Chapter 130: The Welcome at the Gordon Mansion

We rode on the Land Cruising Shooting Star and traveled through the tunnel for a while.

As the walls began to expand out to open up our view, instead of the sky, there was a vast ceiling made of stone, and a familiar scene of streets and buildings appeared.

This is the Dwarve’s town of Gungard. From one part of the city, I saw smoke lift up.

I wonder if that’s where all the workshops are? And it’s like the Dwarves to build a city that’s several times larger than a regular city.

Cyril: “Wow~ I would have thought that a city inside the mountain would have been dim and dark, but it’s actually very bright inside.”

Impressed, Cyril let out a voice of awe, and just as she said, inside the town was just as bright as the noon day. Several hundred meters above, attached to the ceiling, there were several lights set up.

Gordon: “Yeah, well, they could keep those lights on all day, but you would lose your sense of night and day, so they have scheduled times when they would turn it off. In fact, that’s just about now.”

It’s not like someone was listening to Mr. Gordon, but the lights went out just as he spoke. Instead, the street lamps lit up.

Jend: “........Mr. Gordon? Aren't there very few people here?” Jend spoke with some concern as he observed the streets. That’s true. Even though it’s right after sundown, there are very few people returning to their homes. With the number of people walking in the streets, the main street should have at least a food stand or two, but there are none in sight.

Gordon: “Because of the Hanuman, we had trouble with our supply chain, so we had to hold back on many things. Insight here, we’re able to grow some food, but the more active you are, the more you require food, and we lack many goods outside of that.”

Henry: “.......even so, isn’t that workshop district a little too active in that case?”

Gordon: “Henry, you trying to kill all the craftsmen? You’ll come down with the “gotta-make-something” disease and die.”

Mr. Gordon spoke with a very serious expression. ………wait, wait, wait. You wouldn’t die just from that. Right? ……..right? Gordon: “But those days are over thanks to you guys. I’m sure Georg and his subordinates are spreading the news. We’d like to host a celebrational feast in honor of you all……but I’m sure you’re quite tired. I’ll let you stay at my mansion. Just take a break for now.”

Henry: “Thank you very much. That would be very helpful.”

Gordon: “Yeah. Alright. Let’s go a little further.”

Mr. Gordon turns on the Magecraft car and accelerates. Normally, any Magecraft vehicle would draw people’s attention, but this must be a regular sight in this town. Among the few passerby, no one took notice.

They instinctively veered to the side of the street to make room for the car to pass by. Mr. Gordon raised a hand in thanks at the gesture.

Gordon: “Once there are more cars out and about, we’ll have to fix the roads.”

Ferris: “Fix the road? Excuse me, but what do you mean?” Gordon: “Cars are faster and have more power than horses, but it’s quite dangerous. If there are roads specifically for cars, there would be less accidents, and people will be able to drive as quick as they like, and everyone wins. That’s what I mean, Lil’ Miss.”

Ferris: “.......well, I’m not so young now to be called little, but I do understand that it’ll be good to have less people hurt.” Ferris chuckles. But even from my perspective, Ferris is plenty young.

And as we chatted, the car drove on.

Gordon: “Oh, this street lamp right here. This one’s one of my works. Look up. You’ll see a shadow of an animal when you look up at it.”

Cyril: “Wow! It’s true! How cute!”

And on one of the streets, Cyril got really excited at the sight of all the animals floating in the air.

Gordon: “Yeah, and that resident over there is from Rishu. They wanted me to build a house in the Rishu style, and it was a lot of work.”

Teo: “.........even the yard is in the Rishu style. That’s amazing.” And looking at one of the wooden buildings, Teo was surprised as well.

Mr. Gordon’s work could be seen in different places all around the city, and as he explained each and everyone……..we were quite impressed at the variety of skills he had to accomplish all of that.

Gordon: “Oh, we’re here.”

And we arrived at a certain house.

It was two-stories tall and a magnificent looking building. The building itself was not so big, but even I could tell that a lot of money was poured into its lavish design. There were intricate designs and decorations all over, and used just the right amount of gold for decoration.

And the yard was pretty spacious. A hedge surrounded the property and there were many statues decorated around. There was even a fountain, and I’m a complete novice with art, but the way it weaved the water so delicately and in complex patterns made me hold my breath at the sight.

In one corner of the yard, we parked the car in a space probably designated for it, and with a slight squeak, the Land Cruising Shooting Star came to a stop.

Gordon: “Good, get out. Get out. Now then, I wonder what we’re having for dinner today.”

Mr. Gordon elegantly jumped out of the car and with quick steps headed towards the house.

But dinner…….? Was Mr. Gordon married? No, I’ve heard that the Hero, Gordon, is single according to rumors……

Gordon: “Hey, I’m back!”

Mr. Gordon opens up the front door. Then we saw a woman bowing her head……..oh wait, a girl, maybe? But there was only one person there.

“Welcome back, sir. I am truly thankful to see you come back safe and sound.”

Gordon: “Yeah, for me, a Hanuman wasn’t that big of a deal. HA HA HA!”

And the girl who welcomed us let out a deep sigh.

“I received a transmission from Sir Georg. Aren’t the people behind you the ones who defeated it?” Gordon: “Ugh, that jerk. He didn’t have to add that detail.”

