Isekai Yururi Kikou ~Raising Children While Being an Adventurer~

Chapter 514:

Dungeon Marathon (3)

"Alright, let’s go~"

(Hey, Oniichan, is it still okay?)

"Hm? Oh, you still want to run?"

(Yeah, exactly!)

"Since it's a request from Joule and Feat, you can do as you like today until you're satisfied. Just for today, though."

(Thank you, Oniichan!)

(Niisama, I love you!)

Since the purpose was to go collect brandy, arriving early at the destination wasn’t a bad thing. So I decided to let Joule and Feat run to their hearts’ content.

That said, it's just for today.

(Alright then, let’s go~)

(Yes, let’s give it our all!)

Joule, carrying Allen and Radian. Feat, carrying Elena and a miniaturized Vector, started running, so I chased after them with Bolt and Mile.

(Something's coming~)

"It's a crab~"

"It's called an Army Crab!"

(There's barely any part of it you can eat, though~)

"“It tastes good, you know?”"

(What!? Really? I didn’t eat it!?)

While Joule and Feat unleashed their magic, the kids chatted away cheerfully.

(I haven’t eaten it either.)

(Me neither! Is Army Crab tasty?)

"Come to think of it, I haven’t cooked with Army Crab since making that soup with its shell as broth and adding egg."

Well, the loot from Army Crabs is mostly shells and claws, which are mainly used for weapons and armor, so there aren’t many edible parts to begin with.

(That soup was delicious~)

(Yes, it was. Niisama, will you make it again?)

"Sure, but... that soup’s about the only thing I can make with it, you know?"

(Soup is fine! I want to eat it!)

"Alright, then it’ll be tonight’s dinner."

I decided to spend some proper time on dinner instead of using prepared food.

(Then we have to collect lots of shells!)

"No, no, the ones we just got are plenty. Besides, I still have more in my Infinite Storage from before, so we don’t need any more."

(Oniichan, no need to hold back.)

(Hehe, I don’t think he's holding back. But it never hurts to collect more, right? So let’s gather a bunch.)

"“(Let’s gather moooore~)”"

Even though I said we don’t need them, they were clearly eager to collect.

Well, if we don’t use them as ingredients, we can always accept a guild request for materials or just sell them off.

(Oh, here they come already!)

(Oh my, and in great numbers too~)

(This is what you call prey coming right to you~)

(Alright, let’s take them down quickly~)

Joule and Feat ran straight at the swarm of Army Crabs.

(Aniue, Joule and Feat seem pretty excited, don’t they?)

(They look like they’re having so much fun!)

"Well, it’s nice to cut loose every once in a while."

I’d like to believe they weren’t holding in any frustration, but I also hoped today would serve as a good outlet for anything they might’ve been bottling up.

"Bolt, Mile, if there's anything you want to do, don’t hesitate to say so."

(Nothing comes to mind for now, but if something does, I’ll let you know.)

(Same for me. If there's something I want to do, I’ll say it properly!)

Since Bolt and Mile are the quiet types who don’t voice their wants much, I made sure to encourage them so they wouldn’t bottle things up.

(Phew~ We ran a lot~)

"Feel satisfied?"

(Hmm, yeah, I’m fairly satisfied? Though I could keep running if I wanted to.)

"Hahaha~"

In the end, we made it down to the stairs to the 28th floor—seven floors in a single day.

Even so, I made sure to stop with enough time left to cook dinner.

"Did it always bother you that you couldn’t run as much as you wanted?"

(Not at all~ I always have fun~)

(That’s right. Of course I love running, but I also enjoy lazing around with everyone. Even waiting while you cook something tasty for us like now is fun, you know?)

(Yeah yeah. We’re not unhappy at all.)

"I see."

… Good. Looks like they weren’t holding in any frustrations after all.

"Well then, time to cook the dinner you’re all looking forward to."

Relieved after hearing the contract beasts’ honest feelings, I got started on making dinner.

"First up, Army Crab broth."

I crushed the shells moderately, stir-fried them first, then tossed them in a large pot with Rei wine and water and brought it to a boil. I let it simmer slowly.

Allen and Elena, armed with ladles, were excitedly in charge of skimming off the scum.

"Now, what should I make for side dishes~?"

Since I was using crab, I thought I’d go with another crab dish… Hmm, what should it be?

Ah, let’s make crab tempura! Might as well do kakiage too.

And maybe something light like pickled veggies on the side.

With the menu decided, I got to work while the broth simmered away.

"“It’s starting to smell goood~”"

"Sure is. Smells great."

By the time the tempura and pickles were done, the crab broth was giving off a rich aroma.

I strained the crab broth, seasoned it with soy sauce and salt, then added the army crab eggs and seaweed to finish the soup.

"Oh, you know, this would go great with udon."

"Udon! I want it!"

"Udon! Sounds good!"

Originally I’d planned to serve rice, tempura, and soup, but I decided on the spot to add udon. I’d top the crab tempura on it!

Man, glad I had udon in Infinite Storage! Although, now that I used the last of it, next time I’ll have the kids help knead the dough.

"Alright, how’s this!?"

"“(Looks sooo good~)”"

(((((Looks delicious)))))

It turned out well, so while everything was still piping hot, we all began eating.

"“Mmmm~”"

(Yummy yummy~)

Everyone was totally into the crab udon, so they must’ve really liked it.

(Oniichan, this is so yummy! I want you to make it again!)

"Me too, Allen wants it!"

"Elena too!"

"Sure~ But we're out of udon now, so you’ll have to help me make some next time."

"“Okay! We’ll stomp a lot~”"

(Udon is tasty! Stomp? Radian will stomp too~)

Hmm… I appreciate Radian’s sweet intentions, but if he stomps on the udon dough with those clawed feet, he might tear the leather bag the dough goes in.

Maybe I should make some protective booties to cover his claws...?