Chapter 313 – Welcome Party for the New Shrine Maiden

“It really is a continuous rich harvest. Even outside the labyrinth, seafood seems abundant,” I noted.

For now, I parted ways with Auria and the others, heading toward the market.

Thanks to the liberation of the Water Spirit Hall, the abundance of seafood was remarkable – shrimp, crab, shellfish, and fish. While seafood wasn’t bad, I also wanted to prepare monster-based ingredients unique to the Boundary City. As I browsed the market looking for suitable ingredients for the welcome party, something caught my eye.

“Hmm… I think I’ll buy this and take it home.”

“What kind of monster is this? It’s a bird… right?”

Grace tilted her head in curiosity.

“Yes. It’s a bird monster called Sprintbird.”

Sprintbirds were monsters resembling ostriches or cassowaries. On Earth, they would be extinct species, though they might be closer to moas. They were flightless birds that could run at high speeds using their powerful legs.

They had fierce temperaments, were ferocious and strong. With sharp beaks and claws, their attack methods were simple yet dangerous, earning them a reputation as hazardous monsters.

However, proportional to their danger level, their feathers were beautiful and had value as ornaments. The Sprintbird’s feathers seemed to have already been plucked, but as an ingredient, there were no issues.

“I’ve heard they originally inhabit southern regions.”

“Then it might be good for the welcome party.”

“Yes. I don’t think this ingredient makes its way to Silvatoria.”

Considering that, this seemed like a good choice for today’s main ingredient.

“Hmm. For southern monsters to appear as well, the labyrinth truly is fascinating,” Old Sigmund observed the Sprintbird with interest.

So I decided to buy the Sprintbird meat along with seafood, vegetables, and fruits to take home.

The Sprintbird was quite large, so I would have preferred to transport it by carriage, but today we were on foot. While I could have stuffed such ingredients directly into Rosemary’s Magic Bag… I felt somewhat reluctant to do so. Instead, I used Wood Magic and Earth Magic to create a makeshift cart and decided to carry it back that way.

After paying for the bird and creating the cart, when I had the Golem load the Sprintbird, the market vendors stared wide-eyed… but well, it couldn’t be helped. I had the Golem push the cart all the way home.

“Welcome home, Master,” Cecilia greeted me with a bow as she came out to meet us.

“I’m home, Cecilia.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Charlotte Orgran.”

“That’s very polite of you. I’m Cecilia, serving as the head of staff under Theodore-sama.”

Cecilia and Charlotte exchanged greetings.

“Charlotte is affiliated with the Sages’ Academy. She’ll be working with us at Termwills going forward. I bought various things to hold a welcome party, so I’d like you to use them for tonight’s dinner.”

“Understood. This is… a bird?”

Cecilia looked at the Sprintbird with interest before nodding.

“Then I think I’ll try grilling the meat from around the waist area.”

“The sinewy parts might be good for stew dishes,” Cecilia and Grace conversed.

Hmm. So filet steak and stew, then.

“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to the results.”

“Leave it to us. Since it’s a rare ingredient, we’ll join forces with Mihaela-sama and put extra effort into it.”

Just as we were having this conversation, Elliot and the others seemed to have returned home. We met Elliot, Camilla, and Donato in the entrance hall.

“Welcome home, Elliot-sama.”

“I’ve just returned. Theodore-dono, have you returned as well?”

“Yes, I came back from Silvatoria and went to the market for a bit. This is Charlotte, who has come from the Sages’ Academy as the successor to the Sealing Shrine Maiden.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Charlotte Orgran, as introduced.”

“That’s very polite of you. I’m Elliot Rodias=Siln.”

I introduced Charlotte to Elliot. Camilla and Donato also introduced themselves to Charlotte in turn.

Regarding the new residence, it seemed they had been looking at furniture to use in the new home with Camilla today, since Rosetta had arranged an introduction to a merchant. The crucial meeting with the merchant was scheduled for two days later.

…Hmm. When I first came here, I went furniture shopping with Grace too, didn’t I.

“How was today?”

“It was quite enjoyable, Ashley. I found several items I liked.”

“The selection was good, so there were moments when my eyes wandered.”

“That’s right,” Elliot and Camilla exchanged smiles. Ashley and Donato watched them happily – quite a peaceful scene.

The atmosphere between Elliot and Camilla was already completely that of newlyweds.

“I hope you find a good house.”

“Yes. According to Rosetta-san, the merchant said there’s a good property in the Eastern District. I think the new residence will probably be nearby.”

I see. The Eastern District would be close by and have good security.

Since Elliot and I planned to continue coordinating against demons going forward, having houses nearby would make cooperation easier and more convenient.

“By the way, what monster is that?”

“Ah. It’s a bird monster called Sprintbird. We thought we’d use it for tonight’s dinner as part of the welcome.”

