I was reincarnated as bait for the summoned hero
Since leveling up became more difficult in advanced dungeons, the three decided to challenge a special-class dungeon in the Empire.
To travel from the Kingdom of Shirane to the Empire, they had two options: either cut straight through the vast central forest or take a sea route by ship.
“If only we could fly, it’d be so much faster.”
Upon hearing the two options, Haruto, who had a short attention span, grumbled.
“That does sound easy, but wouldn’t we just end up as dragon food?”
“And first of all, we don’t even have magic or magical tools that let us fly.”
With Natsuki and Akio immediately shooting down the idea, Haruto slumped onto the living room table. If left alone, he looked like he might just fall asleep right there. Yep, he was bored.
Akio let out a sigh.
“For me, I’d rather take the route through the great forest, but…”
The high-ranking members of the Adventurers’ Guild had warned them against crossing the forest due to its dangers.
Apparently, the sea had giant magical fish, but it was still considered safer than the forest.
That said, the sea voyage would take at least half a month.
Depending on the ocean currents and the activity of sea monsters, it could stretch to three weeks.
But Natsuki had a different opinion.
“I’d rather take the sea route. The ocean has fewer monsters than the forest, right? Plus, on a ship, we can rest in our rooms, so it’s way more comfortable!”
“But, Natsu, these are ships from this world, you know? I bet the ride’s gonna be awful.”
“You idiot brother! We have the ‘Portable Mini House’!”
That’s right. Thanks to the ‘Portable Mini House,’ a magical tool they obtained as a dungeon drop, a comfortable journey was guaranteed.
Apparently, this convenient magic item was one of the gifts from the Creator God to the Hero, making it an overpowered ‘home.’
From what Akio had subtly gathered from the Adventurers’ Guild Master, similar portable houses had appeared before, but their quality was worlds apart.
Those were just simple box-like buildings—no bath, no toilet, not even a kitchen.
There weren’t any separate rooms either, so even when camping, adventurers would have to sleep on the floor inside.
Even so, since it had barrier functions, the ‘house’ was considered valuable inside dungeons and could be sold for over a hundred gold coins.
(Well, we’re never selling ours, though.)
After all, the ‘Portable Mini House’ was far too comfortable.
It was cleaner and cozier than the rooms they’d been given at the temple or royal palace in the Kingdom of Shirane.
Since everyone had their own private rooms, they felt much less stress.
The Japanese-made furniture Tohma had provided was amazing, especially the mattresses, which ensured high-quality sleep.
Good sleep meant less fatigue, which made dungeon exploration much more efficient.
Recently, along with food and seasonings, they had received a beginner’s cooking book.
Though their cooking skills were still rough, they were doing their best.
By relying on Japanese seasonings and fresh ingredients, they could at least follow recipes well enough to make decent meals.
(The presentation isn’t great, but even our sloppy cooking is still way better than eating out…)
Food in this world relied almost entirely on salt as the only seasoning.
Since there was no concept of dashi (broth), soups and stews tasted bland.
The only somewhat decent dish was grilled magical beast meat.
That was mainly because the fresh meat of magical creatures was delicious on its own, so cooking skill wasn’t really a factor.
(Meat, vegetables, and fruit infused with magic are already tasty. If we add the spices, consommé, and dashi packets Tohma got through his summoning magic online shopping… of course, it’s gonna taste amazing.)
Still, they were just three high schoolers with no prior cooking experience.
Most of their meals ended up being simple steaks, or curries and stews made with store-bought roux.
For vegetables, they either stir-fried them with yakiniku sauce or ate them raw as salads.
With Japanese dressing and mayonnaise, they could at least enjoy them without issue.
Thanks to pre-made flour mixes for karaage, tempura, and breadcrumbs, they had even gotten used to deep-frying.
Dealing with leftover oil was annoying, but it was worth it for a good pork cutlet or crispy fried chicken.
Living cleanly and comfortably while enjoying delicious meals—there was no way they could give up their life in the ‘Portable Mini House.’
