Neither monsters nor customers stopped by my shop for a while, but as lunchtime approached, the rookies who had been hunting down monsters on B1 began showing up in twos and threes. Those with mild injuries drank recovery tea from Miss Mirai’s shop, while the adventurers with nicked blades and damaged defensive gear went to Mister Sanaga for his services.
Several hungry adventurers were also drawn to my shop.
“Ugh, I’m so hungry. Maybe I’ll get some Tasty Sticks.”
“Some Curry Rice Crackers for me.”
It was noon, so it seemed these adventurers were famished. Of course, they had probably already had lunch, but they were young. They got hungry again fast.
That was when I had an idea. Until now, I’d had this one product that I couldn’t put up for sale, but with Miss Mirai’s help, I might be able to sell out my stock.
“Miss Mirai, may I have a moment?”
“What’s wrong, Mister Yahagi?”
“I would like your assistance. You see, I’d like to sell this.”
Product Name: Porky Noodles (Tonkotsu flavor)
Description: Mini cup noodles. Boil 180 milliliters of water to cook. Although small, it fills you right up.
Price: Eighty rims
Miss Mirai had the means to boil water since she sold recovery teas. My plan was to first sell the Porky Noodles to the adventurers and then send them to Miss Mirai to buy boiled water.
“This is so good!” one customer exclaimed. “I’ve never tasted anything like this before, but I like it!”
“You can really taste the pork broth!”
Everything went according to plan, and I had soon sold out my stock.
The entrance to Zone Two once again emptied out as midday passed. The adventurers who had been on break had scattered throughout the dungeon, looking for monsters. I decided I’d eat the bread and apples I had brought with me.
Just as I was about to have lunch, a voice cried out from farther in the dungeon: “Hey, is anyone there?! We’ve got a man down! We need help carrying him!”
They didn’t sound too far away. I was certain it would be dangerous, but I couldn’t just ignore a cry for help. I readied my Flying Snake card and ran in the direction of the voice.
The deeper I advanced into the dungeon, the more clearly I could hear people’s voices. It sounded like they were still in the throes of battle.
“Hey! Where are you?!”
“Over here!” a voice called out. “The porter’s got a leg wound! Get him somewhere safe!”
When I moved toward the voice, I found five adventurers fending off a rhinoceros-like monster. A boy was collapsed on his back at the edge of the room. If I remembered right, he’d come to my shop before.
“Rigal,” I shouted, “stay with me!”
He groaned weakly. “Ngh...”
The other adventurers were busy fighting against the monster while protecting Rigal, so they had their hands tied.
“Hurry up and take him!”
“On it!” I scooped Rigal into my arms and ran back the way I’d come.
Once back at the entrance to Zone Two, I looked over Rigal’s wounds. A gaping gash on his thigh was oozing blood.
“Miss Mirai, some recovery tea, please.”
Recovery teas were drinks, but they were also effective when poured onto an open wound. I tore off a portion of Rigal’s pants and poured the cooled tea over his wound.
“Gah!”
I was sure it stung, but Rigal bore it with tears in his eyes. The bleeding slowed down, but the wound was nowhere close to healing.
“More tea, please.”
“I don’t know...” Miss Mirai murmured. “With a wound this severe, my recovery tea alone won’t be enough.”
Even so, I want to do what I can!
“I’ll pay for it, so please, just one more!”
“What’s wrong?” asked a husky voice. The Shinigami suddenly emerged from the gloom of the dungeon. Miss Mirai and Mister Sanaga let out involuntary squeaks of terror and even Rigal, who was lying there injured, began to tremble.
As for me, I had long since grown used to the Shinigami. Sure the rumors had branded him a killer, but he really was just a normal guy once you talked to him.
“It’s just what it looks like,” I told him. “This kid is hurt. Oh, do you have any bandages on you? Please spare us some if you do.”
“I don’t.”
“That’s too bad.”
I had to find some type of tourniquet to stop the bleeding. As I searched through my bag for anything I could use in lieu of rope, Minerva approached us. Then, he brought his hand close to Rigal’s thigh.
“Whoa!”
A green light gushed from his hand, healing Rigal’s wound in the blink of an eye.
