Taken by Elrand, we were now in his room inside the Adventurer's guild.
"So? How was it?"
"How was it? Didn't you see the behemoth too, Elrand?"
"Yes, I did, but not the drop items or treasure chests, right?"
'Well, that's true. But there's way too much of that stuff. I still haven't sorted through all of it, so I have no idea just how much of everything I have.'
"Well, that's true, but there's so much..."
"I see, I see, that's good news for us, too. That dungeon drops a lot of hides up to the 21st floor, as well as from the 22nd to the 25th floor after that."
It was exactly as Elrand said. I was currently in possession of an enormous number of hides, furs, and pelts.
"To tell you the truth, I want you to sell it all to the Adventurer's guild. This is a dungeon city, after all. The demand for monster hides that can become armor is really high. Not only that, but if it's from the dungeon, it'll be really tough."
'I see, leather armor, huh? I have so many orc, ogre, troll, and minotaur skins that I can't even count them all. If the guild wants them, by all means, please, take them all. It's not like I need them.'
"I think you can only start getting decent things out of treasure chests after the 20th floor, but how was it? I also remember that there are spriggans that drop gems when you beat them, too... If you have any gems or magic items, we'd like to buy those too."
'As one would expect out of someone who's gone all the way to the behemoth. He knows a lot.'
"There were several treasure chests, and I have their contents. There were also some mimics, so I have some treasure chests themselves."
'There's also lots of gems. I'm not a woman, so I have no interest in gems. If they want them, then let's just sell all of them. Although I should think about selling the magic items first since there might be something useful, like the magic recovery ring that I don't plan to sell.'
"There were some treasure chests after the 26th floor, too. Although, the 26th and 27th floors were forests, and we couldn't really explore all of it. The 28th was a swamp, too, and the 29th was a desert, so just crossing through them was a real hurdle."
'The forests aside, I really just want to reject going to that swamp or the desert. Field dungeons are way too evil.'
'"Hm? Wait a minute. What... did you just say?"
What I said? What do you mean?'
"The part about there being chests after the 26th floor?"
"No, not that."
'Hm? No? Then... this?'
"The part about the 26th and 27th floor being forests, so we couldn't really explore all of it?"
"No, no, not that either."
'Then... this?'
"The part about the 28th floor being swamplands, and the 29th being a desert, so it was a real hurdle passing through them?"
"Yes, yes, that! A swamp?! A desert?!" Elrand was leaning forward aggressively in excitement.
When I asked about it, it seemed that at the time when Elrand went in the dungeon there still wasn't a swamp and a desert floor. It was all forests from the 25th to the 29th floor, and it took a month just to get through it all.
"So, tell me all about the 26th floor and onwards." Elrand looked more serious than I'd ever seen him, so I ended up fixing my sitting posture.
And then, I told him in as much detail as I could about the happenings and bosses from the 26th floor onwards. Due to answering all of the questions Elrand interrupted with, it ended up taking quite a long time.
"Then, as for the dungeon's drops, even I don't really know everything that I have, so I'd like to wait until tomorrow to come and sell everything."
"I understand. I'll probably be kept busy with what you've just told me, too, so I'd also like to settle that tomorrow."
And just like that, I was finally allowed to leave the Adventurer's guild.
The next day, it was announced that, because the dungeon changes from the 25th to the 29th floors given enough time, the dungeon had been given a high difficulty rating.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
I got up, made breakfast for everyone and went back to the Guild Master after a good night's sleep on the surface and out of the dungeon.
We had just arrived at the Adventurer's guild. When we entered the building, it seemed that one of the employees had contacted him about it, as Elrand came flying over.
"Now, now, let's go to my room."
Taken along by Elrand, we came to the usual guildmaster's room.
"So, is this about having us buy what you gathered from the dungeon?"
"Yes. But you see, there was more than I originally thought there would be..."
"Hohh, that much, huh? By the way, what kind of things do you have? I'll be deciding on what to buy depending on that, after all."
It was just as Elrand said. Buying everything would be impossible, and even just buying all the hides and skins that Elrand wanted would be difficult for him, since there was a limit to the amount of money the guild could spend. 'On the other hand, I might be able to get him to buy some gemstones or magic items. I did take a memo of the results of my sorting yesterday... Ah, found it.'
While looking at the memo, I read out loud the entire results of our foray into the dungeon.
