A new morning dawned.
Awakened by the gentle warmth of the morning sun, I rubbed my sleepy eyes.
Getting used to living on the streets and in the mountains, I could sleep anywhere comfortably, but it was true that nothing compared to a proper bed.
“Ugh….”
After enjoying the taste of a cozy bed and blanket for the first time in ages, getting up turned out to be tough…
I buried my face in the pillow, hugging the blanket tightly while relishing the warmth.
Isn’t this what you call a small yet certain happiness?
As much as I would have liked to linger in this drowsiness forever…
“…I have to get up.”
I couldn’t continue to dawdle.
I left the cozy nest, grabbed the cape I had set aside, and stepped out of the room.
“Oh, Miss. You’re awake?”
I nodded.
Receiving the innkeeper’s greeting lightly, I surveyed the inn.
Since I couldn’t see Joanie, it seemed she hadn’t woken up yet.
“Will you be having breakfast?”
“Is there meat?”
“If you throw in the money, I can whip up anything!”
“I have plenty of money, so make the most delicious thing. Just put in a little bit of vegetables.”
“Got it! Is one serving enough?”
“Um… make it this serving.”
I didn’t know when she would wake up, but if I ate alone, she would probably find it annoying again.
A wise person predicts what will happen and prevents it in advance.
Today, I was a little more grown than yesterday.
“We got fresh orc meat this morning, is that okay? A lot of customers don’t like monster meat.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
Even though I didn’t mind monster meat, that didn’t mean I would eat every monster.
I didn’t like monsters that looked too close to humans or those that were grotesquely ugly.
And, additionally, those that were tasteless.
Some folks say those are delicacies, but I wasn’t one of them.
From that standard, orc meat fell into the category of things I could eat.
Unlike the orcs from the fantasy novels in my past life, which were close to a different race, the orcs in this world were treated more like dangerous wild boars and looked very similar to pigs.
Their intelligence was about on the level of wild boars too.
And more importantly….
“Orc meat is delicious.”
There’s a reason why orc meat is expensive.
Even if they’re not that strong, being monsters means they’re harder to catch than wild boars, but they’re that tasty.
I really don’t get why people dislike it.
“You know your stuff, don’t you?”
The innkeeper nodded in agreement with my words.
Since Joanie also eats cockatrice meat well and brought in those orc meat sandwiches before, she would probably enjoy breakfast today as well.
As I waited for a moment, the innkeeper brought out the food, and at that moment, Joanie opened the door and came out.
“Good morning!”
Spotting me, Joanie came over softly and lowered her voice to ask.
“Did you sleep well, Kana?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… did you order this, Kana?”
The delicious smell….
Sniffing the appetizing aroma of grilled orc steak, Joanie’s mouth watered.
“Eat.”
“Really?! Thanks!”
At my words, Joanie quickly sat down and took a knife.
I also took the knife and approached the meat.
The meat split smoothly at the touch of the knife without needing much effort.
The cooking was passable, but what about the taste?
Nom.
Munch munch—
“…It’s delicious.”
Well, when meat is cooked this well, it’s bound to be good.
The sauce poured over the meat was perfectly balanced, neither too salty nor too sweet.
In my eagerness to rest with nothing else to consider, I had chosen the first inn I saw, and it seemed I had found a good eatery.
“The ingredients are good, so of course, the cooking is delicious!”
The innkeeper, leisurely leaning against the counter and watching us, smiled contentedly.
“Ingredients? What kind of meat?”
“Orc meat.”
“…Orc?”
Joanie’s hand that had been moving cheerily suddenly froze.
“You’re not talking about the orc I’m thinking of…?”
“If you’re thinking of the monster, then yeah.”
Clink!
Joanie’s fork and knife slipped from her hands.
“Oh, orc meat… So what I’ve been eating until now was orc meat? Ugh…! …What? I ate cockatrice meat just fine before? Hey! That’s different from this!”
“Why, Miss? Does it taste bad?”
“N-no…! It’s my first time eating orc meat, and it’s so delicious that I just….”
“Hahaha! They say there’s never someone who has eaten it just once! It’s expensive and hard to come by, so you two are lucky!”
“Aha….”
Even as she laughed, Joanie’s voice sounded like she was about to cry, and I shrugged my shoulders.
What’s with her?
“Hey! If you feel it’s lacking, tell me. I’ll give you as much as you want!”
“A-ah, no…. I can’t just eat something so precious for free….”
“Oh, don’t be modest! I’m just happy to meet guests who know good taste after a long time. The apostles or whatever freak out at the sight of this. They don’t know the taste of something so delicious.”
“I’m also an apostle… Can’t I just decline?”
Nom nom.
Joanie blabbered on while I focused on devouring my steak.
Why is she so distracted instead of eating this delicious food?
It’s better when it’s warm, after all.
*
Having finished the meal, I stepped out of the inn where I had stayed the night.
As I entered a deserted alley, Joanie hunched over and gagged.
