I like crossing the most

Chapter 1053 The Last Routine 232
One day in the Crimson Demon Village, Sticky Roll, her face ashen, was spinning around in circles, clutching her head. Not only did she look anxious, but she also roared to the sky, "It's... over! Ahh ...

Yoyo, who happened to be passing by, heard the pitiful screams and came over with some curiosity. Seeing her best friend kneeling on the ground, she asked in a puzzled tone, "Um... Miss Sticky Roll...? What's wrong with you squatting in a place like this?" Perhaps to save face for her best friend, she didn't say she was kneeling but squatting. However, for Sticky Roll in the current state, there was no difference between squatting and kneeling.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, she grabbed their leg and cried out, "Youyou, listen to me! My family's shop is in grave danger!!"

"My shop... you mean the Succubus Lingerie Shop, right?" Youyou said with a slight embarrassment after thinking for a moment. But actually, it wasn't a lingerie shop, but an izakaya (Japanese pub). So why did it have such a bizarre name? It all goes back to when the Crimson Demon Village was first built, and someone made a mistake in naming it.

Sticky Roll shouted, "That's right! The top-notch izakaya/inn in Crimson Devil Village, the place that runs everything from 'Cheers' to 'Good Morning'! But...!" She proudly puffed out her chest as she introduced herself, but quickly shrank back down, saying dryly, "Business has been really bad lately. If this continues, the deficit will only get worse, and we might even have to go bankrupt in the end...!" By the end, her voice was trembling, as if she didn't want that to happen.

"This...this is really bad...!" Youyou was also extremely nervous, but she quickly added, "But when I checked last time, business seemed pretty good...what happened?"

“That’s true, but what’s strange is that recently no tourists have been coming. Perhaps a powerful monster has appeared near the village…” Sticky Roll said, but she wasn’t really sure. In the past, it was always because of powerful monsters that tourists were deterred from coming.

"So, if we defeat the monster—"

"No! The fact that we're losing to the monsters is entirely our shop's fault!"

"Y-yeah...?"

Youyou found it strange. Normally, shouldn't it be the monsters blocking the tourists' path that prevented outsiders from coming to visit, causing the izakaya to fall into a deficit crisis?
But Sticky Roll declared loudly, "Yes, what my shop needs right now is overwhelming cohesion...! A delectable dish that people would risk everything to eat!! We absolutely have to develop such a novel menu, but even sourcing the ingredients is a problem..."

"Well, I don't think that's the problem."

"Ugh, seriously, what am I supposed to do?! Maybe the shop will have already disappeared before I even inherit the business!"

"This is a real crisis."

After all, Sticky Roll's self-introduction from beginning to end was that she was the next proprietress of the top izakaya in the Crimson Demon Clan. If the shop were to disappear, it would mean that everything she had was negated. This was a major crisis that she absolutely could not allow to happen. It might even be a matter of survival.

"Hahaha—" At this moment, someone's loud laughter came from afar. As the person approached, she said with a laugh, "Why don't we just go and collect those things ourselves?"

"Huihui!?" Youyou was surprised when she saw who it was.

Sticky Roll quickly asked, "You mean... you gathered the ingredients yourself?"

"Hmph, that's right!" Huihui nodded smugly, and said in a lecturing tone, "The possibilities of cooking are endless, and there's no need to stick to traditional methods. Our family's dining table is always self-sufficient. We find delicious edible grass, work hard to catch crayfish and crabs, and sometimes we even catch saury and bananas from the water... Only by encountering unknown ingredients and trying things out can we discover new flavors!"

"Yes, really...!" Sticky Roll was immediately convinced. Her shop had always used purchased ingredients and had never tried to be self-sufficient. "If we could develop delicious menus using unknown ingredients, it would definitely become a hot topic, and business would recover...! No, not only that, business would be even more prosperous, and we might even be able to open a branch...?"

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, and the more she talked, the more thrilled she felt. Her whole body trembled. She decided to take this advice and revive the izakaya so that it could grow into a large and successful business.

