The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

The dungeon in the Bargia Dragon Duchy has 70 floors in total.

The boss of the lowest floor is the "Ugly Dragon" Jabberwock.

It's a dragon-type monster that looks like its scales have been burnt and rotted. It's a flying S-rank monster that attacks with distorted wings and jaws.

Acidic body fluids ooze from its entire body, emitting a terrible stench that can be smelled even from a distance. Its scale materials are hard, tough, and resistant to acid, but due to the stench that won't go away no matter how much you wash them, all of Jabberwock's materials are extremely unpopular. In some towns, you can be banned just for possessing them.

In adventurer circles, "Jabberwock's gratitude" has the same meaning as "returning kindness with malice," as it's a monster that brings no profit even if you win against it.

However, as it's a dungeon boss, it's unavoidable for dungeon conquest.

Saaya, Seori, and Nagi fought while avoiding the stench and splashing acid, and somehow managed to achieve victory.

"I wouldn't want to fight it again even if asked. I wonder if the smell got on my clothes..."

"Saaya, you were at a distance, so it's not so bad. Nagi almost fainted several times from the stench."

"Hmph, it's just an imitation of us. I've engraved the essence of true strength into my soul!"

By the way, we, [Rozewill], are at the adventurers' guild tavern.

After reporting our dungeon conquest, we were resting at the tavern.

While patting the proud Seori saying "Yes, yes, you did well," Saaya pouts her lips.

"But I want to take a bath~"

"Indeed. Even Nagi can't stay like this..."

Especially Nagi, who had fought close to Jabberwock, frowned while sniffing her clothes.

I also sniffed Nagi's hair and said,

"It does smell."

"Wha-!?"

Nagi's face turned red and she instantly moved away. That was probably the Oni Thought Style movement technique "Swift Move", right?

As expected of a martial arts master, but there's no need to use it in a place like this.

Nagi held her head with both hands and raised her voice.

"W-What are you sniffing without permission, you pervert!"

"Don't mind it. I was just checking your Jabberwock contamination level."

"You're the worst! Don't sniff a maiden's scent without permission!"

"Don't worry. You were still closer to Jabberwock than Nagi."

"What does that mean!?"

I was criticized for sniffing her head, but we sleep together every day as party members anyway. I'm no longer bothered by smells.

Nagi is usually prickly and seems to be conscious about not touching me when sleeping next to me, but when I wake up, I often find her clinging to me. She's a restless sleeper.

So body odor feels like old news to me.

"Besides, why don't you have some delicacy, you insensitive idiot."

"That's right, Ruruk. Girls, you know, don't want the person they like to know they smell bad."

"W-Who likes who!"

Nagi's face turned bright red.

Being at a distance, she could only shout while hiding behind the table. I usually get poked in the eyes when I tease her, so I gained the knowledge that I should keep my distance from now on.

Anyway.

"If you want to take a bath, you can go home once. It's a dungeon conquest celebration after all, I'm sure the Guild Master will wait for us."

Tonight is supposed to be a celebration party for our dungeon conquest.

Guild Master Camlock said so. In fact, they've already started preparations in the kitchen.

"Let's do that. Come on, Nagi, let's go."

"Yes. What about you, Seori?"

"Hmph, I shall accompany you as well."

The three who fought Jabberwock went back to the mansion.

The ones left were me, Elen, and Punisuke.

As soon as Elen understood we were waiting, she ordered something she could munch on. Since the kitchen was busy, she got some pre-made dried fruits from the serving girl. She was quietly eating, hugging the jar by herself.

Punisuke and I just ordered fruit water and were relaxing.

Then Punisuke looked towards the entrance door and said,

"There's a strong presence~"

"Hm? Did someone come?"

"Yes! It's a monster~"

A strong monster?

Surely not in the middle of the dragon city Foosu. Strong monsters shouldn't appear here-- I thought, but soon understood the reason.

"Hey, we're back."

"...We're home."

"We're hoooome!"

Kemuna, Lakirala, and Leelin came in.

