1 Determined to defeat the magus, Elias was glaring up at the mountain peak from the foothills, but up on that peak, in fairyland, time was flowing slowly. Krusty stuck his hand, which was encased in a cotton-padded mitt, into a brick oven. The iron sheet was a thick one, forty-five centimeters square, and holding it in one hand would have resulted in disaster back on Earth. But in Theldesia, weight like this was nothing. He easily drew it out. A shallow pot sat on top of the iron sheet. The kitchen at Bai Tao Shrine was spacious, about the size of a large convenience store. It was fitted out with a full range of cooking implements, but compared with Earth, there wasn’t much of a variety. Even so, in terms of copper and iron pots alone, there were at least fifty shapes and sizes, both shallow and deep. The object Krusty had taken out of the oven was one of these: a bright, lustrous copper pot. That said, at the moment, it was serving as a dessert mold rather than a pot. All that was visible from the top was a golden-brown crust. It had been made by adding cold water to a mixture of wheat flour and some sort of butter. The key had probably been to fold it over and over while keeping it cold so that it formed multiple layers. Underneath it lay caramelized stewed fruit, sweetened with sugar. In other words, it was a childish trick of a dessert: He’d boiled and sweetened peaches and loquats, covered them with a piecrust, put them in the oven, and baked them for a while. Krusty had no culinary talent, but he could at least cook. This was because it was work. Recipes were manuals, and manuals were written so that, as long as they did things in the proper order, even people with no talent could get results. Since cooking was work, the bottom line was that, provided they had a recipe, anyone could do it. It was simple logic. Because “talent” spoke louder on Theldesia than on Earth, the mere act of cooking required things like a Chef subclass or items such as a New Wife’s Apron. In a world like that, there wasn’t much value in manuals. This was only natural: Even if things were advertised as “possible for people with no talent,” without a subclass (aka “talent”), you couldn’t even attempt them. In this world, where you could see whether actions were possible or impossible from the get-go, getting somewhere by learning techniques wasn’t an option. Like most people, he’d lost interest in everything outside his field of expertise. And because of that, from what Krusty’s investigations had shown him, technical books were almost nonexistent in Theldesia. As such, an Adventurer from Earth could startle people by doing something as simple as making dessert. Technically, he should have let it cool for a while in the refrigerator, but that struck him as a nuisance, so he inverted the pot onto a Cold Air Platter. When he did so, the piecrust that had been on the top ended up on the bottom. Freed from its pot mold, the dessert now looked like a cake topped with stewed fruit. Krusty thought for a moment, then arranged fresh peach slices and peach blossoms on the plates. His dish looked drab by itself, so he’d have to make do with decorating it a little. He’d really rather have served it with vanilla ice cream, but there wasn’t any here at the moment, and making it would be time-consuming. In terms of common knowledge on Earth, by the time peaches were ripe, it wasn’t possible to get peach blossoms, but this was an enchanted land of peaches, and both flowers and fruit were abundantly available all year round. “Does Master Immortal seem to be in a good mood?” “I can’t tell.” “Dunno.” “Does it look as if he’ll give us sweets?” “Dunno.” “…I bet he’s thinnnking of something spiiiteful.” The martenfolk were whispering. Most of their shapes were vague and blurred, like steam, so he couldn’t really see them. They called themselves heavenly officials, which apparently meant they were spirits of some sort. Yet, even when they turned solid, they were merely otters with fine pelts, and so Hua Diao, who could take a clear human shape, was an elite. After giving it a little thought, Krusty moved the platter to the table. Turning his back so that the plate was hidden from the steady gazes that peeked in at it from the door, he clattered away with a spoon and fork for a bit. Then, at just the right moment, he stuck the whole thing—platter and all—into his magic bag, then exposed the now-empty table to his audience. Inarticulate shrieks rang out. “The dessert is gone!” “He ate it!” “It got eaten!” “The plate, too?!” “Well, he is Master Immortal, after all.” “Whyyy? Whyyy?” The fact that the sweets they’d thought they’d be getting had vanished must have given them a shock; he heard heartrending cries. Shadows whose physical shapes were as nebulous as smoke hemmed and hawed at the base of the doorway. They’re far too easy to read. Is it because they’re animal spirits? They say they’re heavenly officials. This is another world, after all. That means it’s careless to decide they’re simple just because they’re animals. Some humans are this simple. Ex 1) Like Koen. Ex 2) And Isaac. In other words, deciding it’s because they’re animal spirits is unreasonable. It’s possible they just happen to be incredibly hungry right now. Negative: They’re always like this. Cinchy. (Slang.) Couldn’t I rephrase that as “charming”? I’d prefer something that was more gratifying to pick on. Does this mean I want them to tough it out just a little longer? That hobby is questionable. Objects of amusement need to be durable. Boredom is poison. At any rate, it was a dessert he’d baked for them, so tossing it into his bag and leaving it there would cause problems for him as well. He’d teased them on reflex, and he certainly hadn’t meant it seriously.
