Chapter 366: Donation for the Orphanage & the Last Supper
“Phew, that should do it.”
There was a huge pile of sausages in front of me.
I had sort of promised Agni-sama and Ruka-sama that I would offer them hotdogs. Since I’m making for them, might as well make lots more for myself too.
I had made two types of sausages. Salt & pepper as well as black pepper & herb lemon.
Since I’m already mincing the meat for sausages, I took the opportunity to just grind more for later use. Minced meat could be used in stir-fries, to make menchi katsu and… oh, I could try making meatballs too.
I like meatballs that are crispy on the outside with a juicy centre. However, since I have to fry them, they are pretty troublesome to make, which is why I haven’t made any yet.
If I ever get around to doing it, I must make loads and store them for future meals.
The thought of meatballs suddenly made me want to eat them.
Alright, it’s decided, let’s make meatballs the next time I have the time. [1] For now, let’s take care of the hotdogs first.
This time, instead of using the barbecue grill, I want to try baking the raw sausages in the oven. [9] [9]
First, I filled up a tray with sausages and placed them in the oven. After some debate, I decided to go for medium heat, just about the boiling point of water. I don’t want the sausages to explode from their casing by expanding too fast or the casing to cook too fast and contract and have the raw meat explode from inside.
So, a low and slow bake first while I put the rest of the sausages into my [Item Box]. About 15 minutes later, I checked the sausages and poked one, it felt firm under my fork. The pierced sausage let out a small stream of slightly bloody juice.
Right, let’s try cranking up the heat and browning the surface…
[9]
“Woah, it’s browning nicely.”
[6] The juicy sizzling sounds were making my mouth water as I took the sausages out of the oven.
[6] Suddenly, my shoulder felt kind of heavy. I looked back and saw Fer, Sui and Dora-chan all lined up neatly behind me.
“… …”
Fer tried to look fierce, but there was already a trail of drool coming out of the corner of his mouth. [2] Dora-chan flapped his wings and was zooming around, but his eyes were clearly fixed on the sausages. Sui was also trembling, her entire being exuded ‘Feed me~’…
“These aren’t for you. These are offerings for the Gods.”
“Nanu?!”
““We can’t eat it?!””
““Can’t eat–?””
“Well, I mean, didn’t you guys just ate a lot for breakfast?”
“That was that, this is something else. It’s completely different.”
““I happened to have some space in my stomach, I could totally eat again!””
““Sui wants some~~””
I could ignore Fer and Dora-chan’s arrogance, but Sui’s sad voice and trembling made my heart tremble as well…
No, wait-
“Anyway, these are for the Gods, so there’s no point begging me!”
Turning around, I ignored them as I stuffed the sausages into the hotdog buns bought from [Net Super]. Then, I squirted ketchup and mustard sauce on the hotdogs. In keeping with the Dungeon Meat Festival hotdog style, I kept everything simple. Just bun, meat and sauce.
I figured 5 hotdogs for each goddess should be good enough. [6] Agni-sama was more interested in beer and I’ll be giving Ruka-sama other kinds of food as well.
The question is, “Why are you guys still here?”
“It smells too delicious, so, how can I leave?”
““Yeah! Yeah! Give us some too!””
““Master~ Sui wants some too~””
“Goodness, I guess it can’t be helped,” I sighed. [3] “Anyway, I can’t give you a lot, so think of it as a snack.”
“Umu,”
““Tch, it can’t be helped,””
““Snack~~””
I put 30 sausages into the oven and bought more buns from [Net Super].
10 per familiar sounds like a lot, but really, everything was devoured almost as soon as I set them out.
After that, everyone had their usual portions for lunch.
Just what kind of stomach do my gluttonous trio have?
Please read this at dot com ~
After lunch, I devoted my time to filling the requested items.
As before, I separated the items into different boxes according to the Gods’ and Goddesses’ requests, making sure to consult my notebook.
It was actually quite fun to shop like this.
The requests allowed me to shop around sections I don’t usually visit and even ended up buying some stuff for myself.
For example, while looking through cosmetics and other beauty-related items for Kishar-sama, I somehow ended up in the men’s section and bought a face cream for myself. In my defence, my cheeks have been feeling a little dry lately…
Later, when looking through Tanaka’s Liquor Shop, an advertisement for a new product, canned shochu, popped up. I thought about how I had not had any shochu since coming to this world and… hmm, Company S has an offer for 10 different types of canned shochu. Let’s buy it.
Well, it was actually quite fun to shop and pack for the pantheon when they are not breathing down my neck about it. Guess it’s time to go pick up the bread from the orphanage.
“O—i, I’m going to the orphanage to pick up bread. What do you guys want to do? [5]”
I already know the location of the orphanage, and I’m confident I could get there and back on my own without encountering anything suspicious.
“I’ll come, I have nothing to do. We might pass by a delicious stall on the way.”
