Chapter 5

I froze for a moment.

My face would have looked stupid to Pamela.

Me, join a cooking guild?

Do you mean to change jobs from a hunter to a cook?

I’m not proud of it, but I’ve never cooked properly since I was born.

My teacher taught me how to dismantle stuff, but I’m not very good at it, and I haven’t done anything other than “baking” and “simmering.”

Pamela should be well aware of that.

By the way, Pamela also belongs to the cooking guild.

What on earth are you thinking?

“The cooking guild isn’t just a gathering of cooks.”

According to Pamela, there are four types of people in the cooking guild.

The first is a cook.

From the cooks of the popular cafeteria to the chefs of high-end restaurants that only deal with aristocrats, they belong to the culinary guild. This is because the guild contains information about things such as ingredients in addition to work.

That’s why Pamela, the innkeeper, is registered in the Cooking Guild.

The second is the food provider.

This seems to be a general name for people who provide ingredients, such as farmers, livestock farmers, fishermen, and hunters.

In fact, farmers have an agricultural guild and fishermen have a fisherman’s guild, but most humans also serve as a cooking guild member.

The third is the person who determines the value of ingredients.

He comes between the store where the cook is and the food provider to determine the value of the food.

It seems that some cooks deal directly with them, but since the value is determined on the spot, it is a profession that requires trust above all else.

The fourth is a tasting role.

He is a special person that I rarely see.

He checks for poison in ingredients you have never eaten.

Courage for the ingredients you eat for the first time and an iron stomach are essential occupations.

The above is the composition of the cooking guild.

And what Pamela recommends to me is …

“Of course, the food provider”

Pamela looked at me, her green eyes flashing.

“I don’t know about Zelet, but the culinary world is revolutionizing now.”

“revolution?”

“It’s about monster food.”

“Are you using monsters as ingredients?”

I remembered the sky salmon I ate earlier and stared at the traces of fat that clung to the plate.

“Yes. Recently, a review of using monsters as ingredients has begun. So recently, the cooking guild is looking for people who will provide monsters as ingredients. Don’t you think it’s perfect for Zelet? “

“Hmm … I don’t feel like it.”

I lean on the backrest and look up at the black-tinted ceiling.

It’s nice to be able to subdue monsters even here.

However, I am not convinced that the monsters that have been eliminated as vermin will be provided as ingredients this time.

In the first place, if it was worth it to subdue monsters, it wouldn’t be a problem if they remained in the Hunter Guild.

In the first place, I am ――――.

“In some cases, you may be able to subdue S-rank monsters.”

“what??”

I instinctively kicked the chair and stood up.

Pamela’s corner of the mouth is slightly raised.

“The cooking guild, like the hunter guild, is backed by patrons-that is, aristocrats, who aren’t in the demon protection groups that you hate.”

“Wait. Didn’t they ban subduing S-rank monsters.”

“That was decided by the Hunter Guild. Unless the monster protection bill is passed by the Kingdom Council, it should be fine as long as it’s not done by the hunter guild. “

The silence flows.

Rir perked her ears and looked at me.

The stupid disciple is still a stupid disciple, playing with a butterfly that got lost from somewhere.

And I was holding Pamela’s hand strongly.

“Hey! Zelet it hurts!”

“I will!”

“Huh?”

Introduce me to the cooking guild.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

Goods are called in a hurry.

We decided to go to the Cooking Guild that day. Aiming for a wooden sign with a ladle and a kitchen knife crossed on a plate.

That is the cooking guild.

“Actually, I’ve already talked to the Guild Master. All that’s left is the procedure.”

“You were going to pull me into the cooking guild from the beginning.”

Sky salmon was used as a trigger.

“It’s not from the beginning. After introducing you to the escort guild, when I talked to the guild master about Zelet, he just said,’If you fall getting into the escort guild, come to us.’”

Pamela laughs like a cat.

The ahoge that stretched out from her head was swaying sideways.

“I’m glad you found a job! Master !!”

Prim naturally sticks to me.

It hit my chest with tension, but I didn’t change my complexion.

Unfortunately, the feeling of modesty had long since fallen out of the mind of my stupid disciple.

“Oh, this is another job …”

“You can eat a lot of rice.”

Is that true?

I sympathize with Deco Pin between the drooling Purim’s eyebrows.

Rir, who was walking with us, also licks her fangs.

Gluttonous kid.

Isn’t the disciple and the wolf similar to the master and the owner?

“Zelet than that … Don’t you have anything better? It feels hot just by looking at it.”

Pamela checks my outfit and complains.

