There's an SF novel I liked in middle school, and I really loved its first line.
'I'm fucked. That was the conclusion I reached after deep thought. I am fucked.'
Why am I suddenly sharing this TMI?
"You left your handkerchief..."
"Ah, aah?!"
The party involved overheard a scene where a beautiful woman with doll-like looks said she was slightly interested, and he's visibly flustered. If this isn't 'fucked,' then what is?
"Um..."
There's only one way to quickly escape this situation!
"Here's the handkerchief you left."
That is, to run away!!
'Secret technique of the Joestar family, lend me your power!!'
The moment I placed the handkerchief in her hand, I gathered all my strength in my legs and started running towards home, but
"Nigerundayo... what?!!"
Before I knew it, Amid was running alongside me.
"I-it's a misunderstanding, please stop first!!"
"When you come running with that expression, it's not convincing at all?!"
A beauty chasing after me? Others might find it amusing, but it's different when you're the one being chased.
'With that expression that says she'll catch me no matter what, how could I not run away?!'
I've gathered all sorts of information while living here, including a lot about members of other Familias.
'Amid Teasanare, alias [Dea Saint], a Level 2 adventurer and healer of the Dian Cecht Familia!'
Why would such a powerful person chase after me, a Level 1 who just recently received my Falna?
"J-just a moment!!"
Of course, I had to run away.
'This is where I make my move!'
At a fork in the road ahead, I performed a kind of feint.
"Huh?!"
Using a slight step, I pretended to turn left but actually turned right, successfully creating a small distance, and
"Hmm? Kai, over he..."
"Tell her I'm not here!!"
After winding through various back alleys, I barely managed to make it home.
"Huff... huff... She probably won't come into the Familia home."
I ran so hard that I wondered if I'd ever been this out of breath since coming to this world.
"Phew... I need to wipe off this sweat..."
Perhaps because I ran like crazy, as I sat on the bed catching my breath, I started to feel a bit feverish and sweat began to flow, and
"I'll tidy up the desk later..."
I postponed cleaning the room and, wearing only underwear, wiped my body thoroughly with water and a towel from a basin in the room.
"Normally, I'd go to the public shower, but... given the situation, I have no choice."
After wiping off the remaining moisture and about to get dressed again,
'Bang!'
"Haa... haa... Just a word..."
The firmly closed door opened, and Amid appeared, and
'Bang!'
At the same time, she closed the door and left.
"..."
I hurriedly put on clothes and slightly opened the door to check the hallway, where I saw Amid muttering to herself.
"Um..."
'Gasp?!'
"Well... please come in first"
.
.
.
A conversation that felt like about 30 minutes but was actually around 5 minutes.
"...So it was all a misunderstanding?"
It's hard to even call it a conversation; I just listened to Amid's rapid-fire explanation?.
"Yes, I was just amazed that a haircut could change your appearance that much."
"Then, Lord Dian Cecht's reaction earlier..."
"Probably... a misunderstanding because of the 'interest' part."
'Come to think of it, I think I said it was a misunderstanding when I was running away...'
"...So, I made a strange misunderstanding about everything?"
"Yes..."
Suddenly, I remembered my father's words: you should listen to people until the end.
'Ah, Father, you're still teaching me in another world. It's just that I don't remember when I need to...'
"...I caused you a lot of trouble. I'm sorry!"
Realizing the situation, I immediately bowed my head until my forehead touched the floor and apologized, and
"No... it was a situation easy to misunderstand, so it's okay."
Fortunately, she seemed to let it go.
"Thank you... 'Thud!' Ouch?!!"
But as I raised my head, I bumped it against the desk nearby, and
'Clatter!!'
The weapon blueprints and the formula for a new type of bath bomb I was researching, scattered on the desk, fell to the floor.
"...Huh?"
Amid, who is as kind as Miach, though not quite to the same extent, tried to help by picking up the papers, but
"This is... a bath bomb?"
"...It's a trade secret, so please return it."
I immediately snatched the paper from Amid's hand.
"?!"
Probably because I made the same expression that scared Misha at the guild last time, Amid shuddered for a very brief moment.
"...I'm sorry."
After that incident at the guild, I asked God and Naza about my expression, and
'Huh... it seems the murderous desire hidden inside shows on my face.'
'A face that could drown several people and still have room...?'
'...To that extent?'
I could tell it's an expression I should never show in front of others.
"...I'm really sorry, but could you leave for a moment?"
"Ah, yes..."
Somehow, I keep doing things I'm sorry to Amid, and I feel guilt piling up in a corner of my heart.
"I need to apologize properly..."
I hurriedly sorted the spilled blueprints and formula in order and left the room, but Amid was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh no..."
I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier, but it seems she just left.
"Sigh... I should start making dinner no..."
As I sighed and went downstairs, what I saw was
"This bath bomb, you clearly made it, right?"
"I never said I made it...?"
"...Really?"
Amid talking earnestly with Naza.
