Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 8 Read online

  *Gong!* *Bonk!*

  The idiot twins were met with Tabatha’s fist.

  These guys never learn, do they?

  “If that’s the case, then you’ll all just have to rely on Aija and Thereza for your meals. Can you two do that?”

  ““Yes.””

  Luckily the two of them had been housewives for a long time and were reliable cooks. Hence, it was decided that Aija and Thereza would work together to cook for all of them, the five former adventurers included.

  With Aija’s and Thereza’s input, I bought mostly vegetables that would keep for a long time from the market — cabbages, carrots, onions, and potatoes. I bought three large bags of each.

  Then, I bought some tomato-like vegetables, broccoli-like vegetables, and several types of mushrooms, though they wouldn’t last as long.

  I told the two of them that they didn’t have to worry about shelf life, but they were housewives to the end. They said that it would be a waste if they went bad, so we ended up buying a lot of things that would stay fresh for a long time.

  They really didn’t need to worry about that though — I was considering lending them one of my magic bags. After all, I had gotten a magic bag (extra-large) from Aveling’s dungeon as well as a magic bag (large) from my second time in Dolan’s dungeon.

  Fel and the others needed the larger one for when they went hunting, but I could give the women my magic bag (large). It could fit quite a lot inside, and it also stopped time for whatever was inside it, so they wouldn’t have to worry about meat and vegetables and stuff going bad, and I wouldn’t have to worry about them going hungry while I was out traveling.

  Of course, I’ll still make sure to hand over some provisions whenever I plan to leave.

  Having bought mainly vegetables at the market, on the way back I bought red boar skewers at a stall for lunch. I had to buy some for Fel and the others as well, so it turned into quite the amount, but the old man who owned the cart seemed happy for the sudden windfall.

  ◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

  I was taking a coffee break after having a lunch consisting of the red boar skewers and white bread bought with my skill, when I had a sudden thought.

  “Oh right — if you guys are gonna be working the grounds, won’t you need tools?”

  I’d served everyone apple juice, so Tony put aside his apple juice and nodded. “Yes. If it’s tools you need, I think the place I always use should have them.”

  I see, then maybe I should just go buy them at this store. No, wait a second. Maybe......

  I opened up my Online Supermarket.

  Uhhh... Gardening tools, gardening tools...... There they are.

  “Can I get you to look at this, Tony?”

  I had Tony look at the menu and learned that the gardening tools sold through my Online Supermarket were basically the same as the ones people used in this world. At Tony’s suggestion, I bought pruning shears, gardening shears, gardening trowels, and small sickles. I also thought they’d need scythes to cut the lawn, and stepladders (though, as I expected, the Online Supermarket didn’t sell those, so I had Tony go and buy them).

  According to Tony, the shop would deliver the items to you if you asked, so there was no need for me to go with him. He told me that 4 gold would be enough to get tools for everybody, but I handed him 5 gold just in case.

  “Ok then. Luke, Irvine, go with him as escorts.”

  I gave the idiot twins an order, causing them to start complaining, “Why us?”

  “You would have been able to buy something to eat on the way home if you had change though... If that’s the case, I’ll pick someone else......”

  “Wait just a second! I’ll go! Let me go!”

  “I’ll do this job as best as I can!”

  You guys... Just say that from the beginning. “Right then... Tony, can you take them with you?”

  “Yes.”

  After I saw the three of them off, I asked those who stayed behind if they needed any other daily necessities.

  “If that’s the case, then if I could get a larger pot......” Thereza spoke up, though she still sounded hesitant.

  Now that I think about it, I guess the pot I gave them is a bit too small if they’re cooking for fourteen people. I only gave them small- and medium-sized pots, didn’t I? The frying pan I gave them was also only about medium-sized, so maybe I should give them a larger one, too?

  Though the buildings were old, the servant’s houses did come equipped with magic stoves with two burners. So, I quickly opened up my Online Supermarket and bought larger cookware — two sets of each for Thereza and Aija, who would be in charge of the cooking.

  With these, they should be able to cook for everyone.

  Nobody could think of anything else, so I just told them to let me know if they found that they needed anything.

  Also, that stuff about the magic stoves reminded me of something I needed to buy. The magic stoves already came with magic stones installed, but there were things that didn’t — namely, the baths.

  I needed to buy magic stones for the bath tanks. I didn’t have any extra-small stones on hand, after all. But where would I buy them?

  I guess I should just go ask about it at the Adventurer’s guild for now. I have something I want to ask the guildmaster for, too.

  ◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

  I took Fel and the others with me to the Adventurer’s guild.

  The staff member who spotted me jumped up out of his seat — and the guildmaster appeared quickly after that.

  “Yo, didn’t we say you’d be coming back tomorrow to pick up everything? Or did you come to take on a request?”

  “No no, that’s not it. It’s something different from the sale of monsters......”

  “I see. Then I’ll hear it out upstairs. All right?”

  We climbed up to the guildmaster’s room on the 2nd floor.

  ◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

  “......Well, I came to report that I bought a house here.”