"Uhhh, let's see... Venom tarantula venom sac x3, orc meat x56, orc testes x31, orc hide x125, lizardman skin x63, ogre hide x102, ogre magic stone (very small) x21, troll hide x113... (and such, and so on) ... and a Necklace of Antidotes x1."
I was wearing the ring of magic recovery, so I left it out. Also, given that the magical sword Caladbolg is what it is, I decided to try and hide it, and only answer if asked.
It was such a long list that, around halfway through, Elrand's mouth started to hang open as he took on a stunned expression. Looking at the beautiful elf's gobsmacked face, I found it a little funny.
"W-What an incredible amount..."
'Yeah... Everyone's really strong... They were all happily beating every monster into the ground, so I ended up picking up heaps of items...' I looked back on the events inside the dungeon.
"You know, my party also cleared down to the 29th floor of that dungeon, and amassed a pretty sizable number of drops and magic items, too... But that doesn't even begin to reach your feat, Hajime."
"Man, rather than me, it's more my familiars, you see. I basically just ran around collecting drops the entire time."
'Sadly, that's the truth. Yeah, but I did fight a little. Just a little.'
"I totally wanted to see it... Razsegath's gallant fighting figure. Tch! If it wasn't for that sub-guildmaster, I totally would have chased after you... Aggghhh!"
' "Tch"? Elrand... It's just troubling for you to chase after me, you know? Dolan's sub-guildmaster really does have his work cut out for him.'
"Well, leaving that aside, buying everything really will be impossible, as you suspect."
'Thought so, given the amount.'
"However, the demand for dungeon-spawned hides is high, so we'll be buying as many as we can. I'll want to get all of your orc, lizardman, and ogre hides. I also want the troll hides... Hmmm, it seems like I'll have to consult with the sub-guildmaster about what we will buy... He's already mad at me since I used too much of our budget..." he finished, whispering to himself.
'Ah, so he really did get yelled at. I know I took the money, but I did feel like this guy was using up way too much of it for his own desires... Mainly in the dragon department.'
"I don't mind that. Ah, about that list, please ignore the meat, because I'll be using that myself. Ah, also..."
I took out the (small) and (medium) magic bags out of my Item Box.
"Hey, Hati. What's up with time in these magic bags? Do you know with your Appraisal?"
After thinking about it for a while, I had the idea that the bags could be useful for cooking if time passed normally in them. My Item Box doesn't allow time to pass, so that's really convenient in terms of preservation, but there are some cases in cooking where that would be a bad thing.
When cooking, there are times when you need to let flavors marinate, or cases where the dish would become tastier after resting for a night. Usually, to let flavors soak into meat, I'd poke holes in the meat with a fork to allow that to happen in a shorter time, and if letting things rest for a night would make it tastier, I would leave it on a table while I slept, so depending on whether or not a magic bag allows the passage of time, it could have quite some use for cooking. For example, I could ferment lots of miso in a bag, and once it's nice and ripe, I could move it to my Item Box. It would have a lot of uses.
My Item Box was like a special ability for otherworlders, so it was pretty strong, in my opinion. Thinking like that, magic bags allowing the passage of time seemed plenty possible. But since I couldn't tell with my level of Appraisal, I asked Hati.
"Let me see, I will look at it for you. Hm... both of them have time pass inside them as normal. Essentially, they are just bags that are really large."
'I see, so both of them allow the passage of time unchanged, huh? If that's the case, let's keep the (medium) one and sell off the (small) one.'
"Elrand... wait, what's wrong?" Looking at Elrand, I noticed that both his eyes were opened wide.
"U-Uhm, it can't be, but... does that Fenrir... have Appraisal?"
'Ah , I see. Wasn't it that the Appraisal skill is something that basically only happens in fairy tales, that heroes summoned from other worlds get? But you know, Hati is...'
"Ah you see, he looks like this, but he is in fact a legendary beast..."
"Mn, what do you mean by that?"
'I mean, you know I've seen and heard a lot, right? Hati totally became my familiar because of my food, and I know how gluttonous you are.'
"Ah, yes, now that you mention it... you're right. He is a legendary Fenrir, something that normally no one would even get to see in their lifetimes."
'Right, right. So Elrand's gotten used to this sight too, huh? This backdrop of there being a Fenrir and a pixie dragon and a special tree seedling around...'
"So okay then, could you also ignore the magic bag (medium) from my list too?"
"The meat and the magic bag (medium) right? Can I think of everything else as something for sale?"
"Yes, that's fine."
'If this is how it is, it might be okay to talk to him about that, too.'
