CH 221

The creation of the great sword for Ankh was watched over by Aeris, the person who proposed it, but although it took time, effort, and cost, it was safely completed to the end, and was completed by midday.

“ Whew… I still used a lot of magic power, but thanks to Aeris’s advice, I managed to make it without almost dying.”

Tauro breathed a sigh of relief and drank a magic recovery potion to restore his magic power.

He drank several potions before he was finished, so his stomach was growling.

“Thank you for your efforts. Isn’t it great that there are more possibilities of what you can make if you break it down into smaller pieces?”

Aeris followed up with Tauro.

“…yes, but it’s still a lot of work, so I wouldn’t use this magic too often.”

Tauro smiles wryly and reveals his true intentions.

“Well, It’s already past noon, so why don’t we have lunch at the “Resting Pavilion”? It looks like Ankh is drinking too, so if he’s there, it would be just fine if we give him this great sword as well.”

Gu.

“Oh… I’m really hungry. I think I’ll have the ginger-grilled set meal today…”

Tauro replied with a wry smile at the sound of his own stomach, which signaled he was hungry, and put away the great magic sword Imbued with wind magic in the magic storage, then returned to the village.

When they both  arrived at the “Resting Pavilion,” there was no sign of Ankh in the restaurant.

“Ankh’s not here. He should have been here…”

“that’s true. I wonder if he got tired of drinking and moved on?”

The two looked around the restaurant for Ankh, but he still didn’t seem to be there.

“Welcome, you two. What would you like today?”

A female employee of the “resting pavilion’ came to ask what they wanted.

“I’ll have the ginger-grilled set meal with a large serving of rice, please. What about you, Aeris?”

“I’ll have the Miso Vegetable Stir-Fry set meal.”

Aeris was also hungry and seemed to have already decided what she wanted to eat, so she answered immediately.

“Okay. One ginger and one miso vegetable. Oh, Tauro-san, the head chef said he wanted you to see how the miso was prepared.”

The employee then returned to the kitchen to convey the order.

“Oh, come to think of it, they’ve already started using the miso that they made and aged.”

“Is that why you haven’t been making miso lately?”

Aeris made a satisfied face.

“Finally, this store is independent.”

Tauro nodded and said he was going to have a look around, and then he went downstairs to the basement to look at the kitchen.

“Oh, it’s Aeris. What happened to the leader, are you alone?”

Ankh entered the restaurant just as Tauro was leaving.

“Oh, hey, we were looking for you, Ankh. Tauro’s in the restaurant basement right now. By the way, you said you were going out for a drink in the morning, but you don’t smell like alcohol, do you?”

Aeris pointed out as she pretended to smell Ankh.

“Ah, ah… After that, I had some errands to do, and I was finishing them. I’m finally done, and I thought I’d have a drink.”

With that excuse, Ankh called out to the employee and ordered miso-pickled vegetables and some sake.

“Have you eaten yet? Why don’t you join us since we’re having dinner too?”

“Come to think of it, it’s already past noon. I’ll have dinner too…. I’m sorry, sister there. I’ll have the miso meat set meal, too, please!”

Ankh stopped the employee and ordered.

“Yes, sir! One miso meat!”

The employee took the order and went to pass it on to the kitchen.

“Ankh,… are you hiding something from me?”

Aeris asked, wondering if it was just hunch or if there was some basis for the question.

“…Oh, come on. I’m 26. Of course I have a secret or two. There are things I haven’t even told the leader, my roommate. It’s not your place to ask that, Aeris.”

Ankh took Aeris’s question head-on and simply dodged it.

“…it’s not like that… well, okay.”

“A good woman’s secret is to wait for a man to tell her his secrets without trying to uncover them, right? Ha-ha-ha!”

Ankh laughed and fooled her.

“I kind of know, though.”

Tauro suddenly appeared beside Aeris and Ankh.

It seems that Tauro had approached them using his “presence blocker” in order to startle him.

“Whoa! Don’t show up behind me, leader!”

Ankh tried to avoid again without touching Tauro’s words.

“Thank you for waiting, one ginger-grilled set meal, the miso vegetable set meal, the vegetables pickled in miso and sake. Please wait a little longer for the Miso Meat Set meal!”

The conversation was then put to rest when the female employee brought the dishes to the table, and Ankh was relieved to hear that the conversation was over.