Chapter Fifty-two: Our Party Consists of People Who Believe In Having a Hearty Breakfast
In the end, my worries about disturbing their sleep were unfounded—everyone woke up just as the food was ready. I’m glad everyone slept well!
“…Waking up to find breakfast ready… this is bliss…!”
“I wholeheartedly agree. We are truly fortunate.”
Before my eyes, despite having just woken up, Ms. Aria and Mr. Xenon are showing an astounding appetite with impeccably refined manners. Can you believe it? Their movements are so graceful and elegant, yet the plates are emptying in the blink of an eye…! Their handsome and beautiful auras are somewhat diminished by this sight!
"Aria is so cute today too…! Thank you, Rin. I’ll do anything to make her happy, but cooking just isn’t my forte.”
"…I’m also bad at cooking… Don’t want Ed getting sick again…”
"What you two make can hardly be called food…”
"You’re one to talk, Xenon.”
As always, Mr. Ed spoke with such a relaxed expression that it seemed his cheeks might fall off, causing Ms. Aria, who had a spoon in her mouth, to slump her shoulders in dejection. Meanwhile, Mr. Ville tried to stop Mr. Xenon from adding to her distress. During all this, the contents of their bowls and the pot were rapidly diminishing at an astonishing pace.
Luckily, I discovered some bouillon cubes in the fridge’s condiment section, allowing me to add richness back to the thinned-out soup base from the dilution. The hearty, flavor-packed bread soup came out just as delicious as yesterday’s version. In fact, the addition of meaty elements alongside the seafood seemed to have a synergistic effect, enhancing the richness even more.
The butter-fried baguette slices floating in the soup started out crisp and light, then gradually soaked up the broth for a stew-like texture—both delicious in their own way. Normally, if bread gets soggy, making it into French toast is a surefire way to enjoy it, but I think adding it to the soup like this is the quickest and most satisfying method.
"We don’t have any particular requests today, so after we finish breakfast, I’ll distribute the rewards from the fire bear and patrol mission.”
"Oh right, we did get a reward. With everything going on I completely forgot…”
As the large pot of soup was completely emptied, Mr. Ville set down his spoon and muttered as if he had just remembered.
Ah right, the rewards! I completely forgot about it! We went to the guild for the fire bear matter, stayed overnight, went straight to the patrol site, dealt with the orca incident, and then moved on to the celebration, so there wasn’t any time to remember the rewards.
If my memory serves me right, the amount offered was quite decent. Even with 60% of one-fifth, I should have a good amount left. After repaying Mr. Ville for the lodging fees I borrowed, if there’s enough left, I’d like to get some clothes and underwear…
The cleansing spells keep my current outfit and body fresh, but wearing the same thing endlessly is still a bit… The fabric gets worn out, too. I think having spare clothes is essential, but is that being too indulgent…?
Also, I want to buy some groceries for personal use, so a town trip is sounding appealing for various reasons.
“First of all, the fire bear emergency subjugation reward is 5 gold coins, and the patrol mission is 5 silver coins… That’s the total haul this time.”
When I went to clean up the dishes after we finished eating, Mr. Ed cast a cleaning spell on both the dishes and the table! On the now neatly organized table, there was a leather pouch with our reward inside, making a clinking sound as it landed.
Let’s see… If 20% goes to the party fund pool first, that’s 1 gold and 1 silver coin. The rest is divided equally among the 5 of us, which is 8 silver coins and 8 copper coins per person. In my case, I get 60% of that, so that’s 5 silver coins, 3 copper coins, and 8 iron coins… Right? I’m right, aren’t I? I calculated that correctly, right!?!?
"Rin, why don’t you just take a full share? I know I’m biased, but I don’t think anyone would object?”
"Indeed. Uneven compensation can lead to members leaving the party. A valuable member who can handle meals, transportation, and logistics is worth retaining.”
"Mmm. Your food is delicious! Can’t go back to life without you, Rin…! Don’t leave!”
Having peeked over my makeshift note calculations, Mr. Ed suddenly flashed an innocent grin and dropped a bombshell statement. Startled by his unexpected words, I looked up to see Mr. Xenon quietly nodding in agreement, and Ms. Aria, who was sitting next to me, hugged me with incredible force.
Eh…Ehhhhh?!?!
W-Wait, a sudden pay raise like that, I’m not mentally prepared…! And without the party leader’s approval, there’s no way my pay would increase so easily, is there?
"That’s right. We discussed it yesterday, and I… no, we the Gourmands have no intention of letting you go. We’ll take whatever measures are necessary to keep you.”
With a slightly deeper voice, eight silver coins and eight copper coins are neatly stacked in front of me. When I nervously look up, I see our party leader with strawberry-colored eyes slightly narrowed, and a smirk that makes him look somewhat villainous.
Last night… after I fell asleep, you mean?!
"Umm… it’s not like I was planning to leave this party even with the original pay calculations…?”
"Be that as it may, more income is hardly a bad thing, is it? Besides, the detailed calculations are a hassle… It would help me out if you simply accepted this…”
Mr. Ville, who stopped my hand as I tried to return the surplus, exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders. Come on… Mr. Ville doesn’t seem like he’d be bad at calculations… He then took my hand, placed the coins in my palm, and firmly closed my hand around them.
Seeking assistance, I glanced around—only to receive approving nods and smiles from everyone…
…Ah. This is one of those situations, huh? No matter how much I protest, it’s already been decided.
"Rin. Got money, let’s go shopping together. You need new clothes and stuff, right?”
"Oh, shopping sounds fun! I wanna go too!”
"I also heard we can stay overnight here, so stocking up on bedding would be wise.”
"That’s true. Why don’t we all chip in and buy what we need together?”
While I was lost in thought, the conversation continued. Getting a raise is great, but is it just my imagination that I feel like some kind of groundwork was being laid…?
…
…
…Alright! Overthinking this won’t get me anywhere, so I’ll just be glad for the raise and look forward to some shopping time!
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