Chapter 9: New Friend

Fel was running along the road. I had told him to take it easier, but he must have been feeling in a rush since he didn’t drop his speed at all. I was getting used to riding on Fel after having done it so much, but I was only just barely okay. The adventurers and merchants we passed by every once in a while all wore surprised faces.

Once the sun finally started to set, Fel stopped.

“Let us stop here for today.”

I got off of Fel’s back, before swaying and sitting down on the ground. “You were going way too fast.”

“Mhh, I was not. You held on just fine, did you not?”

“I would have been seriously injured if I hadn’t. I was so desperate not to die that I managed to stay on, that’s all. Go slower tomorrow.”

“Fine. We are going to reach Krehl tomorrow at any rate, anyway.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. I can feel the presence of a gathering of a lot of humans up ahead. That is probably Krehl.”

Hmmm~ So he can tell that even though it looks like there’s quite a distance left to Krehl.

“Wait, we’re already almost there? I thought it’d take a little longer......”

“Is it not better to get there sooner? More importantly, I am hungry.”

I somehow get the feeling that I was just tricked, but whatever.

“Then I’ll make dinner, so wait a little.”

Today’s dinner is shabu-shabu. Let’s hurry up and eat this thin-cut wyvern that I spent my effort cutting. I even already prepared the pot with water and seaweed yesterday before sleeping.

Right, first up I need to buy the vegetables and sauce from the Online Supermarket. For the vegetables, Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, oh, and I also still have carrots, so green onions, and also Japanese hackberries and shimeji mushrooms would be good, I think. For the shabu-shabu sauce, this should be it.

Of course, it was ponzu and sesame sauce.

I need to cut up the vegetables first, don’t I?

~◇~◇~◇~

Cut the Chinese cabbage into large strands. Slice off the root of the mustard greens, then render the rest into 5-centimeter-long pieces. As for the carrots, cut those into long strips. The green onions should be cut thinly diagonally, and the hackberries and shimeji mushrooms should have their hard tips cut off and rendered into small easily digestible pieces. After that, put the pot that was prepared yesterday on heat and take out the seaweed just before the water starts boiling.

~◇~◇~◇~

Right, now it’s finally time to shabu-shabu the wyvern meat. I threw the meat into the shabu-shabu pot, and occasionally some vegetables too.

Taking the finished meat and vegetables and putting them on a plate, I first covered them in ponzu.

“Fel, can you wake up Sui?”

“Sui is already awake.”

《Food, food!》

Ahh, because it’s time for food.

“Here.” I placed a veritable mountain of shabu-shabu in front of the two on top of a plate.

“Mm? Is this wyvern meat? The sauce on top of it adds a little bit of acidity... I feel like I can eat this almost forever.”

《Yeah yeah! It’s just a little sour and refreshing so Sui can eat all the meat—!》

No, it’ll be trouble if you guys eat any more.

The ponzu was no good, it was too refreshing and promoted smooth eating. Hrm, next is the sesame sauce.

I guess I should eat too. I took my plate of shabu-shabu with vegetables and first used ponzu.

Ohh, how delicious. Wyvern meat definitely works with the ponzu. It’s so refreshing to eat. It really does feel like I can just eat an infinite amount of this with vegetables.

“More.”

《More~!》

H-How fast.

Shabu-shabu, shabu-shabu.

“Here.” Of course, I used the sesame sauce.

《Ah, it’s a different flavor~. This one’s good too.》

“Indeed, it is good.”

Then I’ll be going with the sesame sauce from now on. Oh, I need to finish mine before they ask for more.

Take some wyvern meat with the hackberries and some sesame sauce...... Yep, it’s delicious. This thick and fragrant sesame sauce goes nicely with meat.

In the end, both the ponzu and the sesame sauce were good. But I can’t decide which one’s better. Shabu-shabu’s really just better with both of them.

“More!”

《More!》

I already said you’re eating too fast! Ahh fine, it’s such work making meals for these two.

In the end, I had to give them countless more servings until they were satisfied.

After the meal, I used Earth magic to make a box house. It was to be my sleeping spot for tonight. I spread both mine and Fel’s futons inside.

“Fel, I’ll be taking a bath, so you can go to sleep first.”

“Got it. Then I will be sleeping now.” Leaving those words behind, Fel entered the house.

Now then, time for my bath.

《Master — by bath do you mean that hot water?》

“Yes, I do. Do you want to come in too, Sui?”

《Yeah—!》

I created another set of stone walls to surround us and released the bathtub from my Item Box.

“Sui, can you fill this with water?”

《Su—re.》

I had Sui fill the tub with water, and as usual used a fireball to heat it up. The temperature’s nice...

Learning from my past mistakes, I took out some bathing goods I had bought before.

Blammo! A bath mat. As long as I had this, I wouldn’t be entering the bath with muddy feet anymore.

“Ah, Sui, you can go in first.”

《Okay—.》

*Ploosh*

《It’s wa—rm!》

Man Sui’s sure warmed up to that bath.

Taking off my clothes, I washed my hair and body.

Washing my body like this with all the bubbles sure feels nice and refreshing.

Rinsing off the suds, I entered the bath. Ah, I forgot to put in the bath salts. When I added in some of the yuzu scented kind, a pleasant citrusy aroma of yuzu started to gently rise from the water.

“What a nice scent.”

《It feels so ni—ce.》

“Yeah.”

After thoroughly enjoying the bath together with Sui, I had thought to immediately go to sleep, but I ended up remembering about... that.

If I didn’t do it, they’d kick up a fuss.

Oh well, I guess I just have to do it.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Ehh — Goddesses, can you hear me—?” I have some weird connection with those people, so this should be fine...maybe.

＜We can hear you. We’ve been killing ourselves waiting, you know!＞

＜That’s right! I have something I want to ask you for.＞

＜Yo! We’ve been waiting!＞

＜Food and candy.＞

......It went through immediately, huh? The pressure of their anticipation is so real. Just don’t ask for anything impossible, please. Just like I said last time, 3 silver each, right?

“So then, have you all decided what you want? I already told you before, but it’s 3 silver per person. Please keep that in mind.” I made sure to remind them and put a nail in the coffin of any ideas they might have had, since it seemed like they’d ask for something absurd again.

