I Refuse to Try to Max Out Any Stat So I’ll Just Start Finding My Own Way Around! A Healer That Doesn’t Specialize in Anything, Separates From His Friends, and Goes on His Own Journey - CH 191

“Oh, and I forgot to mention something.” (Cyrus)

Cyrus-san quickly gathered everyone’s faces in the center of the table with a flick of his finger and began to speak in a whisper.

“Don’t tell anyone about it until we’ve met with the other party.” (Cyrus)

“That’s fine, but can I ask why?”

I personally welcome it, because I don’t want to be too conspicuous in this kind of thing right now, but I thought adventurers were supposed to make a name for themselves by spreading the word about these kinds of achievements.

…But this is like a shady drug transaction, so we should stop!

“No, I don’t think there is anything that would happen until I handed it over to the other party. It would be safe in the Clan House, but let’s not take any chance. Got it?” (Cyrus)

Cyrus-san glanced at the surroundings then lowered his voice and continued.

“It seems that the Duke of Grespo wants that item for that thing.” (Cyrus)

“Ah…” (Seam)

“Is that so.” (Lucille)

Seam-san and Lucille seem to understand with that sentence. But I’m in the dark.

Just as I was about to ask them about it, a wooden plate with meat was brought to the table at the right moment.

“Knock Deer’s thigh meat.” (Waitress)

“I’ve been waiting for this! This is it!” (Cyrus)

“Oh! It looks delicious! (Seam)

Seam-san was the first to bite into the meat.

It was a little hard to see in the flickering light of the lamp, but it was a steak the size of a human face, with a green leaf on the side. The smell of grilled fat and the sound of sizzling were still faintly audible.

Yeah, it looks irresistible! I can’t wait to eat it!

I try to carve the meat with the knife and fork-like cutlery, which was unusually prepared for a restaurant in this world. However, either the knife is not very sharp or the meat is too tough, the blade does not go in well.

With some difficulty, I worked the knife back and forth and brought the cut meat to my mouth with the fork.

“…It’s delicious.”

The texture was similar to that of beef, and the flavor was strong. But it has a slightly peculiar smell. And it was not as good as the Lesser Dragon steak I had eaten at a luxury hotel before.

I guess it is true that the higher the rank of the monster, the better the meat. I believe the Knock Deer was C-rank and the Lesser Dragon was B-rank.

Washing the meat juices with ale.

Hmmm, sure the ale is acceptable. But I feel that wine would be more suitable.

I glanced at Lucille and saw that she was eating the meat with the garnished leaves on top of the cut meat.

“Is that how you eat it?”

“Knock Deer meat has a bit of an odor, so it’s better to eat it with Lemo leaves.” (Lucille)

I looked at Cyrus-san and Seam-san and saw that they were also eating it together with the leaves on top.

I see, this isn’t some garnish…

I should try it right away.

As I was told, I ate the Lemo leaves with Knock Deer meat and ate it.

“……I see.”

The moment I put it in my mouth, I could smell the citrus aroma in my nose. And the flavor of the meat. The tangy flavor bursts out every time you chew it.

Sure enough, the smell of the meat is neutralized and it tastes great!

After swallowing the meat, I wash it down with ale.

I see. Surely this herbal freshness goes well with the ale!　I was thinking that grape wine might be a better match, but with this, it’s ale. I guess it’s best to do things the way the locals eat them.

After sharing the meat with Shion, who was banging his paws out from inside the hood, and enjoying the meat and ale for a while, I asked him about something that had been bothering me earlier.

“So, the thing about Duke Grespo earlier–“

“Hold!” (Cyrus)

Cyrus-san hurriedly stopped me and continued in a whisper, “You’re too loud.”

“I’m sorry, so what’s wrong with Duke Grespo… wanting that thing?”

I lowered my voice and asked.

