Chapter 312: Well Hunt Tomorrow

Glen-san [Ryouma]

Youre late. [Glen]

Whoa. [Ryouma]

After retrieving my inheritance and stepping outside, I found that Glen-san had built a mountain of undead in front of the Grave Slimes.

These guys just keep coming no matter how many I crush. Let me borrow that cleaning critter of yours from yesterday. [Glen]

Well, he was certainly in no condition for a conversation given how he was covered in blood from head to toe. His fists were particularly nasty. Lets clean him up first.

Thanks, that hits the spot. [Glen]

It was quite gruesome [Ryouma]

Indeed. But why are there so many undead in a place like this? [Glen]

It was probably because of that monster.

Theres a monster living at the mansion at the center of the village. Its been there for a long time already, and it has the ability to create undead. Dealing with it is one of the reasons I came to this village. [Ryouma]

Oh, a battle of vengeance for the villagers? [Glen]

No, we werent that close. I just came to collect the inheritance, and while Im at it, clean up a bit. I want to gather the plants around here and take them back too, and if possible, tidy up the house to use as a base in the future. [Ryouma

So, in other words, well have to keep beating up zombies [Glen]

Glen made a disgusted face as he no doubt recalled his earlier state.

I found something earlier. [Ryouma]

I took out a weapon from my Item Box. It was a hammer, one size larger and with a dull black glow compared to the one Glen had. There was a dignity to it that reminded me of my late fathers sword.

In fact, all the weapons in the underground had a certain dignity to them, but this hammer was exceptional. Unfortunately, I didnt usually use heavy weapons like this. Also, Glen beating up the undead like that was definitely a hygiene issue.

How about using this to replace your old hammer? [Ryouma]

Even if it turns out to be a shoddy item, it should be much better than punching the undead barehanded. He just tagged along, but if he helps me defeat the undead, Im willing to lend it to him. When I suggested that, Glen-san seemed to sense something. He grasped the handle of the hammer with a serious expression and lifted it up.

His movements were slightly slower than before, but he swung the hammer many times. Sometimes with both hands, sometimes with one hand, sometimes in a light swing, sometimes in a heavy swing. He swung it many times as though to confirm its feel. Finally, he turned towards a nearby heat-emitting tree, and in the next moment.

The wall-like trunk burst, leaving behind a large crater.

Is it Glen-sans power thats amazing, or is it the heat-emitting tree that refuses to fall thats incredible? Or rather

I thought the hammer might break again, but then I saw Glen beyond the dimness and the dust scattered by his attack smiling.

The hammer actually withstood that? [Ryouma]

Hey! This is amazing! Where did you get this? [Glen]

I told you, its from my house. It was among my grandparents inheritance. [Ryouma]

You have grandparents who own something like this in their inheritance This is adamant.i.te, right? [Glen]

You know? [Ryouma]

When it comes to crafting heavy impact weapons, adamant.i.te is one of the best materials. Even I know that much. My weapon also uses it. [Glen]

Glen took a broken hammer from his pouch and showed it to me. Indeed, it was made from a similar metal. A little different in color, though.

The difference in color is due to differences in purity. The guy at the weapon shop who ordered this hammer told me that adamant.i.te is extremely hard and has strong resilience, making it difficult to process as it is. So, they mix it with iron and other metals to make it easier to process. My hammer, made by the shops exclusive craftsman, is supposedly crafted from the highest purity adamant.i.te. He proudly claimed theres no weapon made with higher purity adamant.i.te! I dont think they were lying, but probably, or rather, this one is definitely of higher purity, right? [Glen]

I wouldnt know for sure, but if all the talk about purity is true, it would mean that the inheritance hammer uses higher purity adamant.i.te than those sold in shops. At the same time, it would be higher purity than the highest purity commonly found in adamant.i.te.

This might be more troublesome than I thought.

Do you want it? [Ryouma]

Huh? If youre asking if I want it, then yeah, I do. But isnt this your grandparents inheritance? [Glen]

Ill give it to you if you keep the source a secret. As I mentioned earlier, I wont use it. I could force myself to use it, but it would just be a waste in my hands. So, if theres someone who needs and can use it properly, it would be much better for them to have it instead. In that regard, youre more than capable. [Ryouma]

Hmm well, Im sure people might start pestering you for a good weapon if they found out, so I understand wanting to keep its source a secret. Im not one to hold back either if its something favorable to me, so if youre giving it away, Ill take it without hesitation, but this hush money seems a bit too high Oh, I know!

Glen-san took out another broken hammer from his pouch. It was probably the other hammer that broke.

