Chapter 80

Summary of the previous chapter ------------------------------------------------------

Obtain information about monsters, orcs, and the surrounding geography from the materials.

As it got closer to noon, leave the guild.

Returning to the inn, when I visited the women's room, the three of them were already back.

Indeed, there wasn't much detailed discussion; it seemed that the order was completed after answering about our preferences, budget, and a few simple questions.

"So, how long will it take?"

"It seems to depend on the weather, but 2 to 3 months. At the latest, it will be done before the new year."

If it's to be done before the new year, it's already less than four months. Considering it's quite a large house, it's surprisingly fast.

"It seems the upfront payment, the not-so-strict budget, and the fact that there won't be any delays were highly rated."

"Regardless of the upfront payment, what do you mean by 'no delays'?"

Even though we are adventurers, we're not famous enough for people to know how much we earn.

"It seems to be related to Aera's shop. She occasionally eats there because of her connections, and she knows that we supply the meat."

"Considering the price of the meat, they probably thought it wouldn't be hard to recover the costs."

Indeed, we do have enough meat.

"What were you guys doing?"

"We went to the guild, talked to Diora, and read some materials."

While we were there, we also informed her about the orc nest and the flooding.

Natsuki was only reading the materials, but she seemed to have thought a bit about the flooding. However, she didn't know about the increased price of magic stones or the guild-sponsored hunts.

With 4 orcs per day, it means an additional 12 gold coins per day, and we are grateful to Diora for letting us know.

"Rather than that, let's go eat. Haruka and the others haven't eaten yet, right?"

"Yes. I was waiting for you guys to come back."

"Then, how about Aera's place? The sauce should be ready by now, and there might be new menu items using it."

"Right, it's about that time. I wonder if ours is ready too?"

Haruka looked at the jar of sauce that Aera had given us. Since we don't cook ourselves, it has been left untouched.

Taking this opportunity, we opened the lid and peeked inside. The fruits and vegetables that were packed in it had completely turned into a liquid. The aroma that wafted up seemed slightly sweeter than what we had at Aera's, but it smelled good.

"It seems to have turned out well, but we can't use it for a while."

"Yes. If we were to use it, it would be when we cook lunch ourselves, but we usually buy it."

Cooking in the forest involves a lot of work.

The lunches we buy at the Drowsy Bear Inn and the meat pasties we sometimes get from Aera's are delicious enough that we don't feel like taking the time to cook ourselves.

Also, the dishes we can make are basically just grilled meat. While it's delicious, eating just salt-grilled meat too often can get boring. Since we have some financial leeway, we'd rather eat good food at Aera's.

"Rather than that, let's eat. And if possible, I want to invite Tommy. I'd like to treat him..."

Toya stood up, eager to go, and glanced at Haruka, who was holding her wallet.

Hmm, Tommy probably has a lunch break. I bet he wants to ask about body strengthening.

"Tommy? I don't mind treating him to a meal, but it's sudden, isn't it?"

"No, actually, when I went to talk to Diora, I also wanted to ask about that."

Toya then explained about using magic to strengthen the body, magic swords, and the possibility that Tommy's [Strength Enhancement] might be related.

Upon hearing this, not only Haruka but also Natsuki and Yuki seemed to think about it.

"Interesting. If we can learn it, a meal is a small price to pay."

"Hmm, can we get a copy? If I can learn it, it would be easier to teach others."

"Ooh! That's a good idea!"

Yuki, who can use magic and manipulate mana and has the [Skill Copy] ability, might be the perfect person for this. The question is whether Tommy has the time to teach Yuki...

"Tommy said he wants to move to this inn. We could cover a few days' worth of lodging and, in return, have him teach Yuki?"

"A few days is fine, but what about after that? 'You've learned it, so you can go now' would be a bit cruel, wouldn't it?"

I suggested this, and Haruka nodded but raised a question.

"Oh, that's fine. He's almost decided to move, and he should have a salary that covers the lodging. If he can save a few days' worth, it would help him."

"Then, let's invite him for now."

"Okay! I'll go invite him. Let's meet in front of Aera's shop!"

Toya quickly left the room.

Well, if Tommy eats lunch early, it won't work, so it's fine to hurry, but it feels a bit rushed.

