Chapter 1: Shopping at Krehl

Of course, the thing I wanted to buy was clothes. The clothes I bought the day we came to Krehl were much more comfortable than I expected, after all.

I hadn’t minded too much until now, but now that I’d bought some clothes here, I painfully felt the difference between that and the clothing I’d been wearing. These clothes were stiff and chafed my skin, but the clothes sold here were all soft and comfortable, like they were made out of cotton.

After wearing the stuff sold here, I won’t say I’ll never go back, but I certainly don’t feel like wearing my old clothes anymore.

I gave up trying to bring Fel and the others with me since the stores in this town were both comparatively small, and the clothing stores always stuffed their space full with their wares.

I had them wait in the kennel, along with Sui.

At first, Dora-chan, who’d just become my familiar a day ago, complained, “You just said yesterday that you’d feed me something good, didn’t you?”

I replied with, “That’s for tonight,” and told them that I would leave food to tide them over until I was back. As soon as that detail was revealed, he immediately changed his tune.

I left some meat I cooked yesterday, some sandwiches of various kinds (including cutlet sandwiches), some red bean, jam, and cream buns, and some drinks (cola, cider, and orange juice) heaped up or poured into dishes for them.

Dora-chan must have quite the sweet tooth, as he immediately bit into a red bean bun, crying out, “Delicious!!”

Once I was satisfied that I’d left the three of them with lots of food, I went shopping.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

I looked around the street, trying to decide which store I should go to. Fel wouldn’t shut up about the dungeon, so I’d probably be forced to leave for the dungeon city of Dolan as soon as I received the money for the request and the sale of the venom tarantulas.

So, today’s the only day I would be able to shop. I didn’t have enough time, so for the moment I was going to buy anything I saw that looked good. I didn’t know when I’d be able to come next, so I wanted to buy around twenty sets of clothes to change into with spares included while I had leeway in my funds.

“Ah, this looks nice.” Walking through the street, I noticed a certain shirt and pants set. I walked inside.

Even though I said I was drawn to it, all men’s clothes were basically the same. The set I liked was, in the end, of the same type as the sets I bought yesterday: the shirt was white, while the pants were dark gray.

As soon as I entered, I was approached by an employee. “Did that catch your eye? It’s our most popular product.”

The shirt was a simple one with a stand-up collar, and the pants looked like chinos. If somebody were to call this set ‘standard,’ no one would object.

“Yes, please give me that shirt and those pants. Also, I’d like to buy several sets......”

I had the employee show me their shirts and pants. The shirts were mainly divided into shades of white, ivory, and beige. According to the employee, the shirts weren’t dyed; instead, the threads themselves had color. Apparently, that was because white shirts generally went with anything, and also dyeing would drive up the prices.

It’s true that it’s easy to pair up white with almost any color. Thinking about it, all my T-shirts were white, too. It’s the safest color, after all.

Unlike the shirts, the pants section had a lot of strong colors; olive, deep brown, dark grey, deep blue, and plain colors like black were the main features, here. There was a reason for that, too, as darker colors didn’t show stains as easily.

I see. In this world where the roads aren’t even paved, you’ll pick up dirt and stains just by walking. The stains would stand out a lot on lighter-colored pants.

When I thought about it, I agreed with those reasons, and although they were plain, I didn’t hate the colors anyway.

Actually, I’ve worn plain colors since before I arrived in this world, I didn’t really care about what I wore.

When I thought about it like that, I realized that these clothes were basically unchanged from what I wore in my previous world.

I bought two each of the white and beige shirts, and also a single pair each of olive, deep brown, deep blue, and black pants. Along with the set that was on display, the five sets cost me 17 gold and 5 silver.

After that, I went around to two more stores that caught my eye and bought ten more sets each from them. They were all just about the same in the end, though.

I ended up with more sets than I’d planned at twenty-five, but, thinking about the future, having this many shouldn’t be a problem. Now then, I’ll have to make “something delicious” for Dora-chan, just as I’ve promised.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

When I got back, not only was all the copious amount of food I’d left completely gone, the dishes I’d left them on were even licked clean.

Not to mention, they were currently sleeping soundly in the kennel. Dora-chan was even sleeping facing the sky, with his belly exposed and everything.

I guess I’ll cook while everyone’s sleeping. I’ve already promised Dora-chan to feed him something good...

After thinking for a while about what to make, I landed on something. I already had the thin-cut wyvern meat, so I decided to do the sukiyaki that I’d already planned on doing eventually.

Sukiyaki’s fancy, there shouldn’t be any problems.

First, I need to do some shopping, don’t I?

Since I’d need to buy a pot to use for the sukiyaki anyway, I also bought another three portable stoves. It’d be impossible without these, after all.

For vegetables, I’ll go with green onion, Chinese cabbage, enoki mushrooms, oh, and also some edible chrysanthemums, why not? And then, I’ll need some shirataki noodles, grilled tofu, and eggs, right? Oh, and also sukiyaki tare. I’ll get some ready-made sukiyaki tare, yeah. It’s easier than making it and it’s still just as good.

~◇~◇~◇~

First are the preparations.

Slice the onions diagonally into about 1cm width pieces, and cut the Chinese cabbage into sections so that they’re of manageable size. Cut the edible chrysanthemums so they’re around 5 cm in length, and cut the base off of the enoki mushrooms and unravel them. Cut the grilled tofu into cubes, and once the shirataki noodles have been boiled in preparation, cut them to an easy-to-eat length.

Once all that preparation is done, it’s finally time for the real deal.

Heat up the sukiyaki pot, and after melting some wyvern fat on it start with the onions. Once the onions have changed color, add in the wyvern meat. Cook the wyvern meat quickly, and, as soon as it has changed color, add in the tare and go to low heat.

Then, add in the shirataki noodles, grilled tofu, enoki mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, and edible chrysanthemums. Once they’ve been heated through, the sukiyaki is ready to eat.

~◇~◇~◇~

An egg and a plate — wait, Fel and Sui both eat a lot, so they’ll want two, won’t they? Even Dora-chan eats almost double what I eat, and at that size...... Then I’ll just give Dora-chan two eggs, too.

I cracked two eggs for each of them and after a light scramble, I added in a large amount of the wyvern meat and some vegetables and mixed them together.

I was going to go wake the three of them up, but they were all already waiting behind me, drooling.

“Here you go.” I put the dishes in front of them. The three of them must have stretched their patience to the limit, as they began eating immediately.

《Man this meat is good!!》

“Indeed, this sauce pairs well with the meat. Also, is this egg? Mixing that in takes this to a whole new level.”

《Yeah, yeah. The just-a-little-bit-sweet-and-salty flavor with the meat and eggs together is really, really good!》

I know right? Mixing in a raw egg to sukiyaki is just the best.

Wait! Ahhh......... aren’t wyverns a type of dragon? I totally forgot since they look more like pteranodons here.

Is Dora-chan...... okay with eating wyverns?

“D-Dora-chan, that meat is, uhm, wyvern meat. Are you okay eating that? Aren’t wyverns a type of dragon? Isn’t this cannibalism?”

When I fearfully brought up the subject, Dora-chan snorted out of his nose.

《There’s no dragon that thinks of wyverns as dragons. All dragons are as intelligent as I am, you know? You can’t call idiots like wyverns a type of dragon like that. Not to mention, as long as it isn’t the same as me, that is, specifically a pixie dragon, I wouldn’t call it cannibalism, either. This world is one of survival of the fittest, so I’ll eat anything that isn’t a pixie dragon.》

Having said that, Dora-chan returned to chomping down his sukiyaki.

‘Anything as long as it isn’t a pixie dragon,’ huh? Dora-chan is a little... wild, unlike what his appearance suggests.

“It is exactly as Dora says: The strong use the weak as food, that is the way of the world.” Fel agreed with Dora-chan’s statement, nodding.

Well, what he’s saying is true... And it’s thanks to Fel ruling over the summit of strength in this world that we can eat delicious meat like this, too...

《Now now, stop thinking of hard stuff like that and eat. It’s good, you know?》

Hey, Dora-chan, I’m the one that made that, so... well, whatever. I guess I’ll eat too.

“More!!” 《More!!》

Or not. Here comes Fel and Sui’s demand for more.

《I’m already full. Hahh, that was good~. It really was the right move to become your familiar.》

“You said it.”

《Everything master makes is delicious—! Sui is happy that everything Sui eats every day is so good—!》

I was a little dissatisfied with Fel and Dora-chan’s statements since they only cared about my food, but I was immediately fulfilled by Sui saying that he was happy.

Wow, Sui’s so cute~. For Sui’s sake, I diligently made more.

For Fel, too, I guess.

In between servings, I also ate my own share of sukiyaki. It goes well with white rice...

I started wanting some sake while I was eating, so I ended up buying some. I picked away at the sukiyaki while sipping my sake.

By the way, the edible chrysanthemums were unpopular with all three of them, so I ended up eating it all myself. Apparently, they didn’t appreciate the bitterness.

“Whew, that was good.”

《Sui is so full.》

Finally, it seemed like Fel and Sui were satisfied.

“That’s right, Fel, we’re leaving for Dolan as soon as I get the money for the venom tarantulas tomorrow, right?”

“Indeed. I want to hurry to the dungeon.”

Thought so.

《What? We’re going to a dungeon?》 Dora-chan reacted to the mention of a dungeon.

“Indeed. After this, we are headed to the dungeon city, Dolan. There, we plan to enter the dungeon. It will be the first time I will have entered a dungeon in a human town as well, so I am looking forward to it.”

《Yeah that sounds fun! It’ll be the first dungeon in a human town for me, too.》

《Sui is also looking forward to the dungeon~.》

I wonder why all my kids like dungeons so much... I don’t like them at all.

“Well then, I guess I should get up early tomorrow to go to the guild so we can head for Dolan.”

“Indeed, that would be wise.”

I had Dora-chan stay in the kennel again today, and I headed for my room with Sui.

Once I’d gone to the guild and finished my business, we would finally be setting off for Dolan. All three of my familiars were looking forward to the dungeon, so it was kind of worrying that our stay in Dolan looked like it would go long.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Waking up early, we departed for the Adventurer’s guild. Our goal: to receive our reward for the venom tarantulas.

When I showed the receptionist my guild card, I was told, “I will call the guildmaster, so please wait a moment,” before she left her station.

After a little while, Rodolfo arrived. “Yo, you’re early. Okay then, let’s go to the storehouse.”

I followed Rodolfo to our destination. The young man in charge of butchering from before was waiting there.

“‘Sup. It’s all finished.”

The workstation in front of the young man was piled high with venom tarantula legs.

Ugh, that’s a little disgusting...

“Okay then, here’s your venom tarantula legs.”

I stuffed them into my Item Box.

“Now then, I’ll be the one breaking down your earnings. I put in some effort with the Bruno trading company, so this time’s reward will be 320 gold. After that, the eight sets of venom tarantula poison sacs and string sacs come out to 440 gold, and the giant centipede shell and magic stone will be 230 gold. All in all, you’ll be getting 990 gold. Hup, here you go. Take it.”

Rodolfo placed sacks full of gold in front of me, each one settling down with a heavy thud. I’m not surprised anymore, huh?

“So then, what are you going to do now?”

“I’m planning to head for Dolan immediately.”

“I see, that’s too bad.” Rodolfo looked really regretful.

Personally, I would have been fine with staying for a while, but everyone else wanted to go to the dungeon, so there was no helping it. As for me, the dungeon city was the one that I wanted to hurry up and put behind me.

“Fel and the others are really looking forward to it, apparently. They’re saying they want to hurry up and go.”

“The Fenrir, pixie dragon, and ridiculously strong slime, huh? With them, you can think about being the first ones to conquer it, can’t you?”

Nononono, there’s no way.

............Right?

“Right, right. There’s something I need to say to you. Do you remember how I told you about one of my old friends before?”

“Yeah, the person you said knew a lot about dragons, right?” He was one of Rodolfo’s old comrades, and apparently he admired dragon slayers, so he did all kinds of research.

If I remember right, he researched so much about dragons he eventually made a dragon encyclopedia.

“That’s right. That guy’s currently Dolan’s guildmaster.”

Hehh — he said they were old friends, so they might have been in the same party. Both he and Rodolfo made it to guildmaster, so it must have been a pretty damn good party.

“So......”

Hm? Why is Rodolfo gumming up? He’s usually so lively.

“Just like I said, he’s done a lot of research on dragons. And if he ever hears about a dragon, he’ll go pretty far to see it. And he......” Rodolfo’s line of sight shifted to Dora-chan.

Ahhh, I see. If a person who’s that attached to dragons sees Dora-chan......

“You’re talking about if he sees a pixie dragon?”

“Indeed. When I think about him seeing this pixie dragon...... There’s no doubt he’ll start dancing around wildly. I did contact him in advance...... Hahh, I’ll tell you just in case, but he’s not a bad guy. Just... He loses all boundaries when it comes to dragons...”

Rodolfo... you must have gone through a lot of trouble...

Hrmmm, so he’s like that, huh? Sounds kind of annoying. He’s Dolan’s guildmaster, so I can’t just deny him flat out. Even if he talks my ear off about dragons, I wouldn’t understand anything. I can translate what Dora-chan says, though, I guess.

“Well, in this case, whatever happens, happens. At least that’s what I think......”

It’s not like I can not go to Dolan, after all. I’ll just have to go, and then do all I can to stay away from the Adventurer’s guild there as much as possible if he’s really that annoying.

“I’ve given him a loooong lecture about causing you any trouble already. Sorry, but please do your best.”

I’m a little worried, but I won’t know how it is until I go there.

Ah......... I also had an earth dragon. I was told that they might be able to take it apart at Dolan, and if I remember right, Karelina’s guildmaster already told Dolan’s guildmaster about it......

Will... will it be okay? I can just see Dolan’s guildmaster (I have no idea what he looks like, though) waiting for me with open arms......

Chapter 2: The Disappointing Elven Guildmaster in the Prime of His Life

We left Krehl behind and started moving for the dungeon city of Dolan. Just like always, I was on Fel’s back, with Sui in my shoulder bag, and Dora-chan flying happily beside us.

After a while of progress, the sun started to set, so we decided to make camp.

I had something I wanted to confirm, so I decided on something I could make quickly for dinner. I decided on loco moco bowls using the remaining mixed bloody horn-bull and orc general meat Hamburg patties. The patties were already cooked, so all I really had to do was put them on top of some rice.

To start off, I used my skill to get some lettuce, cucumbers, eggs, and mini tomatoes.

~◇~◇~◇~

Rip the lettuce into appropriately-sized chunks, cut the cucumbers diagonally into thin slices, and halve the mini tomatoes. Then, make sunny side up eggs.

Fel and Sui will need three patties for their portions, so I crack three eggs each for them, and from the amounts Dora-chan has been eating so far, he’ll want two eggs and patties.

Pile steamed rice in the dishes, then add a well-balanced amount of vegetables on top. And on top of that, place the Hamburg patties with lots of sauce. Then, a sunny side up egg to top the mountain finishes the dish.

Adding some mayonnaise to taste further enhances the deliciousness. (I decided to not use any for this first serving.)

~◇~◇~◇~

“Fo—od...”

The three of them gathered around.

“For this dish, mix it up like this before eating it.” It felt a little wasteful to break it like this, but that was the way to eat loco moco bowls. I lightly mixed each of their portions.

《Is it alright to eat now?》

“Go ahead.”

Dora-chan and the others started eating.

《So goo—ood! There’s vegetables too so I can feel refreshed even while eating.》

《Yeah, this is grea—t! It’s nice that there’s eggs in, too.》

Looks like it’s popular with Sui and Dora-chan.

“Indeed. It is delicious, but I would prefer there to be no vegetables at all.”

You know, Fel, vegetables are necessary to make it a loco moco bowl. “Without vegetables, this bowl is only half as good, you know? This is good because you eat it with vegetables.”

Geez, Fel really does hate vegetables, doesn’t he? Even though he can eat them just fine. It looks like he’s especially bad with raw vegetables. What a bother.

I quickly ate my own loco moco bowl.

Hm, it’s simple, but good. Yeah, I was right, this is good precisely because you eat it with vegetables.

It seemed like Dora-chan was good with just the one helping, but both Fel and Sui wanted more afterwards. Fel requested one with no vegetables, but I told him that it would be better to eat vegetables and handed him one with a smaller helping of the stuff instead.

After finishing the meal and fitting in a small break afterwards, I made another box house with my Earth magic.

“You guys can go to sleep first. I have something I want to do.”

“Ok, understood. However, what are you doing this late?”

“Ah — you said that venom tarantulas are edible, right? But I have no idea what they taste like at all. So, I was going to try boiling one in saltwater the way Rodolfo recommended and try it out. If I don’t know how it tastes, I’ll have no idea how to cook it, after all.”

“I see. I am not very fond of bugs, but I am also curious as to its taste when boiled. I will join you.”

You just want to eat, don’t you Fel?

《Wha—t? Is there still something tasty? Sui will eat too—.》

《Hey hey hey, let me eat too!》

And it looks like Sui and Dora-chan will be joining us too. In the end, all of us were going to try it.

There were sixty-four venom tarantula legs in total. For now, I decided to boil a single tarantula’s worth, or eight legs. I took out the venom tarantula legs I’d be using from my Item Box. They were a shade of purple very close to black, and when I looked closely, they had some small thin hairs growing out of them.

Ughh, I shouldn’t have looked. If the color was different, it would look a lot like crab legs, though.

When I tried washing and boiling it in saltwater, the shell turned red and really did look like crab.

“It looks like crab when boiled......”

I won’t be able to eat it if I think of it as a spider. This is crab. Crab... crab...

Hesitantly, I opened the shell, and tried a little bit.

Huh? It’s not bad... Actually, it’s pretty good.

Just like it looked, the legs also tasted like crab. But if someone were to tell me it was crab, I’d be kind of confused. It tasted like crab, except... cheaper?

Hmm — I feel like I’ve tasted this before...... What was it......... Ah, I know what it is! This is crab-flavored kamaboko! Even the texture was the same.

It’s pretty good.

“Hey, stop eating by yourself and give us some.”

“Ahh, right. Sorry, sorry.” I shelled some legs and served them to the three familiars.

“Hm, it tastes a little better than when I ate it before, I think. It must be because it has been boiled.”

《He’s right. I’ve eaten venom tarantulas too, and this is way better than eating it raw.》

So both Fel and Dora-chan have eaten this... raw before? Yeah, it’d be impossible for me. Both of them say that boiling it makes it way better, so it’s probably true.

《Yeah, it’s good. But Sui likes the red meat better, yeah.》

Red meat, huh? So, Sui prefers animal meat, I see.

“If you are going to put it like that, I also prefer the meat we normally eat, of course.”

《Me too. This bug isn’t terrible, but it’s still way worse comparatively.》

So both Fel and Dora-chan agree, I see. Well, that was obvious, though. If someone asked me if I liked crab flavored kamaboko or actual meat, of course I’d say meat. Meat by a huge margin.

But still, there’s still fifty-six venom tarantula legs left... I’ll have to think up a menu using this stuff or else it’ll go to waste.

Hrmmm, crab flavored kamaboko, huh? I’ll try thinking on it more later.

After that, I went to take a bath with Sui. Surprisingly, Dora-chan also took an interest in the bath and wanted in.

At any rate, I wiped off my body with a wet towel before entering.

Dora-chan was already happily floating in the tub, just like Sui.

It seemed like Dora-chan had also taken a liking to baths.

So Fel’s the only one among us who hates baths (just the washing part, though).

Refreshed from the bath, everyone went to bed and slept peacefully.

Being able to sleep in a futon while traveling is so nice...

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“The presence of humans is getting stronger. Most likely we will reach Dolan by tomorrow afternoon.”

This was four days after leaving the town of Krehl. Fel said that while we were taking a break after lunch.

“I see. Tomorrow, huh? That was pretty fast.”

“Indeed. Because I went a little faster.”

I did actually feel like we were going a little faster than usual... So I was right. Damn, just how much does he want to go in that dungeon?

“So we’re finally at Dolan. I hear it’s a pretty big place, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“I am looking forward to the dungeon.”

Yeah, yeah. You went as far as to go a little faster so we’d get here earlier, after all.

But still, the dungeon, huh... Who would purposefully go to a place full of monsters...?

It seemed like all three of my familiars were looking forward to the dungeon, so I’d go because there’s no other choice... For now, I’ll just have to be careful to not get injured.

Ah, I should have Sui make some potions just in case. I have the healing mushrooms in storage, but it looks like Sui’s potions are better. I don’t know what’s inside the dungeon, so I’ll have him make some of each kind.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“I will stop here for today.” The sun was already setting, so Fel said that as he stopped running.

“How is it? Are we going to get to Dolan by tomorrow just like you said?”

“Indeed. I said that we would be there by tomorrow afternoon, but at this pace we will be there a little before noon.”

So we’re a little faster, huh? Well, we’re still reaching Dolan tomorrow at any rate.

《I’m hungry — I’ve been flying all day, my stomach is so empty...》

Wait, Dora-chan, didn’t you have two meals already?

“You are right. This constant moving empties the stomach.”

Fel too, huh? Although he eats almost too much already.

《Sui is hungry too...》

Sui...... Sui ate those meals too, and he also stayed sleeping in my bag the whole time...

《Food~》

“Food.”

《A meal~》

Hahh, the three of them are really strong but they’ve got such bad fuel efficiency... I should have been feeding them a lot...

Fine then, let’s cook.

About those venom tarantula legs, everyone rated them lowly since although they weren’t bad, they were nowhere near as delicious as meat.

I really want to use up unpopular ingredients as fast as possible. And so, today was going to be something with venom tarantula legs. I had already boiled the rest of the legs while we had free time.

And so, after racking my head about it, the menu I came up with was a safe salad and fried rice with ankake sauce and tenshinhan.

Fel might complain about the salad, but vegetables are good for the body, and he should eat some vegetables every once in a while anyway.

First I have to buy the ingredients... I’ll need lettuce and cucumbers for the salad, and also canned corn... Oh, and sesame dressing...

For the ankake fried rice, I’ll need green onions and eggs, and I also need the oyster soy sauce-flavored seasoning I used before that was in a tube, but I still have some of that, so I’m fine on that front.

I needed eggs for the tenshinhan as well, so I bought more than usual.

Oh, I also need to get the red bean garnish for both the fried rice and tenshinhan. These types of foods are better with more fillings, so I’ll get some shiitake and enoki mushrooms, boiled bamboo shoots, and also some canned green peas for color.

I already have all the seasonings I need for the red beans, so I’m fine there, I think. Right, that should be all.

~◇~◇~◇~

First, use scissors to cut open the boiled venom tarantula legs and extract the meat. Boiling the legs makes them softer, so the scissors cut cleanly through the shell.

Once the meat is all out and in small pieces, start with the salad. Rip the lettuce into appropriately-sized pieces, and slice the cucumbers into thin discs. Dump the ripped lettuce, cucumbers, corn, and lots of loose venom tarantula meat into a bowl and mix together with sesame dressing to finish the salad. Once the salad is safely on serving plates, I store it all in my Item Box for the moment.

Next would be the ankake sauce to put on the fried rice and tenshinhan. Cut the bamboo shoots into small strips, strip the base off of the shiitake mushrooms and cut into thin slices, and remove the base off the enoki mushrooms before unraveling them.

Oil a frying pan, and add the mushrooms before lightly seasoning with salt and pepper, cooking until the mushrooms wilt before adding in the bamboo shoots and giving it another quick sear.

Add water, chicken bouillon cubes, sake, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce into a pot and bring the mixture to a boil before adding potato starch to thicken it. Throw the wilted mushrooms and bamboo shoots into that, and mix in a large amount of loose venom tarantula meat to finish out the ankake sauce.

Next is the fried rice. Scramble an egg and mince the green onions. Add the scrambled egg to an oiled frying pan, followed closely by the rice, and mix. Once the egg and the rice are nicely melded together, add the green onions and loose venom tarantula meat, season it with the tube of oyster soy sauce-flavored paste, and cook together until finished. Serve the fried rice as a mound on the dish and cover with lots of ankake sauce to finish it up.

For the tenshinhan, scramble an egg and throw in some more venom tarantula meat and salt before half-cooking it in a frying pan. Put the result on top of rice and cover with ankake sauce before scattering green peas around the dish to finish it.

~◇~◇~◇~

Along with the salad I made earlier, it’s all done.

“I’m finished—”

I placed the dishes in front of the three of them.

“Hm? Is there no meat today? Also, I do not need these vegetables...”

H-Hey, stop making that unsatisfied face.

“I’m using the venom tarantula today.”

“I would have preferred meat......”

Can you not whisper to yourself all sad like that? All of this stuff is good, you know?

“I’ll make meat again tomorrow, don’t worry. I just wanted to use up the venom tarantula since it would be a waste otherwise.”

“Hm, I see. Fine, then.” After saying that, Fel started gloomily eating his food.

Yeah, Fel really is a carnivore. Well, it’s just for today.

*Gnowmph* *Gnowmph* 《......This is pretty good, but meat is better.》

You too, Dora-chan?

《It’s good master—. But still, Sui likes meat more—.》

E-Even Sui...

Ghhh...... To think they’d be this addicted to meat... I mean, I knew that all of them were meat eaters already. They’re even carnivores down to their looks, after all.

Hahhh, meat, huh?

Even while they complained that meat was better, Dora-chan ate his plate clean, and both Fel and Sui asked for more, so it was probably fine.

Still though, with all these meat eaters around, I can’t afford to not have meat any more, can I?

I still had lots of meat at the moment, but I’ll need to keep a close eye on my stock from now on.

It’s going to be a lot of work with three carnivores in the party.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We were in sight of the dungeon city of Dolan.

“It’s just as large as I’ve heard...”

“Indeed. Still though, it looks like it will be a while until we can enter.”

When I followed Fel’s line of sight, I could see a huge line of people snaking out from the gates.

“Ah~ there’s a huge crowd, huh? Makes sense that a place this big would have lots of people wanting to get in, I guess.”

Oh well. I’ll just have to suck it up and get in line.

《Wouldn’t it be faster to just go over the wall?》

“Nonono, we’ll be arrested if we do that. We’re not really in a hurry, so let’s just wait.”

“Mmhh, it is annoying, but there is no other choice.”

“That’s right. Let’s get in line.”

As the running Fel got closer to the line, a cry of, “A monster!!” was raised, and I could see lots of people that looked like adventurers raising their weapons. Dora-chan flying next to us also probably made a huge impact.

I immediately shouted, “They’re all my familiars so it’s okay!!!”

They were all satisfied that was true after seeing Fel and Dora-chan acting so docile next to me, and they sheathed their weapons, but...... they were all still on pins and needles.

Of course they would be, what with a huge wolf and a small-but-unmistakable dragon around...

What do I do......

Well, there was nothing to do. While suffering the slight uneasiness as I lined up, I heard a voice calling out to me.

“MUKOHHDA~~~!!” There was a person calling out to me in a loud voice while running closer.

Huh? Who...? The voice sounds like a man’s, but I shouldn’t know anyone in Dolan......

“Mukohda~~~! I’ve been waiting sooooo long for you to come~!!”

W-Wait, who?! Actually, everyone’s clearly got faces that say, “Who the hell’s Mukohda??” already, please stop shouting. I had an oblivious face on, but inside I was sweating bullets.

“Mukohda~~~!!”

I said pleeeaaasseee stop yelling my name!!!

“Hahh, hahh, you’re Mukohda, right?! I knew right away after seeing your familiars! I’ve been waiting sooooo long for you to come!” The man stopped right in front of me, and excitedly started babbling while trying to catch his breath.

...Who the hell is this?

He was a man in his prime with long, golden hair and frightfully good looks. Looking closely, I noticed that his ears were long.

Is he an elf? I don’t know any elves......

“I was so excited I couldn’t even sleep at night after hearing about you from Rodolfo! So then, is this the pixie dragon?!” Spotting Dora-chan next to me, the mature elf got even more excited — and he started moving all around Dora-chan while staring at him like he was licking him all over, every nook and cranny.

H-He’s kinda looking at Dora-chan all strange...

This elf... he’s beautiful since he’s an elf, but he reeks of being a pervert......

“Mukohda!” The elf suddenly grabbed both of my shoulders firmly.

Woah! What the hell?!

“I’ve gotta tell you, I am so deeply moved right now!”

A-Ahhh, really? Wait, by what? Actually, would you let me go? The stares of the other people hurt a lot.

“To think that I’d ever be able to lay my eyes on a dragon, not to mention a particularly rare pixie dragon...... Ahhh, I’m so glad I’ve lived this long. So glad...... ugghu... uhhh...” The elf started tearing up.

E-Ehhhh... why are you crying? Wait a minute, please don’t cry. The stares will only become worse.

*Sniff* “......Sorry I got carried away. I was just so happy.”

W-Well, as long as you’ve stopped crying... Wait, actually, who the hell are you again?

“U-Uhmm... who are you?”

When I hesitantly brought up the subject, the elf made an expression that said, “Whoops.”

“Sorry! I was so excited I forgot to introduce myself. I am the guildmaster for the Adventurer’s guild here in the dungeon city of Dolan. My name is Elrand. Pleased to meet you.”

............Wha?

The elf turned out to be a guildmaster.

What the hell is up with a guildmaster that cries at the sight of a dragon? ......Ah, that’s right, this is the person Rodolfo warned me about. He’s supposed to be an old friend of Rodolfo’s, and he loses sight of things when it comes to dragons, he said.

It’s... just like Rodolfo said...

“Now, now, everyone follow me. Let’s hurry to the guild.”

“Huh? But, the line......”

“No no — you don’t need to do that. There’s no way I could let you, Mukohda, and your friends wait that long. I’ll do something about it with my powers as a guildmaster.” Saying so, Elrand pushed me forwards.

“No, but...” The eyes of the adventurers around me sure are... something...

“It’s fine, it’s fine! There’s a lot I want to ask you, so let’s hurry up to the guild.” I was pushed forward by a power far beyond what I would imagine judging from Elrand’s looks.

Just like that, I was tossed into the dungeon city of Dolan like a toy. As soon as Elrand definitively stated, “I will take full responsibility, so let this person in,” to the guards, I was let in without even a little fuss.

Actually, Elrand, is it really alright to say that when we’d just met moments ago? It’s not like I’m going to cause any trouble, though.

He just said that there was a mountain of questions he wanted to ask me, but it’s all about dragons, right? Just how much does he like the things...... Even if he asks me about that stuff, I know basically nothing, after all.

The Adventurer’s guild in Dolan was right in front of us after we passed through the gates.

Forced into the guild while I was still speechless, I was shown to the guildmaster’s room on the second floor and pushed inside.

“Now, now, please take a seat.” As expected of the room of a guildmaster of a dungeon city. I was shown to a set of chairs with ball and claw feet that looked more fancy than what was in the other guildmaster’s rooms.

It’s not like I can just run away when I’ve come this far...

Resigned, I sat in the chair.

Elrand, who sat across from me, readied paper and a pen, fully intent on asking me his questions. “Now then, there are several things I want to ask you, if I may?”

It’s not like he’ll let me go if I say no.

*Sigh* ...I wanted to look around since this is the first time I’ve been in a place this big, though... It’s looking like that won’t happen for a while yet.

“First off, where did you meet this pixie dragon?”

“Dora-chan, you mean? I met Dora-chan near the forest of Ishtam.”

“D-Dora-chan? Is that this pixie dragon’s name?”

“Yes. When you bind a familiar contract, it seems like you have to give them a name.”

It’s a bit late, but I really don’t know a lot about familiar contracts. Just what I’d heard from Fel, “If the contracted monster thinks that it wants to become the familiar of the contractor, and the would-be master accepts it, then the contract is complete.” Also, the fact that being contracted lets you communicate telepathically, and that you have to give them names. I’m not really sure about anything else. It’s not like it was particularly important.

“Even if it is a pixie dragon, to name it Dora-chan since it’s a dragon......... If it were me, I’d have given it a much cooler name... I wonder if it’s just a problem with your naming sense? It’s not like I can do anything about it, though......”

Elrand, you’re muttering to yourself, but I can hear you clearly. Sorry about not being good at naming things, okay? Dora-chan’s a cute name. Isn’t that just fine?

“You said that you met Dora-chan near the forest of Ishtam, but is there a pixie dragon lair nearby or something?”

“Who knows? I’ve only met Dora-chan.” I’ve got no idea about any pixie dragon lair.

“Well then, what does the pixie dragon normally eat?”

“What, you ask? We all eat the same things...” Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan all eat whatever I make, and I eat it too.

“What?”

“No, you see... Fel, Sui, Dora-chan, and I all eat the same thing.” While cradling Sui in my arms and looking towards Fel, who was laying down next to me, I explained how we were all the same.

And Elrand’s irises became points.

“Now that you mention it, you not only have a pixie dragon as a familiar, but also a Fenrir and a slime. There’s no way a Fenrir, a slime, and a pixie dragon all eat the same things. Don’t joke like that, please.”

Huh? I wasn’t joking, though. Actually, was there anything joke-like in what I said at all?

“Fenrirs are carnivores, and slimes will eat pretty much anything, right? But pixie dragons mainly eat magic power and nectar from flowers, it’s said. There’s no way they all eat the same meal. Hahahaha!”

Huh? Pixie dragons mainly eat magic power and nectar from flowers? Dora-chan was eating meat like it was normal, though. Wait a second... no, he was eating meat like it was his favorite thing. How did people come to think they eat those things?

《I’ve never heard of anything like that, you know?》 Dora-chan told me through telepathy while shaking his head.

“Uhmm, where did you hear that? That pixie dragons mainly eat magic power and flower nectar?”

“It was from a certain book in the royal library of a deceased country. That country thoroughly researched dragons since they were a component in elixirs...... Any literature on dragons was treated like an important secret, so I snuck in and read it.”

You can’t just be confessing something like that so casually... What the hell was this guy doing?

Well, I was told that this guy loses sight of all boundaries when it comes to dragons. Actually, this is the first time I’ve heard that dragons are an ingredient for elixirs, isn’t it? Fel did, in fact, say that healing mushrooms were also part of elixirs, if I remember correctly. So, through a string of miracles, I’ve got two ingredients for elixirs on my hands, huh? I’m a little curious as to what the other ingredients are. Elrand’s lived a long time, he might know. It might be nice to ask later.

Ahh, putting that aside, Dora-chan comes first.

“I don’t know why the book said that, but it was wrong. Right, Dora-chan?”

《Yeah. We basically eat anything. Well, meat is our favorite, though.》

So they’re omnivores. Of course, since he’s eaten pretty much everything I gave him so far.

“According to Dora-chan, pixie dragons pretty much eat anything. They like meat the most, though.”

“......Wait a second. What do you mean, according to Dora-chan?”

“Huh? I mean what I said? I’ve been talking to Dora-chan through telepathy and that’s what he told me.”

*BANG!!* Elrand thrust his hands onto the table and came forward.

“Mukohda, you can talk to dragons?! Actually, what do you mean by telepathy?!”

N-No... your face is too close. You’re a beautiful elf, but I totally don’t swing that way, please consider personal space.

“Wait a second, please calm down, Elrand. Dragons can’t talk, you know? I’m only able to talk to Dora-chan since I’ve formed a familiar contract with him, and it’s the same with Fel and Sui as well.”

“Because of the familiar contract?! I’ve never heard of such a thing!! There’s no way that could happen!”

“............What? Isn’t that common knowledge?”

“Of course not. I’ve lived a long time since I’m an elf, and this is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

Huh? What? Fel told me that people who’ve formed contracts with monsters can use telepathy with them, so I just thought that was how it was...

“Fel, what does he mean?”

“Hmph, no idea. I was taught that those who form familiar contracts can use telepathy with each other, and you can in fact do it, no?”

That’s right. Just like Fel said, I can use telepathy with him, Sui, and Dora-chan.

“I’m not sure I get it, but since you’ve formed contracts with them, you’ve made them submit to your power, right?”

What? Stop joking, please. There’s no way in hell I would be able to make a Fenrir or a dragon submit.

“There’s no way I’d be able to do that, they’re legendary creatures, you know? Actually, if there was a person who could make a Fenrir or a dragon submit, I’d like to see them.”

“No way...... neither the guildmaster at Karelina nor Rodolfo asked you how you got a Fenrir to become your familiar, but they did suggest that you used a special method to make them submit. The two of them didn’t think that was the case from looking at you, but they said that you had a lot of secrets, so you were probably quite skilled. Rodolfo suggested that you mixed their food with some sort of poison......”

Whaaaat, so that’s how the two of them saw me? I-I’m not skilled at all, and I didn’t use poison, either.

“Hmm... from what I hear, your familiar contract and the kind of contract I know is very different.”

According to Elrand, a normal contract forms a relationship like master and slave when someone forces a monster to submit, no matter the method. In human terms, it was no different from a slave contract, and familiars would then obey the master’s commands. The master of the familiar would then become a tamer, and it’s said that with both their own experience and experience from the monsters coming in, it was an easy job to level up.

However, becoming a tamer requires a certain level of power, enough to make a monster submit to your will. Since there aren’t many people with that many levels, those who become tamers are exceedingly rare.

Tamer, huh? My job is still ‘Victim from Another World,’ though. Not only that, but Fel and Sui have beaten a fair number of monsters, and I haven’t seen a drop of that experience.

“This is also the first time I’ve heard of something like this, and the only example is you, Mukohda, so there’s no way to even verify it...... Mukohda, your familiars are a Fenrir, a pixie dragon, and from what I hear, a special slime. They’re all normally far too powerful for anyone to make a familiar, so that might have something to do with it.”

I knew that they weren’t regular familiar contracts, but there isn’t really a problem with that, and nothing’s going to change, either.

“Mukohda, I get that your familiars are different from normal. This is the thing I want to ask most, but could I form the same kind of familiar contract? If at all possible, with a dragon?”

You want to make a dragon a familiar? Wow, how much do you like them?

“No, even if you ask me that I wouldn’t know......”

《So, how about it?》 I asked Fel using telepathy.

《It is probably impossible. In the first place I would never consider forming a contract with this one, there is no benefit in it for me.》

《Yeah. It doesn’t look like this guy cooks at all. Even if he did, there’s probably no one in the world with better food than you, anyway.》

Dora-chan, I’m happy you’re complimenting me, but I’m not a chef.

《Indeed. I agree with that. There are very few things that move one with a life as long as mine, but good food is one of them.》

Huh? Food moves you?

《Right? Good food is a treasure of the world~.》

《Just eating good food makes you happy~.》

Even Sui...... I knew this already, but you guys really did just get lured in by food... I’m happy you’re all here, but......

“Hahhh......Uhm, by the way, can you cook, Elrand?”

“Huh? Cook? I like to eat at restaurants, so I don’t cook for myself, but...... Wait, could cooking be one of the conditions for a familiar contract?!”

“No, I wouldn’t say that it is, but all of my familiars are very particular about food......”

“I-If that’s the case, I’ll cook! If I learn to cook, I’ll be able to contract with a dragon, right?!”

“No, it’s not going to be that easy, I don’t think......”

《You should stop mincing words and just feed him some of your food. That will teach him just how foolish he is being.》

《That’s right. I’m hungry right now, too.》

《Sui is hungry, too~.》

Ahh, right, right. Fine, whatever.

“Uhmm... Elrand, everyone’s saying that they’re hungry, so would you like to eat with us?”

“Yes, please. And let me steal some of the secrets of your flavor!”

Elrand... you’re raring to go, huh?

“Ah, Elrand, do you like meat?”

Elves have an image of being vegetarians.

“Yes, I love meat.”

Ah, so this world’s elves are okay with meat, I see.

Then, the food I made was beef bowls that I had stored beforehand. I served them to Fel and the others on a dish with lots of meat on top, and a soft-boiled egg as a closer.

Looking at Dora-chan eating the beef bowl, Elrand muttered to himself, “They really don’t eat magic power and flower nectar...”

It looks like Dora-chan loves meat, after all.

I served Elrand his portion in a wooden receptacle that resembled a bowl.

“Try eating it after breaking the egg on top.”

“Sure, then......” Elrand did as I suggested, and broke the egg before taking a bite. After taking that first bite, Elrand’s eyes opened wide, and he started stuffing his face.

That means it’s not bad, right? Thank goodness.

I also started on my portion.

“More.” 《More~.》

More for Fel and Sui, got it.

“Uhm, I would like some more, too......”

Even Elrand?

It seemed like Dora-chan was full. Even so, his portion was about twice as big as mine.

Once we were done with the meal, Fel spoke to Elrand.

“You understand now too, no? Most likely no one would be willing to form a contract with you unless you can produce food as good as this one did right now.”

“Khh......... I’ve eaten a lot of things after living for so long, but what I just ate was by far the most delicious. It’s impossible for me to make something as good......” Elrand hung his head, depressed.

The best thing you’ve ever eaten? It’s just a beef bowl............ Ah, the seasonings.

I had access to an Online Supermarket so I could use Japanese seasonings as much as I liked, but in this world, the only seasoning pretty much was salt. There was pepper, too, but that was expensive.

If that was the case, I could agree with it being the most delicious. Since I could bring out umami as much as I wanted using things like soy sauce or mirin or dashi.

“Uhm... well, please cheer up.” Not sure what to say, I just kind of said whatever came to mind, and Elrand raised his head with furious speed.

“That’s right! I still have hope!! Mukohda, I’ve heard from Karelina’s guildmaster. Please take that out!!”

Hm? What?

“That!! The earth dragon!!”

Ahh — that’s right, I had one. *Sigh* ...When will I be able to go home...

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The place I was led to politely but insistently was... the familiar storehouse. Up until now, this guild was the same as all the other ones I’d been in, but it seemed that the storehouse was a size bigger thanks to the size of the city itself. In a corner of the storehouse, a large workstation was placed.

“Okay, okay, bring it out here, please.” Elrand said, patting the workstation. “As soon as I’d heard about the earth dragon, I immediately started preparing this place for it. I won’t waste even a drop of blood. I’ll be taking it apart both carefully and at full speed. I have some confidence in my butchering skills, you see.”

What?! By that, does he mean that the guildmaster himself is going to be butchering it?! “You’re going to butcher it yourself, Elrand?”

“Of course! As if I could ever let someone else have a job this good! It’s an earth dragon, you know?!”

A-Ahh, I see. So from the dragon lover Elrand’s perspective, this is a great job that one would be tripping over themselves to get at, I suppose.

“The last time a dragon was defeated was 238 years ago. At that time, I really wanted to be in the extermination party, but thanks to certain circumstances I couldn’t. Since that was the case, I asked over and over again for them to at least let me take it apart, but they wouldn’t even allow me to do that. After all, I was only a B-ranked adventurer back then. Since then, I’ve managed to climb into S-rank, but there hasn’t been another dragon subjugation at all. No matter how long-lived elves are, we still cannot beat the effects of aging. I’d retired from being an adventurer, but I still hadn’t given up. If I stayed with the Adventurer’s guild, I believed that I could lay hands on a dragon someday. And after 32 years of being a guildmaster, finally... finally, I......”

Uh, uhm... Elrand...? This guy just started telling his whole life story. He’s even entered his own little world while telling it. Just like Rodolfo said, he’s not a bad person, just a little annoying. I guess I’ll just hurry up and show him the earth dragon so I can leave.

Taking the earth dragon out of storage in my Item Box, I placed it onto the workstation.

“Here you go, Elrand.”

“Ohhh! OOOHHHHHH———!!!”

You are way too excited, Elrand.

“Th-This is the earth dragon, right?! Yes, yes! It wasn’t wrong to become a guildmaster. A dragon I’ve only dreamed of, in my hands, right now...... It’s like I’m dreaming... to think that I’d get to enjoy the insides of a dragon as much as I’d like, or even the insides of its insides!”

Y-You’re sounding kinda scary, there. I’m just asking you to butcher it.

“Uh, uhmm, can I get all the materials back?” I’m somehow getting the feeling that with this guy’s love of dragons, he’ll try to swipe something on the sly...

“Yes. Unfortunately, I do not have the money to be able to buy any of the dragon’s materials. It’s really too bad. Ahh, are you worried that I’ll make off with the dragon’s materials? If that’s the case, you don’t need to. If that happened, not only would the trust in the Adventurer’s guild be jeopardized, I would fall into slavery. No, I might even be executed. I enjoy living, so... Also, since you are here Mukohda, there is a large possibility of you bringing new dragons in, anyway. Being so shortsighted as to only consider my immediate gains and thereby destroying any chance of meeting new dragons is sheer stupidity.”

I... I see.

It seemed that at the very least, he wouldn’t try to steal anything.

