“Man, yesterday was a blast! It’s been ages since I’ve eaten that much delicious food or drank that much alcohol.”

“I’m glad you had fun too, Mr. Lange. Still, that alcohol Mr. Gregor brought really packed a punch… I think this might be my worst hangover ever.”

Yesterday, a little ways outside of the town of Al-Flare, we held a barbecue with a big group including the employees of my shop and various people connected to me. The Earth Dragon meat that Ms. Berna and Ferry brought, and the Red Basilisk meat we got from Lord Ruhail, the Adventurer Guild Master in the royal capital, were truly delicious.

The fruit juice and ale Mr. Rizac and Mr. Patrice brought from the Adventurer Guild, and the special alcohol that Mr. Gregor brought were also amazing. But since it’s been so long since I had anything with such a strong alcohol content since coming to this world, I ended up with a pretty serious hangover.

Also, it was my first time eating and drinking with such a large group while chatting about all sorts of things, so I guess I just ended up drinking too much without realizing it. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and I’d love to organize another barbecue like that sometime. But I definitely need to be more careful not to overdo it next time.

“Still, Lilia and the others are so tough. Even after eating and drinking that much yesterday, they’ve already gone out this morning with Ms. Berna and Ferry.”

“Seriously, everyone’s so full of energy...”

Apparently, Ms. Berna and Ferry are heading back to the royal capital tomorrow like always, and today they went out into town with Lilia, who used to be in their party.

Even after all that noise and fun yesterday, they’re up and about like it’s nothing… Ms. Berna drank about as much as I did, but when she came by the shop this morning to pick up Lilia, she was totally fine. Once again, it really hit me that adventurers’ bodies are their greatest assets...

Lange and I were invited to go along too, but we were both completely knocked out by our hangovers. Well, Lange seemed to still be doing alright, so maybe he stayed behind out of concern for me.

“We already made the souvenirs for Ms. Berna, Ferry, and Lord Ruhail yesterday, and we finished prepping the products we’ll be selling starting tomorrow, so it looks like we can relax today.”

The smoked meat and roasted dragon we’re sending with them were prepared during the barbecue yesterday, so no problem there. We even finished cleaning up everything yesterday. Things like the Dutch ovens and stoves need to be dealt with immediately after use.

Especially the cast iron stuff — if you don’t take care of it right away, it rusts super fast… I learned my lesson after leaving a small 300-yen cast iron skillet I bought at a dollar store sitting out for just a few days and it ended up completely covered in rust. I never imagined it would rust that fast…

Since Lange is staying at the shop this week, we’re planning to release some new products. The retort curry and sweet bean jelly we started selling a couple of weeks ago have already become very popular. I worked hard to finish the prep for those two days ago, so I can finally take it easy today.

“Since the product we’re launching tomorrow isn’t food, I doubt we’ll get a rush of customers. Still, it’s pretty handy. By the way, Tetsuya, how are things progressing with Lilia?”

“Ugh...”

I see… maybe Mr. Lange stayed behind specifically to ask about that. Actually, this is perfect — there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask him too.

“It’s… not going anywhere at all...”

“Seriously, what are you doing, Tetsuya? Lilia’s a former B-rank adventurer and she’s gorgeous — if you take your time, someone else is going to snatch her up.”

She’s kind, beautiful, and probably very popular with the male customers… Even if she has injuries, that has nothing to do with how attractive she is.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m doing nothing! On one of the two days off we get each week, I always make an effort to go out with Lilia. And after closing the shop, we go grocery shopping together...”

“...Isn’t she just tagging along as your bodyguard?”

“Guh…”

He hit the nail on the head. I’ve invited Lilia out on my days off several times — we’ve gone shopping, seen plays — but I’m pretty sure she thinks she’s just there in a guard role...

“Well, Lilia doesn’t seem particularly sharp when it comes to romance, so it’s understandable. But Tetsuya, you’re the one who has to take the initiative! When you go out together, you’ve got to clearly tell her it’s a date.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right.”

I know that unless I actually say it’s a date, she won’t get the message. But when I try to say the word out loud, I get super self-conscious and embarrassed... This is why guys whose age equals their years of being single are hopeless...