Chapter 29

We headed to the coastal city where Sea Golems were said to appear in order to complete our request.

Unlike when we weren’t adventurers, as adventurers, we could actually get paid and ride a carriage under the pretext of escorting merchants on their trade routes. Thanks to that, we quickly arrived at the coastal city.

Dagdak.

Dagdak.

We were almost at the seaside city, but Mari didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

“Uuuu… I don’t wanna eat Sea Golem…”

“Miss Marisia… You must steel your resolve.”

Despite this being the long journey she had dreamed of, Mari was in a state of mood swings, sometimes excited and then suddenly gloomy.

Karina, sitting next to the gloomy Mari, looked like a tragic heroine betrayed by her trusted ally.

No. It’s not like I’m feeding them something inedible.

In the end, if I cook it, they’ll eat it just fine.

“What’s so sad about it?”

“Sniff… This isn’t the journey I dreamed of… I’ve never even eaten bugs in the Elf Village.”

“That’s why I’m saying crustaceans and bugs are different.”

“But you’ve never eaten crustaceans either, Mr. Kurt!”

“No! That’s…!”

I tried to retort but quickly shut my mouth when I realized that I, too, had never eaten them since reincarnating.

Wait, I’ve never even been to the sea before.

“Ah! You couldn’t say anything! You’ve really never eaten them before! Kyaaaa!”

“Is, is that true!? You’ve really never eaten crustaceans before!? Ah, no? Please say no!”

“It’s true I’ve never eaten them before… but, I’m sure they’re delicious.”

“How can you be so sure something you’ve never eaten is delicious!? I can’t believe it!”

“…I thought you’d be different, Mr. Kurt. Turns out you’re just a Lizardman too…”

At my words, Mari went into full panic mode, and Karina looked at me with dead eyes, like a tragic heroine betrayed by someone she trusted.

Sigh. What am I going to do with these two?

As I was pondering how to calm them down, an unexpected savior appeared.

“Um, adventurer sir. The city is coming into view.”

The merchant, who had been watching our chaotic party with doubtful eyes, spoke up.

At first, he had looked at our party, which was a confusing mix of silver, bronze, and iron ranks, with suspicion. But that suspicion vanished the moment I cooked dinner that night.

Plus, when I subtly kept monsters at bay during my watch, though the merchant didn’t realize it, he became very friendly, saying it had been a long time since he had such a peaceful journey.

“Huh? The city? Oh! Can we see the sea!?”

“Yes, of course. Would you like to step outside and take a look?”

“Yes! I want to see it! I want to look!”

At those words, Mari, as if she hadn’t been throwing a tantrum earlier, cheerfully got off the carriage.

“Hoo… If you get hurt acting so excited, what will you do? Miss Marisia might get hurt, so I’ll go check it out.”

Karina, saying this, also couldn’t contain her excitement at the thought of seeing the sea for the first time and quietly got off the carriage.

At this rate, it’d be awkward for me to stay alone in the carriage, so I might as well get off and walk a bit.

As I got off the carriage, I could see the city in the distance, and beyond it, the endless expanse of blue water.

Indeed, even for me, who had seen the sea several times in my past life, the vastness of that endless blue was overwhelming for a moment.

If even I felt that way, how must the other two feel?

“The sea!”

“…!”

Mari, as if she were a character from a mass-produced anime full of cute girls, spread her arms and cheered.

But she always has the same reaction.

Karina was frozen in place, unable to say anything.

“Mr. Kurt! Look at that! The sea! That’s all water!”

“I know.”

“Aren’t you amazed, Mr. Kurt? There’s so much water in the world!”

Mari, unable to contain her excitement, alternated between looking at me and the sea, like a puppy seeing snow for the first time.

She probably wanted to run straight into the sea, but since we were on an adventurer’s mission, it was clear she was holding back.

Mari stared at the sea with sparkling eyes for a while.

The sight of Mari quietly gazing at the sea, her mouth shut, was so beautiful that even I, who usually treated her like a clueless child, couldn’t help but admire her.