"Uhhmm, also, there's something I didn't include in that list, but being what it is, I'm kind of troubled over what to do with it..." I decided to consult with him about that.
"You see... hup." I brought out a heavy sword from inside my Item Box. "When we defeated the dungeon boss, the behemoth, I got this. The magic sword, Caladbolg."
"Bpphhfffbbttt!" The beautiful elf, Elrand, did a spit take.
He totally did, with water and everything!
"M-Ma-Ma-Magic sword?!"
'If Elrand's this surprised by it, then it really is something dangerous.'
"Still, a magic sword... I did think it might be possible, since this dungeon is on the harder side, so if you cleared it..."
"U-Uhmm, the price?" There's no way I could use it: it was too heavy.
At this rate, the only choice was to have it sleep in my Item Box forever, though.
"Don't even joke. Of course I wouldn't be able to buy a magic sword." Elrand said, exasperated.
'Yes, you're totally right. Sorry for asking for the impossible.'
"You know you can try using it yourself, instead of trying to sell it. For swordsmen, using a magic sword is like a dream among dreams."
'Man, but I'm not a swordsman, you know? And before that, just by having this, it'll become a whole thing.'
"Uhmm, this sword is too heavy. I could never use it."
"Huh? Really? Can I try picking it up?" In response to Elrand's request, I said yes, and Elrand took Caladbolg out of its scabbard and took a stance with it. "You're right, it's got quite the substantial heft. Although it's not like I can't swing it." Elrand stood up and lightly swung Caladbolg.
'So you'd try swinging it, Elrand. As expected of a former S-ranked adventurer. Even though it's so hard for me just to pick it up.'
"Also, it seems like it's made of adamantite."
"Bppphhbbt!" 'Oohh! Elrand did another spit take.' "A-A-A-Adamantite?!"
"Apparently, that's what Appraisal says."
'So, adamantite is something to be surprised over...' I had thought that adamantite was probably a rare-ish expensive metal, a lot like mithril, since that one exists in nature too.
"Adamantite is a legendary metal, said to be unable to be damaged by anything..."
'Ah, so it's like this here, huh? Damn, I really should have let this sleep for eternity in my Item Box.'
"W-Well, it's not like I can use it, so I'll just leave it in my Item Box for a while."
"That might be for the best."
Taking Caladbolg from Elrand, I shut it in my Item Box. 'Yep, it's decided. The "magic sword Caladbolg" sleeps in my Item Box forever. W-Well, I might decide what to do with it eventually. I have no idea when that'll be, though.'
"Ah, right. There's something I need to tell you. Hajime, you've risen to A-rank."
'Wha? Eh? Huh? Wasn't I C-ranked? Why am I suddenly A-ranked?'
"Huh? A-rank?"
"Yes. There's no way we can let you, who conquered a dungeon, stay at C-rank, after all."
So it was. Thus, my silver C-ranked card that I'd been using until now was confiscated by Elrand. Without having any input in the matter, a shining golden A-rank card was pushed into my hands.
'They say that I conquered it, but I didn't really fight at all, I just let everyone else do all the work...'
"So, when will you decide what to buy?"
"I'll be consulting with the sub-guildmaster, so I want to have it decided by around the day after tomorrow. I'll have to hurry and report this to the main Adventurer's guild branch in this country, as well as the palace itself, after all. So much work..."
'Elrand, your real feelings are showing. All over the place.'
Apparently, he had to give a detailed explanation on how the dungeon was conquered.
"Normally, it would be best for the adventurer who conquered the dungeon to come with me, but..." After saying that, Elrand shot me a quick, furtive glance.
"No, uhmm, I'm not great with that stuff. If possible, I'd like to refrain from going."
'Hard pass on having to meet higher ups from the guild, much less going to the royal palace. I'll just get worn out from meeting them. Also, I don't want them to pry with any weird questions and find out that I'm from another world.'
"Thought so. I heard that you don't really want to be forced into anything, and then a message came from the palace saying not to force you."
'Thank you, oh thank you, lord. Really, it's great that this country's king is so quick on the uptake.'
"Oh well. I guess I'll just be going to the capital by myself. If you were with me, Hajime, that would mean that Razsegath would be with me as well, so the trip would have been fun, though. Really, I'd rather take a long holiday or something, and tag along with you, Hajime, but... When I submitted my request for a break, the sub-guildmaster went and ripped it up! Don't you think that's just cruel? And he said, 'If you're going to keep doing whatever you want, guildmaster, I'll boycott this job, got it?' He's totally threatening me."
