Construction Mage - Chapter 75: Hosting

AN: Hey everyone! I know you're all wondering when releases will stabilize again. I've been debating adjusting the release schedule to something more manageable for the current me, but I haven't gone through with it yet. That is because I had planned to take a week off next week (Week of Sep 22) a while back, and arrangements have already been made. In hindsight, it could have happened a little earlier to help me reset, but that's just how life is--- things not always going according to plan.

Anyway, what this means is that I will be away next week, while I put out as much as I can until then. Once I get back from the break, I will reevaluate the release schedule. Sorry for betraying any expectations. I'll try my best to get back in shape over the break.

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Unsure of what was happening, Clay quickly bit into the food to see if he had messed up somehow. He had prepared the same thing throughout the years so many times that he hadn’t even bothered to taste-test it while cooking. The first thought that came to mind was perhaps he had screwed up due to the lack of familiarity with his new kitchen. 

Carefully tasting his food like a gourmet food critic, he basked in the flavor, trying to analyze if anything was off. To his surprise, it not only tasted as he had imagined, but even better.

This chicken is more flavorful than I remember. There’s no way I suddenly became a better cook after not having stepped into the kitchen for some time until recently. Is this a matter of ingredients?

For some reason, Clay recalled the comments his grandparents always made during family dinners. Every time they ordered a whole roast chicken, they would comment on how plentiful the meat was nowadays, but it lacked flavor compared to the past. They always used to lament the fact that industrial farming had only cared about quantity and neglected the flavor.

He had initially thought they were just biased due to what they had experienced in their youth. After all, their taste buds must have been sharper in their youth. However, after a little research online, he found that there was some truth to their words. 

Factory farming did put an emphasis on profits, which meant increasing output. The chickens were bred to grow quickly and had a clean diet to lower the chances of any diseases. Compared to the slower-growing breeds of the past that were often pasture-raised or free-ranged, the flavor likely did weaken. It couldn’t be helped. It just wasn’t economical to allow farm animals to have such a varied diet and a slower growth time to build flavor. The financial incentives just weren’t there.

Wait, that’s not the problem right now. If the chicken is better than I expected, why is the mood in the air so weird? From the standards of food I had at the street stalls, this should be pretty good, right? It doesn’t reach the level of professional chefs, like the stuff from Sylphira’s manor, but this shouldn’t be that bad. What am I missing here?

Unable to figure out the reason himself, Clay could only turn to the person he was closest to among those present. He went over to the corner where the young teenager was wolfing down the food without a care in the world and wrapped a hand around his shoulder before pulling him in.

“Malik,” he whispered. “How’s the food?”

Caught off guard by the sudden intrusion, the young man almost choked on his food. He thumped himself in the chest to keep the contents of his stomach down before turning to his employer.

“Um, Sir, it’s great. We don’t get meat much back—home. I’ve got no complaints.”

“Then why are our guests acting so strangely?”

It was only then that Malik took a good look at the others in Clay’s house. They had swiftly gotten plates full of food and retreated to the lone dining table. They chatted in low voices as they ate. With it being pointed out to him, even the inexperienced Malik could now tell they were acting strained, as if trying to keep up a respectable appearance while steering clear of the elephant in the room. The problem was that he didn’t know what that elephant was either.

“I—I don’t know, Sir.”

“Hmm, just great. I was planning on pitching them the idea to join the guild too, but with this atmosphere,” he paused, narrowly preventing a sigh from escaping him. 

“Why don’t you just ask them directly?” Malik suggested.

“That—might not be a bad idea.”

No longer dawdling, Clay went over to join his guests. He sat down next to their leader, Thomas, and across from Alara. As soon as he arrived, the conversation completely died down as their gazes shifted to him.

“Sir Clayton,” Thomas said. “Thank you for the feast. I take it that you have a few questions for us about the first layer’s boss room?”

“I said just Clay is fine. It’s what I normally go by. And, um, yes. That is why I invited your team, but before we get right into that, is there anything else I can get you guys?”

“Thank you, but we’re fine.”

“Some ale wouldn’t hurt!” the blue-haired dagger-wielder known as Ciana chimed in.

“Ah, sorry. I haven’t had the chance to stock up on any drinks. I’ll send Malik to fetch some. It shouldn’t take too long.”

Before the girl could happily agree, her leader knocked on his head, causing her to cry out in pain.

“Ouch! What was—”

“Be quiet. Technically, this is still a job. We don’t drink while on the job.”

“Tsch, fine. Be boring like that.”

“Is the lack of alcohol the reason ‌you guys are acting a little strained?” Clay took advantage of the momentum and asked. “My apologies, if so. I’ll be sure to remedy that for next time.”

