35 - feast

"Oh, my God!　It's too thick, Thor."

"Is today a meat festival?　Tor-chan."

Sora and Moo shouted loudly in front of the thick slice of armored boar that was sizzling on the griddle.

They looked as melted as the butter on their faces.

Other dishes included ribs stewed with white beans, round potatoes, and onions.

There is also a dish in which the smelly parts are pounded, minced, wrapped around skewers and grilled.

There was also a soup of thinly sliced mushrooms, and a little fine, soft bread.

"There's more to come, so please eat as much as you can."　

At the urging of the smiling beauty, Thor lifted his knife and fork.

The meat was as thick as four fingers, yet it cut tenderly with little resistance.

He puts it in his mouth and bites into it.

First of all, the rich taste of fat spreads in the mouth at once.

Then, the juices filled with flavor flowed into my mouth.

I can only describe it as delicious.

We devour the meat, and in between, we gulp down a glass of chilled black barley wine.

Having finished the first steak in no time, Thor next reached for the grilled skewer.

The meat was soft and tender, but the herbs and garlic kneaded into the meat allowed him to taste the flavor of the meat without any odor.

The red hot pepper, which is the secret ingredient, gives the meat an extra kick.

It goes perfectly with the black barley wine.

We also reach for the stew.

It is seasoned only with salt, but the flavor of the vegetables and bones melts into the broth, making it an irresistible dish.

The meat from the ribs, which peel off, soaks up the flavor and is delicious.

The remaining juices are soaked up by the bread and savored to the last drop.

Meanwhile, the second steamy steak comes out.

It seems that the landlord was telling the truth when he said there was plenty to go around.　

I look to the side and see that Sora has already started on the third steak.

Moe, too, is eating his third steak with a fork.

Kuro and Shima at his feet were also digging their fangs into the wild boar meat.

Thor's lips lifted slightly at the sight of them, and he challenged the meat in front of him.

"Ha, I ate too much! I can't even take one more step!"

"That's because I got carried away and ate five pieces."

Thor replies in a disgusted voice to Sora, who mutters with a look of complete satisfaction and happiness on his face.

Moo, who has no time to talk, lies on his side and rubs his bulging belly as if he is in pain.

Only the two cats were beginning to groom their fur with a relaxed expression on their faces.

"Hmm, thank you very much for your hospitality."

"No, thank you very much indeed, landlady."

Thor bows his head once again to Yuril, who has prepared today's banquet.

The young beauty smiled again, her silvery white hair shaking with happiness.

After much questioning and repeated explanations, it was three days after the "outbreak" that Thor and the others finally settled down.

Today's dinner was a commemoration of the completion of all such troublesome matters.

Incidentally, the boar meat was killed by Thor by pinning it against a tree, and by Sora and Mu in cooperation.

Since the tail of the killed boar was also obtained safely, Thor and Sora's adventurer's tags have been changed to blue, Bronze (F rank).

With this promotion, Thor's life as an adventurer has been extended for another year.

In Thor's case, he also defeated the Hobgoblin Chief, but he was not promoted to the Red Iron (E rank) class because of the help of Yuril, who was not an adventurer, and because he did not conquer the dungeon itself.

As Tolle does not want to be conspicuous, he is grateful for the arrangement.

Besides, when a dungeon is conquered, some characteristics are given to the tree of skills.

It would be a shame to miss that opportunity.

As for the party as a whole, the communication between Sora and Mu through has resulted in a further increase in the party's strength.

The fact that we prevented the invasion of monsters from happening also earned us a reward of two gold coins, and we have already ordered new equipment since we were able to obtain the leather of the armored boar.

The preparations for moving on were steadily being made.

But Thor wanted to add a more powerful piece to the mix.

It is Yuril, who showed us his outstanding magic skills when we fought together in the "outbreak".

The reinforcement and the search for enemies are mu.

Sora for defense and counterattack.

If Yurir, who can hinder monsters' actions, can work well with them, the party will become even stronger.

And if something should happen, we can rest assured that we have an experienced rear guard.

"Mr. Landlord, may I ask you a few questions?"

Yes, what is it?

"If you want, you can come on an adventure with us."

It is a straightforward question with no bargaining.

Thor was an honest man in this situation.

"I'm very happy to accept your invitation, but I'm afraid I'm too much of a burden to you, old lady.

"...... something else is wrong with you."

You know as well as I do that without Yuril we would not have been able to deal with that many monsters.

He is not a liability, but rather a valuable asset to Thor and the others.

And although he talks about old people, Yuril still looks young even after three days.

He already knew that he had been rejuvenated during the fight.

Of course, Thor has already recovered the number of times he can use his , so it is possible for him to return to his old woman form.

However, it is not Thor's intention to treat a woman who has regained her beauty and health so cruelly by taking them away again.　

I tried to confirm it with him in a roundabout way, but he looked away with a light tint on his cheeks, so I judged that he likes her.

There must be a good reason for him to refuse her with vague words even though she is in perfect condition from the outside.

