🎄🎄🎄 Merry Christmas Everyone! Happy holidays!!! 🎄🎄🎄
The room, which was about eight tatami mats, had changed to about twice the size. The ceiling is even higher, and there are three beds placed against the walls. In the center of the room, there is even a stylish table that I didn’t remember buying, and a stuffed toy that vaguely resembled me was lying on the floor.
“The room got bigger, right? But…. How can that be?”
When I looked at Erna, she was dripping in cold sweat and was silent. I suspect that she is the culprit. I have to ask how she expanded the room.
“It should have been much smaller before. Just what on earth did you do?”
“………..I used magic.”
Erna murmurs. She’s like a child being scolded by an adult. I hugged her tightly and out of joy, I slapped her back hard.
“As expected from a Superior Elf! I never imagined you could do something like this!”
“Eh?”
“Well, you see, I thought this place is a little small for five people. How did you do it? Please tell me!”
Erna probably thought I would be mad, but that was a big misunderstanding. I had always wondered what could I do to make this house bigger. I’m even out of a solution for that, so lately, I was looking to buy a mansion in Mana. Surprisingly, through such happy miscalculation, I got to know that Erna found a way to do it.
When Erna realized that I am not angry, her face gradually began to relax.
“R-Right! I finally found a way to make the room bigger!”
“That’s amazing Erna! So, can you make the living room bigger!?”
“Of course! Leave it to me!”
With a big smile on her face, she returns to the living room and raises her wand to concoct her magic. As a superior elf, Erna’s magic power is in an order of magnitude higher in quantity, quality and speed than before.
As the air vibrated, the dense magic power converged on the wand. Due to the cancellation peculiar to magic, there is also no stagnation in sight. It’s the same speed as existing magic…… No, it’s faster than that. Then the spell was casted.
“Virgo!”
When the magic released from the wand spreads to the room, the walls, ceiling and floor begin to move with a creaking sound. I could see that the walls are gradually receded into the distance and as dust fell off, the ceiling also doubled in size. The floor, which was previously covered with wooden floors, had been restored to its luster as if it was made of new wood, and new flooring was added to accommodate the expanded room.
When it’s done, Erna stabs her wand to the floor.
“How is it? What can you say about the power of Archmage Erna?”
“Ah-, this is amazing! Did you do it with magic?”
“That’s right. I can’t do this with existing magic. Virgo is a magic that is only for building and remodeling, but as long as the materials are available, it will build all kinds of things as I want.”
Once again, I am reminded that magic is a wonderful power. I didn’t know that a small room could become so big.
“Speaking of which, I didn’t see the stagnation of magic that occurs when you use magic spells, has that changed since you became a superior elf?”
“That’s right. Since I became the current race, my magical powers increased, they are no longer controlled by the general principle. I can use existing magic, but from now on, I’ll be able to use original magic as my mainstay.”
Does it mean that she can now perform powerful magic quickly?
That’s a good new then. She may need to be careful not to use it too casually though. The current Erna is like a battleship crammed with weapons. It is possible that she can make Mana disappear from the map by mistake.
“Thank you. With this, I think we can now spend our day here comfortably.”
When I patted Erna’s head, she blushed and looked embarrassed. People have to be praised from time to time or they’ll feel depressed. Suddenly, I noticed something was wrong so I stopped the hand that was patting her.
……Wait. The fact that the three of them had a larger bedroom means that both Freya and Liz knew about her magic. Why did Erna keep quiet about such magic in the first place? Why did she decide to remodel the room?
When I went inside their bedroom again, I could see why. I had overlooked it. That stupid big canopy bed.
“Erna, what’s with that bed?”
“Ah-, Uhm, t-that’s…”
Erna’s eyes begins to wander around again. That suspicious behavior was caused by the bed. No doubt about it. I sighed and patted her on the head.
“It’s fine to buy an expensive bed, but you have to take good care of it well. Understood?”
“Eh? …Aren’t you angry?”
“Why should I be angry? You need a bed, right? Besides, you had to put up with a lot of things. I don’t think you should be punished for splurging once in a while.”
“Shinichi…”
Erna is teary-eyed. When I traveled around the world and during the war, she supported me all the time. There should be a reward. In fact, this is not much.
