216-198 Welcome Party

""Welcome party ......?"

Mary and Mitya twisted their heads at Haruka's words.

We've heard glimpses of it before, so we're not confused.

I've been here for about a week now, and ...... I'm not complaining, but...

I was just wondering if Mary and the others didn't fit in. In that case, I was thinking of sending them to an orphanage here in town. Wouldn't it be awkward if we had a welcome party or something?

Yeah. If Mary and the others felt uncomfortable living in our house, we could leave them in Ishka's care.

The day after we came back to Raffan, we had talked about having a welcome party, but at that point, we were afraid that if we had too big a party, it would be difficult for them to express their dissatisfaction with us.

It's not that we don't fit in, it's just that ......!

The food is good!

The food is good!" Mary shook her head in panic, while Mitya commented on the food.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to kick you out. I just wanted to make it difficult for you to stay in this house.

"Yeah, yeah. Oh, and if you feel more comfortable living in an orphanage, just let me know.　I think this orphanage is a lot nicer than the one in Kerg, and I know the person in charge and I've donated money, so I think I can manage.

I'm not complaining!　In fact, there's not much work to do. ......

I can eat every day and sleep in peace!

I'm not complaining!

No, well, food, clothing and shelter are important, so in a way, Mitya's words may be the best words.

Well, we've been living together for a while now, and we've figured out that it's not a problem. We're going to celebrate Mary and Mitya's healing as well.

Yes. They're all healed up.

Yes. The burn scars on Mary and Mitya, Haruka and Natsuki continued to apply Regenerate every day, and yesterday they were all safely removed.

Since both of them would be unable to move for a while after using the Regenerate, they used it once a day before going to bed at night, so it took a little time, but as they got used to it, they were able to understand the area that could be completely healed with one spell, and became slightly more efficient.

Even so, the area they could heal at one time was only slightly larger than my palm, so it would be a long time before they could regenerate the missing parts.

Ah!　Once again, thank you very much. I think it's a miracle that you're still alive. ......

Thank you very much.

I'm a girl. I'm glad I could fix you.

It's a miracle that she's alive.

I'm glad I could fix you up. Don't worry about it.

"It's nice to meet you!

"It's nice to meet you!

The sisters bowed their heads in response to Haruka's words, and we also responded.

I'm sure you'll agree.

"Well, speaking of welcome parties, what would you like to have for dinner?

We pondered over Haruka's words.

We were thinking about Haruka's words. .......

I'm not sure what to say.　I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I'm going to do it.

Steak and sushi.

I'm not sure if I'm a poor person or not, but that's the way I see it.

You can't really eat snow crab, can you?　You can't eat snow crab, right? Oh, fugu. I've never had tecchiri, either.

I've never had tecchiri," said Yuki, shaking her head in annoyance at Toya's words.

I've never had tecchiri either. If it's a hot pot, I'm sure the spoon hot pot would be a treat.

"We ate it during the winter, so we don't have any in stock. It's hot now, and it's not the season for hot pot. ......

In fact, if you are talking about expensive food, a kaiseki meal, a course of French cuisine, or even just tempura at a good restaurant will cost you a good amount of money, but if you are asking me if it is a feast, I have some doubts.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one who thinks that "expensive is expensive" doesn't mean "expensive is expensive".

What about Mary and Mitya?

It's a treat every day!

Me too ...... yes. I've never had anything better than what I've had here, so ......

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't want to know what I want to eat.

You can go to Aella's restaurant if you want. ......

I'm sure Aella will be able to provide us with some dishes we don't know about, but...

"Looks like they're getting booked up fast.

I sometimes come by to deliver meat and make small talk, but it seems that things are going so well that it's hard to get a reservation.

Since it's a laid-back type of restaurant, the turnover of customers is low and it doesn't seem to be too busy, but there are almost no empty seats during business hours.

It seems that he and his friend Luce are doing well.

After all?　It's hard to make good food again, so let's play with ...... impact.

"Impact?

Hmm, how about a whole roasted task boar?

Whoa!　Whole roast?　All you can eat?

I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not.

You can find a lot of people who are looking for the best in the market.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

You can eat as much as you want.

"It's amazing!　My dreams are expanding!

It's a great way to get the most out of your life.

You're right, I've never had a whole roast before in my life. It's as unlikely as cartoon meat.