““Woah! Count me in!!””
““Sui too~~””
Argh, you’re only following me for the food stalls.
I guess it can’t be helped.
We ended up stopping by three stalls on the way to the orphanage. [2] Well, I can’t really fault them since all the things sold on these stalls were all very delicious. I ended up buying a lot since I could also give them away as souvenirs back at Carelina or be eaten on our way back.
We finally arrived at the orphanage.
“Hello~~”
Children ran out and greeted me cheerfully. They guided me to the Director.
“Mukouda-san, I’ve been wanting to meet you,” said the Director with a smile.
“Hello, is the bread I ordered ready?”
“Yes, of course. It is Mukouda-san’s order after all. We’ve worked enthusiastically all morning on it. Please, it’s all here.”
[8] I looked at the table that was piled high with koppe-pan shaped bread. They really do look more like a French baguette than a properly soft and fluffy hotdog bun. I mean, they were perfectly fine and delicious buns but I guess I’d still have to buy proper koppe-pan from [Net Super] if I want them.
[8] Still, the Orphanage Director looked very enthusiastic, so…
“Oh, wow, that’s a lot! I must thank you for this. I shall take all of them,” there were a lot more here than the order for the Dungeon Meat Festival.
After putting the bread into my [Item Box], I took out a sack and handed it to the Director.
“Alright, here’s the payment.”
[10]
The Director almost fell forward from the weight of the sack.
“Mukouda-san, this feels like too much…”
“Ahem, part of it is for the bread, the rest is my consideration.”
The Director opened the sack and his eyes widened.
“Mukouda-san there has to be over a hundred coins here…”
“Ahem, there are exactly 200 gold coins,” I said matter-of-factly. “Anyway, this building looks a little old, it could use some renovations.”
“I am very grateful but this is too much. It’s enough to knock down the building and more…”
Eh? Is that so? I thought I’d probably have to add more, but, uh…
“You may use any surplus money on the children. Clothes, better variety of food, the occasional treat…”
“Still…”
“I had a lot of fun in this city, it’s all thanks to the children who had guided and helped me out a lot. Also, I’m an S Ranker, so this is nothing to me. Please don’t hesitate to make use of it.”
[10]
“Mukouda-san… Thank you, I shall use it carefully,” indeed, the Director looked really grateful.
“Well then, I should be leaving soon. Oh yes, Maynard and Enzo wanted to start a food stall together, right? Please use part of the funds to help them if needed. Also, tell them for me that I will definitely be back next year.”
[5] The director smiled and said, “Yes, I shall make sure to tell them.”
The Director and the two sisters all saw me off. All three were bowing and pressing their hands together in prayer.
Their gratitude was indeed heartfelt. Although I do feel a bit hypocritical, I still thought it was a good idea to donate.
Well, that’s mostly because I could afford it.
“Alright, now that that’s over, let’s go visit the food stalls again!” I said cheerfully.
“Eh? We’re going again?”
“[6] No talking when we’re in the city, Fer. But yes, we’re leaving this place tomorrow, right? So, let’s have our last supper here.”
““Oooh, good idea!!””
““Yay, meat~~””
“Alright, let’s go!” Fer shouted and bounded forward.
“Fer! Shh! Also, you can’t eat anything without money so don’t leave me behind!”
[6] My level has improved to the point where I could run for a good long without going out of breath. However, my speed is nothing compared to my familiars.
[6] Still, there was no need for speed. My three familiars still had to wait for me to pay before they get to eat anything.
Tonight turned into another day of stall food feasting for Fer, Sui and Dora-chan. [5]
As for me, I was very satisfied to increase the number of souvenirs I could collect from this city. [5]
In short, it was another day of wild purchasing again.
[Gumihou: Hmm, whether intentionally or not, Mukouda’s promise to ‘visit again next year’ is probably good enough to prevent serious embezzling and ensure that the orphans would see visible improvement in their lives]
[1] Structural Change: Combine 2 paragraphs
[2] Structural Change: Combine 3 paragraphs
[3] Structural Change: Combine paragraph & dialogue
[4] Structural Change: Change passive sentence to dialogue
[5] Delete Repetitive or Pointless Information.
[6] Additional Information for Aesthetic Purpose
[7] Add Dialogue Tag
[8] Creative Licence Taken – An extension of Gumi’s rant about the impossibility of making soft koppe-pan without milk, butter, sugar AND dry yeast.
[9] Have you ever tried cooking raw sausages in the oven before? There’s a trick to it. Gumi did not comment on raw sausages on the grill because I don’t know what would happen.
However, for oven grilled sausage, in order to make sure it is cooked without compromising on taste, there are a few steps one should take… Mukouda is describing Gumi’s tried and true method for oven grilled sausages.
[10] The awkward moment when one side wants to donate but does not want to make a big deal vs the other side who wants to refuse but is really grateful.