148-Episode 148: New Year and New Year dishes

""Happy New Year!"

New Year's greetings are given in a room warmed by a fireplace.

Even the adventurers, who were open all year round, were all taking it easy at the beginning of the year.

........Well, it's simply because the Adventurer's Guild is closed, so we can't take requests.

That's why we were spending the beginning of the year relaxing.

But a lot of things happened last year.

Jairo-kun, who is relaxing on the sofa, murmured sincerely, and everyone nodded in agreement with him.

''That's true. It's a good thing that we only became adventurers last year, but we already have a C-rank.

A huge accomplishment!

I have to admit, it's a ridiculously fast career move.

''I didn't get a B grade for a short time, and now I'm an A grade...''

"...and all that...

And that's where everyone's attention is drawn to me.

'It's a good thing I met my brother, isn't it?

I guess it's all thanks to meeting Mr. Lex.

Maybe it's because you met Lex.

It was huge to meet Lex.

It's all thanks to Lex's training, isn't it?

They all said my name in tongues.

That's not true. This is only possible with your skills. I'm just giving you a little push.

I felt like I was being pushed off a cliff, though.

I can't go through that training again.

I think it's a normal practice.

I don't think so.

And that's when it happened.

There was a loud guffawing sound in the living room.

'Oh, I'm starving.'

It was the sound of Mr. Gyro's stomach that made the sound.

'Let's have breakfast then,'

'As I recall, Lex prepared an Eastern dish for us this year.

Yeah, it's called Osechi.

I've never heard of this dish.

It's a dish taught by people from the east. It's a dish that can last for a long time and was designed to make mothers' lives easier in the New Year.

'Heh, that's good. Hey Lex, now that your mother is feeling better, I'd like to share that dish with everyone in the village...

'Oh, that's good. Then, after breakfast, shall we go to Mr. Liliella's village?

All right, let's get on with my brother's cooking.

Jairo couldn't wait and ran towards the cafeteria.

"It's New Year's Eve and that idiot is impatient.

Mina screams in disbelief as Jairo-kun couldn't wait and jumped in.

"What's this?

That's when I heard Jairo's shout from the cafeteria. We heard Gyro's scream coming from the cafeteria.

What's going on, Gyro-kun?

When we entered the dining room to see what was going on, we found Jairo-kun standing there, stunned.

Jairo pointed to the dining room table, trembling.

The osechi, which is prepared for everyone to eat together, is gone.

The osechi are all gone!

""What?"

How is that possible?

There's a magic item in this mansion that activates a warding spell to prevent intruders!

But as if to mock my inner impatience, the osechi on the table has been cruelly devoured.

''Terrible.......who the hell is that?

Oh, my Osechi...

That's when I felt something move in the corner of the kitchen.

Something's on the floor.

Who are you?　Light ball!

Without a second thought, Mina activates her light magic and illuminates the corner of the room.

''Moggyu?''

Fluffy?

There was a mofo with a mouth full of food scraps and a contented mofo lounging around.

'Gefcukh.'

The mofo mofo spits out the bone in his mouth as if he can't eat it anymore.

Ssshhh?

Fluffy Mofu looks at me as if he were in a bewilderment... and then he stops moving.

When Fluffy noticed our presence, he became impatient, as if to say that he had found us in a bad way.

'Mofumov, could it be that you ate the osechi?

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!

Fluffy Mofo stared at me with glittering eyes that said no, it wasn't me, but the food debris on his mouth made it impossible to convince him.

'Oh, our osechi...'

There is no excuse for...

This is exactly what you're going to have to punish.

It's a little difficult to cover for yourself in this situation, isn't it?

He had it coming. You should have a strict discipline once in a while.

Gyro-kun and the others don't seem to be willing to forgive Fluffy for devouring the osechi.

''I'll make you an osechi!

Gyro-kun activated his body-enhancing magic and struck at Fluffy Moffy.

''Kyuuuuuut!''

In contrast, Mohumofu also uses body strengthening magic to intercept it.

''Kyaaaah!　You shouldn't start here!''

I'll cover you.

Mina complained to Gyro-kun and the others as they began to fight in the cafeteria, and Megri, in anger at being eaten by Osechi, rode to Gyro-kun's aid.

'Um, what are we going to do about this situation?'

I guess I'll just clear the table for now.

''No, no, that's not the point!　　If they go on a rampage with the body-enhancing magic Lex-san taught us, the house will be torn to pieces!"?

Jairo-kun and his friends' big fight made Norbu-san pale and upset.

It's a good thing that this is Lex's house and we're his housemates, so we'll have to pay for it if we break it!

You're one of those people who can be rather cunning, aren't you?

'Oh, don't worry about it then. Here, look at the wall in the room where Mr. Gyro was slammed.

The Wall?

When everyone looked at the wall, that?　I get a look that says.

'Are there any ... scars ... on it?

After all those hard knocks?

''We've put a protective spell on the mansion to prevent it from deteriorating. You can get away with a little or a lot of violence.

'I don't think that was just a little bit...'

And while you're at it, I've also put a protective spell on the dishes so they won't fall off by accident.

There's a C-level adventurer in there who can't even break a bowl.

Megri, you're lucky you don't say that.

