kscans

Chapter 7 - The Relationship Between NPCs

...Done.

Hayato had successfully crafted all three of the dishes the maid Esha desired at the highest quality of five stars. However, it came at the cost of using up all his materials. Not a single high-priced ingredient was left, and all the materials he had stockpiled were also gone.

Whether he was lucky or unlucky, and whether recruiting Esha in the first place was the right decision, were questions he had asked himself while he worked. But for Hayato, it was undeniably a satisfactory result.

That was because the dishes from Esha's recipe had exceptional performance even at three-star quality.

The Manga Meat, while having a shorter duration than Dragon Steak, far surpassed it in attack power increase. Dragon Steak gave a 50% increase in attack power, whereas Manga Meat gave 75%. Furthermore, it was an item that also raised STR by 30.

The Bucket Pudding was a dessert-type dish, so it gradually restored HP and MP, but its recovery per second surpassed the effects of all other desserts. It restored 5 of each every 3 seconds, and that continued for thirty minutes.

And the Super Eclair. Despite being a dessert-type dish, it had no HP or MP recovery effect. But it came with the unbelievable effect of status effect immunity.

If I sold something like this in a shop, it would be gone in a flash even for a million G. But selling this would also mean contributing to a Clan that might become an enemy. As long as the Clan War exists, I can't sell it even if I want to. And I'd probably be bombarded with questions about how I got it.

The effects were extraordinary. But while it was one thing to use it himself, it would be a dangerous act to sell something that would cause a scene of pandemonium if used by an enemy. Hayato concluded that he couldn't sell it, at least not until it became commonly available.

There are probably others who can make it. But there's no way they could put something like this up for sale. It's no wonder I didn't know about this dish until now. That being said, there must be players who don't participate in the Clan War. I'd think people like that would sell it as if to boast... As I thought, this recipe system must be pretty rare.

Hayato put his cooking equipment away in his room's closet and left the room to give the cooked dishes to Esha.

On the first floor, Esha was standing behind the counter, apparently having been properly attending to the shop. That Esha was looking at Hayato with expectant eyes. And she drooled.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master. So, how did it go?"

Her speech was polite, but feeling as though their master-servant roles had been reversed, Hayato placed the three finished dishes on the counter.

"Here's what you wanted. You'll participate in the Clan War for this, right?"

Esha's eyes widened. She directed a gaze at the food that seemed capable of dealing damage on its own. And with a trembling hand, she reached for the dishes.

But Hayato immediately stored the dishes in his own item bag.

"Ah!"

"Esha, this is only a verbal promise, but I want to hear it properly from your own mouth. You will really participate in the Clan War, right? If you don't show up on the day, or if you participate but slack off, I'm going to be seriously angry."

"Master, this Esha Crown has never once in her life broken a promise involving food. If I can have those dishes, I will surely distinguish myself in the Clan War."

That sounds fishy. I don't think an AI would deceive a person, but watching Esha's actions makes me a little... no, quite uneasy. If she's lying, I wonder if telling the management would do anything...? That said, I have no choice but to trust her right now.

"Alright. I'll believe you. Go ahead and eat as you please."

Hayato placed the three dishes on the counter.

Esha then snatched the dishes with lightning speed and stored them in her own item bag.

"To engage in such teasing play, you are quite the master. Rest assured. I will surely be of service in the Clan War. However, may I ask a favor of you? There is something I would like you to prepare before the Clan War begins."

"There's more? I can't afford anything that costs money."

"For you, Master, I do not believe it will cost much. I would like you to make a large quantity of juice-type dishes. In my case, I can do nothing once my MP runs out, so I would like a drink that can instantly restore my MP. Specifically, I am hoping for Melon Juice."

"Oh, that kind of thing. I'll take responsibility for getting that ready. I'm good at preparing before a battle begins. But melons are expensive, so it'll be orange. I'm growing oranges in the garden, and I have a lot of them."

"...I would prefer Melon Juice, please."

"...The effect is the same, only the taste is different."

"I believe that taste is important."

"And money is important too, I'm telling you."

After that tense exchange continued for a bit, the log house's chime rang.

"It's Ash. Is Hayato here?"

Hayato cut off his exchange with Esha and opened the entrance door. Standing there was the mercenary, Ash. He smiled when he saw Hayato.

"Yo, I brought the materials right away. But is this your headquarters? With the equipment you have, I'd think the Clan you belong to would have built a bigger base."

"Well, things happened. Don't hesitate, come on in."

"Then I'll take you up on that."

As Ash stepped into the house, Esha bowed.

"Welcome, customer."

"Ah, thanks, excuse me."

A handsome man and a beautiful woman. Hayato thought they made a picturesque scene, but he felt a little annoyed. It was a combination he didn't want to see in reality.

"My name is Esha Crown. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I'm Ash Brandle. The pleasure is all mine... Esha Crown!?"

Ash's eyes widened in surprise. And he stared intently at Esha.

Hayato spoke to Ash, who was silently staring at Esha.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no, is it really you?"

"Really me?"

"It seems Ash-sama knows of me. My name is somewhat famous, so he must have been surprised."

"Your name is 'somewhat' famous? No, more importantly, why are you here? What are you even doing?"

"I am working as a maid. Is there a problem?"

"...A maid? That's an interesting thing to be doing."

"And you as well, what are you doing here? From your name, I surmise you are the elder of the famous Brandle Siblings."

"You know about us?"

"Yes, I am aware that your sister is on the verge of retiring due to a dragon's curse."

"You're well-informed. That's right. To avoid that, I'm planning to have Hayato make a highest quality Elixir for me. In exchange, I'll be participating in the Clan War."

"I see, so that is the connection. In that case, since you will be belonging to the same Clan as me, I look forward to working with you."

"...Are you serious? I'm with you?"

The NPCs were getting excited, but Hayato was out of the loop and left out of the conversation. He didn't know the main story of this game very well in the first place. He knew there was a Hero and a Demon Lord, but he didn't know how the world was structured or what the situation was.

Could it be that they're both important characters in the story? Is it okay to have them as allies? If I put them in the Clan, it won't make the main story impossible to proceed with, will it?

"Um, do you two know each other?"

"No, but I know the name."

"Me too, just the name."

"It's fine for you to be in the same Clan, right? It would be a problem if you suddenly said you don't want to be with this person."

"Rest assured. That will not be the case. However, I will say that I will not yield on the matter of the Melon Juice."

"You can rest assured on my end as well... Melon Juice?"

This feels somewhat ominous, but will it be okay...? I should have done the main story instead of just focusing on production... Oh well, for now, the goal is to win the Clan War. But it's still just the two of them. I need to find more allies.

"By the way, I wanted to ask, are there no other Clan members? It's not just the three of us, right? I'd like you to introduce me."

"Come to think of it, I didn't tell you... You're right, I should tell you."

Though Hayato didn't think it was necessary, he decided to explain the situation since they were now allies.