S*ave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World Vol 3 Chapter 2.14

Now let's add the vegetables needed to make both today's ohitashi and yesterday's vegetable stew that each of us had to pay 6 Nars (12 Nars for both of us), eggs which were 10 Nars (5 Nars for a single person serving) and the ham cut from a 100 Nars worth piece of smoked meat worth 30 Nars (15 Nars per person), the total cost of our two meals, today's and the one from yesterday caps at about 30 Nars per person. If I had to guess, then I would say that it is not that big of a price for a meal that most would probably consider to be a very high-class one. I mean, just the ham itself was already super-duper tasty when it was only cut and fried a little along with eggs, so just imagine how mouth-watering it would be if we added some salt and spices to it as well. Not to mention that the actual amount of the food that's on the plate is much bigger than what I am normally used to eating.

Even though it seemed strange to me at first, I think that will not have any major problems with getting used to this life where two meals a day are a norm instead of three. It is only a matter of switching your mentality to the following: eat breakfast after the sun rises and then eat dinner just before the sun sets. As long as you will have work to do in between those two mealtimes, then you should not feel hungry even if you won't eat anything in between them.

「Ahh, thank you for the food, it was pretty great. I don't think our breakfast could have turned any better even if we tried to make it so.」

「Once again, I am sorry that you had to bother yourself with making most of the food for us today, master. I should have been the one who should have prepared the entire meal while you should have been focused on resting.」

「And I am once again telling you not to worry about small stuff like that.」

I remember hearing that during the Edo period the average height of Japanese people was around 1 meter and 50 centimeters, which is much shorter than the average height of the Japanese people of modern day, but they were not as fat as the members of today's society tend to be. Back then I sometimes wondered what might have caused such a difference, but now I realized that it was probably mostly the matter of nutrition, and the same rule probably applies to the inhabitants of this world as well. They eat two meals per day and do not have much in the way of sweets, so if we factor those things together with the existence of the Labyrinths that require those who explore them to fight monsters and constantly be on the move if they want to keep themselves alive, then it should not be surprising that the percentage of those suffering from being either overweight or obese would be pretty marginal.

Putting all of those thoughts aside, having someone to share such a delicious meal with is truly a blessing. That is a new sensation for me, since up until now I didn't have that many chances to have a proper “family meal” in my shitty life.

The next day, we went to the second floor of Quratar's Labyrinth in order to see how big of a challenge it would present to us. We hoped that there won't be that many people around so that I could use my magic to freely fight the monsters, but unfortunately today the second floor was a little crowded, so the circumstances forced to forgo my idea of fighting with magic, forcing me to use Durandal instead. *Sigh* so much for our great strategy to go to the Labyrinth as early as possible to avoid bumping into anyone who might find my ability to use magic suspicious if only they caught a glimpse of it. To the rest of the world, I am nothing more but another Explorer, because that is the first Job listed on my Intelligence Card. If any one witnessed my spells there would be no end to the barrage of questions and interrogations for me, since only a handful of people with very specific noble backgrounds are able to become Mages and Wizards, and no matter how you look at me, there is nothing about me that would help me deceive others that I am related to nobility. If anything, I am a picture-perfect example of the word “mediocre”.

Not being able to use magic will suck, but at the very least that is not my fault, but something that the circumstances imposed on me. Using Durandal also comes with the risk of someone recognizing that the weapon I am using is too OP for some novice-looking Explorer on the second floor, but with it I will be able to kill any enemy that will appear before us with a single blow, meaning that we will be able to advance quickly, avoiding any encounters with other Parties. I could always switch Durandal out for an ordinary Copper Sword, but that weapon is so weak and useless that I don't even want to imagine how much time it would take to kill even a single monster with it, so we just have to proceed carefully while staying ever vigilant and we should pull through just fine.

「Roxanne, a route to the nearest monster, please.」

「Understood!」

I followed Roxanne while consulting the map of the second floor to ensure that we will be staying on the path leading to the second floor's Boss Room, and soon after we happened upon our very first enemy here.

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「Identify!」

Identification revealed that it was a Naïve Olive Lv.2. It looked kinda like a Needlewood from Veil Labyrinth's first floor, except its main body was not as thick and somewhat smaller, than the Needlewood, but it exchange it had more foliage on its head and arms. It stood with its back turned back to us so it did not see us approaching, and it was a golden opportunity that I simply could not miss. Going as quiet as I could, I sneaked up behind it and then delivered a blow across its entire back. It fell to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke. Well, I guess you can say that it was a pretty… naïve enemy, huh? When the smoke from its death cleared, we saw that what it left behind was an oval ball that looked like it was form from some kind of liquid that was a little sticky to the touch. When I Identified it, it turned out to be Olive Oil.

「Oh, It's an Olive Oil.」

Roxanne commented when she picked up the item and handed it over to me. Yes, Identicication showed that this thing was indeed Olive Oil. Contrary to my initial impression of it, it was actuall smooth and kinda rubbery to the touch, making it similar to a rubber ball.

「Olive Oil, huh? The same kind that can be used for cooking and the conservation of our equipment?」

「Yes. When cooking, it can be used for frying the ingredients. Just be careful when you apply it to the pan, because the thin rubber membrane that holds it in its oval shape breaks rather easily when exposed to high temperatures.」

「A membrane? Ohh, I see, so that's how it retains its shape even though it's a liquid! That's actually pretty clever!」

Now that Roxanne told me what it was, I examined the Olive Oil once more. When I pressed down on the membrane with my fingers, it bended its shape slightly and then retuned to its original one, but I can see it popping easily while placed on the hot frying pan. For now though, it should be kay for me to put it in the Item Box as long as I will remain careful about it.

「Master, I don't smell any people on the path ahead, so I think that you should be able to use magic now if you so desire.」

「That's great to hear, but I was actually thinking about calling it quits here for today.」

I never told Roxanne about this and it would be a hassle to mention it now, so I have to keep her in the dark about Durandal, my earned EXP increasing Skills and that it is more than a little troublesome to continue switching them on and off every time I am doing a Character Reset before we are going into Boss Room to challenge the Floor Boss or when I am using magic but there are people around so I have to switch with melee Skills in a hurry.

Chapter end