My Room Has Become a Dungeon's Rest Area (LN) - Book 2: Chapter 5: (4)

I see. That could lead to trouble. Well, why don’t I try it on that guy with the cross-shaped scar?

[Name] Dan

[Race] Human

[Age] 38

[Occupation] Swordfighter

[Level] 12/20

[Health] 45/45

「Huh, level 12?」

What a let-down. That’s only two levels higher than me.

「Really? That’s not so bad.」

Deet, drinking some water, reacted to what I’d said about him being level 12.

「Huh? Level 12? But I’m already level 10!」

「If he’s made it past level 10 as an adventurer without dying, he’s probably the backbone of the party. He must have been adventuring for at least three years.」

「Oh, really?」

「Yeah. Frankly, it’s unheard of for an adventurer whose level is in single digits to kill a giant centipede.」

「I-is that so?」

「But to do that while eating potato chips and drinking cola……」

Deet lost her temper, even though she’d done the same thing herself. Better change the subject.

「B-by the way, Deet, you said that they weren’t very strong. How did you know?」

「I can sorta tell just by looking at them.」

Hmm. We probably look like battle-worn adventurers, but we’re not.

It must be a skill Deet’s picked up by adventuring.

「In any case, shall we eat?」

「Are you going to cook for us even while we’re adventuring, Thor?」

「Well, I’m leaving all the fighting up to you, so it’s only fair. I put plenty of things in my rucksack than I can cook right away.」

「Oh, really? I’m looking forward to it!」

It was ideal that we were at a watering place. We could use as much drinking water as we wanted.

Straight away, I boiled some water in a pot using the portable solid-fuel stove I’d brought.

Hehehe. What shall I pick?

Since I’d started living with Ria and Deet, I’d been cooking for myself properly, so I thought I’d try some junk food that I hadn’t had in a while.

「Instant Miso Ichiban ramen noodles! Today those two are going to be eating some.」

There were five portions in the packet, which had only cost me 300 yen. I put the noodles and powdered soup in the pot and added freeze-dried vegetables.

Ria came to watch me. Incidentally, she always watched my cooking with intense interest. Shizuku could learn how to cook something just from watching me do it once. Deet, meanwhile, was an expert in eating.

「That smells amaaaazing! What are you making?」

Ria was right; we’d been made to walk for so long that we were absolutely starving, and the smell was irresistible.

「It’s called Miso Ichiban.」

「Oh, that’s miso soup, isn’t it?」

Ria and Deet had both developed a taste for miso soup.

「Well, I’d say it was ramen rather than miso soup.」

「Ramen?」

「You’ll be able to enjoy it after it’s cooked…… Well, it’s already done.」

「That’s quick! It’s cooked already?」

「That’s one of the great things about it. Let’s share it out, shall we?」

I had cooked all five portions of the ramen in the pot at the same time. I divided it out into Styrofoam bowls and handed out plastic forks. Both the bowls and the plates were light, which made them convenient for carrying about.

I decided to put Shizuku on my knee and feed her that way.

It was dark, so I thought it would probably be all right, but I still tried to shield her with my body so that the other adventuring party wouldn’t see her.

「Let’s eat!」

Ria and Deet both said it with me, but they watched me to see how I’d eat the ramen.

In a slightly exaggerated way, I wound the noodles around the plastic fork, put it in my mouth and slurped.

Slrrrrrrrrrp!

「Mmm, tasty! Just what I’d expect from Japanese instant ramen.」

Ria and Deet watched me, flabbergasted. But eventually, they copied me and began to slurp up their ramen.

「Mmm! What a complex flavour. I’ve never tasted anything like this before.」

「Yeah, it’s so tasty!」

That’s because it’s full of chemical seasoning…

Shizuku, sitting on my knee, vibrated happily when I gave her some of the Miso Ichiban.

Ria slurped her noodles a little hesitantly, but Deet slurped away without restraint. Looks like this was a great success.

「I can’t believe you can cook this so quickly and yet it has such complex, delicious flavours…」

「Right? And it’s full of vegetables, too.」

The two of them were clearly enjoying their food, but I might have made a bit too much.

