Chapter 55 – Dinner Banquet 1 Part 2
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Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
“You did really well on hunting such a thing. A General Orc doesn’t normally set foot outside of an orc settlement after all.”
“I guess. The one we hunted down also holed up in the middle of an orc settlement.”
“Hm? If it was holed up inside a settlement, then just how did you all hunt it? Were there no other orcs present in the settlement so you took advantage?”
“Eh? Oh, there were a lot of orcs alright.”
“They attacked us fiercely, right?”
“Yes, they did.”
“……Wait. In other words, you managed to defeat a large number of orcs while simultaneously hunting down a General Orc? Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s right. Actually, we were there to hunt down regular orcs, and the General Orc was just a bonus of sorts.”
“B-Bonus…… Uh, how many orcs did you defeat, by the way?”
“Seventy-four orcs all in all.”
“Oi, oi! That’s a number that only a full company of knights can handle!”
“Well, it looks like we find it easier to hunt down orcs compared to most folk. We’re all mages, you see. Even if there were a great number of them, we were able to handily dispose of them with spells from a distance. When we got discovered, we’ve already reduced them to manageable numbers. It was certainly quite an experience.”
“Well, of course, it was! Hahaha, how bold! I didn’t think there really were people who would dare to do something so reckless.”
“I’m sorry for interjecting father, but shouldn’t we start the banquet already…?”
“Oh, right, of course. Let us begin then. You’re my kind of guy, Alan! I’ll bring out my special stash of alcohol just for you. Don’t hold back and drink your fill.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“Haa… It turned out like this after all.”
The banquet finally started with hors d’oevres, followed by several fancy-looking dishes. I was worried about proper table manners, but judging from how Cleria and Elna ate, it didn’t differ much from what’s used in the empire. Well, since we ate with a knife and fork, I guess that’s no surprise.
The special alcohol Silas-san offered me was a wine that had a higher alcohol content than regular wine. It should be about 20% or so.
The alcohol content was probably raised via distillation and then added to regular wine. Regular fermentation will not be able to reach this level of alcohol content after all. It’s been a long time since I’ve drunk my fill. This evening’s turning out to be really enjoyable after all.
“This sure is some fine alcohol. It’s my first time to drink something like this ever since we came to this country.”
It wasn’t really all that great compared to the ones I’m used to drinking back home, but since Silas-san boasted about it being his special stash, I just gave an appropriate amount of lip service.
“Well, of course. This isn’t something you can find in just any regular tavern. It’s something I’ve obtained from the far away Gates kingdom after all. Its price will make your eyes pop out in shock, I tell you.”
“So that’s the case. I’m sorry. I ended up drinking quite a bit.”
“It’s fine. I did tell you not to hold back after all. And I also want to let go like this every once in a while. But you’re quite the experienced drinker huh.”
“I don’t usually drink all that much, but I do love some good alcohol. By the way, does this country have alcohol that, um, makes you drunk easier like this one as well?”
“Alcohol that makes you drunk easier?”
“Yeah. Just like this wine that probably had that substance that makes one drunk added on to it even more than usual.”
“……Say, Alan, do you actually know how they managed to produce this kind of alcohol?”
“I’m not entirely sure just how they made this particular kind of alcohol, but I do know of a method to produce something similar.”
Silas-san suddenly stood up excitedly. Arista-san and the others also sported shocked expressions.
“Eh? What’s wrong, everyone?”
“You know Alan, that Gates kingdom I mentioned earlier treats the production method for this wine on par with a national treasure. According to rumors, the winemakers are confined somewhere secure and are not allowed to go out to maintain secrecy. There, they produce this alcohol all their lives. And now you’re telling me you know of such an extremely precious production method?”
“Well, yes, I do. I’m not an expert, but it was pretty widely known back in my home country.”
Well, the ones we made were even more high-quality distilled liquors though.
“What!? From my knowledge, the only country that is able to produce this type of liquor is the Gates kingdom…… Hey, Alan, can you try making some alcohol for me? That’s if it’s alright with you, of course.”
“…That sounds interesting. Sure, I can try. But I’m primarily an adventurer, so I’ll probably make one only if I’m free.”
“I see! Yosh, I’ll cover all the expenses for you. Once we’ve confirmed the production method, I’ll give you… Mm. How about 500,000 Guineas?”
