落とし穴５１堀：シチュー (Part1)
### Dungeon Pit 51: Stew
**Side: Yuki**
Work is busy, but the season is mercilessly shifting toward winter.
When I wake up in the morning, my breath is white. By noon, it barely manages not to be, and at night, it turns white without fail.
I suppose it’s a matter of internal body temperature, but when your breath is that visible, you start to worry if you look like you’re excited or perhaps like a steam locomotive.
You know how your nose breath can turn white too, right?
If you keep that up for too long, it starts to feel a bit strange.
"Phew. That's how it is."
"Phew. It's cold, isn't it?"
On both sides of me, Firia and Aslin are pressing their hands together, blowing warm air into the gap between them.
It’s a simple way to warm up your hands that people often do in winter.
It’s incredibly cute when the two of them do it.
"It really is. But Yuki’s head is warm."
Saying that, Labyris clings to my head as usual.
Even though I say I’ve been busy lately, this stance hasn’t changed in Weed.
In the beginning, to avoid being looked down upon in my position as Dungeon Master, I tried to refrain from giving piggyback rides in public, but lately, I’ve started doing it naturally.
I suppose that just goes to show how stable Weed has become.
The end of the year is coming soon, and there’s the representative election after that; everyone has been working hard.
"Still, you’ve gotten heavier again. Your height and figure haven't changed, so is it your chest again?"
Yes, the weight on my head is definitely different from when we first started—it’s gotten heavier.
As I say that, something large and soft is pressed even harder against me.
"Calling me heavy is rude. You should be happy that Yuki’s favorite breasts are growing, you know? In fact, you’re welcome to drag us into the bushes anytime."
"Big Brother?"
"Are you going to lick the breasts?"
"No, I am not."
It would be a disaster if I were thought of as a pervert.
There are many people with children in Weed now, and I can’t afford to be looked at with those kinds of eyes.
"It’s fine. We know that Yuki only attacks us."
"That’s right. Big Brother is not a pervert!!"
"Yeah. Big Brother likes us, so it’s no problem at all!!"
Stop it, don’t say things like that out loud on the street.
I’m going to be misunderstood as a pervert and a lolicon.
"That’s true. Yuki certainly doesn’t discriminate, from the small ones to the big ones."
"He treats everyone with care."
"Yeah, he really does."
...Labyris, you’re doing this on purpose, aren't you?
"Oh my. That’s because you won’t honestly say you’re happy about my breasts."
"Big Brother isn't being honest."
"He’s just shy, isn't he?"
These little ones are chirping and making a fuss, looking so happy.
I feel like my social standing in Japan is crumbling away, but well, my story isn't going to spread to Japan, so it must just be my imagination. Probably.
"Alright, all three of you, stop the chatter for a moment. We need to confirm something."
" " "Okay!" " "
While we were doing that, we arrived in front of Super Ratz.
You don’t usually walk around under such a cold sky without a reason.
There is a proper reason for this, too.
"Today, I’m thinking of making cream stew and beef stew. We’ve come to buy the ingredients."
That’s right, winter is the season when stew-type dishes feel delicious.
Stew already exists here in Weed, but since it overlapped with what was already available and lacked novelty, I’ve been pushing Japanese winter foods like hot pots until now. I figured it was about time for some stew.
However, there was a major misunderstanding here.
To begin with, beef stew based on red wine or cream stew based on milk and heavy cream is common in modern Japan, but it wasn't common in this world.
Stew as a dish does exist, yes.
But in this world, using expensive wine as a soup base or milk, which barely keeps, is extremely rare.
In other words, the "stew" in this world is closer to a thin soup.
They might boil some vegetables that provide flavor and add a few ingredients afterward, but cream stew and beef stew are considered high-class cuisine here.
And so...
"This Super Ratz Branch No. 3 is our last hope. If we can't get the stew mix here, we’ll have to go through the incredibly tedious process of making it from the soup up."
Yes, "high-class" means expensive and time-consuming.
The housewives of ordinary households can’t afford it, nor do they have the time to spare.
But there existed a magical ingredient in Japan that made it possible.
