Kays Translations

Chapter 6

“…Something’s there.”

While trailing at the back of the caravan to keep watch, I was scanning the area when I noticed a white figure darting through the forest alongside the road.

That’s… the white beastkin girl I accidentally ran into the other day, right? She’s sticking her head out of the bushes and glaring at me with those cute eyes—like, really blatantly.

“…So cute. I wonder if she’s following this caravan?”

Did she seriously trail us all the way from the forest behind the town? Wouldn’t she be tired by now?

Then again, I can’t really just call out to her—she seems to be afraid of humans.

We had set out early in the morning, and by the time we stopped for lunch, the girl, who’d been keeping her distance in the forest, also disappeared into the underbrush.

Is she taking a break too?

“Alright, we’ll rotate for lunch. You go first, Same—since you’ve been keeping watch at the rear.”

“Ah, got it.”

Lunch was being provided by the merchant company, so I just kept an eye on their preparations. That’s when the man who appraised my jewel the other day showed up.

Turns out, he’s actually the head of the company.

“Thank you again for the other day, Same. About that jewel… heh, it might be used in a decoration offered to a princess during the New Year Festival. We can expect quite the price for it.”

“Ah, well… thank you. I mean, I just picked it up, but now it’s turning into a big deal.”

“No no, finding treasure in a dungeon is part of an adventurer’s skill.”

“Haha… if you say so.”

“Still… I’m getting quite hungry. Skipping breakfast was a mistake, huh?”

I pretended to dig through my backpack (bought for camouflage purposes) and discreetly pulled out two loaves of bread from my menu screen.

“Here. Looks like it’ll still take some time, so we might as well have a snack.”

“Oh! Much appreciated… mm!? What is this softness!? It feels freshly baked!”

“Haha, yeah, it’s still quite soft.”

Oh no. Did I mess up? Nah, I think it’s fine…

Actually, since I’m here, maybe I should help with lunch? I have the knowledge and technical skills, and if I get hands-on experience, I might even level up.

When I offered to help, they gladly accepted, saying, “Our staff aren’t used to cooking on the road, so having someone with experience is a lifesaver.”

Even though I’m actually inexperienced… I can only make curry, really.

“Whoa… I can instantly tell what I can make with the ingredients here…”

Standing at the makeshift kitchen—just a table, really—I placed the ingredients, cutting board, and knife in front of me. Suddenly, recipes and steps flowed into my head, like I’d always known them.

“…Tear the bread into small pieces, soak them in eggs and milk, add finely chopped vegetables, and bake it solid… A Spanish omelette-style bread pudding, huh.”

Oh man. I think I just turned into one of those “can-cook” guys.

My hands moved smoothly, prepping the ingredients. I ended up with a ton of batter. All that’s left is to bake it.

“Oof… smells great. Let’s start by cooking for the merchant crew.”

After baking for the merchant crew, I went on to bake for the guild members as well. Just as I finished my own portion…

Rustle.
A sound came from the nearby bushes.

When I turned around, the white beastkin girl was peeking out, fingers to her lips, staring intently.

…She’s even closer now. And even cuter.

Big blue eyes, long silver hair, and… ears poking up from just above her temples. She seems younger than me—maybe around sixteen? Maybe even younger.

I baked the remaining batter into another serving, then slipped away from her line of sight and placed a plate near the bushes before walking off.

There, there. No poison in it, promise.

“…Oh, she’s eating it.”

She reached out for the plate from the bush, looking absolutely blissful.

That looks awkward though… why not just take the plate with you?

Lunch ended and we resumed our march. When I picked up the empty plate, I muttered loud enough for someone to hear:

“Oh, looks like something ate it. I was going to give it to the forest animals. I hope they liked it… Maybe I’ll do the same in the evening if there’s any left over.”

I hope she heard that.
And just then, I faintly heard a quiet, “Yay.”

…Dammit, she’s too cute. Come on, just join us already.

After that, we had no trouble with monsters, and the journey continued smoothly.

The weather was nice, the scenery beautiful, and I felt incredibly refreshed.
And of course, the white beastkin girl was still hopping through the forest, clearly visible now and then.

Earlier her ears were drooping a little, but now they were perked up proudly.

…Were you just hungry? I have a ton of food in my menu screen, you know?

As the sun started to set, we began preparations for an early camp.

“What about night watch?”

“Hm? Well… you’re cooking dinner too, right? Then let us handle the watch during dinner.”

“We’ll take turns watching during the night. You can take over near dawn. It’s our thanks for the great meal.”

“Indeed… It was delicious. Better than anything from a tavern. You might make a fine chef.”

Seems like they really liked the improvised cooking. That makes me happy…
Cooking, having people eat it, and being praised—it feels really good.

Naturally, I was asked to help with dinner as well.
I didn’t even have to offer this time—saves me the trouble.

“Well then… maybe I’ll use a bit of my own ingredients for tonight.”

I pulled out some non-suspicious, long-lasting ingredients from my menu screen.

Whoa… more recipes and steps are flowing into my head!

Alright—let’s add cheese and dried meat, rehydrate them in water, then pan-fry them like piccata, and sandwich it in some bread.
I’m not sure what kind of meat this is… but let’s say it’s beef.
Definitely not monster meat. I want to believe that.

I quickly finished the cooking and took one for a taste test myself.

“Oh, this is good! Seriously… it’s way better than a Ma〇Do burger!”

Even though there was no mayonnaise and I just threw on some random dressing, the piccata and vegetables were somehow still delicious. Well, maybe I just have a cheap palate.

As I was cooking again, this time the noise didn’t come from the nearby forest, but from a spot very close by.

