Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter 7

Rookie Explorers’ Class 

Satou here. They say training is the first obstacle a new employee faces. Just as the newcomer learns, the person teaching them also refreshes their knowledge of old information, so it can be surprisingly helpful for both parties. 

“I’m gonna get yooou?” 

“Waaah!” 

“Ah-ha-ha-ha!” 

“You’re so fast, Miss Tama.” 

Changing back into Satou and returning to the house, I found the younger group playing with some of the orphanage kids in the open field next door. 

“Ah! It’s master, sir!” 

The sharp-eyed Pochi spotted me at once and dashed over with her tail wagging. 

Arisa and Mia were also in the field, gathered on the other side with a group of girls. 

They seemed to be weaving something out of the grass from the field. 

“Aw, you got me. Ooone, twooo, threeee…” 

Tama was deliberately slowing her pace, but she still caught up to one of the fleeing children and tapped him easily. 

The boy who had been caught started counting and looking around, so they were probably playing tag. 

“Welcome baaack?” 

Tama waved at me excitedly, and I waved back. 

Her smile was even more sparkling than usual. I guess she was enjoying playing with other kids her age. 

As I patted Pochi’s head, I felt grateful to the orphanage kids for drawing out new sides of Tama and Pochi. 

Food would probably be the best way to thank them. 

“…niiine, tennnn! Wait up!” 

The kid who’d been counting broke into a run, and the others shrieked and started dashing around again. 

It was always good to see kids feeling happy and energetic. 

“Pochi has to run, too, sir!” 

“Okay, go have fun. Just make sure no one gets hurt.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Pochi nodded and dashed back over to the children. 

It would probably be wise for me to design some kind of strength-suppressing item so that Pochi and Tama didn’t hurt the other kids by accident as they played together. 

I could heal any wounds with potions easily enough, but I’d hate for either of them to get traumatized by hurting someone. 

“Lulu, have you started dinner already?” 

“I’m sorry—I haven’t yet.” 

Lulu’s lovely face clouded, as if she thought she might be in trouble. 

“No need to apologize. I was thinking that I could make hamburg steaks for everyone today.” 

“It has been a while. I’m sure Tama and Pochi will be thrilled.” 

Once she understood why I was asking, Lulu gave a relieved, gentle smile. 

“Shall we use Celivera dullcattle beef today?” 

“I don’t think we have enough. I was thinking hydra and rocket-wolf meat.” 

“Really? But we have enough beef for twenty or thirty people, don’t we?” 

At that, I realized that Lulu had misunderstood. 

“Oh, I don’t mean just for us. I want to make hamburg steaks for the maids and the orphanage kids, too.” 

Lulu looked a little distressed by this. 

She was probably wondering whether to point out that this went against Arisa and the orphanage director’s policy of not giving the kids anything too extravagant for their meals. 

Before clarifying my intentions, I took a moment to enjoy her cute expression. 

“Don’t worry—it’s only for today. I want to reward the maids for helping gather the kids and to celebrate the opening of the orphanage, you know?” 

At that, Lulu’s expression cleared up. 

It was fine to give them simple meals most of the time, but I was sure they’d like to enjoy something a little more exciting for special occasions. 

“…Still, it’ll be a little difficult to make hamburg steaks for more than a hundred people here, I suppose.” 

“Oh yes. Since we normally make simpler meals, we built some stoves in the empty lot to cook outside.” 

I see… I’ve been running around so much lately, I didn’t know they were having trouble here, too. 

After the children’s bedrooms, I would have the construction workers focus on the galley next. 

“Let’s do that today, too, then.” 

“Yes, master!” 

I used the Space Magic spell Telephone to call Liza and Nana, asking them to carry some ingredients and a meat grinder into the empty lot. 

“Meeeat?” 

“So much of Mr. Meat, sir!” 

Tama and Pochi hovered around excitedly. 

For some reason, the other kids watched them with reserved expressions. 

They probably weren’t accustomed to the older girls like Nana and Liza yet. 

“Sergeant Tama. Sergeant Pochi.” 

“Aye!” 

“Yes, sir!” 

Tama and Pochi straightened up with serious expressions. 

“It is time to commence Operation: Hamburg!” I kept an equally straight face and important tone. 

At this, their eyes sparkled ambitiously, like two battle-hardened veterans about to take part in a difficult mission. 

“You sergeants have an important role: Take the meat that Lieutenant Liza is cutting into blocks and use this machine to turn it into minced meat.” 

The pair nodded seriously. 

“It would be no exaggeration to say that the entire hamburg-making operation rests in your hands.” 

It actually would be, but I was trying to go with the flow here. 

