Chapter 6: The Eldest Son Buys Meat

“Ah, welcome back, everyone from ‘Monthly’!”

Haruka waved at the trio as they emerged from the gate.

“Oh, it’s Shiraishi-san today.”
“Kufufu. Shiraishi-dono is the cutest among all the receptionists…I can’t help but recommend her!”
“Miss, there’s quite a bit this time.”

The recovered goods were piled up before her with a thudding sound. Haruka, without a hint of displeasure, smiled and nodded.

“Understood. Please give me a moment.”
“Before that, could I ask you something?”

The leader of the group spoke up.
Haruka tilted her head, then nodded. It was unusual for someone to have a question before the appraisal.

“On our way back, we saw a young adventurer. Seemed like a rookie, being chased by an Angry Monkey.”
“Oh dear, was that person… alright?”

“Yeah, they were fine. Turns out, we were mistaken about the chasing – he seemed to be ‘making’ it chase him.”
“Being chased by their own will, you say…”

Haruka tilted her head and frowned.
The other two members of the group headed towards the changing rooms, leaving only the leader behind.

“I thought maybe Shiraishi-san would know something, but it seems you don’t have a clue.”
“Could you tell me about their features?”

“Young. Still had that fresh, new adventurer feel, so probably a rookie.”
“…Young, a rookie… but… hmm, no.”

“Something on your mind?”
“I think it’s just my imagination. Sorry for not being of help.”

“Don’t say that. Shiraishi-san is always our reliable ally.”
“Thank you.”

“Well then, I’ll go too. Please take care of the appraisal.”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”

After waving goodbye to the young man, Haruka got to work on the appraisal.

Recovered items from Area 4 were all high-value. Exceeding 1 million yen in a single adventure was commonplace. Although preparations for an adventure required investment, the earnings more than made up for it.

“…It’s over 3 million yen.”

‘Monthly’ was a party formed five years ago. In the ever-changing world of adventurers, that could be considered a long lifespan. Their defining characteristic was the remarkable camaraderie among the members. Though their hobbies and personalities differed, they had an uncanny synergy.

While they were past their peak age-wise, they would likely continue to grow stronger.

“There are so many amazing people here.”

With these thoughts in mind, Haruka finds it rewarding to watch over the adventurers.
Finishing the appraisal work, she waited for the trio to return.

Leaning on her hand, lost in thought, a sudden idea popped into her head.

–That adventurer who was being chased earlier…

The image of a boy who is humble and gentle, yet somehow carrying an unfathomable coldness, comes to mind.

–Isshiki-kun… that can’t be true. I’m definitely overthinking it.

At first glance, he mimicked Haruka’s magic and defeated an Angry Monkey on his second day of exploration. While that was extraordinary, it wasn’t unheard of in the grand scheme of dungeon history.

It wasn’t good to get her hopes up too much.

Angry Monkeys were at a level where their speed was comparable to monsters in the Fourth Area. Even intermediate adventurers wouldn’t even think of trying to outrun them.

–He did say he’d escape, but…

That didn’t mean running away. It meant using the concealment techniques that Itsuki was good at to hide in the shadows. If he knew the speed of an Angry Monkey, he would naturally arrive at that conclusion.

–He wouldn’t try to run, would he? Huh? He wouldn’t, right?

A sudden wave of anxiety washed over her, and Haruka held her head.

◇

“Man, I’m really tired…”

Stepping out of the gate, a sigh escaped me before anything else. There was no emotional slump. Just pure physical exhaustion reaching its peak.

Four days of playing tag with those enraged apes. Running around from morning till evening, I finally grasped the knack for body strengthening. But on the other hand, the magic I got the idea for from Nina was still incomplete.

If it was just an Anmon whose ears needed to be harvested, burning it with [Lingering Fire] would be fine. But that wouldn’t work for monsters where the material needed to be collected. Burning them would make them unsellable.

I tried the wind-creating magic, but it didn’t go well. Thinking about it, it didn’t seem very practical anyway… it’s definitely better to take their life while they have dry eyes. Absolutely.