Especially Ninrir, that divine disappointment.

＜W-W-Why is my name the one that’s singled out? I-I understand already. 3 s-silver apiece.＞

Ah, she was totally going to ask for something ridiculous.

＜Wait a second Ninrir, by that face you were fully ready to ask for something stupid. Didn’t the otherworlder boy just say that it was 3 silver each? If you ask for too much we’ll all get punished for what you did and lose our ability to get what we want from the other world. Keep that in mind, okay?＞

＜She’s right! Stop being so selfish, Ninrir.＞

＜Ninrir, bad.＞

＜Gnnnrrnnnn...... Even though I was the first one to find him and give him my blessing. Damnit. It wouldn’t hurt to give me just a little preferential treatment...(*Whisper*)＞

Hahhh, I figured that divine disappointment Ninrir would be the most deplorable out of the bunch of them. I’m still disappointed, though.

＜Nnuh? You... I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but I am no disappointment!＞

＜Ufufufu, he called you a divine disappointment. It fits you, Ninrir.＞

＜Ahahahaha, it’s perfect!＞

＜*Snicker* ......Divine disappointment.＞

＜Muuugghhh, you guys too—?!＞

Yep, just like Ninrir, using words unbefitting a goddess. She’s acting as normal.

＜You! I am a goddess, you know?! You need to show more respect!＞

I mean, even if you tell me to do that...

＜Now now, calm down Ninrir. More importantly, let’s hurry up and tell him what we want?＞

＜Hah! That’s right. Of course, I want sweets. Also, that black drink and that clear one too from before. Those were fizzy and sweet, and they were the first things I’ve drunk that I thought were delicious. Also, some more dorayaki.＞

Nice one, Kisharle. As expected, she’s good at handling Ninrir the Disappointing.

“It’s sweets for Ninrir, got it. Also cola and cider, too.”

Still though, Ninrir sure doesn’t waver at all. She’s just sweets all the way.

I opened my Online Supermarket, and starting with the dorayaki, I also added cakes and puddings, several kinds of chocolates, and cookies into the cart at random. Lastly, I also added 1.5 liter bottles of her desired cola and cider.

“Next, please...”

＜Next is me, Kisharle. That shampoo, hair treatment, and hair mask from before was really good. My hair’s got more gloss now, and the dryness in my hair is completely gone and it’s so much easier to style now. And this fragrance! Every time I move the scent gently wafts and it just entrances me! It’s the best! It’s popular with the male gods too. Ufufu... So you see, didn’t you say that there’s tens of varieties of that otherworld shampoo and stuff? So, I’d like the same stuff, but with a different scent this time. I’m counting on you to choose a good one, okay?＞

So Kisharle is once again asking for shampoo and hair treatment and hair masks, huh? Certainly, nowadays shampoos and stuff smell nice. I get what the male gods are thinking. As a man, it’s way more impactful smelling the subtle nice scent of shampoo wafting off of hair when women move than something strong like perfume.

I looked through the beauty products trying to find something for Kisharle.

This is the one I bought before. What? This one says it’s got a rose bouquet scent. Which means, avoid rose scents and...... ah, this might be nice. It says it’s got a fruity floral fragrance, and it’s from the same non-silicone series for damaged hair. It looks perfect for Kisharle, who’s concerned about the dryness of her hair.

It was the same price as before, each costing 9 copper. Calling this stuff good, there was still some allowance left over.

“Goddess Kisharle, even if I buy what you want, you still have 3 copper left over. What should I do?”

＜If that’s the case, then I’d like what you used when you got in the bath before. What was it called, bath salts?＞

Bath salts? Sure, sure............ Hm? Wait a second, why did she know that I used that when I took a bath? No way......

“Uhmm, why do you know what I used when I took a bath?”

＜Well that’s because we all watched you when taking one—＞

＜Wai— Ninrir!＞

“Wait a second, goddesses, what are you even doing?! It’s a crime to peep on someone in the bath!”

＜N-No, you see, uhm, we didn’t mean anything bad by it. We were just watching you do stuff, and you went and took a bath......＞

“No, isn’t it fine to just stop watching then?”

＜Ahh geez, shut up! You’re a man, stop kicking up too much fuss over something as small as being seen naked!＞

Ninrir, you say that because I’m a man, but guys hate being seen naked too. Not to mention, now that I know that, how am I supposed to relax in the bath now?

＜She’s right—! Also, you know, seeing your scrawny body isn’t a treat or anything. Right, Ruka?＞

Grrr, well sorry for having such a scrawny body, Agni. Men aren’t just their muscles, you know.

＜............＞ (This has nothing to do with Ruka.)

“Anyway, you guys definitely need to stop peeking when I’m in the bath! If this happens again I’ll stop offering you all anything!”

＜Awawawawa, sorry!＞

＜W-We get it~.＞

＜Fine, fine.＞

＜.........＞

Geez, what are those goddesses even doing up there all day? *Sigh* ...I need to regroup.

I added the yuzu scented bath salts into the cart for Kisharle.

“Next?”

＜Hey! It’s me, Agni. I’d really like some alcohol......hey, one’s fine, right?＞

“One, huh? That much might be fine, what do you all think?”

＜Let’s see, if we say “no” I’d feel sorry for Agni, so one might be okay.＞

＜......If it’s only one...＞

＜Agni, just one, got it?＞

＜Sure, got it. Oi, one alcohol. Something strong would be nice...... (And large, too). After that, whatever snacks you like. Those fried and boiled potatoes and fried meat from before were delicious. Those would be good.＞

Agni, why did you just send a separate oracle to tell me to get a big one? Well, one is one, so as long as it isn’t over 3 silver I don’t mind. For strong alcohol, that would have to be whiskey, I think. Oh, this would be nice. They were running ads for this on TV. It’s 1 silver and 4 copper for 700ml.

After that, Agni said that she wanted more fries and Hamburg steak cutlets, so I put some of the stuff I made earlier on a plate. I added both the plain and the cheese-stuffed kind. I set the price to be the same as before.

