"Ka-Kagura, here you are. Forgive us Kagura. I completely forgot about it. It"s already that time rite"? It hit us right in the middle of our quest, we quickly took care of it and rushed here."
"...Huh? n.o.bu?"
"Heya, you two. What"s the h
urry?"
"Aah, I"m sorry about it you two. The thing about that is okay now thanks to n.o.busa... Milord."
"Ah, milord!? n.o.bu-kun, just what happened here? Kagura-san is our friend y"know. Depending on the sit", even if it"s n.o.bu-kun..."
"Hey now, Kagura-san. Please stop joking around."
"Fufufu, hold it right there, Futsuno. It is fine as I volunteered to call him that myself. My life was saved so many times by milord in the matter this time. Don"t you think it"s only natural to fall for such a dependable young man?"
"...Mumumu."
"Muu, I kinda can"t agree to it, but cannae" be helped if yer" both in consent."
"...Kagura, unfair."
Mitama looks like she"s in bad mood somehow. Geez, Kagura-san played around too much.
"Ah, well you know. You two, do you have plans tomorrow?"
"Hm? Since we just came back and all, we ain"t doing anything tomorrow."
"Actually, I haven"t sampled the food here even once you see. In addition to celebrate this occasion, I"m thinking of renting the hall here to throw a party, would you two like to come?"
The two"s eyes glittered when they heard the word "party". The clatter earlier felt like a lie as they pressed on me.
"You sure you want to invite us?"
"...Tasty food. Slurp."
"Yeap, I mean I haven"t thanked you two properly yet. I"m gonna bring some dishes myself, so let"s go at it with a bang."
I asked Storm-san if it"s fine to bring in food, and he gave the OK. However, I"d have to clean after it myself.
"Haa, been awhile since our last party. Think maybe it"s a good time to splurge and buy some nice booze."
"C-could I attend too?"
"Of course, Kagura-san had always been included in the members. I also plan to invite several others who have been taking care of me."
Afterward, I prepared some miscellaneous stuff and gave the cash to buy booze to Kagura-san and Futsuno-san.
As for me, I"m heading to Boss-san"s place to get the Queen mats processed and turn other materials into money.
I plan to invite Boss-san, Master, Eleanor-san, Sefi-san, and Bell. Let"s do it them while cashing in the mats.
First, to Boss-san"s smithy.
"Excuse me. Boss-san, you inside?"
"Ou, what"s wrong? Any problem with that gauntlet of yers?"
"Nope, I tried using them in the quest I took this time, and they felt nice. I just got my hands on some slightly peculiar material here, so I thought maybe you could make some new things out of it."
"Hou?"
"It"s this Iron Queen Ant"s."
We went inside and I took out Iront Ant Queen in front of Boss-san. First, I took out the Soul Stone and left the rest when Boss-san gave his ok. The Soul Stone was of moderate size and of pretty yellow color.
"This is... It"s more flexible than common Iron Ant and yet hard. Should be possible to make even better equipment than what you"re using now. But, this is the first time I"m gonna processing this stuff. I"ve got to do some trials and errors, I"m gonna need more materials and time."
"I"ll leave how it"s done to Boss-san. Oh and Boss-san can use the leftover materials for yourself. I"ve been asking so much from Boss-san after all."
"That so, then ya don"t need to pay for the processing fee. I should get more than enough from the leftovers. I"m gonna test out various stuff on it, so don"t expect it too be ready soon."
"Got it. Oh, on a different note, are you free tomorrow night?"
"Hnn, sorry. I"m itchin" to test this stuff out ya see. Think it"s gonna take a little while."
When Boss-san is like that, he just won"t budge. I should have invited him first thing first. Well, next time I"m gonna treat him to some booze to show my appreciation.
"I see. Then I"ll be counting on your skill Boss-san."
"Ou, look forward to it."
Yup, I"m really looking forward to it. My armor has started to get dents and nicks in the one month I"ve been using it. Should be the right time to rank up.
Next I went to the temple and invited Bell. "Delicious food!?", he readily accepted with glittering pupils. He was also drolling like a waterfall though!
And then I returned to the Adventurer Guild. I lined up on a counter with the Receipt Stamp from Kagura-san in hand. Of course, at Eleanor-san"s counter!
"Eleanor-san, I"m here to report my return. Here"s the Receipt Stamp as a proof of quest completion."
"Yes, a job well done n.o.busada-san. Welcome back."
"Eleanor-san, are you free tomorrow night?"
"E-eeeeh!? Y-yes."
"I"d also like to extend my invitation to Master, I plan to invite everyone who has been kind to me in a party I"m hosting."
"I-is that right. As I"ll be free then, I"ll be sure to come. Let me check with father when I get back."
She gave her consent even though she looked slightly disappointed.
"The party will be at the Flame Dog, please come directly to it. Also, please allow me to take a day off tomorrow, I"m planning to get some foodstuff in the dungeon."
"Understood. I look forward to n.o.busada-san"s cooking."
"Yes, I"ll be sure to meet your expectations."
I parted ways with Eleanor-san, and quickly cashed in the mats.
Here are the stuff I obtained in the journey this time. Complete with their sales result.
Small Yellow Soul Stone (Metal Moss Ball) → 4,500 mani.
Largish Yellow Small Stone (Iron Ant Queen) → 5,600 mani.
Black Soul Stones x 18 → 1,800 mani.
Goblin mats x8 → 400 mani.
Smallish Medal → No way I"m selling it.
Lunar Cat → Priceless.
Revenue and expenditure over the course of the journey this time
Capital 412, 490 - 640 (for buying foodstuff before departure) + 1,500 (reward from Kagura-san) - 2,000 (alcohol expenses) + 12,300 (cash in result) = 423, 650 mani.