When I was about to drop Mishinie off before reaching the town of Korel, she said she wanted to go to Lasagna Village. Why?
「I’ve accepted a request from the Luraize Company, but the escort will be joint. We should talk things through beforehand. I honestly have no idea what you’re doing, Takato.」
「Honestly, I’d be grateful if you handled things, Mishinie.」
If that were the case, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble. I wouldn’t have to shoulder the responsibility either. Being worked hard while following Mishinie’s instructions would be several times easier.
「There’s no way I can do that when I don’t understand how you fight. The Luraize Company also told me this escort would be centered around you, Takato.」
「They decided that without even asking me?」
People at the top never care about what’s going on below. Don’t argue, just obey. That’s how it goes. Well, if I can’t push back, I’ve got no choice but to go along with it. Sigh.
「Well, they’re offering an exceptionally high reward. Do your best.」
I don’t want that kind of consolation. What I’m looking for is peace of mind.
By the time we got home, it was just before five in the evening. Kainzel-san had already returned from the town of Misrim.
「Welcome back. Were you able to talk with Dyne-san?」
「Yeah. He looked pretty dejected, saying the Luraize Company had pushed him hard. He also apologized.」
「It can’t be helped. You can’t win against a major company. Kainzel-san, let’s have a meeting later. Mishinie, wait in the sauna or something. Bisha, Mebi, take care of Mishinie for me.」
「「Got it」」
The beastkin sisters were already back, so I left Mishinie with them, gave the dirty Pioneer Number Two a quick wash, and put it back into Home.
「I’m back, Miriel. Is Ladarion home yet?」
「Welcome back. She hasn’t returned yet.」
A hard-working glutton.
Before Ladarion came back, I took a shower and rewarded myself for surviving the day with a can of beer. Pwah. It tasted good enough to make me want to do my best again tomorrow.
Once I was satisfied, I went to buy dinner. Today, I decided to pick from an izakaya.
I bought items one after another from a certain izakaya chain’s menu, grabbed three bottles of Kakubin for highballs, soda water, and moved ice from the freezer into a cooler box, then carried everything outside.
Lately, we had started using the outside house, Ladarion’s room, as a dining area and eating here instead.
Seriously, I want the tablet to work outside too. Carrying it back and forth is a pain.
「I’m back～」
Ladarion returned, together with Azur Rise.
Since becoming a contractor, this fierce-looking great oni had started coming by now and then. I realized he did not just like sweets. He simply loved eating.
Even though his base was in the town of Rihar, he went out of his way to travel ten kilometers to get here. He was a true gourmet great oni.
「I’ll be in your care」
Saying that, he handed over one silver coin.
I wanted to say he could just buy his own food, but he could not go goblin hunting every day, and the money he earned went toward buying sweets. So to save money, maybe, he came to eat at my place instead, paying one silver coin.
「Alright. Want a drink too?」
I asked as I took the coin.
「I do」
Azur Rise liked sweets, but he also drank alcohol. Wine, highballs, beer, he drank anything.
「Wash up first. Ladarion, get the hot water ready for him」
If you eat at my place, the rule is to clean yourself first. Adventurers rarely wash their bodies, so they stink. Mishinie smelled a bit too.
「Got it」
I left Azur Rise to Ladarion and went to carry out the food. With so many big eaters, just carrying it all outside was hard work.
Miriel also took a shower and helped carry the dishes out. Once everything we bought was lined up on the table and the spare table, we were finally done.
「Oh! What’s all this? It’s extravagant!」
Mishinie, fresh from the sauna, stared in surprise at the food spread across the tables.
「Sit wherever you like. What about alcohol?」
「I’ll drink」
It was a stupid question, so I brought out a well-chilled bottle of sparkling wine and served it to her.
「You can start without me」
We do not wait for everyone to say let’s eat together. Our style is everyone eats whenever they want.
「Do you eat like this every day?」
「For now, we’re managing because we can keep up the goblin extermination」
Daily food costs hit one hundred thousand yen. Some days, it even goes over one hundred fifty thousand. The only reason we can keep eating like this is thanks to everyone’s efforts.
「Hey, Takato. Once this job is over, come goblin hunting with me. It takes me too long to find them on my own, so I can’t hunt efficiently. If you’re there, we’ll find them right away. Will you do it?」
「Sure. I was planning to go into the mountains in autumn for goblin extermination anyway」
The goblin king incident was an accident, but the large-scale autumn extermination will go ahead as planned. Having a silver-ranked adventurer along would be more than welcome. I do not want another king popping up.
「Can I join too?」
Azur Rise spoke up. Had he already washed up?
「I don’t mind, but aren’t gold-ranked adventurers busy?」
I have no idea what kind of work gold-ranked adventurers usually do.
「No problem. There’s another gold-ranked adventurer in Rihar」
Come to think of it, there were two gold-ranked adventurers. A world where there is another monster like Azur Rise is terrifying.
「Then let’s talk about it after this job is finished」
With both of them agreeing, we ended the discussion there and finally started dinner.
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