Powdered Spirit Horn and Wyvern Thigh Surprise
"Unnie!"
Cheon Yura alternated between staring at the horn and my face, at a loss for words for a moment.
...Is it that shocking?
Well, sure, not many people eat monsters... but deer antler velvet is a super common medicinal ingredient back home. Isn't it weirder not to eat it?
"Haa... fine. If that's what you want, I'll make it happen."
Cheon Yura let out a deep sigh and nodded. She stroked the horn almost regretfully, then pulled out her smartphone from her pocket and made a call.
"Yeah, it's me. Send over one of the artisans who processes materials—the one with free hands right now. Have him come up to the building next to the guild immediately."
After the short call, she sidled up next to me and pulled over a chair to sit down. Her eyes were still glued to the horn on the counter, and she asked in a voice brimming with curiosity.
"So, Arang, where on earth did you really get this? No matter how I look at it, this doesn't scream 'low-floor drop'."
"Oh, a deer I met at the lake on the 5th floor gave it to me."
"...What? The 5th floor?"
At my answer, Cheon Yura's eyes went wide with shock as she stared at me.
"A... deer on the 5th floor...? At that lake?"
"Yeah. That's where I met it."
"I've been hunting plenty of times up to the 5th floor, but I've never seen a deer there..."
"Really...? This was my first time going up to the 5th floor, so I wouldn't know. I went with Han Serin-unnie."
The moment Han Serin's name came up, a faint furrow creased Cheon Yura's brow.
She gently placed her hand on my head and patted it softly, whispering in a sweet voice.
"Arang, next time, come with me. You saw what happened last time. I can keep you way safer. Got it?"
"Okay, next time I'll go with you, Guild Leader."
At my words, Cheon Yura pouted like something was bothering her, mumbling under her breath.
Does she have something to say?
"Um, Arang... Could you maybe call me 'unnie' instead of Guild Leader? Just a little?"
"Huh?"
"It feels like you only call Han Serin 'unnie'... Couldn't you call me unnie too?"
I barely held back a laugh at the sight of her avoiding my eyes and fidgeting with her fingers.
She just wanted that?
Honestly, calling her unnie still felt a tiny bit awkward, but how could I say no to a plea like that? Especially after she'd built me a whole bakery like this.
"Sure, Yura-unnie."
"Ah... yeah, thanks..."
Yura-unnie ducked her head, quickly turning away so I couldn't see her face.
She's got some unexpectedly cute sides to her.
Knock knock knock.
"Guild Leader! The Workshop Master is here!"
Just then, a booming voice came from outside the bakery, and a burly middle-aged man with rippling muscles strode in, carrying a large box.
"You're here. Can you process this for us?"
Yura-unnie pointed at the horn on the counter, and he approached with a neutral expression.
But the moment he laid eyes on it, he dropped the box with a thud.
"Wha... what is this?"
He leaned in so close his face nearly touched it, inspecting the horn intently.
"G-Good lord... Is material like this even possible...? The mana purity is on another level... Guild Leader! Where did this come from?!"
The middle-aged man was panting with excitement, his face flushed—it was a truly grotesque sight.
...I don't make faces like that when I bake, do I?
No way. Mine are cute, so it's fine.
I raised my hand timidly and spoke to him.
"I got that directly from a pure white deer on the 5th floor."
"Pardon...? The 5th floor...? Not a dragon or some other monster—a deer?"
He alternated between me and the horn with a blank look, like he'd been doused in cold water.
He shook his head vigorously, as if he couldn't believe it.
"...Well, whatever, the origin doesn't matter. Point is, this is top-grade stuff. It'll outperform expectations no matter what you make."
His artisan's eyes gleamed as he thumped his chest proudly.
"Leave it to me! I'll craft anything with it! How would you like it processed?"
His innocent enthusiasm made it hard to say, but oh well.
"Please grind that horn into a super fine powder, like flour."
"......Pardon? I must've misheard."
He stared at me blankly, unable to process what I'd said.
"P-Powder...? You're not making gear with this material... you're just going to grind it up? What on earth for...?"
"To bake bread with! It has to be powder to mix into the dough."
