第５３３堀：女神の協力 (Part1)
### Chapter 533: The Goddess’s Cooperation
**Side: Yuki**
It was the lunch hour on a weekday.
The streets were bustling as people stepped out from their workplaces in search of a meal.
Well, the culture of eating three meals a day is a relatively recent development, even on Earth.
It wasn’t just limited to Medieval Europe; in Japan, during the era known as the Warring States period following the Onin War, two meals a day was the standard.
Originally, the very low food self-sufficiency rate was a problem, and since the concept of "nutrition" didn't exist, the general perception was simply that one should eat whatever was available.
You can tell this was the case because *beriberi*—a disease with many strange names like "luxury disease" or "aristocrat's disease"—was rampant across the country all the way up until the Meiji era.
Beriberi is an extremely dangerous condition that causes heart failure due to a Vitamin B1 deficiency. The cause was simple: the habit of eating only white rice, which was considered a luxury item at the time.
Brown rice contained Vitamin B1, but white rice did not. The upper classes, such as the Imperial family and the Shogun’s household, rarely consumed enough Vitamin B1, and as a result, they fell ill and lost their lives to it.
What I’m trying to say is that a biased diet is bad.
Eat a variety of things to keep your body’s nutritional balance in check.
"Too much is as bad as too little."
Everything should be done in moderation.
Even if something is good for you, consuming only that will eventually turn into poison.
It’s the same as running forever; eventually, you’ll get tired and won’t be able to run anymore.
Well, the reason people don't realize this is because there aren't any obvious symptoms like being out of breath inside the body.
That’s why, here in Weed, we recommend three meals a day, and we provide a wide range of choices in the commercial district’s restaurant area so people can enjoy a diverse variety of food during their lunch breaks.
"Hey, here’s your hamburger steak with a fried egg."
"Fai-fai!!"
With that, the chef brought a third plate to Luna, and she accepted it naturally and continued to eat without missing a beat.
This, too, probably falls under the category of "too much is as bad as too little."
Luna had started with a five-item fried rice with gyoza, followed by an eel bowl, and now she was shoveling down a hamburger steak with a fried egg.
"Why are you eating three meals' worth of food?"
"It’s fine. At home, it’s just cup noodles or bagged ramen anyway, and even when I go out, it’s just a bento from the supermarket. The happiness of eating something freshly made like this... and it’s a hassle to go out again at night, so this is what you call 'stocking up.' Stocking up!"
Well, I understand what she’s trying to say.
The eating habits of a working person living alone are probably exactly as Luna described.
But that applies to normal people, and the useless goddess sitting there is an exception.
"You're going to get fat."
"I don't gain weight, so it's fine."
A statement that would make every woman in the world her enemy flew out of her mouth.
No, there are plenty of people who don't gain weight even when they eat, but I think that’s pushing it.
"I’ll ask you the opposite: Cleena and Samantha are women, so I get it, but is that all you’re eating?"
Luna said this while glancing at the empty plate sitting in front of me.
"It’s fine. If I eat something heavy right after an all-nighter, my stomach will die."
"Even so, plain udon? Are you a student?"
"Plain udon in my student days was kind to my wallet."
Cheap, fast, and not delicious! It was the stable, three-pronged student meal. While it’s a mistake to call it "stable deliciousness," it is food that sustains you.
"Well, make sure you get proper nutrition. Even if you’re ageless, you aren't immortal. If you intentionally avoid getting nutrients, you’ll die just like anyone else."
"I know. Or rather, isn't that originally your fault?"
"Ah, ah, I can’t heaaar you. Anyway, I’ll take a strawberry parfait for dessert!"
"Coming right up."
Before I knew it, she had finished the hamburger steak and was ordering dessert.
"Ah, that was good. So, about that continent. What happened 500 years ago..."
Luna said this while holding her glass and pouring water down her throat.
*Gulp, gulp, gulp...*
She emptied the glass in one go, then looked at me with serious eyes.
"I don't know. Communication with that place was suddenly cut off. I couldn't interfere with my powers from here anymore, and there’s no need to go out of my way to go to a dangerous zone. Do you really think I’d go there myself to investigate?"
"I didn't think you would, but I was betting on the slim chance. Well, I wasn't expecting much, but do you have any documents on the gods or Dungeon Masters who were there 500 years ago?"
"From *that* place? I have them, but they won’t be of any help. After all, it’s one of the largest continents in this world. There’s no way to know who was in that specific region."
She handed me the documents, but just as Luna said, there were nearly a hundred names of gods and Dungeon Masters listed, far more than any other place.
It would be tough to pinpoint anyone with this. Well, I’m grateful to have the information at all; I’ll examine it later.
"However, if you're talking about a specific region, does that mean there’s a range where your powers don't work?"
"Obviously. It’s not that my power can’t be exercised across the entire continent, just that specific land—the area where you were summoned. Well, I don't know the exact range, though."
"I see. By the way, does the name of a god called 'Haire' ring a bell? Apparently, they are a major god over there."
"Haire? Hmm, doesn't ring a bell."
"They apparently appeared 500 years ago... wait, hold on. By the way, do you know that a Japanese person was summoned 500 years ago?"
"I don't know. Do you have any idea how many people are being summoned to other worlds these days? That’s not under my jurisdiction. That kind of follow-up is the job of the local indigenous gods or the god who summoned them."
Well, that’s probably true.
But there’s more to this.
"Just as you said, an indigenous god followed them. They looked at me and called me an envoy of Amaterasu Omikami."
"Oh, that’s rare. It’s not often that someone can manifest after coming to another world, and those types are usually super busy in Japan."
"They apparently followed along with their *goshintai* (sacred object) and everything."
"Hmm. Well, that sounds plausible. So, what do you want me to do about it?"
"If you really don't know anything about 500 years ago, I’m asking if you’d consider going there."
"Go out of my way? Look, I admit there was a tiny bit of negligence on my part, but the fact remains that you still have to deal with that land, right? Do you really think I’d lend a hand for that?"
"Are you stupid? The dungeon system you sent over is malfunctioning, so you should at least provide some aftercare."
"Tch. When you put it that way... fine. But I’m not helping with everything. If I did that, there’d be no point in you being there."
"That’s true. Specifically, I want you to ease the dungeon DP system. Having it at 5,000 times the cost just for that area is clearly abnormal."
"Well... I suppose forcing that is... a bit harsh? Though, with your savings, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Are you an idiot? DP is originally the magic power of the citizens!! It’s a kind of tax!! Can you really be satisfied with someone using that like water without permission!?"
"Nngghhh..."
"It’s true that investigating the magic power issue is our task, as you said. However, it’s one thing if we had jumped into that place voluntarily, but this time it was an accidental incident. We don't know when it will be resolved. We’re in a situation where the DP multiplier might increase even further. Do you think I wouldn't ask for support from someone I can ask while sitting on a powder keg like this?"
That’s right—it’s only a matter of "we can still endure it."
If any more load is placed on us, we’ll have to withdraw.
However, I can’t say for sure that the load won’t expand if we leave it alone.
In the end, as Luna said, we have to investigate, but it would be counterproductive if the dungeon system, which is the core of that investigation, becomes unusable.