"So, from now on, Angel will officially be a part of the Outdoor Shop team. Let’s work well together."

"Yes, thank you very much. I look forward to working with you all."

Angel's customer service skills are solid, and Dolph, while being mindful of Angel, has also managed to handle customer interactions to a decent degree. Starting next week, Angel will officially join as a member of the Outdoor Shop.

Angel also expressed her desire to work at this shop alongside Dolph. Today, we're holding a welcome party for Angel, just like last time, during our day off at noon.

"Also, we have guests today: A-rank adventurers Berna and Ferry. They're friends of Lilia, so everyone, please give them a warm welcome."

"My name is Berna. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm sorry for intruding on your gathering today. Please don't mind us."

"...Ferry. Nice to meet you."

Berna greeted us with perfect posture and politeness. Ferry, on the other hand, seemed shy, giving off a somewhat awkward vibe.

"Alright, enough with the formalities. Let’s get started—cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The welcome party and social gathering began. As usual, we set up tables and chairs in the backyard space of the Outdoor Shop to enjoy the event outside.

Today, Fia's mother, Rea, couldn’t make it due to prior commitments, but with Berna and Ferry joining us, the backyard space was a bit crowded.

We started with a toast using cold drinks. Thanks to Lange's magic, we could chill the beverages. Naturally, Lange and I planned to enjoy some alcohol. After all, having a barbecue without drinks feels like a missed opportunity.

"Thank you for inviting us, Tetsuya."

"Oh, no. On the contrary, I feel bad for forcing you to join on such short notice. I've set up a space on the second floor of the shop where you can rest anytime."

"...That’s helpful."

Since Ferry seemed a bit shy, I made sure to prepare a space where she could retreat if needed. I don’t mind, but there are plenty of people who find it hard to talk to strangers.

"Tetsuya, here’s a little gift from us. Please enjoy it with everyone."

Even though they only decided to join us yesterday evening, they went out of their way to bring a gift.

"Thank you so much. Wow! This meat looks absolutely delicious!"

Inside the wrapping was a large chunk of meat. It had a vivid red color, and the marbled white fat was beautifully distributed.

"This is wyvern meat. We hunted it previously. It’s been stored in Ferry's storage magic, so it hasn’t spoiled."

"Wyvern meat!?"

No way! Wyvern or dragon meat is a classic in fantasy worlds. Ever since coming to this world, I’ve wanted to try it, but both are considered premium ingredients, and you can’t get them in this starting town.

For reference, the Danama Bear meat the Adventurer’s Guild Master gifted us for our shop’s opening was high-quality, wyvern is super high-quality, and dragon is ultra-premium quality.

Dragon meat, in particular, is something only royalty or high-ranking nobles can afford to eat. Wyvern meat is so luxurious that ordinary folk would never have a chance to taste it in their lifetime. And there was quite a lot of it here.

"Are you sure we can accept something this amazing?"

"Of course. Please enjoy it with everyone."

No way—eating wyvern meat in this town? I thought the best I could hope for would be jerky or smoked meat processed for preservation.

"Berna, Ferry, thank you so much!"

"Thank you, Berna, Ferry."

Lilia and I both expressed our gratitude to them. By the way, Ferry’s storage magic is impressive. I can’t help but feel a little envious. But wow, getting to eat such incredible meat is amazing!

Alright, let’s get to cooking!

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Let’s dig into the wyvern meat that Berna and Ferry brought for us."

Thanks to the income from selling the monster encyclopedias, I could afford some decent ingredients this time, but the wyvern meat is unquestionably in a league of its own.

We started by cutting the meat thinly for barbecue grilling.

"Oh, so this is wyvern meat. It looks amazing."

"The red color is so vibrant compared to regular meat."

It seemed like this was Dolph and Angel’s first time trying wyvern meat. Wyverns are quite strong, so they don’t inhabit the area near the starting town.

"Wow, it looks so delicious!"

"It’s been a while since I had wyvern meat."

Fia probably hasn’t had it before. I’ll save some for her mother, Rea, who couldn’t make it today.

It seems Lange has had wyvern meat before—impressive for an active B-rank adventurer.

"You cut the meat into quite small pieces. That’s an interesting way to eat it."

"...First time seeing this method."

"This is barbecue, a cooking method from my hometown. By cutting the meat into small pieces, everyone can grill it on the net themselves. You can choose how well-done you want it and enjoy various flavors little by little."

Grilling meat together also deepens bonds with the people you’re eating with.

I’ve prepared a variety of flavors this time. Hopefully, they’ll suit everyone’s tastes.