Needless to say, they're members of the S-rank party [White Tiger]. They had gone to the academic city of the Nogana Republic quite a while ago, but it seems they've finally returned.

Then the adventurers in the guild started to stir. Perhaps because it's the return of the city's heroes, most people had happy faces.

Immediately, their assigned receptionist rushed over and greeted them with a big smile. Kemuna said he would report the quest to the Guild Master, so he ended the conversation with the receptionist briefly.

As Kemuna was about to head to the Guild Master's room on the second floor, he noticed me waving.

"Hey Ruruk, we're back."

"Welcome back, everyone. It's been a while."

"...We're home."

"We're home, Ruruk-chi!"

All three of them came over to us.

The three, whom I hadn't seen for about four months, seemed somewhat more robust. Kemuna still looks like a yankee, but his facial features have become sharper.

Lakirala is still a young-looking beautiful girl, and her beauty has been further polished, with her waist becoming slimmer and her figure more outstanding. Her skin is even more glossy than before... something must have happened.

Leelin... hasn't changed. She's still the same energetic Leelin as always.

"I'm glad to see you're all well. Did your quest go well?"

"Yeah. We had a bit of trouble so it took longer, but it was a good experience. I heard you guys have been doing amazingly well. Even in the Nogana Republic, there were crazy rumors about you. They said you defeated 100,000 monster troops in one strike... is that true?"

So it had reached even that far.

I smiled wryly and said,

"Well, it's mostly true."

"Seriously? I thought it was exaggerated to about 10,000."

"...Too strong."

"Ruruk-chi is amazing! Hey, how did you do it? Tell me, tell me!"

"...Leelin, don't ask that."

"Okay~"

Lakirala grabbed the collar of Leelin, who was approaching with sparkling eyes, and pulled her back.

Kemuna laughed and said,

"So, the 'monster' that Hotaru and Ketsa were talking about must be Ruruk, right?"

"Eh? What's that about?"

"Those guys stopped the moment they saw the guild. They said 'There's a monster in the guild' and their legs froze, using Besmond as a shield. I came in wondering who was here, but judging from this situation, it must be you, Ruruk."

"Ah, I see."

Now I understand why Hotaru isn't with Kemuna.

Even though Hotaru has probably become strong enough for Punisuke to notice, it seems I'm perceived that way if they're sensitive to presence. If I remember correctly, Ketsa can also see something like auras due to his racial skill. Maybe that's the influence.

Just in case, I say,

"Please stop calling me a monster."

"Don't mind being called a monster for being extraordinary. Anyway, I've got souvenirs for you. The item box has been incredibly useful, so I bought extra."

Saying that, Kemuna took various things out of his item box and placed them on the table.

Food items more than he could carry with both hands, unusual decorative items, tools that seem to have unknown uses, avant-garde artworks, and so on.

As I was staring wide-eyed at the pile of souvenirs, he said,

"And we found this in the depths of Nogana. I thought it might be the grain you talked about, so we got some to share."

He took out a small bag and handed it to me.

Puzzled by the silky sensation, I opened the bag and peeked inside.

"T-This is..."

There were many whitish, translucent grains inside.

The familiar appearance and faint aroma.

There's no mistake, this is definitely--

"...Rice."

So it existed in this world too.

I've seen many things close to Japanese food until now. Recently popular items were apparently reproduced and spread by Renya in the empire to search for reincarnators, but I couldn't find white rice anywhere no matter where I looked.

Even the Luney Trading Company's information network couldn't find it, so I was thinking that rice might not exist in this world...

"So it really was the 'kome' you talked about. There's a small village in the southwestern part of Nogana, and they only cultivate this grain there. It was quite a struggle to bring it out, but I'm glad it's what you were looking for."

"Thank you so much! I'm really happy!"

"I'm glad you're pleased. Well, I'm going to report to the Guild Master for a bit. Knowing the Master, he'll probably suggest a party, so let's drink together, Ruruk."

"Ah, yes. Actually, we're planning a celebration party for our party's dungeon conquest today, so the guild will be having a party anyway."

