Chapter 256 New Specialty
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After saying goodbye to the woman, we headed straight to the dining hall.
The sign outside was put away, but we could hear lively voices coming from inside.
”Just to be clear, from here on, act like colleagues, okay?”
”I know, don’t worry, I got this.”
I wondered if it would really be okay. I brought Lewya along because I thought it wouldn’t be a problem if she acted like herself, but she can be a bit clueless sometimes.
I was worried she might accidentally call my name.
Feeling anxious, I stepped into the dining hall.
”Good evening…”
”Oh? It’s Nick! You haven’t been around lately, what’s going on──.”
Harmon-san turned around with a beer mug in hand, and his gaze landed on Lewya behind me.
”What an interesting pair you are. What brings you here today?”
Of course, he would ask that. As I thought about how to answer, Lewya stepped forward.
”I invited him. He’s been so focused on work lately that he hasn’t had a break.”
”Oh, I see! That’s why you haven’t been around.”
”Ah, haha… that’s about right.”
”Lewya, you have it tough. Not only managing the sl*ves but also taking care of your colleagues.”
”Well, I do it because I want to, and managing the sl*ves isn’t hard. They’re all nice people.”
”……”
”Huh? What’s up, Nick?”
”Nothing, I just didn’t know Lewya and Harmon-san knew each other.”
I thought they had no connection at all, so I was curious when they met.
”I come by the dining hall to check on things when I’m out and about, so I’ve run into him and the others a few times. At first, I was thinking of cracking down on those who were selling monster materials outside of Spear of Shouhyou.”
”Hehe, I’m grateful for Lewya-sama’s kindness.”
I see, so that’s how they know each other.
By the way, in the frontier settlement, selling monster materials outside of Spear of Shouhyou is generally not allowed.
The reason for this is to keep track of the number and types of monsters wandering outside the settlement based on the materials brought back by hunters.
When the labyrinth starts to act, the number and types of monsters around the settlement can change, and if materials are traded everywhere, it becomes hard to keep track.
To avoid this, monster materials are managed in bulk by Spear of Shouhyou, which reports the numbers and types.
I know that Harmon-san and the others bring meat to the dining hall, but it’s not a huge amount, and they sell other materials properly to Spear of Shouhyou, so I don’t mind letting it slide.
When Lewya and I sat at the counter, Harmon-san naturally moved to sit next to me.
”So, what’s been keeping you so busy? I know the support crew left, but I heard the cute girls from Toys of Preference are helping out, so you should have enough hands. Oh! Is it because there’s a s*xy and cute girl nearby that you’re distracted and can’t focus on work?”
”Of course not! How do you know that?”
”I visit ‘Toys of Preference’ often. I heard they’ve been helping out at the mansion.”
”Oh, is that so?”
Wait, isn’t this a bit risky?
The people helping out are sensible, so I don’t think they’d spill everything to customers, but if Harmon-san asks, “Do you know Nick?” it could expose my lie.
I should talk to Diana later and remind the people from ‘Toys of Preference’ not to mention the mansion outside.
”By the way, Harmon-san, how’s everything in the frontier settlement lately?”
”Well, compared to when I first heard the rumors and came here, I think more people have come, and it’s livelier. But this is probably temporary, and over time, the numbers will drop again.”
”Yeah, we definitely need something to grab people’s attention besides just the topic. What should we do?”
”Hey Nick, I’ve been thinking for a while, but is that really something you, as a servant, should worry about?”
”Oh, um… well, that’s…”
While I was stumbling over my words because of Harmon-san’s comment, Lewya jumped in.
”Nick gets asked those kinds of questions a lot by Neil-sama.”
”Really?”
”Since he’s the closest in age and also a guy, it’s probably easier for him to talk to Nick than to me or Diana.”
”Oh, I see.”
Nice one, Lewya. I was feeling a bit anxious about bringing him along earlier, but maybe I was worrying for nothing
Just then, the dining hall door opened, and a small earth spirit appeared, carrying a little wooden box.
Without greeting anyone, the earth spirit walked straight to the counter and dropped the box with a thud.
”Hey, could you be a bit more careful? You’ll scratch the counter.”
”It’s heavy, so what can I do? Anyway, Narsht, cut it like you always do.”
”Ugh… fine.”
The earth spirit didn’t seem to feel any guilt at all, and Narsht-san sighed before reaching for the box on the counter.
”Hmm?”
Narsht-san’s expression changed as he tried to lift the box, adjusting his grip to lift it with all his strength.
”What the heck is this? It’s really heavy.”
