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Catherine and Alfred’s premonition turned out to be true.

The scouting party that had set out at dawn returned around noon when the sun was high in the sky. They reported finding an underground dungeon half a day’s journey from where they had hunted the giant mimic.

The scale of the naturally occurring dungeon underground was beyond imagination.

Even if they had to, they couldn’t simply cross through it.

While the command team pondered the route of the caravan, news of the dungeon discovery spread rapidly throughout the entire campsite.

It was only natural that it spread.

What is a dungeon?

For adventurers, whether big or small, it is a space filled with the unknown and treasures that should never be overlooked.

Of course, various dangers lurk in the form of traps, monsters, and obstructions, but those who worry about such things do not enter dungeons.

Whatever the reason, the scale was considerable as well.

The cliffs along the coastline and the entire forest had transformed into a dungeon—the whole underground of a region had turned into one.

Regardless of the danger posed by the discovered dungeon, not just adventurers but others began to feel their hearts flutter with anticipation.

“Wow, if it’s that huge, the loot should be incredibly sweet!”

“We should just pass this up?”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“Seriously, what are you talking about? We’re on a mission right now, you idiot!”

“Oh.”

That’s right.

Currently, there were three types of adventurers in the caravan.

Adventurers employed to replace the knights and soldiers in the escort caravan to initially fend off attackers— their adventurer nickname: Meat Shield.

Next were the merchants who had tagged along for various reasons, looking to grab some crumbs and had taken up escort requests for the merchants.

Lastly, there were those who were heading to Kingsland for various reasons, but since all the slots were filled, they were just following along with the caravan.

Of course, contracts could be broken at any time.

But just like how all mushrooms in the world can be eaten, some can only be eaten once—thus everything that occurs from that is solely personal responsibility.

It would be safe to say that there are “almost” no crazies who would throw caution to the wind and rush towards the dungeon abandoning the duke’s request.

So, the majority heading towards the dungeon were either those who tossed aside the merchant’s escort requests or adventurers following along without a contract.

Up until the moment they left Coldon, the adventurers who had taken up the duke’s escort request and had become the object of envy and jealousy had seen their roles reverse.

Of course, it was more stable here, but still, the treasures of the dungeon made one’s mouth water merely with imagination.

“Damn it!”

“You scoundrels born from scavengers and thieves! If you do this, I’ll report you to the guild!”

“If that makes you feel better, by all means!”

“We’re heading for the dungeon!”

Despite the merchants’ coercion and threats, a considerable number of adventurers set off towards the dungeon. The merchants could not catch the adventurers.

The mindset that they could strike it rich in the dungeon proved very helpful in alleviating any future penalties.

Regardless of the circumstances of the adventurers and merchants, those who were going were going, and those who stayed were staying—it had been a day. The rest was over.

The caravan, having altered its route from the coastline to the inland, resumed movement.

*

*

*

To put it plainly, Karem was bored.

The excitement of leaving Iceland and entering the new environment of the Kingdom of Seophone lasted only a moment.

The thrill of travel had subsided.

And the emotion that had invariably departed returned.

Boredom crept in.

At first, Karem tried to overcome this boredom.

However, there wasn’t much he could do.

The wagon had been modified in various ways, and while it was spacious inside compared to how it looked from the outside, it wasn’t enough to cook or experiment.

Reading books could only keep him entertained for a day or two.

He had already devoured the books at his level.

Only Catherine’s magic textbooks remained.

Aside from those, there were only the toys and storybooks for little kids that Alicia had left behind during her visit.

(He was horrified by the cruelty in the storybooks.)

However, as the saying goes, “Life finds a way,” Karem ultimately discovered a method to overcome his boredom.

Crunch—crunch—crunch—

Karem began to peel the thin skins off the walnuts and almonds.

“…Is that fun?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm.”

Perhaps bothered by the noise, Catherine slammed her book shut.

“Ah, please be careful.”

“Huh?”

“The shells are flying in the wind.”

Grumbling to Catherine, Karem pulled the basket filled with the thin skins closer to himself. The basket wobbled, filled with both peeled and unpeeled walnuts and almonds.

“Well, only Mary would enjoy that.”

Karem, glancing past Mary’s gaze urging him to make a mess, focused on the walnut in his hand with a needle.

Peeling the nuts was tough. If he slipped while trying to peel the skin sticking closely to the nutmeat, he could easily puncture it or prick his hand.

The same went for almonds.

No, in fact, almonds were even harder than walnuts.

The skins clung to the nutmeat much tighter than the walnuts.

“But is it really necessary to do that?”

Mary tilted her head, unable to take her eyes off the basket of skins.

“There’s an easier way to peel the skins.”

“Is it soaking in water?”

“Yes. Then the skins come off all at once, and you don’t have to focus so much, right?”

Mary spoke as if unable to comprehend, but Karem had his reasons.

“Because then it comes off too easily.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just like why you should refrain from teleportation and house fairy magic in the tower.”

“Oh, if that’s the reason.”

Mary seemed to understand, nodding her head.

Her gaze remained on the skin basket.

“…Why are you staring at that so intently?”

“Oh, I’m just wondering if someone might suddenly open the door or if some mistake might cause the skins to scatter into the air like autumn leaves.”

