Chapter 55 (2/2)

I whisper to myself quietly so that I definitely won’t wake Goshujin-sama up .

I know that my face has become relaxed after undoing my skill .

「I shall do my best to acquire a magic tool that can record his voice . 」(Minnalis)

It’s alright; this is not a wasteful use of money . This will be a very valuable purchase .

… Though this is not related in the slightest, next time Goshujin-sama shows interest in some piece of junk that seems useless, I shall stay quiet and let him do as he wishes .

I decide to placate Goshujin-sama for when the chance to acquire a voice-recording magic tool comes .

But I must show my disapproval for food being sold at stalls . It is my job to make food for Goshujin-sama; I will not relinquish that role to anyone else .

As well as being able to make food for cheaper than buying it, I can thoroughly check the quality of the ingredients, but to think that he would make such a careless remark as,『I can just buy food from a stall, so it’s fine』…

No, this just means that my skill in cooking is still lacking . I have no choice but to continue improving my skill and work hard so that I can conquer his stomach as I once heard about, so that he is infatuated with my cooking only .

「… But the disposable containers that Goshujin-sama uses are precious, and it is necessary to visit other places in order to increase my repertoire of dishes, even if I do not like it… I could accept normal bars and restaurants, but I am anxious about the ingredients and methods used to make food that is sold at stalls…」(Minnalis)

Whispering to myself in a voice so small that Goshujin-sama wouldn’t be able to hear it even if he woke up right now, I feel happy to realize that, like Goshujin-sama, I am talking to myself a lot .

But when Goshujin-sama continues talking to himself at night, I often can’t sleep properly because I become curious about it .

I scolded Goshujin-sama for talking to himself for such a selfish reason, so I must take care with my own words to myself .

With such pointless thoughts running circles around my head, I add wood to the fire and break pieces of wood that are already burning to take maintain the fire as dawn slowly approaches .

「Goshujin-sama, wake up, please . 」(Minnalis)

「Mmh… Are we being attacked?」(Kaito)

It’s a little before dawn . The sky has just started to grow lighter and the sun’s outline isn’t even visible on the horizon yet .

I’m woken up, stimulated by the fighting spirit that Minnalis seems to be full of .

「I do not believe so . But I can hear the sounds of battle a short distance ahead . They might continue in this direction as they fight; we should at least observe what is happening . 」(Minnalis)

I’m sure she’s used her『Hearing Enhancement』skill to direct her mana into her ears . Minnalis’s rabbit ears are twitching .

As a human, I don’t have the『Hearing Enhancement』skill to apply to my ears so I find it difficult to distinguish among the sounds of insects chirping and leaves rustling, but I can still faintly hear the sound of metal clashing against metal .

「It’s coming from ahead… We’d normally ignore it otherwise . 」(Kaito)

I let out a sigh .

I’d like to avoid being touched by some unknown god and receive a curse in this random place, but unfortunately, it’s coming from a direction that doesn’t allow me to ignore this .

I can’t tell how far away it is with these ears, but the sounds are coming from the direction of Ermia, the college town .

Whether we choose to ignore it or get involved in some way, if we don’t at least see what’s going on and gain some information, we might be put on the back foot .

I learned the hard way during my first time through this world that ignorance can become a fatal weakness .

「Let’s go . 」(Kaito)

「Yes . 」(Minnalis)

We toss the belongings that we took out for camping here into our bags and I prepare myself to produce any of my Soul Swords to match whatever situation we run into as we begin making our way cautiously towards the direction of the sound .

As the sound grows louder and louder, Minnalis draws her own sword and recasts her illusionary spell on herself .

Incidentally, the weapon in her hands is the eighth of the items we purchased in the royal capital . The seventh, which was showing signs of wear, perished near some monsters that it had killed .

「… Adventurers, and are those bandits?」(Kaito)

It seems that it’s a battle between humans .

Some rather unattractive men have surrounded a carriage . And there are some people fighting against them who look like adventurers .

Adventurers who have been hired as escorts fighting against bandits . It’s not a particularly surprising scene .

「Hmm, at this rate, the adventurers are going to be crushed . 」(Kaito)

The adventurers seemed quite skilled; they were holding out against the bandits who outnumbered them almost two to one, but they’re going to reach their limits soon .

「It’s decided, then . 」(Kaito)

「Yes, it is . 」(Minnalis)

Minnalis and I give each other light nods and then step into the forest to our right while we still haven’t been noticed .

We could simply ignore the entire thing and pass them by along the side, but there’s a chance that this decision will become a burden to us in the distant future . But supporting either side is even more out of the question .

I don’t care whether the bandits or adventurers win . Honestly, in either case, there’s no benefit to becoming involved .

There will be no problem if we go around through the forest . As I feel irritated that my sleep was cut short, we continue through the gaps in between the trees .

And it is at this moment that I wish that we went left instead of right .

「BRRRRUOOOOOOOH!」

「W-what terrible luck…」(Kaito)

「Well, if we were lucky, we would not be living lives like this . 」(Minnalis)

An enormous monster with the face and body of a pig has appeared .

Unlike small Goblins, monsters such as these that are known as Orcs are the same size as a human while possessing superior physical strength .

However, though this monster appears to be what is called an Orc, it is also definitely different . It is a mutant Orc whose overall size is almost twice that of a normal Orc, and it has a black-iron hide with exceptional physical damage resistance .

… Standing before us is a『Black Orc』, also known as a Big Orc .