There's no reason to disagree with ......, or rather, how can you disagree when you see that Mitya?

And although not as overt as Mitya, Mary's face was also drooling.

I'm not sure if the fact that she is a tiger beastman has any effect on her.

Toya also said that she liked meat more than before.

If you want, you can roast something else, but ...... task boar is a safe bet.

If you want to make a big impact, go to ............. No, that's too much to ask.

Toya started to say something, then fell silent. He shakes his head.

Orcs are one of the most delicious things we hunt, but roasting them whole, weighing hundreds of kilos, is just too impractical.

To skewer it and turn it, we would have to prepare it as if we were making potato stew with a crane, as seen on TV.

In addition, no matter how good Haruka and the others' [cooking] skills are, I don't think they'll be able to cook it very well.

Other demons that can eat almost the entire body include the Bind Viper and the Killer Gator, which have enough impact, but their impact is so strong that it reduces the appetite.

I can eat them if they are cut, but they look like snakes and crocodiles.

Piccow looks pretty good roasted whole, but it lacks impact because of its small size, and if you're going to use Piccow meat, you might as well make a different kind of meal, like sukiyaki.

In that light, task boar is a reasonable choice.

But you don't have any task boar in stock right now, do you?

"No. Oak is better for simple taste.

We hadn't been hunting for task boars recently, so we didn't have many, but when we did, we didn't eat them ourselves, but sold them.

So, we'll go hunt them ourselves.

We're going to ...... make some sweets for the first time in a while.

You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

I'm not sure.　I'm not sure.　You use sugar?

Yes, we haven't decided what we're going to make, but I'm sure we will.

I'm so excited!　I'm so excited! The welcome party is beautiful!

"Sweet treats: ......

Mitya waved her hands and even her tail in happiness, while Mary's tail was moving happily, though she wasn't waving her hands.

Perhaps sweetness is justice after all.

Sugar itself, though not white sugar, can be found in this town.

However, the price is more than ten times higher than that of Japanese sugar, so it is not something you can buy easily.

We usually buy it, but we try to conserve the amount we use.

In a way, it may be good for our health, but at about three large silver coins for one kilogram, it is not easy to use.

I know that a teaspoon of brown sugar in a cup of tea is not so expensive, but I am in a mood.

I don't put it in tea, because it is similar to brown sugar and it changes the taste of tea.

It seems that the image of the price we get when we hear "three large silver coins for one kilo" is quite different from the image ordinary people get, and it seems that people living at the level of Mary and her family can't afford it, or buy a little once a year.

Even if the price of sugar is 3,000 yen per kilogram in Japan, a spoonful of sugar costs about 10 or 20 yen, so an ordinary family would probably say, "Well, I can't afford it. I guess.

I think the difference comes from the fact that in this world, wages are low and it doesn't take much money to make a minimum living.

On the other hand, luxury goods are relatively expensive, so the joy of the Mityas is not so exaggerated.

Then, let's get ready. Tohya-kun and Nao-kun, please take care of them.

I'm not sure what to say.

We have a good feeling about the task.

It only took a few hours for us to hunt down a good task boar, but since the meat needed time to mature and soak up the seasonings, we actually had a whole roasting party for the task boar ......, as well as a welcome party for Mary and Mitya. The welcome party for Mary and Mitya was not held until the next day.

We made a roasting table in the garden with blocks made of earth magic, and put a task boar on a spit.

The task boar we hunted this time was a little smaller than 1.5 meters due to the fact that it had to be roasted whole, but it still weighed nearly 100 kilograms before it was roasted.

The edible parts alone, excluding the bones, are not enough for seven people to eat, but that's not a problem because we have magic bags that keep the food from spoiling, and we're having guests over, so maybe we'll be able to consume it. ...... I don't think so.

I'm not sure if I can.

It was Toya and I who set up the grill, but Yuki did the actual grilling.

He burns the charcoal under the grill, turns the skewers around, and grills them slowly over a high, distant flame.

Incidentally, the blocks for the grill were made by me, but the skewers and other metal gimmicks were made by Toya, all of which I made after hunting down the task boar yesterday.

Whole roast, huh?

"Yeah. Whole roast.

That's all I have to say.

Haruka and Natsuki are in the house making other dishes, while Toya and I, with nothing better to do, sit in chairs under the shade of the tarp and watch Yuki cook.