"Ah, you haven't left yet."
Relieved that she hadn't left, I approached the two, and
"Um..."
"Kai... in the end, they found out..."
"'They'? More importantly, you were hiding it after all!!"
"Ah, noisy..."
The sight of the two looking like they get along well made the remaining tension disappear.
"I'm about to start making dinner..."
"Wow~ Kai's cooking..."
"...You're looking forward to it, right?"
As always, listening to Naza's voice makes me feel drained.
"It's already time..."
As Amid checked the time and was about to leave the shop, I quickly called her back.
"Um... Miss Amid?"
"...Yes?"
"About what happened earlier..."
"Ah... it's okay. Sometimes when treating patients, I rarely see such expressions."
"Even so, I'm sorry, so if it's okay, would you like to stay for dinner? I'm confident in my cooking."
Surprised by my offer, Amid seemed to ponder for a moment, but
"I appreciate the offer, but it's okay. It would be rude to stay here any longer."
"Ah... I see."
She left the shop with a slightly disappointed expression.
"...So"
As I stood in place for a moment watching the door after Amid left, Naza poked my back and called me, and
"What on earth did you do to make that doll-like girl move? She looked so urgent that I ended up telling her without thinking."
She asked me in a slightly playful tone.
"...It was just a series of misunderstandings."
"Really, that's all...?"
"I don't know what you're imagining, but... it's not like that."
"Hmm~"
"No, really, it's not like that..."
Somehow... I suddenly understood why Amid chased after me with that expression.
.
.
.
"Now that I have some financial leeway, I can afford a little luxury like this."
After somehow persuading Naza, who was giving me a meaningful smile, that it was a misunderstanding, I went to the kitchen and started taking out various spices I had prepared.
"Cumin, turmeric, coriander, black pepper, and even chili... It's really damn hard to get spices."
The dish I'm making this time is curry... but even in Orario, which accumulates national-level wealth from the world's largest magic stone business, there are things hard to come by.
"Who would have thought there'd be no shop dealing in spices..."
In this Danmachi world, aspects related to daily life are strangely developed, but other things are at a level of civilization almost no different from the Middle Ages, so spices like these are only available as trade goods from other cities, making them quite expensive.
"How can the price of a few spices compare to a week's worth of food expenses?!"
Honestly, there was no need to spend this much money, but
'How can a Korean resist the smell of chili and pepper?!'
I had no choice but to kneel helplessly before the taste memories engraved in my body.
"Sigh... let's just make it."
To be honest, I wanted to make a dish mainly using chili, but unfortunately, I don't know how to make gochujang or soy sauce, so I cleanly gave up.
'If I knew this would happen, I should have learned from my grandmother when I was young...'
Cursing my past self for running away to play with friends, I put oil in a pot and started heating it slowly.
"While the oil heats, grind the remaining spices except cumin into powder."
Fortunately, probably because it's a Familia that prepares medicine, the things needed to finely grind spices were scattered around.
"Put pork cut into bite-sized pieces into the heated oil and fry until browned."
'Sizzle!!'
"Ah... I want to skip a few pieces."
Once the meat is browned enough, take it out briefly, put cumin into the oil full of the meat's savory flavor, and fry without burning it.
"Ah, the curry aroma is already starting to come out."
When the aroma rises, add finely chopped onion, ginger, and garlic, and fry again.
"When the onion turns brown, add finely chopped tomatoes and fry and fry again."
Keep frying like this until it becomes a paste, then add the prepared spices and salt, fry a little more, then add the previously set-aside meat, water, and potatoes and carrots cut to appropriate size, and boil until the meat is tender.
"Then, now I just need to make rice..."
Just as I was about to cook rice with the rice I got by asking the God from the Far East, who has a strong Japanese-influenced culture, which I learned about while working before,
"""..."""
"...What are you all doing over there?"
I found Naza, God, and
"...Miss Amid too?"
Amid secretly watching from a distance.
"Didn't you go back to your Familia?"
"Well..."
A few minutes after Amid left the shop, she met Lord Miach, who was out buying medicinal herbs, and kind Lord Miach said it was late and brought her back to the shop for dinner.
"...Lord Miach."
Upon Amid's explanation, I felt a headache coming on and held my forehead.
"Hmm?"
"Lord Miach, your requests are so overflowing with an aura that's hard to refuse that it's about to burst, so please don't do that from now on."
As I sighed and spoke, Naza and Amid nodded simultaneously in agreement, and
"Haha, I don't know what you mean."
Lord Miach laughed with an expression that showed he didn't understand at all.
'Ugh... I can't live like this.'
"What should I do with this pheromone launcher..."
"Kai, you said it backwards..."
"...You have no restraint towards God."
Thus, Amid, who ended up having dinner together,
"...Mr. Kai."
"Yes?"
"Please, won't you work as a cook in our Familia? We'll pay you as much as you're satisfied with."
She offered me a part-time job with the most serious expression in the world.