well then, let’s move on to the reason why I called you all the way here. There was an urgent message from the royal palace. Put simply, it says, ‘Please spend your time freely in our lands. We swear to never force you to do anything you do not wish. This point has been made thoroughly to the nobles in our country so there is no need to worry. However, if something happens, we would like to count on your help.’”

Eh? Does that mean I’m free? Neither the country nor its nobles will come after me?

“It seems like something the king of this country would think up. That guy’s the type to throw away flowery words and get straight to the point. Didn’t you guys want to be free from worrying about interference?”

“Yes, well that’s...”

“That’s why he judged it better to have you in this country free than to try and force you to do something and cause you to leave. Just having a legendary Fenrir here is enough of a threat by itself. And it goes without saying what happens if that Fenrir is someone’s contracted familiar. So, like that, you are free to do as you wish, but we’ll be counting on your help in case of an emergency.”

Certainly. Even if he wasn’t my familiar, if someone was wrecking Fel’s home, he’d probably beat that enemy into the ground.

Well, even if you say that he’s my familiar, he was really just lured in by food. I think he’d probably listen if I asked for something that wasn’t that big... Actually, he’d better listen with how much I’ve been feeding him.

“Uhhh, well, honestly, I’m thankful for this, but... Fel, what about you?”

“There is no problem. If they will not be bothering us, then it is convenient for us as well.”

“So he says.”

“I see, that’s good. We’re very thankful that you’ll stay in our country. Even if the Adventurer’s guild is an organization that supersedes countries, ties are always stronger between guild branches from the same country. It’s very reassuring to have you around as one of this country’s Adventurer’s. So, with that said, I do have something to ask of you...”

It’s kind of scary when you start behaving all formal like that...

“Am I right in saying that you want to rank up, since you’ve brought in all those goblin ears at once?”

Ahh, that... Yes. Well, the only reason there were that many is because we were made to charge into an entire settlement by ourselves thanks to a certain someone.

“If that’s the case I can raise your rank to C with my authority as a guildmaster.”

“Huh? I’m G-ranked, and only wanted to get to F-rank because the short deadline for taking requests was inconvenient since I travel a lot. Is it really okay to just raise me to C-rank all of a sudden?” I only wanted to get from G- to F-rank, is C-rank even possible?

“That is no problem with a guildmaster’s power. More than that, it’s a problem if the person that has a Fenrir as a familiar is only G-ranked.”

I had only planned to be F-rank, but I’m C-rank now all of a sudden. If I remembered correctly, C-ranks could get away with not taking quests for half a year.

“There are several requests I’d like you to take though, in return for raising you to C-rank.”

Ahh, so it’s that kind of conversation? If that’s the case I don’t really need the C-rank.

“Uhhm, if that’s the case I ref—”

“Fine.”

“Fel?”

“This will raise your rank or whatever it is you’re trying to raise, no? If that is the case, why not?”

“Well, that is true but......”

“If this is about the request, if it is dangerous, I will help, so there is no problem.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but the request is A- or S-ranked, so either way it would become a request for you.”

The guildmaster said to Fel directly.

Ahh, I see. It’s like that. Thank god—.

“Well, that’s how it is, Fel. How about it?”

“Hmph, I know not of your ranks, but there is nothing that I cannot do.”

“So he says.”

“Oh, that’s good. To tell you the truth, high-ranked requests always sit around for way too long. Our supply of A- and S-ranked adventurers are limited, you see. Even so, we always manage to gather high-ranked adventurers in response to any urgent requests that pop up, but for ones that aren’t so urgent......”

Well, certainly, when it comes to high-ranked adventurers, their numbers are limited; even if there are a surprising number of adventurers that just hang around everywhere there’s no guarantee that there are any high-ranked ones nearby.

“So this will be another request, but in the course of your travels, if you could stop by Adventurer’s guilds and take care of their high-ranked quests as much as possible, we would be very grateful.”

Well, we’ll always eventually need to visit a guild because I’ll need meat, but... it looks like the guildmaster’ll raise our rank to C with his authority, but will a C-rank even be able to accept A- or S-ranked requests?

“Would that be alright for a C-rank?”

“Ahh, that’ll be no problem. Each guild in this country has been notified about you, and each request will be directly given to you by the guildmaster, so rank wouldn’t even matter.”

I see. “Fel, is that alright? No matter what, we’ll be needing to visit Adventurer’s guilds in the middle of our journey anyway whenever we need more meat.”

“Of course it is alright. Being able to fight is convenient for me as well. If I do not move my body, I will grow dull.”

《Sui will fight too—.》 Sui, who had been listening quietly until now, jiggled and sent that message with telepathy.

Ahh, yeah, yeah. I calmed Sui down by petting it.

“Well, there you have it. It seems this is fine.”

“Oh, ohhh, that’s good. I’ll hurry and tell the other guilds. Fights between adventurers are dealt with strictly in this country, so it should be fine, but just in case, I’ll also tell them not to let the other adventurers get weird ideas in them and make fun of you.”

Ohh, that’s nice. Just like a guildmaster, the man understands. It seems like all my problems all got solved at once.

“So then, about the high-ranked requests I’ll be asking you to take on: will you be able to take on some of the more urgent ones tomorrow?”

Tomorrow, huh? I’ll be visiting the guild because of all the meat I’m having butchered, but I also want to visit Lambert’s store. Then again, the guildmaster has already been very accommodating, so I guess we should go ahead and do his requests first.

“Understood. I’ll be coming back to the guild tomorrow to finish up a transaction, so we can talk more then.”

I suddenly had a thought as I said that. It went like this: Since they already know all about Fel and are giving us such good treatment here, won’t it be fine to unload all the monsters I’ve had sealed up in my Item Box until now (like the orc king, blue ogre, and such, and so on)?

