Chapter 90 (2/2)
For her to act so impatiently, she must really like it.
As I ponder my response I looked at her and did a double take at her already emptied second bowl. How could she eat so fast? I wasn’t even halfway done with my first one.
Her eyes were still shining in anticipation, so I put down my bowl, slowly turned to her, and looked her in the eye.
「You really want to know the recipe? The correct way to handle this kind of meat?」
「Y-yes!」
And so I, of course, told her…
「Nope, can’t say. It’s an industry secret, highly confidential. Why would I teach you anything, you idiot?」
「…」
At that point I broke down laughing at the redhead’s vacant gaze. It was just the funniest thing.
「Y-you! You would dare to speak to me like that!?」
「What are you talking about? In what world do chefs teach their recipes to their customers?」
Furthermore, I put it took a lot of effort to learn this recipe. Why should I teach her?
「Burn!」
I deflect the oncoming fireball away from my body.
「Hey! How do you cast your spells so quickly?」
「It’s simple, you just gather your magic power really quickly, then shape it into the desired form really quickly, then fire it really quickly. If you want the full answer, tell me the recipe.」
「That’s not the full answer? Wait, that explanation makes no sense, redhead.」
「Hey! Don’t call me that!」
「Well what should I call you? It’s not like I know your name.」
When I say that, unlike the other times I mocked her, her expression shifts to shock, as if that was the last thing she expected me to say.
「My… Like I would want a commoner calling me by name anyway!」
「Wait, what were you about to say?」
The redhead turned away awkwardly, as if all her prior energy was an illusion.
「You’re just trying to ferret out my secrets!」
This time I dodged the fireball she sent out, thinking about the redhead’s words.
「I’m not, and stop tossing magic at me!」
Between her haughty attitude, her words and her aura of supreme self-confidence, she probably used to be a noble. Given how much power she could wield, she must have been an adventurer. She could also have been a soldier of some country, but I can’t imagine someone with her personality as a disciplined soldier.
The fact that she didn’t want to reveal her name also fits that theory. If she was from a disgraced noble family, it would make sense for her to want to avoid standing out, but…
It’s not my place to theorize about her situation for my own satisfaction, so I stopped that train of thought from progressing any further.
In the end, she just grumbled and went back to her meal without giving me a name. And here I thought she didn’t want me calling her “redhead” anymore.
「Even though you’re an idiot, a mere cook, someone with a face that screams mediocracy…」
「Are you picking a fight with me?」
「Whatever.」
「You sound like a pouty kid.」
Deciding to shelve the issue for now, I got the last laugh with a cruel barb and also went back to my meal.
☆
「Yep, the universe is mocking me.」
After we finished our meal, I asked the redhead about the dungeon. It turns out the she herself only got stuck here three days before I did. She tried to get out several times, but was always brought back by that stupid trap.
To make matters worse, she said that the dungeon only got harder as you go through it, though she also said there wouldn’t be any monsters to fight.
When I asked her how she knew that, she mentioned that she had a full written explanation.
It turns out that on the back of the mocking banner which greeted me when I got caught in the slide trap and fell back down, someone had written an explanation: