Chapter 5: Arrival at the Town of Nijhoff

I was riding on Fel’s back as we made our way down the road.

This morning, we left Dolan. For some reason Elrand was waiting at the gates making trouble by saying things like, “Dora-chan~!” and “You know what, I really will go with you!” but we somehow managed to get him to back down before we left.

The next town would be Nijhoff. If I remembered correctly, it was a town of pottery, and there were a lot of ceramics workshops around. Pottery, huh? I’m looking forward to it. It might be nice if I can find a lot of different dinnerware and cutlery in Nijhoff. Let’s thoroughly sightsee in this place.

《Heeeyy! It’s about time to stop for food.》

“Indeed, let us.”

The sun was at its highest point, so it was about time for lunch. We stopped at the side of the road for a break.

《Food! Food~!》Dora-chan said while flying around, before finally coming to a stop next to Fel.

《Food~!》Sui also jumped out of my shoulder bag.

Now then, what should I make? ......Hm, this and that with all sorts of ground meat, I guess.

First up, I needed some seaweed, white sesame, and eggs. I piled some steamed rice into the deep dishes and spread some shredded seaweed on top. And on top of that, I added the minced meat I made before, leaving a small cavity in the middle. There, I added an egg yolk before sprinkling some white sesame on it to finish off the minced meat bowl. Everyone ate a lot, so I gave them two yolks each.

Oh, let’s plate up some of those meat stuffed peppers I made before, too.

“Food!” As soon as I said that and put out the dishes, everyone jumped on them.

《Ohh, the yolks mixed in here make it pretty good. As for this, this green container is not needed.》

That’s right, Fel. The yolks round out the flavor. By ‘green container,’ does he mean the peppers? It’s stuffed peppers, so it wouldn’t be anything without the peppers...

《This salty-sweet meat and the egg go together great! The fragrance of these white bits brings out even more flavor, and the salty-sweet flavor is great here, too.》

The sesame makes for a good accent, right? Dora-chan, sorry for making both of them basically the same flavor. I mean, this kind of flavor pairs with rice the best, so it just ended up that way... It might have been good to just bake the meat-stuffed peppers and eat it with ketchup.

《Sui loves this meat and eggs~. It’s delicious—!》

I know, because Sui loves meat and eggs, right? Isn’t the mixture of the egg yolks and minced meat great?

Yeah, yeah, seeing you all enjoy this so much makes cooking it all worth it. Looking at everyone chowing down, there’s some sort of sense of accomplishment.

Now then, I should dig in too. The minced meat bowl is... yeah, it’s good. As I thought, the eggs were a good idea. The salty-sweet minced meat is rounded out by the mixed-in egg yolks~. There’s no way this wouldn’t go great with rice. The meat-stuffed peppers are also the same flavor, so that one pairs with rice, too.

“More!” 《More!》

《Give me more of this, too.》

I served up another serving of minced meat bowl and meat-stuffed peppers to Fel and Sui, as well as another minced meat bowl for Dora-chan. Fel and Sui also had several more servings after that.

After the meal, we all took a small break while I drank some tea, and everyone else enjoyed cider. “Now then, it’s about time to go.”

“Indeed.”

Once again climbing onto Fel’s back, we set off towards Nijhoff.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Five days after we left Dolan.

We were making good progress in our travels. According to Fel, we should reach Nijhoff before evening tomorrow.

“We are stopping around here for today.”

“Yeah.”

The sun was just about to set, so we would be camping here for today.

While I was preparing dinner, a merchant caravan with its accompanying guard of adventurers stopped on the road. Then, they pulled their carriages to the side of the road alongside us, and the coachman got down from his seat.

“Would it be okay for us to camp alongside you?”

“Go right ahead.” They weren’t exactly in our way, so I didn’t mind, but recently this stuff had been happening a lot... Somehow, every time we set up camp, some merchants that were behind us pulled up and camped right next to us. Yesterday, there were even two parties to either side. Well, it’s the road leading out from the dungeon city of Dolan, so I guess this happens because there’s just a lot of people around.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The conversation of the merchants who set up camp next to Mukohda’s party:

“There really was an adventurer with familiars.”

“Yes. From what I heard, it looks like they were the ones who conquered the dungeon in Dolan.”

“Looks like it.”

“It’s not like I don’t trust you guys, but it’s comforting to know that there’s an A-ranked adventurer nearby. Those familiars look really strong, too.”

“We get it already. Of course we’ll keep watch too, but emotionally, having an A-ranked adventurer nearby will be a huge load off. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to do something like this if we have the chance.”

“Talk of the A-ranked adventurer with familiars is a hot topic among adventurers and merchants with good ears, after all. If you want to make a tough journey even a little easier, there’s no better way than riding on their coattails.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We’d finally arrived at the town of Nijhoff. It was probably because of the shiny new A-ranked Adventurer’s guild card, but even with Fel along, I was easily let into town. It was smaller than Dolan, but it was still lively in its own way. Just as the title of ‘a town of pottery’ would suggest, there were lots of stores selling pottery right on the streets. This is something to look forward to.

“Oh, there’s the Adventurer’s guild.”

