Chapter 17…
The Greed Arc
The Woman Who Attacks in Her Sleep!
“…Take care of me?”
“Yes! I came from Greed Castle. From now on, I’ll be accompanying you, who knows nothing about this world!”
I see… I thought what I learned back at the castle was just the bare minimum, but it seems someone from this world will actually teach me directly. If only she’d shown up a little sooner, I wouldn’t have gotten lost…
“…Understood.”
“That’s a quick answer… Um, not to doubt myself, but—aren’t you even suspicious?”
“…Not really. Do you want me to be suspicious?”
“That’s not what I meant! You always act like that—”
“…Always?”
“A–always like that… You’ve always gone along without doubting people, haven’t you?”
“…Not exactly. I just think—if you were my enemy, it’d be over anyway.”
“So in other words, you accept death?”
“…Didn’t say that much.”
“Geez! Anyway, I’m on your side, so it’s fine this time. But please be more careful next time, okay?”
“…Pretty responsible for a kid.”
“Wha—!?”
“…?”
“I’ll have you know I’m an adult! I’m eighteen! Don’t underestimate me!”
“…!?”
This little shrimp is eighteen!?
“You just thought something rude, didn’t you!?”
“…N–no.”
“Well, anyway, I’ll be counting on you from now on!”
“…Do as you like.”
“Then I will!”
She said that proudly, but then—growl—a sound came from Yuki’s stomach.
“…”
“Hau…”
Her face turned even redder than before as she looked down shyly.
“C–could I ask, have you eaten anything today?”
“…No.”
Hearing that, Yuki’s face brightened immediately.
“I knew it! I’ll cook something! It’s already midnight, though.”
She trotted off toward the kitchen and opened the fridge, which contained only raw meat—
“Wow! Look at this! Gregory meat! It’s top-class!”
She seemed to recognize what it was right away. Turning toward me with a plate of meat, drool dripped from Yuki’s mouth.
…How hungry is she?
“…Is that meat expensive?”
“Gregory is a monster that carries poison in its organs. When it dies, the toxin spreads through its body, making it inedible. You have to hunt it in a special way. That’s why it’s expensive—because it requires skilled hands!”
“…Can’t you remove the poison with magic?”
“With current magic technology? Impossible.”
So it’s like a blowfish, huh?
“Anyway, leave it to me! Let’s see… this goes with that, and maybe this… and—hmm!—heave-ho!”
Yuki was jumping up and down, trying to reach spices on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets… ah.
“…Here.”
“Oh! Thank you, Hiroyuki-san!”
“…Don’t mention it.”
…I should buy her some proper clothes soon. Does she even own underwear…?
“Hehe, you know, the key to cooking meat is the heat control. The fire here is pretty rough since it’s from a magic circle, but my specialty is fire magic, so—”
“…Tell me when it’s done.”
This might take a while.
“Hmm, fine. I’ll make something amazing, so go ahead and rest for a bit.”
“…Got it.”
I lay down on the sofa and glanced over at Yuki.
“Gregory meat is tender but stringy… I think you’re supposed to slice it diagonally, every two centimeters…”
She muttered to herself seriously as she prepared the ingredients.
The sound of sizzling filled the room—it seemed the cooking had begun for real.
A savory aroma wafted through the air. My brother used to say, “When you’re too tired to cook, just grill some supermarket meat, pour on some barbecue sauce, and drink—it’s the best.”
“…Brother…”
I wondered what he was doing in my old world now.
I can’t remember how I died, but if I was summoned here after death, then they’re probably holding my funeral… Sorry, brother, mom, dad.
My brother’s probably drowning himself in booze again…
“…”
I shouldn’t think too much about it. He used to say—
“‘You can’t change the past, so face the future with all you’ve got.’ …right, brother.”
Yeah. Just remembering his words keeps me going.
“…”
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“Hiroyuki-san! It’s ready!”
“…Oh.”
“Well? What do you think?”
“…Amazing.”
On the table, a massive slab of meat sizzled on a large iron plate, dripping with juices.