'No, I mean, you're the cruel one for not doing your job. No matter how you think about it. Sub-guildmaster, I feel your pain.'
"W-Well, there's still the matter of buying your dropped items and stuff, so I'll still be in town, and if I get any more dragons, I'll bring them here, so..."
When I said that, Elrand banged his hands on the table and shot towards me. "You're not lying, are you?!"
'W-Wait! You're too close!'
"Of course not."
'Or rather, this is basically the only place that'll butcher a dragon. I don't know if I'll ever get any more, but if I do I'll totally shut it in my Item Box and bring it over.'
"It's a promise, got it!!" Elrand had a firm grip on my shoulders as he said that, and I nodded fervently, many times in response.
"Th-Then, I'll be back the day after tomorrow, when you've decided what to buy."
"Oh, before I go. Could you find out how the last wave in Melromarc went and what was the final result? I had a meeting with Shield Hero and his party when I was in their capital, and he seemed like a cool guy, so I'm curious how they were doing."
"Oh sure, leave it to me." Elrand promised.
Leaving those words behind, I put the Adventurer's guild behind me. It was starting to feel like if I stayed any longer, I'd get dragged into a long talk about dragons by Elrand, after all.
'It's about time for everyone to complain that they're hungry, so it's time for food once we get back to the inn.'
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
'Now then, time to cook.'
Of course, today I'd be using the giant talepo meat. Truthfully, I'd already eaten ostrich meat once before. I saw that there was ostrich on the menu of an izakaya or something, and ordered it out of curiosity. It was a red meat that didn't have any funkiness to it, so I remember it as being good. I was thinking of trying to recreate that.
I would be making ostrich cutlets and ostrich tataki. Apparently, ostrich meat can actually be eaten raw. This was noted on the menu of the izakaya I ordered at, and there was also ostrich yukhoe and ostrich carpaccio as well as the ostrich tataki I ordered. I remembered having trouble deciding which one to go with.
By the way, though, both of these recipes went well with beer.
'First though, I have to get the ingredients.'
I was thinking of enjoying the tataki with ponzu, so I stocked up. As for the cutlets, I was planning to make them like milano-style cutlets. Since that was the case, I already had flour and herb salt, so what I needed were eggs, panko breadcrumbs, cheese powder... 'Oh, and adding olive oil and lemon juice to taste is good on it, so I'll want lemons, too.'
'Oh, and can't forget the beer.'
'Let's get started on the tataki first. It's fine if I just leave it in my Item Box when it's done, after all. Oh, right. If that's the case, I'll need to ask Hati.'
"Hati, you can use Ice magic, right?"
"Hm? Ice magic? Yes, I can."
"Can it be used for cooking?"
"It will be trivial to do so."
"Then, make some ice here, will you?" I pointed to a huge bowl that became more and more necessary as I started having to cook more for everyone.
"Understood. Here." The ice made a sound as it felt into the bowl.
"S-So big... If it's like this, I'll have to buy an ice pick and chip it down."
When I said that, Hati replied with,
"Is that too big?" And when I said yes to that, the ice suddenly broke down into dust. While I was struck dumb, Hati said,
"Is this fine?" and I reflexively nodded over and over. 'It might be magic, but having it suddenly break like that is scary as hell...'
'Alright, let's regroup and get to making this giant talepo tataki.'
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
First, season a lump of the giant talepo's meat with salt and pepper. Then, quickly sear the meat on an oiled frying pan until the surface of the meat changes color.
Immediately cool the meat in Hati's ice water. After that, use some kitchen paper to absorb some of the excess moisture out of the meat lump, and cut it into slices around 5mm thick. Line them up on a plate, add ponzu on top, and the dish is finished.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
I taste-tested an edge piece. 'Ohh! I can't resist this soft and chewy texture.'
A giant talepo was basically a huge ostrich, so I thought it would be basically the same as the ostrich I tasted before, but it seemed that I was wrong. I felt like it was closer to a cow's red meat, but at any rate, the meat didn't have any funk to it, and it was easy to eat. It went really well with the ponzu. In any case, it was a refreshing red meat with almost no fat in it, so it might be good fried.
'Looks like I can look forward to the cutlet.'
When I was about to store it in my Item Box for now...
"Hey, why are you putting it away? Give it here."
'Ahh, looks like the hunger brigade won't wait.'
"I'm planning to make another dish, so I was going to serve them together. Do you want this now?"
"Give it."
'Fine, fine.'
