Chapter 23

"I feel like I need more jade steel, but I don't have the level to handle it."

"We need to level up our blacksmithing."

"Once we level up, help me hunt lizards."

"Understood."

"Sure thing."

"By the time we level up, we might be able to mine jade steel."

On the way to the temple, I asked a resident how much I could sell the jade steel for, and it was surprisingly expensive. It seems that it occasionally comes in from abroad, but it cannot be obtained in this country, and it is said that it is sold in stores in the capital.

The price of 'Moon Chant Grass' is even higher, and it is said that it hardly ever comes in.

The price difference between 'High-Quality Herbs' and 'Night Dew Cotton' and 'Moonlight Spinning Grass' was almost tenfold. 'High-Qality Herbs' can be obtained in the north of this town. A tenfold difference in selling price, I wonder what the buying price is like.

We decided to put off exchanging everything for now and focus on leveling up our production skills.

"Most of the materials other than 'High-Quality Herbs' will be needed much later, so it might be better to convert them into money and use it to level up our production skills."

After registering at the temple, we decided to look for an inn because it was close to dinner time in the real world. After dinner, we planned to level up our production skills or go fishing, each doing as they pleased.

The liberated cities are connected by regular carriages, which can be used. By defeating the boss and registering the transfer stone, and using the temple's transfer gate, you can move instantly, but the usage fee, called an offering, is high. The carriage takes time, but it is much cheaper than transferring. It is said that a method of logging out while on the carriage, sleeping in the real world, and logging in the next day to find yourself at your destination has been posted on the bulletin board. It seems that players sleeping on the square's stone pavement might be mass-produced, but who knows.

We caught a resident on the street and asked for the location of the inn, and when we headed there, Roy and the others were in front of the inn, waving at us. I wonder why.

"Hey! Long time no see!"

Leo greets us without any hesitation.

"Yeah, long time no see. We ran into Black Lily here, and she was being a bit too pushy, so we're changing inns."

"Let's, let's not go in."

I agree, I don't want to be bothered.

"That's a good idea. I'm Shirayuri."

She is a beautiful woman with a fluffy feel, wearing a white robe. She is a slightly shorter elf with light blonde hair, and though she is not revealing, her soft chest is even softer, giving her a more fluffy impression. From her name, it seems she was bothered by Black Lily.

"I'm Akira."

He is a tough-looking big man, though not much taller. He is broad and has a thick chest, with black hair, black eyes, and a dark complexion, and a scar on his face, making him a manly man.

"I'm Crow."

He is also human, and he has a staff, so he is probably a healer, with a gentle and calm impression from his sandy hair and eyes.

"I'm Momiji." "I'm Kaede."

They give the impression of being twins, with Momiji being a boy and Kaede a girl. They are the shortest, and unlike Kikuhime, Kaede has a chest, but not to the point of being unbalanced. They are both cat-type beastmen.

We each introduced ourselves and followed Roy and the others to a different inn. They said they went to the inn to rest before heading to defeat the boss, and they ran into Black Lily. When we asked for the location of the inn, the residents pointed us to the same one, so we learned that next time we should ask for specific conditions like a good meal or a bath.

"I chose the one with a bath because we camped out yesterday, so don't expect a good meal."

"I'll take food from Homura, so it's fine."

"Beer is also available after the bath."

"You guys..."

I don't mind since I get most of the ingredients, but it feels like I've become a full-time cook. I prefer eating food made by others.

And Shin, don't reveal other people's skills, remember the time in another game when Ochazuke got mad!

When I thought that, Shin was getting his foot stepped on by Ochazuke with a smile. Yeah, it was a hassle when a bunch of rude production requests came in after that.

"Does Homura cook?"

Shirayuri looks up at me and asks, she seems to be a healer.

"Call me Homura, no need for 'san.' For some reason, I end up cooking for the party."

"Then I can call you by your first name too. Homura, you do production while fighting?"

"I just cooked the fish Leo caught and the meat everyone dropped."

"I heard that you don't get much experience unless you get a rating of 5 or higher in production, so it's hard to level up, right?"

Crow interjects from the side.

Yeah, you usually have to make low-level recipes repeatedly to level up. Once you can make them steadily, you move on to the next recipe and level up again.

Sorry, I didn't notice.

"Are you the Leo who caught the fish?"

Fortunately, the topic changed.

"Probably?"

"Is it really you?"

"I couldn't hear the world announcement due to a bug."

Shin helps out.

"Since you have two titles, it must be this Leo."

"Pretty impressive that you didn't hear it yourself."

I thought that the party members who focus on efficiency and compete for strength would be dry and tense, but Roy and the others were friendly and easy-going. There are people like Black Lily, but I decided to stop being biased. They even apologized for Black Lily getting involved, even though it was unrelated.

"Indeed, I chose the one with a bath."

"I don't think the meal has to be self-service."

"Maybe we should ask for the location of a restaurant or street vendor."

"I don't want to go out now, Mr. Homura."

"You can go out, but we don't have enough ingredients, and there's not much vegetables."

"Please do."

"I welcome meat-heavy dishes."

The party is gathered in a resting area with tables and chairs that can be used freely in the inn where we found out the meal is self-catered. There is no cook.

"Do you want to eat too?"

My cooking skills might be revealed, but it would be a bit strange not to invite them here.