We entered the Adventurer’s guild in the town of Nijhoff. Thanks to us arriving in Nijhoff faster than planned, the guild’s reception desk was empty. If I’m remembering correctly, Ugohl did say that he’d let the guild in Nijhoff know that we were coming, right?

“Excuse me, I’m Mukohda......” When I said that and flashed my A-ranked guild card, the receptionist lady replied, “Please wait,” before leaving her seat.

Yeah, looks like Ugohl properly contacted them.

After a while, a white haired, bearded, mountain hermit-like man in his 70’s revealed himself.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! You are Mukohda, yes? I heard about you from Ugohl in Dolan. I am the guildmaster for the Adventurer’s guild in this town of Nijhoff, please call me Jöran. Pleased to meet you. And the same to that Fenrir and the others over there.”

Jöran saw that Fel was a Fenrir in one shot. That means he must be pretty powerful.

Well, he was a guildmaster.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Now, let’s talk in my room, shall we?”

We followed after Jöran. We were let through to the guildmaster’s room on the second floor of the Adventurer’s guild, and I was leisurely served some tea as we took a breather. Next to me, Dora-chan and Sui, who came out of my bag, were sat. Fel was sleeping in a corner of the room.

“Now then, let’s talk, why don’t we? You’re willing to take some high-ranking quests that have been sitting for a while now, right?”

“Yes.” Well, really Fel’s going to be the one doing them...

“I’m grateful, sonny. To tell you the truth there’s two of them that have been sitting around. One of them......”

According to Jöran, about a month ago, the quarry site for the clay they used for their pottery started being obstructed by a cyclops that had suddenly appeared, and no work was able to be done. Moreover, the three people that were working there at the time had become its victims, too. It would have been fine if the cyclops left for somewhere after that, but the cyclops developed a taste for humans, and so started to just squat in the quarry site.

There was another site for clay, so it was currently being dealt with by having the ceramics workshops limiting their requests for clay. However, there were already complaints being lobbied by the workshops. Apparently, if this situation continued, there was going to start being problems with their work. This town was said to be the town for pottery, so having their source materials for such work being blocked was bad.

“And also, the second one is......”

According to him, in a forest west of town, there had been a large outbreak of carnivorous plants called ‘evil plants.’ Apparently, due to the large number of them, it was too dangerous for regular adventurers to get close. The forest west of town was a source for part of the town’s firewood for their kilns, so there had been requests for the plants to be exterminated quickly.

The first one, the cyclops, is a one-eyed giant, right? Jöran said it was an A-ranked monster. For the second one, the evil plants are C-ranked monsters, but since there’s such a large outbreak, it’s predicted that there are evolved versions in their midst. By the way, the evolved evil plants are called giant evil plants, and they’re twice as big as regular evil plants.

Hmmm, it’ll most likely be fine with everyone, but I guess I should still ask. “Was everyone listening? They want us to exterminate a cyclops and some evil plants, is that fine?”

“Who do you think you are talking to? Of course it is fine,” Fel immediately replied.

《A cyclops, huh? Those slow and dull things aren’t even worthy to be my enemies. Of course, the evil plants, too!》

《Sui will do it too~.》

Dora-chan and Sui also replied using telepathy. Yeah, looks like everyone’s on board.

“Mr. Jöran, which one of the two would you like us to do first?”

“That’d be the evil plants in the forest to the west, sonny. I don’t mind if you save the cyclops in the quarry site until later, since we have another source of clay.”

“Well then, how far is the forest to the west from here?”

“About three hours walk.”

Three hours walk, huh? For Fel, that’ll be pretty much instant. Then, let’s just hurry up and finish what we can. That way I can take my time and sightsee.

“Fel, are you okay with doing it tomorrow?”

“Yes, that will not be a problem.”

“Dora-chan, Sui, are both of you fine?”

《Of course.》

《Sui is fine~!》

Then, I guess we’ll be off tomorrow. “Then tomorrow, we will go and exterminate the evil plants in the forest to the west.”

“Hohh, already? It’s nice that you’re so fast with your work, sonny.”

Ah, right. There was something I wanted to ask. “Uhm, I have a question...”

“What is it?”

“I’d like to rent a single house to stay in while we’re here; is there one?”

In response to my question, Jöran shot Fel a glance. “One that will fit a Fenrir?”

“Yes. One that I would be able to stay in with my familiars would be nice.”

There were inns that were okay with familiars, but it seemed like any size of kennel was too constricting for Fel. Fel’s our biggest earner, and it’s thanks to Fel that my wallet is so thick. Or rather, it’s enough money for me to play around my whole life, so even if it’s a little expensive, it’d be better to rent a place that can fit Fel. That was the idea that popped into my head while we were traveling from Dolan.

“If it was just rooms at an inn, the Adventurer’s guild could recommend you to any number of them... But if you want to rent a house, it’ll be quite the sum — is that fine?”

“Yes, I know that already.”

“If that’s the case, it would be better for the Merchant’s guild to show you some places. I’ll write you a letter of introduction right now, so just wait a little, sonny.”

After a small wait, Jöran handed over a written letter of introduction. “If you bring this to the reception desk at the Merchant’s guild they should accommodate you a little better.”

