"...Hmm? Why are we stopping here?"
Rei murmured as he felt the carriage abruptly slow down. They were currently on their way back to the City of Gilm after completing the Bicorn subjugation request.
Looking out the window, the speed of the passing scenery was clearly dropping. It was obvious the carriage was coming to a halt.
Maruka, sitting across from Rei, crossed her arms as if he were stating the obvious.
"It is already past noon. Does that not make the reason clear? It is lunch time."
"...Ah, I see."
Rei accepted the explanation for now, but he still felt a nagging doubt.
In the first place, if they were going to eat lunch, they could have done so at the location where they had fought the Pack of Bicorns. While he didn't have a clock to measure the exact time, it was a fact that it had been close to noon even back then.
Alternatively, there was the possibility that other monsters might be lured by the scent of the Bicorns' blood, but as long as Set—a Gryphon—didn't hide his presence, they wouldn't have had to worry. Only monsters exceptionally confident in their own strength or those too stupid to perceive the difference in power would have dared attack.
However, Rei's doubt was resolved by the words of Koan, who spoke with a small smile.
"For an adventurer, it's not particularly rare to eat in a place that smells somewhat of blood. The same likely goes for the Guild staff member, Mr. Residence. Judging by his movements, he's probably a former adventurer. However, it would be a tall order to expect the same of a noble. Personally, I would not wish for the Young Lady to dine in such a place either."
"I suppose that would be impossible under normal circumstances."
Rei thought that perhaps someone like Daskar, the Lord of the City of Gilm, might not find it strange to eat in such a place alongside adventurers. While considering that, Rei recalled the faces of the three nobles traveling with them and found himself immediately convinced.
(Maruka probably wouldn't mind that sort of thing too much. Orchidée seems like the type to hate bothersome things, so he wouldn't think to go through the trouble of moving locations just for a smell. That leaves Arnihit as the problem... Though, that's assuming that haughty personality of hers is actually genuine.)
They had spoken a few times before, and on each occasion, Arnihit had treated the exam participants, including Rei, with an overbearing tone and attitude. However, to Rei's eyes, she simply didn't look like the same breed of noble as those who had picked fights with him countless times in the past.
And above all, Set felt neither wariness nor disgust toward Arnihit. That was the deciding factor.
"Come, let us dismount. Those outside are likely waiting for us as well."
Led by Maruka, Rei stepped down from the carriage and confirmed that Robre, Shuty, and Onzu were already standing near Residence.
"Now then, you may go; I shall take it from here. I will look after the Young Lady."
"Hmph. Koan, stop treating me like a child."
"Even if you say that, the Young Lady is still quite young, after all."
"...You have a look on your face that suggests you wish to say 'childish.' Well, never mind that. Rei, you should head over there."
Urged on by Maruka, Rei moved over to Residence, who had likely been waiting for his arrival. The man gave a small nod and spoke.
"Now then. I believe you've each heard this inside your carriages, but it's time for lunch. I'm going to have you all prepare the meal for everyone here, myself included."
"...Huh?"
As if on cue, a dumbfounded voice escaped Robre at Residence's words.
Beside him, Shuty looked troubled and deep in thought, but eventually, she addressed Residence.
"Um... is this lunch also related to the rank-up exam?"
"You may assume so. As you know, once you reach B-Rank, you will have occasions to travel with nobles. It's fine if the noble brings a cook along, but that won't always be the case. If the adventurers accompanying them can't even put together a single meal, it'll lead to all sorts of trouble, won't it?"
"No, no, no, no. In that case, we should just let them eat preserved foods like dried meat or hard-baked bread."
Robre spoke as if he had no intention of coddling them that far, but Residence gave a small shake of his head.
"Nobles aren't accustomed to eating those kinds of preserved foods. It might not agree with their bodies, and they could fall ill if they are unable to eat. To prevent that, it's better if you're able to serve at least somewhat cooked dishes. Regarding this matter, it's more of a 'it would be better if you could' level of importance, though."
Despite saying that, once they heard it was part of the exam, Rei and the others couldn't exactly slack off.
"I have a large amount of prepared food in my Item Box, but is it no good to use that?"
