Chapter 112 – The Situation Regarding Familiars

“―?!”

Was all of the tofu I had eaten in my life a lie…? I held this thought in my mind as the tofu filled my mouth, or rather, my entire body.

How could there be tofu with such rich taste and flavor?

To top it off, it paired so well with the ponzu sauce that it made you want to keep eating and eating it.

When it was eaten along with the vegetables, the taste evolved, becoming even more delicious. The combination of the tofu with spring onions and napa cabbage was especially wonderful. The smooth texture of the tofu synergized with the bite of the vegetables, multiplying the flavor many times over.

I looked over and saw that Shiki and Izu were also smiling widely as they ate, like they were in a dream. Well, then there was Sol next to them, devouring her mashed potatoes with her undivided attention. As unwavering as always, isn’t she?

“….How is it? Is it good, Ior?” (Bouchi)

“…! Yes, thank you… Hiro-sama.” (Ior)

“Don’t worry about the honorifics. Children should be having fun, without any reservations.” (Bouchi)

“…Okay!” (Ior)

Even still, calling me ‘Hiro-sama’ seemed to be his default, and that was the one thing he didn’t concede. The ingredients inside the hot pot were gone in the blink of an eye, and only the soup remained.

“Phew… To think Master was such an expert at cooking. I must have a great eye.” (Yofel)

No, I’m not really that confident of a cook myself, though. Well, I was glad to hear it either way.

“Are you full already? But Yofel, that was only the first half, you know?” (Bouchi)

Yofel and Ior stared at the pot with wide eyes, gulping down a mouthful of saliva despite already seeming full.

Well, it was rightly so. The aroma coming from the soup intermingled with the citrusy fragrance of the yuzu kosho paste stimulated their appetites once more.

(TL: Yuzu kosho – a fermented paste made from yuzu peel, chili pepper, and salt)

“Looking good. And finally, we add this beaten egg, and… all done!” (Bouchi)

““““Oooohhh!!””””

Everyone let out an energetic shout when they saw the finished dish. Sol, who could also enjoy the udon noodles made from potatoes, was similarly impressed.

Then, everyone began to serve themselves udon noodles, putting them in a bowl and simultaneously taking a bite together.

Everyone, including me, began to stuff mouthful after mouthful of udon into their bellies. It was so delicious that no one spoke.

This wasn’t the finale, but the main course. Even though we were full, we couldn’t stop shoveling udon into our stomachs.

The springy texture of the udon was one thing, but above everything else was the soup. It had a rich, thick flavor that was exploding with umami. But this likely wasn’t the effect of the [Immortal’s Kelp] alone. This flavor had probably been brought about by the flavor extracted from the vegetables and the tofu.

The richness alone would have made it heavy, but the acidity of the citrus neutralized it perfectly, creating a well-balanced flavor.

“This is superb! Mmmmm, yes, this is splendid!” (Shiki)

Even Shiki, who was particular about his noodles, seemed to be more than satisfied with the dish.

Sol was slurping up one noodle at a time while eating mashed potatoes on the side, which I didn’t really understand. But she was happy, so it was all good.

It was obvious that the others were just as satisfied as I was. Even if they didn’t say it, it was clear from their expressions.

…I’m glad I cooked this meal.

With the udon to tie things up, the meal quickly came to a close. After everyone was done eating, they all went slack with ecstasy.

“Master… So you were actually a god…” (Yofel)

No, not really… That would be going a bit too far.

“Hiro-sama… is a god.” (Ior)

Hey, come on now. Now, even her little brother was infected by the idea.

Well, I was a bit tired for a witty retort, so I just relaxed with everyone else, savoring the lingering aftertaste of the meal.

After a while, I tried to stand up to go wash the dishes, but Yofel and Ior got up from their seats, begging me to at least let them do that much. I left it to them, and they both went to the sink area and started washing the dishes in good harmony.

When they finished and returned to their seats, I prepared some [Roth Tea], which was a type of tea specially prepared by elves. Upon drinking it, I found… it kind of tasted like jasmine tea. It was a perfect choice for after a meal.

While everyone was lounging and drinking the tea, Ior began to nod off. I showed Yofel and Ior to the room that I had prepared for them, and she put Ior to bed.

We went back to the living room, and I decided to have a discussion with Yofel.

“I decided that from tomorrow on, I’ll mainly be asking for your help with clearing dungeons, Yofel.” (Bouchi)

“Yes, you can leave it to me.” (Yofel)

She was capable of destroying the Core, so if she and Sol could team up, Shiki and I could do another dungeon at the same time. It would be doubling our efficiency all at once.

“Also, I’ll give this to you.” (Bouchi)

I gave her a [Translation Earring]. With this, she could talk to other people. I also planned to give one to Ior when he woke up.

“Come to think of it, do you have any goals you want to work towards, Master?” (Yofel)

“Goals? Let’s see… Well, living a quiet, comfortable life free of worldly cares?” (Bouchi)

“I have a feeling you’re already doing that…” (Yofel)

“I guess. But I still want to grow this island, just in case we’re attacked one day, you know what I mean?” (Bouchi)

“That’s… true.” (Yofel)

“But in order to do that, I have to make lots of money.” (Bouchi)

“Now that you mention it, you did say that your skill was based on money.” (Yofel)

“Yeah, that’s why I’m doing business with other people. It’s all in order to earn money. And as long as I have money, I can buy things. That way, we can protect this island… and everyone on it.” (Bouchi)

Sol was sleeping peacefully on my lap, and I absentmindedly stroked her feathers. Izu was leveling a jealous glare at her, but she didn’t go so far as to wake her up.

“To you, Familiars are your precious family, right? …How unusual.” (Yofel)

“…? What do you mean?” (Bouchi)

“But it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Familiars are typically thought of as consumables in war.” (Izu)

With Izu’s continuation of the explanation, the situation regarding Familiars in their world became clear to me.

Monsters were abominable existences. In other words, they were incompatible with human beings.

But through the thinking that they could be used for combat gave rise to the Familiar system.

Monsters would be captured and then made to serve using skills or artifacts. Then, they would be dropped into the middle of wars against their will and forced to deal with the humans and monsters of enemy nations. There were also many instances where Familiars were used as test subjects in order to investigate facts and research surrounding monsters.

“To the people living in the other world, we are nothing more than pawns to be discarded. Very, very few people treat Familiars as well as you do, Master.” (Izu)

“I see…” (Bouchi)

I didn’t know that… I didn’t think that the situation regarding Familiars in the other world would be so poor.