Idle Talk 1: A Certain Adventurer’s Recollection

Re-Translated by Gumihou

Please read this at kitchennovel dot com~

 

Note from Gumihou: This is basically a summary of what happened from Welner’s point of view. I’ve deleted a lot of repeated details and fleshed out Welner’s thoughts to make the story more intimate and unique to the reader. Hope it works and I hope everyone enjoys this leisurely slice of life story~

 

 

“Haaa…”

“What’s with the sigh, Vincent?”

“Nothing, I just… I want to eat something delicious,”

“Un, un, I get it. I want Mukouda-san’s food again.”

“You too, Rita? Ahh, as expected. Those were some of the best meals of my life.”

The others nodded in agreement.

I, the party leader for the [Iron Will], nodded along.

We had quite a lot of good experiences and excitement from what seemed to be a simple escort mission.

For better or worse, this particular mission would remain in our memories for a long, long time.

 

Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~

 

The man introduced to us by the Adventurer’s Guild has a rather plain face that was unique in its flatness that was not found in this region. [6] Nothing about him appeared remarkable, and yet, that was what’s remarkable about him.

It made sense for someone like him, a man of medium build and foreign looking, to request special escort mission. 

He introduced himself as ‘Mukouda’.

He came to us during a time when our party was already making plans to leave for the neighbouring country. As Adventurers, we are sensitive to the changes happening around us and knew that it was time to leave the country. We were already quite familiar with the road between Kiels and Feenan, which was why we took on the escort mission for 8 gold coins despite the low rate.

We had the pick of the mission since our rates were lower and we’re quite experienced Adventurers. We took on Mukouda-san’s offer because he included meals as part of our payment on top of the 8 gold coins.

One should not look down on meal expenses for five Adventurers. [6] Cost aside, food had to be packed and carried along. A few days’ worth of food is a lot to carry. Even lightweight and high-calorie food like hardtack [8] and jerky could be quite heavy.

We had little hope of getting to eat anything delicious. Our best expectation was that he would provide us with good quality jerky, but more importantly, enough food. [5]

Mukouda-san surprised us all in the best way possible. Instead of the expected hardtack and jerky, we had soup, savoury sausages, and soft bread from Mukouda-san’s hometown. In fact, the lavishness of Mukouda-san’s food could be compared to famous inns in big cities.

All of us agreed that accepting Mukouda-san’s mission request was one of the best things we could have done. [5]

We had to work for our delicious food, of course. However, small fries like Goblins and Grey Wolves were nothing difficult for Adventurers of our status. We even managed to snag a Red Boar on the way. [1] Normally, edible monsters caught on the road would be dismantled on-site, the valuable parts such as skin and fangs taken away while the less valuable meat was left to rot.

However, because Mukouda-san possessed an [Item Box] we were able to take all the meat with us. [1] Best of all, Mukouda-san served us the most delicious Red Boar dish I have ever tasted in my life.

It was no exaggeration to say that it was an unbelievably delicious dish.

It was so delicious that the most incredible thing happened.

Lured by Mukouda-san’s grilled Red Boar cooked with his special home town seasoning, the Legendary Fenrir made an appearance.

We immediately recognised this legendary monster beast that no one has ever seen thanks to our accumulated experience as Adventurers. [1] Not that we could actually go up against such a powerful being.

At that time, I was really flustered.

My chest felt hollow as I seriously contemplated death for the first time in a long time. 

How does one even stand up against a legendary being?

Especially one that is rumoured to have destroyed an entire country with just a wave of its paw?

However, miraculously, the Fenrir did not attack us.

It had been lured by Mukouda-san’s food.

“Let me eat that too,”

All of us, the escorts for this mission, could only urge Mukouda-san to cook and cook to appease the beast. [6] We could only urge Mukouda-san from the side and hope to get out of this alive.

Then, the impossible happened.

“I grant thee the privilege to contract with me,”

At first, I thought my ears must have misheard.

Surely, I haven’t heard a Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir offer to sign a contract with a human?

You have to understand, the last time a Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir was sighted was about 300 years ago.

Aside from the long-lived elves, we should be the only other living beings to have seen a Fenrir with our own eyes. [1] This rarely seen Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir was now granting a familiar’s contract with Mukouda-san!!?

Wait, it’s not granting, it’s more like… coercing?

[6] I- I felt like that last time I saw the village bully try to ‘offer’ Franca a dance at a festival. Naturally, Franca kicked the man away, but I definitely sense the same coercive vibe from this Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir.

Unlike Franca, Mukouda-san had no choice but to accept this ‘offer’.

