Chapter 211

I was currently walking along the forest path on the outskirts of Astram with Mari, Karina, and Serena.

The reason was the Smoked Sous-vide Brisket I had made a while ago.

Suddenly coming up with the idea to combine smoking and sous-vide cooking, I immediately started working on the dish without hesitation.

After that, it was truly a lonely battle.

Renting a rarely used hut on the outskirts of Astram, I spent my days making wood vinegar and smoked salt.

While making wood vinegar itself wasn’t difficult, ensuring it was suitable for consumption and bringing out the flavor was a different story. I practically lived in that hut for days, completely absorbed in the smoking process.

I only visited the Adventurer Guild to buy food and sleep, sometimes even spending the night in the hut, fully immersed in smoking……

As a result, I managed to create a Smoked Sous-vide Brisket so satisfying that it was hard to believe it was made with this world’s technology.

However, during that time, I barely showed my face at the Adventurer Guild, let alone spent time with the three of them. Even when I returned to the guild, I only slept and then went back to the hut. It seemed they were quite dissatisfied with this.

Was it the smell of smoke that was the problem?

By the time I finished the Smoked Sous-vide Brisket and finally paid attention to their state, their dissatisfaction had already reached its limit.

They complained about how the guild reeked of smoke whenever I returned to sleep, how I disappeared without a trace as a party member, and how I ignored them while spending time in the hut.

They were practically glaring at me, interrogating me.

Still, it was fortunate that the Smoked Sous-vide Brisket seemed to have some effect, as they calmed down a bit after eating it……

“See? This level of cooking justifies staying holed up in the hut, right? In fact, maybe I should go back and do it again?”

For some reason, as soon as I said that, the three of them, who had just started to calm down, immediately got angry again.

So, I had to work hard to soothe their explosive anger, and the compromise I offered was to diligently take on quests together to make up for the time I had neglected them while being obsessed with the brisket.

And today, on the first day of that, we were out on the outskirts of Astram to take on a quest.

“Ugh… I still think I smell smoke on Kurt.”

“Hahaha. Smoke? That’s impossible. It was cooked sous-vide.”

What smoke?

Even with my transcendent senses, I couldn’t detect such a smell.

It must be their imagination.

I laughed it off lightly at Mari’s comment, but surprisingly, Karina and Serena responded sharply.

“What does cooking it sous-vide matter? In the end, the wood vinegar and smoked salt were made the ordinary way!”

“Right! You holed up in a hut on the outskirts of Astram for days to make wood vinegar and smoked salt, ignoring quests!”

Huh?

That’s strange.

Normally, even if I said something weird, the two of them would have defended me.

Why do they seem a bit cold?

“Ahem. Well, as long as you enjoyed the meal, that’s what matters.”

I awkwardly cleared my throat at their nagging and avoided their gazes.

“Kurt’s cooking was definitely delicious! But if it means cutting down on the time spent with the party, it’s better to make something else!”

“Exactly! We’ll eat anything Kurt makes anyway!”

But the two of them countered my words with genuinely hurt expressions, one looking sad and the other pouting.

“You guys……”

Right. What have I been doing all this time……

After all, food is meant to make people happy and joyful……

But by abandoning my party members to focus on cooking, I’ve completely missed the point.

Realizing my mistake, I made a sheepish expression.

“You’re right. I was wrong. I neglected you two.”

“Hmph! Are you only apologizing to Karina and Serena?”

Mari, seemingly annoyed that I only apologized to Karina and Serena, made an obvious pouting gesture.

“Alright. I’m sorry for neglecting you too.”

“Kurt. We’re a party. Of course, we know cooking is your hobby, but there’s a limit. You’ve been holed up in that hut like you were possessed……”

Mari began to vent her feelings of neglect one by one.

Though it was nagging, it was rooted in concern and affection for me, so it didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.

I listened to her relaxed voice and then spoke up.

“Shh.”

“So what I’m trying to say is…… Huh?”

“Be quiet for a moment.”

“……Huh?”

Mari looked shocked as I cut her off.

But I had no time to care about her expression as I stiffened my face and strained my ears at the faint sound coming from the forest.

“You’re so mean, Kurt…… I was just worried about you……”

“That’s not it. I hear something.”

Mari, who had been on the verge of tears, looked around in confusion.

But there was no way she could hear the faint sound that even I could barely make out.

Leading the three of them, who claimed to hear nothing, I moved toward the source of the sound.

