I was reincarnated as bait for the summoned hero
Perhaps due to my high alcohol tolerance, this high elf body of mine is unaffected by hangovers or drunken stupors.
That said, lack of sleep still hits me hard.
Suppressing a yawn, I swirled the highball in my hand when I suddenly felt someone’s gaze.
Turning around, I saw Sheera standing at the entrance of the dining room in her pajamas, looking exasperated.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Morning, Sheera… uh, this is Rei. He arrived late last night.”
“Indeed. I am Rei, the Golden Dragon. A pleasure to meet you.”
Rei, a strikingly beautiful dragon, flashed a bright and refreshing smile, and for a brief moment, Sheera’s expression softened slightly.
“I’m Sheera. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Rei.”
“Likewise. Say, Sheera, would you like a drink? This ‘beer’ is absurdly delicious!”
Rei cheerfully held up a can of beer.
At the sudden invitation to a drinking party, the girl’s expression instantly went blank.
(Oh no… Rei, you fool.)
Her aquamarine eyes flicked toward the dining table.
From late last night to early morning—just until now—the table had been the stage for a lively feast.
Empty bottles of alcohol, beer cans, and chuhai cans were scattered all over.
Every last bit of food prepared in advance had been devoured, and the remains of snacks—potato chips, dried foods, and canned appetizers—were strewn across the table.
“…Unfortunately, I’m not good with alcohol. Also, drinking first thing in the morning? I can’t say that’s very responsible adult behavior, wouldn’t you agree, Tohma ?”
“Y-yes… I’ll clean this up immediately.”
She maintained her smile, her tone unwavering, delivering her words in one breath.
Scary.
Well, considering we were drinking all night despite having housemates, we were entirely at fault.
I should apologize properly.
Avoiding Sheera’s exasperated gaze, I turned my eyes away.
My line of sight landed on Rei, the Golden Dragon.
Perhaps because of his immense dragon physique, he too was unaffected by hangovers.
Completely oblivious to Sheera’s irritation, he simply tilted his head in confusion.
“…Tohma , did I do something wrong?”
“Yeah, you kinda did… Let’s just sincerely apologize and clean this up, pronto.”
“Understood.”
Thus, I put the mighty divine beast to work, and together, we tidied up the dining table and prepared breakfast.
I hastily made pancakes, knowing they were Sheera’s favorite.
Topping them with whipped cream and fresh fruit, I noticed her mood lift ever so slightly.
Good.
Seizing this chance, I moved on to the main dish.
I cut thick slabs of orc bacon into steak-sized pieces and seared them to a golden brown.
The sunny-side-up eggs were made from Cocco bird eggs.
I kept the vegetables to a minimum, adding just a touch of color to the plate with boiled broccoli.
I wrapped potato salad in thin slices of high-orc prosciutto and arranged everything neatly on a single plate.
Sheera’s face lit up with delight.
“Mmm! This is delicious! I’ve never had bacon this thick before!”
“Right? I had the orc meat processed at a butcher on the outskirts of town.”
For reference, the meat in question came from an Orc King.
The butcher had given me a bewildered look when I asked him to turn such premium meat into bacon.
Good times.
The high-orc meat was also of general-class quality, resulting in exceptional prosciutto.
I had originally planned to serve this meat at Rei’s welcome party, but winning back Sheera’s favor took priority.
(This prosciutto would pair perfectly with alcohol… That butcher does some excellent work.)
I should have him stock up while we’re in town.
Prosciutto, bacon, sausages… maybe even some jerky?
“Here, we’ve got dessert this morning too.”
“Wow…! Is this pudding?”
“This is crème brûlée. Just try it, and you’ll see.”
“Tohma , I’d like some as well.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve got one for you too.”
It was a limited-edition crème brûlée from the convenience store.
The crisp caramelized top paired perfectly with the smooth, creamy custard underneath—an exquisite balance of textures and flavors.
The caramelized layer carried a slight bitterness, complementing the sweet, rich custard beautifully.
