Shortly afterwards, the giant fish landed by Grandpa Gon disappeared and was replaced by a Drop item.
I was so shocked by its appearance that I had forgotten to [Appraise] it.
Oh well.
I could still [Appraise] the items it left behind.
âLetâs see, a large piece of white meat, magic stones, oh my, a treasure chest? Wow, Grandpa Gon, you scored a high-ranking monster?â
[Emperor Dorado Meat (white)] [1]
Light yet savoury flavour. When lightly heated, the flesh becomes firm and fluffy, extremely delicious.
Woah, looks promising.
âIt is good?â Grandpa Gon inquired.
âYes, very. Looks like it would be good for a hotpot or something similar.â
Sui, Fer and Dora-chan immediately made noises of approval in the back.
ââSui likes hotpot~~ââ
ââWoah, same~!!ââ
âUmu, I supposed itâs not badâŠâ
âI trust in Masterâs skills,â said Grandpa Gon. [2] âI look forward to dinner.â
âM-me too!â
We all turned around to see Feodora-san looking at us with sparkling eyes.
âHow brazen!â Gaudino-san scolded.
However, Feodora-san was too busy sparkling at us to listen to him.
âHey, uh, just now, were you using some sort of [Appraisal] skill on the fish?â
Cough!
âUh,â no way, no way, no way! I was careless!
âAlso, your [Item Box] is⊠well, could it be that Mukouda-san is a⊠Hero?â
Cold sweat trickled from my forehead. Technically, I donât have a âHeroâ title, but I did come from the same world where they sourced âHeroesâ fromâŠ
âThis⊠Gideon! Stop prying into other peopleâs skills!â
âThatâs right! Itâs against basic manners!â
Siegwald and Gaudino smacked him on the back of his head.
âHey, quit it! Iâm just curious, okay? Itâs my dream to meet with a HeroâŠâ
Siegwald and Gaudino suddenly laughed.
âOi, donât laugh! I grew up listening to stories about Heroes! I even had a picture book of Heroes growing up. Itâs the main reason why I became an Adventurer!â
âFuhaha, you have a surprisingly cute side to you, Gideon,â
âShut up!â
Ughh⊠is it really obvious that I came from another world? Anyway, from that day onwards, I could feel two different gazes boring into my back all the timeâŠ
Ah, for those interested, the treasure chest contained five palm size golden scales, a small emerald and a ruby.
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~
âFeodora!â
Arrows flew from Feodora-sanâs bow at Gaudino-sanâs command.
The [Ark] party was currently facing a Blue-Headed Otter, a C Rank monster with blue hair sprouting on its head.
It was much bigger and way more ferocious than any otters I know of.
âGyaooooo!!!â
âSiegwald!â
âHoh! Here I gooo!!â
Gagooonnnâ-
Siegwalds Warhammer struck the Blue-Headed Otter on the head.
âWeâre up, Gideon!â
âYeah!â
Gaudino-sanâs bastard sword slashed into the otterâs neck even as Gideon-sanâs spear thrust into its stomach. The Blue-Headed Otter made a gurgling sound and disappeared, leaving a bundle of skin behind.
âOoohhh~â I clapped my hands.
This is it!
This is what being an Adventurer should be like!
âWhat are you clapping for? They need four people to defeat a measly weakling,â Fer grumbled.
âHey, donât say that. That monsterâs fur is pretty valuable for its water-repelling quality.â
Gaudino-san had requested for [Mizumaru] to stop when he spotted a small group of Blue Headed Otters. It was good prey for an A Rank party, and they wanted to hunt as many as they could.
Meanwhile, Fer and the rest sneered at the idea of hunting Blue-Headed Otters. The reason?
âThey tasted bad.â
Well, thatâs our standard for hunting monsters.
While the [Ark] went after Blue-Headed Otters, I hung out on [Mizumaru] with Fer while the dragons flew off somewhere else. It was pretty entertaining watching the [Ark] members go after the Blue-Headed Otters in their coordinated manner. It was actually pretty exciting~
In fact, I really admire that kind of coordinated fighting skills, I wonder if I could do itâŠ
Well, I guess itâs kind of impossibleâŠ
I guess itâs fine since I have powerful comrades. Safety and security is the most important thing for me.
While thinking of all this, I looked at Fer who lounging on Sui next to meâŠ
âWhat?â
âNothing, Iâm just glad that Fer and everyone else is here.â
âW-why are you saying this all of a sudden?â
âNo, I mean, itâs just that you guys are so strong that I feel really reassured. Iâm just glad that you guys are with me.â
If I hadnât met Fer and the rest, I would never have come to this dungeon in the first place.
âFumu, itâs good that you know. Be grateful.â
âHahaha, yes, yes, thank you.â
âMu,â
âHm?â
âGrandpa Gon and Dora are back,â
I looked in the direction Fer was looking and saw a black dot from the direction where the Dragon Corporation had gone off on a âreconnaissanceâ.
âOi, what do you have there Grandpa Gon?â
Grandpa Gon was approaching with something long and thin held in his forepaws.
âIt is a souvenir.â
âSouvenir?â I looked closer at the thin green thing. The thin thing was a snake that was about as thick as a log and wriggling restlessly.
âIt is a so-so prey. I brought it back as a souvenir for Master.â
â⊠okayâŠ?â I looked between the snake and Grandpa Gon. Just what do you expect me to do with this snake?
I cast [Appraisal] on the creature.
[Hunter Green Anaconda]
A Rank monster. Camouflage itself with its natural green skin in the trees to sneak up on prey. Has a vicious bite. Its skin is prized by dilettantes for its beautiful colour. Its meat is light and delicious.
[3]
âWell, its meat seems to be light and delicious?â I said, still puzzled why this snake was brought to me as a âsouvenirâ.
âHoh? Is that so? Well, kill it quickly,â said Fer.
I looked at him blankly.
âWhat? Me? Now?
âGrandpa Gon took the trouble to bring it back alive for you, didnât he?â
âUmu, I thought it would be an excellent monster to raise Masterâs level.â
The two titans of power exchanged a meaningful look. Well, it was meaningful to them, but I canât fathom why they would do this?!
âWhy would you⊠you know what? Fine, fine, Iâll do it,â I snapped as I rummaged through my [Item Box] for a suitable weapon.
I considered just lopping off its head with my Mithril Cooking Knife, but the thing opened its mouth to hiss at me, so I opted for the Mithril Spear instead. That way, I can stand far away and stab it through the head, or mouth. Whichever comes first.
âTei!â
The spear went cleanly through its head and clanked off Grandpa Gonâs claw. Ooops.
However, Grandpa Gon did not look bothered by it, so I said nothing.
The Hunter Green Anaconda disappeared, leaving behind meat and skin Drops.
Haah⊠well, at least I managed to kill itâŠ
âMukouda-sanâŠâ
I froze.
With stiff joints, I turned around to see members of the [Ark] staring quizzically at me. Did they justâŠ
âMukouda-san, Iâm sorry, but I have to say that this is not the best way to gain strengthâŠâ said Siegwald-san.
The rest of them nodded solemnly, even Feodora-san.
H-how embarrassing!!!???
No, no, no, you misunderstand! I donât make a habit of thissss!!!!!
[Gumihou: Ah, I felt sorry for himâŠ]
[1] Dorado Fish â This fish actually exists!
Most probably a monster variation of the âSalminus brasiliensisâ
It has a âlarge head, powerful jaws filled with sharp teethâ, so it makes sense for a large version of these fish to go after caimans of all things. It is also a river fish, the South American rivers to be exact and yes, was named after âEl Doradoâ for its gold-tinted scales