"Tetsuya, we’re back."

"Welcome back, Lilia. And welcome back to you too, miss Berna and miss Ferry. Did you enjoy Alefrea Town?"

"Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve been here, and the town has certainly changed in many ways."

"…It was so much fun getting to hang out with Lilia again!"

"Ah, I also enjoyed exploring the town with the two of you after so long."

By evening, the three of them had returned from their outing in the town. It seemed they had a pleasant and enjoyable time reconnecting with the town and each other.

"I’m glad to hear that."

"Mr. Tetsuya, we’re very grateful for your help. We’ll be leaving this town early tomorrow morning and heading back to the royal capital. Thank you again for the compasses. I’ll make sure to inform the Adventurer’s Guild in the capital."

"Thank you. Here’s the souvenir I promised you."

The 100 compasses were already stored in miss Ferry’s magic storage, and the payment had been received. Separately, they had also requested smoked wyvern meat and roasted wyvern, which I had prepared as well.

"…I’m so happy. Thank you!"

miss Ferry broke into a beaming smile. Normally expressionless, she only shows this kind of charming smile when something truly pleases her—like enjoying delicious food or reuniting with Lilia. That smile was undeniably heartwarming, even if I didn’t have romantic feelings for her.

Since miss Ferry had thoroughly enjoyed the roasted wyvern, I had asked if she wanted me to prepare some smoked wyvern meat as well. She eagerly agreed, so I made plenty of both.

"Wow, so much. Thank you so much!"

The table was piled high with smoked and roasted wyvern meat. I had prepared quite a substantial amount from the meat they had entrusted to me.

"Also, I made some sauces for you. Please feel free to take these as well."

"Eh!? Are you sure?"

"…Is that okay?"

"Of course. You’re Lilia’s friends, after all. Just keep it a secret where you got them, okay? These aren’t normally sold at my shop."

Both of them had complimented the outdoor spices and my special sauces a lot, so I didn’t mind offering them. Since they were friends of Lilia, this much seemed reasonable. However, as the outdoor spices aren’t yet for sale, I had to ask them not to mention their source. I’d trust them with this.

"Thank you so much! Honestly, I was secretly hoping to get some of the sauces you made, Mr. Tetsuya!"

"…This makes me so happy!"

"Ah, well, I’m glad you like them."

I hadn’t expected them to be this excited about it.

"If you’d like, I can give you the recipe for the sauce? The ingredients should be available in the capital."

The outdoor spices were off-limits, but the yakiniku-style sauce was something I’d recreated using ingredients from this world based on flavors from my old world. The recipe was simple enough for anyone to follow.

"N-no! That would be asking too much!"

"…We can’t possibly impose that much."

Huh, so they didn’t need the recipe after all. I thought it might be convenient for them, but maybe not.

"Tetsuya, actually, Berna and Ferry can’t cook at all."

"Hey, Lilia!?"

"Huh? But making the sauce is just mixing seasonings and finely chopping vegetables."

"Even so, these two can barely manage to cook meat or fish by grilling it. And even then, they sometimes burn it."

"Oh…"

"…I just haven’t had the chance to show my true cooking skills yet."

Ah, that’s the classic line of someone who can’t cook. Is she even trying to come up with a convincing excuse? They can’t even properly grill meat or fish?

"W-well, I haven’t had many opportunities to cook…"

But as adventurers, surely there must have been plenty of times when they had to cook, right?

"I’m not exactly a great cook myself, but whenever I formed a temporary party with the two of them, I was always the one in charge of meals."

"Oh, I see."

Apparently, miss Berna and miss Ferry were completely hopeless when it came to cooking.

"It’s not that we can’t cook at all! We can dismantle monsters and grill meat with some salt!"

"…Same here!"

"R-right…"

Whether or not that counts as cooking is debatable…

In any case, those who can’t cook might find outdoor spices and sauces even more useful. Just sprinkling them on grilled meat or salad is enough to elevate the dish.

"Alright, then I’ll skip the recipe. Here are some special snacks that aren’t sold at my shop. Please take them with you. Since they don’t keep for long, store them with your magic storage."

I handed them a box containing chocolate bars and yokan, both purchased using the abilities of my outdoor shop.

"Um, you’ve already given us so much, and now snacks too…"

"It’s a small token of appreciation for the wonderful wyvern meat you shared with me. Please, don’t hesitate to accept them."

Of course, there was a bit of self-interest involved in building goodwill with two A-rank adventurers. But more than that, I genuinely wanted to show my gratitude for the wyvern meat.

After the welcome party, I had discreetly asked Lange about the value of wyvern meat. It turned out to be five times more expensive than I’d imagined…

Realizing I had received far too much, I decided to include sauces and snacks as parting gifts. The price was comparable to high-grade A5 wagyu beef back in my old world…

"Thank you so much, Mr. Tetsuya!"

"…Thank you, Tetsuya!"

"You’re very welcome. Please take care, miss Berna, miss Ferry. Even though we’re a bit far from the capital, you’re always welcome to visit again."

"Yes, with Lilia here, I’m sure we’ll visit again after clearing the dungeon that appeared near the capital."

"…We’ll definitely come back."

"Berna, Ferry, it was great seeing you again. Until next time!"