Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Reward I Never Could Have Imagined. A Goose That Lays Golden Eggs?
The true nature of the reward was something I never could have imagined.
“Fenrir, why is this little one…?”
When I pointed at the little creature in confusion, Fenrir replied,
“I am about to head north in search of prey. Because of that demon, the Monster population in this area has thinned, so food is scarce. I cannot take my cub with me into such a dangerous place. You are strong, so you should be able to protect my child more safely than I can. Just as you do that young Dryad. This is also my way of repaying you.”
The reward turned out to be Fenrir’s cub.
The little white Fenrir tilted its head and looked up at us.
It was so cute it almost made my heart ache.
But leaving aside how adorable it was—
“How is this repayment?”
How was abandoning your child in someone else’s home supposed to count as repayment?
“Do not underestimate a Fenrir, human. It will surely be of great help to you.”
With those words, Fenrir turned and departed.
“It takes Magic Stones to raise one of these little things!”
Fenrir fed on Magic Stones.
Which meant raising it would require pouring money into it.
It was the very definition of a money pit.
To think this was how it repaid kindness—with trouble.
“It is still young, so it does not have to eat often!”
That was Fenrir’s final shout as it grew farther away.
“Awoong?”
The little Fenrir tilted its head while staring at the direction its mother had gone.
It did not seem to understand the situation yet.
‘It is too cute for me to even get angry…’
Soon, Rin approached the cub.
Even as a baby, it was bigger than Rin.
Rin had grown a little compared to when she first came here and was now about a span and a half tall, yet she was still tiny.
I wondered if I should stop her, but the moment the cub saw Rin approaching, it happily rubbed its head against her.
Rin beamed, cupped the cub’s face in both hands, and rubbed her cheek against it in return.
‘Well… if Rin likes it, then fine. It will cost some money, but still…’
Ria adored the little Fenrir too.
“It is so cute. It looks like a stuffed toy.”
Even Ria liked it.
Well, how much could it possibly cost to feed it with Magic Stones?
Fenrir had said it was still young and would not need to eat often.
Most of the time, puppy milk mixed with feed should be enough.
‘But what did the mother Fenrir mean when she said it would be a great help to us?’
What help could such a young Fenrir possibly be?
While I was mulling it over, Ria called out to me.
“Seon-u, what should we name this little one?”
“I do not know. Do you have a name in mind?”
“How about Vane?”
That name was a bit…
It sounded like the sort of name that would make teamwork miserable.
So I offered another suggestion.
“Vane is nice, but what about Bell? It would be easier to call.”
“Bell, Bell… that is easy to say. I like it.”
“Then Bell it is. From now on, your name is Bell.”
“Awoong?”
Bell tilted its head.
For now, it had no idea we were calling its name.
If we kept using it, it would learn eventually.
Soon, I took out one of the beef steaks from Acresia—the ones that had failed to become stat dishes.
“It is cold, but it is premium beef. Want to try some?”
The moment I took out the food, Bell’s little nose twitched.
“Awoong!”
“Wait, I will cut it up for you. Or maybe I do not have to? You are not an ordinary puppy, you are a Fenrir cub.”
It looked like it would have no trouble eating it whole.
When I set the plate down, Bell crunched into the steak chunk with its strong little teeth, chewing it with obvious delight.
“It handles a big hunk of meat surprisingly well.”
At that, Ria nodded.
“A Fenrir really is a Fenrir, no matter how small.”
It might be weak now, but when it grew up, it would become a powerful Monster surpassing even the strongest highest-grade Monsters.
“Awoong!”
Bell devoured the steak in no time and began wagging its tail.
“It must have liked it.”
Rin stood on tiptoe at Bell’s side and patted its head.
“They are both so cute.”
“Yeah, unbelievably cute.”
Then Bell began stamping its feet.
What was wrong? Had it finally realized its mother had left it behind?
It was not that.
Bell suddenly bolted toward Ria’s tomato patch.
“Bell? No, not there! That is my precious garden!”
Naturally, Bell could not understand Ria’s words and ran straight to the middle of the field.
“Ah.”
“……”
Its body trembled, and then it squatted and relieved itself.
Ria watched the scene with a deeply crestfallen look.
“That is not a toilet……”
“It is fine. Manure is used as fertilizer anyway.”
“…Really? Even in the fertilizer you bought for me?”
“Of course. It is mixed organic fertilizer, so it probably contains it too.”
“I did not know that. So that is why it smelled so strong……”
Ria looked mildly shocked, as though she had just learned an unpleasant truth.
