79. Slowly, step by step
“Boss. A guest has arrived.”
“Please come in.”
Becky couldn’t help but twitch his lips as the organizers went out to guide the guests.
Because there is only one guest who will visit you now, especially if you will come to see him in person.
I couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of the old woman going wild.
Thump! Thud! Thud!
I could already hear an angry old man walking, stamping his feet hard, from the hallway outside the door.
From noble mtl dot com
No. If you continue to smile like this, it will be revealed that you robbed the money changer here. At best, taking risks and robbing money changers turns out to be in vain. From now on, I have to go into acting. Becky closed her eyes for a moment, removing any trace of laughter from her face.
The moment you show your teeth, that shrewd old man will bite you like a mad dog.
Boom!
“Becky!!! Yes two years—!!!”
The name of the old man who snorted and tapped his cane was Bantiq Vigil. The head of the Merchant Guild. Beside him, Lars, who was sitting in the manager’s seat at the Levener Exchange, stood with a puzzled look on his face.
Becky desperately held back the laughter that was about to burst out at the moment, and looked back at Vantique with an expressionless face.
“… It seems like it hasn’t been long since I last saw you, but what did you come to see me this time?”
“Yes, you… Knowing what you’ve done, so shamelessly—!”
That’s stupid. He may have been a famous merchant in the past, but now he is consumed by anger and runs amok.
Without an escort. That’s cheeky.
Becky rang the small bell on the desk, and immediately two large gangsters opened the door and appeared.
“Did you call, boss?”
“The elderly man is old, and it is difficult for him to stand still. Please sit down.”
“Yes.”
“What?! Your two years acting like now… !”
As Vantik swung his staff and spattered, one of the gang members frowned and grabbed Vantique’s shoulder tightly.
“Sit down, old man.”
“This, this thug… ! Do you know who I am and touch me carelessly!”
“The elderly.”
The hand that gripped Vantique’s shoulder entered power.
“Please sit down.”
Bantique was taken aback. The people he meets are always clumsy, but this gangster with no genealogy threatens himself with force.
As the bewildered Vantique stood still, tendons protruded from the member’s forehead.
“… Boss. Shall we recognize a mountain?”
“Huruloop…. Arthur. How great is the contribution you made to Harman’s business?”
Van Thiek turned his head. Lars was sitting on the couch early, pumping his car.
“… f*cking thugs….”
Bang—!
Bantique murmured, and Becky, who had been tilting the teacup, put it down with a noise.
“… Hey, Bantiq.”
Flinch. The air in the room quickly cooled, and Vantique’s excited heart sank. This is in the middle of enemy territory.
Keep an ice-cold glare at Vantic, Becky continued.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something right now…. To put it bluntly, burying a toothless tiger that has lost half of Harman’s business district somewhere in a lonely hill is not a job.”
“What, what….”
“I stabbed my medicine cabinet and handed it over to the garrison, came in like this out of the blue, and came out as an undercover…. If I wasn’t in a good mood today, that old body was already ground to drake fodder. Know?”
A sharp dagger was in Becky’s hand as she glared coldly at Vantique.
“I don’t know how great you were…. In a difficult time like now, if I treat you like a superior, I should be grateful. Is not it?”
Becky, who was spinning her dagger, raised her dagger and slammed it down on his desk.
Looking at the dagger marked exactly where the Merchant Guild building was located on the map spread out on his desk, Van Tiq swallowed.
“If you break into someone else’s office and keep behaving like this…. The Merchant Guild building might be reduced to ashes.”
“… ….”
There was silence for a moment, and Vantique, who felt the life in Becky’s eyes, hesitated and lay down on the sofa.
Only then, Becky let go of her frozen expression and smiled.
“Now then…. Elderly. What did you come for?”
“… Currency exchange. Did you rob it?”
“A currency exchange…. Certainly, we did receive reports of exchange offices being robbed some time ago. By the way, why do you think I did it?”
“… What did you do, wasn’t it?”
Vantique opened his eyes and examined Becky’s face. However, there was no sign of lying.
‘Seriously, it wasn’t these thugs… ? Then, who….’
“What…. I was managing my gambling house at the time. By the way… To think that a currency exchange office with so much money is being robbed doesn’t it look like it’s being properly managed?”
At Becky’s sarcasm, Van Tiq felt sick to his stomach. He had the moneychanger himself sitting next to him, but he had no room to dispute Becky’s words.
Looking at Vantic like that, Becky smiled and turned her gaze to Lars.
“Don’t you want to answer? What…. Then, what did the manager of the money changer come for?”
“I-I….”
“Ah, by the way, the individual entrepreneurs who come under us are specially reducing the protection tax by 10% for one year? No, what…. Just like that.”
Ras’ eyes changed in an instant. Lars rolled his eyes and glanced at Vantique, who was sitting next to him.
Ras’ eyes were the eyes of a traitor.
‘As expected, merchants are easy to bake and boil.’
Looking at Lars accepting the membership application that Becky silently handed over, Becky smiled inwardly.
I will pull down the toothless tiger slowly, step by step.
This work is just a stepping stone.
* * *
Tadak— Tapak—.
Into the sparking bonfire, I put a bundle of dried leaves that I had raked up beforehand. Fire-! The flames rose a little, then calmed down again.
As I adjusted the flames of the bonfire, I looked at the large pot hanging on the pot rack. It’s a pot rack I bought from Harman, and this was also very useful.
