Category: Homeless Tensei: Isekai De Jiyuu Sugiru Majutsu Jisoku Seikatsu

“Uhm…., what is that humongous squid?”

“It is a Kraken. It is originally a magical beast that lives in the deep sea but it seems to be wandering around here lately. As a hunter, I was planning to subdue it but I couldn’t.”

Sophia clutches her spear in frustration. Even a dweller of the sea has a hard time dealing with that kraken huh. However, with its appearance, it will be troublesome if that monster entangles the ship.

“Erna, I’ll leave the ship to you. I’m going to fight that guy.”

“Understood.”

Erna, who was down with seasickness, slowly sat up and gave me a soft smile. I feel bad for her but I’m going to let her hold on for a little while. It will be big problem if the ship sinks. I then jumped into the sea to fight the Kraken.

“Why don’t you run away!? You’re human you know!”

Sophia approached me and as she circled around me, she asked that question with a look of shock on her face. I guess she thinks I can’t beat that guy since I’m a human.

“It has been decided. I need to take that guy down and catch some bonito.”

In addition to that, it would be a shame to miss such a big squid. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten squid tempura. Kukuku.

I stowed the Bull King’s sword in the bangle and then I took out two iron swords instead. I stacked the two swords together and with my metal manipulation skill, I fused the two swords.  The iron changes shape and formed into a single harpoon. Following that, I opened the eyes on my forehead and my vision expanded instantly. Looks like the kraken is speeding towards us.

“Sophia, just stay behind.”

“I can’t do that. I’m a hunter and I can’t let you, a human, fight that monster alone!”

Holding the three-pronged spear, she smiled at me sheepishly. She is a mermaid but I am happy to see that she is no different from people on the ground.

“It’s coming!”

Like a torpedo, the Kraken is moving through the sea at breakneck speed. I tried to attack it as it passes by, but I was pushed back by the violent flow of seawater. In the blink of an eye, the squid has passed by.

“Damn, I missed!”

“Calm down, Human-san. It will definitely come back.”

As Sophia has said, the Kraken changed direction and is heading towards us again. Apparently, it is hungry. It also seems to be happy to find its prey. I then used my analysis skill on it.

【Analysis Results: Kraken: A mollusk that lives in the deep sea. It can grow up to 50 meters in size and is famous among mermaids as a creature to be wary of. Rarity: C, Overall Ability: B】

【Status】  Name: Kraken  Race: Kraken  Magic Attribute: Water  Magic: Aqua Ball, Aqua Cure  Skills: Fang King (Beginner), Eyesight Enhancement (Advanced), Digestion Enhancement (Intermediate), Search (Intermediate), Shock Absorption (Intermediate), Underwater Adaptation (Advanced), Self-Healing (Intermediate)  Evolution: Conditions are not met  < Evolution Condition: Fang King (Special Grade), Digestion Enhancement (Special Grade), Search + (Beginner), Underwater Adaptation>

On land, I can definitely afford to deal with this level of opponent easily. But when it comes underwater, it’s a different story. This place is its turf after all.

“It’s here again!”

The humongous squid passes by at a tremendous speed. A stream of water swirled up, and I and Sophia are spun around.

“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”

“Sophia!”

I quickly hugged Sophia in my arms and I applied brakes with my sub-arm. At that moment, I felt strange. The seawater I subconsciously grabbed with my sub-arm felt like I am gripping soil. Hmm, how to explain, it’s like when I stuck my hand in the soil, I could firmly grasp the seawater.

“This is…”

I couldn’t help but smile at the unexpected discovery. I’m not really sure, but this would be a good thing.

“T-Thank you.”

With her cheeks flushing pink, Sophia hurriedly swims away. She maybe embarrassed to be hugged like that. But now is not the time to explain. We must get rid of that enemy as soon as possible.

“I’m going to stop him from the front. During that time, I want Sophia to attack it with all you got.”

“That’s suicidal! No matter how soft the Kraken is, it is swimming at a speed of over 100 kilometers! If you collide with it, you won’t get away unscatched!”

“Don’t worry, it will be fine. My body is special you see.”

While we were talking, the Kraken came back to us. Perhaps its idea is to weaken us first before eating us. I’m going to take advantage of that strategy.

“Come on!”

The tip of the squid crashed to me. I grabbed the seawater with my sub-arm to apply brake. Still, my body was pushed backwards. After a distance of more than 10 meters, the squid finally stops moving, and Sophia immediately attacks.

“Flowing water strike!”

A shock was released from the thrusting spear. It penetrates the torso of the Kraken. Then ink leaked out of the wound and a large amount of it spewed out of its mouth. The area is now dyed black, then suddenly, I heard Sophia’s screams.

“Sophia!”

When I looked for her with the eyes on my forehead, Sophia was entangled by the Kraken’s tentacles. She was squeezed tightly and her expression tells how painful it is.

“Aghh….”

“I’ll help you right away! Hang on!”

When I tried to attack the squid with my harpoon, it quickly swims away, probably because it was wary of me. Not wanting to let it escape, I used my sub-arm to gain momentum and leap forward. I then tightly cling to its mantle. The Kraken also tries to dive into the depths of the sea. It is trying to take Sophia to the depths of the dark, deep, cold sea.

“Take this! Take this!”

I continuously stabbed its mantle with the harpoon but it doesn’t seem to have any effect because of its humongous body. In that case, let’s change the weapon. I changed the shape of the harpoon with my metal manipulation skill. The harpoon, which looked like a sharpened stick, transformed into the shape of a “し” and then I plunged the tip into the kraken’s body. I also made a hole at the tip of the weapon in which a thread is coiled around it.

“I’ll catch you like this!”

With my sub-arm, I launched myself upwards and the squid at the end of the needle is pulled along with me. I repeatedly accelerates with my sub-arm, and before I know it, my speed exceeds 300 km/h. When I leapt out of the water, the Kraken and Sophia also soared high in the sky.

“Sophia! I’m going to help you now!”

I pulled out the Bull King sword from the bangle and points it at Sophia who is still clutched by the tentacles. I unleashed the dragon beheading slash. The extended blade pierces and cuts the tentacles holding Sophia.

“Kyaaaahhh!?”

As Sophia began to fall, I flew at high speed, held her in mid-air, and called out to Erna on the ship.

“Erna!”

“Understood! Lightning Thunder!!”

The dense magic emitted from Erna’s body converged on her wand, creating a purple lightning beam above her head. Along with a powerful flash of light, the thunder that shakes the air turns into a snake of light and hits the Kraken directly. In an instant, the humongous squid was roasted and then it fell to the surface of the sea with white smoke emitting from it.

“What an incredible magic…”

Sophia, who I held in my arms, seemed astonished by Erna’s magic. Well, it was a natural reaction since it is such a blow that roasted the kraken. I then lowered Sophia into the sea and asked her if she is hurt.

“I’m fine, what about you?”

“All good, I told you that my body is special. But more than that, will the bonito come back to this area after we defeat that guy?”

“I don’t know what kind of fish is the bonito you are talking about but it should come back in a week or so.”

“Hmmm, it’s going to take a week huh…”

It was unexpected. I thought those fishes will be back sooner.

Should we stay in the town for a while or go back to Mana first?

Well, what to do….

“Shall I sing?”

“Sing?”

“We mermaids attract fish by singing, and if there is a bonito fish around here, I’m sure they’ll be attracted to my voice.”

To attract fish with song, they are indeed interesting species.

I asked her to give it a try. Sophia took a deep breath and began to sing in a beautiful voice. It’s a melody that is both pleasant and jubilant. Just when I thought I saw a small fish jump nearby, fish started jumping across the sea surface one after another. I guess you could call it a festival of the sea, it looked like the fish were dancing to Sophia’s voice.

“Is that the bonito!?”

Not far away, large and medium-sized fish were jumping on the surface of the water. Looks like they are back. I immediately made a net out of a thread and then I surrounded the fish. The thread can be controlled remotely, so if I know where it is, it’s not so difficult to catch it.

 When I got more than a hundred large fish, I thanked Sophia.

“With this, our purpose has been achieved. Thank you so much.”

“Same here. Thank you for helping me.”

Sophia kissed me on the lips and her cheeks flushed pink in shyness. Then, she waves her hand saying, “Let’s meet again somewhere” and then she dived into the sea.

“What an unexpected gift. Fufufu”

I can’t help but grin when I recall the softness of Sophia’s lips. How long has it been since I was kissed? It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited. When I went back on the ship, Erna and Liz were glaring at me.

“Wasn’t that mermaid kissing you?”

“I saw it.”

“I-, I think it is just your imagination.”

I decided to brush them off with a whistle. It doesn’t matter to me who kisses me but from a woman’s point of view, that won’t make a good impression. That is why I’m going to cut it off here. Erna and Liz look at each other for a while, but then they give up and start talking about something else.

“By the way, did you catch any bonito?”

“Yeah, look at this.”

I took the net out of the bangle and then a large number of fish appeared on the deck. Not only bonito, but there are also tuna and yellowtail, they are all bouncing inside the net. It is a great harvest.

“There is even Magūron -nya! It’s a big catch -nya.”

“It looks delicious -nya! I want to eat it -nya!”

The captain and Lena were drooling at the sight of the tuna. Like cats, fish is probably their favorite food as well. I decided to slice one of the tuna. I quickly cut it down into three pieces with the sword, and then I sliced it into thin slices with a knife to make sashimi. The seasoning? Of course, it is soy sauce.

The sailors and captains were confused by the raw fish, but were overjoyed when they put the sashimi in their mouths.

“Where can I buy this seasoning-nya? I’ve never seen anything like this that goes so well with fish-nya!”

When I told them that I am selling it in Mana City in the kingdom of Logas, they begin to ask me to sell it in Naji as well. I had no choice, so I decided to sell soy sauce only when I came to Sarasvadi. Kelp and bonito will continue to be needed in the future so it would not hurt to deepen my friendship with the fishermen here.

“Mermaids weren’t fictional creatures after all -nya. I was really surprised-nya.”

Lena said as she ate a large meal. I asked curiously,

“You have never seen a mermaid before?”

“That’s right-nya! Speaking of mermaids, they are creatures that has become a legend among sailors-nya! Every girl admires them-nya!”

“Oh, I see…”

I didn’t know. I thought mermaids were a common race in this world, but apparently, I was wrong. If so, it must have been really fortunate that I met Sophia. I’d love to see her again somewhere. And kiss again… Nufufufu.

After that, it took us about two hours to return to the port. We then met up with Pero and Freya and we decided to stay at an inn.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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When I came out of the sea, I saw the four of them eating watermelon. They must have been tired of waiting because I had been diving for half an hour.

“Give me one too.”

“No, this is my watermelon.”

“It’s okay, just bring it to me. Let me eat too!”

I snatched a piece of watermelon from Erna and I put it in my mouth leisurely. She is screaming next to me, but it’s outrageous for her to eat delicious food alone.

“I brought it! You are terrible!”

“Then let me ask you, this is your what, your first piece?”

“Ugh… it’s my third one.”

As expected. I can tell by looking at the stacked skin on the side. I guess that she is also thinking of eating my portion anyway. You are so naive and as sweet as this watermelon, Erna.

“Father, did you get any kelp?”

“Yeah. This is it.”

I took out the kelp I just picked up from the bangle and hands it to Pero.

“It’s bigger than I thought.”

“Right. The kelp around here seems to grow very well.”

In Japan, Hokkaido is spreading its name as a kelp production area. It seems that rich nutrients and cold seawater temperature allow kelp to grow larger, but kelp from another world seems to be a little different. I came to Naji relying on my intuition and I was lucky to suddenly get a hit.

Pero stared intently at the kelp, then he curiously took a bite.

“……Uh-, it tastes bad.”

“That should be the case. Kelp is dried before eating you see. It wouldn’t taste good when eaten raw.”

By the way, kelp can also be eaten raw. However, it is not often purchased at fish stores because it spoils quickly. Dried kelp is probably the most common form outside of Hokkaido, where it is produced.

I pulled out some pieces of wood from the bangle and sticks them into the sand. After that, I stretched out some thread and coiled it to the sticks. Then I hanged the kelp cut into moderately sized pieces to the thread. The wind volume and sunlight is perfect. And in this way, I left the kelp to dry.

“Pero and Freya please watch the kelp dry. I will go towards the town.”

“Yes, I’ll be waiting.”

As he said this, Pero blew on the kelp, and a cold wind drifted around him. As expected from someone with ice attribute, it seems that dried kelp will be produced sooner than expected.

“I’m going to the town too!”

“Go to town”

It looks like Erna and Liz are going with me. I was thinking of going there to hang out by myself but I guess it can’t be helped then. The three of us decided to take a walk together. As we walked along the sandy beach, I saw a tanned beast woman sleeping under a parasol. There are also other stylish women playing in the water at the beach. I thought of opening the eyes on my forehead but I decided to keep it closed. Sometimes, it’s not a bad idea to enjoy the scenery while imagining the hidden places. Hmm, it’s true that swimsuits make women look 20% or 30% more beautiful. At the beach, the figure, including the swimsuit, is supreme. Fufufu.

“Hey! Shinichi!?”

Erna glared at me. It seems that she found out that I am only looking at women. As public manners, it is clearly my bad. I hurriedly looked away and then for some reason, I saw Liz doing some poses.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m more attractive.”

 Erna snorts at Liz’s remark.

“With such undeveloped and flat body, you’re one to talk huh.”

“I’ll kill you, Rival!”

The two of them began to glare at each other. Thinking that this is not good, I run to a stall on the beach. I bought two ice cream made from three fruit juices and gave it to Erna and Liz.

