Chapter 12 - Item Box
Author's Note: We ranked second in the weekly overall rankings.
"Ah, I'm so tired..."
"You're complaining even though you only dismantled a few monsters...?"
"Give me a break. It was my first time dismantling monsters."
Fortunately, thanks to my grandfather, who was a hunter in the countryside, I had some experience helping him dismantle deer and boars. Because of that, I didn’t end up puking or feeling sick, but doing something unfamiliar still drained me mentally.
"For now, I’ve converted all the magic stones into CP, but what do we do with the rest of the monster corpses?"
It was good that we managed to harvest magic stones from all the monsters, but now I was wondering what to do with the remaining flesh and bodies.
"Roar Blade Hawk, Red Fango, and Bullhorn meat are delicious. I’ve dismantled them, so keep them stored."
"That’s great, but with pieces this big, there’s no way they’ll all fit in the fridge."
Even though my camper van was equipped with a fridge, meat large enough to require two hands to hold wouldn’t fit. Even if I cut it into smaller pieces, only a portion of it could be stored.
"Just wrap them in something and leave them inside the camper."
"No way, leaving raw meat like that is a bad idea."
"I’m fine with it."
No, I’d be the one suffering, and there’s no way I’d move around with raw meat sitting inside the camper.
Even though it felt like a springtime season, leaving meat at room temperature would surely make it reek.
"Doesn’t your camper van have some kind of handy feature for storing ingredients?"
"Oh, now that you mention it, I think there was something like that in the Vehicle Add-ons."
Recalling that, I touched the device and checked the Vehicle Add-ons.
Among them, I found one labeled [Item Box].
[Item Box]... Installs a storage box inside the camper van that transcends normal physical limitations, allowing for a vast amount of items to be stored. Time doesn’t pass inside the box, making it ideal for preserving food. You can take out whatever you need whenever you need it, enabling a comfortable camping life.
"Oh, there’s an Item Box! If I acquire this, I could probably store a ton of meat in it."
"An Item Box! That’s one of those rare unique skills! Acquire it immediately!"
"...But it looks like it costs 200,000 CP to acquire, which would almost drain all my remaining CP..."
I currently have 230,000 CP. If I added the Item Box feature, I’d only have 30,000 CP left.
"If it’s monsters you need, I’ll hunt more for you. Go ahead and add it."
"Alright. If you say so, I won’t hold back and I’ll buy it."
With Haku, my main hunter, encouraging me, I didn’t hesitate to purchase the Item Box. But contrary to my expectations, no large storage compartment appeared inside the camper.
"Huh? Where’s the Item Box?"
"Yeah, where is it?"
I checked the device and examined the layout. It seemed the Item Box had been added to the external storage compartment.
When I opened the external compartment, I found a black box there.
"Oh, this must be it!"
The somewhat rugged design had a military vibe, which really appealed to a man’s sense of style.
I’d always wanted an outdoor-style storage box like this, so I was thrilled.
Opening the Item Box, I saw that its interior was pitch black.
I tried sticking my arm inside, and it seemed to go deeper than the box’s physical dimensions.
"This looks like it’ll work."
I took the meat Haku had dismantled from the Roar Blade Hawk and placed it inside.
The meat vanished into the black void as though it had been sucked in.
While thinking about retrieving it, I reached back into the space and pulled out the Roar Blade Hawk’s meat with ease.
It seemed like there was still plenty of space left, so I kept having Haku bring over more meat, and I managed to store all of the dismantled meat inside.
"Should we throw the other monster corpses in too?"
Haku asked.
Of course, the other monsters had valuable materials like fangs, claws, horns, eyes, and hides.
If they could be sold for money in a town, I’d prefer to gather them if possible.
"I’d like to, but do you think they’ll fit?"
The surrounding monster corpses were clearly larger than the Item Box itself.
I doubted they’d fit, no matter what.
"It’s not a problem."
