Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 23: Dining Table Of A Foreign Land VI

Translator : Solo | Editor : DarkBlazeWolf

【44th day】

100 adventurers were asked the reason why their parties “disbanded” by a minstrel.

First, in 5th place: Money

The allocation of money obtained from adventures, monopolization of treasures, refusal to pay the Guild, and debt.

People say:

Adventurers are free creatures.

But that didn’t mean that they would be forgiven for not returning the money that they owed.

4th place: Race

An extremely delicate problem. Basically, at the stage when a party is formed, races that do not get along will not be added to the party, but due to the pressures of necessity, whether it was other parties, clients or supporters and so on, there were many seeds for disputes that they had no choice but to get involved with.

The Hemus acted as if they were superior, the elves looked down on the other races, and the dwarves secluded themselves for the sake of their craft. And the “beastkin” who were treated as lesser compared to those three races of “humans”.

It didn't become like this only recently. There was a history. I did feel angry about it, but I didn’t think of changing it. Even if it was a bad custom, it didn’t change the fact that it was a custom of this world. I had no right to change it.

3rd place: Differences in adventuring direction

Are you guys a band or something?

2nd place: Death

The better the party, the more it functioned like a set of gears.

If even one of them was missing, the party would fall apart.

In the event two or more party members died, 90% of the parties disbanded and found a different path. Filling the hole left by those who had died was next to impossible, so that was probably the reason why party members supported and helped one another.

1st place: Relations between the sexes

The rate at which mixed-sex parties disbanded was about five times that of same-sex parties.

It was doubled further if there were female beastkin or elves in the party.

If the leader was indecisive and male on top of that, it was also doubled.

Close in age overall. A married couple in the party. Brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

「………………」

『That was the result of the survey of 100 adventurers conducted by the minstrel and compiled by Izora』

That last one was probably not from the survey, but a snide remark.

『Team member Souya, there is a well-known line from Izora’s country.「I did not have sexual relations with that woman」』

「Right, that's the second time you’ve used that」

They were the words of a president who had an affair with a female intern.

『It’s not Izora’s job to question your morality. ……… But I want you to hear Izora’s personal thoughts on it: Cheating is the worst』

「Weren’t you guys observing? My explanationー」

『Izora has a suggestion. Let's standardize the terms so that there will be no such misunderstandings in future. The one that means physical vitality will be called "regeneration point". The term “inner magic” is now obsolete. The numerical value required to use magic will be called "magic power point" or "magic power". The term "outer magic" is now obsolete. Is that alright with you?』

「Understood. Let's go with that」

I had been ignored.

Izora-kun, did you forget that I'm the one and only official user in this world?

『As a result of that deed with that native, your regeneration point has increased to 33. It’s currently decreasing over time, but it’s astonishing considering that its value is 10 under normal circumstances. No sexually transmitted diseases have been found either. Or rather, just do whatever you like, alright?』

What’s with that tone?

Somehow, it’s now a bed of nails.

『Well then, see you in the dungeon』

Communications had been cut off one-sidedly.

I was annoyed so I called her, but I got ignored.

『What was it that Izora wanted?』

Makina asked me.

「A, a little bit about what happened last night」

『………………』

「………………」

There was an awkward silence.

It was early morning, and a breeze caressed my cheeks. With the chill of the morning dew lingering in the air, the rays from the sun felt comfortable.

I had a feeling that today would be a good day.

『Souya-san! Makina has completed the thing you requested!』

「Ohh, is that so?!」

Makina and I both read the mood and changed the subject.

The thing that had appeared with a bang in front of me was a dome-shaped stone oven. It had been added to the kitchen at the camp. From order to completion, it had taken 16 hours. That was astounding.

「That’s amazing, what did you do in terms of the materials and so on for this?」

The stone oven, which had a radius of one meter, and its base used quite a large amount of stone. Makina couldn’t have found enough lying around to build it.

