Ch.1313. The Scent of Spring

Shiro changed her clothes and left coolly.

“…”

After seeing her off, I stared at my bed for a moment.

Even just standing in front of it, I could smell her strong fragrance.

I usually dislike flowery perfume scents, but this one somehow made me feel at ease.

‘Should I wash the bedding.’

Obviously, I didn’t mean washing it with my mouth.

I hadn’t lived such a pathetic life where I’d sniff bedding to catch someone’s scent.

“…”

…I hadn’t lived such a life.

-Rustle. Rustle.

I finished the laundry while feeling somewhat dazed.

Usually the landlady does all this, but I agreed to handle these small chores in exchange for lower rent.

I needed to save money wherever I could to survive.

“My, you’re working hard early again today.”

While returning to my room with the previously hung bedding, I ran into the landlady.

She was wearing a form-fitting gray dress.

Though I called her “landlady,” she had such a youthful appearance that she could easily pass for someone in her twenties.

“Haha, I have nothing else, so I might as well be diligent.”

“Your future wife will have it easy. You’re such a good cook too.”

When the landlady was sick, I cooked for her for a few days, and it seems to have left quite an impression.

“Oh, I’m not that good. I just make things that are edible enough.”

“Ahaha, so modest! You could even open a restaurant with those skills!”

I did learn cooking as a hobby in my previous life, but it was definitely not restaurant-level.

If I had to say, it was just good enough to occasionally cook for people I knew.

“…By the way, could I borrow the kitchen again today? I’ve wronged someone, and I thought making them a lunchbox might help improve their mood.”

Having unintentionally seen Shiro first thing after waking up, I felt I needed to do something to ease my conscience.

It was essentially an accident, but feelings don’t always follow logical paths.

From the beginning, I didn’t want to have a cold, calculating relationship with her.

“That’s fine as long as you clean up afterward… Could the person you wronged be the one who was in your room yester—”

“—I don’t know about that, I just offended another acquaintance of mine.”

I firmly cut off her words and denied it.

Had she already heard about last night from her daughter?

“Well, I’ll be going now. My daughter is waiting for me.”

“Yes, ma’am. Have a good day.”

Just as I thought she was leaving coolly, she turned her head slightly and said:

“I hope things go well with your friend~!”

With a smile like a high school girl hearing about her friend’s love life, she made a natural exit.

“…”

This feels a bit awkward.

‘I should go buy ingredients.’

After putting the bedding back on the bed, I pondered what food to make and recalled what elves liked in the actual game.

They generally preferred carbohydrates with minimal meat.

The peculiar thing about elves was that while they disliked chunks of meat, they absolutely loved dishes with meat mixed in.

‘Good thing I remembered those detailed settings from before.’

I eventually decided on lasagna.

As I returned to my room to prepare for going out, I found a letter on the floor.

The letter seemed to have arrived yesterday, but I was so distracted when entering the inn that I only noticed it now.

“…House Rostia?”

For some reason, it bore the seal of that noble house.

I quickly opened the envelope and read the letter, and its contents were quite shocking.

[I heard about it. They say you fought bravely. You even saved my daughter. Seems like you’re a talented explorer? Come to the Association, and I’ll support you.]

It was a direct letter from the head of House Rostia.

I muttered quietly:

“…How beautiful.”

The red-haired twin-tailed girl had repaid her debt.

***

On my way back, I headed straight to the Association to buy ingredients.

The letter said I could visit the Association whenever convenient, but when a hero-noble offers support, you rush there immediately.

It took about 10 minutes to walk to the Association.

Some people might mistake a large black-haired man running through the city for a criminal.

‘It’s quiet.’

Compared to yesterday, it was practically empty.

Not only were there hardly any explorers, but even the receptionists I saw yesterday had been reduced to a quarter.

“Excuse me, I received this letter and came here.”

“Ah, so you’re Explorer Adel! I’ll guide you right away.”

When I showed the letter to the expressionless receptionist, they called another staff member who guided me to the second floor.

The second floor had numerous rooms.

From offices divided by department to various storerooms and multipurpose rooms.

The staff member led me to a mysterious room in a secluded corner.

It was in such a remote location that I suspected it might be Rostia’s scheme to extract the price of high-grade potions, but…

“Here we are. Also, Lord Rostia left another letter to be delivered specifically to you when you came to the Association.”

At the door, I received another letter bearing the Rostia family seal.

“Everything in this storeroom was prepared for you by Viscount Rostia.”

The receptionist said with a bright smile.

Usually, they’d be yelling at other explorers, so were they trying to seduce me with their beauty?

“Thank you for guiding me.”

I bowed my head, feeling somewhat fearful.

“You’re welcome. I’ll wait outside until you’re finished, so take your time looking around.”

I was curious how they’d react if I slept inside until evening, but I had plans with Shiro during the day, so I refrained.

-Creak.

When I entered the storeroom, an unexpected sight greeted me.

A navy curtain blocked the view about 1m from the entrance.

I pushed the curtain aside and saw what was behind it.

“…Insane.”

Equipment made from an alloy of moonstone and orichalcum was displayed.

Breastplate, leggings, boots, left and right arm guards.

All the equipment necessary for conquering a hidden dungeon.

‘So that’s why they asked what equipment I needed?’

