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As the hunting festival ended without further incident, Virgo returned with a spectacular victory. This was natural because of her level, but she should have more confidence in herself now. I felt like I did something horrible to the other participants, but if Virgo was not there, people would surely have been eaten by the dinosaur, so I guessed this made it somewhat even.

Anyway, we would be having a victory celebration tonight. It would be a modest celebration using the dishes made by Libra, Dina, and Karkinos. It didn’t really matter, but I would not be cooking. It wasn’t that I couldn’t cook, but I only knew how to throw in some ingredients to make simple dishes like fried rice. Honestly, it would look kind of bad.

On the other hand, there could be no complaints about the dishes made by Dina and the others, be it in terms of taste or appearance. What bothered me was that Libra actually tried taste-testing the food. As a golem, how did she even tell the tastes apart?

“I don’t know the taste, but the sensor on my tongue can analyze the components. Thus, it would be possible to select the seasoning that Ruphas-sama likes the most by comparing with past data.”

…What exactly was a golem?

Mizar, you were trying too hard. It felt like he had advanced golem technology by a hundred years. It was weird. A golem was supposed to be an autonomous lump of rock or metal, so how did it become an android?

“Okay, the kasserole is here.”

Dina gave a beaming smile and put the pot in front of us. With a whole pot’s worth, we had quite the luxurious meal today. This must be the French dish known as a casserole. I remembered this dish involved mixing chopped vegetables, meat, and cheese in a soup, which was then cooked in an oven using a heat-resistant container.

Having said that, it was as one would have expected from a different world. There were ingredients that could not be found here (in Midgard) and also others which were used that could not be acquired there (in Japan). The oven was not a high-performance type like what was available on the other side. Instead, it was an old type built with bricks.

The result looked like a casserole, but was actually something else. There were so many similarities that it gave off an eerie feeling. It was as if technology and knowledge of the other side were flowing in and being utilized…Was I overthinking this? For now, I should just ask about it.

“Dina, this is…?”

“Kasserole. It is a typical home-cooked dish in Draupnir. Its definition is somewhat ambiguous, since it is considered a kasserole as long as you dump meat and vegetables into a pot and cook it.”

“That’s kind of sketchy.”

“It’s a dish from the country of the beastkin.”

The casserole I knew of was more clearly defined than this, but it did not seem to be the case here. Simply put, under Draupnir’s definition, whatever was cooked in a pot was considered a kasserole. It did not matter how it was made or what ingredients were used.

This was like an inferior imitation…It was as if the concept was given to people who knew nothing of it, resulting in an inferior imitation that came to be spread as the genuine thing…No, there was actually a setting like that in the game.

Most of the dishes and technology of this world were provided by the goddess to the humanoids, so the humanoids had not done much in terms of invention or trial and error. This was originally the excuse that the administrators prepared for the meta-question posed by players, “If this is a different world, why is it so similar to Earth?” But perhaps, the flow of knowledge and technology from Earth into this world was actually real. It was not impossible. After all, it had already been proven by the fact that a person from Earth could be brought over through the use of X-Gate.

“Even with that, to a beastkin, this is considered fanciful food.”

“Even though it’s so sloppy?”

“Yes. Beastkin have very strong stomachs. They usually eat some lightly cooked meat or vegetables. In severe situations, they would even eat it raw.”

It was fine to eat it raw? In regards to this, I guessed they really were animals. I listened to Dina’s explanation as I ate the casserole—no, kasserole. Hmm. It tasted a little like gratin. It wasn’t bad. Well, this had been somewhat modified to make it easier for us to eat. Originally, it would probably taste a lot more random and crude.

“So what are the plans for tomorrow?”

Karkinos asked while passing the fruit juice to Virgo. Aigokeros and I had wine instead. Although I did not drink much on Earth, I found it quite delicious after gaining this body. I sipped a bit to moisten my throat and answered him.

“I originally planned to leave Draupnir, but I’m changing the plan. Since I’ve found out that the Archer may be nearby, I intend to stay and search for a while.”

“Yes. Tomorrow, we will split up and search.”

“Hmm. That damn horse. Adding more troubles onto Ruphas-sama’s hands. He should have rushed over to present himself as a loyal servant.”

Although Karkinos did not seem to mind the Archer much, Aigokeros was considerably dissatisfied. Uninhibited by the liquor, he was ranting about being a loyal servant. Was he drunk already? This was just the first glass.

“Hmm. Tomorrow, let’s split up in groups of two. As for the grouping…Let’s see. Dina and I, Libra and Karkinos, Aries and Virgo, and finally Aigokeros and Scorpius.”

“What, no way?!”

When I divided everyone into groups, Scorpius, who had been sitting beside me regardless of her being a nuisance, made an expression as if it was the end of the world. She then glared at Dina in anger, while grinding her teeth. On the other hand, Dina’s face turned blue under her gaze as she shed cold sweat.

“Ah, uh. Ruphas-sama, I wish to make a change. If this goes on, I will be assassinated by Scorpius-sama.”

“Oh—…Hmm. Let’s do it like this then. Dina and Aigokeros will be one group. Scorpius will come with me.”