“Um, would it be alright to add some more monsters to the sale?”

“Hm? Add? I don’t mind, but what monsters?”

“Well, you see, I thought that if I brought them out then there’d be an uproar about it, so I didn’t bother — but since you, guildmaster, are already this understanding of my circumstances with Fel and all, I was thinking it might be fine...”

“Oh? That bad?”

“Yes, I actually have a chimera and an orthrus. As well as an orc king and some ogres.”

“Wait a second. Did you just say, chimera and orthrus?” The guildmaster had a scary expression as he asked me that.

“Yes, I did...”

The guildmaster held his head in his hands, and had a face on that screamed, “Agghhh, he’s done it now...”

Huh? Was this really a mistake?

“I need to confirm this so please follow me.”

I followed the guildmaster while holding Sui and with Fel behind me, and we reached the storehouse that I would be visiting tomorrow.

“Hey, Johan, you free?” It’s the old baldy from yesterday. So, his name was Johan.

“What’s up, guildmaster? What are you doing here? Wait, you’re from yesterday...”

“Johan, sorry but can you shut the front door and make sure nobody can get inside? Also, keep what you see here a secret.”

He must have sensed something in the guildmaster’s tone, as Johan hurried to go shut the door.

“Right, this should be fine. So then just take everything out for now.”

Just as the guildmaster asked, I took out everything I was thinking of having him butcher and buy: the orthrus and chimera that I was thinking of sealing away forever, as well as four ogres and a blue ogre; and after that, an orc king, metal lizard, and lake shark; and lastly, the evolved goblins that were killed at the settlement earlier today — the king, three generals, two mages, and seven soldiers.

“This is all of it.”

The guildmaster and old man Johan stood stock-still, mouths agape.

“U-Uhmm......”

“Ah, ahh, sorry...... But still, this sure is a sight.........”

Sorry. I’d been saving up all this time and just let it all out.

“......Guildmaster, this is the first time I’ve even seen a chimera and an orthrus............” The revived old man, Johan, said, as if it were leaking out of his mouth.

W-Whaaa? Even the seasoned adventurer-looking guild employee old man Johan hasn’t seen these? It’s way too late now but I really should have kept them in my Item Box.

“I’ve seen a defeated orthrus just once, almost 40 years ago. If I remember correctly, three parties of only A- and S-ranked adventurers were only barely able to take it down.”

Three parties of only A- and S-ranked adventurers... Once again, I’m reminded of just how strong Fel is. Although the Fenrir himself is lying down yawning like it doesn’t concern him.

“As I thought, we really can’t buy this chimera and orthrus. First of all, there’s not enough money in this guild. Also, just the blue ogre, ogre king, metal lizard, and lake shark would make enough of an uproar. Buying up a chimera and orthrus is way too scary to even think about.”

Th-They refused to buy them. So I guess the chimera and orthrus really will be sealed away forever. Oh well.

“Then, I’d like to sell everything else.” The subjects of refusal, the chimera and orthrus, went into my Item Box once again.

“To think I would get to butcher a blue ogre with my own two hands......” Old man Johan said that so seriously that I listened in on his mumblings. Apparently, the blue ogre was special and several times stronger than a regular ogre, therefore rating an S-rank.

Fel, so you just went and hunted something like that, huh? What a fearsome child.

I also heard an explanation of the other monsters the guildmaster said would create an uproar.

The orc king itself was an A-rank monster, but when subjugating an orc king, it was said to be always surrounded by hundreds of other orcs. Taking that into consideration, the orc king was very close to being an S-rank.

The metal lizard was an A-rank monster, but because of its steel hide, physical attacks were not very effective on it at all, so the accepted method of killing one was to drop it down a hole and attack it with fire or water until it dies. However, doing that would take a hefty number of mages, so a metal lizard would basically never be seen in the market unless there was an emergency involving one.

Lake sharks were S-ranked, and it was said to be impossible to kill one since it swims so freely in the lakes it inhabits. The only time one would see a lake shark was if the lake dried up.

It’s all your fault Fel, since you only ever hunt stuff like this. Really, what an honestly fearsome child.

“The goblin king, generals, mages, and soldiers are from today?” the guildmaster asked.

“Yes. There was a goblin settlement.”

“So there really was one.” Apparently, the number of goblins being sighted in the eastern forest recently had led to speculation that a settlement had popped up, so they were planning to post some investigation requests soon.

“Then I’ll have to hand out a reward for destroying the settlement as well.”

Huh? There’s a reward? I was only forcefully dragged there by Fel, but if there’s a reward I might actually have been lucky.

“Still, Fenrirs must really be strong if you guys managed to take down a settlement by yourselves. Well, he’s strong enough to take down a chimera and orthrus, so that much is probably easy as pie.”

Hearing the guildmaster’s words, Sui, who had up until now been staying quiet in my arms, started quivering in protest.

《Aww... It wasn’t just Uncle Fel! Sui also went pew pew and killed a lot!》

I replied while petting Sui, “That’s right, Sui killed a lot. You’re awesome, Sui.”

“Fel killed all these goblins, but the normal ones were all defeated by Sui here, and I. Well, I only killed a small percentage of them.”

“Ohh? It doesn’t look that way, but that slime must be just as strong as you say then.”

That’s right, Sui is strong and can even make potions. He’s almighty.

“Guildmaster, I was planning to hand over the monsters that guy left here tomorrow, so is it okay if I just take these and hand them over at the same time as well? I’ll finish up this batch with super-speed and definitely make it in time for pick-up. Man, seeing all this really lights a fire in my tradesman’s spirit.” Old man Johan was suddenly bursting with motivation.

I’m trusting you to butcher all this properly. Ah, and hand over all the edible meat, please.

“That’s how it is, so can you come back tomorrow? I’ll prepare your C-rank guild card and pick out a high-ranked request as well.”

