I was reincarnated as bait for the summoned hero
When they checked with the Merchant Guild about sea travel, they found out that a large ship was set to depart in three days.
It was a trade ship bound for the Empire and not open to general passengers, but thanks to a letter of introduction from the Adventurer’s Guild Master and their Gold-rank tags, they managed to get aboard as escorts.
“This time of year, sea monsters are more active.”
Akimi relayed the information he had gathered from the Merchant Guild with a sigh.
“So the sea isn’t safer than the land?”
“It usually is, but it depends on the season. Storms are more frequent, and monsters become more aggressive.”
“Well, as long as we take care of the monsters, we should be fine. The storms might be a bit of a problem, though.”
Haruto laughed cheerfully, unfazed.
Natsuki, however, looked thoughtful.
“…Do you think my skill will be of any help?”
Natsuki’s unique gift, [Holy Shield], was a type of holy magic that could block any attack—both physical and magical. However, it was uncertain whether it could counter natural disasters.
“I can’t say for sure, but we’ll have to rely on magic to get through it.”
“For storms, wind magic. For rain, water magic!”
“You say it like it’s easy, but can we really handle it?”
“Well, we’ll manage somehow. After all, we were chosen by the gods.”
Akimi , unusually optimistic, smirked as he noticed Natsuki looking at him skeptically.
“If it comes down to it, we’ll brute-force our way through with our abundant mana. If the three of us maintain the barrier artifact, we should be able to last at least one night.”
If they could endure for one night, they could ride out the storm.
“We also managed to get a barrier artifact large enough to cover the entire ship.”
“…Good thing we didn’t sell it.”
“Yeah, we almost did, thinking we wouldn’t need it.”
“We should save barrier artifacts and potions whenever possible. Even we can get injured or run out of mana.”
“You’re right. Even if we can use healing magic, it’s useless if we’ve already exhausted our mana.”
So far, they had managed to get by, but as they neared the Evil Dragon, the demons were growing stronger.
“If I let my guard down and get seriously injured, Brother Tohma would definitely laugh at me.”
Natsuki shrugged with a chuckle.
Akimi and Haruto exchanged glances.
“…I don’t think he’d laugh.”
“Tohma is the type to quietly snap when something happens to his loved ones.”
“If anything, if his precious Natsu got seriously injured…”
“……”
Wouldn’t that actually make things easier for defeating the demons?
The thought crossed their minds for a brief moment before they hastily shook their heads.
“No, that’s not an option. We’re the heroes.”
“Exactly, Haru. We can’t put Tohma , who got dragged into this, on the front lines. Besides, Natsu would definitely scold us.”
“That’s terrifying…”
“What are you two whispering about?”
““Nothing.””
Natsuki gave her brother and cousin a suspicious look, but the two simply offered masked smiles, avoiding eye contact.
They weren’t going to spill no matter what.
“…Well, whatever. Anyway, I’ve stocked up on supplies. It should last us at least a month.”
They had plenty of monster meat from dungeon drops, so most of what Natsuki had bought was vegetables and fruit.
She had stocked up on root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions, as well as a generous amount of leafy greens.
She also bought eggs, milk, cheese, and yogurt, carefully selecting the best ones using her [Appraisal] skill.
For fruit, she bought whatever looked delicious—apples, oranges, grapes. She was surprised by the sheer variety of berries available.
In addition to fresh fruit, she had also purchased a mountain of dried fruit. After tasting them, she found them to be sweet and rich in flavor—definitely better than what she had back in her world.
Haruto had taken a liking to the bulk-sold nuts and went all in, buying large quantities. The roasted nuts and almonds were both flavorful and nutritious.
Unfortunately, there was no rice available, so they had to give up on stocking grains.
“I thought about buying flour, but honestly, isn’t it better to just buy bread from Brother Tohma instead of trying to bake it ourselves?”
“Yeah, that was the right call.”
“I even considered buying freshly made bread, but… you know how bread is in this world.”
Haruto didn’t need to say more—they all knew.