“Thank you very much.” After inquiring into the location of the Merchant’s guild, we left the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We arrived at Nijhoff’s Merchant’s guild. Since Fel’s around, we sure are the center of attention. Let’s hurry up and finish our business.

I went to the desk and showed my letter of introduction.

“Please wait a little.” The receptionist at the desk left her seat with the letter.

After a short while, an older man with a good build and short mustache who looked to be in his mid-40’s came over. “Sir Mukohda, it is a pleasure meeting you. I am the Nijhoff Merchant’s guild branch’s sub-guildmaster. Please call me Domenico. I will be in your care. Since you have a letter of introduction from the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s guild, Jöran, normally the guildmaster would be the one who would take care of you, but unfortunately he is out, so I will be in charge of this transaction.”

Looks like Jöran’s letter worked wonders. The sub-guildmaster not only came, but he’s treating me really respectfully while rubbing both his hands together.

“Thanks for being so polite. Well then, to get straight to the point......”

“You’d like to rent a single house big enough to stay in with your familiars, correct?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of renting it for about a week to 10 days while I’m in this town. I don’t mind if the price is a little high.”

Domenico, the sub-guildmaster, started confirming the listings by taking out documents from the back. “There are three listings that would fit with your conditions.”

Three huh? That’s quite a lot.

Domenico started to talk about each of the three houses. For the first one, it was Domenico’s recommendation, and it was a house that used to be owned by a master of a workshop, a 7LDK mansion — that is, seven rooms plus living room, dining room, and kitchen. It was also relatively close to the center of town, and also not that far from the Adventurer’s guild. It was a little smaller than the other two, but it was still big enough to easily fit Fel. Since the location of the place was good, the rental fee for this place would be 60 gold per week.

What do you even mean, a 7LDK is small? If that’s the case, then just how monstrously big are the other two?

The second one was a little ways away from the center of town, but it used to be a noble’s villa, so it was a huge mansion with a large garden, a 13LDK. The rooms in the center were also each made to be large, and since it was a noble’s the decorations had a gorgeous feeling to them. The houses here were all big, but since it was rather far from the center of town, the rental fee would only be 63 gold for the week.

For the third, this one was also rather far from the center of town, and it was a 10LDK mansion that used to belong to a merchant. Since this building was rather old, and also even farther from the center of town than the last, it was only 45 gold per week to rent it.

From what I heard, out of the three of them, the first seemed to be the best deal. Most importantly, it was close to the center of town and the Adventurer’s guild, and that was enticing to me. Even though Domenico said it was rather small, it was still a 7LDK, so to me it was a huge mansion. For now, I told Domenico to show me the first one that I was most interested in, and if I liked it, I would just stay there.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“This way.” Led by Domenico, we had arrived at the first listing.

After opening the gate, we stood in a pretty spacious front garden. With many red, yellow, and pink flowers blooming, the garden itself was a little small, but there was also a water fountain.

“It’s a bit modest, but as you can see, it is being properly maintained.” Huh? Did he just say that this was a small garden? It’s about two tennis courts big, isn’t that more than enough space?

“Well then, please, come inside.”

From the outside, the building itself was quite splendid, and from my point of view, it was like a dream house. The front doors were arched double doors, and even Fel could easily fit through them. Guided by Domenico, everyone entered the house.

After entering, we were in the entry hall, which was big enough to surprise us. The sense of openness from an atrium was added to the entry hall, and it was big enough for everyone to be able to sleep just here.

“This is pretty good.”

《Hohh~, this is pretty spacious, it’s great.》

《Yayyy!》

It seemed Fel liked it at first glance, and even Dora-chan was mirroring Fel’s opinions. Sui was also happily bouncing around.

There was a spiral staircase set flush into the wall in the wide entry hall. I’d only seen houses with spiral staircases on TV.

“I’ll show you around.” We followed Domenico into what seemed to be the living room, appearing to be 30 tatami large. After that was the dining room with a large dining table that might seat ten people. Not only that, but the chairs that came as a set with that table had very detailed work in some places and the design looked very expensive. And then, after the dining room was the kitchen. However, the size and equipment in the kitchen called to mind a restaurant’s kitchen, rather than a home kitchen.

“A magic stove, and this place even comes complete with a magic refrigeration unit.” The magic stove was the same model that I had, the newest one with four burners. As for the magic refrigerator, it was like a small three tatami room was just turned into one as is.

W-Wow, this place... It’s like a celebrity’s mansion or something.

After that, he showed us the rooms on the second floor, and the master bedroom was twenty tatami large, and had an expensive-looking carpet spread out in it. It even had a king-size bed with a canopy.

The other rooms on the second floor weren’t as large as the master bedroom, but each one had a carpet in them that looked just as expensive, as well as a queen-sized bed. When it came to houses of this class, of course it would have a bath, and it was about 1.5 times bigger than my bath, with a flower pattern. If I recall, ones with art on them are expensive, right?

Noticing my surprise, Domenico said a little boastfully, “Baths of this size don’t come around often, but this is the town of pottery, after all.”

It’s true that this town makes bathtubs, from what I’d heard. As expected from the town of pottery.

