It's about time we move on to the next place.

Come to think of it, I never did use the transformation magic I practiced.

With that in mind, I dropped the Healer disguise and returned to my base.

"I'm home～"

"Oh, welcome back, Onee-san."

"Master, welcome home!"

Dea-kun and Aishia greeted me. Yeah yeah, this is nice! It really feels like coming home!

I squeezed them both in a big hug for no particular reason.

Dea-kun turning red is cute.

Aishia had the vibe of a dog that would be wagging its tail if she had one.

"Phew～ I feel like it's been a while since I was home."

"Where did you go after the dungeon yesterday?"

"That's right, Master! You said you'd be back for dinner!"

"Oh, yeah. An adventurer named Mashiro-san caught me and I ended up staying over. She's so fluffy, and how should I put it… a wonderful person."

"O-oh?"

Dea-kun's smile twitched.

"Is she a beastkin?"

"Yeah, a fluffy-all-over white wolf beastkin. Her wolf face is dignified and cool. She's about a head taller than me."

"S-so, you prefer cool, mature men… is that it?"

Oh, is Dea-kun jealous? Ufufu, how adorable.

"Mashiro-san is a woman."

"Oh, is that so."

"It's fine! Mashiro-san has her cute points too, but Dea-kun is cuter!"

Dea-kun looked visibly relieved.

… But sorry! He's actually pretty close to the mark since we shared a bed for the night!

I don't remember much because of the alcohol, but apparently I mofued her silly and even sucked on her multiple nipples!

Then Aishia brought out last night's dinner for me to have as lunch.

Ooh, this soup is delicious… wait, is this using the Yellow Hornets we caught recently for the broth? And this plump white stuff isn't shrimp—it's peeled Hornet meat. It's basically shrimp though. So Hornets were flying shrimp all along… nom nom.

"Being able to set aside freshly made food like this is really convenient. I'd like more big pots."

"I see, yeah. If we make a lot at once, we can store it."

Lots of pots, huh. Stone pots are easy to make, right? Just hollow them out and you're done.

Oh, but iron pots are better for heat conduction. Maybe I should try forging some stockpots from Armor Ant shells myself. munch munch

"Karina Onee-san, how was the dungeon?"

"Yeah, I went all the way to the back to check it out. Well, it turned out to be a divine artifact, but I decided not to collect it. It's the foundation of this town, so collecting it would make the whole place collapse."

Sorry to Granny Maria who told me about it, but I'm not going to collect it if it means destroying the town.

"Oh right, I'm doing a joint request with Mashiro-san, so I'll be heading back into the dungeon after this. As Healer, though."

"Oh, then it's my turn!"

"I'll be doing the Healer part for now so it's okay… actually, wait."

If I have Aishia play Healer and do the watching, I can do stuff like smithing in the meantime… Come to think of it, Aishia is a slave, so I should put her to good use!

"Actually, maybe I will ask you to do the watching, Aishia. If something happens, I can teleport there right away."

"Yes! Leave the Healer role to me!"

Aishia puffed out her chest with enthusiasm… I suppose I can tell Mashiro-san a bit about my situation, about as much as Granny Maria knows.

"So, speaking as novice merchant Karina-chan, I'm thinking it's about time to start moving on to the next place. I've heard about the beastkin country Terarialbee and the Gidlarga Empire."

"Please come to the elven country sometime. I'll give you a proper welcome."

"The dwarven mountains are recommended too. Let's all drink together—it's fun, you know?"

… The dwarven area might be lower priority since I'm worried about Dea-kun's chastity.