"…Phew, finally done."

It took about two hours to finish dismantling the ten wyverns. Though they guided me at first, the process was lengthy, even with five people working together.

Honestly, the fact that pre-cut and prepared meat is sold cheaply in Japanese supermarkets is nothing short of miraculous.

The wyverns I defeated had mostly been cleaved into two or four pieces by my Wind Cutter spell. As a result, most of the highly valuable wyvern hides and livers were ruined. I’ll need to be more cautious when fighting dragons in the future, ensuring my attacks don’t cause extensive damage to preserve their valuable parts.

The dismantled wyverns were separated into parts like hides, meat, tails, wings, and heads, all tied into bundles. Apparently, except for the innards, every part of a wyvern can be sold, making them a highly prized prey.

"…Phew, we managed to finish before nightfall. So, you’re planning to haul these down to the village at the base of the mountain, right? We’ll help you carry them!"

"No, it’s fine. I can use storage magic. See?"

I activated my storage magic, placing all the wyvern materials neatly inside. Even with ten wyverns’ worth, my storage still had plenty of capacity left.

"Wh-what the heck?!"

"Incredible!"

"So this is storage magic!"

Oops! That’s right—Gina had mentioned storage magic was quite rare. Still, there’s no way I could carry this much otherwise.

"Please keep the fact that I can use storage magic a secret."

"Of course! We wouldn’t sell out the person who saved our lives. Still, that’s one amazing magic. Any party would be desperate to recruit someone like you."

"Yeah, and merchants would probably kill for a person with that skill. Being able to transport that much stuff hands-free is like a dream come true for them."

Adventurers and merchants, huh? Both paths sound intriguing, but I’d rather avoid joining any organizations for now.

"For now, I’d like to continue a quiet journey on my own, wandering freely."

"Haha, with a power like yours, wandering the world peacefully, huh? I think you’d make a great adventurer, though. Adventuring offers a lot of freedom."

"But we need to focus on earning enough money to get by day to day, though."

"Don’t remind me! Man, I wish I could find a treasure hoard and live the good life, eating great food and taking it easy."

"Careful with that attitude, leader! You’ll get yourself killed chasing reckless dreams. Safety first, remember?"

"I know, I know! I won’t take on any overly risky jobs. This last one was just plain bad luck. Someone in our party must have terrible fortune."

"""Leader, obviously!"""

"Hey!! Don’t all agree at once!"

What a fun, close-knit group they are. Watching them makes the adventurer lifestyle seem quite appealing.

"Masayoshi-san, we’re planning to camp here tonight and head to the village tomorrow. Want to join us?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I’ll keep going for now."

I need to head home tonight, so camping isn’t an option.

"…You’re not planning to challenge a dragon, are you?"

"Yes, probably by tomorrow."

"Seriously?"

"Alone…? That’s insane."

"Well, with your strength, Masayoshi-san, it might actually be possible. But if you think it’s too dangerous, promise me you’ll run away. Plenty of adventurers have survived by retreating from dragons—it’s not shameful at all. Only fools meet their end by refusing to back down."

"…Understood. If it seems impossible, I’ll withdraw immediately. With my abilities, I should be able to escape if I focus solely on running."

"Good. I once had an acquaintance who recklessly challenged a dragon and never came back. Brave and foolish aren’t the same thing."

Brave and foolish, huh? Ian is right—I’ll need to carefully judge when it’s time to retreat.

"Alright, enough grim talk, leader! Someone as strong as Masayoshi-san doesn’t need us worrying!"

"Exactly! He’s way stronger than us—it’d be silly to fret over him!"

"True! Masayoshi-san, good luck! We’re rooting for you!"

"Thank you! I’ll give it my best while staying cautious. Speaking of which, you haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you? Since we’re here, how about we enjoy some wyvern meat together?"

"…We can’t impose after you saved our lives…"

"Don’t worry about it. There’s no way I could finish all this on my own, and it’s more fun eating with company."

"…Leader!"

"…Alright, we’d be honored to join you. We hunt wyverns occasionally, but we usually sell everything to the guild, so we rarely get to taste it."

That reminds me—earlier, I heard the wyvern restaurant hires exclusive adventurers for their supply. Could Ian’s group be among them?

"Alright! Though I won’t have time to cook anything fancy, I’ll make sure it’s tasty."

While Ian’s party set up camp, I prepared dinner. Since time was short, the plan was simple: just grilling the meat. Thankfully, I’d bought all the cooking utensils I needed earlier in the day.

Using a magic stove, I lit the fire and began grilling the wyvern meat in a pan. I say it’s simple, but I’ve got a little secret trick up my sleeve.