It looked like all three of my familiars liked this place, and of course I did too. Not only was it close to the center of town, it was also fairly close to the Adventurer’s guild, and having huge spacious rooms like this, along with a massive kitchen with its amazing equipment, was like a house straight out of my dreams. It was a perfect house.

For now, I signed a contract to rent this house for one week.

“Okay then, the fee will be 60 gold.”

I handed the payment over to Domenico.

“Yes, I have certainly received your payment of 60 gold. This is the key to the house. If you would like to extend your rental, please do us the favor of coming to the Merchant’s guild.” After handing over the key to me, Domenico returned to the Merchant’s guild.

Starting from today, this place would be our base for a week. Feels like I’m a celebrity already. Ah, right. It’s just about time for dinner, so let’s hurry up and try out that kitchen.

What should I make......... Ah! I should make that! The thing that I held back on making since the smell would be so strong. This house is detached, and if it’s here, we’re separated from our neighbors, so it seems like it’ll be fine. Now that I remembered it, I really want to eat it.

I’ll be making that for today’s dinner.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Mmmm, a spacious kitchen just feels so good... I’ll be making something for the masses, though. The dish I will be cooking is something that could be said to be the food of the Japanese masses, curry.

Of course, it was one of my all-time favorites. Maaan, I’ve been wanting to eat this ever since I came to this world. I’ve made curry-flavored tandoori chicken, but just having curry flavor alone means it’s something completely different. I like curry a lot, so I’ve been to specialized curry places, and also tried curry made by an actual Indian person, and those restaurant curries were also delicious.

However, in the end, what I returned to was homemade curry. It’s like the flavor of home that I’ve gotten used to, but never bored of. Or actually, I think curry just really fits a Japanese person’s palate, in the end. I’ll be making a completely normal, homemade curry, just like usual.

First thing is to get ingredients from my Online Supermarket. I already had potatoes and onions, so I just bought carrots and the all-important curry roux. I bought two kinds; these last couple years, using two different kinds had been my recipe. That way, the flavors become more abundant, I felt. It was just something of a habit for me.

The first curry roux I’d be using has been locked in for a while now, and that was the long-selling curry roux with apple and honey in it. This one’s been used by my parents too, and I just feel like it’s good. I’ve tried using other curry roux, but I really do just come back to this one every time. And the other curry I use depends on my mood, like a new product or something. Today...... let’s use this: a curry roux from G-company marked as ‘premium.’ This one’s got some richness to it, and I like it quite a bit. Considering Fel and the others, I’ve chosen the spicy versions of each of them.

“Ah, there’s this too. I made this before, and it’s both simple and really delicious......” While looking through the selection of curry roux, I happened upon a dry keema curry roux from a company famous for their spices. I’d made it before, and it was both really easy and really delicious. It went well with rice or even bread. I’d definitely like to make this to store for later. And so, I also decided to make some dry keema curry.

Let’s see, the last time I made it, the back of the box said that the basic ingredients were mixed ground meat, onions, tomato, and carrots, right? Let’s make it the same way this time, so all I’ll need is the dry keema curry roux and tomatoes.

Looks like this is it. I checked out everything in my cart.

Great, let’s start cooking. First up is the meat, definitely the meat. For the homemade curry, I’d be using thinly cut orc meat, and for the keema curry, I’d use bloody horn-bull and orc mixed ground meat. Once I cut the orc thinly, I’d use the mincer to grind it up.

I prepared a large amount of both types of meat. Then, I started to make the homemade curry first.

~◇~◇~◇~

First, peel the potatoes and the carrots. Cut the potatoes into small bite-sized chunks, and the carrots into ginkgo cuts. As for the onions, halve them before cutting them thinly.

Start sweating the onions in an oiled pot, and once the onions go half-transparent, add in the orc meat (since Fel and the others are here too, add in extra meat) and keep cooking. When the meat changes color, add in the potatoes and carrots and lightly cook once again before adding in water and setting it to boil. While scooping out the lye, once the water starts boiling, lower the heat and let it simmer until the potatoes and carrots become soft.

Once that happens, turn off the heat for a while, and melt both types of curry roux in the pot. When the roux is completely dissolved, turn on the burner and set it to low heat to simmer until some water evaporates and the whole thing gains some thickness to finish out the dish.

~◇~◇~◇~

“Mmmm~, what a nice smell. I wonder why the smell of curry stirs the appetite so much?” I want to put the curry on some freshly steamed rice right now and chow down, but no, I need to endure. I have to make the dry keema curry.

“Hm, it smells... strange.”

《It really does. It’s like nothing I’ve ever smelled before.》

《Ahh — Sui knows this smell—! Sui smelled this before—!》

Lured by the smell of curry, my three familiars came into the kitchen. Yeah, curry really does have a strong smell. Still though, Sui’s got quite the memory. Looks like it remembers the tandoori chicken I made before.

“Today’s dish is called curry. It’s a really, incredibly popular food back where I’m from.”

“Hm, and? Is it good?”

“I like it, so I’ll say it’s delicious, but for you guys, just try it out, and if you don’t like it, I can just grill some meat.”

They ate the tandoori chicken I made before, but this time is real curry. Although I do kind of wonder how the spiciness will go over with them.