“Ah… yeah. You don’t know.” (Cyrus)

When Cyrus-san said that he put his hand on his chin, thought for a while, and then used choice words to create a reply.

“The Dukes of Schumer are not on good terms with the Dukes of Grespo. No, I heard that the three dukes of this country have not gotten along with each other for a long time.” (Cyrus)

I think I had seen something about that in a history book in the library.

Right, during the Kingdom of Canadaira before the establishment of the Republic of Canadaira, the king died without leaving an heir. So, the Duke of Grespo and the Duke of Almeil fought over the right to succeed to the throne, and the sister of the king who married the Duke of Schumer was there. It became a three-way battle by standing up with the Duke of Schumer to stop the conflict. It was a story like that. Well, I don’t know if that historical fact is true.

“This town is under the Duke of Schumer. And our clan has a deep connection with the Duke of Schumer. Do you think we could sell that stuff to the Duke of Grespo without the Duke of Schumer knowing?” (Cyrus)

“……I see.”

Oh, I’m starting to get the picture. It’s a super messy power struggle.

Surely, if we sell it to the Duke of Grespo, we might be glared at by the Duke of Schumer, and furthermore, we will be disliked by the Clan.

“If the Duke of Grespo finds out about the shipment, it will be the end of us. I can’t refuse when they approach us. If I refuse, we’ll be glared at by the Duke of Grespo. I don’t know how much protection he would give us if someone told Duke Schumer about it.” (Cyrus)

“Oh……”

Indeed. If that happens, it’s a dead end. Either way, there will still be problems.

If you are a higher-ranking adventurer, you may be able to negotiate with the nobility on equal terms, but for the majority of adventurers, there are no cards they can use to negotiate, and it’s a very tough situation. Even if there were cards to play, we dreaded what would happen after the cards were dealt. And I don’t think the Adventurers Guild would protect us, and what about the clan ……?　I don’t know about this, but judging from the reaction of the three of them, it might be a little delicate.

“Besides. I’ve heard rumors that the Duke of Grespo has merchants bringing in more supplies than in previous years.” (Cyrus)

So, they will need supplies, which means a conflict, right? Well, it could be anything but that, but what is suspicious is suspicious. And even if it is a dispute, it could be with the other duke.

Being involved with the Duke of Grespo at the present can lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

It’s difficult. …I guess it’s not a simple matter of getting stronger, raising your adventurer rank, collecting good materials and items, and selling them.

Even selling items, the better the item is, the more you need to think about how to sell it and who to sell it to. This is something I learned in Elem before, but there is a deeper… problem than that. I sold a valuable item properly and said, “Oh, did I do something?” I realize it is necessary to have the appropriate authority to deal with it. It will be a long time before I have that kind of power, so for now, I guess I just have to gather information about the area and get around.

This seems like it would be really hard to gather that kind of information for each area while traveling. I’m in a clan right now, so I could gather information from there, but otherwise, I would have to gather this kind of information by myself, which I think would be very difficult.

I heard from an adventurer who I met for the first time in a town I didn’t know. I don’t want to say too much with the adventurer I meet for the first time, and I have to do it quite smoothly if I need to.

I think Tanupon is good at this kind of thing. …I’m sure he would be able to use his communication skills to find out even if it’s their first meeting. It might be a little difficult for me.

And so the conversation and the drinks went on.

“It’s true that I saw it!” (Seam)

“Yes, yes, of course.”

“I’m telling the truth! The Fairy!” (Seam)

I realized that it had become a troublesome conversation.

I’m sure I didn’t fool her.

“Hey, didn’t you see it too Rook?” (Seam)

“No, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re unbelievable!” (Seam)

“Fairies are creatures that appear in folklore. There have been reports of their appearance in some areas in the past, but the authenticity of these reports is not known. According to the legend of a Hero.” (Lucille)

“She’s troublesome! When she gets drunk, she keeps talking about infinitely absurd things!” (Cyrus)

And so the night of the party closed.