The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

The next day was a travel day.

We left town early in the morning and kept teleporting repeatedly to make progress.

At first, Mererosu, not used to the sensation of teleportation, felt sick and almost threw up, but she seemed to get used to it after a while.

I suggested she might want to learn [Relative Transfer] since we were at it, but Mererosu politely declined, saying she's not good with substitution methods. Apparently, elves mainly fight using summoning methods.

Of course, I don't push if she doesn't want to learn.

We reached the next town before noon, and by evening, we arrived at the town just before the border.

We had covered a journey that would have taken more than 6 days by carriage in one go.

"Teleportation really is amazing... It's over in no time."

We finished our last teleport to a rocky area just outside the town.

Mererosu let go of Saaya's hand, which she had been holding, and turned around meaninglessly.

Of course, there was only a gentle road stretching through the mountains.

"Saaya, have you gotten used to the feeling of teleporting with others? Are you not tired?"

"I might be a little tired. It's incomparably more difficult to complement the existence intensity with spiritual particles for others than for myself. I probably can't teleport on the spur of the moment yet..."

"Well, you've gotten this used to it in just one day, that's enough. Well done."

"Hehe!"

She puffed out her chest and presented her head, so I lightly patted it.

She must have used a lot of concentration and physical strength, so we should let her eat plenty of delicious food for dinner today too.

"Mm... I want to teleport too."

"I want to teleport too, nano~!"

"Elenora, you focus on dark magic first. Punisuke, you should properly get stronger before teleportation."

"Mm, understood."

"Understood, nano! I'll do my best, nano~!"

I pat the heads of these two full of motivation as well.

"Ruruk-kun, it's our turn, so the identification papers."

"Yes, here they are."

As usual, I presented our adventurer cards to the gate guards and paid the passage fee.

Being close to the border, there were many golem soldiers around the gate. According to Mererosu, because it's close to the Dragon King's territory, fairly strong monsters only make their nests on the Restamia side, so there are more monsters on this side.

Thanks to that, the Adventurers' Guild in this town is apparently quite lively.

"Inside Bargia, there are only weak wild monsters with low intelligence. The requests at the Adventurers' Guild are hardly ever extermination-type, mostly errand-type quests like what I do. There's a fairly large dungeon in the dragon capital, so it's not like the Adventurers' Guild is withering away though."

We head towards the Adventurers' Guild with Mererosu guiding us as she explains.

"Does it make that much difference just being the Dragon King's territory?"

"That's right. All the intelligent monsters have fled outside the country, so conversely, this side is always busy."

Then leveling up in Bargia will have to be done exclusively in dungeons.

It's important how much we can train Saaya and Punisuke in the dragon capital's dungeon. I want to train them at least to the point where they can fight against demons.

While thinking about this, we arrived at the Adventurers' Guild.

Perhaps because it was evening, it was quite crowded. Mererosu apparently knew one of the receptionists, and she lined up at her window without hesitation. Saaya was about to follow Mererosu and took out her luggage from her item box, but suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"...Um, the smell is a bit..."

Ah, I see.

I feel like there's a higher proportion of burly adventurers compared to other towns. In other words, it's quite musky.

Saaya's back, as she hesitated to approach the reception area filled with the smell of sweat, looked smaller than usual.

Of course, I smiled brightly and said,

"Have a good time reporting your quest completion."

"...Won't Ruruk come with me? Elenora would be fine too."

"Have a good time."

"Mm, do your best."

"These seniors are not kind at all!"

Saaya pouted and trudged off.

Sorry about that. I don't have a hobby of being drenched in other people's sweat.

Saaya, who had been jostled by burly men while reporting her quest completion and receiving her reward, returned with a dejected expression.

"Welcome back."

"I've had enough! I want to take a bath!"

"Don't ask for the impossible."

Baths are only in nobles' houses, you know.

Magic devices for hot water or water are sold at relatively cheap prices, but soaking in hot water is considered quite a luxury.

Usually, we just shower or wipe ourselves with a wet towel. The inn only has shared showers.

"Mm, bath?"

"That's right. You fill it with warm water and soak in it leisurely. It's warm and feels so good~"

"Mm... Interesting."

Elenora seems a bit interested too.

Well... It might not be possible at the inn, but if there's a hot spring somewhere, we could go on a trip. Maybe we'll look for one when we settle down in Bargia.

While we were talking about this, Mererosu came back.

It's already late today, so we plan to stay in this town. We should get rooms at an inn before dinner.

"Come to think of it, weren't you all talking until late last night?"

Yesterday, there were no vacant rooms, so I had to share a room with the young girls. Of course, we couldn't share a room with Mererosu, so it was unavoidable.

By the way, the cause of the noise was, as usual, the fight over sleeping spots. In other words, these guys are the culprits.

"We didn't stay up that late... Sorry, did we wake you up?"

"No, I'm a solo adventurer, you know? Thanks to that, I have a skill that allows me to sense sounds and presences around me even while sleeping. It's called [Sleep Detection]."

"I see. We'll be more careful in inns with thin walls from now on."

"Don't worry about it. But lack of sleep is dangerous for adventurers, you know. Judgment can mean the difference between life and death."

"Yes. I'll take your advice to heart."

She's quite a senior adventurer after all.

It's best to listen to the words of experienced people.

When we arrived at the inn, we immediately got rooms. This time the inn was large and had many vacant rooms, so I'm sharing a room with Punisuke, and Saaya and Elenora are sharing a room.

They'll probably both find excuses to barge into my room anyway, so I should think of some training they can do in the room.

"What about dinner? This inn seems to have a simple dining area too."

