Dungeon Gourmet

 

Rattle, rattle.

 

The carriage soon departed. The weather was a bit cloudy.

 

Looking beyond the swaying landscape, I was reflecting on the words I heard this morning.

 

‘Solar year 533.’

 

It still feels like an unrealistic story to me, to the point where I wondered if I simply forgot this year.

 

Moreover, the fact that 100 years have passed and people still use this kind of carriage to travel, reinforced my doubts.

 

” Ahaha, I heard this mercenary’s level is 100?” But why was that guy so scared that he even called us all!”

 

“It’s not 100. It’s 95.”

 

“Well, that or that! Anyway, so there was some kind of story to it, right? No, I don’t know, someone who came to my store last time said he was a hero.….”

 

Chatter.

 

The inside of the carriage where people sat was narrower than expected. It was only natural that the space for the humans was small as the rest was filled with luggage.

 

As I was sitting with my legs together a little closer than usual because of the uncomfortable seat, one of the people in the carriage suddenly pointed at me and asked a question.

 

“Thank you so much for accompanying me. Oh! What’s your name?”

 

Moustache. Wasn’t this the mustache merchant who was arguing with the skinny merchant earlier? But anyway, a name.

 

I had, of course, many names that had been used to call me until now, but since those names may have already become wanted or something, I thought I shouldn’t use them anymore.

 

Therefore…

 

“Name?”

 

“That’s right, your name.”

 

After an inconspicuous gap of silence, I opened my mouth and answered.

 

“Marron Glacé.”

 

How I was able to come up with this new name was a bit ridiculous.

 

Because that was the name of the dish I wanted to eat right now.

 

“Marron Glacé?”

 

When the merchant repeated those words and asked again, a chime rang in my ears.

 

Ding.

 

Charlotte (Previous) → Marron Glacé (New)

[Are you sure you want to change your name? [Y/N]]

 

“Then can I just call you Marron?”

 

“Yes.”

 

[Your name has been changed.]

 

‘Marron glacé is delicious….’

 

However, it seemed that the Marron glacé I wanted to eat would take a while to obtain.

 

First of all, I’ve never heard of chestnut trees existing in this world, and I’d need a lot of sugar to boil the chestnuts, and, it’s a dish that needs to be marinated for more than a week…….

 

It seemed that satisfying the desire for Marron Glacé would also be a task that’d take a long time.

 

I wondered why was there a clattering noise inside the luggage packed into the wagon earlier. It sounded similar to the sound of plates stacked on top of each other, but was there anything in there that was at risk of breaking?

 

“Now, it’ll take quite some time for us to get to the Helm, so shall we settle down and rest here?”

 

“Let’s do that.”

 

“Great!”

 

Oh, it looks like it wasn’t something that could be broken.

 

The source of the rattling sound was a pile of thinly-cut ​​firewood.

 

‘It’s for camping at night. Well, it’d take at least a day from here to the Helm even if we didn’t sleep.’

 

This is a road along the mountain path; which was now getting dark.

 

Even though it was a roadside, it seemed that the area was often used as a resting place by merchants, so it would not be a problem for the carriage and our party to sleep overnight here.

 

“Come and sit here, mercenary!”

 

“Hey, did you already forget his name so you’re calling him that now? His name is Glacé. Marron Glacé~”

 

“No, I didn’t forget. Who forgot….?”

 

“Hey, someone come here! It’s hard to catch fire.”

 

Clamour clamour.

 

 It was so noisy that I could imagine how wide their mouths were talking even if I wasn’t looking at them.

 

However, I was not the type to quaver just because others were talking a little too loudly, so I quietly walked over to the center of the vacant space where the firewood was spread out.

 

“I’ll light the fire.”

 

The merchant who was struggling with the firewood looked back at my approaching figure.

 

A figure whose face was completely covered with an iron helmet with a slight protruding front snout that looked like a bird’s beak, making it impossible to tell what kind of expression he was making, and he who had been quiet the whole time they were riding in the wagon had now suddenly opened his mouth.

 

“What? Ahaha, just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you’ll be able to light the fire. The trick is….”

 

“Blaze.”

 

You tried hitting it a hundred times with that flint. Did it catch fire?

 

In the meantime, I used one of my rudimentary magic, because it seemed that by the time the firewood was lit, the plunging night would come and everyone here would be frozen to death by the night wind.

 

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t use magic often and it’s almost stuck at the bottom of my skill list…….’

 

Since I had time, I decided to organize my skill list. I left behind the merchants who were curiously looking at the bright fire that began to burn out of the firewood.

 

Afterward, I laid down the blanket I received on a suitable spot and patted it several times to tidy it up.

 

 It wasn’t the skill of someone who has camped once or twice.

 

‘I remember the time I first came here.’

 

Obviously, When I came here, I camped along this road with my colleagues… ….

 

I recalled the memories of coming to this forest.

 

Before leaving, I had stopped by the orphanage to make some donations and headed straight for the forest. And now, the road felt quite familiar. It felt like I was looking back on my journey back then.

 

The flames rising from afar resembled the bonfire of that time. I even felt a sense of déjà vu. At that time, the wizard accompanying me had the duty of making the fire, and I was sitting at a distance like this, watching the person use the skill.

