Chapter 62

“…Huh, this place’s surprisingly small.”

Having received a summon to the Guild Master’s office the other day, Tsutomu had gone to ask Camille what she wanted. The business, as anti-climatic as it had turned out to be, had led him to a certain house this afternoon.

Back when Camille was in his party, they had once talked over the topic of cooking, with Tsutomu saying at one point that he would teach her how to make pot-au-feu. Not having expected the summon to be about that, of all things, Tsutomu felt someone what underwhelmed… but then again, he could not simply say that he had forgotten. As such, he’d had to find an open slot in his schedule to pay a visit to Camille’s home.

He tugged on the doorbell string, making it ring quite loudly. A few moments later, Camille, in her casual wear, opened the door and stepped out.

“Oh, hello.”

“I’ve been waiting. Here, come on in.”

Camille, her long red hair swaying in the breeze, invited Tsutomu in. The latter, after greeting her awkwardly, followed her. Although the house looked small on the outside, its interior, with wood as its base theme, had been decorated with great attention to detail, creating a relaxing, spacious-feeling atmosphere.

Camille then made eye contact with Tsutomu, who was standing beside her, glaring subtly as if to question him.

“So, Tsutomu, I’ve heard that you’ve been frequently visiting the Golden Tune lately?”

“That doesn’t sound right… I’m giving them some guidance, that’s all.”

“The Clan is supposed to be almost all girls, isn’t it? You must’ve found at least one who tickles your fancy, hmm?”

“Well, actually, not quite. Most of them are already engaged to Leon, after all.”

“Not quite… so not an outright no? Wouldn’t hurt to poach just one member from them, right?” Camille cracked a playful grin and poked Tsutomu’s shoulder.

“I wouldn’t want to do that, no,” Tsutomu denied the question outright while keeping himself facing forward.

Bored by the no-nonsense answer, Camille looked away and led him into the kitchen.

“And here we are… Now, instructor, you’ll be teaching me how to make pot-au-feu today. Please do treat me kindly.”

“What, so I’m YOUR instructor now?”

“I haven’t gotten anyone to teach me much about anything ever since I took up this position… and that’s quite some time ago. Just let me have my fun once in a while, will you?”

Camille raised her face and grinned. Tsutomu, although exasperated, started laying out the ingredients and tools from his Magic Bag onto the kitchen counter. Although he was indeed here to teach her how to make pot-au-feu, Tsutomu was not much of a cook himself. He could do a little since he had been living alone for some years, but he had avoided trying anything complicated, basically cooking only cheap and easy things such as curry and pasta.

Pot-au-feu was fairly easy to make as long as one had the right ingredients, so Tsutomu had felt that Camille would be able to make it right away, what with her already being a good cook. But then again, he saw that Camille seemed to enjoy the process of being taught, so he refrained from telling her that.

“Huh, did you make this bacon yourself?”

“It’s a gift from Garm. Made it from the leftover ingredients the orphanage gave him, I think he said.”

“Huh…”

While Camille kept on checking out the bacon, Tsutomu borrowed some cooking utensils and prepared to chop the vegetables. Camille, too, placed the bacon on a wooden cutting board and began to prepare them.

“You can cut it however you like… I guess. As long as the pieces are bite-sized.”

“Got it.”

As Tsutomu began to peel the carrots, onions, and potatoes, Camille tied her long red hair back with an elastic band and stood next to him. Tsutomu, catching a slightly subdued flowery scent, looked at Camille as she held up her knife and started peeling as well.

Her handling of the knife was better than Tsutomu, without even a hint of hesitation. Before long, all the potatoes lost all their skin, revealing the white flesh inside, and onions had their top parts efficiently cut off with a knife before being peeled.

“I’ll cut these into bite-sized pieces, too.”

“All right.”

After that, the two silently proceeded with the process, quickly finishing up the preparations for the vegetables and bacon. They then prepared a pot and put in some oil, and then threw some Colorless Magic Stones into the magical stove and lit a fire in it. Once the oil in the pot heated up, they put in the bacon and lightly stir-fried them, then put in the vegetables.

