Hideout in Another World: I Tried Building a Secret Base in the Middle of Nowhere

Chapter 38: Tears in the Eyes of the Oni

We all head to the inn and cancel our stay from tomorrow onwards.

“I see… You’ve been good customers, though.”

“It’s a shame.”

“If you ever need anything again, feel free to use our services.”

“Thank you.”

Another farewell to the twin old ladies. We’ve been greatly assisted by this inn.

“These are sweets I sell at my stall. Please, have some.”

“Oh, this is chocolate?”

“It’s the one Clara mentioned.”

“That’s quite thoughtful of you.”

“Sweet!”

“Delicious!”

“Oh, well, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for everything. Well then.”

The old ladies are engrossed in the chocolates, so we leave them and exit the inn.

I wonder if they were connected to Clara from the Misharl Market after all. This city is scary, indeed. If you mess up, you could lose your business right away.

We have quite a bit of luggage, but Gisella helps carry it, so we can almost travel hands-free. While discussing the twin old ladies’ lives, we make our way to Gisella’s house.

It’s not the safest area, and it’s late, so there are a lot of unsavory characters around. However, nobody comes near us, let alone makes eye contact. Well, with two big onis, who would want to mess with us?

“Gyah-gyah-ugyah-gyah-ugyah-gyah!”

Kuro is on high alert, singing a strange song while keeping an eye on our surroundings. Despite her carefree appearance, she’s the most sensitive to danger. Ever since she grew up, she always spots enemies first. Thanks to her, I feel much more relaxed walking around now compared to before.

“What should we have for dinner? Will everyone have enough? Should I buy something?”

“No, we brought quite a bit of food with us, so let’s use that. We’re a bit short on vegetables, so I’d like to replenish them later.”

“Oh, I see. I like cooking, so I’ve collected plenty of seasonings. Feel free to use them.”

“Really? That sounds exciting.”

“Exciting!”

“Gyah-gyah-ugyah-gyah-ugyah-gyah!”

Gisella has been talking cheerfully since earlier. We talked a lot while drinking yesterday, but it seems there’s still much to discuss. She must have been starving for communication. I totally understand! I might have seemed like this when I first met Menas. It’s a bit embarrassing to think about how Menas saw me… She’s strangely kind to me… I’ll try to be as kind to Gisella as possible.

Soon after, we arrive at Gisella’s house and all enter. The entrance is narrow, only three meters wide, but it’s deep, and the ceiling is high. There’s a continuous kitchen from the entrance hall, and beyond that is a spacious living room. I guess we’ll sleep and eat here. There’s even a courtyard. Across the courtyard, there’s a workshop-like area that seems to be a warehouse. There’s even a well in the courtyard, practical indeed. The layout reminds me of a Japanese townhouse. For now, we put down our luggage and prepare dinner together. It’s chaotic with four people in the kitchen, but we start cooking without worrying about it. It seems they’re burning charcoal for heat. Quite a luxury, but it’s probably leftover from the blacksmithing. Gisella has been laughing since she came home.

“Hahaha, there are too many people, I can’t move! Haha!”

“Gyah? Gyah-ugyah!”

“Hey, you shouldn’t sleep in the fire! Why aren’t you hot? Haha!”

“Can I grill the meat now?”

“Sure. It’s not a griddle, it’s an axe. Haha!”

With such a high population density, I decide to watch Pink and the cooking in the living room.

“Wow, are you growing vegetables in the garden?”

“That’s right. Feel free to use them if there’s anything you can eat!”

In the end, we make a large stir-fry with lots of meat and vegetables, and a stew with mainly potatoes. There was a folding table, so we set the dishes on it, giving it a strong Showa era dining table feel. But with onis and imp lined up, it’s a strange combination. My head is starting to spin.

“This meat is amazing! What is this? It’s amazing!”

“Delicious.”

“Gyah-uguah!”

“You’re using that spicy one we had yesterday, right? It’s so tasty!”

It was quite a common seasoning. I definitely want to bring it to the hideout.

“Ahh, so delicious… *sigh*”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Gyah?”

After eating for a while, Gisella suddenly started crying. Shiro continues to pat her back without slowing down her eating pace. Kuro peers into Gisella’s face while stroking her head. As expected, Gisella started crying unnecessarily more. Even though I think she’s quite emotionally unstable, I understand how Gisella feels. Ideally, I’d like to say some comforting words at times like this. However, lately, maybe due to age, I feel like I’m about to cry too, so I just stay silent and stuff my face with food.

“Oh, how embarrassing… Come on, Bonus, you’re eating way too much… Haha.”

“Gisella’s stew makes the vegetables so soft. It’s delicious.”

“Gyah-uguah!”

“I made this stew myself~”

Gisella seems to have calmed down a bit. In the end, we made a considerable amount, but the dishes were gone in no time. However, it seems like Shiro and Gisella ate over 70% of it.

“It’s nice to cook and eat together with everyone. It’s been a while since I felt like this.”

“I’m glad you said that. But we need to think about how we’re going to live from now on.”

“I’ll leave that to Bonus. But I’d like to continue blacksmithing if possible.”

Gisella is now an important ally. I need to make sure to discuss about the hideout and Pink as well.