“Do your best out there, soldiers.” 

“Aye-aye, sirrr!” 

“You can count on Pochi, sir!” 

Tama and Pochi bustled over to the meat grinder, froze in confusion when they realized there was only one handle, then started turning it together for some reason. 

Guys, why don’t you just take turns? 

“Ooooh! You’re making handribag today!” 

“Mrrr? Handri…?” 

Arisa came over with Mia, announcing a new nickname for the hamburg steaks. 

“Come on. The kids are going to remember the name wrong.” 

Already, some of the nearby children were whispering “handribag” to one another, so I informed them that it was a dish called “hamburg.” 

“So that’s…ham-burg?” 

“Wow, it uses so much meat.” 

“The house kids are so lucky…” 

“I wish we could try it just once, too.” 

The kids hovering around nearby gazed at the meat enviously. 

“Ha! I’ll just buy it myself someday.” 

“Yeah, I’m gonna be an explorer when I grow up.” 

“Me too!” 

“As soon as I’m old enough, I’m gonna work lots and lots.” 

Ooh, how optimistic. 

The kids in Labyrinth City seemed to be a pretty positive bunch. 

“Don’t be silly. You really think we could eat all of that by ourselves? There’ll be enough for everyone—right, master?” 

Arisa looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded. 

“That’s right. We’re celebrating the establishment of Pendragon Orphanage.” 

“Estabbiment?” 

“What’s that? Is it yummy?” 

“I bet it’s delicious.” 

The children seemed to be hungry, so I tried to speed the cooking along. 

“The teeears…” 

“They won’t stoppp…” 

The young maid girls’ eyes were overflowing with tears as they sliced onions for the hamburg steaks. 

I could’ve guarded against this with Enchant: Physical Protection, but onions making you cry is really part of the whole experience. 

“That’s because you’re crushing the fibers. If you cut it smoothly like this, it won’t make you cry.” 

Lulu kindly showed them how to cut the onions properly. 

The maids all murmured in admiration at Lulu’s knife skills, which were on par with any master chef at this point. 

“Master, the kneading operation is going well, I report.” 

Nana was in the process of kneading the hamburg meat, her sleeves rolled up past her elbows. 

This was the most difficult part, so I had Miss Miteruna and the new maids, Rosie and Annie, helping her out. 

As they rolled out balls of meat, I tossed each one between my hands a few times, then lined them up on the cooking plate with some space in between. 

“Is the young master playing a game?” 

“You’re not supposed to play with food, you know.” 

“No, no. That’s a secret magic trick to make the hamburg extra yummy.” 

Arisa corrected the kids’ misunderstanding. 

“Magic?” 

“Oh yes. That’s why they call master the Miracle Chef!” 

Looking doubtful, the kids turned questioningly toward Mia. 

“Mm. Truth.” 

“Wow, so it’s true!” 

“The young master’s amazing.” 

“H-hey! What’s that all about?! You’re cheesing me off a little!” 

Arisa expressed her indignation with some old-fashioned slang. 

“Waaah, Miss Arisa’s angryyy!” 

“Run for it! She’s scary when she’s maaad!” 

The children shrieked delightedly and ran away, so Arisa chased after them, feigning anger. 

I was glad I had her to help me communicate with the kids. 

“Mister, the iron plate’s ready… I mean, the iron plate is ready, young master!” 

The young maid girl who’d been keeping an eye on the iron plate on top of the stove called me over. 

They still had trouble with polite language, but they were getting better by the day. 

“Thank you. This looks good.” 

When I held my hand above the iron plate, my “Cooking” skill determined that it was nearly at the appropriate temperature. 

I waited for the perfect time and started lining up the hamburg steaks on the hot plate. 

Sizzle! The delicious sound immediately drew the attention of the beastfolk girls. 

Before long, the scent of the cooking meat filled the air, making the other kids look over and their stomachs start to growl. 

“Everyone! Let’s help make dinner extra tasty.” 

Arisa called out to the kids. 

Mia started playing some music to back up Arisa’s speech, which they had probably planned in advance. 

“How d’we do that?” 

“We’re going to cheer them on!” 

Arisa made a dramatic gesture. 

“Cheer?” 

“Like, ‘you can do iiit!’” 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Arisa said out loud, shaking her head. Then she pointed at her lips. “With a song!” 

Like a galactic songstress using music to stop a war, Arisa spread her arms out to the children. 

“We’ll put all our encouragement into a song and make the hamburg into extra, extra, extraaa tasty ‘super hamburgs’!” 

“Wooow!” 

“Sounds fun.” 

