Cheat Magician (Hazure Hantei) Chapter 284
October 5
Adventures of Fake Glasses Part 3
***---***
(AN: The response was one of the biggest in the history of the series, but even after the second day, there was no support for Yagi!
Let's do our best tonight too, the third night of the Fake Glasses Festival is starting, Wasshoi!
Oh, the main story will be updated at noon, so don't miss it ...)(End)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Haa ... haa ... wa, ter ..."
"Ou ... wait ... a moment ..."
I continued running until I could no longer see the Orc, then desperately tried to catch my breath and chant, creating a water ball in my left hand.
"Here ... water ..."
"Sorry ... nngu, nngu, nngu ... Puah, I'm back to life!"
"You ... you drank it all ..."
"Aahh, sorry. I just ..."
"Maa, it's fine ..."
I chanted once more and greedily gulped down the water ball I created.
The temperature was freezing if we stayed still, but both me and Mariede had sweat dripping down our foreheads.
"Damn, I got so absorbed in the story that I forgot to use the charm."
"Yuusuke, what was that red water ball I saw earlier. I've never seen magic like that before."
"If I reveal what it is, it won't be a surprise."
"No, to stop a charging Orc with one blow ... what the hell did you do?"
"Maa, let's talk about that while we're walking."
"Wait a minute. I'm going to ward off the monsters ..."
Mariede took out a monster ward from her bag that had iron rings tied together.
It was said that if you shook it and made noise, the monsters would think that a person with a sword was nearby and run away.
However, it seemed to have no effect in places like the Devil's Forest where the density of monsters was high and large groups were formed.
"Now, Yuusuke. Tell me, what is that red water ball."
"It's not that big of a deal. I just mixed this in with it."
I took out a cloth bag from my bag and handed it to Mariede.
"This is ... Red Pepper!"
The contents of the cloth bag was powdered red pepper.
While holding this thing, I chanted and mixed it into the water ball.
"If you get hit by a water ball mixed with this, your eyes and nose will be in severe pain. Not to mention, Orcs have good noses. I can't use amazing magic like Kokubu. Since that's the case, I have no choice but to use my head to survive."
"Amazing, amazing, Yuusuke! As expected from the Monster User's Brains."
"Heeh, this, it's no big deal."
Right, right, praise me even more.
Rather, I'm glad that the strategy worked out exactly as I had planned.
Honestly, I even thought about having Mariede stand up against the Orc and using that opportunity to escape.
"But, Yuusuke. If we had caused it that much damage, wouldn't it have been better to defeat it?"
"Naive, Naive, Mariede. Don't underestimate monsters!"
"Y, yes ..."
"Even if it did cause damage, it was only to the ankle. If you let your guard down and its arms swing around the moment you approach it, that alone could cause a fatal injury."
"I, I see ... Sorry."
"If you want to subjugate Orcs, it's only possible if there are more people, or if there are high-ranking adventurers with you. If you're dawdling and another monster approaches you, attracted by the smell of blood, you'll be forced into a situation where you won't be able to deal with it."
"Right, that's true. It's a learning experience ..."
I took the opportunity to tell her about the subjugation the old and new duo and Kondo had done during the last escort, and showed her how tenacious Orcs were.
Maa, be aware, I pretended it was me who stabbed it, not that mad dog Gilik.
I also talked a lot of nonsense, parroting teachings, and by the time we arrived at the dungeon, I had brainwashed Mariede into being my subordinate.
"It's kind of a crappy town ..."
"That's for sure ..."
The village near the dungeon that we arrived at just before noon could only be described as a poor village.
"Hmm ... This doesn't look good on SNS ..."
"Nn? Es, En ... what did you say?"
"No, it doesn't concern you."
It seemed that all of the buildings in this village were built underground in case monsters overflowed from the dungeon.
The building above ground was designed just for show and to prevent rain from blowing into the stairs leading down to the basement, and it seemed to be similar to the stairs at a subway station.
When I looked inside, all I saw was a rugged iron door with double doors and a staircase leading to the basement.
In front of the stairs and all over the street, men covered in dust sat down as if having nothing to do, and looked at us as if judging us.
"Oi, Mariede ... Who are those people?"
"I think they're probably Porters ..."
"I see ..."
When diving into a dungeon, the deeper you went, the more food, equipment, and other luggage you had to carry.