She was a noble by birth, so she seemed to lack some of this common knowledge.
“I will clean it up.”
I took a shovel out of Acresia and headed toward the patch to clean up the mess.
“No, I will do it.”
Ria followed after me.
We were just about to scoop up Bell’s droppings when—
“Huh……?”
“Why is it that color?”
It was white.
And shining.
It looked as though finely ground Magic Stone had been sprinkled there.
“Is it because it ate a Magic Stone?”
“Maybe.”
Then the droppings slowly began to seep into the soil.
Soon, the tomatoes Ria and Rin had carefully raised—already nearly ripe for harvest—began to gleam.
“What is happening?”
I reached out and touched one of the tomatoes.
[Dryad Tomato Infused with Mana]
[Taste & Rarity: B-Rank]
[Upon consumption, Mana stat increases slightly (stackable)]
What in the world…?
Was this for real?
Was this because of Fenrir dung?
Ria, unable to see the system message, looked at me and asked,
“Seon-u, what is it? Did something good appear?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“What is it?”
“A B-rank fruit. And not just that—one infused with Mana.”
“Really……? A B-rank? But what does infused with Mana mean?”
“It says that eating it slightly raises the Mana stat. And it stacks too.”
“Wow! Seon-u, congratulations!”
Ria threw her arms around me and bounced in excitement.
“Ah? Uh, thanks.”
My face suddenly grew hot, and my heart began pounding.
Then Ria seemed to come to her senses, let go of me, and cleared her throat with her face flushed.
“Ahem! That was just… a congratulatory hug between friends……”
“Ah? Right, I know……”
And just like that, we both short-circuited again.
Then I crouched down and stroked Bell’s head.
“Bell, you are not a money pit at all. You are a goose that lays golden eggs.”
“Awoong?”
“You lovable little thing!”
“Awoo!”
When I picked Bell up and rubbed my cheek against it, the little thing squirmed.
But I did not let go.
“Nope, I am not letting you go. You cannot be independent anymore either. You are under a lifetime contract with us now.”
“Awoong?”
“What is that? You agree? Good. Here, stamp it with your paw.”
I pressed my palm against Bell’s tiny paw pad.
And just like that, Bell entered into a lifetime contract without having the slightest clue.
“Pfft!”
Ria burst out laughing at the sight.
But was this what Bell’s mother had meant when she said Bell would be of help to us?
Or did Bell have some other ability too?
I supposed we would have to wait and see.
Then Ria said to me,
“Seon-u, there is still a lot of Drake meat left, right?”
“Yeah. There is not much sirloin left, but most of the other cuts are still untouched.”
“Then let us turn all of it into stat dishes and have you eat every last bit.”
“Why……?”
“So your stats will keep going up and you will become stronger. Not just the Drake meat—let us keep feeding you crops infused with Mana from Bell’s fertilizer and keep raising your stats.”
Becoming stronger was extremely important.
The named Doppelganger that had rampaged through this region had drastically reduced the Monster population for now.
But there was no telling when the number of Monsters might rise again.
And there was no guarantee that something even stronger than that named Doppelganger would not appear.
Would we still be safe then?
“All right. I will make sure to eat them at every meal.”
“Good! Rin, Bell, and I will keep farming hard so you will never run short.”
“Thank you.”
My heart leaned toward Ria.
Would there ever be anyone else who would devote themselves to me like this?
***
Once I had decided on the optimal menu, the answer was ragù sauce.
First, I blended the tomatoes Ria had harvested and put them on to simmer.
A pinch of salt, then reduce it while stirring constantly so it would not burn until it thickened into tomato paste.
Next, I finely diced carrot, celery, and onion and sautéed them in butter.
Once the vegetables had softened a bit, I added finely chopped Drake belly meat that I had smoked the day before to make bacon and rendered the fat together with the vegetables.
After that, I took Drake hind leg meat that had been soaked in milk to draw out the blood and remove the gamey smell, rinsed it with water, patted it dry with paper towels, chopped it finely, and added it to the pan.
Then I added white wine and bay leaves.
‘And finally, the tomato paste.’
I stirred in four spoonfuls, then added water and stock until the ingredients were submerged and simmered everything over low heat for about twenty minutes.
The result was a traditional Italian ragù sauce.
That single sauce could be used for spaghetti, lasagna, meatballs, pizza, and more.
First, I decided to make the most basic version—Bolognese spaghetti.
I boiled the pasta, then mantecare-d it with the ragù sauce, pasta water, and olive oil.