Arisa seemed to be about as good at coming up with names as I was, but I admired how she was making a whole event out of watching me cook hamburg steaks. 

“What kinda song?” 

“A song from the heart! Just follow my leeead!” 

Arisa started singing a vaguely familiar-sounding anime opening song, though she changed the lyrics into a parody that listed the steps of cooking hamburg steaks. 

As Arisa sang her heart out, the kids started joining in one after another. 

Hearing familiar voices among them, I turned to see Tama and Pochi, who had finished the meat grinding and were flanking Arisa on either side. 

“Master, I’ll help with the cooking.” 

“Thank you, Lulu.” 

The corners of Lulu’s lips were upturned from the children’s singing. 

Not a bad way to prepare dinner, if you ask me. 

“Mmmm!” 

“Yummy!” 

“So gooood?” 

“Mr. Hamburg is still the yummiest and bestest ever, sir.” 

“Yeah, the bestest.” 

“Mmph. The yummiest!” 

I watched as the kids devoted themselves to tasting the hamburg steaks. 

There were too many of them to make any fancy sides, so hopefully they’d forgive me for settling on mushrooms sautéed in butter and potato fries. 

“Obviously my song must have worked!” 

“C’mon, you mean our song.” 

My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up on the kids’ conversation. 

The purehearted kids seemed to have a hard time recognizing when Arisa was joking. 

“This is delicious.” 

“No wonder Pochi and Tama were so proud of it.” 

Having handed out the kids’ meals, the maids were sitting down to their own hamburg steaks. 

“Call them Mistress Pochi and Mistress Tama, remember,” Miss Miteruna scolded as she returned from the house. 

She had taken plates of food to the samurai pair in charge of the house’s security. 

“Your hamburg steaks continue to astound, master.” 

Liza closed her eyes, chewing thoughtfully. 

Her tail was swishing back and forth, a telltale sign that she was enjoying herself. 

“Ahhh… I still can’t measure up to master’s level.” 

“Lulu, your ambition is admirable, I praise.” 

“Mm. Hang in there.” 

Lulu looked pleased, if slightly bitter, as Nana and Mia encouraged her. 

Mia had a half serving of hamburg steak, along with a mountain of sautéed mushrooms. 

Surprisingly, the other half of Mia’s steak wasn’t on the beastfolk girls’ plates but on Arisa’s. 

“Heeey, don’t look at me like that.” 

Sensing my gaze, Arisa protested immediately. She probably didn’t want me to think she was being a glutton. 

“Playing with those kids burns a lot of calories, you know!” 

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine.” 

My girlfriend in college once made me join her on a diet, so I knew how stressful it could be. 

Waving Arisa off, I noticed a blue dot on my radar, indicating that an acquaintance of mine was approaching. 

“Oh-ho, quite a rustic outdoor feast thou hast out here, no?” 

It was Princess Meetia of the Nolork Kingdom, her short drill-shaped pigtails bouncing along. 

Next to her was her stoic bodyguard, the lady knight Ravna. 

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Princess Meetia.” 

“I am glad to see thee in good health, Sir Satou.” 

The princess looked around at our outdoor banquet and nodded seriously. 

She appeared no older than Arisa, so seeing her childish features attempt to form a mature expression was always charming. 

Though I couldn’t say that to her, lest I hurt her feelings, of course. 

“Is there some urgent business afoot?” 

It wasn’t quite sunset yet, but it was still late for a princess to be wandering around on a walk. 

“Hmm, I heard from Lady Reythel that thou were in some trouble, no?” 

Reythel was the name of the viceroy’s wife, who’d given me advice on how to help the children. 

“I came to see if I might be of some help, but…” 

Princess Meetia seemed to have gathered from the peaceful dinner scene that the problem had already been solved. 

“I appreciate that very much.” 

Instead of apologizing for the wasted trip, I simply thanked her for worrying about us. 

“If you don’t mind having the same meal as the children, would you like to join us? You’d be more than welcome.” 

“Hmm, art thou certain? I do not wish to take someone else’s meal, no?” 

What a thoughtful young lady she is. 

“Yes, it’s quite all right. I made plenty of extra in case anyone wanted seconds. Lady Ravna, I do hope you’ll join us as well.” 

“Then I shall take thee up on thy offer.” 

“Thank you very much.” 

I had a table and chairs brought over for them and prepared some nice tableware. 

I couldn’t very well give a princess the same throwaway plates we used for the soup kitchen. 

“Oh-ho, this meat is remarkably soft, no?!” 

Princess Meetia’s eyes widened as she took a bite of the hamburg steak. 

Lady Ravna simply ate in devout silence. Her plate was empty in a matter of moments. 