“It smells strange, but I do not hate this smell. I understand, I will try it.”

《Yeah! I’m excited, it’s my first time eating this.》

《Sui will eat too~.》

Wait, everyone’s already fully ready to eat it? I was going to serve it once the dry keema curry was done, but I guess there’s nothing for it. After piling up some rice in their deep dishes, I poured a lot of curry on top.

“Here.” I served all three of them the curry.

“Mm? This is a little spicy...... but, I do not hate it.” While saying that, Fel was eating greedily, his face messy with brown.

《Ohh! It really is spicy, but it’s good! I like this!》

Looks like Dora-chan likes it, unexpectedly. Just like Fel, Dora-chan was eating greedily, his face stained brown.

《It’s spicy, but Sui can take this much—. It’s got a lot of smells and a lot of tastes, so Sui thinks it’s good. Sui also likes this—.》

I used some sweeter roux, but still chose the spicy kind, so I was wondering how it would go over, but it looked like Sui was fine with it.

I was a little worried about making curry here, since it uses so many spices, but looks like it’s going over well. Or rather, it looks like I’ll be able to keep making curry from now on, huh? Great! Okay then, while everyone’s eating, I should finish up this dry keema curry.

~◇~◇~◇~

Mince the onions, tomatoes, and carrots.

Then, start off by sautéing the minced onions in an oiled frying pan until it turns clear.

Next, add in the carrots and keep cooking. Once the carrots have wilted a little, add in the mixed ground meat and keep cooking. When the meat changes color, add in the minced tomatoes and keep cooking while crushing the tomatoes.

Stop the heat for a moment, and add in the dry keema curry roux while mixing well. Once done mixing, turn on the heat, and start cooking on low heat until the tomatoes lose all their water, making sure not to burn the dish.

~◇~◇~◇~

“Ohh~, this dry keema curry looks really good, too.”

“Mn? Something new? Give me that, too.”

《Me too!》

《Sui too!》

I already served them seconds of the curry while I was making the dry keema curry, though... I was going to save this for later...... Oh, fine.

After once again molding some rice in their deep dishes and adding a lot of the dry keema curry on top...... Hm, using that as a topping would make it taste better, I think.

I quickly got some eggs with my skill. As a topping, add an egg yolk right in the middle. Breaking the yolk, I mixed up the dry keema curry and served it. “Here.”

Everyone started eating.

“Ohh! It is several levels spicier than the last one, I feel, but it is good with the egg mixed in. I prefer this one.”

So Fel likes the dry keema curry more, huh? Seems like adding the egg yolk was a good idea.

《Yeah, yeah. This one really is spicier than the last one. But since the egg yolk is mixed in, it doesn’t feel too spicy. This one’s good too! I like both!》

So this one works for Dora-chan, too? Seems like he just likes the taste of curry.

《Thanks to the egg Sui can eat it, but Sui thinks this is a little too spicy.》

So it’s too much for Sui... This one’s medium spicy, after all. Adding in some grated apples might make it easier to eat for Sui... I’ll try it out the next time I make it.

Now then, I should dig in too. First is the homemade curry. Pour on some of the spicy smelling curry on top of this white rice... there.

Ah, I forgot something important. I bought some vegetables pickled in soy sauce with my skill, and added it to my curry. It’s perfect. Let’s see, a bite...

“Ohh~, this flavor! It’s the flavor!” Yeah, curry is great. I usually make it medium spicy, but mild is good too. There is no world in which this dense, spicy flavor wouldn’t go well with rice. With the pickled vegetables as a palate cleanser, man my appetite just goes and goes.

After putting down a whole plate in a flash, it was on to the dry keema curry.

“More. I want this one with the egg in it.”

《Sui wants more too~. Sui wants the goopy one—.》

《*Brrp* I’m good already. I ate a little too much.》

Fine, fine. Dry keema curry for Fel, and homemade curry for Sui, right? And Dora-chan had two plates of homemade and dry keema curry, so he’s good, I see.

After serving Fel and Sui their extra portions, I served up my own portion of dry keema curry. Let’s see...... Ohh, this one’s great too. My egg yolk topping was right on the money. It rounds and softens the dish, it’s delicious. Today I just used raw egg yolk, but par-boiled egg might be good too. Yeah, yeah. It’s great.

“Hahh — I totally ate.”

Even after that, Fel and Sui had more, and both the homemade and dry keema curry was cleaned out. “I should have made a little more...” I was a little hesitant about how the curry would be received, so I’d made a little less. That was a mistake.

Even though I was thinking that putting some dry keema curry in a bread roll to make a curry dog would be a great idea... Ah, putting some melty cheese on top seems delicious, too...

Ahh~, I should have made a little more of the dry keema curry...

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After cleaning up the remains of dinner, it was time for a bath. I finally have a roomy and gorgeous bath, I’m going to get in every day while I’m here.

Ah, right. “Fel, I’m washing you, too.”

In response to my words, Fel gave a small start. “W-Why? It has only been a scant month since you last washed me.”

“I mean, you’ve been carrying around that smell ever since you ate that curry... It must have sunk into you.”

