Side Story 25: The Actions of Aurora.

Side Story 25: The Actions of Aurora.

Cedaraille did not disappoint! So many new ingredients! So many possibilities~ Taking Lady Yorshkas suggestion to come here was the correct choice!

If you were to ask an adventurer why a settlement with a dungeon was so popular, then they would reply with we can hunt monsters without worrying about the hunters guild warning us off. That is because monsters are constantly created inside a dungeon, meaning that adventurers can hunt them for an indefinite amount of time. Monster populations outside of dungeons need to be carefully managed so they neither become a threat nor go extinct in the area, and while it was possible to repopulate these environments through monster spawning, flooding an area with too much mana can be a terrible risk, as that may result in strong monsters spawning.

Both adventurer types hunters and mercenaries slay monsters to earn money and create new equipment for themselves. While mercenaries technically specialized in humanoid encounters, it wasnt rare for a mercenary to also be a member of the hunters guild, and vice versa. Adventurers couldnt be picky about their source of income.

Not like ours, since our party was receiving donations from the Church of Aurena.

My name is Tamae Tsuji, or Tsuji Tamae as I would be called if we were in Japan and not in Peolynca. Daughter of two prestigious chefs, ex-class representative of class 3-2, and now the party leader of The Magical Biscuits. Im also one of those so-called Heroes of Aurena, a tag given to me by one of the religious factions in this fantasy world the Church of Aurena. While my name and those of my classmates were being used as religious propaganda, we actually were kidnapped from Earth to this world through, you guessed it, magic!

Now, the only way for us to return home was to follow the churchs orders, which included risking our lives to defeat some so-called demonkin monarch. While everybody was, unsurprisingly, dissatisfied with the situation, I personally looked at this opportunity with optimism.

Not because I wanted to fight anybody, but because this world was filled with new ingredients to cook with.

Tama-chan, youre acting up again With a soft shake on my shoulder, the world seemed to have come back into focus for me. The black frame in front of my eyes disappeared and the blur on the edges cleared up, breaking my focus from the object in the middle of my vision.

A giant cave bat. A felwing.

Oh, sorry about that, Kazumi-chan, I apologized to Kazumi Hoshino, a good friend and fellow hero. The marketplace is always so packed with goods when a dungeon is nearby, no? Meat is butchered on the street and then immediately sold to a passerby, materials for weapons and armors are sold to vendors by adventurers; all of that without any care for endangering any animal species.

Urgh, you arent thinking of turning that bat into a meal, right? Spices can block the memory of the monsters appearance by only so much, Kohaku Kobayashi commented with disgust from behind me. She was a good friend, too, and, like Kazumi-chan, was a member of The Magical Biscuits. You can cook well, Tama-chan, but some of your more experimental dishes were pretty weird. We dont have the taste buds of a monster or anything like that.

I wish I had the taste buds of a monster. I wonder what its like to eat like one? Are certain tastes neutral for them?

However, I guess my curiosity belongs more to tasting new ingredients as a whole. I love tasting new dishes, whether its gourmet or simple street food, as widening ones horizons is one of the goals a chef must always pursue. Limiting myself to a small palette would undoubtedly dull my tastes, make me picky, and its a life lesson I will always remember, especially after my parents pretty much forced their interests and philosophy on me like that!

So, it was pretty annoying to hear that I couldnt taste certain animals due to them being endangered, and I understand that fully. A sticker with one of the last of its kind on a plastic-wrapped steak does make eating such a thing unappetizing.

So, what a surprise it was for me to witness a monster digging itself free from the ground the moment it was born inside a dungeon. Mana was as abundant as air on Peolynca, and as long as there was mana, there would be dungeons producing monsters like a factory. Peolynca already brought a different spin on certain ingredients I was used to on Earth, so I couldnt be happier when I learned I could cook and taste whatever ingredients I wanted to without worrying about bringing them closer to extinction!The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.

Although, most of the things I could make wouldnt even be considered a menu option in a fine-dining restaurant. Too radical, too experimental.

Anyways, I think we have enough for tonights dinner. We can stop by at the merchant guild tomorrow to purchase our dungeon rations, I told Kazumi-chan and Kohaku-chan while we all were carrying bags full of groceries.

My party and I were currently in Cedaraille, the capital of the Greenveil Duchy of the Kingdom of Artorias, not because of any church work, but because we needed to restock on alchemical ingredients. You see, not only was I our partys main cook, but I was also responsible for brewing our potions and enchanting our equipment, although only at a novice level. The reason for this was my unique supportive skill [Enchanters Oath].