“Please help yourself to seconds.” 

“M-much appreciated.” 

I offered her another plate, which she gratefully accepted. 

The hamburg steaks were made in child-size portions, so that likely wasn’t enough for a well-built knight like Ravna. 

She demolished her second plate in no time but declined any more when she saw how the children were scrabbling for seconds. 

The mad grab for more food that Tama and Pochi had started soon reached its end in the form of countless stuffed-looking children. 

Maybe I shouldn’t have started making hydra steaks when we ran out of hamburg partway through. 

“That was truly delicious, no? Even I, a royal, hath scarcely eaten any meal quite as remarkable.” 

Judging by Princess Meetia’s tone, her praise was clearly genuine. 

“Wow, even the princess liked it!” 

“Well, yeah. It was so yummy!” 

“Hee-hee, we really got something special.” 

The kids seemed surprised and pleased to learn that the food had been exceptional even to a royal. 

“I wonder if we’ll ever get to eat like that again?” 

“Probably not, right?” 

Noticing the children’s questioning gazes, I responded. “We can’t do it all the time, but we’ll try for a few times a year, at least.” 

The orphanage director nodded, indicating that it wouldn’t be a problem. 

“Yaaay!” 

“Hooray!” 

“I wonder when we’ll get to eat it next?” 

“Not for a while, I’m sure.” 

“But how long’s a while?” 

“Just a while!” 

The children’s conversation was adorable as ever. 

If I gave them a specific date, I’d be afraid of seeing the looks on their faces in the event that I broke my promise, so I avoided any concrete statements. 

I didn’t want to be the kind of father who made empty promises only to break them when the weekend came. 

“Oh right, Lady Ravna.” 

There hadn’t been a good opportunity during dinner, but now I produced a broadsword made with monster parts from my Garage Bag. 

The sword I made from the soldier mantis blade arm was too big for most people. It would be best suited to someone like Lady Ravna. 

I’d changed the name of the maker on this one alone, so it shouldn’t cause any problems in the future. 

“A visiting merchant left this with me…” 

“Oh? A monster broadsword? Would you mind if I gave it a few swings?” 

“Go right ahead.” 

I gladly handed her the sword. 

As far as I could tell from my travels and time in the old capital, Shiga Kingdom nobles and their servants tended to dislike equipment made from monster parts, but Ravna and her employer, Princess Meetia, seemed to have no such reservations. 

“Whoa!” 

“Ooh, that lady’s strong.” 

As the knight swung the gigantic sword around with ease, the kids all watched admiringly. 

In a place like Labyrinth City, it was probably normal to look up to the strong. 

“It may look unrefined, but it’s really quite a wonderful, well-balanced blade.” 

Lowering the sword, the knight gazed at it with the fiery eyes of a maiden in love. 

“In particular, it conducts magic with far more ease than the likes of any bronze sword.” 

Huh? I did adjust it with “Magic Manipulation” so that magic would pass through it more easily, but I don’t think it’s all that impressive, is it? 

One of my handmade Magic Swords would definitely be at least 20 percent more effective. 

“This is unlike any of the broadswords I’ve ever tested in a Labyrinth City armory. Was it made by a famous smith?” 

“It’s the work of an up-and-coming swordsmith named Hephaestus, I’m told.” 

At a nearby table, Arisa did a spit take with her after-dinner tea and was scolded by Lulu. 

She must’ve recognized that I’d taken the name from the Greek god of blacksmiths. 

Of course, it went without saying that this was one of my pseudonyms. 

“Hephaestus, you say? Surely a name that will go down in history.” 

I saw Arisa quavering with suppressed laughter, but I just ignored her and accepted the knight’s praise. 

“I’ll let the merchant know next time he passes through.” 

Lady Ravna held out the broadsword to me, looking reluctant to part with it, but I gently pushed it back. 

“Sir Pendragon?” 

“Please keep it. I was asked to find a true master of combat in Labyrinth City to use that broadsword.” 

“What do you mean? I’m quite certain I don’t have the means to pay for such a fine sword.” 

“No need to pay anything. It’s for publicity, you see. Not to use you as a billboard, but if anyone asks you about the sword, please tell them it was made by Hephaestus. According to him, that would be more than enough payment.” 

This was the excuse I’d come up with in advance to reassure her. 

I’d never seen any kind of billboards in this world, but they seemed to have a word for it, at least. 

“For a sword this splendid? Surely not…” 

“The merchant told me its maker considered it a failure, you know. It’s too large and heavy, he said, so nobody in his hometown was able to use it.” 

The knight could barely pull her eyes away from the sword as she protested. I used my “Fabrication” skill to give her a push of encouragement. 

