Chapter 567: Haulon’s Invitation
Gathered here is my House, Kanum, in the game room for the first time in a while. Lately, I’ve been heading directly to the rental house more often.
For dinner, we have oyster cream pasta with spinach. The oysters were sautéed until plump, and half of them were mixed with the broth from clams and strained. Combined with fresh cream, it has a rich oyster flavor.
We also have zucchini stuffed with bacon, grilled and served with an anchovy garlic sauce, along with cheese cutlets.
“Zucchini is delicious too, you know. The breadcrumbs are so fragrant.”
“Oysters are quite tasty as well.”
“It’s good, but there’s an unsettling vibe since Haulon’s the one who gathered us.”
Retze cuts a piece of zucchini and brings it to his mouth, looking slightly wary.
“Don’t say anything until we’ve finished eating, alright? We’re enjoying this delicious food. Whoa!”
Dinoss is startled by the cheese in his cutlet. Seriously, there’s no need to be surprised by that, right?
“…”
Haulon is avoiding eye contact!
“…The sauce is rich too.”
The butler pretends not to notice.
“My Tina is reliable, but she tends to be a bit clumsy in battle.”
Dinoss blatantly changes the subject.
“Speaking of which, how’s the Spirit Sword or the Hammer?”
Retze jumps in.
I’ve gifted Tina a hammer designed with a squirrel motif. It’s a remarkable item that adjusts in size without feeling heavy.
“Maximum destructive power. By the way, when she swung the hammer, it almost hit En and Baku. Honestly, it’s not so much that she’s clumsy, but rather that she hasn’t quite grasped the size adjustment, so she ends up swinging it around.”
“She makes it bigger than she can handle?”
“Exactly. When Tina holds it, the weight doesn’t change even if it gets larger, but the centrifugal force when she swings it alters the speed, and that seems to be a bit confusing for her.”
Is this a deliberately exaggerated exchange?
“Shouldn’t we make it so the speed doesn’t change either?”
“No, I’ll teach Tina. And don’t say it so casually.”
Dinoss shoots that idea down.
“Alright! I’m done eating. Can I say my request now?”
Haulon sets down her fork and wipes her mouth with a napkin.
Some places here have people wiping their mouths with tablecloths, but what kind of culture is that? It seems like the restaurant provides the cloth for that purpose.
“Not yet.”
The butler smiles and declines.
“Don’t eat so fast, Great Sage.”
Dinoss gives Haulon a half-lidded glance.
“Did you do something again?”
Retze looks over at me.
“…”
Why does Haulon’s odd behavior mean I’ve done something? But since I have a hunch, I confess.
“Well, even if you quietly offer your cheek, what am I supposed to do?”
As I say this, she stretches out her cheek.
“If you get hit on the right cheek, offer the left. You shouldn’t counter violence with violence—right? Or is it that the right cheek is more precious than the left, so just offer the left? For now, I’ll remain defenseless.”
“Wait, you not only found it but did something too!?”
Haulon looks at me in shock.
“Whoa…”
Dinoss nearly spills his wine in surprise.
“This is chaotic even before we get to the main topic…”
The butler smiles, unfazed.
“Well, I guess it makes sense to hear Haulon’s request first, right?”
“That would be better for mental preparation too, wouldn’t it?”
Retze and Dinoss argue back and forth.
“My request is to go with you to the ruins from the Era of the Boulder.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
Haulon affirms Retze’s question.
“If anyone else asked, it would be unreasonable, but since it’s Haulon who can teleport, it’s not that big of a deal, right?”
Dinoss says while sipping his wine.
“You’re the one who invited Jean, right?”
“Sounds like it could turn into something significant…”
Dinoss averts his gaze from Haulon, who is staring intently at him while holding his glass to his lips.
“I invited Soleil, Captain Goat, and Haulon. I wondered if Haulon liked ruins.”
“I do! I love them! The lost technologies of the past and the threads of broken traditions! But I absolutely need Retze with me!”
“You don’t need him, Great Sage.”
Retze denies Haulon in his usual tone, despite her excitement.
“I’m scared that Jean’s outrageousness will shake my own sense of normalcy! I need something stable to hold onto!”
“Don’t place me as your standard of normalcy.”
“As expected, I’m being relied upon.”
“There’s no doubt about that when it comes to Jean.”
Hey, why do I have to be seen as the one who’s outrageous? But I don’t have the common sense to wipe my mouth with a tablecloth, so I’m not sure if I even have any common sense here.
“So? What did you do?”
Retze asks.
“I tried to create a sturdy foundation, and the god and fortress from the Era of the Boulder revived.”
It was a bit on the large scale.
“…”
“…”
“…You’re not saying the inhabitants from the Era of the Boulder are involved too, right?”
“Just the fortress.”
Please don’t say scary things! It’s uninhabited, I swear!