About Time to Head Back

Is it really okay to just leave these goblins here…? This isn't exactly farmland.

Should I just toss them into the forest?

While I was mulling it over, Niku and Ichika came out of the forest carrying rabbits (headless). That was fast.

"Goshujin-sama, I hunted meat."

Had the hunt awakened her dog-eared girl instincts? Niku was wearing a faint smile. She looked satisfied.

For now, the three of us worked together to hang the rabbits upside down, then tossed them into a bag once the blood stopped draining.

"Should we take the magic stones from the goblins too, along with the proof-of-subjugation parts? Well, it's usually not worth the effort, but fresh F-Rankers often do it for pocket money."

"Goblins have magic stones?"

According to Ichika, they're buried in their brains. Since we had the chance, I had her extract one to show me.

After cutting off the ears for proof-of-subjugation, she split open a head with her sword and scrambled around inside… Urgh… What came out was a scrap magic stone even smaller than the ones you could exchange for 10 DP. Maybe if you collected five of them, they'd equal one 10 DP magic stone…?

"Having a magic stone is what makes something a monster, ya know. They're tiny, but if something's called a monster, it's been confirmed to have a magic stone somewhere in its body. If rabbits had magic stones, they'd be classified as monsters by tomorrow… Hmm, this'd probably sell for one copper… Ah, if ya used this in that light magic tool at the inn last night, it'd burn out in a single night."

If five goblins netted thirty copper, then going through the trouble of extracting one copper worth of scrap magic stone wasn't worth it. Obviously spending that time hunting another goblin would be more profitable.

… I guess it's fine to just toss these. Too much hassle.

I did take the scrap magic stone from Ichika though. Might try using it on a golem.

We returned to town with the rabbit meat and headed straight for the grilled meat skewer stall.

"Oh, you went and hunted some rabbit meat?"

"Yeah, here. Appraise it for me."

I pulled the headless rabbits out of the bag and had him set the purchase price.

Of course, they all fetched the maximum of twelve copper each. Six rabbits made seventy-two copper. I wouldn't receive the money here since I'd collect it at the guild. Combined with the goblin reward, that came to one silver and two copper. Having the reward reach silver felt pretty satisfying.

"Tch, nice work… Oh, by the way, is that Nee-chan over there a new companion?"

"Sure am! Name's Ichika. Nice ta meetcha! Ahhh, that smells great. I wanna eat some of that skewered meat, Goshujin-sama～, buy me some～?"

"Hahaha! You heard her, An-chan? I'll throw in a little extra if you buy some. Whaddya say?"

"… Alright, give me three."

"Thank you kindly!"

I handed over fifteen copper and received four meat skewers. Apparently one extra was the bonus for buying three.

I gave two to Ichika and one to Niku.

"Still, An-chan, she's quite the beauty. Even the little Jou-chan's got a promising future ahead of her. You've got good taste in looks, huh?"

"She was a real find. Picky about food though."

"Haha, then make my shop your regular stop. Oh, right. That meat I bought from you, An-chan? It's been a hit for being tastier than usual. If possible, I'd appreciate it if you could sell to me regularly."

"Can't just keep hunting rabbits forever… My rank went up, after all."

"Ooh, congratulations on that. Doesn't have to be rabbits then. Boar, whatever. I'll buy anything that tastes good grilled. I'm originally a butcher, and this stall's just a side business. I can process anything."

"Speaking of which, I did hunt some goblins."

"Hahaha! Goblins taste terrible whether you roast or boil 'em!"

Yeah, figured as much.

"So, won't you tell me the secret to making rabbit meat so tasty? I'd pay up to twenty silver."

"Hehhh… That's pretty generous. Why not tell 'im? Then we could have tasty meat anytime, yeah?"

If Ichika was calling it generous, then it probably really was.

Honestly, I'd appreciate having tasty meat too, but… if I told him, it'd spread around immediately. That's exactly why he's asking.

Right, I'll keep it to myself. Might become a selling point for our inn.

"I'll keep it a secret for now."

