Michi’s expression shifted...to anger. “How the hell do you have that much money?! Don’t tell me you and this shady guy stole it somehow!”
“N-No! I’m sort of a fisherman now...” Hummer quickly said.
“Have you completely lost your mind? There’s no fish in Holylight.”
“There’s plenty of fish,” Tahara cut in, not wanting Michi to call the guards and have Hummer thrown into the slammer.
Through his fishing, Hummer was earning an exorbitant pay every day—certainly enough to draw suspicions in this town where he was known as a useless porter.
Michi seemed to be over the conversation as she began cooking. She drizzled oil onto a pan and tossed in a handful of sliced garlic.
Instantly, its aroma tickled Tahara’s nose. “That ain’t fair. It’s just about lunchtime too.”
Ignoring his comment, Michi poured cooked rice into the pan, scooping in ladles full of soup—a mixture of chicken broth and aromatics. Stirring the contents of the pan with expertise, Michi narrowed her eyes at Tahara. “So, where are these fish in mountain-locked Holylight?”
“Holylight has an opening to the sea now. Hummy’s our rising star, bringing in catch after catch,” Tahara said.
“Rising star my behind... You’d better not be on some street drug.” Michi poured in a small cup of milk and cheese, then poured the dish into wooden bowls. “There. Six bronze coins per bowl. Pay up.”
“Y-Yes, Ma’am! Thank you!” Hummer said.
Tahara took his bowl and inspected it closely, making note of each ingredient used. “Is this a risotto?”
“What’s a risotto?” Michi asked.
“It’s not a dish local to this country, is it?” asked Tahara.
“It’s something I came up with. No one hardly ever buys it. Apparently it’s too expensive for a street seller like me.”
Tahara waggled his nose and made sure the only scent was the appetizing blend of garlic, broth, and cheese—no poison. He practically inhaled it, relishing the perfect balance of melting cheese on piping hot rice. “This is too good!”
“Y-Yessir! I always loved this dish...” Hummer said with a wide grin on his face. This bowl of street food in the dingy alley was true soul food for him.
“Michi, right?” Tahara asked, still shoveling the risotto into his mouth. “For someone selling in the slums, the quality of your ingredients is insane. You don’t get milk and cheese this good unless you trade with Mylk.”
“Same story as this oaf here,” Michi said. “Once upon a time, I decided I’d feed a dumbass starving on the street. Somehow, that dumbass went and made a successful business in his home country.”
A nostalgic look crossed Hummer’s face—this was a mutual acquaintance. “Marlo has really gone far... But he’s never forgotten Michi’s kindness, so he still sends her all sorts of goods.”
“Yeah? Interesting stuff,” Tahara said, his eyes glimmering for a moment. The timing couldn’t have been better, just as he was desperate for Mylk dairy. “You got a way to contact this Marlo?”
“Ha! Even that dumbass is a customer of mine. I’m not gonna introduce him to a shady guy like you,” Michi said.
Tahara laughed. “Shady guy, huh? I can’t argue with that. I got a suggestion for you, though. Wanna come to Holylight?”
“Forget about it... Who’d choose to live in that country run by good-for-nothing nobles?”
“That’s the thing. We slaughtered most of those nobles,” Tahara said.
Michi might have taken that as a joke...if she hadn’t seen enough people in these alleys to know that Tahara was a true killer. Here and there, his look or movement reminded her of a professional assassin’s.
“Be careful who you hang with, Hummer. This guy’s bad news!”
“W-W-Wait! Michi, he’s—”
“You’re absolutely right,” Tahara said cockily. “Think about that move to Holylight.” With that Tahara turned to leave, knowing full well that harping on his offer would only make Michi want to reject it more.
Apologetically, Hummer slid a heap of silver coins onto Michi’s stall and jogged to catch up with Tahara. “I-I’m sorry about that... Michi’s always been...stubborn, you could say.”
“Don’t worry about it. After we eat a few meals there, she’ll come around,” Tahara said. Street vendor or no, Michi had put her heart into her cooking, and she couldn’t have been getting that many customers in these alleys. What chef didn’t want more people to eat and enjoy their food? If Michi were to open a food stand in Rabbi, Tahara knew she’d be swamped with diners from dusk till dawn.
