"...what?　Really?

　Kojiro suddenly says he's going to quit his job, and I'm too surprised to ask him.

'Yeah, you quit your job as a swordsman and I'm going to open an eel bowl restaurant!

Are you sure about this?

Are you sure you want to quit being a swordsman?

'Oh, I quit being a swordsman!　And I'm going to spread the goodness of this eel bowl to Kagura!　I've been mastering the sword for over twenty years of my life. I didn't think there was anything else I could or wanted to do, but I never thought I'd find what I wanted to do after all this time!

　Roomba and I reminded him of this, but he looked truly happy and said so with a heartfelt expression on his face.

　Oh, I never thought that the eel dish I taught him lightly would light up Kojiro's heart with hope.

　If this was something a businessman in a previous life had said, I would have been stern for an hour or so, but this is a different world. Furthermore, in this Kagura, they have things like rice and soy sauce, but eel cuisine has yet to be explored.

　You can buy unagi (eel) for cheap, make your own sauce, and even have rice. Opening an eel restaurant in Kagura is not a bad idea because you can get the ingredients locally without much trouble.

　Besides, Kojiro himself seems to be used to cooking the fish, from the care and skill with which he salted it, so it should be no problem.

　He quit his job and used his savings to open a restaurant.

　He cooks and sees the customers' smiling faces.

　Sometimes it's nice to spend a peaceful day talking to customers and having a good time, isn't it?

　In a previous life, I also wanted to open a stylish coffee shop and cook coffee and snacks when I was old and peaceful.

It's a good idea to quit your job as a swordsman and open an eel shop. It sounds like a good idea to quit your job as a swordsman and open an eel shop.

'Right?　Eels are this good. When we open, customers are going to come in droves.

　Me and Kojiro muttered to ourselves as we looked up at the sky, contemplating the scene.

'I'm sure everyone will be amazed at how good the eels are then.

'Yeah, because everyone thinks it's bad. I can't wait to see the people I know marvel at it.

　Kojiro says with an innocent smile. He looks very happy, as if he's imagining someone he knows very close to him.

　I'm smiling at Kojiro when Roomba comes up to me and asks, "Hey, Al.

Hey, Al. You know that eels are also found in the village of Koliat, right?

Yeah, they're there. I see them sometimes in the river where I usually play, too.

Then that's good. Now we can go back to the village and eat!

　Until now, he had left it alone because he didn't have soy sauce as a sauce, but now that he had soy sauce, he could eat unagi-don to his heart's content.

　Perhaps because of this, Lumumba laughed in relief.

'Kojiro, if you're going to open an eel shop, I'll give you the rest of the menu and a few quick notes.

　The fact that it is easy for me to make means that others can easily imitate me. I can't stand it when someone imitates the eel bowl that Kojirou worked so hard to make.

''Well Al and Rumba don't make fun of me when I tell them I'm going to quit my job and run an eel shop, do they?

I'm not fooling you, okay?

I'm an adventurer. I think it's up to you whether you do or don't do the job or quit, okay?

　When Roomba and I told him once and for all, Kojiro looked dumbfounded.

'What's the matter?'

"...No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I've never had anyone say that to me before. It's a strange feeling. The only thing they said to me was to serve the Lord and live by the sword. I didn't know it would be such a pleasure to be supported in any other way...

　Kojiro holds back tears as he picks his eyes.

　Oh, oh, is the group of swordsmen Kojiro belongs to that strict? From the point of view of Kojiro, who wanted to quit his job, those words must have been nothing more than a weight off his shoulders.

　I leaned closer to Kojiro and patted him on the hip to encourage him. Lumumba was also tapping his shoulder with a similarly kind expression.

'You're going to live for yourself now, aren't you?'

'You live by the eels, not the sword!　Next thing you'll have is not a sword, but a knife!

　As Rumba laughed and bashed with a gahaha, Kojiro wiped his eyes roughly with his sleeve.

''........Ah!　That's right!　I'm going to master the art of cooking eel!　Come on, Al!　Tell me what else is on the menu and what to look out for to make that happen!

　Seeing Kojiro's smile, which couldn't have been happier, I proceeded to teach him other unagi dishes such as Hitsumabushi, Umaki and Shiroyaki.

