Isekai Yururi Kikou ~Raising Children While Being an Adventurer~

Chapter 478:

Dinner

The inn had delivered the meal, and Patrick-san kindly came to the kitchen to call us.

“What’s that lovely smell? What are you making?”

“Crepes!”

“Steamed (mushi) cake!”

“What!? Bugs (mushi)!?”

Another misunderstanding about bugs! Well, steaming isn’t a common cooking method here, so it’s understandable.

“It’s not bugs. It’s ‘mushi’ as in steaming with steam!”

“Ah, I see. That surprised me. But I’ve heard there are some insect-like monsters that are edible, so it’s not entirely out of the question?”

Well, considering that some types of lizard and snake monsters are edible, it makes sense that some insect-like monsters might be as well.

However, most insect-based monster materials are used for weapons or medicines, so perhaps there aren’t many that are actually eaten.

“But, even so, I doubt they would be used in sweet dishes?”

““I wonder if it tastes good?””

“Wait, Allen and Elena, would you eat if they wer eedible?”

““If it’s tasty.””

“I think I could eat it without any problems.”

So... does this mean I might end up cooking with insect-like ingredients someday?

But since monsters are usually large, only parts of them are used as ingredients.

If it doesn’t look like a bug, it might not be a problem after all...

“Risner-sama, Takumi-sama and the others are—... Oh, you’re here.”

“Eugene-dono, I’m sorry. We got caught up in the conversation.”

Eugene came to check on us, probably because we took a while after Patrick-san came to call us.

“Apologies. We’ll come right away.”

“Takumi-san, no need to hurry. Patrick-sama hasn’t returned after delivering the message, so I just came to check if something happened. But it seems the sweet smell here caught his attention?”

““Bingo~!””

Eugene accurately grasped what was going on here.

“Oh, I was right? Then as a reward, can I try some of what you’re making?”

““Sure~””

“Wait, what? I was just joking! You’re agreeing so easily?”

““Yep, it’s okay~””

Eugene, who was jokingly asking for a reward, was caught off guard when the kids agreed so easily.

“No, I shouldn’t. Sweets are a luxury that commoners like me usually only eat on special occasions!”

“It’s not expensive, you know?”

“It’s free, you know?”@@novelbin@@

“What? Free?”

“We’re using ingredients like ant honey and regular honey from the dungeon this time, so we didn’t purchase anything.”

“Oh, I see... but still! Just because it didn’t cost money doesn’t mean it’s not valuable!”

““Eh~? It’s free so it doesn’t matter~ So, eat, eat!””

“......”

The kids, oblivious to general values, left Eugene at a loss for words.

“Risner-sama, please stop them!”

“I went through the same thing before we came to the inn. And I couldn’t stop them either.”

“... What?”

Patrick-san patted Eugene’s shoulder consolingly. Eugene, seeing the distant look in Patrick-san’s eyes, was left speechless.

“Err, shall we head back? If we stay here too long, even Matthew-san and Lancer-san might come to check on us.”

I decided to guide everyone back to the lounge before the remaining two came looking for us as well.

“Sorry to keep you waiting~”

““Sorry~””

“Oh, it’s no problem at all.”

Despite our tardiness, neither Matthew-san nor Lancer-san seemed the least bit annoyed.

They really are nice people~ I wonder if this was a deliberate choice of companions?

“Where should Allen sit~?”

“And where should Elena sit~?”

“Anywhere you like is fine.”

““Then, here~””

“Next to Allen is Kaiser!”

“Umu.”

“Next to Elena is Oniichan!”

Allen and Elena quickly chose the center seats on one side and then assigned me and Kaiser to sit beside them.

This arrangement puts us all in a row, but wouldn’t sitting across from each other be better for conversation?

“Uh... is this arrangement okay?”

“Of course. The children made a good choice.”

“Did they?”

“Yes, it’s perfect for us to converse with you.”

“Eh?... Oh, I see.”

If we sat across from each other, the conversation would likely split into two sides.

But with this arrangement, it naturally makes it easier to talk with Patrick-san and the others.

“Shall we begin, then?”

Once everyone was seated, the inn’s staff began serving the meal. There were appetizers, salads, fish dishes, meat dishes, bread, and drinks—almost like a course meal, though everything was served at once rather than in order.

““Wow~ looks yummy~””

“Allen-kun, Elena-san, is there anything you can’t eat?”

““Alcohol!””

“”““......””””

Patrick-san was asking about their likes and dislikes, but the kids responded with something entirely different, leaving everyone speechless.

“... Allen, Elena, you’re having fruit water. Even if you asked for alcohol, you wouldn’t get any!”

““Oh, okay~------Then, nothing!””

“They don’t seem to have any dislikes.”

“Takumi, Takumi, can I drink the alcohol?”

“Uhh... I’d prefer you didn’t, but...”

Fruit water was served for the kids and wine for the adults, but Kaiser was holding his glass with sparkling eyes.

“Kaiser-san, are you bad with alcohol?”

“I’m not bad with it.”

“I’d say he’s more of a heavy drinker, but when he gets too jolly, you never know what might happen!”

“I-I see.”

I couldn’t exactly say he’d revert to his original form, so I vaguely warned them about the dangers of him drinking too much.

“Kaiser, you can have just the first glass, but can you stop after that? If you think you won’t be able to stop, then it’s better not to drink at all.”

“U-umu! I’ll stick to just this one!”

Since he promised to stop at one glass, I decided to allow it. With such a small amount, I’m sure he won’t get drunk and revert to his original form... probably.

If things get dangerous, maybe I can try using “Dismiss”? After all, Kaiser was summoned, so that might work! I’ll keep that as an emergency plan.

““Can we start eating?””

“Yes, let’s dig in.”

““Dig in~!””

The dinner was delicious, and we enjoyed it with Patrick-san and the others in a warm, friendly atmosphere.

After the meal, while we were still chatting, the kids asked for dessert. So, I served everyone the new steamed cake with ice cream on top. I made sure to explain it well to avoid any more bug suspicions!

Though Eugene looked a bit nervous, the kids kept insisting it was free and encouraged him to eat.