“Both of you, please calm down.”

The two of them accepted the ice cream and they began to lick it softly. With this, there will be no fights for a while. For the most part, Liz is still growing so there is no need to rush because it’s going to get bigger in the future.

When we climbed the stairs from the beach and entered the town, I saw a number of residents walking in swimsuits. A woman with tanned brown skin is walking proudly down the street in a risqué swimsuit. The similarly tanned men would whistle and call out to the woman whenever they saw her. In the café overlooking the sea, couples are drinking tea. Many of the buildings were made with white wall, giving the impression that we had come to a Mediterranean resort.

When we go deeper into the town, we reached a place that looks like a market. Fresh fish, shrimp and shellfish are placed on display, and the store staff greets the passers-by to attract customers.

“Hi, welcome! We have a lot of freshest seafood for you! This guys were just caught!”

“Hmmm, they’re all seafood I’ve seen before.”

When I looked at the goods in the store, I saw abalone, turban shells and shrimp. In reality, it may be a different kind from the one on Earth, but I know from experience that it is not so different. I decided to ask the staff a question.

“Can’t you catch bonito around here?”

“Bonito?? What is that?”

He didn’t seem understand me when I said the name of the fish on earth. I took out a pen and paper from the bangle and drew a picture of a fish. I just drew a horizontal line on the body of a tuna-like fish.

“Ah-, that is a ‘Katuon’. It is a fish that can be caught if you go several tens of kilometers offshore from here.”

“Don’t you have that Katuon?”

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to catch any in this town for a while. Apparently, there’s a monster that is destroying the fishing grounds around here. All the large migratory fish have run away you see.”

“Is it a magical beast? Then, if we defeat it, you can get it, right?”

“Well, in a nutshell, yes. However, that magical beast seems to be ridiculously big in size and it is extremely ferocious. If you’re thinking of going to fight it, you’d better stop.”

I tried to get more details from the store staff but he refused, saying that it would be quicker to ask a fisherman. I decided to buy turban shell and abalone as a thank you for the information and then we went to eat it right next to the store. To my surprise, this store has prepared a kind of shichirin for its customers. It is a nice service to be able to eat immediately after purchase.

“The abalone is wriggling.”

“Turban is bubbling.”

The two of them are as curious as a child as they stare at the shellfish being grilled on the wire mesh. When I dripped a few drops of soy sauce from the bangle onto the shellfish, a savory smell spread out. For the finishing touches, I put butter on top of the abalone.

Feeling my saliva, I put the thinly sliced abalone fillet in my mouth. I can’t help but let out a gasp of joy.

“It’s delicious! What’s this!?”

“The turban is also delicious.”

“Delicious -nya! Tasty -nya!”

 Oh yes, soy sauce and butter is the best combination.

 ……Hn? Wait-, Isn’t there an extra person?

“Umnya!! What are you doing -nya!?”

I pinched the ear of the cat-eared woman and looked at her face. It was Lena who was stealing and eating with us.

“Eh? Lena? Why are you here?”

“Nyanya!? That face-, Shinichi!? Now that I look closely, I can see Erna too -nya!”

Lena’s expression brightens up and she hugs me tightly. The soft touch was transmitted directly to my body so I feel hot under my nose. I’m on my swimsuit now and Lena is also only wearing a bikini on her upper body. Uhoho.

“Lena, do you want to disappear?”

“Hii! Erna’s eyes are so scary -nya! I’ll leave right away -nya!”

Before I knew it, I saw Erna raising her wand and Lena curled her tail. Lena’s current look is that her upper body is in a blue triangle bikini and her lower body in shorts. She is also wearing a swimsuit underneath that shorts, but the fact that only a part of the panties are visible makes me strangely aroused.

But, when did she get into our midst though?

“It smelled so good so I just ate it-nya. I’m sorry-nya.”

“That’s fine. But why are you here? Wasn’t Lena an adventurer in Ganesha?”

“My hometown is Sarasvadi-nya. What is Shinichi and your comrades doing in this town-nya?”

Sarasvadi is probably the name of this town. I didn’t know it was Lena’s hometown. This is good though, it is very convenient to have acquaintances in town.

“We came here in search of katuon. However, it seems that there is a powerful magical beast and they can’t catch it here anymore. I’d like to hear more about it. Are there any fishermen that Lena knows?”

“My father is a fisherman -nya! Maybe he can get you a ship-nya!”

“Oh, I appreciate that. I would like to meet him!”

“It can’t be helped then-nya. I can’t refuse a request from someone I know -nya.”

Lena says as she picks up a piece of abalone. It was the last slice so Erna and Liz were glaring at Lena.

“Here -nya!”

After that light meal, Lena showed us around the town. When we came to the port, we ran up to the largest of the many sailing ships. The hull of the ship was labeled “Nyachiras Group” and the bow was decorated with a statue in the shape of a cat. Lena calls out to the ship and then a man with white beard and clothes with white and red stripes comes out. He has a pipe in his mouth, he is truly a man of the sea.

“Oi- Lena, who are they -nya?”

“Friend -nya! They said they want to get some Katuon -nya!”

“Katuon-nya? They don’t know about the rumors of the magical beast, do they -nya?”

The man who appeared to be Lena’s father looked at us and then he nodded in approval. Apparently, he gauged that we are strong.

“It’s okay to send a ship -nya. However, I can’t send out a ship for free -nya.”

“If you are okay with Logas gold coin, I could give you about twenty.”

“It’s decided -nya! I’ll guide you to the fishing grounds where the magical beast comes out -nya!”

I got the OK in one go. I just think that the power of money is really great. As soon as we got on board, he unfolded the folded sails and the ship began to move slowly.

The goal is to catch katuon. Let’s set off in search of seafood.

◇◇◇

The dazzling sun shines on the sea and the ship. All of that 360 degree view is the horizon. The wooden sailboat is continuously going forward, moving slightly up and down due to the waves. Fish are jumping in the distance and the contrast between the blue sky and white clouds is pleasant.

“You guys are in luck -nya. Today we have a tailwind and our speed is fast. If we keep going like this, we’ll be at the fishing grounds in about an hour -nya.”

The captain at the helm said with a laugh. He is a muscular man of the sea but he seems to be a rather friendly person. He would tell us a lot about what kind of fish we can catch in this area. As for her daughter, she is holding a fishing rod but she is staring at the sea in a daze.

“Do you think you can catch something?”

“Hmm, I don’t know -nya. Fishing is like gambling -nya. Some days you can catch something and some days, you can’t catch anything at all -nya.”

At that moment, there was a reaction to Lena’s fishing rod. The thread is pulled into the sea, and the rod forms a mountain shape.

“It’s quite a big guy -nya!”

She pulls it up with all her might and the hooked creature bounces on the deck. As for its appearance, the color of its skin changes rapidly like an LCD screen, and its two large eyes are staring at us and the other human on the deck.

I immediately recognized it as a squid.

“Aghh-, it’s a failure -nya!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“It is as I said -nya. We can’t eat this Iga -nya.”

“??”

I tilt my head in confusion. Squid here is called Iga but they are basically the same. But, what does she mean by we can’t eat it? Lena, who immediately noticed my confusion, explained to me.

“Iga is a creature with a lot of parasites -nya. In addition to that, it looks disgusting so everyone has been avoiding it for a long time -nya.”

“Don’t you eat squid? You’re joking right?”

I was stunned. How can people in this world not eat such delicious seafood? At this rate, the octopus is probably not eaten for the same reason. I grabbed the squid about 50 cm long and decided to cut it with a knife.

“Don’t tell me… are you really planning to eat it -nya?”

“Yup. Squid can be eaten if it is cooked properly. Watch carefully how I prepare it.”

First, I poke its forehead area (the part just slightly above its eyes). After that, I pierced the area between its eyes. This is an act called shimeru, you kill it by cutting its nerves and piercing its brain. In this way, it is possible to leave a crunchy texture. It seems that the taste does not change immediately even if you don’t prepare it after fishing. The difference on the taste becomes clear after a while though.

Then I cut open the belly part, take out the internal organs and the whole thing is dismembered. When the skin is peeled off, the abdomen is cut into easy-to-eat slices. One thing to keep in mind is that the larger the fillet, the more notched it should be. It is a technique called scoring, it is done by making a shallow cut on the surface of the fillet. With this, it can kill parasites and make it easier to absorb soy sauce and other products.

I then put the fillet on a plate, drip soy sauce on top and it’s done.

“Try it.”

“Are you sure -nya?”

Lena fearfully brings the squid fillet to her mouth. When I tried it too, it was crunchy and really delicious.

“……Not bad -nya.”

“It’s a shame to avoid it just because of its appearance you know. Additionally, parasites can be controlled by the way they are prepared and cooked.”

“I didn’t know that -nya.”

Oops. I forgot Erna and Liz. When I looked at them, they were both down with seasickness. The two of them are lying on the deck and instead of the parasol, Liz’s dark cloud is blocking out the sun for them.

“Enough already… I want to go back to land.”

“I like the sea, I hate the ship.”

Both of their faces turned pale and they are muttering to themselves. They must have feel sick on their first time on a ship. On the other hand, I’m fine, well, maybe it’s a racial trait.

“This area is the fishing ground -nya.”

Hearing the captain’s voice, I looked around and saw no sign of the magical beast in question. As expected, it must be a fish-type magical beast.

“Hn?”

As I looked in the sea, it looked like something huge had just passed under the ship. I wonder if its the rumored creature lurking in this area. Then, a kilometer from the boat, something like a big fish jumped up.

Oh-, it was a mermaid. From afar, the mermaid certainly looked like a fish jumping up and down the sea surface.

“Run away!!”

The mermaid pops her head out of the water and she waves her hands as if signaling something. Eventually, she comes towards us.  As the mermaid approached the ship, she shouted a warning.

“Hurry up, run away! That guy is coming!”

I leaned forward and calls out to the mermaid in the sea.

“What do you mean by that guy is coming?”

“You are… Shinichi Tanaka-san?”

“Yes. Well, you are Sophia Binet, right?”

Apparently, the mermaid is someone I know. What a coincidence, in this wide sea, we meet twice already in just one day. But rather than that, I want to know the true meaning of her words.

“You have to get away from here, that guy is coming! Look! He is showing up.”

In the direction Sophia was pointing, something huge appeared from under the sea. It had two triangular ears, and the long torso made it seem like a rocket. The ten tentacles have large suction cups, indicating that it never let its prey escape.

It’s a ridiculously big squid. It is approximately 30 meters long. Then suddenly, it jumped at a position not far from the ship.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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“Is everything there? Have you forgotten something?”

“Hmm- nope. I think we’re all good.”

 Near the entrance to the Great Dungeon, I make one last check. Most of my stuff is stored in the bangle, but I plan to carry snacks and other items in a backpack and carry it on my back. The team members are the usual ones, Erna, Pero, Freya and Liz.  All four of them, including me, are looking forward to today.

Of course, our target destination is the sea. Two days ago, Kanzaki asked me to procure seafood, but since it was a long trip, I decided to enjoy it have a vacation.

“Father, is the sea that big?”

 I answer Pero’s question with a big smile.

“Well, it’s incredibly big. Even bigger than the lake on the 22nd floor.”

“R-Really? I wonder if I’ll get lost?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll find you right away.”

When I said that, Pero wagged his tail as if relieved. Well, my son has never left this kingdom after all. He must be nervous about his first trip. It’s the first time in his life that he’ll go to the sea. Anyone will feel anxious in such situation.

“Tanaka-dono, how do you get to the sea?”

Freya’s question drew everyone’s attention. Come to think of it, I didn’t talk about that.

“Me, Erna and Liz will fly by ourselves. Pero and Freya will ride the griffon.”

“That’s great! Me and Pero-sama will be on a sky date!”

“If you’re thinking that the two of you will ride together, I’m sorry, that’s not possible. Since both you and Pero are heavy, one person is the limit.”

Freya is disappointed. I guess she was imagining that the two of them would be riding in one griffon. No matter how I look at it, it’s overweight. Pero alone is heavy, there is no way the griffon can carry him with Freya in an armor. Well, if she rides naked, it may be possible. Mufufufu.

“Sea is troublesome”

“Oi-, don’t eat your snacks. We haven’t even left yet.”

Liz is eating a snack while riding in the dark cloud. This girl says it’s troublesome but she’s actually looking forward to it quite a bit. Yesterday, she asked me about the sea constantly.

“Familiar Summoning!”

I summoned two homeless griffons. Currently, the total number of griffons is about five. This time, I have selected the ones that excel in strength and stamina. Pero and Freya climb onto the back of the griffon and prepared to set off.

Erna soars in the sky with her golden butterfly wings. Liz rises up and down in the dark cloud. I also flapped my wings and soared to the sky. The two griffons also spread their large wings and soar into the sky at once.

“Whoa! It feels so good!”

“It’s such a nice view!”

Pero and Freya looked down and were impressed by the shrinking people and city on the ground.

It’s a fine day. The dazzling sunlight makes me feel good. Well, this time the destination is the coast in the territory of the Republic of Naji. There are beaches everywhere when I went to the five kingdom, but given the climate, Naji is better. It has a subtropical environment so there must be tropical resorts. Besides, I had heard about it from the Beast King. There is a wonderful ocean there. So, I decided to go to the Republic of Naji for the time being.

◇◇◇

“Hey, haven’t we arrived yet?”

“It’s about time we arrive.”