Hrmm, but there’s still some money left. Ah, whiskey with some sparkling water would make a highball, wouldn’t it? Adding some sparkling water to the cart, that brought the price to basically 3 silver.

“Last is Ruka, right? What will it be?”

＜Sweets and food. More food than candy.＞

So Ruka’s the same as before too. But this time she’d like more food? Then the same Hamburg steaks and steak cutlets from before, yeah? And karaage. After that, let’s add some side dishes from the Online Supermarket. Croquettes, fried shrimp and chili shrimp, thick fried egg and macaroni salad. This should be enough. Oh, also some white bread and rice balls. As for the rest, just random sweets should be fine.

Okay, this should be it. I laid out the offerings for each goddess on their own cardboard altars.

“These are the offerings you desired. Please receive them.”

The stuff on top of the cardboard altars disappeared. Right after, I could hear the excited noises made by the goddesses.

“Ah, I have something important to warn Goddess Agni about. That alcohol is very strong, so don’t drink it all at once. If you’re going to drink it as is, I’d recommend diluting it with ice and sipping at it. You can also dilute with water, or mix it with the soda water I also sent you.”

＜Sure, got it. Thanks, man~.＞

*Psshnk*

Ahh, it’s finally over. Every time, dealing with those goddesses is so tiring. Let’s just sleep.

I crawled into the futon that already had Sui in it and fell asleep.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Just as Fel had said, we reached Krehl the next day.

Krehl was deserving of its fame for its textiles, and the streets were lined with thread or fabric specialty stores and clothing stores.

We went to the Adventurer’s guild first, and when we did, it was nice to see that although we attracted attention since Fel was around, no one tried to bother us. When I showed my guild card at the receptionist’s desk, the lady working there (it was a cute dog-eared beastkin) told me to wait a little and left.

“He—y! You’re here, I’ve been waiting.” The one yelling with a huge voice while coming over was a small old man with a large unkempt beard.

Is that a dwarf? I’d heard of them before, but this is my first time seeing one.

“I’ve heard about you from Karelina’s Willem.”

Karelina’s WIllem? Ah, if I remember right that’s the guildmaster from Karelina’s name, I think.

Still, this small old man... even though he’s so short, he’s really muscular. Not to mention his ridiculously shaggy hair. He’s so obviously a dwarf I’m actually a little moved.

“Hm? What, have you never seen a dwarf before? Dwarves aren’t really that rare in this country, you know? Aren’t you heading to the dungeon city of Dolan after this? There’s dwarven adventurers and blacksmiths all over there.”

Hehhh, is that so? So there’re even dwarf adventurers. I saw beastkin adventurers at Karelina every once in a while, but I never saw any dwarves. I’ve heard that there’s also elves, but I haven’t seen one of those, either. Huh, I might be able to see all kinds of people when we get to the dungeon city of Dolan.

I wonder if elves really are all beautiful people? I don’t give a shit about guys, but I’m really interested in those beautiful elf ladies. And, maybe we’d get to know each other... (I wish.)

“Oh, that’s right I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? I am the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s guild here in Krehl. You can call me Rodolfo. Pleased to meet you.” Saying that, the small old man, or rather, Rodolfo, took my hand and shook it.

“Now then, it’s a little too public to talk here so let’s go to my room. Follow me.”

We followed after the slowly walking Rodolfo.

“Well anyway, have a seat.”

After following Rodolfo and arriving at the guildmaster’s room, I took a seat across from the old dwarf. Fel laid down in an empty space next to the seat.

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors, you know? To make a Fenrir a familiar...... At first I thought, ‘what fool things are these people saying?’ But, after hearing it from Willem, and on top of that, the same things that other people were saying as well... Even though I was a bit dubious about it, I started thinking it might be possible. To think that I’d really be able to lay my eyes on a beast of legend... Not only that, but I’ve heard that you have a slime that’s absurdly powerful?” Rodolf commented, stealing glances at Fel.

Dubious, huh? That’s how it would be, hearing about Fel without ever seeing him, isn’t it? He’s legendary, after all. Even Sui’s getting real strong real fast after it evolved. It even surprises me, its master.

“So then, I’m sorry to put this on you since you’ve just arrived, but can we talk about the requests?”

“Sure.”

“To tell you the truth......”

Apparently, they needed the string from a venom tarantula (from its looks it’s just a huge spider) as soon as possible. I was told that it was a request from the Bruno trading company, one of this Adventurer’s guild’s largest clients, but it seemed that the venom tarantula nest was in a pretty inconvenient place.

I was told that the venom tarantulas could be found in the Ishtam forest, which lay north of town, but on top of being chock full of poison-bearing bug-type monsters, A-ranked giant centipedes (they look exactly as you’d imagine) also lived there.

“In the first place, you see, bug-type monsters don’t have a lot of useable materials. Figure in the poison on top of that and no one wants to go. Not only that, but if A-ranked giant centipedes are there as well, absolutely no one would accept it. And the people from the Bruno trading company keep hassling me asking me when it’ll be done, I was at my wit’s end.”

I was told that the cloth made from a venom tarantula’s silk is of the highest quality, and that it was used in formal wear and dresses for nobles, or something.

Apparently that Bruno trading company received a sudden request from one of the nobles they were close to. And they had just run out of venom tarantula silk to make the cloth with, so the company was in an uproar as well. It seemed that they tried all sorts of things to get their hands on the silk, but they were still just a little short. And so that led to this request.

I understood that the venom tarantulas were in this Ishtam forest, and it seemed that we were marked for this mission since it was an emergency, and the request had been left alone all this time since it was so annoying to do.

“Will you please take this request? I can’t just ignore the plight of the Bruno trading company like that, since they’re such good clients.” Rodolfo made a troubled face; it looked like he was really worried about this.

“Fel, what do you think?”

“Bugs, huh? ......I hate bugs since there are not many of them that are edible. You can eat venom spiders, and they aren’t terrible, so they are one of the better bugs, but that shell...”

Wha? You can eat spiders?

“Uhh, you can eat venom tarantulas?”

“Yeah. Just as the Fenrir said, bugs are generally inedible, but out of the edible ones the venom tarantula is said to be the best. They’re nice boiled, you know.”