However, what Nina said wasn’t wrong.
Magic that could be activated instantly with one hand and wouldn’t harm me. That approach was absolutely correct.

【Lingering Fire】ignites the target, so it can’t be used at close range. Plus, it requires a charge-up time to activate.

…Maybe I should consult Nina again.
Nina-chan is a genius, after all.
She always gives me a different perspective than mine.
When in trouble, call Nina. It’s even written in the textbooks.

Dragging my heavy body, I headed to the exchange office. Shiraishi-san was always there at this time.

“Good work today.”
“Likewise. I’d like to exchange these, please.”

“Yes.”

I handed over a sturdy cloth bag. Since the proof of subjugation wasn’t used for research, rough handling was fine.
Shiraishi-san put on gloves and counted them.

“Wow… you killed 30 of them?”
“I got a little carried away. Thanks to that, I’m completely worn out.”

Giving my best smile, Shiraishi-san smiled gently. Having her waiting at the end of an adventure was soothing. It was no wonder she was popular with the adventurers.

“How’s the preparation for the gathering going?”
“I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can escape from Anmons, so I’m planning to make a map starting tomorrow.”

“That’s going smoothly. By the way, how did you manage to escape?”

That was a strange question.
I blinked a few times, mentally reviewing my answer to make sure it didn’t sound weird. Yeah. Escaping is, well, escaping.

“I ran away like in a game of tag.”
“Ah…”

Shiraishi-san froze, her mouth hanging open. What a face. As a super popular receptionist, that was definitely a face she shouldn’t be making.

There was no one else around. Good. Shiraishi-san’s image was preserved.

“I… Isshiki-kun…”
“Yes?”

“You… RAN AWAY?”
“Yes.”

Shiraishi-san had become like a robot. I even considered telling a lie, but I couldn’t think of any other way to escape. I nodded honestly.

“Ah…”

She froze again.
But this time, she recovered relatively quickly.

Shiraishi-san took a big breath and gave a wry smile.

“You’re really interesting, Isshiki-kun.”
“Thank you.”

That was a compliment, right? She was smiling.
Maybe I should ask Nina about this later… no, she’d probably give me a scary look, so I’ll pass.

“Isshiki-kun, you’re going home now, right? I’m done too, so shall we walk to the station together?”
“Thank you. But I’d like to stop by the supermarket today.”

“Supermarket! Thank you, Isshiki-kun. You reminded me that my fridge is empty. Can I come with you?”
“Of course.”

The supermarket wouldn’t be troubled, and I had no reason to refuse.
We agreed to meet in twenty minutes and I headed to the changing room.

◇

I met up with Shiraishi-san, and we headed to a nearby supermarket.
The setting sun dyed the town orange,and a flock of crows flew towards the mountains. That scene hadn’t changed since I was a child.

“What are you going to buy, Isshiki-kun?”
“Actually… I was thinking of buying meat. I usually can’t afford it, but I thought today might be okay.”

Thanks to running around all day, my income exceeded 20,000 yen for the first time. I wanted to use about 3,000 yen for meat and vegetables and make something nice.

“Do you cook often, Shiraishi-san?”
“Yeah, I try to cook for myself as much as possible.”

“I don’t really know what to make… We don’t even have a rice cooker at home, but do you know any good recipes?”
“Of course! Leave it to your big sister! What’s your budget?”

“I was thinking around 3,000 yen would be good.”
“That’s plenty.”

We entered the supermarket. At this time of day, it was crowded with people finishing work.

I took a basket and followed Shiraishi-san. Cabbage, carrots, and shimeji mushrooms were tossed into the basket in the vegetable section. Then, a large pack of meat worth 900 yen joined them in the meat section. Finally, three bags of yakisoba noodles for three servings were added in the noodle section.

The total came to just over 2,000 yen. Well within the budget.

“The recipe is written on the back, so try your best,” she said.
“Yes. Thank you very much.”

After paying, we packed everything into a worn-out eco-bag, and we parted ways at the nearest station.

Shiraishi-san is a goddess. No arguments allowed.