Each of us Heroes of Aurena received a unique skill when we arrived in Peolynca, and mine was meant for supporting others. Although I still dabbled a bit in magic despite not being the most talented in it, since The Magical Biscuits wouldnt have a healer if I hadnt volunteered to become one. Support mage with a few offensive spells, would be the perfect way to describe my expertise

As the three of us left the central marketplace, we made our way back to our inn in the merchant district. On the way, I caught a whiff of something delectable, drawing my attention towards it.

our stress disappear

Let my song reach you, fill your heart with wonder and more

Gaze up to the blue sky

To smile to the light

Listen now, you know what is right

No. It was an immediate rejection.

While the five of us reacted to this answer in our own way, Lady Yorshka didnt flinch one bit, looking like she knew this would happen. And why is that?

Floor ten is the start leading to the magma chamber, the room of the dungeon boss and core. You cant pay me enough nor can you coerce me into helping you, church knight. I aint ever going there. The robed man then turned away from us, waving his hand to tell us to leave.

Shame. A guide would be useful.

As the rest of us were about to leave, Lady Yorshka held her hand up to signal us to stop before continuing, despite it looking like the man was ignoring her. Well, I did hear you had pyrophobia, so I cant blame you for declining. You have the body to show for it, after all, which earned Lady Yorshka a scoff from him.

His body?

Well, you know, the bird chirps also said something about your past. I dont need to bring it up, right? The man then turned his head around, staring at Yorshka with irritation and anger. One name. Keith Svonnweidher.

Im all ears.

A smirk grew on her face from the robed mans answer. I have no idea if you heard this, but Professor Keith was kicked out of the royal academy due to an unfortunate accident, where one of his proteges accidentally killed a nobles heir. Poor kid, got influenced by a Danterno fanatic. Well, Keith was found out and rightfully kicked out for forgetting to teach his student how to calm his emotions.

Skip to the important parts.

Okay, okay. Well, a reliable source informed me he recently entered Greenveil Duchy with a bunch of Danterno's other followers. The lower floors are quite fiery, which makes it a perfect place for a pilgrimage, no? They can probably get their hands on some special rocks or minerals to create a powerful alchemical stone. Yorshka then showed him her ID, displaying her hunter and adventurer rank proudly to him. We need a guide. Do you need help?

R-Rank A The man then took his mask off for his right eye to properly see Lady Yorshkas ID with both eyes. I gasped at the sight of the right side of his face, scarred and completely red, as if hed experienced a severe burn.

My eye was then drawn to a rune-like tattoo glowing bright blue as if it was there to hide his scars. It isnt an illusion, he spoke aside to me, noticing my gaze on the tattoo, before answering Lady Yorshka. I know the path down. If the dungeon hasnt changed the layout since the first time I visited that hellish place, then I should be able to guide you down without any worries.

Good. However, before we go, would you mind offering your secondary services to us? Lady Yorshka then turned to us. Does anybody want a cool runic tattoo? Itll hurt, though~

************************************

Impossible!

A voice echoed through the halls of an abandoned dwarven mining hold, once dedicated to the Blacksmith God Bleidla. A lone figure was standing at the end of a hallway located on the deepest floor of the hold, behind a giant dwarven door. He had golden hair and yellow skin with two jagged horns protruding out of his forehead and a long, thin tail extending from a hole in his pants.

He had an expression of disbelief, displaying his small sharp fangs. He then clenched his teeth before storming into a small room, smashing the skeletal remains of a human. The room had nothing inside of it, save for all the dust on the floor.

T-This cant be! H-How could this happen?! the demonkin exclaimed with bafflement instead of anger. Why? What is going on? Why is everything working against us? The damn grimgarians failed once again, losing a whole battalion and the cave entrance into Greenveil collapsed from a flood. A flood! Inside a mountain?! How was that possible?!

Rage filled the demonkin, turning his yellow skin slightly reddish, but it stopped before it could dye his whole face. The red flush vanished and the pristine yellow gold appeared once again. The mark of a demonkin of pride.

WrathdammitI need to calm myself down. I am better than those savages. I am better than those savages. I am better than those savages. I am superior to all the other demonkin, even those others of pride, the demonkin breathed heavily before his heartbeat calmed down significantly, so slow he could be mistaken for a corpse. The progression towards taming sea serpents has been significantly slowed down because of a leviathan evolving into an S rank, causing chaos in the seas. The orb holding a herald of my gods was taken away by somebody, and all the preparations that human made to accommodate the herald were destroyed. The perfect place for its resurrection.

He then shook his head. Greenveil knows now, without a doubt; whoever destroyed the battalion would have informed the humans. Artorias will know, and if this war ends in failure, then I cannot call myself superior to those wretches ever again. My pride cannot allow that.

A creature of darkness suddenly manifested from the demonkins mana, morphed into the form of a raven. It is time I sent this kingdom into chaos. It must be made vulnerable.

No laughter was heard. The demonkin was poised to act.

The herald must be found.