Chapter 52

It was a blissful and lazy time.

At first, I felt some dissatisfaction because I couldn’t move around freely, couldn’t continue my usual self-training, and couldn’t take on any requests to go on adventures. But that dissatisfaction soon faded away, buried under the calm and comfortable life.

Kurt, feeling a sense of debt towards Mari, Karina, and Serena, cooked meals every day that reflected their preferences. While his cooking was always delicious, the sincerity he poured into preparing their favorite dishes made it even more enjoyable than usual.

This happy recuperation period lasted for a week, and after a week had passed, the Alchemist Guild determined that they had rested enough, allowing them to resume their normal activities.

But at that moment, an incident occurred.

No, to be precise, the incident had already happened.

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“Kyaaaaaaah!”

It was a horrifying scream, filled with terror and confusion, as if a soul was being torn apart.

And judging by my senses, it was unmistakably Mari’s voice.

Hearing that, I immediately rushed to Mari’s room.

Bang!

“What’s going on!”

“Miss Marisia! Are you okay!”

“Mari! Are you alright!”

I arrived first, followed closely by Karina and Serena, who quickly gathered in Mari’s room.

Mari was standing in the middle of the room, holding something in her arms with a tearful expression.

What she was holding was her adventurer outfit.

Since we had been resting inside the Adventurer Guild for the past few days, we had been wearing comfortable casual clothes. So, this was the first time in a week that she was putting on her adventurer outfit again.

But why was she holding it and crying?

“Sniff…”

“What’s wrong?”

I asked Mari, who was standing in the middle of the room with a tearful face, but she didn’t answer me and just called for Karina.

Then, she whispered something to Karina in a voice so quiet that it was meant only for her ears.

Of course, even with Mari’s careful attempt, it wasn’t quiet enough to escape my hearing.

“What? Are you making such a fuss just because you gained a little weight?”

“Kyaaaah! You heard that!?”

As if she hadn’t expected me to hear, Mari screamed again and had a fit.

Ugh, my ears.

If you scream like that in the morning, your throat will give out.

“Well, of course you’d gain weight. You haven’t been going outside the Adventurer Guild, and under the pretext of recuperating, you’ve been eating greasy food like fried potatoes and fried chicken every day.”

“Ugh… But how can I help it when Kurt’s cooking is so delicious?”

At my words, Mari pouted as if she had nothing to say.

Seriously, causing such a ruckus in the morning over something like that.

I worried for nothing.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling this way, as Karina and Serena, who had rushed over worried about Mari, also looked at her with expressions that said, “You caused such a fuss over this?” and stared at her in disappointment.

“So, you should have eaten in moderation.”

“I thought you were eating too much.”

But unlike when she heard my words, Mari looked at the two of them and spoke in a sulky voice.

“You two also gained weight over the past week.”

“W-what are you talking about…?”

“That’s right! You can’t say you didn’t…!”

“But just like I asked Kurt to make fried food, you two also got Kurt to cook for you every day!”

Well, that’s true.

Anyway, over the past week, the three of them had each requested their favorite foods to their heart’s content, and I had actively responded to that.

Mari’s favorite food was fried dishes, Karina liked stew-like boiled dishes, and Serena enjoyed grilled dishes.

So, Mari, who loves fried food, was a given, but Karina had a habit of eating stew cleanly, even finishing the broth, and Serena always drank alcohol with her grilled dishes.

If they had been moving around as usual during their adventurer activities, it might have been different, but spending days cooped up in the Adventurer Guild just resting, it was only natural.

However, the two of them, having been pointed out by Mari, turned pale and refused to accept reality.

“Hahaha. That can’t be. Me, gaining weight? Serena, who avoids exercise like the plague, might, but how could I…?”

“I never exercised in the first place, so my lifestyle hasn’t changed. There’s no reason for me to gain weight. If anything, Karina, who usually exercises but stopped, might…?”

The two of them made excuses while throwing each other under the bus, but Mari wasn’t fooled and instead smiled meaningfully as she continued.

“Hmm~. If you think so, why don’t you each go back to your rooms and try on your adventurer outfits?”

“…”

“…”

A brief silence followed Mari’s words.

“…Ah! Now that I think about it, I just remembered something urgent. I should go back to my room.”

“Me too, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, so I should head back to my room.”