"If this were only your exam, that would be one thing, but this is an exam for everyone present. For this test, you may only use ingredients that were in the luggage you brought, plus the Bicorn meat."
"If using the Item Box for prepared food is out... everyone else's luggage is also inside my Item Box, you know?"
"I'll permit the use of those. They were originally brought here loaded on the carriage, after all. Any other questions?"
Having been rejected in his attempt to simply bring out cooked meals from his Misty Ring, Rei raised his hand.
"I understand that serving the finished dishes themselves is a no-go. Then, what about seasonings?"
"...I suppose seasonings wouldn't be out of place for an ordinary adventurer to carry to some extent, since they don't take up much space. Fine, I'll permit anything except for prepared dishes and raw ingredients. Does anyone else have a question?"
No one seemed inclined to speak up at Residence's words.
Robre clutched his head, stunned that even cooking was part of the rank-up exam. Shuty, as someone who could at least cook, was already racking her brains over what to make, realizing she would have to take charge. Onzu, as usual, showed no change in expression and said nothing.
"Good. Then get to work on the preparations immediately. However, the maximum time allowed for cooking is one hour."
After stating this, Residence returned to Maruka and the others.
Watching him leave, Shuty immediately called out to Rei.
"Rei, sorry to ask right away, but what do you have for seasonings?"
"I have quite a lot of the basics like salt, pepper, and sugar, as well as various herbs. I also have the sauce used for grilled skewers."
"Is there anything else that looks useful for cooking? Only the prepared dishes and raw ingredients were forbidden, right?"
"Let's see..."
He pondered for a few seconds, scrolling through the Misty Ring List displayed in his mind... Eventually, he found something and broke into a smile.
"How about this?"
Muttering this, he pulled out a dagger housed in a scabbard embedded with several blue jewels.
"A dagger? With this, the Bicorn's... Oh, right. Sorry, but could you first bring out one Bicorn? We're short on time, so we have to start butchering it first. Robre, Onzu, I need you two to handle the dismantling. As for the materials..."
"Right. Since I received the most Bicorns anyway, I'll provide the one we use for the meal."
"Thanks. So, make sure you properly strip the Bicorn materials. Handle the hide and magic stone correctly."
"Yeah, I got it. Leave it to me."
"..."
Robre nodded with motivation at Shuty's words, and Onzu likewise nodded silently.
The two of them dragged the Bicorn corpse Rei had produced from the Misty Ring to a spot a short distance away and immediately began the dismantling.
"Sorry for interrupting. So, what's with this dagger?"
"It's a magic item called the Dagger of Flowing Water. It has the effect of producing water... here, try a drink."
Activating the Dagger of Flowing Water, Rei poured water into a wooden cup he had taken from the Misty Ring and handed it to Shuty.
She took it and, though looking slightly suspicious, took one or two sips...
"!? Th-this is... delicious. This water is incredibly delicious!"
"They said no food, but they didn't forbid the use of magic items. How about using this water to make a soup or something?"
"I see... Yes, you're right."
Muttering this and repeating herself, Shuty eventually shook her head.
"It's true that we shouldn't let this water go to waste. However, considering this water is almost unnaturally delicious, I suspect that even in a soup, the ingredients would be completely overwhelmed by it. In that case, I think it would be better to serve it as ordinary drinking water."
"Is that so? Well, if you say so—since your cooking skills seem better than mine—then it's probably best to do that."
"For the soup, let's use ordinary drinking water. The Bicorn meat and... the vegetables are the problem. I brought some dried ones, but... Rei, could you bring out my luggage?"
Hearing Shuty's request, Rei took two bags out of the Misty Ring.
Shuty took them and pulled out a pouch from inside.
The pouch contained several types of dried mushrooms, which she seemed to intend to use for the soup.
She also took out salt-preserved or dried vegetables, meat, and nuts, contemplating the meal.
Watching her from the side, Rei gathered nearby dry wood, used magic to start a fire, and then headed toward Robre and Onzu, who were butchering the Bicorn.
"How's it going?"
"You can see for yourself, can't you? It'll be over in a bit."
Robre replied curtly.
The cause was likely the sight of his lover, Shuty, happily—at least from Robre's perspective—consulting with Rei about the lunch menu.
