Chapter 39: Amenity

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Today, we went about 200 meters through the corridors and examine a total of 12 rooms. No one got hurt and I received a lot of rewards too, but something troubling happened.

When we were leaving the dungeon, I noticed that Wonder No.1 was limping slightly when walking. Its right hind leg seemed to be damaged, obviously because of combat it entered while we were exploring the dungeon.

I quickly went back to my room and postponed other work, since I felt this was a priority.

“Wonder No.1, come here. Sit.” He came and perched in front of me as if he were an average, ordinary dog, and I used the [Repair] skill on him.

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Repair target: Metal Golem Dog-type (small)

MP consumption: 720

Repair time: 10 min.

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Though I have expected that the MP consumption would be large, I never thought it would be as much as 720 MP. Since I’m currently creating Wonder No. 3, I only have 416 MP.[1]

“I’m sorry boy; I want to fix you but I don’t have the MP right now.”

It’s been half a day since I started setting my magic to create Wonder No. 3; it’d be a waste to cancel it after investing so much time and mana, so I decided to just keep Wonder No.1 inside my room for now. I was curious about the condition of the other golems so I checked the Iwaos too, most of whom only needed minor repairs.

Except for Golem No.2, who usually stood at the center of the formation; its damage was pretty severe. Although there was no obvious malfunction at the moment, I thought it better to make some small adjustments. [2] Also it seemed better to use [Repair] for simple & frequent maintenance sessions before the golem would start breaking down, as it would consume less MP.

Alright, I’ve decided. Let’s set time for scheduled maintenance every month for the golems.

I heard a knock; Gram was waiting at the door.

“Okami, I had the Cockatrice meat brought over to the kitchen area.”

It seemed that the Cockatrice Wonder had defeated was actually edible and had a similar taste to chicken. It was also a popular monster to hunt as its feathers were vibrantly colored and in high demand. In the capital their plumage was revered among the fashionistas [3] for use in hats and other pricy decorations.

“Thank you very much, Gram-sama. We’ll be having Karaage for dinner tonight.”

“Kara-age?”

“It’s something similar to fried chicken, I suppose, but it’s usually made with special seasonings.”

Since I’ve made the soy sauce and other ingredients with magic, let’s start right away with marinating the meat!

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Cut the Cockatrice meat into small pieces, and marinate them in a combination of soy sauce, sake, and grated ginger. After letting it soak for 30 minutes, put potato starch into it and mix it well.

After that, you only need to fry it in oil.

“Everyone, dinner is ready!”

I shouted in the hallway, and the officers came out of their rooms in droves. Today, I opted to set up my cooking pot outside.

“Ooh, is tonight’s dinner gonna be tempura again?”

“No, this will be different dish. Tonight we will be having Karaage, it will be served freshly fried. Goku, serve the soup to the guests.”

The Gokus then started serving bowls of vegetable soups with stock made by roasting the Cockatrice bones. 

“Aah, it has a hearty flavor.”

“You can really taste the richness.”

Cockatrice makes for a much richer broth compared to the domesticated chicken back on earth; combined with the umami-ness of the spices and the fresh vegetables, it made a great soup. [4]

Ah, I think I’ll be able to make ramen by using the Cockatrice stock, too. Since it has a strong, earthy flavor, I think a soy-sauce soup base would go along well with it. Instead of Chashu [5], I think charcoal-grilled Cockatrice meat would be amazing.

“What is it Okami, why are you grinning like that,” one of the officers asked. “Thinking about something lewd?”

Pretty sure that’s borderline sexual harassment back on earth.

“That’s not true, I was only thinking about new dish! Well… even if I do make it I won’t let you have some, Ellen-san!”

I stuck out my tongue to her and proceed to put the meat into the oil.

The Karaage was very popular and the officers said they wanted to eat it again.

Since Cockatrice is a huge bird about the size of an ostrich, there was still plenty to go around. I cut the leftover meat into pieces and asked one of the officers to freeze them with ice magic before putting them in the storage room. I wouldn’t have to worry about meat for awhile.

I don’t have mirin [6], but I do have sake and sugar, so I’m thinking of making teriyaki next.

“By the way, Okami, will you be participating in tomorrow’s exploration?”

Lane quickly brought up the subject just as they were finished with the desserts, which I answered promptly, “About that… I’m sorry but I don’t think I can continue helping with the exploration anymore. I checked Iwao earlier, and it doesn’t seem like it’s in good condition.”

I had Goku No.1 lift and lower its arm, and while it’s only slight, it is apparent that the movement is slower than other golem.

“I see… This is troubling…”

“Dianne, don’t ask for the impossible. We’re fortunate enough to have had Okami help us this far, and that our operation had proceeded smoothly because of it. It’s considered unusual already for a civilian to enter a dungeon, let alone a man like Okami.”

