She Grew Up So Well
After thoroughly enjoying the cake and with the party winding down, Pearl—who had been enjoying the food with us just moments ago but had since disappeared—suddenly returned in lion-size form, carrying something in her mouth. With a thud, she dropped it at my feet and said,
(Joan. Here’s a present~)
““““““““““!!!””””””””””
Despite the cute way she said “present~” what she laid down was massive—a pig with a horn on its nose.
“Th-thank you, Pearl. Umm... what exactly is this?”
(Hmm, a pig? It smelled delicious. I took down a bear too, but it didn’t smell very good, so I left it.)
“Isn’t… isn’t this a Big Boar? Yeah, it’s true the meat’s tasty, but… I’ve never seen one this big before. That horn is huge too.”
Brother Gene stared in amazement at the Big Boar.
“Pearl, about that bear you took down—what kind was it?”
When Vee asked her, she shifted into a large dog size and tilted her head.
(Umm, well, its head looked like a bird, and it was white. I got mad because it suddenly attacked me near where I first met Joan.)
“A bird-like head... An Owlbear!?”
“Wait, Owlbears are pretty vicious, aren’t they? Aren’t they considered B-rank monsters?”
“Yeah, the normal ones are. But the white one Pearl mentioned is probably a White Owlbear, a subspecies. That’s an A-rank.”
“W-what!? Pearl, are you hurt? You’re not injured, are you?”
(I’m fine~ Oh, is there still cake?)
“Eh—oh, yeah, there is.”
She cheerfully ran off to Anny for more cake.
“Gray, go retrieve the Owlbear with Al.”
“Understood.”
Father gave Gray the order.
“H-hey... doesn’t this mean Pearl is basically the strongest? She took down an A-rank monster.”
Brother Gene said with a strained smile, and everyone silently nodded in agreement.
When we first found her, she was so tiny and trembling... and now she’s grown up into something incredible.
We later learned that the White Owlbear was so large they couldn’t carry it back whole, so they had to butcher it on the spot.
The Big Boar was turned into bacon and ham by Arthur and Ben, but there was still so much left that it’s now resting in my storage. I’m planning to make roast pork when I have the time.
By the way, the materials from the White Owlbear and Big Boar were taken to the Adventurers’ Guild by Gray and fetched a high price.
＊＊＊＊＊
The next morning, today’s the day I head to the Adventurers' Guild.
I was so excited I woke up earlier than usual... It’s only just turned the fourth bell, and it’s still dark outside the window.
In the corner of the room, Pearl was still sleeping. I quietly got changed and left the room so as not to wake her. As expected, even the maids weren’t up yet, so the mansion was silent. Out of habit from the past five years, I naturally headed to the kitchen, where I saw light spilling out.
Clack. “Oh, it’s Ken this morning. Good morning~”
“Huh? Young lady Joan? Aren’t you up earlier than usual this morning?”
“Ehehe.”
“Ah, it’s because you’re going to the Adventurers' Guild, right?”
“Yeah. I was so excited I woke up. Are you just starting the bread?”
“Yeah, I just got here.”
“Then I’ll help. Let’s try modifying the usual butter rolls a bit.”
“What kind of modification are we talkingabout?”
“We’ll add dried fruit brapes.”
“That sounds delicious.”
“Yup... Come to think of it, Ken, you still use formal speech with me.”
“Hmm... I guess I missed my chance to stop?”
“Opportunities are made. Let’s speak casually from now on, okay?”
“Huh—ah, y-yes... I mean, got it. This okay?”
“Yup, that’s great.”
“Alright! Let’s get baking!”
“Yeah!!”
Finally talking casually with Ken, I felt like we’d really broken the ice.
“By the way, Ken, how did you end up becoming our family’s chef?”
“I used to be an adventurer too. I met Abe when I joined a monster subjugation party. I was chewing on some rations with my team, and Abe gave me soup. It was during winter, and that warm soup meant so much... Then, during that mission, a teammate got injured, and we had to disband the party. I didn’t feel like joining another team... so I ended up drinking myself into oblivion every night at a tavern. Then one day, I ran into Abe again—also at a tavern. He had already retired too. He quietly listened to everything I had to say... and then told me about this place and invited me here.”
“I see... Sorry, that must’ve brought up hard memories.”
“Hm? Oh... Actually, my injured party member is fine now. He works at the Adventurers' Guild in the capital.”
“Really? Then I’ll have to visit sometime!”
“Yeah, do that. He’s a guy with the eyepatch over his left eye. His face is scary, but he’s a good guy.”
“Got it~”
The brape bread we served for breakfast was a big hit.
Especially with the twins, who normally didn’t like butter rolls much and always had to slather them in jam. Their enthusiasm for the brape bread shocked everyone. Usually, they took forever to eat even one butter roll, but today, they held one in each hand and chowed down.
I was happy to eat it for the first time since my previous life too. Maybe I’ll try making more types of bread? Curry bread, cream bread... If I can find red beans, I could even make sweet bean buns.
Maybe I’ll ask Mr. Taiki or Sacchan next time.
What do you think about this chapter?