You can eat spiders......

Just as Rodolfo had said, bug-type monsters didn’t have many useable parts, but venom tarantulas had their silk, their meat, and their venom sac, and so were one of the more fruitful types of bug monsters. By the way, venom tarantulas were B-ranked, but apparently they were more often found without magic stones.

“I’ll add a little extra to your reward, so can I ask you to do this?”

It looked like he was really troubled by this, and I really wanted to help him, but in reality Fel would be doing all the work.

“Fel, is this a hard request?”

“Do not say something so foolish. There is no request too hard for me. Hrm... if you were to cook it, I guess it would get to be pretty good. Okay, I got it. I will take that request.”

“It looks like it’s okay. We’ll take the request.”

“Ohh, I see I see! Thanks!”

“So, since it’s an emergency, it’s better to be fast about it, right?”

“Sorry, but if you could that’d be great.”

Hmmm, but today is a little...... There’s not much time until the sun sets.

“Fel, how about tomorrow?”

“Sure, that is fine.”

“Well then, we’ll leave tomorrow.”

“I see. Thanks for being so quick about it.”

“Ah, there’s something I want to ask you, is there anywhere I can stay that allows familiars?”

“If that’s what you want, then I recommend the “Spinning Wheel” inn.”

After getting the location of that inn from Rodolfo, we left the Adventurer’s guild.

“Fel, I’d like to go look around the clothing stores here on the way to the inn.” I went around looking at any clothes that caught my eye while we headed for the inn. This was supposed to be the town of textiles, and the clothes displayed in stores all looked to be several levels of quality better than the clothes I had bought. The clothes sold in this town were all plain, but were properly dyed and looked well made.

“Ah, this is good...... Fel, I’m going inside.” I had my eye on an olive colored pair of pants, and an ivory colored shirt. All of my clothes were a dull brown, or close to it, so my eyes naturally went to this kind of color.

Man, this is nice.

“Do you like it? Unlike other towns, this place’s clothes are almost all new. Of course, this one is, too. The shirt is 1 gold and 5 silver, the pants are 2 gold. If you go to other towns, the same thing would cost you almost twice as much, I think. But this is the town of textiles, so we can sell it at this price, you know? You’re getting a very good deal here.”

A good deal...... you’re real shrewd, salesperson. Hearing those words makes me want to buy it.

Even the feel of the material couldn’t be compared to what I was wearing now. I feel it’s a little expensive, but I’ve got a lot of money, so I guess I’ll splurge here.

I ended up buying 3 pairs of the shirts and pants. All three shirts were ivory colored, and as for the pants I got them in olive, deep blue, and dark grey. It was somewhat of an impulse buy, but I was satisfied.

Let’s try them on tomorrow.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Last night, I stayed at the “Spinning Wheel” inn Rodolfo the guildmaster introduced me to.

This morning, I tried on the clothes I bought yesterday. The fabric felt nice and comfortable on my body, and it was very easy to move in. I made a good purchase.

It was a whole new level of comfortable compared to the clothes I had worn until now. I might not be able to go back to those clothes anymore.

Now, we were heading out to the forest of Ishtam in order to complete Rodolfo’s request of obtaining some venom tarantulas. I didn’t want to dirty my new clothes, but there was no other choice.

“Let’s go then, Fel.”

“Indeed.”

As always, I got on top of Fel’s back. Sui was inside my bag. “Good, let’s go.”

Fel ran off toward the forest of Ishtam.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“This is the forest of Ishtam... or at least it looks like it.”

“Indeed.”

Spread out in front of our eyes was a thick, dense forest. Some unknown creature’s cries of “Gyieeehhh, gyieeehhh!” reverberated through the forest, and an obviously creepy air was laid thickly throughout the whole thing.

“Let us go.” Leaving those words behind, Fel slowly walked into the forest of Ishtam.

The dense foliage and packed trees caused the forest to be dark, even though it was the middle of the day.

“Ah, right. This place is supposed to be full of poison-bearing bug-type monsters, are we okay here?”

“We have my barriers, and we also all have god’s blessings. There is no need to worry.”

Oh that’s right. Fel, Sui, and I all have blessings from the goddesses. But, don’t I only have a blessing (small)?

“I only have a blessing (small), though.”

“Did not Ninrir already tell you? Even a blessing (small) will invalidate status abnormalities unless it is something as strong as an instant death effect.”

Oh yeah, she did say something like that...

“Judging from these presences, there is nothing in the forest that has such a poison. So you are fine.”

I see, thank goodness... “So then, do you know where these venom tarantulas are?”

“Yeah. I know generally where they are from their presence. They are pretty deep in the forest. We are going.” Fel started running toward where the venom tarantulas were located.

On the way, we encountered monsters that looked like huge moths, or monsters that looked like huge mosquitoes, but Fel cut them all into halves with one spell. Seeing how Fel would do that while running, I started feeling really grateful that he wasn’t my enemy.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Fel had suddenly stopped.

“A big one is coming.”

As if waiting for Fel to finish his sentence, what popped out with perfect timing was an absolutely enormous centipede. It looked like it must be over a meter just in width.

“GIIIIHHHH!!!”

“I-IS THAT A GIANT CENTIPEDE?!”

“Indeed. Wait a little.”

Fel squared off against the giant centipede, and just as it was about to attack......

*Whssshhhhh*

*Thud*

The giant centipede that had been in the middle of raising its head fell to the side. There was a large hole open to the sky just under the giant centipede’s jaws.

《Sui did it! Sui beat the big one—!》

S-Sui...... Oh man... Fel’s gone all stiff. Sui did steal Fel’s prey, after all...

“W-Well, forgive it, will you?”

“Hmpf!”

Since the giant centipede that Sui defeated was an A-ranked monster, I decided to bring it back for now and stuffed it into my Item Box.

“Look, uhmm, the main target, venom tarantulas are still around, you know? Let’s get going.”

“Get on.”

Fel, who had just had his spotlight stolen, said brusquely.

《Master — are there more to beat—?》

“Hm? Yeah, this time we’re gonna have Uncle Fel do it, okay?”