“Please, won’t you use it for his sake?” 

“Ravna, to refuse any further would be rude to Sir Satou and Sir Hephaestus.” 

“Very well, Princess.” A word from her employer was enough to finally put Ravna over the edge. “Sir Pendragon, thank you. I shall use it with the utmost care.” 

“If you notice anything interesting while using it, please let me know. I’ll pass it on to the merchant who gave it to me.” 

“I most certainly shall.” 

Lady Ravna nodded gallantly, strapping the sword to her back. 

Just as I thought, it suited her perfectly. 

“Whoa, are we out of place or what?” 

A few days after the hamburg feast, my group and I went to the explorers’ guild to take the rookie explorers’ class. As Arisa observed, however, we were incredibly out of place. 

The students around us were all middle school–age kids in secondhand clothes and with homemade equipment. 

There were some beastfolk mixed in among the humans, like tigerfolk and snake-headed folk. 

“E-excuse me! A-are you the teachers?” 

A young girl entered from the guild’s practice grounds and looked at us timidly. 

She was equipped with chain mail, a steel mace, and even a buckler. 

According to my AR, she was the daughter of a hereditary knight serving the feudal lord of a neighboring territory. 

She was looking toward Nana and Liza, but I answered in their place. “No, we’re students just like you.” 

“O-oh, I’m sorry. I’m Gina, daughter of Sir Darrel the—” 

“Hey, mister! What are you doing here?” 

“Good to see you again, mister. Are you a teacher now, too?” 

Miss Gina was interrupted by the Lovely Wings: a pair of explorers we’d rescued from a monster rampage in the labyrinth before. 

Clearly, they were our teachers for the day. 

“Hey, everybody here?” 

A bearlike, bearded man with a wooden sword strolled over. 

“Sir Dozon? Are there extra teachers today?” 

“No, I think it’s no one but you two and me.” 

The three teachers seemed to know one another. 

The explorer Mr. Dozon was a commoner, despite the Lovely Wings’ use of “sir.” 

“Are you here as a student of the rookie explorers’ class, Sir Noble?” 

“Yes, that’s right.” 

“Whaaat? But you’re an expert already, mister!” 

“Sure this isn’t some kind of mistake?” 

The Lovely Wings pair exclaimed in surprise, so I showed them the letter I’d gotten from the guild. 

Other than this initial misunderstanding, the class went pretty smoothly. 

“…So anyway, if ya start by huntin’ them potato and bean monsters, you’ll never go hungry, kids.” 

The rookies listened intently to Dozon’s lecture. 

“For some reason, though, just huntin’ potatoes and beans all the time won’t make ya stronger.” 

He explained that it was all but impossible to level up by defeating those monsters, even for a brand-new, low-level explorer. 

“So form groups of three or more, and if you see any maze rats or maze moths while you’re huntin’ the beans and potatoes, make sure you go after those guys first.” 

The latter weren’t worth much beyond their monster cores, but they were worth hunting for leveling up. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tama and Pochi nodding vigorously. 

You know none of this applies to you at your level, right? 

“What about the entangling canola that show up in those areas?” 

“Ahhh, labyrinth manju stands will sometimes buy those off ya, but usually there’s not much use for ’em. And they’re tougher than the potatoes and beans, so I’d avoid fightin’ ’em if ya can.” 

Dozon responded to the rookie’s question dismissively. 

“Canola? Couldn’t you get oil from it, then?” Arisa asked. 

“Hunh? If ya need oil, all ya gotta do is hunt goblins and bring ’em to a butcher, yeah?” 

Dozon looked at Arisa like she’d said something totally ridiculous. 

Since making plant-based oil required certain processing and solvents, it was probably easier just to get it from oil slimes. 

Still, I’d love to get my hands on vegetable oil, so I decided to check later if I had any recipes. 

“Anyway…” 

Dozon went back to his main point. 

“When ya hunt them rats and moths, ya might see goblins or maze ants, but don’t touch ’em until ya got the proper equipment. Maze ants are particularly tough. Without the right weapons, even your teachers here might have trouble with them.” 

Dozon gestured to the Lovely Wings, who chuckled dryly. 

“Yeah right! We could beat a goblin up no problem!” 

one particularly bold student shouted at Dozon. 

“A stray one, maybe. But there are strong ones that travel in groups near where the beans and potatoes live. If ya ever get into it with those, throw a smoke bomb or a flash bomb and run for it.” 

Bopping the mouthy child on the head, Dozon turned to warn the others. 

“Anyone who doesn’t have any flash bombs, raise your hands.” 

We were the only ones who raised our hands in response to Dozon’s declaration. 

