Oh right, please take this with you. It might come in handy."
Peitho pulled out a rolled up scroll held closed with a wax seal. The seal had the emblem of the Adventurers' Guild moulded in it.
I nervously received the scroll.
(This is a reference letter, isn't it? Just why would I need such a thing?)
"Umm..."
"Eremus and the area around it is hotbed for trouble. If you give that to the city's branch's guild master, I'm sure that he'll make sure that trouble won't come your way. But in exchange..."
"You want me to do a favour for him?"
"Yes. I doubt he'll ask for anything too troublesome. And he will compensate you properly for it as well. Perhaps you can ask him to locate and introduce that vampire expert that's supposed to be near Parietina?"
I felt like she was completely leading me by the nose, but aside from a little side work, the benefits sounded good. Being able to get both the exact location of the expert and an introduction would most likely be a net time saver after considering whatever favour that the guild master might ask.
"What did you mean when you called the city a hotbed for trouble anyways?"
Those words really concerned me, especially since I knew so little about the greater world.
"Well, considering the location, it's not much of a surprise. After all, it's so close to the dark continent."
There was a term I wasn't familiar with. The way she used it though sounded like it was something well known, so I was hesitant to let her know I didn't know it.
"Is that so?"
"That's right. The area often gets hit pretty hard each time a demon lord shows up. Because of that, there's tons of straggler demons that makes little nests and causes trouble in the area."
"Of course."
"Well, it's not as bad as further south though. They never lower their alert levels over in Themiscyra since they're right on the land bridge to the dark continent."
"Yea, I bet."
Something else I don't know. I've had so many things I needed to keep track of lately.
"I really feel sorry for them. Bordering on Hyperborea must be pretty rough for them."
"Yea."
Following Peitho's motion, I lowered my head as well, as if we were mourning.
<...Huh? I thought Hyperborea was to the north?>
After a moment of stillness, Claret chimed in with something quite concerning, causing me to immediately snapped my head back up, only to catch the elf looking slightly to my side. Her eyes intersected exactly where Claret was hanging off of my shoulders.
"Umm..."
"Ufufu. I thought so."
The assistant guild master placed a hand over her mouth as she chuckled. My mind raced as I tried to figure out a way out of my predicament, but I really had nothing. My lack of knowledge had just screwed me quite badly.
"I'm sorry, that was rude of me. My curiosity got the better of me."
It was nice of her to apologize, but it didn't really help me.
"Hmm, well, I'm sure that just apologizing won't be very reassuring. How about you do two favours for me and I'll tell you one of my secrets in exchange for keeping silent about what I just learned?"
"Alright."
It wasn't like I really had much of a choice, though I did wonder how much of a detriment it would be for people to know that I barely know the common knowledge of this world, presuming that she caught me with something that was even common knowledge in this area.
(Well, at the very least, she did catch me in pretending to know what she was talking about.)
"The favours are quite simple, really. The first is you go out to breakfast with me."
"..."
It was easy, if I could eat. That was quite the problem for me though.
"I just ate though."
"Then you can watch me eat. I need a break from all this work and having something to eat with one of our adventurers is the perfect excuse, and it'll be nice to have someone to talk to."
"You've probably noticed I'm not a good talker."
"But you are a good listener."
I wasn't really sure how she came to that conclusion right after I lied about knowing what she was talking about, but if she was willing to make that compromise, then it wasn't so bad.
"Alright, and the second?"
"You join me for a meal the next time you come around this area."
"...That's it?"
"You don't seem to notice it, but something like that is actually quite valuable for me. It's hard for me to find excuses to take breaks when there's so much work dropping from that muscle-head's desk onto mine."
"I...see."
It really did look like between the two, that guild master didn't look the type to be very responsible, especially when it came to doing paperwork. And I doubted that an assistant guild master's workload was small in the slightest in a place as busy like this.
"And having someone to eat with, even if I'm the only one eating, is a nice change of pace. Looking at you, I think I can guess why you go solo, and avoid drawing much attention."
Peitho leaned over and took a quick peek under my hood before I quickly lowered my head even further.
"Don't worry. I used to be an active adventurer and a decently successful one at that."
"Really?"
It was hard to believe that this desk bound woman used to live a life like that. Then again, the fact that I used to be pretty desk bound myself and had become an adventurer after two years of living purely from hunting monsters, so the reverse was probably more believable than that.