“Hey now, I didn’t know you could use Recovery Magic!” I said, amazed. “That’s incredible!”
“This much is nothing special,” the Shinigami replied brusquely, although it seemed he didn’t mind the praise.
“U-Um, er...” Rigal said, trembling, “thank you very much.”
He’d managed to express his gratitude as well.
“By the way, why are you here, Yusuke?” Minerva asked, turning to face me.
“I don’t have a license, so I can’t sell my goods on the surface anymore.”
“So that’s why. I looked all over for you, but I was surprised I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
Now that is a surprise.
“You were looking for me?”
“No, I wasn’t!” the Shinigami spluttered, waving his hands dramatically in denial. “It’s not like I was just wandering the dungeon plaza in search of you or anything!”
“But you said so yourself. You said you looked for me.”
The Shinigami fumbled for words. “Er, I mean, well... I’m just saying I wasn’t desperate or anything. I wanted to make sure you didn’t misunderstand me...”
What’s going on with him?
“Oh, I got it. You’re having a hankering for sweets again, aren’t you?”
“Y-Yeah...”
“But really, eating too many sweets isn’t healthy. Here, I’ll share some of my bread and apples with you, so let’s eat them together.”
“N-No... I brought my own lunch.”
“So, it’s your lunchtime, huh? Mine too.”
Minerva suddenly leaped to his feet.
“Hey, Yusuke!” he shouted while staring me down. Did I hurt his feelings or something?
“Wh-What’s wrong? Why are you shouting all of a sudden...”
“I-If it’s okay, do you want to have lunch together?!”
“What?”
“I... I’ll give you...this,” he said, taking out a cute pale-blue lunch box. A picture of a cat walking in a field was painted across the side.
“But then you won’t have anything to eat.”
“Don’t worry. I have another,” Minerva assured me, producing a similar but pink lunch box from his belongings.
So, we’re matching...
I felt kinda weird about all this, but the guy was saying he was willing to share his lunch with me. I couldn’t let his goodwill go to waste.
“Are you sure you’re all right with this?”
“Yeah. I just happened to make two today.”
He...what? How does that even happen?
Well, whatever. Now that I could rest easy knowing Rigal was all patched up, I was more hungry than ever. Plus, not getting hung up over small details was one of my good traits. Yep, it’s something I’m proud of.
“Then, don’t mind if I do.”
When I opened the lid, inside were a sandwich and fruit, all neatly arranged. The sandwich had sautéed chicken, vegetable, and bacon filling.
“Wow, this looks delicious,” I marveled. “I see you’re a great cook.”
“No, not really...”
“All right then, I’m gonna dig in. Oh, I’ll go get us some tea. Miss Mirai, some for him too, please.”
“A-Ah, yes!” Miss Mirai squeaked, and she poured the tea with trembling hands. It seemed she was still afraid of Minerva.
“It’s all right,” I assured her. “Sure, his appearance and his voice are scary, but he isn’t actually a bad guy.”
“I-I see...” She didn’t seem entirely convinced.
“What are you doing, Yusuke?!” the Shinigami suddenly demanded. “Don’t waste your time talking to other women. Just hurry and get back over here! Led on by the charms of an older woman, unbelievable...” He kept on grumbling to himself.
What is he going on about? Is it his hunger getting the best of him?
“What are you, some overbearing boyfriend? This is exactly why people get the wrong idea about you!”
“I don’t really care.”
“Jeez... Okay, I’m digging in.”
That very first bite surprised me. I had never eaten a sandwich so delectable before. The vegetables were crisp, the meat was juicy with umami, and the mustard and butter that went along with it created a delicious symphony of flavors in my mouth.
“Whoa, this is delicious!”
“You think? Heh heh... Eh heh heh...”
That was a cute laugh and all, but his appearance just makes it sound like the cackle of a heinous criminal. Sorry, Shinigami.
Incidentally, what was that mask for anyway? Did he have some burns under there or something? If that was the case, I shouldn’t go asking questions. Even a man sometimes wants to hide his scars.
I didn’t know why, but as we ate our lunch together, Minerva seemed especially happy.