“It’s all right; it’s here.” Krusty turned around, producing the platter. They responded with delighted gasps. “Bring saucers and gather in the dining room,” he instructed. At Krusty’s suggestion, the invisible shadows ran off at full speed. The only one to stay behind was Hua Diao, a slight young girl who was only about a meter tall. He carried the platter to the dining room and was carving the fruit pie with the help of an apologetic-looking Hua Diao when, out of nowhere, translucent, hazy shapes formed a line, holding plates. He began transferring small slices onto the plates, but Hua Diao volunteered to take over partway through, so he let her and sat down in a plain chair. Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet. He heard the quiet, staccato call of a songbird. Golden light slanted in through the round window with its wooden cross-shaped frame, illuminating Krusty’s calm, pale profile. In this fairyland of everlasting spring, even a corner of the kitchen seemed like a paradise where sweet fragrances hung in the air. It was a serene time, as peaceful as an afternoon nap. The martenfolk spirits were rather noisy, and as a result, as Krusty poured tea, he looked a little morose. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was practically Snow White, doing the seven dwarves’ chores for them. ? would definitely laugh at him: You’re just like a preschool teacher, aren’t you? Apparently, there really are holes in my memories. Should I do something about it? According to general common sense, forgetting memories is a routine occurrence. Although, personally, I don’t have much experience with it… Forgetting is a novel experience. Would it be better if I took a good vacation and relaxed? I’m enjoying one already. Is it inconvenient in any way? (Utilitarian decision.) Not at present. Wouldn’t that depend on the reason? Said reason is currently unclear. Isn’t the bad status the reason? That merely cycles to the fact that the cause of the bad status is unclear. Take the necessity of looking for the reason under consideration. “It looks as though I really will have to go down to the human settlements.” “Hweh?” Hua Diao made a funny noise; she was gazing at Krusty as if startled. From the tea-colored syrup around her inverted triangle of a mouth, she’d apparently helped herself to the dessert after she’d finished serving the others. “Is something the matter?” “Master Immortal. It isn’t possible to descend Mount Lang Jun. There are various routes through Sirius Grotto, but rank and the number of people are limited. In Adventurer terms, a party of between four and six people may pass through, so long as their levels are between eighty and ninety. I am told that there are other routes up from the foothills, but from the peak, the only choice is to go through the longest cavern.” Well, well. Krusty gave the content a cursory examination. He had some idea of what Hua Diao was talking about. Unbeknownst to them, he had gone down into Sirius Grotto and had seen that the path ended at an enormous bronze door. That door must be one that screened based on levels; the zone beyond it was probably a level-restricted dungeon area. While there were comparatively few in Yamato, it was a characteristic that appeared in raid zones and instance dungeons. It was likely that “Sirius Grotto” was an aggregate of multiple dungeons with the same name. Most of the interior details would be the same, and monsters that differed by level demographic were probably stationed inside. Designing a dungeon that only a small percentage of users could enjoy would be a waste of development resources. On that thought, they’d created zones like this one, which could serve multiple levels. He understood the design concept, but as far as Krusty was concerned, it was inconvenient, too. “I see. In that case, there’s no going down the mountain, is there?” “No. But you are an immortal mountain wizard, Master Immortal, so I expect that won’t be a problem for you.” “It won’t?” “After all, immortal mountain wizards become what they are by climbing mountains, don’t they? Since it’s you, Master Immortal, I think you’ll be fine staying at Bai Tao Shrine… And besides, um, this is delicious.” She’d flushed red when she murmured that last bit, but that aside, she’d said something pretty unreasonable. If he attempted to supplement it, would it be something like Immortal mountain wizards become immortal by climbing mountains, so because you are a mountain wizard, it’s okay for you to live on the mountain? Apparently, some of the settings on the Zhongyuan server had been influenced by Taoist myths. In that case, the idea that an immortal was someone who lived on a mountain was something he could agree with. He seemed to recall a scene in The Investiture of the Gods where being ordered to descend the mountain had nuances of being excommunicated. In that case, he could understand the sentiment that he should stay on the mountain. …Except for the basic fact that he wasn’t an immortal mountain wizard. In the first place, it was likely that Krusty had been mistaken for an Immortal—probably an Ancient—because his status display was abnormal. Hua Diao and the others probably hadn’t picked up on it, but it was another effect of the level-150 bad status they’d named the Soul Darkening Curse. Even in the chaotic, post-Catastrophe world, level 150 was outrageously powerful. The maximum level that Adventurers could do anything about was 90—or, in Yamato, 100. On top of that, there were no Adventurers over level 90 on the Zhongyuan server. It was no wonder that, at level 94, Krusty seemed to be one of the Ancients, a special NPC. He didn’t have the slightest intention of blaming them for that error, but explaining and clearing up the misunderstanding seemed like too much trouble. In the process of explaining the situation, he’d probably be on the receiving end of a lot of questions, and there were quite a few of them that even he wouldn’t be able to answer. Besides, it didn’t feel as though clearing up the mistake would result in a situation that was much different from what it was now. In the clear sunlight, Krusty gazed at Hua Diao, who was absorbed in plying her wooden spoon, and thought for just a little while. “You know, that tart is really supposed to be served with vanilla ice cream.” “Va…nilla?” “It’s a cold, sweet, creamy, frozen dessert. You aren’t familiar with it?” “No, I’m not.” The young girl shook her head, and Krusty nodded sagely. “If I go down to the human settlements, I may be able to find the ingredients for it.” “Understood, sir! As a heavenly official, I will help you descend Mount Lang Jun.” Determined, Hua Diao nodded several times, and mildly appalled, Krusty thought: Too easy.
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