The Tsuia Family's Dining Table

"And so, after taming the dog, monkey, and pheasant, Momotaro magnificently defeated the ogre settlement and obtained all the treasures and magic stones they had hoarded."

"Ooh… I'd never heard that story about Urashima's underwater dungeon before either, but Momotaro is more exciting."

The Urashima one was a bad ending where he got eaten by the treasure chest mimic, after all.

She seemed to like the battle scenes in Momotaro. By the way, Niku was also listening intently beside us. I got more into it than expected and ended up standing, gesturing dramatically as I told the story.

Then, from somewhere, the sound of a bell rang out: "clang, clang."

"Oh my, it's time for dinner. Kehma-sama, let's head to the dining room."

"Oh, is it that time already?"

I wasn't that hungry since I'd eaten those meat skewers before coming, but I was a bit peckish.

Well then, let's treat myself to the lord's meal. I wonder what kind of food they eat? I'll use it as reference for the inn.

When I arrived at the dining room, there was a long dining table. It looked like it could seat many people at once.

Vonodoru was already seated, along with three other people.

A young man, a woman in her prime, and an adolescent boy… They must be the lord's family.

"Ah, let me introduce you, Kehma-dono. Starting from closest to me, my eldest son Rondo, my wife Waltz, and my second son Jitterbug."

"… Pleased to meet you. I'm Kehma, serving as village chief of Golen Village."

I bowed… Right, this is like meeting the fiancé candidate's family. Is it going to be a stress-test interview?

When I went to sit down, a butler pulled out the chair for me. Maiodoru and Niku obediently took their seats. I was a bit flustered, but I sat down too.

And so the meal began.

 

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The meal was more modest than I'd expected. The bread was white, but the vegetable soup was just regular salt-flavored. It had properly blood-drained rabbit meat as an ingredient. Then there was salad.

It was far simpler than what I'd imagined a lord's meal to be.

However, whether it was the quality of the ingredients, the skill of the cook, or both, it was a simple yet powerful flavor that made the most of the ingredients.

"It's not as grand as the meals served at your inn, Kehma-dono. Were you disappointed?"

"Not at all. It's a well-prepared, good meal. The flavor of the ingredients is excellent."

"Hmm. That's the highest compliment you could give us. Almost all of today's ingredients were produced in Tsuia, after all."

Vonodoru's smile deepened when I gave my honest impression.

At that point, the eldest son, Rondo, spoke to me.

"Kehma-dono, you don't have much muscle for an adventurer. Are you a mage?"

"Yes, more or less. I'm a rear guard. I only use a sword to buy time if something gets too close."

"Hmm? Is that so? … I'd heard you were also skilled in martial prowess, so I wanted to spar with you."

"That would be about Kuro here, not me. She may look like this, but she's the strongest front-liner in our party."

"… She really doesn't look it. If that's true, there's nothing more frightening… Does she make up for it with a high volume of strikes?"

The eldest son Rondo seemed interested in close combat. I can't check his daily DP since we're outside the dungeon, but he seems to have trained himself considerably. There was a definite confidence about him.

Once Rondo's interest had shifted to Niku, the second son Jitterbug spoke up.

"Hey, Kehma-san. How do you hunt Iron Golems? They're lumps of iron, so swords can't cut them, right?"

"If there's an exposed magic stone, you aim for that, or hit them with magic… Or simply strike them with a hammer to deal impact damage. I know a C-Rank adventurer who uses a hammer, actually."

"Magic, huh. What kind of magic can you use, Kehma-san?"

"I can use a few spells from the rear. Beyond that, I'll have to plead adventurer's secrecy. Carelessly revealing your hand is like moving closer to death, so please forgive me."

"Aww, now I'm curious…"

The second son is interested in magic, huh. I'm getting chuunibyou vibes. No, wait, magic actually exists in this world, so it's not really like that. Maybe it's more like how programmers are viewed in Japan? In the intellectual labor sense.

Since I'd said it was like moving closer to death, Jitterbug couldn't press any further. Next up was the lord's wife, Waltz.

"Kehma-san, I hear you're skilled in trade and village management. I'd love to hear about your methods for developing that village."

"No, no, not at all. I'm a complete amateur. As for trade, there happened to be a capable merchant among those who gathered in the village, so I left it to them. The village developed because Iron Golems happened to start appearing in the dungeon. It wasn't my achievement."

"My, how modest."

"It's the truth."

After deflecting the lord's wife, it was Maiodoru's turn next.

"Kehma-sama, you've found lots of rare things in the dungeon, haven't you?"

"Yes, I've been lucky."

"What's the most unusual thing you've found?"

"Hmm… Let's see, something I found recently. A golem of sorts came out of a treasure chest."

"From a treasure chest? Is it like a mimic?"

"It turned out to be something like a familiar. When you give it mana, it follows you around like a pet. And it's quite clever, too. It's working at the inn now."

"A working golem! That's really rare!"

The conversation continued like that, and I ended up being the last one to finish eating… Niku had finished quickly and looked like she wanted to go back to the room.

Then, while we were drinking tea after the meal:

"Oh, that's right. I heard that Kehma-san received words of praise from the White Goddess?"

Waltz casually let that slip. Hm? Excuse me, ma'am, could you say that again?

"The White Goddess?"

"Ahem! Yes, I hear that Kehma-dono's inn has an onsen? It seems the White Goddess is quite fond of it."

"Yes, that's right. I hear it's a wonderful inn, Kehma-dono?"

Vonodoru gave an obviously artificial cough to intercept. I see, so that's it? He wants to make a connection with Haku-san?

Now that I think back on it, his attitude had been unnaturally forceful for dealing with a mere village chief. I'd thought it was just how nobles treat commoners, but… if that's the reason, it makes sense.

… Could I use offering to introduce him to Haku-san as leverage to get the Divine Pillow information without accepting the engagement?

"More importantly, Kehma-dono. You've talked with Mai, so what do you think? She's a good child, isn't she?"

"Yes, too good for the likes of me. Wouldn't deliberately getting engaged to someone like me damage your reputation?"

"My, an engagement with Kehma-sama wouldn't be a blemish at all. I'd like to learn more about you, Kehma-sama. Right, Otou-sama?"

"Indeed. It would actually add prestige."

… Eh, in this world, do nobles benefit from having more engagements? Does it build up some kind of resistance? Is there like an engagement loyalty card where you collect one point every time you break one off?

"So Kehma-dono doesn't think badly of Mai. Then why not stay two or three more days and get to know each other better?"

"I have work to do, so I'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Then how about Mai accompanies you back to Golen Village, Kehma-dono?"

You've got to be kidding. There's no way I could let that happen.

I reluctantly gave in.

"… Fine, just one day… I need to give some work instructions, so please send an express delivery."

"We'll send a messenger from here. You can give them a letter."

"Then I'll go write it now. Please excuse me."

"Mm."

I took Niku, who was starting to doze off, and left the table.

… Now then, what should I write?