After hearing that, Fel started sniffing his own body. “Now that you mention it, I do smell that last meal, although it is not overbearing or unpleasant......”

“Right? This house’s bath is spacious enough that you can get in, so I’m taking this chance to wash you.”

“Fine. However, I will not get in hot water.”

“Fine, fine.”

We all went into the bathroom. This house’s bathroom was huge, around 8 tatami large, surrounded by walls of some marble-like smooth stone. There was also a horizontally long window up in a place where people would not be able to peek in, placed in order to vent steam. And, if I put in some magic here......

《Wow! It got bright—!》 Sui, excited about the brightness, started to bounce around.

Just what I’d expect out of a mansion this fancy, it’s got magic lights in all the perfect spots. Of course, there was one in the bathroom, too, and it lit up the place brightly just like a light bulb would, with just a little magic power.

From what Domenico said, here too...... I inserted some more magic into the top of a faucet near the bathtub. Hot water started pouring out of it.

“Ohhh! That’s awesome. So there’s magic tools like this, too, huh?”

Once the tub was appropriately filled, I started off by washing Fel. I’m also naked, so it’s no problem even if he shakes around and drenches me. Since it hadn’t been that long since I last washed him, there wasn’t too much tangled fur. I had Sui suck in the hot water from the bath and pour it over Fel. Thanks to Sui’s shower, Fel was actually getting soaked. Once Fel was thoroughly wet, I applied the vet-recommended shampoo I bought with my skill and started washing him.

*Skshh* *Skshh*

Fel usually asked me to put more power into it, so this time I went strong from the get-go.

“Hm, you are doing pretty well this time.”

Ah, ‘zat right?

*Skrshskrsh* *Sksshhskshh*

“Mm, keep on there.”

Sure, fine. He’s itchy here, huh?

*Skrshskrsh* *Skrshskrsh* *Sksshhskshh* *Sksshhskshh*

While listening to Fel’s requests, I washed his whole body thoroughly. “Great, this should do it. Sui, throw some more water on him.”

《Oka—y!》 Sui’s shower fell upon Fel.

After washing away the soap bubbles covering him, it was time for Fel’s face. “Fel, I’m going to be washing your face.”

“Mnn, hurry it up.”

While having Sui point its shower at Fel’s face, I started washing it. Because Fel’s mouth and the rest of his snout was filthy from eating the curry earlier, I concentrated especially hard there.

“Okay, I’m done. Make sure you shake off the water in here. We’re only borrowing this house so we can’t just soak everything.”

“I know already.” Fel shook his body vigorously, spraying water everywhere before drying himself off with Wind magic.

“Ah, if you’re going to sleep pick any room you like on the second floor.”

“Okay, understood.”

I had Sui clean up any hair and stuff that Fel had left behind.

Now then, let’s enjoy this bath to the fullest.

《Finally, a bath~.》

《Bath—!》

Dora-chan, you just said, ‘finally,’ but haven’t you been lazing around in the tub the entire time I’ve been busy washing Fel? I didn’t say anything, but I’ve totally been watching you. It’s fine, though.

I started to replace the hot water that got lost washing Fel. Meanwhile, I washed my head and body. I also lathered Dora-chan up and washed his entire body, and I did the same to Sui, although it didn’t look like the slime would get dirty at all. By the time everyone had rinsed away the soap, the bath had gained enough water.

I remembered that I actually still had some of those carbon dioxide-infused bath additives that I’d bought before, so I retrieved them from my Item Box. The bath was large, so I splurged and put in two of the additive tablets.

“Oka—y, let’s get in.”

When all three of us got in the bath, some of the water overflowed.

“Whoo~, baths are just the best.”

《Ohh, it feels so good...》

《So good—!》

Just like always, Dora-chan and Sui floated around in the bath.

This bath is nice... It’s big enough for all of us to fit with room to spare. Hahh~, yeah, baths are great. All my tiredness just seeps out of me.

“I’m gonna be getting in every day while we’re here,” I muttered to myself.

《Me too~.》

《Sui too~.》

It’s looking like both Dora-chan and Sui have converted into bathing believers.

While getting refreshed by the hot water and the smell of the bath additives, we all enjoyed our time in the bath. It’ll be so nice being able to get in every day. It might be nice to change what I put in the bath every day, now that I have the chance.

Oh, there’s that brand of water and hot spring bath additives too — it might be nice to try those and enjoy the feel of being in a hot spring. There’s a lot of different bath stuff being released right now, after all. Let’s shop for some different stuff before getting in again tomorrow. I’ve got more things to look forward to now.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After getting out of the bath, I went up to the second floor and looked for Fel. I was wondering where he decided to sleep, and it turned out he was on the floor in the master bedroom.

Even though there’s a nice and soft carpet on the floor, you know the bed is right there, you could have just got on.

When I said that, Fel replied that he didn’t want to, because it seemed like he’d fall off if he moved even a little. It’s true, seems like he’d fall off if he moved a little.

“I like my own bed. Give me my bed.”

So he likes his personal futon, huh? I did as Fel asked and laid out his futon after retrieving it from my Item Box.

《Sui will sleep here~.》 With those words, Sui bounced onto the king-size bed.