"That's great timing. Then please wait for a while. Lakirala and Leelin, go call Hotaru and the others. Tell them the monster's presence is just Ruruk, so it's safe to come in."

"Okay!"

Saying that, Kemuna went upstairs, and Lakirala and Leelin turned on their heels to go outside.

As I was collecting the piled-up souvenirs, I focused my consciousness on the rice in my hand.

...The Nogana Republic, huh.

I was planning to go there eventually, but now I have a reason to go right away. As a Japanese person, I can't ignore the existence of rice.

I decided to greatly change my plans for the coming days.

By the way, with the return of local heroes, that day's party was incredibly lively.

□ □ □ □ □

"--So, since we've cleared the dungeon and it's a good break point, we're going on a trip from tomorrow."

The next morning.

When I gathered everyone and talked about going to Nogana, the reaction from the members was generally good.

"Rice! Yay!"

"Mm, looking forward to it."

"Want to eat lots~!"

The three gluttons were giving thumbs up.

They were so excited that I had to say,

"We don't know if we can get it yet, you know. According to Kemuna-san, it was quite a struggle just to bring out a little."

"Hmph, I'll crush anyone who stands in our way with my power!"

"Hey chuunibyou, no looting."

That's just a regular crime.

"Then shall we negotiate? Leave it to Lili."

"I'll do it too. After all, it's rice we're talking about."

Lilith and Saaya were breathing heavily with enthusiasm.

Indeed, they're more suited for negotiations than me, so I'll probably leave the local trading to the two of them.

But whether we can even get to the negotiation table... According to Kemuna, it seems to be quite a closed-off village.

"Leave it to me. I'm willing to spend all my savings if necessary."

"How badly do you want to eat it?"

"But it's rice, you know? I haven't eaten it for over ten years! Hey Nagi, you feel the same way, right?"

"...Huh, what...?"

Nagi, who had been slumped over the table, raised her pale face.

She was in such poor condition that she couldn't hear the conversation at all, but this time it was self-inflicted. She had been drinking alcohol all night last night, so it was just a hangover.

Nagi often drinks too much, and Saaya often goes to pick up the drunk Nagi. I wish she would control herself a bit.

"I'm talking about rice, rice. Don't you want to eat it?"

"...Urp. Please stop talking about food right now..."

"This looks serious. Should I get you some water?"

"Please..."

"Wait a moment, okay?"

Saaya headed to the kitchen.

By the way, thanks to Nagi, it's been proven that Sugo balls don't work on hangovers. It's not a disease or status ailment, so it's natural, I guess.

Similarly, it seems the Poison Immunity skill can't break down alcohol. I had seen some stories in my previous life that considered alcohol as poison, so I thought maybe, but it seems different in this world.

Well, if that happened, Nagi would lose one of her stress relief methods, and her frustrations might be directed at me, so maybe it's good that it doesn't work that way.

"So, brother, what kind of journey do you have in mind?"

"Well, since we're at it, why don't we travel by carriage and stop by the Kingdom of Restamia for some sightseeing?"

"Understood. I'll notify them about my break right away."

"Lilith, you're coming too?"

Certainly, the long holiday is coming soon, but there should still be a few weeks left.

When I said that, Lilith tilted her head with a puzzled look.

"Of course, brother takes priority over academics."

"I see. Then let's go."

"No, both of you are wrong. Ouch, ouch..."

If your head hurts, you don't need to retort.

"Leave the transportation to Lili. I have something I want to show brother."

"Oh, then I'll leave it to you. The others are coming too, right?"

"O-Of course."

"Mm. Going."

"Of course~"

"Hmph, naturally."

All party members are participating, I see.

Well, I was planning to take them if they didn't have any plans. We're also planning to go to the Guild Headquarters.

"Then Karmarike will be the only one house-sitting."

"Mm."

When I said that, Elen nodded.

By the way, Karmarike is desperately trying to raise her adventurer rank and is currently out on a long-term quest. She's supposed to return in about ten days.

If she were on break, I would have liked to take her along.

"...Every time I think about it, that puppy elf has bad timing."

Nagi muttered with a somewhat pitying voice.