“Understood. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

So the problems from countries and nobles are all resolved, but now I have to worry about high-ranked requests, huh? Well, Fel will be the one doing them, though. I’ll just let him do all the work this time, I guess.

“Hey, I am hungry.”

Yeah, yeah.

“You have not forgotten those words, have you?”

Words?

“You told me to endure it in exchange for good food.”

Ahh, right. I did make that promise for the while we would be in this town.

“So you remember, yes? Hurry up with that good food.”

Sure sure, then I guess we’ll just head back to the inn.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Now then, what to make? Well, it’s not like I have anything but rockbird meat. Hrmm... I’d like something refreshing once in a while. There’s only one dish I can think of when it comes to rockbird meat and refreshing food: Bang Bang Chicken.

But Fel might still complain if it’s just that, so let’s make another easy stir-fry as an extra. It’ll be chicken and pepper stir-fry.

I personally didn’t hate peppers. I was actually pretty fond of their bitterness. Since both the dishes were for Fel, I’d be making them with extra meat.

First, though, I need to do some shopping. Uhhh, tomatoes and cucumbers, and some peppers and paprika... It didn’t matter if the paprika was red or yellow, it was mostly there for color.

I also bought some other important things, as well as some premium beer as a celebration for some of my problems being resolved.

Now then, let’s start with the bang bang chicken.

~◇~◇~◇~

Boil the rockbird meat in hot water with some sake and salt. After that, while the boiled meat is resting, cut the tomato into circles and the cucumber into strips.

Shred the breast meat of the cooled rockbird by hand. Plate the food with the coined tomatoes at the bottom, the cucumber strips in the middle, and lots of shredded rockbird breast meat on top of that.

Lastly, pour a generous amount of sesame dressing on top and the dish is complete.

Tare sauce would be too much effort so I made do with just the sesame dressing. That might be considered a sort of heresy, though. But sesame dressing is good, anyway.

By the way, if spiciness is necessary, simply mix the sesame dressing with chili oil.

As for the chicken and pepper stir-fry, first put holes in the rockbird meat with a fork before cutting it into large bite-sized pieces. Baste the meat in sake and soy sauce and massage for a bit to help the flavor sink in.

Take the seeds out of the peppers and paprika, and cut these into about 1.5 centimeter corners (it’s okay to eyeball this).

Cook the rockbird meat in an oiled pan until both sides are well browned before adding the peppers and paprika. Once the peppers and paprika have been heated to a certain extent, put in a giant squeeze of a tube of soy sauce flavored oyster spice.

This seasoning is an incredible treasure that works in both soups and stir-fries. The fact that it’s in a tube also makes it easy and convenient to use. I’ve had it permanently stocked since it’s been on sale.

Pile the finished chicken and pepper stir-fry on a plate aannd...

~◇~◇~◇~

“It’s done—!” Wait, you two were actually waiting right behind me?!

“Muh, it is not just meat?”

“Just shut up and try it. It’s good...”

“Let me see...” *Chomp*......... *Chomp-chomp-mgmg-mgmg*

Nice, since he’s scarfing it down like that that means he likes it.

Sui was already chowing down while sending me a telepathic message: 《Master, it’s good!》

*Sigh* Man, Sui is so cute...

I treated the bang bang chicken and stir-fry as an appetizer for my premium beer. Gotta start off by wetting the throat with some beer.

*Pshhf*

*Glug glug glug*

“Haaaahhh! Drinking like this once in a while sure is great.” I took in a bit of the bang bang chicken. Yeah, that’s good. The sesame seasoning was refreshing and delicious, as expected.

I took another gulp of beer. Yeeahhh, beer really hits the spot.

Now, I tried another bite of the chicken and pepper stir-fry. The chicken (or rather, the rockbird) meat was great with the peppers and the crisp texture of the paprika. And the flavoring is spot-on, too. Being able to just splash in a pre-made blend of spices that were designed specifically to be tasty is so nice and convenient. My compliments to the Japanese food industry.

While I was thinking that, I took another draft of beer.

Khaaahh! So satisfying.

Ah, I haven’t steamed any rice. Well, bread’ll do fine. Wait, does bang bang chicken work between bread? Let’s see... *Chomp*

“Ohhh, this works surprisingly well.” I had expected the bread to get soggy from the tomato, but it’s not that big a problem if you just eat it immediately. Yeah yeah, this works.

I threw back more of my premium beer. *Glug* Just wonderful.

As soon as I found myself enjoying the chicken and pepper stir-fry and the bang bang chicken sandwich with my premium beer, a voice interrupted me without delay.

“More.”

《Sui too!》

Sure, sure. I’d gotten quite used to this, so without any undue rush, I fried up more portions for Fel and Sui all while managing to enjoy my bang bang chicken sandwich, chicken and pepper stir-fry, and beer.

“How was it? Delicious, right?”

“It was fine.”

Fel can eat that much and still only call it “fine?” Wow.

《Sui liked it!》

I see I see, that’s good. Sui really is honest and cute, huh?

“Well, I’ll be getting more meat tomorrow, so I can make you some steaks then.”

“If you are grilling meat, then do the usual.”

Right, right. Fel’s favorite steak sauces, I get it.

Personally, I’d like to eat curry, but the smell might be too much while we’re in town... It seemed that it would still be a while until I could eat curry.

While I was absorbed in my thoughts, Fel released a huge yawn. It looked like he was sleepy after eating.

“I’ll spread your futons on the floor, then.”

“Please.”

Fel laid down on the futons after I spread them out in the small shed for him.

“Well then, we’ll return to our room...”

Fel replied with a shake of his tail, as his eyes were already closed. He really was that sleepy, it seemed.

Now then, let’s go to sleep as well.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

As soon as I entered the Adventurer’s guild, I was shown into the guildmaster’s room by an employee. Of course, Fel and Sui (in its usual spot in my bag) came as well.

