NOVEL WEB Chapter 6 - All-You-Can-Eat BBQ After Six Months
“Eh!!??”
Ai’s loud and surprised voice drew everyone’s attention. She stood up, apologized, and sat back down. Then she began speaking in a low voice.
“Ke-Kenya, what is this? Did you steal it or something…?”
“No, I didn’t!”
“But isn’t this from the Knight Series? You can only get it after the 11th floor. Did you… go there?”
Ai glared at me with a chilling voice.
“No, no! It’s not like that! Besides, I can’t beat the boss…”
I waved my hands dramatically to clear up the misunderstanding and explained the truth to Ai.
“Actually, it’s because of my job as an ‘Alchemist’…”
I showed Ai my alchemist stats and explained my abilities.
…
“Incredible… I’ve never heard of a job that can do this.”
(This might be an excellent opportunity… Should I mark him? Alright!)
“Kenya, let’s keep this a secret between just the two of us ♥”
Ai winked at Kenya. She told him to keep his job’s true potential hidden until it becomes well-known, to avoid attracting too many rivals.
The marriage rate between dungeon explorers and navigators is higher than that of pilots and flight attendants. It’s comparable to the marriage rate of announcers and baseball players. This is just a personal bias, though.
Therefore, it’s often said that navigators aim to marry a good explorer. Again, this is just a bias.
“A secret…?”
“Yes, if you stand out too much, you might attract the resentment of jealous adventurers. So keep it hidden until you’re strong enough to fend them off.”
This was true. Newcomers with powerful jobs often face jealousy and backlash. Ai, knowing such examples well, genuinely believed it was better to keep it hidden until Kenya became strong enough to handle it.
“I understand! So, how much is the appraisal?”
“Well…”
Ai opened her tablet to check the current exchange rate. This rate fluctuates daily, like stock prices, based on supply and demand.
“It’s 45,000 yen! Big profit!”
The retail price might be close to 100,000 yen, but the buy-back price is usually about half. Still…
“Y-yes!!”
I was thrilled. Our household, always scraping by, might have a bit of breathing room now.
“Congratulations. Here, fifty thousand yen!”
“Huh?”
“A little celebration gift from me! Keep up the good work ♥”
“R-really!? Thank you! I’ll repay you somehow!”
“Don’t worry about it, consider it an advance on your future success.”
(I’ll make sure to get it back someday… Drool… Oh, no, I’m drooling.)
Kenya left the dungeon, puzzled by Ai’s predatory look as she licked her lips and waved goodbye. He then contacted his sister.
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Since we have some extra money today,
let’s go for BBQ for the first time in a while!
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Ping♪
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Really!? Yay!!
First time in six months? You’re the best, big brother!
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I returned to our shabby apartment and met up with Nana.
“Look, it’s Mr. Yukichi! Here you go!”
I playfully slapped Nana’s cheeks with five Yukichi bills. Seeing so much money after a long time made me giddy.
“Ah, it feels so good!! More! Hit me more!!”
Nana was also in a strange mood, excited about the BBQ. Girls shouldn’t say things like that.
We joked around, our spirits high as we skipped towards the restaurant.
A nice all-you-can-eat BBQ for two costs 10,000 yen, about twenty days’ worth of our food budget.
Sizzle
The sound and savory smell of grilling meat whetted our appetites. The pristine white rice, intertwined with BBQ sauce, gleamed seductively. It seemed to say, “Eat me.”
“Delicious! It’s been so long since I’ve had such thick meat! And the rice! Rice tastes this good?”
“Eat! Eat twenty days’ worth! Push your stomach to the limit!”
Like food fighters, we devoured the BBQ. There was nothing beautiful about our eating. We just grilled meat continuously, but our faces were pure bliss.
…
After a while, a group of five approached us.
“Hey, can poor people afford BBQ?”
They were a hero party.