After lecturing us for a while about how an explorer should always be prepared, Dozon gave us a sample smoke bomb and flash bomb. 

He informed us that they were sold at the west guild’s shop, so I decided to buy a bunch before we next went into the labyrinth. 

“Listen up, you lot! For us explorers, our bodies are our tools. If ya get hurt, it’s all over!” 

Tama and Pochi tilted their heads inquisitively at this. 

“What about potiooons?” 

“Ya won’t make any profit if ya use somethin’ so expensive,” Dozon responded. 

“Really, sir?” 

“Tama. Pochi.” 

Liza made a lip-zipping gesture at Tama and Pochi, which the two hurriedly mirrored and shut their mouths. 

“The only folks who can afford to use potions on the regular are noble parties or garnet-badge explorers.” 

Really? I didn’t think they were that expensive… 

I was a little confused, but by then, the subject had already shifted from potions to overnight camping. 

“It might be a little early for you lot to try this, but if you’re gonna stay in overnight, make sure ya bring food for twice as long as you’re plannin’ to stay. And hire bag carriers, too. Water’s real heavy.” 

Right, I guess it’s not like everyone has water stones or Well Bags. 

“Mister, you’ve stayed in the labyrinth before, right? How long?” 

“Yes, about seven days.” 

“Seven days?! With those little girls?! That’s crazy.” 

Mr. Dozon looked shocked. 

We had a base there in the style of a vacation home, so it was fine for us, but I guess normally it’d be rough to sleep on the damp ground night after night. 

“Don’t follow their example, kids. Most people stay only three or four days. Some lookouts hole up in the mantis or beetle areas for near half a month, but they’ve got troops to bring ’em supplies, so that’s different. If ya try to do the same thing, you’ll end up dead.” 

Half a month in the labyrinth without a shower or anything? Just thinking about it made my head itchy. 

I was still shuddering about that when the lecture ended and we moved on to practical lessons. 

Dozon and the Lovely Wings pair split up and taught the rookies some basic moves. 

“Hey, Sir Dozon, can you use ‘Spellblade’?” 

“Yeah, right! If I could do things like that, I wouldn’t be wastin’ my time as an explorer.” 

Dozon scoffed at the curious newbie’s question. 

At that, Pochi and Tama looked at each other. 

Fortunately, the lip-zipping gesture from before seemed to have worked, so they didn’t say anything careless. 

“The only folks who’re still explorers even though they can use ‘Spellblade’ are weirdos like Jelil and Zarigon.” 

“So Zakorin can use ‘Spellblade,’ too? That’s surprising…,” Arisa murmured rudely. 

Judging by the way my companions had acquired it, I imagined that “Spellblade” was mostly a rare skill because weapons that could conduct magic well weren’t widely available. 

If practice weapons for it like wooden Magic Swords became popular, the amount of “Spellblade” users would probably increase. 

“You sure? This is a lotta people, even for a noble.” 

“Yes, it’s fine.” 

Once the lesson was over, I invited the teachers and rookie students out to a bar near the guild. 

All my treat, of course. 

It wasn’t quite like an after-work drinking party, but I’d learned a lot of useful information and explorers’ common knowledge from Mr. Dozon and the others, even the rookies, so I wanted to thank them by treating them to food and drink. 

“Whoa, we’ve never eaten at a place like this before!” 

“Hey, quit starin’ like that. They’ll think we’re a buncha country bumpkins!” 

“Well, we are country bumpkins! What’s the big deal?” 

Many of the rookies seemed anxious, but it wasn’t a particularly high-class bar. 

A single silver coin was enough for all the food and drink you could want. 

“Once we’re full-fledged explorers, d’you think we’ll be able to eat at places like this all the time, too?” 

“Sorry, but even we only come here a few times a year.” 

“Wait, really?” 

“Ah-ha-ha, well, maintenance and repairs on all that armor and equipment really add up.” 

I heard the Lovely Wings chatting with a rookie. 

So even well-established explorers didn’t have a great cash flow. 

“Mr. Dozon, what would you like?” 

“Let’s start with a round of ale and whatever meat ya can bring out fastest.” 

Dozon placed a decidedly manly order with the waitress. 

“Just fruit water for these girls, please. And how about a heaping helping of whatever dishes you recommend?” 

“Let’s order everything on the menu!” 

Since most of my companions were too young, I ordered fruit water for them. 

I could probably let Liza drink, since she was old enough, but I refrained because drinking tended to make her sleepy. 

“A-are you quite sure?” 

“Yes, if that’s all right.” 

The waitress seemed taken aback by Arisa’s bold request, but I handed her a few gold coins and told her to let me know if it wasn’t enough. 

