There were various things that happened in between, but to summarize simply…
“I drank sparkling mint chocolate pineapple juice, and then Lydia taught me how to use a greatsword, and Benny decided to coat my weapon with acid magic!”
“? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Excluding the part about drinking somewhere other than Ellie’s Tavern, I talked about what happened today, and Ellie tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“First of all, what even is sparkling mint chocolate pineapple juice? Why on earth would anyone drink something like that?”
“Because it’s delicious?”
“What? You think that’s tasty…?”
Ellie made a bizarre expression as if she’d heard that natives in the past used to frequently hunt platypuses and that their tails were rich in fat and considered a delicacy.
That’s harsh. I wasn’t joking; it really was good!
It wasn’t just a random mix of mint chocolate and pineapple; it was a menu made specifically to combine the two from the start, so it blended well.
It was something from back when I was on Earth, but a fast-food chicken place with a cheerful grandfather as its mascot once sold mint chocolate sauce as a limited-time event.
Mint chocolate on chicken? Just the thought of that odd combination made many people cringe…
But when I actually tried it, it wasn’t bad at all. That’s because it was designed to be used as a chicken dipping sauce from the beginning.
The refreshing chill cut through the greasiness of the chicken, and just the right sweetness enhanced the flavor like the seasoning on fried chicken.
Of course, it wasn’t as good as the already-proven variations like seasoned chicken, soy sauce chicken, or rib chicken.
Still, what mattered was that it was quite edible.
“See? Sometimes weird combinations can yield surprisingly good results.”
“Or you could just pick from all the popular menu items that everyone loves, right, Jonah?”
Ellie let out a long sigh. I smirked at her and continued.
“Oh, come on. If I were the kind of person who only ate standard menu items, I wouldn’t have been able to like a one-armed retired adventurer, right?”
“Ahem.”
Clearing her throat, Ellie nodded hesitantly.
“I still don’t know what chicken is, but I can make mint chocolate pasta. Maybe I should give that a try?”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting, Ellie? Only basil pesto is allowed for green pasta, so there’s no need to research such a pointless menu.”
“……”
Ellie looked at me with her eyes glazed over, as if she didn’t know what I was talking about.
But it couldn’t be helped. While both sparkling mint chocolate pineapple juice and mint chocolate chicken were fine, mint chocolate pasta was something I really couldn’t tolerate.
Laughing at Ellie’s frosty gaze, I finished the milk left in my cup.
“Phew. Well, that’s the point. Just wait a little longer, Ellie.”
“What for? For the day I develop the perfect mint chocolate pasta recipe?”
“No, for the day I find Ellie’s arm.”
“……Were you serious about that?”
“I am always sincere with you, Ellie.”
As I laughed, Ellie lightly patted my shoulder with her remaining arm.
“Just in case you’re wondering… I’ve been one-armed for quite a while now, so I’m pretty used to it. So…”
“So, if I fail, don’t take it too hard and don’t rush and get hurt, right? Don’t worry; I’m not saying this without any reason.”
I brushed off Ellie’s concerns and made a quick sign of the cross. The Goddess of Love isn’t giving me any guarantees or examples, but…
With the certainty of my information, it should be fine. Seeing the Goddess Statue in my embrace remain quiet, it seemed the goddess wasn’t dissatisfied either.
Finally feeling a bit relieved, Ellie sighed in relief and ruffled my hair.
“Hmm, I’m glad to hear that… but still, be careful.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Are you going into the labyrinth now?”
“No, today I’ll be learning the basics separately from Lydia, and I plan to dive in tomorrow. Of course, not deeply; I’ll start by facing the Human Golems in the outskirts again.”
“Got it all figured out, huh? That’s good.”
“Why do you have such a bittersweet expression, Ellie? Is it because my little Jonah is finally growing up?”
“…A little?”
Ellie tilted her head helplessly. If it were the old days, she would have denied it out of embarrassment, but she had become quite honest lately.
On the contrary, my bittersweet feelings swelled up, making it harder to tease Ellie further.
“Ah, just a moment.”
I dashed up to my room on the third floor and quickly came back down.
“Before I go, I have a gift for you!”
“A gift? For me?”
Ellie’s eyes widened. Her ears perked up, and her tail started swishing excitedly.
Seeing her expectant look, I chuckled and said, “Ellie. Hand!”
