by Funa
In truth, sometimes her cooking did go wrong.
“Knowing you, you removed the parasites with magic somehow, didn’t you? There’s no way someone like you, who’s always talking about hygiene, would ever overlook something like that, I’m sure.”
With these words, Reina, and then Pauline, followed Mile’s lead, putting the wasabi and pseudo-soy sauce on pieces of sashimi, which they then placed in their mouths.
“What is this?! It’s good!”
“A flavor I’ve never tasted before is spreading across my tongue!”
“But each of these things tastes so different individually!”
Seeing the girls chowing down, the others in the room timidly followed their example.
The first was the owner, who was moved by his curiosity as a chef, and Lenny, a challenger who knew no fear.
“I-It’s really good…”
“That’s Miss Mile for you!”
Their forks flew out for another, and another, and another.
“W-we can use this! Here Father, try this… We need to study this and add it to our specialty menu! This would make us so much money!”
“Y-yeah!”
Lenny and her father were getting fired up, but Mile had to be the bearer of bad news.
“Uhm, I don’t mind at all if you want to refer to my methods, but where are you going to get your hands on fresh fish that hasn’t gone rancid, as well as the dipping sauce, my experimental soy sauce, and the wasabi?
“Huh?”
The two, who had intended merely to get Mile to tell them her means of acquiring all these goods, were deflated.
“The fish is one matter, but the soy sauce was an experiment, so it’s all been used up, and you need soy sauce for the dipping sauce as well. You’d have to find another place where the wasabi grows and order it from them…”
“I-If you could make that ‘so-ee’ sauce again…”
“Well, it’s fermented, so making it takes time. Plus, I’m still experimenting with it, so I can’t guarantee the flavor. I’m not even sure that you would be able to use the same preparation methods yourself, so…”
Mile’s reply crushed all of Lenny’s hopes into the dirt.
“N-no way…”
Without regard for the devastated Lenny and her father, the seafood-tasting party continued, with words of praise and cheerful laughter abounding…
Afterword
FUNA here. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
Welcome to Volume 3 of this series, Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!
Just when they thought they were settling into earning an honest living, trouble came knocking on the Crimson Vow’s door again.
But they’ll do anything they can for their friends!
Take this! The flurry of my secret technique!
“Did you really think I needed to undertake special training for such a paltry secret technique as that?”
And so the hellish wheels of fate have begun to turn…
Huh? “‘Hell’ according to whom,” you say?
That’s a secret!
Even though they said, “That’s a registered trademark,” and “They’re gonna file claims against you!” and warned me, “Do you really think they can publish it like this?” these words were safely preserved for publication (even though there was one part that did have to be removed for the serial version). What does the future hold for this work, which continues to test the limits?
“FUNA-san, just what, exactly, are you battling against?!”
Sh-shut up!
It’s been one year since I first registered on the novel posting website, Shousetsuka ni Narou, and half a year since I made my debut as a novelist.
It’s been more of a whirlwind of a year than I ever expected. Will the next year be even more sensational for me? Or will I return to myself as it all comes crashing down, and end up huddled in the corner crying and saying, “I knew this would happen, I knew this would happen”?
Please, buy enough volumes to keep this show on the road! Really, I mean it!
Our battle has only just begun!
I’ve only just started to climb that distant, endless hill of light novel writing…
It can’t end now! I won’t let it end this way!
In other words, I would really like to continue.
I spend most of my day writing my novels or brainstorming ideas or reading articles online.
I’m on my computer while I’m working, I’m on my computer on my breaks, and I’m on my computer even for my mindless entertainment.
I spend far too long looking at my screen, and my eyes are so tired… Clearly, I have problems with eyestrain.
Even when I’m on the train, I close my eyes and brainstorm new ideas.
Ha, could this be… a false punch line?!
Volume 1 was the “Uneven Parallel Bars” arc, Volume 2 was the “Japanese Folktales” arc, and Volume 3 was the “Puns and Wordplay” arc.
So I guess that would make the next volume (assuming it comes out), the “Serious Arc,” when we finally get to meet “those guys”!
Riddles and mysteries.
And, for the Crimson Vow, a new battle and a new path…
The real story has finally begun for these normal, unassuming girls.
Even for the most mundane people, adventure eventually comes calling!
Mysteries abound!
Thank you for continuing to enjoy this work, along with the mangafied version by Neko Mint (which can be read for free on Earth Star Comics [heep://comic-earthstar.jp]), currently in serialization.
Finally, to the chief editor; to Itsuki Akata, the illustrator; to Yoichi Yamakami, the cover designer; to everyone involved in the proofreading, editing, printing, binding, distribution, and selling of this book; to all the reviewers on Shousetsuka ni Narou who gave me their impressions, guidance, suggestions, and advice; and most of all, to everyone who’s read my stories, both in print and online, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you very much.
Please continue to look forward to these novels, and the manga, from here on out.
— FUNA
