The hammock was occupied by a guest, so I had no choice but to give up and lie down in my room, when I heard my father's voice from under the ladder.

'Hey, Tori! I'm going to the market to buy dinner, so follow me.'

'What? Is it that time already?''

It's already that time. We have a lot to buy today.

Yes, sir.

I would have liked to rest a little longer, but I had no choice.

Walking outside is a nice change of pace and much easier than being forced to clean up here.

So I quietly crawl out of bed and go down to the fourth floor.

My impatient father seems to have already gone downstairs, and I rush downstairs too.

I went downstairs. 'All right, let's go.

'Huh? Tori and Abel, are you going somewhere?

Dad was just about to say something like that when Ira asked him about it.

We're going shopping for dinner.

'Oh, I'll go with you then! I've been asked to do a few errands!

Ira gets up from his chair and comes toward the front door, as if he too had something to do at the market.

Then, me too!

Lettie tried to stand up as well, but her mother grabbed her arm.

'No, you can't...' she said. Letty and I have to go to the reception and do the laundry. We have a lot of laundry to do at home.

I just did the laundry for the guests' clothes.

Lettie sits limply on the table after being rejected by her mother.

Good luck with that. Even if you're done working for the guests, you still have work to do for the family.

I'll buy you your favorite fruit.

'Really? Thanks Dad!

Lettie smiles and thanks him, and her father smiles lazily.

He laughs lazily. 'You're so sweet to Letty, you know that?

'Letty is so cute, I don't blame her.'

'What about me?'

'............'

I looked at my father who nodded mmmm, and he quickly looked away. That's terrible.

Come on, let's go to the market!

Then he started walking with a cheerful voice as if nothing had happened.

'Cheer up, Tori.

Ira's sympathetic words really spoke volumes about the difference in cuteness between Letty and me.



I was so happy to see her.



Dad, I, and Ira leave the inn and walk toward the market in the town of Lubera.

The ground is paved with cobblestones and the streets are wide thanks to the main street. Most of the buildings are made of stone or brick, followed by wooden ones. They are lined up along the avenue to the back of the building.

Most of the buildings along the main street are stores.

From the familiar ones such as clothing, vegetable, and shoe shops, there are also blacksmiths and armorers that can only be found in a fantasy-like world.

The main street is always bustling with a motley mixture of these shops, and is always filled with the voices of people negotiating prices and calling for customers.

We turn onto a street slightly off the main street, trying not to get lost in the waves of people and occasional horse-drawn carriages running along the street.

The road becomes narrower as we turn off the main street.

However, there are many simple stores, with many fruits and vegetables in wooden crates, and meat of cows, pigs, and birds on display. It looks more chaotic than the main street.

This is the market where most of the foodstuffs in the city of Luvera are gathered.

The town of Lubera is not a large town, but it is surrounded by villages and hamlets of various sizes.

Villagers come to sell vegetables grown in their fields, so it is easy to get fresh vegetables.

This attracts many peddlers and merchants, which in turn attracts even more people and foodstuffs.

Various things are on sale today, too.

Yes, it is. I've been coming here for years and I still haven't seen some of these ingredients.

This world is full of demons, animals, fish, plants and so on. This naturally leads to an order of magnitude increase in the number of foodstuffs that can be eaten.

Moreover, thanks to the adventurers, researchers, and cooks in this world who are constantly researching, it is not uncommon to be able to eat foods that you thought were inedible, if you use a certain cooking method.

I have been living in this world for 12 years, but I still can't say that I have memorized enough ingredients. There are so many kinds.

What's on the menu for dinner tonight, Dad?

'I think I'll have cream stew and turnip and mushroom soup for soup, and a meat-based main course since it's nighttime.

The town of Lubera is a short distance from the sea.

Thanks to the convenience of magic, fish can be frozen and transported, but this makes it more expensive and fish is more expensive.

This may be one of the reasons why most of the people here prefer meat to fish.