It was a conversation I’d half-forgotten since I didn’t think it was important, but all the equipment I mentioned was here.

There were even eight high-grade potions worth 200,000 Ars each.

Moreover, these items were placed on luxurious red cushions that even I had never sat on.

‘They really put effort into this.’

The combined value of the equipment and potions here would be around 6-7 million Ars.

Since a skilled 4th-floor explorer earns about 5 million Ars annually, this was an insane gift.

It seemed excessive for mere support at a daughter’s request.

‘What does the letter say?’

I quickly opened it, worried it might contain something about a 20% interest rate or similar conditions.

Contrary to my concerns, the actual content of the letter was relatively mild.

[I’m grateful, and I think you’ll become famous later, so I’m investing in you. Get along well with my daughter, and I’ll help you if you’re ever in a difficult situation. Let’s maintain a close relationship?]

I thought the letter ended there, but there was a folded section at the bottom.

[Soon there will be a coming-of-age party for the young lady of Count Manis’s family, and I’ll invite you too.]

Though it might seem like a light request compared to the gift, it could potentially involve some risk.

‘It shouldn’t matter.’

Refusing such a valuable gift because I might find party invitations annoying?

That would not only be extremely disrespectful to the nobility but also to my wallet.

The money in my wallet is precious, so I’ll use it well for myself.

***

Thanks to this, I could use some premium ingredients for the lasagna.

The ingredients alone cost 8,000 Ars. In Korean money, that’s like spending 80,000 won on a single meal.

I could afford such an extravagant luxury thanks to the kindness of the red twin-tailed girl, “Reneva.”

This was a level of kindness that would allow me to forgive her even if she stabbed me in the back twice.

‘I’m a bit late.’

Last night, Shiro and I formed a party and agreed to meet today at 3 PM.

The plan was to discuss party strategies and buy appropriate equipment.

But I was running late because of making the lasagna.

“Huff, huff. I’m sorry, Shiro. Am I late?”

I ran up to Shiro, who was sitting by the fountain in the square.

“You’re right on time.”

She took out a pocket watch from her pocket.

Her pocket watch was 5 minutes slower than the one at the fountain, showing exactly 3 o’clock.

“…It’s 5 minutes slow.”

Shiro muttered very quietly after realizing this fact.

She must not have adjusted her watch yet.

“Did you just arrive too, Shiro?”

“No, I’ve been here for 10 minutes.”

Shiro’s expression wasn’t very good.

Between this morning’s incident and my lateness, she probably wasn’t in the best mood.

“Shiro, I’m really sorry for being late. It’s not much of a compensation, but please accept this.”

I took out a container of lasagna from my medium-sized spatial pouch.

The diameter was about 15cm, just right for the container.

“…What is this?”

She received the container with one hand and looked up at me.

“I tried cooking something, though I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”

I explained what lasagna was to Shiro when she asked, and eventually she spoke with what seemed like interest.

“…It looks delicious.”

Her tone was as expressionless as usual, but she seemed genuinely interested. Probably.

I naturally led Shiro toward the artificial park.

Wouldn’t it be nice to eat lasagna at one of the tables there while enjoying the fresh air?

‘I should think about equipment setup too.’

Since I already had all the equipment prices memorized, I could just sit and think to complete the setup.

There’s no better place for thinking.

Even though they charged an entrance fee for the park in this already cramped city, it was worth the investment.

After walking for about thirty minutes, we arrived at the park, and I paid the entrance fee for both of us.

“I’ll pay you back.”

As we began walking through the vast park with its green meadows, Shiro was trying to take money out of her wallet.

“No need. It’s not much, and since I suggested coming here, I should pay.”

“But still…”

“Besides, I was late too.”

“…Alright.”

After a brief back-and-forth, Shiro conceded, and we sat facing each other on a bench in a scenic spot.

I placed the lasagna container on the table and set up plates and utensils I took out from my spatial pouch.

Looking at Shiro across from me, I noticed she was staring intently at the lasagna.

“Does it look good?”

“…Yes.”

Shiro nodded indifferently.

I smiled at her and cut the lasagna.

“Is this amount okay?”

“Yes.”

I placed the lasagna on her plate.

She stared at the plate for a moment, then began eating small bites using a knife and fork.

Not wanting to just watch her chew small bites, I also cut some lasagna and moved it to my plate.

“…I’m sorry.”

In the midst of this, Shiro spoke up.

“Pardon? What did you say?”

Her voice was so small that I couldn’t hear it.

“I’m sorry.”

“…What do you have to apologize for, Shiro?”

I just asked because I couldn’t think of anything.

She hadn’t done anything that warranted an apology to me.

She had risked her life to save mine—I could forgive almost anything short of her trying to kill me.

“For getting drunk last night, and this morning…”

“Those were largely my fault. If anything, I should be the one apologizing.”

She got drunk because I took her to the wine bar, and what happened this morning was just an accident.

She probably tried to change clothes while I was sleeping.

While one could say she wasn’t careful enough, I had benefited in a way I couldn’t mention.

“…So, here.”

Shiro reached into the sleeve of her dress and pulled out a handkerchief, offering it to me.

That thing was just on her body until now…

“…What?”

My brain stopped working.

What’s going on?

“Don’t you like smelling my scent?”

“What?”

Seriously, what are you talking about?