The well-Balanced Yamamoto-san Gets Caught up in a Death Game

Chapter 80

“Whew, I’m oddly exhausted…” I sigh.

“Me too…” Tsuna agrees.

As we rattle along in the carriage through Shinomori, Tsuna and I let out sighs from the driver’s seat.

Come to think of it, isn’t it fatal for aspiring merchants not to know about [Appraisal]?

But if no one teaches you, I suppose you wouldn’t know about that kind of thing.

I think they should teach that information in the tutorial, but the tutorial content is about basic adventurer knowledge, not how to play the game.

Well, I guess many people would be put off if they were suddenly bombarded with game instructions in such an immersive game… Though couldn’t they try harder with the explanation method?

Shouldn’t the Commerce Guild provide a proper tutorial?

Isn’t that an oversight on the management’s part?

…Well, never mind.

I’m tired today, so I just want to go home and sleep…

“By the way, God,” Tsuna speaks up.

“What is it?”

“What about the Rapoos?”

Ah…

I’d completely forgotten!

Can’t be helped.

I turn the carriage around, breaking through the bamboo blocking our path.

Yeah, when I activate [Mana Sensing], I can roughly tell where the Rapoos are.

And that faint glow over there must be the Rapoos, right?

We went through all this trouble to enter Shinomori, so I want to hunt at least ten of them!

And so, while wreaking havoc on the bamboo forest, I pronounce a death sentence on the Rapoos, and Tsuna and I go on a Rapoo hunting spree.

■□■

Because we went Rapoo hunting after the lecture, it’s completely dark out now.

Apparently, monsters become more ferocious and tougher at night, but for us, the increased ferocity of monsters in this area is barely noticeable.

We progress along the road, emotionlessly turning monsters into polygons with [Splinter] as soon as they appear.

“I’m hungry,” Tsuna states.

Ah, so he did have some emotions.

The feeling of misery from hunger, perhaps?

In LIA, you’re not supposed to feel physiological sensations like hunger, but it seems that if you get into the habit of eating every day, you start to feel that way.

To be honest, I’m a bit hungry too.

“Let’s slice some squid and have sashimi. God, can you get out the soy sauce?”

“Light, dark, low sodium, kelp-infused, sashimi-specific… I have various types. Which do you want?”

“Sea urchin soy sauce would be nice.”

“Eh, I don’t have that.”

“What… did you say…”

“Well, if you have a clear image of the taste, there’s a button to recreate flavors from your imagination. We could try making it that way.”

So, I take out the drink box from [Storage] by the roadside. This drink box has buttons for all the drinks and condiments I’ve tasted or experienced in the past, but it doesn’t cover unknown flavors I’ve never tried.

To address that, there’s a button prepared for such tastes…

“Where is it?”

“There. On the far right side.”

“Here? By the way, aren’t there too many buttons?”

“Well, it’s designed with a jukebox motif. The abundance of buttons is intentional, but I wonder if the design might be a bit difficult to use.”

“Well, on the flip side, it’s fun to accidentally discover unknown flavors…”

Tsuna presses the button while conveying his image to the drink box.

What comes out looks like a slightly brighter colored soy sauce.

Tsuna says it’s delicious, with the sea urchin well-incorporated into the soy sauce.

Hearing that makes me curious too, so I ask for a bit and try it on some thinly sliced squid tentacles that Tsuna quickly prepared.

“Mm, it’s delicious!”

“Right?”

The flavor of sea urchin intertwines with the sweetness of the squid – it’s exquisite! It’s different from squid in salt, with a more refined and gentle taste.

“Hmm, this should tide me over until we reach Second,” Tsuna says, polishing off a considerable amount of squid sashimi with satisfaction.

Well, it’s understandable to be satisfied after eating so much of such a delicious dish.

And so, with our spirits slightly lifted, Tsuna and I head towards the town of Second.

We arrive.

We arrive, but…

Why is there a traffic jam at the entrance?

Second is a port town, so during the day, merchants with seafood and adventurers with quests frequently come and go through the entrance, but it’s never this congested.

But now it’s genuinely crowded.

Or rather, knights in full black armor astride black horses are lined up, slowly entering the town of Second.

What’s this about?

Oh, could this be the rumored knight order?

The sheer number aside, the pressure from their full armor is intense.

There’s an aura emanating from them that suggests they’d cut down anyone showing suspicious behavior without hesitation.

If this is the knight order under the Second Prince’s influence, called in to subjugate the Night Demon Burners, it’s definitely overkill.

The Night Demon Burners wouldn’t stand a chance against these people.