The so-called ‘black bread,’ a staple in this world, had a long shelf life but was hard, sour, and unpleasant.
It was awful. They wouldn’t eat it unless they were truly starving.
Even when soaked in soup, it remained unappetizing. And if they somehow managed to swallow it, it felt so tough that it might even scrape their throats on the way down.
“You didn’t buy any seasonings, did you?”
Akimi asked cautiously.
“Of course not.” Natsuki nodded firmly.
“Salt, pepper, sugar—despite their poor quality, they’re ridiculously expensive. Of course, I didn’t buy them.”
“A wise decision.”
“I thought about buying something other than food, but there wasn’t really anything I wanted.”
“Yeah. We’ve already got all the daily necessities we need. As for consumables…”
“Maybe just toilet paper?”
That said, none of the three actually needed it.
After all, they could use the purification magic Clean.
Every time they used the toilet, they simply purified themselves.
“Brother Tohma buys us comfortable loungewear and underwear, too.”
“The things we brought from Japan are all blessed by the Creator God, so they don’t break or get dirty. Super convenient…”
Though wearing the same clothes all the time does get boring.
Even so, they’re far more comfortable than the clothes of this world, so we put up with it.
“Shopping was easier than I expected.”
“You dummy brother. We only bought a month’s worth of food today. If we buy everything at once, the market will be thrown into chaos. We’ll be back again tomorrow.”
“Ah, right. My bad.”
Since they had also finished booking their ship, they decided to head back to their base.
Passing through the stone walls surrounding the port town, they left the city.
A short distance away, there was a forest.
Because of the Forest Wolf packs living there, people generally stayed away, making it a great location.
Here, they could set up the Portable Mini House magic tool they had obtained, completing their base.
Protected by a barrier, there was no worry about monsters finding them.
“We’re home!”
“I’m starving. Should we have meat tonight?”
“We’ve been eating meat every single meal.”
Cracking jokes, they settled into their home.
After changing out of their adventuring gear into comfortable loungewear, they began preparing dinner.
Since their cooking skills weren’t great yet, it still took the three of them nearly an hour to finish.
“Just being able to cook rice in a clay pot feels like such an achievement.”
“Yeah. Not many high school girls can do that.”
They were deeply grateful to their cousin, who had taught them through instructional videos.
“I can make miso soup now too!”
“Yeah, good job, Haruto . Also, let’s thank instant dashi stock.”
“Akimi, you’ve finally stopped cutting your fingers, huh?”
“…I’m good with swords and blades, but knives are a different story.”
After following the recipe book carefully, they finally completed tonight’s dinner.
“Clay pot-cooked rice, miso soup with otherworldly eggplant, stir-fried vegetables, and teriyaki chicken!”
“Nice, it looks well-balanced. We’ve really improved.”
The taste wasn’t bad either. Actually, it was quite delicious.
Thanks to store-bought teriyaki sauce, Cockatrice meat had turned into a real feast.
“This is amazing! We’re so good, we could probably open a diner after retiring as heroes.”
“If you want to do that, Haruto , go ahead by yourself.”
“Yeah, we’ll be heading back to Japan with Brother Tohma .”
“Hey, I was joking! Don’t leave me behind!”
For dessert, they tried the yogurt they bought today, topped with dried fruit.
“Hmm, surprisingly good.”
“Nice find. Having Appraisal skill while shopping is essential.”
“The walnuts are great too. I can’t stop eating them.”
Since they had found some delicious ingredients, they decided to buy more at the market tomorrow.
“Alright, I’ll be handling the shopping negotiations with Tohma . You guys got your wish lists ready?”
“Of course!”
“I wrote mine down. Here you go.”
They planned to order staple foods like rice, noodles, and bread, along with seasonings and tea leaves.
Within their budget, they also intended to buy some personal treats for the ship voyage.
“I’m getting extra cup noodles and potato chips.”
“I want convenience store sweets and snacks. Oh, and some extra skincare products too.”
“I’ll take calorie bars and supplements. And some hot snacks.”
Aside from that, they decided to get some games to pass the time during their long journey.
