Chapter 90

Freshly squeezed juice is delicious. Frozen fruits are also delicious.

I'm posting character designs in the activity report. Please take a look if you like.

"Yuri, here's a souvenir!"

Yuri was taken aback by the magic bag suddenly placed in front of him. Lelei stood there with a beaming smile, and behind her were Curren and Hermine, also smiling. And, hiding behind them, was Arol. They were members of the younger generation among the trainees. ... Isn't Hermine's actual age not part of the younger group? But since she looks like a girl, it's not a problem. Her mental age is also that of a young person.

"Souvenir?"

"Right! Today, we went to a dungeon called the Harvest Courtyard for a collection request!"

"... Curren, please provide additional explanation."

"Leave it to me."

Lelei, who only gives straightforward facts, but Yuri doesn't know about this Harvest Courtyard dungeon. Information that is common knowledge to adventurers and the people of the capital, Dralheim, is often unknown to Yuri. After all, he has been living in the hideout for a few months, and his daily routine mainly involves wandering between home and the market, so outside information doesn't reach him much.

Well, Yuri is the type who would likely be a househusband or a housekeeper. He is content as long as he can make delicious meals every day, and external information doesn't bother him. What's more important is the fluctuation in market prices, especially since the food expenses for a large group are not trivial.

"There's a dungeon called the Harvest Courtyard about fifteen minutes from here. It's a low-difficulty dungeon with abundant drops of ingredients and herbs."

"Uh-huh."

"So, after we finished collecting the items requested by the client, we thought it would be a good idea to gather some souvenirs. Since you buy vegetables yourself, I brought back some fruits this time."

"Fruits?"

At the word "fruits," Yuri's face lit up. Fruits are great for nutrition and hydration, and most importantly, they are delicious and very useful. They can be used as desserts or snacks when you're hungry. However, they can be a bit expensive to buy regularly. But if they are dungeon drops, which are known to be more delicious than regular ingredients, there's no reason to complain.

Yuri eagerly took out the contents of the magic bag and was stunned by the variety of fruits in front of him. He was taken aback.

Why? Because the fruits completely ignored the seasons.

There were fruits that should not be in season during this gradually warming period. The fact that fruits with different growing environments and seasons were all gathered together was already surprising. Arol calmly explained to the surprised Yuri:

"Since they are dungeon ingredients, they can be collected anytime in the dungeon."

"Really? What about the seasons?"

"Basically, they're not grown normally. They're just there."

"Hmm... Impressive, dungeons..."

Arol, who seemed to be saying, "Isn't it obvious?" and Lelei, who seemed to be thinking, "What are you talking about?" had different reactions. In contrast, Curren and Hermine nodded as if it made perfect sense. They thought it was natural for Yuri, who never enters dungeons, to be unaware. Arol couldn't understand why an older person wouldn't know something a child knows, and Lelei simply considered it normal, so she couldn't understand Yuri's surprise.

"Anyway, use these too."

"Sure, thank you, everyone."

Regardless of the circumstances, the pile of delicious-looking fruits in front of him made him genuinely happy, so he thanked them sincerely. The ones who brought the souvenirs were also pleased to see his happiness. ... It was only natural for them to look forward to snack time.

Yuri put the fruits back into the magic bag and headed to the kitchen. He needed to store them in the refrigerator. The variety of fruits, regardless of the season, looked delicious, but he knew he had to handle them properly.

He then started thinking about how to use them for today's snack. It was still morning, so he had plenty of time to start. What should he do? As he thought, an idea came to him.

"Dungeon ingredients are delicious, after all."

They are bound to be more delicious than regular fruits. So, he decided to enjoy their natural flavor without adding much. He put the fruits he wouldn't use today back in the refrigerator and rolled the ones he would use into the sink.

After washing them thoroughly, he peeled the skins and cut them into bite-sized pieces, arranging them in a bowl. He didn't try to make them look fancy; he just made sure they wouldn't fall apart. Once he finished cutting, he put them in the freezer.

It was still morning, so he thought they would be frozen by snack time. He planned to eat the frozen fruits when they were just starting to melt. Bite-sized watermelon and peaches were also delicious this way. He threw the thin-skinned tangerines in whole and peeled the oranges.

They would be delicious even if just chilled, but the concentrated flavor of frozen fruits was also great. Plus, it was a bit hotter than usual, so a cool snack would be more appreciated.

Incidentally, while everyone else was bothered by the heat, Yuri was relatively unaffected. It wasn't because he was from a tropical region and used to the heat. He did sweat, but he felt the heat was still manageable. The reason was simple: the capital Dralheim was not humid.