“Not a chance.”

“It’s merely a possibility. A possibility.”

Mary’s eyes remained fixed on the pile of skins as Karem slowly moved the basket away with a wary eye.

“Why are you so cautious?”

“Just in case, I’m being cautious.”

“To think you would suspect me. How unfortunate.”

Despite her expressionless face, her heartfelt feelings seeped through her words, but Karem refused to lower his guard.

‘She must be waiting for a chance.’

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared if the skins were tossed aside; after all, it was Mary’s job to clean the tower.

However, now, this action of peeling nuts was part of a process.

The goal, as mentioned earlier, was merely to kill time.

Picking up walnuts and almonds, peeling their skins, collecting the nutmeats separately and the skins together—every action was to alleviate boredom.

“That’s nonsense.”

Catherine looked back and forth between Karem and Mary before reopening her book and shaking her head.

“Nonsense? Contractor, how can you say that—”

“Care for one?”

“Sure.”

“Hmm.”

Catherine leaned forward just enough to accept the smooth, white nutmeat Karem offered.

Crunch—crunch—

“Indeed, this is far more flavorful than just eating walnuts. It seems oilier too.”

“Bitterness usually comes from the skins.”

“Hm. Nutmeat that’s been peeled.”

“Shall we prepare snacks using these peeled ones?”

Mary said this while finally breaking her gaze from the skin basket. Upon seeing that, Catherine chuckled softly.

“Your true feelings are all too clear.”

“Anyway, the penalty ended yesterday. So, I can now rightfully intervene in Karem’s actions of preparing meals and snacks.”

“Yeah. Go ahead. But I want something different…”

She wants something different again; it’s starting up once more. Since entering Coldon, Catherine had often requested him to show off his skills or surprise her with something troublesome.

Karem shook his head and silently offered the nutmeat basket to Mary. She accepted it and fed Catherine one nut at a time as Catherine’s mouth opened.

“Well, if we stop later, how about I try making something I learned from the cooks of the Kingdom of Adobice last spring?”

“Oh, that reminds me, there was that.”

The snacks from the Kingdom of Adobice.

The pinnacle of peculiarities prompted Catherine to lift her head from her book.

“You said you weren’t confident in baking? It’s odd that the results are always so excellent considering that.”

“I’ve improved since then but still have a long way to go.”

“But you plan to bake snacks from the Kingdom of Adobice? You must have made preparations.”

“Yes.”

Karem confidently replied to Catherine’s question with determination.

“Just as Mary mentioned earlier, since the holiday is over.”

“It’s not a holiday; it’s a penalty.”

“Miss Catherine called it a holiday.”

“It has the meaning of a penalty, so it’s a penalty.”

Mary protested, wondering what was so unfair, but no one paid her any mind.

“Anyway, since I have the duty of kneading, I can make as many as I want.”

“You haven’t shown any signs of practicing, though. You must have learned a lot back then?”

“Well, not really. The Kingdom of Adobice’s cuisine is quite similar to the desert lands of my previous life, you know.”

The desserts of the Kingdom of Adobice were as diverse as the haughty Dark Elves could make them, but they could be summarized simply in three categories.

Incredibly sweet, paper-thin pastry dough filled with nuts used liberally.

‘There were traits like that in my previous life too.’

All three were quite similar to the desserts of the Middle Eastern culture from his past life.

During their brief exchange, he hadn’t learned much, but the atmosphere and characteristics themselves were likely similar.

And before making the bread and pastries from the Middle East and the Kingdom of Adobice, there was one important precondition.

“Mary, can you make the pastries thinner than parchment paper?”

“How thin, specifically?”

“Thin enough to see through from the other side.”

“Are you saying that all of a sudden?”

Mary smirked and tilted her chin up.

“Well, of course. Just in case something like this might happen, I studied the recipe book Karem brought from the cooks of Adobice in advance.”

“Truly the versatile house fairy, Mary.”

“Finally, you acknowledge it. In that sense—”

“Don’t even think about saying you want me to solely trust you with the snacks and meals.”

Clink-. Mary clicked her tongue defiantly.

“Did that not work again? But listen, Karem. It seems the dough is crucial in the snacks from Adobice—”

“Well, that’s the same as when making snacks until now. What’s new about that?”

“So, let’s do something else—huh?”

“Exactly. The difficult and troublesome tasks are for you. The rest is on me.”

If you heard it at a glance, it sounded like he was dumping the hard and annoying things on someone else, but this was clearly the result of a strict agreement.

Karem wasn’t too confident in baking and didn’t want to do tedious tasks.

Conversely, Mary was so fond of work that she would create tasks for herself if none were available.

Thus, this trash-like statement was a strategy that benefited them both. However, despite their unspoken agreement, Mary often encroached into Karem’s domain for more tasks, so he couldn’t let his guard down. This was something that repeatedly happened, but it nonetheless was an ongoing issue.

“But it’s so frustrating. I signed a contract before you did…!”

“Ah! That doesn’t mean I’ll concede in cooking.”

“I want even more than that.”

“Ugh. This is already enough of a concession.”

Mary made various attempts to increase her share, but with Karem’s refusal and Catherine’s tacit approval, she always ended up falling short.

 

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