《Whaaaaat? But Sui wants to go pew pew—!》

“You can help if there’s a whole bunch of them, okay?”

《Yeah, got it—!》

Please let there be a whole lot of venom tarantulas. Sui wants to go wild.

As soon as I got on top of Fel, he immediately started running.

After a little while, I spotted several spider nests amongst the trees. I could see large spiders around a meter in height inside those nests.

“So those are venom tarantulas, huh?”

“Yeah.”

The huge spiders were colored a dark purple that was close to black. Are those...really edible......?

“According to Rodolfo, just taking two is fine, but there’s quite a lot here.”

“We are hunting all of them.” As Fel said that, he immediately activated his magic.

*Thwang!* *crackle* *crackle* *Thwang!* *crackle* *crackle* *Thwang!* *crackle*

Lightning assaulted the venom tarantulas.

Lightning magic, huh? It looks like a stronger version of a stun gun.

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

Ah, they fell out of their nests.

“It is finished.”

“How fast. Are they all dead?”

“Yes. I hit their heads with lightning.”

It’s over already? Man, it’s always fast going with Fel around.

I retrieved the eight venom tarantulas that had fallen from their nests into my Item Box.

《Awwwww — Where’s Sui’s turn—?》

“Ah, Sui, just be patient this time, okay?”

《But Sui wanted to go pew pew and beat them too—!》

“Ah, no, uhmm...... Ah! Th-There’s a dungeon up next, so you can fight a lot there.”

《Dungeon? You mean that place with lots of enemies?》

“Y-Yeah.”

《Dungeon—! Dungeon, dungeon, so fun~.》

Khh...... Even though I’d resolved myself to never go in a dungeon again...

“Kukuku, so now it’s decided we’re going to the dungeon.”

Goddammit, stop laughing, Fel! I’m weak to what Sui wants, so what?

“There’s probably no way I can get out of going in now that Sui’s this excited about it, but make sure it’s safe, okay?”

“Hmph! There is no dungeon around that would not be safe with me around. Be at ease.”

Well, with Fel around it probably is fine......

“Then let’s go back.”

“Indeed.”

Hopping onto Fel’s back, I rode him as he ran back the way we came.

Once we’d exited the forest, I noticed that the sun was still high in the sky.

“We sure finished that fast, huh?”

“Indeed. There is still a lot of time left. I am also famished. Let us eat here.”

“Sure, let’s do that. Then I’ll get it ready, so wait a little.”

“Understood.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The food was to be the simple cutlet sandwiches.

I made three different sandwiches using the pork cutlets, cheese-stuffed chicken cutlets, and Hamburg steak cutlets I had made and stored beforehand.

Spreading butter on some bread, I added some cabbage I had cut into small strips and put some mayonnaise on top.

Then, I put the cutlet on along with lots of sauce before sandwiching it with another buttered piece of bread.

After cutting the sandwich in half, the dish was done.

This time, I tried putting a little mustard into just the pork cutlet sandwich to make mustard mayo.

“It’s done—!” I presented the plate with three types of sandwiches on it to Fel and Sui.

“Hmm, how delicious. Especially this one that somewhat stings.”

It seemed that Fel took well to the mustard mayo I used in the pork cutlet sandwich.

I’d never used mustard mayo before, after all. It looks like spicier things work for Fel, too, huh?

《Sui likes this white gooey stuff!》

Ah, the cheese-stuffed chicken cutlet, right? Sui loves cheese, after all.

“More!” 《More!》

I gave Fel a larger serving of the pork cutlet sandwiches with the mustard mayo, and Sui a larger serving of the cheese-stuffed chicken cutlet sandwiches.

I also started eating myself. I was eating pork cutlet sandwiches made with a little extra mustard in the mustard-mayonnaise mix.

*Chomp*

Yeah, this works.

The mustard mayo tasted great.

Retrieving a plastic bottle of chilled tea from my Item Box, I took a gulp. Once my palate was refreshed, I took another bite out of the sandwich.

《Master — give Sui something to drink too.》

“Me too. That fizzy stuff is good.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I used my Online Supermarket to buy cola for the two.

There was still time before the sun set when we finished our meal.

“We still have some time, so I’m gonna start doing some work, you two can go take a nap or something.”

《Got it... Sui’s gonna take a nap.》 Saying so, Sui climbed inside its favorite spot: inside my bag.

“What, are you planning something?”

“Kind of. I’m pre-making more food. There’s something I want to try.”

“Hm? Is it good?”

“Of course.”

“I am looking forward to it.”

“Yep, well that’s what I’m doing, so you can go relax over there or something.”

“Indeed. I understand.”

Now then, what I want to make is none other than gyoza.

I have some ground meat, after all. Of course I’d have to do this. I love gyoza and eat it a lot, after all. Enough to always keep a stock of it in my fridge back home.

So at any rate, I was thinking of preparing gyoza. I was preparing these to be eaten later, so I was going to make quite a lot. And if there were to be too little meat in the filling, Fel would complain, so I made it with extra meat for him. After that, all I had to pay attention to was to flavor it enough so that it could be eaten with or without sauce.

Oh, need to get the rest of the ingredients from the Online Supermarket. I remember I still have cabbage, garlic chives, and grated garlic and grated ginger in tubes. I also still have soy sauce and cooking sake. I don’t have any chicken stock, so I need that, and also sesame oil and the all-important gyoza wrappings, right?

~◇~◇~◇~

First, mince the cabbage and after rubbing in some salt, press it down.

It’s personal preference whether to use regular cabbage or Chinese cabbage, but I always use regular cabbage when I make it back home, so I’m using regular cabbage again now. After that, mince the garlic chives finely as well.

Add grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce, cooking sake, chicken stock, sesame oil, and salt and pepper into a bowl with ground orc general meat in it and mix together. Once that’s done, add in the salt-rubbed cabbage and garlic chives and mix thoroughly once again until it becomes sticky.

~◇~◇~◇~

Once the gyoza filling was finished, I started wrapping. I pinched and pinched, making a huge amount of gyoza. I left a little to mix with vegetables to make some extra-vegetable versions for myself.

“All that’s left is to cook these, but eating some now would make it feel even fresher and taste better, I think.”

