Chapter 54

The meat is delicious, but eating alone makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Do you want to eat? We have plenty of food."

"......Eating a wyvern is usually a suicidal act for normal people, or anyone other than you?"

"No, that's not it. We have regular food too, like giant spider crabs."

"Oh, I'd like to try that. How much does it cost?"

"Charging you would feel like a hard sell. It's on the house."

I just thought it might be nice to have a meal together. Since I came to this world, I've been pretty much alone.

Not that being alone is bad; I don't feel the need to make a lot of friends.

"Is this expensive ingredient okay?"

"Yeah, we have plenty. By the way, it would be great if there's a place with better cooking utensils than this stone. Do you have any?"

Until now, I've relied on the cooking utensils of my companions. This stone would be fine for just me, but for three people, it's a bit cramped.

"There is one. They can cook for you if you pay. We'll cover the cost."

"Oh, such a place exists? What's it like?"

"It's like a tavern. No good wine, but it's a tavern. This way."

A tavern!

The standard place for gathering information in games.

There was one in Ein, and there's one here too.

"What kind of drinks do they have?"

"They bring in strong alcohol, dilute it with water, and sell it at a high price, or they bring in grains and make not-so-good but somewhat expensive beer."

Transport issues... Is it really worth it to go through all that just to drink?

"Do they cook in the tavern? I don't think Desibator has many decent ingredients."

"Last time, I think Kaede brought some in, but generally, that's the case. The equipment is old, but the chef is skilled. They can cook if you ask."

While talking, we arrived at a place that looked like a tavern. It had an old tavern atmosphere, but the numerous added doors ruined it. The adventurer—by the way, I didn't ask his name—entered through the best-made door.

There were no customers inside, and it was empty.

"Hey, Master, can we order some food?"

"What ingredients do you have?"

The owner is called Master.

It feels more like a bar.

Thinking that, I looked at the Master who appeared from somewhere.

...Yeah, this is definitely Desibator.

The Master was a muscular man, the kind you'd call a Master (Physical).

His skills are probably solid, but in combat, not cooking.

The reason he's not an adventurer and is cooking is probably because he got an arrow in the knee or something.

"It's giant spider crab. Kaede has it. I'll pay."

"How do you want it cooked?"

"Ah... Kaede, what do you think?"

"What options do we have?"

"It can be grilled or boiled, both are good. Other dishes... we don't have the ingredients."

I didn't have any good ingredients other than meat.

The only other thing was Zunana grass, which is treated like a weed around here.

"What do you recommend?"

"Boiling is more expensive, but it's probably more delicious. What do you think?"

It's a tough choice...

I don't feel right choosing the more expensive option when someone else is paying, but ignoring the recommendation also feels wrong.

Alright, let's flip a coin.

"I'm fine with either. I have a lot of ingredients, so we could do both."

Saying that, I took out two legs of the giant spider crab.

I don't know how many kilograms each leg is, but it's definitely in the double digits.

"There's no way you can finish all that. Are you planning a party?"

A party.

Not a bad idea.

"Inviting people for a party might be good. We can collect fees for the cooking."

"Great idea! If you're okay with using a lot of meat, I can gather people!"

The adventurers agreed.

It's a good opportunity to get to know the townspeople.

"Is that okay? Do you have enough ingredients?"

"Sure! Let's get started."

With that, the Master started cooking.

He peeled the shell and cut it into large pieces, a wild and rough cooking style.

"I'll go find some free people!"

So, the party started, but unexpectedly, many people gathered.

About 30 adventurers assembled in the tavern, waiting for the food.

They must have been hungry for proper food, as they thanked us a lot.

Soon, the food was ready, and the party began.

"Cheers!"

They have a toasting culture here too.

Instead of raising their glasses, they lower them.

"Wow! It's delicious!"

"The freshness is different, as expected from an item box."

It seems to be well-received.

Especially the meat, which is getting rave reviews.

We even had to add more because it ran out halfway through.

The only problem is...

"It would be even better if we were drinking alcohol."

"It's the main event in the afternoon, so it can't be helped."

Indeed, the toast is with water, not alcohol.

We have combat later, so drinking is out of the question.

The number of people who gathered just by being called is because they are waiting for the bombing in the afternoon, not for tourism.

It's work.

Still, parties are best at night. Maybe I made a small mistake.

But it's fine since it's well-received.

The party without alcohol continued until mid-morning, and then it was time for the forest destruction, so we dispersed.

I headed towards the bombing site from the sky.

I've been informed that the bombing will be on a larger scale from today.

Once I confirm that the adventurers are guarding the rear, I can start at my own timing.

The forest near Desibator, which was once dense, has been cleared, and the view is much better.

Even if some monsters flow in, it should be manageable.

A good view means it's easier to concentrate firepower for the number of people.

The overall firepower won't increase much, but the response will be better.

Anyway, my job this time is just to bomb.

Unlike before, I will use a generous amount of magic power, about 20 square kilometers, to burn the forest.

The width here is about 3 kilometers, so I'll fly about 7 kilometers ahead and cast the first explosion spell.

I'll dive and cast a barrier spell.

Wow, diving is easier.

Maybe because I have more magic power, changing the flight path suddenly is easier.

I wonder if any sub-dragons will appear.

While thinking about that, I disengaged more smoothly than usual and observed the explosion site.

As expected, the trees were blown away with a loud noise, and dust rose.

It's not the usual scene.

The flying distance of the trees is clearly longer.

I must have leveled up without noticing, distracted by the battle.

The firepower of the spell is clearly different with the same amount of magic power.

This means I can save a bit and still have enough firepower.

After testing by blowing up a nearby tree, I found that I can achieve the same firepower with about 80% of the previous magic power.

The explosion range is 25% larger.

Since my magic power has increased 20 times, it's 25 times the previous amount.

25 square kilometers...

The area I've cleared so far is at least 5 square kilometers.

The required deforestation area to reach Broken is 30 square kilometers.

Wait, I've already surpassed Broken.

I'll go a bit further to check.

The coastline narrows sharply from where I was, and after advancing about a kilometer, it's only about a kilometer wide.

This narrow part is where Broken was.

From there, it continues for about 2 kilometers with the same width, then widens slightly to about 4 kilometers and continues as a strip of land for about 10 kilometers.

The end of this strip of land is so wide that it looks like a continent.

It seems that Desibator and Broken are on a peninsula.

It could be a large land bridge, but I've heard that the other side is a continent.

I don't know why the terrain is like this, but in a world where tides don't seem to exist, thinking about it doesn't make much sense.

I haven't had a chance to look at the night sky, but maybe there's no moon.

I'll check tonight.

Anyway, I'll bomb up to just before Broken.

I'm not sure if I can bomb Broken itself, so I'll leave it alone.

From just before Broken, I'll use the same suppressed firepower and barrier spell to bomb towards Desibator.

Being able to carpet bomb an area of 20 square kilometers with this power is truly amazing.

Plus, being able to take off and land vertically and bomb casually makes even a strategic bomber from a certain aircraft carrier look pale.

From the lookout tower of Desibator, they can probably see the trees being blown away with a loud noise at regular intervals.

It's a bit wasteful that the bodies can't be recovered because the bombing is too fast, but if necessary, I can just invade the monster's territory.

Preserving resources isn't a priority.

Even if it were, they are harmful to humans.

While thinking about this, the planned bombing area was completed.

As far as the eye can see, it's a scene of dust and fallen trees.

The once dense forest is now much clearer.

It's natural that I finished in one day what was supposed to take half a year.

Well, let's start the recovery.