Marlo, huh...? I gotta get in touch with him, somehow, Tahara thought as he grabbed Hummer and vanished by Quick Travel.
In the blink of an eye, they were back at the village of Rabbi, where plenty of tasks awaited them.
Meanwhile, crowds flocked to the entrance of the Bastille Dungeon in the city of Rookie. The plaza before the dungeon was overflowing with people, including porters negotiating rates and adventurers coming together to form temporary parties. The item vendors in the plaza were certainly happy, as everything from waterskins, tents, oil, rope, small knives, and sand dials all flew off their shelves as soon as they put them out. There were plenty of other characters, like adventurers who hung on every word of a fortune teller, or a barber humming and trimming along.
The Bastille Dungeon had once been a destination for rookies—adventurers just starting out. Now that the new level had been discovered, adventurers of all skill levels found themselves in Rookie. Even some notable adventuring parties had gathered at the dungeon, which was previously unheard of in the city of Rookie. The reason for such a large crowd was the sighting of Noble Badgers on the new level. They resembled white badgers, and a steak of their meat tasted truly divine. What’s more, the sightings were frequent and numerous, despite Noble Badgers being so rare, even in dungeons suited for three-stars and four-stars. Cuts of meat from a single Badger easily fetched five gold coins, and their hide was often put to auction among collectors. It was also popular to use their hide in crafting luxurious scarves. Another monster found on the new level was Foggy Crystal, which dropped an extremely valuable item called a Crystal Rose. People were in a positive frenzy at the prospect of getting their hands on these, especially since the monsters were weak enough for any adventurer to defeat.
“Who thought Noble Badgers would show up in a dungeon like this?”
“A ton of them too.”
“No one had made it to that level before. They went unhunted and multiplied.”
The porters stashed their food into their backpacks as they chatted. They were all packing plenty of rations, from vegetables, jerky, dried fruit, salted nuts, to even waterskins full of wine. Every party was packing for a long crawl, determined not to return until they’d scored as many of their desired items as they wanted. No matter how rare the meat or leather or crystal was, its value was sure to plummet once the market was flooded. Every party was anxious to gather as much as they could and sell it off before that happened.
In the middle of the frenzied adventurers stood Yukikaze and Mikan. They had already made a name for themselves, but now there were even rumors that they would be brought up to A-rank for their contribution. This tag team could be spotted anywhere, with Yukikaze’s white, fairylike skin, and Mikan’s even tan.
It seemed that the other adventurers couldn’t help gossiping about them.
“They’re such a good team... You think Mikan would let me buy her a drink?”
“I shall defend Yukikaze’s back door with my life.”
“Dream on. They’re never gonna know either of you exist.”
Unbothered by the stares and whispers, Mikan took in the rebuilt city of Rookie, its devastation still fresh in her memory. “Look at this place, Yukikaze. I feel like this place was a wasteland not too long ago.”
“...Zap that thirst.”
“What?!”
All systems were operating as expected with these two, including Yukikaze’s unhinged comments. Except, perhaps, that Mikan looked a little awkward that their discovery had led to such a kerfuffle. Actually, she had great grievances regarding their discovery.
“Why’d you have to name the level something that makes no sense?!” she demanded. On this continent, the finders of new discoveries were given the right to name them. This applied to minerals, plants, monsters, and even new levels of a dungeon. Mikan and Yukikaze had fought over the naming right, but Yukikaze had ultimately won the right over a deadly battle of rock-paper-scissors.
“...It’s a beautiful name. Mister Fox inspired me,” Yukikaze said. Of all the names she could have chosen, she had named the level F Boy? More like F Daddy.
Mikan’s wrath was entirely justified. “‘F Boy? More like F Daddy’?! In what world did you think that was an appropriate name?!”
“...Mister Fox is an F God.”
“Shut up!”
Speak of Mister Fox and he shall appear. The Demon Lord Quick Traveled to Rookie, now in his original form, but his towering stature and pitch-black trench coat drew enough attention as it was. He’d clearly come to Rookie because of the message he’d received in his admin screen.