『Under the place where we first appeared in this world, Makina found some ruins. Makina took some of the ruin’s walls and various things, and used them to make the oven. It’s improvised, but Makina believes that there shouldn’t be any problems with the design』

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「Ruins?」

『Yes, it’s a dungeon with a composition that’s similar to the Odoriji spire. Makina even found Shogaku stones. Makina believes that it’s the reason why the regeneration point works near the camp』

「I see」

Could it be that we had come here due to the power of the ruins? If I had some free time, I suppose I should look into it. If I had free time, that is.

Alright, leaving that aside, it’s time for food.

「Makina, what about the other thing I ordered as well?」

『Needless to say, it's done』

Makina’s body opened up and she took out a bowl. In it was a white and sticky substance: fresh cream.

「Incredible! Did you really make this?」

『Makina cast magic on milk and butter』

I couldn’t make heads or tails of making sweets so she was a tremendous help.

「About the edamame, can I leave the rest to you?」

『Fufufu, please leave it to me. Makina is also a girl～?, so leave the making of sweets to Makina～?』

I had gone to the farms a short while ago. I was able to buy immature soybeans, different varieties of vegetables that had yet to be sold inside the city, and also some dairy products.

Makina had gone to the trouble of completing the oven, so I had no choice but to make that dish, didn’t I?

As Makina got started on making sweets, I also started my preparations.

I took out the udon dough that I had made then put aside last night. I tore some off and rolled it into a ball several times, then used a rolling pin to spread them into circular shapes before I smeared tomato paste all over them. I shredded three different kinds of alternate world cheese and sprinkled them over the dough. With this, the foundation was completed.

The first one was simply heaped high with bacon, the second one had potatoes and mayonnaise, and the third one was luxuriously topped with eggplant, edamame, onion, tomatoes and olives.

Geto-san made his entrance here.

I had been waiting.

「Hey, what’s that?」

「It’s a baking oven」

「That’s scary」

For a fishman, that massive lump of heat was probably terrifying. Today, he brought scallops and shrimp. Yes!

I prepped the seafood.

Geto-san sat in his usual seat and challenged a three-dimensional puzzle.

Makina put the ingredients into the oven.

Preparations for breakfast were suspended temporarily as I packed the food for today's adventure. It was scheduled to be a brief exploration to check things out. But the maps were coming today, so I wanted fight a little bit with the enemy just to get a feel for them.

My way of adventuring was to be doubly careful while proceeding. For all that, we would have to act recklessly if we ran into unforeseen circumstances. That was why I always made plans with plenty of leeway.

Nearly an hour later,

「Souya-san! It came out well～!」

「Ohh, that looks really awesome」

Makina raised a cheer.

「What’s this」

Geto-san drew closer, while grimacing at the oven’s heat.

An offering had been placed on top of the cutting board.

『It's zunda-cheesecake. Makina tried making it by mixing in the anko that was made from edamame. Makina held back on the sweetness, and it also has a fair amount of vitamin B1!』

There was a light green cheesecake in a round mold.

The refined sweet smell that wafted from it made me feel homesick.

「Is this thing delicious?」

Geto-san's questioned.

Well, I do think that it's delicious, but I had another question though. Will the people of this world accept this green color from something that isn’t a vegetable? Color is important, isn’t it? The castle is covered with moss anyways……

『Let's chill it～』

It was put into a wooden box and hung from the drone. Like yesterday, it was sent up into the sky.

I resumed the preparations for breakfast.

I arranged the seafood on the dough.

The scallops and corn were seasoned with butter and soy sauce, while the shrimp and a species of fruit that looked like avocado were seasoned with salty-sweet mayonnaise. Finally, cheese was sprinkled over it again, and olive oil was also lightly drizzled over it. With that, the preparations were complete.

Alright, next was,

「Makina, can I leave it to you?」

『Makina will take care of it～』

I left the baking to Makina.

I’ll unreservedly rely on her from now on.

After all, I'm an adventurer. Not a chef.

But should I also make an offering for the king? Is it a Japanese misconception that sugared soy sauce seems to make pretty much everything taste good?

I shook the frying pan containing the ingredients.

「Morning～」

「Good morning～」

「Yes, good morning」

The sisters came out of their tent. Ea looked fresh, while Rana looked unsteady. The two of them went to the washstand, which collected distilled water, and washed their faces and tied their hair.