Mary and Mitya are sitting in front of the grill, staring at the task boar as it bakes little by little.

Their tails are wagging in unison, which is rather cute.

"Even if you two stare at it that long, it'll take a long time for it to burn.

Just the smell of it makes me happy!

Mitya responds to Yuki's giggling with a smiling face.

It's true that Mitya is right, and the good smell wafts down to us.

Whenever the fat drips onto the charcoal, the smoke rises with a sizzling sound, and it is very appetizing.

But then...

"Hey, is this going to cook?

The task boar was sliced open at the belly and fixed to the skewer in a slightly widened shape, but it was still quite thick.

If you think about the time it takes to grill a chicken, this meat is many times thicker than ......?

It's a charcoal fire, so it has a far infrared effect, but it's not easy. In fact, if you want it to taste good, you might as well cut it up and grill it, right?

I'm not sure what to make of that. ......

It's true, but if you do that, you're negating the whole concept.

I've heard that if you want to roast the whole thing properly, you have to roast it for more than one night.

"One night?

At Toya's words, Mary and the others all shouted in despair.

Well, no matter how many coals you use, the heat will escape, so it's not surprising.

It's not very wild, but if you're going to make a delicious whole roast, you might as well build a large stone oven.

I don't have that much time, you know. I don't have that much time. I think it's more practical to eat it while scraping off the burnt surface.　If you try to cook the whole thing, the fat will fall off and it won't taste as good.

It's like a kebab. That sounds delicious, doesn't it?

I've seasoned it well. Mary, Mitya, would you like to taste it?

Are you sure?

Yeah. Just a moment.

Yuki put the knife in the place where the meat was nicely browned, put the shaved meat into the plate, and handed it to them.

I'm not sure how much of the meat I've shaved off, but I'm sure it hasn't gone down too much.

"It's good!　It's delicious!

It's delicious!

After piercing the meat with their forks and filling their mouths with meat, the two of them flapped their tails and loosened their cheeks.

Seeing them like that makes me want to eat too.

Yuki, give me a piece.

"Oh, I'll have a slice, too.

"Oh, I'll have a slice, too.

I can't help it," he says, and I take a bite of the meat he's so honestly cut up for me.

"Wow, this is quite ......".

It's not just salt, is it?　You can eat this without getting tired of it.

The meat is not heavily seasoned, but the herbs seem to be used, and it tastes good enough on its own.

The meat was so juicy that it was dripping with juice, and I felt like I could eat a lot of meat.

The sauce is also available, but if it's enough for me, I'll be full before I get tired of it.

"Oh?　You've already started?

When I turned around at the sound of a voice from behind me, I saw Haruka and Natsuki holding trays with food on them.

We're just tasting. But as you can see, we'll probably be eating the whole roast as we cook it. Do you want some, Haruka?

"Let's put this down first. Nao, help me.

Yes, yes.

We'll help you put the food you brought on the table under the tarp.

There's a lot of meat, so we've kept the other dishes small. If there's not enough, I'll make more.

"No, there's more than enough.

Haruka and Natsuki brought drinks, soup, vegetables, bread, and a lot of sweets.

There were no fresh pastries, probably because fresh milk was not available, but there were cookies, pies, nuts, and other things that people don't usually eat.

In addition to Toya, Mary and Mitya also ate an unimaginable amount of food for their bodies, but even so, there was no way they would have enough.

In fact, there would definitely be meat left over.

All of them, except for the three of them, would not be able to consume even two kilos of meat.

In other words, Toya and his friends have more than 10 kilos of meat per person. ...... Unless your stomach is a magic bag, it is physically impossible.

Okay, we're good!

Okay.

Let's start with a few words. Well, let's start with Nao, shall we?

Me?

I?

Wouldn't it be nice if you could say something beforehand?

Even if it's just my family, I'd like a little time to think about it.

Well, okay. I'll make it easy for you. Let's see. ...... We're meant to be a family.

As long as we live together, we're going to have quarrels.

There will be times when we disagree.

There will be times when you feel dissatisfied with your partner.

In such cases, you should express your feelings honestly. Don't expect them to "understand" you.

There is no need to worry. As a family, we'll protect you.

We're not going to irresponsibly abandon our family.

--Welcome to our home.

The welcome party started like this and continued until late at night with the participation of guests Diora, Aella, and Tommy.