"Sure, I'll at least provide the meat."

More meat.

Go gather vegetables, gather.

The meat I received was called Sheep Sheep, which was obviously lamb.

Since it had bones, I thought it could be grilled as is, so I made herb-roasted rib steak. The only vegetable was watercress!

By the way, the herbs are bug repellent herbs I bought. It's fine, there was a note saying they go well with meat dishes.

Now, Shin and Roy are done. From a distance, it looks like they are having a strange conversation that doesn't match, but they seem to be getting along well.

Ochazuke is drinking coffee while watching them. Leo, who can't drink, is already out of it from the beer.

Kikuhime and Akira are drinking steadily, but Akira seems a bit taken aback by the amount Kikuhime is drinking. As expected, he can say beer is water. Kikuhime is winning, winning. I don't know what the benefit is, though.

If I serve a persimmon tart after the meal, Shirayuri is smiling and eating it, which is cute, but she is still eating. How many does she plan to eat! I ended up making more without thinking!

Petro is being doted on by the twins who are looking at Shirayuri. You little perverts!

Did he hear my thoughts? Petro shivers and looks at me.

Loli-con

I mouthed it with a smile, and he choked.

"Is it always like this?"

Crow speaks to me, holding a cup of tea with brandy, one of the few tea drinkers.

"It's always like this, how about you?"

"I didn't know Shirayuri liked sweet things so much."

He looks worried, not just surprised. I am raising my light magic to increase the room's brightness. I guess they think it's a weird party.

"Homura's cooking is delicious no matter what."

Crow smiles and compliments me. He is a type I haven't seen before. No, when I see a calm person, I start to think they might be devious. It's all because of Ochazuke and Petro. Petro is devious, but he is just refreshingly terrible.

"I haven't been able to get a rating of 10 even with initial recipes. Is Sheep Sheep a Secan monster? And please call me by my first name."

"Thank you. You can call me by my first name too. Yes, it is a monster widely distributed in Secan's grasslands. I also raised cows on a farm. Are you from Secar?"

"No, actually..."

When I tell them about Leo's big adventure and how we came straight through the forest to the north, they look stunned and then cover their mouths and laugh. Yeah, it is weird.

"No, I'm sorry. We thought adventuring meant defeating new enemies and bosses, but there are adventures like this too. It seems more fun than camping on the road."

After laughing for a while, he says it in a pleasant way.

After that, we talked about novels in the real world and found that our reading preferences overlapped. Drawn in by Crow's polite language, I sometimes used polite language and had an unexpectedly enjoyable conversation. In the real world, my tone is normal, but talking to Crow makes me feel like I might let my guard down.

In the end, Shin and the others got excited and decided to change their plan to take a break after the boss is defeated, aiming to defeat it before Black Lily. I drew a simple map from the map and gave it to them, so it should be a bit easier to find the boss, even without a landmark. And I packed breakfast for Crow to take with them.

"Good luck with the boss!"

"See you!"

"Thanks! See you later."

"Well, let's take a bath and go to bed."

There are both private and public baths. The inn opens the public bath to the general public during the day, like how a fast-food restaurant opens its dining area to the public during the day. For now, we are the only guests, so we are occupying the large, spacious bath.

Kikuhime is alone next to me.

I feel like it wouldn't be a big deal to go in together since she is wrapped in a towel and in a different dimension.

"I want an outdoor bath."

"Looking forward to the Japanese implementation."

"Japanese sake."

"I want to enjoy moon viewing with sake in an outdoor bath, something we can't do in the real world."

"Instead, give me beer now!"

Leo is swimming and doing whatever he wants, saying there is no one else around.

"Homura, you have quite a bit of muscle, I couldn't tell under the robe and coat."

"Shin, you not only have a beard but leg hair too?"

"The beard skin came with it, so I just used it."

"Petro is a lean but muscular type."

"Ochazuke is thin."

"Normal, normal. I'm an elf."

We are looking at each other's characters.

"Hahaha."

Leo, I won't say anything. Don't splash me.

When Shin and Petro are done, they get out of the bath and move to the room to talk about today's harvest.

Drinking in the bath in the real world is dangerous, so don't do it, you'll pass out.

"By the way, the bracelet I got was VIT. What about you guys?"

"Same here."

"Is it the same for everyone in the city-opening boss?"

"The Lizard Slayer increases damage to lizard-type enemies by 1.5 times. Does that include dragons?"

"Probably not."

"It seems that all slayer-type items increase damage by 1.5 times and apply a correction to the entire party."

"Six times if there are six people?"

"Probably not."

"A short staff is dropping from the Day Lizard, will Ochazuke use it?"

"Sure, sure."

"I got a short sword. Are the weapons different for everyone?"

Shin got a short staff, Leo and I got short swords, and the rest got gloves.

While Ochazuke and Shin are exchanging short staffs and gloves, I exchange with Petro. I don't need gloves or short swords, so I will just sell them.

"By the way, what was Homura's magic?"

"It's called 'Turning Power,' a reward for solving a puzzle. I won't go into detail because it overlaps with the temple's puzzle explanation."

"Looks cool."

"Please use it on the next boss."

Ochazuke's eyes look like yen marks.

Dinner is already prepared for the evening, so I will just warm it up. I will log out and take a bath, and log back in around 7 PM, which should be morning here.