"Then, let's go too."

"Yes. If we're too slow, Toya might make us wait."

Logically, Toya, who needs to stop by Ganz's shop, should be slower, but with the pace he's running, it's hard to say.

We looked at each other and nodded, then left the inn at a brisk pace.

◇ ◇ ◇

We arrived at Aera's shop and waited for a while. Toya came running with a dwarf.

Obviously, the dwarf is Tommy. He's not running at full speed, probably out of consideration for Tommy.

"Sorry to keep you waiting?"

"No, you were faster than I thought. Hello, Tommy."

"Long time no see, Haruka, Naoto."

"Hey, long time no see. Sorry for the sudden invitation."

"No, if you're treating me, I'll come. And it's nice to meet you, Kono and Shito, right?"

"Yes, it's nice to meet you, Tommy. I'm Natsuki."

"I'm Yuki. But, you've changed a lot, haven't you?"

"Hehe, yes. I wouldn't have known if you hadn't said so."

Tommy chuckled at Yuki's voice, which was a mix of admiration and slight exasperation.

Compared to Yuki and Natsuki, who haven't changed much, and Haruka and me, who still have some resemblance, Tommy is completely unrecognizable from his original form.

"Let's go in, then."

Prompted by Haruka, we entered the shop, and a bright voice greeted us immediately.

"Welcome! Ah, Haruka! Is it for five people?"

"Today, it's six. Is there room?"

"Let me see... Yes. Please go to the back. I'll bring the chairs right away."

Looking in the direction Aera pointed, there was one empty table. The rest, including the counter, were all occupied, so it seems the shop is doing well.

"I'll get the chairs. ...Chairs are..."

"Thank you. Please take them from over there."

Looking over, there were several chairs lined up against the wall. They weren't there the last time we came, so they might have been bought for groups of more than five.

Toya and I took two chairs and carried them to the table, then sat down.

"Is the daily special fine? For Tommy too?"

"Yes, I'm fine with anything."

After confirming that we all nodded, Haruka ordered six daily specials.

Once we settled in, Tommy straightened up and bowed deeply.

"Um, Haruka, Naoto. Thank you for helping me back then. And the money you lent me was a great help. I wouldn't have made it without it. I'll pay it back."

Saying this, Tommy handed Haruka three gold coins.

"Do you have enough money?"

"Yes. Thanks to Toya, I got a steady job, so I'm fine."

"Okay, I'll take it then."

I had intended to give it as a gift, and for us, three gold coins isn't a big deal, but his earnestness is commendable.

Haruka, thinking the same, took the coins and put them in her wallet.

"Toya, did you tell him why you invited him?"

"No, nothing."

"Toya... Well, it's fine. Let's eat first. It seems to be ready."

Following Natsuki's gaze, I turned around to see Aera approaching with plates.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Here's the daily special."

The daily special today included a bowl of soup, bread, and, surprisingly, a pork cutlet.

"Today, we have a bit of a special with the meat. The sauce is ready! It's thanks to all of you that we can serve meat."

She giggled and said, "I'll bring the others' plates soon," then returned to the kitchen.

"Is this a pork cutlet? And it even has a sauce that looks like it's for pork cutlets?"

We nodded in agreement at Tommy's surprised finger pointing at the plate.

"Yes. To be precise, it's not pork but orc cutlet."

Recently, the meat we've been selling to Aera is orc.

Honestly, it's even tastier than task boar, so there's no problem.

"The sauce is also, well, there might be some personal preference, but it's quite good. You wouldn't say, 'It's not the right brand of pork cutlet sauce,' right?"

"I wouldn't say that! I can accept any sauce sold in Japan now. Even if you put ramen sauce on a pork cutlet, I wouldn't complain."

Personally, the sauce is much better for pork cutlets than ramen sauce, so you can relax about that.

After everyone's plates were served, we started eating. The sauce this time was slightly sweeter and had a more pronounced aroma than the one we had before. It was hard to believe it had only been a week since it was made, and it was undeniably delicious.

The soup, which was light and vegetable-rich, was perfect for refreshing the palate after the rich sauce.

The bread, which was plain without any nuts, went well with the sauce-covered cutlet.

"Today's daily special is delicious."