“No, wait a minute. Even if I can’t buy all of it, if it’s just a part...... Mukohda, I won’t be able to buy all of it, but if it’s just a part of it I will, I think. Will you sell me some of your dragon?”

So he really does want a dragon. Although, personally, even if it’s just a part of it, I’d be happy to be rid of it.

“Sure, that’s fine. So, which part? I can’t allow you to have the meat, though.” I just couldn’t allow him to have it. If I did, Fel would get mad.

He wanted the meat of the earth dragon, after all.

“Well, the blood is a must-have. After that, the fangs... no, I shouldn’t just ignore its intestines...... but if I can’t buy it all... or I could just get a little bit of each? Hmmm, let me think on it a little bit more. Also, you wanted all the meat, right? The meat is too expensive, and I wouldn’t be able to buy it anyway, so of course I’ll be returning it all to you.”

“That’s good. Apparently earth dragon meat is delicious, so if I didn’t get it all back Fel would get mad. As for the parts you’re going to buy, please decide by the time this is done and I come to retrieve the materials.”

“............Earth dragons are... delicious? You’re going to eat it?!” Elrand fairly jumped at me as he said that.

“Y-Yes, that was the plan.”

When I replied, Elrand ran around the workstation that was between us with quick steps and grabbed my hand. “Please! Please, let me try some earth dragon, too! I’ll pay! I’ll give you all the money I have, so please! Please!!”

Y-You don’t have to get that desperate, Elrand. If it’s just feeding you I’ll do it so let go of me. Please stop threatening to throw away your entire life savings or something.

“I-I got it, just calm down.”

After I said that, Elrand started to shake my hand, saying, “Thank you! Thank you!” Once that was all done, Elrand just started to stroke the earth dragon body while muttering, “Hahhh...... earth dragon......”

Is... is he gonna start rubbing his cheek on it? This guy is kinda scary.

Seeing Elrand like that, Fel, who had up until now ignored him, said, “Is this one... okay?” Even Dora-chan chimed in with, 《There sure are some strange people in human towns.》

They’re not all like this, okay? Elrand’s just... special.

“So? When will you be done?”

“Hrm... let’s see... I’ll want three days so I can carefully look over every nook and cranny.”

The way you said that is kinda scary... But three days, got it.

“Okay then, I’ll come back in three days. Wait, right, I forgot. Are there any outstanding requests here?”

“Ahh, you’re fine. This place isn’t called a dungeon city for nothing. There’s a lot of adventurers around.”

I see, so there’s a lot of adventurers around for the dungeon, and there should be some high-ranking ones that have this place as their base, too.

After that, I asked about an inn I could stay at with my familiars, and Elrand invited me to stay at his place, but I politely refused. There was no way I could deal with him 24/7.

He wasn’t a bad guy, but he was way too much trouble.

I was recommended an inn with a very on-the-nose name, the “Labyrinth City Inn.” After that, I was told that the fees for the inn would be paid for by the guild as thanks for bringing in the earth dragon. After getting the location of the inn, as well as the location of the dungeon since it seemed like we’d be going in tomorrow, we left the guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We had decided to stay at the inn Elrand recommended, the “Labyrinth City Inn,” and were currently having a meal in the courtyard.

Once we were finished, I was going to have Fel and Dora-chan sleep in the kennel, but Dora-chan complained that he wanted his own bedding set after seeing me spread Fel’s out, so I bought him one. I only needed to get one since Dora-chan was so small, though.

I went with Sui to my room. After spreading out my futon on the bed, Sui immediately got in. As for me, I had something I had to do, so I couldn’t just get in. I had to prepare offerings for the goddesses, after all.

I really didn’t feel like it, since I could see them complaining ceaselessly that I was late, but unfortunately that wasn’t an option. If I was to be any later, they’d come complaining to me themselves, after all.

Okay then, let’s talk to them.

“Ahh — are you around, goddesses—?”

＜You’re late! Super late!! You forgot, didn’t you!?!＞

The divine disappointment, Ninrir, huh? Hmm — but I can’t deny it.

＜She’s right, you know~? I’ve been waiting so-o patiently. You’re the one at fault for being so late. I want a show of apology here~.＞

Ghh...... right where it hurts... Lady Kisharle’s pretty sharp, isn’t she?

＜That’s right! We want compensation.＞

And Agni has to pile on.

＜......Broken promise.＞

Ruka, that really hurts so could you just stay quiet like always? Well, it’s not like I have any excuse for being late.

“Ahh, fine, fine. I’m sorry for being late. As an apology, I’ll raise your usual allowance from 3 silver to 4 just this once. Let me off with that, please.”

＜Okay! If you’ll do that, we’ll forgive you.＞

＜4 silver, right? I’m okay with that~.＞

＜Sure! 4 silver, huh? I can get a lot more varieties with that.＞

＜......Forgiven.＞

I got them to forgive me for 4 silver. These goddesses might actually be pretty easy.

“Well then, I’ll be listening to your requests. Will Ninrir be going first as usual?”

＜Yes. I will be going first. As always, I want sweeets. With lots of dorayaki, and this time some cake and pudding. Also, those fizzy sweet drinks.＞

So the usual sweets for Ninrir. She sure doesn’t change.

I added everything Ninrir wanted into the cart until I reached her budget of 4 silver: extra dorayaki, cake, pudding, cola, cider, several types of western and Japanese sweets, and, with the rest of the budget, an assortment of random candies.

“Next is Kisharle, right?”

＜Yes, indeed. I still have the shampoo, hair treatments, and hair masks from before, so I don’t need any more. Instead, are there any other things for beauty that are good?＞

“For beauty?” For beauty, the only things I can think of off the top of my head are facial soaps, facial lotions, and milky lotions, I think.

“Uhmm, how about facial soaps and lotions, or milky lotions?”

＜Huh? What are those?＞ Kisharle was immediately interested.

“Actually, does this world not have them? Stuff to moisturize the face and skin...”

When I asked, it seemed that they didn’t exist. Apparently, the only thing they had that was similar was purified olive oil to prevent drying. And since that oil was expensive, in the end apparently not bothering was the most common.

I’ve been thinking this for a while now, but even though Kisharle wants beauty products, do gods really need them? Weren’t gods supposed to be able to keep their beauty with their god power or whatever?

“Isn’t this kind of weird? Do gods really need to take care of their hair or skin and stuff? Aren’t you all supposed to just be perpetually beautiful?”

When I tried to ask Kisharle about what was bothering me, I was denied with overwhelming force.

＜What the hell do you think you’re saying?! As long as we’re in this divine realm we aren’t much different from you humans! We have a lot of power to affect your world, but everyone has that power here in the divine realm where we live. Even we get hungry while we’re here, and age as well. It’s true that, compared to a human, we’re long lived and don’t get sick, but other than that we’re basically human.＞

I see. So, gods in this world are like that. But well, the fact that they aren’t perfect in every way makes it easier to feel close to them, I guess.

“I see. If that’s the case, then the things I suggested might be good. Lady Kisharle, what are you worried about, skin-wise? I’ll pick accordingly.”

＜It’s got to be the dryness~. I’m using purified olive oil already, but it’s especially dry around my eyes.＞

Hm, I see. I looked through the skin care section on my Online Supermarket.

There, what caught my eye was a series of beauty products that all used a mixture of hyaluronic acid and collagen to moisturize skin. The facial and milky lotions cost 1 silver each, and since she was worried about dryness, I bought a moisturizing cream from the same set for 1 silver and 5 copper. I used the remaining 5 copper to buy a tube of face-cleansing foam.

“Next is Agni, right?”

＜Sure! You see, I want the same alcohol as befo—＞

＜＜HEHAHAHAHH! WE’VE FINALLY CAUGHT YOU!!＞＞

＜......Woah...W-W-What are you guys doing here?!＞

I heard a man’s voice interrupt what Agni was saying.

＜Ghgyaah! W-W-Why are these guys here?!＞

＜R-Right~. Could it be......Agni...?＞

＜N-No, it’s not me! There’s no way I would tell these guys anything!＞

＜They smelled the alcohol.＞

The goddesses must have agreed with Ruka’s theory, since they started to argue amongst themselves like, “That’s why I told you to lay off the alcohol!” and “It really wasn’t good to let her have alcohol~” and “I wanted to try the other world’s alcohol too, you know?!”

＜I see, I see; so you were summoned from another world, huh? And you have a skill to get things from your world, I see. Including alcohol...... Hey, Blacksmithing God, it looks like we’ll be able to drink lots of alcohol from the other world, too!＞

＜Hehhahahaha! That’s right, War God! We’re in luck!＞

＜That’s right!＞

＜HEHAHHAHAHA!＞

＜HEHHAHAHAHA!＞

＜＜HEHAHHAHHAAHAHA!＞＞

I-I’m getting some real bad vibes from these audacious laughing voices, here......

＜Ignoring those noisy goddesses, let’s start with some introductions. I am the Blacksmithing God, Hephaestos.＞

＜And I am the War God, Vahagn!＞

Ahh~, the alcohol loving gods the goddesses were wary of. So they were finally found out.

＜It seems like you’re already giving them offerings, but we want some, as well. Of course, in the form of alcohol.＞

＜Right, right. Give us a lot of otherworld alcohol, will you?＞

Wait a second here, why do you people (gods) think you can just ask for stuff right now?

＜ARGHHH!! Hey stop ordering things on your own over there! It’s not like we’ve been taking offerings for nothing, you know!＞

＜She’s right~. We’ve all properly given him our blessings, so we’re receiving some offerings every week in return.＞

＜That’s right! You guys can’t just ask for offerings when you’ve done nothing!＞

＜......You two, bad.＞

When the Blacksmithing and War Gods tried to do things on their own, the goddesses paused their argument to stop them.

＜Hohh, so in other words, as long as we give our blessings to this otherworlder we can get alcohol, right? Right, Blacksmithing God?＞

＜That would be correct, War God. Well then, here’s our blessings.＞

Th-This is bad. I can see these two super-selfish-sounding gods trying to get me to send them alcohol every day if I was to take their blessings.

“W-W-Wai—!! I-I don’t neeed any more blessings!!”

＜Whaa~t?! You won’t take our blessings, you say—?! You heretic! Divine punishment! It’s divine punishment for you!!!＞

Gyaahhh!! He’s super mad!!

“S-Sorry! So sorry! I-I worded that badly. I-I’ve already got enough blessings, so my familiar... uhmm... Please, give this slime the Blacksmithing blessing!” I pointed at Sui, who was sleeping in my futon, in the heat of the moment.

S-Sorry, Sui......

＜Hmmm, I see, so it’s like that. Okay, got it. I will give that slime my blessing. There, it is done.＞

＜I’m next, then. Okay, so I should be giving my blessing to a familiar?＞

I can’t just take the Blacksmithing God’s blessing and refuse the War God, can I...? His blessing seems like the most dangerous out of all of them, though... The War God’s blessing would be the worst fit for me, and on top of that, I wouldn’t be able to make use of it, probably. Too much power is harmful, after all.

Dora-chan should be the one to take this, since he doesn’t have one yet.

“Th-Then to my familiar pixie dragon......”

＜Got it. Hm? You have a Fenrir, too. It seems like it would fit him too, so I’ll give my blessing to both of them.＞

Ah...... both Fel and Dora-chan got his blessing. Is that okay? It would be nice if Fel didn’t get even more war-like after getting this blessing and powering up.

＜Hehhahahaha!! A dangerous blessing, huh? If you put it like that, it’s true. My blessing gives all your stats a 50% boost during fights, after all. They’ll become a little more hot-blooded, though.＞

Don’t just tell me that after you’ve already given the blessing please, War God.

I-Isn’t 50% super dangerous? The boosts from my Online Supermarket can’t even compare.

＜So now, you’ve got our blessings so get us some alcohol!!＞

＜That’s right! Alcohol! Get us some booze!!＞

Aren’t these two way too rowdy...?

＜Why are you two just ordering as you please! I won’t let you! There’s rules to getting offerings from him.＞

＜That’s right—! To be fair to everyone, there’s a budget of 3 silver per person.＞

＜Exactly! You can’t just try to get ahead on your own. Also, if you keep making ridiculous orders like that, none of us will be able to get offerings from him anymore!＞

＜Excessiveness is bad. It’s 3 silver per person.＞

Ohh goddesses, you totally get how things work, don’t you? Giving someone preferential treatment just sows the seeds for conflict later. I’ll be doing this properly.

“That’s how it is, Sir Hephaestos, Sir Vahagn. In order to be fair to all, each person gets 3 silver’s worth of goods, I cannot compromise on that. Although for today, since I was late I’ve raised it to 4 silver.”

＜Tch! Fine. Today is 4 silver, right? If that’s the case, I’ll just be asking for alcohol, then. I won’t know until I try it, after all.＞

＜I’m the same as Hephae over here. I want all different kinds of booze. I’m counting on you to get me as much as you can within the limit, okay?＞

Of course the two gods — who were such big alcohol lovers as to alarm the goddesses — would ask for alcohol.

＜So then, I’ll be asking for the same. The one from before was good, but I really do want to try all kinds.＞

Jumping on the bandwagon, huh Agni?

＜Hahh~ ...I’d like to tell you to limit yourself to one, but with these two here, that’s probably impossible.＞

＜Right? I didn’t want to get found out by these two, but......＞

＜...Their noses are too good.＞

It looks like the goddesses have given up. Just how much do those two like their alcohol?

Oh well. I got the alcohol for Hephaestos, Vahagn, and Agni.

They wanted all kinds, so I started with canned beer. I got one each of dry beer (which was known for its sharpness), premium beer, and black beer, at 2 copper apiece. Also, a 720ml bottle of choice pure sake which cost 1 silver. After that, a 1 silver 700ml bottle of whiskey, and 640ml bottle of brandy that also cost 1 silver. And for the leftover 4 copper, some red wine from Spain. I got the same for all three of them.

“And lastly is Miss Ruka, right?”

＜The same as last time. Sweets and food. Extra food.＞

Sure, sure.

What did I have...... Ah, I still have some beef bowl, so some of that. Judging from the price of eating it in a store and the cost on my Online Supermarket, hmmm... this is an extra-large serving, so 5 copper should be fine.

After that, I still had some gyoza left, I think...... yep. 5 copper should be enough for twelve gyoza.

And then... side dishes from my Online Supermarket would be good. Oh, they have a cutlet skewer combo platter. That and... two each of yakitori thighs with green onions, liver, and chicken-meatball skewers. I also got her some soy-marinated karaage. With the rest, I bought the usual white bread and sweets.

Right, this should be good.

I lined up each god’s share on their own cardboard box altar.

Since the Blacksmithing God and the War God were now here too, that ended up being six altars in total.

“That’s right, I need to explain how to use these to you, Lady Kisharle. Uhmmm, you can see me, right?”

＜Yes, perfectly~.＞

“For the face cleansing foam, squeeze out about this much, lather with cold or warm water, and wash your face with it. Make sure to get out all the foam, by the way. Once you’ve washed your face and dried it, next is this facial lotion. Take a dollop about the size of a silver coin in your hand and apply it gently to your face. It might be good to apply more if your skin is really bad. After the facial lotion, is this milky lotion. Apply it the same way as the facial lotion, only use slightly less. You can also use extra with this if the state of your skin is especially bad. After that is this cream. Please use around enough to fit on the tip of your pinky if your skin is still dry even after the milky lotion. Also, as a special thing at night, it might be good to use a larger amount right before you sleep.” I explained the usage of her beauty products while reading the instructions on the back of the package.

“Ahh, I need to tell Hephaestos, Vahagn, and Agni something as well. This one, and this one are both very strong, so please be careful,” I said, holding up the bottles of whiskey and brandy.

“Also, this one should be poured directly into the glass and enjoyed. As for this one, it’s the same as the one I sent Agni before, so if you’re going to drink it straight, please add ice. It’s also good when cut with water.”

＜Sure, got it! Strong alcohol is always welcome!＞

＜That’s right. I’m looking forward to drinking it.＞

＜Tonight’s gonna be a feast, War God!＞

＜Yeah, of course!＞

Hephaestos and Vahagn were already talking with full intent to drink.

“Well then, here are your desired offerings. Please accept them.”

The offerings on top of the cardboard altars disappeared. After they did, I could hear the voices of the goddesses and gods making a huge fuss.

*Sigh* I don’t know why, but for some reason there’s even more of them now. Both the Blacksmithing and War Gods are scary, so I couldn’t just say no.

For some reason, I was even more tired than usual today.

I was curious as to my familiar’s statuses after they’d received blessings from the Blacksmithing and War Gods, but I was so tired right now all I wanted to do was sleep.

I’ll take a look tomorrow.

Gossip: Three Heroes ~Starting to Level Up~

Kanon, Rio, and I, as well as the three knights accompanying us, stood in front of the dungeon.

Since we’d met, we’d spent a week on learning the basics of swordplay, spears, and magic. After that, we did as the knight captain said and registered as adventurers. From now on, we would be focusing on raising our levels, and it seemed that dungeons were the most suited for fulfilling that purpose.

Dungeons reminded me of games, so I was excited.

“Well then, let’s go in, shall we?” At Leonard’s words, we passed by the snaking line of adventurers and headed for the dungeon.

Apparently since the three of them were knights, and we were treated as state guests, it was a matter of course that we had priority. We were told that we didn’t have to pay the adventurers any mind.

Even though we felt a little guilty just passing by all the people who were lined up, it was still lucky that we didn’t have to wait. It’d just be a drag having to sit in that long line, after all. Of course I’d want to enter the dungeon as soon as possible.

“Hey, is this okay?” Rio asked.

“It’s fine. The knights said so.”

“Kanon’s right. It’s not like we’re forcing our way in.”

“Is that so?”

“More importantly, hurry up. The knights are waiting.”

“She’s right.”

“Yeah, okay.” Rio was a little hesitant, but she followed us in the end.

“Everyone, are you ready?”

“““Yes!”””

“This will be your first time in the dungeon, so we’re just trying to warm up for now. Let’s just see how far we can go for the moment. I have a teleportation stone on me, so don’t worry about getting back and just fight to your heart’s content,” said Leonard.

It seemed that a teleportation stone did just as it said in the name, it allowed the user to teleport. Apparently, it was an item that would rarely drop from a boss on every tenth floor. It was a very precious item, but it seemed that the country was lending it out to us since we were heroes.

It just meant that they expected that much from us, probably. We’ll have to do our best.

The first floor was slimes, the second floor giant rats, and the third floor gray wolves. We got that far easily. At first, we had a little bit of trouble with the speed of the gray wolves on the third floor, but once we were used to it, we started to clear them easily.

The fourth floor was goblins, and both Rio and Kanon were a little hesitant to fight humanoid monsters. I also wanted to avoid it if at all possible, but they would just attack us if we didn’t. After the first time we were attacked and we beat them, that feeling disappeared. Even Kanon and Rio seemed to have gotten over it, and recognized that they were monsters.

The fifth floor was a mix of goblins and gray wolves. There were a lot of them, but we didn’t have any real trouble. After clearing the boss on this floor (it was a goblin general), we got our first drop item. It was just a regular sword, but it was just like a game, so the three of us were excited. Somehow, stuff like this just gave us a lot of motivation.

In the sixth floor, there were poisonous spider-type monsters named poison spiders.

“Just like the name, these monsters are poisonous. In this floor, their poison is still not enough to kill you, but you’ll be paralyzed for ten minutes if you get bitten. If that happens, you could lose your life anyway. So be careful,” Aaron warned us.

They were huge spiders around 50 cm in height. Just from their looks, Rio and Kanon freaked out. Also, we could never relax because these monsters would use their spider silk to hang from the ceilings and sneak up on people. But here, magic worked its wonders. After hearing from Louise that fire was these spiders’ weakness, we were advised to start using Fire magic.

“Oh blazing ball of fire, burn mine enemies to nothing! Fireball!” Using the chant for Fireball we learned in training, we shot Fireballs at the spiders.

The spiders burned away while screaming.

“That was pretty good.” Thoroughly motivated by Louise’s praise, I kept shooting my Fireballs at the enemies. Just like that, we easily cleared the 6th floor thanks to Fire magic.

In the seventh floor, it was also poison spiders, but there was also a giant poison spider, their higher form, here as well. Since people could die from the poison in giant poison spider bites, Rio and Kanon were on edge. I was also a little frightened from being told we could die, but I steadied myself, thinking it would be fine as long as we had Fire magic.

There were even more spiders around on the seventh floor than in the sixth, and they were wriggling around everywhere. Using Fireballs, I ended them all.

After lowering their numbers by shooting Fireballs at where they were concentrated, we used our swords and spears to cut apart the rest. At the end, there was the giant poison spider in the boss room.

It really was huge. Including the length of its legs, it seemed to be about 2 meters tall. There were lots of poison spiders squirming around the giant poison spider.

“Kaito! Shoot a Fire Arrow at it!!”

I came to in response to Louise’s words. It seemed that both Kanon and Rio were told by Leonard and Aaron to shoot their magic, too. Somehow, I’m going to be the one to kill that huge thing!

“Oh raging arrow of fire, pierce through mine enemies! Fire Arrow!!”

The Fire Arrow I shot hit the giant poison spider and caused the huge thing to explode. The Fireballs Kanon and Rio shot burned away the surrounding spiders.

“Yes!!”

““We did it!!””

While we were celebrating, a cutting warning interrupted us, “It’s not over yet!”

When we looked, it was true that there were still poison spiders around. Regrouping, we gathered ourselves and started to cut away the rest of the spiders. After all the spiders were gone, a bundle of string was all that was left. When we appraised it, it said, “Giant poison spider’s string.”

“This should go to Kaito, who defeated the giant poison spider.” Saying so, Louise gave it to me.

“Right, that’s the 7th floor cleared. Let’s leave it here for today and return.”

Just like that, we went back to the surface. When we got back to the palace, we confirmed our statuses with the Appraisal tool.

【Name】 Kaito Saitou

【Age】 17

【Job】 Hero from Another World

【Level】 5

【HP】 926

【MP】 882

【Attack】 891

【Defense】 867

【Agility】 860

【Skills】 Appraisal, Item Box, Holy Sword Arts, Fire magic, Water magic, Earth magic, Wind magic, Light magic, Lightning magic, Ice magic

We’d gone up to level 5. Nice!

Kanon and Rio were both also level 5.

I’m gonna get a lot stronger from here on out. And then... with Louise......

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“What do you think?”

“Well, it was their first dungeon, after all. For that, they were pretty good.”

“Right. For their first dungeon, they did well, I think.”

“Kaito’s Fire magic was pretty good, but Kanon and Rio might need some more training.”

“Yeah. It’s no good that they can’t quickly fire their magic.”

“Their sword and spear skills are pretty good for only a week of training, but I’d have liked them to be a little bit better given their title as heroes and their skills.”

“You said it.”

“Yeah, was it too early for them to go to the dungeon?”

“That’s not necessarily the case, but if we were to go deeper, they might have some trouble as they are now.”

“Yes. For now, it might be better to stop going into the dungeon for a while tomorrow, and focus on their magic, sword, and spear training.”

“You’re right. We’re being pressured from up top, but we’ll be the ones injured and in trouble if we go too far.”

“Yeah. Still though, they’re already level 5 just from today’s dungeon run. As expected of heroes.”

Chapter 3: I Underestimated Dungeons a Little

“And so, Fel and Dora-chan now have the blessing of the War God Vahagn, and Sui has the blessing of the Blacksmithing God, Hephaestos.” Once we’d finished breakfast, I told Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan about the events of last night.

Well, to be honest they pushed the blessings on to me. But even if I had them......

Even the (small) blessings were extremely useful, so I was doing just fine, and if I did get more, I probably wouldn’t be able to make use of them. Even with the War God’s blessing, I wouldn’t want to fight. Of course, I would if I was in danger, but that kind of violent stuff was usually better left to Fel. And on top of that, Sui and Dora-chan exist as well. Since that was the case, having everyone else get the War God’s blessing was much more effective.

As for the Blacksmithing God’s blessing, I’d never blacksmithed in my life, either. And I’m not that handy in the first place. I just reflexively named Sui at the time, but it might actually unexpectedly suit the slime, since it can already do pretty much anything.

《Really?! The War God’s blessing? That’s super cool! Nice!!》 Dora-chan was super happy after hearing about the blessing. In his excitement he started flying acrobatics across the room.

“The War God’s blessing, huh? That is pretty nice. You did well.” It seemed that Fel was quite happy with the War God’s blessing as well.

《The Blacksmithing God’s blessing—? Sui got the Water Goddess’ blessing, so Sui can use Water magic, but what did Sui get now?》 It looked like Sui was also curious as to what it could do with its new power.

“For now, I’ll appraise everyone and confirm your blessings.” I started with Fel.

【Name】 Fel

【Age】 1014

【Race】 Fenrir

【Level】 910

【HP】 9877

【MP】 9523

【Attack】 9106

【Defense】 9807

【Agility】 9726

【Skills】 Wind magic, Fire magic, Water magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Lightning magic, Holy magic, Barrier magic, Rending Claws, Body Reinforcement, Physical attack resistance, Magic attack resistance, MP Efficiency, Appraisal, Battle Boost

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir; Blessing of the God of War, Vahagn

Yep, Vahagn’s blessing is on there. There’s also a new violent sounding skill called Battle Boost as well...... Huh? It’s a little higher?

“Hey, Fel, did your level go up?”

“So you noticed. The higher one’s level goes, the harder it is to go higher, though. It did not even show a hint of going up these past several years, but I have gained four levels since I have contracted with you. Not only do I get to eat good food, but this happens as well. It certainly was not a mistake to make a contract with you.” Fel, who had confirmed that he had gone up in level, was in high spirits.

Still though, these stats are amazing. There’s definitely nothing that can oppose him. Thank goodness I’m on his side. Next is Dora-chan.

【Name】 Dora-chan

【Age】 116

【Race】 Pixie Dragon

【Level】 126

【HP】 895

【MP】 2879

【Attack】 2652

【Defense】 865

【Agility】 3269

【Skills】 Fire magic, Water magic, Wind magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Lightning magic, Healing magic, Bombardment, Battle Boost

【Blessings】 Blessing of the God of War, Vahagn

Dora-chan’s also got Vahagn’s blessing. He also has the same violent-sounding skill, Battle Boost. Looking at this again, Dora-chan sure is strong. He doesn’t look that way since he’s so small, though. Looks like he’ll get even stronger with Vahagn’s blessing. Next is Sui. I get the feeling he’s gotten a lot stronger for some reason...

【Name】 Sui

【Age】 2 months

【Race】 Big Slime

【Level】 16

【HP】 989

【MP】 980

【Attack】 964

【Defense】 973

【Agility】 985

【Skills】 Acid Bullet, Potion Creation, Cloning, Water magic, Smithing

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Water, Rusalka; Blessing of the God of Blacksmithing, Hephaestos

Yeah, Sui has Hephaestos’ blessing. It even has a new Smithing skill. And it does exactly that, doesn’t it? Sure, since he’s the Blacksmithing God, he would confer blacksmithing, but how would Sui even manage that?

“Sui, you’ve gotten the Smithing skill now since you got Hephaestos’ blessing, but can you do anything new?”

《Hmmm — wait a second. Uhhhmm, ehhhh...... it looks like Sui can do a lot of stuff with metal, now.》

So he can make a lot of things with like iron and stuff? Makes sense, since it’s smithing.

“I see. So? How do you do it?”

《Uhhmm, you know, with like iron and stuff, Sui will do like this and that with it in Sui’s belly.》

This and that in its belly, huh? ......Does that mean Sui can make it if he takes in stuff like iron ingots or iron ore? I’m not really sure what that would be like without testing it.

But it’s not like I have any iron ingots on me. I don’t even have any iron ore......... Ah! I have that, though.

The mithril ore that I had picked up after Fel defeated the mithril lizard.

I took out some mithril ore from my Item Box. “Sui, can you make something with this?”

《Yeah, probably...》

“I see, then... Uhhhh, this should be good, I think......” I took out the knife that was in my belt scabbard.

“Can you make a knife like this out of this rock?”

《Yeah, that’s fine — but it’ll take a while, probably.》 Sui said, 《Then, Sui will start,》 before absorbing the mithril ore.

Ten minutes later.

Sui said that it would take a while, but is this okay?

“Mm? Are we not going to the dungeon yet?”

《Yeah, let’s hurry up and go—! I want to see how awesome the War God’s blessing is already.》

“Wait a second. Sui’s testing out its new skill that it got from the Blacksmithing God.”

“Mnn... then it cannot be helped.”

《Fiiiinneee—.》

Both Fel and Dora-chan reluctantly decided to wait.

“Sui, are you okay? You don’t have to push yourself too hard.”

《No, Sui is fine. Master — it’ll be done in a bit, so just wait.》

“Sure, I’ll wait. You don’t have to hurry too hard or anything.”

《Yeah, okay!》

Oh, right. I already know what the War God’s blessing does.

“Right, right. So, the War God’s blessing boosts all your stats by 50% during battle, apparently.”

《Really? That’s awesome! Am I gonna get even stronger?! The War God’s blessing really does fit me perfectly, after all!》 Hearing about the 50% boost, Dora-chan was quite happy.

“Hohhh, that is quite nice. Just the perfect blessing to get for dungeon diving, no?” Fel said, grinning broadly. He didn’t actually start laughing, but from the air around him it felt like his grin implied he was laughing intrepidly.

That’s probably kinda bad. It might have been a mistake to give Fel the War God’s blessing. I mean, he’s already ridiculously strong, and now he gets another 50% boost?! .........Ahh, thinking about it now, I’m starting to feel sorry for the monsters... It’s looking like Fel’s ready and raring to go murder them, too. Please don’t rampage around too hard, really, please......

Ten more minutes passed while we talked about those kinds of subjects.

《It’s done—!》

“Ohh! Sui, you’re finished?!”

《Yeah, it’s done—! Here—!》 Saying so, Sui pushed forward a knife that glowed blue-white with its tentacle. I took it and appraised it.

【Mithril Knife+】

A well-made mithril knife.

There was no mistake, it was a mithril knife. Not only that, but it was well made. Is that why there’s a plus on it? Well, anyway it’s amazing. To think that Sui would make such a good knife.

Our Sui really was amazing.

《Master — how is it? Sui’s knife?》

“It’s really well made. Thanks. Sui, you really are amazing, to make something like this.”

《Really? Is Sui awesome?》

“Yeah, super awesome.”

《Eheheheheh, Sui is awesome. Sui is so happy—!》 Sui started to bounce around joyfully.

Ahh~, Sui’s so cuuuute! Sui is my source of healing.

“Mn? If it is done, then we are going to the dungeon.”

《That’s right! Let’s go to the dungeon! The dungeon!》

Fine, fine.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The party of Fel, Sui, Dora-chan, and I were currently on our way to the dungeon. From what I’d heard out of Elrand, we’d see where the entrance was ourselves if we followed the walls surrounding the town to our right from the gate where we entered the city.

Uhhh, is that it?

We ran into a place where a lot of people were gathered after following his directions for around 500 meters. I couldn’t tell why, but there were a lot of stalls selling food and general goods lined up. Ahead of that, there was what looked like the entrance to a dungeon surrounded by stone walls. There was a pair of armored knights flanking the door.

“Looks like it’s here.”

“Indeed, there is no mistake.”

At the entrance to the dungeon, there was a long line of adventurers waiting to get in. As I watched, adventurer after adventurer poured out of a building right by the entrance and lined up.

Oh yeah, didn’t Elrand say that there was a branch of the Adventurer’s guild nearby, and that you can’t enter unless you register yourself as an entrant first? I see — so that must be the Adventurer’s guild branch.

“Apparently, we can’t go inside the dungeon unless we register at the Adventurer’s guild branch there. So let’s stop by first.”

After informing them, I took everyone into the branch. There were three lines, so I chose one and got in.

“Excuse me, I’d like to register for the dungeon.”

“All right, dungeon registry, is it? Oh my, if it isn’t the rumored tamer, Mukohda,” said the receptionist in front of me.

‘Rumored tamer’? Huh? What the heck does that mean? Is that what they’re saying about me?

“Ahh, sorry. I heard from my friends at the main Adventurer’s guild. Specifically, that you, sir Mukohda, are an amazing tamer who has strong familiars under his command, and that you are a shining star of an adventurer whom we have high expectations for.”

H-Huh? Ehhh? Really? All that does is spell trouble for me though......

“Nooo, in my case, I’m not the one that’s strong, but my familiars.” In reality, I couldn’t hold a candle to any of my familiars.

“What are you saying? That’s part of your strength. Changing the subject, you have very little baggage, don’t you? Are you sure you’re alright?”

Hm? What does she mean?

“Could it be the first time you’ve been in a dungeon, sir?”

Well, I was forcefully taken into a newly formed dungeon, but it’s true that this is my first time in a dungeon this big.

When I nodded, the receptionist replied with, “Thought so,” and started explaining things to me.

It seemed that entering the dungeon required a lot of preparation. I was told that if we were to enter the dungeon, the first thing I would have to do is estimate how long we would be down there. It depends on the adventurers, but most people enter for three days on the short side, and up to a month on the long side. If the goal was to retrieve some drop items out of this many-floored dungeon, one would have to explore for at least that long to see some return, after all.

And so, since of course we would be spending that long in the dungeon, appropriate preparations would be in order. Especially for food, the accepted practice was to bring a large amount, since one may never know exactly what will happen in there, and your planned return date may not necessarily be correct.

It was a story from long ago, but apparently there was a party that didn’t prepare enough food and was annihilated because of it.

“All the stalls that are lined up around here sell food and stuff aimed at adventurers, you know? There are also at least somewhat accurate maps up to the 15th floor, so there shouldn’t be anything that bad happening up until then, but if you go lower than that you should exercise the greatest caution. It’s also safer to carry more food than you think you’ll need.”

I see.

When I asked about obtaining food in the dungeon, I was told that some monsters dropped meat, but that was up to luck. Apparently, rather than leave that up to luck, it would be better to properly prepare food.

Well, of course that’s the case.

Also, it seemed that this dungeon had 30 floors in it, but the current leading party was only up to the 22nd floor. As for how they knew about the 30th floor, apparently there was a party in the past that got that far. When I asked further, I was told that, surprisingly, that party was the one the current guildmaster, Elrand, was in, as well as Krehl’s guildmaster, Rodolfo. Apparently, the last boss room had a behemoth waiting in it, and after some discussion, Elrand and his party decided on a brave retreat.

It’s a behemoth, of course you’d retreat. It’s last-boss class even in games, you know? Actually, it really is this dungeon’s last boss, haha.

《Hohh, a behemoth, huh? How fun.》 Fel’s telepathy rang in my head.

Don’t you go reacting to the word ‘behemoth,’ Fel. It’s not fun at all, geez.

I went with the flow when my familiars were all raring to go, but I underestimated dungeons a little. I would never have thought that it was the sort of thing to stay multiple days in. My familiars would probably just defeat any enemy in the dungeon, but the matter of food was entirely different.

Our biggest enemy would be rations.

At the very least, I had my Online Supermarket so we wouldn’t starve to death, but there was no way I could freely use it in front of other adventurers. With that in mind, it was necessary to properly prepare (especially in terms of food) for entering the dungeon.

“Excuse me, I think I really will refrain from the dungeon for today. From what you’ve said, we really aren’t prepared for it.”

“I see. If you really aren’t prepared for it, that would be best. Well then, I will be returning your guild card.”

When I accepted my guild card back from the receptionist, Fel and Dora-chan contacted me through telepathy.

《W-What?!》

《Whaa—t, we’re this close and we aren’t going in?!》

《You two heard too, didn’t you? If we don’t prepare first, we’re not gonna be able to eat anything decent.》

《What do you mean?》

《Fel, you know that I can get food from my world, right?》

《Indeed.》

《Hm? Oh, is that what that square box that always appears in front of you is? I totally thought it was your magic or something.》

《Oh right, I hadn’t explained it to you yet, Dora-chan. I was summoned from another world. So you see, it’s called “Online Supermarket.” Well, it’s basically a skill that lets me get stuff like food from my world. The food I make uses a lot of spices and seasonings and stuff from my world, get it? That’s why it’s so good. So imagine: what would happen if I use that in front of other adventurers?》

《If they’re especially greedy, they’d try to get otherworld stuff out of you even if they had to threaten you to do it. We wouldn’t let that happen, though.》

No... well, with Fel around even I don’t think that would probably go through. But in a place like the dungeon, there’s no absolutes, right? There’s gotta be a lot of blind spots and the like, and who knows if they attack while Fel’s fighting or something.

《I mean, I know that Fel’s not gonna let that happen. But what about if they attack me while Fel’s fighting some monster? We don’t even know how strong the adventurers in the dungeon are. So I really don’t want to use my skill in the dungeon if I can. My stock of pre-prepared food is dwindling, too. If it runs out, then the only things I’ll be able to make are meat grilled with salt, or meat and vegetables boiled with salt to make a soup, you know? Are you guys fine with that?》

After I said that, Fel and Dora-chan fell deep into thought. Just as I thought, they really were attached to good food.

《That’s why, just for a little while, I’m thinking three days, we put off going into the dungeon so I can make some preparations.》

《Is three days not too much time?》

《I think so too. One day is fine, right? 1 day?》

Fel and Dora-chan both hesitated at the thought of waiting for three days.

《Uhhh, well, we don’t know how long we’ll be in there once we enter the dungeon. So, before that, I want to get in some sightseeing, as well as make a lot of food to keep for later. Three days is definitely necessary for all of that.》

Fel reacted to the mention of the behemoth in the 30th floor, so he was definitely planning to go all the way down. If that was the case, I had no idea when I would be able to see the light of day again — so I wanted to get in a bit of sightseeing in the city beforehand.

《Mn? The food preparing aside, what do you mean by sightseeing?》

《Fel, you just reacted to the mention of a behemoth, right? You totally intend to go all the way down to the 30th floor and fight it, right?》

《Of course.》

《See? If you do that, I have no idea when I’ll be able to come back out. Before that, I want to sightsee a little. I’ve finally come to a place this big and all.》

Even though I’d traveled all this way to this place, it would be way too boring to end it with just making meals and then going into some dungeon. Personally, I’d rather go and look around.

《Why not just bear with it for three days? If you do, you’ll be able to eat good food even in the dungeon, you know?》

《Mnnrrrrr, even if you tell me that... Fine. Only three days, though.》

《Both master Fel and I are weak when you bring up food, huh? Oh well, 3 days it is.》

I somehow managed to persuade Fel and Dora-chan. “Now that that’s decided, today will be sightseeing—!”

Onwards, to the city of Dolan!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We walked around the city of Dolan. I was getting stares because of Fel and Dora-chan, but people were a lot calmer than I expected. Just as one would expect of a dungeon city, there’re a lot of adventurers, and even though tamers were rare, sometimes one would be seen bringing along some familiars, so the people of this city were probably used to it.

“Still though, there’s a lot of people around. Just what you’d expect out of one of the five largest cities in the country.”

I continued walking along the street while looking around at the stores that were lined up. The local flavor of the stores in this dungeon city were of course, mostly dominated by weapons and armor shops.

If asked if I had any interest, I would say, ‘a little,’ but as I was right now, I had no use for any of it. I had strong allies in the form of my familiars, and Sui also got a blessing from the Blacksmithing God, as well. The mithril knife I had Sui make for me was really well done, and it was pretty, right down to the design on the hilt. Truthfully, I wanted to hang it off my belt right now, but thanks to it being made of mithril its cutting edge was nothing to scoff at. The scabbard and belt I was wearing were made out of giant deer leather and very tough, but since there was a possibility the knife would just slice right through it, I regrettably had to shut it in my Item Box.

And so, my idea was to coat the scabbard with a thin layer of mithril. Luckily enough, the scabbard part of the set was removable, so if it was possible to coat the inside of the scabbard with a thin layer of mithril, there would be no need to worry about my blade cutting through it. When I tried asking Sui about it, the slime said it was probably doable, so I was thinking of trying it out tonight. After that, I was considering having Sui make some more mithril swords as preparation, since it was made painfully clear to me that preparation for the dungeon was important.

While walking and looking around at the stores and thinking deeply about various subjects, something caught my eye. The store itself was apparently a store that handled magic tools. As if it was drawing me in, I got closer to the store.

What caught my eye was a 【State-of-the-Art Magic Stove】 that was carefully, even reverentially, placed to decorate the storefront. It had four stovetops lined up horizontally, and a fairly large oven in the bottom.

As for its shape, it was more of a rectangle than a square thanks to the horizontal stovetops. On its longest side, it measured slightly shorter than 2 meters, and was about 80cm wide. It was a little big, but that size was used for the oven in the bottom.

“Welcome. You have a nice eye, to be attracted to that state-of-the-art magic stove.” While I was looking at the stove, I was approached by what seemed to be the shopkeeper.

“Excuse me, how powerful is the heat on this?” It probably used magic stones since it was a magic tool, but if the power on it was weak there would be no point.

“Just as you can see, this state-of-the-art magic stove does not use any old magic pebble, but a carefully selected one that allows it to have enough firepower for all your needs,” he said, pointing towards the center of the stove. There, a magic circle was drawn, and in the center was a black magic stone around 2cm in diameter. According to the shopkeep, this magic circle was one of fire, and the magic stone in the middle provided the power to light the fire.

I see, so that’s what magic tools are like.

“On top of that, you can freely adjust the strength of the fire from low to high. Also, since it uses a magic stone of this size, even if you use it every day, the stone will hold for 10 years before needing to be replaced.”

I can keep using this as-is for 10 years? Wow.

“I’ll light the stove for you; take a look.” Saying so, the shopkeep pressed a button on the front of the stove and lit the fire.

“Press here, and add in a little magic power only when starting the flame. Once the flame is lit, you can use this knob here to adjust the power. Even the use of it is simple.”

It looked like turning the knob (which was to the side of the button) to the left lowered the heat, and turning to the right made it stronger. Just as the shopkeep said, it was easy to use, and its power was more than enough.

“Each stove has its own control, so you can cook several things at once.”

Right? The portable stoves I’ve been using up until now have been... fine, but their power leaves a little to be desired, I had been thinking recently. It looked like this magic stove would solve all my problems.

“Also, the bottom of this stove is an oven, and the controls for lighting it and adjusting its heat are here. They work the same way as the ones for the stoves. Oh, and there’s a timer here, you won’t have to worry about burning anything, either.” The shopkeep pointed to the right of the oven door that was on the front of the stove.

I see. So, there’s a timer, too. It’s basically the same as a regular oven.

“With an oven this big, you can even roast a whole cockatrice. Not only that, you could even make soup on the stoves above, while the oven below bakes bread or something.”

Whole roasted cockatrice, huh? ......Cockatrices are about 1.5 meters in length, so this should be able to do it. Roasted chicken... how nice...... fresh bread, too...... sounds so good... since I have my skill, I can get flour and dry yeast easily, so handmade bread might be a good idea, actually. At any rate, having this looks like it will increase the range of dishes I can make by a lot. I might... want this...

“Looks good. So, how much is it?” That was the most important point. It was probably expensive though, since it used magic stones.

“860 gold.”

“............Huh?”

“860 gold.”

Don’t say that with a smile on your face, please...... 860 gold, huh? Yep, that sure is expensive. But... I want it. Hrmmm, what should I do...?

《Hey, are you not done yet?》

《He’s right! It’s boring out here. I’m hungry, too.》

Fel and Dora-chan, who were waiting disinterestedly, finally ran out of patience and started complaining over telepathy. By the way, Sui was asleep in my bag, as always.

《Sorry, I was just wondering whether to buy this.》

《Hm? What would you even do with such a large thing? It would only be in the way.》

《It wouldn’t. This is a magic stove, and it’s for cooking. But it’s really expensive, so I wasn’t sure if I should get it.》

《You say that, but you have been cooking just fine up until now, have you not?》

《That’s true, but with this I’d be able to make a larger variety of dishes. There’s an oven in the bottom, so I’d be able to make things I wouldn’t have been able to do before. But it’s a whole 860 gold, you know? So I’m a little hesitant.》

It wasn’t like I didn’t have the money, but 860 gold was a lot. It was more than double the already expensive bathtub I bought.

《Alright then, buy it.》

......What?

《You will be able to make new delicious food, yes?》

《W-Well, yeah......》

《Then there is no problem. You have money, do you not? Just buy it.》

I mean, yeah I technically do have the money... Fel sure doesn’t waver, does he? Saying that I should buy it anyway if he can eat good food...

《What’s going on? You can make good food if you have that? Then of course it’s better if you buy it.》

Even Dora-chan, huh? Hmmm... then should I just get it? I do actually want it... Yeah okay, let’s buy it.