“Now then, just as promised, here’s your C-rank guild card.”

I took my C-ranked guild card from the guildmaster. It just looked like a silver card, and it wasn’t that different from the G-ranked card I already had.

“Well, it might not look all that different, but it’s got your rank written all over it. As it happens, it is customary for a new card to be issued once a person goes up in rank.”

Apparently ranks F through B get this silver card, but A- and S-ranks get a gold card. It seemed like the gold card was the proof of being A- or S-ranked, and having one meant that you were the best-of-the-best as an adventurer. I hadn’t even known about card colors until now, so all I could do was give an appreciative grunt.

“Next is the money you get from selling us all those monsters. Since you’ve given us some good monsters this time the guild stands to profit quite a bit. That’s why we’ll waive the butchering fee.”

Ohhh, you’re gonna cover it? Thanks!

“I’ll start by explaining what you get for the first batch.”

That group with the red serpent, huh?

The breakdown went as follows:

The five orc generals went for 12 gold. Other than the meat, the only other useable parts were the testes, just like a regular orc, but apparently, they made for an even more effective virility-boosting medicine.

The three rockbirds came out to 24 gold. The harvestable materials were their beaks and feathers.

The giant dodo apparently had a magic stone, so with that included, the price was 33 gold. It seemed that, like last time, this one had a stone as well, even though it was only a B-ranked monster.

The giant deer did not have a stone, so it was only worth 16 gold. That was the price for its hide and antlers.

The A-ranked murder grizzly earned me 87 gold. Its innards, claws, and fur were all in good condition. Its magic stone was also big even for an A-rank, so that was reflected in the price.

The likewise-A-ranked black serpent was worth 88 gold. Since it had been a while since they’d received one, the poison sac, innards, fangs, eyes, and skin all sold for a slightly higher price. The stone on this A-rank was also quite big, and apparently of pretty good quality, so that also drove the price up.

Lastly, the red serpent was 201 gold. The red serpent is a special variant of the black serpent, and while it was also A-ranked, it was several levels stronger and that much meaner for it. That was why it was so absurdly difficult to kill one, and its carcass was so valuable because the guild would only see one every several years. Its materials were the same as the black serpent: poison sac, innards, fangs, eyes, skin, and magic stone. However, they all fetched a significantly higher price than those from a black serpent. Of course, the fact that the magic stone was so large also drove the price up, but the main reason for the price was that its skin was considered an extraordinarily high-class material, and just having something made of its leather would make one a target of envy.

“So, with all of that, your earnings for the first batch come to 461 gold. Ahh, the meat’s being kept in the storehouse, so head over on your way back.”

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

4... 461 gold? It turned out even bigger than last time. Fel’s our house’s big earner, huh? Well, he also eats the most so I’m happy he’s trying so hard. Not to mention the fact that Sui isn’t just eating my trash anymore, it’s eating regular meals as well.

Hm? Why is it eating regular meals on top of my trash? It’s because Sui started saying 《Sui wants to eat that, too—》 during meals, is that a problem? There’s no way I could say no to Sui when it’s being so goddamn cute. Don’t be so coy — you know that already, don’t you?

Well, that being the case, I’ll be needing Fel to bring home the bacon for Sui’s sake.

“And now, let’s talk about pricing the stuff you’ve added on. Thankfully, we’ve almost immediately found buyers for this stuff.” The guildmaster grinned widely as he said that.

Ahh, I see. All that stuff I brought out yesterday is turning quite the profit. According to old man Johan, all of the monsters I brought in yesterday were high-ranking, after all.

“Then let’s move on to the breakdown of these monsters.”

The four ogres were worth 160 gold. Ogre meat was reputed to be terrible — basically inedible, really — so the materials were just the horn and hide. The horn was used in a lot of different medicines, and so it traded at high prices. The hide, for its part, made for highly defensive leather armor, and was a favorite. Ogres were B-ranked; unfortunately, none of these had any magic stones.

The S-ranked blue ogre was worth 432 gold. It was a special variant of the common ogre, and its horn was highly prized in its own right as some sort of secret medicine. As for its hide, it was used to make leather armor that had extremely high levels of protection against both physical and magical attacks, and so was considered a superbly high-class material. And as expected of an S-ranked monster, its magic stone was not only large, but also of good quality.

So S-ranks by their lonesome can turn into such stupid amounts of money huh? I was certainly surprised.

The orc king was valued at 168 gold. It was an A-ranked monster, and its meat was an ultra-high-class ingredient. The guildmaster tried his best to get me to sell it, but I politely refused.

Sorry. Other than its meat, its testes, hide, and magic stone were all valuable.

Apparently, the medicine made from its testes would result in certain conception if used, so it seemed that nobles or royalty who were troubled over an heir would sell their own parents to get their hands on some. Its hide was popular for producing items specialized for defense against physical damage. Its magic stone was quite big.

The metal lizard, an A-ranked monster, was worth 169 gold. Unfortunately, I’d been told the meat was poisonous and thus inedible. Just as the name implied, its materials were its steel hide, teeth, and magic stone, which was fairly large. In spite of its steely hide, not only was it light, but it was said that there was no better material for physical defense, so leather armor made from it was a favorite of A- and S-ranked adventurers. Its teeth were used as arrowheads, and, evaluated purely in terms of penetrative power, metal lizard teeth arrowheads were among the best in the world.

The S-ranked lake shark turned out to be 468 gold. Its meat smelled terrible and was inedible, but its teeth, skin, and magic stone were all useable. However, it seemed that this lake shark would be turned into taxidermy after its magic stone was removed. The guildmaster looked pleased as he explained that they were already being swamped by offers from nobles who wanted to buy it. It must have been just that rare to see one, since apparently the only real way to do that was to find a dried-up lake. Its magic stone was also on the large side, I was told.