What should I do? Scorpius was seriously annoying.

Back in a good mood again, Scorpius held onto my arm and pressed her cheek against me. Anyway, I decided to conclude tonight’s meeting. All that remained was to take a bath and then go to sleep. It wasn’t important, but I would always reject Scorpius who continually came running to wash my back. I felt that something bad would happen if I let her in with me.

Sometimes when I was in the bath, she would sneak into the dressing room and then get caught by Libra. She always insisted on using the bath after me, so Libra had to replace the bath water and clean the bathroom immediately after. Sometimes, when I woke up in the middle of the night, I would see Scorpius hanging from the ceiling after being caught by Libra. Somehow, Libra was so reliable that I couldn’t do without her anymore.

Now, if only she wasn’t a ponkotsu herself…

I thought as I looked at Libra. She looked at the door as if she noticed something.

“Master, it seems that there is someone outside Tanaka. Based on body temperature and breathing, that person seems to be quite nervous, but I do not sense any hostility. Shall I get rid of the person?”

Libra said as she equipped a machine gun.

Why did she suddenly turn the conversation towards getting rid of things? She just said that she did not sense any hostility, so how did she logically arrive at the conclusion to “get rid” of the person?

“No, it’s fine. Let’s hear what the person has to say.”

It was common sense to communicate first if there was no hostility. I hid my wings under my cloak, while Dina went over. In such situations, Dina was more suitable than a weird person like me. With a “pat, pat” sound, she walked briskly over to the door and opened it.

There was a bipedal fox…no, it was a fox beastkin. Beastkin had faces like those of the animals of their types, so it was usually embarrassing to be cute.

Anyway, I wonder if fox beastkin could be infected by echinococcosis. I thought that it should be possible.

“Kon.”

“Please speak in the common tongue of Midgard.”

“Oh, yes.”

The fox beastkin-san started off with a cute cry, however, after unexpectedly receiving Dina’s cold and cement-hard rebuke, it started speaking normally. Maybe that was its attempt at a joke or something. Due to the cold response, its ears were drooping. It should be okay to address as “it,” right? After all, it was difficult to determine the gender of a beastkin.

“Well, is there anyone on this list here?”

“Do you mind if you show me the list?”

“Here you go.”

Dina took the name list and came back, leaving fox-san behind. Fox-san must have found the camping car unusual as it was looking inside with shifting glances.

I received the list from Dina and looked through the names. There were many unimpressionable names, such as Bikini Muscle, Shadow, Bunny Dandy, and Sei. However, Virgo’s name was right at the top.

Were these…the names of the winners of the hunting festival?

“What’s this?”

“I don’t know the details, but I’m visiting the top rankers around due to the emperor’s order. If it is convenient, please come to the southern warrior’s yurt tomorrow at ten in the morning.”

“What is the reason for the summon?”

“I’m sorry, but as a mere messenger, I do not know the reason. However, it is not compulsory. If you feel like it… please come.”

Apparently, fox-san was just running errands. None of my questions were answered, but since Libra did not say anything, it was not lying.

If you feel like it, huh?

Speaking on the emperor’s order would imply that this was an imperial summon. No matter what one’s nationality might be, if one were to ignore the summon, things would become difficult for travelers and adventurers in this country. In the future, one could expect almost no request from this country. This was practically optional in name, but compulsory in fact. Well, we could ignore it as much as we liked though.

Well then, what was this about?

If the summon was for me or Libra…or anyone else other than Virgo, we would have answered it without hesitation. Even if there were schemes or traps prepared in advanced, we could still forcefully breakthrough them.

But what about Virgo? Level 300 was certainly exceptional in this era, but she was not invincible. There were individuals, such as the Seven Luminaries, who could challenge or even defeat Virgo. For example, the demon that I once defeated with one punch. If Virgo fought him, she might lose. Although this invitation was not necessarily hostile, it would be better to be cautious.

“Virgo, let’s hear your opinion.”

After thinking it through, I decided to respect Virgo’s opinion. If she wanted to go, we would support her. If she did not want to go, then I would take care of it. If the emperor complained, I would deal with it. Fortunately, things like authority had little effect on us.

“Hmm. I think I will go. After all, it is a rare invitation. Besides, I want to do something if it is possible.”

Virgo seemed enthusiastic. In that case, we would support her to the best of our abilities.

Although I just made changes to the plan, I had to change it again. Let’s remove Aries from the search and assign him to support Virgo. It would not be a bad idea to listen in on the emperor’s conversation until Dina and I could ascertain if there was any danger.

“I understand. That’s how it is, messenger. Please tell him that Virgo will take part.”

“Yes, I will certainly do so.”

Hearing my reply, messenger fox-san ran off in a good mood. Its tail couldn’t help but wag as it moved along. It probably ran off to search for the other participants. How energetic.

“For now, let’s sleep early to prepare for tomorrow. Therefore, don’t take too long in the bath. I will also finish as soon as possible.”

“Ruphas-sama, today for sure, your back…”

“Unnecessary.”

I hoped that the emperor did not invite us with malicious intent. I did not want to cause a commotion by making an enemy out of an entire country.

Image from Light Novel Volume 4