Disliking the dust kicked up by the clip-clopping black horses, we wait at a distance.

Yeah, it feels like we’d be scolded if we got too close, so staying a bit away seems like the right choice.

As we wait behind, I feel like one of the knights glances at us.

Huh, are they going to complain about something?

We haven’t done anything though?

Just as I’m thinking this, after the last knight enters Second—

Clang—

The gates of Second are closed.

Eh…

We’re still outside the gate though.

The gatekeeper saw us, right?

Our eyes met, didn’t they? They were aware of us, weren’t they?

I thought these gates were always open, but apparently they can be closed.

As I’m about to go ask the gatekeeper what’s going on, a loud voice echoes from beyond the gates of Second.

“Our country, Farland, is a nation of humans! And from now on, the port town of Second will be a place where the Kingdom’s Fourth Knight Order, entrusted with the great duty of protecting humans, will be stationed and recuperate! Unclean monster folk are not permitted to enter! You should reflect on your status as monster folk and cool your heads out there for the night!”

Um…

Huh?

We’ve been shut out by the Kingdom’s Fourth Knight Order just for being monster folk?

How did they even know we were monster folk?

Maybe it’s because of the horns on Tsuna’s head?

Tsuna looks a bit melancholy.

“We won’t be able to have dinner at the inn…”

Well, I figured that’s what he’d be worried about.

Still, the royal army’s hatred for monster folk exceeds expectations.

Or is it the Second Prince rather than the royal army?

This is truly a case of “no questions asked.” There’s no room for negotiation at all.

The gatekeeper guarding Second’s gates gives us an apologetic nod.

If we were to force our way through the gate here, those gatekeepers would probably get in trouble.

…

Alright, can’t be helped! Let’s try to think positively about this!

“Okay, Tsuna!”

“Hm?”

“Let’s have a barbecue party right in front of the town!”

“Oh, that sounds good…”

And so, Tsuna and I, not at all bothered by being unable to enter the town, start preparing for a feast right there.

You see, I’ve been a bit concerned that the barbecue grill and super food processor I made haven’t had a chance to shine!

So I’ve decided to let them play a starring role here!

With that, I take out the camping set from [Storage] and we promptly start the party!

The barbecue grill lights easily, and the super food processor instantly processes ingredients on the spot, so its strength is that it requires almost no preparation.

“What’s this? An item that automatically cuts ingredients?” Tsuna asks.

“That’s right. If you tell it verbally, it’ll process ingredients to roughly any size.”

“Then, 450g thick-cut steak.”

Hey, Tsuna’s already started processing Rapoo meat!

And he’s going for a hefty 450g right off the bat!

“I think I’ll go with 200g for mine.”

So I also take out some Rapoo meat and cut it to a more cautious 200g.

Then, while coating it with soy sauce marinade taken from the drink server, we grill it slowly on the barbecue.

While waiting for it to cook, with some time to kill,

“Please skewer some chicken meat!”

“What?! Don’t tell me you’re planning to make yakitori too?!”

“We’re drinking alcohol too, right? Of course we’re making it.”

“But with this barbecue grill…”

“Oh, this barbecue grill automatically adjusts the grilling temperature, so even without a specialized yakitori machine, it can cook evenly and deliciously.”

“In that case, I’ll make yakitori too!”

“Oh, right. Maybe we should grill some squid too.”

“Sounds good! Come to think of it, I still have some of the catch from our recent shore fishing, shall we put that out too?”

“Oh yeah, we also have the bamboo shoots from that rabbit with shoots growing on its head. Maybe we could lightly grill those.”

And just like that, the top of the barbecue grill suddenly becomes lively.

Well, it’s mostly meat and seafood, but the spread looks truly delicious and appetizing!

And the smell of soy sauce caramelizing is intoxicating!

“Well then, Tusna!”

“Ah.”

“Good work today! Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

And so, clinking our glasses together, we wet our throats with alcohol.

After that, it’s time for a grand tasting of everything grilling on the barbecue.

“Mmph! But this Rapoo meat steak is delicious! It’s juicy and the meat itself is tender! The soy sauce marinade also complements the meat’s fat perfectly!”

This definitely won’t be enough with just one piece! I’ll prepare another one.

“God, the yakitori is delicious too! This really goes well with the alcohol!”

“Everything goes well with alcohol for you, Tsuna!”

I answer with a laugh.

The gatekeepers are watching us enviously.

Sorry about that.

If they got friendly with us, they’d probably get scolded.

So just keep watching this delicious scene to your heart’s content.

It’s not like we’re bullying them back to balance out being bullied by the royal army, okay? No hard feelings. Hehehe.