As for the goblins, the king had a very small magic stone, so it was 18 gold. None of the other goblins had materials of any worth. Instead, there was to be a separate reward for destroying the goblin settlement.

“So for the second batch, the total is 1415 gold. Additionally, the reward for destroying the goblin settlement is 70 gold. All told, with both batches and the reward for the goblins figured in, it’ll be 1946 gold.”

The guild master placed seven bags of money in front of me, each one making its own *thud* sound.

“Large gold coins and white gold coins are hard to use, so our guild always pays out in gold coins. Is that okay with you? Hm? What’s wrong?”

...............Nothing, it’s just that I’m speechless seeing all this money in front of me. I-I mean, all those bags are filled with gold, right?

“Th-This... 1946 g-gold coins... yes?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Each bag has about 300 gold in it. Ah, and this one is only half filled with 146 gold. Wanna count it?”

I shook my head hard.

“I w-wouldn’t even dream of it. I trust you, guildmaster. But even I’m surprised, with 1946 gold...” I had never even dreamed that it would turn into this much money.

“Ahh, I see. I get it. 1946 gold is the largest sale this guild has ever seen.”

Ghh! R-Really? Thinking about it, there wouldn’t be anybody who would hand over this many monsters at once.

Sorry... I’m really sorry about this. But they were just piling up in my Item Box... I needed meat, but I wasn’t really that hard up for money......

Truthfully, I still had over half the money left from the last time I sold monsters, and I even had the reward from those thieves we had just handed over. With all this money added in, I had over 2000 gold coins.

I’ve got over 2000 gold coins.

That means I’m walking around with over 20 million yen.

I’ve never been this rich......

Well, it wasn’t like I was the one that earned all this. I’d done basically nothing to earn it. I probably shouldn’t be speaking for Fel, who was the one who actually earned all this, but it didn’t look like he tried very hard, either. After all, most of it was from when he ate food from my world and overflowed with energy, so he just kind of went out and hunted. Even the lake shark was done in by a single spell. And as for the goblins, he was already done and waiting by the time Sui and I finished up with the regular goblins.

Well, all that means is that Fel is amazing, I guess. I really can’t stop seeing him as a gluttonous snackhound, though.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After I finished storing the money bags into my Item Box, the guildmaster started talking as if he’d been waiting the entire time for this.

“So then, as for the requests, I’ve got two I’d like to ask of you. The first one is to kill a metal lizard, and the other is to destroy a herd of bloody horn-bulls.”

I knew what a metal lizard was, of course, having just sold one to the guild. What kind of monster was a “bloody horn-bull,” though? Having “bloody horn” as a name sure sounded violent. Since it’s a “bull,” does that mean it’s like a cow? A blood-soaked cow...... what a dangerous name.

“Starting with the metal lizard, you can find it two days away by carriage at the foot of this mountain. The mountain’s name is Pascual mountain, by the way. The fact that there’s a metal lizard there means that there’s some sort of ore or minerals around, but we haven’t yet sent in an investigative team to find that out. Well, the area has other mines, so we weren’t that troubled by it and left it on the backburner, but there’s no harm in having more mines available. The reward for this request will be 238 gold.”

It seemed that the request had been around for quite a while, but no one would take it, so the reward just gradually increased until today.

The metal lizard seemed fine to do. We had killed one before, after all.

Well, Fel did, anyway.

“As for the bloody horn-bulls, they’ve herded up in some grasslands to the west, where most new adventurers go to hunt. The newbies appealed to us to do something about it, but they aren’t near any roads, so this was also left on the backburner. The reward for this one is 324 gold.”

Like the metal lizard request, the reward just kept increasing because nobody wanted to take it. According to the guildmaster, the bloody horn-bull was a rhinoceros-sized cow with a really violent temperament. Just like its name implied, approaching the herd was a sure way to get stabbed with two sharp horns and turned into a festival of blood. I was told that, while the bloody horn-bull itself was a B-rank monster, since they are so violent and always move in herds, taking one down requires over 4 parties of B- to A-ranked adventurers.

Otherworld cows sure are scary... to think they’ll gore you with their horns just for getting close...

“Will you take these two requests?” The guildmaster asked, but I wasn’t the one who would be taking them.

“Fel, were you listening? Wanna take them?”

“Of course. There is no way I would not.”

Well, that is true. “We’ll take them, guildmaster.”

“I see I see, that’s good.”

“Bloody horn-bulls, huh? Their meat is quite delicious. Let us hurry.”

Fel sure is motivated... Bloody horn-bulls are delicious, huh? So they really are like cows? I hope that’s the case. Orcs are tasty, but I’d really like some beef right about now.

“Ahh, sorry, but can you take care of the metal lizard first?”

“Muh...”

Oh my, it looks like the guildmaster wants the metal lizard taken care of first.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. The guildmaster said so, so let’s just go get the metal lizard first. It’s not like the bloody horn-bulls will go away, seeing as how they’ve settled down in the grasslands. It’s probably better to save the best for last anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you want to try grilling their meat and... using that?”

“By ‘that’ you mean... that?!”

“Yes exactly, that thing you like that goes so~ well with grilled meat.”

“Heh, sounds delicious.”

I knew I could convince the steak-loving Fel like this.

“Ah, guildmaster, we can keep the bloody horn-bull’s meat, right?”

“Of course — the monsters you hunt on these two quests are yours. But bloody horn-bull meat is popular as a delicious high-class ingredient. I’d like it if you’d let the guild buy half of it. We’ll even buy it at a slightly higher price, so if possible...”

So we’d keep half for ourselves and sell the rest to the guild? I guess that’s fine. I’m not sure how many there are, but since there’s a herd, there should be quite a few, I think. And each one is quite big, as well. Either way, I’d be able to get my hands on a lot of beef.