Something that completes the soup just by dissolving it—what you call a roux, solid or granular, or simply put, solidified soup.
Of course, it wasn't our development, but the crystallization of the blood, sweat, and tears of renowned Japanese craftsmen like House Foods.
"All the other stores were out of stock. Ratz said there might be some left here, so we’re going to secure them as soon as we get in."
" " "Yes!" " "
The three of them salute sharply.
Since these three often help with cooking, they know how much of a pain the preparation is.
That’s why I wouldn’t call this cutting corners.
Well, the wives here don’t complain about anything anyway.
My best friends are the ones who complain, telling me to make it from scratch.
But I’m getting off track.
Because it’s a magical item that allows you to create delicious food easily, the housewives all flocked to it, and it sold like wildfire.
Especially in this cold season.
So, I had a whim to make stew today, but when I showed my face at Branch No. 1, I couldn't find the stew mix.
When I asked the clerk, they gave me the unexpected answer that it was sold out.
And humans, when told they can’t have something, only want it more.
I assumed it would be at the next store, but Branch No. 2 was sold out too.
...Thinking this was strange, I called Ratz, the wife who heads the merchant company, to confirm...
*"Ah, it’s popular and selling like crazy. Curry, too. That roux has spices and all sorts of things in it, after all. At that price, it’s a magical ingredient not just for housewives, but for adventurers too. This is information from outside Weed, but Shera’s sister, the Gartz diplomat Scharl, mentioned that it’s trading for over ten times the list price on the Gartz black market, and that stores handling Weed products in Gartz are refusing unnatural bulk purchases. Oh, Crack from Litea mentioned something similar too."*
Well, Japanese processing technology is charming countries everywhere.
No, long live Earth!! Earth’s technology is the best in the otherworld!! Is that the vibe?
*"And since you’re asking about that, does that mean tonight’s dinner is stew? Nufufu, I’m looking forward to it. Please wait a moment... Let’s see, hmm. Oh, it looks like Branch No. 3 has stock. You should go there. Well then, I’m looking forward to dinner. Ah, Schans started crying, so excuse me."*
And that is the reason we came all the way here.
"We’ve already gathered the meat and vegetables, and Kirue and Shera are doing the prep work. There’s no turning back now. We must secure it. Let’s go!!"
" " "Yeah!!" " "
The four of us enter Super Ratz Branch No. 3 and immediately disperse.
Like modern Japan, Super Ratz periodically moves its display shelves to improve sales and adapt to the seasons, and I don’t know the layout of Branch No. 3, which I don’t visit often.
So, we have to split up to secure the goods.
One box of stew mix won’t be nearly enough.
Since there are nearly 20 of us, I want at least 10 boxes.
The wives are big eaters, and I want to let them eat plenty of delicious food.
...I’m not a househusband, okay? I’m definitely the master of the house.
Thinking that, I check the shelves, but... I can’t find it.
"Did you three find any?"
"I can’t find it."
"I can’t find it either~"
"I can’t find it."
...Did we miss it by a hair’s breadth?
Just as the four of us were being driven to the depths of despair...
"Ah, everyone. So this is where you were."
Nana of the Fairy race approached us.
She was holding a basket full of stew mix.
"Ah, it’s Nana-chan!"
"It’s Nana-chan!"
"Yahoo, are you two doing well?"
"We’re doing great~"
"We’re full of energy!"
Nana, like Covil, was one of the first immigrants to Weed.
It seems she has been working there ever since she was first assigned as a clerk at Super Ratz.
"So, Nana. What’s in that basket?"
"Ah, yes. I received a message from Ratz-san, and I secured it using my store manager authority."
"Huh? Store manager?"
"Yes. I am the store manager of Super Ratz Branch No. 3 now."
Nana puffs out her chest proudly.
"That’s amazing~"
"It’s amazing!"
The two of them clap their hands.
*Sigh*, Weed really is growing on its own in all sorts of ways.
To think that the Nana from back then is now a store manager—you never know what will happen in life.
"Here, please take it. It’s for tonight’s dinner, right?"
"Yeah. Thank you."