It’s because I put all five portions in the pot. Shizuku seems to be able to eat any amount if she puts her mind to it, but usually she only eats about half as much as the rest of us.

C

There was a bit left over.

Come to think of it, that other group of adventurers also seemed to be eating.

Interested to see how they were getting on, I glanced behind me.

…… They’re watching us!

They’re staring at us!

Well, that makes sense. The sound of slurping Miso Ichiban is pretty loud, and the smell is strong, too!

「Hey, what did you say adventurers from this world ate when they’re adventuring?」

I had the feeling I’d asked this before, but I asked it again anyway.

With a fed-up expression, Deet said, 「At the best of times, dried fruit and jerky. Sometimes dried, salted fish that they’ve prepared themselves.」

「I see. And at the worst of times?」

「Maybe dried meat and bread rehydrated in hot water? And after that, dried bread soaked in cold water. Worst of all is dried bread on its own. Although there are also times when there’s nothing to eat at all.」

That’s rough. The smell of Miso Ichiban and the sound of our slurping must be unbearable.

「Are there four adventurers in that group over there?」

「Huh?」

I took four plastic cups out of my rucksack and put the rest of the Miso Ichiban that was left in the pot into them.

There was exactly the right amount to fill the four cups to the brim.

Deet gave me a wondering look.

「What are you doing?」

「I was thinking we could share this with the adventurers over there.」

「Huh? I wouldn’t do that.」

「There’s plenty left over, after all.」

Ria’s face brightened suddenly.

「Good idea! I’ll help.」

「Oh, that would be great.」

Carrying four cups of hot ramen at once would have been tricky.

Besides, if Ria came with me, then I wouldn’t have to worry even if the worst happened and we ended up fighting.

「I really think you’d better not.」

「Well, then you can wait here, Deet. Look after Shizuku, okay?」

Shizuku moved into Deet’s shadow.

Smiling as broadly as I could, I approached the other adventurers.

Their food situation looked to be only one step away from ‘the worst of times’. They were trying to satisfy their empty stomachs with hard bread soaked in water.

「U-um, h-hello.」

Dan, the guy with the cross-shaped scar, and the rest of his band looked at us with evident suspicion.

「Hmm.」

They gave us a kind of response.

「Hi, everyone. We made too much soup, so if you’d like some, you’re welcome to it.」

「Huh?」

Dan let out a shocked noise, and then asked, 「How much?」

「Oh, no, we’re not asking any money for it.」

I handed the cups of Miso Ichiban to Dan and the two guys who looked like bandits. Ria handed cups to one guy who looked like a sorcerer and another who seemed to be a swordfighter.

But they all just looked suspiciously at the cups and didn’t eat anything.

「What’s wrong? You look exhausted.」

「Th-there must be poison in this, or something.」

「Whaaaaaaaat?」

I was beginning to understand what Deet had meant just now.

Looking at Ria properly, I could see that there was a gloomy edge to her smile. She must have predicted that something like this would happen.

「There’s no poison in it.」

「Wh-why are you speaking in monster language? And I’ve never seen anyone who looks like you, or has those kinds of artifacts. I haven’t even seen food like this before.」

「Oh!」

I’d forgotten that. Japanese is ‘monster language’. That’s why Ria mistook me for a goblin.

「W-well, that’s…… But isn’t there a rule in the Principles of the Adventurer’s Guild that says adventuring parties aren’t allowed to fight each other?」

「There is. But the guild reception lady doesn’t have eyes down here, on the fourth level. And, as the saying goes, dead men tell no tales.」

So people in the other world have that saying, too?

Everything he was saying was fair. How about attacking from a different angle?

「Ria’s famous in the Adventurer’s Guild as a busybody, isn’t she? It’s okay. The soup tastes good.」

One of the guys who looked like a bandit said, 「Aria helped me out a little with some of the formalities of the Adventurer’s Guild.」

Oh, really? In that case… I looked at Ria.

She was looking surprised. She must’ve forgotten. According to rumours, she stuck her nose in the business of every newcomer.

「But I heard that Aria had died……」

I’d forgotten that, as far as the Adventurer’s Guild is concerned, Aria is dead.

「I’m alive, as you can see.」

Ria did some bending and stretching exercises to play up the point that she was, mysteriously, alive.