CH 47

「So good!」

Kurtz-kun held out his hands at Kirika-chan.

「Rofas-san, please confirm whether you got any buff effects, instead of just focusing on eating.」

Once Bryce-kun mentioned that, Rofas-san paused and gasped.

「Oh right, there’s that. Let’s see if there’s anything different.」

Rofas-san stopped eating and looked up and down his screen.

Since we couldn’t see anything, we just watched Rofas-san look through his status.

「Since we used soy sauce, the black losing potion, your defense should’ve increased in value.」

I’m expecting that even if Kirika-chan made the yaki-onigiri, it will give off the same buff effects as the ones I made.

In that case, my responsibilities for developing the losing potion recipes will become more important.

Hm?

Wait a second.

What would happen if it turns out that I’m the only one who has the ability to make food that gave buffs?

Huh? Then would I need to start up a restaurant or something?

But how long do the effects last after the food is consumed?

Wouldn’t the effects run out by the time a person ate the food and walked to the dungeon? In that case, I’d have to set up shop outside of the dungeon, right?

Um, the potion field, as we call it, is considered a dungeon. However, the places that need the buff-giving food would be… the beginner-grade dungeons…? No, they would be needed more for the dungeons that Rofas-san frequents, so maybe at the intermediate or advanced grade dungeons?

Where are those anyway? If I remember correctly, it takes several days to get there from here…

Hmm, we’re also far away from town, so how would we gather ingredients?

Do those dungeons have fields near them?

Wait, no, no!

I’m not planning to be the cook for a restaurant, I’m trying to become an adventurer! I have to level up…

Huh? Once I level up and learn how to use magic, maybe I could start up a restaurant and work as an adventurer on the side instead?

Hmm…

But if anybody can make these buff-giving potion dishes, then it might be tough to compete against a professional chef if they decide to make them too.

The competition amongst restaurants in Japan are quite harsh. There were many places that opened up for only two or three years before they were crushed by their competitors. It’s best that I don’t assume that I can do something like that so easily.

After I buy the ingredients, I would have to do the accounting for it. Also, I have to plan on what to stock based on the weather conditions and overall state of affairs as well.

Not to mention, there are too many things I don’t know about in this world still.

I kept thinking about how some black pepper would be nice for my dishes, but as it turns out, black pepper is a luxury good in this world.

In that case, I can probably never use any…

Yeah, that seems hopeless. If I decide to run a restaurant, I should work at one first and gain experience in the industry.

Wait, but I would also need funds to start a business. Hmm, I should become an excellent adventurer first, work hard and save a lot of money, and then train at a restaurant…

「Ah, my defense value increased!」

Rofas-san’s words popped the balloon that had been swelling up with my hopes and dreams.

R-right.

So it doesn’t have to be me that makes the food. In that case, opening up a restaurant in front of the dungeon would be impossible for an amateur like myself… First, I should set up a transport system to secure ingredients.

「Umm, how much did it increase by?」

Rofas-san tilted his head.

「When you ate Yuuri-san’s cooking, you said the amount doubled, right? When we ate it, we each gained +10 in value. Since you ate Yuuri-san’s food before eating Kirika’s, we don’t know exactly how much Kirika’s cooking added… How is it? Compared to Yuuri-san’s food.」

Bryce-kun asked Rofas-san, sounding rather excited.

「Now that we know Kirika’s cooking gives off buff values, that means we should be able to make and eat our food to gain buffs.」

Ah, I see. It’s fine to make our own food and eat it them.

That means there might be no need to open up a restaurant in front of the dungeon in the first place…

「Um, yeah, I guess.」

Rofas-san twisted his neck a bit. He then ate some of the sweet vinegar-glazed bird meat and vegetables as he did that.

「Ah, those are mine!」

Kurtz-kun stood up from his chair in protest.

「It’s fine, there’s more.」

I took some of Rofas-san’s portion and gave it to Kurtz-kun, and then set down some more in front of Rofas-san.

「You’re an adult, don’t eat the children’s food! Geez!」

「Ah, my bad. I was trying to confirm the value. Um, when I ate Yuuri’s food, I gained double my current amount. After I ate Kirika’s cooking, the numbers like, increased a bit?」

…Could it be that Rofas-san was bad at math?

I’ve never had trouble with math while living here, but maybe that’s because I was working with simple numbers only.