Volzard's dungeon was a dungeon that produced gemstones and precious metal ores, and the treasures dug up could be quite heavy depending on the items.
Even if you found a treasure, there was no point in finding it if you couldn't take it home.
That was why many adventurers hired porters and luggage carriers.
"Yo, Nii-chan-tachi, are you going to dive? I'll make it cheap."
"Ah~ ... Sorry, we came here on other business."
"Tch, don't get my hopes up, brat ..."
A middle-aged man approached me with a grin on his face, and when he heard that we weren't going to dive into the dungeon, his face contorted, he spat, and walked away.
When the man waved his hand wildly, the other men who had been paying attention to us looked away and clicked their tongues.
I was quite frightened when the old porter talked to me, but somehow I managed to avoid revealing my faults.
"Just as I thought, it really does have a dungeon atmosphere, Yuusuke."
"I, I guess ..."
Rather, why is this guy so excited when she was freaking out when it was an Orc.
As I walked through the streets of the village, feeling the occasional curious gaze, I came across a towering rocky mountain.
A sturdy iron gate was installed at the foot of the mountain, and the gate opened into the dungeon from this side.
This gate was not to prevent intrusion from outside, but to prevent monsters from coming out from inside the dungeon.
There was a macho man standing in the middle of the open gate, looking at me.
He had a skinhead, beard, and an eyepatch, and had a huge scar around his right eye.
The way he held a thick iron rod in one hand looked just like the figure of Nioh.(TN:The two guardian gods of Buddhism that stand at the entrance of the Buddhist temple.)
I felt like I could be killed just by him looking at me.
"What, you guys ... This isn't a kid's playground ya know."
"I, I know. But, even if it's the entrance, there's got to be meaning in seeing it with my own eyes."
"Fuun, it is quite a sight ... It doesn't matter as long as you don't cross the gate."
The strong-looking man who seemed to be the gatekeeper moved to the side of the gate with a terrifying smile on his face.
When I stood in front of the gate, the sound of the wind blowing into the dungeon sounded like the breath of a monster.
The face of Mariede, who was standing next to me and staring at the entrance of the dungeon, also looked stiff.
"If you want to proceed from here, you'll either need to get Donovan-san's permission, or you'll need to register as a porter, or you have you hire a skilled escort."
"What rank of escort?"
"Up to the fifth floor, hire one B-rank adventurer for each person, and if you want to advance beyond that, hire an A-rank or higher adventurer."
"If it's S-rank ... ?"
"S-rank, is it? Black hair ... You, do you know the Monster User?"
"Maa ..."
"Right! This Yuusuke is the man who is said to be the Monster User's Brains."
While I was wondering whether to use my Kokubu connections, Mariede started trumpeting what I had told her on the way here.
"In the first place, it was because of Yuusuke's advice that the Monster User was able to freely manipulate magic to the point where he was called the Monster User. Yuusuke's ingenuity is hidden behind the many achievements of the Monster User."
"Hou ... Is he a guy like that."
Mariede puffed out her chest proudly, and the man guarding the gate sharpened his gaze.
"In that case ... Would you like to come in for a moment?"
"Really?"
"No, that's no good."
I immediately denied the words of Mariede, who had readily accepted the gatekeeper's invitation.
"Why is that, Yuusuke. We were given permission to enter the dungeon!"
"We have not completed the guild's training. For us to step in would mean the collapse of order. The current structure was created with the safety of adventurers in mind. If you want to enter, follow the proper procedures."
If I take advantage of such sweet words, I'll definitely pay the price later.
We were able to escape from the Orc, but we were overwhelmingly lacking in strength.
In addition. I can't stand the sweet talk of such a dangerous old man.
I took out my smartphone and took a photo of the area near the dungeon entrance.
Even though we were sitting in front of the gate, neither adventurers entering nor coming out of the dungeon passed through.
Is Volzard's dungeon more deserted than I expected?
"Are there really that few adventurers who dive into the dungeon?"
"This is what it's like for this time ... After a little while, more and more will come out."
After saying that, the gatekeeper pointed in the direction of the village with his chin.
It seemed that many of the adventurers who dive into Volzard's dungeon drink the night before, wake up around noon, and come out after eating their fill.