*Ggrrwwwlll~*

Was that a stomach? When I fearfully looked behind me, I saw Fel sat there, leaking drool everywhere.

*Sigh~*

Well the sun’s sank quite a bit, so it might be fine to just eat dinner here too, I guess?

“Wanna eat here?”

“Yes, let’s.”

This time, I was thinking of cooking these as “winged gyoza.”

~◇~◇~◇~

I use two frying pans for each of Fel’s and Sui’s portions.

Oil the pans, then line up the gyoza. Once they start to change color, add some flour dissolved in water and cover with a lid.

Once the moisture disappears and I hear crackling sounds, spread some sesame oil around in a circle. Then, once the wings have turned a good color, the dish is done.

~◇~◇~◇~

Turning the frying pan over to plate the dish, once I lifted the pan the plate was filled with lined up winged gyoza.

“It’s finished.” It looks like Sui’s up too.

“Indeed.”

《Food, food!》

I properly looked after its flavor, so it was fine to eat even without sauce on it.

Fel threw about five of them into his mouth all at once. “Ohhh, the meat’s juices are bursting out. This is amazing.”

《It’s true—! There’s vegetables too, but the meat’s juices just burst out and it’s so good... and this crispy stuff on the outside is nice, too.》

Thank goodness, they both liked the gyoza.

I was right to rub salt in the cabbage since the orc general meat was really fatty; otherwise, it might have been too watery.

“More.”

《Sui wants more, too—!》

I cooked more and more helpings for Fel and Sui. I’ll eat after I finish cooking for these two.

Once Fel and Sui were done, I started cooking my own extra-vegetable versions.

And of course, to go with the gyoza, there’s only this! I retrieved cooked white rice and some premium beer from my Item Box.

Since the flavor was thinned by the extra vegetables, I ate the gyoza with sauce. The sauce was made out of a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and Chinese red chili oil.

*Gowmp*

Gyoza’s so goood!!

The crispiness of the winged gyoza was just like those sold in stores, I cooked it well. I’m so glad I made them winged.

And it pairs so well with white rice. Once I finished my bowl of rice, I used the rest of the gyoza as snacks to go with my beer.

Just like I thought it would, this gyoza works great with beer~. As I experienced this fact with every inch of my soul, I threw another gyoza into my mouth. It was then that I heard some flapping next to my ear.

When I turned to face toward the sound, wondering what it was......

...............Wha?

There was a small dragon, hovering in the air.

Uhh... wh-what the heck... is this? It looks like... a dragon... right? It’s small, though. Does that mean... it’s a child?

This dragon was only about 50cm from the tip of its head to the end of its tail.

It doesn’t look like it’s going to attack me, but...... what should I do with this...?

When I my eyes settled on the tiny dragon, fluttering its wings, I saw its attention focused on the gyoza on my chopsticks. When I tried moving the chopsticks, the tiny dragon’s head moved with it.

Does... it want to eat this?

“Hohh, a Pixie Dragon. How rare.” said Fel. It seemed like Fel knew of this thing.

“Hm? This thing’s called a Pixie Dragon?”

“Yeah. It’s a type of small dragon. It’s been about 500 years since I’ve seen one.”

“Kyuui, kyuui!!”

It looked like it wanted my gyoza, so I tried giving it one. “Here.”

When I presented the gyoza on my chopsticks to the Pixie Dragon, it chomped the whole thing down.

“Kyuui, kyuui, kyui!!” It seemed as if it was asking for more.

Oh well. “Here, you can have it.”

I gave the rest of the gyoza on my plate to the Pixie Dragon. The Pixie Dragon settled down onto the ground and started gobbling up all the gyoza.

“Hey Fel, if it’s been 500 years since you’ve last seen one, does that mean it’s rare?”

“Indeed. There are only a few of them alive today.”

“Even if they’re dragons, at this size they’re small and cute, aren’t they?”

“What are you spouting? You cannot underestimate these just because they are small. Pixie Dragons are quite strong.”

Eh? Really? It’s so small, it doesn’t look strong at all, though.

“Pixie Dragons are fast, above all else. And they have a lot of magic power, so of course they would have command of all four basic elements, and on top of that, they can even use Ice, Lightning, and Healing magic. On top of that, these things’ special move is to coat their bodies in magic — Fire or Lightning magic are popular — and use their speed to perform high-velocity tackles. Even I was made to worry over its attacks for a moment...... Of course, I won in the end.”

Coat themselves with magic to perform high-speed tackles? What are they, cannonballs? What a...... harsh fighting style.

Wait, actually... doesn’t that mean Fel fought a Pixie Dragon before?

“Kyui, kyui.”

*Plop*

“Woah! W-W-Wait what?!”

Something stuck right onto my face. Raising my hand, I found that apparently the Pixie Dragon had latched on.

“H-Hey! Wai— leggo......” I peeled the Pixie Dragon off my face like a sticker.

《Hey hey, this thing’s crazy good. I’m super hungry over here. Give me more!》

“More? Ugh, do I really have to start cooking again......... Wait, huh? Who said that?”

“You...... That Pixie Dragon’s become your familiar.”

“Wha?”

《If I could eat something as good as this, of course, even being your familiar is a no brainer.》

“Indeed. This one’s food is especially delicious. Even something as long-lived as me does not see a bad side to becoming his familiar for some tens of years.”

《Right—? At the very least, you’ll get to eat good food while you’re his familiar, after all. You get it, don’t you, Fenrir.》

Hey, hey. Stop continuing the conversation by yourselves. Or more importantly: another one that’s after my food?! Are all the strong things in this world gluttons or something?

“Actually, now that I hear it, your voice is different to how I imagined it.”

《Different? How did you think it would have sounded?》

“How? I guess, a child’s voice, like Sui?”

“You know, that Pixie Dragon is not a child. It is young, but it is fully grown.”

《That’s right! It’s just that dragons of my type are small. I’m an adult over here, you see?》

“I-I see.” So Pixie Dragons aren’t children even at this size?

《Hey, more importantly, I’ve become your familiar now. Give me a name.》

“You can’t just dump that on me so suddenly...... Hrm... well, you’re a dragon, so Dora-chan’s fine.”