“…Haah. What is it this time?”
She sighed heavily but obediently extended her hand. I placed the warm gift I had just brought over into her hands.
“Hm? What is this? A warm cloth…?”
Ellie tilted her head and unfolded the cloth in her hand. She held a pair of expensive, high-quality, but plain-designed men’s underwear that I had specially requested from the Cradle Association.
It was hard to find something good that didn’t have lace, thongs, or clingy material aimed at luring people in.
No matter if it’s a gender-reversed world, how could I wear something like that?
Of course, even without the revealing underwear, it seemed to be a strong stimulation for Ellie.
“…!”
Ellie’s fur stood on end as she jumped in place. It was quite funny that she clutched the underwear tightly to avoid dropping it.
I patted Ellie’s frozen abdomen and said, “Feel free to use it! But since it was just taken off, I recommend using it quickly before the warmth wears off!”
“Wha—uh? This…what?!”
“Well then, I’ll be back around dinner time, so have a good time!”
Ellie stammered like a broken robot. I waved playfully at her as I dashed out of the Fairy and Silver Coin.
Apparently, the opening time at Fairy and Silver Coin was pushed back by two hours or something.
*
After leaving Ellie’s shop, I headed to the guild’s training ground.
Since the guild’s purpose is to support adventurers, aside from simple loot purchases or quest requests, they also provide various intermediaries and little conveniences.
One of those is renting a training ground.
The public training ground can be rented at a very low cost that any adventurer can afford, and for a few silver coins, you can rent a private training ground for the entire day.
This is just a standard level training ground. Depending on the purpose and people, they have created larger or specially designed training grounds, which can cost a fortune in gold to rent.
However, high-ranking adventurers are the exception.
They are among the few and far between, so the guild seeks to maintain a friendly relationship with them as much as possible.
Just like how Lydia was mobilized to capture the escapee from the Mage Tower, the guild offers as many conveniences as possible as long as they fulfill the minimum cooperation quota.
“So, you’re saying we got to rent this entire training ground for free?”
“Woah! Awesome, Lydia!”
“Ahem!”
I smiled at Lydia’s proud expression and asked, “But what kind of place is this?”
“This is a training ground to test the power of close-range skills. See those?”
Lydia pointed to the large and small pillars that rise sporadically around the area.
Each pillar was a different color, made of various materials, and some were even composed solely of magic like flames or water without any physical substance.
“You test your skills according to the hardness, size, and attribute.”
“Ah, I see? So you’re saying you’ll help me learn how to properly swing a greatsword, and these serve as targets?”
“Exactly. The two most important things for greatsword users are whether you can hit and how strong your hits are.”
In the adventurers’ terminology, a greatsword wasn’t just a slightly larger sword. What good would a blade extended by a few dozen centimeters be against a gigantic monster?
The minimum requirement is a sword about the size of a human body. Only then can adventurers call it a greatsword.
Naturally, because of its large size and significant mass, it’s difficult to handle precisely, so accuracy is crucial.
To make it worth fighting against all the risks, the power behind the strikes is equally important.
“However, what I’m going to teach Jonah is just how to swing it strongly. Your greatsword is special, and… after all, hitting accurately is your specialty, right?”
“That’s true.”
My greatsword, made with the Earth God’s power—the Seed of the Mountain Range—and the horn of the Minotaur, who was the previous wielder of that power.
These two had the perfect synergy, making it so that beyond just controlling weight, it became light for me but heavy for my opponents—truly a selfish feature.
So, there was no need to worry about hitting accurately.
“From now on, Jonah only needs to do one thing: Swing it properly to generate enough power to smash the alloy on the third floor… This pillar should be a similar hardness.”
Lydia pointed to a green rock pillar not too far away. She slowly took out her greatsword and got into position, as if reminding me.
Since this was more about using the body than the head, it didn’t take long for Lydia to receive a passing mark.
Just a short while later, after leaving the training ground with Lydia…
Karen, who was the Inquisitor of the temple and also my secret collaborator, was waiting for me.
As soon as our eyes met, she came over and whispered in a small voice.
“Jonah. I have important news.”
“What is it?”
“Though it’s been quite some time, I have found indications that the Pope has been up to something suspicious on the third floor.”
“……Let’s discuss this in a place with no people.”
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