She really is a beauty.

Even after living as a Lizardman for so long, my sense of beauty had blended with theirs, but I couldn’t deny her looks.

What should I call that side of her…?

I could almost understand why other humans were especially kind to her.

“…Huh! Mr. Kurt! I think I just realized something amazing!”

“…What is it?”

“Maybe this world is surrounded by a giant sea, and if you go even further beyond that sea, there’s an endless abyss!”

“Ohh… That makes sense.”

“This is unbelievable! I’ve just realized the truth about this world!”

Ah.

I get it.

If she just keeps her mouth shut, I can call her a beauty.

And why is Karina admiring her from the side?

Ignoring Mari and Karina’s usual nonsense, I followed the merchant’s carriage toward the seaside city.

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“Here’s your payment. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Alright. You’ve worked hard.”

After receiving the payment from the merchant, I leisurely looked around.

The scent carried by the wind, mixed with a slight saltiness and fishiness, made it clear this was a coastal city.

“So this is the seaside city of Leila.”

“Mr. Kurt! Let’s go see the sea first!”

“Hmm. To scout the enemy territory and learn about the monsters we’ll be hunting. A fine mindset for an adventurer.”

“No. You just want to go play in the sea. It’s fine to go straight to the sea, but we need to find lodging first.”

“….”

“….”

“What? Why are you looking at the Lizardman like that?”

“Mr., Mr. Kurt just said something normal…!”

“He didn’t say food comes first or that we should visit the market first, but seriously suggested finding lodging first…!”

“What do you guys even think of me?”

Anyone would think I’m a madman obsessed with delicious food.

“Well, the merchant did recommend an inn with good food. Let’s go eat first.”

At my words, the two looked at me with a “I knew it” expression.

Whatever.

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The inn the merchant recommended was confident enough to introduce it, and though it wasn’t particularly well-located or fancy, it was quite crowded.

“Sigh… I wanted to go to the sea…”

“We haven’t even had lunch yet. It’s not too late to go after eating.”

“Actually, it’s quite surprising. I thought Mr. Kurt only ate food he cooked himself.”

“Don’t talk like I’m someone who can’t eat food made by others.”

It’s not like I have some belief that I can’t eat anything but my own cooking.

A chef is someone who must constantly eat delicious food to improve their cooking.

In fact, you could say it’s a job where you have to search for the most delicious food in the world.

It’s just that the culinary level of this world is only around medieval times compared to my past life, so it’s not very helpful or tasty, which is why I cook for myself.

If I could eat delicious food made by others without cooking myself, I’d welcome it.

“So, what’s good here?”

“Soup.”

“Soup?”

Soup, along with stew, is a representative Western broth dish.

Actually, the line between soup and stew is a bit blurry. Generally, if there’s a lot of broth, it’s soup, and if the ingredients are the main focus with less broth, it’s stew.

Alternatively, if the ingredients are chopped very small or dissolve into the broth, it’s soup, and if the ingredients are the main focus, it’s stew. But even natives sometimes get confused.

Compared to Korea in my past life, soup is like guk or tang, while stew is closer to jjigae or jjim.

Especially famous at this inn is Clam Chowder.

Clam refers to shellfish, and chowder means a thick soup, so it’s literally a thick clam soup.

But this isn’t just any Clam Chowder.

It’s made not with ordinary clams or mussels, but with Bomb Clams, monsters that hide in their shells and explode secretions to drive away predators.

Truly a specialty dish you can only find in a seaside city.

At my explanation, Mari went “Hoh…” and immediately asked me a question.

“What’s a clam?”

Ah. Starting from there?

I explained to Mari what clams were, and by the time I finished, three servings of Bomb Clam Chowder had arrived.

Thinking about it, this might be the first time I’ve looked forward to eating food I didn’t cook myself.

In my past life, I often sought out good restaurants, but after reincarnating, there were hardly any worth visiting, so I didn’t bother.

It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed eating out, so I hope it’s good.

With that thought, I lifted my spoon.

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