Lately, our days have been a cycle of heading to Tennoji for dungeon expeditions, coming home, and diving into the PD to keep leveling up.
「Taira, lately you’ve been—hmm, what kind of meat is this yukhoe? It’s not beef, is it?」
Dad asked while eating the yukhoe with his beer.
「Taira brought it back from a dungeon. It’s ostrich meat. Dungeon-sourced meat doesn’t have parasite concerns, so it’s safe to eat raw.」
「This is good. You’ve improved, Mom.」
「The variety of ingredients makes cooking fun. Every day, I have to think about what to make. Here, Tuna-chan, Mikoto-chan, have some chestnut rice first.」
Mom scooped chestnut rice into bowls and handed them over.
「…Thank you. I’ll eat now.」
「This looks delicious.」
She also set a bowl of chestnut rice in front of me.
The gentle, sweet aroma of chestnuts drifted up.
The three of us dug in.
It was delicious.
The seasoning was just right. Mom really had improved.
「By the way, Dad, what were you about to say earlier?」
「Earlier? Oh, I was going to say that you’ve been working hard again lately. You’ve been diving into dungeons, right?」
「Ah, that. Yeah, I’m planning to take down the boss on the 40th floor soon.」
「The 40th floor? You’re really going for it. Is it because the National Medal of Honor Award ceremony is coming up?」
「…Huh?」
National Medal of Honor Award?
Oh, right. The ceremony was on November 3rd, so we’d be heading to Tokyo on the 2nd.
I had even ordered a custom-made suit worth hundreds of thousands at a store I normally wouldn’t step foot in. Dad and Mom were coming to the ceremony too.
「Don’t tell me you forgot?」
「I didn’t forget. Not at all.」
…Okay, maybe I half-forgot.
Hime and the others had mentioned it too.
Which meant—November 1st was our deadline.
On November 1st, we’d dive into the dungeon and investigate why Danpol’s energy was being drained.
If we discovered the cause but couldn’t handle it ourselves, we’d have Gyuuzou-san step in.
The plan remained unchanged.
「Not sure what’s going on, but sounds like you’ve got your hands full, Taira. Mom, I’ll have some chestnut rice too.」
The one holding out a rice bowl beside me was my aniki.
At some point, he had sat down next to me and was now demanding food.
「Aniki, what are you doing here?」
「What do you mean? Aoi isn’t home, and eating alone is just depressing.」
「Aoi-san isn’t home? Don’t tell me she dumped you?」
「Of course not. She’s pregnant, so she went back to her parents’ place.」
It was a shotgun wedding, after all.
That said, her family home is nearby, so he could visit her anytime. Still, I guess staying at his wife’s parents’ house must be stressful in its own way.
「When’s the due date again?」
「November 26th. She just started her maternity leave today.」
「Boy or girl?」
「No idea. We’re keeping it a surprise until the birth. That way, no matter which it is, we’ll be just as happy.」
Saying that, aniki grabbed Dad’s beer without asking and poured himself a drink.
「Oh yeah, Mikoto-chan. Aoi made this before she left and told me to bring it to you.」
Aniki handed Mikoto a container.
Inside was what looked like inari sushi.
「Ohh, inari sushi! A most welcome gift. My gratitude. Very well, I shall offer a divine prayer for an easy childbirth.」
「A direct blessing from a goddess? That’s gotta be reassuring.」
She fits in so naturally.
Well, aniki and Aoi-san drop by the house every now and then, so they’ve met Mikoto and Tuna plenty of times.
…Aoi-san’s homemade inari sushi, huh?
「Mikoto, let me have one too.」
「Denied. This is an offering for me. Don’t you already have a bunch of mistresses who makes you delicious home cooked meals?」
「For a goddess, you’re pretty stingy.」
「Say what you want. Regardless of what you say, it is nothing compared to the charm of this inari sushi.」
Mikoto wasted no time popping an inari sushi into her mouth.
Damn it, she’s really enjoying that.
Just then, Mom brought over a pot of matsutake dobin-mushi.
Aniki poured some of the broth into Dad’s sake cup, then filled his own as well.
「Aniki, are you planning to take paternity leave too?」
「Yeah, about that… I’ve been thinking. My salary isn’t exactly great, and with a kid on the way, maybe it’s time I considered switching jobs.」
「Got any leads?」
「None! Gonna start looking now!」
Aniki declared without hesitation.
With a child on the way, I really hope he finds something stable.
「Anything that doesn’t require much startup money but still brings in decent cash?」
「If there was, everyone would be doing it… No, wait. I might have an idea.」
「Seriously?」
「Yeah. What about winemaking?」
「Wine? Well, Osaka is known for its grapes, but I don’t have any connections with vineyard owners.」
Osaka is actually a major producer of grapes—specifically, Delaware grapes, ranking third in domestic production.
However, most vineyards are located around Kashiwara City, which is a bit of a distance from here. There aren’t many grape farms in this area.
But there’s something that could change that.
「I’ve got a magic canteen.」
「A magic canteen? Oh, like the ones we have in the house? The one that dispenses milk and the one that gives out curry?」
「Exactly. And this one dispenses grape juice. If you pour it into an aging barrel, it instantly turns into wine. Not only that, but you can drop in a magic stone to enhance the aging process. With just a few magic stones, we could easily make top-quality wine and rake in a fortune.」
「That sounds great.」
「Right?」
「Yeah, but I refuse!」
Aniki shut me down without hesitation.
「An older brother does not rely on handouts from his younger sibling!」
「…Aniki.」
I stared at him.
With a smug look, he met my gaze and said,
「Changed your opinion of me a little?」
「Then, you do realize that the ostrich yukhoe you’re eating right now is made from meat I brought back from the dungeon? And that those chestnuts were also ones I gathered there?」
「Ugh—」
「Hmm?」
「This matsutake dobin-mushi is delicious. Dad, can I get another cup of broth?」
Ignoring me completely, Aniki took a sip of the broth and praised it. Dad chuckled and refilled his cup.
Meanwhile—
「…Chestnut rice is amazing. I can see the potential of chestnut rice curry.」
「Mmm, and this inari sushi is truly exquisite.」
Tuna and Mikoto were happily enjoying their meal.
Then—
「Taira, would it be a problem to use that grape juice and aging barrel to try making some wine?」
Dad looked at me with hopeful eyes.
「That’s actually illegal. Normally, we’d probably get away with it, but the public safety bureau is always watching our house because of Tuna’s bodyguards, so let’s not risk it… By the way, Mom. The kitchen smells amazing. But only most of the matsutake mushrooms were used up for yesterday’s matsutake rice and today’s dobin-mushi, so there should be some left. You’re not grilling those all for yourself, are you?」
I raised my voice and called out, but Mom didn’t respond.
Leave a Reply