“Rival also bought clothes.”
Liz, who is supposed to be sleeping in bed, murmured. I reacted with a jerk of my head.
“Did you buy clothes too?”
“Uhm, that…”
“How many clothes did you buy?”
“……t-ten pieces.”
When I asked her about the details, she said that she bought ten clothes for a silver coin each. Converted to Japanese yen, it is about 100,000 yen. It’s a clear waste of money.
I then grinned at Erna.
“Good. I won’t let you buy clothes for six months.”
“Eh-? I-, It’s a lie right?! I can’t buy clothes for half a year!?”
“It’s not a lie. It should be enough since you just bought ten clothes. Besides, I heard that in the kingdom of Logas, you only need to buy clothes once a year.”
“That’s true. But are you saying that it’s okay for me, who is so beautiful, to always wear the same clothes!?”
“Conversely, because you are so beautiful, you will always look good even if you wear the same clothes. Besides, for someone who has more than forty clothes, that’s not a good protest either.”
Erna holds her head and exclaims, “Nooo!”
Uh-!, so noisy. This will probably be a bit of a pain. By the way, the black outfit I bought for Liz costs about 300,000 yen each, but I decided to keep it a secret from Erna.
“Okay, it’s time to go to work for the night. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“……yes.”
Teary-eyed, Erna nodded slightly. I feel bad for her but it can’t be helped as it’s her own fault. Money is not infinite after all. The basic idea on saving money is to use it for what is necessary and to avoid spending it on things that are not necessary. That’s what it means to make a fortune.
I left the four of them in the hideout and then I went to the Temple of Teleportation to get out to the ground.
◇◇◇
In the middle of the night, with a view of the starry sky, I had come close to Mana City with the skeletons in tow.
“Everybody stop.”
When I gave the command, the skeletons carrying the luggage stops in their tracks. All of them wore gray cloth on their bodies and masks on their faces. We are about to enter the city and it’s not good for them to be seen in the form of a magical beast.
I lightly knocked on the closed gate of the city, then the other side knocked back twice. After a while, the large door on the outer wall begins to open.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
A saw a few soldiers. All of them are acquaintances, they are personally ordered by the Lord. We quickly entered the city, and the outer doors were immediately closed by the soldiers guarding the gate.
Basically, Mana forbids people to come in and out at night. This is imposed as a countermeasure against magical beasts, but it is also to keep out bandits and suspicious individuals.
“Sorry for troubling you at night like this.”
“No, there’s no problem about it. This is also our job you see. By the way, I didn’t know that Tanaka-san would be with us today.”
“I came because I thought I should check it out.”
When I and the soldier I’m talking to looked back, we saw about twenty skeletons silently following us. Normally, I let them go to the city alone, but today, as I said, I am accompanying them to see how things are going. As we walked towards the center of the city, I saw a building under construction. Right now, only the pillars have been built but I can see that it’s going to be a big store.
“Are the other two doing well?”
“Yes. If there are no problems, I think it will be completed in a month.”
I feel satisfied with the words of the soldier. There are three buildings currently under construction, all of which will be essential stores in Mana.
“……What’s that?”
In the dim night of the city, a small light was lit up. Moreover, a large number of people are crowded there, and even though it is late at night, I can hear people talking. I turned to the soldier and he immediately gave an explanation.
“It’s a food stall that opened recently. It is open from noon to early morning so it’s popular as the tavern.”
“A tavern huh. It smells good…”
I was tempted to head towards the unique and familiar smell, but I strengthened my self-control and decided to go to my destination. We walk through the city at night and then we arrived at a certain house. Two soldiers were guarding the entrance, and when they saw us, they saluted.
“Thank you very much for coming. I’m sure the Lord will be pleased.”
“I see. Let’s go inside then.”
When the soldier opened the door, the aroma that had filled the air suddenly gushed out from inside. Just by smelling it, I knew that the plan is going smoothly. When I went inside, I can see the Lord wearing an apron yelling as he commands.
“That’s wrong! Turn off the heat before putting the miso in! Hey!, that’s overcooked! Are you trying to have your customers eat dry food!? What the hell is this! The ingredients wrapped in the skin are coming out! Start over!”