“Speaking of which, Tsutomu… are you not using the Guild’s appraisal service?”

“Huh? Oh. My nickname is gone now, so I should be fine using it… Right, I totally forgot.”

Back when Tsutomu carried the nickname of ‘Lucky Boy,’ he had disliked going to the Guild since the bothersome subset of Explorers were there pretty much all the time, and had opted to sell his Magic Stones to and use the appraisal services at stores outside instead. Now that the nickname was gone, however, he could go ahead and use the Guild’s appraisal counter without anything stopping him.

“Thanks to someone around here, our appraiser Amy has been putting in a lot of work for once, you know? Some people might think she’s been overworking herself these days, even. I don’t mean to be pushy, but would you mind showing up from time to time?”

“…Sure thing. I don’t mind at all.”

Tsutomu looked away, sensing a suspicious hint of teasing in the concerned look Camille was making.

“It’s a good thing that Amy is working hard, though… so maybe it’s also good that you left her alone for a while. Now everyone’s been so worried for her that they can’t focus on their work…”

“Really, how much of a slacker was she? I’ve known a little about that tendency of hers from Garm’s complaints, but that sounds…”

“The Staff Members were so worried that they almost called a doctor over to the Guild — that’s how much of a contrast it is.”

“Seriously, Amy…”

“The girl herself seems fine, though — even spoke against the people worrying too much and all that. Heh heh heh…”

Once Tsutomu saw that all the ingredients were thoroughly covered in oil, he poured in enough water to cover the ingredients, then took out the liquid consommé and spooned some into the pot.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a seasoning called consommé. I’ve purchased it from the cook at the inn where I’m staying. You could make it yourself, too, but I wouldn’t recommend it since you have to stick with the whole process for half a day to get it right.”

“Huh… mind if I have a taste?”

“Go ahead.”

“Ah.”

Camille looked at Tsutomu’s spoon, then opened her mouth.

“…Uh, no. It’s got a pretty strong taste, so a spoon is too much. Just lick it off your finger or something.”

Promptly told off by Tsutomu, Camille clicked her tongue in slight disappointment, then dabbed her finger on the consommé then licked it off. She then crossed her arms and nodded.

“Right, now I get it. It’s similar to the clear soup of one of the town’s top restaurants.”

“I’ve heard that it can be made by stewing some kinds of meat and vegetables… not that that’s much information to go by. Oh, you can keep the rest of it if you’d like. I can buy some more myself anyway.”

“Really? Appreciate it. I’ll have my daughter try this out tonight.”

While she looked into the simmering pot, Camille, unknowingly cracking a smile, imagined the scene of her daughter enjoying the pot-au-feu. Then, as if she had just recalled something, she turned to Tsutomu.

“Oh, which reminds me… she’s been saying she wanted to meet you, Tsutomu. She’ll be home this evening, so if you don’t mind, could you talk to her a bit during dinnertime?”

“Huh? Your… daughter?”

“Consider that a request.”

“…All right.”

Caught off guard by the pleading look in Camille’s eyes, Tsutomu thought his options over for a moment before nodding in agreement. Camille’s smile when she got the desired reply was as cheerful as the clear sky after the rain… which raised a few flags of suspicion in Tsutomu’s head as he turned to look into the pot instead.

The two proceeded to continue cooking the pot-au-feu, taste-testing and adjusting it a few times with consommé and other seasonings before they were done. After that, Tsutomu gave Camille a note with the recipe and list of ingredients, and then the two of them chatted while partaking in the meal.

――▽▽――

After lunch, Tsutomu went out with Camille to accompany her shopping since he had free time until night. For Tsutomu, who usually only went to Dungeon-related stores, this outing was a surprisingly enjoyable one.

“Maybe I’ll show this to Amy. Heh heh heh…” Camille, having been bought a hairband by Tsutomu, had immediately tied her long red hair back with it, and now she frequently reached to fiddle with it, giggling happily each time.

“Stop it. I’m sure she’s going to have me buy her something expensive next.”

“Oh, no doubt. Don’t worry — I’ll keep it a secret. Now, it’s about time we went back.”

It was now getting dark out, so the two quickly headed back to Camille’s house.

