I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 104: Monster, Ingredient, Gourmet

"You offered to treat, I didn't force you."

"Of course, I’ve already taken up a lot of your time today, senior. If I didn’t treat you to a meal, I’d feel bad."

"Not really, I don’t usually get many visitors here anyway."

Andini closed the oak door of Thorn Cottage.

Unlike her usual loungewear when working in the shop, she was now dressed in an elegant dark green long dress for going out. The hem of the skirt gracefully stopped at her knees, and below that were her slender calves clad in soft brown leather boots.

"Senior, do you not usually go out much?"

Gauss noticed she kept glancing at her own attire, looking very concerned, and asked curiously.

"After retiring, I’ve become too lazy to go out. Normally, familiar taverns just deliver meals over."Andini adjusted her skirt again, and after confirming everything was fine, finally let out a breath of relief.

Even though she had made a deliberate effort to dress more maturely, her sub-one-meter height made her look like a younger sister with a big height difference when walking beside Gauss.

Gauss noticed it but didn’t point it out.

He realized that Andini seemed a little self-conscious about her height, especially when in a human town environment.

Of course, it could also be because, as a retired adventurer, she no longer needed to go out frequently and wasn’t used to it anymore.

"Let’s go. I happened to hear about a nice restaurant this morning."

If most taverns in Graystone Town served as public canteens catering to low-level adventurers, then naturally, there were also higher-end restaurants with more refined dishes meant for entertaining the town’s small number of professional-level adventurers.

After all, when Gauss had previously visited the taverns, he hadn’t seen many who looked like Bronze-rank Adventurers.

The place he planned to treat her to this time was a high-end restaurant called Firefly Kitchen, which he learned about from chatting with a shop owner that morning. Generally, only professionals or mid-to-high-ranking stewards from caravans passing through Graystone Town would visit such places.

There were several such private kitchens, and average adventurers often didn’t even know their locations.

With Andini in tow, he walked through the alleyways.

There weren’t many clouds tonight. The moonlight spilled over the cobblestone paths, and even without torchlight, it wasn’t very dark.

In front of a few residential houses, Gauss found a firefly-shaped lantern and finally confirmed the restaurant’s location.

From the outside, it didn’t look like an open restaurant at all. The front door on the ground floor was shut tight, with warm yellow light softly radiating from the second-floor windows.

In the small courtyard, neatly trimmed evergreen shrubs grew, dotted with starlike white flowers that gave off a strong fragrance.

Pushing open the door and entering, a mature woman was seated at the counter on the first floor.

"Welcome. How many of you?"

"Just two."

"You’ve come at the right time, we happen to have a vacant room. However, if you’re satisfied with your meal and plan to visit again, please make a reservation in advance next time, alright?" Wearing an apron, the mature and well-endowed proprietress reminded them warmly.

As she spoke, her eyes swept over the pair of Gauss and Andini.

She especially looked at Andini a few more times.

Of course, it wasn’t her first time seeing a Halfling. While Halflings weren’t as numerous as humans in Graystone Town, they weren’t that rare either.

It was just that this Halfling lady gave a very different impression—her appearance was extremely refined, making people subconsciously want to look at her again.

"Second room on the left of the second-floor hallway."

As Gauss ascended the staircase with its high-quality wooden handrail, he also examined the interior decor.

Inside the restaurant, there weren’t many ornate decorations, but it felt very pleasant. The overall ambiance was as warm as home.

"That woman just now is also a Professional." Andini suddenly said.

"Really?" Gauss was a bit surprised by that.

In his impression, the soft-spoken, gentle lady owner didn’t give off any dangerous aura at all.

"She probably retired many years ago, just like me." Andini yawned.

"How did you figure it out? Magic?"

"Of course not. Also, in a town, it’s best not to use magic on strangers casually. For most adventurers, that kind of action is seen as a kind of insult." Andini rolled her eyes at him.

"Of course, if you’re certain the other party is much weaker, it doesn’t matter. But if you run into someone whose strength is unknown, it’s best not to take such risky actions."

"Got it." Gauss nodded.

"The reason I made that judgment was purely through my exceptional eyesight." Andini continued explaining. "If you had looked closely just now, you would have noticed that the skin on her shoulders and collarbones was rougher and darker than other areas, and there was an abnormal depression around the hip bones. Even though the thumb base and palm edge had been well maintained, you could still see traces of calluses."

"It indicates that the female proprietress used to wear armor long-term, wield a sword, or handle reins regularly."

"I’ve learned something, Senior Andini."