《Whaaaat? Give me a better, cooler, more fitting name—!》

“Eh? But doesn’t Dora-chan suit you just fine?”

《Don’t fuck with me! I’m no Dora-chan!》

Leaving the cutely angry Dora-chan alone for now, I tried appraising him.

【Name】 Dora-chan

【Age】 116

【Race】 Pixie Dragon

【Level】 126

【HP】 895

【MP】 2879

【Attack】 2652

【Defense】 865

【Agility】 3269

【Skills】 Fire magic, Water magic, Wind magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Lightning magic, Healing magic, Bombardment

Ah, “Dora-chan” got stuck as his name. I guess it’s because he really looks like a “Dora-chan” more than just “Dora.” So I guess it’s decided.

Looking over his stats, they’re all better than Sui’s. So he’s really a dragon, even though he’s smaller. Just like Fel said, his magic and his agility are both high. And he even has lots of magic skills.

“So Dora-chan’s 116 years old, huh? You don’t look it, though.”

《I already told you I’m not Dora-chan!》

“Give it up. It is already in your status. As long as you are his familiar, that will be your name.”

《Wha——t?!》 Dora-chan dropped to the floor, dejected. 《But I wanted a cooler name......》

“You’re Dora, like a Dragon, isn’t that plenty cool? What’s wrong with it?”

“Do not depend on this one for names. Even I was named Fel, because I am a Fenrir. Being named Dora since you are a dragon is much the same idea. But you know, even that is on the better side. When I first contracted with him, he tried to name me things like Pochi or Koro, all names that for some reason pissed me off, just to hear.”

《Pochi? Koro......? It sounds like he’s making fun of you.》

“Right? Compared to that, Dora is much better.”

《You might be right. I guess I’ll just be happy that I wasn’t named Pochi or Koro.》

“By the way, he also has a slime as a familiar, and he has named it Sui, because it is a slime.”

《......So it looks like I was wrong to expect a cool name out of this master, wasn’t I?》

......Dunno why, but it really sounds like I’m being made fun of here.

Well, whatever. For now, I should check my own status, too. Dora-chan should be in my Familiars section, now.

【Name】 Mukohda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

【Age】 27

【Job】 Victim from Another World

【Level】 13

【HP】 229

【MP】 223

【Attack】 206

【Defense】 205

【Agility】 200

【Skills】 Appraisal, Item Box, Fire magic, Earth magic, Familiars (Contracted Magic Beasts): Fenrir, Big Slime, Pixie Dragon

【Unique Skill】 Online Supermarket

【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)

Ohh, my level’s gone up a little, too. Nice.

Well, I’m still the weakest one here, though. Still though, the others are all just too strong, so there’s nothing to be done about it.

Pixie Dragon’s right there in the familiars section, too. Fel and Sui and Dora-chan: what a fearsome lineup.

《Hey, master, I already told you I’m hungry.》

“Ahh, right right.”

Oh yeah, Dora-chan did say that he wanted to eat more gyoza.

There was no other choice, so I cooked some more gyoza for Dora-chan. Still, I was saved by the fact that Dora-chan wasn’t as big an eater as either Fel or Sui. He was done after just one more helping.

“Well then, let’s go back to town.”

“Indeed.”

“Dora-chan, you’ll fly, right?”

《What do you think I am? If you want something that flies fast, go no further than the Pixie Dragon! I can even keep flying for a whole day.》

“I see. Then at any rate, we’re going back to town. Once we’re back, I’ll introduce you to Sui, the slime familiar that’s sleeping inside my bag right now.”

《Sure, got it.》

“Then let us be off.”

With me on his back, Fel ran off toward town.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When we arrived, there was some trouble at the gates, since even though Dora-chan was small, he still looked like a dragon. Even though I explained that he was a new familiar, and wouldn’t be causing any trouble in town, the guard still wouldn’t let me through. It’d be a different story if Dora-chan was recorded on my guild card, but I just contracted with him.

I had no other choice, so I called on the Adventurer’s guild’s guildmaster, Rodolfo.

“What? What happened?”

“Uhmm, I got a new familiar, and there’s some trouble with it......”

“Y-You!! Is that a Pixie Dragon?!”

“Yes. I’m surprised you knew; it seems it’s a rare breed.”

“Well, yes. One of my old mates really admired dragon slayers, so he gathered all this knowledge on dragons. Thanks to that, I’ve heard all about it... nonstop......”

I can see the far-off look in Rodolfo’s eyes...

“Anyway, among all that I managed to hear about Pixie Dragons.”

Apparently that person researched so much about dragons, in the end he made something like a dragon encyclopedia by himself.

“This is also the first time Fel’s seen one in 500 years, so it should be quite a rare breed.”

“Seems like it. Even he said that he had just barely found info about it after going through the entirety of the kingdom’s royal library.”

So Rodolfo’s friend went that far, huh? He must be a real fanatic.

“For now, that thing will behave, won’t it?”

“Yes. I’ve properly formed a contract and everything.”

“Also, I’m guessing that even before anything about contracts or the like, if that thing tried anything, your Fenrir wouldn’t stay quiet, no?”

“Of course. If this one tries anything, I will not be merciful. My master’s food is the greatest in the world, after all.”

Fel, you shouldn’t be boasting about that kind of thing.

“Hey, he said food......?”

“Please don’t latch onto that too hard, Mr. Rodolfo.”

“O-Okay...” Rodolfo put on a slightly confused expression.

What’s the point of even saying that? It’s this world’s fault for having so many gluttons.

“I’ll vouch for these folks, so let them in already.”

“I’ll do that if you say so, guildmaster, but please make sure not to start anything.”

With Rodolfo beside us, we managed to enter the town.

“So then, what happened with the venom tarantulas?” Rodolfo asked us, while we were still on the way to the Adventurer’s guild.

“Of course, we’ve got them. But you’ve told us it’s fine to just bring the monster’s bodies, so I did that, but was it really all right not to bring their nests back too?”