It was the second day since we started our flight. Erna started complaining saying, “boo-boo”. Pero and Freya are still enjoying the scenery and doesn’t seem to have any particular complaints about the long trip. Liz follows us while taking a nap. I wonder if it is also an automatic operation function. My curiosity to that dark cloud deepens.

It is already covered with forests below, and in terms of location, we should have entered the territory of the Republic of Naji.  The Beast City, Ganesha soon come into our view.

“Hey, are we going to Ganesha?”

“No, there is no need to say hello to the Beast King. Homeless are allowed to enter this kingdom you see. I already received a permit so we don’t have to go out and show our faces.”

“Hmm, I guess I can’t see Lena then.”

Erna seems to be reminded of the cat-eared girl. Well, Lena took care of us when we came to this kingdom, I would like to give her at least one of the souvenirs. On the way back, we might as well stop by at the Beast City.

From there, we pass Ganesha and fly for about two hours before we see a blue color on the horizon. At last, we reached the sea.

“Shinichi! Is that the sea?! It’s so vast!”

“I told you so, right?”

Erna’s eyes sparkled with joy. She grew up in the forest so she didn’t seem to understand the sea very well. The other three also seemed to be overwhelmed by the sea. Pero keeps his mouth open wide and Freya looks dumbfounded. Liz’s eyes were unusually wide and excited.

I immediately looked for a place to get off. When I look closely, it seems that there is a town on the seaside. In addition, many people can be seen on the white sandy beach nearby, indicating that it is still popular as a resort area.

“Let’s now get off here to avoid being seen.”

Descending into the woods not far from the town, I ordered the two griffons to roam free. I don’t think they’ll attack people because they are smart enough but they are still too conspicuous to walk alongside us. The two of them rubbed their faces against me before spreading their wings and soar back into the sky.

“Shinichi, let’s go to the sea quickly!”

“Sea”

 Erna and Liz pulled my hand and hurried me up. Amused, I smiled at them and with Pero and Freya in tow, I decided to go out to the sea first.

“Woahhhh!! So amazing!”

“Sea! Sea!”

“So this is the sea!”

“How vast it is! Even more than I had heard.”

When we arrived at the white sandy beach, all four of them start running at the same time. The surface of the water sparkles in the light. The waves crashing against the white sand made a pleasant sound. Through the wind, the scent of the tide reaches my nose and I can hear the laughter of children in the distance. The feeling of nostalgia and freshness naturally fills my heart with emotion.

I threw off my clothes and shoes and jumped into the sea completely naked. The sea was right in front of me and it was impossible for me not to enter. Moreover, it is so transparent that I can see the bottom.  It’s natural that I won’t be able to stand it. The seawater I jumped into was moderately cold, and as I dove down, a beautiful blue world spread out before me.  Small colorful fish swim around the coral reef and I can also see a few large fish. This is awesome. I’m glad I came to the sea.

“Buha!”

When I popped my head out of the water, I saw three people taking off their clothes in the shade of a tree. Erna took off her robe and put on a pink triangle bikini. Her large breast and slender waist are dazzling. Maybe she felt shy as she checks her breasts and buttocks many times.

Freya changed to a black halter bikini. She wore a purple pareo around her waist, giving off a mature and sexy look. She doesn’t seem to be embarrassed as she just stripped naked and changed to her swimsuit. I was excited by her well-shaped breasts.

Liz is wearing a yellow two-piece swimsuit. It is shaped like a one-piece swimsuit, emphasizing her cuteness. She is flat-chested but it is not a bad figure either.

“Father”

“O-Oh, Pero, did you change to your bathing suit?”

“Yes. By the way, father, you are completely naked you know.”

I was stunned when my son pointed it out. If I go out like this, I am completely a exhibitionist. I immediately took out a short-pants swimsuit from the bangle and puts it on while my body is submerged in the water. I really wanted to buy a pair of boomerang pants, but I gave up because of Erna’s strong objections. It’s a pity though.

When the three of them come to the beach, they put their feet in the sea water and frolic. It’s a sight that makes me feel warm. It can be said that it is a feast for the eyes.

“It feels good. The sea water is very salty though.”

“I’ve heard that you can get as much salt as you want in the sea, now it makes sense. It seems like there’s really no need to buy it.”

“The sea is wide. We can eat as much fish as we want.”

Erna and Freya find it strange that the sea is salty. In the first place, the rock salt distributed in the kingdom is made from dried seawater stranded on land. They can’t understand that even if I explain it so I’ll just keep quiet.

When I look at the beach, I notice that there are a lot of people. This shows how popular it is as a resort destination especially for parents and children and couples. It is a place that deserves to be called a paradise of everlasting summer.

We decided to play on the beach for about three hours.

◇◇◇

“Onigiri is delicious, isn’t it?”

“I like this square omelet.”

“I like this oddly shaped wiener. It’s delicious when you eat it with rice balls.”

“Onigiri and fried chicken are the best”

 The four of them seemed to be satisfied with the lunch I made. Well, except Erna, I let the members help out so it’s safe to say that it is a bento made by everyone.

I also took a bite on the rice ball, the amount of saltiness is just right and it’s incredibly delicious. I wonder why the meal after playing is so good. However, I feel a little embarrassed that I played like a child regardless of my age. This may also be due to the fact that I have a young body.

“Father, when you said kelp, by any chance are you referring to this?”

Pero shows me the seaweed he picked up from the beach. My previous explanation was insufficient so he probably mistook it for kelp.

“That’s a seaweed. You can eat it but we can’t use it to make soup stock.”

“Ah, is that so? But seaweed is strange though. There are no leaves and it doesn’t have roots either.”

“It’s a plant that grows in the sea. It’s normal that it’s different from plants on land. The one you are touching is its leaves itself and it also have roots.”

The four of them listened to me with admiration. They must be interested in the unknown environment of the sea.

“So, where does the kelp grow?”

“It’s farther offshore. I’ll go and take one to show it to you.”

I spread my wings and then I head offshore. I jumped into the sea about a kilometer from the beach, and then I continued to dive to the seabed. In my field of vision, the light shining from the sea surface extended towards the bottom. The crystal clear seawater is blue and mysterious. When I reached the bottom of the sea, the white sand beneath my feet rises slightly. A fish more than a meter long was swimming leisurely, and when I glanced at it, it went away. When I looked up, the surface of the sea is sparkling, making me want to look at it forever. When I remembered that I came looking for kelp, I move to search for the sea forest.

(That is…)

 I found a kelp extending from the seabed to the surface. It is swaying with the current and it looks like a giant leaf growing out of the ground. I immediately cut it from the root with a knife and randomly put it inside the bangle. I spotted a creature like a spiny lobster among the kelps, I also threw it into the bangle.

(This should be enough)

I was satisfied with the amount of kelp. I tried to float as it is but then I immediately stopped moving. That’s because I saw a strange creature in my field of vision. It had a sapphire-like tail fin, and the upper body boasted a beauty that could be called the most beautiful woman in the world. Her yellow-green hair spreads softly due to the flow of water, enhancing her beauty in a seductive way.

A mermaid. That’s what I thought right away.

I then quickly used my skill, Analysis on her.

【Appraisal Result: Sophia Binet: Citizen of the maritime kingdom of Posedian. She earns money by defeating ferocious fish-type magical beasts. She has always longed for the ground. Rarity: D, Overall Ability: C】

 

【Status】 Name: Sophia Binet Age: 25 years old Race: High Mermaid Occupation: Hunter Magic Attribute: Water Magic: Aqua Ball, Aqua Arrow, Aqua Wall, Aqua Cure Skills: Signing Voice of Allure ▹Advanced: Flowing Water Strike, Underwater Adaptation, Singing ▹Intermediate: Spear King Technique, Lower body Strength Enhancement, Hearing Enhancement, Danger Detection Evolution: Conditions are not met  <Evolution Condition: Spear King Technique(Special Grade), Lower body Strength Enhancement(Special Grade), Singing (Special Grade)>

Hoh-, there are races in the ocean too huh. Moreover, there seems to be a profession similar to that of an adventurer. As I stared at the mermaid, she also looked at me and smiled. She’s apparently friendly.

“Hello Human-san.”

When she greeted me, I was thinking about how to respond. Then I remembered that I also had underwater adaptation. I quickly activated my underwater adaptation skill.

“Uhm, hi.”

“Eh!? You can speak!?”

 The mermaid was stunned.

“I also have underwater adaptation.”

“Ah-, so that is why you are fine underwater. This is the first time I’ve seen a human who have that skill.”

“That’s good to hear but, do you need anything from me?”

“I don’t have anything in particular, but I wanted to get along with you guys, so I said hello.”

Sophia smiles sweetly as she swims in circles. The shells that hide her large breasts are really poisonous to the eyes. It sways every time she swims. When I opened the eyes on my forehead, I could see the hidden place. Mufufu.

“But, Human-san, why are you collecting kelp? What are you gonna do with it?”

“I’m taking it to eat.”

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve heard of humans on the ground eating kelp.”

It seems that there is no habit of eating kelp in this world. That said, the only people on earth who eat it well are Japanese I think.

“Are you guys not eating it?”

“Of course I eat it. Kelp and seaweed are my staple food. I eat fish sometimes too.”

Omnivorous? The lower part of her body looks like a fish, but it seems that it is better to think of it as a racial characteristics. When I look closely, I can see that she is wearing a pearl necklaces and bangles, she seems to be benefiting from advanced civilization. In particular, the three-pronged spear she held in her right hand looked so sharp as if it had been made by a skilled blacksmith.

“Is there a mermaid kingdom in the ocean?”

“Yes. I live in a kingdom called Posedian, but there are several other kingdom. There are also many kingdom on the ground, right?”

“Yeah. I am from the kingdom called Logas Kingdom. Oh- yes, I haven’t introduced my name yet, I am Shinichi Tanaka.”

“I’m Sophia Binet. Shinichi Tanaka huh. Okay, I’ll remember it. I hope to see you again somewhere.”

Sophia kissed me on the cheek and gave me a light wink  before leaving. We were in the sea, but I could smell a sweet scent when she came closer to me. It seems that my underwater adaptation skill is quite good.

“Oops!, I have to go back soon.”

Remembering that I had my companions wait for me, I hurried back to the surface.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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🎄🎄🎄 Merry Christmas Everyone! Happy holidays!!! 🎄🎄🎄

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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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5^th floor of Mohed Great Labyrinth

 I took Liz to dive in the dungeon and came down here from the first floor.

“Thirty-fourth”

Liz, dressed in black with a cloth wrapped around her neck and covering her mouth, is facing a magical beast with a knife in her hand. She suddenly disappears, and the head of her enemy, a large cat, rolls to the floor. When I saw that, I thought she was an assassin.

“Weak. I’m bored.”

Liz emerges and then she pulls down the cloth around her mouth to breathe in the fresh air. She’s only been training for about three days but she’s growing unusually fast. I guess this only means that she is originally talented.

“Don’t let your guard down, you’re still a beginner you see. To start with, you have to reach the 10th floor and improve your skills.”

“Understood. But, what’s the point of this outfit?”

Liz looked puzzled at her black attire. What does she mean by that? Is she saying that she doesn’t understand the merits of the custom-made item that is made by a local tailor in the city?

Speaking of ninjas, they are dressed in black. It is a sublime costume that only the chosen ones are allowed to wear. Oops, Liz is a female so she is a kunoichi. Does that mean that red would have been better?

“Would it have been better if it was red?”

“It’s not about the color.”

 She looks exasperated as she stared at me.

 If color isn’t the problem, then what’s the problem?

 Liz is now a perfect ninja no matter how I look at it.

“Well, forget about that. That’s all you need to wear.”

“……I get it.”

I nod in response to her obedient reply. 

It would have been more perfect if there was a sword, but there doesn’t seem to be anything similar in this world. I can only give up on that part. It’s very disappointing though. 

After she resumed slaying magical beasts, we eventually moved on to the lower levels. That said, I am just watching. All the fighting is left to Liz. It’s her training after all.

When we came to the sixth floor, we found a treasure chest in the passageway. Liz approaches it and tries to open the lid.

 I hurriedly stopped her, “It’s a mimic!”

“Mimic?”

“It’s a magical beast disguised as a treasure chest. If you let your guard down and open the lid, it will eat you.”

Mimics are magical beasts that live in dungeons. Like shellfish, it forms an outer shell that resembles a treasure chest and feeds on humans who open the lid. It is said that beginners are deceived by this mimic and lose their lives every year.

“Ignore it?”

“No, this guy’s outer shell is golden. Let’s take a look.”

I pulled out a knife and then I thrust the blade into the back of the treasure chest. At this time, it is necessary to hold the lid with your hand. This is because ordinary people can be seriously injured if they are bitten. I am an exception of course. The treasure chest rattles and moves, but I hold it down as I twists the knife lightly. Suddenly, it became quiet and stopped moving.

“With that, this guy is dead. Let’s take a look inside.”

When I opened the chest, I found a row of sharp fangs from the edges. There is a hole in the center of it, and it is clear that meat is swallowed through there.

“It’s disgusting.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t look good. This guy has a good liver though.”

When I tore open the mouth part with a knife, the slimy internal organs inside are revealed. I then thrust my hand in it and then I pulled out something the size of a round baseball. This is the liver, experienced adventurers seemed to like to eat it. There are even stories that some stores are buying it at a high price. Its taste is similar to beef liver and it is sometimes eaten as a liver sashimi.

By the way, in Japan, eating raw liver is prohibited. This is because there is a possibility of food poisoning. This is a different world though so there is no such problem. However, it is an act that should be avoided in Japan. I then put the treasure chest and liver in the bangle. I’ll use it as a side dish for today’s dinner.