“Then we are going to kill the metal lizard.”

“No no, wait a second. No matter how fast you are, Fel, if we left now, it’d be in the middle of the night by the time we got back. They’ll have closed the gates and we won’t be able to get in. Isn’t it better to leave first thing in the morning? Then we’ll be able to get back by evening.”

“Hm, is that right?”

“That’s right. Guildmaster, can we wait for tomorrow to go for the metal lizard?”

“I don’t mind, but are you sure a single day will be all it takes?”

“Huh? It should be fine. If it’s only two days by carriage, Fel won’t take too long to run there, and the metal lizard itself shouldn’t take that long to kill, either... Fel, how long will it take you to kill the metal lizard?”

“Hmph, there is no world in which I would have trouble with a mere lizard.”

“There you have it.”

“I-I see... Hearing a Fenrir call a metal lizard ‘a mere lizard’ and declaring it to be easy prey really did bring home just how unfathomable a Fenrir’s might really is. I really want to praise our king for not making enemies of you right now.”

Please don’t say that so seriously, guildmaster. Because I’m with that Fenrir 24/7.

“Then, we’ll go to exterminate that metal lizard early tomorrow morning.”

“Sure. Sorry, but we’re counting on you. Make sure to report in once you’re back.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the guildmaster’s room, I headed to the storehouse. There’d be trouble if I forgot about the meat.

After receiving a large amount of meat from old man Johan, we left the storehouse and the Adventurer’s guild behind.

“Ah, Fel, there’s still time, so is it okay if we go visit Lambert’s store?”

“That merchant’s store?”

“Yeah. I’ve got more money now, so I want to get another bag.” I said, stroking the cloth bag that Sui was in.

“It has certainly gotten quite dirty.”

“Yeah. Sui’s going in and out all the time, and this bag was given to me secondhand in the first place. That’s why I want to just get a new one. And it sounded like Lambert’s store deals in leather goods.”

I’m gonna buy a nice one, one that Sui feels comfortable in. I won’t compromise on that, even if it’s a little pricey. It’s for Sui, after all.

“Ah, Fel, if you want something just ask.”

“There is nothing I particularly desire. If I had to say, it would be good food.”

You really do only ever think about food, don’t you?

“Ah, what about a collar?”

“Grrrrrr! If you try to put a collar on me I will bite you.”

“D-Don’t take it so seriously! I-It was just a joke!”

Come on, stop growling at me. I was just making a joke.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I’d arrived at Lambert’s store, but it was bigger than I thought it would be, and I was a little nervous. When I finally worked up the courage to go in, Lambert was right there.

“Ohhh, Mukohda, welcome! I’m glad to see you’ve come.”

“Me too, thanks. Fel is here too, is that fine?”

“Sure, come in, come in.” Lambert’s store was big and seemed like there would still be room even if Fel entered.

Fel immediately went to lay down in a corner.

“Actually, I was thinking of getting a new bag......”

“I see, what kind of bag?”

“Uhhmmm, something that goes on the shoulder like this bag, and is about the same size as well.”

When I said that, Lambert showed me several bags, saying, “How about these?” Their shapes were basically like messenger bags, and they all looked similar to each other. Their flaps and openings were all fairly wide as well, so it didn’t look like Sui would have a problem getting in and out. The wide straps were made to not dig into your shoulder either.

All that’s left is which leather I like, huh?

“This one uses leather from a red boar.”

Let’s see let’s see... it’s like a dark, soft cowhide. It seemed like it would become quite nice as it was used and broken in.

“This one is a bloody horn-bull’s leather.”

Ohh, how timely. We’re gonna be hunting these soon. So this one is a black leather. It felt soft to the touch, similar to the red boar’s leather, but this one was a little thicker, maybe.

“And this one is from a giant deer.”

Giant deer? Oh, those huge ones. This one’s a brown that’s really close to beige. It was a very tough leather. It looked like it would break in well, turning into a nice amber color as it was used.

“This one is made from sand snake leather.”

It’s a sand beige color with a snake’s unique scale pattern, how pretty. I wanted something like this as a smaller item, like a wallet, more than a bag.

“And this one is my recommendation, a bag made from black serpent leather. Black serpent leather takes a lot of work to tan to bring out its natural gloss, and it’s also originally from a high-ranking monster, so while the price is fairly high, it’s very popular. Look at this gloss, if you will. Isn’t it great?”

Ohh, that black serpent, huh? The leather was pitch-black, but I could still make out the unique snakeskin scale pattern. Unlike the sand snake leather, there was a definite sheen. It really felt like a high-class item. I would also have liked this as something smaller.

“Every one of these is fantastic, Lambert.”

“Thank you very much. Every single one of these is a proud piece of ours that our craftsmen have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into.”

“So, how are the prices on these?”

“The red boar leather is 2 gold, the bloody horn-bull is 5 gold, the giant deer is 4 gold and 5 silver, the sand snake is 8 gold, and the black serpent bag is 17 gold.”

Lambert did say that it would be rather expensive, but the black serpent bag really cost a lot.

The sand snake bag was also expensive, but that seemed to be more because it was made in the south of this country, so the price reflected transportation costs. Besides that, though, it also looked like the snake leathers were popular because of their unique scale pattern.

The black serpent and sand snake leathers exuded so much of a high-class feel, in fact, that they did not seem suited for daily use. To use it to carry Sui around everywhere, every day, these seemed a little...... I’d want it if it were something small, like a wallet, though.

“The red boar leather is great for daily use, so I would recommend it for that. Bloody horn-bull leather is pitch-black and is known for its softness, so it’s also easy to use. If you’re splurging for a celebration of some sort, I’d recommend this one. Other than that, the giant deer leather is hard at first, but once its broken in it becomes very flexible and changes color as well, so if you’re planning on using it for a long time, then this is my recommendation.”

