Dwarf Cuisine And A Delighted Rāna

A mining town at dusk.

After obtaining Rāna’s jewel in the mine tunnel, I returned to the duke’s mansion.

The shadows of the valley, darkened by the mountain range dyed red by the sunset, were beautiful.

When we entered the duke’s mansion, an old butler welcomed us.

“Welcome back, Alec-sama, Liricia-sama. Your meal is ready.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

We walked down a long corridor and were guided to the dining room.

The dining room was already filled with delicious smells.

Gustav, the well-built Dwarf Duke sitting at the head of the table, raised his hand with a smile.

“Ohh, you’ve returned. Now then, let us raise a toast to celebrate our deal.”

“It looks delicious. I’ll gladly eat without holding back.”

“Thank you very much, Your Grace.”

Liricia and I sat at the table.

A white tablecloth was spread over the large table, and dishes using ham, sausages, potatoes, and onions were lined up on it.

If anything, many of the dishes looked like they would make alcohol go down well.

Gustav lifted the corner of his mouth and grinned.

“How about alcohol? We have various ales and grape wine too.”

“There are different kinds of ale?”

“Yes. The taste and aroma change depending on the ingredients, such as wheat, barley, or oats. Wheat ale has a fruit-like aroma. I especially recommend the highest-grade ale made by dwarves.”

“Then I’ll have that.”

“I shall have grape wine…”

Liricia said that a little shyly.

A maid placed glasses filled with alcohol beside us.

First, we made a toast, and then the meal began.

A dish made by stewing a lump of meat and pouring brown sauce over it caught my eye because I had never seen it before.

The meat was soft enough to scoop with a spoon, and it was thickly coated in the sauce.

When I took a bite, it melted as though crumbling on my tongue. The mildly spiced sauce brought out the savoriness of the meat.

I opened my eyes wide and swallowed it with almost no chewing.

“Mm, this meat dish is good. It melts!”

“It truly does. It is delicious even when spread on bread.”

Liricia was spreading the meat on bite-sized pieces of torn bread and eating it.

Gustav grinned.

“I’m glad you like it. It is a melted meat dish made in a special dwarf pot. It is eaten by everyone from children to the elderly, even as baby food or food for the sick.”

“I see. It seems nutritious. As expected of dwarves.”

“Medicinal herbs are used as a hidden flavor. It seems good for the body too.”

Liricia carried the meat to her mouth with refined movements.

—Come to think of it, she seems to have sobered up.

She was drinking grape wine normally, but she did not seem drunk.

She had not gotten drunk on fruit wine or mead either.

Could Liricia perhaps be weak to ale?

“Liricia, this ale has a sweet aroma and tastes good too. Do you want to try it?”

“Yes, Master.”

When I handed her the glass, she took one sip.

Her cheeks faintly turned red. Her drooping eyes became even hazier.

“The aroma is so rich…”

“Ah, I knew it. Liricia gets drunk on ale.”

“Ale makes me feel all floaating…”

Liricia looked at me with moist eyes. She was somehow different from usual, which made her cute.

Her head began swaying left and right. Her silver hair trembled.

Seeing that, Gustav spoke.

“Hm? What’s wrong? —Ahh, the special ale must have worked on her while she was tired from the long journey. It has a high alcohol content. A bedroom has been prepared, so use it freely.”

“No, our business is done for today. We’ll be going home.”

“Hm? Well, if you say so, I don’t mind.”

Gustav opened his eyes wide in curiosity.

Then he stuffed a lump of meat into his mouth and ate it. He washed it down with ale.

It was a hearty way of eating.

For a moment, I considered asking whether the mine might be the remains of a dungeon.

However, I closed my mouth.

If he asked how I knew that, I did not think I could dodge the question well.

And Liricia, whose mind was sharp, had gotten drunk.

I focused on eating the delicious food.

I enjoyed dwarf cuisine, such as potato gratin covered in plenty of melting cheese and freshly boiled liver sausages giving off white steam.

After that, we finished the meal while lightly making arrangements about replenishing and paying for Puchi Elixirs, with the wholesale price at thirty-eight thousand gort and the retail price at fifty thousand gort.

As we were leaving, I first received payment for one thousand bottles. Thirty-eight million gort.

To prepare it in cash immediately—As expected of a duke.

There were mithril silver coins I was seeing for the first time. They were bigger than my palm and looked a little like plates.

Apparently, they were called great mithril coins, and each one was worth ten million gort.