Ea had slipped into my bed last night.

I almost reached enlightenment.

Nothing in particular happened though.

No way, among other things, she is my sister-in-law, you know? But it’s just in-law, huh?

As I was agonizing over it, I heard the sound of horseshoes.

A person that I recognized was on the horse. I could see her thighs under her fluttering skirt.

「Good morning, Souya-dono」

She seemed weightless as she landed lightly on the ground.

「Good morning, Lanseal」

Said Rana, who had quickly strode over and stood in front of her,

「What business do you have here, Lemuria’s illegitimate child?」

「I have no business with you though, Heures’ impurity」

Rana and Lanseal locked their hands together and grappled like wrestlers.

It had started again.

With that going on in the background, Makina started to lay out the breakfast that she had baked. Geto-san’s share was divided out, and then hung from another drone to cool it down.

「Didn’t I tell you to go through me whenever you have business with my husband?!」

「I refuse! I’m acting under a royal edict! I will not take orders from the likes of an elf!」

Can the two of you stop waging wars at the camp?

Unexpectedly, Rana’s arm strength was on par with Lanseal’s, who was a vanguard. Aren’t you a magician? As expected, the hero’s lineage is something else, isn’t it?

「Lanseal, are you joining us for breakfast?」

「Yes! I would love to!」

「Say no!」

「I refuse～!」

It's a good pre-meal workout, so you guys keep doing that for the time being.

Even Geto-san was taken aback by them.

「Hey, Souya. That silver-haired beastkin, is she by any chance a blood relative of Lemuria?」

「Yes」

「………………Do your best」

「Okay」

I'm doing my best. I had completed my offering to the king, so I packed it into a leather bag.

Onii～san, came a voice from afar.

I saw Bel and Shuna waving their hands as they approached the camp.

Not noticing such things, Rana and Lanseal’s contest was heating up. They spread their hands that were locked together and used the momentum pulling them to bash their foreheads together. Gachin! Came the terrible sound of their head-butts.

The one who fell to her knees was Rana. The difference in their physiques was what decided the contest. Lanseal’s forehead was also red and she looked in pain, but she was enduring it.

「Rauaryuna, I’m the winner today」

「Urghhh」

Holding her hurt forehead, Rana came running up to me with tears in her eyes.

「Dear～」

She pressed herself to my back. I felt a blissful sensation on my back. The stimulation was tough this early in the morning.

「Y, you! That’s shameless!」

「Shut up. It's the prerogative of a wife to be spoiled by her husband」

「Urggh, but I've had my hair tied up by Souya-dono before!」

「Hmmm, I can ask him to do something like that tomorrow as well」

「That’s unfair! Oh, I was also taught how to cook. How’s that? I’ll bet that all someone like you does is eat and sleep like a cow」

「Whaー」

She hit the jackpot there.

But resting was also part of an adventurer’s job.

「S, something like that…… I also got a stomach rubー」

I interrupted her because a dangerous topic had come up.

「Makina, lower the cake」

『Okay～』

The drone descended. Lanseal jumped back in surprise.

「How strange……. Also, Souya-dono, is that moving column over there your attendant?」

「Umm, it’s difficult to explain, but she’s my partner」

『Nice to meet you, and good morning, Lanseal-sama』

「Why, thank you」

To Makina, who had lowered her head, Lanseal gave a similar bow in return. Somehow, they seemed like they would get along well.

「Wow, it smells really good」

「Sleepy……」

『Nice to meet you, Bel-sama and Shuna-sama. Thank you for always taking care of Izora』

She also greeted the two of them who had just arrived at the camp.

「Oh, thank you. Are you Izora-chan's mother?」

『No, Makina is a higher-order A.I.』

「?」

Bel was puzzled by Makina's reply while Shuna still looked sleepy.

I placed the box with the cake on the table and checked its contents. It was colder than I had expected. Was the temperature at high attitudes very low? Oh, speaking of which, I had never seen a normal bird. Was there some sort of causal relationship?

I removed the cake from the mold and checked for damage. No problem.