  I shared my real estate dealings with the guildmaster, as well as how I had bought slaves to manage said house, and I told him about the trading company of ill-repute that was watching Lambert’s business.

  “ALLLL RIGHT! YES! YES YES! NICE! Now this town has its own S-ranked adventurer!”

  Hey, come on, don’t get so excited.

  “Excuse me, guildmaster. I may have bought a house here, but that doesn’t mean I’ve decided to settle......”

  “What’re you talking about? You not only bought a house, but you bought slaves too, right?”

  “Yeah, well... That’s true, but......”

  “So, like, you’ll still be traveling a lot as an adventurer, but you’ll be coming back to this town, or something?”

  “Well of course, since I have a house.”

  “Then doesn’t that mean you’ve decided which town to make your base?”

  ............Is that how it is?

  “At any rate, it’s still great that an S-ranked adventurer has decided to make this place his base!”

  I guess this is a really welcome turn of events for a guildmaster. Well, if that’s the case, then I guess it’ll be easier to ask for what I want.

  “So, continuing the topic, if something were to happen, I’d appreciate it if you’d shelter my slaves at the Adventurer’s guild.”

  I had asked Lambert for the same thing, but it’s best to have options.

  “Of course. Easily done. Still, it seems like you’re mixed up in some troublesome stuff.” It seemed that the guildmaster knew of the people in question, the Staas trading company. He put on a grim expression.

  “I hear that their backer is Baron Krbec, and both he and the company are real sly. Basically, it’s hard to catch on to their trails.”

  From what the guildmaster said, even though Baron Krbec was just a low-ranked baron, he was still a noble, so unless one had hard evidence, there was no way to arrest him. According to the guildmaster,The people up top had
been racking their brains over this too.

  “Also, this is just my opinion, but the lower-ranked nobility is full of the worst kinds of people. This whole thing is just evidence of that. They should have been told about you by the king, but......”

  The guildmaster surmised that they weren’t taking it seriously because, for someone as lowly ranked as a baron, he’d mostly be hearing about me through several layers of relayed messages. Also, the lower-ranked nobles, who were closest to commoners, tended to be much prouder of their noble status, the guildmaster explained with a touch of irony. Given that, they didn’t really care what happened to lowly commoners, and probably wouldn’t really care about what the Staas trading company did, since they produced a lot of profit.

  “But if that’s the case, then doesn’t that mean that even if they attack me or my place, unless I have hard evidence, it’ll be impossible to punish either the Staas trading company or Baron Krbec?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “It seems like the Staas trading company is slippery as all hell, so if they do attack me or my place, then they probably won’t leave any evidence that leads back to them, would they......?”

  “Probably not. Even if they paid someone from the underworld to do it, they’re unlikely to hire them in a way that could be traced back to the company.”

  What the hell... doesn’t that mean they’re free to attack as they like?

  “Well, the best thing is to not get attacked in the first place, right? The fastest way to make sure of that is to get a backer or some sort of connection that’ll force Baron Krbec and the Staas trading company to stay their hand.”

  So, it’s come to this......

  I did hear that they probably wouldn’t touch Lambert’s shop directly, since he had Earl Langridge’s favor, after all.

  I might have to consider something like that, too.

  I considered nobles more trouble than they were worth, so I had avoided them as much as possible until now.

  But considering everyone’s safety, I might have to build a connection with a noble, won’t I...... If it was just me, I have Fel and the others, so I wouldn’t be worried, but I can’t afford to shrug this off now. Especially when I’m off traveling. I’d be worried about leaving things as they are. Even if Tabatha and the other ex-adventurers are skilled, I have no idea what those guys will try.

  “Do you think I’ll be able to build a connection to Earl Langridge, guildmaster?”

  “I thought you’d say that. I’ll have to report that you bought a house here anyway, and you also found that mithril mine before, so it should be fine.”

  Oh, things might be easier than I thought. But......

  “Should I bring a gift or something, since I’m meeting him?”

  “Well, of course. Presenting a gift will leave a much better impression than showing up empty-handed.”

  Makes sense, huh~? But if I were to just bring soap or shampoo, it would lack impact, wouldn’t it? They’re already being sold in Lambert’s shop, so the earl probably already has some, after all.

  “I wonder what would be good for a present to the earl?”

  “Hmmm, when you get to be an earl you can get most things yourself...”

  Right? He’s probably rich, after all.

  “Would you happen to know of any rumors or anything that would tell me what he would like?”

  I had my Online Supermarket, so I could probably prepare something for him according to his preferences.

  “Let’s see............ Ah! Oh yeah, I remember that the earl has the same worries as me.”

  “The same worries as you, guildmaster?”

  “You see......”

  The guildmaster passionately talked about his hair troubles.

  Apparently, the guildmaster had been at this job for almost 20 years, so given his long relationship with Earl Langridge, they were close enough to talk about personal subjects. And it seemed that one of the subjects that would come up was their hair.

  Even though our worlds may be different, I guess this sort of thing always comes up once you get to a certain age.

  The guildmaster said that the source of his worries was the hairs he was finding on his pillow and his gradually receding hairline.