As I put the money into my magic bag, Gustav spoke to me with a stern smile.

“This will increase the number of people who can be saved. Alec, I look forward to continuing our relationship.”

“Likewise.”

I firmly shook his thick hand.

He then stared into my eyes and gripped my hand powerfully.

“I also entrust my daughter Hilda to you.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Then he handed me a cloth bag. It was quite heavy.

“This is just a little, but it contains sausages and ale. You seemed to like them. Take it as a souvenir.”

“They were delicious, so I’m happy to have this. Thank you.”

I honestly accepted the bag and put it into my magic bag.

“Thank you for the meal, Your Grace…”

Beside me, Liricia was thanking him while swaying back and forth.

I took the unsteady Liricia and went outside the mansion.

The night wind felt pleasant against her cheeks, flushed from drunkenness.

The sky was shining with countless stars.

We walked through the garden and headed to the Puchi Elixir shed.

On the way, Liricia clung to my arm.

“I feel floaty…”

“You’re nicely drunk.”

“Fueh? Is something strange…? Somehow, I feel like I’m ascending to heaven…”

“Don’t leave me behind.”

“Okaay.”

Liricia walked while clinging to me and rubbing her head against me.

After that, once we entered the shed, I had Kou make a dungeon passage.

As we walked through the passage illuminated by bluish-white light, Rāna jumped out from the hall where Kou was.

She ran toward us with her white hair streaming behind her.

“Kyai, Lek, Lishia!”

“Yeah, we’re back. This is it, right?”

I took the yellow sphere out of my magic bag.

Rāna’s young face filled with smiles.

She put her little palms together and held them out in front of her.

“Kyai!”

“Don’t get it stuck in your throat.”

When I handed over the sphere, Rāna scrubbed its surface with the sleeve of her dress.

Then she ate it in one bite.

Her thin throat moved up and down with a gulp.

“Mmm, mmm-mmm.”

Then her whole body began emitting yellow light.

The outline wrapped in light gradually grew larger.

Then she became a girl of about nine years old. Her arms and legs became even more slender, and her proportions grew taller.

She now had not only round cuteness, but also a delicate loveliness.

—Now then. How is her speech?

It would be nice if she could speak well enough to serve customers at the shop.

So I tried speaking to her.

“How is it, Rāna? Do you think you can talk?”

“Alec, Liricia, thank you!”

Rāna thanked us with a cheerful smile. The way she gave a little hop to express her joy was adorable.

I smiled too and nodded.

“Ohh, your pronunciation got better! Then try saying, ‘Welcome.’”

“Welcooome!”

“Hm? Your speech suddenly got slurred. …How about ‘Thank you for waiting’?”

“Thank waitin’!”

“Thank you very much.”

“Thangyu vewy much!”

I looked at Rāna with flat eyes.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. She had a full smile, as if to say she had done it perfectly.

—Why does she sound like a veteran tavern worker?

She will need one or two more jewels, won’t she?

I stroked Rāna’s head and spoke.

“You’re doing well. But I’ll ask you to help with the shop after you grow a little more.”

“Kyui!”

Rāna raised her hand and replied. Apparently, she had said yes.

…Her reply did not change.

Then perhaps hearing the commotion, the elf girl Teti came to the dungeon passage.

She came over, making her blond hair sway. She had a bundle of papers in her hand.

“Welcome back, Alec-sama. …Huh? Rāna-chan, did you get bigger?”

“Rāna grew! Kyai!”

“That’s great.”

Teti high-fived Rāna’s raised hands. It seemed that because she had grown taller, she could now do things like this.

I took a bag out of my magic bag.

“Oh, right. I got souvenirs from the Dwarf Duke. Sausages and ale. Invite Sophia and eat them together, the three of you. We already had dinner.”

“Kyai!? Sausages!”

Rāna, who loved sausages, jumped up and down in delight. The hem of her dress flipped up lightly.

Teti also smiled, showing her white teeth, and her voice became lively.

“Dwarf ham and sausages are delicious, you know. The meat flavor is rich, I guess. —Yeah, we’ll all eat them together. Let’s go, Rāna-chan.”

“Kyaai! Food, food!”

When Teti started walking while holding the bag, Rāna skipped after her. Her white hair swayed softly and happily.

“Now then, that leaves Liricia.”

“Funya.”

She rubbed her forehead against my arm and shoulder. Her eyes were closed. Her eyelashes were long.

Holding the drunk and limp Liricia close, I headed to the bedroom.