I know of one place that's open. You can come with me if you want.　I'll at least buy you a drink, hero.

　So Iris approached me with pretentious lines like in a movie or drama, and the result was, well, what can I say, yes.
　The result was a reminder that she was careless.

'Oh no ......, it was still open when I walked by earlier. ......'

　Iris led me to a small, privately owned tavern.
　However, the door of the restaurant was locked and the lights inside were completely dimmed.
　There's no sign of anyone, and I'm guessing they're closed for the day.

I can't think of any other places that are open. ....... I can't think of any other places open, so I'll just go to .......

　Iris is totally panicked.
　I, on the other hand, have come up with a solution.

"Iris, we're going to the ancient ruins.
What? What's going on?
There is a food production area at the ruins. If you ask the Osewa Slime, they should be able to cook for you.

　Honestly, my hunger was about to run out.
　As soon as I touched the back of Iris' right hand, I immediately activated 【Spatial Leap】.

　The food production area has become a huge farm.
　It seemed that the reoperation of the ruins was progressing rapidly, the fields were spreading out more than in the daytime, and orchards were also being created.

　A slime just passed by and I called out to him.

Do you have a minute?
Oh, Master!　Good evening!　...... Huh?　You have a woman with you, so maybe it's a date?
De-de-de-de-de-d, date!

　Right next to her, Iris makes an upsetting noise.

'Well, I mean, we're not in a relationship, but, um, you know, ......
I'm just a fellow adventurer.

　I decided to assure him, once and for all, that I was going to move on.
　I'm hungry now.
　Rice would be most welcome, but I don't need a romantic comedy.

'Oh, but I'm sorry it's so late, but do you have anything to eat?
Master, I have some useful information for you!

　A pair of rabbit-like ears popped out of the slime's head.

'There's a new restaurant in the living area, you should go there!　We're open 24 hours a day!



* *



　The number of dwellings in the residential area had increased by another 40 houses compared to noon.
　This brings the total number of houses to over 50.

　It's too lonely to have zero residents with all the houses increasing, so if the opportunity arises, it may be possible to recruit more residents in the future. ...... I'm not sure if there are any oddball people who would want to live in the ruins.

　It's a good idea to have a restaurant that stands out from the residential area.
　All glass walls give it a stylish atmosphere.

　When we entered, a slime wearing a cook's hat greeted us.

'Welcome, Master!　Lady!　This way please!

　Slime led us to a window seat.
　There was a menu on the table, and there were quite a few items on the table.

　As I was trying to decide what to eat, my eyes met with Iris, who was seated across from me.
　Iris seems somewhat uncomfortable and fidgety.

''You know what, Ko. This is the first time I've ever come to such an upscale restaurant ......
No, I don't think you need to be that nervous.

　It's true that the storefront is upscale, but the employees are all slime.
　If you listen carefully, you'll hear, "The master is a customer!" from the kitchen. Hang in there! Oh! I could hear the slime's cute voice saying things like, "What are you doing?

　Eventually, one of the slimes came to take my order, so I ordered "Hot Vegetables with Olive Oil", "Ancient Style Tomato Doria" and "Osewa Slime Pudding Ice Cream".
　It seems that Iris was also hungry and ordered the same thing I did.

　As it turned out, the food was all excellent.
　Both Iris and I kept gobbling it down and before we knew it, our plates were empty.
　It was so good that we forgot to speak.

　As expected, Iris seemed to have eased her nerves and was in a very calm mood after the meal.

I'm so full. I'm very grateful to you for bringing me to this wonderful restaurant, Ko. ...... and I'm sorry. I was actually supposed to show you the shop.
Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes. ...... If you care about it, you can follow up with me when I make a mistake.
I can't imagine Ko failing. He took out a bunch of demons by himself today.
...... though I did accidentally blow the top of the mountain off.
I'm sure Ko could put things back together again in a heartbeat if he wanted to.
That's an overestimate.

　Maybe.
　Tonight, after this, we're going to dismantle and [create] the dark boa and the black dragon and so on, but there's even a chance that we'll find items that will restore the mountain to its original state as a result.

''By the way, Ko, you were also fighting a dragon, right?
Did you see that?
Since I'm an A-rated adventurer, I was placed closest to the mountain. Besides, the dragonborn have much better eyesight than humans. You didn't know that.

　Iris pointed to her eyes with a bit of pride and then ...... suddenly changed to a serious expression.

'Thank you for protecting the city of Onen. I really appreciate it. If it wasn't for Ko, I'm sure I and everyone else would be dead. You saved my life.

　Then Iris gently brushed her hair back with her right hand.
　The thin dragon horns extending from above her right ear swayed faintly.
　That's the proof that Iris is a dragonborn.

''And let me also thank you as one of the descendants of the dragon. Thank you for stopping that black dragon. ...... because he surely shouldn't have been alive.
...... him?

　That black dragon was apparently a male.
　I mean, how could Iris know the gender of the black dragon?

　When I nodded my head, Iris quickly answered me.

I can't really explain it myself, but as dragons, we have something in common. The black dragon was consumed by insanity and turned into a monster that could only destroy and kill. ...... If that black dragon had any sanity left in him, he would have been a proud member of the dragon tribe, hoping for a speedy death. The black dragon himself would have been grateful to you.


　* *


　After we left the restaurant, we returned to the city of Oonen with [Spatial Leap].
　It was already around midnight and things were noisy, so I decided to take Iris home.

''I'm an A-ranked adventurer. I'm not as good as those guys.''
It doesn't matter how strong or weak it is. I'm sending Iris home because I'm worried about her.
...... Oh my God, you're usually so cold, but you only treat me like a girl at times like this: ............
What did you say?
Nothing!　Nothing!
"Don't yell at me late at night.

　When I put my finger to my own mouth to warn her, Iris turned away.
　It's a very childish reaction, but it's probably due to the late-night tension.
　When I worked at the company, I had a boss who would suddenly cause an infant regression in the middle of an all-nighter.

　Iris' house was located in a residential area a short distance from the guild.
　Apparently adventurers of B rank and above can rent a house through the guild.

''Ko, thanks for dropping me off.
Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow.

　When I mentioned this, Iris nodded very happily.

'Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow!　Tomorrow I'll take you to that tavern!