“Excuse me, I’ll buy it.”

“Huh? Really?”

Could you please not be so surprised after pushing it so hard? Well, he probably didn’t think I had that much money just from looking at me, I guess.

“Yes, I will. 860 gold, right?” I produced 3 bags packed with gold coins. Each bag had 300 gold in them. After taking out 40 gold from one of them, the total became 860 gold. “This should make 860 gold; please confirm the amount.”

The shocked shopkeep came to at the sound of my voice and started counting the money.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. It certainly is 860 gold. Where would you like me to deliver the stove?”

“Ahh, you don’t have to worry about that. I have an Item Box, so I’ll be able to fit it, if only barely.”

Really though I can fit that and more...

“Ohh, I see. This town has a lot of people, so it’s not like Item Boxes are especially rare, but I see that yours is fairly large.”

Hehh — so big cities really do have more people with Item Boxes in them. But still, this size is pretty large, huh? The only large-ish things I’ve had to deal with so far were monsters, and those I’d only take out in front of guildmasters, and the like, so I didn’t have to worry about this before, but I should probably be more careful who I store and take out large objects in front of.

I stored the 【State-of-the-Art Magic Stove】 in my Item Box and left the store. The shopkeep saw me off with a, “Thank you very much!” and a huge grinning face.

After that, we had a look around at the food district. The vegetables on sale were all familiar to me; only their names were a little bit different. Cabbage was cabbagg, carrots were carrotes, and onions were oneions, and the like. The vegetables on sale here were less fresh that what I would get from my skill, but it was all cheaper, so I bought a lot. I bought cabbages and carrots, onions, and they also had potatoes, so I got those too. They even had something that looked like a mini onion, so I bought that as well. Each one of those was 1 silver for a 1 meter wide bag full of them.

It might actually be better to buy vegetables from here instead of my Online Supermarket from now on...

I bought some black bread as well. Black bread is hard, but it has its own crunchiness and texture, so it wasn’t exactly bad.

After that, I kept looking around at the stores lined up on the street, but Fel and Dora-chan were getting bored, and started complaining, “I’m hungry,” so I decided to go back to the inn.

Time to try out this 【State-of-the-Art Magic Stove】 now.

I was thinking of borrowing the inn’s courtyard to use the new stove and cook, but all three of my familiars were complaining of hunger, so I had to tide them over with pre-made karaage and pork cutlet first. It was my fault that I got absorbed in shopping and forgot the time, after all. Oh well.

While everyone was eating, I was going to try using the oven to make something. Since I couldn’t take too long, I decided on a vegetable and meat oven bake, which only needed me to cut the ingredients and cook them.

I’ll need... cooking paper, right? Oh, and also olive oil and herb salt from the Online Supermarket. After that, it’s the vegetables, right? Anything would be fine for this, but when I made it before, I used potatoes, carrots, onions, shimeji and eringi mushrooms, and paprika for color, if I remember right. If I’m going to try and emulate that and make the same thing, I’ll need the mushrooms and some paprika, as well. Right, that should be good.

~◇~◇~◇~

First is the meat; I go with rockbird this time. Cut the meat into large bite-sized pieces, poke holes in the meat with a fork and season with salt and pepper.

Next, cut the vegetables. For hard vegetables like potatoes and carrots, peel off their skin, and cut into discs so that they are cooked more easily. For the onions (this time I’m using the mini onions that I just bought), peel the skin and leave it whole. Take the base off of the shimeji mushrooms, and render into appropriately-sized pieces. As for the eringi mushrooms, just rip them into nicely-sized pieces with your hands.

Spread a cooking sheet on the sheet pan in the oven, and fill the pan with a nicely formed arrangement of the meat and vegetables. Then, spread some olive oil around the whole thing, and make it rain herb salt.

After all that’s done, bake it in the preheated oven.

~◇~◇~◇~

I had no idea how this oven would act, so I kept watch on it as it baked, and took out the pan to check the food once the surface showed signs of being burned.

“Ohh, it’s baking nicely. The heat’s gone through both the meat and the vegetables. Yeah, it’s done.”

After serving the finished vegetable and meat oven bake onto some dishes, I placed them in front of Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan.

“So you used what you just bought, right? Oh, so this has vegetables in it......”

Fel, stop complaining just because something has vegetables in it.

《It smells nice, though.》 Dora-chan was sniffing the food, his nose twitching with anticipation.

It’s because I used herb salt.

《This isn’t just salty — it’s just as good as it smells!》 Sui already started eating.

The herb salt went over pretty well with them.

Now then, Dora-chan should be fine with just this, but Fel and Sui will probably ask for more, so I’m gonna have to make more. But the sheet pan is large, so it might be enough after just this next serving. They’ve already eaten some karaage and pork cutlet, after all.

I baked another pan full of the vegetable and meat medley. This time, I added some cheese on top of the finished product. It looked really good, with the cheese being melted into a gooey state by the residual heat. I secured a little of the pan for myself; Fel and Sui put down the rest of the bake and were satisfied.

《That was good—!》

“Indeed, it was quite fine.”

All that was just fine? Well, whatever, he did eat all of the vegetables.

“There’s still time until it becomes dark, so I’ll be making food for the dungeon for a while.”

It looked like everyone else was going to take a nap. So they’re just gonna sleep after eating their fill? I’m jealous.

Now then, time to make food for the dungeon. The stuff I had stored from before got eaten up just now, after all. First up is rice.

The pot I had right now was on the large side, but it wasn’t enough. I bought more of the same size until I had ten pots. I also bought more rice than I would be cooking, so I would be able to use them later in the dungeon without having to use my skill.

After washing the rice, I started to prepare the fried foods while the rice was soaking in water. Both Fel and Sui were quite fond of the fried stuff, and from the way Dora-chan was eating it earlier, he liked it too. So I would need to at least make some karaage and some other fried food to store.

I used all that was left of four kinds of meat — red serpent, black serpent, rockbird, and giant dodo — marinating them in a soy sauce-and-salt-based tare marinade. While I was using three of the four stoves for steaming rice, the last one I left to fry foods. This time, I was even going to fry up the Hamburg steak cutlets that I had left without frying in storage.

I diligently steamed rice and fried foods.

“Whew~, with this we should be fine on rice and fried stuff.” I heaved a sigh after storing it all in my Item Box.

“Now then, let’s make some simple beef bowls.” I was going to make the bowls using bloody horn-bull meat, and I also thought to try wyvern meat in the bowl as well this time. It was a little bit of a waste to me, but I had a lot of it.

Before I started, I got a new pot. I’d been using the biggest one I could with the portable stoves, but now I had this huge magic stove, so I bought an even bigger pot. Of course, they wouldn’t be selling those huge cylindrical pots they used in eateries, but I managed to get one half that size. Even so, it was quite a lot bigger, so it was good for me. For now, I got two of them, and I was planning to buy more depending on what I would make tomorrow as well.

I stuffed the pot full with the bloody horn-bull and wyvern meat to make the bowls. I tried to make the wyvern meat a little less strong in flavor, since wyvern meat was good enough that it would be plenty delicious after just grilling it quickly.

After that, I started on a roast giant deer for dinner. I still had quite a lot of giant deer left, after all. After preparing several chunks of giant deer meat, I slathered each chunk thoroughly with liberal amounts of olive oil and seasoned it with herb salt. Then, I spread a cooking sheet on the sheet pan and roasted them in the preheated oven. Since the oven was so large, I managed to fit a lot in at once.

Once the surface of the meat was well browned, I took the meat out and wrapped it in aluminum foil to let the residual heat continue cooking it. Then, once the meat cooled, I sliced it thin, added some sauce on top, and it was finished. The residual heat did its job: not only was the inside still pink, but it was well roasted anyway.

When I tried a little, it was soft and amazingly delicious — enough so that it didn’t even need the sauce. But I still prepared some anyway, just in case. (Although it was just a simple mix of ponzu and onion flavored steak sauce.)

By the time I’d finished the roast giant deer, the day had gone completely dark.

“It’s do-......” I didn’t even have to call them, they were all already waiting behind me.

“Ohhh! This is amazing!” said Fel, his cheeks stuffed full with the thinly sliced roast giant deer.

Heheh, it really was a good idea to buy this stove.

《This sauce is really nice with its acidity.》

That’s ponzu, Dora-chan.

《This meat is soft and delicious!》

That’s because I didn’t over roast it and let its own heat cook itself. I was pretty happy at Sui’s evaluation, as it had pretty sharp tastes.

Fel and Sui each had several more servings, but since I’d managed to make so much at once, I didn’t have to roast anything extra. It was really nice.

I really made a good decision getting this stove.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Today I’d be spending the entire day making food for the dungeon.

Even if I could make food in the dungeon in a pinch, I still wanted three or four days’ worth of food prepared beforehand. I’d already fed everyone breakfast, so I had time.

By the way, I just gave everyone bloody horn-bull steaks since it was something simple that only needed grilling, but everyone enjoyed it and called it delicious. It seemed like having steak right in the morning wasn’t a problem. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to stomach something like a steak in the morning, so I just had some instant soup, bread, and coffee.

Now then, what should I make today? I made the fried stuff and some beef bowls yesterday already...... It’s really nice that they go for bowls, don’t they? It’s really simple since I just have to put the stuff on top of rice, and it’s good anyway.

Thinking like that, ginger-fried pork or pickling something with miso might be a good idea. Wait, now that I think about it......... Oh, there it is.

I had completely forgotten about the miso-pickled orc general meat I had prepared before.

There’s quite a bit in here. So I grilled all of it and got my miso-grilled stocks secure.

Next, I started on ginger-fried orc general. It was a simple dish, since it was just grilling the meat with the usual company’s ginger-fry tare.

After that, for something that goes well with rice, the pork chops that I made before were simple, so I went with those — especially since they would get even more delicious if I were to use the orc general’s meat.

If we’re talking about a combo with rice, I really want to eat curry already. Since I was part of the pork faction when it came to curry, I really wanted to try it out, especially since I still had orc general meat left.

But the smell...... Curry smell is really strong...... I’d definitely get complaints if I were to infect this entire area with the smell of curry.

What should I do...? Something that uses pork......... Ah, why not tonjiru?

Tonjiru has a lot of stuff in it, and personally I was a fan of warm soups.

Not sure how Fel and the others will take it, but it should be fine as long as I use extra orc general meat.

First, I’ve gotta get some stuff through the Online Supermarket. I’ll buy another one of the half-sized cylindrical pots from yesterday, and for the frying pan, I kind of want something bigger than the 28 cm ones I’ve been using up until now... Oh, they have a new type of frying pan. Let’s get four of these to go with the four stoves. And I’ll need some lids to go with those.

And since I was already getting stuff like that, I also got some bowls and sieves, and other kitchen and dining wares like ladles and spatulas.

And I’ll also need the rest of the ingredients for the tonjiru, too. Potatoes and carrots and onions... oh, and sesame oil and granulated dashi I already have, so I just need daikon radishes and greater burdock and konjac, and also miso, I think.

After all of that, I refilled on ginger-fry tare from the usual company, as well as the ketchup I would need for tare to use with the pork chops.

Wait a second, I have both ginger-fried and miso-fried pork, right? So no matter how we eat that stuff, won’t it need shredded cabbage?

This world has cabbage, but eating it raw is...... I bought pre shredded cabbage with my skill.

If it’s to be eaten raw anyway, might as well use store-bought stuff... But if that’s the case, then I feel like the cabbage I just bought is going to waste, huh? A dish that cooks the cabbage and is also simple...... what about twice-cooked pork? If I just use the twice-cooked pork tare they sell online it’ll be simple, too. Right, let’s make it.

...Hrmmm, that was pretty expensive. That might just be because the pot and the pans were a pretty good price. That being said, compared to how much I currently have it’s not actually that much. Now then, let’s start cooking.

Let’s start from the tonjiru which’ll be the most work.

~◇~◇~◇~

Cut the orc general meat into thin slices about 3 centimeters wide.

Cut the potatoes, carrots, and daikon into the shape of gingko leaves, cut the onions roughly into about 5 mm wide pieces, and render the greater burdock into long, thin shavings before exposing it to water. Cut the konjac into wide strips and give it a preparatory boil.

Once all the preparation is done, throw some sesame oil into the large half-cylinder pot and start cooking the orc general meat. Once the meat changes color, add in the vegetables and konjac and start cooking some more to familiarize all the ingredients with the sesame oil. Then, add in water and the granulated dashi, and simmer while scooping out any lye that forms.

Once the vegetables get soft, add some miso that’s been dissolved in broth and bring it to a boil again to finish the dish.

~◇~◇~◇~

Now then, how’s it taste?

*Slurp* Mm, that’s good. It’s been boiled enough that the vegetables are soft, but it might be better to go for a little longer to let the flavors settle a little more.

Tonjiru varied a surprising amount from house to house. I used sesame oil here, because that’s how it was always made in my family, after all. It not only added to the smell, but also the taste of the dish.

The fillings also changed a lot depending on who made it. For my family, the recipe was just as I made it, but without the onions. I only began to add onions after I started living on my own. The onions added a little sweetness, and I liked that, so I started throwing those in. Substituting the potatoes for taro or sweet potatoes was also a good idea sometimes.

It might be nice to change up the recipe and make tonjiru again, actually.

I decided to let the tonjiru sit like this for an hour before simmering it some more and storing it in my Item Box. After that, I grilled up some ginger-fried pork, miso-fried pork, and pork chops. Once those were done, I plated them and stored them in my Item Box as well.

“Whew~, this much should be enough.”

Next is the twice-cooked pork.

~◇~◇~◇~

Cut the orc general meat into slices that are slightly larger than a mouthful. Roughly cut the cabbage. Oil up a frying pan, and start cooking the orc general meat. Once the meat’s color changes, add in the cabbage. Once the cabbage starts going soft, pour on some of the twice-cooked pork tare and mix it around so it coats everything. Give the dish a little more cooking time, and the dish is done.

~◇~◇~◇~

That was super easy.

I also cooked these before plating them and storing them in my Item Box.

Now then, it’s just about lunch time, so I can take care of the shredded cabbage after lunch.

Of course, I had already given the tonjiru a second simmer and put it in my Item Box.

“For today’s lunch...... why not just steak again? Let’s make it a rice bowl this time, a— w-whoah!!” Feeling something behind me, I wheeled around to find all three of my familiars lined up and waiting.

“I am hungry. Food.”

《Give us food! Foo~d.》

《Master—, Sui is hungry—.》

Wow, the clocks in your stomachs are accurate.

I ended up making wyvern steak bowls for lunch. All I had to do was lay the wyvern steak on top of some rice, add in some garlic-flavored steak sauce, and it was done.

Everyone ate it while singing its praises. I also partook, and it was delicious on top of being very easy and simple to make.

Meat is great, after all. This kind of thing feels like luxury in the afternoon, it’s nice. Although I’m gonna have to continue cooking some more after this.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Hmmm, what should I make now? Oh yeah, didn’t I just buy some black bread? What about some sort of stew or soup that would pair with it? Ah, why not that beef stew I made before? That went over well. It went over so well that the entire pot ended up being one meal’s worth, so let’s make two pots this time. I have pretty much all the ingredients already, too, and I can just take care of shredding the cabbage while it’s boiling, so that’s good.

After buying another two half-sized cylinder pots, I also refilled on the butter, cans of demiglace sauce, and red wine that I needed to make the beef stew.

Right, let’s get started.

*Clankclang* *Swishish*

“...Now all that’s left is to simmer it until the vegetables are soft, add in the demi-sauce can and the ketchup, and then simmer some more.”

While the vegetables were simmering, I started to shred some cabbage. I single-mindedly shredded cabbages, washed them, and then shredded more cabbages. I spent a lot of time part-timing at restaurants since they had staff meals, so I was pretty used to this kind of thing. That said, I still wasn’t a pro. But there was a sort of charm to having a larger piece every now and then.

In the middle of it, I stopped to add the demi-sauce and ketchup to the stew, changed the heat to low, and continued to simmer the stew.

And while that was simmering, I went straight back to shredding cabbage.

“Whew~, this should be it.”

After stuffing the huge amount of shredded cabbage into my Item Box, I took a peek at the beef stew. Since I had it simmer until it was bubbling while stirring it every once in a while, I felt like it turned out better than before.

Now what should I make next......? I want to make some Hamburg steak patties, but I used all the ground meat on Hamburg steak cutlets...... And it’ll take time to grind out more meat. Hrmmm... Ah!

I just remembered something from my part-timing days. It was about the char siu we would make while I part-timed at a ramen shop. That stuff was good whether it was eaten with rice as a bowl or even alone. It took a while to make, but it was just boiling, really. And I can softboil some eggs while I’m at it, too.

With that decided, I’ll need another one of those cylindrical pots, won’t I? And let’s get some octopus thread, spring onions, garlic, and ginger. Oh, and some eggs.

~◇~◇~◇~

Start off by wrapping the orc meat with the octopus thread. It’s fine even if it doesn’t look exactly like a mesh net or something. Since honestly, it’s a lot of work to do that. The point is to form up the meat and stop it from falling apart while cooking, so as long as the thread is wrapped in a way to secure the meat’s shape, it’s all okay.

After that, oil up a frying pan and grill until the surface changes color.

Take the half-sized cylindrical pot and add in water, soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and then the pale parts of the green onions, the leftover onions, odds and ends of carrots, crushed garlic, and thinly sliced ginger before bringing it all to a boil and simmering from there. Then, add the surface-seared orc meat and bring the whole thing to a bubbling simmer.

Meanwhile, start on the soft-boiled eggs. By the way, poking a small hole in the bottom of the egg before boiling it makes it easier to peel. Before, I would use a safety pin to do that, but now I have the tool I once found at a 100 yen shop thanks to my skill, so I start using that instead. (I had thought that it might be there, and it actually was when I looked, so I went and bought it. It wasn’t quite as cheap as 100 yen, but it was still only 3 copper, so it was cheap enough.)

After opening a hole in the shell and rolling it around in the water so the yolk would be in the middle, I have it boil for around six minutes before soaking it in cold water to cool, and then peeling the shell. After that, all I would have to do is let it soak in the char siu’s cooled broth for a night and the eggs would be done.

I guess I should make something else while the char siu’s doing its thing. Since it’s just roasting a lump of meat, I can make some roast beef.

After coating a chunk of bloody horn-bull meat with olive oil, cover it with some grated garlic, salt, and coarsely ground pepper. Once that is done, lay the chunk out on a cooking sheet spread on top of the sheet pan from the oven, and start roasting it in the preheated oven. Watch the meat as it roasts, and take it out after it gets well browned. Then wrap the meat in aluminum foil to allow its own heat to cook it the rest of the way — basically the same recipe as the roasted giant deer from yesterday.

This time, since I have garlic on me, I go with that and regular salt and pepper instead of herb salt.

~◇~◇~◇~

I took one of the chunks of meat and tried cutting into it a little, and the middle was a vivid pink. It was clearly on the rare side and well roasted.

*Owmp*

Yeah, it’s good.

“Is dinner ready?”

《I’m hungry~.》

《Food, food~.》

Yep, these guys really are on top of when it’s time for food. Actually wait, this roast beef isn’t for dinner. Still though, I haven’t made dinner...... Ah, roast beef sandwiches would be a lot bigger... I have to protect this roast beef no matter what.

“Wait a second.” Before I start on the roast beef sandwiches, I need to turn off the heat for the char siu.

Peeking inside the pot, it looked like the char siu was doing well. All I had left to do with it was cool it and let it sit for a night. And if I added the eggs in as well, I’d end up with flavored eggs on top of all that.

Right, the char siu is good for now, let’s get started on those roast beef sandwiches.

I bought some white bread, butter, and Japanese onion dressing.

~◇~◇~◇~

After toasting the bread lightly in the oven, spread on some butter and lay a bed of shredded cabbage on top. Then, layer on the roast beef, and spread the Japanese onion dressing on top before closing the sandwich with another slice of toasted bread. Steak sauce would also work, but since the cabbage is there, dressing with acidity in it pairs better overall.

~◇~◇~◇~

After making several sandwiches, I plated them all.

“It’s done.”

Everyone immediately dug in.

“This meat is delicious. Can I not just eat the meat?”

Fel, my friend, you know as well as I do that if I did that it’d all be gone in an instant. Just make do with that for today. I’m protecting this roast beef with my life.

《You don’t get it, do you, Fel? It’s delicious because you pair the meat with these vegetables in the middle,》 said Dora-chan, with a triumphant look.

Dora-chan, you genius! Could Dora-chan’s taste be better than I thought?

《It’s so good with the acidic tare and the vegetables and the meat~》

Just what I’d expect out of you and your good taste, Sui!

Fel and Sui went back for several more helpings, and I somehow managed to make do with only losing two of the chunks of roast beef I made.

I somehow managed to protect my roast beef. I should hurry up and put it away in my Item Box.

Putting the soft-boiled eggs into the char siu pot, I temporarily moved the pot into my Item Box. I was going to take it out again in my room and let it set for a night there. Let’s also put this stove away.

“Well then, I’ll be going back to my room. Ah, tomorrow we’ll go to the Adventurer’s guild after noon.”

“Hm? Did something happen?”

“Something? We have to go back and get the earth dragon meat, remember? Elrand said it would take three days.”

“Ohh! That is correct, I nearly forgot. So I will finally be able to enjoy some earth dragon meat. Make sure you cook the earth dragon for dinner tomorrow.”

“Fine, fine.”

Dragon meat, huh? I wonder how it tastes.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After returning to my room, I unloaded the char siu pot from my Item Box onto the desk. After that is... oh right, I have to ask Sui.

“Sui, there’s something I want to ask of you, is that alright?”

《Whaat, master—?》

Sui’s a little sleepy, isn’t it? Sorry.

“You see, I want a sword just like the knife you made for me yesterday. Like this.” I produced a short sword I bought before from my Item Box.

《Got it — it might take a little longer than the one I made before, is that okay?》

“Of course it is. Then, I’m counting on you.” I handed over some mithril ore to Sui.

1 hour later———

《Master, it’s done—!》

The sword Sui handed to me was like this.

【Mithril Sword+】

A well-made mithril sword.

Yep, yep. Amazing. As expected of my Sui.

“Thanks, Sui.” I bought Sui some strawberry shortcake, pudding à la mode, and cream puffs as a reward. “Sui, this is a reward for your hard work. You can eat it.”

《Really?》

“Yeah, really. Go ahead. But keep it a secret from Fel and Dora-chan.”

《Yeah, a secret~.》

Saying so, Sui absorbed the strawberry shortcake.

《It’s so sweet and delicious~.》

Yep, Sui really does love sweet things. Good, good.

Thanks to Sui, I now have a weapon for emergencies, so I might just be able to make do in the dungeon now. Still though, this mithril sword looks really sharp. Just like the mithril knife, too.

Actually, I had thought to ask Sui to make a mithril kitchen knife, but I was a little scared of how sharp it would be. I do mess up sometimes, so something that sharp might just lop off a finger or something with ease.

As it was now, the knife I bought with my skill worked just fine, too. I wasn’t that cautious with actual weapons, though. After all, I would definitely need to be able to protect myself in case of emergencies. With a mithril short sword, even I would be able to do something as long as I could land a hit with my awful swordplay.

Really, it’s all thanks to Sui.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Now then, today will also be just for making food for the dungeon.

Tomorrow we were going in, so I’d have to make as much as I could today. But I was going to have to head over to the Adventurer’s guild after noon. Since that was the case, I worked my butt off grinding meat yesterday before I slept. I was thinking of using that ground meat to make Hamburg steak patties and cabbage rolls. The base of Hamburg steak patties and cabbage rolls weren’t that different, after all.

And so, I used my skill to buy another half-cylinder pot, some canned cut tomatoes, soup bouillon, and melty cheese.

~◇~◇~◇~

After making the base by kneading the ground meat, use half of it to form the Hamburg steak patties stuffed with cheese while making sure to get rid of any air pockets inside.

The remaining half is for the cabbage rolls. Core the cabbages from this world and peel off every leaf before boiling them. Cut off the hard stem attached to the leaves, and wrap the leaf around the ground meat base before stopping with a toothpick. (I also make some with cheese inside.)

Layer the cabbage rolls into the cylinder pot so that there’s no extra space, then add in the water and canned cut tomatoes until the cabbage rolls are hidden. Crush the soup bouillon in your hand and add it into the pot, as well as a little bit of ketchup. Once all that is done, start boiling the contents of the pot. Start off with medium heat at first; then, once the water reaches boiling, use aluminum foil to form a lid that rests on top of the food. Continue to simmer on low heat for another 30 minutes while it bubbles, and the dish is done.

~◇~◇~◇~

While the cabbage rolls were boiling, I grilled the Hamburg steak patties. That work continued all the way to noon.

After that, I enjoyed lunch with everyone before heading to the Adventurer’s guild. By the way, for lunch I made a simple dish using the leftover ground meat: a sweet and spicy Chinese miso stir-fry bowl using the ground meat, bean sprouts, and peppers.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After getting to the front of the line at the Adventurer’s guild, I was told to head to the storehouse. According to the receptionist, Elrand was waiting for me there. Actually, it was probably that he couldn’t leave his station.

When I reached the storehouse, I found Elrand in the corner of the building that he had secured for the purpose of taking apart the earth dragon.

Are those the earth dragon materials, all lined up in a row there? He’s just staring at them though, like he’s in a trance......

I... REALLY don’t want to go in there...

“U-Uhmm... Elrand......”

Oh my, he hasn’t noticed me at all. Yep, he’s totally in his own little world right now.

“Wow, just what I’d expect from dragon blood. This deep, crimson color, so wonderful! I just want to stare at it forever......” Elrand was muttering those dangerous sounding words at thin air while holding a bottle filled with red liquid with both hands.

That’s just the creepiest, you know that, right Elrand......? Is this guy really all right in the head? He’s apparently doing his job as a guildmaster just fine, but was it really a good idea to trust him with that earth dragon?

“Elrand!”

“Hm? Ohh! It’s you, Mukohda!” Elrand finally noticed my existence after I raised my voice.

Don’t “it’s you” me~!

“Uhm, so the earth dragon......”

“Yes, of course I’ve managed to take it apart without a hitch. It was my happiest time yet in my entire long, elven life......” Elrand said, sighing as if he’d thought about something that I was probably better off not knowing about.

I hope you’re just exaggerating with that happiest time thing. Actually, would that be all right as your happiest time? Let’s just... leave that alone for now. “Uhhh, so what about buying some of the materials?”

“Yes, this was the most perplexing problem in my entire long, elven life. But! After racking my head over it for so long, I’ve finally decided!” stated Elrand as he clenched his fist powerfully.

“Y-Yeahh, okay. So, what parts do you want?”

“That’s a good question. I really, reeeallllyyy racked my head over it. Since each and every material is something that I’d sell my own arm and leg for. But what I chose was...... first up, the earth dragon’s blood!!” Elrand held up one of the bottles filled with red liquid that was lined up on the workstation.

“You see, dragon’s blood is good enough to be one of the ingredients for elixirs, so it’s a sort of panacea. If you mix it in with other medicinal ingredients, it makes the thing’s effects a whole level stronger. In addition, eating a pill that has dragon blood mixed in not only provides very robust nourishment, but it’s also said to prevent you from getting sick at all for an entire year!”

I-I see~... You’re way too excited, Elrand. Calm down.

“Two bottles. I’d like to buy two bottles for 150 gold each.”

...............What? 150 gold... each? W-W-W-Wait a second. So let’s see here, those corked bottles that look like sake bottles, those are about 1 liter each, right?

I scanned the work station.

Wow that thing is packed full of those bottles...... There’s more than a hundred of them, aren’t there?

“By the way, I managed to get a hundred and sixty bottles worth of earth dragon blood,” Elrand said with a smile.

O-O N E H U N D R E D A N D S I X T Y......... 150 gold for one bottle, and one hundred sixty bottles. How much is that even? Just by thinking about it...... urghh...

My stomach, it started hurting.

“And next what I’d like to buy: the liver. It has the same panacea effect as the blood, but it’s said that its effects are several times stronger. Since that’s the case, it’s something that I’d do anything to get a hold of. However, the whole liver is something that is far too expensive for me to be able to afford, so unfortunately, TRULY UNFORTUNATELY, I’d like to just buy half of it. I’ve priced half the liver at 1500 gold.”

H-Half for... 1500 gold............ Please help, m-my stomach......

“Mann~, this earth dragon was quite the magnificent specimen, no? Its liver was so clean, and not only was it large, it had a good color on it, as well. Most likely its liver wouldn’t go for less than 3000 gold. At that much, of course I’d be done with just the liver if I bought it, so although I am extremely sad about it, I made my peace with just half the liver.”

One liver is 3000 gold... 3000 gold... 3000 gold...... What the hell is up for a single organ to be worth this much? Since we use everything in a dragon, there’s other organs too, right? Just how much is the whole thing even worth...... Nope, no good. My stomach is screaming. I’ve underestimated dragons. Completely. They can’t even be compared to other monsters.

“As for the last one, I’d like one of the dragon’s fangs. I’ve set the price to 2000 gold for it. To tell you the truth, I was quite torn over whether to choose an eye or a fang, but in the end, it’s got to be the fang.”

One f-fang, just one... 2000 gold...... Hahhh~ ...All I can do now is sigh.

“You know, I’m thinking of asking a famous blacksmith in town to make a sword out of it. It’ll turn into something pretty great, I’m telling you. I’d say it’ll be something that any swordsman would make it a life goal to hold in their hands at least once before they die. Mmhheheheh, a dragon sword... I’ve only dreamed of a dragon sword until now, a dragon sword...”

......That’s totally just what you want, isn’t it, Elrand? You’ve totally said it out loud and everything. Like, of course it’d be the dream of anyone who talks about dragons as much as you do; you’ve basically got all your greed on full throttle right now.

When I asked what he was going to do with the dragon sword, apparently he was going to decorate the guild with it.

“Did you know? Dragon swords can equal the magic swords that come out of dungeons. There’s no doubt that it would become a great attraction for the guild. Adventurers gather because of the dungeon, but the dragon sword will bring even more adventurers in. Dragon swords really are a dream sword for any sword wielder, after all.”

From what Elrand said, adventurers seemed to be the type to want to see cool weapons. The reasoning was that anyone who heard of the dragon sword would at least come to take a look, apparently. And this town has a dungeon, too, so there really wasn’t any reason for an adventurer to stay away. It seemed that since this town was already full of adventurers, having more come would only make things better, so they were all welcomed.

Though it looked like he was at least somewhat thinking about the guild and the city around him, no matter how I looked at it, Elrand himself wanted the dragon sword most of all. He was even currently grinning while muttering, “Dragon sword......” to himself. Just from his looks, he was a really beautiful man, so the feeling of disappointment was not small.

“Uhhh, then I’ll be taking all of this.” I gestured at the earth dragon materials left on top of the workstation. Among those was the earth dragon’s magic stone, which was surprisingly large.

I just want to leave already. Having to deal with this guy is making me so tired.

“Sure, take all the materials here, and the guild will be taking the stuff on this table.” It looked like he’d already pre-sorted what the guild would be buying.

There were two blood-filled bottles, a brownish pot, and a huge fang put aside on a separate table.

“So I’ll be paying you your due now. With the amount being what it is, I’ll be using large gold coins. The blood, liver, and fang all come out to 3800 gold, so that’s 380 large gold coins.” Elrand handed me a bag stuffed full with gold.

When I checked inside, it was indeed filled with large gold coins.

“Oh, that’s right. How much will the butchering fee be?”

“No no no, I don’t need anything like that. Really, I should be paying you for letting me butcher it. Mannn~ these three days were like a dream, it was so nice. I got to take an earth dragon apart with my own hands......”

Y-Yeah... o-okay... Well, if it’s free, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth...

I stuffed all the leftover materials on the workstation into my Item Box. There were 158 bottles of earth dragon blood... another bottle with eyeballs in it... and a pot with its organs, and the like. It looked like the bottle with the eyes and the pots were filled with preservation fluid.

Just as the name implied, it was a liquid used to preserve the freshness of things, but apparently it was impossible to make unless you had at least some knowledge in pharmaceutical studies. But it looked like Elrand did just that while he was an adventurer, as this liquid was made by him. Although the main reason seemed to be that dragons were an ingredient in elixirs.

He’s really drunk the kool-aid and everything if he’s learned all this just for dragons.

I proceeded in my quest to stuff all the materials that came out of that dragon into my Item Box. In went a fang... and lastly, its huge hide.

“Earth dragon hide... so nice~... Of course, it’s way too expensive, so I couldn’t buy any, but I’ll never get tired of just looking at the pattern on those scales.”

Elrand, I think you’re the only one that can say that.

“I’m sure that this hide won’t go for less than 10,000 gold with how big it is.”

...............What? “U-Uhhh...what did you just... say?”

“10,000 gold?” Elrand replied with a smile.

“............Ten... Ten thousand?”

“Indeed. 10,000 gold.”

T-Ten thousand...... ten thousand...... ten thousand... N-Nooo~, my stomach... In the first place, i-is there even anyone that would buy it at that price? “By the way, you say 10,000, but is there even anyone who would buy it?”

“Hmmm, it’d probably be hard for the level of powerful nobles. No wait, Duke Boven in the south might be able to do something about it. Other than that, you’d just have to sell it to a country itself.”

So it’s so expensive that there’s almost no one to buy it, isn’t that basically the same as being worth nothing? Like, there’s no point if it’s valuable but no one’s gonna buy it. And I don’t really want to be going around begging people to take it... I’m not that troubled for money in the first place. Yeah, for the time being I’ll just leave these earth dragon parts to sit. Although other guilds might buy the blood, at least. Let’s try asking Elrand about that, actually.

“Oh, also, the earth dragon’s meat is being stored in a refrigerated space. It’s here.”

I followed after Elrand, as he opened up a door in the back of the storehouse. Cool air wafted out from beyond the door. There was a ditch along the wall of the refrigeration room, and it was filled with ice. It looked like someone who could use Ice magic would come in regularly to remake the ice here.

“As you might have suspected already, it wouldn’t fit inside here whole, so I’ve split the body into three parts.”

Even separated into three, each chunk of the earth dragon’s meat was considerably large. I stored the meat in my Item Box.

“Mukohda, the earth dragon’s meat, please let me......”

Oh right, there was that, too.

“Sure, I’ve already promised you, after all.”

“Really?! Well then, let’s go!!”

“Huh? Where?”

“Of course, to go eat the earth dragon’s meat!”

“Hm? So it is done. So, we are going to eat the meat now?”

No no, not now......

《Meat? We’re eating meat? Meaty meat~!》

Stop with that, Dora-chan.

“You’re going to cook, right, Mukohda? Then let’s go to my house. If people found out that we were eating dragon meat, I have no idea what kind of people would gather. My house would be best for eating in a calm and peaceful setting. Now then, let’s go!!”

I mean, right now? Aren’t you still working?

“Elrand, it’s still the middle of the day?”

“What?! There’s nothing more important than tasting dragon meat!! Also, for this guild, everything will be fine as long as the sub-guildmaster is around!”

Huh? Did he just say that there’s nothing more important than eating dragon meat? Wait, actually, you’re the guildmaster here, do your job.

From what Elrand just said, he was fully intending to push all his work onto this sub-guildmaster.

“Now, let’s go!!”

Woah!

I left the Adventurer’s guild, being pulled along by Elrand. On the way out of the building, I spotted a slightly chubby old man with a balding head staring at us, dumbfounded.

That must have been the sub-guildmaster. He sure has it hard.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Elrand dragged me to a residential area that wasn’t too far from the Adventurer’s guild.

It seemed to be a house provided for Elrand by the Adventurer’s guild, and it looked like a two-story townhouse that belonged on the streets of London (in Japanese terms, it would be a tenement or a rowhouse).

“This is my house. Here, here, come in, come in.”

Just what one would expect out of a guildmaster’s house, it was larger than all the rest.

“The kitchen is over here, but I don’t cook, so......”

It was almost amazing how empty the kitchen was; there were no traces of it having ever been used.

Hmmm, this place is...... Ah...... From the window in the living room, I saw a small garden.

“I’ll use my own tools for cooking, so can I do it out in the garden?”

“Sure, whatever you like.”

Having gotten Elrand’s permission, I headed into the garden. There, I revealed my magic stove.

“Ohh! I knew you must have had a pretty large Item Box to be able to fit an earth dragon inside of it, but to think this was inside as well. I also have an Item Box, but it would only fit about half of this.”

Apparently, Elrand also had one.

“So you have an Item Box too, Elrand?”

“Yes, a lot of elves have large amounts of magic, so there’s quite a few of us with Item Boxes.”

Hehh—, is that so? It’s true that elves have an image of being good at magic.

Elrand also apparently was good at Wind magic, and the elves’ special Plant magic. According to the person himself, he managed to pile up victory upon victory during his adventurer days using those two types of magic and a sword. Of course, this was coming from the person himself, though. This was also just my impression, but I had thought from a certain movie that elves would be good at bows, though it appeared that Elrand was a swordsman. That might have been why he looked so excited at the prospect of a dragon sword. Well, that was probably more because of the dragon materials than because of his swordsman’s spirit, though.

Even so, when I heard that Elrand used to be an S-ranked adventurer, I still could not imagine a strong version of him. I’d only ever seen the disappointing side of him, after all. I wouldn’t say this in front of the guildmaster, but the only impression I feel like I can have of him is of a slightly dangerous elvish man who is far too into dragons.

Whoops, more importantly, the dragon meat. Gotta get to the dragon meat. How to cook it, though...... It should be steak here, right? A real dragon steak using genuine dragon meat.

I’ll start off with just salt and pepper, I think, and I’ll use that with the dragon meat. If I remember right... got it.

I brought out the sun-dried salt and black pepper in a grinder that I used with the wyvern steaks. Then, I also brought back the earth dragon meat and started cutting them into thick steaks. The earth dragon meat was a beautiful red with a good amount of speckled marbling.

This thing’s very red, like the bloody horn-bull, so let’s try grilling these in a similar fashion.

After lighting the magic stove, I oiled a frying pan and set it on high heat. Right before I started grilling, I seasoned the steaks with the salt and pepper.

*Ssszzzllll———*

I started grilling the earth dragon meat in the burning hot frying pan. The smell of cooking meat started wafting through the air.

*Gulp*

I reflexively gulped down some drool.

After about a minute on high heat, I turned the heat to low and kept cooking for another minute. Then, I flipped the steak and did the same to the other side. After that, I plated the steak, wrapped the whole thing in aluminum foil, and let it rest for five minutes.

Nice, it should be just about time. Let’s have a little taste......

*Mgmg*

W-What the hell.........?

“S-So good. This meat, it’s way too delicious......” The first dragon meat I’d ever tasted was so delicious that I felt like it moved heaven and earth. It was a different kind of meat than beef, pork, or chicken.

However, it was like it combined just the good point of all three of those things, and after every chew the absolutely divine meat juices flooded out. I almost reached out to try more, but everyone’s voices stopped me.

“Stop eating by yourself. Give me some too.”

《He’s right, stop that! It’s not fair to be eating by yourself. Give us some too.》

《Master — Sui is hungry, too—!》

Ugh, sorry...... It was so delicious, I just...

I hurried to grill servings for Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan, and Elrand as well. “Here you go.”

All three of my familiars immediately dug into the dragon steak as soon as my hand left their dishes.

“You too, Elrand.” I placed Elrand’s portion on a table that was positioned on a terrace facing the garden.

Elrand stuck his knife in rather nervously, with a, “Well then.” Then, he carefully cut out a bite and put it in his mouth. At the same time, his eyes opened wide, almost as if they were leaping out of his head.

Right, right? I know that feeling. It’s good, right? I was surprised, too. Like, ‘what the hell? Why didn’t anyone tell me dragon meat was this good?’

“So delicious...... to think that dragon meat was this good.........”

Right right? I totally get it, I do. It’s actually moving how good it is, right? Wait, I should be eating my steak, too.

I bit into the dragon steak that I’d only seasoned with salt and pepper. Hahhh~, so good...

“Just as I remembered, dragons are amazingly delicious. Give me more. This time with that.”

Just as Fel said, dragons are great. By “that,” does he mean the steak sauce?

《This is earth dragon meat, right? Never knew that earth dragons were so delicious... Give me more, too.》

Huh, so Dora-chan wants more this time, too. Oh shi— didn’t Dora-chan say the same dragon... No, wait, he was talking about pixie dragons, right? So this isn’t cannibalism?

《Master — dragon meat is tasty. Sui wants more too pleeeaaasseee.》

And there goes Sui too. Well this meat really is good. Eat a lot, got it?

Just as I was going to go and cook up a second round of steaks for everyone, I heard a teary voice.

“Uuuggh...... uguh......... I’m so happy... I’ve only ever dreamed of being able to eat dragon meat...... *Sniff* And on top of that, it’s sooo good......”

Elrand...... This guy was crying while eating his steak.

“Mukohda, thank you so so sooo much. Not only did you give me a chance to butcher an earth dragon and let me have a chance to obtain some of its valuable materials, you even let me partake in its meat......... thank you so so much. I’m so glad I’ve lived this long............ uguh...”

Okay okay, I got it, thanks. Please, just stop crying while you eat.

“Fel’s the one that hunted it. You should be thanking him.”

When I said that, Elrand actually did turn to Fel and thanked him.

“Indeed. Dragons are delicious, after all.”

No, I mean, I don’t think that’s what he’s thanking you for, though. It’s not that he’s thanking you because the dragon was delicious... well, whatever.

I cooked up a second round of dragon steaks for everyone. Of course, this time I used the steak sauce. It still didn’t look like Elrand had his fill, so I cooked up another one for him. When I slathered on the steak sauce, the already delicious dragon steak got even better, and he started crying again.

After that, my three familiars asked for even more and enjoyed the dragon steak to its fullest. Even I went for another steak even though they were quite large, since I was entranced by the taste.

I received payment for the dragon steaks I fed him as we went to leave, to the amount of a full 100 gold. Of course, I told him that it was too much, but Elrand would hear none of it, saying that there would be no compromises for something as precious as dragon meat. He even tried to pay extra on top of that since he ate two steaks, but I really couldn’t take that, so I refused it.

I mean, it was just a steak, and he already paid 100 gold. No matter how precious dragons were supposed to be, I couldn’t shake the guilt of charging 100 gold for just two steaks. Any more than that, and I really would have to pass on the whole thing. And so I only accepted 100 gold from Elrand in the end.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Fel, Sui, Dora-chan, and I returned to the inn.

Sui got sleepy after eating so much, so it was already sleeping inside my bag. Dora-chan also ate too much and currently couldn’t move, so he was riding on Fel’s back. He was lightly complaining, like, “It was so good that I ate too much......” Fel, as always, never wavered, only saying, “Just as I remembered, dragons are delicious,” with a satisfied look on his face.

Of course, he was right. From now on, let’s use the dragon meat for really important occasions.

I wanted to just fall asleep still in my good mood as I reached the inn, but I had another job to do. Since we were diving into the dungeon tomorrow, it didn’t seem like I’d have time to do it with the eyes of other adventurers on me and everything. And I had no idea what they’d do if I tried to wait until after I got back from the dungeon, either.

Let’s just hurry and get this over with.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

After I was safely in my room, I called out just as usual.

“Uhhh... are you around, goddesses—?”

As soon as I called out to them, I received an immediate reply.

＜Hm? You are faster than usual this time, aren’t you? This is a good change of heart. I’ll call everyone over, so just wait a little.＞

After a while, I heard the gaggle of everyone’s voices.

＜Hello otherworlder boy, you’re quite quick this time, aren’t you~? I’m happy though, since I have things I want to ask for, too.＞

＜She’s right. We’re happy about that on our side, though.＞

＜......Food and snacks.＞

＜OOOHH! We’ve been waiting! Man~, that otherworld alcohol is the best. Hey, War God, let’s discuss what kind of alcohol to get this time!＞

＜Hey, so the otherworlder’s here! That’s right, Blacksmith God. The stuff from the other world is all good, so it’s hard to decide, no?＞

For some reason, it seemed like everyone was ready and raring to order. Hephaestos and Vahagn even started to talk amongst themselves about what alcohol they wanted.

“To tell the truth, we’re planning to go into the dungeon tomorrow, and I don’t think I’ll be able to offer anything while I’m down there. Since I don’t want anyone else to see my unique skill.”

I really just wanted to avoid being seen by other adventurers.

