Chapter 79

The interrogation went more smoothly than I thought. No, I didn't use violence. It seems that the child holding a torch and smiling was scary. Huh? Who are you talking about? It was a proper method. I did it slowly to avoid burns.

Well, that method needs improvement. If we keep using fire every time, we'll be labeled as dangerous.

Here, it turned into a slime festival, but I haven't encountered any slimes that look like they want to follow us.

As for the troublemakers.

The Gran family is technically a noble family, but it seems that a small-time crook was shut down. The young lady, who was then demoted to a commoner, met a man. That man was the one grumbling earlier, a debt-ridden alchemist. The young lady sought revenge, and the man sought money, so they ended up creating Noguria.

They were using this place as a temporary storage for Noguria. It seems that keeping it at home made the household members act strangely and scared them. Don't make such things.

We couldn't handle it alone, so we decided to cut our plans short and return to the city. If we believe their statements, they only buried one box. However, we need to keep an eye on it.

But, an alchemist, huh? Is it a different thing from what can create a Lada? Or can anyone make it if they know the materials? Dangerous, dangerous. If I get interested, I might be able to make it too. Besides, if I appraise the contents of the box, I'll get close. We got a confession, so there's no need for me to confirm the contents. Two boxes are with Lady Nilva. Oh, but I need to check if it's safe to open.

"Ryongyeong! Why are you here! What happened to you!?"

On the way back, an old man in a village we stopped at shouted. The person he was talking to was the bound troublemaker C.

"You, you left the village to become an adventurer, didn't you? What did you do?"

It seems he is from this village. I see. I was wondering how he noticed such an inconspicuous ruin, but it was probably his suggestion.

The old man was talking to Lady Nilva. He broke down in tears halfway through. I don't know how much he knew, but he was involved in the wrongdoing.

The bound man, either sulking or feeling guilty, didn't try to talk to the old man.

Life is full of surprises.

We finally returned to the city. I'm tired, but there's still a report to make. We went straight to the Adventurer's Guild, and from halfway through, knights and important people joined the discussion. Lady Nilva and Nergi reported, and we basically just nodded and said, "Uh-huh, that's right." The guild master was holding his head.

Well, it's a good thing we prevented it before it happened. We handed over the people we caught, and Lady Nilva put the boxes in her magic bag. We can't let them out until we know how to dispose of them.

I secretly appraised them. Magic is leaking, but there doesn't seem to be a problem with opening and closing them. By the way, the alchemist said, "I made it so magic doesn't leak," but it's leaking badly!

"I'm tired."

The borrowed house we returned to was clean, with no dust. Lada, who seemed to have relaxed, immediately slipped into bed. I'm in the living room, licking the honey from Mits fruits. Sweet things are good when you're tired. But, I need to restock soon.

"I'm tired, Kokushin."

"..."

No response. He looks like a corpse.

Kokushin was sitting opposite me, still holding his unsheathed sword, which was broken in the middle.

"Sorry. Are you still angry?"

"...I'm not angry. I'm just depressed about my lack of skill."

"Oh, you're blaming yourself..."

The incident happened when we were about a day away from the city. Multiple wild boars attacked us. They were bigger than usual and had large tusks.

I tried to stop them with an earth wall as usual, but the boar jumped over it with its massive body, kicked the wall, and dove at me. My panicked voice made Kokushin, who was fighting at a distance, throw his sword at the boar. The sword, thrown in a hurry, flew off in a different direction. I impaled the boar with a stone stake I quickly summoned but was crushed, and Kokushin was headbutted by the boar he was fighting. Nergi and Katansu quickly took care of them.

So, the thrown sword broke, I got bloody, Nergi and the others worried, and Lada cried.

"I wasn't trying to be careless, but I guess 'as usual' means being careless. So, Kokushin, you should be angry at me for 'letting my guard down.'"

Kokushin slowly shook his head.

"There should have been a better way. Just throwing a sword that wouldn't hit... If I had been faster and rushed to your aid..."

"Ugh."

Why do you only blame yourself?

"Hey, I'm a party member, not a protected or guarded target. It's fine to expect me to handle my share."

"That's not..."

Kokushin looked up with a pained expression. He always pushes himself to the limit. Usually, he just dumps everything on me.

"If you get hurt protecting me, I'll be upset too. Do you think I wouldn't care?"

"No, I don't."

"Then don't make that gloomy face."

"Alright..."

Kokushin hung his head again and put his sword back in the sheath. This isn't good. He's going to be down all day.

"Shall I make dinner? What do you want?"

I was planning to buy ready-made food because I'm tired, but I'll try to boost his mood with something delicious (by my standards). This atmosphere is honestly exhausting.

"Something delicious."

Kokushin, looking dejected, still gave a proper answer. That's a tough one. It's as difficult as "anything is fine." Hmm, what can I make? I checked the contents of my magic bag. There's the boar meat from the incident, but that might bring up the topic again.

"Let's go see the sword tomorrow."

"Okay."

He's being honest.

"Can you buy some chicken?"

"Ugh... No."

Kokushin, who was about to nod, shook his head. Damn, he still hates errands. Can't be helped.

"I'll use the boar meat, but if we talk about the sword, it'll be confiscated."

"Okay, I understand."

Good, good. Hmm, what should I make? I'm not creative in the kitchen. Nothing comes to mind. Well, how about pork cutlet? I was being lazy, and my stomach rejected it. What, you want something light?

So, I decided to make pork shabu-shabu. Oh, it's not pork. Lady Nilva gave me a lot of lemons, so I'll use them. Phew. Slicing the meat thinly is a hassle. I wish someone would make a slicer. And a mincer. I want to make a hamburger. Oh, maybe I'll make a hamburger. But mincing the meat is a hassle. Ugh, what should I make?