“Water”

Liz releases an aqua ball into the air. I thanked her as I washed my hands in the aqua ball.

“Alright. Let’s continue the training.”

“Yeah. Next”

She is expressionless as she quickly starts walking away. She said she wanted to be an adventurer so fighting magical beasts didn’t seem to be a problem to her. It can be seen that she has the aptitude. In that case, the first condition is clear.

After that, Liz was able to kill the magical beast without hesitation and we finally reached the tenth floor.

“Ninjutsu skill is really breaking the rule huh.”

“Oniichan has stealth too.”

“That’s true but I generally don’t hide and fight.”

“Why?”

“It’s a man’s pride.”

When I said that, Liz replied, “Oniichan is an idiot.”

That was really rude. Since I am a man, I should fight with dignity. Even if I had to ask for the help of my friends, I wouldn’t just hide and fight. This is my policy.

“Don’t mind mine. You just have to find your own way of fighting.”

“Hn.”

She gave such small reply and starts to move ahead. I immediately stopped her.

“Where are you going? You’re objective is the 10^th floor. Today’s training is over.”

“I was thinking of going to the cafeteria in the 15^th floor.”

“Ah-, is that what you’re trying to do? In that case, it’s fine. I am getting hungry too.”

“Hn.”

We started training in the morning and it was already past noon. It’s time to eat. Diet builds the body after all. In order to build good muscle, you have to eat well. This is the truth of the universe. I’m sure Liz also knows that.

After we found the Temple of Teleportation in the 10^th floor, we decided to transfer to the 15^th floor. It’s not too far from the temple to the cafeteria so we just followed the usual path to the cafeteria.

“There are no enemies here.”

“That’s right. My familiars are patrolling around the fifteenth floor you see. By exterminating the magical beasts, the safety of this floor is ensured.”

“How many familiars do you have?”

“You mean to ask their overall number, not just the ones on this floor, am I right?”

“Yeah”

“About 400,000.”

Liz’s eyes widened in astonishment. I guess she didn’t expect it to be that many. If she knew that it was 700,000 until recently, I would like to see how she reacts. Well, I’m not going to say that though. I don’t like to brag too much.

When I opened the door of the cafeteria, I was greeted by a soft and appetizing scent. Inside the restaurant, several adventurers were eating and talking about their adventures today with mugs in hand.

Liz and I take a suitable seat, a waiter quickly arrives to take our order.

“There don’t seem to be many people today.”

“Katakata”

The waiter clattered his jaw slightly and replied, “It seems that many adventurers are taking a vacation today.” That means that there will probably guests coming at night. The homeless cafeteria also serves alcohol so it is also popular as a tavern. Recently, single dishes such as hamburgers have been selling like crazy.

“Salmon TKG set meal”

“Teriyaki hamburger steak set meal”

After we both placed an order, I took out a water bottle from the bangle. The cafeteria also offer free water but it’s just the usual water that could be bought in the city. I poured the water from the water bottle into a glass and offers it to Liz. Yes, it is saint water.

“Water?”

“If you want to be a full-fledged adventurer, drink it.”

“Understood.”

She gulped down the water. This will reflect her experience today in her body. It’s almost a foul training method but it has made Erna, Pero, and Freya stronger. Yeah, it is all thanks to Saint Water-sama.

“Delicious”

“It’s a special water. Don’t tell anyone else, okay?”

“Yeah.”

 Liz nods, and shortly after, lines of texts appeared in my field of vision.

【Do you want to evolve Liz Schmidt?】 【YES/NO】 【Evolution destination option】  ・Human → High Human  ・Human → Neohuman

I was surprised that evolution had already come. It’s only been three days since she started training. I thought it would happen eventually, but it came so early that we can’t even eat calmly.

“You’ve got the option to evolve. Do you want to evolve?”

“??”

“It’s evolution. People in this world know that, right?”

“Ah!”

Liz seemed to finally understand as she clapped her fist on the palm of her hand. I told her the directions she could evolve to and she chooses High Human. I told her that she should pick neo-human as it is a safer option but she doesn’t listen to me, saying that high human would suit her better. 

It’s not good to have the evolution in the cafeteria so we decided to return to the hideout first.

“Alright. Let’s start the evolution.”

“Yeah.”

Once we returned home, I clicked on the yes button and she starts to evolve in the living room. Her body began to glow dimly as she walked to their room and lied on her bed. Since I already know what kind of race the High Human is, I find it a little boring. A four-arm man is a more interesting evolution.

I took out some sake and decided to have a drink.

◇◇◇

“Hey, it looks like she has been sleeping all the time. What’s wrong with her?”

Erna asks as she peeks inside the bedroom. It’s already been six hours since Liz started evolving. I think it’s about time to end, but Erna, who doesn’t know the situation, looks worried.

“She’s evolving. She’s going to be high-human.”

“Is she going to be a high-human? That’s surprising. I thought you would choose a weirder evolution.”

“If you say that, doesn’t it seem like we’ve evolved in a strange way?”

“……That’s true.”

Apparently convinced, Erna sits down beside me. She lifted the liver sashimi I had been using as a snack to my sake, picked one up with a fork and brought it to her mouth.

“Ah!”

“This Erna-sama won’t allow you to eat delicious food alone.”

Damn, did my attempt to kill time by drinking until Liz finished evolving became her enemy as well? Pero and Freya, who were watching us, pinched a liver and brought it to their mouths.

“Even you too!”

“Only Father is sneaky.”

“This is pretty good.”

In the end, the snack for my sake were all eaten by the three of them. It looks like I’ll have to go hunting Mimic again.

“Noisy”

The door opened and a blue-haired ghost slithers out. Kidding, it’s Liz. Apparently, her evolution is over. Her pale blue hair stretched down to her feet, and Liz’s eyes peered through the gaps.

“Erna, cut her hair.”

“Yes.”

After she cut Liz’s hair with a knife, her figure was finally exposed. She used to have a well-shaped face, but after evolving, she had transformed into a beautiful girl. But what I am more concerned about is the black mass that floats around her. It is about the size of a basketball ball and it floats as if it is alive.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know.”

I tried to touch that black thing. However, as if I’m grasping the clouds, my hand just cut into the air.  I want to know what the meaning of this black mass is.

【Analysis: Liz Schmidt: The third daughter of the Schmidt family. Has extreme aversion to troublesome things. She thinks that if she marries Shinichi Tanaka, she will be able to spend the rest of her life lazing around. Considers Erna as rival. Rarity: A, Overall Ability: B】

【Status】  Name: Liz Schmidt  Race: Dark Human  Age: 15 years old  Magic Attribute: Water | Darkness  Magic: Aqua Ball, Aqua Arrow, Aqua Wall, Aqua Cure, Shadow  Skills: Shinobi’s Vessel, Telepathy ▹Advanced: Swordsmanship, Taijutsu A, Taijutsu B ▹Intermediate: Ninjutsu, Body Strengthening, Eyesight Enhancement, Physical Enhancement, Danger Detection  Evolution: Conditions are not met  <Evolution Condition: Sword King Technique(Beginner), Ninjutsu (Special), Fist King Technique (Beginner)>

Skills that I had never seen before were added. What kind of skill is telepathy?

“From what I can see, I don’t see any skills that have anything to do with that black thing. Maybe it’s a racial characteristics.”

“I don’t know.”

 As she said this, Liz is gently touching the black ball. With that, I can add that it can be touched by Liz. It’s still a mystery.

 Line of text then appears in my field of vision.

【Evolution has been changed by the skill, Shinobi’s Vessel】

As expected, it seems that Shinobi’s vessel, like the King’s vessel, has changed her evolution destination. I had a vague feeling that way. This world is not so simple that she could honestly be turned to high-human.

“Dark Human…”

Liz is in a daze when she sees her status.

Is she disappointed by the unexpected evolution?

I thought but,

“Oh-, nevermind.”

She readily accepted it.

She must have gotten tired of thinking about it. I feel like I’m gradually understanding Liz’s thoughts. I then gave her food and water. She began to gobble the food, probably because she was hungry. It’s a lively meal.

All the while, that black orb hovers around her. I’m still curious about it. I can’t help but pay attention to it.

“Can you move it?”

“Hn.”

With the chopsticks in her hand, Liz pointed in a direction and the black orb float there lightly. In other words, it can be manipulated. When she moved her chopsticks again, the orb changed shape and became long and thin. Swimming through the air like a snake, it wrapped itself around my arm.

“I can feel it…”

The black thing is soft and it felt weird to the touch, like touching a memory foam pillow. I have the urge to hold it forever. I decided to call this mysterious thing as “dark cloud”.

“Maybe you can ride this?”

“I didn’t think about that.”

Liz turns the dark cloud into a cushion shape and lowers it until it almost touched the floor. After she sat on top of it, the dark cloud began to float and move around.

“This feels good.”

 Liz begins to sleep on the dark cloud. I stopped her.

“Don’t sleep in a place like that. Sleep in the bed.”

“Stingy”

“I’m not stingy.”

Liz got down the floor and reluctantly went back to the room. Then Erna hurriedly tries to close the door of their bedroom.

“You don’t have to close it in such a hurry.”

“Eh? Ah-, Y-Yes. That’s right.”

When I stared at her, Erna’s eyes start to wander around. I feel like she’s hiding something.

“Let me come in for a moment.”

“N-No! That’s not good. Don’t go inside the girls’ room!”

I pulled Erna, who was desperately clinging to me to stop me, and opened the door to the bedroom. I haven’t been in the bathroom or storage room lately because I don’t have any use for it. I have to check how the bedroom that I rented to the three of them has changed. It is the duty of the landlord after all.

“What is this!?”

I looked inside the room and exclaimed.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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21st floor of the Mohed Great Dungeon

“Wau!”

I narrowly avoided the fist that was thrown at me. Then, this time, I was targeted from behind with a sword. Activating my acceleration skill for a moment, I dodged his sword and then I sliced off the opponent’s arm with my claws.

“Naive!”

Hearing that voice, I looked up and that’s when I noticed that a thread bomb has exploded. When the white threads covered my body, they clung to me stickily and inhibited my movement. I thought it was over. But that was just a decoy and I was attacked from behind.

“Kyaun!”

The bottom of the opponent’s palm hit me directly and the impact made my body shook and even stirred my internal organs. In addition to that, I was further swept off my feet and I spun around in the air. I then slammed hard into the ground.

“I-, I give up…”

I surrendered. The four children who were my opponents lined up in a row and bowed to me. Father, who was watching the match, stood up and handed a cure mushroom to me.

“Very good. To be able to fight on an equal footing against my four clones, you’ve grown quite a lot.”

“But Father is still way stronger. I’m not able to get a solid hit at all.”

“Don’t be humble. If you fight seriously, you should be able to fight me more fiercely.”

I think that is just my father’s misunderstanding. Indeed, by acquiring the acceleration skill, I have become much stronger. However, father has become even stronger. My blows have no effect on him, he regenerates quickly even if I cut him. He could divide his body, can fly, has many followers and he breathes powerful breath. The more I slice, the more I can’t cut him. Even I, his son, knows that he’s abnormal!

“Mmm-, are you thinking something rude?”

“N-No. I just thought that Father is amazing.”

“Don’t praise me too much. I’ll get carried away easily you see.”

While saying that, my father looks a little happy though. I recently learned that father is a shy person. That’s why he tries to hide it as soon as I praise him. Erna-oneesan said that it is a good thing, but as a child, I don’t really understand it well.

“Haa~, as expected of Pero-sama! Freya is just watching but Freya gets so excited!”

Freya-san hugs me and buries her face in my chest. I still don’t know what she’s really thinking but I infer that she likes me.

“Uhm, Freya-san, isn’t it about time?”

“Ah!? I apologize! Pero-sama’s fluffiness is so wonderful that I got carried away!”

She had a slovenly appearance. Just thinking about how much my fluffiness captivates her makes me feel terrified.

“Alright, that’s it for today’s training. You can now spend your time as you like.”

I feel a little disappointed hearing my father’s words. Training is fun, it’s always full of new discoveries. My goal is to protect my father one day. That is why I want to become even more stronger. As I was thinking about this, my father smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“I don’t know what you’re struggling with, but, it’s important to take a break you know.”

“Understood.”

A leather bag was then handed to me. It’s clinking so I can tell right away that it is money.

“It’s your money. I’m saving it for you so that’s just a part of it. Don’t use it too much.”

“Yes!”

I felt that the money given to me is very heavy. I think it’s because it is filled with my father’s feelings for me. I almost cried so I ran out of the place.

“Eh-, Pero-sama! Wait for me!”

Freya-san chased after me. Apparently, she wants to go to the city with me. The two of us ran through the jungle until we reached the fourth miniature garden. When I touched the stone tablet in the Temple of Teleportation, the destination was displayed in my field of vision.

“Yeah! Yeah!, it’s a date with Pero-sama. I’m really excited.”

“I don’t think it’s a date though…”

I couldn’t help but smile wryly as I looked at Freya-san who was breathing heavily because of excitement. She’s a person who really doesn’t change. But it does feels nice. Then my vision was distorted, the scenery also changed in an instant.  A pleasant breeze and a familiar landscape greeted me. No matter how many times I come to the ground, I will never get tired of it.

“I feel like in the mood to paint landscapes.”

“Pero-sama really like painting huh.”

“Yes. I think it’s great to be able to keep what I’ve seen.”