"Thank you both so much! Can you help me find ingredients?" Sticky Roll invited them, since she was all alone. If Huihui and Youyou joined in, they would be a few more helpers. Most importantly, both of them were very strong.

"Of course I'll help. Helping friends in need is only natural!" Youyou said, a little excited and a little shy. It was hard for her to say "friend" out loud.

Huihui readily agreed, saying, "Come and witness the magnificent skills of a food hunter!"

However, she does have the right to say that, since apart from Megumin's family, few people in the Crimson Demon Village gather their own food to be self-sufficient, even though it's Piao Saburo's own fault.

The three of them ventured into the forest on the edge of the Crimson Demon Village, searching for ingredients to create novel dishes. Though reluctant to admit it, Megumin was an expert in this field; she knew perfectly well what was edible and what wasn't, what tasted bitter and what tasted sweet. She had even tested how long a certain type of mushroom would cause unconsciousness after consumption.

"Oh, we found some here too! What a bumper harvest in this area!" Huihui exclaimed excitedly. She had already collected a large bagful, a stark contrast to Youyou and Niannianjuan's empty bags.

"I...I have to work hard too...!" Youyou muttered as she picked some kind of mushroom from the roadside. It was red all over with white spots on it and looked very appetizing.

After seeing this, Huihui explained to the two of them, "This will be very bitter if eaten raw, but it will taste great when cooked, and the aroma will be very enticing. I recommend deep-frying it here. Coating it with batter will give it a very layered flavor. If you can add a little salt, it will become even more delicious."

"Hey..." Sticky Curly looked at the area with slight surprise and said, "There are quite a few edible wild grasses here."

"Tell me, tell me, Huihui, what do you think of this mushroom?"

Youyou picked another brightly colored mushroom, quite large and emitting a sweet aroma, and instinctively wanted to put it in her bag. But unexpectedly, Huihui said quickly, "It's a poisonous mushroom. Ah, did you touch it with your hand... That's such a shame."

"What do you mean by regret!?" Youyou was so startled that she threw the mushroom in her hand away. She quickly looked at Huihui but found that the other person had turned her head away from her. She shouted, "Why did you look away? What's going on? Tell me quickly!" She was about to cry, but the more silent Huihui was, the more at ease she felt... She didn't know the reason, but she was sure that the mushroom that was thrown away was not poisonous.

after awhile.

"Wow, so much!" Sticky Roll quickly gathered ingredients, filled the bag to the brim, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and exclaimed, "This should be enough wild grass."

"Wait, wait! Youyou, stop hitting me!" Huihui said unhappily. Youyou had been hitting her shoulder since earlier, venting her dissatisfaction.

"Huihui, you idiot! Huihui, you idiot! Huihui, you idiot!!" Youyou said three times in a row, complaining pitifully, "You scared me just now!"

"So I apologized! I washed my hands in the river, so everything's fine now," Huihui said helplessly.

Sticky Curly covered her mouth and chuckled, whispering meaningfully, "Hehe, what a beautiful view..."

"Sticky Curl, what are you laughing at!" Huihui rolled her eyes at her best friend Youyou, who was chatting away, and said to them, "Okay, we can see it now. That river where we often fish for crayfish—"

Before they could finish speaking, they saw a huge stone statue walking on the trembling earth. It was at least five meters tall, and the rock-like monster looked very imposing.

Sticky Curl cried out in fear, "Waaaaah! There's a monster! Aaaaah!"

"Sigh." Huihui sighed and said, "Because Youyou distracted me, it seems like I went into more depth than usual."

"Don't try to shift the blame onto me!" Youyou retorted loudly, dissatisfied, and shouted, "Is this the time to be leisurely talking about these things? They're coming this way, what are we going to do!?"

"There's no other way, I'll just have to use my ultimate technique, Explosion Magic—"

"Huihui, wait a minute!"