＜Well, that would be wise, wouldn’t it? After all, it’s a weird skill that lets you get stuff from another world, but depending on its use it could produce absolutely massive profits. Though thanks to that, I’m able to enjoy the other world’s sweets.＞

＜Right~? We’re able to get stuff from your world thanks to this, though.＞

＜Certainly. It’s a skill that even we gods have never heard of. To think, a skill that lets you get stuff from another world.＞

＜......Otherworld food and snacks.＞

I’m thankful to this skill since I get to have all the stuff I need from my world. But even though there’s a lot it helps me with, it’s also attracted all these gods......*cough* Gotta get back to the offerings.

Well, in exchange I’m getting blessings, though.

“At any rate, I can’t afford to be seen by other adventurers, so I’ve decided to make my offerings before I go in. So then, I’ll be taking everyone’s orders. Ah, remember, it’s 3 silver per person, okay?”

＜Indeed. We understand. Well then, I will go first. As always, sweets!＞

This person (goddess) really doesn’t change, does she? Really, just how much do you like sweets?

I opened up my Online Supermarket, and started choosing the sweets that Ninrir asked for. After focusing on Ninrir’s favorite dorayaki, I also chose other western and Japanese sweets, as well as other candies and carbonated drinks.

“Next.”

＜It’s my turn, I’m Kisharle~. The stuff you bought me before was very good! Especially the cream. Just like you said, when I spread on a little extra during the night, I woke up with just the best skin! It’s like all that dryness was just a lie. Thanks to you, I’m looking forward to checking myself in the mirror every day~!＞

Hahh, that’s great. I can just imagine Kisharle getting entranced just looking at herself in the mirror. W-Well, it’s great that it’s all passed muster with Kisharle, she’s really picky about her beauty.

“So? What would you like?”

＜You see, I’d like more things for maintaining my face. What would be good?＞

Hrmmm~ I’m not a girl, so I can’t think of anything off the top of my head...

“I’ll take a look so please wait a little.” I started paging through the skin care section.

It looked like she was a fan of the creams, so what about this?

“You liked the cream, right? What about another cream? Just one will be your entire allowance, but it’s full of ingredients for beauty and the amount you get matches what you pay for it, looks like.”

＜F-Full of ingredients for beauty, you say?! That one! Definitely that one! Give it to me!!＞

You’re way too excited, Kisharle.

I added the 3 silver cream into the cart, just as Kisharle wanted.

＜What? You used your entire allowance on just 1 thing? I didn’t expect you to be so stupid. Eheheh.＞

＜Wow, she’s right. You should have asked for a lot of different stuff instead.＞

＜......*Nodnod*＞

＜Just leave me alone, please. I’ve awakened to the awesomeness of beauty.＞ Kisharle was being made fun of by her fellow goddesses, but it didn’t seem like she was fazed at all.

I’ll just say this now, Ninrir, 3 silver for just a cream is only the beginning. There are creams in the world that cost several tens of thousands of yen for just one.

My sister, who was obsessed with beauty products, bought a cream for 30,000 yen. She even stated that it was her policy not to mind the price for beauty *schwing*, or something. She then started to stress the beauty ingredients they used or something to explain its price or whatever. Well, of course I thought of my sister as an idiot for getting a cream that costed 30,000 yen for just one. But I didn’t say it out loud; I would never. If we existed in the same world, Kisharle would probably have been good friends with my sister.

“Ehhhmm, next is Agni, right?”

＜Hey, it’s me. I want the same alcohol as last time. There’s a lot of different kinds so I don’t get bored, and it’s all good, too.＞

Agni wants the same thing as last time, huh? But it’ll be boring with all the same brands and makers, so let’s make it a little different. The flavor changes with the maker, after all.

“Then I’ll make it the same types of alcohol as before, but I’ll choose different makers, okay?”

＜I’ll leave that part to you.＞

So I did just that.

“Next is Miss Ruka, right?”

＜Food and snacks.＞

And Ruka’s the same, too, got it.

＜That beef bowl thing was good. If you have it, I want it.＞

Beef bowl, huh? I get it, the sweet and spicy beef matches well with the rice, right? She said she wanted some if I had it, and I do. I made it to serve in the dungeon, though.

＜Also, that thing where you put meat on a stick and grilled it was good too.＞

Ahh — the yakitori, huh? Okay then, let’s get some more of that, too.

After that, I also got her some of the karaage I fried for the dungeon, as well as some beef stew and cabbage rolls. I used the rest of the allowance on the usual white bread and snacks.

“Next is......”

＜Yo, it’s me, Hephaestos. It’s my turn now. As for me, I’d like some of that strong whiskey. That was great. Just as you said, it was good with ice, or even cut with water. It was even delicious straight. Otherworld alcohol really is great, isn’t it?＞

Whiskey for Hephaestos, huh? Yeah, if he likes the strong stuff, whiskey would be just right for him, probably.

＜It’s Vahagn. For me, I’d like something other than whiskey. Even better if it’s different from what you offered last time. Blacksmith God, that’s good, right?＞

＜Sure. Whiskey’s great, but I want to enjoy all different kinds of their alcohol, after all. You’re good with that, right, War God?＞

Oh so these two are cooperating to get their alcohol fix, huh?

＜You two sure get chummy when it comes to alcohol, don’t you?＞

＜Really~.＞

＜Man, it’d be fine if you just chose stuff you liked, though. You guys sure are crafty when it comes to alcohol.＞

＜......Booze bad.＞

The goddesses sounded exasperated. From the way the goddesses talked, these two must have done some crazy stuff in the past for alcohol.

＜Hah! Say anything you like. We don’t compromise for alcohol.＞

＜That’s right. We’ll do anything we like for good booze, and that includes cooperate. Also, Ruka, booze isn’t bad at all. It’s the most delicious stuff in existence.＞

＜Yeah, he’s right. It’s the water of life for us, right? Gahahah!＞

These two are unparalleled alcoholics, huh? Well, let’s just hurry up with this.

Hephaestos wants whiskey, right? This time, I got three bottles of whiskey, from an American and Scottish maker, as well as a Japanese whiskey from a different maker than before.

Vahagn wanted variety, right? Different from what was offered from before. Since that was the case, I got some locally brewed sake, as well as some vodka and rum since the two of them seemed like they favored the strong stuff.

＜Ah, that’s right. You’re going to the dungeon, right?＞ Vahagn suddenly asked.

“Yes, the plan is to dive into the dungeon tomorrow.” When I replied, the gods all started talking amongst themselves.

＜Hey, you guys, that otherworlder has some sort of defensive skill, right?＞

＜Defensive skill, you say? Why ask, Vahagn?＞

＜Wait, you guys didn’t give him any defensive skills? What the hell are you all doing?!＞

＜He’s right, you know. This one absolutely needs a defensive skill, for our sakes as well as his.＞

What are Vahagn and Hephaestos saying now?

＜What are the two of you talking about~? It’s fine, isn’t it? We’ve already given him our blessings.＞

＜Right. He has mine, Ninrir’s, and Kisharle’s blessings already, and he’s also got a Fenrir under him so he’s fine, right?＞

＜......As well as a slime that has my blessing.＞

＜＜*Sigh*~＞＞

＜You guys are all too careless.＞

＜He’s right. Or rather, these ones just don’t get it. Vahagn, tell them.＞

＜Oh well, fine. You know, that otherworlder is going into the dungeon tomorrow. Ehhmm, the Dolan dungeon, right? The Dolan dungeon is on the tough side, and the monsters there are pretty strong and dangerous. You all said that he’s fine since he has your blessings and some familiars, right? Certainly, the Fenrir can use barriers, and the slime can make potions — you’re right. But still, no matter how much magic the Fenrir has, he won’t be able to keep up the barrier the entire time they’re in the dungeon, right? And the potions the slime makes are all fine while he’s not dead, but that’s just if he doesn’t die before he can use them. For example, what if he takes an attack that instantly crushes his head, or something pierces his heart? He’s dead instantly, right? In that case potions won’t do anything.＞

＜Indeed, it’s as he says. So that’s how it is.＞

＜If the otherworlder dies......＞

＜If the otherworlder boy perishes......＞

＜If the otherworlder gets killed......＞

＜...............＞

＜We’ll never again be able to get stuff from his world, no?＞

＜＜＜＜That’s terrible (it is!) (~) (shit!) (*Nodnodnod*)＞ ＞＞＞

＜For otherworld sweets, I’ll give him a defensive skill!＞

＜Right! Terrible wouldn’t even begin to describe it if I couldn’t get my hands on beauty products anymore!＞

＜This is no joke, I can’t risk not being able to get otherworld booze anymore!＞

＜.........(*Nodnodnodnodnod*)!＞

＜We want to keep enjoying alcohol from his world, too, you know? It would be extremely awful if this one were to die. Right, War God?＞

＜Yep! There’s so many kinds of otherworld alcohol, and they’re all delicious, to boot. If we couldn’t taste it anymore, I might just go and destroy the lower world.＞

＜So that being the case, I propose giving the otherworlder a Perfect Defense skill, how about it?＞

＜No objections here.＞

＜Of course.＞

＜Yeah, of course it’s fine.＞

＜Hurry up.＞

＜Good. Otherworlder, take this Perfect Defense skill.＞

......I’m not really sure what’s happening, but it looks like they’ll give me a skill.

＜Great! Now we’ll be able to enjoy his world’s alcohol for a while yet, War God!＞

＜You’re right! I’m looking forward to it, no? Blacksmith God.＞

＜Muheheheh, sweets... sweets!＞

＜Beauty products...＞

＜Booze...booze!＞

＜Food and snacks.＞

............Gods please. You guys are all more worried about your profits than you are about me, aren’t you? Hahh~, gods just might be like this naturally since they’re such absurd beings, but...... Dealing with these gods just makes me so tired. Let’s just hurry up and make these offerings.

I checked out and hurriedly set up the cardboard box altars.

“Vahagn, Hephaestos, these two bottles are really strong so be careful. This one should be drunk straight. And this one can be drunk on the rocks, or straight, your choice.” Just in case, I warned them about the strong vodka and rum.

“These are your desired offerings. Please accept them.”

As the offerings disappeared off their altars, I heard the gods and goddesses up there raise their cheers, as always.

Hahh~ it’s finally over. This is always so exhausting. Let’s just sleep.

Chapter 4: Let’s Enjoy the Dungeon

“Hey, Fel, I got some new skill named ‘Perfect Defense’ from the gods yesterday, do you know it?” I tried asking Fel about the new skill I got from the gods while we walked towards the dungeon.

“Perfect Defense, you say? You just got a pretty nice skill, there. Perfect Defense is a skill that completely defends against any attack from a being with malicious intent towards you. You have my barriers, but it is not like I can keep them on forever. They probably took that into consideration. As expected of the gods.”

So Fel’s barrier isn’t just always on? The gods did say something like that, didn’t they?

“So your barriers aren’t just always on, Fel?”

“You fool. It uses magic, you know? Of course that would be impossible. Even for me, it would only last about five days at the longest.”

Ah, but you can still put it on for five days at a time, huh? That might just be Fel, though. Still though, this Perfect Defense skill is quite nice. Since it’s a skill that ‘perfectly defends against attacks from anyone with malicious intent.’ It’s perfect for me, especially since I’m just about to go into a dungeon. Thanks to all the gods who gave it to me.

Oh right, I just heard about the skill from the gods who gave it to me last night, I haven’t actually checked my status myself yet. It’s on, right?

【Name】 Mukohda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

【Age】 27

【Job】 Victim from Another World

【Level】 13

【HP】 229

【MP】 223

【Attack】 206

【Defense】 205

【Agility】 200

【Skills】 Appraisal, Item Box, Fire magic, Earth magic, Perfect Defense, Familiars (Contracted Magic Beasts): Fenrir, Big Slime, Pixie Dragon

【Unique Skill】 Online Supermarket

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir (small); Blessing of the Goddess of Fire, Agni (small); Blessing of the Goddess of Earth, Kisharle (small)

Yep, it’s right there in the skills section.

When I concentrated on the Perfect Defense entry......

【Perfect Defense...... A skill that completely defends against physical or magical attacks from malicious beings】

Oh! S-Some sort of explanation popped up. It’s pretty much the exact same as what Fel said, though. Now that I think about it, there was also an explanation for the mithril knife that Sui made when I appraised it, too. I didn’t think it was too weird then, though. I’m not really sure, but does that mean that Appraisal leveled up? In times like this... teach me, Mr. Fel!

“Fel, there’s a skill explanation for Perfect Defense now......”

“Mm? Then the things you can appraise must have increased since you leveled up.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

According to Fel, some skills increased their power as their user levels up. Appraisal was one of those skills, and at Fel’s level, apparently, the skill gets pretty detailed. Although Fel said that he usually didn’t look at that stuff since it was too much work.

Huh? But when I appraised the stuff I bought off of my Online Supermarket before, if I remember right it came out as ‘Otherworld White Bread’ and said, ‘Raises MP by 1% for 10 minutes;’ isn’t that an explanation?

“But when I appraised some stuff from my world before it came with a pretty detailed explanation, I wonder why?”

“Mm? Is that what happens when you appraise it? I have tried before, but all I see is gibberish that I cannot read. It has never happened before, though. Most likely it has to do with the items being from your world, I think.”

So that means that there must be some difference between the stuff from this world and the stuff that I buy using my skill?

Just eating the stuff raises stats like HP and MP, and even the trash levels Sui up, so there might just be something fundamentally different between the two. But there was no way to make that clear, so for now I decided to drop the subject since there wasn’t anything troubling happening because of it.

For now, I should just be happy that Appraisal now comes with a simple explanation.

After that, from what I heard from Fel, physical and magic attack skills like sword and spear skills, or any of the magic skills are especially striking in their growth, and as the user’s level grows they start to be able to do a lot more with the skill. When I thought about it, it was obvious though — since leveling also increases your health, magic capacity, and all other stats as well.

On the other hand, there were also skills that didn’t grow, and among my skills, Item Box and Perfect Defense fit under that category, apparently. It wasn’t always the case, but it seemed that skills one has from birth, or skills acquired through a god’s blessings usually don’t change, ever.

I see~. I didn’t really think about this stuff before.

“What about my Familiars skill?” I gained the Familiars skill thanks to contracting with Fel, but I wondered what would happen with that as I leveled up.

“No idea. Just like I have said before, you are the first one I have contracted with. Also, the elf already told you once, no? That our contracts are different from the norm.”

Ahh — Elrand did say that, didn’t he? Since apparently normal contracts don’t allow for telepathy, either. Well, there shouldn’t be any need to worry though, since it’s not like it’ll get worse by me leveling up.

I tried asking about my unique skill too, but I was immediately rejected with a, “There is no one else other than you with a skill to obtain things from another world, what made you think I would know anything about it?”

Well he was right. Not only was it my unique skill, it was a weird thing that accesses an online supermarket. It’s like, ‘Why the hell can you just get stuff from Japan even though you’re in another world,’ right?

Well, there’s nothing to do but keep watch on it, I guess.

We reached the dungeon entrance while Fel and I talked about skills.

“Okay then, I’ll go register at the branch office.”

Once that was done, it was finally time for the dungeon.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Once I’d finished registering, we lined up behind a bunch of other adventurers, and then it was finally our turn to go in. I showed my guild card to the two knights posted on either side of the entrance, and we entered the dungeon.

“I told them that I didn’t need a map, but are you sure that was all right?” I had tried to buy a map of the dungeon before we lined up, but Fel stopped me, saying that we didn’t need such a thing. He did at least assure me that he could tell where things were through a combination of smell and presence sensing, though.

“Of course it is fine. Who do you think I am?”

Ahh, I see. Well as long as you’re sure we’re fine, then all is good.

“Looks like it is nothing but small fry at the beginning.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It looks like most adventurers go down to around the 10th to the 15th floor. From there, treasure chests start to appear, and relatively nice things start to drop, apparently.”

“I see. Well then, let us head down there at once. You, get on.”

Fine, fine.

I did as Fel said and got on his back.

“You have the Perfect Defense skill so you should be fine, but I know how timid you are. I will leave a barrier around you just in case.”

Gnnrrrnn... Don’t call me timid. I’m just careful, you should be positive about this. Well, either way, I’m grateful you’ll put a barrier around me, though.

“I will put one around you too, Dora.”

《Sure. Thanks, Fel.》

“Dora, will you be able to keep up with me?” Fel said, looking over at the flying Dora-chan.

《Fel, it’s rude to ask me that. I’m a pixie dragon, our names are synonymous with speed!》 Dora-chan replied, trying to look cool.

What do you mean, rude? Haha... Dora-chan just looked cute, so trying to act all cool didn’t suit him at all.

“Well then, let us be off.” With just Fel’s voice as the signal, we rushed off through the dungeon.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We steadily advanced along the passages of the dungeon, surrounded by rock walls. All the monsters we encountered that obstructed us were finished off by Fel and Dora-chan. Thinking that, at this rate, things would be over quickly, I let down my guard.

*Whoosh———*

“Woah!”

There was an arrow. A-A trap?! This dungeon has traps?!

《So, this dungeon’s got traps... I got saved thanks to your barrier, Fel,》 I told the running Fel through telepathy.

《Though there would not be a problem even without my barrier since you have the Perfect Defense skill.》

Huh? It even works against traps? Doesn’t the skill I got only work against “beings” with malicious intent?

《Doesn’t Perfect Defense only defend against ‘beings with malicious intent’? Why would it work on traps?》

《Hahh... You know so little about dungeons it is almost depressing.》

Come on, don’t sigh like that. It’s true that I only have the fuzziest of knowledge on dungeons, though. All I really know is that dungeons are giant dens for monsters, that defeated monsters drop items, and that there are treasure chests and stuff.

《Dungeons use drop items gained from defeating monsters and the promise of treasure chests as bait to lure humans in, and then use the monsters or traps they birth to take their lives. Then, those that die are absorbed by the dungeon, and used as nutrition for its growth. That is why dungeons are considered a singular living thing. And so, both traps and those that live in dungeons are attacks from “something with malicious intent.”》

I see. It’s true that it sounds like a living thing from the way Fel explains it.

When I asked Fel for even more info on dungeons, I was told that dungeons had something called a “dungeon core,” and as long as it wasn’t destroyed or carried outside of the dungeon itself, the dungeon would continue to slowly grow.

《So what happens if you break the dungeon core or bring it outside?》

《That would mean the dungeon’s death. The whole space would become a mundane hole that does not birth anything. Of course, the dungeon core is constantly on the move within the dungeon, so it is practically impossible for a person to find it.》

Hmm~ so that’s how it is. Wait, by people, does Fel mean that he can find it?

When I asked, it seemed that Fel could do it with a little time. But he also said, 《As if I would do something so foolish as to destroy as fun a place as a dungeon.》

After that, there were no more incidents, though we did run across a couple traps. No matter if they were arrows or spears or anything else, Fel’s barrier stopped them all, and even if there was a sudden pitfall Fel would just jump over it. Even the floor bosses were defeated in a single blow as if we were just passing by, and we would quickly proceed down the stairs to the next floor. Our party, or rather, Fel and Dora-chan, didn’t even bother to stop.

By the way, though, Sui was in its usual spot, sleeping in my leather bag.

Once we had gotten to around the 10th floor, we finally started to see some other adventurers.

《What now? We’re at the 10th floor.》

《Hrrmm... from these presences, there are not any decent enemies around here. It seems like the floor boss here is a venom tarantula.》 Fel said unhappily.

It sounded like venom tarantulas might as well have been dirt to Fel.

《Then should we just go straight down?》

《Indeed, let us do just that.》

Without exploring the floor, we headed straight for the boss room.

In front of the boss room were four absolutely jacked guys with scary faces that looked the very picture of adventurers. They readied their weapons when they saw Fel and Dora-chan, but when they saw me, they said, “Oh, they’re familiars,” and lowered their weapons.

“Uhm, this is the boss room, right?”

I tried talking to one of them, and they said, “Yeah, that’s right,” while nodding their heads.

“We can’t go inside?” When I said that, the adventurer shook his head in exasperation.

“Could this be your first time in a dungeon?” I nodded in response to his question. “Thought so. There’s a lot of rules to being inside a dungeon.”

According to the adventurer:

The adventurer (and that adventurer’s party) that gets first hit in on a monster in the dungeon gets dibs on said monster, and of course anything it drops.

Unless someone specifically asks for help during a fight, do not interfere.

For treasure chests, the one that opens it gets first dibs.

...Or so it went.

“So that means there’s a party that’s inside right now. We can’t go in until they finish.”

I see.

“Well, even if there’s rules, there are also people who ignore them. There’s even fucking assholes that steal drop items. As well as shitstains that kill dungeon newbies like you and take all their stuff. Since the dungeon doesn’t leave any bodies, right? Well, all that means is that there’s bad people everywhere. Watch out, you hear?”

Woah, scary. Certainly, since the dungeon doesn’t leave behind any bodies, there wouldn’t be any evidence as long as there weren’t any eyewitnesses. I guess every world has its good and bad people. Let’s be careful.

While all that was happening, the party that was inside finished their fight, and the party of four with the scary faces entered. It seemed like they were having a tough time, since it was taking so long.

“Hey, do we still have to wait?”

《I know, right? Let’s just hurry up and go—!》

“Don’t be like that Fel, Dora-chan. We have to follow the rules while we’re in the dungeon.”

And finally, the party of four scary dudes finished their fight. After picking up their dropped prize, the four of them came back towards us.

“It’s your turn.”

“Huh? You guys aren’t going down?”

“Yeah. We’re stopping on this floor. Everyone has wives and kids, you know? We can’t just go risking our lives like that anymore.” After the guy that looked like their leader said that, the four of them disappeared into the floor passage.

......How the hell did people with their faces get wives and kids? Goddammit, you normies should just explode.

“Hey, we are going.”

The inside was already repopulated and teeming with a venom tarantula and other spider monsters. It was absolutely crawling with smaller spider monsters called poison spiders (though they were still around 30 cm in size), all lead by the venom tarantula.

Fel didn’t even have to do anything. Dora-chan just used Fire magic to blow the venom tarantula and all its flunkies away. It was over in an instant. I even threw in my own fireball in a fit of anger.

The venom tarantula dropped a poison sac, so I picked it up, and then we moved on.

The 11th floor was also full of nothings according to Fel, so we decided to pass through.

This floor’s boss was an orc general leading a squad of other orcs, but with Fel, Dora-chan, and this time even Sui in the mix, the battle didn’t even last a minute. Let’s just say that with everyone’s efforts, the battle for the orcs went so badly that I almost pitied them.

Everyone who was watching us fight while they were in line had their faces stiffen. I’m so sorry. My friends here don’t know the meaning of restraint.

Several chunks of orc meat were dropped, so I picked them up, and off we went to the 12th floor.

The 12th floor was similarly devoid of anything Fel wanted to fight, so we decided to pass through this one too, but the alarm clocks in everyone’s stomachs started ringing so first we went to a safe area to eat. I didn’t know where the safe area was since I didn’t have a map, but it looked like Fel could tell, so I left it up to him.

“Here.”

We were in a room that branched off from the main path. The room was a relatively large one, about the size of a classroom, and there was some water flowing along the back wall. I had heard that there would be a lot of adventurers around, starting from the 10th floor to the 15th...... but the safe area here was pretty heavily crowded.

There’s about five different parties in here, aren’t there?

We set ourselves down in an empty space near the entrance.

“Mukohda?”

I turned around because I suddenly heard my name, and there I saw some familiar faces.

“Vincent?!”

“It really is you! It’s been a long time!! He—y everyone, it’s Mukohda!!”

The rest of Vincent’s party gathered at the sound of his voice, those being Werner, Ramon, Rita, and Franka. It was the C-ranked party that escorted me across the border, “Iron Will.” I would never have expected to meet them here.

“Hello everyone, it’s been a while.”

“Hey, Mukohda. To think we’d be meeting you again here.”

I exchanged handshakes with the leader of the party, Werner.

According to him, they immediately left for this dungeon after parting with us. While continuously hopping on different carriages, they finally reached this place a couple days ago. And so, they had decided to be quick about things and enter the dungeon on the very next day.

“I see. As for us, we’re planning on heading for Berléand by the sea, but Fel said he wanted to stop by here when he heard of the dungeon, so here we are.”

The members of Iron Will were nodding their heads and going, “I see.” Since they also spent some time with Fel, they should understand that Fel would do just that.

I hope you all can understand my hardship.

“Oh yeah, Mukohda, you’ve got some more familiars other than Fel now, don’t you? Isn’t that a dragon? A dragon child?” Vincent asked, his line of sight squarely on Dora-chan.

Right? Just looking at him you’d assume he’s a child, I know.

Dora-chan and Sui were familiars I’d picked up after parting ways with Iron Will, so this should be their first time meeting. I introduced the two of them.

“This dragon’s actually fully grown at this size. It’s a rare type of dragon called a pixie dragon. It’s my familiar, and he’s named Dora-chan.”

“P-......”

“Pft!”

Hey Vincent! I saw you over there doing a spit take! You too, Werner!

Both Rita and Franka just said, “Nice to meet you, Dora-chan.”

Ramon persisted in being silent. He was quivering a little, though.

“Oh also, this is my slime, Sui. It’s a slime, but apparently it’s a special individual — it’s really strong.” I held up Sui and introduced it, as it had crawled out of my bag to see what was going on.

“Even though you were plenty amazing with just Fel over here, you went and got even more familiars, huh? I’m in awe.”

Werner, that kind of awe will only bring me trouble.

Everyone’s after my food, aren’t they? It’s just like why Fel and the others became my familiars.

“Hey, what about food?”

《I’m hungry...》

《Master, Sui is hungry—!》

Ohh, sorry, sorry.

“Excuse me, I have to go feed Fel and the others.”

Uhhh, what should I do? Beef stew should be fine. I want to try eating it with the bread I bought in town, anyway. That bread’s pretty hard, but it should go great with the beef stew.

After putting out some beef stew with plenty of meat in it onto some dishes, I served them to my familiars.

“We have eaten this before, no? The meat is so soft and well cooked, it melts in the mouth. Indeed, this is great.”

Thanks, Fel.

《Oohhhh, this is delicious, too. Really, everything you make is just great.》

Looks like Dora-chan likes it too. Woah, his mouth’s just covered in the stuff.

《This is so good, the meat is soft and the flavor is soaked in everywhere—!》

Yep, with Sui’s seal of approval this is confirmed tasty. Thank goodness.

*****Gulp*****

When I turned around, I saw the members of Iron Will with their eyes glued to the beef stew. Vincent and Rita were even drooling.

Rita, you’re a girl, stop that.

...Oh well, let’s just chalk this up to them being old friends. “Uhm, would you all like to eat too?”

When I asked them, all of the members of Iron Will nodded their heads off. I handed them the beef stew in some deep dishes along with some black bread.

“*Sigh* — I’d never have thought I’d be able to eat Mukohda’s cooking in a place like this. This is just awesome.”

“Ever since Vincent stopped being able to eat Mukohda’s cooking, he wouldn’t shut up about how good it was, right?”

“What the hell, Rita? You were the same, too!”

“Well, sure. It really was amazing, after all.”

And while Vincent and Rita were arguing......

“Hahh, so delicious. The vegetables are so soft because they’ve been boiled, and the greatness of this meat that just melts in your mouth is unassailable.”

“Yeah, it really is amazing. This stew is great when soaked up in this bread, you know?”

“This deep, strong taste...... I’d never expected to be able to eat something this good in a dungeon. As expected of you, Mukohda.”

...Franka, Werner, and Ramon started eating before the other two.

“Ah! Shit, that’s unfair! I’ll eat too.”

“Me too!”

Vincent and Rita started on their share after their friends.

“So gooooood!!”

“Amazing!”

—said Vincent and Rita, their mouths full with beef stew.

Good, good. It’s great that everyone liked it.

I also started eating my beef stew.

First, a bite...

...Yep, it’s great.

The bloody horn-bull meat was well stewed, and soft enough that it could be cut with a spoon. The soft stewed meat gradually melted in my mouth.

Soak a piece of black bread in the beef stew aaanndd... *Chomp*

The taste of the black bread that had soaked up the deep flavor of the demiglace sauce was just pure bliss.

Ahhh — so good.

“More!” 《More!》 《More!》

All three of my familiars demanded more.

Dora-chan too, huh? Apparently, he was hungry since he used some magic.

I served each of them more beef stew.

“Still though, this meat is great. What is it?”

When I replied, “Bloody horn-bull,” to Vincent’s question, he reacted with a spit-take. The other members were all surprised, with mouths agape as well.

Huh? What? Did I do something bad?

“It’s bloody horn-bull?! In this stew......”

I replied in the affirmative to Werner’s question, and......

“Sorry!! We accidentally ate such an expensive ingredient!”

They apologized to me for some reason. ......Ah, this is exactly the same reaction as last time. This is the exact same reaction that Lars and the other adventurers had back in Karelina, wasn’t it? The one where they found out that they ate expensive ingredients without knowing about it.

Still though, for us this is just normal. Or rather, we even got some dragon meat recently, yup. Somehow, aren’t our eating habits on the level of nobles since Fel’s around? And there’s no end to the meat I get since Dora-chan and Sui are around, too. Though our food expenses are that much higher for it. Well whatever, eating good food is better than eating bad stuff any day.

“No, please stop apologizing like that. I still have a lot of bloody horn-bull meat.” When I said that, Werner put on a surprised face. “Fel and Sui hunted a huge amount of them.”

It looked like Werner got what I was saying, as he replied with an, “Ah, I see.”

“Fel is so awesome!”

“As expected of one such as the great Fel.”

Vincent and Rita looked at Fel with sparkling eyes.

Even Franka and Ramon were looking at Fel, impressed.

“That’s how it is, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, want seconds?”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

When I said that, Fel looked displeased. “Mnn, but that will lessen my share.”

“Werner took care of us before so it’s fine, right? I’ll grill you some meat Fel, so just calm down.”

“Ohh, then in that case, how about some drag-...... Mmmmf......... What are you doing?!” That idiot Fel was just about to talk about dragon meat, so I reflexively covered his mouth.

《You were about to say dragon meat, weren’t you, Fel? They’re already plenty shocked at the bloody horn-bull. You just try mentioning dragon meat, they’ll all faint,》 I said to Fel through telepathy.

《Mnn... Then wyvern meat is fine.》

《That’s also denied. They’ll get surprised over wyvern meat too. Just make do with the orc meat we got from a drop earlier.》

《Mm... fine. Then make it with that flavoring.》

《Fine, fine.》 Goddamn, learn to read the room a little...

“Ah, how about some seconds, everyone?”

“Is it really okay?”

“Yes, you took good care of us that last time, so I’m happy to.” After all, I wouldn’t have been able to figure out anything back when I first contracted with Fel if I was on my own. Not to mention, I felt like it was all thanks to Iron Will that we managed to cross the border at all.

“Then, I’d like some?”

“Hey, Vincent!”

“What, leader? Mukohda said it was fine, so it’s fine, right?”

While serving Vincent’s extra helping, I also asked Werner, “Would you like one too?”

In response, Werner uttered an apologetic “Please,” and slid over his dish. Then, Rita, Franka, and Ramon all asked for more in succession.

Compliments are one of the reasons why it’s worth cooking.

The rest of the beef stew disappeared cleanly down into Fel and Sui’s stomachs; and then, the rest of Fel and Sui’s appetites were appeased by cooking some orc steaks with the portable stoves. Vincent and Rita were looking like hungry puppies over there when they smelled the meat cooking, so I handed some of it over to them too.

The other adventurers in the safe area were staring at us longingly as well, but there was no way I could share food with people I didn’t know, so I just ignored them. There was a limit to how much food I had stocked, after all.

After a small post-meal break, we headed to the boss room since Fel was starting to get antsy and was pestering me to hurry up.

“Well then, take care everyone.”

“You too, Mukohda. Well, you’re probably fine since Fel is there.”

“Mukohda, are you guys going down lower?”

“Yes. Fel is totally intending to crush this dungeon, so......”

“It seems like there is a behemoth down there, you see. It should be at least a little fun to fight.”

“...Is how it is, apparently.”

The members of Iron Will all laughed. They said that it was just like Fel. Even though personally I never wanted to lay eyes on anything with the name “behemoth.”

“Well then.”

We left the safe area and headed for the boss room. It seemed like the members of Iron Will would stay and explore this floor a while longer. From what I’d heard while we were taking a break, the boss of the 12th floor was a lizardman......

Since the boss room happened to be empty when we arrived, we just strolled right in. And just as I had heard, the room was occupied by a lizardman. As its name implied, it was a large bipedal lizard. There were quite a few of them, but between my three familiars they weren’t really a challenge.

Picking up the hides that were dropped, we moved to the 13th floor.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

From the 13th to the 15th floor, it was also a great load of nothing interesting, according to Fel (it seemed like there wouldn’t be anything worthwhile until the 20th floor). And so, we passed through them. Quickly take care of the boss, and then move on.

The troll that was the boss on the 14th floor was killed by Sui, and likewise Dora-chan took the minotaurs that held down the 15th floor.

Everyone’s so strong. This party has no weaknesses, huh? ......No wait, there is one: me.

Sadly, I was by far the weakest one here.

Oh well, I’ll just have to look reality head on when it comes to that. Let’s just get through this while being protected by everyone.

As soon as we got to the 16th floor, the situation that had been the same on all the previous floors changed at once.

First, its appearance was completely different. Up to the 15th floor, the dungeon was made of proper stone walls that looked man-made, but the 16th floor looked like a tunnel in an excavated mine.

“Wow, sure feels different from the 15th floor.”

“Indeed. This is a dungeon. It differs depending on the dungeon, but there are even floors with a forest or a desert.”

Ahh, oh right, some games work like that too.

As we went along the path, there was a hole to the right. When I peeked inside, I saw a fairly large room with a dome roof, and a monster inside. There were several orc generals, and the orcs that they led.

“Hey, there’s a lot less adventurers around here, so let’s start really picking up drop items and treasure chests.”

“Everything here is so weak it would just be a huge bother......”

“What are you saying?! You know that the one purpose of even going to a dungeon is for the drop items and treasures? If you ignore that, then what’s the point of even being here?”

“For a worthwhile enemy.”

“Ahhh, sure, sure. That might be the case for you, Fel, but it’s not for me. We’re all the way here anyway, let’s just go pick up some drop items and treasures. I’ll even take your request for a meal.”

“Hm? Really? Fine then, I shall do it. I want that meat from your world that I ate before.”

Ahh — wagyu beef, huh? Wyvern and dragon meat are clearly more delicious, but is food from my world better to Fel since it raises his stats?

“Fel, you say you want to eat the stuff from my world, but is it really that much better?”

“I cannot eat that meat unless I ask you, no? I will not say it is as good as dragon, but meat from your world is plenty delicious, and, more importantly, it is rare.”

Well, he is right. It’s not like anyone else has a skill to buy things from my world. So there’s no way to eat that stuff other than to ask me. And I guess I can see that if it’s good on top of all that, he’d want to eat it.

With that settled, the orcs that were in the room were the target — and got instantly destroyed. They dropped their testes and some meat. I hesitated a little to pick up their balls. It was gross, but since it would turn into money, I ended up wrapping it in kitchen paper and forcing myself to pick them up.

After that, we went by another four rooms and picked up the drops in them. They were all monsters that appeared anywhere in between the 11th and the 15th floors. According to Fel, they had all gotten a little bit stronger.

While we were moving along the tunnel, there was a faint sound of something going, ‘click.’

“Mm? It seems we have sprung a trap.”

I could hear something rolling.

*Rollrollrollrollroll*

It sounds like it’s coming closer......

*Crasshhh* *Thudthudthudthudthud*

“Gehhh!! What the heck is that?!”

A huge boulder that spanned the entire length of the tunnel was rolling towards us.

“Be quiet.” Fel swung down his front paw and released a phantasmal set of claws made of light. It was the skill, Rending Claws, that I had seen before.

*Sllrrssshhh*

The round boulder was cut cleanly by the skill and rendered into dust.

...............Huh? That skill can... cut rocks?

Fel, in an extremely Fel-like fashion, held on to his completely unsurprised face and just said, “Let us go.”

At this point, I feel like I can probably just leave it all to Fel and we’ll be able to get through anything... Actually, including the trap just now, I get the feeling that all the traps on this floor have been a level more bloodthirsty. Let’s be careful.

From then on, we started to be careful to avoid traps as we went around the rooms and collected drops.

Finally, we’d reached the boss room. The room was almost twice as big as the one on the 15th floor. Inside was a mixed bag of orcs, lizardmen, and ogres. There was quite a number of them, but with my three familiars on the job, the fight didn’t even last five minutes.

I even fought a stray orc. I wanted to test out the sharpness of the mithril short sword that Sui made for me, so I tried fighting even with my absolutely nonexistent sword skills. I felt like I carried myself quite calmly since I had the Perfect Defense skill.

The stray orc I fought held an iron axe, but all its attacks were deflected by my Perfect Defense skill. Though timidly, I still swung my short sword.

And when I did that, the arm that the orc was using to hold its axe flew off in a flash. I was surprised at how utterly sharp it was, but looking at the screaming orc, I got the feeling that now was the time, so I finished it off. It was almost scary how easily my sword pierced its chest.

Unfortunately there weren’t any drops, but I was satisfied, having contributed to the battle, even if only a little.

Wow though, this sword that Sui made me is ridiculously sharp. That Blacksmithing God’s blessing isn’t just for show.

Looking over at where everyone was gathered, I thought there would be some dropped items there, since there were so many bodies. Once I’d finished picking up all the dropped items like hides or magic stones, we left for the 17th floor.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

This dungeon must have a lot of humanoid monsters in it, because the 17th floor was just like the 16th, in that it housed an assortment of monsters from the 11th to 15th floors. According to Fel, the next floor would be the same thing.

However, higher forms of said monsters were steadily starting to become more common. They still weren’t a match for my familiars, though. Everyone was gleefully mowing their way through monsters left and right.

I’d collected a considerable amount of drop items by now. The most common drops were hides, but I wasn’t sure how much money they would fetch. I couldn’t imagine that they were all that worthwhile though.

Oh well, it’ll be fine if they at least contribute to my food expenses a little.

After running around a couple rooms on the 17th floor and retrieving the drops inside, we finally found a treasure chest. While I was running around picking up dropped items, I saw a whitish box just kind of sitting there in the back of the room. It had gold bordering, and some ornamentation using gems.

“OHHH! Finally, a treasure chest!!”

My first instinct was to open it immediately, but I held myself back. This dungeon was pretty dirty with its traps, after all. Since that’s the case, the chances that this chest is trapped are......

For now, I used Appraisal on the chest.

【Treasure Chest】

A treasure chest that is set up so that it will release poison gas at the same time that it is opened.

......Yep, it’s a trap. Poison gas, what the hell? That’s so scary. I can’t open it like this, not at all. Especially me, since even though I have a blessing, it’s only (small). Even if it nullifies most abnormal status conditions, it’s useless when it comes to something strong like an instant death effect. This thing just says poison gas, I can sense the instant death effect inside. I’ll just leave this one to everyone else here with a full-on blessing.

“Hey, this treasure chest says it’ll spew poison gas when it’s opened. I only have a blessing (small), so someone else do it.”

“Mnn, fine.”

As Fel came closer to open the chest, I received an oracle from that divine disappointment, Ninrir.

＜Ahh — Ahh — Otherworlder, can you hear me? ‘Tis I, Ninrir. I had completely forgotten to tell you, but even though your blessings are (small), with three of them together, they have the same effect as a normal blessing when I comes to protecting you from status conditions. It’s an unusual thing for three gods to give a blessing to the same human, you see, so it took a while to confirm this. So, since that’s settled, you won’t get killed by anything minor so relax. “LET’S ENJOY THE DUNGEON!!” — like that.＞

.........You need to tell me things like that faster, you failure of a goddess. You say it took a while to confirm, but I bet that just means that you forgot to tell me after confirming it, right? Also, what do you even mean, all, LET’S ENJOY and stuff? Geez, where did you even learn stuff like that?

“Ahh, Fel, I’ll try opening it. I just got an oracle from Ninrir, and she said that since I have three blessings (small), they all combine together to have just about the same effect as your regular blessing when it comes to status condition nullification.”

“Hm, really? In that case, go ahead.”

I approached the treasure chest. It wasn’t locked or anything, just closed with a fastener on it. After readying myself, I undid the clasp and opened the box. Immediately, some purple gas shot out of the opening with a whoosh.

*Cough* *Hack* *Cough*

It was probably poison gas, but to me it was just a little bit of smoke and that was it. Thank goodness I can nullify status conditions. I usually thought of the goddesses as just a loud annoyance, but just for this occasion I was feeling grateful to them.

Peeking inside the box, I found a somewhat dirty bag inside.

“What the heck is this?”

When I removed the bag, the treasure chest disappeared.

Then, when I tried appraising it, it read:

【Magic Bag (small) ......A magic bag that has the carrying capacity of five large jute bags.】

Large jute bags mean those 1 meter square bags, right? So, five of those means this is pretty big?

I wasn’t having any problems since I had my Item Box, but this might be something that people without one would pay an arm and a leg for. It was kind of filthy and ugly, and it was also a (small) bag, but it looked like it would still sell for a pretty good price. When I thought like that, it was actually pretty good for the first treasure chest we had found.

I stuffed the magic bag into my Item Box.

We moved on to the next room, but there were already adventurers fighting in it, so we just went past into the boss room. Looking inside, there was an orc king surrounded by orc generals, all leading a countless number of orcs that were swarming around them.

“Hmph, orcs, huh? No matter how many orcs there are, they are nothing to me. Let us go.”

《Yeah!》

《Sui will beat a lot too—!》

Leaving those words behind, my three familiars charged into the orc army. Then, they started trampling that army into the ground. I stayed behind, and finished off any orcs that they missed.

It didn’t take very long for the orc army to disappear. I picked up the meats, hides, and testes that they all dropped. By the way, the king dropped its testes as well. It was gross, but of course I picked it up, since it could apparently turn into a strong vitality enhancer that would definitely result in a child, and was thus pretty expensive. I remembered this from the last time I sold off an orc king.

After that, Fel and the others cleaned up the 18th floor without any particular problems. Of course, I made sure to pick up all the drops. The different hides of all the monsters we’d beaten have started to pile up. Unfortunately, we passed into the boss room of the 18th floor without having seen a single treasure chest.

Inside the room was a mixed company of orcs and ogres being led by a special ogre with reddish skin. There were quite a lot of them in this room too, but it seemed like even this wasn’t enough to faze my familiars, as the battle was over quickly.

The 19th floor also went the same way, with my familiars making easy and steady progress through the floor as I picked up all the drops. In the fifth room, I discovered another treasure chest after it was cleared out.

“Oh! There’s another treasure chest.” Since there was a chance that this one was trapped too, I started off with Appraisal.

【Mimic】

A dungeon monster that mimics a treasure chest. It sometimes drops a decorated treasure chest after being defeated.

Oh, this is a monster and not a treasure chest.

“This isn’t a treasure chest, it’s a monster, it says.”

“Ahh, a mimic, huh?” It seemed like Fel knew of them. “That monster will attack you when you try to open it.”

When you try to open it, huh? If that’s the case, I can just get close to it with a mithril sword? “If that’s the case, I’ll try fighting it.”

Slowly get closer...... “Hup!”

“Ggehh!!”

I cut it in two in a flash. This mithril sword really is just incredibly sharp.

After the mimic disappeared, it left behind something that looked like a small jewel box.

“Ohh, it dropped something. Even though Appraisal said that it only does that sometimes.”

Taking a closer look at it, the small box had some gold ornamentation on it, and the whole thing was rather pretty. Looks like this will sell for a pretty high price, too. I happily stored the box in my Item Box.

After that, we went through two more rooms, and got to the boss room. There, the boss was an ogre king leading a horde of ogres and trolls. The 2 meter tall ogres were already large, but adding on the even larger trolls and in those numbers made my hips give out a little.

Meanwhile, the familiars around me all happily charged into the crowd. And of course, they easily won.

I suddenly had a thought while I was picking up all the hides and magic stones that were dropped. “Oh yeah, it’s only our first day in the dungeon, but we’re already at the 20th floor, aren’t we? Everyone’s so strong so we’re just breezing past this place.”

“Well, we are quite strong, after all. Monsters around these floors probably would not even be considered proper opponents for us.”

《Mwahaha! Have you come to know my greatness? I’ll keep running them over—!》

《Master — is Sui strong—? Sui will defeat more and lots of them—!》

Everyone was still not only lively, but extremely motivated. I let out a strained laugh, watching everyone being so enthusiastic. I expected to be in here about 10 days, though... It might just be that it won’t take nearly that long, I’m getting the feeling.