The closer we got, the clearer the sound became.

It was the sound of shouting and clashing weapons.

After walking for a few minutes, the sound grew loud enough for them to hear, and the three of them, who had been making puzzled expressions, also stiffened their faces and prepared for battle.

And when we finally arrived at the scene, what we saw was……

“……What are you all doing here?”

Kurt looked at the people gathered in the open space, fighting, with a dumbfounded expression.

They were all people he had seen at least once while living as an adventurer in Astram, some of whom he had even befriended.

Adventurers or aspiring adventurers like Arisa, Clarice, and Yuri Blossom.

Sisters of the Holy Kingdom like Daria and Aila.

Wandering travelers like Albert and Louis.

And even his hometown friends, Kirsh and Lakia.

From humans he only knew by face to close friends like the Lizardman.

A motley crew with no common ground had gathered in one place, engaged in a fierce battle.

The first to react to Kurt’s appearance were his old friends, Kirsh and Lakia.

“Oh. What’s this? Kurt, what brings you here? Weren’t you busy making brisket or whatever?”

“Kurt, hello.”

“……So, what’s going on here?”

“As you can see, we’re saving some innocent adventurers being bullied by a group. Wanna join?”

Listening to Kurt and Kirsh’s conversation, Louis, the vice-captain of the Holy Sword Knight Order, reacted.

Perhaps due to the heightened emotions from the ongoing battle, he spoke more aggressively than usual to Kurt.

“Ha! Don’t tell me you’re friends with this meddling Lizardman? I was trying to avoid using violence on you out of respect for the meals we’ve shared. But if you’re involved, I have no choice. Let’s get along with your friend……”

*Thud!*

“Guh…! C-Captain?”

“Shut up! Louis!”

‘I-I messed up. Who knew this Lizardman was friends with that monster…! It’s over! That crazy Lizardman is going to kill us all!’

Albert, who had just punched Louis in the side with full force, hurriedly covered his mouth with a desperate expression.

On the other side, Arisa’s group was also flustered by Kurt’s sudden appearance.

“K-Kurt……!”

“W-Why are you here……?”

“Kurt……”

“Well, it just happened…… By the way, the three of you as a party? That’s a rare combination.”

“Huh? What do you mean……”

“Does that mean you all know Kurt as well?”

“……Kurt ‘as well’?”

Arisa’s group exchanged glances, looking puzzled at how everyone seemed to know Kurt.

“L-Liche and Yuri, you know Kurt too?”

“Yes. The unscrupulous adventurer I mentioned was……”

“The one who inspired me to become an adventurer, my life’s benefactor……”

Liche and Yuri, surprised by each other’s words, looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions.

“……Huh?”

“……What?”

While Arisa’s group was making foolish expressions, Daria’s group was also unable to hide their surprise at Kurt’s unexpected appearance.

Recognizing Kurt, Daria spoke to him in a calm tone.

“You’re the adventurer who escorted us last time.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on, but how about we stop fighting and talk first?”

“Unfortunately, that’s not possible. We can’t negotiate with a potential threat who could destroy the world.”

“……A threat?”

“And even if we agreed, I’m not sure the others would accept it.”

“What about you guys?”

“What? Just when things were getting interesting, you want a peaceful resolution……”

Kirsh, looking disappointed but dutifully sheathing his spear.

“Ah. We never intended to fight in the first place, so if Kurt can mediate……”

Arisa, still dazed, answered on behalf of Liche and Yuri, who were still staring at each other with dumb expressions.

She seemed relieved, knowing that with the appearance of a master with absolute power, her safety was guaranteed, and she agreed with his suggestion.

“Ha! Who said the fight’s over? Once a knight of our empire draws their sword……”

*Thud!*

“Guh…! C-Captain!?”

“Shut up! Louis! W-We have no objections! If we can resolve this through dialogue, that’s the best!”

‘W-We’re saved! That crazy Lizardman isn’t going to kill us!’

Albert, desperate to survive, immediately punched Louis in the same spot with full force, agreeing with Kurt’s suggestion.

Finally, even the empire’s knights agreed to Kurt’s ceasefire proposal.

“So, what do you say? Want to keep going?”

“……”

Why did the three groups, who had been fighting to the death just moments ago, suddenly become as docile as lambs at Kurt’s words……

Unable to comprehend the situation, Daria chose to remain silent.