I placed the plate of giant talepo tataki in front of Hati, Razsegath, and Groot.
"Ohh! I can't resist this texture!"
'You totally get it, Hati. It's so chewy since the inside is raw, right?'
[This meat is so clean and refreshing, I can't get enough of it!]
'So Razsegath likes it too. It really does go well with ponzu.'
[Master where's the rest?]
'So fast. So Groot's already done?'
After quickly making another round of ostrich tataki, I started on the cutlets.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
First, put the panko in a vinyl bag and pound it until the consistency is fine, then put it in a mixing bowl and whisk it with the powdered cheese and herb salt.
Then, pound the giant talepo meat so it's thin and stretched, before seasoning it with salt and pepper. Coat the meat in flour and then a beaten egg, before coating it with the mixture of cheese, herb salt, and panko.
Create about a 1cm deep pool of olive oil in a frying pan, heat it, and start frying the breaded giant talepo meat. Once it's well browned, it's finished.
Since the breading itself is flavored with powdered cheese and herb salt, it's fine even on its own. It's also a good idea to add lemon to taste.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
After pumping out more and more cutlets, I served three each to Hati and Groot, and one to Razsegath.
"It's fine on its own, but it's also good with some lemon juice to add a bit of sourness. How do you guys want it?"
"Add the lemon on the next serving."
[I'm fine like this. And I'll probably be full after eating this.]
[Add the sourness on the next one too for Groot .]
'Sure thing.'
After cooking up another serving of giant talepo cutlets for Hati and Groot, I started eating the tataki and milano-style cutlets I'd saved for myself.
'And also, this...'
*Psshhhht* *Glugglug*
'Aaaaahhh , beer's great.'
After a bite of some chewy, refreshing ostrich tataki, I took a draught of beer.
'So nice . This combo might be the best in hot weather, I think.'
As for the cutlet, I had a bite of it as it was.
'It's so crispy, it's delicious. Also, I can totally taste the cheese in this breading, wow.'
It was a pretty refreshing type of meat already, so even fried, I felt like I could eat as many as I wanted.
'Ahh, beer. I need some beer.'
*Glugluglug* *Puhhahhh *
'I wonder why fried stuff and beer go so well together. Whoops, I need to try it with some lemon juice.' I tried putting lemon juice on the remaining cutlets.
'With the acidity of the lemon juice, it's even more refreshing. Yep yep, it's great.'
"More."
[More.]
I served Hati and Groot another round of cutlets with lemon juice on them. It didn't look like they hated it, but it did seem like both Hati and Groot preferred it without the lemon juice.
After having another round of the cutlets without lemon juice, it seemed like Hati and Groot were finally satisfied.
It occurred to me that the giant talepo cutlets would do well with bread as well, like it would be good with some ketchup and some cabbage or lettuce in between two buns. And so, I made some extra giant talepo cutlets, storing them for later in my Item Box.
After that, I laid out the futons for Hati in the kennel and returned to my room with Groot. Groot felt asleep since it was full, but I still had something I needed to do.
In order to test the abilities of the magic bag, I was going to try marinating something. I would be making the standard miso marinade. This time, I wasn't using just orc meat, but also bloody horn-bull meat.
After repeating the cycle of cutting the meat and adding it in to pickle, I ended up with several extra-large vinyl zip-up bags of pickling meat.
'And into the magic bag they go. Let's make some miso-pickled bowls tomorrow.'
I also wanted to make some more ground meat, since the mincer Groot made for me was so nice. The handle turned easily, so I'd probably be able to make a lot of ground meat quickly.
After grinding out a large amount of orc and bloody horn-bull meat, I went to sleep.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
We had arrived at the Adventurer's guild.
'Elrand will probably come down for me due to a report from an employee, even if I don't talk to anyone...'
My business today was the sale of my drops from the dungeon.
'I wonder if Elrand and Ugohl are done deciding? Well, if they haven't, I can just come back tomorrow, though.'
By the way, I made miso-flavored bloody horn-bull bowls for breakfast this morning, and the pickling was just right, so it was a winner.
It was about time to leave for the next town, though, since I'd already been through the dungeon.
'No matter what, it'll have to be after I make this sale, though. And I want to pre-make some food for the journey, as well.'
"Hajime, welcome. Now now, this way."
"Today, I will be joining you."
'You're here, Elrand. And I see Ugohl is here today, too. Well, he's probably just here to keep an eye on Elrand. Since he's got a... history.'
The three of us headed for the familiar guildmaster's room on the second floor.