In the large kitchen, three men were busily moving. One is making miso soup and the other is grilling meat. The last one is making dumplings. In order to become chefs, they are receiving guidance from the Lord of Mana―Kanzaki. When Kanzaki saw me, he rushed towards me and got down on one knee.
“I didn’t know you were coming. I’m sorry for the delay in greeting you.”
“I came here on my own accord, you don’t have to worry about it. Rather than that, have you made progress?”
“Yes. From my point of view, it’s not quite there yet though. But overall, it’s at a level that can get by in this world.”
“If you say so, then it should be fine. I’ve brought you some new materials, take it.”
“Thank you very much.”
Kanzaki smiles and checks inside the package that the skeleton has unloaded. The wooden box is filled with vegetables from the miniature garden. There’s also a lot of wheat, barley and meat in it so it should last for a while. Kanzaki grabs a potato and nods repeatedly at its size and quality.
“As expected, everything that Tanaka-san produces is extraordinary. This ingredients are top-class.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I guess you’re starting to grow it in Mana as well, right?”
“Yes. We have already started cultivating Hasai and Jagaimu. The growth rate is not as fast as Tanaka-san said but it is sprouting steadily.”
That’s what I expected. In fact, I was wondering if the vegetables grown in the miniature garden were different from the usual ones. I thought that some kind of influence from the dungeon is causing a change in the plant’s genes. Of course, I also tinkered on it. But as I recall that the vegetables in the miniature garden were abnormal from the beginning, I came to a conclusion that they spawn naturally.
From what I’ve heard from Kanzaki’s report, it seems that vegetables once grown in the dungeon will grow regardless of location or climate. However, the growth rate will be the same as that of normal plants, and fertilizer and water are indispensable.
“If the vegetables are harvested in Mana, it will spur the plan.”
“Not only that, there will also be a food revolution in this kingdom. The center of that will definitely be Mana.”
I and Kanzaki starts smiling. Plans to turn Mana into a food city have already begun. The goal is 5~10 years, but that day may come sooner than expected.
“““Master, the food is ready.”””
The three cooks report to Kanzaki in unison. Three kinds of dishes were placed on the table and white steam with an appetizing aroma rose from it. Kanzaki grabs his chopsticks and tastes each dish. Perhaps due to nervousness, the three cooks swallowed their saliva as they await the verdict.
“……This has a passing score.”
The three of them looked relieved at his words. Why is Kanzaki so knowledgeable about cooking? It has to do with his parents’ house. The Kanzaki family is a famous family that runs a long-established restaurant in Kyoto. Yasuhiko Kanzaki was born as the second son of such family. He has been called a child prodigy since he was little. Regardless of genre such as Japanese, Chinese, and Western food, it is said that he absorbed a wide range of knowledge and skills. I had also eaten his home-cooked meals several times in the previous life. The taste? Of course I was convinced that he definitely had first-class skill. He was truly a culinary genius.
But why did such a man work under me? The reason is simple. That is because Kanzaki himself got tired of cooking. He didn’t have any enthusiasm about it to begin with, it’s just that he had no choice but to learn it because it was a family job.
It’s a shame from my point of view, but Kanzaki easily abandoned his career as a chef. Since a man with such skills was reincarnated here, there was no reason not to use him.
“Tanaka-san, please try it too.”
At Kanzaki’s recommendation, I also grab a chopstick and then I tasted the food. The Japanese food is not bad but something is missing. The Chinese food is delicious but it also lacks something. There was nothing missing in the Western food, but I felt that the technology was lacking.
“I feel like I’m missing something in the Japanese and Chinese food.”
“Exactly. With just the materials we have now, we can’t make up for it though.”
“Is it something that doesn’t exist here?”
“Yes. The Japanese food lacks soup stock. As for the Chinese food, it lacks spiciness. We need spices such as chili peppers.”
Hmmm, when it comes to soup stock, we need bonito flakes and kelp. I remember buying chili peppers when I went to the Republic of Naji so I think I can provide that right away.
“Got it. I’ll get you something that can be used as soup stock soon.”
“Yes please.”
Seafood is needed to make the soup stock. This kingdom does not face the sea though. After reincarnating into this world, I decided to go to the sea for the first time.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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