500,000 Guineas was quite the sum. But since the production method wasn’t widely known, I bet the resulting profits won’t amount to just that much. Actually, I bet it’ll be several times that. Even if they gave me several hundreds of thousands of Guineas, I bet they’ll be able to recoup that easily and then some.
It would be more profitable for me if I produced the liquor and obtained a certain percentage of the profits from their sales, but I don’t have the time to get involved in that kind of stuff.
“How about 2,000,000 Guineas?”
“What!? That’s too much! 750,000 Guineas.”
“Oh, but what if I tell you I know of a method that produces even more delicious liquor compared to this one? 1,500,000 Guineas.”
I’m sure we’ll be able to easily figure out a way to produce even higher-quality alcohol if I leave it to Iris.
“What did you say!? An even more delicious alcohol than this one? …Alright, I understand! 1,500,000 Guineas it is.”
“I’ll also need you to introduce me to a skilled and trustworthy blacksmith as well as helpers.”
“…Alright. But what do you need a blacksmith for if you’re making alcohol? Well, fine. We have a skilled blacksmith affiliated with the Commerce Guild. I’ll introduce you later.”
“Glad to be working with you then.”
I and Silas-san got carried away with our conversation, but the rest of the banquet proceeded smoothly. The next dish that was brought out was a meat dish.
“This is–!?” Silas-san exclaimed in surprise.
“This is something our head chef procured from the market. It’s the meat of a very rare monster. If I remember correctly, this is Blue Serpent meat,” Arista informed.
“It does seem to be Blue Serpent meat, but the slices are larger than what I’m familiar with.”
“If so, then this is probably the meat of a Big Blue Serpent.”
“What!? A Superior monster?”
“This is probably from the monster we slew this morning. But man, what a coincidence this is. I didn’t think we would be able to eat the meat of a monster we hunted here of all places.”
“This morning, you say? But this isn’t just any monster you can hunt down just because you want to…”
“Well, yes. We were quite lucky to find this one. It was being surrounded by Gray Hounds, so we hunted it down along with them. This was also a fairly big monster, you know. It was more than ten meters in length.”
“What!? No, wait! What about the skin?”
“No idea. We left it to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Well, of course, you did. Can’t be helped. I guess I’ll check it out tomorrow morning.”
“So it really is valuable?”
“Yes, quite. It’s rare to find something that big as well. If we process them into bags, it’ll make quite a tidy profit.”
“I see.”
I then went ahead and tried the Big Blue Serpent steak in front of me. The flavoring simply consisted of salt, pepper, and various herbs. It didn’t have any gaminess even though it was snake meat, and was very juicy. It melted in the mouth. So if the ingredient was good, even simple flavoring would do it enough justice. Rather, something simple like this may be the most suitable for this kind of meat. The head chef of this house was quite skilled.
“This is delicious!”
The rest of the party looked quite satisfied with the food as well.
“Yeah, it’s delicious alright. It’s been five years since I had the chance to eat something like this again. As expected, the meat of a Superior monster truly is in a league of its own. What else did you manage to hunt today, Alan?”
“We only managed to hunt Gray Hounds.”
“I see. How many did you get?”
“Um, sixty of them.”
“Sixty! …And you did all this in just one morning?”
“That’s right.”
“What can I say? I can’t believe you’re all still C-ranked after all that.”
“Oh, well, we all got promoted to B rank just this morning.”
“…Well, of course, you would. It looks like that damn Kevin isn’t slacking off at least.”
After the meat dish, we were served dessert. The dessert consisted of cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar. They were also baked along with dried fruits that were soaked in alcohol. They were quite delicious as well. They also served us tea, but Silas-san and I continued enjoying the alcohol.
It looks like the course meal was finished with this.
“That was a splendid array of dishes. I greatly enjoyed them.”
The rest of the party also gave positive comments one after another.
“I was worried if we would be able to satisfy a first-rate gourmand like you, Alan-san. But hearing you say that makes me quite happy,” Arista beamed.
“Of course I was satisfied! Each dish was created with absolute care and artistry and showcased the skills of the chef to the utmost.”
“Thank you very much. I will be sure to tell our head chef of your praise.”
“Now then, since we’ve managed to eat our fill, let us move on to business. It’s about the reward for Arista’s rescue I mentioned yesterday.”
It looks like we’re moving on to the real topic for tonight. Of course, I already had an idea this wasn’t going to be a simple dinner. Now then, how will things go, I wonder.
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