When they were there, the lights were already on. Camille unlocked the door and went into the living room, and there, she found a red-haired girl gobbling up the re-heated leftover pot-au-feu from lunch. Like Camille, her hair was long, and she was rather tall by women’s standards.

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the two walking in.

“Huh? What, finally got yourself a new man, mom?”

“Hey, watch your manners, Amira. He’s the guy you’ve been wanting to meet, you know.”

Camille’s daughter, Amira, who had welcomed the two with rough manners, narrowed her eyes and looked at Tsutomu as if scrutinizing his face. Then she promptly placed her fork down, seeming as if she had just remembered something.

“It’s YOU! The White Mage who beat the Fire Dragon! I’ve heard all about you from the old h– I mean my mom — you, her, and Garm teaming up and all that!”

Amira, getting a borderline murderous glare from Camille mid-sentence, changed her wording while looking at Tsutomu, her eyes sparkling. She proceeded to stand up, walking over to him and shaking his hand.

“I’ve been meaning to invite you over to my Clan! C’mon, join us!”

“And here I am, wondering why you wanted to meet him so badly… so you want him for your Clan? Too bad, though — he’s going to create one on his own soon.”

“What the hell! He hasn’t even gotten started yet, right!? Just give it up and join me! You’ll have a great time here, no hard work at all!”

“Ahaha… sorry. But I really want to run things myself.”

“Hah… welp, can’t force you. You’ll be our rival down the line, I guess.”

Immediately giving up upon hearing Tsutomu’s denial, Amira let go of his hand and only smiled. Then, as if already losing interest, she returned to her seat, picked her fork back up, and resumed chowing down on the pot-au-feu without saying another word.

“Sorry about her manners, Tsutomu. I hope she didn’t offend you too much.”

“Oh, no, I don’t mind any of that at all.”

“She’s a lot like me, you know — both the good and bad parts. I was even worse than her when I was her age, though, so it’s a blessing… in a way.”

[Even worse, huh…]

Amira, sitting with her legs spread like a man in a tavern, loudly chugged down cold water and topped it off with an equally loud, refreshed shout. Tsutomu, while staring at the now-empty plate, wondered to himself what ‘even worse’ than that could even look like.

“Gah, she’s already finished all of it. I swear, her appetite is as insatiable as ever.”

“You’re one to talk, mom. Acting like a woman only when you’re in front of a man…”

“Just try to stay quiet for a minute, Amira.”

Camille, despite her words, did not seem to actually be angry; she proceeded to pick up the pot and walk to the kitchen.

“Sorry, Tsutomu. Can you help me make another serving?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Chop, chop!”

“Amira, language!”

Camille held up the wooden ladle in her hand, prompting Amira to flutter her hands, step away, and plop down on the sofa. Camille, as if giving up on trying to reprimand her child, put her hands on her hips and sighed.

“…Well, that’s how she always acts. But she’s strong, though, that’s for sure — wields a greatsword just like me, and she’s more talented than I am. She even learned the <<dragon form="">> when she was thirteen, way earlier than I did.”</dragon>

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And two months after her Clan was founded, they were already at the fortieth layer. Really, she’s one hell of a kid.”

The tone of her voice was as if she was criticizing Amira, but her expression was that of a smile. In one way or another, it seemed that Camille was indeed proud to have Amira as her daughter.

While Camille continued to brag about her child, Tsutomu thought about some things to himself.

[…Amira is at least thirteen… So assuming that Camille gave birth when she was twenty, she must be over thir–]

“Tsutomu?”

In trying to figure out Camille’s age, Tsutomu had shifted the main conversation to auto-pilot mode… which got him a look from the former as she took out a knife to start chopping the vegetables.

Her eyes were that of a carnivorous beast aiming for its prey. While Tsutomu froze up upon making eye contact, Camille smiled at him, a smile in equal parts terrifying and charming.

“Is something the matter, hmm?”

“No, nothing at all. Let’s juuuust get back to cooking now…”

“Right. Thanks for being here with us today.”

As she cleanly cut the vegetables on the cutting board, Tsutomu nodded to her repeatedly.