…Did she think she wouldn’t get caught just because it’s dark? The sound came from the shadow of the nearby wagon.

Once again, I put one serving of food on a plate and headed toward the source of the noise.

“Huh? I thought I saw someone here. I’ve finished cooking, so I’ll just leave your portion here. It’s dangerous at night, so you really shouldn’t be alone, okay?”

When I called out, someone rustled out from the wagon — dressed in a thick robe with a hood pulled up.

“O-oh, okay! I’ll head over to the others after I eat this!”

Even though the face was hidden, the voice was unmistakably that of a girl. She was trying her hardest to sound like an older man, but… is that a tail? The back of the robe was bulging unnaturally.

As I basked in a bit of self-satisfaction from doing something nice, I finished preparing the rest of the food.

It’s something like a hamburger. For now, I’m calling it a piccata sandwich.

While I was thinking about that, the hooded figure quietly slipped away into the forest.

I guess she still doesn’t trust humans.

But before disappearing completely, she turned back toward me in her robe and spoke.

“It was delic… I mean, it was good! I’m going to check on the forest now!”

“Ah, got it. Be careful out there.”

So proper. She’s definitely not a bad kid… The tension between humans and beastkin really just feels like outdated tradition hanging on from ancient times.

I finished the rest of the food, and that night passed peacefully — no monster attacks or bandit raids.

And so, the journey to the neighboring country continued without incident. It’s been a week since we left town, and I occasionally left food near the forest or noticed that same hooded figure sneaking in at night to eat. That strange tag-along had become part of the escort mission. Finally, we reached the halfway point — near the national border.

From here, the other escorts were turning back. I would be continuing on to the neighboring country.

Apparently, due to ongoing tension between the two nations, cross-border movement is heavily restricted. Only official guild members or people from government-recognized merchant associations are allowed in and out. Makes sense — I guess I needed to join the guild no matter what if I wanted to leave the country.

“Phew, looks like this is where we part ways. Same, it was a short time, but thanks for everything. I’ve never had good food during a mission before, and it made working a real pleasure.”

“Indeed. I found myself looking forward to dinner every day. You’re moving to the neighboring country, right? Why not take the safer path and pursue cooking full-time?”

“Yeah! If we ever get a job over there, we’ll definitely come by to eat!”

Hearing those words from the guild members as we said our goodbyes really got to me. Yeah… this is it. This is the kind of heartfelt connection I’ve been craving! I mean, I haven’t actually done it yet, but I do have a bunch of skills and knowledge now… I could totally make something of it. Though I am looking forward to fighting too, of course.

Having parted ways with the rest of the escort, our caravan headed to the checkpoint that marked the border.

…Will that girl be okay? There’s no way she can get past this checkpoint just by coming from the forest… Oh wait, there’s that ravine-turned-dungeon. She could bypass the checkpoint that way, I guess.

But if the authorities haven’t set up countermeasures, that means crossing the border via the dungeon must be pretty high-risk.

Or maybe the Golda border guards are lying in wait on purpose, hoping to catch anyone capable of making it through and recruit them for their own country?

“Excuse me, Merchant Chief-san. Once we pass this point, we’re officially in a new country, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. From here on, we’ll be in Lendia territory. Over there, the border is heavily patrolled to catch monsters that escaped from the dungeon or to deal with outlaws. So the journey should be relatively safe. You can relax a bit, Same-san.”

“Oh, I see. And over there… is the treatment of beastkin different?”

“Quite different, yes. In this country, their movements are heavily restricted. They can’t even enter cities without permission. But in Lendia, they’re treated no differently than ordinary humans. As a merchant, I work with beastkin in Lendia on equal footing. Frankly, it’s Golda that’s the odd one out.”

“I see. So can beastkin pass through this checkpoint easily too?”

When I asked that, the merchant chief made a clearly displeased face.

“…Unfortunately, not without solid identification or a powerful backer. It’s a sad reality, but none of my beastkin employees accompanied us. The only way for a beastkin to gain freedom is probably to cross through the dungeon.”

“Can’t beastkin join the guild?”

“Not in Golda, at least. The guild can’t exactly oppose the government head-on, so they draw a firm line there. But honestly, there aren’t many beastkin left in this country anyway. The only ones here are those whose identities are officially recognized by Lendia. I’ve heard that, long ago, the mountainous regions of this country were full of beastkin communities. But over time, they’ve gradually disappeared.”

Hoo… So that girl is either an extremely rare case, or someone who came from Lendia and lost her proof of identity. In that case… is she really planning to challenge the dungeon?

“Um… excuse me, but would it be possible for us to split up here and regroup on the other side of the checkpoint?”

“Oh? Are you interested in the dungeon?”

“Yes, actually… Do you remember the raw gem I gave you before? Well, I also found something like a note along with it. So I was thinking… maybe there’s more hidden inside the dungeon.”

“Oh! I’ve heard that explorers sometimes hide their valuables somewhere just in case something happens… S-So, how long do you think it would take to retrieve the item? If it’s something that could be recovered in a day, we’d be happy to wait for you on the Lendia side. And if it turns out to be useful, we’d be willing to purchase it!”

Sorry, that was a lie. The truth is, I’m still worried about that girl. I thought I might at least help her get through the dungeon. It’s not like I was trying to tame her with food over the past week or anything, but… we’ve formed a strange connection, you know? Or maybe I just genuinely care about her now.

It was a bit of a gamble whether the merchant group would go along with my excuse, but sensing the potential for profit, the head of the company seemed eager.

And so, using that made-up reason, I was granted permission to head into the dungeon.

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