At my answer, he looked at me like I was a traitor to humanity.
"B-Bread...? You're baking bread? You're serious?"
His face went slack as he glanced at me, then at Yura-unnie sitting beside me.
His eyes pleaded desperately for her to talk me out of it.
"C-Couldn't you at least brew it into an elixir or use it for alchemy?! Baking bread with this is an insult to the material... Gah."
Before he could finish, he caught Yura-unnie's icy glare and shut his mouth.
Quit yapping and just do as you're told.
The silent pressure from his boss's glare made him bow his head, eyes glistening with tears.
"U-Understood...... If that's what you want, I'll grind it into fine powder. But due to the material's properties, I need special processing to keep the mana from dissipating, so it'll take some time."
"Mm... yeah, go ahead and do that."
If we're using premium ingredients, better make sure we get the full effect.
He clutched the horn to his chest like a precious treasure and shuffled out of the bakery, his back looking utterly forlorn.
"Wonder how long it'll take..."
Once the artisan left, I mumbled with pursed lips, a bit disappointed.
Yura-unnie poked my side playfully.
"Since it's a material he's never handled before, it'll probably take a while to grind it without losing any mana. Don't let his dramatics fool you—he's our guild's top processor."
"Guess no horn-powder bread today, then..."
I'd wanted to bake it right away... My ears drooped as I sulked.
Having gotten the materials, waiting even one more day right in front of me felt awful.
Seeing my floppy ears, Yura-unnie panicked and started comforting me.
"A-Arang, don't be too bummed! I'll push him to hurry as much as possible!"
"It's fine... Rushing might ruin the material."
She fidgeted beside me, desperate to cheer me up.
"Arang. Have you made bread with other monster byproducts before, besides that horn?"
"Yeah. Last time I made some with slime. It was surprisingly tasty."
And the effects were ridiculously OP.
"Slime bread...? I see..."
Yura-unnie's eyes sparkled with interest as she looked at me.
"Then, Arang, while we wait for the horn powder to finish, how about I give you some other ingredients? Wanna bake something with those?"
"Other ingredients?"
My ears perked right back up.
"Yeah! Let's do it!"
Perfect—I'd been planning to request some anyway. Free is even better.
I nodded eagerly, and unnie grinned, picking up her smartphone again.
"I've got some pretty decent stuff."
Not long after she gave orders to someone, two guild staffers hauled in a massive silver box, grunting with effort.
"Set it down and get out."
The staff wiped their sweat and left, and unnie opened the lid herself.
Pssshhh.
White cold vapor billowed out, revealing the enormous hunk of meat inside.
"......!"
My eyes widened as I peered into the box.
It looked nothing like regular meat. Barely any fat—just tough-looking muscle all the way through. And faint waves of scorching heat seemed to shimmer off its surface.
"Unnie, what's this? Meat... I think?"
"Yep, meat. To be precise, thigh meat from a flame wyvern that lives on the tower's 45th floor."
"...Huh?! W-Wyvern? Isn't this... super expensive? Are you sure it's okay to give it to me?"
I stroked my shocked ears as I asked, but unnie just shrugged nonchalantly.
"Expensive? Nah. Honestly, wyvern meat is so tough it's barely edible, and it doesn't work for weapons or armor either. It's just malignant inventory we toss in storage whenever guild members catch one during raids."
"Malignant inventory? From a 45th-floor monster?"
"Yeah. Monetarily, it's worthless. Everyone except some weirdo alchemists treats it like trash and throws it out."
Makes sense... Tough and no real need to eat it.
Even I had enough money now to eat beef every day, and high-floor hunters wouldn't bother with this.
"I know one quirky alchemist who buys it off me. That old coot hauls it away for 'research' every time, so it's piled up in the freezer."
Unnie lifted the wyvern meat with tongs and plopped it onto the counter.
"Tastes meh, but according to the old man, you can get something good out of it if handled right. No one's succeeded yet, though. What do you say, Arang? Wanna give it a shot?"
"Yes!"
I nodded, calming my excited heart as I faced the new ingredient. My tail swished wildly.
...This calls for a meat pie.