How about taking these two in exchange too? [Glen]

Glens hammer was a custom-made top-quality item from a high-end weapon shop in the royal capital. The material was the commonly found highest purity adamant.i.te. However, it couldnt withstand his full power, so a magic tool protecting the weapon was incorporated into the handle to enhance its strength.

Since adamant.i.te has a property that doesnt allow magic to pa.s.s through, its difficult to enchant it as a magical weapon even with an alloy. And thats even while using high-end fantasy metals like mythril. It might be broken as a weapon, but its still a lump of precious metals.

Moreover

The price of the material isnt all it has going for it. If you sell it to n.o.bles as a weapon used and worn out by an S-rank like me, the price will skyrocket. It seems like weapon shops make quite a profit from that as they always tell me, Bring a broken one, and well prepare the next hammer for free, and even pay you. So if you want, Ill even sign it for you. [Glen]

I guess premiums exist in this world too. This guys actions are all over the place, but he seems to be an amazing person, and if hes famous, he likely has fans.

Also, well I cant think of anything right now, but if you ever find yourself in a bind, Ill help you once for free. [Glen]

You mean I can ask you to take on a job? [Ryouma]

Yeah. I generally dont take on jobs that Im not interested in, even if the client is a n.o.ble. I might consider it if the reward is good, but if I can get this hammer, Ill prioritize any job you give me. Of course, thats on top of dealing with the undead here. You helped me out a lot with that room of yours, so Im not about to be stingy with helping you. Oh, but count me out if its a job that requires using my brain. [Glen]

I dont have any jobs in mind right now, but being able to ask him to take on a job, moreover with priority, doesnt seem like a bad deal. A favor from an S-rank adventurer is sure to be useful.

Okay, I agree. Ill transfer the owners.h.i.+p of the hammer under those conditions. I dont have any requests for now, but please keep the confidentiality in mind. [Ryouma]

No problem. I am an S-rank, you know. There are a couple of things Ive been told not to talk about. Oh, but what if someone asks about it? People who have too much time on their hands might try to find out where I got this unfamiliar weapon. At the very least, the familiar weapon shop would be prepared for the next hammer a.s.suming Id break it, and they might come to sell it to me. If I have a different hammer, theyll definitely be curious. I dont plan on talking, but Im not good at lying either. [Glen]

If asked, just say you found it in the Great Forest. [Ryouma]

The Great Forest has a history of people venturing in search of wealth and fame. It wouldnt be strange for their equipment to be scattered around, and since it was found in the abandoned house of a destroyed village, its not entirely a lie.

Got it, Ill say that if anyone asks. [Glen]

Thank you. Now that thats settled, shall we have supper? Well do the subjugation job tomorrow. [Ryouma]

Sounds good! Do we still have meat left from yesterday? [Glen]

A snake of that size? Theres plenty. [Ryouma]

And so, dinner preparation. The soup was in a retort pack, so it was enough to just prepare the pot and heat it. After that I took out two barrels that I prepared after yesterdays supper, as well as a large pot made with alchemy.

Oh, fried food! [Glen]

He noticed right away what I was making as I poured plenty of oil into the large pot. Thats right, todays main dish is fried Immortal Snake. The contents of the barrel are a trial marinade sauce with various seasonings and sake lees from white sake. The snake meat has been marinated in it for a day in a cool, dark place.

Once the oil has warmed up enough to produce a little foam when a chopstick was inserted, I added the meat coated with batter. In the oil, which crackled softly, the slightly reddened meat swam. I waited for the right timing before lifting it and adding the next batch of meat. After letting it rest for a bit, I double-fried the fried pieces in another pot.

Is it done yet? [Glen]

Ignoring Glen-san, who was impatiently staring at the pot, I cut some lemon to complement the fried chicken. The debate over whether to squeeze lemon on fried chicken or not is unending, but personally, Im fine with either, or rather, I like both. Moreover, the more diverse the seasoning options, the more enjoyable the meal.

So, lets add another touch. On a small plate, I poured the sauce I prepared last night. Its a tartar sauce made by adding vinegar and chopped onions to Clever Chicken eggs and seasoning it. When combined with the fried chicken, the result was a Chicken Nanban-style dish.

After plating the crispy fried chicken, preparing lemon and tartar sauce on the side, the dish was complete. I grabbed one for a taste, and Glen-sans thick hand too impatiently reached out.

Hot! [Ryouma]

Its hot, as I literally just fried it, but the rich umami burst in my mouth nonetheless along with all that delicious oil. With the crispy coating and the firm meat, as well as the texture, the result was no doubt a delicious meal!