"I promised to let Saaya eat something delicious, so do you have any recommendations?"

"Oh, that's right. In that case, I know a good place."

Guided by Mererosu, we head to the west district, a little away from the inn.

The place she brought us to is an eatery with a sign that reads "Hunter's Restaurant".

That's quite a strong name.

"Welcome!"

It wasn't just the name that was strong.

Inside the shop were muscular men. They had towels wrapped around their heads and were holding huge cleavers.

Counter seats were set up surrounding the kitchen, and in front of the seats were rows of iron plates. When I was in high school, I went to a teppanyaki restaurant with this kind of setup. It's a restaurant where they cook your order on the iron plate in front of you, performance included.

It seems this shop has a similar style.

The muscles of the men slicing meat and cooking it right in front of the few customers are quite impressive. Whether you savor the meat or the muscles is up to the customer.

...Wait, what am I saying?

Anyway, we took seats in one corner.

Mererosu smiled at the young girls whose eyes were sparkling as they stared at the iron plates.

"The meat is freshly butchered, and the vegetables are fresh too, so everything is delicious. Old man, what meats do you have today?"

"Sure thing! We've got these today!"

The man who seemed to be the shop owner placed a large menu at the edge of the table.

Lean meat: Manticore, Catoblepas, Great Boar, Black Rabbit.

Premium lean meat: Catoblepas, Great Boar, Grizzly, Quinotaurus.

Marbled meat: Grizzly, Quinotaurus, Ophiotaurus.

And lots of vegetables.

There's quite a variety.

"You can have it sliced thin, as steak, or skewered, whatever you like!"

The old man pointed to the kitchen as he said this.

There, large pieces of meat were lined up surrounded by pillars of ice. From lean to marbled, it seems they'll cut the meat you order and cook it right on the iron plate.

"I can't decide!"

"Mm. Drooling."

"I want to eat everything, nano~"

As always, the hungry trio will probably eat a lot today.

Don't worry about the wallet, eat to your heart's content.

...Ah, I forgot about the Star Grizzly meat. It won't rot because it's stored in the item box... I should use it casually next time.

"I'll have the premium lean Quinotaurus skewered."

"I'll have thin slices of premium lean Catoblepas and marbled Quinotaurus."

We each tell our orders to the muscular man in front of us.

I watch with a wry smile as the young girls (+ slime) order almost all the meats as steaks, while the staff member in charge immediately starts slicing the meat and arranging it on the iron plate.

They're even seasoning it by shaving rock salt directly onto it.

The sizzling sound of the meat's fat and the savory smell.

Even I'm about to drool.

"Here you go!"

It's plated and placed in front of us.

Well then, let's eat.

The premium lean Catoblepas has a concentrated umami that floods out as you chew. The slightly tough texture is characteristic of Catoblepas, but because it's fresh, it has a good bite while still being properly chewable. The rock salt adds a mild saltiness that brings out the sweetness of the meat, making it extremely delicious.

The marbled Quinotaurus was exactly like the kalbi you'd eat at a Korean barbecue restaurant. Even though the seasoning is just the same rock salt, the sweetness comes out stronger. The marbled fat melts away in your mouth, but there's no lingering greasiness at all. It feels like I could eat any number of slices.

Hmm, it makes me want some rice.

"More of the same meat!"

"Mm, me too."

"Me too, nano!"

The kids' favorite seems to be the marbled Ophiotaurus.

Come to think of it, Elenora and Saaya were only eating Ophiotaurus at the nobles' appreciation party too, and they were arguing about the seasoning.

Certainly, Ophiotaurus has a taste that feels like high-class meat. If it were thinly sliced, it would probably be like premium kalbi.

I wonder what Star Grizzly, which is supposed to be even more high-class, tastes like.

I'm curious, but... well, for now, I'll focus on the meat in front of me.

"Excuse me, next I'd like thin slices of premium lean Quinotaurus please."

"With pleasure!"

Perhaps because of the live cooking experience right in front of us, I ended up eating more than usual too.

"Phew~! Good meat goes well with alcohol!"

Mererosu is in high spirits, swirling her cup of alcohol.

The sparkling wine Mererosu is drinking looks more delicious than anything I've seen before. For a moment, I think I understood how my friends in Stoania felt... If there were shops like this in Stoania, I'd like to take those guys there next time.

In the end, the young girls seemed to reach their limit after ordering each type of meat twice.

We left the shop carrying the young girls who couldn't move from overeating, more than an hour and a half after we entered.

Mererosu's face was slightly red too. Despite drinking about ten cups, she was only slightly tipsy - are elves strong drinkers?

"That was delicious. Thank you for telling us about such a good restaurant."

"No, thank you for treating me again. I'm embarrassed."

"It's in exchange for the information. Besides, you're carrying Saaya for us."

"This much is nothing. She's light because she's a child."

"Th-That's not true... I'm a proper lady... urp."

A proper lady doesn't get sick from overeating meat.

But it really was a good restaurant.

I hope there are some in other cities too.

"I wonder. This place has lots of monsters to hunt and many adventurers, and it's also a key point for traffic between Bargia and Restamia, so various knowledge and eating methods flow in. That's why there's a culture that's tolerant of unusual shops like this."

"I see. So it's unique to this city."

"Yeah. There are other good shops too, so if we come together again sometime, I'll guide you then."

"Please do. I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah, of course."

If we come together, huh.

If Mererosu became a companion, it seems like we could talk about all sorts of things and have fun. Maybe after we travel to Bargia, if everyone agrees, I'll invite her.

Of course, I have no ulterior motives.

...Really, I don't. Honestly?