“Well, damn, aren’t you doin’ well? Your girls got some pretty fine armor, and I hear you’re even givin’ out food to the needy, right? Most nobles don’t have enough cash for all that, do they?” 

“Yes, well, I happened to make some rather profitable trade deals on the sugar route,” I answered with an arbitrary excuse. 

In truth, the amount of money I’d made on the sugar route wasn’t even 1 percent of my loot from the Valley of Dragons, but it was a convenient reason that satisfied most people’s curiosity. 

“You can make that much just from trading?” 

“Master simply happens to have some remarkable connections,” Arisa replied to the rookie. “He wouldn’t have been able to profit so much if he hadn’t been friends with the king of Lalagi.” 

“Friends with a king?!” 

“Whoa! You’re amazin’, mister!” 

The newbie explorers looked at me in awe. 

“Fancy meeting thee here, Sir Satou.” 

“Good evening, Princess Meetia.” 

Princess Meetia of the Nolork Kingdom emerged from a passing carriage. 

“C-cute!” 

“Mr. Noble seems to know an awful lot of cute girls.” 

“Maybe she’s from a good family?” 

“I wonder if I could get her to marry me when I’m a garnet-badge explorer?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous! Her Highness is a princess from another kingdom.” 

A whispered conversation reached my ears from the direction of Arisa and a few of the rookies. 

Hmm? 

I saw the green-clad noble entering the west guild. Was he there to interrogate the plunderers? 

As I watched his movements on my radar, I saw a few yellow dots appear, which indicated a monster that wasn’t hostile. 

Looking in that direction, I saw a woman accompanied by two panther-like monsters. 

“Oh, don’t worry. That’s just a tamer and her pet monsters.” 

“I’ve never seen an explorer with pet monsters before.” 

“Ya haven’t? A lot of explorers use pet monsters or golems, y’know. Necromancers and summoners, on the other hand, even veterans like me hardly ever see those,” Dozon explained after noticing my gaze. 

“See? There’s Lun, a puppet user. Joggo and the golem army will probably be back from the labyrinth soon, too, so ya might get to see that.” 

Lun’s puppet looked like a marionette made out of bricks. 

It moved stiffly, but according to my AR, it was actually pretty powerful. 

“Here, I brought some ale, boiled beans, and meat skewers. The stew will be out soon. You can snack on the meat until then.” 

“Great, thanks.” 

We quenched our thirst with the ale and fruit water the waitress brought, and the rookies dug into the meat skewers. 

The beastfolk girls were quick to join in on the feeding frenzy. 

“Mmmm!” 

“S’been ages since I had meat.” 

“In our village, we only ate meat during harvest festivals an’ such.” 

The young explorers ate with relish as they chatted excitedly about the food. 

Soon the meat skewers were gone from the table. As we munched on some dried snacks and drank the ale, I saw several explorers greet Mr. Dozon on their way by. 

He seemed to be a pretty friendly, helpful sort, so he knew a lot of people. 

“Sumina! Hey, if it ain’t Sumina!” 

This time, it was Dozon who called out to a passing explorer. 

It was the Elder Sister who I’d rescued from the labyrinth. 

“Sir Dozon! Good to see you again.” 

“S’been so long, I thought ya might be dead!” 

Dozon and Sumina exchanged warm greetings. 

“Looks like ya got some pretty nice equipment there, though. What, ya workin’ for some noble now?” 

“Yeah, right! Like they’d ever hire me.” Sumina laughed. “But I’m working for someone even better than that.” 

“Yeah? Who?” 

“It’s a secret. Maybe I’ll tell you once he gets famous, though. I got this armor and sword from him, too.” 

Sumina patted the silver sword in its scabbard and grinned mischievously. 

Then she edged it out of the sheath just enough that Dozon could catch a glimpse of what was inside. 

“I’ll be damned! Is that—?” 

“Yep, it’s the real thing—like in the legends!” 

Sumina winked charmingly at the startled Mr. Dozon. 

“Sumina…make sure you do right by a Magic Sword like that, yeah?” 

“Of course!” 

She nodded cheerfully, explaining that she’d just been to a knowledgeable friend to learn how to properly care for the silver sword. 

“Sister Sumina!” 

“Oops, gotta go. Let’s grab a drink sometime soon, Sir Dozon.” 

With that, she ran off toward the friend who had called her name. 

“Sure is rowdy in here. These your rookies, Sir Dozon?” 

When Sumina left, a different explorer came in and walked over to Dozon. 

“Hey, Jejeh. Yeah, they’re some kids from my rookie explorers’ class.” 