Freya-san smiled sweetly at me. It’s good if it’s always like this, but as soon as I let my guard down, she’ll immediately scream, “Fluffy!”, so I have to be on guard. I don’t hate being petted, but Freya-san is a person who can stroke me all day long if left alone. That’s why I have to be clear that she can’t do it when I don’t want to.

But, is petting someone really that good?

I really doubt it.

When we went inside the city, I met a soldier I knew.

“Oh-, if it isn’t our sacred beast. Are you two shopping together today?”

“Yes. I think it’s about time to buy a weapon.”

“Now that Pero-sama mentioned it, the gauntlet you are equipped before is gone.”

“Well, it’s broken because I’ve grown a bit. Now I planned to buy something a little bigger.”

The soldier waved his hand and said, “As long as Pero-sama is here, our kingdom is safe.” What he expects is me as a sacred beast. He probably thinks that I will eventually become the guardian beast of the kingdom. Of course, I don’t deny that. It’s an undeniable fact that I am a sacred beast and I also want to protect a lot of people. However, when asked if it is more important than my father, I would definitely answer no.

“Pero-sama, there’s a food stall over there! Are you hungry?”

“You just want to eat, don’t you Freya-san? It certainly smells good though.”

There is a stall in the direction Freya-san pointed. A savory smell wafts through the air and many customers are lined up waiting for their food. I was intrigued so I decided to line up with Freya-san.

“It’s a skewer. It’s very dark in color but it looks delicious.”

When it’s her turn, Freya-san frolics like a child. Skewers are being grilled at the stall. The meat is swirled on a rectangular metal box, and when it is moderately cooked, the skewer is dipped in a jar. The jar is filled with thick brown liquid. After the skewers are soaked in the liquid for a minute, they are grilled on the box again. When I peeked inside the box, I saw that the red heated charcoal was making a sizzling sound because of the falling fat and juice. Thinking that it was a rare dish in Mana, I looked up at the cook. He wore a mask and a gray cloth over his head.

“Uh-…… Suketarou-san?”

“Katakata”

He shakes his head as if to say I’m mistaken. But no matter how I look at it, it’s Suketarou-san. The best proof is the golden body that can be seen through the gap on the gray cloth. With a familiar movement, he offered us a skewer and with a flip, he told us, “Please keep it a secret from master.” Perhaps it was a hush money, he also gave us one more skewer.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see you.”

“Katakata”

 Suketarou-san then waved us off.

“I thought I hadn’t seen Suketarou-san lately. I guess he was working at a place like that.”

“Well, we have more free time after the war ended so I guess he started doing business as a hobby.”

Suketarou is like a general who leads the group. However, there must have been nothing left to do because the tasks were mostly done by his subordinates. The result is that he ended up doing his own food stall. Suketarou’s ability to act cannot be underestimated.

 I put the skewer in my mouth. The sweet and salty taste was delicious.

“Is this teriyaki sauce?”

“It seems to be, maybe it’s the yakitori that Tanaka-dono was talking about.”

My father once said, “When you drink sake, yakitori is the most suitable dish.”

I think it was me, Freya-san, and Suketarou-san who were present at time. I’m sure that after that, he learned how to make it from my father and put it into practice. The reason why he want us to keep silent is probably because of that.

“As soon as your father finds out, he’ll come to Mana for sure.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure he’ll eat up all the food from the stall in no time.”

I laughed. Father has an eye for delicious food, so yakitori would be an easy prey. I can imagine Suketarou-san panicking. When we finished eating the yakitori, we decided to go to the furniture shop together.

“Hmmm-, what to choose for the new bed…”

“Decide quickly. I’m tired of waiting.”

“Just wait a little longer. I don’t get a chance like this very often so let me choose more slowly.”

“They’re all the same.”

When we went to the furniture store, I saw Erna-oneesan and Liz-san in front of the store. Moreover, Erna-oneesan is expressing her hesitation as she looks inside the store. I decided to talk to Liz-san.

“Liz-san, were you able to buy a bed?”

“Hn. Bought it.”

She nods slightly, her eyes half-closed. Liz-san doesn’t talk much and sometimes has a snarky tongue but she’s not a bad person by any means. I think she just doesn’t know how to interact with people. According to what I heard from Father, she has been sick for a long time, so it can’t be helped that she’s not good at socializing with others. If I were in the same situation, I might have become silent like Liz-san.

“Ah-, that one is good too! Hmm, but this one isn’t bad either… Eh? Pero-kun?”

Erna-oneesan seemed to just noticed me. I got closer to take a look inside the store.

“Are you struggling about choosing that big bed?”

“That’s right. Isn’t it every girl’s dream to have a canopy bed? Shinichi gave me a lot of money, so I thought I’d splurge and buy it.”

“But it won’t be able to fit it into the room you know.”

“Ugh, you’re right…”

Pulled back to reality, Erna-oneesan fell to her knees with a thud. The other day, father went out to buy a bed but he wasn’t able to buy anything. So today, Erna-oneesan came to the city with Liz-san, and as expected, Erna-oneesan seemed to be having the most fun.

“I think it will be able to fit if you can make the room bigger… but that’s impossible, right?”

“Make the room bigger… That’s right! Make the room bigger! Why didn’t I think of that!”

Erna-oneesan suddenly stands up and rushed inside the store. She then bought the bed with a canopy. I wasn’t sure if I should stop her, but I decided to see if she has come up with a good idea.

“Now I can sleep peacefully in a bed with canopy! This is great!”

“Are you sure it is okay?  Father will be angry if you can’t put it in the room you know.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. It’s possible with my power!”

Then Erna-oneesan leaves with Liz-san with a big smile. Feeling a bit of anxiety, Freya-san and I walked into the furniture store.

“Welcome”

The clerk greeted us. I decided to ask the clerk a question before looking at the bed.

“Uhm, do you have a bed my size?”

“Of course we do. Well, it was made a long time ago so the design is inevitably outdated, but it can be used sufficiently. As inventory clearance, we will give you a discount of about 50%.”

When we went to the second floor of the store, there is a large sized bed on display. I suspect that it was built for a dragoneut. Lying on the bed, I feel satisfied as the size is not bad.

“Then please give me this one.”

“Certainly! Would you like us to deliver it to your home?”

I shake my head.  After paying the clerk, I stored the bed in the bangle. Like Erna-oneesan, Freya-san and I also received permission from Father to use the bangle. So even if I don’t have the bangle with me, I can still put things in and took them out freely. After completing the purchase, we head to Rodman-san’s Weapon Store. I also need to buy a weapon. When I opened the door of the store, I saw Rodman-san exhaling smoke from the tobacco pipe.

“Hello”

“Welcome! Hoh-, are you two going on a date today!?”

“No. We are just buying something.”

“It’s a date!”

We spoke at the same time and Freya-san insists it’s a date. She had a serious look as she emphasized that. Both Rodman and I could only nod at such strange pressure.

“Yes, this is a date.”, I could only follow-up.

“Hahahaha! It’s nice to be young!”

 Rodman-san began to laugh and pulled something from under the counter.

“This is-?”

“I made it at the request of  Tanaka-kun. I have already received the money for it.”

It was a marine blue gauntlet. It was a perfect fit when I put it on my hand. When I poured some magic on it, water gushed out from the gauntlet. I turned my gaze to Rodman-san.

“It’s made of an alloy of aquatium and steel, just like the one you used before. However, the attributes are different, so I think it will be easier for Pero-kun to use it now.”

“Yes, it seems to be very easy to use. Father told you to change the attribute?”

“Yeah. Tanaka-kun said that if possible, water-type weapon would be better so I went all the way to the royal capital to buy the materials. Please use it with care.”

“Thank you very much.”

 I thanked Rodman-san and I’m grateful to father. I vow to use this weapon with care.

“Hn?”

Suddenly, I found something unfamiliar in the store. Even though it is a weapon shop, there is a necklace on display. When I looked closely, I can see that there is a small stone attached on it as decoration. The stone color varies from red, green, brown and blue.

“Uhm…, what is this?”

“It’s a ‘substitute stone’ that arrived recently. It said to be able to save the owner’s life. But from the looks of it, it’s just a stone though. This kind of item is often bought by adventurers so I decided to sell it here as well.”

“Ohh-, a substitute stone huh.”

 I looked at the necklace and come up with a good idea. I bought five necklaces from Rodman-san and gave the one with red stone on it to Freya-san.

“C-Can I have it!?”

“Take it. This stone will help Freya-san when you are in danger.”

“Aaaaaaaaah! I received a present from Pero-sama! I will cherish it for the rest of my life! No, I’ll put it in the safe and keep it as an heirloom!”

“Please wear it properly.”

Freya-san is super excited from joy. Just when I think her excitement has reached its climax, the whites of her eyes suddenly turned upwards and with a thud, she fell to the floor. I hurriedly picked her up and realized that she had fainted.

Sigh.

I decided to carry Freya-san on my back and go home.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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There was a man who used to be my right-hand man. I think we met when I had just established my company. 

While I was sitting down at a cafe, I suddenly spotted a man I became interested in. That guy was quietly reading a management-related book at the same cafe. I approached him out of curiosity and we strangely hit it off. Then I said, if he is interested, he could join my company. He readily accepted the offer and few months later, he became a regular employee.

After that, we worked hard together. Gradually, the number of employees increased, and the company grew larger and larger. I remember laughing with him that his goals were high, and that he was still not satisfied with this. When the company was finally listed on the first section of the stock market, he and I watched the sunset over Tokyo from the president’s office.

The two of us talked about finally standing at the real starting line. He said that together, we would grow the company into the best company in the world. Our goal was to be on top of the world. But—, he betrayed.

As a result of an employee’s mistake, I, the president, was held responsible. It quickly developed into a resolution to dismiss me at the shareholders’ meeting. I was then fired with unnatural ease. As I later learned, I had been betrayed by the man I trusted more than anyone else. However, I didn’t feel angry. How to say, hmmm, it’s like a balloon with a hole in it, just like the gas, my emotions also start to dwindle. Struck by my own misery and stupidity, I chose to quietly leave the company.

I don’t remember much after that. It seems that I splurged as if I was making up for the time I had so far. Before I knew it, I only had a million yen left. For a short time, I seemed to have lost my sanity. And it was at that time that I realized that I had nothing left. I decided to change my mind and sought for a new job. However, all I can get is a part-time job. Then, when I reached my limit, I chose to become homeless. Now, I just think he did a good job for firing me.

“It’s sunset huh…”

When I arrived at Mana, I squint my eyes at the orange sunset that can be seen from the city. I suddenly stopped in my tracks, thinking that the beauty of the sunset does not change even in another world.

Now that my life is finally stable, I began to recall the past.

“Whoa-, it’s Homeless!”

The children who saw me come to surround me. They seem to be having so much excitement while asking, “You didn’t defeat a magical beast today?”. I just smiled, pulled out a bunch of candy balls from the bangle and distributed them to the kids. I bought it as a snack, but I’m sure the candy balls will be more appreciated by the kids eating them.

“Thank you, Homeless onii-chan!”

The children surrounding me dispersed like an ebbing tide. I couldn’t help but admire their vivid movements.

“Yosh-, let’s head to the Lord’s mansion.”

I start walking and head to the Lord’s mansion in the center of Mana City. When people passing by see me, they waved their hands and greet me. Inside a building, a beautiful woman calls out to me, “Would you like to stay just for one night?”. Well, I am moved, but Erna appears in my mind with her staff pointed at me so I decided to refuse.

As I passed through the market, I saw shoppers wandering around at dusk. The store that stands out the most is probably Arnold’s stall.

“Come, buy here! Don’t you want fresh vegetables that are as good as my muscles!? There’s also the Homeless soy sauce and miso which are very rare seasoning!”

Arnold is amazing as he attracts customers while posing. No matter how many times I look at him, his body is perfect. Yet strangely enough, customers who come to his store buy products while looking away. I can’t believe they don’t look at those muscles, the customers are losing out a lot.

I got closer and greet him,

“How is it going Arnold?”

“Fuhahaha! Both soy sauce and miso are selling well! Thank you for making such a good condiment!”

“I see. If it’s selling well then there’s no problem. I’ll come back if I have time.”

After leaving the market, I finally reached the mansion. When I greeted the gatekeeper guarding the entrance, he recognized me and then he quickly opened the gate for me. As soon as I entered the building, the maid guides me inside. I was led to a room and the lord is already there sitting on the sofa.

“I got the letter.”

I sat down on the sofa facing the Lord and then I started the conversation right away. The lord nodded slightly, straightened his collar and adjusted his posture.

“The reason I asked you here today is because I have an important matter to tell you.”

“Important matter? Are you talking about the war?”

“No. It’s something important to you and me.”

With a question mark in my head, I decided to listen first. If the Lord says it is important, then it must be so.

“Hoo-, Alright. Let me introduce myself again, I am the Marquis of Mana. My name is Ryan Doris.”

I learned the name of the Lord for the first time. Until now, he has avoided giving his name. I’m not sure why, but I had the impression that he was a little reserved towards me. Then the Lord stands up and sits upright on the floor. I watched closely to see what he’s going to do.

“I apologize here and now for what happened at that time!”

After saying that, he kneels down on the ground. He then bows his head so deeply that his forehead almost touches the floor. I am so confused by the sudden turn of event.

“Lift your head up first. I have no idea what you’re talking about you see.”

 The Lord did not raise his head. And then, he slowly talked about it.

“There was once a man named Yasuhiko Kanzaki who betrayed someone he respected and usurped his position. But that false glory didn’t last long. He too, lose his position to others. He changed his mind and decided to start all over again with the person he respected. Unfortunately, he was reincarnated in another world at the same time.”