“There’s no way you’d be able to bring back something that sticky, right? You know, we make venom tarantula thread through a special process using the stuff inside the thread sac in a venom tarantula’s belly. Well, the process itself is a secret, so there aren’t many people who can do that. But the Bruno trading company from this request has someone who can.”

Hmmm, is that so? But thinking about it, it’s obvious, and it’s also obvious that the thread the spiders use for their nests would be too sticky to use, since they’re for catching prey and all. I can only imagine people getting caught in it if they tried to harvest the stuff.

“Oh, right. You told us to get two of them, but there were eight, so we went and got all of them. I’m counting on you to buy them.”

“Huh? Eight?! Well, there’s nothing wrong with having more, and I think the Bruno company will happily buy it all, but still...... to think that a Fenrir would do that all this easily... You even returned from the forest within a day.”

Well, that’s because he’s a legendary magic beast, after all. Not to mention there’s a super-powerful slime around, too.

Wait, does that mean he’ll be surprised if I talk about the giant centipede? While I was worrying over that, we reached the Adventurer’s guild.

“First, we need to register that Pixie Dragon, don’t we?”

As soon as we entered the Adventurer’s guild, Dora-chan’s presence drew all the attention. Rodolfo’s presence probably also contributed to that, though.

“H-Huh? Is that a dragon?”

“It’s small, so isn’t it just a baby dragon?”

“Even so, is that alright? It is a dragon...”

And so on and so forth went the whispers being traded around the room.

Dora-chan must have been happy it was getting attention, since it was crying out “Kyuikyui!!”

“Yo, all of you! This dragon is this one’s familiar. If you don’t try anything against this one or its master, it won’t do anything. If you all get it, then make sure to keep to yourself! As you can see, this one has other strong familiars, too. They won’t stay quiet either if you don’t!”

Rodolfo glanced over at Fel as he was giving his speech to put the nail in the coffin; the Adventurers, following his gaze, went deathly quiet.

“Now then, we’re gonna go and get your familiar registered.”

Rodolfo, can you do something about this atmosphere, first?

“Hm? What? Hurry up.” Urged on by Rodolfo, I presented my guild card.

Once we were done registering Dora-chan as my familiar, the sale of the monsters was up next, and I was told, “Well, the amount being what it is, we should do it over there.” and I was lead to the storehouse. The storehouse here was behind the service counter, so it looked like every Adventurer’s guild was built the same, or at least very similar.

“Oh, if it isn’t the guildmaster. What’s up?” The person who that voice belonged to was a well-muscled young man who looked to be halfway through his 20’s. When I looked closely, I noticed a slight limp in his right leg, so he must have injured it adventuring and had to retire. It looked like this young man was in charge of butchering at this guild.

“Okay then, can you show us the venom tarantulas?”

I did as Rodolfo said, taking out the venom tarantulas we’d hunted.

“Woah! There’s eight of them?!”

Young man, it’s too early to be surprised.

“Uhm, I also have a giant centipede, so can I ask you to buy that, too?”

“Wat?! You killed a giant centipede?!”

I revealed the giant centipede from my Item Box.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a giant centipede in my life......”

“That’d be because it’s been a while since this guild’s seen one, too. Still though, the giant centipede’s shell is hard enough to be used as armor, what did you even kill him with to make it like this?” Rodolfo asked, staring at the huge hole below its jaw that was open to the sky.

No, uhm...you see, Sui......

《Sui did it — isn’t Sui great—?》 Sui jumped out of my bag and started bouncing around.

So you’re awake, my cute Sui.

“Could it be... that slime did it?”

“Yes, well...” I won’t say how, though. Oh, right. Since Sui’s awake, I have to introduce it to Dora-chan.

《Sui, this is Dora-chan, our new friend.》 I spoke to Sui with telepathy.

《Woa~h, he’s flying. So cool! Sui, you see, is named Sui. Happy to meet you, Dora-chan!》

《Sure, pleased to meet you, too!》

While I was introducing Dora-chan to Sui amongst ourselves, Rodolfo was busy consulting about the state of our monster sale.

“There’s a lot of them, you know? It’ll take until about the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes, that’s fine. I want to go look around at the clothes in this town, anyway. Ahh, apparently venom tarantulas are edible, so can you give back their legs to me? I’ll sell all the rest to you.”

I was told that venom tarantulas were edible, and I could stomach the thought of eating their legs, but the rest of it was too gross for me to even think about it. Their bellies stored their thread sacs, so I would be selling them, but as for the other stuff like their heads or chests, I wouldn’t know what to do with them even if they were handed back to me. So even though I was told that they were edible, I only wanted the legs.

“Yes, okay. The legs are good boiled, if you didn’t know. Also, the thing we’re most interested in here is the thread sac, anyway.”

“Okay then, I’ll be coming back the day after tomorrow.”

“Sure. If you’re looking for textiles, this town’s the best for it. You can also buy good clothes for cheap here, too. Have fun with it.”

“Yes, I’ll take my time and look at lots of stuff.”

We left the Adventurer’s guild behind.

“Well then, Dora-chan, you’re going with Fel to the kennel, okay?” After I said that, Fel padded over to the futons I’d laid out in the kennel and laid on top of them.

《What? I’m in the kennel, too?》 Dora-chan looked somewhat unsatisfied, but I wasn’t about to cave on this, either.

“Even if you’re small, there’s no way they’d let a dragon inside.”

《Whaa—t? I’m small, so it’s fine, right—? Sui sleeps in the room with you, right? That’s not fair.》

“Sui stays in the bag, so it’s fine. Even if you’re small, if I try to go inside with a flying dragon, it doesn’t matter how tiny you are — the hostess’ll get mad.” Sui stayed in the bag and wasn’t visible from the outside, and so it was okay.

《Ehhh, what’s with that—? I wanted to go inside a human inn, too...》

“Now now, I’ll treat you to something tasty tomorrow, so just bear with it.”

《What? You’ll give me something good?! Whoo! YEAAHH—!》 Dora-chan zoomed circles around me in delight.

So I can fix his mood through food, huh?

“So for today, you go to the kennel.”

《If it’s going to be like that, I’ll deal with it.》

“Okay then, see you tomorrow morning.”

《Yeah!》

Dora-chan might actually be unexpectedly easy to handle.