Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 210

Having finished gathering ingredients in the Gourmet Sanctuary, I returned to Grantel and welcomed a refreshing morning at the Cat’s Tail Pavilion.

After rising from bed and getting ready, I headed downstairs.

The dining hall was bustling with guests and new travelers, making for a lively morning scene.

Weaving skillfully through the crowded floor, the beastfolk employees carried trays of food to the tables.

Their adorable ears and tails twitched as they moved, a sight that was soothing just to watch.

“Shuu, good morning, nya!”

“Good morning, Mia.”

“The usual counter seat is open, nya!”

“Thanks.”

Despite how busy it was, she immediately noticed my presence and guided me over. As expected of her.

“What will you have, nya?”

“I’ll go with a recommended dish using the ingredients I brought.”

Since returning from the sanctuary, I had entrusted some of the gathered ingredients to Bandel. He used them freely to prepare meals for me.

“Today, I made a stew with Byron meat, rock potatoes, and Senbon onions.”

“I’ll have that.”

“Alright, I’ll warm it up now, so hang tight.”

With that, Bandel began heating a large pot in the kitchen.

Before long, a deep dish of cream stew was placed before me.

Chunks of Byron meat, rock potatoes, carrots, and broccoli floated in the amber-colored soup. Just looking at it, I could already tell it would be delicious.

“Itadakimasu.”

I wasted no time bringing a spoonful to my mouth.

“The Byron meat just melted on my tongue!”

Thanks to meticulous preparation and precise cooking, it had been rendered unbelievably tender. There was no need to even sink my teeth into it.

“Heh, that meat was prepped over three days.”

Bandel said, sounding somewhat proud.

I was astonished that the usually tough Byron meat had become this tender.

The rich milk soup was infused not only with the meat’s juices but also with the deep flavors of rock potatoes and thousand-strand onions.

Chunky ingredients tumbled into my mouth one after another, bursting with flavor.

No matter how much I ate, I never grew tired of it.

The accompanying hard bread, though simple, absorbed the strong, savory flavors of the soup without overpowering it, making it incredibly delicious.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Yeah.”

Before I knew it, I had finished everything. Being able to enjoy such a delicious meal in the morning made me happy.

“I’m thinking of making gratin with the stew for dinner. What about the rest?”

There was clearly more stew left in the pot than one person could finish.

I could store the whole pot in my magic bag, but considering the sharp gazes piercing me from all around, hoarding it all felt a bit excessive.

Even while eating, I had felt countless eyes locked onto me like predators eyeing their prey.

“Either use it for you and your staff’s meal, or share it with everyone else.”

“Alright, then it’s all mine for the staff meal.”

“Nyaaahhh! Chef, that’s unfair, nya! We have a right to eat it too, nya!”

“Yeah, that’s right! We’ll pay, so let us have some too!”

Bandel, who was trying to hoard the pot all for himself, was met with a chorus of loud boos from both the employees and the inn’s guests.

“I’m just kidding. No need to get so worked up.”

Seeing their overwhelming unity, Bandel quickly raised the white flag.

He called it a joke, but I was pretty sure he was at least half-serious.

“After setting aside portions for Shuu’s dinner and our staff meal, we can serve about twenty dishes.”

“A limited-edition stew made with Gourmet Sanctuary ingredients! One serving, five silver coins, nya!”

Hearing Bandel’s muttering, Mia instantly did the math in her head and announced the price.

“That’s way too expensive! Just one meal costs as much as five nights’ stay here!?”

“Considering the ingredient costs, even five gold coins per serving wouldn’t be enough, nya.”

Mia was right. Byron meat, thousand-strand onions, rock potatoes—each of them was a rare ingredient that couldn’t be found in this region. Adding in my labor for gathering, transportation costs, and Bandel’s cooking fees, a single bowl could easily be worth several gold coins.

“I’m eating it! You don’t get a chance to have a dish made with Gourmet Sanctuary ingredients every day! I’d pay gold for this!”

“I’ll buy one too! Byron is a B+ ranked monster, right? I’ve always wanted to try meat from a high-rank creature!”

The ones who placed their orders immediately were those who understood the rarity of the ingredients.

Many adventurers put in their orders, and seeing that, the inn’s guests and travelers followed suit.

“Nyufufu, with this, we’re raking in a fortune today, nya! I’ll send Shuu’s share to his account later, nya!”

“Just don’t overdo it.”

Smiling wryly at Mia’s mischievous grin, I left the Cat’s Tail Pavilion.

●

After leaving I headed to Lumia’s shop in the western district of Grantel.