And since they are hungry after working all day, most of them want to eat meat in the evening.

What kind of meat are you going to have?

'I'm going to take a look at that and decide.'

Yeah, that's a pretty lengthy pattern.

Dad is quite a worrier when it comes to foodstuffs.

What are you going to buy Ira?

'I just buy a few condiments and a few fruits and vegetables for the store. I'll be done soon, so I'll go with Tori and Abel.''

'Okay. Okay, let's go to the butcher shop first.

So we head to the butcher shop to decide on the main course for dinner.

When we arrived at the butcher shop, we found a variety of beautifully processed meats hanging on the wall.

Some of them are recognizable as beef or pork, while others are not so obvious at first glance.

Even live chickens are caged on the ground, and their clucking can be heard from time to time.

The meat smells a little bloody, probably because it is cut into pieces and sold in the market, but no one cares because you get used to it living in this place. The freshness is excellent.

Karnes, what meat do you recommend today?

'You idiot. I recommend all the meat I bring.

A big guy with a skinhead head and a little mustache says with a wrinkle between his eyebrows. This is Mr. Karnes, the owner of this restaurant.

He is a rather stern looking guy, so I am intimidated by such a harsh word and look, but I know he is joking because we have known each other for a long time.

'Well, if I had to pick the best, I'd say Black Buffalo and Aigfang's Demon Meat are the best.

Oh, demon meat!

Lunes, the butcher, points to a big hunk of meat.

I wondered what this big hunk of meat was, but it turned out to be the meat of a demon.

Black buffalo are demons of the bovine type.

Thanks to its tougher body than that of an ordinary cow, it is very firm and elastic.

It is a very popular demon meat, though it is a little more expensive than ordinary meat.



I don't know of any eigfangs to that effect. I think it's probably a boar-type demon, but I've never eaten it.

Hmmm, the meat of Black Buffalo and Eigfang. Which should I choose ......'

Dad growls as he alternates between the two hunks of meat.

I prefer the meat of Eigfang. I've never had this one.

'Oh, yeah? Tori has never had Aigfang meat?

'Yeah, I've never had it.

I've had regular wild boar meat many times.

By the way, my innkeeper uses black buffalo meat.

'That's black buffalo meat over there! Then, let's use Aigfang's meat so that we don't have to wear it!

Our inns and Ira's are relatively close to each other. We discuss the dinner menu so that we don't have to share the same menu.

Customers don't like it if both inns in the neighborhood have the same menu.

Then, I guess we'll have to settle for Eigfang's meat!

Hearing our conversation, Mr. Karnes clapped his hands.

'Hey, Carlo. You cut it.

'Okay.'

Mr. Karnes called out to the store, and a chubby brown-haired boy came out from the back. He had a soft face, jade green eyes, and freckles on his cheeks.

'Oh, Carlo. There you are.

'Oh, Tori and Ira are here.

When I call out to him, Carlo rolls his eyes in surprise.

Carlo is the son of Mr. Carnes and is the same age as Ira and I. We are friends.

We often went to Mr. Carnes' butcher shop to buy meat, so we naturally became friends at the same age.

'Are you using Eigfang's meat today?

'Yeah, I think I'll put it in a stew or use it for steaks.'

Oh, that's nice. Aigfang's meat is very filling. Both will be delicious.

'Hey, Carlo. We're chatting here, but I think it's time you cut me loose.'

Apparently, my dad has decided which parts and how much to buy.

I'm sorry, I have to go to work, but I'll see you next time when I have more time.

'Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you.

Carlo is working in the store now and we have to go to the next one after we buy the meat.

I'm sorry to leave, but we'll have to wait until another time to talk.

Ira and I watch Carlo from the corner without talking to him so as not to disturb him.

Carnes, the father, directs Carlo to cut the meat with a big knife.

'He looks pretty tight when he cuts the meat, doesn't he?

Yes, it is. Tori should be that crisp when he works, don't you think?

'...... I'm more of a loose, laid-back worker.'