Once they're in the dungeon, it doesn't matter whether it's day or night, and it seemed common for people to work full-time for about two or three days, and then come back before evening for a drink.
In other words, the current time was before the rush hour, and it seemed that the dungeon was about to become active.
In that case, let's take a video of the line of adventurers heading to the dungeon, and then have lunch.
"If we want to eat lunch, which store do you recommend?"
"In that case, go to Senya's store, which is the third one on the left. Tell them that you were referred by Rodrigo."
"Alright. Thank you ..."
Just as old man Rodrigo said, after noon, men who looked like adventurers slowly appeared from the buildings lining the street.
The porters who had been sitting on the street all stood up all at once and started selling their services.
The basic fee, time, share of the treasure excavated, etc ... Once negotiations were finalized, the porters carried the adventurers' luggage and disappeared into the dungeon with them.
Mariede and I were standing next to the gate and watching the adventurers, but no one was looking at us.
All of them, without exception, stared straight into the dungeon and moved forward as if possessed.
Even through the smartphone screen, it looked like a group of ghosts possessed by greed.
Once the flow of adventurers had calmed down, I decided to go eat lunch.
"Mariede, let's go."
"O, ou ..."
Old man Rodrigo silently saw us off with a big smile on his face.
It would be helpful for future reporting activities if I could make my face known to important people in town, but I felt like old man Donovan and old man Rodrigo were a little weird.
Senya's store, which old man Rodrigo told me about, had only a signboard, a roof, and a door to the basement above ground.
"That's a really thick door."
The iron door installed on the stairs leading down to the basement seemed to be over five centimeters thick.
There wasn't even a handle on the outside, and there were three sturdy-looking bolts on the inside.
Furthermore, that wasn't the only door, there was a similar door located at the bottom of the stairs.
I photographed the door at the ground level and the second door from the top of the stairs.
Tokyo had underground shopping malls like Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, and there were many stairs that went down to these levels.
Roppongi Station on the Oedo Subway Line, which departed from Hikarigaoka, my hometown, was incredibly deep.
Yet, the reason why this ordinary staircase felt like it led to another dimension was probably because I had just seen the dungeon.
When I went down the stairs and went through the second door, I found myself in a larger space than I had imagined.
There were five round tables that could seat five or six people, and about ten people could sit at the counter, and the kitchen seemed to be in the back.
Perhaps because the peak hour had passed, there were no customers in sight, and the two waitresses were cleaning up the dishes.
"Welcome ... Hm~m, this isn't a place for young boys to come and play."
One of the waitresses noticed the footsteps and called out to us, but when she saw us, she waved her hand like she was admonishing a child and tried to chase us away.
Maa. Judging by my looks, I'm definitely a kid, so it's probably a natural response.
If they put on airs here and raised their voice, I would be sure to listen and return to the surface.
"I'd like to have a meal, Rodrigo referred me."
"Hee ... Okay then, Owner, we're having lunch for two!"
The waitresses looked at me from top to bottom as if assessing an item, and after nodding to each other, called out to the kitchen.
"Aahhn? Are you having a meal at this time?"
The person who came out of the kitchen was a woman with a tough-looking face like that of a former delinquent.
She had purple, flowing hair like a lion's mane, and her left leg was a wooden prosthesis.
"Tch, isn't it a kid ..."
"It seems to be Rodrigo's referral."
"Rodrigo's ... ? Tch, can't be helped, just eat and then go home."
The woman who seemed to be the owner of the restaurant clicked her tongue repeatedly as she returned to the kitchen.
"Alright, here, sit down."
One of the waitresses patted the table after it had been cleared, and then immediately went back to cleaning.
They didn't seem to bring water or menus, but maybe I should ask them.
"It's a very unfriendly store ..."
It seemed unfriendly not only to me, who was used to Japanese-style hospitality, but also to Mariede.
However, the waitress who was cleaning up the nearby table told me with a faint smile.
"Right. At other stores, they might welcome you warmly. In return, they might extort all your money."
The old porter who called out to me scolded me, Rodrigo scolded me, and I guess we looked like chicks that had just hatched from eggs.
Maa, in a shop like this, it was probably easier to get a story out of them if we're being looked down on.
"It's better not to criticize too much. This Yuusuke is the man who is said to be the Monster User's Brains."
When Mariede spoke up with a heavy breath, the waitress, who had been cleaning up without even looking at us, suddenly stopped moving.
