'Uh....'

　I walked sluggishly, holding my stomach area.
　Kanade, who was walking next to me, looked at me with concern.

''Rain, are you okay...?''
I'd like to think that I'm okay.

　I managed to eat all of Sola's food, but....
　As a result, I got ridiculously sick.
　For about an hour after I ate, I couldn't even move for a while.

　Sola's cooking is really amazing........
　It's dangerous in more ways than one.
　I've heard that my disabling of the status quo doesn't work either.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that your cooking is amazing.　The smell was normal, but...
'It's hard to put into words... I dare say I'd rather face a dragon with my bare hands a hundred times over if I had to eat that thing again.


　I don't like to talk about this stuff too much, but...
　But it was such a shocking dish that I couldn't stop talking about it.
　When I think about it, I have a funny feeling in my stomach again.

"If it's spicy, I'll be fine on my own, okay?　I can at least do some shopping, you know.
'It doesn't matter how powerful Kanade is, he can't carry it all if it's too big, can he?　I'll help you with that. As for your body, I've been lying down for an hour or so, and I've recovered some.

　Kanade and I head out to buy food and household items.
　For six people in all.
　Since it would be difficult for Kanade to do it all by herself, she decided to help out.

"Ehehehe.

　Suddenly, Kanade smiles at me.

'What's up?'
Hmmm... going out with Rayne is so much fun.
You're not going out to play?
Yeah. With Rain, that's what's important.

　Is that how it works?
　It's not like I'm going to have anything interesting to say with me... hmm?

　Kanade is humming something, twitching her ears and wagging her tail in a good mood.
　I don't understand it, but........
　If Kanade looks happy, so be it.

'Nyah!'

　Suddenly, Kanade stopped in his tracks.

'Kanade?'
....shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

　Kanade twitches his nose, not seeming to notice me looking suspicious.
　It looks like she's sniffing something.......what's going on?

Lane, come on!
Oh, yeah?

　Kanade, who looks serious, takes my hand and keeps running.
　What have they found?
　In the meantime, if you follow along...

Come in! Come in!　We just got them in this morning, fresh off the boat!　There's only one left!　Well, the sooner the better!
Yeah, fish.

　...I see.
　The smell of fish has lured you in, I suppose.

'Sir, how's it going?　If you miss this opportunity, you won't know when you'll get another one.
Ummm ... but then again, how could you get a fish?
Actually, it was supposed to be delivered to a nobleman. But he changed his mind and told me he didn't want it today. So, here we are at the store.
Oh, I see. But still, a fish....

　Since Horizon is so far inland, there's rarely an opportunity to buy fish.
　Most of them sell out quickly, and before that, the aristocrats usually buy them up and never make it to market.

　I glance at Kanade.



　I was staring at the fish, almost drooling.
　Or rather, he was drooling a bit.

'Sir, what do you want to do?　Someone else just bought one earlier, so the last one will be sold pretty quickly too, right?
Well how much is it, by the way?
Five silvers!
That's not very nice...
It's a high-class foodstuff. We have to have that much, too.....　If you look closely, you're a hero.
"Huh?

　What's the big deal about that?
　Puzzled, the merchant continued to speak, looking somewhat excited.

'You're a hero, aren't you?　He said that he saved the city by defeating the demon race that suddenly appeared and saved the city. He's got the Cat Spirit Clan's young lady with him, and there's no doubt about it!
''Well heroic or not, we defeated the demon race, but...''
'I knew it!　Thank you so much for that one!　Thanks to you, I'm very much alive and kicking.
I'm glad you're okay.
But when it comes to this, ummmm... okay, this fish, please take it for free!
'What?　I-is that okay?
I can't accept payment from the city's benefactor. Please just take it as a thank you for what you've done for me.
Okay, fine. Then I'll take you up on your offer.
Meow!　Can I get a fish?　I can eat it!
I know. I never thanked you enough.
Thank you, Uncle!

　Kanade, with a twinkle in her eye, mouthed her thanks with the vigor of a worshipper to God.
　The shopkeeper and I all chuckle at the momentum.

　But I'm glad you're that happy.
　Kanade has always helped me so much........
　We got the fish at the right time.

'Do you want to eat right here, young lady?
You can eat it?
We have all the tools we need for tasting. There's no way I'm going to cook a fish.
Eat!

　It was an immediate answer.
　I'm in the middle of shopping.......well, okay.

　Receiving Kanade's answer, the shopkeeper prepared the tools and processed the fish.
　It's a brilliant move.
　Then he grilled the fish.
　Fat drips from the flesh and the skin is charred.

''Nyaaaaah........''

　Seeing that, Kanade had an ecstatic expression on his face.
　Would he be that happy...?
　It's a little scary, I think I'm on some bad medication.

Okay, hold on!
Meow.

　Kanade receives the grilled fish.
　Then, with a big smile on his face, he tries to eat it...

Do you want some Rain?

　He glanced at me and asked how we were doing.

'I'm good. Don't worry about it, Kanade can eat it all.
Are you sure?　Are you sure?
Okay.
Meow.

　Kanade looked heartily happy, and this time he took a bite of the fish.

''Hagh!　

　It is a tremendous appetite.
　In the blink of an eye, the fish will be down to just the bones.


Did it taste good?


　Kanade was very happy.
　It makes me happy to see him so happy.

'Thank you, fish,'
No, no. I'm glad I could repay you in some small way.
And I'd like to buy some other things besides fish...
Okay, what can I get you?
'Well...'

　Looking at the note Tina left me with, I order what I need.
　This store seems to have a certain amount of ingredients.
　All that's left is to look around at a few other stores, get the missing ingredients and daily necessities, and the shopping is done.

No, but we're in luck today.
What's going on?
'Of course, it was a pleasure to meet you, Hero-sama. It was a good day for me to return the favor.

　I feel embarrassed when the owner smiles at me and I feel like I'm embarrassed.
　Really, it's not like I'm a hero or anything like that...

　I did what I could.
　And it wasn't just one person.
　We couldn't have done it without all of you.

　Well let's not get hung up on the details.
　What's important is that the people of the city are smiling again.
　It's not a complete recovery yet, but....
　But the people of the city were smiling and living strong.
　I was as happy about that as I was about myself.

''Really, it's a lucky day, today. I get to meet the heroes, I see the cat spirit tribe's sister.......have I used up all my life's worth of luck?
Ha, you're exaggerating... hmm?

　What did you just...?

'Cat spirit race sister...?
Yes, it is.
Isn't that this canade?
No, sir. See, I told you about the other customer who bought the fish.　That person was the cat spirit race. To meet not only a hero-sama, but also a cat spirit race, really, today is going to be a good day.

　So that means.....
　Is there another cat spirit race coming to the city that is different from the Kanade?