ch141-ch160 · 146-ch146

Chapter 146: We Tried Cooking

"Gigii."

I had the piano wire cinched tight around the goblin's neck.

It's not dying... Is strangling one harder than I thought?

"Quit flicking the piano wire around going 'ping.'"

"What? I thought it might snap."

Just finish the poor thing off already...

Oh—it dropped.

Suffocation? Or is that the thing where the blood stops reaching the head?

"Alright, onward, then. Let's push up to Floor 5 and fight some hobgoblins."

Past Floor 5, hobgoblins and goblins start coming mixed together anyway, so for leveling, Floor 5 is the best spot there is.

"Floor 5, just like that!?"

"The Floor 5 hobgoblins only carry clubs—you'll be fine. If you're aiming for 【Knight】, try using a rental spear one-handed. That's how I started out, after all."

I'm right there with him, and he's got proper armor equipped too.

Might as well have him try out the various weapons in the warehouse along the way.

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"A spear really does make things feel stable."

"Yeah, the reach is reassuring. The halberd was the easiest to use, but the whole can't-swing-it-one-handed thing is a pain."

We'd come up to Floor 5 and had him fight hobgoblins—no problems at all.

We let him try out all sorts of weapons; right now he's fighting with my old shield equipped as well.

His level must still be too low—the halberd looked heavy on him.

Leveling here for the rest of today sounds about right.

"Next one's over there. If you're fine with me hanging back now, I'll just keep dragging them over—how's that sound?"

For Soushi to take the full experience points, it's better if I keep my distance.

Let's reel in hobgoblins one after another and level him up.

"One-on-one is fine... You know this already, but one at a time, got it? Don't let the next one jump in until the magic stone's out. Understood?"

Zero trust in me, huh.

I could pull the stones out for him too, but a guy needs his breaks.

Alright, let's keep 'em coming.

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"STOOOOP! Haruki, hold up, stop! Leveled up, so break tiiiime—"

Oh, his second level-up?

That should put Soushi at Level 5.

"Good pace. On my first day I barely scraped Level 5 right at five o'clock, so you're almost two hours ahead. Starting tomorrow we'll need to watch out for the 'rapid level-up side effects.'"

"It's not a 'watch out for' thing—this pace is way too fast. Make me take a break at least once every hour."

No, no—a newbie outshining me would have Hayashi-san beaming.

"Let's head back to the warehouse and rest. Time for some tea. 【Gate】"

"This really isn't the adventuring I imagined..."

Back at the warehouse, I headed up to the second floor to boil some water—and stopped in my tracks.

"Whoa, so THIS is what the second floor looks like? Isn't this amazing?"

"Kasumi-san worked hard on it. Shoes off before you step on the carpet. And Soushi—you're making the tea. Try using your 【Cooking】 skill on it. Don't forget to check your MP, either."

I wonder if the skill even works on boiling water?

No, hold on—can it do anything to an electric kettle?

Well, let's have him try.

"Okaaay. We came back to rest and I'm using skills... 【Status】. Water in, lid closed, and it boils on its own, and—【Cooking】. Huh, my MP dropped... AAAAAH, IT'S BOILING—!"

"It actually activated on an electric kettle!? Skills are AMAAAZING—!!"

Steam rose from the kettle in an instant, and the temperature read 100 degrees.

【Cooking】 shortens the process... Just like Mia-san's 【Blacksmith】 skill.

In this case it probably doesn't make anything tastier, though.

"Coffee—no wait, let's do tea. This feels more cooking-ish. Tea leaves in... 【Cooking】! Pour the water and let it sit a bit. And—oh? My MP dropped? Alright, Haruki, gimme a cup."

"Oh, we've even got proper teacups. As expected of Kasumi-san."

Sasa-Recep—

Looks hot.

Drinking that straight down would burn you.

"HOT!"

What an idiot.

"Huh? What about 【Fire Resistance】? 【Chef】 should be able to learn that one?"

Mia-san does smithing work, yet her skin stays snow-white and her hands are beautiful.

That's because Mia-san took 【Fire Resistance】, which 【Blacksmith】 can learn.

It should be there for 【Chef】 too, though...

"Eh? Hold on, hold on. 【Cooking】. Yep, I can drink it. Tastes great!"

So with a special skill, it doesn't work like a passive, huh.

This might be one of the differences between regular skills and special skills.

Honestly, though—he's handling it like a pro.

Did he just process what I said in that instant and grant himself the same effect as 【Fire Resistance】?

"He's right, it's good."

I don't have fire resistance, but my Endurance is high enough that I won't blister... probably?

Just in case, I huffed and puffed on it and took tiny sips.

How to put it—the aroma really comes through.

The color was a lovely pale green, too.

Even with the "made by Soushi" factor deducted, it was flat-out good.

"If the tea alone is this good, I'm honestly getting the urge to cook something proper. Think I could handle just grilling some meat? We don't have a stove, right?"

"It should be in Kasumi-san's camping set, but I'm not touching that without asking... The general store right nearby probably sells them anyway, and we've got to go out for meat, so let's pick up your own while we're at it."

Might as well head out and shop for dinner now.

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"Any weirdos come by?"

I called out to Kasumi-san at the counter before leaving the dungeon.

Kasumi-san has become a celebrity—people came to Chiba just to pick fights with her—so she'd been off counter duty for a while.

Today was her first day back on the counter.

"One just walked up, ssu. Eep."

My partner for today was the newbie receptionist.

A glare from Kasumi-san and she hastily clapped a hand over her own mouth.

Soushi IS a weirdo, so she's not wrong.

"All clear so far. Done for the day?"

"We're heading out to shop for dinner. Apparently Soushi's cooking tonight. We'll get a portion ready for you too, Kasumi-san."

"I look forward to it. Mia-san is due to stop by later—may I ask for a portion for her as well?"

Kasumi-san directed that question at Soushi.

"Leave it all to me! And also—might I trouble you for an introduction to that young lady over there?"

"That's Fuyutsuki-san. The Association folks call her 'the newbie'—when somebody says 'newbie,' they mean her."

I made the introduction to the newbie in Kasumi-san's place.

"I'm Natsukawa Soushi. I became an adventurer as of today. Fuyutsuki-san, it's a pleasure to work with you going forward."

"Fuyutsuki here, ssu. Friend of a weirdo, and yet such a proper young man, ssu. Pleasure's mine, ssu."