That unexpected encounter only made me more tired.
I never thought that going fishing to relax would end up tiring me out instead.
But so something like that exists, huh.
That was definitely a silver-grade monster.
Silver-grade.
The threat levels of monsters go: Bronze-grade, Silver-grade, Gold-grade, Jewel-grade, and Relic-grade.
Each of those is then split into lower, middle, and upper tiers.
A monster's threat level changes significantly depending on whether it has Relics.
One Relic makes it a lower-tier silver-grade.
Two puts it at middle-tier silver-grade.
Three means upper-tier silver-grade. Four gets you into lower-tier gold-grade.
Still, these are just rough guidelines.
Believe it or not, though—
That giant salamander was roughly that level of monster.
But having something like that talk to you so fluently really throws you off.
It was clear it had intelligence and no intention of being hostile.
So, with my past life's sense of ethics, I didn't think of it as an enemy.
An act of gratitude, huh. Well, I won't get my hopes up.
On the way back, I bought fish, bread, tomatoes, cheese, and root vegetables.
Then I had the fruit juice poured by the cupful into my water flask and the empty crescent-shaped container.
"Hey. Get a move on!"
"Stop dawdling, you useless waste!"
A sudden shouting caught my eye. In a narrow alley between the buildings, a handful of rough-looking men were hurrying along a child.
"Y-yes. I'm sorry."
The child was a boy, about my age or a year younger.
He was burdened with a large pack on his back.
The men, on the other hand, carried nothing besides the swords at their waists.
The boy's expression was strained and pained under the weight.
"Dammit, you pack mule, keep it together."
"We're keeping you fed even though the Junkyard's unusable. Try to be good for something."
"Y-yes. I'm sorry!"
"But seriously, when are they gonna deal with this anomaly thing?"
"Second-tier ones have been showing up, right?"
"And they still haven't done anything? Maybe it's not that big a deal after all."
"You think we're stronger?"
"Ha ha ha, maybe. We're Kuun Hunt, you know."
"Hey, quit dragging your feet!"
"Y-yes. I'm sorry!"
Those guys. Kuun Hunt delvers, huh.
From their manner and words, I couldn't exactly say the treatment of the hired help was good.
It was slave treatment.
"…………"
Not a rare sight.
Most delvers knew how the hired help was treated. Pretty much everyone did.
I felt sorry for them, but the one who chose this path was that boy.
He probably thought something like this.
I had no choice but to choose.
There was no choice but to choose.
No. That's not how I saw it.
There were other paths to choose.
"…………"
But I realized — wasn't that only because I had power?
If I didn't have memories from my past life and four Relics… would I have seen it that way?
"……"
I just got lucky.
It became unbearable, and I quietly slipped away.
I made it back to my home.
I was tired. I wanted to crawl straight into bed, but my stomach was empty.
No helping it. I started cooking.
First, I'd fillet the fish.
It wasn't something I'd done much of in my past life either, so I only had a hazy memory of it.
I'd learned the proper way from Burns at the Cidrol Inn.
My one and only knife. I went to fillet the fish with the Elixir Knife... filleted... hmm?
"It won't cut?"
I pressed the blade against the fish and drew it across, but it wouldn't cut.
"No way..."
I steeled myself and pressed my finger against the white blade tip.
"You've got to be kidding."
It didn't cut at all. I was stunned.
Why on earth... and then it suddenly hit me.
"Come to think of it, weapons for fighting the undead can't deal physical damage."
That top-tier Elixir Knife.
It was, in other words, not a blade.
"I—!"
I rushed out of the house.
My destination was the nearby general store. A knife. Hopefully they'd have one cheap.
This time I bought one with a simple build and a thick blade.
It was a bit heavy, but that weight let me cut through tree branches too.
Honestly, it was more than I could handle right now.
Still, I chose this knife because it was sturdy.
Using that knife, I filleted the fish into three pieces, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and lightly pan-fried it in butter.
In the meantime, I sliced the bread and cheese I'd bought.
"Looking good."
I took the grilled fish pieces out and sandwiched them with the cheese between the bread.
"So it's a mackerel sandwich, I guess."
For starters, I wasn't even sure the fish I'd bought was mackerel.
Actually, there probably wouldn't be mackerel in a river, would there? Oh well. Time to eat.
"Hm, this is good."
It had more umami than I'd expected. Not bad.
The bread's hard texture was the one downside, though.
Soft bread was expensive.
But what really suited a sandwich was somewhere between soft and firm.
Bread like I remembered from my past life.
So far, all there was around here was black bread and white bread.
I'd heard fermentation was tricky in all sorts of ways.
I didn't know much about bread.
I'd never made any either. Couldn't do anything about it.
Well, that was something I could put up with.
And if I could put up with it, then that would become possible.
"...I could even make that Elvis sandwich I've been dreaming of."
But that's impossible right now. I don't have bananas.
Without bananas, it wouldn't really be an Elvis sandwich.
Banana and bacon. The sweet-and-salty combo is essential.
Somewhere out there, there have to be bananas.
Or at least a fruit that's banana-like. Until then, it's a pipe dream.
"Oh right, I forgot to toss in the tomato."
I realize this after I've already finished eating.
Oh well, I'll use it for dinner then.
My belly was full and satisfied, so I decided to wash up.
Bath... well, not exactly.
I fill a large wooden tub with water, climb in, and wipe myself down with a towel.
Hydrangea has plenty of water and quite a few bathhouses.
The style is different, but it's basically like a public bathhouse.
The average cost is 500 to 800 oro though, so going every day isn't feasible.
Even with my recently fattened wallet, I can only manage once every three days.
I finish washing, get changed, and sit down on my bed.
I slump forward and murmur.
"My knife again..."
After I'd finally gotten used to it, and now this.
My money dropped again. I wanted to cry at the unexpected expense.
I want to take care of the next knife.
I don't want to break it anymore.
"............A baggage carrier?"
A delver and his hired hand.
There was no way I wouldn't feel anxious after seeing that just now.
Even if I become a delver, I have no intention of teaming up with anyone.
I'm staying solo forever. There are various reasons.
Past and future, I'll keep my distance and never get too involved with others.
That's my little life.