"Chicken butter stir-fry, chicken and green onion skewers, meat and vegetable pot-au-feu, sweet and sour pork, river fish salt-grilled, hash browns, and then——"
Fuuka recites dish names one after another, as if chanting some kind of spell.
"Uh, umm..."
After Fuuka finishes her spell-like order, the waiter who heard it all turns a troubled face toward us.
Though he doesn't say it out loud—being a professional—his expression clearly reads "Can you really eat all that?"
From beside me, Hart-san lets out a dumbfounded "You're starting off way too strong..." before turning to the waiter and speaking up.
"You probably think it's a joke, but we'll eat every single one properly. We'll pay in full too, so don't worry."
"O-Of course. We'll bring them out as they're ready, then."
"Yeah, thanks."
The waiter leaves our table to relay the order to the kitchen.
We are currently in a town called Kegris in the Nohitant Kingdom.
The other day, Fuuka, Hart-san, and I received a request from Her Highness Lucila, the princess of this country.
The request is to conquer several labyrinths within the kingdom.
And since one of the target labyrinths is near this town, we're staying here tonight and planning to start the conquest first thing tomorrow.
"I knew Fuuka eats a lot, but is it always this much?"
For us explorers, food is important—our bodies are our capital, after all.
But eating everything she just ordered would surely be a struggle.
Normally it would affect tomorrow's labyrinth conquest, but since Hart-san isn't stopping her, she must be able to move just fine afterward.
"Well, usually about this much. Thanks to her, "Copper Twilight" is always flat broke."
Hart-san answers my question.
The words are pure complaint, but there's no real blame toward Fuuka—it's said half in jest, half in affection.
"I earn that much back."
Fuuka reacts to Hart-san's grumbling.
Her expression doesn't change much as usual, but she somehow looks a little miffed at his comment.
"Huh, it's rare for you to jump into a conversation like this. What, 'I don't want Orun to get a weird impression of me'?"
"...It's not that. Hart just said the clan is poor because of me, so I refuted it."
At Hart-san's words, Fuuka averts her face while speaking.
It almost looks like a child making excuses when caught doing something wrong.
Hart-san seems to think something similar; he lets out a "Hmmm" while wearing the expression of someone watching something heartwarming.
"That look is annoying. You two are definitely thinking something rude. Can I cut you?"
Seeing our expressions, Fuuka glares with half-lidded eyes and says something dangerous.
"If we tease her any more, she'll really draw her sword. Food's coming soon anyway—let's eat."
Right after Hart-san says that, the waiter arrives with the dishes.
He has the unique skill [Bird's-Eye Vision].
It allows him to transfer his field of view to any location he chooses.
Normally blind spots become visible, making it an extremely useful skill.
He must have used it to check the kitchen and surroundings, knowing the food was ready ahead of time.
With the arrival of the food, Fuuka's anger toward us dissipates instantly. Her eyes sparkle at the dishes being brought out.
Then she shifts her gaze to me and asks, "Can I eat?"
I find it odd that she's asking me for permission, but I don't see any reason to make a big deal of it and nod.
"Then let's eat."
Hearing my words, Fuuka and Hart-san say "Itadakimasu" and start bringing food to their mouths.
Fuuka doesn't show much change in expression even while eating, but the aura around her is clearly one of happiness.
Some time after the first dish arrived, the table is covered with many empty plates.
Hart-san and I have eaten our fill and stopped, but Fuuka is still happily working through what's in front of her.
She eats a huge amount, but not in a messy way—her manners are refined.
Watching her elegant movements is captivating, and since she looks satisfied, there's no real issue.
But there is one problem that can't be ignored from another angle.
"...Um, Hart-san."
"Yeah?"
"At this rate, we'll run out of operating funds before we even reach Daruane."
This labyrinth conquest tour is technically a request from Her Highness Lucila, but in reality it's from the kingdom.
We've received a considerable amount of activity funds from the country.
But if meals continue at this pace, no matter how we calculate it, the funds will run dry before we finish conquering all the labyrinths and arrive at our final destination—Daruane, the hometown of Sophia and the others.
"Hahaha—yeah, you're right..."
At my words, Hart-san averts his eyes and lets out a dry, escapist laugh.
"If we tell the country that the three of us racked up battalion-level food expenses... they won't just believe it, right..."
"Yeah. If I were on the kingdom's side, I'd think we were just some greedy explorers trying to rip them off. Plus, the kingdom is about to start a war soon. Massive funds will go into that, so there's no way they'll give us any extra."