Going along with all my enthusiastic familiars, we explored the 20th, and then the 21st floor. Both of them were pretty much the same as the 16th through 19th floors, and were home to a mix of those monsters that showed up in the 11th to 15th floors.

Just as Fel said, a lot of superior forms were present, but everyone took care of them in a flash. I collected all of the large amounts of drop items in both floors, and we moved to the 22nd floor.

In this floor, which was currently being explored by only the foremost of adventuring parties, things were a little different than before. No, it was the same in that the walls still looked like excavated tunnels, but the scale of said tunnels was clearly different: the tunnels were more than twice the size than they were on the previous floor.

As for why that was, it became apparent when we looked into the first room. In this room, which was clearly larger than all the rooms up until now, was a group of over 3-meter-tall trolls and minotaurs that absolutely filled the room until it was crowded like nothing before.

“There’s nothing but trolls and minotaurs...... So that’s why the tunnels were so large.”

“Seems that way. From the presences I feel, it looks like this entire floor only has giants as well. Also, I think that this continues for another three or so floors.”

I see. So Fel’s saying that the giants zone goes from this floor to the next floor, the 23rd, all the way to the 25th floor, huh? I get scared looking at just one over 3-meter-tall giant, but now the entire floor is full of them? ......Ugh, this dungeon is just the worst. I thought I’d try helping a little, but that’s going to be impossible with monsters of that size. I’m seriously starting to respect everyone who can face those down and stay calm.

“Those giants might be a liiiiiiiiiiittle too much for me. And so, I’m counting on all of you.”

“Hmph, you really have no guts, do you? Well, trolls and minotaurs are not any threat to us, either. You can just stay there and watch.”

I’m just fine being gutless, okay? I got the Perfect Defense skill, but it’s not like that lets me be calm in front of over 3-meter-tall giant monsters or anything.

《Just leave that stuff to me! I’ll take care of those lumbering lugs lightning-quick!!》

Oh, Dora-chan’s raring to go. Countin’ on you, bud.

《Master — Sui will also go pew pew and get a whole lot of them—! Sui will use water magic—!》

Sui’s totally motivated, too. You go pew pew all you like.

“Well then, let us go.”

At Fel’s words, everyone leapt into the room.

*Szshhh* *Szshhh* *Szshhh*———

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOOOMMM*———

“““Guowooaahhhh!”””

“““Moooooaahhh!!”””

Fel’s lightning and wind magic burst amongst the trolls and minotaurs.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*———

“““Grruuwooaahhhhh!!”””

Dora-chan wrapped himself in Fire magic and moved at high speed to pierce trolls through the chest over and over.

*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew*———

“““““MOOOOAAHHHH!!”””””

Sui’s Acid Bullets melted through the torsos of the minotaurs.

Looking at Sui’s battles up until now, it seemed that the slime had learned to properly use its Acid Bullets in both long- and short-range fights. It made a large ball of acid in order to bathe the enemy in the stuff at close range, and at long range it shot out the bullets at high speed to pierce them through. Since Sui couldn’t use a bunch of different kinds of magic like Fel or Dora-chan could, it instead modified the stuff it could use.

Not sure whether to call Sui smart or skillful here. Sui’s the youngest, and is in its growth period, but it just keeps getting stronger, huh? It might even evolve again by the time we go back up.

Ah, it’s over, huh? Let’s see... okay, guess I’ll start picking stuff up. Minotaur’s iron axes and minotaur’s horns, minotaur meat, oh, and troll hides and poison claws, huh? Kinda feels like the rate of drops has increased on this floor, doesn’t it? So it really is true that the deeper you go, the more profitable it is. Of course, it’s also more dangerous for it, though.

After that, we steadily went around the rooms and cleared them to get drops.

Still though, there’s so many monsters around.

Up until this floor, it was pretty rare to see any monsters in the passageway, but on this floor, seeing monsters out in the tunnels became quite frequent. Of course, with all my familiars around, it was no problem at all, though.

Around when we had finished exploring the 22nd floor, and all that was left was the boss room......

“I am hungry.”

《Yeah, I am too.》

《Sui is also hungry—!》

It was time to feed the children. We decided to eat in the safe area near the boss room.

What should I go with this time? The orc general ginger-fried pork bowl and some tonjiru should be fine.

After molding some rice in a deeper dish than usual, I laid a thick bed of shredded cabbage on the rice, and covered the cabbage with ginger-fried pork on top to finish out the ginger-fried pork bowl. After that, I also poured some of the tonjiru into another deep dish. Then, I served the food to my familiars.

“Here you go. Dig in.”

Everyone immediately started chowing down.

“Having a meal after work makes the food taste really good.”

《Ohh! The flavoring on this meat is amazing!》

《Yeah, yeah, it’s delicious, right? This soup with the vegetables and meat in it is good too—!》

A meal after some exercise really is good, right? I should dig-in to my food, too. The sweet and salty flavoring sure does match well with the cabbage and rice here. It’s so nice that the shredded cabbage gives a refreshing note to the whole thing.

And this tonjiru, too. The vegetables have completely absorbed the flavor of the soup, it’s good. Not to mention how calming it is to have some hot soup here. Ahh~ so nice.

“More.” 《More!》

It looked like Dora-chan was full (since the serving I gave in their bowls easily equaled three human portions), but Fel and Sui still wanted more. After I gave Fel and Sui their second helping, I watched them go to town on the food. In the end, they weren’t satisfied until they cleaned out all the ginger-fried pork I’d made.

For the tonjiru, there was just barely a single serving left.

“Hey, Fel, I’m tired too, so why don’t we just call it a day here, and then go fight the boss on a full night’s sleep?”

“I see. It is probably around the time to sleep on the outside as well, so let us do that.”

It seemed like Fel could just instinctively tell the time, and that it was nighttime at the moment.

Well, his stomach clock’s already pretty accurate...

“Well, that’s that, Dora-chan, Sui. We’re sleeping here for today.”

《Sure, got it.》

《Okay—! Master, the bed?》

Oh that’s right, the futon. We’re the only ones here in this safe area anyway, so might as well.

After spreading the cardboard box bases, I unfurled the futons for both me and Fel.

I’d never have thought we’d make it so deep so fast. I made a huge amount of food so as to not be seen using my skill, but was all that wasted effort? Well, it’s making it so I don’t have to cook in the dungeon, so I guess it’s not completely wasted.

While pondering that subject as I was preparing the bedding, I heard a voice.

“Just get in the safe area!!!”

“Hurry up! Go faster!!”

“Damian, snap out of it!!”

“What happened to our potions?!”

“We already used them!!”

A party of adventurers covered in wounds ran into the safe area.

It was a party of four men and two women. There was an exceptionally heavily wounded man being supported on both sides. He was covered in blood. Looking closely, I could see that his side was cut, deep enough that I could see his innards.

Surprised and shocked at their sudden appearance, I came to when the person who looked to be their leader called out to me.

“Hey, you! Do you have any potions?! I’ll pay, so please give some to me if you have any!!”

“I-I do!” I had some bottles left over from when I bought them in Karelina, and I had them filled with all three levels of Sui’s special potions before we went into the dungeon. Along with the ones I’d had already, I currently had twenty each of Sui’s low, mid, and high-grade potions stocked in my Item Box. I took one of the high-grade ones out of my Item Box and handed it to the leader-like male adventurer.

“Hey, here’s a potion! Wake up!!!” After laying down the heavily wounded man, he poured Sui’s special high-grade potion over his cut flank.

When he did that, the man’s wound started to visibly close up. The adventurers were surprised, looking at the effects.

“W-What the heck......? Was that a special-grade potion?”

“N-No way...... There’s no way a person would own a special-grade potion just by himself.........”

The adventurer’s gazes all focused on me.

“U-Ummm... This is a high-grade potion, but it’s a little stronger than normal ones. Please spare me the questions of where I got it.”

W-Well, I didn’t lie, at least.

“I see. If it’s this strong, then I’d want some myself, but I do understand your feelings of wanting to keep it a secret.”

“This kind of thing is important for adventurers, right? We won’t just be able to get that info for free.”

Somehow, they just explained it away themselves. More importantly, is that guy all right? I saw some stuff that I feel like you should never see on a guy, you know?

“He’s still unconscious, but his wound has already closed and his breathing is calm. He should be fine now.” Saying so, the leader-like guy let out a relieved sigh.

“Good...... *Snff* ...............I thought Damian was done for......”

“Don’t cry. Well, you were really close to Damian, I guess. But still, it’s great that we managed to save him.”

“Really. As the healer, I hate to say it, but even if I wasn’t out of magic, I don’t think I’d have been able to do anything about a wound like that.”

“Certainly. Only a highly ranked priest or something would be able to heal a wound like this...... It was a miracle that we managed to save Damian.”

It seemed like the heavily wounded man was named Damian. The members of his party all looked relieved knowing about his safety.

“You really saved us, thanks.” The man who looked to be the leader of the group bowed his head to me.

“No, please don’t mind it. I just happened to have the potion.” I said it was a coincidence, but the maker, Sui, was right here, so I honestly could have made more at any time.

“Given how effective that potion was and the fact that we’re in the dungeon right now, how does 15 gold sound?”

It’s more than enough, since I hear that a normal high-grade potion is 10 gold. It was originally free for me, after all.

“S-Sure, that’s fine, but aren’t high-grade potions supposed to be worth 10 gold...?”

“The potion we just got clearly had a greater effect than a normal high-grade potion. Also, we bought it in a dungeon, which is a special condition in which such things would normally not be available; it would be unforgivable even for us to not consider that in the price.” Saying that, the leader-like man handed over 15 gold.

Given his reasoning, I took the gold. But in exchange......

“This is a freebie. Please use it.” I handed over three of Sui’s low-grade potions.

I mean, even though they weren’t as wounded as Damian was, all the members of the party were still covered in cuts. Pitiful wouldn’t even begin to describe it.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, help yourself. In exchange, would you tell me what happened?”

In response, the leader said, “Sorry,” and accepted the potions. Then, he started talking about what happened.

Their party was the A-ranked adventuring party, “Tempest.” The party was made up of the A-ranked leader and one other A-ranked member, with the rest of them all being B-ranked. It seemed like they were very proud of their accomplishments and abilities.

They started diving into this dungeon around two months ago, and apparently this time was their second time attacking it. The previous time they’d also managed to get down to the 22nd floor, but they were running out of food, so they decided to leave.

This time they had planned to go even deeper, and passed straight through the first 20 levels, it seemed. And so after exploring through the 21st and 22nd levels, they reached the boss room on the 22nd floor.

But, inside was......

“There were 3 whole damn spriggans in there. As well as swarms of trolls and minotaurs. There were clearly more than when we saw last time.”

Apparently spriggans were giant monsters even larger than trolls or minotaurs, with an even uglier face, to boot. The last time they dived into the dungeon, not only was there only one spriggan, but there were also fewer trolls and minotaurs around, the leader said.

“We know this is a dungeon, and that it’s not guaranteed that things will always be the same every time, but we would never have expected three spriggans......”

And there were even more trolls and minotaurs around on top of that. Figuring out how bad the situation was, they somehow managed to start the retreat, but at the last moment Damian took a hit from a minotaur’s axe and was wounded. As he was hanging on for dear life, they ran all the way to this safe area, the leader’s story went.

“You should also be caref- ...Actually, you guys should be fine.” As he said that, the leader glanced furtively at Fel.

Ahh, right, A and B-ranked adventurers can tell that Fel is a Fenrir.

“I had heard that there was an adventurer that managed to tame a Fenrir, so it was true.”

“W-Well... yeah...”

“Haha, you don’t have to be that wary, you know? I won’t ask for any specifics, and the Adventurer’s guild already told us not to mess with you, you know?”

I’d be thankful if you followed that, yes.

“I think you’ll be fine with that Fenrir following you, but be careful anyway. We thought we were plenty prepared and ended up like this, after all. We’d asked the guildmaster here for info beforehand on the dungeon and other stuff, and the consensus was that this floor had one spriggan on it. Even so, we thought two spriggans might be possible and prepared for it, but three was...... Well, there’s no use complaining now. After sleeping here, we’re gonna go back up.”

So they got surprised with something they’d never have thought to have expected, huh? Makes sense, since not only were there three spriggans, there were even more trolls and minotaurs than usual. This dungeon really is just the worst, what with the traps and all.

...Wait, huh? If the people in Tempest didn’t defeat the enemies in the boss room, then aren’t all the spriggans and trolls and minotaurs still in there?

I tried asking Fel and got an affirmative reply.

Ghhhh... What do we do???

“There is no need to worry. No matter how many spriggans there are, they are no match for me. Just go to sleep already. We are going deeper tomorrow,” is what he said.

It was probably fine with all three of my familiars around, and I also had the Perfect Defense skill on top of that, but I couldn’t help but get worried imagining being surrounded by giant enemies everywhere.

I forcefully convinced myself that it would be fine with everyone around and went to sleep.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next day, all three of my familiars were already awake and waiting for food. Once we’d eaten, it would finally be time to challenge the boss room. After seeing the state of everyone in Tempest yesterday as well as hearing their story, it would be a lie to say that I wasn’t worried.

However, feeding all my hungry familiars came first.

What should it be today...... Fried stuff is no good right in the morning... Hmm... Pork chops should be fine, I guess.

I had planned to make the pork chops into a sandwich, but when I asked my familiars for their opinions, Fel said that he just wanted the meat, so I ended up just serving him a mountain of pork chops. Both Dora-chan and Sui wanted the sandwiches, so I did as they wished.

Slice the round, black bread in two horizontally, and lay a bed of shredded cabbage on the bottom half. Put the pork chop on top of that, close the sandwich, and the whole thing is done.

It’s more of a pork chop burger than a pork chop sandwich, huh?

For now, I assembled five each for Dora-chan and Sui.

Dora-chan dexterously used his front legs to hold on to it and dig in. 《Man, the flavor on this meat is great, with its slight sourness—.》

《It really is. So good~.》

It seemed like the pork chop burgers went over well with both Dora-chan and Sui.

As soon as I thought to start on my own meal, Fel demanded another helping — and so I served him another pile of pork chops. Even though I only served Fel pork chops since that’s all he asked for, he was still eating with gusto.

You really love meat, don’t you? Now then, it’s my turn.

*Chomp*

Mm, this black bread together with the cabbage and the pork chops is unexpectedly good. Yeah, this ketchup-based tare is really good. It’s also nice that I’m feeling full just from one since the black bread was so tough and filling.

When I went to take another bite, just one more mouthful of the pork chop burger, I felt an intense stare on me.

Looking towards where I was getting that feeling......

******Gulp******

All the members of Tempest were looking at me, or rather, the pork chop burger in my hands.

Umm...... it’s kinda hard to eat like this, you know......?

“I know just how precious food is in the dungeon, trust me. But... just maybe... if you have some leeway with your supplies... We’ll pay, so can you split some of that with us?” So said the man who was the leader of Tempest.

“That’s fine, but......”

“I-I see! That’s great. So, how much will it be?”

That’s right, how much would I even charge for this stuff? 5 copper, maybe? No wait, I think 5 copper for a single burger was too expensive?

“Since we’re in a dungeon... what about 1 silver?”

“Huh?”

“So it really was too cheap...... Then...”

“N-No no! I-I’m fine with 1 silver.” It wasn’t that it was too cheap, I was just surprised that the price was set at 1 silver for a single burger.

“Okay then. Sorry, but can you give us six portions?” The leader secured 1 silver from each of his party members, and handed the 6 silver over to me.

Is this fine? I feel like I’m stealing from them, taking a whole silver each for a burger. Hmmm... Ah, that’s right, I have some hot water that I prepared to make coffee with, and I still have some instant consommé soup, I think, so I can add that as an extra. I still think it’s too much money, but I can just chalk that up to a dungeon fee.

I made pork chop burgers and instant consommé soup for six people and served them to the people from Tempest. Of course, I made sure to make the soup so they couldn’t see.

“Ahhh, so good......”

“It’s the best, eating hot food in a dungeon...”

“Especially since it’s just been hard bread and salty dried meat up until now... Comparing this to that is like heaven and earth.”

“Right? If you think about the hardest thing about being in a dungeon, it’s gotta be food......”

“I feel like this is the first proper meal I’ve had in a long while...”

“I’m so jealous of people with Item Boxes. It must be nice to be able to eat stuff like this in a dungeon.”

...Said the members of Tempest while they chowed down on their pork chop burgers. Even Damian, whom I’ve seen more of than any man should, was completely fine by now and was going through his burger with gusto. He recovered so fast... or actually, it might have been that the potion Sui made was just that powerful.

“Give me another.”

《Master — more.》

Ah, Fel and Sui want more... Whoops, there’s no more pork chops.

“Ahh, those pork chops were the last ones, so what about beef bowls?”

“Anything is fine, just hurry up.”

《Everything master makes is delicious, so anything is fine—!》

I handed Fel and Sui an extra-large serving each of bloody horn-bull beef bowl. After another two helpings of extra-large beef bowls, Fel and Sui were finally full.

“Well then, it’s been real. We’ll be heading back to the surface now.”

No no, it was our pleasure.

I somehow managed to make money even in a dungeon.

“Take care.” When I said that, the man said, “You too,” and left along with his party members.

“Hey — we are leaving.”

F-Finally, huh?

With Fel’s declaration as a signal, we set off for the 22nd floor’s boss room. After taking a peek inside......

There’s just so many huge monsters everywhere... so many...

Just as we had heard, there were three spriggans that were even larger than the already large trolls and minotaurs. And on top of that, the number of trolls and minotaurs was huge.

“Spriggans are huge... s-so huge......” They were big enough for me to unconsciously whisper that.

That thing has to be like 5 meters tall. How the hell do we beat that?

“Dora, Sui, let us go.”

《Sure!》

《Got it—!》

While I was busy making sure I was around to fight another day, my familiars charged into the boss room.

“Ah......” Man, why are they so energetic about this? I guess I should follow them...

Readying the mithril short sword that Sui made, I slowly made my way into the boss room.

“Ghhgaaahhhh!!!”

“Guoohhhhh!!!”

“Moooaaaahhh!”

It was a storm of agonizing cries. Though that was probably just because Fel, Dora-chan, and Sui were running amok. I was watching them all fight from a corner of the room.

Oh! Fel just used Wind magic. And Dora-chan’s over there surrounded in Lightning magic and charging into things. Ah, Sui’s using its Acid Bullet to its fullest.

Everyone was steadily clearing out all the monsters.

“Guooohhhh!!!”

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

A sudden roar and earthquake. Hm? Ghh! A troll’s coming this way!

I immediately readied my mithril short sword.

“Guooohh!!” The troll swung its huge club at me.

Tch, shit! But if he’s this slow even I’ll probably be able to do something about it!

“Hahh!”

I dodged the troll’s club and swung at its right leg.

“G-Guoh?!”

*Thud———*

The troll, unable to endure, fell onto its right knee. I quickly slashed at its left leg as well.

“Hoohh!!”

*Thud———*

The troll fell to the stumpy remains of its left knee as well. Good, now it can’t move.

“Hyahh!” I thrust my mithril short sword into the immobile troll’s neck. The tip of the mithril sword slid easily into the troll’s throat, as if it was being sucked in.

“Guoohhhhhhhhh!!!” After heaving out a death cry so loud it made me want to cover my ears, the troll fell forward with a thud and ceased to move.

Did I do it? By myself?

“Y-Yeaahhhh!!! I did it! I totally did it!!!”

I beat a troll by myself! Even I can do it if I have to! I never had a pinch of confidence when it came to combat, but just now I might have gained some.

After a while, the deceased troll became thinner and thinner before disappearing. All that was left was a troll hide. I reverently stored the prize that I won myself into my Item Box.

After that, I started to retrieve all the other drop items that were scattered around the room. There were two drops from the newly appeared spriggans on this floor: one dropped a magic stone, and the others dropped gemstones. This time, we received a ruby and an emerald. The two of them were clear of impurities and had an amazingly beautiful color, though they were only small pebbles.

After that — and sticking in a mealtime in the middle — we went through the giants zone of the 23rd, 24th, and 25th floors. As we went lower, the number of rooms grew, as well as the number of monsters. My three familiars weren’t fazed in the slightest, though. Or rather, they were still happily beating down all the monsters that came attacking us. Of course, I didn’t slack on retrieving the huge amount of dropped items.

While all that was happening, we also found two more treasure chests. Inside these were a diamond ring and a tanzanite necklace. Jewelry was expensive, so I welcomed the discoveries with open arms.

We also encountered three more mimics. Among those, only one of them dropped another treasure chest. This time, it wasn’t a small one that was more like a jewelry box, but a relatively large decorated treasure chest. This one seemed to be worth a lot of money as well.

After continuing our exploration, we decided to end the day outside the boss room on the 25th floor.

It was decided that we would be challenging the boss room the next morning — and then, we would head straight to the 26th floor after that.

According to Fel, the presences on the 26th floor felt different from the ones up till now on the 25th floor, the giants zone. In other words, there was a large possibility that the scenery would be changing once again.

I wonder how it’ll look next......? While experiencing mixed feelings of unease and anticipation, I went to sleep.

No matter what happens, I’ll be fine with Fel, Dora-chan, and Sui around.

Gossip: Three Heroes ~Ominous Footsteps~

Kanon, Rio, and I, along with the three knights accompanying us, continued to dive into the dungeon in order to level up, and in the end, we managed to reach the 25th level.

After getting to the level where we could best an ogre one on one, we gave the dungeon a rest for a while, and tried actually defeating monsters out in the wild. According to the three knights, monsters outside were much different from monsters in the dungeon, so it would be better to get some experience fighting outside as well. The dungeon was fun because it was like a game, but I wanted to try fighting monsters outside anyway, so I couldn’t ask for anything better.

At this point, my stats were like so:

【Name】 Kaito Saitou

【Age】 17

【Job】 Hero from Another World

【Level】 10

【HP】 1010

【MP】 978

【Attack】 988

【Defense】 961

【Agility】 953

【Skills】 Appraisal, Item Box, Holy Sword Arts, Fire magic, Water magic, Earth magic, Wind magic, Light magic, Lightning magic, Ice magic

I’d leveled up steadily, and was now at 10. My HP even passed 1000. I had heard that one was first rate if any of their stats passed 1000, so I think I’m growing pretty well. For now, I was the only one with a stat above 1000, but Kanon and Rio had similar stats, so they would pass 1000 soon. However, the more we level up, the more we feel the difficulty in leveling up further.

Even so, reaching this level after only a single month was probably because we were heroes. Having everyone praise us, saying, “Of course, you’re the hero!” was both embarrassing and a happy thing.

Tomorrow, we would finally be going outside to fight monsters. The request we’d taken from the Adventurer’s guild was to destroy a nest of kobolds. This was a request available to those C-rank and above. The knights were all C-rank, so we were able to take it, since we were partied up with them. Our Adventurer ranks were still at D, but the knights assured us that our actual fighting ability was higher.

I want to show Louise my good side too...... destroy the kobolds, huh? Leave it to me!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

We had come to a forest south of the capital. Kobolds had a good sense of smell, so there was a chance we’d be found based on our scent. While taking note of the direction of the wind, we approached the nest and took a look.

“There are two keeping watch outside the cave. Just as we expected. Now then, let’s proceed according to plan. After finishing off those two, throw Fire magic inside and thin their numbers. After that, kill the kobolds as they escape the cave. Understood?” Leonard explained the plan in a low voice, and everyone nodded their ascent.

“First, Louise and I will finish off the lookouts. After that, we’ll be counting on you for the Fire magic, Kaito, Kanon, Rio,” said Aaron. We nodded in response.

After seeing that, Aaron and Louise started moving. Taking care not to be noticed, they stood up behind the two lookouts and......

*Zllshhhh*

*Zsshhh*

When Aaron stood up and swung his sword, the kobolds head rolled onto the ground. Right after, their bodies followed suit. The kobold that Louise approached from behind was pierced through the heart by her blade and died without uttering a sound. Every time I witnessed their swordplay, I was amazed.

Leonard, who was commanding this mission, was also amazing in his swordplay, though.

Since I’d only started training in the sword after I came here, my skills with it still weren’t great, but I hoped to one day get as good as they were.

I’ll just have to try hard to get as close as I can to those three. Oh, I can think about these things later.

After confirming that the two lookouts were taken care of, Kanon, Rio, and I quickly moved in front of the cave. And then, the three of us shot our Fire magic into the opening.

““Blazing ball of fire, burn mine enemies to nothing. Fireball!!””

“Raging arrow of fire, pierce through mine enemies. Fire Arrow!!”

Kanon and Rio cast a Fireball, while I cast a Fire Arrow. Our Fire magic flew to the rear of the cave, and exploded with a loud *Boom!*

“The fire’s going to burst out! You guys move to the side of the cave!!” At Aaron’s words, we reflexively jumped to the side.

“Kyaahh!”

“Kyaaaahh!!”

“Woaahh!”

Right after we jumped to the side, a large amount of fire rushed through the entrance where we were along with a low sound. It looked like our Fire magic was too strong. We stood back up once the fire calmed down.

“Was it... too strong?”

“Looks like.”

“Yeah......”

Taking a peek inside the cave, the walls were burnt black, and there was no sign of any living kobolds. Leonard, Aaron, and Louise also joined us in checking the cave.

“Looks like we can count this request finished.”

“Yes, there’s no way any of them survived Fire magic that strong.”

“You’re right. I can’t feel anything living. We can probably count this nest destroyed.”

...Said the three of them.

“The three of you did well. We’re finished decimating the kobold nest.” With that report from Leonard, Kanon and Rio went, “Yayy!” celebrating together.

“Well, we’re heroes, at least in title. This should probably be normal,” I said, trying to look cool, but inside I was super happy. Thinking that I could fight just as well with monsters on the outside, I gained a little confidence.

Nice! Let’s keep winning!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next day, while everyone was heading for the Adventurer’s guild to take another quest, I noticed a bracelet peeking out of Rio’s sleeve that she didn’t have yesterday.

“What’s up with that, Rio?” I asked, glancing at the bracelet. Rio laughed happily in response.

“Huh? What’s going on? I’m super interested.” Kanon must have noticed for the first time too, and joined in.

“To tell you the truth, I got it... from Leonard......” Rio said happily through blushing cheeks.

“Kyahh! That’s so nice!”

“Yeah.”

“How nice. I’m jealous.”

“You’ll be fine. Aaron’s looking your way all the time, Kanon, he definitely likes you.”

“I wonder~.”

Somehow, it turned into love gossip between the two of them.

I see, from Leonard, huh? Nice job, Leonard. Not only that, Rio even started calling him “Leonard,” when before it was “Mr. Leonard.” Goddammit, I’ll do my best, too! I wonder if it’s gotta be an accessory for women, after all? I’ll take that into consideration.

Taking a look at the bracelet Rio was wearing, I noticed it was silver, around 1 cm in width and densely decorated with a pattern that looked like a magic circle in gold. In the center, there was a clear purple crystal set on it.

That’s pretty nice.

After asking Rio about it, it seemed that it was a type of magic item that slightly raised her physical abilities.

“Leonard said that he was worried about me since I had less stamina than you two, and he gave this to me,” said Rio happily.

I see. So there’s accessories like this, too. I bet it’s super expensive... he sure loves Rio.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Leonard, did you manage to hand that thing over properly?”

“Of course. When I told her it was a magic tool to raise her physical abilities, she happily took it.”

“Hmph, you probably whispered something sweet to her as you put it on, didn’t you?”

“I won’t deny it. But aren’t you the same?”

“Well, yeah. They have the Appraisal skill, after all. There’s no way we could just hand them over at the same time. It’ll cause suspicion. I’ll give it a little time and give it to her when the time is right. Of course, I’ll whisper swee~t nothings to her as I slip that bracelet on. And with that, they won’t suspect a thing.”

“You’re a bad guy too, huh?”

“Stop with the slander. You’re in the same boat, aren’t you?”

“You guys sure are lucky, since you’re dealing with women. It’s not suspicious at all for a man to give a woman an accessory. Meanwhile, I’m over here with no idea how to give this thing to Kaito.”

“Well you just have to seduce him and slam the thing on, right? No matter what he says, he’s pretty head over heels for you, you know?”

“He’s right. You’ll just have to prove your skills at this point.”

“Hmph, I know already. As long as we can get these ‘dominance bracelets’ on the heroes, it’s basically as if our mission is already over. Once it’s done, I’m basically guaranteed a promotion, so of course I’ll do it.”

Chapter 5: The Invincible Trio

We were in front of the boss room on the 25th floor. When I peeked inside......

“The room is bigger again. There’s also more monsters.”

“Mm. I can tell from their presences, yes.”

“One, two, three...... Huh? There’s ten spriggans in there.” Following the spriggans, who were a size bigger, with my eyes, I counted at least ten of them.

There were actually so many giants stuffed into this room I was actually almost amazed at it, like, “How did you do that?”

Does that mean they just pulled out all the stops for the last floor of the giants zone? This dungeon really is just the worst...

“Hmph, no matter how many there are, they are still nothing to me.”

《Right, right! Actually, just about this much is nice, it feels like we’re actually fighting.》

《Sui’s gonna beat a lot, a who—le lot again—!》

Yep, looks like even this many giants aren’t a match for my children here.

“Now then, it is time.”

《Let’s go—!!》

《Ya—y!》

With Fel’s words as a signal, all three of my familiars spread out into the room that was full to bursting with giants.

I’m not sure if they’re all just fearless or what... Everyone’s actually really strong, though. It’s like... they just don’t have any sense of tension? Even though we’re in a dungeon and all. Well, it’s not like making a note of this now will do anything. Ahh — everyone’s just beating down the giants left and right, aren’t they? Now then, I guess I should get in there too. I’m a little late though.

I quietly slipped into the 25th floor’s boss room.

“Guooohhhh!!!” Apparently I was noticed, as once again a troll was coming at me.

Hm? Isn’t it a little faster than that troll on the 24th floor?

“Guooohhh!!” While belting out a war cry, it swung both its fists at me. It might have been a little faster than the troll on the 24th floor, but......

“I can still dodge something like this!! Hahh!” Dodging the troll’s arm, I cut into its flank. My mithril short sword, with its excellent cutting edge, cut open a huge wound in the troll’s side.

“Guoohhhh!!!”

Ouff...... The troll’s guts were poking out of its wound.

The troll that I gutted was swinging its arms in a frenzy, as if trying to blow me away.

He’s extra mad, isn’t he? But still, huge swings like that wouldn’t hit me in a million years.

I circled around to the troll’s back while dodging its swings.

“Heih! Hahh!” I cut through the calves on both of the troll’s feet.

“Gh! Ghoooohhh!!”

*Thudddddddd———* The troll fell forward, as if it was prostrating itself. I stabbed my mithril short sword deep around where its heart should have been.

*Zshhh*

“How’s that!!”

The troll twitched for a moment and then fell still.

“Yeahh!!”

*Clanngg———*

“Woah!!” While I celebrated defeating the troll, I was pushed by something and fell on my butt.

“W-What was that?”

“Moooaaaarrrr!!!” When I looked up, a minotaur was raising its axe.

“WoaaAAAHHH!!” I reflexively covered my head in my arms and closed my eyes.

Will Perfect Defense really cover this?! I didn’t get Fel to put a barrier over me since I felt confident after that last battle and I still had the Perfect Defense skill! Please work, pleaaassseee!!!

*CLANG———*

The minotaur swung its axe... and I wasn’t hurt at all.

“Oh?” Timidly moving my arms, I opened my eyes.

The minotaur was swinging its axe at my head over and over with a wrathful expression on its face.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang———!*

However, I wasn’t taking any damage at all. I did feel like I was being pushed a little from somewhere over the top of my head, but other than that I was fine.

Ah, so the reason why I was pushed onto my butt in the first place was because of that axe, wasn’t it?

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang———!*

Hey, I know I’m not taking any damage, but aren’t you attacking me a bit too much?

“Heihh!”

*Zsshh*

I thrust my mithril short sword at the minotaur’s heart.

“Moooaahhrrrr!!”

*Thud———*

The minotaur, having been pierced through the heart, fell backwards.

“Yesss!! I did it!” I picked up the drops from the troll and minotaur that I defeated: a poison claw, and a horn.

“So you learned how to fight a little, huh?” Fel said, coming close to me.

“Well, a little bit. I’m still not used to fighting, but I can’t just be leaving it all up to you guys all the time.”

《Master — Sui picked up some stuff—!》

Ohh! Looks like Sui decided to help! Since there were no other drops on the floor, it seemed like Sui got all of it.

“Oh, you got all of it, didn’t you? Thanks, Sui.” Receiving the drops from Sui, I stored them in my Item Box. When I petted Sui as a reward, it started hopping around happily.

《He—y! There’s a huge treasure chest in the back there—!》 Dora-chan said through telepathy while flying.

“A treasure chest? Let’s go.” We were led by Dora-chan towards the location of the treasure chest.

“It’s just like Dora-chan said, this one’s bigger than all the ones before......” The treasure chest was about 1 meter across and 50 cm tall. I was hit with the desire to just open it, but I resisted and appraised it instead.

【Treasure Chest】

A treasure chest designed to release a fireball when opened, as well as poison gas right after that.

......Both a fireball and poison gas?! What the hell is this war crime? I kind of expected this what with its size and all, though... But even if you dodge the fireball, there’s poison gas?! Anyone other than me with my Perfect Defense skill and blessing effects would die, totally die!

“The trap on this chest sure is nasty......”

“You appraised it too, Fel? It’s both a fireball and poison gas, after all. Anyone without blessings like us would just die, wouldn’t they?”

“Yeah. It is probably possible to dodge the three fireballs, but unless you have something really powerful to counter with, that instant death gas is probably impossible.”

......Wha? “Huh? Three fireballs? And the gas has an instant death effect?”

“Yeah, you probably could not see it because of the difference in levels.”

“Ah, I see. It’s one of those things that you can only see with higher levels. You did say that you get quite the long exposition when you use Appraisal, didn’t you, Fel?”

Still though, the nastiness of this thing just gets worse with what Fel read on top of that... Three whole fireballs and instant death gas...... You’ve got no intention of ever letting go of your treasures, do you? Mwahaha, but we’re fine, though! And so, time to open it.

Just like Fel’s Appraisal said, after opening the chest, it released three fireballs, and right afterwards an ominously black poison gas was released into the surroundings with a sound of decompressing air.

*Cough* *Cough*

“Ahh, that was awful.”

Of course, it didn’t work on us. Peeking inside the treasure chest, there was a gold ingot and a gem, as well as a ring. Appraising the gem, I found that it was an imperial topaz. What an expensive-sounding name.

As for the ring, this was what my Appraisal said.

【Ring of Magic Recovery】

A magic item that slightly speeds up the rate of magic power recovery.

It’s a magic item—! Wondering exactly how much slightly meant, I had Fel appraise it, and apparently slightly meant by 1.2 times.

This is great!

Of course, I used it myself. I put the ring on immediately. And as one might have expected out of a magic item, while I first thought it might have been too big, when I put it on, I found that it fit perfectly. Stuffing the gold ingot and the imperial topaz in my Item Box, we all proceeded to the 26th floor.

“Huh? What’s this............?” The floor we stepped into was a densely growing forest.

“So it went with this, huh? This dungeon is quite amusing.”

Nonono, Fel, this isn’t amusing at all. I heard that dungeons might have floors like these, but isn’t this way too sudden? I mean, up until now it’s been all tunnels and stone walls, right? You’d expect the next floor to be the same, right? And all of a sudden, a forest?

“Hey, get on. I am feeling a fairly strong presence. We are heading for it.”

Fel seemed like he was having fun.

“Hurry it up!”

Yeah, yeah. I gave in to Fel’s prodding and got on his back.

The first thing we encountered in this dense forest was a huge praying mantis that was over 2 meters tall. And their numbers counted in the teens. When I tried appraising them......

【Giant Killer Mantis】

A B-ranked monster.

Huh? That’s all? W-Well, it was just the monster’s name before, so thinking like that this is an improvement...

“What? These are just small fry...” Right after Fel muttered that, lightning ran along the killer mantises with a snap and crackle. The giant killer mantises numbering in their teens were all instantly fried black and died.

“.........Fel...” To think you’d just suddenly hit them with lightning... Those giant killer mantises are just way too sad. Well, it was probably just their luck, I guess.

《Awww, Fel killed them all by himself.》

《Unfair, Uncle Fel—!》

Dora-chan and Sui were both complaining that Fel beat them all by himself.

“Small fry like that are not worth your time, anyway. Let us find something stronger.”

《You say that, but you’re just gonna try and fight it yourself. How unfair...》

《Sui wants to fight too — Sui will go pew pew and use Water magic to beat up a whole lot of them—!》

But still, why does everyone like fighting so much? You guys’ blood is way too hot.

“W-Well, isn’t it fine to just take turns here like before? Next will be Dora-chan, and after that Sui can take a turn.” When I said that, Dora-chan and Sui reluctantly accepted.

《Oh fiine. But I’m next, okay?》

《If master says so, then Sui will do that because Sui is good...》

After that, I retrieved the giant killer mantis’ drops, and we continued on through the forest. By the way, their drops were small magic stones and giant killer mantis scythes.

Steadily making headway through the forest, the next thing we encountered was a murder grizzly.

But isn’t this...... bigger than the one Fel killed? When I asked Fel, I was told that those born in the dungeon can be stronger and bigger than those outside. Apparently, the density of magic had something to do with it.

“Guoohhh!!” The murder grizzly had set us in its sights and ran towards us while shaking its huge body.

《Yahhooo!! Let’s gooo!!》

*Thudshhh*

Dora-chan, clad in fire, pierced through the murder grizzly’s side with incredible speed.

............So fast...

Picking up the murder grizzly’s pelt that was dropped, we proceeded further into the forest.

The next thing that came out was a paralyze butterfly. It was a B-ranked monster, a butterfly around 1 meter in length with a sinister orange and blue polka-dot pattern. Apparently they moved around in packs, and the one we encountered consisted of around thirty of them.

We were seeing it for the first time, so I asked Fel about it, and it seemed that after paralyzing their prey by spreading their poisonous scales, they sucked the fluids out of their prey while they still lived.

While they’re still alive.........? That’s so brutal.

Now it’s Sui’s turn, so go get ‘em! “Sui, these bugs spread dust that make it so you can’t move if you get too close. So get them from far away, okay?”

《Yeah, got it—!》

Sui shot down the paralyze butterflies one after the other with the long-range version of its Acid Bullet. The entire fight was finished within a minute.

《Master — Sui got all of them—!》

“Yeah, yeah. You’re so awesome, Sui.” When I complimented it, Sui started bouncing around happily.

Sui’s sooo cute... The slime was my only source of healing in this brutal dungeon.

The paralyze butterfly drops were some paralyzing poison scales (in a bottle for some reason; there was a lot of this dropped as well, somehow.) After picking them up, we proceeded further into the forest.

After that, we saw a procession of beast-, bird-, and bug-type monsters that all seemed like they would belong in a forest, and we defeated them one after the other, collecting their drops while we proceeded along the floor. The idea of stopping in the middle for a meal was brought up, but......

“Huh? This floor doesn’t have a safe area?!” When I got the idea and asked Fel to lead us to the safe area, it turned out that there was none on this floor.

“Floors like this often do not have safe areas.” According to Fel, floors with a forest or desert biome (if I remembered right, they were called field dungeons?) more often than not didn’t feature any safe areas.

It was said that field dungeons were both extremely spacious and home to a lot of high-ranking monsters, so they were high difficulty areas, but the fact that there were no safe areas probably raised that difficulty even higher.

The fact that there’s no safe areas means there’s no place to rest and relax, after all. Not only that, but since only high-ranking monsters appear, it’s even more stressful. It’s totally different from camping out in a normal forest.

“Well, do not be so worried. Everything will be fine with my barriers.”

That’s true. Taking things up until now into account, unless there’s something ridiculously strong, Fel’s barriers will make things safe, probably.

“Then let’s just eat here. Fel, I’m counting on you for that barrier.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Once Fel put up his barrier, I started preparing our meal. What should it be......? Ah, right. Let’s go with that: the melt-in-your-mouth stewed pork I had pre-made. Let’s use that and make stewed pork bowls.

~◇~◇~◇~

Start off by slicing the pork thickly. Once that’s done, mold the rice on a deep dish and layer the pork on top of the rice so that the rice is no longer visible. With that done, pour on a quick ladleful of stew.

After that, garnish with a marinated soft-boiled egg that’s been cut in half, and the dish is complete.

~◇~◇~◇~

“Here you go.”

All three of them dug in heartily.

“Ohh, this is great! The meat is soft enough to melt in my mouth. Also, this flavoring is pretty well done.” It seemed like Fel liked the pork.

《So goooood! What is this meat, it’s so soft it melts! Man, the stuff you make really is always amazing!》 It looked like Dora-chan was in favor, too.

《This sweet and salty flavor is so good all soaked up unto this soft meat~.》 Seemed like Sui liked it too. Sui does like this salty and sweet flavoring, doesn’t it?

Thank goodness it went over well. That means that making this was worth it. Now then, I should eat too.

For my share, I layered on the pork after also adding a bed of shredded cabbage, since doing so would make it much more refreshing.

Now then, a bite... Ohh! I probably shouldn’t be saying this about something I made myself, but it’s pretty damn good.

The orc general’s meat had been stewed until it was almost melted, and the sweet and salty tare was properly soaked into the meat and paired well with it. The mix of rice, cabbage, and pork created the greatest flavor. Even I started to unconsciously eat with gusto. The marinated soft-boiled egg was also great, with its soaked-in flavor.

“More.” 《More!》

Fel and Sui asked for more. When I served them, they went to town once again. They had several more helpings after that, and by the time Fel and Sui were satisfied, the pork was all gone. I’d made quite a bit of it, too...... Still, the stewed pork was quite well done this time. It might be worth it to make again.

After fitting in a post-meal rest and digestion, we once again set off through the forest. Fel, Dora-chan, and Sui took their turns mowing down the monsters we encountered. While I retrieved the huge amounts of drops, we decided to stop for the day once the forest became dark.

“So the dungeon gets dark and light too, huh?”

“Indeed. On these types of floors, the day-and-night cycle follows the outside. Also, nocturnal monsters will start to show themselves at night.”

“Geh, really? Fel, your barrier’s still fine, right?”

“Hmph! Of course it is. Just as I have told you before, as long as a dragon does not come knocking, we are fine.”

Then I can rest easy, I think. No, wait......

“You say that, but there aren’t any dragons here, are there?”

“It would have been nice if there were. I do not feel anything as powerful as a dragon on this floor.”

No way, no way man. It’s better that they aren’t here. That way I can actually sleep.

“Still though, this floor is huge. If this keeps going, it’ll probably be impossible to see the entire floor.”

“If we were to search the entire floor, even we would need about a month, I think.”

“Huh? Really?!”

“Yes. That sounds interesting as well, but for now we should hurry to fight the behemoth. We are moving towards a powerful presence that is probably the boss of this floor. With Dora and Sui here, we are making quite good progress, but it will probably still take another two days.”

I did think that this floor was huge, but to think it would take more than a month... I didn’t expect it to be that big. It’ll probably be impossible to look around this floor for treasure chests, won’t it? Oh well, I guess I should just give up.

But still two days at our quick pace...... wait, what is the boss, anyway? I’m more worried about that.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

For dinner today I brought out Hamburg steak cutlet and karaage as the main dish, as well as the rest of the pork miso soup, since Fel and Sui both loved the fried stuff like karaage and cutlets.

They ate it with gusto. It looked like Dora-chan also loved the food, and he filled his cheeks full of karaage.

After finishing dinner, when I was about to raise the box house using Earth magic, for some reason I couldn’t use magic. “Huh? What? I can’t make a house......”

“Of course you would not be able to use Earth magic in a dungeon, much less something like making a house.”

............Huh? What?

“I told you before that dungeons are living things, no? So, in other words, this “earth” is not earth, but a part of the dungeon’s body. In a dungeon, the most you can do with Earth magic is make pebbles and use spells like Stone Bullet. So those who use Earth magic are considered unfit for dungeon diving.”

Whaaaat? No one ever told me that—! Actually, it’s just unfair that I can’t use Earth magic in a dungeon———!

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next morning, we quickly started moving through the floor after breakfast.

We navigated through the forest, aiming for the floor’s boss. The monsters we encountered along the way were dealt with in the order of Fel, Dora-chan, and Sui just like yesterday.