If it’s hot to look at, don’t look at me.

I don’t want the ardent gaze of my childhood friend either.

By the way, I wore a black robe that covered my body.

Made of a special material, it is lighter than anything else.

I like the fact that the collar stands out.

“This is fashionable”

Pamela wrinkles her eyebrows, but the woman doesn’t seem to understand this astringency.

Also, I like thumbless gloves.

We discover the signboard of the Cooking Guild.

Near the construction site on the side, we pushed the door of the guild while watching them scraping out the soil.

Inside, it’s not much different from the Hunter Guild.

There is a reception, there is a waiting room, and staff are working behind it. The location of the safe in the back is also the same. Perhaps the request fee is stored there.

Unlike the interior, the humans sitting in the dull waiting room chairs are quite diverse. After all, the customer base is different from the Hunter Guild.

Of particular concern is the smell.

Next to the fisherman who smelled like fish, a cook who smelled like sweets was wiping his sweat.

Aunts of farmers who lined up boxes of fruits that seemed to be freshly picked were chatting loudly.

And there is one man with a different atmosphere.

It smells of blood. Probably the smell of a demon beast.

Given his physique, he is probably a former hunter. He seemed terribly frustrated and frequently hit the floor with his soles.

“It feels awkward …. When I see a person who shakes poverty like that, I get frustrated.”

Pamela looked at the former hunter in the waiting room and wrinkled her brow.

“Does Pamela look like a poverty sway?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, but it’s quite lively.”

“Yeah? Cooking guilds are always like this. But I think there are a lot of people today. And recently, I heard that the cooking guild is looking for people who can subdue monsters, and aren’t there many hunters who want to switch to cooking guild? “

So that’s it. I understand their feelings. Apparently, there are surprisingly many rivals.

After waiting for a while, I was called to the reception.

“Hello Olivia”

Pamela kindly waved to the receptionist.

“Oh, isn’t it Pamela? Isn’t it your boyfriend behind you?”

The receptionist with the name Olivia engraved on her name tag grinned.

“Well, it’s different. I talked about this last time. He’s my childhood friend.”

“Don’t become so red, Pamela. I just made fun of you.”

“Olivia!”

Pamela stepped on the ground on the spot, her ears turning red.

Olivia, on the other hand, turns her clear light blue eyes toward me.

Unusual blue hair.

White skin reminiscent of a summer sandy beach.

Explaining that the limbs are thin may remind you of a beautiful woman, but the reality is cruel.

Because the girl in front of me was so short that I couldn’t even see her face from the counter without standing on a chair.

“What’s this little thing? Does the cooking guild make the dwarfs the receptionist? I don’t think she’s the right person for the job … I’m not a maniac for shame play, and you can also change jobs. You should do it. “

“Chi, Chi-ga-i-masu! Olivia is not a dwarf. She’s a human race with a history. Her grandmother is a mermaid, so it’s a little mixed with mermaid blood.”

“Oh … I see. Is it a human being cursed by a dwarf?”

“Why do you stubbornly make me a dwarf! No, I sometimes think it’s a curse and I’m depressed! Now that I think, it’s a good identity!”

Olivia breaks.

She’s pretty stubborn. Even though there is a way to break the curse of the dwarfs.

She is a very strong girl to accept that fate.

“Already … Pamela’s boyfriend is a little strange. He’s wearing a really thick robe. It’s early summer, but it’s pretty hot today.”

“I’m sorry. Aside from the former, I can’t deny the latter.”

As a childhood friend, I would deny both of them.

Do it … You don’t know how fashionable it is. Don’t be surprised to hear that the guild receptionist.

“Mr. Zelet Winter, I’m listening to you. Hello again. My name is Olivia Pocklan. I’m the receptionist of the Cooking Guild.”

Olivia bowed her head.

“It’s Zelet. I’m here to register for the Cooking Guild. Thank you.”

“Then, I’ll take the exam right away.”

Olivia put a big nut on the counter.

Probably the nut of Gubagara.

A type of magic tree that matures until it is higher than the spire of the castle. It also has other terrifying characteristics, such as emitting a scent that attracts monsters, captivating them, and sucking up the magical power of monsters until they starve to death.

Although humans cannot distinguish its odor, powerful monsters appear around Gubagara, so according to the Hunter Guild’s doctrine, it is recommended to detour except for prey.

“Exam? Didn’t you talk to Gilmas?”

I turn to Pamela.

“It should be …”

Pamela also seemed in trouble and turned to Olivia again.

Olivia clears her throat.