“That sounds enjoyable.”

It seemed everyone was curious about the Sprintbird. I had the Golem carry the ingredients into the house. When we brought them to the kitchen, Mihaela saw them and joined the cooking team, immediately starting the preparations. Yes. I’m looking forward to tonight’s dinner.

When dinner time came, Auria and the others visited as planned. Deputy Guild Master Oswald, Justia, Dominique. And then Forestbird – four people in total.

“This is just a small token,” said Auria. She had brought a gift. Vibrant turquoise and red feather ornaments… These, weren’t they made from Sprintbird feathers?

“These feather ornaments…”

“Yes. It seems a rare monster was defeated in the labyrinth. These are protective charms made from its feathers. Feather ornaments made from Sprintbird feathers are said to ward off evil and bring good fortune. A craftsman immediately processed them and put them up for sale in the market, so I ended up buying one.”

“I see.”

What a coincidence, or rather… I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Come to think of it, in BFO, when equipped as decorations, they provided fairly high resistance. The protective effect was probably not mistaken.

“Thank you very much. Right away. Now, please come this way.”

Starting with dinner, of course.

When I showed Auria and the others to the dining room, everything was already perfectly prepared. The filet steak with its reddish hue and the sinew meat stew were spreading an appetite-whetting aroma throughout the area.

“This is quite… a feast. Perhaps my gift of a protective charm was insufficient?”

“No. That’s not the case at all,” I replied to Auria, then showed everyone the feather ornaments.

“Auria-san gave me Sprintbird feather ornaments as a gift.”

At these words, Rosemary nodded while hiding her mouth behind her feather fan. It seemed she was laughing.

“It seems we noticed the same things.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Today’s main dish is also Sprintbird.”

“What?” Auria also stared wide-eyed.

The Sprintbird had given me a wild impression, but the filet steak had quite an elegant taste. The meat texture had good chewiness, but the flavor itself was not gamey.

Perhaps the Sprintbird’s base ingredient flavor was relatively mild, but Grace and the others’ seasoning was exceptional, fully bringing out the ingredient’s quality. The sinew meat stew was also well-simmered and had a melting texture on the tongue.

“It was very delicious. To receive such wonderful treatment for my welcome… I’m truly happy,” Charlotte stood up and bowed deeply. Grace, Cecilia, and Mihaela responded with gentle smiles.

“I’ve eaten Sprintbird a few times before… but it’s been a while since I’ve had something this tasty,” Oswald said.

“Really now. Eating something like this makes us want to go hunt them too.”

“It looks like a big catch, so hunting them seems dangerous… I wonder where they appear?”

Robin and Fitz were having that conversation.

“Sprintbirds are in Phantom Mist Valley, aren’t they?”

Claudia said. She seemed to know what appeared where.

“Ah, you can reach it from the branch after the 20th underground floor.”

“But the difficulty seems quite high…”

“They say they sometimes appear at the bottom of the valley and run around… So if we encounter them, we’ll probably have to fight them properly. Since illusions appear in the mist, we’ll need countermeasures for that area too.”

They provided information about Sprintbirds and the valley. Hmm. Since Robin and the others were steadily gaining strength, I thought they could probably win.

While drinking tea and having such conversations after the meal, when the topic momentarily lapsed, Valentina asked Auria.

“Speaking of which, I heard you were bringing the staff made by Patricia—Lisa.”

“Yes. I’ve brought it.”

Perhaps because the meal had settled, Auria took out a long, narrow package from her hand luggage.

“It’s Mother’s prototype, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It was interesting, so I had her give it to me.”

Auria produced the infamous skull staff. It was an item featuring an iron ball adorned with a skeletal head from which spikes protruded, connected to the staff by chains.

Apparently, mithril was embedded in the center of the iron ball, and magic stones were set in the eye sockets… and this properly served as a magic catalyst with a magical power amplification function… supposedly.

“Hmm. This is certainly… undoubtedly her work.”

“Indeed… It’s definitely something Patricia made.”

Old Sigmund and Valentina took one look and affirmed this while nodding to each other. They didn’t seem surprised – if anything, they even seemed nostalgic.

“Th-this is…? D-does the Sealing Shrine Maiden have to handle this?”

Charlotte’s eyes were darting around at the outrageousness of the item… but well. Since even Mother acknowledged it as a failure, those worries were unfounded.

“I don’t dislike it,” Sheila said, while Irmhild smiled wryly.

“Does it bite?”

“Well… I think there’s no need to worry about that.”

When Seraphina asked, I assured her it was fine. Since the skeletal design was relatively realistic, Marlene also seemed to be blinking rapidly.

“I tried using it a few times… but as far as wrapping it in lightning strikes and using it as a blunt weapon, there were no problems.”

The concept was supposedly to allow magic to be fired from various angles… but it fit better to call it a morning star.