Chapter 42: Romance Brain and a Hot Pot Party 

“So, with that settled, how about we go grab a drink?”

“Your ability to close the distance with people is terrifying.”

No sooner had he introduced himself than Hijiri Naohito—now simply Hijiri—threw an arm around my shoulders as though we had been friends for years.

It was unbelievably suspicious.

Everything about him screamed untrustworthy.

The easy smile.

The half-lidded eyes.

The way he acted like we’d already known each other forever.

I was eyeing him with maximum caution when Raphiel smoothly stepped between us.

“Is this not your first time meeting Eight?” she asked flatly. “Aren’t you being a little too familiar?”

“Oops. My apologies.”

Hijiri raised both hands dramatically.

“I have no intention of stealing the Saint’s boyfriend.”

“I am not dating Eight.”

Raphiel’s response came instantly.

“Exactly,” I added. “I just cook three meals a day for her and play games together with her sometimes.”

“…”

Hijiri stared.

Then blinked.

Then stared again.

“Wait.”

Another blink.

“You’re not dating?”

“Correct.”

“You cook for her every day?”

“Yes.”

“You spend your free time together?”

“Yes.”

“And she’s constantly at your house?”

“Basically.”

Hijiri slowly turned toward Raphiel.

Then back toward me.

“You two sound less like friends and more like a couple already living together.”

The look of genuine confusion on his face was almost impressive.

“Ah, Eight-kun.”

Kirara sighed.

“You can ignore him. Hijiri-san suffers from a severe case of romance-brain. He tries to turn literally everything into a love story.”

“Ouch.”

Hijiri placed a hand over his chest.

“You’re as cruel as ever, Kirara-chan.”

“Huh?”

I looked between them.

“You two know each other?”

“Yep.”

Kirara nodded.

“He’s the guy who taught me that thing I told you before about handling my parents’ debt.”

“Ah!”

I immediately remembered.

“The one you mentioned before!”

For all his suspicious vibes, maybe he was actually a decent person.

Then a thought suddenly struck me.

Wait.

If Kirara knew him through that kind of connection…

Didn’t that mean—

“…”

I stared.

“…”

Hijiri stared back.

Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the boss of the assassin guild that controlled the underworld?

Sure, he looked shady.

But he didn’t seem that dangerous.

“Did you just think I looked suspicious?”

“Guh!”

Direct hit.

Hijiri laughed.

“Don’t worry. I’m not offended.”

“Sorry…”

“At this point I’m used to it. For some reason people have been suspicious of me my entire life.”

“I-I see.”

“Anyway.”

He tightened his arm around my shoulders again.

“Don’t run away.”

“Who’s running away?”

“Let’s catch up. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“It’s our first meeting!”

Honestly, this guy was exhausting.

“Oh, I know.”

Hijiri suddenly snapped his fingers.

“How about a hot-pot party?”

“A hot-pot party?”

“Yesterday a farmer I know gave me a bunch of vegetables.”

His eyes sparkled.

“You can use those magical seasonings of yours and whip up something delicious.”

“Eight.”

Raphiel immediately grabbed my sleeve.

“I am now in the mood for hot pot.”

“Even you, Raphiel-san?”

I hesitated.

“Besides, Eve is waiting at home…”

“I shall contact Eve myself.”

Raphiel nodded matter-of-factly.

“And you still haven’t purchased souvenirs for Luka and the others.”

“…Ah.”

I froze.

She was right.

The cooking duel.

Tardolf.

The fifty million points.

Everything that had happened today.

With all that chaos, I had completely forgotten about buying gifts for everyone back in Papel Village.

What should I do?

Honestly, if I followed my true feelings, I wanted to return immediately to the safety of Papel Village.

Then Hijiri casually spoke up.

“Oh, don’t worry.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll have some of my subordinates provide security.”

“Subordinates?”

“Yep.”

He smiled.

“With Kirara-chan around too, we’ll probably be fine.”

Then he shrugged.

“Probably. I don’t actually know.”

“That confidence is not reassuring.”

I frowned.

“Your subordinates wouldn’t happen to be from the assassin guild, would they?”

“Correct.”

He answered without hesitation.

“Anyway, we can discuss details later. Let’s eat first.”

Then he flashed a grin.

“I’ll even pay.”

“I don’t need your money.”

Seriously.

This guy was absurdly pushy.

Maybe he was just desperate because he finally had a chance to eat a proper Japanese-style hot pot with soy sauce and mirin again.

That would explain a lot.

“Then it’s settled.”

Raphiel clapped her hands lightly.

“Let’s borrow the temple kitchen.”

She paused.

“And while we’re at it, I’d like to invite Cardinal Larsa as well.”

And so we headed to the temple.

Fortunately, hot pot wasn’t particularly complicated.

In the kitchen, I immediately began preparing the ingredients.

The Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, and mushrooms Hijiri had brought were cut into bite-sized pieces.

We had also received leftover Rockbird meat from the cooking competition, so I sliced that into easy-to-eat portions as well.

Next came the broth.

I filled a large pot with water.

Then added chicken stock powder, cooking sake, mirin, salt, grated garlic, and grated ginger.

As the ingredients dissolved into the water, a savory aroma began filling the room.

Once the broth reached a boil, I added the Rockbird meat.

After carefully skimming away the foam and impurities that rose to the surface, I tossed in the vegetables.

The pot gradually transformed into a colorful mountain of ingredients.

Finally, I drizzled a little sesame oil across the top.

The fragrance instantly deepened.

And with that—

“Let’s call it Rockbird Salt Chanko Hot Pot.”

“Eight.”

Raphiel had somehow appeared directly beside me.

“It smells amazing.”

She stared into the pot.

Completely expressionless.

A thin line of drool hung from the corner of her mouth.

“Hey!”

I immediately panicked.

“Don’t drool into the hot pot!”

“Oh.”

Raphiel casually wiped her mouth.

“Good catch.”

Carrying the massive pot with oven mitts, I headed toward Cardinal Larsa’s room.

Apparently everyone had already gathered.

Larsa was there.

Kirara was there.

Hijiri was there.

Grana was there.

And—

“Who’s the old man?”

There was a completely unfamiliar elderly gentleman seated at the table.

When had he gotten here!?

“Oh, right.”

Raphiel looked toward him.

“This is your first time meeting Uranos.”

“Uranos?”

The name sounded familiar.

Then it clicked.

Ah.

The cardinal responsible for sending investigators to Papel Village so the church could justify purging its corrupt Inquisition Knights.

Which, incidentally, had led to Zereshia cutting off my arm.

I still hadn’t forgiven that.

If I’d known this guy would be here, I would’ve made kimchi hot pot and increased the spice level tenfold.

As if sensing my hostility, the old man slowly stood.

“Although it appears I am already disliked despite this being our first meeting…”

His smile was gentle.

“My name is Uranos. Like Larsa, I serve as a Cardinal of the Temple.”

“Ah. Nice to meet you.”

His polite demeanor made me bow automatically.

Well.

No matter how annoyed I was, force-feeding absurdly spicy food to an elderly man would be crossing a line.

Besides, everyone else would suffer too.

I reluctantly abandoned my revenge plan.

“Eight.”

Raphiel tugged on my sleeve.

“I am starving.”

“Alright, alright. Stop shaking me.”

Using the portable gas stove Eve had sent over after being informed I wouldn’t be returning home tonight, I placed the hot pot at the center of the table.

Click.

The flame ignited.

Soon the broth began bubbling.

The rich aroma filled the room.

One by one, I distributed portions of meat and vegetables into everyone’s bowls.

Then—

“Itadakimasu.”

The meal began.

And naturally, the first person to attack the food was Raphiel.

“Aff—haf—hafu—hafu!”

“You’re burning yourself again.”

Raphiel was notoriously bad with hot food.

Yet she never learned.

Instead of blowing on it first, she always shoved it directly into her mouth.

“Nggh… gulp.”

After somehow swallowing, she straightened up.

“To allow a freshly cooked hot pot to cool before eating it would be like a holy knight who has mastered every miracle and every sword style suddenly becoming a professional gamer.”

“I’m sorry.”

I blinked.

“I understood absolutely none of that comparison.”

“More importantly—the hot pot!”

Raphiel ignored me completely.

“The ingredients are simple, yet the flavor is incredible!”

She immediately grabbed another bite.

“There is enough deliciousness here to justify burning one’s mouth!”

With that declaration, she resumed devouring meat and vegetables at frightening speed.

Watching her eat was strangely satisfying.

“This is absolutely wonderful!”

Larsa exclaimed.

“The broth is especially exquisite!”

“Ahhh.”

Kirara sank into her chair with a blissful expression.

“Hot pot is the best. Seriously. I can literally feel it warming me from the inside out.”

“Yes.”

Hijiri nodded repeatedly while chewing.

“This is it.”

His voice carried a hint of nostalgia.

“This simple yet complex flavor. No matter what I tried, I could never recreate it properly with ingredients from this world.”

“As expected of Eight-dono.”

Uranos stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“The fact that you defeated Tardolf-sama now makes perfect sense.”

“Indeed.”

Larsa reached for another serving.

“This pairs wonderfully with alcohol.”

Fortunately, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Seeing their satisfied faces made all the effort worthwhile.

For a brief moment, surrounded by laughter, warm food, and good company, it almost felt as though this strange world had become a second home.

Though, considering the people gathered around this table—

an assassin guild master, two cardinals, a saint, a former adventurer, and an accidental otherworlder—

it was probably the weirdest dinner party imaginable.