Seeing all the officers making sad faces almost made me change my mind, but I managed to steel myself and stand by my decision.

“I’m sorry. As expected, joining the battle inside the dungeon is impossible for me after all.”

“No no, rather, we’re grateful for your participation before.”

At Gram’s words, all of the officers present nodded in agreement.

“We’ll do whatever we can to repay you for your kindness,” Gram stated.

‘Will you take me as your lawfully wedded husband?’ I briefly considered the joke, but decided not to because Gram is too earnest. I’m afraid that she would take it seriously.

Not to mention that I got drunk and kissed her.

I should stop saying stupid things from now on, and I still need to come up with an idea on how to make her forgive me for kissing her that night.

“Don’t worry, you can freely say what you want. What if we clean up the dishes for you?”

Huh? As if I could ask Gram, who is a noble, to clean the dishes.

“That’s… the gokus are already tasked with cleaning the dishes so there’s no need to do it.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do for you?”

Uuh… even if Gram is asking me like that, the only things I can think of are stupid lewd requests!

…wait. Oh, I got something perfect to ask them.

“Then, may I ask you to help me some carpentry?”

“Of course you can. What exactly do you want us to do?”

“I’d like you to build something called a shower, are you familiar with it?”

“A shower?”

“It’s a tool attached to the bath. It’s a device that produces many thin streams of water, making it like rainwater.” I explained the concept to Gram and the other officers.

……

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“…and that’s why, I would like you to build small holes in the barrel.”

“I think we can do that by using the drills. I have some in my toolbox.”

That’s wonderful! I’ve had so many things on my list to create that I hadn’t gotten the chance to create a drill yet.

“Is it alright for us to use it?”

“Of course.”

And so, with the help of Gram and the others, we managed to put many holes in some barrels in order to experiment which design would be the best. Since all the officers had their body strengthened by magic, it took almost no efforts for them to do the work. After much trial-and-error, I finally decided on the size of the hole that allowed just the right amount of hot water to flow.

“Thank you very much. With this, we can start using the shower tomorrow.”

“No prob. By the way, since all of us already took a bath today, why don’t you use it first, Okami?”

“Is that alright with you?”

“Aah. After all, everyone was doing their best in making it for your sake. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

“Yeah!” All of the officers readily agreed with Gram.

“Well then, I’ll have to take up on your offer and use it tonight.”

I’m looking forward to taking a shower tonight. Maybe I can try using that rose-scented shampoo too, I really like the scent. [7] It’s a luxury product with a high MP consumption, and I keep it for those special occasion when I want to have a little luxury.

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The shower water flowing out of the large barrel felt really good to my skin. There’s plenty of hot water available, so there’s no need to worry about running out in the middle of the shower. Like this, I’m sure others are going to be happy to use it too.

With the introduction of hot showers, Shirou’s Inn had obtained another special feature.

If you think about it, it’s an extravagant device only made possible by having three Iwaos working hard to boil, mix, and pump hot water into a barrel. Maybe I could have made a hot water heater by using Tools Production Category, but right now I am too busy making other things.

Well, this is fine for the time being, I think.

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1  For comparison, creating new Wonder-type golem only cost 320 MP (Ch 27), and currently Shirou’s Max MP is only 736, so that’s a huge amount of MP needed to only fix a relatively small damage.

2 Not sure what kind of adjustment he made. The simplest thing to do is just to swap its position in the formation.

3 Actual translation is ‘Fashionable women’, but I think Fashionistas is better although it refers to both men and women. Also, if we’re talking about ‘hat with feather’, it must be the musketeer type, right?

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/musketeer-black-free-shipping-etsy–462041242998028444/

4 Umami is something like Savoriness, I guess. Wikipedia: Umami is described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. Foods that have a strong umami flavor include meats, shellfish, fish (including fish sauce and preserved fish such as maldive fish, Katsuobushi, sardines, and anchovies), tomatoes, mushrooms, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, meat extract, yeast extract, cheeses, and soy sauce. [[MoWPC: Umami is a quality that chefs describe as a richness that triggers the taste receptors in the mouth and causes you to salivate, spreading the saltiness/spiciness/creaminess so that it coats the entire mouth. It was predominately an Asian culture thing, but other food cultures started embracing it over the last two decades.]]

5 Chashu: Similar to Cantonese Char siu, but Japanese chashu made by pork meat slow-braised in a sweet and salty mixture, often with aromatics like ginger and garlic.

6 Wiki: Mirin is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content.

It’s a staple in many Japanese household, think of it like vinegar.

7 A rose-scented shampoo Shirou? Really? Oh well I’m going to assume it’s hard to make Old Spice scented shampoo, or Head and Shoulders scent, or Clear.