“Yasuhiko Kanzaki…”

I’ll never forget that name. He was my former best friend and right-hand man. I trusted and relied on him the most. Until I was betrayed.

The lord continues to speak,

“He then made it big in another world. The son of a baron rose to become a marquis. As he grew older, he had completely forgotten about his previous life. Until one day, a man with the same name and surname appeared in front of him. He was extremely flustered. Then he decided to take the time to find out if that person is the one he hoped for.”

“What’s the answer?”

“It was him. It is definitely Shinichi Tanaka.”

The Lord then looked up at me. I saw him with a runny nose and tears streaming down his face. However, I could read the emotion of joy rather than sadness in his eyes.

“Kanzaki… Is it you?”

“Yes! I am Kanzaki! I’m Yasuhiko Kanzaki, your right-hand man!”

My tear glands become loose. What a coincidence that my best friend, whom I thought I would never see again, was in another world with me. It’s a miracle!

“Kanzaki!”

“Tanaka-san!”

I opened out my arms to hug each other…… —I pretended. I grabbed Kanzaki by the arm and collar and threw him against the wall.

“Bu-gee!?”

He slammed against the wall, fell to the floor, and then he stood up while clutching his waist.

“What you did just now betrayed me. With that, we are even now.”

“Hoh-, you’re still the same as ever huh.”

Kanzaki smirked as I said that. How to say, it’s that I can’t help but be happy. We sat down on the sofa and resumed talking.

“It’s been a long time, Tanaka-san.”

“That’s right. But you’re older than me now.”

“Yeah. It’s been sixty years since I was reincarnated. I guess I’m getting old.”

Having a conversation with him evoke a sense of nostalgia. It gave me the illusion of going back to those days.

“Wait. How did that happen? You were certainly one year younger than me right?”

“I don’t know either. When I woke up, I was reincarnated as this Ryan Doris. There seems to be a considerable time gap between me and Tanaka-san.”

“A time gap? ….Did Kanzaki see that in Tokyo too?”

“Yes. I was caught when I’m in the middle of looking for you Tanaka-san. I remember being killed by a demonic beast-like creature wearing a black cloth.”

“That guy huh.”

My memories were evoked. The monster that killed Shigeru-san and even got me afterwards. It looks like Kanzaki was also killed by that guy.

“But why did we get reincarnated in this world?”

“That’s also a wonder for me. Was it a prank of God or the work of the devil? Or, was it the mercy of Buddha?”

The cause is still unknown, but it can be said that we were able to reincarnate while retaining our memories. I still think we are lucky. However, the cruel truth may lie ahead. I decided to change the subject for now.

“What happened to the company? I haven’t heard of it going bankrupt since I left.”

“For a while, thanks to Tanaka-san’s souvenirs, sales have risen to an all-time high. However, the current management situation is difficult. It has shrunk to three-quarters of the size it was when Tanaka-san was the company’s president.”

The souvenir he is talking about is the next generation mobile phones. It was an in-house product that was rushed to develop when I was too absorbed in the loss of my family members. Since I was fired, I don’t know much about its subsequent developments though. When I think about it now, at that time, I was really in a hurry to live, as if I was obsessed with something.

“I can tell you now, thank you for firing me. I was crazy back then.”

“At that time….. I-, I didn’t think I could follow Tanaka-san. That’s why I made a plan to dismiss you. However, I kept wondering if I had chosen the right path.”

“No, you were right. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

Suddenly, when I looked out the window, the light of the setting sun was shining in. I stood up and looked at it.

“Do you remember that sunset?”

“Yes, I still remember it.”

“At that time we decided to be the best in the world. Why don’t we try it again?”

Kanzaki’s eyes widen. The first company was no good. But it doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the next one. Even if the world changes, the dreams we dreamed together could still come true.

“I would be happy to. This time, I’ll follow you everywhere!”

“Then it’s settled. Together, we’ll make Mana the best Japanese food district in this world.”

“Ye—huh!? Japanese food!?”

“What are you surprised about? There’s no such thing as a cellphone in this world. Moreover, I feel that food has a future. I want to establish Japanese food in this world and transform Mana into the best food city in this world.”

“Don’t tell me… Perhaps the soy sauce and miso that are being sold in the market…”

I grinned when I heard him mutter that. Isn’t that a good guess?, as expected of Kanzaki. Moreover, he is quite quick to hear and know about what’s new.

“It’s part of the plan. We will develop Mana as a food capital. To do that, you, the Lord, need to act.”

“I see. That’s what you mean huh. Then please use my power to the fullest.”

“Yeah”

Kanzaki—no, Marquis Ryan Doris got down on one knee and bowed his head to me. He just swore his loyalty to me. Of course, as the Lord, it’s not a bad thing for Ryan either. It’s not hard to imagine that if Mana could attract people to something else, not just the dungeon, the city would be richer than ever. And as the economy develops, the city itself will gain strength. Well, that’s secondary. Honestly, I just want to eat a lot of Japanese food.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes.”

When our talk ends and I was about to leave, the Lord hurriedly holds me back.

“There was something I forgot to mention.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know the new hero of this kindgom?”

“Hero??”

I wracked my brain. I’ve heard it before but I can’t remember where it was. More than that, I wonder what the hero did.

“He was awarded the title of Hero by the King for his success in the last war. His name is Arvish Gloris, he is a young man who is making a name for himself in the royal capital.”

“Arvish Gloris…”

Soon a young man is recalled from my memory. He’s the one who attacked me and Erna. I thought he had gone somewhere, but apparently, he gained strength and returned to the royal capital. I don’t know how things have changed since then.

“In fact, that new hero is criticizing Tanaka-san. He is saying that Shinichi Tanaka, from Homeless party, is a coward and a sneaky bastard. I have a hunch that it will lead to trouble you see.”

“That’s possible. There’s a high probability that he held a grudge against me after all. I now need to think about how to deal with it huh…”

After a short silence, “Well, thank you for the information”, I said to the Lord. And this time, I left the mansion.

I never imagined that the Lord of Mana is Kanzaki. But now, my vague thoughts turned into a certainty. There are other reincarnated people besides me. Moreover, there is a possibility that they have been reincarnated through the ages.

Coincidentally, me and Kanzaki were close in time. However, if there are others, they are not necessarily living at the same time as us. They may be far in the past or perhaps there is someone who is reincarnated in the far future. I don’t know why I could say that, but the fact that I am alive like this is the best proof.

“Maybe Shigeru-san is also alive somewhere.”

 Looking up at the darkened sky, I came to know once again what fate is.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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A week has passed since the cafeteria opened. Sales are quite good. I had planned to run the cafeteria little by little, but it seems like the response has been more than I expected. My original purpose was to make Japanese food take root in this world. And secondly, I thought that it would be good if I could get the minimum amount of money necessary for life. After that, I thought it would be nice if it could become a temporary resting place for adventurers.

But reality betrayed me in a good way. Interestingly, it seems that the number of people coming to the dungeon has increased just to eat in the cafeteria. This should be the one known as “word of the mouth”. We didn’t advertise it that much but a large number of adventurers started coming every day. It’s indeed a good idea to open the store on the 15th floor. Japanese food may be well suited to the palate of people in this world.

Soy sauce and miso are also selling well. This started from customer requests. The set meals are mainly seasoned with soy sauce and some adventurers said that they want to eat such taste at home. Since the cafeteria also sells soy sauce and miso, I recommended it, and they bought it without hesitation. But in this way, it will become a seasoning that is not available to the general public and I don’t want that to happen. Luckily, this point has also been solved. I had Arnold sell soy sauce and miso in Mana’s market. This made it possible for ordinary people on the ground to enjoy Japanese food as well. Thus the success of soy sauce and miso. All that’s left to do is wait for soy sauce and miso to spread throughout the world.

“Teriyaki hamburger steak is delicious!”

Erna is sitting in front of me, looking happy as she eats. Next to me, Pero is also enjoying a sashimi set meal. Right next to Pero, Freya is silently eating a stir-fried vegetable set meal. The four of us came to Homeless Cafeteria. The store is busy today as well, the chatter of adventurers echoed throughout the store.

“Hey-, there’s a grain of rice on your face.”

I took the grain of rice from the corner of Erna’s mouth with my finger and ate it. She immediately turned red and steam emits from her head.

“Ho- ho- ho…..”

“?”

Erna makes a blowing movement from her mouth and she shakes her head afterwards, as if calming herself.

Did I do something wrong?

“Father is very dense sometimes.”

Hearing Pero’s words, I thought about arguing but I held back. This is because it is impossible for me, who had a reputation for being keen, to be dense. And, sometimes, it is the duty of a father to accept his son’s painful words.

“Dense!”

A girl’s voice sounded so I subconsciously looked around. However, there is no sign of such a person. While wondering what it was, I dig my chopsticks into the salmon TKG set meal from the secret menu.

“What is that? It looks so delicious!”

An adventurer who was nearby reacted when he saw my food. This restaurant only serves three types of set meals so it seems to stand out if I eat something different.

“This is a salmon TKG set meal from the secret menu. If you don’t mind raw eggs, you can order and try it.”

“Oh, thank you!”

He also ordered it right away. When the skeleton serving as a waiter brings the food, he teaches the customer how to eat TKG by writing it on a flip. Since the skeletons cannot speak, they basically communicate with customers through written communication. 

After the adventurer understood, he put the egg on top of the rice, poured soy sauce on it and stirred it. When he put it in his mouth, he let out a cry of joy, “Uwa!” Apparently, it suited his taste.

“Is TKG delicious?”

I heard that voice again so I checked my surroundings once more. But as expected, the owner of the voice was nowhere in sight.

“Is anyone there?”

“…………”

There was no response. There is no sign of that person but I know there is someone nearby. I then opened the eyes in my forehead and looked around. My third eye has the power not only to see but also to reveal what is hidden in space. I don’t usually use it so it’s easy to forget about it. However, it’s an ability that comes in handy at times like this.

“……Why are you here?”

“You found me.”

 A familiar girl was standing behind me. It seems that she has been hiding with her ninjutsu skill for a long time.

“Just show yourself.”

“Can’t be helped then.”

The girl reluctantly releases her stealth and pushes Pero aside to sit in the seat next to me. She has short pale blue hair and a still young appearance. I recalled that she was on her pajamas when we first met, but now she is wearing an adventurer gear. She also carries a large rucksack on her back so she doesn’t look like a nobleman.

She’s Liz. She is the girl from a noble family who was sick in the neighboring town.

“I’ll ask you again, why on earth are you here?”

“I’m bankrupt. That is why I became an adventurer.”

“Huh? Speak a little more clearly.”

“Mmm. My house has fallen and I became very poor. I wanted to become an adventurer to earn money, but I don’t know how. That’s why I thought I’d ask Onii-chan to teach me.”

With eyes half-closed, Liz explained nonchalantly.

In other words, she wanted to be an adventurer so she came here to ask for my help. But why would she go into hiding? No, wait. How long has this girl been following me?

“……How long have you been following me?”

“Since yesterday.”

I almost fell out of my chair from shock. She probably saw me in the city yesterday, I didn’t expect her to be around me for that long. The three people listening to the story were also stunned.

“Why didn’t you talk to me sooner? If I hadn’t found you, you wouldn’t have known how to become an adventurer forever.”

“I’m a shy person. It’s a pain for me to talk to people.”

“But you want to be an adventurer, don’t you?”

“Well, I thought it would be okay to leave it as it is. If I can’t find you, I can just eat for free and just laze around. I don’t like trouble you see.”

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. This girl seems to have a frightening tendency to dislike trouble. Even with that, she thought about becoming an adventurer. This concept is a bit…

“Did your parents approved of it when you told them you’ll become an adventurer?”

“I was told that if I could make money and earn honor, I should do my best.”

Her parents are also… Well, they say parents and children are very similar. Leaving that aside, for nobles, it seems that downfall means bankruptcy as well. I wonder what kind of life they are living so far.

“I understand your situation. Alright, from now on, I’ll show you how to become an adventurer.”

“You don’t have to teach me that. I’ve decided to be Onii-chan’s wife.”

“Ah!? My wife?”

“Yes. It will be easier that way.”

I let out a second sigh. I had been thinking of how to help her become an adventurer but this girl started saying ridiculous things again. And her reason is not a reason at all.

“Let me tell you, I also have the right to choose my partner you know. Besides, I can’t marry a girl who isn’t even old enough yet.”

“Stingy.”

“I’m not stingy. I’ll teach you how to be an adventurer, and I can train you for that, but I can’t help you get married.”

“Stingy”

 Don’t call me stingy twice. At that moment, Erna stood up and exclaimed,

“Shinichi doesn’t have enough time to deal with a kid like you!”

“Shut up middle aged woman.”

“You-, Me?, middle-aged? What are you saying!”

 Liz’s words infuriated Erna. She raised her wand and began to say, “I’m going to make you disappear!” me and Pero hurriedly stopped her.

“Apologize to Erna. What you said just now is too much.”

“I’m sorry…. middle-aged woman.”

Liz bows her head to apologize but her next words made Erna furious again. Well, it’s incredibly rude of Liz to provoke Erna’s anger by apologizing first then insult her after. It seems like she needs to be taught some common sense first. After calming Erna down like how a cowherd does, I decided to check Liz’s status again.