「Makina」

『Okay～, I'm going to dress up the cake, alright?』

The cake was decorated with fresh cream and anko. I was useless at this sort of thing. It couldn’t have been done without Makina. The decorating was completed before long.

I name it, zunda-cheesecake. It had zero alternate world components, and was made largely from Miyagi ingredients.

「Wow, what’s this, Onii-san? It looks super delicious. I want to eat it」

「I want to eat it too, dear」

Bel and Rana wanted a bite. But they couldn’t have one.

「This is an offering to the king」

『Ehhh～』

I was booed by an unlikely duo.

The cake was placed back into the box along with a list from Makina.

The box was crafted so that its base wasn't slippery. I closed the lid and wrapped it using a Japanese wrapping cloth.

「Lanseal, please deliver this to the king. I'm sorry, but I ask that you walk back. It’ll definitely fall apart if you bring it back via horse」

「Okay, I understand. Even if I have to put my body on the line to do so, I’ll be sure to deliver this to the king」

「It’s fine, you don’t have to put it on the line. If you drop it or it falls apart, I’ll make it again so please return to the camp」

「Okay, you’re truly a kind person」

What are you doing, betting your life for the sake of a cake like this……

「And this too」

「What’s this?」

I handed her the leather bag.

「They’re salty-sweet roasted sunflower seeds. Discard the shell and eat only the insides. You can snack on some on the way back, as long as you don’t eat too much」

「I, I won’t do something like that」

She got angry at me with a red face.

「By the way……」

Shuna had a question for me.

「Souya, what's your relationship with that Nee-chan?」

「Shuna-chan, you really like silver hair, don’t you? Do you like your teacher so much?」

「It, it’s not like that」

Lanseal answered without hesitation.

「Young adventurer, Souya-dono is the person who has been recognized as my life partner」

「That’s not true!」

It was denied decisively by Rana. I wasn’t a good enough human, nor did I have the courage, to be able to deny her emphatically. And, a shiver ran down my spine when I saw Bel’s ominous smile.

「Everyone」

That calm voice drew everyone’s attention.

That voice belonged to Ea, who I thought had been rather quiet for some reason. Makina had finished laying out breakfast on the table.

「The preparations for breakfast are done. We can deepen our friendships even after we eat. Here, to your seats」

Her personality changed! She had stopped acting like a wild child as she usually did, and was behaving just like an elven princess. Oh right, she was a princess.

Geto-san, who was next to her, was also taken aback. Rana also looked like she couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. Who’s that? Asked Shuna and Bel, as they pointed at her and sat down. Lanseal and I took our seats too.

「Onii-sama, explain the dishes to everyone」

Onii-sama?!

What on earth happened to you?

「Huh, errr, alright then, I’ll explain. It’s baked flat bread with an assortment of cheese and various ingredients on top of a base of tomato sauce. It's called pizza. I'm sorry, I’m a bit shaken so words aren’t coming to me」

Makina was pouring tea for everyone.

「Everyone, pray to your main god」

Ea took control of the proceedings. Was she emitting a halo of light or something? Was she alright? Was she really alright? I made eye contact with Rana, but all she replied was『I have no idea』.

Everyone had finished praying, and was waiting on Ea’s words.

「Today, various races have gathered here. Hemu, elf, fishman, and beastkin. Even though the three continents are a huge place, it’s probably next to impossible to find these four races seated around a table and sharing food. This is such a rare dining table.

And the dishes were all cooked using foreign implements and techniques. It’s truly a dining table of a foreign land. I would like say words of thanks to everyone for gathering here, and also profess my gratitude to Onii-sama and Makina, his companion, for preparing the dishes」

She was so dignified that both Makina and I lowered our heads.

「This Ea Raua Heures is so touched by being able to enjoy the food equally with everyone, and the combination of seafood and vegetables that I’m trembling」

Hmm?

「Does everyone have a plate? Are your forks in your hands? Has your drink been poured for you? Are you ready?」

Hmm?

Ea looked around at everyone, and then said this:

「Then……………… This shrimp pizza is mineeeee!」

Was it your aim to have it all to yourselfffff?

The scramble over the food became a slightly uproarious scuffle, and the dining table of a foreign land descended into chaos.