A final shower of Parmesan cheese, and it was done.
The moment I plated it—
[B-Rank Mana-Infused Master’s Drake Bolognese Spaghetti]
[Upon consumption, Blessing of Dexterity effect: Strength +1, Agility +1]
[B-Rank fruit effect: Does not spoil. Mana stat +0.05]
The name of the dish had become even longer.
The Blessing of Dexterity stat dish had succeeded.
And not only that—two combat-relevant stats had appeared on it.
On top of that, it would not spoil.
It was a complete jackpot.
“It worked!”
When I shouted, Ria, who had been watching, lit up with joy.
I said to Ria, Rin, and Bell, who had all been watching,
“It is all thanks to you. With only Drake meat, getting a buff to appear was like trying to pluck a star from the sky. But once I used the B-rank tomatoes and those ranked carrots and onions too, it worked.”
“Hehe! That is just how capable we are. Right? Rin, Bell?”
Ria asked the question like a kindergarten teacher, and Rin nodded while clenching her tiny fist with determination.
Bell, still getting used to our atmosphere, only tilted its head.
“Thanks to that, it came with Strength +1, Agility +1, and Mana +0.05.”
“Wow, that is an amazing combination. Seon-u, do not sell this. You absolutely have to eat it yourself, understood?”
“I will.”
But—
“Still, you have to taste at least one bowl, Ria. I made plenty, so do not refuse.”
“……Thank you. To be honest, I wanted to try it so badly.”
So I served Ria a bowl of Bolognese spaghetti.
And I tasted a bowl myself.
“Wow, the tomato flavor is definitely different.”
It was far better than a ragù sauce made from the high-quality tomatoes used in fine dining.
The tomato’s natural umami, sweetness, and softness were on an entirely different level.
And since I had used D-rank carrots and onions too, the overall flavor had risen another notch in refinement.
“Mmm! It is delicious.”
Rin and Bell, meanwhile, happily ate fresh tomatoes on their own.
After the meal, I checked my stats.
The stats I had gained from training with Ria: Strength +3, Agility +4, Stamina +3.
I had also previously gained Strength +1 from the steak stat dish.
Then there was the all-stat +5 reward earned when Acresia devoured the Transcendent-grade Doppelganger and completed the achievement.
And just now, from the meal, Strength +0.1, Agility +1, and Mana +0.05.
[STATUS: Strength 48.1 / Agility 65 / Dexterity 108 / Mana 126.05 / Stamina 79]
As expected, the Strength gained from cooking stacked at only one-tenth, so it was just 0.1.
“They have gone up quite a bit.”
The combat-related stats were called Strength-Agility-Stamina.
If all three averaged above 70, one could receive an A-rank.
If they averaged above 90, it was said one could receive S-rank.
‘I am still absurdly high only in Dexterity and Mana.’
Even so, reaching A-rank through Strength-Agility-Stamina alone no longer felt far away.
Strength was still lagging, but I could continue to raise it through food and training.
Once my skills were factored in too, I should be able to display power worthy of an A-rank Hunter.
At that moment—
“Grrrr-!!”
Bell growled toward the south from inside the house.
“What is it, Bell?”
“Awoo-!”
Bell continued to remain on guard.
Ria seemed puzzled too and closed her eyes.
She was probably focusing on sensing presence.
Then she opened them again.
“I can faintly sense the presence of a Monster somewhere fairly far from here. Is that why you are on guard, Bell?”
“Awoong!”
Bell let out a cry as if to say yes.
Then Ria, as if remembering something, continued,
“Come to think of it, Bell’s mother said that with her detection ability, she always knew where the one she called the demon—the Doppelganger—was located, did she not? Because she could not beat it, so she had to avoid it.”
“Yeah, she did say that. Then Bell can do it too?”
“I think so. It seems Fenrir as a species possesses exceptional Mana detection. Bell sensed something easily that I could only barely detect with concentration.”
“It is that good? Bell, I thought you were only a goose that lays golden eggs, but you are an S-rank guard dog too? You adorable little thing!”
We might very well have died to a surprise attack from the named Doppelganger before.
But with Bell around, we should be able to prevent something like that in advance.
‘So this is what Bell’s mother meant.’
A true blessing had rolled right into our laps.
I said to Ria,
“Well, that works out perfectly. Since we have the chance, I want to test Acresia’s release skill on that Monster and hunt it. I still have not properly measured how much my strength can do. Ria, if I end up in danger, will you help me?”
“Of course.”