【Analysis: Liz Schmidt: The third daughter of the Schmidt family. She has a personality that hates troublesome things to the extreme. If possible, she would like to spend the rest of her life lying in bed. She has a strong interest in Shinichi Tanaka. Rarity: B, Overall Ability: D】

【Status】  Name: Liz Schmidt  Race: Human  Age: 15 years old  Magic Attribute: Water  Magic: Aqua Ball, Aqua Arrow, Aqua Wall, Aqua Cure  Skills: Shinobi’s Vessel ▹Intermediate: Ninjutsu, Body Strengthening, Eyesight Enhancement  Evolution: Conditions are not met  <Evolution Condition: Swordsmanship (Advanced), Ninjutsu (Intermediate), Taijutsu B (Advanced)>

Compared to the first time I saw her, her Ninjutsu and Body Strengthening seemed to have improved. Compared to ordinary people, her status is still quite good. If she trains well, she’ll be able to become an intermediate adventurer in no time. Maybe her choice to become an adventurer is the right one.

“Okay, I’ll make you an adventurer. However, I’ll manage your money.”

“As long as I have three meals and a nap, there is no problem.”

Liz took her purse out of her pocket and then she handed it to me. When I looked inside, there were only five copper coins inside. How pitiful that one day’s worth of food was all she had.

“Let’s eat for now. You must be hungry anyway, right?”

“Yes.”

When a sashimi set meal was brought in front of her, she dexterously began to eat with chopsticks. I was intrigued, so I asked her a question.

“You can use chopsticks?”

“I learned it when I saw Onii-chan using it.”

 It’s scary to think that she learned how to use chopsticks in an instant. She doesn’t like trouble, but she seems to be quite smart. I also resumed eating, and I instantly felt satisfied with my salmon TKG.

“Uhm, if you call Father Onii-chan, I wonder what you’ll call me…”

 Pero looks at Liz with an anxious expression.

“Son”

 Liz replies as she munch on her meal. This time, it was Freya who asked,

“And me?”

“Red Woman”

 Freya murmured, “Red woman…”

 Finally, Liz points her chopsticks at Erna and says,

“Rival”

Erna had a surprised expression on her face. She quickly put a proud smile on her face and then she ordered a drink to the waiter skeleton. She took a deep gulp on the sake that was brought to her, then she pointed her index finger at Liz.

“Okay, I’ll recognize you as my rival! Let’s compete fair and square.”

“That’s what I hope for. I won’t lose to a middle-aged woman you see.”

It felt like sparks were flying between the two of them. As adventurers, it must be a pleasure to compete against each other in terms of skill. In that case, I can’t afford to lose either. As I was grinning at that thought, Pero and Freya looked at me with shocked expressions.

“Father is really dense after all…”

“Yeah. Tanaka-dono doesn’t seem to understand the heart of a maiden.”

That again. 

What’s so dense about me?

You’re both mistaken you know. I would like to protest resolutely. After we finished our meal, we decided to go back to our hideout for the time being.

 ◇◇◇

“Liz, you’ll share a room with Erna and Freya. As for the bed, it will be purchased later today. Do you need anything else?”

“None.”

“Alright then, I’m going to the city. In the meantime, get your things sorted out.”

When I closed the door of the room and turned around, I saw Pero painting in the living room. The model is Erna. He quickly runs the pencil across the drawing paper and makes a sketch. His skill on painting has improved a lot. It’s amazing that he’s able to draw this much on his own. Maybe he’ll pursue a career as an artist someday.

“I’m going to the city. If anything happens, report it immediately.”

“Yes, I know.”

Because Pero is concentrating, Erna replied instead. When I looked at Freya, she is busy polishing her weapon in front of the fireplace. It’s the usual scene of the Homeless party.

“Okay then. I’ll leave the hideout to you guys.”

I left the hideout and exits to the ground through the Temple of Teleportation. I tried to go to inside the city but I immediately paused.

“Right. I need to make sure I haven’t received a letter.”

When I searched the mailbox in the temple, I found an envelope. The sender is the Lord of Mana.

 Is it some kind of request again?

 Feeling doubtful, I decided to go to the lord’s mansion for the time being.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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12 midnight.

The area around Mohed’s Great Dungeon is filled with darkness and only the roars of beasts can be heard. I start walking quietly out of the Temple of Teleportation and then I gradually quickened my steps until I reached my destination, —the forest. As I continued into the forest, I caught a familiar scent on the wind. 

“It looks like things are going well huh.”

I mumbled as I proceed further. The thick roots of the trees are spread out like a maze on the moss-covered ground. This is a place called “Shoyu Forest”, it’s about 10 kilometers from Mana City. As for the origin of the name, it is said that a man named “Shoyu” used to live in this forest. So the Shoyu Forest came to be.

Strangely enough, I couldn’t think of Shoyu-san as a stranger. If we could meet and talk, I feel like we would be best friends. When I reached the center of the forest, I can see the fields spread out in a circular shape. The scent in the air also becomes even stronger.

“I’m sure it’s around here…”

As I walk through the fields, I relied on my memory and grope around. From the point of view of an onlooker, I look like a weirdo groping around aimlessly. That’s a big misunderstanding though. This is because I am looking for an isolated space that is in the middle of this field. This isolated space is made to be invisible to the surroundings. Moreover, only authorized people are allowed to enter.

Then, I had touched something like a lump of cotton in my hand.

“Alright, let’s work on it again today.”

When I entered the isolated space, a familiar scene appeared before me. It is a wooden factory that was built in the field. White smoke billowed out of the chimneys and skeletons in white work clothes carried large quantities of beans into the warehouse.

“Katakata”

“Is the work going well?”

When the skeletons greeted me, I responded by raising my hand. The skeletons also responded to my question saying, “It’s going well”. I entered the factory and then I also put on a white work clothes and special boots. Going further inside, I arrived at a place where large wooden barrels are lined up.

“Katakatakata!”

Sukejiro came running over and immediately saluted to me. He is accompanied by Lich A, who also saluted to me.

“I presumed that it would be completed today but-, how is it going?”

“Katakata”

Sukejiro replies apologetically, “We can’t be sure of the taste.”

I expected that this would indeed be the case. I approached the barrel and scooped out the black liquid inside with my finger. When I licked it, the same taste as I remembered spreads in my mouth.

It’s definitely soy sauce.

“It’s completed! I can call it soy sauce without any complaint!”

Hearing my words, the skeletons who had been watching me do the tasting clattered their jaws and cheered. That’s right, we finally made the soy sauce. When I think about it, it’s been a long road. First, we find soybeans and grow them in the miniature gardens on the 24th floor. Then after storing the harvested beans in the bangle, we built a factory to make soy sauce. The wood used in constructing the building was obtained from the sacred tree of Sanargia Great Forest Kingdom. As it is called the World Tree Treant, its wood contains just the right amount of moisture and is extremely sturdy. Not only the building, but also the soy sauce barrels were made from the same wood, and judging from the finished product, it can be said that the wood was suitable for making the soy sauce containers.

Now, let me explain why I am making soy sauce outside and not inside the dungeon. As you know, Mohed Gread Dungeon has an environment where microorganisms cannot reproduce. In other words, the koji mold necessary for making soy sauce cannot be produced there. For this reason, I built the factory in the forest near the Great Dungeon. It is now operating as a splendid soy sauce factory.

Let’s then talk about soy sauce making. To make koji mold, we had to mix soybeans with brine, wheat and koji and then stir them every day. Once you repeat this process, you will gradually get a mushy brown liquid. People call the mushy brown liquid “moromi”. After another year or so of fermentation, it becomes the soy sauce that everyone knows. In fact, there is more detail to be done but let me leave it to here.

It’s been about two months since we first started making soy sauce. Perhaps it was thanks to the building and barrels made out of the World Tree Treant’s branch, the fermentation was completed extremely quickly. And today is the day to pack the long-awaited soy sauce in a jar.

“Alright, next is to squeeze the moromi and cook the soy sauce!”

“Katakata”

The skeletons wrapped the mushy moromi in a cloth and they began to squeeze it. A black liquid then drips into the bucket placed directly below where they are squeezing. This is the commonly known soy sauce. Then they heated the collected soy sauce in a pot until it boiled, let it cool and afterwards, they poured it into the prepared black bottle.

When I received the completed bottled soy sauce, I placed a raw egg on a bowl of rice and dripped soy sauce on it. It’s an authentic TKG (Tamago-Kake-Gohan* Egg sauce over rice). When I stuffed it into my mouth, my breath became rough, probably because I am too excited.

“It’s egg sauce over rice…” (**Imagine him speaking while munching so it sounds stuttering)

I let out a blissful sigh after I finished eating the bowl of rice. I finally got what I wanted so badly.

“Well done! This will be popular for sure!”

“Katakatakata!”

The skeletons jumped up and down. Right, maybe you are thinking why we even built a factory just to make soy sauce. Well, of course, it’s for selling.

There is no soy sauce in this world. Everyone here dies without even knowing the best seasoning, —soy sauce. It’s sad, right? So, it is better to make one and sell it. I want to spread this wonderful Japanese seasoning in this world.

“Katakata”

Sukejiro brought a small box. When I opened it to look what’s inside, I found a reddish-brown sticky stuff. I lightly pinched it with my fingers and brought it to my mouth.

“Hmm-, yes, this is good enough.”

Sukejiro bows deeply at my evaluation. This is miso. The skeletons are also making miso in parallel with making soy sauce. That said, it was quite difficult to make miso. I can see the hardships faced by soy sauce and miso companies when we tried to make them.

As the skeletons begin to bottle the soy sauce in earnest, they also put on the labels they have made. It’s called dark soy sauce with a homeless trademark on it. Of course, the same label is attached to miso as well.

“Katakata”

“Well, when the work is done, we will celebrate.”

The skeletons happily jumped up and down after hearing my words. After about an hour of packing the boxes, I prepared a number of large sake barrels. The skeletons who had washed their bodies clean were already waiting in a line.

“Alright, come on in!”

At the moment I gave the signal, the skeleton on the first line jumps into the barrel. Then his red eyes gradually turned pink. He is drunk. After the first one leaves the barrel, the next skeleton enters. Well, skeletons cannot eat or drink because they are just bones. However, they are known to actually absorb water from the surface of their bodies. When I learned of this fact, I decided to serve them alcohol as a consolation. Even if they don’t need a salary, they must be rewarded for their hard work. Besides, even though they are magical beasts, they also have personality.

“That’s everyone huh.”

After confirming that all the skeletons in the factory have entered the sake barrel, I warned Sukejiro to keep the banquet in moderation and then I returned to the dungeon.

When I arrived at the fifteenth floor of the Mohed Great Dungeon, I followed the usual path without getting lost. When I reached the dome-shaped open room, a guard in gray cloth at the entrance bowed to me. He wore a mask on his face and he is also wearing gloves and boots. At first glance, he looks like a person, but he is unmistakably a homeless skeleton.

The room is set up with tables and chairs and a number of skeletons dressed in gray cloth are diligently cleaning inside.

“Everyone gather around.”

The skeletons quickly gathered together after I spoke. There were about ten people. Including the skeletons outside the room, there were about 30 people here. However, only those inside had things to do.

The skeletons clattered their jaws as if asking, “Is it made?”.

“Yes, the soy sauce and miso are ready. This place will open in a week.”

The skeletons hugged each other and rejoiced. That’s right. A week later, this Homeless cafeteria will open. Why was the cafeteria inside the dungeon? The reason is simple. I wanted to do a small business with the adventurers who roamed inside the dungeon.

Of course, I can make a good living as it is now but it is still very unsettling to earn money by fishing for the corpses of adventurers. In order to live a stable life, it is important to have a stable income. That’s when I came up with the idea of a cafeteria. The main dishes served are Japanese food, and soy sauce and miso are indispensable for it. I also plan to casually sell soy sauce and miso in the store.

I took out the soy sauce and miso from the bangle and hands them to the skeletons. They will learn how to make Japanese food from now on. There are only about three kinds of dishes served in the cafeteria so they shouldn’t have much trouble. There won’t be that many adventurers anyway. This cafeteria is just a small business after all.

“Well then, let’s practice cooking.”

 I immediately decided to teach them how to cook.

◇◇◇

 (A certain tavern in Mana City)

Inside the tavern, two male adventurers were conversing.

“Hey, do you know?”

“Ah? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s rumored that a cafeteria opened in the dungeon recently.”

“Huh?”

The man says something like, “That’s impossible”, and takes a swig of ale. The other man continued talking as he watched his behaviour.

“Well, listen. I’ve only heard about it through rumors, but apparently, there is a cafeteria in the rearmost of the fifteenth floor. What’s more, the food served there are delicious. All the famous people in this city are now all talking about that cafeteria.”

“A cafeteria in the dungeon… Is it really there?”

“I’m not sure either. But if it really exists, it would be a blessing for us adventurers.”

“Well, that’s right… If there’s really a place where we can take a break in the dungeon, that’s certainly a good thing.”

The man said and then he gulped down the remaining ale in one shot. He put his glass down on the table and grinned at the man who started the conversation.

“Then, shall we look for it now?”

“Now?”

“Yeah. Both of us can transfer to the fifteenth floor so we can just go there directly. Let’s check if it’s true.”

“……Right, that’s a good point. I’ve been curious about it too and it’s indeed a good time to check it out.”

The two men left the tavern, packed up their gear and decided to dive into the Great Dungeon. Using the Temple of Teleportation, they reached the fifteenth floor but they immediately felt uneasy.

“……Hey, isn’t it too quiet?”

“Yeah…., it’s not like the previous fifteenth floor. There is no sign of the enemy at all.”

The two of them draw their swords and searched for signs of magical beasts. However, they didn’t see any of those creatures.

Katakatakata.

Hearing the sound, the two of them immediately braced themselves. Footsteps can be heard from the other side of the aisle, indicating that something is approaching them. The two of them waited with bated breath. Is it a man or a beast?