　These are easy enough to learn, but the first thing I want to pay attention to in opening an eel shop is the sauce.

　When Kojiro opens an eel shop and serves eel rice bowls, most people will understand that eels are delicious when cooked correctly. If so, it would not be surprising if someone opened an eel shop in the same way Kojiro did.

　Even if that happens, we will have to make the best eel that we can compete with. There are differences in the way the eels themselves are handled, processed and grilled, but the most important thing for the average person to understand is the taste of the sauce.

　Kojiro's restaurant makes the best tare that he can make.

　I'm not a professional eel cook, so I can't tell you how to make the sauce.

　The only thing I can tell you is how to make the base sauce, how to grill the eel's head and bones, and then simmer them slowly in the base sauce.

That's the only way I know how to make sauce. I'm sorry.

'No, no, Al has taught me more than enough. The rest is a task I'll have to do on my own. I'll study a good sauce myself!

　Kojiro is breathing heavily while clenching his fists.

　If it looks like this, he's going to study the sauce patiently.

Then let's catch more eels for practice first. I have to practice how to handle them, too.

'Yes!　Okay, let's get some more eels!

Oh, to dive!

　As soon as I said this, Roomba and Kojiro immediately took off their kagura clothes.

　Then we caught a lot of eels, had Kojiro practice how to handle them, and ate a lot of eels.



　◆



　The three of us enjoyed the unagi (eel) meal and by noon, it was time for Kojiro to go home, as if he had to work for today.

I've never enjoyed going to work so much in my life. After all, I'm quitting my job now, you know. Kukku, I'm invincible today!　I don't care if your mother or sister comes over, I'm not going to lose!

　Kojiro stands up with a fearless smile.

　It's called invincible mental time. Well, if you're going to go to the scene of the crime just to quit your job from now on, it's not hard to understand how you feel.

"You're going to quit your job, remember?

Yeah, I got it, Roomba!

'Don't listen to your colleagues, bosses or relatives when they try to talk you out of it, okay?　At least until a junior member of the team becomes a force to be reckoned with, or if you're sympathetic, you're not going to quit anytime soon, so be careful, okay?

'....Oh, yeah. There's something about Al's words that feels oddly real.

　Kojiro is a little taken aback by my advice. But that's quite possible.

　It's hard to quit when you follow the cheat and follow your emotions for a while.

'If you say you don't want me to quit, I'll tell you that you've been hustling around like a rag doll for such an important person.

'That too, I suppose!　Al can't come up with a good word for it!

　Me, a former company employee, and Kojiro, a current company employee, laugh at each other.

　That's the number one line I wanted to say to him in my past life!　I couldn't say it, and I'd love for Kojiro to say it instead of me.

'You guys are so dead-eyed and not smiling, it's creepy, isn't it?'

　Roomba pulled back a bit when he saw us laughing at each other, but I didn't care.

'When I'm happy with it, I'll open up shop!　Be sure to come back when you do!

All right!　I'm coming back to Kagura!

I'm gonna need a nice bowl of eel rice, dude!

　Me and Roomba called out as we watched Kojirou's back as he galloped off.

　.........Quit my job....... That's something I couldn't possibly do in my previous life.

　There was no other way to earn money after I quit my job. I had a vague desire to live a slow life in the countryside, but I didn't have the courage or money to do so.

　Of course, Kojiro must have struggled a lot in the past, but I can't help but envy him for being able to quit his job once and for all like this and live the way he wanted to.

''.......What's wrong Al?　Did you find something interesting?

　As I'm thinking about this, Roomba, who is next to me, calls out to me. I'm always in a daze, so he asks, 'What's up?　He doesn't ask me to 'zonk out'.

　I would have envied him if it was just me in my previous life, but not if it was me now. Because now I'm enjoying my life as much as Kojirou, because I'm enjoying my life as much as he is.

'I just hope Kojiro can quit his job properly.

'Then we'll have a nice bowl of eel and rice here!　I wonder when Kojiro will open his shop?

'I don't know, but I think it's going to take a while. But when I find the time again, I'll go eat for you.