"Gauss, kid, although your advancement to Professional might be faster than the average person, there’s still a lot you need to learn." Andini grumbled softly.

She felt she had regained some footing after being shocked by Gauss earlier in the day.

They arrived on the second floor. The other room doors along the hallway were shut tight, with only one room left unoccupied.

The heavy wooden door appeared to have excellent soundproofing, as no sound from other private rooms could be heard.

After closing the room door, Gauss understood why Professionals liked coming to such private restaurants.

It was indeed much quieter than a tavern.

Through the window, one could still see the town’s nightscape outside.

Returning to the table, there was a menu and an order sheet laid on top.

"Would you like to order first, senior?"

"You go ahead."

Gauss nodded.

But as he opened the menu, Andini leaned in from the side.

Clearly, her politeness was only lip service, and her desire for good food outweighed any false modesty.

Or rather, most adventurers, when conditions allowed, were foodies.

It was hard to maintain indifference toward food when constantly consuming physical energy—one’s body instincts simply wouldn’t allow it.

If someone could, they weren’t an adventurer, but a saint or ascetic monk.

Gauss’s eyes couldn’t help but light up as he looked at the menu.

It must be said, the dishes at this upscale restaurant were definitely better than those in the taverns he’d eaten at.

"Oysters with Moonlight Herb Vinegar Sauce, Grilled Mushroom Platter, Charcoal-grilled Silver-scaled River Fish, Slime Gel Tart, Baked Walking Fungus,

"Slime Gel can be used as an ingredient?"Gauss was dumbfounded.

In his mind surfaced those grotesque, mud-like creatures that jumped onto people’s heads like face-huggers, and he couldn’t help but feel skeptical.

"It goes through a lot of special processing. I’ve had it—it actually tastes pretty good. The texture is unique and very springy, but not sticky on the teeth."Andini, who had leaned over, swallowed her saliva.

"Otherwise, who do you think has been purchasing Slime Gel all this time?"

"Alright, let’s try that then."

"This one looks good too....

After a while, the dishes were served one after another.

Initially pained by the prices, Gauss forgot all that the moment he smelled the rich aromas wafting from the plates.

Each dish sparkled under the warm oil lamp lighting.

As expected, the only drawback of expensive food was that it was expensive.

Gauss thought, if he couldn’t afford it one day, the problem probably lay with himself.

"Let’s eat!"

Neither of them stood on ceremony. Once a dish was brought over, it didn’t take long for the two of them to turn it back into a clean plate.

After a whirlwind feast.

Both leaned back in their chairs and burped contentedly.

It had been many days since they last had a proper meal.

Gauss felt incredibly satisfied with this dinner.

Although the prices were steep, coming occasionally to relax and enjoy a fine meal didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Munching on the specially ordered post-meal blueberries, Gauss and Andini slumped in the soft chairs, staring out the window, not wanting to move.

"Moonlight Herb, several types of special mushrooms, Walking Fungus...."One meal, and Gauss memorized a few more ingredients.

Even if he didn’t eat them himself, bringing them back to sell was an option.

However, Andini mentioned that Walking Fungus wasn’t commonly found in the outer area of the Emerald Forest and could only be found in groups inside narrow caves deeper in.

After all, many monster diets included Walking Fungus.

Back when she was still an adventurer, her favorite way to prepare Walking Fungus was charcoal grilling.

Once the outer layer was peeled, simple charcoal grilling made it delicious.

But for some reason, many fungus-like magical creatures couldn’t be artificially bred and could only be captured by adventurers.

Back downstairs to settle the bill, Gauss paid extra attention to the female proprietress. Upon deliberate observation, he did indeed spot some subtle details Andini had mentioned.

The proprietress noticed his gaze, but didn’t shy away, her face still wore a gentle smile.

"That will be 31 silver coins and 60 copper coins."

"I’ll round that off for you—just 31 silver coins in total."

Her voice remained as gentle as water, but the amount she quoted was enough to make a low-level adventurer’s heart skip and their vision go black.

Gauss’s hand paused for a moment but still reached into his pouch and counted out 31 silver coins.

And to think, he’d wanted to invite Sophia for a nice meal in the coming days—clearly, his finances weren’t enough to support frequent visits here just yet.

He’d wait until he passed the assessment and earned his Bronze-rank Adventurer badge. Then he could come back and celebrate.

"We look forward to serving you again."

Walking out the door.

Andini seemed to notice his brief pause during payment and looked a bit embarrassed.

Her body was small, but she ate quite a lot.

"Gauss, next time, I’ll treat you."