"Yeah, the cutlet is soft and well-made."

"I hesitated for a moment when I heard it was orc, but the sauce and the meat are delicious! I didn't know there were such good places besides the Drowsy Bear Inn... The shop is clean, and at this price, I can come here."

The other members also seemed to enjoy it, and the lunch was quickly finished.

"Phew, that was delicious. Thank you for the meal. I didn't know such a sauce existed."

"This seems to be an elf-secret Inspire Sauce. It might only be available at this shop in this town?"

If there were other shops that regular people could visit that served this level of food, we would have heard about them. We did gather a lot of information about restaurants initially.

The café we found was indeed quite good, but it was expensive and couldn't compare to this place.

This shop has the disadvantage of its location, but it will surely become popular soon.

I genuinely want to support Aera, but if it becomes too popular, we might not be able to use it as much, which is a bit of a dilemma.

"An elf-secret sauce? If it's for sale, I'd like to buy it. With this, even a mediocre dish would be edible."

Hearing Tommy's words, we looked at each other and shook our heads.

We might consider sharing our Inspire Sauce, but this sauce is too good.

Since it can be easily increased by just adding fruits and vegetables, it's easy to imagine it being mass-produced if the method and taste were known.

If that happens, one of Aera's selling points would be lost. Since we received the sauce and the method from Aera's kindness, we can't easily reveal it.

"How was everything?"

"Yes, it was very delicious. The sauce turned out well."

"Yes! Good ingredients make a big difference. We've also started selling cutlet sandwiches, and they're very popular. They sold out quickly yesterday because people who bought them came back for more today!"

The sandwiches were priced higher than the meat pasties, so sales were slow on the first day, but they became very popular after people tried them.

Honestly, I want to buy them too.

Maybe I'll buy them on my way to morning training as a way to get some exercise?

"Then, the shop is doing well?"

"Yes! We've started getting reservations for the evening, so we're definitely making a profit. This is all thanks to you all. Thank you."

Aera smiled and bowed.

Cute girls look good when they smile. Remembering that she was almost crying when I first entered the shop, it's a bit nostalgic.

Well, she's actually older than us.

"It's because of Aera's delicious food."

"Right. We just gave a bit of advice."

"But that advice kept the shop running. This isn't a big thank you, but please enjoy some free tea. Take your time."

Aera placed teacups on the table, collected the daily special plates, and hurried back.

Even with few tables, running the shop alone must be busy.

"Did you guys do something to her?"

"Well... Tommy, what do you think of this shop?"

"It's a great place. It's clean, relaxing, and even the teacups are ceramic. I've never seen ceramic dishes since I came here."

Ceramic dishes break easily, so they aren't used in cheap eateries. Cups are usually wooden or, at best, metal. Sometimes, bread is just placed on the table.

"Anything else?"

"Anything else? The elf is cute?"

Yeah, that's true, but that's not it.

"That's true, but it's not about the shop, is it?"

"Other than that... It's like a regular café... Regular? No, this place isn't regular. It might be regular in Japan, but not here."

"That's it. I think one of our classmates gave some half-baked advice. They happened to meet Aera when she was struggling and gave some advice to make it fit this world."

"So, that's it. Indeed, a regular Japanese café wouldn't work here. I don't know who it was, but they must have been in trouble."

"There are certain norms in this world. If it was free, it would be one thing, but they took the money and ran."

"Wow, that's pretty bad."

It seems they disappeared before the shop opened, so they might have known it wouldn't work out. If so, it's even worse.

"But thanks to you all, I can enjoy delicious meals. The pork cutlet was delicious."

"Well, we wanted to eat here too, so we advised Aera. Meeting each other was fortunate for both of us."

Helping a cute elf and getting to eat delicious food, and even getting the Inspire Sauce.

It took some effort, but the balance is definitely in our favor.

"By the way, you said there was a reason for inviting us to lunch?"

"Ah, right. I wanted to ask you something, Tommy."

"I'm grateful. I'll answer most questions..."

Tommy tilted his head, as if wondering if he could answer.

"I called you today because I wanted to ask about your skill, [Strength Enhancement]."

Upon hearing this from Haruka, Tommy blinked a few times, slightly surprised.