Despite my concerns, Haku showed no hesitation as he walked over to the defeated monsters.
Gripping one of the corpses in his mouth, he brought it near the Item Box. The monster’s body was sucked in effortlessly, as if being devoured by the box.
"Even something larger than the box fits inside..."
"That’s how an Item Box works."
Haku didn’t seem the least bit surprised, perhaps because he had seen similar skills before.
It was certainly a strange phenomenon, but there was no denying its usefulness.
With this, I no longer had to worry about storage space, and I could freely buy the stuff I had hesitated to purchase until now.
Once I had more CP, I decided to splurge on some large camping gear.
●
"Tohru, I’m hungry."
After adding the Item Box and finishing the storage of the monsters, Haku spoke in a strangely pompous tone.
Well, considering he had been hunting monsters since early morning, he deserved to be rewarded. As his master, it was my duty to provide for him.
"Got it. I’ll prepare something right away."
"Make it quick."
Shrinking down his body, Haku lay down, seemingly trying to conserve energy.
He must have been starving.
For a quick camping meal...
"Hot sandwiches it is."
When it comes to breakfast while camping, there’s no better choice.
I set up my campfire hot sandwich maker and began by grilling slices of bacon without using any oil.
While the bacon sizzled and browned, I spread mayonnaise on slices of bread, layered cheddar cheese on top, and added the sautéed bacon, lettuce, and tomato.
In an empty frying pan, I poured a bit of oil and cracked two eggs into it.
Adjusting the pan’s position over low heat, I added some water, covered it, and let the eggs steam.
After a few minutes, I removed the lid to reveal perfectly cooked sunny-side-up eggs.
Carefully lifting them, I placed each egg atop the prepared slices of bread.
Finally, I buttered the pre-heated hot sandwich maker, placed the sandwiches inside, and began toasting them.
After about three minutes on one side, I flipped the maker and toasted the other side for two more minutes.
Occasionally unfastening the latch to check the progress, I was greeted by the sight of golden-brown hot sandwiches when I opened it.
"They’re done! Hot sandwiches!"
I moved them onto a cutting board and sliced them in half with a knife.
The crispy sound of the bread’s crust gave way to the sight of melted egg yolk oozing out from inside.
"Haku! Breakfast is ready!"
"Finally! I’ve been waiting forever!"
It hadn’t even been ten minutes since I started cooking, but for a starving Haku, it must have felt like an eternity.
"This smells great. What is it?"
"Hot sandwiches. Bread filled with meat, eggs, and vegetables, then toasted."
"So this is the bread-based dish humans eat often. It’s my first time trying it."
Haku grabbed the hot sandwich from the plate and took a hearty bite.
"Delicious!"
He devoured it eagerly, one mouthful after another.
Relieved that he could enjoy something other than meat, I relaxed.
"Another one."
"Hold on, I’m already making more."
"Hmph."
Knowing one sandwich wouldn’t be enough to satisfy Haku, I had already started on a second batch right after the first one finished.
I removed the clasp and checked the hot sandwich maker, then flipped it over.
While waiting for the other side to toast, I decided to take a bite of my own hot sandwich.
"This is amazing!"
When I took a bite, the crispy bread contrasted beautifully with the fluffy interior.
The creamy richness of the cheddar cheese spread inside, perfectly complementing the salty crunch of the bacon. The fresh crunch of lettuce and tomato balanced the flavors wonderfully.
"It’s incredible how just toasting a sandwich can make it taste this good."
"Hey, where’s my next one?"
As I was eating the hot sandwich, Haku asked, sounding somewhat impatient.
"It’s almost done. Hold on a second."
By now, the second sandwich was ready.
Removing the latch, I saw it was toasted to perfection.
"Just give it to me as is! Prepare the next one already!"
I moved the sandwich to the cutting board, but before I could cut it in half, Haku snatched it away.
Realizing his appetite wasn’t going to subside anytime soon, I resigned myself to continuing the process of making hot sandwiches.
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