Just as Megumin was about to use her Explosion Magic to completely destroy the statue in front of her, Goo-Roll suddenly spoke up, interrupting and stopping her.

"Hmm, what is it?" Huihui looked at her strangely, then said, "If you want me to give up my wonderful performance, that's not something we can discuss."

"No, that's not what I meant." Sticky Roll shook her head and instead asked, "That rock statue... can it be used for cooking?"

"Huh? Are you serious? That's a rock!" Youyou stared at her dumbfounded, amazed by her thought process.

Even Huihui blinked and said, "No matter what, I've never eaten rocks before. You know without even thinking that something like that can't be digested, right?"

"No, no, it's not about eating rocks. Those rocks, can't they be used as cooking tools?" Sticky Roll explained her idea, her tone light and cheerful. "Combining it with a stove, like heating an iron plate... it feels like... I have a feeling I'm inventing something!!"

"I see... It's not about cooking monsters, but about using monsters to cook." Huihui seemed surprised by her brilliant thought process, thinking it was a genius idea.

Sticky Roll happily added, "Isn't this a rather interesting idea? Maybe the taste will even change?"

"Yes, it's very novel... but will the taste change too...?" Youyou asked uncertainly. But regardless, she wanted to try it.

"Okay, if we've decided, let's defeat that statue and take it back to try it out!" Sticky Roll said, looking very interested.

"Alright, my magnificent explosion—"

"My name is Goo-Gum Roll, the top izakaya girl of the Crimson Demon Clan, destined to become the izakaya proprietress! Come on, bring it on! Rock statue! And leave your stone behind! Light of Saber!!"

Before Huihui could even make a move, Sticky Roll knocked down the rock statue with a single strike. I really don't know what was going on with that scream she just made.

The group then took the rock statue back to the izakaya.

"—Sorry to keep you waiting!!" Sticky Roll happily called out, carrying a dish: "It's mini crayfish and a cave-baked pizza from the Secret Realm!"

"It looks delicious, I'm starting!!" Xiaomi chewed the food with gusto, without any intention of being polite. In fact, whenever there was a job in Red Devil Village that required food tasting, they would always ask her to do it.

Huihui patted her younger sister's head gently and said, "You can eat as much as you want today, Xiaomi."

"Is it okay for you to say that, Huihui?" Youyou asked with some concern.

Huihui said nonchalantly, "Everyone says the reward is much higher. If we can't even afford this much, it's not worth it."

"No problem, no problem. Thanks to Huihui and Youyou for their help today! So, don't be shy, eat as much as you want!" Noodle Roll wasn't a stingy person, and she gestured for the two of them not to be polite.

"Then, then we'll..."

"Okay, let's get started!"

The two of them tasted it.

Sticky Roll asked somewhat uneasily, "How was it...? Personally, I'm confident in my work, but..."

"W-this...!" Huihui's eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "It's amazing, amazing sticky rolls! A masterpiece! It's delicious!! It doesn't feel like the usual moist kind. Is this because it's grilled on rocks?"

"I knew it!" Sticky Roll cheered excitedly. "I found it quite unique when I tasted it too... Making it into a grotto was definitely the right decision! Anyway, this will work!... It will work!!"

She clenched her fist excitedly, envisioning the future of the shop. Only Youyou, standing to the side, muttered to herself with some difficulty: "Crayfish and wild grass... is it really impossible not to eat them...?"
"Youyou, what are you worried about? Such a delicious pizza is hard to find! Come on! Don't be shy, eat up!"

"I...I understand, I'll eat it, okay?"

Faced with her best friend stuffing pizza into her mouth, Youyou could only reluctantly eat it, but soon her eyes widened as well.

"So delicious...!"

"Great! From now on, we need to promote it aggressively and attract customers! Okay, let's get busy today!"

Afterwards, the pizza received great reviews, and the store's business recovered smoothly. Just as Noodle Roll said, as long as the food is delicious, many people will come to taste it even if the road is difficult.

(End of this chapter)