LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 130.1
Be Careful With Food Combinations!
“Thank you very much today, Frau.”
“Don’t mention it. I feel bad asking Yuuri to buy alcohol.”
“Hahaha. I can understand things like quality, though.”
Walking alongside Yuuri in the market was Frau. As one of the instructors, she rarely goes out shopping herself. Especially for groceries and daily necessities like Yuuri does, it was the first time she had accompanied him. However, there was a reason for Frau’s presence today.
The shopping list for today included alcohol. Normally, they would bring along Kurresh or Lelei, who are adults, but unfortunately, both were unavailable. The apprentice group and Yuuri’s underage team didn’t quite know which alcohol was good or who preferred which. Just as they were struggling with this, Frau offered to accompany them since she had some free time.
Yuuri, radiating his usual carefree aura, and Rooks, bouncing around at his feet. Perhaps influenced by the relaxed atmosphere of the two, even Frau, who is usually cool and sharp, seemed a bit more at ease. The rare soft expression on the slender, cool beauty Frau attracted the gazes of the men around, but Yuuri and the others paid no attention.
Incidentally, Yuuri didn’t notice, so he was his usual self. Rooks and Frau ignored the gazes because there was no malice in them. This barrier was significant, like the wall between combatants and non-combatants. Well, if anything dangerous happened, Yuuri’s cheat skill [God’s Eye] would warn him. The always-active top-tier appraisal skill was doing its job today, albeit in a slightly off direction.
“But really, thank you. As long as we buy the alcohol today, everything should be fine, right?”
“That’s right. Basically, we usually drink this kind. …The base’s liquor cabinet has some received items and things we picked up on the way, so it must have been confusing, right?”
“Yeah, it was.”
Frau smiled wryly at Yuuri’s carefree laughter. It was exactly as he said. The Scarlet Lynx base’s liquor cabinet had various kinds of alcohol. From Yuuri’s perspective, it was a chaotic mix of Eastern and Western liquors, making it hard to tell what was what. So, it was unclear whether they drank what was there or bought what they liked.
…By the way, since there was a considerable amount, Yuuri often borrowed sake or wine for cooking. No one got mad, and he was told to use it freely, so it wasn’t a problem.
“Kyu.”
“Huh? What’s up, Roo-chan?”
“Kyukyu?”
“Huh? Is something going on?”
Rooks, who had been bouncing around at Yuuri’s feet, let out a small cry. Yuuri stopped and looked down at Rooks, who tilted its head and bounced in a troubled manner. Rooks then turned its body as if pointing somewhere. In the direction of his gaze, a small crowd had gathered.
If it were just that, Yuuri would have thought the market was lively, but something felt off. After all, not only was there a commotion, but Yuuri could also sense anger. It seemed like two men were arguing, and angry voices could be heard.
“Is it a fight?”
“I think the guards will come if they make too much noise…”
“If it gets that serious, it’ll be troublesome.”
“…Yuuri.”
“Yes?”
“…Never mind.”
Despite saying it was troublesome, Yuuri’s usual carefree aura remained. He probably thought it was troublesome and was somewhat anxious. However, Yuuri’s innate atmosphere made it seem like nothing was wrong. Even when he was anxious, angry, or troubled, people would say, “It feels like nothing’s changed.”
In a way, it might be a talent. Even in emergencies, Yuuri strangely remained the same, diffusing the tension around him. …People might call it a natural aura.
Perhaps because a commotion in the usually peaceful market was concerning, Yuuri walked briskly towards the crowd. Rooks and Frau followed, and through the gaps in the crowd, they saw a displeased shopkeeper and a man who seemed extremely angry. The current situation seemed to be the shopkeeper and the angry customer surrounded by onlookers.
Upon closer inspection, the angry man was holding a plate. It seemed to be a dish of stir-fried mushrooms. Why would he bring a dish here? Yuuri tilted his head. Frau beside him seemed to have the same thought.
“Frau, that’s stir-fried mushrooms, right?”
“It looks like it.”
“Why is he bringing it here?”
“I don’t know either…”
“Ah, sorry.”
Yuuri had asked Frau out of habit, as she usually answered his questions. He apologized sincerely when she pointed it out. The instructors at the base always gave precise answers to his questions.
As they watched, the argument between the two men heated up. It was on the verge of exploding, but thanks to their loud voices, it was easy to understand what the issue was.
“That’s why I’m saying I sold you a proper product!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Then why did my family get sick after eating the mushrooms from your shop!”
“How should I know that!?”
“They’re your mushrooms!?”
So, that was the issue.
The shopkeeper selling the mushrooms was being scolded by the customer who bought them. The shopkeeper insisted he sold a proper product, while the man was angry because his family got sick after eating the mushrooms. Whether the customer was just a complainer was unclear to the onlookers, so they just watched.
Yuuri felt bad for the shopkeeper, who he often relied on. So, he wondered what the cause was and stared at the two men. Then, he noticed.
(…Why is the dish on the plate red?)
Yes, upon closer inspection, the dish the man was holding was red. Yuuri’s top-tier appraisal skill, [God’s Eye], had a always-active danger detection feature. Normally, it wouldn’t activate unless Yuuri was in danger, but this time, it activated because Yuuri was paying close attention.
[God’s Eye] sees through everything. And [God’s Eye] doesn’t make mistakes. It only sees the truth. The dish that received a red rating from [God’s Eye] was, to put it mildly, poisonous. At least, it was enough to make Yuuri understand why the man’s family got sick after eating it.
However, it wasn’t a deadly or severe poison. The red wasn’t that intense. It was a relatively light red, so it was still manageable. But it was clear that the dish was dangerous to eat.
Yet, the dish in front of them looked like a simple stir-fried mushroom dish. Since no other ingredients were visible, Yuuri thought the poison must be in the mushrooms. But as the shopkeeper claimed, there was no red rating on the mushrooms in the shop. That meant the mushrooms themselves weren’t poisonous.
Huh? Yuuri tilted his head in confusion. If the mushrooms were the cause, he expected some reaction from the mushrooms in the shop, but there was none. What’s going on? He felt like he was trying to solve a mystery but kept hitting new puzzles.
“Yuuri, what’s wrong?”
“Kyukyu?”
Frau called out to Yuuri, who was tilting his head in confusion. Rooks at his feet was rubbing against his leg, looking up at him with a concerned expression. Yuuri opened his mouth, looking troubled.
“The dish is red, but the mushrooms in the shop aren’t red.”
“…What?”
“It’s strange, right? That dish doesn’t seem to have any other ingredients, so if it caused food poisoning, the cause should be the mushrooms.”
“But there’s nothing wrong with the shop’s mushrooms?”
“That’s right…”
Yuuri muttered, puzzled, while Frau next to him also thought seriously. However, she had no appraisal skills or unnecessary knowledge about mushrooms. As the two pondered, Rooks moved on his own, bringing back a mushroom from the shop.
“Huh? Roo-chan, what are you doing?”
“Kyukyu.”
“You can’t just take things from the shop.”
“Kyui.”
“No, Roo-chan, this is the shop’s—”
“Yuuri.”
“Yes?”