* * *
Batista ate obediently.
I had a few more bites myself, and before I knew it, I was stuffed.
Still, it was a satisfying meal.
Batista, rare as it was, even admitted to overeating and went out for a walk.
Honestly, I had brought plenty of food, planning to share it with the temple staff if we had leftovers.
I mean, it wouldn’t feel right if we were the only ones enjoying a good meal.
But in the end, nothing was left.
Feeling a little guilty, I apologized to Fer, who handled the temple’s guests.
He must have had a rough time just watching me and Batista enjoy our food.
“I was drooling a little, but it’s fine!”
Fer waved it off cheerfully.
“The food was one thing, but I’ve never seen Batista act so friendly with anyone before. Ah, except maybe that wandering knight.”
A wandering knight?
Just as Batista had stepped out, the perfect topic had come up.
Where should I start?
What’s the most important question?
My mind was racing but failing to keep up.
No, no. First things first—
“You keep bringing up that wandering knight. He must’ve made quite an impression. Do you remember his name?”
It happened ten years ago, so the chances were slim, but if I knew the name, it’d be much easier to find out who he was.
“Yes! I remember because it was the same name as the knight from that fairy tale. Gaspar! He had a last name too, but…”
Gaspar?
Why does that name feel oddly familiar?
Am I just recalling the story of the knight who slayed a dragon?
No, that’s not it.
Not that.
‘That infamous adventurer?’
It was a name I had once heard in passing and immediately forgotten.
But now, hearing it from Fer, I finally remembered.
It was the adventurer Batista had shown interest in.
But wasn’t he just an adventurer with a bad reputation?
Even if he was a wandering knight, that was a whole different level from an adventurer.
Most knights were nobles, after all. If a commoner adventurer pretended to be a noble, they’d face severe punishment.
Could this Gaspar have deceived Batista by disguising his identity so well that he never got caught?
And when Batista finally found out, did he feel betrayed and grow to hate him?
Or was he once a noble knight but was stripped of his title for some reason, forcing him to become an adventurer?
But that kind of downfall was extremely rare.
Just hearing his name opened a floodgate of tangled questions.
Ugh, I was never good at this kind of thing.
If I can’t piece things together, I’ll just have to gather more clues.
Fueled by determination, I was about to dig deeper when—
“Ah! Oh no! Batista told me not to talk about this. I’m so sorry!”
“What?”
Before I could say anything else, Fer clapped a hand over his mouth and bolted.
He actually told you not to talk about it?
‘Why?’
For him to be this adamant… it meant he seriously didn’t want me to dig into Gaspar.
Whatever the reason was.
If I kept poking around, would he get as furious as he did when I pried into that other matter before?
I didn’t want to upset him.
‘What the hell happened between them?’
Honestly, the more he tried to hide it, the more curious I got!
Still, maybe I should leave Fer out of this.
If I kept pestering him, he’d probably run straight to Batista and ask what he should do.
That would be a disaster.
Now that I had the name, I didn’t need to rely on Fer.
The village chief had mentioned that the adventurer was still in the area.
Getting information about local adventurers wouldn’t be too difficult.
The real challenge was gathering intel without Batista catching on.
That was the tricky part.
And then there was the guilt of deceiving the Hero again.
But oh well.
This was all my fault, so I’d just have to take responsibility.
You idiot!
“If Batista comes looking for me, tell him I went grocery shopping.”
But self-loathing wasn’t going to get me any answers.
The only thing it would do was make me feel miserable, so I stopped right there.
Instead, I decided to act.
‘Time to buy some ingredients!’
If you’re wondering why I suddenly need groceries—trust me, I have my reasons.
It’s the perfect excuse to go out.
If I just disappeared and came back late, Batista might start questioning where I went.
Normally, I preferred sticking to his side as much as possible, so he’d definitely get suspicious.
I needed a plausible excuse.
And while I was at it, I might as well buy some meat and vegetables to cook something.
See, it’s great that Batista’s developed a refined palate, but as an adventurer, he’d have to endure a lot of meals on the road.
Fancy restaurant food wouldn’t always be an option.
Most adventurers just roast whatever animal they catch, and when you’re starving, anything tastes good.
But let’s be real, that doesn’t mean the food is actually good.
I hated the thought of Batista suffering through bad meals.
In the Hero’s party, Saskia was the one who handled cooking.
So at least until the Demon King’s invasion, I figured I should try making him something decent.
Not that I had much cooking experience.
Aymone was usually in charge of that.
But with good ingredients, I could probably whip up something better than those sad vegetable scraps floating in soup.
‘For now, I’ll just buy the ingredients.’
Gradually increasing my time outside would be the least suspicious approach.
I made my way back to the market I had visited earlier.
Since I had thrown around some money to gather information on the best places to eat for Batista, the street vendors welcomed me warmly.
Well, nothing makes merchants happier than money.
It wasn’t my intention, but I ended up buying a ton of ingredients at a bargain.
When I mentioned that I was planning to cook a proper meal for the first time, I even got a few words of encouragement.
“If it’s your first time cooking, you should start with stew.”
“As long as you prep the ingredients and let it simmer long enough, it’ll turn out fine one way or another.”
“You know the stew from Eternal Inn? Just make it like that.”
That’s… more of a dish that prioritizes convenience over taste, isn’t it?
When I raised an objection, they just told me to try making something decent first before complaining.
They had a point—I wasn’t just bad at cooking; I had never even completed a proper dish before.
So, I decided to take their advice to heart.
‘I bought way more than I expected.’
By the time I use all of this up, maybe I’ll actually be decent at cooking?
Just then, someone whistled.
“You feeding an entire family or something?”
A man with dazzling blond hair stood before me.
The wrinkles around his eyes suggested he was a bit older, but his bright demeanor made it hard to tell. His lively energy even made him seem younger.
If he was actually on the older side, then he aged remarkably well.
“That’s a lot of stuff. Can you even see where you’re going?”
It was clear we’d never met before, yet he acted surprisingly friendly. Judging by his outfit, he looked like an adventurer.
Normally, I’d be cautious around unknown adventurers, but today, I was intrigued.
If he was a local, he might know something about Gaspar.
Might as well get acquainted.
“I can tell you’re handsome, at least.”
As a show of goodwill, I started with a compliment.
The man burst into hearty laughter.
“Damn, coming from a real looker, that’s kinda embarrassing. Is this what they call the confidence of the blessed?”
He acted flustered, but his quick and smooth response told me he was quite the sly one.
He was the type who knew how to deal with people—just like veteran adventurers who were used to party life.
That said, guys who are that calculating don’t usually approach strangers without a reason.
“And if I am?”
* * *