I was there to sell materials gathered from the Gourmet Sanctuary and to ask Saffy to help with the selective breeding of ingredients requested by Franryule.

The last time I saw the two was when we ate slime jelly.

About three weeks had passed since then—were they doing well?

They had been busy fulfilling guild orders for raincoats and slime boots, so I hoped their business had improved.

As I was thinking about this, I arrived at the shop.

However, a CLOSE sign hung on the door, showing no signs of operation.

Inside, wooden crates were stacked high, and raincoats and slime boots were scattered all over the floor. Ropes hung from the walls, with slime hides drying on them.

At the counter, Lumia was making a raincoat with a dead-eyed expression. Her hair was disheveled, and her skin lacked its usual glow.

I had seen that look many times in my previous life—the eyes of an overworked corporate drone.

Our eyes met.

“Shuu!?”

Lumia, who had seemed lifeless just moments ago, suddenly noticed me.

Her eyes regained their light, and her face flushed red.

“Hello. I just got back from my gathering request, so I was thinking of selling some materials, but… should I come back later?”

“No, please! Let me see the materials!”

“I-I understand.”

I had considered coming back later since she seemed busy, but since she welcomed me in, I had no choice but to enter.

As I stepped inside, Lumia hurriedly turned on the lights.

With the room now illuminated, it became clear just how cluttered the shop was with supplies.

“Sorry, things are a bit messy because we’re swamped with work right now.”

“It’s the raincoats and slime boots, right?”

“Yes. We received a large order from the Adventurers’ Guild, but we just can’t keep up with production.”

“You got that many orders?”

“Well, it’s about three hundred of each, so it’s not that much, but…”

No, that definitely sounds like a massive order… but I decided to let that slide.

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“Master said she got bored and refuses to help at all!”

Lumia nearly burst into tears as she shouted her complaint.

Honestly, that’s pretty awful of Saffy.

But at the same time, I completely understood. That woman would absolutely abandon work for a reason like that.

“If Master would just help properly, we would have been finished ages ago!”

“Yeah, I get it. Saffy is as difficult as ever.”

“Stop praising me so much, both of you.”

As I was comforting Lumia, the very cause of her suffering—Saffy—emerged from the back room.

She held a bottle of distilled liquor and a glass in her hands, her face slightly flushed.

It was obvious she had been drinking since the morning.

“I’m not praising you. I’m criticizing you.”

“Oh my, Shuu-kun is colder than usual today.”

“Please do your job properly. Leaving everything to Lumia is just cruel, isn’t it?”

“Shu-san…!”

Hearing me speak so directly, Lumia looked deeply moved.

“I don’t want to do boring work. An alchemist of my caliber should be focusing on tasks that only I can accomplish.”

Saffy was one of only four alchemists in the country who held the title of Master. Rather than mass-producing goods, she was expected to create unique, one-of-a-kind works that no one else could replicate.

The frustrating part was that she wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Yet, despite saying that, you’ve been ignoring the Reilert family’s request for selective breeding, haven’t you?”

“What!? You’ve been ignoring a request from a count’s family!?”

Saffy visibly flinched at my words, while Lumia, who seemed unaware of the situation, widened her eyes in shock.

“…How do you know about that?”

“I went gathering at the Gourmet Sanctuary.”

“Which means… you brought back a lot of ingredients from the sanctuary, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. But since you’re too busy with the guild’s order, I suppose there’s nothing to be done. I’ll just sell them to the guild instead.”

As I turned to leave the shop, Saffy grabbed my arm firmly.

“What’s the big catch this time?”

Both Saffy and Lumia were looking at me with expectant gazes.

It seemed that, in their minds, it was already a foregone conclusion that I had encountered a dangerous monster again this time.

I wanted to argue against that assumption, but since it was true, I couldn’t exactly deny it.

“…Galaragon.”

“The A-rank bird-dragon species that wanders around seeking battle! Its feathers, organs, eyeballs, and carapace—all of them are rare alchemy materials! Master!”

“I’ll finish the work immediately. So make sure to set aside the Galaragon materials for me.”

“Got it.”

It seemed that the mention of Galaragon materials had ignited her motivation.

Not just Saffy—Lumia, who should have been exhausted, was also suddenly full of energy.

She had already been working so hard, so she really didn’t need to push herself any further, though.

“Lumia, how many more do you need to deliver?”

“A hundred raincoats and two hundred pairs of slime boots. All the materials have already been pre-processed.”

“We’ll finish by evening! Get the materials out now!”

I had hoped that Saffy would start helping out, and now she finally had. Since both of them were now motivated, I decided to leave them to it.

Making sure not to get in their way, I stepped out of the shop.