"Really. I was even a B rank in my day!"
But that was even more surprising. Before taking up the mantle of a guild officer, she was one of the active elites of the guild.
"But if you were a B rank, then why did you need me to hunt that wyvern then?"
"Ah, well, I might have been B rank, but I specialized as a support mage. If you needed me to put up shield walls, barriers, or to heal someone, I was one of the best of the guild, and I wasn't too bad at offensive magic as well. But against a monster that specialized in ambushes and close combat, it's just not that good of a match-up without someone to act as a shield for me."
"Ah."
"That, and who knows what that oaf would do if he had three days or so with me away from the guild."
I was pretty sure that the latter bit was the main reason.
"Really, the only good thing about that walking brick is that he keeps all the idiots off of me."
"Huh?"
"Well, you know. The reason why you wear such a stuff looking cloak is probably because you've long since gotten tired of all the cat calls you've been getting every time you step into a public space, isn't it?"
"Ah, umm, yea..."
While I wouldn't call that the main reason, having a nice, thick, and obscuring cloak was starting to feel more and more like a nice safety blanket, rather than simply something to cover up my absolute lack of proper attire.
In fact, I had gotten so used to wearing it that I've mostly forgotten that I didn't really have any clothes aside from what I was already wearing.
"Ah, that constant harassment back then was terrible. People leered at me, and tried to get me to go on dates all the time. Two of the guys in the party I was in constantly hit on me, and when I finally got them to get off of my case, the teamwork that we had finally built up over three years of working together had instantly collapsed. And things only got worse since then. Every party I joined had at least one guy, if not the entire party, try to hit on me at ever opportunity."
"Haaa..."
That really sounded pretty bad. I was glad that I hadn't even tried forming a party since becoming an adventurer.
"What about all women parties?"
"I tried that once. Got kicked out after a week once they noticed that some people ignored them to hit on me instead."
"Ahh..."
I couldn't say that I knew how women thought, but I couldn't imagine such a thing going over very well if it kept happening.
"Umm, sorry for ranting like that. It's just so nice to be able to let things out for once."
"No, umm, it's fine."
While it wasn't exactly the best feeling being on the receiving end of this sort of thing, it was pretty easy at least. Frankly, I took my fair share of venting in my previous life, as did I dish it out as well. Nowadays I didn't have much to let out, but this sort of thing was surprisingly nostalgic.
"Let's change locations. I'm sure you don't want to be cooped up here either, do you?"
On one hand I didn't really mind being cooped up, considering that I spent a large amount of my previous life in front of my computer and the last two years almost exclusively inside of a dungeon (though that did feel just like the outdoors most of the time). On the other, I wasn't in the mind to argue in the first place. It would be nice to hurry up and move on from this professional atmosphere. Or at least, what was originally a professional atmosphere.
"Alright."
With my single word, the two of us rose up and made our way out of the building, with Claret hanging off my shoulders and the little fluffballs following behind.
"Ah, here, this is the place."
After walking through the streets for a short while, Peitho led me to a store off in a small side street. While the store itself was small and out of the way, the sound of activity suggested that it was doing quite well for itself.
The scent though...
"Apparently this place specializes in fast but good food for a decent price. I've heard that it features recipes from a far away country. Not only is it fast to make, but both fast and easy to eat."
The first though that came to mind from both the smell emanating from the store and the assistant guild master's words was a cheap burger joint. The overpowering scent of grease and cheap meat suggested that whatever they served here wasn't going to be much better.
"Are you sure you want to eat here?"
"Is there something wrong with it?"
"Umm..."
I didn't want to rain on her parade, as it looked like she was looking forward to eating here, but at the same time, it didn't exactly feel good that she was going to eat at such a cheap smelling place. Maybe it was actually quite a bit better than it smelt, but I was hesitant to test that theory.
"I'm actually pretty decent at cooking. How about I make you something similar instead?"
"You can cook? Now this is something I have to try. You can use the kitchen in my home. It'll be nice for it to actually be used for once..."
That last bit was practically whispered as Peitho turned away, but as usual, my long ears had no difficulty in picking it out in the early day bustle.
"Lets go shopping then."
"Alright! I'll show you the way!"
With a surprising skip in her step, Peitho led me out of the alley and towards a street with a bunch of stores selling foodstuff.