If he really did not want to go on an adventure with us, he would have refused us, judging from his character.

Thor gently reached out his finger to the beautiful woman's hand, who had fallen silent.

"I may be able to help you. Let me take a look at you."

As I skimmed over Yuril's full body history, I could not find anything in particular that stood out as a potential obstacle.

Then, Thor switches his view to the other part of the body.

A technical tree extended from the head of the beautiful woman, and several thin icicle-like branches extended downward from the gray trunk that was tilted at an angle.

However, it was not the variety of branches that caught Thor's attention, but rather the brown, hardened, knob-like fruits that were visible near the base of the tree.

The same stains had spread to the trunk like a fungus, centered on the fruit.

--The effect is to inhibit the holder's acquisition of training points and the growth of his magical power.

Activation: Auto / Effect: Strong / Scope: Self

"This is ......"

"Thor, you know the characteristics even without a soul-meter, don't you? Yes, the cursed fruit is the reason I had to quit being an adventurer.

Yuril told Thor and the others about the situation in a straightforward manner.

He had been talented from a young age and had more magical power than anyone else, and had once belonged to a party that was renowned as a candidate for greatness.

Ice magic is mainly an inhibiting system that is often said to be unspectacular, but if a competent person chooses the right moment to use it, it can produce a terrible effect.

The party, with the help of the excellent behind-the-scenes support, was active at a rate that would make a flying dragon fall.

But that was only until they conquered a certain dungeon.

On a day when he should have been celebrating his victory in high spirits, Yuril's life changed drastically.

Normally, when the master of a labyrinth is defeated and the miasma is sealed, the tree of skill is endowed with some kind of fruit.

However, the labyrinth, which later became known as the Mage Slayer, contained a terrible trap.

It is a curse that only those who possess magical powers are given characteristics with negative effects.

The result is this.

The amount of training points gained from killing monsters is reduced to one-tenth, and the amount of magic power that would normally increase with the use of magical techniques is reduced inversely.

This is probably the reason why Yuril became much younger when he searched for the maximum magic power.

She is now cursed and retires from the adventuring world with a broken heart after her party informs her that she is no longer a member of the party.

She then took up a teaching position in the city and became the one to nurture adventurers and entrust them with her dreams.

"...... I didn't know that."

Thor held Yuril's hand tightly as he confided in him about his painful past.

The branches of the tree of skill can be restored as much as you want.

However, it is impossible to remove the fruit of the characteristics from the trunk of the tree, because the temporal does not work.

Beside Thor, who was speechless at his own helplessness, a girl suddenly spoke up.

"May I have a look at it too?"

"Yes, yes. Yes, please."

"Well, Moo-chan, please."

"Moo is too full to move right now, but..."

"Oh, my God. If you lie down right after eating, you'll turn into a fat cat!　

The black cat and the striped cat, who had been unreasonably accused, mewed in protest.

Moo protests for a while, but is dissuaded when Sola gives him a squeeze on the whip.

Even Yuril yelps in surprise when he shares Thor's vision.

"Oh, my. It's so strange to be able to see my own tree.

"Hmmm, isn't it great, landlady?"

"That's because of Moe!"

"Okay, okay, I'm a little busy, I'll see you later!"

After silencing Moe with a whirlwind grizzle, the girl gazes silently at Yuril's technical tree.

Then, she suddenly increased her magical power and launched her magic technique.

"Ei!"

Thor, who had looked at me for a moment to see what was going on, turned to Yuril at the urging of Sola, who was smiling a satisfied smile.

--The color of the fruit on the trunk of the tree had changed.

Thor's eyes are drawn to the snow-white part of the fruit.

-- Accelerates the holder's gaining of training points and growth of magical power.

Activation: Automatic / Effect: Medium / Scope: Self

"Nope."

"Oh, no, I did it. What do you think, landlord? What?　You know what?"

Tears welled up in the eyes of the stunned beauty, and the girl who had been so proud of her face took on a look of impatience.

As Thor looked at Sola, who touched Yuril's shoulder with a dazed look, he remembered that the explanation of said that it reverses the target's attack or effect.

"...... I see. You reversed the curse."

"I just kind of thought it could be done."

Laughing openly, Sola extended her arms and gently embraced Yuril.

The beautiful woman, freed from the spell she had been under for so many years, accepted the embrace, tears staining her handsome face.

At the same time, Yuril strongly squeezed Thor's hand, which had remained in contact with hers.

It was a clear response of acceptance of Thor's request.

The girl puts her hand over his hand as they hold each other's hands.

Mu, who had just gotten up, reached out her hand and touched it.

The sight of the four hands overlapping each other slowly heated the pit of Thor's stomach.

This is just a new beginning.

Even though the four of them are together, there are still many unknowns as to how things will turn out.

But for Thor, it is an incredibly pleasant and hopeful outlook.

Thor unconsciously scratched the bottom of his chin as the wilderness unfolded in his imagination.