A transmission…….it’s probably a Magecraft artifact with the same effect as Cyril’s [Link Ring]. I’m sure it’s quite an expensive item, but between the Warrior group that protects the city entrance and the Hero’s house, it would be no surprise to find that they set up a communication link there.

“For crying out loud, it was too dangerous going out to face a Highest-Tier. If anything happened to you, sir, I would have been left with nothing except to wander the streets. Has that crossed your mind at all?” Gordon: “WhーWhat do you mean? I don’t have any relatives, and my will states that you’ll take over my assets.”

“..........let me rephrase. Please don’t make me worry so much.”

Mr. Gordon looks uncomfortable as he answers, “SーSure.”

Umm? She’s wearing a maid’s outfit, so I think she’s Mr. Gordon’s maid, but………I can sense an unexpected power balance in this relationship.

And it was strange that the maid in Mr. Gordon’s mansion was a young human girl.

Gordon: “HーHey now. Enough about me. Besides, we have guests! Guests!”

“Yes. ……..apologies for the late introduction. I am a maid employed at Sir Gordon’s mansion, and my name is Ricotta. It is a pleasure making your acquaintance.”

Her mannerisms were very precise and calculated as the maid, Miss Ricotta, bowed. ……this is definitely not manners and skills you can obtain overnight. She has the movements of someone who has been trained up from a very young age in this specific role.

………but the way she talks with Mr. Gordon is even stranger in that case. Maybe she’s just adapting to Mr. Gordon’s style of communication? It’s not like you have to always be super respectful to your employer.

Henry: “Ohー yes. Nice to meet you. I am Henry.”

And with that, everyone else in my Party introduced themselves.

Gordon: “Well now, c’mon! It’s time to eat! Bring out the food and drinks! Is everything ready?” Ricotta: “After receiving communication from Sir Georg, I made express preparations. Our food supplies have reached the bottom in most aspects, but I was certain that you wouldn’t mind.”

Gordon: “Of course not. We’ll get more supplies from the outside soon enough! Besides, if I was being stingy to our guests of honor, everyone would give me a piece of their mind.”

And laughing out loud, Mr. Gordon and Miss Ricotta enter into the house.

Gordon: “Hey, don’t be shy. Come in! Come in!”

We all looked at each other and stepped inside Mr. Gordon’s house.

<<<<>>>>

Henry: “WhーWhoa……..”

We were sitting around a luxurious table where 10 people could easily sit around, and there was a lot of food already prepared waiting for us.

There were roasted meats, a mountain of potatoes, salad with cheese sprinkled on top, and wonderfully soft, fluffy bread. And a large pot sat on top of a Magecraft Artifact that kept it warm and inside was a wonderful smelling stew.

It took about 20, 30 minutes from after meeting with Mr. Georg. We were impressed that Miss Ricotta was able to prepare this much in such a short period of time.

………wait, is this even physically possible?

Ricotta: “I am sorry for not preparing more dishes. We have been experiencing shortages in our food supplies.”

Henry: “OーOh no, no! This is amazing! Thank you so much!”

I wave my hand to reassure Miss Ricotta. There’s no way we could complain with this much food.

Cyril: “Oh~~~ what a great smell~”

And Cyril was on the verge of drooling as her focus was on the food. And not only that, but we also heard a deep rumble coming out from her stomach.

Henry: “ha”

Cyril: “~~?! Don’t laugh, Henry!”

Henry: “Yeah, yeah. I’m not laughing at all. C’mon. Let’s sit down.”

And I try to calm Cyril down who seems pretty upset as I take a seat.

………and this chair is also beautifully designed, and it was also amazingly comfortable.

Gordon: “Ricotta, bring out that bottle. That one.”

Ricotta; “Sir, when you say, ‘that’....”

Gordon: “You know what I mean.”

Ricotta: “I do but…”

And Miss Ricotta let out another deep sigh and left the room. A few moments later, she came back with two bottles and enough glass cups for everyone.

Ricotta: “For anyone who is not used to liquor, I have brought some fruit wine. And thisーー”

Gordon: “It’s a special whiskey I made personally! One sip is enough to take you out. I don’t care if you’re not used to liquor. Just try it first!”

And Mr. Gordon grabbed the whiskey bottle from Ricotta, and opened the bottle top roughly.

Immediately, an intense aroma filled the entire room. It was a sweet fragrance that was enough to cause someone to become drunk just by smelling it.

And with Mr. Gordon’s rough hands, he filled 6 glasses with amber-colored liquid. There was something about the beautiful color that made it all the more attractive.

Teo: “It…….looks amazing……”

And Teo let out an impressed awe at the sight.

……….even though she’s just 15, she’s really got to be quite the alcoholic. But I can understand how she feels.

Cyril: “I don’t prefer liquor much……but if it’s just a sip.”

And even Cyril was drawn towards it.

Dwarves are known for their love of drink, and as far as any alcoholic beverage is concerned, every household has their own special recipe. And this one was made by the world’s best, master craftsman.

Miss Ricotta served everyone their glass, and with a little nervousness, I took a glass from her.

Gordon: “Now then, it’s the anniversary day you guys took out that bastard Hanuman! Cheers!”

And everyone raised their glass.

And as we all took a sip of Mr. Gordon’s whiskeyーー

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All we could barely recollect the next day was the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction after that.