The sound of clinking dishes could be heard coming from the kitchen.

Along with it, the aroma of tea drifted through the air.

Why am I in the living room while Seriana is the one preparing tea…?

“Do you need any help?”

“No need.”

I called out to the kitchen to ask if she needed assistance, but it seemed unnecessary.

Well, she’s just making tea… Besides, we’re not even drinking it here. Even if I helped, all I’d be doing is carrying it, so I guess it’s fine.

By the way, the tea leaves and cups were taken from Seriana’s room after we finished tidying up.

She does have a kitchen in her room, but it seems she prefers using 【Hideout】, as it’s more convenient.

That said, while the dishware in 【Hideout】 has been steadily increasing, it still doesn’t quite meet her standards.

Since I’ve been choosing things based on what’s easy for me to use, I suppose it can’t be helped.

I nodded in understanding and looked around the living room.

Before tidying up, materials and wooden crates had been scattered everywhere. But aside from the items I wanted to keep, anything that could be disposed of soon had been gathered in one place to make moving them easier.

The amount of stuff hadn’t really decreased, but somehow, 【Hideout】 felt a lot more organized.

Once the rainy season ends, the dungeons should settle down, and when that happens, I’ll resume my explorations.

Then, I’ll probably end up collecting more materials… but will I be able to maintain this level of organization?

“Nnn…”

“What are you groaning about?”

“Hm? Oh, just thinking that the room looks pretty nice now.”

When I looked up at Seriana’s voice, she was approaching with a tray in hand.

“Obviously, since we cleaned up. Now, let’s go.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Riding on 【Floating Orb】, I moved ahead of her toward the entrance.

◇

Back in Seriana’s room, we quietly drank our tea. There wasn’t much conversation; instead, we were both absorbed in our own books.

The one I was reading was a document published by the Adventurer’s Guild in the domain capital for its various branch offices. It detailed the monsters that appeared within the territory and their habitats.

It wasn’t for sale, but I managed to get a copy recently.

However, it only covered areas west of the capital—there was no information about the magic-infested regions.

Future updates would likely depend on the efforts of adventurers.

Even so, it was quite an interesting read.

Generally speaking, I don’t engage in battles outside of designated hunting grounds.

After all, I travel through the air using 【Floating Orb】.

Sometimes, I do take carriages, but in those cases, I usually have escorts who handle any monster encounters.

As a result, I actually don’t know much about the monsters in the region.

“You’re reading that pretty seriously. Is it that interesting?”

“Hm? Yeah, it is.”

I had been so engrossed that I hadn’t noticed Seriana watching me with a teasing expression.

The Knight Order also has similar materials, but those are more focused on large-scale exterminations rather than one-on-one confrontations.

This book, in contrast, was much more detailed and engaging.

That being said, while my reading material might be considered unusual, Seriana’s choice of book was just as curious.

“And what about you, Seria-sama? Is that book interesting?”

“It’s not bad. But wasn’t this originally yours? Why did you get it?”

“…Well, it’s a recipe book, so obviously, for cooking.”

Hearing that, Seriana let out a small chuckle.

She was currently reading a cookbook that I had acquired in the royal capital and in Zelkis.

Unlike the cookbooks from my past life, these ones didn’t contain precise measurements or detailed instructions. They only had vague descriptions.

In this world, where information from other regions is hard to come by, even something like this was considered valuable and cost a fair amount.

However, after going through the trouble of getting it, I had just left it stacked away in 【Hideout】.

Seriana had discovered it while cleaning, which led to the current situation.

She was probably amused that someone like me, who doesn’t cook, had bought a recipe book.

Cooking, huh…

When I travel alone, I do make my own food, but I only prepare simple dishes that are hard to mess up.

I don’t really get the chance to try new things.

I had skimmed through the book before, but I didn’t remember much about its contents.

Now that I think about it, what kind of recipes did it have?

“It’s unfortunate, but this book doesn’t really contain recipes suited for you. I wouldn’t cook anything from it either.”

Noticing my gaze, Seriana raised the book and spoke.

“What kind of things are in there?”

“Methods for butchering large beasts and preparing meals on-site. It also describes life in mountain villages where hunting is the primary source of food. I wouldn’t want to live there, but… it’s fascinating to learn about different ways of life.”

She sounded genuinely intrigued.

“…Oh.”

How… rugged. Definitely not my kind of cooking.

Hearing her explanation, I started recalling parts of the book.

If I remember correctly, it didn’t just list recipes; it also included brief descriptions from the author about where each dish was eaten.

So, Seriana had been reading those as well.

We continued flipping through books, occasionally switching them with each other.

Before we knew it, night had fallen.

A whole day had passed, spent on cleaning and reading at 【Hideout】.

Should I consider it a waste or a day well spent…? Hard to say.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Cloak】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】・15 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・28 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・8 cards