I casually passed perused through the selection, picking up lettuce, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, a few eggs, some cheap cuts of hornbull meat, a few small buns, a clove of garlic, some potatoes, and a jar of salt. Peitho insisted in paying for it all. It was for her after all, so I didn't really argue. It only made things take a little longer to buy, as I had to get her to know I had everything I needed from each store before she could pay for it and move on.
There was even a store that sold oils. While lard seemed to be readily available, actually using it for cooking didn't seem like such a good idea. If I remembered right, animal fats weren't that great for general cooking and only good for certain things. Vegetable oils were much more preferable outside of specific cases, so I simply bought a nice big jar of rapeseed oil. Mostly because it was the cheapest that this store sold.
"Now then, is there a place that sells spices?"
"There is, but..."
"Is there something bad about it?"
"...No, there isn't."
I hoped that whatever she was hesitant on, it wasn't anything serious.
(Maybe spices are just expensive?)
I deliberately picked cheap ingredients as they generally tasted almost as good as the expensive ones, and only suffered significantly from poor appearances. That didn't matter for the most part with the dish I was planning on making.
Peitho led me further down the street to a nicer area and we entered a small, but well kept shop. While I couldn't call the grocers we visited before as dirty, this one was kept several steps cleaner.
"Welcome! How may I help you two?"
A tall and lean looking man greeted us. He was wearing a nicely pressed bright red and blue outfit that vaguely reminded me of those fancy middle eastern outfits that the nobility wore in some movies. It was still early in the year, so it was a little surprising to see someone wearing something so thin, but maybe he was trying to appeal to the exoticism of his wares?
"I'm looking for a few spices. Can I see what you have?"
"Hmmm? Of course. This way please!"
The clerk leaned down to look me in the face. Though I kept my eyes hidden, he seemed to become more agreeable to my request the moment he got a glance at my lower face.
He led us to the main counter and proceeded to show us a variety of small jars.
"We have spices from all over the world in our humble establishment. Is there any in particular you are looking for?"
"Black pepper for sure, but do you have any chilies?"
"Of course. Allow me to show you."
The man selected a pair of little jars with some sort of marking on the side, and proceeded to open them in front of me. One was filled with black peppers, and the other dried chili peppers. I lifted the jar of black peppers up and took a sniff...then proceeded to do my best not to sneeze.
After succeeding to the point where I felt a little proud of myself, I more carefully sniffed the chilies. The scents were nice and strong. While I didn't know about freshness, as the very thought seemed a bit oxymoronic since these were preserved foods I was dealing with, there wasn't anything I could complain about.
"I'll take them both. Could I get a dozen black peppers and a single chili?"
"Of course. I shall prepare a container for them."
"Ah, no need. I've already got something."
Reaching over my shoulder into my bag, I partially took out an iron ingot, and reshaped a part of it into a pair of simple steel jars, hardly bigger than ampules.
"Just put them in here."
"Of, of course. Now as for the payment..."
"Ah, yes!"
Now that we reached the obvious endpoint, Peitho suddenly stepped up and pulled out her wallet. The way this kept going made me feel a little bad, as it felt like I had somehow turned her into my personal sugar daddy (or more like sugar mommy?), but...meh.
"That should be everything. Lets hurry up and get to cooking next."
"Alright! My home is this way!"
It didn't take long, but we arrived at Peitho's home.
It was a simple building made of stone on the first floor and wood on the second. The overall architecture was the same as most of the buildings I had seen since coming to this world.
"Sorry for the mess, but I usually only use my home to sleep."
As the elf opened the front door with those ominous words, I saw exactly what she meant.
The interior was poorly kept. The air was stale, there was hardly any furniture aside from the barest essentials, and there was dust everywhere. In fact, I could see a path made in the dust on the ground from repeated footsteps all of the exact same size leading from the entrance to the stairs to the second floor. Aside from those, there weren't any other footprints in the dust.
"You...really live here?"
"Technically."
Peitho turned away from me as she answered.
To be frank, while I did realize she was quite devoted to her work, I didn't even suspect it would be to this extent.
(Maybe devoted is the wrong word, but this is just sad.)
"...I'll find the kitchen myself. For now, could you clean up a bit? No matter how good the food is, it won't be nice to eat on a dust covered table, right?"