“No, no, that’s not it at all. It’s only this fool here who would throw a tantrum when she doesn’t get her way. The rest of us don’t mind at all.”

The young man glanced over at his other companions, who all nodded in agreement.

“Then, is there something wrong with the food? There’s no need to be so uptight. We’re all fellow Delvers here. I would like to know where the issue is so I don’t repeat it in the future.”

“That—there isn’t any issue per se. It is wonderful that you went to the trouble of purchasing several whole chickens to feed us. We are nothing but grateful.”

Clay could feel a wary look boring a hole through the side of his face, but chose not to pay it any mind as he still wanted answers. Instead of pushing further, though, he sighed wistfully.

“Then it must be an issue with my cooking skills, after all.”

“Sir Clay, that’s not—”

“That’s exactly it! It’s not that big of a deal, so stop tiptoeing around the issue anymore,” the fiery head girl exclaimed, slapping the table as she stood up. She flashed her leader a silencing gaze that said she couldn’t take his dilly-dallying anymore before looking straight into Clay’s eyes. “You went to the trouble of buying expensive ingredients like whole chickens, so we had some expectations that it would be richly seasoned, like how nobles have it prepared. It isn’t your fault, so stop worrying about it and move on.”

She immediately sat back down after her outburst, stunning the room for a brief moment.

Clay’s mind raced rapidly as he came to a realization. The cultural norms of this place were still unfamiliar to him, and he had unknowingly expected everything to remain as he remembered it to be.

The food he often prepared for himself was indeed blander compared to restaurant-quality food. It was a result of being health-conscious. Working out had instilled in him the habit of a healthy diet. He needed a large amount of protein every day, so he kept the seasoning sparse to avoid having too much sodium. It also had to do with the little time he had remaining after his long days of work. He preferred something simpler than something that tasted marginally better but required hours of work.

What was I thinking? There’s no way just a bit of salt and herbs would cut it. Just because this world is technologically backward doesn’t mean the people lack a refined palate. The food I had at Sylphira was quite exquisite. I bet there are some stratums of certain dungeons that produce an unlimited supply and a large variety of spices.

What a poor host I am. This can’t happen again! Starting tomorrow, it’s time for me to improve my culinary prowess. Even if I’m not much of a cook, I can rely on the wonders of the modern food industry to prop me up. It’ll do me well, making a positive impression on all the people I will have to meet.

Shelving the thought to deliberate on later, Clay cleared his throat to dispel the awkwardness in the room.

“Very well, let’s move on to the main topic. As I mentioned earlier today, I would like to hear about your encounter in the boss room in lieu of any other reward for lending your group a hand today. I happen to plan on challenging it myself, so every bit of detail you can recall would be great.”

“Yeah. We’ll need it since it’s just going to be me and sir,” Malik chimed in, as if waiting for an opportunity to do so this entire time. “Speaking of, since you guys are all here, it must mean you defeated the boss, right?”

Thomas shyly nodded to the young man as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You can say that. We barely made it through in one piece, though.”

“Was there an option to retreat if you needed to?”

“Yes, we thought about it, but it wasn’t an option that was much easier than just defeating the monsters, since we would have to fight our way through the monsters to reach the gazebo they were defending.”

“Oh, so retreat is an option?” Clay muttered thoughtfully. 

This information completely changed the way he would approach the encounter. Perhaps for a full party of five, fighting their way through to the other side didn’t differ much from just defeating the boss outright, but for a smaller group like Clay’s, escaping was a much more realistic option. The main issue would be protecting Malik through the mess.

“How many monsters did you have to face?” he asked.

“Um, at any one time, six. The boss and five of his guards. However, every time we killed any of them, they would come back not long after.”

“Yeah, they were a pain to deal with,” Ciana added.

“I’m assuming they are more similar to Kobold Knights rather than ‌the cleaver-wielding ones, right?” Clay said. “Don’t take it the wrong way, but I doubt your team would’ve managed if something that strong were acting as the guards.”

“Yeah, big ol’ armored type that wields large ass shields instead of a longsword.”

“And the boss?”

At Clay’s words, the group of Delvers turned to their leader.

“It is apparently called a Kobold General. Huge thing that is easily three times the size of those marauders you saw.”

Hearing this, Clay couldn’t help but sigh. He had expected the boss monster to be something like that the moment he learned of the existence of boss rooms. It was the typical stereotype for bosses, but he had hoped it was more forgiving for the first layer at the very least. If all went as he suspected, it was the worst type of matchup for him, who was a mage. After all, they were known to be fragile. 

While he had the earth elemental, he doubted a fight against six foes would end quickly. There was a high chance his mana would run out if he relied entirely on his summon to hold them back.

Maybe I do need to find someone to take up the front line after all…

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