"Well, can't be helped. Let me know if you ever change your mind."

Ichika looked disappointed, so I had him promise to set aside some of today's rabbit meat for us to eat in a week. Twenty-five copper, paid in advance… I'd better not forget to come back and eat it. Ichika's scary when it comes to food.

After that, we stopped by the guild and collected our combined reward of one silver and two copper, including the goblin bounty.

And with that, we were finally heading back to hole up in the mountains. I let them know I'd show my face again sometime next week, just in case.

We headed for the west gate to return to our base.

"Hey, aren't ya a bit under-equipped for holing up in the mountains? Ah, no, I know ya got [Storage], but…"

"You're right, I'd rather not use it too openly, so it'd be better to look properly prepared."

Come to think of it, that nearly got me in trouble at the west gate before.

Alright. I handed Ichika one silver coin from today's reward.

"Can you get us equipped with this?"

"For three people… Hmm, including food, that's about three days' worth? Won't be enough for a week."

"We can resupply at our base, so that's fine. I'll be napping in the central park while I wait. Niku, go shopping with her."

"Got it. I'll go buy stuff then. I can use the change for snacks, yeah?"

"… At least give me a rough report of how much you spent."

"Leave it to me～"

I'm deeply uneasy about this. But I'll trust the former C-Rank adventurer here.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"This meat sandwich is amazin'. Mmm, the crisp vegetables and the meat's oils intertwinin' to create the perfect balance, this is artisan-level craftsmanship! Great flavor and texture. And this taste… it's cheese! There's cheese in here! This makes me so happy. Really whets the appetite… Gochisousama!"

I got hit with food terrorism the moment I woke up. Dammit, now I'm hungry.

"Don't make that face, Goshujin-sama. I bought yours too, let's eat, let's eat."

Looking over, Niku was also holding a sandwich. And Ichika was on her second one. How shrewd.

I checked over what Ichika bought while eating the sandwich.

Flint, tent, provisions, canteen, pelts, provisions, knife, provisions, canteen, provisions… That's a lot of provisions!

"Obviously, right? Food's gone once ya eat it, so of course there's gonna be a lot."

Well, we don't need changes of clothes thanks to [Purify], and there's life magic like [Generate Heat] that can warm water to a lukewarm temperature. If you want actual fire, you'd need flint or the [Ignition] magic skill.

Since we have life magic, the most important consumable for mountain survival is naturally food.

The knife was for convenient processing and cooking, and the pelts were for laying under us when we sleep, apparently.

But these pelts are white and fluffy… Wait, isn't this rabbit fur? They're not going to haunt me, are they?

"The rest is just bags to put stuff in. Goshujin-sama has [Storage] so we don't really need 'em, but…"

"So, how much did you spend?"

"The sandwiches! Believe it or not, only six copper each, what a bargain!"

"Not those."

"Oh, that? Obviously used it all up. Ahhh, we just barely managed to buy the sandwiches～"

She wore a smile that practically demanded praise for using every last coin.

Well, actually, I had the same thought after I handed her that silver coin. Getting three days' worth of food and equipment for three people with 10,000 yen would be pretty tough. It probably really was tough.

"Honestly, having Niku-senpai along was a lifesaver, ya know? She bargained down prices real good. Oh, and we got lucky that the shopkeeper was a guy. He kept staring at my chest, so I used that to knock fifteen copper off the price."

Isn't that basically harassment of the shopkeeper?

"Well, you really did good work. Thanks. Should I have given you more funds?"

"I'll take whatever ya give me. Ah, food works as payment too, ya know."

… I'll let her have some melon bread and hamburgers when we get back to [Ordinary Cave].

And so, finally properly equipped, we headed toward Tsuia Mountain.

Come to think of it, I'm a Dungeon Master, but I haven't been doing anything Dungeon Master-like at all. Going down to a human settlement to work as an adventurer is definitely not a Dungeon Master's job.

I'm starting to miss the shut-in lifestyle from when the bandits were around, where I could just hole up and sleep.