A sizzling sound was heard from the meat of the one-horned deer, which was being cooked to a brown color, and oil was seeping out of it. If it was a long-distance trip, I would have eaten beef jerky and bread, but it was nice to be able to enjoy such a luxurious meal on a trip that took two or three days at most.
After seasoning with salt, I roughly beat the various vegetables in the wagon and poured water. Even if you eat it in this state, it will be a salty stew, but it’s not yet.
A delicious smell spread all over the place. The party of warriors who pitched the tent also sniffed and sat around the bonfire.
“It’s been a while since Austin cooked rice….”
“It must be delicious….”
Even Adrien, who was normally picky, was staring at her saucepan with her mouth wide open at least for this moment.
“The one-horned deer needs to be brewed a little longer.”
One-horned deer meat is fat and juicy, so it’s perfect for making hot stews. The fat melts away and makes a rich soup.
Here, add the special seasoning powder that I always carry with me.
As I took the spice jar out of my pocket, Gracie asked me with a subtle expression.
“Austin. I’ve always wondered, but what the hell is that powder?”
“… This?”
“Right. I always wondered, what the hell is that powder?”
“Um….”
There’s nothing I can’t tell you, but I’m sure you’ll hate eating it once you know its true identity.
Robin, the only one who knew the identity of this powder, opened his mouth with a displeased expression.
“Uh, that…. Everyone. Do I really need to know your identity?”
“My name is… Was it Robin? Okay. It’s what we eat, so shouldn’t we know what the ingredients are?”
“That, that….”
Let’s just say it.
“It’s our ranger’s delicacy… This is another magic powder. If you put it in, the umami taste is amazing.”
“Hmm. What did you make it out of….”
He said to Gracie, who was curious as he stroked her chin, holding back a laugh.
“Breaking the eggshell of a spore spider….”
“… What?”
Everybody’s face went rotten except for Robin and Royman. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.
“… Is a joke It’s just a powder made by grinding delicious beef jerky.”
“Ahahahaha…. Yes? Are you kidding? Huh?”
“… Mmm, that sounds delicious.”
“Oh, Austin?! We’ve only eaten the food Austin made until now, right?”
“Let’s have dinner and go to sleep.”
Ignoring the hero and Isabel, who even made her cry, she put a spoonful of magic powder into the bubbling pot. A delicious smell spread all over the place, and it was finally thick and thick enough to be called a stew.
I distributed the stew to each person’s bowl, and put a large piece of meat in my bowl. In the past, the warrior who saw me eating meat would have said something. When was the last time you enjoyed such a peaceful evening with a warrior party?
When I pressed down the meat with a spoon, the meat was gently torn along the grain and the broth came out. I took a big bite with the vegetables and took it straight to my mouth.
‘Hmm. It’s delicious.’
When I looked around, mumbling, everyone was already eating stew with their noses in the bowl. Except for Princess Alexis and Sylvia, who learned noble dining etiquette.
Watching them eat deliciously made me smile.
It has been a long time since I felt the warm atmosphere of the beginning of the warrior party. This feeling, this atmosphere, really… I really missed you.
“Austin.”
“… Huh?”
I heard someone calling me, so I turned my head and looked to the side, and Maya, who was sitting next to me, poured stew into my mouth.
“That…. Ah, ah~.”
Come to think of it, I used to feed each other with Maya in the past. Seeing that Maya often spilled food, she remembered Maya crying while washing her stew-stained robe.
“Oh, Austin… ? My arm hurts….”
When I suddenly came to her senses at Maya’s words, I saw Maya steadfastly putting a spoon to my lips while shaking her arm little by little.
The sight was so funny, she giggled and opened her mouth wide to snap Maya’s spoon.
“Oh… !”
Apparently expecting me to refuse, Maya opened her eyes wide and looked back and forth between her mouth and the cutlery.
“It’s delicious.”
“Ugh, yes…. Lol….”
After roughly stroking Maya’s hair, which was strangely loose, and turning her head, I noticed belatedly that everyone except Royman was looking at us.
“… Seniors?”
“Uh, um….”
From noble mtl dot com
No. What can I not eat?
I wanted to argue, but Robin’s eyes were so cold that I had no choice but to avert my gaze.
“… He, you eat quickly too.”
“… That’s how you’ll come out, that’s it.”
Robin, who had been staring at me for a while, suddenly scooped up a large portion of stew and put it in my mouth.
“Senior. Oh~.”
Others’ eyes began to burn as they watched the scene. No, what the heck is this?
“Ah…. Me too… !”
“Oh, Austin! Try eating this too!”
“Austin! That…. I think my stew is exceptionally delicious! Try it!”
“No, everyone at the table, what is this…. Eupup… !”
Amy, f*ck you.
Because of the spoons mixing around in the air, the area around my mouth is already covered with stew.
“Everyone, please stop. Really…. You have to follow dining etiquette.”
Fortunately, thanks to Princess Alexis stopping it, the spoons that mercilessly soiled my mouth went away.
“Yeah. Princess Maman.”
“Whoops…. Austin too. You put it all in your mouth….”
“No, this is not what I did….”
I saw a momentary triumphant smile pass across Princess Alexis’ face as she wiped my mouth with her handkerchief, but she decided not to notice.
I thought it wasn’t bad that the party became noisy.
Even with the still awkward warrior party, if you take a step closer…. That we can go back to the time when we were at peace in the past.
I have such hope.