  Now that he mentions it, I can see it’s receded a fair bit already.

  “I’ve tried a lot of medicines, but none of them worked,” he lamented, voice laden with profound grief.

  So they’re worried about hair thinning and falling out, huh? There should be something for this in my Online Supermarket, if I remember correctly......

  I think I might have seen something like that while I was looking through shampoos and hair treatments for Kisharle......

  “If that’s the case, I might be able to do something about it.”

  *Clatter*

  “WHAT?!!”

  The guildmaster stood up, the look in his eyes completely different.

  “H-Hey! ‘Do something about it’? Does that mean you have something like that?!!”

  Wai-! You’re too worked up, guildmaster!

  “I mean, well, I just might have a lead on something......”

  “*Ahem* So you’ll be giving that to the earl?”

  “Yes, possibly.”

  “However, I think you should confirm if it works before you hand it over to the earl.”

  ............You just want it, don’t you?

  “If you give it to him and it doesn’t end up working, the earl’s joy will be short-lived. He could become very angry, you know?”

  Well, he does have a point. The effects for stuff like this won’t show themselves that quickly, but at the very least it might be good to make sure it won’t cause a scalp rash or something.

  And there’s someone here who totally wants to use it, too.

  “All right then, guildmaster. Will you please try it out?”

  “Indeed! I will take responsibility and test it.”

  The conversation ended with the agreement that I would hand the medicine over tomorrow when I came by to pick up the proceeds from the sale I made last time.

  “Tomorrow for sure. Make sure you bring it.”

  “I know already. Ah, right. I want some very small Water and Fire magic stones. Do you know where to buy them?”

  “Very small magic stones? We sell them here.”

  Since the magic tools that adventurers used in their daily lives need very small magic stones, the Adventurer’s guild stocked that size specifically.

  I learned I could just buy them at the receptionist counter.

  I went and bought three each of the very small Water and Fire magic stones I needed (they still cost 2 gold each even at that size) and left the Adventurer’s guild.

  Once I get back, I’m gonna need to use my skill to buy some hair tonic.

  ◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

  Once I got home, I installed the Water and Fire magic stones in the bath tanks in the servants’ houses. I made sure to confirm that hot water would come out; it worked perfectly.

  After that, I taught everyone how to use soap and shampoo. While I was doing that, I realized that they would need soap trays, water buckets, and body towels to wash themselves with, so I used my skill to buy enough for all of them.

  Meanwhile, Tony and the idiot twins returned. They reported that the scythe for the lawn and the stepladder would be delivered tomorrow morning.

  Dinner was a grand feast of pre-cooked foods. I had ginger-fried and miso-fried orc as well as blue bull and peppers stir fry left, so I made rice bowls out of them. I was worried about whether or not everyone would be okay with rice, but fortunately, they were all fine with it.

  In that respect, I was just happy that they seemed more interested in how much Fel and the others were clearly enjoying the food. Especially the idiot twins......

  “Ah! Hey! That’s Fel’s share! Your food’s over here!”

  At some point, the idiot twins had started on one of the steak rice bowls I’d left aside for Fe
l’s extra helpings.

  And of all things, they were eating steak rice bowls with Fel’s favorite steak sauce on it.

  “Ah, really? Sorry, sorry. But this sure is good~.”

  “My bad, my bad. But we already started, so we can finish it, right?”

  *BONK* *THUNK*

  As I predicted, Tabatha’s fist rained down upon them, a bit stronger than normal.

  “Sorry, Mukohda. And I apologize to you, great Fel, as well. Hey! You two apologize also!!”

  ““Sorry...””

  The idiot twins bowed to Fel in apology while rubbing the spot on their heads where they got hit.

  But Fel the meat lover’s rage was not quelled......

  *Rumble rumble rumble rumble*

  Fel, who had his food stolen, stood in front of the two of them with an angry expression.

  “Stealing my food is inexcusable. Insolent ones like you will meet their end in my jaws......”

  “Wai-! Now, now, now, let’s just calm down. They both apologized, so just forgive them this time. Come on.” I hurried to stop Fel, who bared his teeth and started talking about some violent things.

  And as one might expect, the two of them turned pale in fear after seeing Fel’s expression.

  “You would defend these insolent fools?”

  “N-No, I wouldn’t put it like that...... But they apologized, and they’re like, my slaves, right? M-More importantly, I’ll make you a more delicious steak rice bowl than the one they just ate. So just calm down, okay?”

  I used telepathy to tell him, 《I’ll make you a steak rice bowl with dragon meat.》

  Please, spare me from having someone die in the house I just bought.

  《Fine. I will let them off for today in exchange. But these two who stole my meat will meet their comeuppance soon. Hmph!》 Fel replied ominously, giving the idiot twins a sharp glare.

  Hey now. I’m just saying, but they’re my slaves, so don’t do anything too ridiculous, please.

  Really. I’m begging you.

  ◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

  The next morning, the fourteen gathered before me looked like completely different people after taking refreshing baths and wearing the new clothes and shoes I bought for them.