"Well, I do have some personal savings, so we won't completely run out——"
"No no! We can't have you covering it, Orun! We foresaw this possibility and allocated budget from "Copper Twilight" too, so any shortfall will come from us. It's our princess causing it, after all."
Hart-san hurriedly cuts off my suggestion.
"I-I see. Thank you, then. But..."
"I get what you're trying to say, Orun. Like I said earlier, we don't have much money. So during the labyrinth conquests, I'd like to take a few detours to gather materials and magic stones—would that be okay?"
"Yes, no problem at all. Personally, I'd like to see more of both of your combat styles too."
"Thanks. Though I doubt watching my fights will give you much, Orun—unlike Fuuka's."
"That's not true. I'd like to see your ki manipulation up close again. Last year you taught me the basics of ki, but what you showed me back then wasn't everything, right?"
"...Why do you think that?"
Hart-san's eyes—now looking at me—shift to something more intrigued.
"Because otherwise, I can't explain the phenomenon of you destroying your opponents' weapons in two consecutive matches at last year's martial arts tournament, where magic was banned."
As I said earlier, Hart-san's unique skill is [Bird's-Eye Vision]. No matter how you expand its interpretation, it's hard to imagine it leading to weapon destruction.
Moreover, when I fought the giant skeleton with Oliver the other day, Oliver destroyed the skeleton's arm in the same way Hart had destroyed weapons.
That means the phenomenon of destroying objects is a reproducible technique.
In that case, it's more logical to assume it's done through ki manipulation.
Hearing my words, Hart-san closes his eyes in thought. From the corner of my vision, I see Fuuka give a small nod.
When he opens his eyes again, Hart-san is wearing a fearless grin.
"You're right. What I taught you last year was only the fundamentals of ki manipulation. Like unique skills, ki manipulation is a highly versatile technique. I'll teach you the applications gradually during this labyrinth conquest tour."
"Thank you. Looking forward to it."
With the promise secured to receive further instruction from Hart-san on ki manipulation, Fuuka finishes all the food too. We return to the inn and rest early to prepare for tomorrow's conquest.
◇ ◇ ◇
My name is Dustin.
I'm the leader of an explorer party active in this town, Kegris.
We're what you call "the lord's personal explorers."
We specialize in exploring the labyrinth near this town, so we receive preferential treatment over other explorers.
"Everyone, good work this week! Tomorrow's a rest day, so drink up tonight!"
At my call, my comrades start eating and drinking freely.
This week too, we all made it through without losing anyone.
Even in a familiar labyrinth, a single moment of carelessness can lead to the worst outcome.
Still, we minimize risk while keeping the lord's trust.
The retainer system really is a blessing.
I hear the kingdom and empire will start a war soon, but this place is far from the border, so there's almost no chance of war reaching here.
Our peaceful life won't be destroyed by the war with the empire.
If anything, rising demand for magic stones and labyrinth materials should let us earn even more.
Then I can feed my wife and kids better things.
"Hey, Dustin! Trouble!"
While drinking happily with my comrades, Eric—the leader of another lord-retained explorer party—comes running over with a panicked expression.
"What is it, Eric? Did you come to complain again because your earnings were worse than ours? If so——"
"No time for jokes!"
Eric cuts off my half-joking words.
"I just went to give the regular report to the lord, and he told me—he's terminating our contract!"
"...That's rough. Well, it's not like you're gonna die. You guys can win back the lord's trust again. Unlike other nobles who don't give a damn about their people, he's different."
"Were you even listening!? I said 'our' contract! He's terminating yours too!"
"Hah!? What the hell?!"
There are only two explorer parties retained by the lord here—mine and his.
And he's terminating both!?
What is the lord thinking!?
"That's why I said it's trouble! ...He didn't give specifics, but apparently that labyrinth is going to be conquered."
"Conquered!? That's the only labyrinth in this territory! If it's gone, how are we supposed to supply magic stones to the domain?!"
"Even if you ask me, I don't know! But he said explorers entrusted with the conquest are coming from Tsutorail soon."
From Tsutorail!?
Those lunatics rushing toward death—what are they doing coming to a backwater like this!?
Just keep chasing your impossible dream of conquering the Great Labyrinth and die in peace!
"...I won't accept it. I absolutely won't accept anyone conquering that labyrinth!"
I don't know what right they have to throw this town—this territory—into chaos, but I won't let outsiders trample our place!
That's right—I have to protect everyone living in this domain.
Even if it means getting my hands dirty, that would be the execution of justice.
Heh heh heh... Explorers dying during a labyrinth conquest is perfectly normal, right?