“I’m not suspicious of Pamela-san, but registering without confirming his competence is an irresponsible act as an administrator. If you make a false request for authenticity, it will also be a guild liability issue. I can’t make Pamela-san, who was introduced to me, sad. “

“I don’t think it’s the case when you’re doing that.”

I sigh.

“That? Maybe you’re not confident?”

Olivia snorts a little provocatively.

Do you intend to get back to the matter of making fun of your height earlier? Apparently, the receptionist is not only not tall, but also has a small heart.

“Well, so how does the exam relate to this gubagara seed?”

“It’s easy. Let this seed sprout through magical power.”

“sprout?”

“As you know, it absorbs magical power and grows larger. Take advantage of this property to sprout it. However, if there is no magical power above a certain level, it will not grow. This is the cooking guild exam. “

“Yeah …. pouring magical power into the fruit of Gubagara. Isn’t that really hard?”

Pamela holds her head.

“According to a document, more than 100 small monsters and about 20 large monsters are required.”

“Isn’t that a fairly high hurdle?”

Pamela raises a high-pitched voice.

Olivia, on the other hand, looked a little embarrassed.

“Actually, the number of applicants for hiring has increased. Unless we raise this hurdle, we will not be able to balance with others.”

So that’s it. Even if the number of food providers increases, the food cannot be handled without the essential cooks and middlemen, and it is related to the demand of the market.

It’s a narrow gate for that.

“I see. I understand.”

“Do it, Zelet”

“Because it’s a cooking guild exam, I thought it might be called cooking or behavior, but that wouldn’t be a problem. Little Olivia”

“Don’t say little! My name is Olivia !!”

“Do you want to do the exam here?”

“Where will you do it if it’s not here?”

“Well, no … what … don’t you think there will be a hole in the roof of the guild when this fruit matures.”

I look up at the ceiling.

Olivia also looked up at the ceiling and squeezed her mouth.

“You can’t say that and try to take it outside. It’s quite expensive. It’s okay. If that happens, I’ll fix the guild ceiling at my own expense, so don’t worry.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I put my hand on the fruit of Gubagara.

And the magical power of the whole body was increased at once.

It’s okay to sprout it completely, but I feel like I’m being looked down upon by a little child.

After all, an S-class hunter is a class defined by the Hunter Guild.

Is it inevitable that the treatment will change if the guild changes?

Then, in order to hunt S-rank monsters quickly, I need to show my ability here.

However, it’s only a scale.

When the guild was filled with my magical power, it turned white.

In the room dyed white, my jet-black hair, the black eyes are not filled, and the fruit of Gubagara is clearly captured.

“Cho, cho! What is this !!”

“Zelet! This! Is it okay ???”

“Wahahahaha! That’s amazing!”

You can hear voices of surprise, embarrassment, or protests here and there.

In addition, I amplified the magical power and poured it into the fruit of Gubagara.

Then, sprouts come out one after another from the fruit.

Growth naturally doesn’t stop there.

The buds grow greatly as if they were pulled up from heaven.

The thick trunk spread vertically as well as horizontally, with roots breaking through the wooden floor and rooting under the guild floor.

The area around the counter is completely dominated by the roots, while the trunk rushes toward the ceiling.

Stop! !!

I hear something.

“What’s the sound now?”

“No way !? Really the ceiling?”

“Nyahahahaha!”

Eventually the light stops.

Gradually, the guild’s misery emerged.

The roots of the tree are spread all over the cooking guild, and the branches are overgrown with leaves.

As if wrapped in a large tree hollow, the spectacle was completely changed.

“Gyaa ah ah ah !!”

It was a fairy tale scene that seems to appear in a picture book, but there is no doubt that it is a catastrophe.

Olivia screams like she’s leaked from her little body.

She had crumpled light blue hair and had teary eyes.

On the other hand, there are people who are stunned and those who are looking up to heaven.

Pamela is one of them.

“Wow … maybe a little beautiful”

“Nyaha ~~. Isn’t it a superb view?”

Prim also holds her hand and stares at the scene.

Olivia was also half-crying at the ceiling that broke through at first, saying, “My salary is …”, but when I saw the leaves of Gubagara beyond that, I took a breath.

“Green and red …”

There are two types of leaves of Gubagara.

Green like green leaves and red of autumn leaves.

Everyone loses their words in the sight of spring and autumn coming together.

“I’ve heard that Gubagara changes the color of its leaves depending on the magical nature it sucks … In other words, this is …”

Olivia looks back at me.

“Mr. Zelet, you have two attributes,’runes’, don’t you?”

Olivia was breathing deeply.