It must have been nearly 30 centimeters long—an impressive sight.
“Come on! Sit down, let’s eat!”
“…Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“…This.”
In front of us were only spoons—no knife or fork.
“Hehe♪ That’s fine. Now then, let’s dig in!”
“…Let’s eat.”
“…”
I said it, but Yuki wasn’t eating—she was watching me expectantly.
“…”
I pressed the spoon into the meat—and it slid through effortlessly.
“…No way.”
It was softer than ice cream, yet perfectly cooked through.
“Well? This is perfectly cooked Gregory meat! I can’t wait any longer—here I go! Nom… hot, hot—”
Yuki scooped some into her mouth.
“Mmmm… happiness~”
Her face melted with bliss.
“…Mmph.”
I took a bite too.
“…!”
Juices burst in my mouth, soaking into my cheeks.
The seasoning danced across my tongue before I swallowed.
“…Delicious.”
“Hehe♪ I learned this recipe from my mother. My dream is to cook food as good as hers someday!”
She beamed proudly, but I was too busy devouring the meat spoonful after spoonful to respond.
“♪♪~”
Yuki just watched me happily…
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[Late Night]
“…”
Yuki, asleep on the sofa, sensed movement outside and woke up.
“They might not be after us, but I can’t ignore it.”
Without waking Hiroyuki, she slipped outside toward the pool, leapt from the top floor—
“Hyah!”
—and landed softly, her staff cushioning her fall with magic.
“Well, now, this is interesting. A little girl falling from the sky?”
“…”
Before her stood a woman with sharp eyes and shoulder-length hair, gripping a knife.
“You’re not ordinary, are you?”
“Oh? You can tell. Then you must also sense the gap between our powers.”
“Maybe so—but I wouldn’t have come alone.”
From behind the woman, four arrows flew toward Yuki—only to burn away midair, three meters from her.
“W–what!?”
“It’s useless. There are ten of you right behind her… and another ten on the rooftops ahead. I can feel them.”
“Well, aren’t you something. So, you planning to interfere with our work?”
“That depends. What’s your goal?”
“We lured some clueless idiot to this inn earlier. Security here’s terrible.”
“I see♪ Then that makes this easy.”
“Yeah, real easy.”
Yuki pointed her staff at the woman. The woman raised her knife.
The quiet night thickened with killing intent.
“So, she’s someone you know? A sister, maybe?”
“Hehe, not a sister—but you could say she’s family, in a way.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“…You know… I’m pretty good with fire magic.”
As Yuki said that, a magic circle formed from her staff—
“Wha—!?”
Flames erupted behind the leader, engulfing her subordinates.
“Gyaaah! It burns!”
“What the hell—agh!”
“Sis! Help—gyaaah!”
The flames consumed the archers who had attacked from behind.
“I’ll cook you all nicely.”
“…Tch! Don’t hold back! Get her!”
At the command, the remaining bandits charged with wind-enhanced speed—
“Such simple movements. Here!”
Yuki dodged the first attacker’s knife, stepped on his shoulder, and leapt upward.
“Wind Pressure Strike!”
“Guh!”
“Gyah!”
“Urgh!”
A gust of wind magic blasted them down.
Those hit collapsed, unconscious.
“Whoa—!”
A thin jet of water shot toward her, but she flipped aside and landed gracefully.
“That’s not ‘sniping’—it’s mid-range at best.”
Moments later, flames flared again in the distance—the sniper burned.
“Now, do you understand the difference in our strength?”
Calm and composed, Yuki aimed her staff at the leader.
“…Fine. I surrender. You’ll let us go?”
The woman’s smirk twitched as sweat ran down her face.
She hadn’t expected this much power.
“Of course. I’ve already done plenty of damage to your group.”
“Tch… yeah, major damage. Fine, we’re retreating! Move out!”
They turned their backs and vanished into the dark.
…
“…No more presences nearby.”
Moonlight bathed Yuki in silver.
“If you can’t sense things like that, you’ll never survive, Hiroyuki-san.”
She murmured softly to no one, and returned inside.