“Ugh… I think I’m going to throw up.”
She’d been making those noises for a while; was her stomach not feeling well?
Watching her silently, Joanie spoke in a resentful tone.
“Kana… you should’ve told me it was orc meat….”
“?”
I cocked my head.
Could it be that she was feeling sick because she ate orc meat until now?
“Was it not good?”
“It was delicious… No! That’s not the point!”
I kindly corrected Joanie’s words.
“What matters is…”
“The taste isn’t what matters!”
“Then?”
“The problem is eating orc meat…!”
“Why is that? You ate it last time too.”
“…Last time? When?”
At her words, I made a gesture as if I was holding something long and munching on it.
You know, pretending to eat a sandwich.
“That ham we had last time? It was made from orc too.”
Unfortunately, my tongue isn’t skilled enough to identify all the ingredients in something once I’ve tasted it.
Thanks to that, it wasn’t all bad since I could survive by munching on anything.
Still, I realized what’s in that ham I ate last time because orc meat has a distinctly different taste from regular pork.
I couldn’t believe where she got that ham; it was quite a talent.
“That ham was made from orc…?”
Could it be she didn’t even know the real identity of the ham she bought?
In shock, Joanie seemed to struggle to continue her sentence.
Of course, I found it absurd too.
‘Is it even possible not to know what you bought?’
At least it was something safe to eat; what if it was poisoned and I couldn’t eat it?
Though it’s unlikely for that to be sold on the street, they do say there’s a first time for everything.
Is this what you’d call being clueless?
Leaving the air-headed Joanie behind, I hurried along.
With a long way ahead of us, I had no time to indulge in her silliness.
“Let’s go together!”
I emerged from the narrow alleyway onto a main street.
While we had been eating breakfast, quite a bit of time had passed, and there were many people milling about.
“Where are you headed now?”
“To the caravan.”
I answered without halting my steps.
I thought about buying a horse or a wagon, but I should save money wherever I can.
Whether it’s a security escort or a request for company, if there’s a caravan heading to Sedeth or nearby, I’d slip in with them, and if not, I’d determine then whether to buy a horse.
Caravan, caravan…
Joanie, muttering to herself, puffed out her chest.
“Leave it to me!”
“…”
The escort duty seemed more suited for her, the mercenary, than for me…
But trusting her was out of the question.
Even though I didn’t find her reliable before, seeing how scatterbrained she was a moment ago completely obliterated whatever little trust I had left.
As I scrutinized her with doubtful eyes, Joanie confidently urged me to follow her as she marched ahead.
Before long, we arrived at the Liberi Ordo branch.
But wait, isn’t there something I’ve forgotten?
“I’m not a mercenary.”
Not to mention that I didn’t like the mercenary bunch, could someone like me even take a commission?
I wasn’t trying to approach this directly for no reason.
“Uh… probably won’t be an issue, right?”
Naturally, Joanie’s confidence vanished as it seemed that she hadn’t thought that far.
“…I’ll do my best!”
Probably a vague way of saying she would try to make it happen.
Clenching her fist, Joanie left me and entered the Liberi branch.
I remained, folding my arms, and waited near the entrance for her to come back out.
“…”
After a while of waiting, the gazes of passersby began to be drawn closer to me.
“Could it be….”
“…looks like it?”
“Why…?”
“…this is annoying.”
They’ve never seen a hooded person before, huh? Why are they whispering and pointing at me?
Wait, looking closely, most of them whispering are apostles.
It seems my story has reached this far.
Fortunately, the folks who’d been causing a nuisance had become quiet, watching me cautiously, so even the apostles must be intimidated by the taste of authority.
“Kana…!”
Joanie jumped out with a hop.
“I did it!”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah!”
I can’t believe this worked…
Maybe Liberi operates on a trial-and-error basis contrary to my expectations.
“So, what’s the destination?”
“Liberi!”
The free mercenary city, Liberi.
As Joanie said that with a bright smile, I repeated its name.
“Liberi….”
It’s located to the northeast of the Empire, right?
At the eastern edge, even if it’s a bit far from the southern Sedeth Kingdom, it’s not so bad.
The direction isn’t completely off either.
“When do we set off?”
“Um, 10…”
“10 o’clock.”
Though there isn’t much time, it might be okay since I don’t need to pack much more.
However, Joanie wasn’t finished speaking.
“There’s only 9 minutes left.”
“…?”
“We need to run!”
Before her sentence was even finished, Joanie tightly grabbed my hand and took off running down the street.
“What the?! Are you not watching where you’re going?!”
“My shoulder’s gonna break!”
“Ow ow! I’m sorry, I’m in such a hurry…! Yikes! I’m sorry!”
“Sigh….”
There it is. I had this feeling things were going too smoothly.
I wondered if my shoulders would survive her reckless sprint filled with either dodging people or colliding into them.
I sighed as I watched Joanie’s chaotic dash.
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