45-040 Today Alone

Delicious!

This was Yuki's first comment after having dinner at the Bear of Slumber.

Hearing her voice, which was uncompromising and honest, even her unsociable father seemed to be happy.

It's true. With meals of this flavor, the rent is cheaper than that inn in Sarstad. ...... I can't believe it.

With Yuki and Natsuki joining us, the inn's room assignments were slightly changed, with one room for me and Toya, and one room for the women.

We could have rented a larger room and stayed in one room, but it would have cost us 1,400 rares per night, including breakfast and dinner.

Fortunately, we were not in such dire straits that we had to save a few hundred rares, so we rented a room for a man and a woman.

First of all, it's much cheaper than Sarstat, and the food is good, so I don't mind paying that much.

But if all goes well, we'll be leaving this place in a few days.

That is, if Mr. Diora can find me a good place to stay.

I'm sure we can stay here for a long time.

The three of us, not including Natsuki, looked at each other and laughed at Yuki's words.

"Huh?　Are you three unhappy?

No, of course it's good enough compared to other places, but ......

It's still 'restaurant food' after all.

You can't keep eating it.

Yuki twisted her head at our opinion, but Natsuki nodded her head in agreement.

"Wouldn't you hate it if I told you to eat at a diner every meal for a month?

"Ohhhh, even if the food was delicious, it would be disgusting.

After all, the food of this world is the food of another country.

The Bear of Slumber is much better, so I think I can keep eating it for one meal a day, but two or three meals a day would be a bit hard.

I don't want to say "rice and pickled plums," but I do want to eat food with Japanese flavor.

I can understand why people bring instant food on business trips abroad, really.

That's why I have high hopes for you, Haruka.

I'm going to do my best to ...... make it work, even though I don't have a lot of seasoning.

That's where your cooking skills come in!

The fact that you can't say that is scary.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on when you level up.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.　Authority-wise.

"Oh, you didn't know?　Diora is young, but she seems to be the leader of that guild.

What?　Seriously?

I wouldn't say she's young, but I'd say she's mid-level at best.

Yeah. He said he was hired by fate, but he seems to have some ability.

"You can't be an executive if you're not. But he's an executive and he's at the counter?

That's because there aren't many people there, I guess. Even though it's bigger than Sarstat, the city of Raffan itself is a rural town.

It's not a town with many adventurers, so there aren't that many career-track jobs, except for professional positions such as guild leader and appraiser.

Hmm, I don't think there were that many employees.

By the way, what are your plans for tomorrow?

Now that we've taken care of the urgent problem of protecting Natsuki and Yuki, we're going to work hard to make a stable life for them on a long-term, even life-level.

"Thank you again, all three of you. I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't gotten together. ......

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. We would have either taken a risk or remained in poverty.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

I've already told you, there's no need to worry about it. There are benefits for us too.

"Yes, yes. It's nice to have a friend you can trust.

One of the factors in our decision to rent the house is that we'll be able to make more money with five people.

If I had left you two alone, you would have been on my mind for the rest of my life. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to make backpacks and patterns for both of you.

I'm fine with that.

That's what me and Natsuki are doing, right?　What about Nao and Toya?

I think we'll have some free time. Any ideas?

I don't really have any ideas other than ...... training.

I took a vacation before I went to Sahlstat, so I don't have anything special I want to do.

I don't want to do anything special. I just want to walk around someplace I've never been before.

I've got some ideas, so I'm going to do my usual training and then we'll go, okay?

Yeah, no problem. So tomorrow we'll do our own thing.

The next morning, we finished our training.

The next morning, after each of us finished our training, Toya went out early and Haruka and the others stayed in their rooms to make backpacks.

I was practicing in my room, reading the grimoire of space-time magic that I had gotten, but after a few hours it became too much for me, so I was lying on my bed resting.

I want to make a magic bag as soon as possible, but at this rate, it might take a while. I have the makings of a space-time magician, but it doesn't seem to be that easy.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

And in a way, it's also a time of leisure.

It's not just a leisure time, but also a rest to recover your magic power.

If I may say so myself, we worked pretty hard since we came to this world.

We did take a vacation before we went to Sarstat, but it was mainly for shopping, so I don't think it was strictly speaking a vacation.

Since my life depended on it, I didn't have the slightest intention of slacking off or anything like that.

If the NEETs of the world were thrown into this environment, they would certainly not be NEETs after a week. --Whether they live or die is another matter.

"...... Want to go out for lunch?

The cafeteria downstairs is a sure bet in terms of taste, but it would be fun to take a walk around the city.

Now that you have some free time, why not?

In terms of enrichment, this cafeteria is a bit lacking without a sign girl.

Other people might say that it's a bit extravagant to have Haruka and the other three here, but it is what it is, and it is what it is.

I don't have any ulterior motives, I simply want to make more acquaintances in this town.

Aside from Diora and the old man of the inn, the only other acquaintances I have are the old man of the weapon shop and Gantz.

If you want to live, you should at least get to know your neighbors.

It's not like modern society.

Once you've decided that, you can go to .......

You won't get to know people by staying in your room.

I change out of my comfortable loungewear into clothes for going out, and leave the inn with only the dagger I use for demolition.

I feel a little uneasy walking alone and unarmed, but it's not like I'm carrying my main weapon, a spear, to make acquaintances.

If you're an adventurer, there's no way you'll be able to make friends with ordinary people like that.

Well, according to Diora, you don't need a weapon if you don't go near some unsafe places, but I don't know what those places are, so the dagger is just for precaution.

Now, where should we go?

Our inn, the Bear of Slumber, is located in a small alleyway off the main street that runs north from the center of town.

Of course, the main street is the one with the most people, and the stores are lined up along the main street.

There is a square in the center of the city, lined with stalls and stalls of vendors and people who have come from rural areas to sell their products.

It's not window shopping, but it's a fun place to browse. .......

I thought about it for a while and chose to walk down an alleyway that led away from the main street.

I've walked along the main street several times with Haruka and the others, but I've never strolled through the alleys, and I don't think I'll have many opportunities to do so in the future.

These alleyways are usually lined with ordinary houses, but there might be a bargain store like the "Bear of Sleep" pavilion.

I decided to stay at the inn as recommended, and later found out that it was a very good inn, both in terms of the taste of the food and the low price.

Because it is not facing the main street, it is not well known as an inn, but the food is so good that the dining room is crowded with locals every day.

On the other hand, it seems that even the locals tend to forget that it is an inn.

Incidentally, as to why the soldier at the gate recommended this inn, the inn's father said that it was probably because his parents' house was near this inn.

Well, I'm glad he lives at home.

If it had been at home, we would have had to see each other every day, which might have been troublesome.

But ...... is so exotic.

The buildings along the alley are basically private houses, most of which are one-story. Most of the buildings along the alley are one-story houses, with the occasional two-story building mixed in, and very few three-story buildings.

The structures are made of wood, stucco, and brick, and while not quite the neatness of a foreign tourist attraction, they are not too dirty and are enjoyable in their own way.

However, there are almost no houses with flower pots on the windowsill or around the entrance, as if they don't have enough room to grow flowers.

I strolled around for a few hours looking at these houses, but surprisingly there were no stores in the alleys.

Even if there were some, they seemed to be for regular customers only, so I just glanced at them and passed them by.

It is difficult to enter such a place even in the original world, but it is too difficult to enter it alone in this world.

Honestly speaking, I would like to have lunch soon, but there are no food stalls around here, and I can't find a restaurant where I can enter.

Hmmm, should I go back to the main street?　...... Oh?

That's when the new store came into my sight.