I see. Personally, I’d prefer the giant deer leather. But that might be a bit too stiff for Sui to enter and ride in. If it was just for me I’d take the giant deer, though.

Thinking along those lines, it would have to be either the red boar or the bloody horn-bull.

“Lambert, can I let Sui, ah, I meant my slime familiar, out for a minute?”

“A slime?” Lambert put on a mystified face that said, “why the slime?”

“Uhh, actually......” I let Lambert look into the cloth bag.

“Ahh, I see — it’s to put your familiar in. If that’s the case, then the soft leathers like the red boar or the bloody horn-bull would be good.”

“Yes, that’s what I figured as well. So I was thinking of letting the familiar itself pick.”

I scooped Sui up out of the bag.

“Sui, which bag would you rather be in?”

When I asked that, Sui jumped out of my arms and into the red boar bag with quick movements. 《Sui likes this one.》

“Ah, Lambert, sorry!”

“No, no, it’s fine. So will you be taking this red boar leather bag?”

“Yes, please. Ah, also, a scabbard for my knife...” I said, explaining to Lambert that I wanted a scabbard to hang my knife from my belt.

“Ahh, if that’s the case, how about this?” What Lambert showed me was a giant deer leather belt with an attached scabbard.

“This is nice.” This is exactly what I’m looking for! It feels so good to touch... “How much?”

“The buckle took a bit of craftsmanship, so it’ll be 6 gold.”

Just as Lambert said, when I looked closer, the buckle was finely worked. So it’s expensive because of this intricate detailing? Hrm — what should I do?

I do have a lot of money now...right let’s buy it.

“I’ll take it.”

“Thank you very much.” After that, I had a look around the store at Lambert’s invitation.

“Ah...” My eyes caught on to a sand snake leather wallet. This looks good. It was a simple hand-sized wallet made to hold this world’s coinage. The scale pattern stood out even more beautifully than on the bags. I might want it......

“Do you like it? It uses sand snake leather, but since it’s small it’s only 1 gold and 5 silver. The scale pattern stands out especially beautifully on this one, does it not?”

1 gold and 5 silver... To hell with it, I’m buying it, I am! “I’ll take this too.”

As I kept going around the store, I reached the section where the shoes were lined up. “So you stock shoes here as well?”

“Yes. They are leather products, after all.”

Shoes, huh...... I took a look at my feet. I saw the cheap leather shoes that I had gotten from a chain store and had been wearing ever since I came to this world. I had been walking all over on unpaved roads and mountain paths, so they were greatly worn down. I could have just bought sneakers with my skill, but they would stand out to anyone who looked at them...

I guess I should wear stuff from this world. I decided to buy a pair of red boar boots that reached up to my ankles and cost 1 gold and 5 silver.

“A bag, belt with scabbard attached, wallet, and boots come out to 11 gold...... but you can have them for free.”

“Huh?” Free? Huh, what?

“Mukohda, you saved my life, and I also heard from Lars. The meal we ate was made out of really expensive ingredients... To think that it was black serpent and rockbird meat... I am sorry.”

“No no, we’ve been eating that stuff constantly. More than that, I can’t just accept such quality goods for free.”

“I can’t take money from my life’s savior. Although I will have you pay the next time you come, hahaha.”

“Lambert, thank you. If that’s the case, I’ll gratefully take you up on it.”

11 gold became free. Thank you~. Saving people really is worth it.

“I’m changing the topic, but I have something I’d like to ask of you, Mukohda......”

What could it be, for a merchant of Lambert’s level to need advice from me?

“If you had black serpent meat, that means that you hunted a black serpent, yes?”

“Yes. Although it was Fel, not me.” I glanced at the napping Fel as I spoke.

“If you have a black serpent on you, would you mind selling it directly to us?”

Too bad, I just sold it off to the Adventurer’s guild. “Uhhmm, I already sold it to the Adventurer’s guild...”

“Ahh, I see. That’s too bad. You see, normally we merchants would have to buy from the Adventurer’s guild to get monster materials, but right now we’re all short on black serpent skin...... Buying directly from an adventurer would get me marked by both the Adventurer’s guild and other merchants, but if it’s just a little I can get them to look the other way. So if you had one, Mukohda, I would have really liked to get one......”

Is he really that hard up for black serpent skin that he would ask me for one even if it gets him targeted by others?

“Are you that short on black serpent skin?”

“Yes. Black serpent leather goods are expensive, but popular and sell well. However, recently there aren’t many going around.” Lambert’s face clouded as he finished his sentence. It looked like he really was troubled by it.

“But still, the Adventurer’s guild recently got a red serpent, the evolved version of a black serpent, it seems. I’ve seen red serpent leather several times due to my job, yet I couldn’t help but sigh in admiration; that leather was so beautiful......” Lambert said with an entranced look on his face.

Lambert, I really shouldn’t be thinking this... but that face is creepy.

“But even I couldn’t afford a red serpent. It’s such a shame, but I heard that this time the skin was bought by marquis Brauer for quite the sum. I’m so jealousss...”

Sorry, Lambert. I’m the one who sold that red serpent to the Adventurer’s guild.

“Mukohda, please, if you do happen to kill a black serpent sell it to me. I’ll buy it for a bit more than what the adventurer’s guild would pay.” Lambert even went as far as to grasp my hand as he pleaded.

“Okay. If I ever get another one, I’ll bring it here.”

I took my purchases (although they were free in the end) and left Lambert’s store.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

《Sui, how’s the bag feel?》 I immediately asked how the new red boar leather felt to Sui, who was currently inside.

《This feels better than the last one.》

《I see, that’s great.》 Thank the heavens that it likes it. Getting a new leather bag was worth it, then.

