The day after we made the reservation, we went to Mished-san’s tavern.
「Welcome. I’ve prepared plenty for you」
「Thank you」
Maybe he had timed it for our arrival, because the moment we sat down, the food started coming out. And yes, we brought our own alcohol.
「All right, let’s dig in」
The girls had already started early, but Kainzel-san and I prepared our drinks first. We downed one glass, then reached for the dishes. Yeah, it’s good. Really good.
I feel bad that I can’t let Miriel join us, but yesterday I bought some lamb dishes and carried them back to Home. That was so she could eat with Gorg’s group.
Romy’s dad and his apprentices are there, so she shouldn’t feel lonely. I also used the bracelet’s power to transfer the alcohol into an eighteen-liter jerrycan and handed it over. Romy will pick up on it and make sure Miriel feels welcome.
「It’s so good!」
「I wish I had three stomachs!」
Bisha and Mebi were thrilled too. They were tearing into the lamb like their appetites had tripled. Ladarion? She casually ate an entire sheep’s worth. Seriously, what kind of illness is it to have a black hole for a stomach?
…The medicine can wait until we get back. She’s eating with the biggest smile on her face, after all…
I ate a lot too, but I’m not some huge glutton. Still, the lamb was greasy, so the highballs just kept going. Before I knew it, I’d had five. If I put even one more bite in my mouth, I’m going to throw up a rainbow.
…I got carried away…
I rested while watching the three of them, who still had plenty of room. About an hour later, I finally managed to drink some coffee and settle down.
「Kainzel-san. You didn’t eat much today. Are you not feeling well?」
He never eats much to begin with, but today he hadn’t even finished two plates.
「Once you’re my age, lamb sits heavy in the stomach. Light food with a drink is just right」
「So that’s what your fifties are like」
Come to think of it, even my section chief gradually started drinking less over time.
「Well, the alcohol you can buy with rewards is strong. If you don’t take it slow, you’ll keel over」
It makes sense. He’d only ever been drinking low-alcohol wine or ale up until now.
「Takato-san. How was the food?」
Mished-san, who had been focused on cooking, must have gotten a break, because he came over to our table.
「How was the food, Takato-san?」
「It was really delicious. If I were younger, I could’ve eaten more」
We’d invited Vice and the others to today’s meal too, and they were at another table, devouring everything like wild beasts. Yesterday they drank a whole bottle of wine and ended up groggy, too. I’m jealous of that youthful stamina.
「That’s a shame. We still had lamb soup left」
「Ah, I’ll go grab a pot, so please pour it into that. I want to drink it tomorrow morning」
I want to add udon or ramen to it. It’s definitely going to be good.
Maybe she read my mind, because Ladarion went back to Home and brought out a stockpot. Are you an esper or something?
「Understood. I’ll add meatballs too」
He took the pot and headed back to the kitchen.
「Takato. I’m heading back now. I drank a bit too much」
「No sauna after drinking. That’s dangerous」
Kainzel-san is in the sauna whenever he has free time. I almost want to ask just how much he loves it.
「Yeah. I’m going to sleep. I want to go buy souvenirs tomorrow too」
I didn’t ask who for. Kainzel-san never says, and I’m not going to pry.
「Take care」
「Yeah. You too, Takato. Ladarion, make sure you get Takato back to the inn properly」
「Got it. I’ll stop at eighty percent」
So you weren’t even at eighty percent yet. Fine. When we get back, you’re absolutely taking a recovery potion.
「Takato-san」
This time it was Dyne-san. He’d brought one of his employees with him.
「Are you here for dinner too, Dyne-san?」
「Yes. We finally finished buying stock, so we came to eat a local specialty」
He said that and sat down at the table next to ours. I’d thought there was space, but maybe he’d reserved it. Did he match his timing to ours?
There were merchant bosses in the tavern too, but nobody tried to talk to me. Mished-san must have passed on what I’d said. Still, I could feel their eyes on me.
「Takato」
Now Mishinie and her escort team arrived.
「So you all came too, Mishinie?」
「Yeah. Since we’re here, I figured I’d let everyone drink」
The adventurers hired by the Luraize Company only exchanged quick greetings with me. After that, everything went through Mishinie. So I don’t really know what kind of relationship she has with them. Still, from what I can see, they seem to get along well.
…Mishinie is quietly amazing at communicating, isn’t she…?
Maybe there isn’t much racial discrimination here, because the human adventurers trust Mishinie, follow her instructions, and now they’re drinking with her like this.
Well, that might be because this is Margrave Koraus Territory. Maybe it’s not like this elsewhere. I still don’t know much about this world.
If I want to survive, I need to learn more. If I hide in Margrave Koraus Territory and stay comfortable, I won’t be able to move when it really matters. You can see that clearly from the mistakes of the people who came before.
I need to move across a wide area, purge goblins across a wide area, and increase the number of contractors. Instead of dreaming about some future where goblins are gone, I have to think about the present, where goblins exist, and survive.
…No, that’s not good. I’m supposed to be enjoying my downtime, and I’m already overthinking. It’s a bad habit of Japanese.
「Takato. I want ice cream」
Looks like Ladarion finally reached eighty percent and started asking for dessert.
「Vanilla, right?」
「Yeah. The ‘lady’ one」
I used the Aport Watch to pull out a large tub of the Lady Borden vanilla.
「Takato, I want some too!」
「Me too!」
Yeah, yeah. There’s plenty, so don’t make a fuss.
Ladarion-sized portions would wreck their stomachs, so I gave the two of them cup-sized ones. Now I want some too.
But for me, I added rum.
I scooped up two bites, then poured rum over it.
Rum on ice cream? That was my reaction too, but a junior coworker recommended it once, and it was delicious. Ever since then, rum on vanilla has been a must. Ahh, so good.
「Takato. Is that good?」
Mishinie had seen how I was eating it and leaned in. I didn’t feel like explaining, so I shoved the rum at her and told her to find out for herself.
Man… what’s that junior doing these days?
While thinking about my old world, I enjoyed my rum vanilla ice cream.
Leave a Reply