"Hee ... The Monster User's Brains ..."
"Now that you mention it, this kid has black hair and black eyes."
"Fu~un ..."
They exchanged eye contact, and one of the waitresses headed towards the kitchen.
She probably went to talk to the owner from earlier.
The waitress who remained on the floor and the waitress who came back from the kitchen went back to tidying up the restaurant without speaking to me, but the atmosphere had clearly changed from before.
Although they pretended to be uninterested, they kept glancing at me.
Not long after, the 30-year-old former delinquent prosthetic woman came out of the kitchen with a tray in her hands.
The way she looked at me, it seemed like she was a different person than before.
"Aiyo, thank you for waiting ..."
The menu that was served consisted of a thick steak, soup, salad, and a huge piece of bread with butter.
I was expecting something simpler, but the menu was unexpectedly extravagant.
"You, is it true that you know the Monster User?"
"Aahh, I was summoned from another world along with Kokubu."
"Haa? Summoned from another world? Don't be ridiculous!"
The 30-year-old woman who spoke to me in a wheedling voice that was completely different from before returned to her normal voice as soon as she heard that we had been summoned from another world and raised her voice, but this was just as I had calculated.
"Then, let me ask you, do you think a kid who uses such unconventional magic could live without anyone knowing?"
The gaze that was glaring at me suddenly loosened, and once again had a probing color to it.
To be honest, it was all I could to do keep people from realizing how freaked out I was.
"That's interesting, if you tell me stores about the Monster User, I'll let you eat for free."
"No, I'll pay for the food, and I'll tell you about Kokubu. In exchange, I'd like to hear about the dungeon."
"Hou ... That's fine, I'm Senya. What's your name?"
"It's Yuusuke Yagi."
"What, are you a noble."
"No way, the country I lived in doesn't have a class system, so anyone can use a last name."
"Fu~un ... Maa, it's fine. Yuusuke, eat before it gets cold, let's talk after that ..."
With a grin on her face, Senya held up two fingers, and the waitress immediately brought out a cigarette and an ashtray.
If you want to smoke, use the smoking area ... There's no way I can say that.
Cheat Magician (Hazure Hantei) Chapter 284
October 5
Adventures of Fake Glasses Part 3
***---***
(AN: The response was one of the biggest in the history of the series, but even after the second day, there was no support for Yagi!
Let's do our best tonight too, the third night of the Fake Glasses Festival is starting, Wasshoi!
Oh, the main story will be updated at noon, so don't miss it ...)(End)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Haa ... haa ... wa, ter ..."
"Ou ... wait ... a moment ..."
I continued running until I could no longer see the Orc, then desperately tried to catch my breath and chant, creating a water ball in my left hand.
"Here ... water ..."
"Sorry ... nngu, nngu, nngu ... Puah, I'm back to life!"
"You ... you drank it all ..."
"Aahh, sorry. I just ..."
"Maa, it's fine ..."
I chanted once more and greedily gulped down the water ball I created.
The temperature was freezing if we stayed still, but both me and Mariede had sweat dripping down our foreheads.
"Damn, I got so absorbed in the story that I forgot to use the charm."
"Yuusuke, what was that red water ball I saw earlier. I've never seen magic like that before."
"If I reveal what it is, it won't be a surprise."
"No, to stop a charging Orc with one blow ... what the hell did you do?"
"Maa, let's talk about that while we're walking."
"Wait a minute. I'm going to ward off the monsters ..."
Mariede took out a monster ward from her bag that had iron rings tied together.
It was said that if you shook it and made noise, the monsters would think that a person with a sword was nearby and run away.
However, it seemed to have no effect in places like the Devil's Forest where the density of monsters was high and large groups were formed.
"Now, Yuusuke. Tell me, what is that red water ball."
"It's not that big of a deal. I just mixed this in with it."
I took out a cloth bag from my bag and handed it to Mariede.
"This is ... Red Pepper!"
The contents of the cloth bag was powdered red pepper.
While holding this thing, I chanted and mixed it into the water ball.
"If you get hit by a water ball mixed with this, your eyes and nose will be in severe pain. Not to mention, Orcs have good noses. I can't use amazing magic like Kokubu. Since that's the case, I have no choice but to use my head to survive."
