Now, as for his desire for a profitable business idea... I was actually in a bit of a bind.
"A profitable idea? Do we even have any left?"
"Didn't you tell Luranna-san everything when we met her in Berhes?"
Halfa was right. I had already shared everything from our adventures that seemed like it could be turned into money with Luranna-san. I hadn't commercialized those ideas yet, but since we had already signed commercial contracts, I couldn't very well speak of them to Beere-san.
Surprisingly, the one who offered a pertinent piece of advice was Shiroru.
『What, are we talking about food? How about curry?』
In Shiroru’s mind, it seemed like a formula had been established: profitable venture equals food. I suppose the impact of the hamburgers and takoyaki was quite strong.
Regardless, the idea of curry wasn't bad. When I had showcased it at the tavern in Berhes, the customers' reactions had been quite positive. Honestly, I had intended to teach it to Luranna-san, but the timing never worked out, and I ended up never telling her.
Thus, it was decided: our profitable venture would be the curry recipe. I would teach it to Beere-san right away.
"...And that's the kind of dish it is."
"Hoh? Sounds like a bit of a novelty. Being unusual is certainly a selling point, and it doesn't seem bad... but the real question is whether it can actually draw a crowd."
He seemed interested, but his reaction was unexpectedly cautious. That said, I didn't think he would truly understand until he actually tasted it, no matter how much he thought about it.
Because of that, we ended up intruding upon Bueda-san's family home.
"I'm sorry for dropping in on you like this."
"No, I was curious about it myself."
The issue with treating Beere-san to curry was the location. To tell the truth, I already had pre-cooked curry stored inside my Storage Ring, so I could have served it immediately. However, I couldn't just take it out carelessly. The scent of curry was incredibly appetizing, after all. If I were to showcase it at the Merchant Guild, the chaos would have been even worse than the Tiraza meat skewer incident.
So, after I suggested we move elsewhere, Bueda-san invited us to his family home.
There, we were greeted by a large number of children... or so the Grassfolk appeared. They were Bueda-san's grandparents, parents, his wife, and his child. However, the only one whose age difference I could actually discern was Bueda-san's son, Denne-kun. He was apparently only eight years old, so he looked appropriately young. On the other hand, the ones introduced as the grandparents... well, I couldn't see any difference at all.
"Wait, is that..."
The one who looked surprised upon seeing my cloak was Fenna-san, Bueda-san's wife. Bueda-san answered her reaction with a smile.
"That's right. This is Tort-kun, the one who bought your cloak in Cygnil."
"Oh? It looks like you're taking good care of it. That makes me happy."
Come to think of it, this cloak had once belonged to Fenna-san back when she was an adventurer. She was apparently famous enough to be called a Grassfolk Hero, but she certainly didn't look the part. Then again, I suppose we don't look like B-Rank adventurers either.
"Yes, yes, and you have a Wingfolk girl with you too. As I thought, you might have a real connection with them."
"Me? Do I have something to do with this?"
"Actually, this cloak was granted to me when I visited the Wingfolk village."
"Really!?"
To my surprise, Fenna-san had actually visited the Wingfolk village. Looking at Halfa, it didn't seem like it, but the Wingfolk were supposed to be a reclusive race. I wondered what circumstances had led to her visiting them.
While I wanted to ask more about that, I decided to fulfill my objective first. I was still in the middle of acting separately from Lowell and the others. If I took too much time and delayed our reunion, I would end up making them worry.
"Well then, I'll serve the curry. May I borrow some plates?"
"Of course. Or rather, I'm sorry to put you to work."
"No, it's my treat."
Bueda-san was apologizing because of the curry. As expected, it felt wrong to just borrow the kitchen after intruding into someone's home, so I decided to treat Bueda-san's entire family to curry as well.
With so many people, the meal was a lively, noisy affair. Since I had individually mixed honey into Denne-kun's portion, it was quite mild. Thanks to that, he seemed to be able to eat it without any trouble.
"Heh, this is delicious!"
"It really is."
"Ku-haha, I can definitely make money with this."
It was well-received by Bueda-san and Fenna-san too. Beere-san was already crunching numbers. At any rate, it seemed the curry suited the Grassfolk's palates, which was a relief.
『I'm going to eat too!』
"Shouldn't you wait until after we regroup with Lowell and the others?"
『I'll eat properly then too. Don't you worry!』
Even Shiroru was digging in.
Good grief, honestly.
"Alright, this is more than enough for an information fee! Teach me how to make it."
Beere-san, who had already finished his plate, urged me to share the recipe. Since Luranna-san had taught me that oral promises alone were no good in these situations, we decided to sign a commercial contract at a later date. The terms were expected to be similar to those of the hamburger shop. In other words, I would be the owner.
It was the same during the Tiraza meat incident, but Beere-san always made sure to share the profits with us fairly. He was said to be greedy, but in that regard, he seemed to have his pride as a merchant.
Now then, as for the crucial information about Albiroda...
"Ask me anything about Albiroda. I've been there many times, so I'm quite familiar with it. Actually, now that I've received such a profitable venture, half-baked info won't be enough to balance the scales. If you're planning to infiltrate Albiroda, I'll help you. I'll act as your guide."
In addition to the information, Beere-san offered to be our guide.
Wait, he was already assuming we were going to "infiltrate." Just what kind of place was it...?