《I’ll sleep here too—!》 And Dora-chan also landed on top of the king-size bed.

《Master, let’s all sleep together~.》

I was going to sleep in a different room, but now Sui’s gone and invited me... I can’t refuse like this.

And so, we all ended up sleeping in the same room even though we had rented a huge mansion. Nothing changes, huh? Well, whatever.

Wait, there’s something I’ve got to do before I sleep. It’s just going to be really noisy if I do it here, so I guess I’ll move to another room.

When I tried to leave the room, Fel asked me, “Where are you going?”

“I have to go make offerings to those gods.”

“Mm? I see. Make sure you do it properly.”

It looks like Fel respects Ninrir, that divine disappointment, but you should know that she’s not worth it. She’s just a person with a huge sweet tooth. And the other gods are unexpectedly really faithful to their desires, too. They’re far more worldly than they should be.

Well, it was thanks to them being that way that I could be so carefree when interacting with them, although that was probably not a good thing. They’d given me their blessings, too, along with all three of my familiars, so I felt a little indebted to them as well.

That doesn’t mean I’ll spoil them, though. Now then, let’s get to offering them their allotted six silver.

“Is everyone around?”

As soon as I called out to them, the gods’ voices all rang out loudly.

“Okay then, I’d like to hurry up and listen to your requests, so will the first one be Ninrir, as usual?”

It’s best to hurry up and get these kinds of things over with.

＜Oohhh! I’ve been waiting! Just like you’ve said, I’m first! Those cakes from Fumiya before were just the best! Of course it will be more cakes for me, hurry it up!＞

Don’t you hurry me. I’ll only be sending it to you after hearing everyone’s orders anyway.

“Is it okay to just keep going down the list from before?” Let’s see, the last time I got her the first fifteen cake slices from Fumiya, right? Then next will be...... From the cake slice menu, there’s only eight more, huh?

“Ninrir, can you see the menu? If we continue from before, there’s only eight left. What will you do for the rest? Apparently they’re holding an ‘Early Summer’s Sweets Fair,’ so do you want something from that? It’s a time-limited menu, so you’ll only be able to get it now...”

＜What?! Time-limited?! Let me see!!＞ That was Miss Ninrir the divine disappointment’s command, so I let her see the Sweets Fair menu. ＜Muhhooohh! A-A-All of them look so good!! A-All of them, I want all of them!!!＞

Taking all of these would put her over her allowance... “Choosing all of these will be too much money, unless you sacrifice some cake slices. What do you want to do?”

＜Mm? Really? I want all of them, can I really not have them?＞

“You can’t. I can’t give you preferential treatment.”

＜Mnn~, you’re so cheap... Fine, prioritize the time-limited menu. Since I can only get these now.＞

“Understood.” I dumped the entirety of the limited menu for the Sweets Fair into the cart. A white roll cake that used salt, mont blancs, fruit gelatin cake: all kinds of cool and refreshing types of cake were lined up. At first I was surprised, thinking, salt in sweets? Oh yeah, that kind of stuff was pretty popular, wasn’t it? Apparently having just a little bit of saltiness made the sweetness stand out even more.

Using the rest of her allowance, I bought seven more cakes off of the cake slices menu. She’s off by one slice, huh? Well, she’ll just have to wait for next time.

“Next is Lady Kisharle, right?” Even I started to remember the order by now.

＜That’s right~. I’d like some facial lotion this time. I’m running out of what I got last time.＞

Last time? That kind of expensive stuff, right? Last time, it was the cream from the same line, I think? “Okay, but what do you want other than that? What about a facial cleanser from the same series?”

＜That’s a good idea. Let’s go with that.＞

I added the slightly expensive facial lotion and the cleanser from the same series into the cart. The cleanser was only 2 silver, so there’s still 1 left, huh? “Lady Kisharle, you still have 1 silver left, what do you want to do with it? I’d recommend some bath additives...”

＜Bath additives? Sounds good—. They smell nice, and adding them to a bath helps take your tiredness away, right?＞

Since there were a lot of different bath additives, and just showing it to her would be faster, I opened up the menu. “Can you see it?”

＜Yes, I can.＞

“I recommend this tablet-type that releases carbon dioxide. If you just want to enjoy the fragrance, how about this variety pack of herb scents?”

＜That sounds nice~, give me that, please.＞

“You can afford one more, I see. What do you want for the other one?”

＜Hmmm, is there anything to help make your skin smooth?＞

“If you’re looking for that kind of effect...... looks like those are in this section here.”

＜There’s a lot I see. I don’t know what to choose... Which ones do you think smell the best?＞

Hmm, even if you ask me that... “Ah, what about this one? It says it’s good for dry skin, and its scent is ‘sweet and fruity,’ so it smells like fruits.”

＜Oh my, that sounds nice. Get me that one.＞

With that settled, I added them to the cart.

“Ehhmm, next is Agni, right?”

＜Yep, it’s me. The beer from before was really good! Especially that pack of six. Give me that one again. Other than that, just give me whatever you think is best.＞

Ohh, looks like she liked the beer I picked out for her last time. It should have been A- and K-company’s premium beers, and also Y-bisu beer, right? I got a six pack of each.

