The next morning, I woke up sore all over.
「…Does this mean I’m still young since the muscle pain hit right away…?」
Not that I’m happy about it. It just means I’m still weak.
I slapped pain relief patches all over my body, did a bit of stretching, then started preparing breakfast.
「Come to think of it, can I buy a hotel buffet?」
When I searched for a business hotel breakfast buffet on the tablet, it showed dozens of dishes for only eleven hundred yen. Seriously…?
Everything even came with tableware, and the price stayed the same, or maybe it wasn’t included at all. By the way, tableware disappears if I throw it into the trash and leave it there for fifteen days.
「…Smells good…」
Drawn by the scent, Ladarion woke up. So much for her perfectly accurate stomach clock. Business hotel breakfast buffets are terrifying.
「Go wash your face first.」
I sent her to the unit bath and moved the food onto the table.
There wasn’t enough space for everything, so I decided to save the leftovers for lunch. They should be fine until then.
Ladarion came back after washing her face and devoured everything on the table, even eating about half of the five kinds of cake.
「…I can’t eat anymore…」
Of course not. She must’ve eaten at least five kilos. I was already full just from a bowl of rice with natto.
I wrapped the leftovers and put the fruit in the fridge… or tried to, but it didn’t fit. I’d overbought again.
「There’s even tea?」
There was so much food that I didn’t even notice the tea shelf had appeared, with teabags and everything.
「Good thing it was a business hotel one.」
If it had been a luxury hotel buffet, it probably would’ve been a disaster.
「Ladarion. Let’s start around ten today.」
Stuffed and unable to move, Ladarion only managed a faint “Hmm” in reply.
I sat on the sofa I’d bought a few days ago and drank coffee brewed from the coffee maker that had conveniently appeared, and even worked with power somehow.
Around nine, I stepped outside and saw Romy-san with her children. They seemed to be returning the borrowed tools.
「Good morning.」
「Oh, you’re here. I called out, but when you didn’t answer, I thought you’d already left.」
「I was focused on getting ready. Thank you for bringing the equipment back.」
Even with their strength, carrying all that must’ve been tough.
「It’s no trouble. You let us earn money and even serve us tea and sweets. Besides, I’m just glad we women finally have a place to gather.」
R-right, I’ll just take her word for it. No matter the workplace, it’s always best to have the women on your side.
「Is Gorg at home? There’s something I’d like him to read for me.」
Though… can he even read?
「He’s out chopping wood right now, but he’ll be back by noon.」
「I see. Then I’ll stop by before lunch. I’ve got some leftover bread to bring along.」
I’d ended up with a bunch of leftover rolls and loaves. Ladarion had focused entirely on the main dishes and didn’t even touch the bread.
「That’s wonderful. Everything you make tastes so good.」
「If you ever bring back a live goblin, I’ll buy it off you anytime.」
Since they’ve been helping handle the lending of equipment, I let them use our stuff freely, but that doesn’t mean I’m handing things out for free. This time’s just to avoid wasting bread, so I’m sharing a little.
「Goblin, huh… those little things are quick. Hard to catch.」
「You could always try setting traps. Catching even one would cover about ten days’ worth of tea.」
I don’t actually expect them to hunt goblins seriously. Just a bit of pocket money on the side would be fine.
「That’s true. Maybe I’ll ask Rize’s husband. He’s good at making boar traps.」
Sorry, Rize’s husband, looks like you just got more work.
「Alright then, I’ll stop by before lunch.」
After saying that, I returned to the Sefuti Home. Ladarion was still sitting where she’d been earlier, in the same chair. Yeah, no more buffets for a while.
Since preparations were already done yesterday, I just bought a new basket, packed the bread, and stretched a little to ease my muscle pain.
A bit past ten, Ladarion’s stomach finally settled, and she brought out the things we’d prepared yesterday.
「I don’t want to do anything today.」
Her stomach had calmed, but overeating had clearly killed her motivation.
「Well, when you don’t feel like working, just rest. We’ve got plenty of supplies anyway.」
It’s not like our old world where we had to show up at an office every day. Now that we’re self-employed, we can take breaks whenever we want and no one will complain.
That said, going to see the giants alone would get me flattened, or worse, turned into a toy for their kids. As pathetic as it is, I need Ladarion to carry me there or I’m too scared to go.
Both of us only strapped on our utility belts, grabbed the stuff we bought in town along with the basket, and headed toward Gorg’s place.
「Hey, Takato, Ladarion. Been a while, huh?」
When we reached the village entrance, we ran into Gorg carrying a massive log on his shoulder. It had to weigh at least a hundred kilos by human standards, yet he lifted it like it was nothing. Seriously, just how strong are these giants?
「Ah, it’s been a while. There were so many goblins around that I couldn’t find the right time to head back.」
「It’s that season again. The farmers complain about goblins every year.」
Now that he mentioned it, I did see all sorts of crops growing in the fields earlier. Summer vegetables, maybe?
「So, this area tends to have a lot of goblins?」
「Yeah. Even when I was a kid, we had a lot of trouble with them. My grandfather once told me this land’s easy for kings to rise in.」
So, she said they only appeared in weak areas, huh? What a scam. Damn useless goddess.
We made our way to Gorg’s house. I handed Romy-san the basket and gave Gorg a knife and a hand axe.
「After using the tools I borrowed from you, the old ones just feel awful now.」
「Don’t get too used to them. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying here.」
It’s not that I plan on dying, but I might go somewhere else to exterminate goblins. If I leave home for too long, everything disappears after fifteen days, so it’s better not to rely on me too much.
「I know that, but once you’ve used something this good, it’s hard to go back.」
Yeah, once you get a taste of comfort, it’s hard to return to the old way of living. Guess you don’t really understand that until it happens.
「Hey, onee-chan! Give us candy!」
「Candy!」
While I was talking with Gorg, the kids tugged on Ladarion’s clothes. Careful, you’ll make her drop me!
Gorg quickly helped and lifted me up onto the table to keep me safe.
「They’ve really taken a liking to Ladarion, huh.」
Despite being pulled on by the kids, Ladarion didn’t seem bothered and handed them some candies.
「Hey! We’re about to eat, so candy comes after!」
Their mother snatched the candy away, and the kids burst into tears. The place instantly turned lively.
「Sorry for the noise.」
「Don’t worry about it. It’s nice, feels like a happy family. I’m honestly a little jealous.」
Building a family in this world can’t be easy, but someday, I’d like to have one like this too.
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