The temperature was high, but the comfortable humidity made the breeze feel refreshing. High humidity can make even low temperatures feel muggy and uncomfortable. For Yuri, who was used to the humid summers in Japan, the dry heat was still comfortable. ... Explaining this was a bit difficult, but that's another story.

Back to the main topic.

"All that's left is the juice and the ice for the juice, I guess."

Freshly squeezed juice from delicious fruits. How tempting. Yuri, who always buys freshly squeezed juice when it's available, wanted to make juice from these fresh, high-quality fruits.

However, this was a different world. There were no juicers or blenders. Unfortunately. Instead, there were tools for squeezing lemons and oranges. Yuri considered using a grater for the other fruits. ... Sometimes, his ideas went off in strange directions.

He lined up watermelon, oranges, peaches, tangerines, strawberries, and grapes, and started squeezing the juice from each. He squeezed the oranges by pressing them into a juicer. For the other fruits, he used a grater to separate the juice and pulp. While thinking about how nice it would be to have a juicer, he didn't stop working. Probably.

He stored the freshly squeezed juices in containers and put them in the refrigerator. But he didn't stop there. He took out an ice tray from the freezer and poured some of the leftover juice into it. He wanted to make ice cubes from the juice to enjoy the cold drinks even more.

The reason? Of course, water ice would dilute the juice, which would be a waste. He couldn't accept the flavor of the freshly squeezed juice being watered down. ... He was a man with peculiar tastes.

He filled the ice trays with the juice and put them back in the freezer. All that was left was to wait for them to freeze. ... What? A bit of a shortcut? The original ingredients were delicious, so it was fine.

And what happened at snack time that day?

"Chilled and delicious!"

Lelei was happily eating a frozen tangerine. She attacked the frozen tangerines first, before the bite-sized fruits in the bowl. She held the tangerine in her hand, slightly melted it, peeled it, and bit into it. ... Bit into it. It was important enough to say twice.

It was probably hard to separate the segments because they were frozen, but Lelei bit into the whole, round frozen tangerine the moment she peeled it. She had no sense of modesty or restraint. She might have some in normal situations, but it disappeared in the presence of delicious food. This girl needed to be taken care of soon.

"... I get that it's delicious, but your eating method..."

"Huh?"

"... Never mind. It's Lelei, after all."

Curren, who had known her for a long time, sighed and gave up. He knew she lacked the typical feminine qualities. It was more surprising for a female adventurer to have them. While there are women with such qualities, Lelei wasn't one of them.

Curren was eating a watermelon, which was juicy and delicious. He threw it in his mouth when the surface started to melt, enjoying the crunchy texture and the burst of juice. Yuri, being a good cook, had removed all the seeds, making it easy to eat. Curren was in a good mood.

"Strange texture, but delicious."

Hermine was happily eating a frozen peach. Unlike Curren and Lelei, who ate with their hands, Hermine used a fork. The sight of the adorable blonde girl eating fruit with a smile was very picturesque. ... She was very cute when she was quiet. Once she started talking, she became a noisy little devil, but that's another story.

"Is Arol not eating?"

"... The juice is more delicious."

"Right."

In response to Yuri's question, Arol quietly drank orange juice with juice ice cubes. The white snake wrapped around her neck was skillfully eating grapes from the bowl Arol had placed in front of her. Arol had ensured there were grapes for her partner, knowing they would be eaten by the others if she didn't.

Despite being the youngest, Arol was probably the most mature mentally, having grown up surrounded by adults. She was a ten-year-old who kept her distance from the rowdy group.

"Yuri, this ice is colored."

"Right, Yak. The ice is made from the juices."

"Why?"

"Because water ice would dilute the juice, making it less delicious."

"I see!"

Yak, curious about the colored ice in his glass, asked. He was a good boy who tried to learn from Yuri's actions. He was very ambitious and hardworking.

Yak was drinking watermelon juice. Growing up in a rural area, he was familiar with watermelons, but he had never made juice or ice from them. In a busy rural life, such efforts were not common.

"It's refreshing."

"Right! I forget it's hot!"

"But Lelei, you make it hot with all your noise."

"Hey, Hermine?!"

"Hermine, you should keep that to yourself. It's annoying otherwise."

"Even Curren?!"

Lelei, who was indeed noisy and energetic, confronted them. Yuri, Arol, and Yak quietly averted their eyes. To avoid being drawn into the conversation, they all sipped their juice.

By the way, when he served the frozen fruits and freshly squeezed juice as dessert after the meal, everyone loved it. For a while, these became a regular part of their snacks.

The sadness of having your juice diluted by regular ice...

To avoid that, I thought the only options were pre-made ice or juice ice.

Also, I love making shaved ice with juice ice!

I look forward to your comments and feedback.