You're not going to be able to do that.

I'm not sure what to do about it, though.

When Jairo and his friends' bickering had died down, everyone looked at the disorganized table.

We've already used up all the ingredients for osechi.

As far as I'm concerned, it's not a good place to buy food on a new year's day.

So I guess we'll just have to cook him up.

Ssshhhh!

Jairo's suggestion is met with a look of surprise from Fluffy, "Is this guy for real?　He turns his face to look at you.

But it's true that we don't have any ingredients.

So maybe I'll use that.

'What?　What is it?

Yes, it's a luxury item for the feast, just in case something goes wrong.

Luxury goods?　You kept that stuff?

How can you keep something like that in the armoire for so long?

'Don't worry about that. There is a sub-space inside the bag, so the time of the ingredients stands still. That's why the food is fresh any time you take it out.

We're frozen in time?

It's like he just said something really great.

So I'm going to make a new dish with these ingredients.

I decide to re-cook the food and head to the kitchen.

'Oh, let me help you,'

I will help you!

Liliella and the others hurriedly offer to help me with the food.

''Thank you. But there are some ingredients that need to be detoxified, so everyone please wait.''

What?

Detoxification?

For cooking?

Why?

Everyone nodded their heads, wondering why.

''Because it's demon meat material.

I set the ingredients on the kitchen table.

'The flesh of the Hellblood Bear is highly poisonous in its blood, so after the blood is drained, the meat is dipped in a detoxification potion soaked in various herbs and spices.

Poisonous!

In addition, the blood of the Hellblood Bear makes a good source of blood, so we don't take the time to do the detoxification cooking in parallel.

Next I take out a giant crab leg.

A spoonful of slip pudding cancers is a poisonous substance that can kill 10,000 people, but if you detoxify it too, it makes a great crab stew. Of course, the meat is great too!　It's very poisonous if you don't detoxify it.

""Yeah, it was predictable."

''Furthermore, the Scarlet Harpy Matango from the Valley of the Poison, when you take a bite of it, it has an excellent liberating and refreshing taste, like flying through the air...''

""Poisonous mushrooms"

'Yes, that's right!　If you soak this one in the elixir, the poison will be removed and the chemical solution will seep further inside, making it crispy and crunchy!

Why are all these ingredients so toxic?

The grotesque and the poisonous have always been considered delicious. Gourmets who have eaten all the world's gourmet foods would be impressed!

Isn't that just a roar of venom?

I'm fine!　Because the history of antidote magic has been developed to pioneer new poisonous ingredients!

"...a history of stubbornness in the history of antidote magic!

I've got it.

And finally, an antidote dish using high-grade demonic ingredients is completed.

''Ah, it's finished........''

I share my finished detoxification dish with everyone on their small plates.

"Bon appétit!

"..........

Cuccioon!

Fluffy Moffy poked his face into the small plate placed in front of him with great joy.

''Kyuun!''

It looks like the demon pot is to Fluffy's liking.

Let's go eat.

I take a mouthful of food from my own small plate.

'....Yeah, it tastes good.

It was good. I thought it was a mistake because no one but Mofo Mofo would eat it, but it's soaked up the flavor properly.

'Seriously.....

This is ... um ... but ... um ... poisonous.

The ingredients Lex prepared for the food are highly poisonous, but they're not.

There are people out there who can't even get by on a daily basis and it's a deadly poison.

I'm just plain scared.

Hmm, I don't think the poisonous ingredients themselves are anything unusual.

''Duh!　Don't waste your time!　My brother made this for me!　I'm going to eat!

And that's when Gyro-kun put the food into his mouth with gusto.

"Gyro-kun!

For real!

How does it taste?

Uh, do you want me to prepare an antidote to the spell?

Mr. Norbu, don't you think that's a terrible idea?

Um...

""Huh?"

Gyro-kun stands there, pulling and shaking.

'Yummy!　What a ministry!

""Ehhhhh?"

Really?　Did they really eat you?

Are you sure you're okay?　Doesn't it give you a tummy ache?

What does it taste like?

Are you sure this isn't some kind of poisonous hallucination?

Mr. Norbu has been so bitter earlier, I wonder if he has any bad memories of poisonous food?

'Wow!'　All the ingredients are so good!　It's soaked up the flavors and has a great crunch to it!　That's the best food I've ever tasted in my life!

Oh, really?

Well, in light of everything you've said, I guess we'll just have to try...

""Here we go!"

Everyone pours their food into their mouths as if they had made up their minds.

"..........huh?

How's that?

" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

I don't know what it is, but it's so good!　It's so poisonous!

'It's all incredibly delicious!　I never knew there was such a good thing in the world!　It's very poisonous, though!

'Delicious, super delicious. It's poisonous and yet delicious.

'My God, my God!　Delicate and profound on this tongue!　A perfect crunch that feels plump and elastic when you bite into it, but never hard!　Oh, and this venomous blood sauce is great too!　I can assure you it's definitely no less than a full course at a fancy restaurant!　It's very poisonous, though!

Oh, good. It sounds like everyone else has embraced it, too.

I knew good food would make you happy.

"...but something doesn't feel right...

Huh?　Why?　Everyone said it was good!