And soon, the two of them left with awkward excuses, not waiting for who would go first.

And within a few minutes, two screams echoed through the Adventurer Guild.

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“…So, you’re going to take on requests by yourselves?”

I watched the three of them preparing to take on requests in the guild lobby, skipping breakfast.

Even though it was their first time back as adventurers in a week, the three of them were endlessly serious, meticulously preparing their adventurer gear without a hint of carelessness.

But looking at them preparing their gear, it did seem like they had gained a bit of weight.

The three of them, unaware of what I was thinking as I watched them, answered.

“Of course. If Kurt joins us, the difficulty of the request will become too easy.”

“We’ll finish this request with just the three of us.”

“That’s right! Just wait quietly!”

…They’re just going by themselves to lose weight, but why does it sound so dramatic?

The three of them, having lazed around for the past week, had all gained some weight, whether a little or a lot.

So, in their despair, the option they came up with was the “request diet.”

Taking on requests that would normally be avoided by ordinary humans, such as going to dangerous areas and immediately hunting monsters.

That was the conclusion they reached.

And in doing this “request diet,” leaving me behind, who could easily finish the requests without them having to move much, was inevitable.

Well, glancing at the request details, it was a monster extermination request for creatures that couldn’t be used as ingredients, and given their skills, it didn’t seem too dangerous, so I accepted their proposal.

Anyway, with the money we’ve saved from completing requests so far and the compensation from the Alchemist Guild, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about hunting monsters that couldn’t be eaten.

“Alright. Have a safe trip.”

I sat down casually and saw them off as they left with a sense of determination to complete the request.

….

And in the Adventurer Guild lobby, where the three had left, I basked in the sunlight and quietly thought.

“Hmm… Diet…”

It’s not really a word that relates to me, but it’s still on my mind.

Of course, it’s not that I’m concerned about whether the three of them will succeed or fail in their diet.

What’s on my mind is something else.

It’s the worry about the dinner menu.

If the three of them are going to focus on dieting, I’d feel a bit reluctant to cook high-calorie meals.

In fact, since most delicious foods are inevitably high in calories, creating a diet-friendly yet tasty meal is quite challenging.

If we had tofu or konjac, it wouldn’t be so hard to think of something…

Ah.

Then, should I make that dish today?

Having finished planning the dinner menu, I got up to gather the ingredients needed to make it.

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Meanwhile, the three of them, having left the Adventurer Guild with determination, were walking along a mountain path towards the request location.

“Now that I think about it, this is the first time we’re going on a request with just the three of us.”

“Well… That’s because Serena got poisoned by mushrooms the day after she joined the party…”

“It wouldn’t be bad to bond over this, would it?”

As she said that, Mari suddenly remembered something and asked Karina.

“Ah! Come to think of it, did you and Rena know each other before?”

“Nothing special. But if you’re a silver-rank adventurer settled in one city, it’s natural to know each other’s names unless you’re a complete newbie.”

And as if to supplement Karina’s words, Serena chimed in.

“And we’re around the same age, and there aren’t many female adventurers in the guild, so we had more contact than with other adventurers.”

“Looking at the results, we didn’t get along because our personalities didn’t match.”

As she said, while Karina appeared stoic and warrior-like on the outside, she was unexpectedly caring and aspired to be more feminine. On the other hand, Serena, who looked like a noble lady with her delicate appearance, actually loved alcohol and was quite bold.

Their inner and outer selves were completely opposite.

If there had been a significant difference in their adventurer skills, they might have been able to keep a polite distance, but since they were of similar skill levels, they had occasionally taken on requests together, and naturally, they had developed a bickering relationship without any special episodes.

“Hey. But looking at you two, it feels like you’re close.”

“What? This looks close to you?”

“Miss Marisia. That’s the only way to describe it as a wrong statement.”

“But even now, you’re happily bickering… Wait a minute.”

At their words, Mari, who was about to continue with a smile, suddenly stopped smiling and became alert.

The sudden change in attitude momentarily confused the other two, but being veteran adventurers, they quickly understood what Mari’s attitude meant.

As if they had never chatted before, the three of them prepared for battle.

Awooooo──!

And almost simultaneously with the three preparing for combat, the howling of wolves began to echo through the forest.

It was an ambush.