“Well then, Mr. Antom, thank you for everything. The inn you recommended was very comfortable.”

“I’m truly glad you liked it. Please come again anytime. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“Yes, likewise. I appreciate everything.”

After enjoying a delicious breakfast at the high-class inn in the city of Eibra where we stayed last night, we continue our journey toward the royal capital. As we were departing from Eibra, the city's Adventurer’s Guild Master, Mr. Antom, came to personally see us off.

Since we’ll be regularly supplying goods to this city's Adventurer’s Guild from now on, it seems we'll have a long-term relationship with Mr. Antom. Next time we visit this city, I hope we’ll have more time to explore.

“Even so, it’s really interesting how the ingredients available change once you leave Al-Flare. I wish we had more time to explore the marketplace.”

“In Al-Flare, there’s a vast forest nearby where many ingredients are gathered, but beyond that, there isn't much variety in what’s distributed.”

Indeed, as Lilia pointed out, Al-Flare’s market is filled with ingredients sourced from the large forest, but aside from that, I rarely see anything different. Well, that’s typical of starting towns.

When we went to the market in Eibra this morning to stock up on ingredients, there were many unfamiliar and high-quality items for sale. I was curious about quite a few of them, but since we’re in a hurry, I decided to hold off for now.

“The royal capital’s market has even more shops lined up. It’s the largest marketplace in the country, so I’m sure you’ll find plenty of ingredients you've never seen before.”

“The royal capital gathers people and goods from all over.”

“Oh, that sounds exciting!”

As expected of the royal capital. Our main purpose for this trip is to visit the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters, but we’ll be staying in the capital for a few days. We definitely have to check out the grand market.

One concern, however, is the cost of goods. Even in Eibra, things were noticeably more expensive compared to Al-Flare. If that's the case, I wonder just how high the prices in the capital will be.

If all goes well, we should arrive at the capital by this evening. Normally, it would take at least two to three times longer with an ordinary horse, but thanks to Sleip, we’ve been able to cut down the travel time significantly.

Since I couldn’t leave my store for long, and with Berna and Ferry providing protection, Fia was able to come along as well. I’m really grateful to both of them.

“No matter how many times I eat this, ramen is always delicious! And the fact that it can be made just by boiling water is amazing!”

“This curry dish is also incredibly tasty! It’s a little spicy, but the lingering flavor, the unique aroma, and the complex blend of spices really stimulate the appetite!”

“It’s definitely better than anything at the high-end restaurants in the royal capital!”

For today’s lunch, we’re having stick ramen and retort-pouch curry. Since we’re aiming to reach the capital by the end of the day and there’s still quite a distance to cover, we needed a quick meal to save time.

In this world, many monsters have excellent night vision, making nighttime travel extremely dangerous. Even with Berna and Ferry here, it’s best to avoid traveling after dark whenever possible.

Although it’s just ramen and curry, I added stir-fried meat and vegetables to the ramen and topped the curry with smoked meat. Since I wanted to try making them outdoors, I prepared both, with each person getting half of each dish.

“It’s amazing how quick and easy it is to cook in the wild like this. It's portable, delicious, and definitely an ideal travel meal for adventurers. If something like this had existed back when I was an adventurer, I would have relied on it constantly.”

“Compared to those tough, smelly rations we used to have to eat… this is a huge improvement.”

Hearing that reminded me of the strong-smelling travel rations Roya and the others gave me when I first arrived in this world. There’s simply no comparison between those and this stick ramen or instant curry.

While waiting for the water to boil, I stir-fried the meat and vegetables, heated up the retort-pouch curry that Gregor had prepared in a vacuum-sealed storage pack, and once the water was ready, I boiled the stick ramen and added hot water to the alpha rice to complete the meal.

The storage packs are tightly sealed, so they seem practical enough. With just hot water, we can make delicious ramen and curry while still maintaining good storage life—it’s no wonder adventurers love it.

“Curry and ramen are truly the best!”

“Yeah, they’re easy to prepare, and with so many different flavors of ramen, it never gets boring.”

“Indeed. Every flavor is absolutely delicious!”

Fia, Dolph, and Angel all buy store products at cost price, as an employee perk. It looks like the convenience and deliciousness of instant ramen and curry have made them huge favorites among everyone.

After finishing our meal, we continued on our journey. Fortunately, the rest of the trip went smoothly without any major issues, and before the sun set, we finally caught sight of the enormous walls of the royal capital.