While I didn't want to boast, my reviews on my cooking had so far been quite good, and this time I was going to make something pretty simple anyways.
The workaholic elf nodded and went off to get some cleaning supplies. The act alone which finally created a new line of footprints on the dust ground.
I headed into the house and quickly found the kitchen beyond the living room. The kitchen was quite simple with wooden counters and some sort of stone cooking place. I simply ignored it as I could just cook with magic. Instead, I conjured up some water and quickly cleaned up the wide counter, dumping the muddy water into a basin off to the side.
Looking around, i discovered that there was almost no cooking equipment at all in this kitchen. Just a simple knife, cutting board, and a single pan.
As things stood, it would be difficult to cook with just this, despite how simple my recipe was, so once I washed my hands, I took out a few things from my own bag. Mainly just a small pot, into which I promptly poured in a generous amount of oil into and set it aside with a magical flame lit underneath to allow it to heat up. Beside it, I did the same with Peitho's pan to preheat.
On the cutting board, I diced up the potatoes into strips after removing all the eyes and green bits then threw them into a bowl I had removed from my bag and filled it with water. Next I finely diced a quarter of the onion then took the hornbull meat and crushed it between my fingers, turning it into a sort of ground beef. Next I took out one of the buns and dried it up with my evaporation spell before crushing it as well into breadcrumbs.
I took another bowl and threw the meat and diced onions, along with some bread crumbs into it. Next I added an egg to the bowl then kneaded it all together into a uniform mix.
The pot of oil had reached a nice temperature by this point, so I drained the water from the bowl of potatoes before throwing them into the pot a few at a time. The hot oil splattered onto my fingers as I put the potato strips in, yet it took me a moment to even realize that had happened. The insane resistances that came with my high level had another weird fringe benefit I had only just discovered.
Rather than piping hot oil splattering on my hands, it felt like it was only warm droplets of water. There even wasn't any burn markings to denote something had happened to my fingers.
As the potatoes were being fried, I checked the temperature on the pan. It had heated up quite well on the smaller flame, so I poured on a bit of oil and spread it around.
With the pan already ready, I hurried and scooped out some of the meat mix and moulded it into the shape of a patty before dropping it into the hot pan. While I would have liked to have spent the time to remove the air from the patty, I timed things poorly so that wasn't going to fly anymore. I could only hope that the egg and bread crumbs would keep the patty together well enough.
I made three more patties and threw them into the pan, then diced the mushrooms and tossed them in the pan as well, filling up the remaining space.
Next, I took out the black and chili peppers as well as the salt and garlic. Cleaning my hands once again, I dried the garlic with evaporation magic then grabbed a bit of each arbitrarily and ground them into a powder in the palms of my hands before liberally sprinkling them onto the patties. I pressed the mix into the patties a little before flipping them. The fact that none of them cracked and crumbled was a relief, but I quickly set those feelings aside and applied the rest of the spice mix to the other side of the patties.
As those were cooking, I quickly diced up the rest of the vegetables as well as cut the four remaining buns left into halves. I lightly toasted each side of the buns while I waited for the patties to cook.
Flipping the patties when I felt like they were getting close to being ready, I poked a claw into one of them. The juices were still coming out strong and there was a good amount of pink left in the middle, so I turned my attention to the potatoes. Taking one out by hand, I broke it in half, the strong cracking sound confirming that the outside was done, and the way that steam lifted from the fluffy looking white interior suggested that the inside was finished cooking as well.
I scooped out the fried potatoes and placed them onto a plate procured from my bag before grinding down and sprinkling some salt over them.
Turning back to the patties, I checked another one and confirmed that the insides were done. I put each patty onto a toasted bun and layered the vegetables on top. Finally, I took out my jar of ketchup and applied some to the top of the sliced buns before pressing them down onto the remaining stacks.
With everything ready, I carefully carried the plate over to the dining room.
Ninetailed_Furball
Hi everybody! It's your usual furball! (/◕ヮ◕)/
Sorry I'm being a bit quite this week. Iceborne still has a death grip on me. Fortunately I've finally reached the grinding lands...no wait, it's called the guiding lands...eh, oh well. I just can't wait to teach that breakdancing puppy how to play dead once again. (^_-)-☆
Aside from that, I'll try to dedicate some proper time to this side of things. m(_ _)m
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