“So delicious!”
“Indeed. This is excellent. A fine treat, indeed.”
Despite having already stuffed themselves with meat and snacks, the dragon’s appetite seemed bottomless, as he effortlessly polished off his dessert too.
The special sweet treat was more than enough to melt Sheera’s annoyance, and her usual smile returned.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Looks like Tetchan is still asleep.”
On the corner of the sofa, Kotesu was sound asleep.
He had kept us company until two hours ago but had finally reached his limit and passed out.
Normally, he would never miss a meal, but this was his first time staying up so late, and the exhaustion had caught up with him.
“Well, he’s still a kitten. It can’t be helped.”
“We probably shouldn’t have kept him up so late.”
“But if we hadn’t let him join in, he would’ve sulked for sure.”
“Yeah…”
Rei let out a wry chuckle.
“I would get sulky too, you know?”
“Ah…”
At Sheera’s quiet murmur, my shoulders involuntarily flinched.
“You’re right. Sorry for not inviting you. It was late, and you had already gone to bed.”
“I understand that you were being considerate, so that’s fine. But I felt left out, so from now on, you absolutely have to invite me, okay? I promise I won’t be mad even if you wake me up.”
“Got it. Next time, I’ll definitely call you.”
“Fufu. You have to, okay? I’m looking forward to it!”
Finally, the princess’s mood seemed to have completely recovered, and I felt relieved.
That said, if we were going to include Sheera, who doesn’t drink alcohol, we might need to prepare some tea and sweets for her.
(Then again, if I just serve her some meat dishes, she’d probably be overjoyed…)
In any case, tonight we were having a feast centered around Sheera’s favorite—magical beast meat.
I had already prepared half of the dishes, so there was plenty of time left.
“Are we taking a break from dungeon exploration today?”
Sheera’s question was fair.
“Hmm… I actually want to push a bit deeper. I’d love to get my hands on some delicious meat.”
“But, Tohma , you pulled an all-nighter, didn’t you?”
“I’ll be fine. Missing a day of sleep isn’t a big deal.”
“In that case, I’ll go with you to the dungeon.”
Seeing Sheera’s concerned expression, Rei stepped in with an unexpected proposal.
“But, we’ll be using teleportation, so you won’t be able to join us on the same floor.”
“Fufu… Who do you think I am?”
The beautiful dragon flashed a grin.
Despite his refined appearance, that smile gave off a strangely predatory vibe.
Rei reached into his personal storage and pulled something out.
It was a familiar adventurer’s guild tag, along with a silver bangle—a teleportation artifact.
“Wait, Rei… Have you been inside this dungeon before?”
“I have. I dove in once to check for any signs of a resurgence.”
“Wait a minute, Tohma … This guild tag… It’s Gold-rank?”
“Seriously…?”
“I joined about a hundred years ago. My rank went up as I accumulated achievements.”
“Ah… Right, you once pretended to be an adventurer to suppress a dungeon overflow…”
Apparently, this adventurer’s guild tag was extremely useful when crossing national borders or entering tax-collecting cities.
For the record, Rei had registered as an elf.
Since he was a long-lived race and had the right aesthetic, it made sense.
“Honestly, Rei, you look way more like an elf than I do.”
His flowing golden hair and crystal-clear amethyst eyes made him look exactly like an elven noble.
He was the embodiment of the gallant knight straight out of a maiden’s dream.
And yet, despite his elegant appearance, he didn’t use magic in battle—he fought with a long spear instead.
(That’s straight-up elf fraud!)
Well, at least he didn’t transform into a dragon and crush everything in sight.
“Alright, let’s head to the dungeon as a trio.”
I carefully picked up Kotesu, who was still fast asleep.
If we left him behind, he’d probably sulk just like Sheera had earlier.
“Let’s go hunt for some delicious meat!”
“Yeah!”
We might not get Minotaur meat, but I was determined to find some that we could enjoy as sashimi or yukhoe.