“Ah right, Fel, did you hear what Lambert was talking about?”

“Yes. About that black snake, right?”

“Yeah, if there’s a black serpent around I’d like you to kill it. Will you?”

“Sure. That meat is tasty, as well.”

“Ahh, unlike how it looks, it tastes great. Especially when made into karaage.”

“Oohh, karaage, huh? That was delicious. Now that I think about it, we have meat from that red snake, no? Make karaage out of that. And I would also like that grilled meat.”

Oh right, red serpent’s supposed to be a really expensive ingredient.

“Karaage from a red serpent, huh? We’re going to hunt a metal lizard tomorrow, so I guess we can indulge a little for motivation.”

《Are we eating karaage—? Sui loves karaage! Yaay!》 Sui’s also saying it wants karaage, guess I’ve got not choice anymore, huh?

“But I want to buy some new clothes before we head back, so we’re stopping by a store.” I had money now, so I wanted to shop a little more. I could just buy socks and underwear with my skill, but obviously I couldn’t do that for my outer clothes. I could buy a sweatshirt and pants, but of course that would really stand out. So, we stopped by a clothing store before returning to the inn.

I searched high and low, but it didn’t seem like dyeing techniques were well developed, and everything was of subdued color and designed similarly.

In the end, I bought three sets of shirts and pants that looked the same as what I was wearing. It cost me 2 gold and 4 silver.

Now then, let’s go back to the inn.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I started preparing to cook as soon as we reached the inn.

Now then, let’s make some karaage as per Fel’s request. I had a lot of meat right now, so I was thinking of using a lot of different meats, not just red serpent. I wanted to make extra so I could keep some in my Item Box to eat any time.

I’m also making the same two flavors, soy sauce base and salt base, today. The main meat would be red serpent, followed by black serpent, rockbird, and giant dodo.

~◇~◇~◇~

First, massage the flavors of the soy sauce base and salt base tare into the meat. Leave them alone for some time to allow the flavors to seep through, before frying them quickly in oil.

This time, I’ll fry them twice to make them even tastier.

I start by frying the main attraction, the red serpent. Fry in low temperature oil to allow the fire to pass through to the middle. Then, go to high temperature oil to quickly fry to crispiness.

~◇~◇~◇~

Yeah, they’ve turned a good light brown color and have crisped up nicely. A taste......*Kee-runch!*

............SO GOOOOOOOOD———!!!

What the hell?!

The outside was perfectly crisp, and the inside was wonderfully juicy. Not to mention the tastiness of the meat itself.

It was light, but had its own definite flavor. More specifically, even though it had soy sauce and salt tare on it, the meat’s umami firmly came through. It might be the best karaage I’ve ever eaten up until now.

《Master, no fair! Sui wants to eat too!》

“Exactly! Let me eat as well!”

Ahhh, fine, fine.

《This is super-duper good!!》 Sui, in throes of bliss, continued to put down karaage.

“!!!!!!” As for Fel, he was quietly stuffing his mouth with full concentration.

“More!” 《More!》

Haha, they’re eating even more than usual.

Well, that just went to show how good the red serpent karaage was, as expected out of an expensive gourmet ingredient.

Now then, let’s keep making these karaage. Since using only red serpent would use up all of it immediately, I also mixed in black serpent, rockbird, and giant dodo meat as I continued to fry.

Anyway, I’m just gonna keep making more for those two. And I can leisurely enjoy it myself after.

For the two of them, I repeated the cycle of frying and serving, then frying again and serving.

《Whew~ Sui is so full.》

“*Burp* Me too.”

Fuhahaha! I’ve won! I won’t be repeating the same mistakes as before.

It was worth it to predict how much the two would eat as I prepared the amount of meat.

Now then, this time let’s start making my share plus more for storage.

“Hm? I cannot eat any more, you know?”

“This is for me, and also to store for later. If I make some now and preserve it, we can immediately eat some any time.”

“Ohh, that is a good idea! Make a lot.”

Sure sure, even if you didn’t tell me that I’d fry up this entire huge batch I’d prepared anyway.

Ah, right. I also had orc general meat. Fel said that he wanted grilled meat, so I sliced out some orc general steaks for him.

Ahh, even Fel probably couldn’t eat anymore in this state. Or rather, he’s already laying down on his futon.

Ah! I do happen to have some oil left, let’s cut this up and make some orc general cutlet. If I do that, I should also make some chicken cutlet out of rockbird meat. Right, let’s do that.

After that, I devoted myself to frying up a truly huge amount of karaage and both chicken and pork cutlets.

“Whew~ I’m finally done.”

I let out a deep breath after I finished storing all the karaage and cutlets that I had made.

Fel was already snoring, and Sui was also snoozing away in its bag.

Heheheh, now is the time for adults.

I piled up fresh and hot karaage and pork cutlet onto a plate, and got some premium beer to go with it. Surprisingly, it was cold when I got it from the Online Supermarket.

Cold beer and hot karaage and pork cutlet really does make for the best combo. Now then......

*Crunch* The meat juices just came overflowing. The red serpent karaage really was just superb.

*Pshhf*

*Glugglugglug*

“Khhhh, delicious! Karaage and beer, they definitely pair!”

Let’s try the orc general cutlet next. Put some tonkatsu sauce on aaanndd...

*Crunch*

“Ohh, this is better than orc!” The orc general meat had a more solid meat flavor than regular orcs, and its fattiness wasn’t as overpowering or insistent. I took several more gulps of beer.

“Whew~ This pork cutlet goes with beer too~.”

I reflexively looked up at the sky, and saw a round and large moon floating up there. It was a good sight larger than the one I would see from Japan.

“Drinking moon-viewing alcohol while eating good food, this is pretty luxurious, isn’t it?”

That night, I enjoyed watching the moon while eating good food and drinking good beer to its fullest.