Then they soon find out what it is.

“Katakata”

What appeared was a man with a gray cloth over his head. He is fully covered, he wore a mask on his face, gloves on his hands and boots on his feet. Looking at his waist, he is equipped with sword, and the two of them somehow recognized him as a fellow adventurer.

“I’m sorry, I thought it was a magical beast.”

When the other guy said that, the figure in the gray cloth just waved his hand lightly, as if to say, “I don’t mind.” The two of them felt relieved, and just as they were about to leave, the mysterious person suddenly handed them a piece of paper. They took the paper and checked its contents.

“Homeless cafeteria opening? 30% off now?”

There was even a map to the store, and they thought it was close to their current location.

“Uhm… This is…”

When the two of them looked up to talk to the mysterious person, he was already gone. They were scared, but still, they decided to go to the cafeteria with the help of the paper they were given.

“This….., can you smell it?”

“Yes! It smells good. I suddenly felt hungry.”

“Me too.”

They walk as they talk to each other and then they came to the designated place. There was a door in front of them. From the other side, they can hear a lot of people talking. The two of them made up their minds and opened the door.

“Whoa! This is amazing!”

“What the hell is this?”

Beyond the door was a large room, where nearly fifty adventurers were chatting and eating happily. Men wearing gray clothes moved in a practiced manner between the customers. They were carrying trays of food and serving them to the table with efficient movements. Although the two were surprised by the sight, they knowingly sat down on an empty seat.

“Katakata”

A man in gray cloth who appeared to be a waiter asked the two of them for their order. Looking at the menu on the table, it seemed that there were only three dishes.

MENU ・ Teriyaki hamburger steak set meal – 5 copper coins  ・ Sashimi set meal – 3 copper coins  ・ Stir-fried vegetable set meal – 2 copper coins

“Then I’ll have a teriyaki hamburger set meal.”

“I’ll have a sashimi set meal.”

The waiter bowed and walked away from the table. The two of them immediately wondered about the dish they have never heard of.

“The price is quite low. I can’t imagine what kind of dish it is from the name though.”

“Yeah. I know about stir-fried vegetables but I’ve never heard of sashimi.”

Looking around, it seemed that many adventurers were drinking and eating. Some of them can be seen dipping white things in a black liquid and eating them. The two adventurers felt concern but they also have an uncontrollable curiosity.

“Katakata”

Not long after, the waiter brought their food. The two men’s eyes widened in surprise. Served in front of them were dishes they have never seen before but a good aroma that increases their appetite tickles their nostrils.

“Why don’t we try it…”

“Okay…”

For the time being, they decided to drink the soup served in a wooden bowl. When the two of them put the warm soup in their mouths, they let out a cry, “Wow!?”

“What a complex taste! The amount of salt is just right and it’s so good! I’ve never eaten anything like this before!”

“Hey-, it’s pretty good if you eat it with this white lump!”

As he began to gobble on the soup and rice, he also took a bite of each main side dish.

“Wow! The sauce on the hamburger is so delicious!”

“Is this a raw fish? It’s delicious when dipped in the black liquid and eaten!”

The two adventurers eagerly ate the set meal and continued eating until they were full. When they finished eating, they paid the bill at the counter and headed back to the Temple of Teleportation.

“…..The rumors were true after all.”

“Yeah. The food is also great. I want to come again.”

 They returned to the ground feeling satisfied.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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“You’re going to fire me!? Are you fucking kidding me!?”

Yasuhiko Kanzaki pounded the table in the conference room. He is fifty-five years old and his silver-framed glasses made him look shrewd. Inside the room, men in suits were sitting on the chairs surrounding the round table. They stared intently at Kanzaki.

“Your dismissal has already been decided. I cannot continue to let you sit in the representative director’s seat.”

One of the men stated coldly.

Kanzaki’s body trembles with anger for a while and then he leans back in his chair as if he has given up on something.

“…I understand. The number of contracts has plummeted since I became president. It’s now three-quarters of what it was when President Tanaka was the president. It’s only natural that I should be fired.”

A general meeting of shareholders was held recently and representative director Kanzaki was dismissed. Generally, when a representative is dismissed, the company director remains. However, when a company director is dismissed, he or she will lose both the representative rights and the position as director. Kanzaki has lost both of them. It can be said that he was effectively fired.

“Now that I think about it, President Kanzaki… no, Kanzaki-kun, don’t you know where Tanaka-san is?”

Kanzaki snorts a laugh at the fat man’s words. He could easily tell that he’s already pretending to be a president. He then remembered his former president, Shinichi Tanaka.

White Ring Co., Ltd., whose founder was Shinichi Tanaka, is a first-class company with a history of 46 years this year. The company’s main business is domestic communications, but it also operates a wide variety of other businesses. It was known to the general public as the white ring of mobile phone companies.

Kanzaki has been an employee since the company’s founding. There is no doubt that the man named Kanzaki played an active role as Shinichi Tanaka’s right-hand man and supported Shinichi as a friend and employee. It would be impossible to say that White Ring Co., Ltd.’s rapid rise to become a top-notch company was without his efforts.

“…No, I don’t know. More importantly, why does former president Tanaka’s name come up here?”

“The shareholders are demanding that Tanaka-san be made president again. They probably thought that the founder could make this company, which was on the brink of collapse, turn around.”

“I see. It’s going back to Tanaka-san after all huh…”

“Of course, personally, I don’t think it is necessary to look for him. I have to listen to the wishes of the shareholders though. So, if you don’t know where he is, that’s fine. In fact, even if you know, don’t tell him.”

The fat man grins, showing his yellow teeth. Looking at him, Kanzaki predicted that this company would be over.

“Haa-, what would Tanaka-san say if he saw the current company?”

“Hah! You really have the nerve to say that!? You were the one who dragged President Tanaka down in the first place! Have you already forgotten that you reached out to the shareholders and asked them for his dismissal?”

Kanzaki’s face contorts as if he has crushed a bitter worm. The man was right. He lobbied the shareholders and kicked the former president. That fact was a well-known story within the company.

“When I thought about where the company would end up to, I decided that I had no choice but to do that. At that time, Tanaka-san was on the verge of destroying the company you see.”

“It is true that we were able to create our main products because of that. But it is not like I forgave you back then!”

Kanzaki cast his eyes downwards after hearing the man’s words. All the directors here are gathered in admiration to a man named Shinichi Tanaka. Everyone respects Shinichi deep down in their mind. However, now their positions have changed, and they are using the company to satisfy their own greed. The flow of time has changed both Kanzaki and the men.

“It’s my bad. Then, I’ll go find the former president.”

 When Kanzaki said this, the man lost his momentum and lowered his voice.

“I don’t think you have to do that. I’m going to be the representative director so even if Tanaka-san comes back, the management won’t necessarily go well.”

Kanzaki was stunned by the man’s words. They are now blinded by their status. He was tempted to say that double standards should be put aside. But it’s the same with him. He also enjoyed the 11 years that Shinichi was gone as president. He sucked the sweet nectar and satisfied his greed. Remembering this, he realized that he was not in a position to say anything to the man in front of him. They are the same after all.

“You are saying it’s my fault right? Okay, I’ll obediently get dismissed.”

 Kanzaki then leaves the room.

◇◇◇

It’s been six months since Kanzaki was fired from the company. During that time, he hired a detective to look for Shinichi Tanaka.

“This is the investigation report, and to be clear, the person you are looking for is still alive.”

Two men faced each other in a detective agency. It’s Kanzaki and the hired detective. The man holds out a thick document.

“He’s alive huh…”

Listening to the detective’s words, Kanzaki flipped through the papers. Shinichi Tanaka’s birth and upbringing are described there in detail.

“I already know this information,” he said, then he checked the last page to find out where he was.

“Tanaka-san… H-He is homeless?”

Kanzaki was speechless at the current Shinichi Tanaka which was written on the last page. The fact that the former president, who ran a large company and earned enough money to live on leisure, was now homeless, made Kanzaki doubt his own sanity. He quickly went back to the page and found out why Shinichi was homeless.

After Shinichi Tanaka was fired from White Ring, he sold all his assets and donated them to welfare facilities throughout Japan. After that, when he ran out of money, he worked part-time and suddenly disappeared one day.

The detective continued to inquire and discovers that there is a person who appears to be Shinichi Tanaka in Shinjuku Central Park. The investigation kept going and he finally found the person he was looking for. This was the result of the investigation.

Kanzaki remembered Shinichi in the past. He always has a calm atmosphere and a keen eye that he shows from time to time. However, contrary to his appearance, he was also affectionate and valued his family more than anything else.

“That’s right, it wasn’t until he lost his family that he went crazy…”

He watched the work by Shinichi’s side more than anyone else. Without a doubt, he was a major figure who would stand on the shoulders of Japan’s business community. However, Shinichi has changed. After the divorce, he became even more immersed in his work.

Without taking a break, they devoted themselves to the development of their own products, reaching out to new businesses one after another. It was a terrifying sight for everyone. Working beyond the limit affected the entire company. Employees and subcontractors who had reached their limit left one after another. Kanzaki, who thought that it would be over if it goes as it is, planned to drag Shinichi out of the president’s position. Kanzaki then became president after that.

“I wonder if I was wrong…”

Kanzaki mutters. It’s unclear whether the path he chose with the company in mind was the right one. However, if Shinichi had been left alone, the White Ring company today might not have been there.

For the past 11 years, Kanzaki hasn’t even met Shinichi and he’s been struggling with the choice he made at that time.

“As an outsider, I know it’s not my turn to say this but, wouldn’t it be better if you go to him and apologize?”

The detective said to Kanzaki while smoking a cigarette.

“Apologize? After 11 years…. don’t you think it’s too late now? Maybe he even has a grudge against me.”

“Isn’t it better if he hates you? I think what’s more important now is what you want to do in a situation like this. Even if you can’t regain the trust you’ve lost, you can rebuild it once again.”

“Once again?”

Kanzaki was convinced. Hearing the detective’s words, the feelings that had been sealed away were released. He would like to work with Tanaka-san again. He wants that person to trust him again. His overwhelming emotions turned into a turbulent wave that swept him over.

“Tanaka-san… where is he now?”

“At this hour, he should be wandering around behind the convenience store. Wait a minute, I’ll get you a map.”

The detective gives him a map and with red pen, he circles the convenience store where Shinichi will be. Kanzaki paid the commission fee to the detective and immediately rushed out of the office.

“He’s not the kind of person who should end up being homeless! Right! I’m going to work with him again!”

As he ran frantically, he was able to come to the vicinity of the convenience store he targeted. Then Kanzaki begins to look around in search of Shinichi.

“Gyaaaaaaaa!”

Suddenly, he heard a scream. Then as if triggered, meteorites began to fall from the sky. The building in front of him was shattered, and the ground shook from the impact. On the road, there are people fleeing and big beasts chasing them. He saw a giant wolf bite a human, it crunches the bones and swallows the person.

“W-What…? What’s going on!?”

Terrified, he decided to flee for now. When he walks into a nearby back alley, he notices something unfamiliar floating in the air. It was wearing a black cloth and was carrying a large sickle. There are two human corpses nearby. Their heads were cut off and they lay motionless on the ground.

“Gugigigigi”

The uncomfortable voice made Kanzaki take a step backwards. This is clearly an unusual situation. Deciding that he should run away, he turned his back and started to run.

――But then his field of vision rotates. The scenery changed rapidly, and then his cheek hit the ground. Immediately after that, his consciousness drifts far away, and a revolving lantern begins to flash in his mind.

Kanzaki realized, “Oh-…. I’m dead huh.”

Strangely, he didn’t feel sadness or wonder at the fact that he died so quickly and easily. On the contrary, he laughed at it, betraying Shinichi, he deserved it.

◇◇◇

“Ryan! How long are you going to sleep!? Wake up!”

Kanzaki was woken up and he jumped from the bed. A white woman he had never seen before was looking at him with an angry look.

“Eh? Huh?”

“Eh? Huh? What are you dazed about!? It’s already eight o’clock! Get ready and go to school quickly!”

School?

Kanzaki feels confused, but memories gradually awakened in his mind. His current self is called Ryan Doris. He is 13 years old. He was born as the eldest son of the Doris family, a lower aristocracy. Today is a weekday and he has to go to a school attended by aristocrats. He quickly dressed himself, grabbed his bag and left the house.

“What does this mean?”

Walking through the city, Kanzaki ponders over this matter. In his line of sight, there is a landscape that is not in Japan at all. It looks like it could be somewhere overseas, but when he saw an adventurer with a sword, he immediately realized that this is not Earth.

When he saw his reflection in the glass window of a store, he realized that he turned into a white kid and his current look did not resemble his former self.

“Reincarnation…?”

That’s all he could think of. Yasuhiko Kanzaki was reincarnated as Ryan Doris. Then a fervor that he had never felt before is now bubbling inside him.

“It’s a second life!”

He trembled with joy. He jumped up and down with joy, blowing away all his doubts. However, as soon as he calms down, his thoughts go full circle.

“I don’t know why this happened, I said I want to work with Tanaka-san again but I don’t think I can do that. I also wanted to apologize properly but…”

The only thing he left undone in his previous life was an apology to Shinichi. However, when he decided that it was impossible under the current circumstances, he changed his mind with his own mental strength. Kanzaki is already dead, and now he is Ryan. He decided that there was no point in dragging his past life.

At that moment, the sound of bell ringing echoes in the city.

“Ah-, crap! I’m late!”

 Ryan hurried to school.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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