Volume 2 Chapter 10.3 (1/2)

Volume 2 Chapter 10.3

It was a big job, starting in the morning, cutting through the afternoon, and ending when the day was nearly over.

「Wow, even a large shack like this is difficult to handle……」

「Well it ain’t like we’re weekend carpenters. Let’s be happy with what we did.」

「Or you could try and not suddenly thrust these tasks at us……」

「But it’d irk me if we just let it be.」

Hiroshi responded to the grievances of Tatsuya and Makoto without so much as yawning. A civil engineering project like this one wasn’t much more complicated than simply redoing the foundations of the building. In addition, Hiroshi had the extra skill “Castle of the Gods”, which had enabled them to finish in this amount of time, but normally, manufacturing wood supplies right at the construction site would take much longer than a day. Even the foundation process shouldn’t have ordinarily ended in one day. If this foundational construction had not been possible by using the Construction or Carpenter skills, by this point in time they would probably give up on the work and begin some form of merrymaking.

Normally, this would not be the kind of construction to begin on a whim.

「Well hey, a new building feels nice and fresh, so when all is said and done, I like it.」

「Sure, I won’t deny that part.」

「Come to think of it, was this job only made possible because of Hiroshi being a craftsman?」

「True. Now that you mention it, we were doing quite the extreme job earlier.」

Haruna and Mio had only now realized how ridiculous a job it was they had just completed, provoking an awkward smile from both of the oldest members of the group.

「Anyhoo, we’re done with all that, so now I’ll just recast the barriers ‘n whatnot, report the final state of everything, ‘n then it’s time to make an offering.」

Chatting with them as he completed the check on the altar, Hiroshi proceeded to finish up the remaining work necessary to make the temple function as a temple should. In addition to being abandoned (other than to make offerings) for thirty years, there were also nearby remnants of dungeons that had been filled with very thick miasma, so the barriers had become quite loose as of late. At this rate, the place would be hollow without any substance.

「What does it look like?」

「Yup, it’s purty down right now.」

Recasting the near-broken barrier, Hiroshi reused the ritual article in order to restart various ritual preparations. Haruna and Mio watched this as they came outside. The perimeter was filled with clean energy, and the temple began to resume its functions.

「Now we just need the offerin’.」

「If you have any of those dwarf killers, it’d be great to have it alongside smoked meat.」

That request came to them all of sudden when they were preparing offerings for the altar. Turning around, they noticed a middle-aged man with a rather dry atmosphere about him, probably the kind of person to live a secluded life deep in the forest. He looked like he was a professional beggar.

「Couldja be Aranwen-sama？」

「Not “could”. I am in fact Aranwen.」

「Oh really now.」

The master of the temple had actually shown up in person. Everyone just gaped in awe.

「I am sure there is much you wish to know, but how about we have some food first?」

Without hesitation, he opened the dwarf killer lid and halted Tatsuya before suggesting that. This was right after Hiroshi had put smoked rock boar and troll bird together with vegetables and fruit on the altar. It was only reasonable that this god who protected the elves and forest giants had a strong appetite.

「Hm. Quite the good taste this smoked meat has.」

「Ah, thank you.」

Haruna smiled awkwardly at this god biting elegantly into the smoked meat as she inspected the food for dinner. It was a rather tough decision between the mushroom that Makoto and Mio had roasted off a mid-boss and the mid-boss salamander that Hiroshi had taken down.

「When in doubt, use both!」

She heartily declared, preparing adequately-sized slime mold and sliced salamander. After she prepared the mysterious vegetables, fruit, and roots that Hiroshi had harvested from a dungeon, lightly warming it and checking the flavor, Haruna made it all into tempura and karaage, clearly finding it bothersome. Makoto was totally taken aback by Haruna’s fortitude in her cooking. Tatsuya was more on the worried side.

「Are you sure about the scum being taken out?」

「Yes, from the texture it wasn’t a big deal.」

「If you say so……」

Tatsuya decided to succumb to Haruna’s insistence and waited for completion. Makoto also wasn’t able to hide her unease, but she chose to simply not say anything.

「And now it’s ready.」

「……What were you making, Mio?」

「Tempura sauce and clear broth soup？」

「Tempura, eh? Well that makes sense.」

As long as you disregarded the fact that all the ingredients were unknown, it was a truly normal conversation.

「Now, Hiro, I saw you preparing something before Haruna had even started on her menu. What were you working on?」

「Kamameshi, mate.」 *note: referring to a pot with rice, meat, and vegetables in it

Everyone wanted to know what on earth Hiroshi intended to put in said kamameshi, but they were too scared to ask. It wasn’t clear whether he had obtained the ingredients from a dungeon, so it was impossible to visualize what he had planned.