Agni likes beer, so it might be a good idea to add some more beer to this, as well. Oh, there’s a new Y-bisu beer. It was a little expensive, but it looked good, so I added a six pack of that as well.

Oh, a black beer might be good too. I tried adding in the black version of the dry beer I drank from A-company the other day, as well as the black version of the beer everyone thinks of when they think of K-company, and also the black version of Y-bisu’s beer with the creamy foam as its selling point, and finally, S-company’s premium black beer.

There’s a lot more varieties on top of this... There’s quite a lot of domestic black beers, huh? Lastly, I used up the last of her allowance on a Chilean wine.

“Next is Miss Ruka, yes?”

＜The food you make looks delicious, but...... I’d rather have Fumiya’s cakes after all. Make it the same as Ninrir. I also want the limited stuff.＞

Miss Ruka’s being unusually talkative. She must really like Fumiya’s cakes. Having a limited time menu really does stir interest, doesn’t it? Just as Ruka wanted, I ordered her the same thing I did for Ninrir.

And lastly, it’s the liquor lovers combo. “Next is Hephaestos and Vahagn, right?”

＜Indeed, you are correct.＞

＜Right—!＞

“Well then, what will it be this time?”

＜The world’s best whisky from before. That one was so good it was surprising.＞

＜Yeah, that was my first time with alcohol so good.＞

Ahh, that domestic whisky from S-company, huh?

＜You definitely have to get us more of that. One for each of us, got it?＞

＜Yeah, I want to enjoy one as much as I like on my own.＞

Oh, looks like both of them are hooked on that domestic whisky from S-company, huh? “And what would you like apart from that?”

＜Whisky is all well and good, but there isn’t much left, right?＞ That domestic whisky from S-company was pretty expensive, after all. But even so, it was still the cheapest out of this lineup.

“Let’s see... There isn’t much left, no.”

＜What should we do, Blacksmith God?＞

＜If that’s the case, I think it’d be good to get something we haven’t tried before. What do you think, War God?＞

＜That’s a great idea. It’s always good to try new flavors.＞

“Then I’ll get you two some whisky you haven’t tried yet.”

Something they haven’t tried... I don’t really remember, but...... Ah, I don’t think I’ve bought this one before. It’s a domestic from K-company with a mountain on the label. “Have the two of you tried this one before?” I asked, pointing to the whisky from K-company that I was wondering about.

＜Let’s see... Mm, I don’t remember drinking this one, no. Eh, War God?＞

＜Yeah, I don’t remember this bottle.＞

“Then, I’ll get this one.”

There’s enough for one more... Ah, this American whiskey with the rose on the label seems new. “What about this one?”

＜Hmm, I also do not remember seeing this one... Right?＞

＜Yeah, we haven’t drunk this one.＞

Great, then this one it is. Hm, they can just barely afford one more of the cheap ones. This American one with the yellow label fits into the budget, and I probably haven’t bought this one either. “This will be the last one. Do you guys remember drinking this?”

＜Yeah, I don’t remember this one.＞

＜Me neither.＞

Great, then this is the last one. Then that’s it for all of them.

I lined up all the offerings on the usual cardboard altars. “Please everyone, accept your offerings.”

After saying that, the items on top of the cardboard altars all disappeared. I heard the gods all running for their items and raising a fuss over them.

Hahh~, it’s over. Let’s just go and sleep.

When I tried to leave the room with that in mind, I heard a throaty voice.

＜Right, you — what’s up with your level?＞

This is Hephaestos’ voice, right? “What’s up? I don’t think it’s changed since I haven’t fought at all since the last time we talked.”

＜Mn, is that right?＞

“All my familiars are strong, so there’s just no room for me to do anything...... Ah, but I’m going to be trying something tomorrow, so there might be a little combat.” Tomorrow we planned to exterminate the evil plants, and I had a small plan about that.

＜Ohh, I see I see. Do your best, you hear?＞

“Uhm, I don’t think I’ll be gaining any levels just be fighting a little tomorrow, though.” Hey wait a second, didn’t we all agree to not force me into raising my level?

＜Well, since you’re so adamant about it, we won’t say anything, but you should still try to raise your level a little. It’s your life on the line if your skills are dull when the chips are down.＞

This voice is Vahagn, right? Well, he does have a point. I’ve been leaving combat entirely up to Fel and the others, but if I can’t protect myself when the chips are down, then that’s just putting the cart before the horse.

＜Well, just do your best for now. Take care.＞

After Vahagn’s parting words, I heard the snapping sound of the connection being cut.

Hahh, it’s probably about the Tenants, but just with the evil plant extermination tomorrow... you know? It’s not like my level will raise all willy-nilly like that.

Hahh, well tomorrow will be busy. Let’s just sleep.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

At that time, in the Divine realm...

“Did you hear? War God?”

“Yeah. They’ll be fighting tomorrow.”

“Gahahahahaha! I wonder how much he’ll level up. It’s exciting, no?”

“Ahahahahaha! You got it. He has that skill that we sneakily put on him, after all.”

““Double Experience Gain, eh? (right?)””

“Gahaha!”

“Ahaha!”

“Gahahahahahaha!”

“Ahahahahahaha!”