They had stopped staying at inns whenever they returned to town, and thanks to cooking for themselves, they were saving a lot of money. Honestly, they were proud of their budgeting skills.
Regardless of how they traveled to the Empire, their magical house would be invaluable.
Whether camping in the great forest or sailing across the sea, it would be a huge help.
Haruto was probably worried about seasickness, but the ‘Portable Mini House’ wouldn’t be affected by the ship’s movement, so there was nothing to worry about.
“Haruto, when the Earth Dragon from the advanced dungeon went wild, our house didn’t even flinch, right? Did you forget?”
Akio pointed this out, and Haruto’s face lit up as if he had just remembered.
“Now that you mention it, that’s right! Thanks to the barrier and soundproofing magic tools, I didn’t even notice anything!”
“When we woke up in the morning, only the area around the house was in tatters, right?”
“Apparently, a pretty strong earthquake hit, but there was no effect at all. I don’t think the rocking of the ship will bother us much either.”
However, if the ship sustained damage severe enough to sink, that would be dangerous.
If they got caught in a storm, they’d manage with magic, and if sea monsters attacked, they could just defeat them.
“If we rent a room with a 2-meter square space, we can set up the magic tools. If we stay in our base during the sea journey, we can rest and avoid seasickness, so maybe going through the ocean is the better option?”
He had been thinking of leveling up while crossing the great forest, but when he muttered this, Haruto nodded enthusiastically.
“I agree with Natsu. We’ve been pushing ourselves pretty hard lately. I think we deserve a little rest.”
They had been tackling advanced dungeons and even hunting demon monsters along the way. It seemed like they might indeed be overworking themselves.
“Let’s keep defeating sea monsters regularly to prevent getting rusty. As for magic practice, we can do that on the ocean too, right…?”
Natsuki smiled at him, and Haruto gave him a light pat on the shoulder.
Realizing he’d been too tense, Akio consciously relaxed his shoulders and let out a sigh.
“…Yeah. With a sailing ship, we could even speed things up with wind magic.”
“Alright! So, it’s decided then, we’ll go with the sea voyage!”
“Tohma -nii also said that playing occasionally is important. I think it’s a good idea.”
With their next plan decided, they would need to prepare for the ship journey starting tomorrow.
First, they had to sell the items they had dropped from the advanced dungeon at the Adventurers’ Guild and secure funds.
“The ship arrangements will be with the Commercial Guild. I’ll handle the negotiations.”
“Yeah, Akio, you’re the right person for this. We leave it to you.”
“Then, we’ll be in charge of shopping, right?”
“Yeah. Let’s check the contents of the Item Box first and make a list of what we need.”
“We already have meat from the dungeon, but we’ll need to buy vegetables and fruits.”
They planned to buy rice, bread, noodles, and seasonings, along with sauces, from Tohma .
“In case of emergencies, we should prepare more supplies than we’ll need for the planned number of days.”
“Well, if something happens, we can just buy from Tohma -nii.”
“That’s true… But don’t rely on him too much or he’ll scold us.”
If they were to be stranded at sea, Akio figured his overly-cautious cousin would send them tons of supplies. Considering how proactive he was, he might even come to their rescue in person.
“For emergencies, we definitely need cup noodles and snacks! And juice!”
“Haruto-nii, you’re always like this… Well, I do think convenience store sweets are a must to enjoy the long sea journey.”
“These siblings…”
Haruto, the older brother, gave a playful smile, while Natsuki, his younger sister, tilted her head cutely with a serene expression.
Though they didn’t look alike, they had the same cheeky side to them. Akio couldn’t help but understand why their cousin would pamper them, even while grumbling.
“…Sigh. We have an early start tomorrow, so let’s get some rest.”
The sea journey ahead would be far longer than anything they could have imagined back in Japan. They would likely need things to keep them entertained.
(It would be nice if they sold board games at the convenience store…)
Despite everything, Akio realized that he was somewhat looking forward to his first sea journey and gave a faint, wry smile.