We saw murder grizzlies and giant killer mantises just like before. This time, a swarm of giant killer mantises numbering thirty appeared, as well as a giant centipede, just like we saw in the forest of Ishtam. This one was bigger than the one we saw back then. Other than that, there was also a troop of almost fifty wild apes, a B-ranked monkey monster. There were other beast-, bird-, and bug-type monsters that seemed like they’d be at home in a forest that like the one we saw yesterday, but of course they were all destroyed by my children.

Since it was the 26th floor, they were all high-ranking strong monsters in the A and B-ranks, but they were all swept aside with no problems. And once again we went through the forest while I picked up the enormous amount of drops. There were so many drops that I could no longer keep track of how much I had of what. Not every monster dropped something, but the drop rate for high-ranking monsters really was high. Thinking about the number of monsters everyone had defeated up until this point, it might be considered a matter of course that I’d accrued a frankly absurd amount of drop items by now, though. Still, everyone was so strong and kept killing everything, so the number of items just kept increasing.

My Item Box still probably wouldn’t get full, but it might be quite the problem when we went back up, since I’d have to sort all of the drop items.

While I was thinking about that, Fel stopped walking.

“There is a killer hornet nest ahead......”

Killer hornets... is that like one of those giant hornets?

《Gah, killer hornets? I hate those things. There’s so many of them, and they all fly around like I do......》 Dora-chan complained hatefully.

They must be just that bad for Dora-chan to complain like that.

“Truly. They are not strong, but with that many of them, and with them flying around like that, annoying does not even cover half of it......” Fel also made a hateful face.

Ahh, so it’s like that. It’s true that wasps come in swarms of tens or even hundreds, I guess.

“Wouldn’t it be best to do this like normal?”

“It might. It would probably be best to destroy the nest first, then take care of the killer hornets that are outside.”

So we should destroy all the hornets in the nest first, huh? Well, if we didn’t, they’d just keep coming out and attacking us, after all. Wait, where is that nest, anyway? When I asked Fel, we moved until I was in a position to see it.

What I saw was a nest the size of a whole wagon. The nest itself was built attached to the roots of a large tree, and around it, wasps around 30 cm in length were buzzing around.

《Next is Sui’s turn, but Sui’s only attacks are Acid Bullets and Water magic...... it would be a bad match for trying to destroy the nest from far away...》 Fel said telepathically.

It’s true that Acid Bullet doesn’t seem like it would destroy the nest immediately, and using Water magic or Water Cutter would......

《No! No! Sui will do it alone! Sui will do it!》 Sui was throwing a fit.

《Hey Sui, you need to stop being so selfish, you know? Fel’s right here. You’re just a bad match for it, be patient,》 said Dora-chan, backing Fel up.

It’s true that what Fel and Dora-chan are saying is correct...... But I really want to do something for Sui.

《Ughhh, but it’s Sui’s turn......*sniff*............》

Ahh! Sui’s crying! Don’t cry, Sui... Acid Bullets and Water magic...... Water... Water... Water... Hmmm...... Ah!

“No, Sui can do it by itself easily.”

“You... you need to stop coddling Sui like that already.”

I can’t help it, okay? Sui’s so cute! Wait, no, it’s not like that’s a problem.

“I won’t deny that, but it’ll be fine if we use my strategy.” I explained exactly what I thought up to the three of them: enclose the nest in a large water ball. And then just leave it until all the hornets inside die. In other words, drown them.

《......You know you think up some pretty cruel things,》 said Dora-chan in reaction to hearing my strategy.

I don’t want to be told that by you, Mister Covers-himself-in-magic-to-ram-straight-through-monsters!

“Drowning them in water is not a bad idea. Sui, try it.”

《Got it, Uncle Fel!》

Sui, I’m the one that thought of it, you know?

Sui made a ball of water large enough to fit the nest inside of it, and moved it so it was engulfing the nest. Several killer hornets left the attacked nest and tried to leave the water, but they were unable to fly in the water and so just kind of wriggled around a bit. Then, Sui finished them off with an Acid Bullet.

“With this the nest should be destroyed with a little time. All that’s left are the ones outside of the nest...... Hey, everyone here’s hungry, right?”

“Indeed.”

《I’m hungry too—.》

《Sui’s tummy is also empty—.》

Thought so. I figured it should be about time for food.

“Hey, Sui. You’ll probably destroy the nest if you just leave it like that for a while. So can you let Dora-chan and Uncle Fel help you beat the ones outside? That way we can eat sooner.”

《Yeah okay! Sui wants to eat too, so it’s fine—!》

And so, Fel, Dora-chan, I’m counting on you guys.

The killer hornets must have sensed that there was something wrong with the nest, but Fel and Dora-chan killed all of them as they came back, one after the other, and I picked up the dropped items. All that the killer hornets dropped were poison needles, though.

Once all the flying killer hornets were killed, it was time for food. We ended up having Sui leave the water ball where it was just to make sure the nest was extra dead.

We ate the wyvern meat beef bowls that I had prepared earlier.

Beef bowls really just aren’t complete without this...... Since there were no other adventurers on the 26th floor other than us, I decided to use my skill to buy some warm soft-boiled eggs. I served Fel and the others’ portions without the egg first, and then with the eggs upon extra servings. I wanted to eat it both ways as well, so I had a smaller portion by itself, and then with an egg.

Man, the wyvern meat beef bowls are good.

I even got Dora-chan a second helping, and both Fel and Sui went through multiple servings again. After eating so much food, we took a break.

《Ah! Looks like Sui beat it—!》

When I looked over at the killer hornet nest in response to Sui’s voice, it had disappeared. I had Sui get rid of the water ball, and checked on the drop items.

“It’s all poison needles, huh?” They’re bugs after all, I guess there’s just not much to be had materials-wise.

“Ah, this is......” I picked up something white that was in a bottle. When I appraised it......

【Killer Hornet’s Royal Jelly】

Extremely nutritious.

Royal jelly, huh? Is it that stuff that’s in health foods? It says it’s extremely nutritious, but with just that much explanation......

“Ohh, you have found something great there. That stuff will make you energetic and healthy just by licking some of it.”

Looks like Fel knows of it. If it makes you healthy and energetic just by licking it, I should probably keep it just like this, huh?

Storing the poison needles and royal jelly in my Item Box, we once again set off through the forest. After that, we kept moving towards where Fel said the floor’s boss was while beating beast-, bird-, and bug-type monsters and collecting their drops.

Once it went dark, we decided to stop for the night.

The next day, we — once again — moved through the forest while beating all manner of beast-, bird-, and bug-type monsters and collecting their drops. In the middle, we discovered a treasure chest and opened it, but other than that we proceeded uneventfully. By the way, there were two types of gems in the chest, sapphires and alexandrite.

According to Fel, we were just about to run into the floor boss. Fel also said that it was fairly strong, judging by its presence.

I wonder what kind of boss is waiting for us...?

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Finally, we were going to challenge the floor boss.

If that’s the case, for breakfast......

“Fel, we’re fighting the boss after this, right? So I’m thinking of making food with stuff from my world. How about it?” If we’re going to fight something boss-class, then it would be better to buff ourselves with food from my world.

“You are planning to make us stronger by feeding us food from your world?”

“That’s right. The boss is pretty strong even from your perspective, right Fel? If that’s the case, I should use my skill to make you even stronger to ensure safety.”

“Indeed. Dora and I have the War God’s blessing, so even as we are now there would not even be a million to one chance we would lose, but eating food from your world is a good idea.”

Oh yeah, they do have the god Vahagn’s blessing, don’t they? Both Fel and Dora-chan were strong already, so I’m not sure how much of it is that blessing.

...Wait, Fel said that it was a good idea, but that’s just because he wants to eat the food, isn’t it? I don’t know what the boss will be though, and I need them to beat it no matter what (otherwise I’ll die) so I don’t mind at all that he’s getting stronger...

“If that’s the case, then what about the same steaks as last time?”

“Yes, that would be good.”

Yep, knew he would go for the wagyu steaks. I don’t think steaks are a great idea first thing in the morning, but it shouldn’t be a problem for them.

I opened my Online Supermarket, and bought the necessarily enormous amount of domestic wagyu beef steaks. Even though we would just be eating food from my world, I figured just steaks would be a bit boring, so I bought some other foods as well while leaving the focus of the meal on everyone’s favorite thing: meat.

The first thing I bought was Korean barbequed pork, with both salty lemon flavoring and salted onion flavoring. Nowadays, there were quite a few flavors of pre-seasoned meat, and they were all very convenient since all one had to do was grill them.

I also bought some minced meat wieners, something called black pepper roasted duck, lots of grilled chicken thighs and livers, and some tare and salt, as well as sandwiches for my own personal breakfast.

First, remove the precooked chicken from their skewers and put them on a plate. Next, cut the black pepper roasted duck to serving size and serve on a plate.

I tried a little bit of it, and it was delicious, with a good combo of the duck’s deep flavor and the kick of the black pepper.

“Food—!” I served the grilled chicken and roasted duck to my three familiars. “You guys’ll be fighting the floor boss after this, so eat up and get strong.”

While everyone was eating, I used the magic stove to cook the wagyu steaks, pork, and minced meat sausages.

“More.” 《More!》 《More!》

Everyone ate their fill right from the start of the day.

I served them all domestic wagyu steaks, grilled pork, and minced meat sausages when they asked for more.

I started them off with simple steaks seasoned with salt and pepper; the pork was already seasoned. When I tried them, they were tasty and refreshing. The minced meat sausages were only seasoned with salt and pepper, but they were bursting with flavorful juiciness, and the casing was nice and crisp. Dora-chan was full after a little bit, but Fel and Sui were insatiable as always.

While Fel and Sui were eating, I finished my simple breakfast of sandwiches and coffee.

“Whew, just as I remembered, the food from the other world is delicious.”

《Hohh — so this is from the other world? It’s pretty great.》

《It was good—!》

That’s nice to hear, but I have something else to be more concerned about. Just how high are their stats now?

I appraised everyone.

【Name】 Fel

【Age】 1014

【Race】 Fenrir

【Level】 911

【HP】 9890 (+5002)

【MP】 9534 (+4675)

【Attack】 9118 (+4483)

【Defense】 9814 (+4907)

【Agility】 9732 (+4856)

【Skills】 Wind magic, Fire magic, Water magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Lightning magic, Holy magic, Barrier magic, Rending Claws, Body Reinforcement, Physical attack resistance, Magic attack resistance, MP Efficiency, Appraisal, Battle Boost

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Wind, Ninrir; Blessing of the God of War, Vahagn

【Name】 Dora-chan

【Age】 116

【Race】 Pixie Dragon

【Level】 129

【HP】 915 (+459)

【MP】 2935 (+1448)

【Attack】 2703 (+1342)

【Defense】 886 (+445)

【Agility】 3345 (+1673)

【Skills】 Fire magic, Water magic, Wind magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Lightning magic, Healing magic, Bombardment, Battle Boost

【Blessings】 Blessing of the God of War, Vahagn

【Name】 Sui

【Age】 2 months

【Race】 Big Slime

【Level】 21

【HP】 1079 (+538)

【MP】 1063 (+529)

【Attack】 1058 (+533)

【Defense】 1061 (+525)

【Agility】 1080 (+540)

【Skills】 Acid Bullet, Potion Creation, Cloning, Water magic, Smithing

【Blessings】 Blessing of the Goddess of Water, Rusalka; Blessing of the God of Blacksmithing, Hephaestos

Ah, all three of them have leveled up. Well, they’ve been killing a lot of monsters while we’ve been in this dungeon, so it’s not really surprising, I guess. But still, with how fast their stats grow............ I-I might have gone too far, maybe? ......Ahaha........ A-Anyway, we’re going to be fighting the floor boss now, so it’s good, right? ......Right? A-At any rate, let’s just go.

We proceeded just like yesterday, with them defeating all the monsters we encountered and with me picking up dropped items. After a while, Fel stopped.

“It is the floor boss.”

When I followed Fel’s gaze......

There was a huge coiled cobra. It flicked out its thin and long tongue, trying to intimidate us with a hiss.

“W-What the heck......” I tried appraising it.

【Vaasuki】

An S-ranked monster.

What? S-ranked......? Actually wait, just how many tens of meters is that thing? That’s not a monster, it’s a Kaiju! Not to mention it’s spewing out some kind of mist from its mouth.

When I tried appraising the mist, I got the result, 【Vaasuki’s Poison Mist】.

Poison mist? W-Well, we all are able to nullify abnormal conditions, but this thing is way too brutal.

“A vaasuki, huh? How unusual. Even I have only fought one around three times in my life.”

It seemed that our Fel had fought it before. “Y-You’ve fought one of those things already......? It’s huge, and even spits out poison mist......”

“Hmph, those things are easy pickings as long as you watch out for their bite and their constricting attacks.”

I see...

“Well, I can go and finish it off by myself, but Dora and Sui would probably complain. Dora, Sui, let us go.”

《If that’s the boss it’s worth of being my enemy. Awesome, let’s go!!》

《Sui will try hard too—!》

After looking at the Vaasuki, not only was no one else cowed by it, they were blazing with motivation. Personally, I probably wouldn’t be able to handle that thing.

I’ll be waiting in behind a tree, yeah... Go get’em, everyone.

My three familiars jumped in front of the vaasuki. When it spotted them, it started spreading its poison mist. However, since everyone had blessings and thus invalidated status effects, they all ignored that and started attacking over and over.

*Bodooooommm!* *Cracklecracklecracklesnaaaaap———!*

Fel’s lightning magic burst against it.

*Thudshh* *Thudshh* *Thudshh———*

Dora-chan, wrapped in fire magic, was opening large holes in the vaasuki’s coiled body.

*Plort* *Sploosh* *Baloosh*

Sui’s Acid Bullet attacks hit the vaasuki and steadily dissolved it.

“Gyuooooohhhhh!!!”

*Kerthud!!*

...............O H—...

The vaasuki, now ragged and dead, fell flat in front of everyone. The battle didn’t even last a minute. Actually, it was so one-sided I wasn’t even sure if it could be called a fight. All the vaasuki did was spread some poison mist. After that, it wasn’t allowed to do anything as it was beaten to death.

Sorry, vaasuki.

《YAHHAAHH! We did it!!》 Dora-chan was performing aerial maneuvers in celebration.

《We did it! We defeated the big snake!!》 Sui was also excitedly hopping around.

“Heheh, of course we would.” Fel’s face was dripping with smug happiness.

I left the shadow of the tree and went towards my familiars. Looking at the burned and melted corpse of the vaasuki that was also littered with holes, I felt so sorry for it even though it was a monster that it almost brought tears to my eyes.

Ahh, sorry, vaasuki.

There was absolutely no need to feed them food from my world after all. The dead vaasuki disappeared.

Truly, I’m sorry. Please rest easy, namusan~. Well, I’ll still help myself to your drops, though. Let’s see... Ohh, what a glossy blue snakeskin. And a huge magic stone too, and fangs! Just what I’d expect out of not only a floor boss, but also an S-ranked monster!

I put the vaasuki’s drops into my Item Box.

“Hey, we’ve beat the boss so we can go down to the 27th floor, right? I don’t see the stairs anywhere, though; how are we supposed to do that?”

“In these types of floors......” Leaving those words in the air, Fel inspected a rock that was near where the vaasuki was. “Ohh, here it is.”

Lured by Fel’s statement, I approached the rock.

“If you let your magic flow into this round pattern here on the rock, then we will be able to proceed forwards.” The round pattern Fel was referring to was a magic circle.

By that, does Fel mean that this thing will teleport us or something?

“However, all those who wish to go down will not be able to unless they are in physical contact, so be careful about that.”

I see.

“Dora-chan, Sui, we’re going down, so come over...”

When I explained to Dora-chan and Sui that we had to be touching to go down......

*Glomp*

Dora-chan clung on to the back of my head.

《This is good, right?》

Dora-chan...... Oh fine.

I was on top of Fel, with Sui in my arms.

“Okay then. Do it, Fel.”

Fel placed his right front paw onto the magic circle and let his magic flow. When that happened, for a moment, I felt a floating sensation, like I was in an elevator.

“So this is the 27th floor, is it? It’s the same as the 26th, though.”

“Indeed. It seems this is the 27th floor. Now then, we are going to use the same methods to track down the floor boss. Let us be off.”

After that, we started to make progress through the forest, but I wasn’t sure how I should react to it. Thanks to the ongoing effects of the food I served them, everyone was just hustling through the place. They were absolutely trampling over everything. I was even wanting to apologize to the monsters for what was happening. And just like that, I obtained another huge batch of drop items.

Not only that, but since everyone was so energetic, we went so fast that according to Fel we would see the floor boss before evening tomorrow. Yep, apparently we’re seeing the floor boss already tomorrow.

This time I’m not going to let them eat purely stuff from my world. I’ve learned restraint.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Today as well, we were exploring the 27th floor.

For breakfast we had the cabbage rolls I had preprepared. However, both Fel and Sui weren’t satisfied with the cabbage rolls I’d had in stock, so unfortunately, I had to hurriedly whip up some miso grilled orc general bowls. And with that, the food that I’d prepared had finally run out. I only had some rice left. Leaving Dora-chan aside, the stock held up pretty well against the huge eaters, Fel and Sui.

And so, I would be cooking again for lunch.

After finishing the meal and taking a break, we once again started through the forest. According to Fel, we’d be seeing the floor boss before the evening, though. The 26th floor had the S-ranked vaasuki, so there shouldn’t be anything weaker than that.

I wonder what kind of monster will come out this time...... Well, either way, I’m not going to be fighting anyway. As if I would stand a chance against an S-ranked monster. Sure, I have the Perfect Defense skill and the ability to nullify status effects, but why don’t you try getting attacked by that kaiju-like monster? I’d die just from the fear it would cause in me.

“I sense one. Well then, I will be off.”

Ahh, looks like there’s a monster.

Fel took no time at all to beat down a troop of wild apes. After that, Fel, Dora-chan, and Sui all took turns defeating the monsters we encountered. And I did my best retrieving their dropped items, yeah.

While we were proceeding further into the forest, everyone’s gut alarms rang, and it was time for a meal.

“I don’t have any more prepared stuff left, so I’ll start cooking now. Just wait a bit.” Something that I can make in a flash...... yeah, let’s make a stamina stir-fry bowl.

Still, it was great that the food I had prepared lasted so long.

Since we were already in the 27th floor, there were no other adventurers around, and that fact was a huge saving grace.

Now that I can afford to freely use my skill, let’s do just that.

I bought green garlic, tare to flavor the grilled meat (roasted garlic flavor) and white sesame seeds. If you’re using it in a stamina meal, then I recommend making sure the tare for the meat is also garlic flavored.

Then, I brought out the magic stove from my Item Box. I wavered on whether to use orc general or bloody horn-bull for the meat, but I went with bloody horn-bull in the end. Both beef and pork work in this dish.

~◇~◇~◇~

First, slice the bloody horn-bull meat thinly into pieces about the size of a mouthful. Then coat with the tare and massage the flavor into the meat.

Cut the green garlic into lengths around 4 cm long.

Oil up a heated frying pan, and quickly cook the bloody horn-bull meat. Once the color of the meat changes, add in the green garlic and keep cooking.

When the green garlic has wilted a little, mix in some of the tare sauce. While stirring the sauce in, give the meat and garlic in the pan another quick sauté to finish it off.

~◇~◇~◇~

For Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan, I molded the rice in a deep dish before topping it with lots of the stamina stir-fry I made. After spreading the white sesame seeds on top, the dish was complete.

“It’s done...”

When I placed the dishes in front of them, they all greedily dug in.

“This tare mixed into the meat is delicious. I feel like I can eat an unlimited amount of this.”

Fel, I know you said that, but try to keep yourself in check, okay?

《Kkhhhhh! This salty-sweet tare is irresistible!》

You get it, Dora-chan! That tare’s delicious, isn’t it?

《This tare goes super great with the meat — Sui is gonna eat a lot—!》

I see I see, so Sui understands this taste too, huh?

“More.” 《More—!》 《More.》

It was the usual for Fel and Sui, but even Dora-chan wanted another serving.

Wait, huh? Was the garlic a bad idea? Did I just increase their appetite......? While I was wondering that, I served everyone a second helping.

I should also start on my share while everyone’s eating. The salty sweetness of the garlic flavored tare pairs so great with the rice...

The fragrance of the white sesame seeds I’d spread around on top was also serving as a good accent to the dish.

Stamina stir-fry bowls really are just awesome for when you want to eat something hefty. Yeah, yeah, this is great.

I had thought I might have served myself a little too much, but it was gone before I knew it. Just when I was taking a breath after gulping down some of the bottled tea I had stored in my Item Box, I heard Fel and Sui’s voice.

“More.” 《More!》

The garlic flavor must have boosted their appetite, since there was a whole chain of “more”s after that. I had thought that the rice I had made would last for another meal after this, but it was completely finished off.

After fitting in a small after-meal break, we once again set off through the forest. My three familiars safely disposed of any monsters, and I picked up their drops.

Then, finally......

“That must this floor’s boss.” Fel informed me, and I hid behind a tree before taking a peek.

W-What the heck is that.........?

It was probably a little larger than a lion. The body was also lion-like, but the tail was that of a scorpion’s, and was raised up like one as well. It had a strange head: it was like an old human man’s head. And lastly, I could make out its mouth, split almost from ear to ear, forming a creepy grin.

Just looking at that repulsive grinning face gave me goosebumps.

When I tried appraising that bizarre monster......

【Manticore】

An S-ranked monster.

A manticore? I’m sure I’ve heard of that before... If I remember correctly, it’s a legendary beast that eats people...... W-Well, either way, that thing is no good. Its face is so gross. Too gross. I can tell that thing will be haunting my dreams already.

“That’s a manticore...... Fel, are you gonna be okay?”

“Of course I will. I have fought a manticore before. Those things are pretty sly, though. They will do things like pretend like they are weakened, only to stab you with their tail to finish you off when you get close. So great care is needed in those situations.” Saying so, Fel turned around to face Dora-chan and Sui. “Dora, Sui, the manticore is both fast and sly. We will land a preemptive attack and then try to finish it off quickly.”

《So just as usual, then. Let’s do it!》

《Hey hey, what does ‘sly’ mea—n?》

It was too complicated for Sui, huh?

“Sly means that it’s really sneaky and cheats. See that monster, it will do things like pretend it’s weak, only to attack you when you get close and let your guard down.”

《Hmm, so it’s a bad monster. Sui will try hard to beat it!》

Filled with fighting spirit, all three of my familiars turned to face the manticore.

*Plort* *Plort* *Plort———*

Sui unleashed its Acid Bullets, but the manticore agilely dodged them.

*Thudsshhhh*

A large hole was opened in the manticore’s flank. It looked like Dora-chan charged through it.

Oh manticore, know that you aren’t only facing one foe.

“Ghgueeehhh!!” The manticore let out a cry to the heavens.

*Zlsshhh———*

Fel released a Rending Claw from his right front leg.

Ugh............ The manticore was cut into small pieces and died.

I probably shouldn’t be the one saying this, but you guys just have no sense of mercy, do you?

After the manticore disappeared, I went to pick up its drops. It dropped a large magic stone, its pelt, and a poison needle.

“Now then, let’s go down.”

“Yes, let us.”

Quickly finding the teleportation circle, we proceeded to the 28th floor.

“Whaaaat?! This is the 28th floor?!”

The 28th floor was a swampland.

We were standing on a wooden pathway that was placed over the swampland. The pathway itself was around 1.5 meters wide, and stretched off endlessly into the distance.

“So we should follow this path, right...?”

“Indeed. However, we will also be more easily attacked by monsters. Which means as long as monsters as strong as me are not around, this is a trial that we can easily pass.”

......Really what is up with this dungeon? Is every dungeon this mean-spirited in its construction?

When I asked Fel, apparently all dungeons were just about the same in this aspect.

“As one would expect though, a swampland floor like this is rare.”

Ahh, thought so. There’s no way you’d be able to pass through this place without this path unless you could fly like Dora-chan or had a boat. But it’s also like you’re asking to be attacked.

Just like Fel said, we’d be sitting ducks for monsters.

“Still, this place really is full of water......” Fel said, his voice dripping with dread.

Ahh, right. Fel hates water...

“It would be best to put this place behind us as fast as possible. I will be running through the night this time.” Apparently Fel wanted to get out of here badly enough that he was planning to run through the night.

“I can still kind of see since it’s only the evening, but are you sure you’re okay moving once it’s dark?” As it is now, it’s still possible to see since it hasn’t gone completely dark yet, but once it does, he won’t even be able to see the path. Won’t it be dangerous...?

“There is no need to worry, I can see in the dark. Moving at night is but a simple task.”

《I can see in the dark, too.》 It seemed like both Fel and Dora-chan were fine in the dark.

“But won’t it be tiring to move all night?”

“Hmph, I am not so soft as to be crippled by one all-nighter.”

《He’s right. I’ve gone as long as three days straight just flying.》

Apparently, they were fine in terms of stamina, too. It was probably going to be impossible for Sui to stay up all night, so I would probably have to have him sit in my bag. And if that was the case, wouldn’t I be the biggest problem?

At the very least, I would have to make sure I wasn’t shaken off by Fel during the night; if I were to fall off here, that would mean falling somewhere into a swamp.

“Before we go, first is food.”

《That’s right. I’m hungry.》

《Sui is also hungry...》

They say that, but there’s no way I can just take my stove out here... With its weight it would definitely fall through the floor.

“Hurry up. I want to eat quickly and start moving.” It seemed like Fel just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

Hmm... what should I do...... I know I thought I would never feed them pure food from my world again, but maybe I should just give them some side dishes from my Online Supermarket this time... Since it will be better for them to be energetic if they’re going to be running through the night anyway. And it’ll also be safer since they’ll be fighting monsters along the way. Okay then, let’s just get some side dishes for now. It should be fine as long as I don’t feed them wagyu steak or anything like that.

I opened up my Online Supermarket and started scooping up any dish that caught my eye: yakitori, karaage, beef croquettes, shumai dumplings, spring rolls, sweet and sour pork, roast pork cutlet, and kalbi beef bowls. I selected the food focusing on meat as the center of the meal. When I served them to my familiars in dishes, everyone greedily started eating.

As for myself, I was having some fresh chirashi sushi and a salad, since all I’d been having lately was meat. Once Fel and Sui were satisfied after several more helpings, mealtime was over.

“Well then, let us go.”

《Master — Sui is sleepy.》

Ahh, thought so. Sui does get sleepy after every meal.

Sui would always fall asleep really fast after having food.

“Sui, get in the bag and go to sleep.”

《Got it—!》 Leaving those words behind, Sui slipped into my bag.

“You, get on my back. Make sure you hold on tight.”

“G-Got it.” I got on top of Fel’s back and made sure to get a good grip.

“Ah, right. Do you need light?” While we were eating the sun had set, and now the surroundings were completely black. Right now, our only source of light was my flashlight. However, I could get more sources through my skill if it was needed. If I remember correctly, I should be able to buy a lantern type LED light. And there should also be other varieties of flashlight available as well, if memory serves.

“No, light is unnecessary. If we make it brighter, it would be like we were calling the monsters to us.”

Ahh, that’s true, isn’t it?

“I will be erecting a barrier around us, and another one around Dora-chan.”

《Sure, thanks for that. If that’s the case, I’ll scout on ahead and get rid of anything that’s in your way.》

“Please.”

《Yeah, you can count on me.》

Just like that, we stepped foot into the dark nighttime swamp area.

We, who were walking down the built wooden pathway, were quickly accosted by monsters.

It was a pair of monsters, one a frog around 30 cm large, and the other a flat fish that looked like a monkfish. They jumped out of the swamp at us, but thanks to Fel’s barrier, they were repelled. The frog was called a swamp frog, and the fish was called a swamp fish. They were both weaklings, so we left them alone — we couldn’t be bothered to defeat every single one of them.

It seemed that Dora-chan, who went on ahead of us, was fighting, as I could hear sounds every once in a while. They probably dropped items, but the situation being what it was, I’d already given up on retrieving any of them. Well, I’ve already gotten more than enough on the floors before this, anyway.

I was looking forward to the floor boss’ drop, though.

During our journey, Dora-chan, who was ahead of us, took care of all the attacking monsters. There were also places where the pathway cut out, or where it was made out of rotting wood that seemed like it would break, but Fel dodged all of that.

We blitzed through the floor at an incredible speed in the middle of the night. By the time the sun was rising again, we were already close to the floor boss, according to Fel.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“The path around here looks solid, so let’s break for food now.”

“Yes, that is probably a good idea.”

《Ohh, finally, food!》

The place being what it was, I could only use the smaller portable stoves, so something that could be quickly made would be better.

Let’s just make steaks for everyone, they all like it anyway.

Once the wyvern steaks were cooked up, I woke up Sui and we all ate.

Right from breakfast, everyone was gorging themselves on several steaks. I couldn’t really stomach steaks so early in the morning, so I ate something else. I used the black bread to make a ham and egg sandwich that I ate with coffee.

“We have made a lot of progress towards the floor boss since we have been moving all night. At this rate we should see it before noon.”

How quick.

“We are going to defeat the boss quickly and move on to the next floor.”

Wow, Fel really does just want to get out of here.

《Ahh, right. I kept getting attacked by creepy monsters like huge fish with beards and slimy snakes. They weren’t much, but I couldn’t take how they looked...》 Dora-chan said with a disgusted look on his face.

So the bearded fish is like a catfish, and I guess the slimy snake would be an eel? While we headed for the floor boss in this swamp area, I came to understand what kind of monsters Dora-chan was talking about. As we proceeded along the path, a huge catfish jumped out of the swamp and tried to eat us with its huge open mouth.

“Woahh!”

*Thudshhhh———*

Before the huge catfish even got to us Dora-chan opened up a hole in its body.

《It’s this thing, right here. There were so many of them during the night.》

Just like Dora-chan said, that thing is creepy.

Even though it looked like a catfish, its mouth was filled with sharp teeth.

《There was also that.》

When I followed Dora-chan’s line of sight prompted by his words. I saw a long and thin snake-like monster raising its head to attack us with a round mouth that was packed full of layers of sharp teeth.

This one’s huge too... It did in fact look like an eel, but more like a lamprey eel than anything else.

*Thudshhh———*

The lamprey eel was also charged into by Dora-chan before it got to us, and its body was torn into pieces.

“This one was all over the place at night, too.”

Yeah, Dora-chan’s right. They’re creepy as hell.

After that, we would periodically get attacked by the same two monsters, and Dora-chan would defeat them every time. As for Fel, he didn’t try to fight, as it seemed he was concentrating on getting out as fast as possible. And since we were putting a priority on speed, Sui was staying in the bag.

We proceeded quickly, and just as Fel said, we reached the floor boss before noon.

“That must be the floor boss.” Fel looked forward.

Ahead of us was......

“Th-That? I-Isn’t that too big?”

It was a crocodile that was at least as big as a tour bus. When I appraised it......

【Gustav】

An S-ranked monster.

Of course this one would also be S-ranked, since the two floor bosses before this one were also S-ranked. Still though, that thing’s huge. Can we actually fight that?

“Great, let us go.”

《Yeah! HYAHHAAAHH!!》

《Sui will fight too—!》

Wai-! Hu-! Wait a second!!

Hey! I’m still on you!!

“H-Hey, Fel! I’m still riding you!!”

“I could leave you here, but you will be attacked by monsters. Also, despite that thing’s looks, it is fairly fast. You will be eaten if you are alone.”

Ghh...... Just spare me getting eaten, please...

“F-Fine! Let’s just go!”

After hearing me say that, Fel ran off towards Gustav, and jumped onto its back.

“Dora, this thing’s hide is tough! Aim for its eyes!”

《Got it!》

Gustav raised its head and tried to bite Dora-chan, who was flying around it. Even I could hear the sound of its teeth hitting each other with every chomp.

Fel, who had jumped onto Gustav’s back, fired Wind magic at the monster’s head.

*Fwoosh* *Fwoosh* *Fwoooshh———*

“Gooooghhh!”

Fel’s Wind magic cut deeply into Gustav’s head.

“Dora, now! Aim for the eyes!”

Five pillars of ice with pointed tips appeared around Dora-chan.

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunkthunkthunk———*

The pillars of ice stabbed into Gustav’s eyes one after the other.

“Ghgooogghh!!” Gustav thrashed around. I clung onto Fel for dear life so that I wouldn’t be thrown off.

“Ah, Sui?!”

Sui smoothly moved near Gustav’s mouth and went inside it.

“Ghgoooghhh!!”

*Bangg!*

After another cry out of the rampaging Gustav, it stopped and fell over, no power left in its body. I thought I could hear sizzling sounds, when a hole opened up in Gustav’s belly. From inside the hole, Sui popped out.

《Uhmm, Sui went inside the belly and went pew pew lots—!》

.........So Sui went inside its stomach and sprayed Acid Bullets everywhere? Yeah, I get it, since even strong monsters can’t train their innards. Acid Bullets from inside its stomach...... by some meanings Sui would be quite the villain.

“An acid attack from inside it, huh? It was an enemy, but even I am feeling sorry for it.”

《Man, acid in its stomach...... You’re real cruel sometimes, you know that, Sui?》

Both Fel and Dora-chan started muttering quietly.

*Cough* You guys shouldn’t be talking.

“S-Sui, well done.”

《Eheheheh~》 Sui seemed happy about being complimented, as it jumped into my chest.

After Gustav disappeared, I found it left behind its hide and a huge magic stone, as well as a fang and its spine.

After picking up those drops, we went to the only piece of dry land on the floor, that was placed behind the boss.

“Well then, let’s get moving.”

“Indeed.”

Letting some magic flow into the circle, we teleported to the 29th floor.

“Right after a swamp, it’s this......” What lay before our eyes after teleporting was a wide desert.

“This dungeon’s layout is quite interesting...”

Fel, don’t just tidy this all up by saying it’s interesting. After a forest, it’s a swamp and then a desert? Each right after the other? That’s way too harsh, man. Not only that, but they’re all filled with high ranking monsters...... And it’s really hot.

The heat of the sun beat down on me relentlessly. It would be obvious if one thought of this as a desert, but this place was actually a dungeon. I had no idea how it worked out like this, but there was even a sun in the sky.

“This place is quite hot......”

《So hot......》

《It’s hot......》

All three of my familiars were shriveling in the heat.

“I will be erecting a barrier around us all. By doing that I can shield us from the heat somewhat.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Indeed. I cannot do anything about the sun’s rays, but inside the barrier it should become somewhat cooler.”

Ohhh, man barriers are super nice.

“However, this heat is still significant. Do not expect it to suddenly become comfortable. Just think of it as being better than making do without.”

I see. Fel’s saying that it’ll still be pretty hot even with the barrier, so for now let’s hydrate before setting off. Oh, maybe having some sports drinks or something to try and prevent heatstroke would be best.

I opened my Online Supermarket and bought a large amount of water and sports drinks. Since there didn’t seem to be any way to defend against the sun’s rays, I also thought it would be best to put on a hat or something with a hood. When I checked, there was something perfect in the listing: a UV parka with a hood. It was perfect for my purposes, so I bought it as well.

“It looks like Fel’s barrier will relieve the heat a little, but we should still hydrate ourselves before we go so that we don’t succumb to the heat.”

I served everyone some sports drink in a dish.

I also put on the parka I bought, and downed some sports drink myself.

“We are going to go straight for this floor’s boss again.”

Yeah, this place seems huge, too...

There was only sand, sand, and more sand as far as the eye could see. It was probably the safest option to go straight after the boss by relying on Fel’s powers of presence perception, just like we’d been doing up until now.

“Areas like this get scarily cold at night. At any rate, we have to hurry. Hey, get on.”

Ahh, yeah I thought it would get cold in the desert. The best thing to do here really would be to listen to Fel and just get on.

And so I did as Fel said and climbed onto his back. Sui was inside my shoulder bag, and Dora-chan was flying around us as a lookout.

We put all our efforts into one thing — getting through the desert.

“Hey, something’s coming at us.”

When I looked over to where Dora-chan was facing, I saw many reddish black dots.

“What the heck is that......?” As I was staring, the reddish black dots grew steadily closer.

When they were finally within sight range, I gawked at their forms. “......I-It’s a swarm of scorpions...”

A swarm of almost a hundred of those scorpions that seemed to be over a meter tall were fast approaching us.

“Hm? Those are sand scorpions, are they not? If those are here......” Suddenly, a huge scorpion the size of a car appeared from the sand in front of us.

“Woaahh!!”

“As I thought. However, something like you will not be able to stand in my way. Fool.”

*BOOooooOOooomm———*

Lightning fell on the huge scorpion.

Ah, it’s dead. What kind of monster was it?

【Giant Sand Scorpion】

An A-ranked monster.

It was done in by one shot from Fel, but the scorpion was an A-ranked monster.

Wait, what happened to the army of scorpions? Weren’t there like a hundred of them? When I looked over to where the swarm last was, they had scattered and were running.

“As long as we defeat the one controlling them, those scorpions will not attack.”

I see.

After the giant sand scorpion disappeared, I picked up its drops, a magic stone and a poison needle, and put them in my Item Box.

We once again started off through the desert.

Fel, who was running, suddenly stopped.

“Gyuuooohhhh!!!” Around ten meters ahead of us, a huge earthworm-like monster burst out of the sand.

“W-What the hell?!” When I appraised it......

【Sandworm】

An A-ranked monster.

The sandworm raised its head, opened its round mouth with several layers of sharp teeth wide, and made like it was going to eat us.

《I’ll get it!!》 Dora-chan said as he charged into the sandworm.

*Thudshhhh———*

“Gyuoooohhhh!”

*Thudddd*

The sandworm fell over with a new hole in its body.

《Hehheh, one worm cooked and ready.》

Cooked and ready? Dora-chan...... Well, whatever, you killed it.

The sandworm dropped its magic stone and a sharp tooth. Having retrieved those, we started traveling through the desert again. While we traveled, we were attacked by giant sand scorpions and their armies as well as sandworms several times, but each time Fel and Dora-chan beat them down completely.

Sui must be weak to heat, as it had spent this entire time asleep in my bag.

“The sun is setting. Moving through the desert at night is not smart. Let us make camp around here.”

At Fel’s suggestion, we decided to set up camp. As the sun set, the heat reversed and it started to get colder and colder. As I had suspected, deserts at night got frighteningly cold.

“Just as it was during the day, having the barrier around will help defend against changing temperatures a little, but outside the barrier it will be frighteningly cold. Due to that influence, even the inside of the barrier will be cold, although it will not be as bad as being outside it.”

So we have to prepare ourselves for at least some degree of cold, huh? If that’s the case......

I opened my Online Supermarket, and bought everything that looked like it would defend against the cold. They carried pocket heaters, thick underquilts and comforters, blankets, and even thick sweatwear, so I bought them for my own use. It would have been best if they had a down jacket or something, but in the end that was too much to ask for.

I laid out a larger amount of cardboard since the area was so sandy, and then I put down the thick underquilt. On top of that, I put out both mine and Fel’s futons. Then I added blankets and comforters.

“I’ll cook food, so while you’re waiting go sit in the futons, it’s cold.”

When the veil of darkness descended, it became colder and colder just as Fel had said it would. My breath came out in white wisps. As a defense against the cold, I put on the thick sweatwear I bought over the UV parka I was cloaked in. It didn’t look great, but it was better than being cold.

Great, now let’s start cooking. It’d be nice to make something quick, but...... Ah, let’s make bell peppers and beef rice bowls. I can just use the tare they make for that and it’ll be easy. But then I’ll need to steam some rice, too... When it comes to something simple but still filling, it really does have to be rice bowls...... And I have to think of tomorrow’s meals too, so I definitely want to make extra rice. I have lots of rice that I haven’t cooked yet, so for now let’s just steam some rice.

Washing and soaking the rice was a bit of a waste of time so I shortened the process by using warm water. With the magic stove, I used all four burners on it with clay pots to steam rice. While that was happening, I bought the ingredients I would need for the dish with my skill.

It’s just peppers and bamboo shoots boiled in water, right? I’ll also need the bell peppers and beef tare and...... when it’s this cold I should also make a soup, huh? I bought some freeze-dried egg soup.

~◇~◇~◇~

First, cut some bloody horn-bull meat into thin strips, and do the same for the boiled peppers and bamboo shoots.

In the meantime, the rice I’d been cooking was thoroughly steamed, so I shut them — clay pot and all — into my Item Box. With the burners free, I use them to make even more rice, and continue making the bell peppers and beef.

Oil up a heated frying pan, and sauté the bloody horn-bull meat until it changes color. When that happens, add in the peppers and bamboo shoots and continue cooking. Then, throw in the store-bought bell peppers and beef tare and mix it in well amongst all the ingredients while continuing to sauté the pan, and the dish is complete.

~◇~◇~◇~

For my familiar’s portions, I molded the freshly cooked rice into a deep dish before piling on lots of the bell peppers and beef to complete the bowl. At the same time, I also served the egg soup.

“Everyone, it’s done.”

All three of them happily chowed down on the meal, which was giving off steam into the air. They even gulped down the egg soup.

“This hot drink really hits the spot given this cold.”

《Yeah, it’s really warming up my body.》

《It’s so go~od.》

Thanks to Fel’s barrier, the temperature hadn’t dropped below zero, but it really was cold. As soon as I recognized the cold, it felt even colder, and I couldn’t suppress a shiver.

Let’s eat while I’m still feeling a little warm. Man, the thick flavor of the oyster sauce’s umami is irresistible. The peppers and bamboo shoots also give the dish a really good snap. This is really prodding my appetite. Drinking the egg soup is also really relaxing, and it really warms up the body...

After Fel and Sui had multiple extra servings and were satisfied, I finally caught a breath.

I talked with Fel while enjoying some after-meal coffee. “Fel, how long until we see the floor boss?”

“This floor is large. We might somehow be able to get there by the evening the day after tomorrow, I think. But if the sun sets then we have to worry about the cold. Depending on the situation, we might have to delay fighting the boss until the next day.”

What Fel’s saying is correct. With the day being as hot as it is, and the nights being this cold, the difference in temperature is too severe. Just that is more than enough to shave away at our stamina, but if the fight were to drag on and the sun were to set, then...... We’re able to be like this somehow thanks to Fel’s barrier, but even inside it’s only about 1 or 2 degrees. Thinking about the cold, it’s way too dangerous to be fighting once it gets dark. And since that’s the case, it’s obviously way safer to fight the next day instead.

“Well, we can only decide that kind of thing once we actually get near the floor boss, anyway.”

“Indeed.”

That day, we all slept huddled together. Fel seemed to have taken a liking to the blanket, so he slept with the blanket on top of the underquilt. Sui was sleeping soundly in between Fel and I. And Dora-chan was fond of the pocket warmer it seemed, so he was sleeping with one of the adhesive ones attached to his stomach. I attached one of the adhesive ones to my back and slept using Fel’s stomach as a pillow.

Just like that, we spent our first cold night in the desert huddled together.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Day dawned on the desert floor.

For breakfast, I fixed a simple bloody horn-bull steak bowl for everyone else, and for myself, using store-bought seaweed and fish, I made a small rice ball. After hydrating thoroughly using sports drinks, we once again started traveling through the desert.

Just like yesterday, we were attacked by sandworms and giant sand scorpions with their armies in tow, but we defeated them all, collected their drops, and kept moving.

We broke for lunch in the middle of travel, and I made a refreshing grated radish-flavored pork steak bowl — and I splurged on some slightly expensive ice cream using my skill to serve as a dessert.

“Ohh, this thing is cold and delicious! I was just about fed up with this heat, but this helps.”

《So cooold~, it’s bringing me back to life!》

《It’s cold and sweet and delicious~. Sui wants to eat more—!》

Everyone was silent because of the heat, but it seemed like they recovered some of their energy after eating the cold, sweet ice cream. After a small post-meal break, we once again set off through the harsh desert.

《Some sort of huge snake monster is coming,》 said Dora-chan, who was keeping a lookout. Following Dora-chan’s line of sight, I noticed a huge snake about 3 meters in length slithering sideways at us.

【Death Sidewinder】

An A-ranked monster.

An A-ranked monster, huh?

《I’ll do it!!》

*Zshhh———*

The death sidewinder’s head flew off. Dora-chan let loose with Wind magic and cut it off, it seemed.

“Ohh, nice work, Dora-chan.”

《Heheh, it’s not that hard.》

The death sidewinder dropped a magic stone and its venom sac, as well as its skin. I picked them up and stuffed them in my Item Box. From then on, we moved ever forward through the desert while defeating attacking giant sand scorpions and their armies, sandworms, and death sidewinders while picking up their drops.