"Amazing, amazing, Yuusuke! As expected from the Monster User's Brains."
"Heeh, this, it's no big deal."
Right, right, praise me even more.
Rather, I'm glad that the strategy worked out exactly as I had planned.
Honestly, I even thought about having Mariede stand up against the Orc and using that opportunity to escape.
"But, Yuusuke. If we had caused it that much damage, wouldn't it have been better to defeat it?"
"Naive, Naive, Mariede. Don't underestimate monsters!"
"Y, yes ..."
"Even if it did cause damage, it was only to the ankle. If you let your guard down and its arms swing around the moment you approach it, that alone could cause a fatal injury."
"I, I see ... Sorry."
"If you want to subjugate Orcs, it's only possible if there are more people, or if there are high-ranking adventurers with you. If you're dawdling and another monster approaches you, attracted by the smell of blood, you'll be forced into a situation where you won't be able to deal with it."
"Right, that's true. It's a learning experience ..."
I took the opportunity to tell her about the subjugation the old and new duo and Kondo had done during the last escort, and showed her how tenacious Orcs were.
Maa, be aware, I pretended it was me who stabbed it, not that mad dog Gilik.
I also talked a lot of nonsense, parroting teachings, and by the time we arrived at the dungeon, I had brainwashed Mariede into being my subordinate.
"It's kind of a crappy town ..."
"That's for sure ..."
The village near the dungeon that we arrived at just before noon could only be described as a poor village.
"Hmm ... This doesn't look good on SNS ..."
"Nn? Es, En ... what did you say?"
"No, it doesn't concern you."
It seemed that all of the buildings in this village were built underground in case monsters overflowed from the dungeon.
The building above ground was designed just for show and to prevent rain from blowing into the stairs leading down to the basement, and it seemed to be similar to the stairs at a subway station.
When I looked inside, all I saw was a rugged iron door with double doors and a staircase leading to the basement.
In front of the stairs and all over the street, men covered in dust sat down as if having nothing to do, and looked at us as if judging us.
"Oi, Mariede ... Who are those people?"
"I think they're probably Porters ..."
"I see ..."
When diving into a dungeon, the deeper you went, the more food, equipment, and other luggage you had to carry.
Volzard's dungeon was a dungeon that produced gemstones and precious metal ores, and the treasures dug up could be quite heavy depending on the items.
Even if you found a treasure, there was no point in finding it if you couldn't take it home.
That was why many adventurers hired porters and luggage carriers.
"Yo, Nii-chan-tachi, are you going to dive? I'll make it cheap."
"Ah~ ... Sorry, we came here on other business."
"Tch, don't get my hopes up, brat ..."
A middle-aged man approached me with a grin on his face, and when he heard that we weren't going to dive into the dungeon, his face contorted, he spat, and walked away.
When the man waved his hand wildly, the other men who had been paying attention to us looked away and clicked their tongues.
I was quite frightened when the old porter talked to me, but somehow I managed to avoid revealing my faults.
"Just as I thought, it really does have a dungeon atmosphere, Yuusuke."
"I, I guess ..."
Rather, why is this guy so excited when she was freaking out when it was an Orc.
As I walked through the streets of the village, feeling the occasional curious gaze, I came across a towering rocky mountain.
A sturdy iron gate was installed at the foot of the mountain, and the gate opened into the dungeon from this side.
This gate was not to prevent intrusion from outside, but to prevent monsters from coming out from inside the dungeon.
There was a macho man standing in the middle of the open gate, looking at me.
He had a skinhead, beard, and an eyepatch, and had a huge scar around his right eye.
The way he held a thick iron rod in one hand looked just like the figure of Nioh.(TN:The two guardian gods of Buddhism that stand at the entrance of the Buddhist temple.)
I felt like I could be killed just by him looking at me.
"What, you guys ... This isn't a kid's playground ya know."
"I, I know. But, even if it's the entrance, there's got to be meaning in seeing it with my own eyes."
"Fuun, it is quite a sight ... It doesn't matter as long as you don't cross the gate."
The strong-looking man who seemed to be the gatekeeper moved to the side of the gate with a terrifying smile on his face.
When I stood in front of the gate, the sound of the wind blowing into the dungeon sounded like the breath of a monster.
The face of Mariede, who was standing next to me and staring at the entrance of the dungeon, also looked stiff.