The explorer talking to Dozon looked somehow familiar. 

“Oh really? …Wait, what?! It’s you!” 

The man seemed to recognize me, too. 

“He’s from that bloodied party we helped the first time we went into the Celivera labyrinth,” Liza reminded me. 

Thank goodness she’s so good at remembering faces. 

“You really saved us that time! Let me pay you back with some drinks tonight.” 

“Since when can the eternally broke Red Ice party pay for anything?” 

“This man saved my comrade’s life, you know.” 

“Would you like to join us? You can share your exploring expertise with the newbies.” 

Mr. Jejeh said he would foot the bill, but I couldn’t have him spending several gold coins just for a few watered-down potions. 

Instead, I asked him to share some funny incidents and horror stories with us and the rookie explorers. 

After Jejeh, other explorers who were friends of Mr. Dozon continued to trickle in. 

“My, it’s lively in here.” 

“Have you finished your work for today, Guildmaster?” 

“Who cares? Thanks to that white-haired hero-follower freak, I’ve had so much work that I haven’t been able to get good and drunk lately.” 

“I’ve been telling you to stop getting so drunk all the time anyway.” 

“Oh, quiet, Sebelkeya.” 

It was the guildmaster and Miss Sebelkeya. 

The former tried to order an ale, but the latter stopped her and asked for water and a few dishes for dinner instead. 

The rookie explorers didn’t seem to know their faces, but some of the veterans like Jejeh and the Lovely Wings sat up at the arrival of two important people from the guild. 

“Oh-ho-ho? Sir Pendragon’s drinking with the guildmaster all buddy-buddy-like!” 

Hearing a joking voice from the door, I turned to see the labyrinth army captain and the foxfolk officer who often accompanied him, along with an incognito General Erthal. 

“Captain, do you think we’ve been betrayed?” 

“Well, I’m sure a drink will cure whatever ales us.” 

“Oh, Captain, your awful jokes are killing me…” 

In response to the foxfolk officer’s complaint, the captain bopped him on the head. 

Clearly, these two were as close as ever. 

“Would you like to join us as well? The food here is really quite good.” 

“If a gourmet like you recommends it, Sir Pendragon, I’m sure we can’t go wrong.” 

General Erthal sat down in an open chair behind me. 

Sensing his aura of extreme importance, the other explorers at the table promptly dispersed to other seats. 

“We’ve got the whole place reserved today, so order whatever you’d like.” 

“Does that mean you’re footing the bill, Sir Knight?” 

“Yes, it does.” 

I nodded at the excited-looking foxfolk man. 

“Whoo-hoo!” he roared, prompting another punch from his superior officer. As they played out their usual comedy routine, I asked the waitress to bring some food and alcohol to General Erthal’s table. 

“Right away, sir. Here’s the food you ordered before.” 

Our table was filled with several plates of meat and a big pot of stew. 

There were several small bowls and ladles next to the pot for people to serve themselves. 

“A foreign princess, the guildmaster, and the army general?” 

“Who in the world is this guy?” 

“Garnet-badge explorers are really something else.” 

“You morons! No ordinary garnet-badge explorer has all those impressive connections.” 

As Liza and Lulu politely handed out the food, I heard the explorers at the other tables gossiping. 

I’d met Princess Meetia through sheer happenstance, but the latter two were just my drinking buddies… 

“Here you are, master.” 

“Thanks.” 

I accepted the mead Lulu handed me. 

“To Sir Pendragon and the future of the rookie explorers!” 

“““Cheers!””” 

General Erthal raised yet another toast, and we all clinked glasses for the umpteenth time that evening. 

As the adults continued drinking, the younger kids tucked food away with endless appetites. 

“It’s delicious.” 

“Munchy-crunchyyy?” 

“This meat is nice and chewy, sir.” 

The beastfolk girls seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, probably because of all the different meat dishes at this place. 

I decided we should come back to eat here once in a while. 

“Master, this seafood dish is delicious, too.” 

“Mushroom stew.” 

“Thanks, you two.” 

Arisa and Mia offered me their plates, so I tried a few bites. 

The seafood melted in my mouth, flooding it with flavor. 

I was a little hesitant about the toadstool-looking mushrooms floating around in the stew, but they were delectable as well. The spice was addictive, a vastly different flavor from any chili pepper. 

Both of them went better with wine or mead than ale. 

I couldn’t think of anything more fun than enjoying tasty food and tasty drinks while chatting with friends old and new. 

Looking up at the full moon in the sky, I raised my glass of mead. 

Peace really was the best way to live, in this world or any other. 

> Title Acquired: Coordinator 

> Title Acquired: Banquet Boss