After once again camping through the cold desert night, we once more made for the floor boss while defeating monsters and collecting drops.

“I sense a strong presence coming from ahead of us. It is probably the floor boss. We arrived earlier than I thought we would. There is still some time before sunset. Let us continue on and fight the boss now.”

Just as Fel finished saying that, the floor boss showed itself.

“Guoohhh!!” The sand gathered together and formed a humanoid monster that looked to be 20 meters tall.

【Giant Sand Golem】

An S-ranked monster.

After the 26th, 27th, and 28th floors, of course this one would also be S-ranked...

“Dora, Sui, let us go.”

As if answering Fel’s call, Dora-chan’s body glowed a burning red as he wrapped himself in fire. Sui, who was in my bag, also jumped out in response to Fel. Of course, I retreated to the back.

《Rahahahhh!—! I’m going in!》

*Thudshhhh———*

Dora-chan, wrapped in Fire magic, charged into the giant sand golem. He opened a hole in the thing, but...... sand shifted and gathered immediately, and closed it up.

《Huh—?》 Dora-chan charged into the giant sand golem once more.

“Dora, there is no point! That thing is made of sand. The hole will just fix itself!”

That giant sand golem was just a moving pile of sand. Even if it lost parts, it would just fix itself immediately.

True, like this, Dora-chan’s attack where he charges into things is probably not really useful here.

“Water! Dora-chan, Sui, soak that thing in water!” I yelled. Sand that’s taken on water won’t move or repair itself like dry, smooth sand.

《Got it! Water, right?》

《Master — got it—!》

Both Dora-chan and Sui released Water magic at the giant sand golem. Once the giant sand golem was thoroughly soaked...... “Fel, hit it with your Lightning magic!!”

“I know!”

*Boomm!!* *Cracklecracklecracklecrackle———*

A flash of lightning struck the giant sand golem’s head.

“Ghghaaaaahh!!”

*Thhuuuddd!*

The giant sand golem fell over, throwing up sand. I lost sight of everyone in the cloud of sand.

“*Cough* *Cough* *Cough* Fel, Dora-chan, Sui, you guys alright?!”

“Hmph, of course I am!”

《Yeah, I’m fine!》

《Master — Sui is here—!》

The sand settled down, and I could once again see everyone. They were covered in sand and had turned a little white by it.

“Ahahah, everyone’s white, all covered in sand!”

“Mnn, you say that, but you are too.”

Oh, I am. I jumped to shake off the sand that I was covered in. Fel shook himself until he blew it all away, Dora-chan performed airborne acrobatics to shake his off, and Sui sort of rippled the surface of its body, repelling the sand.

While we were ridding ourselves of the sand, the giant sand golem disappeared. And as for the dropped items......

A huge-ish magic stone, as well as five diamonds of varying sizes. As expected of an S-ranked monster.

《Master — there’s something here.》

It seemed like Sui found something. I approached Sui, who was bouncing up and down. There, I found a treasure chest, half buried in the sand.

“Sui, well done.”

《Eheheheh~》

For now, I appraised the treasure chest.

【Treasure Chest】

A treasure chest that has been set up so that when opened, it will spray out poison gas, and right afterwards will release Wind magic.

Oh, it’s poison gas again. Looks like the treasure chests here all have that, huh? Don’t know whether to call that mean or what. I mean, it’s gotta be okay to have a non-trapped treasure chest every once in a while, dungeon, know what I’m saying?

This treasure chest uses Wind magic right after the poison gas, right? So that means it’s either to spread the gas around, or something like a wind cutter...... Given this dungeon, it might actually be both. Well, whatever. I have both Perfect Defense and the ability to nullify status effects. Now then, let’s open this thing.

*Klichak* *Creeeeaaaakkk* *Psshhhhhh*

As soon as I opened the treasure chest, it sprayed out a reddish black gas.

“*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*”

While I was choking on the large amount of gas, gusts of wind were raised.

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang———*

Blades of wind were deflected by my Perfect Defense.

.........Hahh, so it was both. Alright then, what’s important is what’s inside. What’s inside, I say!

Peeking into the treasure chest, I saw a necklace, a cloth bag, and also a gemstone. I appraised each one...

【Necklace of Antidotes】

A magic item that nullifies any and all poisons.

【Magic Bag (medium)】

A magic bag as large as twenty large jute bags.

【Yellow Diamond】

A yellow diamond cut into a large teardrop shape.

......Hmm, this is kinda...... I don’t need this necklace since I already have the ability to nullify status effects. And this magic bag (medium) is useless, since I have an infinite Item Box. W-Well, I’ll probably just sell this stuff, but I can just think that over at my own pace once we go back up.

“Hey, are you done appraising? Let us leave, quickly.”

“Coming!”

Using the magic circle drawn on a rock to move, we teleported to the dungeon’s lowest floor, the 30th.

The 30th floor, which we were teleported to, was a semicircular room surrounded by stone walls. It was around 300 meters in diameter.

Across the room from us, was a huge blackish rhino-like monster with a horn. It was around the size of a large trailer.

“Grruoooaahhhh!!” Its cry made me flinch.

What the heck is that............? All the bosses up until how have been straight-up monstrous, but this thing’s on a whole other scale......

“That is a behemoth. Everyone, proceed with caution.”

That was indeed the behemoth, just as Fel said.

But still, why are we already in the boss battle? I’d thought we’d be moving towards a boss through a huge floor like we’d been doing all this time. It’s like, “You should have told me earlier that we’d just be flung at the behemoth!” That kind of feeling. Isn’t this exactly the time where we should have beefed up with food from my world? Goddammit, there’s no helping it now.

The behemoth that was facing us raised its leg like a bull and seemed like it would charge us at any second.

“It comes.”

“Grruuooooaaahhhh!!”

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

After the behemoth raised an ear-shattering cry, it approached us, its footsteps shaking the earth.

“Dora, Sui, listen well! Both physical attacks like tackles and magic attacks do not work very well on behemoths. However, “very well” does not mean that they do not work at all. You only have to hit it with something strong enough that it cannot defend against. At any rate, focus on attacking. Do not let up until the behemoth falls over, understand? Attack!”

《Just attack, no matter what, huh? That sounds just fine, let’s do it!》

《Sui will also go pew pew a who—le lot and get it with Water magic too—!》

All three of my familiars moved towards the behemoth.

*Doonnggg———*

《Woah! Crap...... this stupid thing’s way too hard!》

Dora wrapped himself in Lightning magic and charged in but was denied by the behemoth’s tough hide.

*Plort* *Plort* *Plort*

《Huh—? It’s not melting—!》

Sui used its specialty, Acid Bullet, but while it did make a sound and there was smoke, it did not eat through the behemoth’s tough hide, and it seemed like the boss didn’t receive much damage at all.

*BooOOOooomm!* *Cracklecracklecracklecrackle———*

*Zzsshh* *Zzsshh* *Zzsshh* *Zzsshh* *Zzsshh*

Fel hit it with both Lightning and Wind magic continuously.

“Grrh! Grruuooohhh!!”

The behemoth shook its body, unsettled, but it didn’t seem to have taken too much damage.

“Dora, Sui! Do not stop attacking!!”

《OKAY!》

《Got it—!》

*Thssshhh* *Thssshhh* *Thsh* *Thsh* *Thsh———*

Dora-chan used Ice magic and shot spiked pillars of ice at the behemoth. However, the ice pillars were turned to shards by the toughness of the behemoth’s hide.

*Plort* *Plort* *Plort* *Plort* *Plort* *Plort*

Sui continued to hit the behemoth with its Acid Bullets, and it was soaked in a huge amount of acid, leaving the behemoth smoking.

*Zzshhhhh———*

Sui hit the behemoth with a Water Cutter on a part that was smoking due to the acid.

“Grruuuoohhh———!!”

The tough hide of the behemoth, which had up until now been denying all the attacks from Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan, snapped open. The behemoth showed its rage by shaking its head and front legs.

“Its breath! It is going to use its breath!!” Fel noticed first and warned everyone.

Looking at it, the behemoth’s mouth was shining red. Shit, that’s bad! I’m right in the middle of that breath’s path! I immediately jumped away from where I was and distanced myself from the breath’s line of fire.

“Ghruuuaaahhhhhhhh!!!”

An extremely hot blast of fire was released from the behemoth’s mouth. Just like a flamethrower, the fire released from the behemoth’s mouth was tremendous. Even I could feel the heat from where I was, which was quite far away.

There wouldn’t even be bones left if I got hit with that thing.

Once the behemoth’s breath stopped, Fel immediately threw out some orders. “It seems like the parts of its hide that have been hit with acid are weaker! Sui, keep soaking it in acid! Dora and I will attack the parts that have been covered with it! Let us cut this behemoth apart!!!”

《Yeah!!》

《Sui will go pew pew lots—!》

After quivering intensely for a small while, Sui became large — and then, it started to shoot an extreme number of Acid Bullets at the behemoth.

*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew*

And towards that behemoth that had been covered in acid......

*Zzshh* *Zzshh* *Zzshh* *Zzshh* *Zzshh*

*Zzzsss* *Zzzsss* *Zzzsss* *Zzzsss* *Zzzsss* *Zzzsss*

Fel and Dora-chan let fly with their Wind magic. The behemoth was cut apart.

“Grruaahh! Grruuuooahhhhhhh!!!” The behemoth let out an agonized cry, but Fel and Dora-chan didn’t stop. They hit the thing with Wind magic over and over.

“Sui, hit it with your Acid Bullet!!”

At Fel’s command, Sui shot another huge batch of Acid Bullets at the behemoth’s large body.

*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew* *Pew*

“Gruuooohhhh!!” The Acid Bullets that Sui shot entered the wounds caused by Fel and Dora-chan, and the behemoth’s cries echoed even louder.

*BOO-ooommm* *Cracklecracklecracklecrackle———*

Bluish white lightning crashed onto the behemoth.

*Thud......*

Fel’s Lightning magic became the finishing blow, and the behemoth fell over sideways.

《We did it! We won—!》 Sui expressed its joy by bouncing on top of the behemoth’s huge body.

《Yahhoo!! We beat the behemoth—!!!》 Dora-chan was happy enough to be doing spins and loops in the air.

“*Snort* Hmpf. Of course we did.” Fel looked really smug.

“Ohhh! You’re all amazing! You just defeated one hell of a monster. You guys really are ridiculously strong.”

This really was amazing. I was wondering how they’d manage to defeat that monster of a beast, but I guess with their powers combined even a behemoth isn’t a real threat. Or rather, by the end there, everyone was just beating on the behemoth as hard as they could with no mercy. I actually felt a little sorry for it.

Well, seeing as how it’s a dungeon monster, I guess it’s supposed to be defeated anyway, I guess. Oh, the behemoth disappeared. I wonder what it dropped... Huh, there’s an absolutely gigantic magic stone, a hide, and also...... some sort of really shiny decorated large treasure chest?

I tried appraising it.

【Dungeon Boss’ Treasure Chest】

A treasure chest that rarely drops upon defeating the dungeon’s boss.

It wasn’t trapped.

Oohh! So, treasure chests even drop when you defeat a dungeon boss, huh? Even though it’s a treasure chest. And it’s not even trapped! How nice! Let’s see... gotta hurry up and open this thing.

There was a single sword in the chest. When I took it out......

“Woah! This sword’s really heavy...” For now, I appraised it.

【Magic Sword Caladbolg】

A magic sword imbued with Lightning magic. Made of adamantite.

.........S-Some kind of ridiculous thing just popped up... yeah. I-It’s a magic sword? And even made out of adamantite?! Awawawawawa... W-Will this create a huge fuss if I let it out into the world? F-For now, let’s just shut this in my Item Box, yeah... Hm? What? This treasure chest isn’t disappearing. Ah, it must be because this treasure chest is also a drop item; what with the goldwork and gemstone decorations, this has got to be pretty expensive too.

“Hey, I am quite hungry over here.”

《It’s true.》

《Sui is also hungry—!》

I hurried to store all of the behemoth’s drops in my Item Box, and then turned to face everyone. Sui was now back to its original size.

“You’re hungry? But won’t another behemoth pop up or something?”

“A dungeon boss does not come back that quickly. From my experience, there are some differences between dungeons, but at the very least it will not return for a week.”

Hmm... I see. Yeah, he would know about this, being over 1000 years old and all. Wait, that’s all well and good, but how do we get back up? Do... do we have to go back the way we came?

“Hey, Fel, how do we go back up?”

“Just like we have been doing, if you put magic into the round pattern we can go back to the surface.”

I see, so on the lowest floor you get teleported back to the beginning, huh? That’s good. It really would suck if we had to go back the way we came.

“Hey, food is more important right now, hurry up.”

Fine, fine. Looks like everyone’s more hungry than usual, huh? Something that I can make quickly, right? Uhhh... I have rice...... oh, don’t I still have some shredded cabbage left over from when I was pre-cooking everything? If that’s the case, I can make that. Salted onion-flavored pork bowls using store-bought salt tare.

First and foremost, I bought the all-important salt tare with my skill.

~◇~◇~◇~

Oil up a heated frying pan, and quickly grill some thinly cut orc general meat. Once the color of the meat changes, add in the store-bought salt tare and continue cooking while mixing the tare so it coats the meat.

Pile and form the rice, and then lay a bed of shredded cabbage on top of that. Then, top with a generous serving of the meat.

It’s also a good idea to add white sesame seeds or black pepper to your liking.

~◇~◇~◇~

“Here you go, eat up.”

When I served the food to my three familiars, everyone wordlessly started scarfing down their food. They must have been quite hungry. Everyone finished quickly and immediately asked for more, so I quickly cooked another batch for them.

《Ohhh yeah! I sure ate!》 With that line, Dora-chan lay down with his limbs spread wide.

It seemed like Fel and Sui were still not satisfied. I should eat too.

The salt tare and pepper in the dish was working, but I wanted an even larger kick of spice, so I added some black pepper on top. Using the black peppercorns that came in a grinder I bought before, I ground pepper into my bowl.

*Chomp*

......Yeah, it’s great. This store-bought tare is so good—! There’s also the acidity of the lemon, so I can down the whole dish feeling refreshed. I could just make this tare myself, but it’s really hard to get the ingredients in times when I have no money so the store-bought stuff like this is really convenient... The taste isn’t even all that different. It’s true that it really depends on taste, but the store-bought stuff is basically never outright bad.

“More!” 《More!》

Ahh, yeah, yeah. With that, I was made to cook up many more servings for Fel and Sui.

“Whew — you two sure ate a lot, Fel, Sui.”

“We did just fight a behemoth.”

《Sui went pew pew lots, so Sui was really hungry...》

Certainly. Not to mention the fact that it was already evening when we left the 29th floor.

“Let’s rest a bit then go back up.”

“Yes, let’s.”

...Whoops, oh my. Dora-chan’s already sleeping since he finished earlier.

“Ahh, Dora-chan’s already sleeping, it looks like; he must have been tired.”

“If that is the case, then why not spend the night here and go up tomorrow? This is the lowest floor, so nothing other than the dungeon boss should appear. And now that the behemoth is defeated, this entire area is basically safe.”

If that’s the case then it might be a good idea to spend the night here. Looks like everyone’s tired, too.

“Then let’s do that. I’ll spread the bedding, so wait a little.”

That day, we spent the night on the lowest floor of a dungeon. According to Fel, there was no danger, so thanks to that I managed to get my first peaceful night’s sleep in a while.

Chapter 6: I Was Taken to the Adventurer’s Guild

The night was over, and it was finally time to return to the surface. For breakfast, I ended up cooking dragon steak since Fel said that he wanted to eat it. Even though it was morning, I couldn’t resist and had my fill of it. It was truly delicious.

After a post-meal break......

“I guess we should go up now.”

“Indeed.”

Dora-chan hugged onto my head from behind, Sui was nestled in my arms, and I was straddled on top of Fel. Taking the formation for teleportation, Fel empowered the magic circle on the wall with his magic.

After a moment’s floating sensation, we found ourselves in a four-tatami room with rock walls on top of a magic circle drawn on the floor.

“Where’s the exit......?” I had Fel stoop so I could get off.

“I have seen this before. In these cases, the exit opens when we get off this design.”

When I did as Fel said and stepped one foot off of the magic circle...... The rock walls opened with a low rumbling sound. Everyone left for the outside.

The first natural sunlight in ten days shone down on us.

“Now then, let’s go back to the inn.” I had asked to keep my room before I went down into the dungeon, so it should have been fine. When we exited from the door......

It seemed like we came out of a door next to the normal dungeon entrance. And of course, there was a huge crowd of people around. The soldiers that were guarding the dungeon entrance as well as the adventurers that were lined up to enter the dungeon were all staring at us with their mouths agape.

I’d really appreciate it if you all didn’t stare so much, though...

I was hit by a really intense desire to run away.

The smartest thing to do here would be to just hurry up and leave, right?

“Let’s go,” I said that to Fel and Dora-chan, and had Sui enter my bag before trying to walk off towards the inn.

“W-Wait a second!” One of the soldiers at the entrance tried to talk to me. “Y-You, why did you come out of there?”

Uhhh, that’s......

“Obviously because we defeated the behemoth on the lowest floor.”

Ah, it’s obvious you shouldn’t have said that, Fel! In these cases, you just have to lie and get through the situation!

Once Fel uttered those words, everyone started making a huge fuss, as if we’d poked a beehive.

“A-Anyway, just get a guild employee here!”

“No, it needs to be the guildmaster!”

“That’s right, get the guildmaster!”

“Hurry, hurry!”

It’s looking like... I won’t be able to leave until the guildmaster comes... I mean, when I try to leave, the soldiers tell me to stay and everything.

After a while, I heard a familiar voice.

“Mukohdaaa~!”

Elrand, I wonder if you would refrain from calling my name in such a loud voice, please?

“Mukohdaaa~!” Elrand was waving his arms while calling out to me in a loud voice.

“Hahh, hahhh... I knew you could do it, Mukohda!!” Elrand excitedly grabbed my hand and started shaking it fervently.

Ah, wait, Elrand, you’re hurting my hand.

“But not being able to see Dora-chan was a little... I tried to go down the dungeon several times, but......”

Huh? You tried to do that? That’d just be annoying though.

“The sub-guildmaster was really firm about stopping me so I gave up on that, though.”

The sub-guildmaster? That kinda chubby balding old man? Good job, Sub-guildmaster!!

“Anyway, I want to hear all about this so let’s hurry up to the Adventurer’s guild. Now, let’s go, hurry!”

In the end, we weren’t allowed to go back to the inn, and were instead taken by Elrand to the Adventurer’s guild.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Taken by Elrand, we were now in his room inside the Adventurer’s guild.

“So? How was it?”

“How was it? Didn’t you see the behemoth too, Elrand?”

“Yes, I did, but not the drop items or treasure chests, right?”

Well, that’s true. But there’s way too much of that stuff. I still haven’t sorted through all of it, so I have no idea just how much of everything I have.

“Well, that’s true, but there’s so much......”

“I see, I see, that’s good news for us, too. That dungeon drops a lot of hides up to the 21st floor, as well as from the 22nd to the 25th floor after that.”

It was exactly as Elrand said. I was currently in possession of an enormous number of hides, furs, and pelts.

“To tell you the truth, I want you to sell it all to the Adventurer’s guild. This is a dungeon city, after all. The demand for monster hides that can become armor is really high. Not only that, but if it’s from the dungeon, it’ll be really tough.”

I see, leather armor, huh? I have so many orc, ogre, troll, and minotaur skins that I can’t even count them all. If the guild wants them, by all means, please, take them all. It’s not like I need them.

“I think you can only start getting decent things out of treasure chests after the 20th floor, but how was it? I also remember that there are spriggans that drop gems when you beat them, too... If you have any gems or magic items, we’d like to buy those too.”

As one would expect out of someone who’s gone all the way to the behemoth. He knows a lot.

“There were several treasure chests, and I have their contents. There were also some mimics, so I have some treasure chests themselves.”

There’s also lots of gems. I’m not a woman, so I have no interest in gems. If they want them, then let’s just sell all of them. Although I should think about selling the magic items first since there might be something useful, like the magic recovery ring that I don’t plan to sell.

“There were some treasure chests after the 26th floor, too. Although, the 26th and 27th floors were forests, and we couldn’t really explore all of it. The 28th was a swamp, too, and the 29th was a desert, so just crossing through them was a real hurdle.”

The forests aside, I really just want to reject going to that swamp or the desert. Field dungeons are way too evil.

“Hm? Wait a minute. What... did you just say?”

What I said? What do you mean?

“The part about there being chests after the 26th floor?”

“No, not that.”

Hm? No? Then... this?

“The part about the 26th and 27th floor being forests, so we couldn’t really explore all of it?”

“No, no, not that either.”

Then... this?

“The part about the 28th floor being swamplands, and the 29th being a desert, so it was a real hurdle passing through them?”

“Yes, yes, that! A swamp?! A desert?!” Elrand was leaning forward aggressively in excitement.

When I asked about it, it seemed that at the time when Elrand went in the dungeon there still wasn’t a swamp and a desert floor. It was all forests from the 25th to the 29th floor, and it took a month just to get through it all.

“So, tell me all about the 26th floor and onwards.” Elrand looked more serious than I’d ever seen him, so I ended up fixing my sitting posture.

And then, I told him in as much detail as I could about the happenings and bosses from the 26th floor onwards. Due to answering all of the questions Elrand interrupted with, it ended up taking quite a long time.

“Then, as for the dungeon’s drops, even I don’t really know everything that I have, so I’d like to wait until tomorrow to come and sell everything.”

“I understand. I’ll probably be kept busy with what you’ve just told me, too, so I’d also like to settle that tomorrow.”

And just like that, I was finally allowed to leave the Adventurer’s guild.

The next day, it was announced that, because the dungeon changes from the 25th to the 29th floors given enough time, the dungeon had been given a high difficulty rating.

Extra: Tingling Spicy Snacks For Alcohol.

“Yo! Johannes.” I greeted a younger solo adventurer that I ended up getting acquainted with in the guild.

Johannes was a rare type of adventurer who specialized in collecting and harvesting, and was E-ranked. He was still 21 years old and quite a young adventurer, but his knowledge on plants was extensive. It seemed like he wasn’t a good fighter, and we ended up getting acquainted when we ran across Johannes getting chased by 3 orcs in the forest and saved him. He was pretty thin for an adventurer, but he was quite easy to talk to, and we got along well.

“Mukohda, huh......?”

“Hm? What’s up, with that gloomy look?”

“No, nothing......”

“It’s not nothing, with that face. If you’re worried about something, won’t it feel better to get it off your chest?”

“Hmmm, that might be right... It’s not like I’ve been able to figure out a way to solve it. To tell you the truth......”

It turned out that Johannes was worried not about himself, but his parents. Johannes’ parents were running a bar, but business wasn’t exactly booming for them.

“Apparently people were saying that their place didn’t have anything decent to eat. Just, people that complain are everywhere, and if it was only that, I don’t think my parents would have given it any mind. However, it seems that they’re getting a lot less customers than before...... My parents are both pretty depressed about it.”

“I see. But, snacks are pretty important when it comes to drinking alcohol...”

“Is that right? But it’s not like we serve anything weird at our place. The other bars and stuff all serve similar things.”

“And that’s what’s bad. If it’s all the same, then it doesn’t matter where you go. Wasn’t your place a little far away?”

“Yes. It’s along one of the streets feeding into the main street. It used to face the main street, but we ended up having to move three years ago, since the owner’s son was starting a store, or something.”

“Thought so. So? Aren’t the main customers for bars adventurers?”

“Yes.”

“How many adventurers base themselves in your hometown, Johannes?”

“Not a lot of them, I think. There’s a lot of adventurers that travel around, given their jobs, after all.”

“I did just say, but if all the food is the same, then wouldn’t you just go to the closest one? Since they haven’t been there their whole lives or anything and probably aren’t too familiar with the streets, I’d think that they’d just end up going to all the easy-to-find places.”

“Ah......”

“That’s how it is. You can’t just be like everyone else. You need to be better. Back to the earlier subject of snacks — if they had something good that no one else had, then I think they’d get more customers.”

“I see...... But that would mean coming up with a new snack to go with alcohol, wouldn’t it? How would...... I know! Isn’t Mukohda really good at cooking? Please help us! Of course, I won’t ask you to do it for free. I’ll pay 3 gold! So please, please help!”

“Hey hey, 3 gold?”

“I know it’s too little. But... it’s all I can give you......” Johannes let his head droop as he bit his lip.

“No, that’s not it. Isn’t that money that you’ve worked hard to save up? Weren’t you saving up for a new plant encyclopedia?”

Johannes had said that he wanted a new plant encyclopedia in order to further his knowledge of plant life. Since all books were handwritten in this world, they were both rare and very expensive. Not only that, but since the book that Johannes wanted also had hand drawn pictures, it was even more expensive than usual, and would cost 5 gold, according to him.

“It’s fine. It’s for my family. I can just start saving up money for my encyclopedia again...... I... I’m really grateful to my parents. I’ve always admired adventurers...... But in the end, I’m only a solo harvesting specialist. Everyone makes fun of me. But only my parents always encouraged me. They said, ‘If that’s your path as an adventurer, isn’t that just fine?’ They even told me to follow it all the way through and just said, ‘If it’s about harvesting, just leave it to me!’”

Khhh~, what great parents! Now I can’t even refuse the money...

“Fine. I’ll help. But you need to help, too.”

“Yes!”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Then, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

I had met up with Johannes, and we were going to head to his parents’ bar. My three familiars were staying behind at the inn. Johanne’s parents would just be scared if I brought Fel and the others along, after all. Also, according to Johannes, with all the tables and chairs in their bar there wouldn’t be any space for Fel anyway.

I got Fel and the others to reluctantly agree to stay behind by telling them I’d cook something good for dinner. Of course, I left a mountain of snack buns for them as a lunch and a snack.

“Would what I thought of yesterday be all right?” Yesterday, I spent the whole day accompanying Johannes, thinking of different snacks that would pair well with alcohol, mainly ale, and trying them.

“Of course! It’s easy to make, and most of all it was that delicious. It even goes super well with ale. But, using jalapena in cooking, huh? I thought that’d only be good for making potions to prevent sleepiness.”

‘Jalapena’ was a plant similar to chili pepper. “From my perspective, it’s stranger that it hasn’t been tried in cooking yet.”

“I mean, it’s super spicy...”

“Isn’t that what’s great about it? As long as you manage the amount you use.”

While we were talking about that, we reached the bar that Johannes’ parents were managing.

“It’s here, Mukohda. Hey pa, ma, I brought that friend I told you about before!”

In response to Johannes’ voice, from the back came a thin and stubborn looking man aged past 40, who looked exactly how Johannes would look if he was older, and an old plump lady who looked the exact image of a plucky mother.

“Mukohda, this is my mom and dad. Pa, ma, Mukohda’s a high-ranking adventurer, so try not to be rude.”

“I know already, you don’t have to tell me, sonny! *Ahem* I’m Johannes’ father. Sorry for mixing you up in our problems.”

“Really, sorry about this.”

“I’m Mukohda. Pleased to meet you. It was Johannes who asked me, so I’m happy to help. Johannes has been kind to me ever since I got here, and he’s very knowledgeable about plants, so he’s helped me a lot too.”

When I said that, Johannes’ mother seemed a little impressed, saying, “For a high-ranking adventurer to say that, you’ve been doing good work, haven’t you?”

“More importantly, we need to talk about the new dish. Mukohda thought of something that we can put out immediately, starting today.”

“Today, already? That’s great!”

“Okay then, I’ll be teaching you now.”

We moved to the kitchen. “I’d heard from Johannes that you serve grilled sausages here, do you have any sausages?”

“Yeah, we have some.”

“I’ll need that and some garlic and olive oil.”

Johannes’ father provided what I asked for.

“Johannes, that.”

Johannes pulled out some dried jalapena from his shoulder bag and handed it to me.

“What is that?”

“Dried jalapena.”

It seemed that Johannes’ parents still didn’t understand. Just like Johannes had said, the use for this plant was basically just for anti-drowsiness potions, and knowledge of it wasn’t very common.

“It’s that thing, ma, pa. The thing used in anti-drowsiness potions.”

“Anti-drowsiness potions?”

“............Ah, that thing? Dear, it’s that spicy thing!”

“Ah! That?! Wait, what are you going to do with that thing that’s spicy and nothing else?” Johannes’ parents looked at me, mystified.

“I’m going to cook with it.” When I said that, the two looked both startled and surprised.

“I get your feelings, but just watch. I ate it too, so I can guarantee the taste. It’s really good and goes great with ale.”

“Then I’ll be making it. The process is really simple. First......”

~◇~◇~◇~

Slice the garlic thinly, remove the seeds from the dried jalapena and cut it into round slices, and cut the sausages into pieces around 3 cm long.

Then, before heating the frying pan, coat it with olive oil and start heating after putting the garlic inside the pan. Once the garlic has turned brown and you can smell it, remove the garlic.

At this point, add in the dried jalapena and sausage pieces, and after sautéing for a bit, throw in some salt and let all the flavors mix.

After that, just keep cooking until the sausages change colors, signifying that they’re cooked.

~◇~◇~◇~

“It’s spicy garlic sautéed sausage. Try it.” I served the dish to Johannes’ parents. The two of them timidly put the food in their mouths.

“Mh!”

“This is......”

“Johannes, the ale!”

“Me too!”

Johannes handed the two steins filled with ale. The two of them chugged down some ale after wolfing down some of the sausage.

“Ohhh yeah! It’s good!”

“Ohhh yeah! What is this?! It’s so good with the ale!”

Looking at those two, Johannes laughed, saying, “Didn’t I tell you? It’s good!”

“I also think it’d be a good idea to add some thinly sliced potatoes, too. Also, this garlic flavor with a spicy kick goes well with most anything.”

“Ohh! Now that you say it, it does, doesn’t it? I’ll have to try a bunch of stuff with this.”

“Yes.”

The two of them were talking while wolfing down the dish and gulping their ale.

Hey, hey... don’t you have to work after this?

“Thank you so much, Mukohda. This is your reward.” Johannes approached me and tried to hand over the gold without being noticed by his excited parents.

“I don’t need it. You keep it. This is an investment. You might find something that can be used in cooking, like the jalapena, next time. You go study as much as you can about plants.”

“Mukohda......”

“In exchange, give me some of that dried jalapena too, okay?”

“Sure!”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Several days later———.

“Oh, Johannes, did you just come back from a request?”

“Ah, Mukohda. That’s right. Thanks to you, Mukohda, the store is doing great. They don’t have enough jalapena, so dad told me to go get some.”

“Hahah, isn’t it great that they’re flourishing? Don’t forget my share, too.”

“I know. Okay then, I have to go back to my dad.”

“Sure, next time.”

Johannes’ footsteps were light as he walked off towards his parents’ store.

“Hey, what is jalapena?” Fel asked, having listened in to my conversation with Johannes.

“It’s got a spicy kick.”

“A spicy kick, huh? Hmm... that sounds nice. I ask that you use that flavoring for today’s meal.”

《A spicy kick, huh? It does sound nice. I agree with Fel—.》

“Fel and Dora-chan might want it, but won’t Sui hate it?”

《It’s fine sometimes~.》

“Good, then the spicy kick flavor is decided.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll do that.”

Food with a spicy kick, huh? Now then, what should I make...?

Afterword

This is Eguchi Ren. Thank you very much for picking up Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill Volume 3: Beef Stew and the Unexplored Labyrinth!

Thinking back again on how it’s already been one year since this was picked up from Syosetu, I’m deeply moved. I truly think it has been thanks to all of you earnest readers that I have been able to come this far.

And so, this series has finally released its 3rd volume! Having my first published series come this far... as a creator, I’m filled with an inexpressible joy.

And this, of course, is also thanks to all you readers of Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. To all of you readers, thanks so much!

The 3rd volume mainly focuses on dungeons. This series is mostly just slow and heartwarming, but this time there are also some battle scenes. They’re all really fast and easy, though (lol).

In other words, the dungeon is Fel, Dora-chan, and Sui’s place to shine! Even the cowardly main character Mukohda tries just a little bit. Also, the most annoying character/elf (?) in this series and the booze-lover’s combo finally arrive! And just like that, new characters are still making their debut even after 2 volumes, so I would be happy if you would all look forward to next time, as well.

To Masa-sensei who draws all the illustrations, Akagishi K-sensei who’s in charge of the comic, my editor sir I, and everyone at Overlap, thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

This will be the last thing, please keep looking forward to the laid back and heartwarming adventures of Mukohda and his familiars Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan in Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill.

I eagerly wish to meet you all again in Volume 4.

Bonus Short Stories

Elrand’s Monologue

My name is Elrand, and I’m an elf. I am a former S-ranked adventurer, and am currently serving as the town of Dolan’s guildmaster.

And, I am also an unequaled lover of dragons.

Originally, I admired dragon slayers, though.

When I was a child, I was given a single picture book from one of the few merchants that come and go from my hometown, the elves’ village. Its subject was common: an adventure story.

The protagonist left the rural village on his own as a boy, became an adventurer, gained comrades, and travelled the world. And, finally, he and his friends managed to slay a dragon that appeared and had been eating people one after another.

However, the child-me was enraptured by that dragon. Unlike elves that had blended into towns, elves that lived in the forest didn’t have much contact with the outside, and treated living quietly with other elves as the norm. My hometown was much the same.

I think that closed-off village only helped my longing and admiration of the outside world.

“One day, I’m going to become an adventurer. And then, I’ll be a dragon slayer myself!” That was the dream that sprouted within me.

Once I became an adult, I left the village in order to realize my dreams. I quickly registered at the nearest town and became an adventurer. I had learned some level of magic and swordsmanship while I lived in the village, but of course in the beginning I started from the lowest, G rank.

From then on, I piled up experience and ranks.

And even through all that, my childhood dream of “becoming a dragon slayer” never faded.

Thinking that, in order to become a dragon slayer, I would have to learn about my target, dragons, I started my research into them.

They were noble, and strong. Dragons stood at the pinnacle of the world. The more I learned about such living beings, the more I was fascinated by dragons as creatures.

And, when I first became a B-ranked adventurer 238 years ago, the time finally came. A dragon appeared near a certain town and a request to defeat it was put out. The dragon from that time is unforgettable to me — it was a green dragon.

One might say it was a matter of course, but I strongly wished to be included in the subjugation team. However, the fact that I was only recently promoted to B-rank, and the fact that I had accepted a request to guard a trading company that was very close with the Adventurer’s guild meant that I was denied my wish. Since that was the case, I thought I could at least dismantle the creature, and asked the town’s guildmaster over and over again to that effect, but he would not say yes, and I wasn’t even allowed to butcher the dragon.

Unable to fulfill my dreams and become a dragon slayer, or even butcher a dragon, one of the species that so fascinated me, the me at the time was full of regret.

But I did not give up. If being B-ranked was no good, then what about being S-ranked? I put all my effort into climbing up. And so, while researching dragons and piling up accomplishments as an adventurer, it happened around the time when I had been thinking that I could become an A-ranked adventurer: the event being, meeting the man who I would call my best friend, and would spend a long time together as adventurers, Rodolfo. Rodolfo, being a dwarf, and me, being an elf, didn’t seem like we’d get along at first glance, but we fit together surprisingly well .

While being called the sword-and-sheath combo, we continued to accept quests together. During that time, the two of us became A-ranked adventurers, and our names were then starting to become fairly known. To the both of us, that might have been a destined meeting. From then on, we were comrades in arms, clearing countless requests together in a party.

I was an elf, and while Rodolfo, being a dwarf, wasn’t as long-lived, both of us had quite the lifespan. As such, partying up was a hard thing for us. Before Rodolfo and I teamed up together, we had both been going between several other parties, but those were mere rest stops, although saying that would be a bit...

We had been part of them from anywhere between a couple years up to even a decade or more, but honestly, to our lifespans, that was how it was.

However, the four of them that we met at that time became irreplaceable friends — for me, and for Rodolfo.

Our leader, the human named Norman, who freely wielded his sword and large shield; the wolf beastkin, Oljean, said to wield a spear with legendary might,; the healer who had saved me countless times, the human Beatrice; and the scout with better presence detection skills than anyone, the human Connie. These four partied with Rodolfo and I to form the “Sunlight Brigade,” and we succeeded in high difficulty missions, one after the other.

And then, we finally climbed to S-rank. With these comrades, there was no way we would be inferior, even to a dragon. No, we would definitely win. With those thoughts in mind, I waited for a dragon to appear, but......

No dragons showed themselves, not even any information on where they could be. And meanwhile, life was happening, and all my comrades other than Rodolfo aged and retired from being adventurers. There was nothing to be done about it, but Rodolfo and I were of different races, and one of our differences was a difference in our passage of time.

After 20 years, the “Sunlight Brigade” disbanded. It wasn’t a terribly long amount of time to Rodolfo and me, but it was still a wonderful stretch of time spent with irreplaceable friends.

After that, Rodolfo and I continued on being adventurers, but after starting to feel our age it was finally time for Rodolfo and me to also retire from the adventurer life. Even so, my admiration for dragon slayers never cooled, and with the hope of at least seeing a dragon, I settled into the position of guildmaster in Dolan. As for Rodolfo, as you might know, he became the guildmaster in Krehl.

Since even though we look this way, we used to be S-ranked adventurers, it wasn’t hard to get hired once again by the Adventurer’s guild.

And so, after 32 years of being a guildmaster, finally, finally, a pair of dragons were in my sights!

Not only that, one of them was a rare pixie dragon! I’ve only read about them in books, and even in those basically no one has ever touched a pixie dragon. And a live pixie dragon was right in front of me...... Ahh, just how happy am I allowed to be?

And on top of that, there’s even an earth dragon! Being able to butcher an earth dragon with my own hands, it’s like a dream!

I take pride in the knowledge that there is no one as passionate and as learned about dragons than me. Is this a reward from the gods for me? To be able to lay eyes on two real dragons, ones that I’ve only ever dreamed of before......

I’m so happy that I’ve lasted until this age without giving up.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“And that’s how it is. My meeting with you, Mukohda, I feel nothing but thankfulness for it...... Hey, were you listening?”

“......Mn, mnwah!? O-Of course, I was listening. I was totally listening...... Although you went on really long and I had no interest, so I fell asleep,” Mukohda whispered.

“If that’s the case, do you understand just how fiercely I’ve wished for dragons?”

“Y-Yeah...”

“Thank you. Well then, give me Dora-chan!!”

“As if!!”

A Small Diversion

Our party was currently making its way along the road to the dungeon city of Dolan.

《So bored~.》 Dora-chan, who was flying beside me riding on top of Fel, told me through telepathy. By the way, Sui was in his usual spot, sleeping soundly in the bag hanging off of my shoulder.

《What’s so boring?》

《Aw, well, I was just thinking that it would be pretty nice if we would get attacked by a monster with some backbone.》

《Nonono, please spare me that.》

What the hell is this child spouting?

《I am here. There would not be many monsters that would dare.》

Fel’s a legendary magic beast, at least in name, after all. Of course monsters wouldn’t come near.

《Well, that’s true, but there’re idiots everywhere, right? I’m tired of just moving forward for so long.》

《Dora, it is not like I do not understand your feelings, but this is necessary to go to the dungeon. Just bear wi-......》

Fel suddenly went quiet.

《What’s up, Fel?》

《It seems there is a river up ahead.》

《A river?》

《Indeed. It seems there is even a small waterfall.》

《So you can tell that sort of thing too, Fel...》

《Hmph, just what do you take me for? Of course I would know something of this level.》

Ahh sure sure, you’re great, Fel.

《A river and a waterfall, huh? Seems fun, let’s go!》

Dora, don’t just “let’s go” us…

《Weren’t we going to Dolan?》

《Of course we’ll go, but it’s not like we’re in a hurry, right? Let’s just stop by for a little bit.》

What the hell? Even though he was all gung-ho about the dungeon…

《I want to eat some river fish, too. Hey come on, let’s go.》

《Mm... River fish, huh? I have eaten lake fish, but it has been a while since I have had fish from a river......》

《Right, right? Let’s go eat some river fish—!》

《When you put it like that it makes me want some... Okay, let us stop by.》

And with that, it was decided that we would be making a detour.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

With Fel’s guidance, the place we reached was a small waterfall a little ways removed from the road in the forest.

It was only around 5 meters tall, so it wasn’t that large. However, the water that was flowing was quite clear, and shadows of fish were visible here and here.

“What a nice place~.”

《See? Aren’t you glad we came?》

Would you stop with that smug face, Dora-chan?

《Okaayyy, let’s all hurry up and go catch some fish!》 Saying so, Dora-chan charged into the waterfall.

*Sploosh―――*

《Woah, hold still!》 There was a lively fish caught in Dora-chan’s arms as he came out of the waterfall.

《First up! Here.》

“Woah!”

Dora-chan handed me a fish that was similar to an ayu; it looked like it might exceed 40cm in size.

《Mmm... Master — where are we?》 A sleepy sounding Sui crawled out of my bag.

“Ah, Sui, you’re awake. We were heading for the dungeon, but decided to take a detour. They wanted to eat some river fish.”

《River fish?》

“That’s right. Look, there’s some shadows of fish over there, right?”

《Uwaahh~, the fishies are swimming~.》

“See, this is one that Dora-chan caught.”

I showed the not-ayu that Dora-chan caught to Sui.

《It’s still just the one, though. I’ll catch a lot more! Okaayyy, next!》

*Splooosh―――*

Dora-chan once again charged into the waterfall.

《Sui will catch some fishies too—!》 Saying that, Sui also entered the waterfall before I could respond.

“Aahh! Sui!”

“You do not need to worry about Sui,” said Fel, but I couldn’t help it.

“Wait, you’re not gonna catch any, Fel?”

“I will leave the matters of water to Dora and Sui.”

......Right, Fel hates water. He could always just use Lightning magic to get fish without having to touch water, but right now Dora-chan and Sui are in the waterfall, after all. It doesn’t seem like Fel’s gonna get into any water without some really important reason.

After 10 minutes―――

《Master — Sui got a lot—!》 Sui came out of the waterfall with a lot of fish captured inside itself.

“Ohh, you did!”

《Aww what, I’ve still only caught 6—!》

It’s just not in Dora-chan’s favor, is it? Since he has to catch each fish one at a time.

“Sui, let me see what you caught.”

《Oka—y!》 Sui pushed fish after fish out from inside itself.

Let’s see, there’s the same not-ayu that Dora-chan caught, and this whitish speckled fish looks like a char. That being said, this one’s pretty big for that, though. And also......

“Catfish?”

There were two catfish over 1 meter in size.

“Ohh, so the river had these.”

“Fel, you know this thing?”

“Indeed. This is a fish called a blue-tailed catfish, and they only exist where the water is extremely clear. Its meat has no funk in it and it is a pretty tasty fish, you know.”

Hehh~.

I had thought it would be edible since it was a catfish, but it’s good, huh? Now that I think about it, I haven’t eaten catfish yet, but isn’t it supposed to be a light, white meat with no weird flavors in it, it’s supposed to be pretty good, I remember.

“Ok, make a meal with this.”

I thought he’d say that.

Even though I’d thought it would just be grilling with salt when they mentioned river fish...

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“He—y, it’s done.”

When I called out to them, my three familiars, who had been spending time as they pleased, gathered round.

For the not-ayu and not-char, I did the standard thing and removed their scales and innards before sprinkling them with salt and grilling them. They’re huge so they should be quite filling.

At first, I had wondered how I was going to butcher the huge catfishes, but I somehow managed it. I tried a little in order to make sure of the taste so I could cook it, and it was just as Fel said: it had no funk, and was a light and tasty white meat.

I had expected this, and so went with a catfish sauté, catfish tempura, and soy-marinated catfish karaage. For the sauté, I put white daikon on top for color, as well as some ponzu. For the tempura, I just put salt in it and made some special tempura dipping sauce. And I made sure to properly flavor the catfish karaage, so that would be served by itself.

I started by serving the salt grilled fish.

“Yeah, this is good. The skin is crispy and the insides are nicely grilled and soft.”

《This is one of the fish I caught, right? Yep, it’s great!》 Dora chowed down on one of the not-ayu from the head down and looked quite satisfied.

《This kind of sour sauce on this one is tasty—!》 It seemed like Sui liked the combination of the catfish’s light meat and the ponzu.

“I favor this tempura and this thing called soy-marinated karaage.” Saying so, Fel chowed down on said tempura and soy-marinated karaage.

I was also of the opinion that the tempura was good. It was good with salt, but for the light white meat, the dipping sauce was better. The catfish tempura dipped in the special sauce was exceedingly delicious.