"If you want to proceed from here, you'll either need to get Donovan-san's permission, or you'll need to register as a porter, or you have you hire a skilled escort."
"What rank of escort?"
"Up to the fifth floor, hire one B-rank adventurer for each person, and if you want to advance beyond that, hire an A-rank or higher adventurer."
"If it's S-rank ... ?"
"S-rank, is it? Black hair ... You, do you know the Monster User?"
"Maa ..."
"Right! This Yuusuke is the man who is said to be the Monster User's Brains."
While I was wondering whether to use my Kokubu connections, Mariede started trumpeting what I had told her on the way here.
"In the first place, it was because of Yuusuke's advice that the Monster User was able to freely manipulate magic to the point where he was called the Monster User. Yuusuke's ingenuity is hidden behind the many achievements of the Monster User."
"Hou ... Is he a guy like that."
Mariede puffed out her chest proudly, and the man guarding the gate sharpened his gaze.
"In that case ... Would you like to come in for a moment?"
"Really?"
"No, that's no good."
I immediately denied the words of Mariede, who had readily accepted the gatekeeper's invitation.
"Why is that, Yuusuke. We were given permission to enter the dungeon!"
"We have not completed the guild's training. For us to step in would mean the collapse of order. The current structure was created with the safety of adventurers in mind. If you want to enter, follow the proper procedures."
If I take advantage of such sweet words, I'll definitely pay the price later.
We were able to escape from the Orc, but we were overwhelmingly lacking in strength.
In addition. I can't stand the sweet talk of such a dangerous old man.
I took out my smartphone and took a photo of the area near the dungeon entrance.
Even though we were sitting in front of the gate, neither adventurers entering nor coming out of the dungeon passed through.
Is Volzard's dungeon more deserted than I expected?
"Are there really that few adventurers who dive into the dungeon?"
"This is what it's like for this time ... After a little while, more and more will come out."
After saying that, the gatekeeper pointed in the direction of the village with his chin.
It seemed that many of the adventurers who dive into Volzard's dungeon drink the night before, wake up around noon, and come out after eating their fill.
Once they're in the dungeon, it doesn't matter whether it's day or night, and it seemed common for people to work full-time for about two or three days, and then come back before evening for a drink.
In other words, the current time was before the rush hour, and it seemed that the dungeon was about to become active.
In that case, let's take a video of the line of adventurers heading to the dungeon, and then have lunch.
"If we want to eat lunch, which store do you recommend?"
"In that case, go to Senya's store, which is the third one on the left. Tell them that you were referred by Rodrigo."
"Alright. Thank you ..."
Just as old man Rodrigo said, after noon, men who looked like adventurers slowly appeared from the buildings lining the street.
The porters who had been sitting on the street all stood up all at once and started selling their services.
The basic fee, time, share of the treasure excavated, etc ... Once negotiations were finalized, the porters carried the adventurers' luggage and disappeared into the dungeon with them.
Mariede and I were standing next to the gate and watching the adventurers, but no one was looking at us.
All of them, without exception, stared straight into the dungeon and moved forward as if possessed.
Even through the smartphone screen, it looked like a group of ghosts possessed by greed.
Once the flow of adventurers had calmed down, I decided to go eat lunch.
"Mariede, let's go."
"O, ou ..."
Old man Rodrigo silently saw us off with a big smile on his face.
It would be helpful for future reporting activities if I could make my face known to important people in town, but I felt like old man Donovan and old man Rodrigo were a little weird.
Senya's store, which old man Rodrigo told me about, had only a signboard, a roof, and a door to the basement above ground.
"That's a really thick door."
The iron door installed on the stairs leading down to the basement seemed to be over five centimeters thick.
There wasn't even a handle on the outside, and there were three sturdy-looking bolts on the inside.
Furthermore, that wasn't the only door, there was a similar door located at the bottom of the stairs.
I photographed the door at the ground level and the second door from the top of the stairs.
Tokyo had underground shopping malls like Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, and there were many stairs that went down to these levels.
Roppongi Station on the Oedo Subway Line, which departed from Hikarigaoka, my hometown, was incredibly deep.
Yet, the reason why this ordinary staircase felt like it led to another dimension was probably because I had just seen the dungeon.
When I went down the stairs and went through the second door, I found myself in a larger space than I had imagined.
