CH 7

“Thank you for today. Cheers.”

Says Rurika, and we start eating.

I haven’t seen any of this stuff, and one bite is enough to surprise me with how good it is.

It’s simply good. Everything has its own characteristic flavor, and it was clearly made with the enjoyment of the eater in mind.

“It’s good…”

Those words leak out of my mouth.

It’s my first time eating something in this world that rivals what I ate in the world I came from.

At first I eat carefully, but before I know it, I’m wolfing it down.

I hear laughter, and when I raise my head, I see Chris laughing.

She undid her twintails, so her hair is flowing down. She looks mature at first glance, but once she starts laughing, she looks young again.

She notices me looking at her, and flusteredly looks towards Rurika like she’s asking for help.

Rurika starts talking, and she sounds almost exasperated.

“I’m glad you like it. I chose this inn because it’s said to be good even by the standards of the capital. Even though an additional charge must be paid to eat this.”

It’s probably worth the price, although I’m scared to ask what it is. And I actually wanted to eat more normal food anyway.

We finish eating, and start chatting.

First, I hear that they didn’t receive a penalty for failing to complete their honey gathering quest, and then we talk more about their work as adventurers.

I want to know more about what adventurers do, but I also learn that they came from a different country.

They were adventurers in their home country until they were promoted to rank D, and then they moved from country to country while accepting escorting quests.

“We’re from the Republic of Eldo. It was a nice place.”

I’ve heard that the Republic of Eldo is a country where humans and demi-humans live together.

In this world, demi-humans are races like beast people, elves, and dwarves. This really is a fantasy world. Races that were only imaginary where I came from are normal here.

I haven’t met any yet, but there could be at least one that’s an adventurer.

There are seven big countries in this world.

The Borsheil Empire, which touts human supremacy and denounces others as evil.

The Kingdom of Elesya, where the idea that humans are superior is common.

The Republic of Eldo, where many races live together.

The Beast Kingdom of Lath, ruled by the beast people’s king.

The Holy Kingdom of Frieren, where people worship a goddess.

The Magic State of Efa, where those who research sorcery gather.

The Dragon Kingdom of Hafre, a country of people that worship dragons.

There have been small wars throughout history, but there hadn’t been any major wars between countries in a hundred years.

But ten years ago, the Borsheil Empire declared war on the Republic of Eldo, and war broke out.

It wasn’t too large at first, but eventually all seven large countries got involved.

Attacking countries, defending countries, countries that stuck to neutrality…

The world was being exhausted, but the war had no end in sight.

But three years ago, in the Holy Kingdom of Frieren… It started with a holy woman, and then the chief priest received a divine message from the goddess.

“The demon king has returned. Loved ones, join forces and fight.”

At first, rulers dismissed this as nonsense, but when well-coordinated monsters started appearing, a ceasefire was called to drive them back.

They are still coming from a dark forest called demon forest, and attacking nearby kingdoms.

“Were you born here, Sora? Your equipment is pretty good for a beginner, so were you actually born to a good family?”

“No, I came from a place a little far away to make a living as an adventurer. I saved money, learned how to fight, and I want to go around and see the world.”

I’m not really interested in that demon king. It doesn’t even feel real to me, and I have no reason to hate it or anything.

If I really want to dig for a reason, I guess it’s the demon king’s fault I was summoned to this world. But those people in the castle irritate me the most. I wouldn’t fight even if they begged me.

Still, it’s not like I don’t want to become powerful in this world.

I’d be lying if I said I don’t want power. I might actually become powerful one day because of this skill.

I think part of it is because I want to be better than those people too…

“See the world… That’s a funny motive.”

“Is it? I’m pretty serious about it.”

“I see I see.”

Rurika is staring at me while I talk.

It feels like she’s sizing me up. Like she’s probing for something.

“What are you doing tomorrow? I assume you’re going to rest after completing a quest.”

“I’m probably going to be checking the delivery quests.”

“Delivery quests? Are you the delivery man people have been talking about?”

Delivery man?

I ask her what she means, and apparently adventurers have been talking about this weird person that’s been silently going around doing delivery quests no one wants to do.

“It’s safe here in town, and I’m new here, so I figured it was a good way to remember the streets and paths.”

Walking around helps me remember where stores are, and remembering paths can be useful if I ever need an escape route.

“You’ve been doing those hard quests…”

“Incredible…”

Their honest praise tickles, but it was partially because of my skill, and also because I wasn’t brave enough to leave the city.