“Alright, I think this is good?”
“—?”
After an hour, I finally finished preparing the manga meat and other various items. Phew, I’m really tired. If there weren’t a camp stream event, I wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic about doing this. Well, there’s a sense of accomplishment though. Aurora is also looking at the things I prepared with interest.
Heh heh, look forward to it, Aurora. Once this hits the fire, it’s going to smell amazing… Wait a second. Does the smell leak from this hidden area?
The moment I thought about that possibility, I could feel the remaining tipsiness fading away… Crap, I need to check. But Aurora is in the middle of deciding the order for the fashion show. I can’t interrupt her.
“Aurora, I’m gonna step outside for a bit.”
“—?”
“No! I’ll be back right away, just keep picking out your clothes!”
As expected, she asks, “Are you alright? Do you want me to go with you?” but I reject it. I’m just going outside to check if the smell is leaking, you know? There’s no need to bother Aurora with that.
So, I prepare some nicely roasted garlic. Wait, Aurora. This isn’t for you. Stop it, if you get close, the smell will cling to your clothes! You can’t!
—
Isn’t that fairy a bit too greedy? I managed to get her to give up, but once the fashion show is over, she asked for a super garlic-filled BBQ. I’m worried about that child’s future.
Well, it’s not like this is something new, so I reassure myself and begin the experiment. I stand in front of the transparent curtain, which is the entrance to the hidden area, and place a small plate with the delicious-smelling roasted garlic on the ground. —Now that I think about it, why can I even see this transparent curtain?— Anyway, I pull the curtain aside and step outside the hidden area… into the mountain dungeon.
Hmm, I can still smell the garlic. It seems like it’s leaking outside. If that’s the case, I need to reconsider the amount I’ll be cooking on the stream. The base of this mountain dungeon mostly has herbivorous monsters, but very rarely, carnivorous monsters also appear. I’d be an easy target if the smell attracts them, so I need to be careful about that… Huh? Once I let go of the curtain and the hole leading to the hidden area is concealed by the transparent curtain, the garlic smell completely disappears. It’s not even a faint trace; it’s like there’s no garlic anywhere nearby.
“Seriously, this is a breakthrough!”
It’s a reverse home run after I had given up. I can’t help but exclaim. For now, I’m relieved… This means I won’t run out of snacks for the night stream. I had been prepared for a worst-case scenario of just grilled vegetables.
I’m so relieved. Now there’s nothing else to worry about. I’m tired from all the prep work, so I was thinking of taking a little nap before the night stream starts when suddenly I hear a sound I can’t ignore.
“Gyah—!”
“—Help me—!”
“Dammit! Aurora!”
I acted quickly. I pulled the curtain back, shouting as loud as I could, calling for Aurora. Noticing something was wrong from my voice, she discarded the clothes she was holding—oh, she folded them neatly, that’s impressive—and swiftly flew over to me.
“—!?”
“It seems like adventurers nearby are under attack! Let’s go check!”
I put Aurora on my shoulder, and with all my might, I stomped the ground and dashed forward. The voices I heard seemed distant, but with my speed, getting closer wasn’t a problem. And sure enough, I found them!
“Is anyone there!?”
“Don’t come closer!”
The voices matched the two men I had heard… they were young, probably in their early twenties, and they were clearly running from something. And the thing chasing them appeared right in front of me.
“Shururu…”
It was sticking out its tongue and continuing to track its prey—the two fleeing adventurers. At first glance, it looked like a snake. But it wasn’t just any snake. First of all, it was huge. The body was so large it could be mistaken for a massive pipe, possibly more than 10 meters long. And to top it off, its scales were a deep blood-red. This thing was practically a dragon without wings or limbs. Yeah, I know exactly what this is. Why do I always seem to pick up these flags…?
It’s an Aka-Ōdaishō!