 

“…….”

 

“Hey, mercenary!”

 

As I sat alone lost in my thoughts, a long-haired man with something in his hand walked towards me.

 

“I heard that you made the fire?”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Ho, It doesn’t look like it… Is your occupation a wizard?”

 

I replied to his words briefly without using any honorifics.

 

Do I feel wronged being badly treated this way? No way. I don’t care about these little things.

 

Whenever someone speaks impolitely to me first, I often see that no good thing comes out of being polite to them. So now I have promised myself to reply informally if someone spoke informally to me first.

 

“No.”

 

You’re not a wizard? So are you a mercenary with a sword? Or….”

 

However, whether it was using honorifics or being impolite, it wouldn’t be obvious anyway, as I wasn’t that talkative from the beginning.

 

As I was thinking, something was thrown in front of me.

 

“…….”

 

It was potatoes.

 

Potatoes that have not been seasoned at all. It hasn’t been even properly washed and was poorly heated.

 

I could tell what it would taste like without eating it. Like digging up what’s in the soil and the fresh odor of the ground coming out, with a starchy dryness that will make you look for water.

 

“…….”

 

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s up to you. You have to eat this to get stronger and beat up the Red boar.”

 

No, I was going to eat it even if you didn’t say so….

 

It was strange. How much have the times changed? In the past, magic itself was very rare, let alone a wizard, so once I showed you that I could use magic, you wouldn’t even try to bother me anymore.

 

“By the way, my wife’s story was true. I heard that even dogs and cows learn magic in the capital.”

 

“……?”

 

“These days, even mercenaries can use a single magic spell, so it seems like they can acquire skills even if they don’t have a brain. Should I start to learn one too?”

 

What does this mean?

 

As the man sat down near me and began eating his share of potatoes, the words that came out of his mouth were shocking. Even dogs and cows learn magic in the capital now?

 

Moreover, that previous statement was also bizarre. Are mercenaries commonly capable of using at least one magic spell now?

 

“What?”

 

I was so surprised that I asked back without realizing it. The man shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Ah, mercenary, I’m not saying that you have no brain… And that’s what I’m saying again, damn it. What I’m trying to say is if a person like me could learn how to make a fire as well….”

 

“…….”

 

“Of course… Did you say you were Marron Glacé? Why are you dressed like that…? Although, you look like you’re better at studying than I am. Hahaha!”

 

He took a long time chatting loudly without chewing all the potatoes in his mouth, saying, “Why should a tall gentleman have his back bent like this?” and “What’s that weapon you’re holding with such a stick-like arm?”

 

“…….”

 

Indeed, I often heard that I was above average in height in this world and that even while wearing armor, I looked on the thin side.

 

However, in cases like this, comments about your outer appearance were not worthwhile, so I closed my eyes inside the helmet and let the other person continue to speak.

 

Still, hearing other people’s nonsense wasn’t too bad. That was because I realized that I was awake and talking to people.

 

If I had to choose, I’d rather be with a bullshit-speaking human rather than silent corpses who don’t talk nonsense.

 

“Aren’t you mistaken?”

 

After a brief moment of silence, the man puzzledly answered my question.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

I mean what you are talking about, of course.

 

“It is common to learn magic in the capital city. I can’t.”

 

He said.

 

As I thought before, magic was very precious in my memory.

 

This was a definite fact, as it was told to me by an aspiring wizard from the past who tried to immerse into the magical world himself. Most of all, what I’ve gone through was this nonsense.

 

In addition, there was one more reason why I was enthusiastic about this topic in my mind.

 

To explain, we’d had to go back to when I was about 10 years old after being reincarnated into this world…….

 

First of all, I was born with memories of my previous life, so even though my body was of a child, my level of intelligence was no longer comparable to my peers.

 

Having acquired a young and soft brain, learning the language of another world became a breeze.

 

And the reactions of the people around me further inflamed my enthusiasm for learning.

 

‘Oh my, this kid is a genius, a genius!’

 

‘He’s a prodigy that will go down in history!’

 

‘I can’t believe you’ve already mastered writing!’

 

Even if I wrote only one sentence in crooked handwriting, it seemed as if the talent of the century has appeared.

 

Compliments will make whales dance, and when being complimented like that, even they will have fun studying.

 

I began to become more clever in response to their praises and started to get my hands on various studies in the world. In the end, I settled with the complex study of ‘Magic’.

 

Of course, I think I would have been interested in magic even if I didn’t like studying.

 

It was no wonder, Magic was a mystery I have never experienced in the civilization I was in before.

 

‘But….’

 

But, the problem was that even in this world, magic was not a common thing you would find on the road.

 

Magic was a very, very high-level science, and it was not the kind of science that commoners could learn easily.

 

It was the magic that the so-called geniuses of the century, with an intellect of 50 from birth, or the aristocrats who were overflowed with money and power, touched them.

 

I could barely belong to the former, to be honest.

 

The passive skill I had, ‘Otherworldly Soul’, had an effect that doubled the experience I gained, (+100%), therefore, even at a young age, I was able to raise my level twice as fast as others and invested all of it in my intellect.

End notes:

 

Our MC has gifted kid trauma

Thank you for reading this chapter~