This is great Is this the same meat as yesterday? That was delicious in its own simple way, while this one, I dont really get, but its tasty. [Glen]

Yesterday, I just grilled the cut meat as it was. It was surprising how delicious it was, but today, I used various seasonings in the marinade, and I made some efforts to make the meat tender. [Ryouma]

However, even with all that, the taste of the Immortal Snake didnt lose to the seasonings. It was mysterious how it left such a strong impression despite being so mild. Also, Im craving rice like crazy.

Hot Water! [Ryouma]

Creating hot water with magic, I poured it onto a new pack of preserved food. Inside was rice that has been cooked once and freeze-dried. Although there was a difference between natural drying and using machinery in the manufacturing process, it was still commonly used as portable food or emergency rations.

You can eat warm rice anywhere with just hot water, so its convenient for regular use. Glen-san was staring, so I prepared some more, and in the meantime, I continue to fry more fried chicken. Glen-sans hands never stopped. He even brought out yesterdays white sake and started to drink.

Glen-san, the soup is easy to make, so feel free to make as many as youd like yourself. [Ryouma]

Yeah, I can handle that much. More importantly, can you add more fried chicken? And you got any more of this sauce? [Glen]

Glen-san replied without stopping his hands or mouth. The fried chicken I cooked vanished as soon as they were served, and it seemed as though Glen-san would never get full. However, as the cook, it made me happy to see him enjoy the food so much.

I wonder if the owners of eateries that host binge-eating challenges or those featured on compet.i.tive eating talent shows feel this way? Watching him, Im starting to feel like having a drink too.

Since were having fried chicken, rice, and liquor, then [Ryouma]

First, I prepared alcohol extracted from the cheap failures of the goblins ma.s.s-produced sake using alchemy. I made this for disinfection, but I didnt add any extra substances since there was no need to avoid liquor taxes like I would have needed to in my past life, so its safe to drink.

I used Freeze to chill the gla.s.s with magic, then Sparkling Water.

By combining water and wind attributes, I was able to generate carbonated water. Then I added a small amount of extracted alcohol, squeezed the lemon cut for garnish, lightly mixed it, and voila, the Lemon Sour was complete.

Taking a sip, it might be due to the alcohol extracted through alchemy, but it lacked the strong aroma of whiskey or shochu, and it was a bit tasteless. To be honest, the expression cheap taste came to mind.

But this was fine too. I took a bite out of the freshly fried chicken, then I chewed and swallowed. After which, I poured the Lemon Sour down my throat, was.h.i.+ng away the remaining oil and allowing the scent of lemon and a hint of alcohol to escape through my nose before I naturally reached for the next piece of fried chicken.

Phew~ [Ryouma]

This reminds me of my university days at the cheap izakayas when the money was tight. Despite my age, things havent changed much, have they? If anything its just gotten more luxurious with the sake.

After adding the rice, the endless loop of fried chicken, Lemon Sour, rice, fried chicken, Lemon Sour, rice began. Its not good for the body, but its cheap and delicious.

Hey, whats with that delicious combination? [Glen]

Yeah, I figured youd ask. [Ryouma]

I gave him some of the Lemon Sour and rice to go along with the fried chicken, and in no time at all, Glen-san was hooked. His hands and mouth started moving in full gear again. And when the frying speed couldnt keep up anymore, or maybe it was just out of boredom, he looked at the bottle of extracted alcohol and said.

I never liked sake that just burns your throat, but drinking it like this isnt bad. [Glen]

You dont drink c.o.c.ktails or mixed drinks? [Ryouma]

I dont care that much for it, but many dwarves cant stand mixing anything with alcohol! My old man was like that, so I never got into it. I prefer strong liquor, and there hasnt been a mixed drink that I thought was good. [Glen]

Tastes do vary from person to person Oh? From what you just said, Glen-san, are you a dwarf? [Ryouma]

Huh? Ah, yeah, dwarves vary in height, but probably due to my const.i.tution, Ive gotten bigger than the average human. Ive eaten a lot, so thats probably why Ive grown this big. Hardly anyone could tell on first glance that Im a dwarf. [Glen]

Ah but now that you mention it, your body size is large, and the proportions of your arms, torso, and various parts of your body certainly seem dwarf-like. [Ryouma]

Appropriateness aside, if you were to take a photo of a dwarf and enlarged it using a computer, youd get Glen-san.

Anyway, enough of that! Ill have the fried chicken, rice, and this alcohol. Feel free to take materials from my spoils for it. [Glen]

Alright. Fried chicken and Lemon Sour coming right up! [Ryouma]

Yesterday was a barbecue party, while today was more like an izakaya (j.a.panese pub). It was quite nostalgic as it reminded me of my part-time job at one.