…Things got pretty tough after that. Even though I was using my Calm and Composed skill, I had to put all my effort into calming down my lower half.

Ian and the others were grinning as they enjoyed their drinks and food, clearly amused by my situation. Meanwhile, since Lilith and the others were popular among the A-rank adventurers, the surrounding male adventurers were glaring at me with tears of blood in their eyes as I sat surrounded by the four of them.

Normally, I'm the one doing the glaring, so I completely understand how they feel. …From now on, whenever I visit this town, I’ll have to be extremely careful not to get stabbed in a dark alley.

When I asked them to move away, they looked up at me with pleading eyes, asking if I disliked them, and I couldn’t refuse… There's no man alive who could say no to that…

Somehow, I managed to endure this heavenly yet excruciating situation for a while, and just barely managed to turn down their invitation to continue drinking, before finally leaving Egerton's Adventurer's Guild.

“…Lilith and the others were really forward. I guess because polygamy is allowed in this world, women here are much more aggressive in appealing to men.”

If polygamy is accepted here, then of course their way of thinking would be different from my original world. To put it simply, even if someone is already married, it’s still acceptable to propose to them.

“In the end, I left things unclear with Lilith and the others…”

Just like with my response to Sara, I left Lilith and the others without giving a clear answer. Although they didn’t outright propose to me, they did say they liked me.

…For someone like me, who has never been in a relationship before, being proposed to, told "I love you," and even being told that a harem is okay is completely overloading my brain.

I feel really bad for being so indecisive, but since this is something truly important to me, I want to think carefully before making any decisions. …Speaking of which, in my original world, things were going pretty well between me and Kawabata. School is starting in a few days too, so I need to think about my life over there as well…

“What are you doing outside at this hour?”

“…I was just investigating this barrier magic. The way it absorbs the surrounding mana and converts it to maintain both this barrier and that gate to another world is quite fascinating.”

“I see, so that’s what you were doing.”

When I returned to the Great Mage’s house, Ande wasn’t inside but in the garden. If I recall correctly, according to the Great Mage’s letter, this barrier and the gate are sustained by absorbing the surrounding mana, which is mysteriously concentrated in the Forest of Ruin.

“I’m going back to my original world. What about you, Ande?”

“I still have more to investigate. Though I am very interested in your world, I wish to prioritize this first.”

It seems Ande is more interested in studying the things the Great Mage left behind.

“Got it. Are you going to have dinner? I’ll be making some anyway for my mom, so I can prepare some for you too.”

“I appreciate it. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Alright.”

I went through the gate back to Japan, did some grocery shopping, and made dinner for the three of us.

“…Hmm, this is delicious.”

“Is that so? It’s stir-fried wyvern meat with sweet miso. You won’t find this kind of seasoning in this world.”

Tonight’s dinner was a simple but flavorful dish made by stir-frying wyvern meat with eggplant, bell peppers, and green onions from this world, using store-bought sweet miso sauce. Easy to make, yet it goes perfectly with rice.

“This white grain, the same one used in that beef bowl from before… It has no flavor on its own, but when combined with strong-tasting food, it enhances the taste.”

“In my country, this grain—rice—is a staple food. We usually eat it with strong-flavored side dishes and miso soup.”

Since my mom was going to be late as usual, I was having dinner with Ande at the Great Mage’s house.

“Do you ever cook, Ande?”

“Back when I was with my master, I was the one who did all the cooking. …Actually, not just cooking—I handled all the household chores.”

…Just as I imagined, the Great Mage was definitely not the type to do housework.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve shared a meal with someone like this. Recently, I’ve been prioritizing food that’s easy to carry and eat. Having a warm, delicious meal like this… it’s not bad.”

“There are tons of dishes in my world that taste even better than the ones I make. Once you’re done with your research, it might be fun to travel around and try all kinds of delicious food.”

Even just in Japan, there are countless regional delicacies. Of course, since I can’t bring my mom along, I’d have to go separately from Ande… Or maybe I could just introduce Ande as a friend?

“…That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

For dessert, I bought a cheap cake. Though Ande’s reaction wasn’t as exaggerated as Sara’s, it was still rare to see a change in his usually expressionless face, so I considered that a win.