”This one is my special creation.”
”That doesn’t really answer my question… I guess I’ll find out when I cook it.”
With that, Narsht-san took the box and headed into the kitchen.
The box was small enough for the little earth spirit to carry, so it didn’t look that heavy, which made me curious. Just then, Harmon-san spoke to me in a low voice that the earth spirit couldn’t hear.
”I’ve been wondering about this for a while, but what do you guys call that kid? He hardly talks to anyone, and the only one he talks to, Narsht, doesn’t even use his name, so I’m curious.”
”Well, um, we’ve been told not to talk about her to outsiders…”
”Not even her name?”
It’s not that she can’t have a name; it’s just that she doesn’t have one.
But I knew saying that would just complicate things, so I had to dodge the question. People outside think the earth spirit is an elf, and if they get suspicious, they’ll just assume it’s because she’s an elf, so I didn’t hide my unease and stuck to saying I couldn’t answer any of Harmon-san’s questions.
”Let’s stop grilling Nick with questions. He comes here to take a break from Neil-sama’s constant questioning, you know? If he gets bombarded with questions here too, he won’t have a place to relax.”
”Come on, if he just spills the beans, it’ll be easier for him.”
”Harmon, don’t get too carried away just because he’s being quiet. Nick is a servant who serves Neil-sama, after all. Do you really think a timid boy would be sent to a dangerous place like the frontier settlement?”
”What?!”
Wait, is this conversation going in a bad direction?
Is Lewya getting too confident just because she managed to dodge a question once?
”Could it be that Nick is…”
”Yeah, Nick is actually a strong guy who’s been trusted to protect Neil-sama. He could even go toe-to-toe with Momoka if he wanted to.”
Whoaaa!? This elf just added unnecessary details!
If she keeps this up, I’ll have to act like that kind of person from now on!
”Lewya! Wait──.”
”Hey, you 3 over there.”
When we turned around, we saw Narsht-san standing on the other side of the counter with a plate.
”Sorry to interrupt, but could you taste this for me?”
Narsht-san placed a plate with sliced cucumbers on the counter.
I tilted my head in surprise at the unexpected appearance of veggie sticks, but I quickly realized these were the vegetables the earth spirit had brought earlier.
Glancing to the side, I saw the earth spirit munching on the veggie sticks like a rabbit.
”Wow, it’s a raw cucumber. I think the veggies here are tasty, but I wouldn’t want to eat them raw.”
Harmon-san said that, but I knew that when Narsht-san did something like this, there was usually a reason. I reached for one of the sliced cucumbers, grabbing the end to lift it up, but then I noticed something strange.
It was super heavy. I tried to lift it horizontally, but it just pointed down because of its weight. It slipped from my fingers and made a dull thud as it hit the plate, shaking it a bit.
”””…”””
Seeing that, Harmon-san and Lewya also noticed something was off, and the 3 of us exchanged glances before reaching for the cucumber again.
This time, instead of pinching it with our fingers, we grabbed it with our hands, but it was surprisingly heavy.
”What is this? It feels like I’m holding a paperweight.”
”No wonder it looked heavy. If this was in that wooden box, it makes sense.”
”This can’t just be about it being packed with fruit, right?”
”…Well, we won’t know until we try it.”
So we looked at each other again and all put the cucumber in our mouths at the same time.
As expected, it was way harder than a normal cucumber, and I thought my teeth might break for a second.
But when I bit down, the tough feeling was just at first, and I could chew it easily after that.
As I chewed, tons of juice burst out from the crushed flesh, filling my mouth with a rich flavor that didn’t taste like a cucumber at all.
It had a deep taste and a strong aroma that didn’t have any of that grassy smell. Even though we were eating a cucumber, we felt so satisfied, like we had just eaten meat, and we were left speechless for a moment.
”…This is amazing. I never thought I’d think a cucumber could make such good broth.”
”I feel the same way. I can’t believe a simple cucumber can taste this good.”
”If we mash this cucumber and add some salt, it could work as a soup.”
I knew the earth spirit put a lot of effort into growing tasty vegetables, but I never imagined something this incredible would come from it.
While I stared blankly at the plate with the cucumber, Harmon-san tapped my shoulder.
”Hey, Nick, isn’t this great?”
”Huh? What do you mean?”
”It’s something that attracts people besides just the topic. A vegetable with such rich flavor that it reminds you of meat? If something like this exists, people from other countries might come here!”
”…That’s true.”
I was ready to struggle with a problem for a while, but it got solved so easily that even though I should be happy, I felt a bit uneasy.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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