I’m ashamed to admit that we might have urged him to accept this offer too, but it’s not like any of us could have resisted the Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir.

On that fateful day, we had the privilege of witnessing the historical event of a human contracting a Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir as his familiar with the name ‘Fer’.

Inside, we were all curious why such a Legendary Monster Beast would sign a contract with someone like Mukouda-san. [6] No offence to the good man, but he was… weak. There was a reason why we were hired to escort him after all.

Surely it’s not because of the food?!!

This one thought ran through our minds. 

None of us said anything though.

Nevertheless, while we were still awed by the majesty of the Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir, Mukouda-san was surprisingly normal about it. He even dared to treat the Legendary Monster like an ordinary beast. I must confess when Mukouda-san said ‘If you want more meat go and get it yourself’ to the Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir I was shocked.

[6] That the Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir actually loped away to go hunting was even more earth-shattering.

This great man… this great Beast Tamer appeared artless and polite, but he was able to order a Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir like it was nothing! A great person like this would be sought after by nobles, no, whole countries would want to contract him to be their personal guard or attack dog.

However, Fer-sama’s reply to this worry was:

“If they dare to mess with me or this guy, I will destroy them.”

[6] S-such a powerful statement…

I could feel sweat rolling down my back as I prayed for the gods and goddesses to grant wisdom to the nobles and heads of the countries in this world. Please don’t do anything stupid and provoke the Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir! [5] [8]

“Man, that Rock Bird sure is delicious, right?” Vincent sighed.

Ah, that’s right.

To our eternal shock Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir (Gumi: I swear this is the last time) actually returned with a Rock Bird in his mouth.

A Rock Bird!

Do you know what it takes to take down a B Rank monster like a Rock Bird?

We, the [Iron Will] may be a party of experienced Adventurers, but we’re only C Rank for a reason. All of us fighting together only have a 50-50 chance of taking down that monster beast.

I can say this for sure because the last time we took on a Rock Bird, all of us ended up wounded. Vincent even broke his right leg and had to be carried back because all of our potions and magic have been used up to keep the party barely alive.

To take down such a major game in so short a time, the Fenrir’s legend is truly deserved.

Then, as if we’ve not been shocked enough, Mukouda-san insisted that we take all the valuable materials off the Rock Bird, aside from the meat. He called it a ‘dismantling fee’ as well as payment for the portion of Red Boar meat that we have given him. [6] Never mind that the meat would probably be rotting on the roadside if not for Mukouda-san’s [Item Box]. Personally, I felt like we should pay to eat Mukouda-san’s cooking and not receive more benefits.

However, Mukouda-san insisted and we have no choice but to accept his kindness. I resolved to advise Mukouda-san as best I can, considering his status as a foreigner and give him whatever information he needed.

[6] We had the Rock Bird for lunch that day. In a move that showed his status as master of a great beast, Mukouda-san served us first. I nearly had a heart attack when Fer-sama said ‘Oi, where’s mine?’

[6] Mukouda-san’s gentle, yet firm words about how he’ll focus all of his attention to Fer-sama’s lunch later was only topped by the legendary beast’s easy acquiescence. Fer-sama was not happy by any stretch of the imagination, but he did not insist. It was clear to all of us who the real master of this relationship was.

The shock had lessened with time. Right now, whenever our party begin to reminisce over our escort mission with Mukouda-san, the sweet and savoury taste of Rock Bird would fill my senses. [5]

“Ah~ if only Mukouda-san would open up a restaurant somewhere~” Vincent’s voice penetrated my musings. He had always been one of the more vocal of our party.

“Ah~ if he ever opens one let’s go and eat there!” Rita, our energetic scout, sighed.

“Though I am not particular about what I eat, I would love to try his food again,” said Franca.

“Mmm, that’s true,” even the taciturn Ramon have something to say about this.

As for myself, “I hope we can meet them again.”

Everyone nodded.

That plain looking man with regular features looked rather weak, but his cooking is good enough that he was able to lure Fer-sama into becoming his familiar.

I pray we shall meet them once again.

 

[Gumihou: Lol, I must confess. I’m the one who put in the Legendary Monster Beast Fenrir all over the place, hehe.]

 

[1] Structural Change: Combine 2 paragraphs

[2] Structural Change: Combine 3 paragraphs

[3] Structural Change: Combine paragraph & dialogue

[4] Structural Change: Change passive sentence to dialogue 

[5] Delete Repetitive or Pointless Information

[6] Additional Information for Aesthetic Purpose

[7] Add Dialogue Tag

[8] Deleted a whole bunch of stuff and rearranged Welner’s thoughts so that it’s more chronological