Chapter 16

Thanks to quietly walking on with my rations in hand, I managed to arrive near the great forest by that evening.

I thought it might be a bit risky to enter the forest after dark, so I decided to camp on the grasslands again. I set up the tent in the shadow of trees along the edge of the forest, near the grassy plains.

For lunch, I had cup noodles and cup yakisoba. The carbohydrates tasted surprisingly good.

I used dried sausage as a substitute for protein, and enjoyed canned peaches for dessert.

I wasn’t particularly a small eater, but I was surprised at how easily I could devour such a large amount. After all, I had just eaten a grilled chicken rice bowl two hours ago.

“You, an elf, can eat this much? Definitely better than a vegetarian.”

I continued cutting the grass around the tent. At this point, I thought I might have gained the skill “Grass Cutting” as it had become such a routine task. What once took thirty minutes on the first day now only takes fifteen.

The grass and herbs I collected were turned into points. Perhaps because of the increased mana grass, they were worth high points. Along with the materials from the magical beasts I hunted on the plains, I had earned around 60,000 points today.

“With yesterday’s points, that’s over 100,000. Level 6, huh?”

Checking my status board, I saw that my skill levels had gone up. My [Item Box] was now level 2, increasing its storage capacity to 40 square meters. That’s double what it used to be.

“40 square meters… that’s the same size as my apartment. A 1LDK.”

Though the number of rooms was small, the bedroom was spacious at 12 tatami mats. The dining room was also decently sized, so it had become a hangout spot for my cousins.

“If I keep leveling up at this rate, the next upgrade might be 80 square meters? From a 1LDK straight to a 3LDK.”

While joking around, I decided to check what food I should prepare for dinner. I opened the summon shopping list and noticed the notification.

I tapped the flashing “NEW!” section.

‘The 300 yen store is now available. You can summon items up to 300 yen from the 100 yen store.’

Apparently, this was a new feature that came with the skill upgrade. The ability to buy more items was certainly welcome, so I decided to check it out.

I tapped the 300 yen store name to pull up a list of items available for purchase.

“Yeah, it’s mostly miscellaneous goods and daily essentials. The kitchen items look a lot better than those from the 100 yen store.”

The designs were simple but stylish. There were stainless steel bottles and tumblers, but they were priced over 300 yen, so I couldn’t buy them yet. Once I level up more, I definitely want to get them.

I went through the list and registered some items I found interesting.

“Women’s underwear, socks, leggings, T-shirts, and loungewear… These seem more durable than the 100 yen versions.”

The loungewear was a 1,000-point item, so I couldn’t buy it yet, but I could get the socks and leggings. Since I already had five days’ worth of changes packed, I might not need them for now, but I still added them to my favorites.

“Wow, even accessories? Rings, necklaces, bangles, earrings, and piercings… these don’t look like they cost 300 yen at all. I wonder if I could sell these in the market?”

For now, I wasn’t lacking in supplies thanks to the [Summon Magic Online Shopping], but I still wanted to get some currency from this world.

“Oh, wait. If I can send stuff, that means they can send stuff to me too, right?”

I decided to contact the calm and clever Akimi, who would be the best for negotiating this.

“Hey, the 300 yen store has items available up to 300 yen. If you need anything, I can buy it for you with this world’s currency.”

I sent the email from the status board, and within a minute, I received a reply. It included three silver coins.

‘Please. I’ll send one silver coin per person for now. One silver coin is roughly worth 10,000 yen. I’ll send a shopping list later.’

Akimi’s reply was more rushed than usual. It seemed like this world’s environment was tough on him. I just replied with a simple “Understood” and got started on preparing dinner.

I used earth magic to create a simple stove and placed a grill on top. I was surprised to find that I could buy a barbecue grill and charcoal from the 100 yen store. This allowed me to cook freely without worrying too much about burning things.

“Convenient barbecue sheet? It turns into a grill plate when placed on the grill. Nice, this is worth it. And two bags of yakisoba for 100 yen? Good deal.”

I summoned the necessary items and got everything ready. I made the stove a bit larger so I could use both the grill and a grill plate at the same time.

“Now, the main ingredient for today: horned rabbit meat!”

I pulled out the meat I had stored. It was a beautiful pink color. This was the meat of five horned rabbits I had caught earlier today using water magic. I hadn’t turned it into points and had kept it for dinner. The appraisal showed that it was edible, and I decided to trust the Creator God’s statement that “materials are delicious” and use it for dinner.

I began cutting the horned rabbit meat on a folding worktable. I had worried whether the magical beast’s meat would be tough to cut, but everything I had brought from Japan had been blessed by the Creator God.

The knife cut through it easily, sharper than I had expected, and the rabbit meat was sliced smoothly.

“I’ll grill it first and see how it tastes. I’ll season it with some magic salt from the 100 yen shop.”

Magic salt is fantastic. It’s a blend of spices and herbs, and I heard it was crafted under the supervision of a famous French chef.

Just sprinkling it on meat or fish and grilling it makes even my rough cooking taste surprisingly good.

“Mmm…! Wow, this meat is incredibly tasty!?”

It didn’t seem like it had been just seasoned and grilled with salt. The tender rabbit meat released its juices as I chewed. There was no unpleasant smell at all.

The faint sweetness of the meat, combined with the herbs and spices, created a depth of flavor, and the slight garlic aroma was a nice touch.

“This meat is beyond what I expected. I should use it in yakisoba too.”

I started making yakisoba with rabbit meat and cabbage on the grill sheet. Of course, I didn’t forget to grill more rabbit meat on the grill at the same time.

“This meat would be great in stew or fried chicken. Making those would be a hassle, but they’d definitely go well with it.”

I finished one rabbit and decided to cook the rest. For dinner, I would serve grilled meat seasoned with magic salt. For the leftovers, I used skewers I bought from the 100 yen store to make kebabs.

“I’ll change the seasoning for the kebabs. Salt, sauce, magic salt, maybe lemon salt too?”

It seemed like a good idea to have them on hand as a snack or energy booster later. I kept grilling, stacking them on plates, and storing them in my [Item Box]. Since time was stopped, I could enjoy freshly grilled meat anytime.

“The yakisoba is good too. Rabbit meat is so versatile. I’ll hunt more tomorrow.”

After finishing my meal, I cleaned up and poured some barley tea I had brewed earlier into a glass, then cooled it with a life magic spell and drank it.

I sat in a chair, gazing absentmindedly at the dimly lit forest night. Was that the hoot of an owl, or a nocturnal magical beast?

Even without stepping into the forest, I could sense the presence of many creatures. It was a bit frightening, but also exciting.

“After all, I’m an elf of the forest now.”

And the progenitor at that. I didn’t know how much my race’s bonuses would help me in the forest, but it seemed like it would be good practice for parkour, which got me excited.

A light chime echoed. It was a response to my email. I glanced at it quickly and was almost dizzy at the length of the shopping list.

“Looks like they’re really struggling with food…”

The list was full of seasonings, sauces, cup noodles, and snacks, accompanied by a very urgent tone. What I understood from this was…

“It looks like I’ll be able to gather quite a lot of the currency from this world.”

It seemed the church was issuing salaries to the heroes, but I couldn’t help worrying a little about whether they’d end up splurging at the 100 yen shop.