There were five round tables that could seat five or six people, and about ten people could sit at the counter, and the kitchen seemed to be in the back.
Perhaps because the peak hour had passed, there were no customers in sight, and the two waitresses were cleaning up the dishes.
"Welcome ... Hm~m, this isn't a place for young boys to come and play."
One of the waitresses noticed the footsteps and called out to us, but when she saw us, she waved her hand like she was admonishing a child and tried to chase us away.
Maa. Judging by my looks, I'm definitely a kid, so it's probably a natural response.
If they put on airs here and raised their voice, I would be sure to listen and return to the surface.
"I'd like to have a meal, Rodrigo referred me."
"Hee ... Okay then, Owner, we're having lunch for two!"
The waitresses looked at me from top to bottom as if assessing an item, and after nodding to each other, called out to the kitchen.
"Aahhn? Are you having a meal at this time?"
The person who came out of the kitchen was a woman with a tough-looking face like that of a former delinquent.
She had purple, flowing hair like a lion's mane, and her left leg was a wooden prosthesis.
"Tch, isn't it a kid ..."
"It seems to be Rodrigo's referral."
"Rodrigo's ... ? Tch, can't be helped, just eat and then go home."
The woman who seemed to be the owner of the restaurant clicked her tongue repeatedly as she returned to the kitchen.
"Alright, here, sit down."
One of the waitresses patted the table after it had been cleared, and then immediately went back to cleaning.
They didn't seem to bring water or menus, but maybe I should ask them.
"It's a very unfriendly store ..."
It seemed unfriendly not only to me, who was used to Japanese-style hospitality, but also to Mariede.
However, the waitress who was cleaning up the nearby table told me with a faint smile.
"Right. At other stores, they might welcome you warmly. In return, they might extort all your money."
The old porter who called out to me scolded me, Rodrigo scolded me, and I guess we looked like chicks that had just hatched from eggs.
Maa, in a shop like this, it was probably easier to get a story out of them if we're being looked down on.
"It's better not to criticize too much. This Yuusuke is the man who is said to be the Monster User's Brains."
When Mariede spoke up with a heavy breath, the waitress, who had been cleaning up without even looking at us, suddenly stopped moving.
"Hee ... The Monster User's Brains ..."
"Now that you mention it, this kid has black hair and black eyes."
"Fu~un ..."
They exchanged eye contact, and one of the waitresses headed towards the kitchen.
She probably went to talk to the owner from earlier.
The waitress who remained on the floor and the waitress who came back from the kitchen went back to tidying up the restaurant without speaking to me, but the atmosphere had clearly changed from before.
Although they pretended to be uninterested, they kept glancing at me.
Not long after, the 30-year-old former delinquent prosthetic woman came out of the kitchen with a tray in her hands.
The way she looked at me, it seemed like she was a different person than before.
"Aiyo, thank you for waiting ..."
The menu that was served consisted of a thick steak, soup, salad, and a huge piece of bread with butter.
I was expecting something simpler, but the menu was unexpectedly extravagant.
"You, is it true that you know the Monster User?"
"Aahh, I was summoned from another world along with Kokubu."
"Haa? Summoned from another world? Don't be ridiculous!"
The 30-year-old woman who spoke to me in a wheedling voice that was completely different from before returned to her normal voice as soon as she heard that we had been summoned from another world and raised her voice, but this was just as I had calculated.
"Then, let me ask you, do you think a kid who uses such unconventional magic could live without anyone knowing?"
The gaze that was glaring at me suddenly loosened, and once again had a probing color to it.
To be honest, it was all I could to do keep people from realizing how freaked out I was.
"That's interesting, if you tell me stores about the Monster User, I'll let you eat for free."
"No, I'll pay for the food, and I'll tell you about Kokubu. In exchange, I'd like to hear about the dungeon."
"Hou ... That's fine, I'm Senya. What's your name?"
"It's Yuusuke Yagi."
"What, are you a noble."
"No way, the country I lived in doesn't have a class system, so anyone can use a last name."
"Fu~un ... Maa, it's fine. Yuusuke, eat before it gets cold, let's talk after that ..."
With a grin on her face, Senya held up two fingers, and the waitress immediately brought out a cigarette and an ashtray.
If you want to smoke, use the smoking area ... There's no way I can say that.