However, Rei, being dense about such matters, didn't realize the reason for Robre's bad mood and simply gave a small shake of his head as he turned his gaze to the Bicorn being dismantled.
The hide had already been stripped, the internal organs removed, and the magic stone taken out along with the heart.
They were now at the stage of carving the meat; their skill in advancing the dismantling this far in less than ten minutes was nothing short of remarkable.
"Guruuuu."
Beside them, Set was purring as it tasted some Bicorn raw meat that Onzu had shared with it.
"Set, don't eat too much."
Though Rei said this, he didn't actually look like he was going to stop it, letting Set do as it pleased.
"Robre, bring the meat! We're short on time, so I'm starting with the simple dishes!"
Hearing the voice of Shuty, who was preparing the soup in front of the campfire Rei had built, Robre cast a triumphant glance at Rei and moved off, carrying a lump of Bicorn thigh meat.
"...What was that about?"
Rei, unable to understand the meaning behind Robre's behavior, could only watch him go with a bewildered expression.
"..."
Beside him, Onzu, who had been cutting away the shank meat that would be too tough to eat with such short cooking time, turned his gaze toward Rei.
"What is it?"
"This meat... can I give it to Set?"
Rei nodded at the sound of Onzu's voice, which he hadn't heard in a while.
Seeing this, Onzu maintained his taciturn expression but gave a faint smile as he handed the shank meat to Set.
"Guru, guruuuu!"
Even though it was raw and somewhat tough, Set's beak tore through the meat with ease.
It continued to tear into the meat piece by piece, and in an instant, one Bicorn's worth of shank meat from four legs vanished into Set's stomach.
About 30 minutes later... the meal was finally complete.
"The food is ready, so it's time for lunch!"
Called by that voice, Rei and Set—one man and one beast—along with Onzu, who had been attempting to tame Set with food, headed toward Shuty.
As for the Bicorn meat that wasn't used for cooking, except for the portions Robre had collected and the parts Set had eaten, it had already been stored inside Rei's Misty Ring. Naturally, the stripped Bicorn materials, like the magic stone and hide, were stored as well.
"...Ho, this is unexpectedly lavish. According to what I heard from Koan before, I understood that meals during a request consisted of things like dried meat and hard-baked bread, where preservation was prioritized over flavor."
Maruka voiced her admiration at the dishes served.
"Indeed. We had the meat of the monster known as a Bicorn this time, and it is likely thanks to having purchased some foodstuffs before leaving the city."
Koan spoke as if explaining to Maruka while reaching for a Bicorn skewer.
"However, I think it is somewhat improper to expect us, as nobles, to dine while sitting on the ground. Furthermore, the cuisine itself is extremely plain compared to what is served at home."
"Oh, don't say that. We cooked outside in the first place, so it can't be helped, right? Besides, considering we don't have to worry about bothersome etiquette and such, I personally welcome it."
Arnihit spoke while reaching for the soup with a slight frown, while Orchidée reached for a skewer with a happy smile, glad that he didn't have to worry about tedious manners.
The meal prepared by Shuty consisted of three items: Bicorn skewers, a soup made using Bicorn meat, dried vegetables, and edible wild grass growing on the plains, and hard-baked bread, which was unavoidable given the need for preservation.
However, the skewers used various parts of the Bicorn meat, such as loin, thigh, belly, and fillet, and the seasonings went beyond just salt and pepper. Shuty had used the herbs Rei provided and multiple types of sauces to ensure the group didn't grow tired of the taste. Normally, the meat would have been better if aged, but the different cuts and diverse seasonings provided a treat for the tongue.
And above all...
"Delicious! Wh-what is this water!? I have never tasted water this delicious in my life!"
Arnihit shouted after drinking the water in her cup.
Yes, it was the water created with the Dagger of Flowing Water.
The Dagger of Flowing Water possessed a unique trait: the taste of the water changed based on the magic power channeled into it. Enhanced by Rei’s immense magic power, the resulting liquid was less like mere water and more like a gourmet delicacy.
It was so flavorful that it easily held its own against dishes like the skewers or the soup.
In this way, everyone fully enjoyed the food Shuty had made and the water Rei had produced—though Shuty was shocked to be told the water was more delicious than her elaborate cooking—and they were able to finish their lunch without incident.