Nao and Haruka went out on a date.

　--Wrong. They went out to look for Yuki and Natsuki.

"Huh. ......

　It's been a while since I've been alone in a room, so I open the window and lie down on my bed, feeling the air slowly flowing.

　I'm a good friend of Nao and her friends, but I'm still a little tired of being with them all the time.

　They may not be aware of it, but when they casually and naturally flirt with each other, it's hard to look away. For me, too.

　"Go on dates more often!　For my sake! But unfortunately, we don't have the time for that.

Well, thanks to you, I don't have to worry about where I'm going to sleep tomorrow, thank goodness.

　Haruka deserves a lot of credit for this.
　I don't have a lot of money, but I don't have to worry about how I'm going to eat.

　That's how it is now.

　I bathe in the sunlight streaming in through the window, my tail wagging lazily as I sleep.

　"A sleeping wolf with a sleeping bear. Pfft.

　It's a peaceful and luxurious time to think such fluent thoughts.

　But that time was interrupted by the sound of my stomach protesting.

"Mmm, I'm getting hungry. I haven't done anything.

　I feel like my fuel consumption is getting worse, even though my physical ability has greatly improved since I got this body.

　The more muscle you have, the more energy you consume, which is natural, I suppose. ...... It seems that you don't need to diet for sure.

　On the other hand, if there's a food shortage, you're going to die soon.

I'm not sure what to do.

　I'm sure Haruka and the others aren't coming back.
　I got up, left the room, and headed for the dining hall.
　This place has the impression of being more of a local bar than an inn, and it's relatively empty during the day.
　I sat down at the counter as usual, and called out to the old man.

I sat down at the counter as usual and called out to the old man, "Dad, bread, eggs, and ...... soup.
There's some meat left, you want some?
"Oh, really?　I'll eat it, I'll eat it!

　Lucky!　It's good without the meat, but it's even better with it.

　When I first stayed here, I would have held back because of my financial situation, but now I have no reason to refuse.

　I waited for a while, enjoying the smell and sound of the meat cooking.

　What came out was a bowl of lightly salted soup and a slice of bread about three centimeters thick.

　The bread was about two sizes larger than a loaf of bread, and was about the consistency of a slightly soft baguette.

　A thick slice of bacon-like meat occupied the top of the bread, and a fried egg was placed on top of it.

　There are no vegetables, but that doesn't matter.

　I carefully lifted up the bread so that the fat oozing from the meat wouldn't spill out, opened my mouth wide, and bit into it with gusto.

"Mmm~!　It's delicious!

　The fat and saltiness of the plump meat and the rich yolk of the egg.
　The fat and saltiness of the meat, along with the rich yolk of the egg, soaked into the slightly dry bread, making it very tasty.

"Oh!

　I took a lick of the yolk that was dripping down.

　The fried egg was seasoned only with light salt, but it tasted good enough on its own, perhaps because of the flavor of the egg itself.

　I took another big bite and tasted the bread and meat.

"This meat is really good, too.
It's the meat you brought in.
No, it's not.

　The boar meat we've been hunting lately.

　Most of it was sold as is, but some was brought back to the inn and left with the old man.

　It is used to upgrade our meals and to pay for our lodging.

But it won't be like this if you just cook it. It's your father's skill.
"Hmm.

　The old man sniffed without expression, but seemed subtly pleased.

　Haruka's skewers are delicious, but my dad's cooking is also delicious.

　There must be some secret in the preparation.
　You can't get this kind of crispy texture from skewers.

And yet, it's not expensive. Why is the food at the food stalls so bad when the food at the old man's place, which is not much different in price, is so good?

　He snorted in frustration as I asked him a genuine question.

"Because they're amateurs, that's why.
"Amateurs?　They run a food stall?
Most of them are retired adventurers. Most of them are retired adventurers. They never wanted to be cooks.

　If you ask me, I've heard that food stalls are one of the most common jobs for adventurers who have retired due to injury or age.

　At least, not in this town.
　The reason is simple.

　Based on the taste of the food stalls they ate when they were active, they think, "I can do that kind of work myself.

Even if the cost is a little low, if you have the skill, you can make something edible. But they don't have that. They're half-baked. That's all they are." ......

　As expected of a man who is a good cook, he had a lot to say about such things, and he spoke at length, which was unusual for a quiet old man.

He was a good cook and had a lot to say on the subject.　To get a good meal.



No, that's no good either. Some guys save up some money while they're still working and set up store.

"No!　So there's no way to avoid bad food? ......

It's easy. Just eat at my place. That's all there is to it.

　That's all there is to it." The old man grinned.

Do you want some more?　We still have some eggs left.
"Sure. ......

　Luxury is the enemy.
　But Nao and Haruka are currently on a date.
　That means it's okay to splurge a little.

Good. "Okay, Dad, I'll have more of the same. Put an egg on top too!

　After waiting for a while, enjoying the smell of the food again, the same bread with meat came out.
　But this time, there were two eggs.
　I looked at the old man and he nodded his head.

We had some left over from yesterday. It's for you.
"Really?　Lucky!

　I thought eggs lasted a long time at room temperature, but I guess it's a little different here.
　But in my stomach, a little old is nothing.
　Why should I complain about more delicious food?
　I'll eat one as it is, and taste the other with the meat on top.

　I never really thought about fried eggs as something I liked or disliked, but here, where there is not much variation in cuisine, they are quite a treat.

Not only the yolk, but also the white part is delicious.
We get it from a decent supplier.
Oh, really?

　I don't know if the taste of the white meat changes depending on how it's raised, but it's delicious, so there's nothing wrong with that.

　I savored the little luxury with a subtle sense of immorality.


　--In the evening, when Nao came home, she told me about the common sense story, without thinking about it.