Now that I think about it, this might be a little luxurious, listening to a waterfall while enjoying food.

This type of thing might be nice every once in a while.

The Guild Employee’s Investigation

I am a person employed at the Adventurer’s guild here, in this dungeon city of Dolan. My name is Morgan.

This time, with orders from above, I am investigating the adventurer Mukohda and his party of familiars, who accomplished the unprecedented great feat of conquering Dolan’s dungeon, as well as how they proceeded in doing it. In order to do that, I am conducting an investigation by interview of adventurers who claim that they have seen Mukohda inside the dungeon.

I have been having it quite hard, because I cannot quite manage to find any adventurers willing to talk to me about the subject, since talking flippantly about other adventurers is something to be avoided. By reluctantly offering the condition of keeping their anonymity, I have somehow managed to secure some adventurers who were willing to testify.

These are the testimonies of those adventurers, from beginning to end.

【Testimony From The Adventurers Who Witnessed Mukohda’s Party’s Fight In The 10th Floor Boss Room】

Adventurer A: “We were right behind that adventurer that had the huge wolf, the small dragon, and the slime with him in line, right?”

Adventurer B: “Yeah. It was our first time in the dungeon, so we peeked inside wondering how the fight was, but that one wouldn’t be any use as a reference.”

Adventurer C: “Right? There were venom tarantulas and poison spiders everywhere, too. I’d thought that even we’d have a hard time with that, so I peeked, thinking that the adventurer with the familiars would be having a hard time, too, but it was over with just one hit......”

Adventurer D: “The small dragon hit it with just one blast of Fire magic and it was over.”

Adventurer A: “You gotta be kidding me with that thing......”

Adventurer B, C, D: “““Right?!”””

【Testimony From The Adventurers Who Witnessed Mukohda’s Party’s Fight In The 13th Floor Boss Room】

Adventurer E: “I knew that tamers were strong, but that one’s on a whole other level.”

Adventurer F: “Yeah, his familiars are all way too strong. There were five whole ogres, but it was over in an instant.”

Adventurer G: “That huge wolf, that was a Fenrir, right......? I heard rumors that there was an adventurer that made a Fenrir his familiar, and that thing didn’t let the legends down. A Fenrir’s strength is a dimension apart.”

Adventurer H: “He did it with just a swing of his front leg, after all......”

Adventurer I: “The Fenrir wasn’t the only strong one. That small dragon was powerful, too. It would cover itself in fire magic and charge in, what the heck...... And it was ridiculously fast, too.”

Adventurer F: “I’m most surprised at that slime. Aren’t slimes supposed to be weak as hell? What the hell was with that slime......”

Adventurer G: “It was shooting out, like, acid or something, wasn’t it? It’s the first time I’ve seen a slime that can attack like that......”

Adventurer E: “The slime, huh? Its attack straight up just opened a hole in an ogre......”

【Testimony from the adventurers who witnessed Mukohda’s party’s fight in the 14th floor boss room】

Adventurer J: “Even if you ask us how it was......”

Adventurer K: “It’s normally only three trolls, but it was five when they went in...... Now that I say it, they lucked out. I thought they’d have a hard fight, though......”

Adventurer L: “As a B-ranked party, we’ve dived into the dungeon many times. But even we have a hard time against trolls. Depending on the circumstances, we might even have to retreat. But that’s...... Really, what the hell...”

Adventurer M: “Slimes are weaklings, right......? That slime killed five trolls in an instant. It makes me lose confidence as an adventurer...”

Adventurer J: “No, that’s not a regular slime, that’s gotta be it. It was shooting out acid or something at high speeds.”

Adventurer L: “That attack opened up a hole right in the troll’s torso, didn’t it......”

Adventurer K: “It’d be no joke if anything got hit by that.”

Adventurers J, L, and M nod in unison.

【Testimony from the adventurers who witnessed Mukohda’s party’s fight in the 15th floor boss room】

Adventurer N: “You know, the 15th floor boss is a minotaur. And there’s three of them, too. Even we, an A-ranked party, have to make quite a lot of preparations.”

Adventurer O: “And you know...... It was instant, instant I say!”

Adventurer P: “The small dragon covered itself in Lightning magic and just tackled one after the other. Like Thud, Thud, Thud!”

Adventurer Q: “It’s a dragon that can use Lightning magic...... What kind of baby dragon is that?”

Adventurer R: “Where the hell did he even gather all those strong familiars, in the first place?”

Adventurer P: “Right? We’ve seen several tamers ourselves, but they usually only have one familiar.”

Adventurer N: “Not only that, he’s got that legendary Fenrir with him.”

Adventurer O: “The Fenrir didn’t do anything, but there’s no doubt it's stronger than that baby dragon......”

Adventurer R: “I heard a little about it, but it seems like the slime that’s with him is also crazy strong.”

Adventurer Q: “That party’s invincible, isn’t it?”

Adventurers N, O, P, and R wordlessly nod.

I have also given the A-ranked party that the Mukohda party encountered on the 22nd floor a message asking for their participation, but they obstinately refused, saying, “We have no plans to talk so freely about our savior.”

Every adventurer’s testimony has been so ridiculous it’s been hard to believe. However, after researching whether or not the adventurers really were there at the same time as Mukohda’s party, the results are inarguable.

Even though talking so freely about other adventurers is something to be avoided, there is no blockading people’s mouths. There have already been rumors spreading about Mukohda’s party — and those rumors align almost perfectly with these adventurer’s testimonies.

Considering the fact that Mukohda’s party has conquered the dungeon, it is probably safe to say that the familiars that follow the adventurer Mukohda are all powerful beasts.

“Familiars that bury an entire boss room in an instant, huh......?”

Partying with Otherworld Alcohol

““Cheers!””

*Gluglugluglug*

“That’s the stuff — the lad did say that this alcohol called beer is great when chilled, and he really was correct, no?”

Hephaestos and Vahagn had quickly started to party using the alcohol they had received from the otherworlder.

“But still, with just this much it’ll all be gone quickly.”

“You said it. Well, we asked this time to see how the alcohol in the other world is, no? There’s a lot of variety, so let’s just drink up for now. Next is this one, called ‘black beer.’”

*Gluglglglg* Oh yeahhh—!

“Compared to the last beer, this one is faintly sweet, eh? This one isn’t bad either. Not bad at all.”

“This one is fuller in taste. I like this one better, I think.”

“Right, then, next should be this one -- this alcohol called ‘brandy.’”

“The boy said this one is good neat, right?”

Hephaestos and Vahagn helped themselves, pouring the brandy into glasses.

“Looks like this is alcohol made from fruit, eh?” said Hephaestos, while taking in a whiff of the brandy.

“Looks to be so,” Vahagn agreed, taking his own whiff.

*Gulp*

“Hohohh, this is quite strong. But it’s mellow and smooth... This is delicious!”

“It’s more for sipping and savoring than for downing as fast as you can, isn’t it? This type of thing isn’t bad, either.”

Hephaestos and Vahagn discussed and reviewed the otherworld alcohols while downing them one after the other. Of course, as alcohol lovers, the both of them made sure to finish every last bit. There weren’t any droplets left whether it was a can or a bottle.

After continuing drinking like that......

“Man... There sure is a lot of good alcohol from that world~.”

“Yeah. Even though they’re all rounded up and named ‘alcohol,’ there really are all kinds of them. It’s great~.”

“Indeed. Here, all we get is ale and mead, and also fruit alcohol, after all.”

“It’s a nice thing, being able to taste, smell, and enjoy so many kinds of alcohol.”

“And, we’re finally at the last bottle......”

“A square bottle with a design on it, they put quite the effort into just the bottle, didn’t they?”

“Indeed. Seems like it’s called whiskey, and that boy also said it was a strong one. Seems like we should either drink it straight, drink it with ice, which he called ‘on the rocks,’ or cut it with water or carbonated water. Well, diluting it with water doesn’t sound fun and we don’t have carbonated water, so I think we should either have it straight or with ice, eh?” Hephaestos said, trying to recall the explanation he was given.

“Yeah. Then let’s try it straight, first.” Having said that, Vahagn poured out the whiskey for both himself and Hephaestos.

““Cheers.””

The two glasses clinked as they made contact.

*Gulp*

Hephaestos’ and Vahagn’s throats both audibly gulped down the whiskey.

“Ohhh! This is good! I know that’s normal for otherworld alcohol, but this one matches my tastes the best, I think.”

“I’m the same. The smell is faintly sweet, but it’s got such body. This one is good.”

Hephaestos and Vahagn greatly appreciated the otherworld alcohol named ‘whiskey.’

“Next, let’s try it with ice, or ‘on the rocks.’”

More whiskey was poured into glasses partially filled with ice created by magic.

*Gulp*

“Hohh, this chilled whiskey is quite something as well.”

“Certainly, it’s good.”

*Clank* *Clink*

*Gulp*

“Mm? This is...... the taste changed.”

“What?”

At Hephaestos’ words, Vahagn once again took a sip of his whiskey.

*Gulp*

“Oh, you’re right. It became more mellow.”

Vahagn took a closer look at the whiskey inside his glass.

“......Ah, I see. The ice is melting, and that is mellowing out the taste.”

“I see. To think that just by putting in ice like this, the taste would change, what an amusing concept. I am liking this one more and more.”

“Me too.”

The two, having taken a great liking to the whiskey, kept downing glasses without any care as to the strength of the alcohol.

“Tch, there’s no more.”

“Whahuh? Already, eh? It may be a little late, but it would have been better to ask for more whiskey from that whippersnapper, no?”

“You’re right. But we can just make sure to do that next time.”

“Yeah, looks like there will be a next time, after all.”

“Right, right. From what I’ve heard there’s a lot of different whiskies, too. Let’s just look forward to the next time.”

“Now that you mention it, he did say that depending on the maker, the taste changes quite a bit, didn’t he? This will be fun.”

Hephaestos and Vahagn both looked at each other’s faces and grinned widely.

“Next time, eh?”

“Next time.”

These two seemed to be fully intent on asking for an insane amount of whiskey.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

*Shiver*

Suddenly, I felt a chill.

“W-What? I suddenly got the chills......”

It’s not like I’ve caught a cold or anything. I’m not feeling anything wrong right now, either. I wonder if it’s just my imagination?

While tilting his head in confusion, Mukohda dismissed it lightly, saying, “Well, it’s not like there’s anything wrong. It’s probably fine.”

The Disappointing Goddess Loses to Temptation

“Hmhm hm-hmmm, what should I have today~?♪” Like I was floating on air, I chose what I would eat from the otherworld for today.

“First is... this!”

My first choice was a shortcake that had a sweet-yet-slightly-sour red fruit on top called a ‘strawberry.’

“And first, a bite.”

*Chomp*

“Mfufufufu, so good! This white and fluffy cream and the white dough inside are out of this world~. Dorayaki is good too, but this strawberry shortcake or whatever is also delicious.”

As I expected, sweets from the otherworld are all great.

With those thoughts in my head, I tossed the red fruit that was on top of the shortcake and ate it.

“Mnnn~, delicious!”

This red fruit, ‘strawberry’ is so good, with its sweet-yet-slightly-sour taste. Fruits from the other world sure are nice. It might be good to ask him for some sweet fruits from his world next time.

With that thought, Ninrir continued to eat the cake.

“Mnuh... it’s finished. Uhhh, next is...... this!”

A confection with milk and eggs in it that is characterized by a gentle sweetness and an irresistible jiggly texture, pudding. At the bottom of the container, there is also a slightly bittersweet sauce that goes perfectly with it.

“It’s so jiggly, I love the feel in my mouth~.”

Repeating the action of scooping up pudding in her spoon and bringing it to her mouth, scooping again, to the mouth, and so on, the pudding was quickly finished.

“I can still keep going! Next is......”

While picking the next otherworld confection to eat, I remembered something said by my fellow goddesses. Kisharle said, “Didn’t you gain weight recently?” Even Agni said something similar. And as for Ruka......

“She poked my belly and said, ‘Boing boing!’ Grrnnnnnn, remembering it now is so infuriating! I am originally slender, you know! It’s true that recently I’m just a little, tiiiinnny bit more... expanded... than before, but it’s not as bad as they say!”

I’m telling the truth! I’m still okay!

“That’s that, so I’m going to eat one more. And it’s gotta be this!”

What I took in my hand was my favorite, dorayaki.

“Muhhaa—, it’s dorayaki! Dorayaki!”

I stuffed my cheeks full of my favorite dorayaki.

“Mnnnn! So goooood! Dorayaki really is the best!”

The fluffy and faintly sweet-smelling brown dough. And the red bean paste sandwiched between them. They’re both sweet, and one might think that the combination of them would be too sweet, but that’s not the case. It’s sweet, but it’s not the kind of heavy sweetness that stays in the mouth forever.

Dorayaki, you see, has a refined, mellow sweetness. That aspect of it has me in its clutches, and I can’t stop!

“Dorayaki’s always so good -- no matter when I eat it, I never get tired.”

The deliciousness of the dorayaki has me smacking my lips.

But......

“I’ve already finished it...... But it’s still not enough... I still want to taste those sweets from the other world.”

Just this much is a far cry from having me satisfied. Yes, let’s have one more.

As soon as I thought that, the faces of Kisharle, Agni, and Ruka came to mind.

“Mmnnnn, if I get fatter because of this I have no idea what they’ll say. I wonder if I should actually stop here. But......”

I can’t stop my eyes from drifting to the sweets from the other world, every time.

*Gulp*

......Even though I know it’s bad, I can’t stop staring. And, unconsciously, my hand is drawn towards the sweets from the other world.

As soon as I was about to touch those sweets, I came to with a start.

“N-No! No! I can’t!”

While I was telling myself that, my eyes were properly glued onto the sweets from that other world.

I still want to eat them, those sweets. But I’ll get fat. If I don’t hold back a little, Kisharle and the others will all say something again......

But I want to eeaaatttt!

After a few minutes spent in conflict―――

“Okay, I can just eat less tomorrow. So today, it’ll be fine. Now that that’s settled......”

Without hesitation, I laid my hands on a dorayaki, and... *Nom*

“Muhhaaahh~, dorayaki really is just the best! No matter how many dorayaki I eat, I never get tired of it.”

Good. So good~.

“Hah! It’s already gone! Good things sure disappear quick... Personally, I can still go for one more. Mnn... what should I do......”

I would have to think about it, but yes, let’s have another one.

“I can just eat less tomorrow, after all~. Today’s the last day I can enjoy these otherworld sweets until I’m satisfied, so I should enjoy them as my heart desires! And so, one more dorayaki.”

*Mgmg*

“Mnnn~, so good~.”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

In the end, Ninrir managed to scarf down a strawberry shortcake, a pudding, and a complete set of smooth red bean, coarse red bean, and chestnut dorayaki.

And the next day......

“T-T-Tomorrow! I’ll have less tomorrow!!”

It seemed like Ninrir once again just could not win against the temptation of sweets from another world.

Mukohda’s Cooking Class II

“Sir Mukohda, please, take care of us.”

The one who said that and bowed his head was the head chef and manager of the inn we were staying at. We had come to a fairly populous town that could be considered a middling city here. During our travels, I had wanted to sleep in a bed for the first time in a while, so we went looking for a town and found that we were close to this one by coincidence.

At least in name, I was a high-ranking adventurer, so for formality’s sake I went to report to the Adventurer’s guild, and there I was introduced to this inn by the guildmaster. Even just by looking at it, one could tell the inn was aimed towards a higher-class clientele. Though they allowed familiars, and figuring it would be fine every once in a while, I decided to stay, but...... I still got permission and ate food with Fel and the others in an inconspicuous spot in the backyard.

Still though, it seemed like I was caught by some sharp customers. Apparently, they had asked to eat the same thing, since it seemed so delicious. And those people were nobles, it seemed.

Nobles are basically, one and all, selfish people. But even so, the inn couldn’t just ignore these people, so that’s why the manager and head chef are both like this right now.

Even if they ask me that......

Essentially it looks like they want me to teach them how to cook the dish I made, but there’s no way I can teach them recipes using seasonings bought with my skill…

...I’ll just have to refuse them here.

“The food I make is probably going to be a little impossible due to the ingredients......”

When I said that, both the manager and head chef drooped down in disappointment.

“It’s true that you are an A-ranked adventurer, sir Mukohda... So you have some ingredients that would be difficult for us to obtain......”

The meat I used was just orc and cockatrice meat and stuff, but let’s just not correct them here.

“Still though, what should I tell baron Estrada......” The manager’s and head chef’s faces turned blue.

According to them, baron Estrada is a great fan of good food, and a friend and regular patron of the establishment. It seemed that the pride of this inn’s food were dishes that used eggs, and being able to enjoy a luxurious egg menu right from the morning was one of its selling points.

“Baron Estrada really took a liking to our food, and comes to stay regularly,” said the manager, seeming somewhat proud. The head chef was much the same way.

After all, to a regular person, an egg is a luxury they might be able to eat once a year, maybe. So just being able to eat eggs is a selling point, huh?

“Eggs, is it? If that’s the case, I can think of something.”

“Th-That’d be great! Even if it’s not the same as the one you made earlier, sir Mukohda, if we can serve baron Estrada something good that he hasn’t eaten before, then he will surely be satisfied! Head chef, the egg dish!”

“Yes!”

After a small while, I received this inn’s egg dish.

......Isn’t this just scrambled eggs? F-For now, I should take a bite...

...Yeah, it’s just normal scrambled eggs, so it’s not bad. But, it’s only got enough salt and pepper on it so you can tell it’s there. The flavoring is dull.

“What kind of egg is this?”

According to the manager, they have a ranch under their direct management that raises a monster named, ‘urcuckoo,’ and those are its eggs. Said urcuckoos are E-ranked monsters, and are weak enough to run just from seeing a human. They’re rather delicate monsters, and it seems like it's a hard job to raise it until it starts laying eggs, so the numbers of ranches that have them are small.

And exactly because this inn has its own urcuckoo ranch, they’re able to present egg dishes every day, or so the manager proudly told me, his breath ragged with excitement.

Well, it’s true that the egg itself has a rather strong flavor, so it’s not bad. It seems like the eggs would make a good omelet.

Not just an omelet though, an omelet with ground meat in it. And since there’s no ketchup, a fresh tomato sauce might be a good substitute.

“Okay then, I’ve thought of something, so I’ll teach it to you.”

When I said that, the manager and the head chef raised a cheer.

“I’m going to use meat. Do you have any?”

“Today, we have orc meat, bloody horn-bull meat, and rockbird meat.”

Then bloody horn-bull meat would be best here, I think. I should also get them to ready some onions, tomatoes, butter, and salt and pepper as well.

Butter and salt and pepper are luxury items, but this place is a high-class inn, so it seemed like they always had some on hand. When I asked for it, they got some ready.

~◇~◇~◇~

“First, grind up the bloody horn-bull meat.”

After mincing the meat with a knife to a certain degree, use two blades to keep hitting it, rendering it even smaller.

The head chef went, “Aah!” but I ignored him. It seemed like in this world, all good meat would naturally become steaks, so mincing bloody horn-bull meat is probably a heresy among heresies.

“Then, mince the oni- I’m sorry oneons.”

Here, they say oneons instead of onions, right.

After mincing the onions and meat, start making the sauce.

“Next, we’re making a tomato sauce. We’re going to be peeling the tomato skin...”

“Tomato skin? There’s no skin, though?”

The head chef looked at my face, clearly wondering what I was talking about.

So it’s natural to just use the tomato as is, huh? That’s fine too, but for making sauces, taking the skin off is far better.

I started by teaching him how to peel tomatoes.

Cut a shallow cross shape in the tomato on the opposite side of the green leafy part. Then, put the tomatoes in hot water, and then cold water once the skins start to detach.

Chop the peeled tomatoes into chunks, and after crushing them a little, boil them. Leaving some chunks with shape in them makes it better, so make sure not to crush them too hard. After that, adjust the flavor with salt and pepper to finish up the fresh tomato sauce.

“Next is the main part of the dish, the egg. We’ll be using the bloody horn-bull meat we ground up earlier.”

First, oil up a heated frying pan, then cook some onions until they become somewhat clear. Once that step is done, add in the ground meat as well as some salt and pepper for seasoning. Cook until the meat changes color.

Once the ground meat is cooked, leave it on a plate for now. Then comes the egg. Scramble the eggs, then add in the onions and ground meat that was left on the plate and lightly mix. After that, melt the butter in the heated frying pan, add the scrambled egg liquid along with the mixed inn onions and ground meat into the pan, and cook it. While it’s still in a half-cooked state, fold and shape the omelet into the normal omelet shape, and the dish is complete.

This time, instead of wrapping the ground meat in the egg, I tried mixing in the meat from the beginning. Since their prided egg dish is scrambled eggs, I thought that wrapping the meat might have been too high a hurdle for them.

I plated the finished omelet, and once I poured on the fresh tomato sauce......

~◇~◇~◇~

“The ground meat omelet with fresh tomato sauce is finished.”

When I served it to the manager and the head chef, they raised a cheer, “Oohh!”

“The combination of red and yellow colors is striking, isn’t it?”

“I wasn’t sure where you were going, grinding up a good meat like bloody horn-bull, but I never thought there would be cooking like this. I’ve learned something today.”

“Now now, try it.”

When I said that, both the manager and the head chef scooped up the omelet in their spoons and brought it to their mouths.

“Ohh! This is good!”

“Yes. I would never have thought that eggs and meat would match this well. Also, this tomato sauce thing is refreshing and adds acidity, which pairs really well with it.”

“How was it?”

“Yes, if it’s this dish, baron Estrada should be quite happy!”

When the head chef said that, the manager nodded in agreement.

“Sir Mukohda, thank you so very much for granting our unreasonable request.”

“I’ve also learned something today. Thank you very much.”

In exchange for teaching them cooking, not only were my inn fees waived, but I even received some urcuckoo eggs as well. That night, I ended up making ground meat omelets again, since I wanted to eat it.

The omelets that wrapped up a large amount of meat was delicious.

Along with the ground meat, I also added in a larger portion of onions, carrots, green peas, and other vegetables, so Fel didn’t like it as much, though.

Before leaving the inn, I asked the manager, and apparently baron Estrada very much enjoyed the omelet with fresh tomato sauce. He even asked for seconds.

Of course, it was added to the inn’s regular menu.

Battle Cooking

“Hello.”

In the Adventurer’s guild, I stood in front of and greeted Delphina, whom I’d become acquainted with well enough to recognize her face. Delphina wasn’t exactly beautiful, but she was cute in a simple kind of way, and it was really easy to talk to her.

“......”

It seemed like Delphina didn’t even notice that I was right in front of her, like she was checked out mentally.

“Delphina?”

“Hm? What?”

“In front of you,” said the receptionist next to her, twisting her head to show her where.

“Huh?”

Facing forward, Delphina finally noticed that I existed.

“Uaagh, Mr. Mukohda! Sorry for not noticing!”

“No, it’s fine. Are you okay? You look kind of exhausted.”

“N-No, I’m fine...... More importantly, what business do you have?”

Judging from Delphina’s manner, she didn’t seem to be as fine as she claimed, though.

Oh well, if she doesn’t want to say then I shouldn’t pry.

“I haven’t accepted any requests lately, you see, so I was thinking of doing one.”

I looked over at Fel and Dora-chan. Sui, as always, was inside my bag, sleeping.

“Oh yes, you’re right. you’ve sold a lot to the guild, but none of it was for a request, right?”

“Hahah! It’s all the result of Fel and the other’s hunting, after all.”

I sold a lot to the Adventurer’s guild, but it was all the results of my three familiars’ hunting, after all. Since that was the case, I figured it was about time to take a request.

“Okay then, I’ll go che-......”

As she said that, Delphina suddenly gave a start, jumped up, and grabbed me by the shoulders.

“A request! We have a request!!”

“Wai- Just w-wai- wai-, Delphina, what happened?!”

It was so sudden that I ended up panicking too.

“My request! Please accept my request~!!”

“C-Calm down!”

The receptionists next to us and I somehow managed to calm Delphina down, and she took a break so we could talk in another room.”

“To tell you the truth, I......”

According to Delphina, she was currently dating someone in the Merchant’s guild. And, it seemed like that person would soon be promoted from a regular employee to a manager. So, the two decided to celebrate a little, and it seemed like his wish was to eat Delphina’s home cooking.

Even though Delphina wasn’t especially good at cooking.

“You know, even I cook for myself, so I can cook normally! The problem is, no matter how you look at it, he’s better at cooking than I am......”

According to Delphina, who tasted his cooking, he’s at the level where he could open a restaurant right now if he wanted.

“But it’s just cooking, right? If he likes you, Delphina, then it shouldn’t be a problem, I think.”

As soon as I finished saying that, a mad looking Delphina banged on the table.

“What do you mean, ‘just cooking?!’ Just?! Cooking is important, you know! Especially to a normal girl like me!”

It seemed like Delphina worked hard to be able to cook as well as the next person. And, as soon as she got there, the person she liked......

“He was better than you at cooking...”

“Yes. You say that it’s ‘just cooking,’ but it’s really important. I have a friend that’s an elf, and because she’s an elf she’s really beautiful. But, she’s disastrously bad at cooking...... She got herself a good boyfriend, so everyone around her, including me, thought they’d go all the way and get married. But, one day he found out how bad she was at cooking...... She got dumped right after that. Apparently he said something like, ‘I don’t have the confidence to keep being with someone that only makes bad food like you.’”

Urgh~, marriage, huh? Yeah, I guess even being beautiful wouldn’t help if he’d have to eat terrible food every day. But it would have been just fine if that elf girl said that she’d do her best to learn how to cook…

When I said that to her, Delphina replied, “That elf girl, she looks the same age as me, but she’s over 70 years old. I feel a little sorry for her, but if she’s still that bad then there’s probably no hope.”

“So that’s how it is. Even a beautiful person will get dumped if they can’t cook! It’s even more true for a regular girl like me! I like my boyfriend. I know I want to marry him, eventually. So I can’t afford to be tripped up over something like this! Mr. Mukohda, I’ve heard rumors that you’re good at cooking. Please, teach me how to cook! I’m begging you! My marriage is on the line—!”

Delphina once again grabbed me firmly by the shoulders as she begged me.

“Please! Pleeeaaasseee!!”

“I-I get it! I get it already!!”

Delphina finally let go of me when I agreed.

“Hahh~, you know I’m not even that good at cooking...”

“Why are you being so humble? I’ve heard all sorts of rumors. Weren’t the sweets you’ve been giving out super delicious?” Delphina asked through rough breathing. It seemed like she was fully intent on getting taught by me.

“So, what kind of cooking?”

“Hmm — It’s gotta be meat, right? He likes meat. But I can’t afford really expensive stuff, though! I can’t buy something like an A-ranked monster’s meat. Also, something that’s easy to make but still delicious would be good. Something that looks fancy, too!”

Hey hey, that’s quite the hard request you’re making there. And I can’t use anything bought with my skill, since I’ll be teaching it to Delphina......

“Three days. Give me three days, please. Then I’ll teach you what you want, Delphina.”

“Three days! Don’t forget!”

Delphina’s celebration with her boyfriend would happen in a week, so I got her to wait three days. Delphina put pressure on me, saying, “My future depends on this, so three days, got it!?”

Hahh~, what a troublesome request I’ve ended up getting. Actually, I don’t even have a girlfriend myself so why did this even happen? Goddammit.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

Three days later―――

After arriving at the Adventurer’s guild, I was led to a meeting room on the 2nd floor by Delphina. What was inside shocked me.

“These people are......?”

A whole bunch of young women were crammed into the room, ready and waiting.

“They are all the unmarried women who work at our Adventurer’s guild. There’s also some adventurers who heard about it here too, though.”

Now that she mentions it, there are some familiar faces here and there. But......

“Is it really alright for everyone to be here? What about your jobs?”

“We’ve all already properly ‘asked’ the guildmaster, so it’s fine. We also got permission to use this place.”

......Somehow I’m hearing a different nuance to the word ‘asked,’ but I can’t bring myself to dig deeper. F-For now, let’s just move on.

“Uhmm... So everyone… came to learn cooking, is that right?”

“That’s right. There’s a huge difference in having a dish to make or not when the time comes, after all.”

The women gathered here all nodded fervently in response to Delphina’s words.

I-Is that so? Well, whatever.

Using these past three days, I somehow managed to think up a dish that could exist in this world that fulfilled all of Delphina’s wishes.

I tried making it myself once, and it was fairly good so I think it should do fine.

Now then, let’s start this cooking class.

“I’m going to set up, so could I get you all to open up some space?”

When I said that, the girls made space around me. There, I took out the magic stove from my Item Box.

“Hey, we will be taking a nap close by. Once you are done we will eat it, so do not forget our share.”

《Yeah. Don’t forget.》

《Sui will eat, too—.》

All three of my familiars spoke using telepathy.

“Sure, sure. I’ll make your share, too.”

So they care about the finished product, but don’t give even a millimeter of interest to how it gets there, huh?

Geez.

“Well then, make sure to watch me, okay? We’ll be making stewed cockatrice with fresh tomatoes. Please feel free to ask any questions you have.”

This world also had tomatoes, and they were actually called tomatoes here as well.

“For the ingredients, you’ll need cockatrice meat, smoked cockatrice jerky, tomatoes, oneons (a vegetable that resembles onions), jime shrooms (a mushroom that’s like shimeji mushrooms), garlic, and also olive oil, salt, and dried herbs.”

Smoked cockatrice jerky was just as its name implied: cockatrice meat, flavored with dried herbs and salt, and smoked before being dried for about three days. Unlike the hard jerky that adventurers carry around as rations, it’s not completely devoid of water, so its insides kind of felt like eating rare meat.

It put out a pretty good flavor, not unlike ham or bacon. I tried testing other smoked jerked meats, but since cockatrice meat would be the main part of the dish, this one matched the best.

Cockatrice meat and smoked cockatrice jerky were a little expensive, but it wasn’t impossible to get if you didn’t mind splurging a little. This much expense would be within the limits if you wanted to give the dish a special feeling, I think.

“Start off by preparing the vegetables. Mince the garlic and the oneons. Cut the tomatoes into chunks around as big as the tip of your thumb. Cut off the bottoms of the jime mushrooms and untangle them. After that, mostly mince the smoked cockatrice jerky like this.”

The women all watched seriously as I cut the ingredients.

“Next, open some holes in the cockatrice meat with a fork. Then, sprinkle on your desired herbs which have been cut finely along with some salt on top. While that’s happening, heat up a frying pan...... Once it’s warm, coat the pan with some olive oil, and start cooking the cockatrice starting with the skin side.”

I could hear the sounds of the cockatrice meat cooking throughout the room.

“Once the skin’s been cooked crisp and fragrant like this, flip it over...... For the other side, once it’s cooked a little brown like this, it’s done. Then, leave this cockatrice to rest on a plate for a while.”

I left the cooked cockatrice to rest on a plate that I had left by the side.

“Use the frying pan that still has the cockatrices fats and oils in it. Lower the heat first and once its cooled a little, add in the sliced garlic.”

After I said that and demonstrated it, once of the women raised her voice.

“I have a question. You lowered the heat here, but why not leave the heat as it is?”

“Garlic burns easily, and once it does the flavor becomes a lot worse. Lower the heat a little and cook it on a weak heat, please. Then, once the fragrance of the garlic is leaking out like this, add in the smoked cockatrice jerky and keep cooking.”

In addition to the fragrance of the garlic, the smell of cooking bacon also started to waft around.

“Once it starts to smell like this, add in the oneon and the jime mushrooms, please. Then, keep cooking until the oneons turn clear...... Once the oneons turn clear, return the cockatrice meat to the frying pan and add in the tomatoes before mixing it all together. Then, start stewing the whole thing in the tomato’s juices. After that, just be careful not to let the dish burn, and once the juices cook away and it becomes gooey, add salt to taste to finish the dish.”

Yep, looks like it turned out pretty well.

I served out some of the finished stewed cockatrice in fresh tomato on plates.

Then, I opened up the middle of the cockatrice meat, and poured lots of tomato sauce on top.

“Try serving it like this. Serving it with some boiled greens might also be a good idea for color.”

The women were listening intently to my words, so as not to let a single one slip.

“Now then, try eating some.”

I cut the cockatrice meat so that there was a portion for everyone and served it out so they could try it.

“So good!”

“So you can use tomatoes like this~.”

“Since tomato gets all loose and weird if you boil it too much, I thought it was just for heating quickly at the end.”

“It’s really good. So stewing things in tomato makes it this good, huh?”

...Is how it went. In broad strokes, the dish was received well.

“Okay then. I’m going to be making it again, so those who want to double check how it’s made please watch.”

“You’re making it again, Mr. Mukohda?”

Delphina asked, confused.

“Yes. If I don’t feed the ones outside, they’ll get mad,” I said, looking straight at my familiars who were napping in a corner of the room.

“Huh?! You’re going to feed your familiars food this good?” Delphina was surprised.

“That’s right. My familiars are really weak to good food, you see. They eat basically the same things I do. Of course, I’m always the one making them, though.”

“Whaa—t? To think they’re eating food this good...... Could it be, they’re living better than I am......?”

“Hahahah! If I were to get a girlfriend I’d feed her something better, though.” *Furtive Glancing*

Delphina was out since she had a boyfriend, so I tried appealing to the other single girls around, but......

No good, no one’s listening.

I guess I’m just not even in their ballpark huh......? *Disappears in a cloud of despair*

“That’s no good, Mr. Mukohda. Your cooking is even better than my boyfriend’s. It would be impossible for that person. They would never be able to show you their cooking, then. I’m struggling as it is.”

I was denied by Delphina.

God Damniiii———t!

In despair, I ended up making a huge amount of the tomato stew.

“Hm, the taste is not as strong as usual. But still, not bad.”

《Yeah, the taste is weak, isn’t it? But it’s still okay.》

《Sui also thinks the taste is weak... It’s good, though.》

I was denied by my familiars, too.

I mean it can’t be helped, right? I couldn’t use my skill to get seasonings!

After that, stewed cockatrice in fresh tomato spread among the single girls in town as a battle dish, I heard.

Kisharle, Charmed by Otherworld Skin-Care Products

“This is the face-washing foam, and this is facial lotion, and next is this milky lotion, and lastly, this cream.”

Kisharle lined up her newly obtained skincare products on top of her desk.

“The other world is so amazing, isn’t it~. They make so many things just for taking care of your face, after all.”

Kisharle looked on at the faint red containers lined up on her desk. And then, she took what she would be using first, the face cleansing foam, in her hands.

“The face-cleansing foam... It seems like I’m supposed to lather this up and wash my face with it, but would regular soap not be fine? I’ve been using soap this entire time, after all. Also......”

Kisharle picked up the facial lotion, the milky lotion, and the skin cream one after the other.

“After washing my face, it seems like I’m supposed to use each of these in order, right? Even though up until now I’ve just been using olive oil. It’d be nice if this fixes the dryness I’ve been worried about all this time.”

Given that the shampoo and hair treatment she got before worked perfectly, Kisharle had great expectations of otherworld products.

“At any rate, I won’t know anything until I try it after a bath.”

With the face-cleansing foam in hand, Kisharle entered the bath, leaving the other products on her desk.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

“Hahh~, that was a wonderful bath. That shampoo and hair treatment I got from the otherworld boy really does smell amazing.”

The scent of fresh flowers wafted from Kisharle’s glossy hair.

“The face-cleansing foam was also nice. My face’s dryness was still hanging on a little with the soap, but now it’s completely gone.”

Kisharle’s excitement for the following facial lotion, milky lotion, and skin cream was on the rise.

“Now then, let’s hurry up and try them.”

Kisharle picked up the bottle of facial lotion that was in front of her.

“Uhhmm, from the instructions that the otherworlder boy read for me, I need enough to fit inside one of my palms, and then I need to spread them between both palms before covering my face with my palms and rubbing it in slowly.”

Kisharle followed the instructions and applied the lotion.

“And I should also keep repeating this until my skin feels moist to the touch, if I remember correctly.”

After around three palms-full of the lotion......

“Yes, this feels about right, it’s quite nice. After that, I need to immediately apply the milky lotion while my skin still feels this way, right? It should be about this much......”

After taking up a portion of lotion about the size of an iron coin, Kisharle let it warm up a little in the palm before applying it to the center of her face and spreading it outwards.

“Wow! So applying this makes the skin feel even more moist! If just the lotions do this much, what happens after I apply the cream......”

With expectations and hope dancing in her chest, Kisharle took the lid off of the container of cream.

“Ehhmm, the nose, forehead, and both cheeks... And under the jaw. I need to put cream on those five places, and spread them out using both hands to cover the whole face... right...”

Kisharle followed the instructions and applied the skin cream.

“He also said to use extra at night, right? So, lastly, cover my face with my hands...good.”

Just as she was told to at night, Kisharle applied a little extra.

After finishing her skin care routine, Kisharle once again touched her own skin......

“Oh my? Oh myohmyohmyomyomy?”

Kisharle’s excitement skyrocketed after touching her own skin. The feel of it was so different from the usual. Her skin was moist and supple, springing back at her touch almost like a child’s.

“Just by changing the routine, it changes this much? My dry skin which I’ve been worried over for so long... it’s so moist......”

Kisharle once again tried touching her own skin.

“Ufu! Ufufufufufu...”

Kisharle’s mood only got better feeling her now moist, supple, and completely healthy skin.

“Still, the other world’s skin care products are so amazing~.”

After knowing this feeling, I can never go back to just olive oil. There’s just no way!

“I’ll have to take great care that I never run out of this, won’t I? Next time I’ll have to ask the otherworlder boy for more face-cleansing foam, facial lotion, milky lotion, and more cream again. The whole set! Ufufu...”

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next morning———

Kisharle’s excitement only rose, and was still getting higher.

“Ufufufufufufu, Who would ever have thought the effect would be this striking~. I wonder if it’s because I listened to that otherworlder boy and used extra cream...”

Looking at her own face in the mirror, Kisharle couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear.

It reflected an image of a perfectly composed, utterly beautiful woman with smooth and supple skin, as jiggly as a hard-boiled egg.

“How many years has it been since my skin has been doing so well? The skin care products from the other world really are so amazing~.”

Kisharle, who cared about beauty several times more than the normal person, sounded satisfied as she stared at the mirror.

“Now that I think about it, I wonder if this is all of the other world’s skin care products? It seems like there would be other good stuff. I’ll have to ask the otherworlder boy about that, won’t I~? Ufufufufufufu”

A Miracle, Even in a Dungeon

“Sorry, but we’re not talking. He’s our savior. Just take the hint already.”

After Mukohda and his familiars conquered the dungeon in Dolan, we were asked about Mukohda by the Adventurer’s guild in the name of investigation.

However, we refused to talk. Not a single word.

Inside the dungeon, in the 22nd floor, even. Damian suffered serious wounds in combat. Looking at those wounds, everyone thought that Damian was done for, though they didn’t say it.

To Mukohda, who saved Damian’s life, a life we all gave up on, we have nothing but gratitude to him.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The A-ranked adventurer party, “Tempest.”

Its members consist of me, the leader Jerome, Cyril, Julio, Damian, Francisca, and Vera: these six people. We are a six-person party of four men and two women.

Our selling point is our stable battle power using our six-man formation, and we are a fairly well-known party.

When we decided to dive into Dolan’s dungeon, not only I, but of course the entire party was filled with confidence and motivation. Especially since, after actually coming to Dolan, it turned out that we were the only ones to be able to advance past the 20th floor of the dungeon.

And so, our name spread through the dungeon city of Dolan, and we might have gotten just a little full of ourselves.

Our carelessness and pride brought about the worst situation.

Even though one should be expecting anything in a dungeon.

At that time, we were exploring the 22nd floor of the dungeon. Just that was a spectacular feat not accomplished since 43 years ago when the “Sunlight Brigade” stopped just short of conquering the whole dungeon.

Last time, we gave up exploring on this 22nd floor due to a lack of food, but this time we were fully prepared. Also, we had the confidence that we could get through anything.

Now that I think about it, that might also have been hubris......

When we entered the dungeon, we burst through to the 20th floor all at once, and from there we explored in order, and just as we had planned, reached the 22nd floor in 2 days. Continuing our exploration, we travelled the 22nd floor and after around half a day of exploration, I felt a slight discomfort, as if something was wrong.

“Hey, does anyone else feel that there’s more monsters here than before? Even if by just a little?”

“Certainly, that might be true, but this is a dungeon. Of course it wouldn’t be the same every time, right? It changes by a little every time, more-or-less.”

“He’s right. Also, we’re dealing with it just fine, right?”

“Yeah. You’re just too cautious, dear leader.”

Given my party member’s words, I thought that that might be true, and so I ended up no longer bothered by that slight feeling.

With coordination in such perfect order that even our breaths were in sync, we defeated trolls, minotaurs, and spriggans one after the other, and then we finally found our way to the boss room of the 22nd floor.

“Wha-......?! There’s three whole spriggans here!”

“There’s also a lot of trolls and minotaurs!”

Their numbers were clearly much larger than the last time we checked in on the room. The last time, there was only one spriggan, along with eight trolls and ten minotaurs.

But, now just the trolls and minotaurs themselves number more than ten each, and there were even three spriggans.

“No, this number isn’t impossible for us.”

“I agree. If it’s us, I think we can do it.”

“Right. We’ve been doing well on this floor. This boss room won’t be a problem.”

Even I didn’t want to just turn back after coming this far. With my party member’s words pushing me forward, we, “Tempest,” decided to challenge the 22nd floor boss room.

“Saaayah!”

“Hah!!”

“Guoohhh!!!”

My longsword and Cyril’s spear stabbed into the last spriggan. As we pulled out our weapons, the spriggan crumpled over.

“Ooohh!!”

“We won! We really won!”

“YEEAAaahhh!!”

“We did it! We did it!”

With the numbers being what they were, everyone was exhausted, but we somehow managed to defeat all of them. We raised our voices in celebration.

Even though we hadn’t actually defeated all of them. Behind us, as we were celebrating, exactly behind Damian......

“Damian! Behind you!” I shouted as soon as I noticed.

As Damian turned around......

*Zzsshh*

The minotaur that wrung out the last of its power to stand made a swing.

“Guaahh!”

Damian spouted blood from his flank.

“Damian!!......”

“You bastard!!”

Julio, who was next to Damian, beheaded the minotaur.

All the party members gathered around Damian.

Damian’s wound was deep, and his innards were falling out.

“A potion! Pour your potions on him!”

Francisca, who had an Item Box and was thus the caretaker of our party’s items, hurriedly took out a potion and poured it on Damian’s wound.

“It’s no good! Even a high-grade potion doesn’t work!”

“We have several spare middle-grade potions, don’t we?! Just keep using them!”

There was nothing we could do for him here, so for the moment I decided to bring him to the safe area in front of the boss room.

“Just bring him to the safe area!!!!”

“Hurry! Faster!!”

“Damian, hang on!!!”

“Where’s our potions?!”

“There’s none left!!!”

We’d made it to the safe area, but we also had already used all of our potions, and I thought that Damian’s life was all but over. After all, I thought that we were the only ones on the 22nd floor.

However, there was already someone there in the safe area.

Clinging on to hope, I called out to them.

“Hey, you! Do you have any potions?! I’ll pay, so if you have some share them with me!!”

In response to my request, the occupant, Mukohda, immediately handed over a potion. I took no time in taking that potion and pouring it onto Damian.

When I did that, Damian’s wound visibly started to close up.

I was so surprised.

Since even the high-grade potion that we had saved for emergencies didn’t help.

Reflexively, I asked, “Was that a special-grade potion?”

Though Mukohda claimed that it was just a high-grade potion that was stronger than normal. At any rate, Damian’s wound had closed up and his breathing was stable, so as soon as we confirmed that I breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, I thought he was done for. I think the other members thought the same, too. That was just how serious Damian’s wound was.

The fact that we were able to meet Mukohda in a dungeon, and the fact that Mukohda just happened to have a stronger than normal high-grade potion, everything that happened was basically a miracle.

And thanks to that, Damian was as fit as a fiddle.

Especially since, not only did Mukohda share that potion with us, he even treated us well after that.

I’m really thankful to him. I want to become a strong enough adventurer that I have enough leeway to take care of other adventurers like that too, someday.

First I have to fix our bloated pride and beat some guts into the party, though.

Confessions of a Dungeon Core

I am the dungeon core for the dungeon in the town of Dolan.

As yet, I have no name. It’s called Dolan’s dungeon, but my dungeon was actually completed first.

Because my dungeon was here, a town was built. Please don’t get that wrong.

Well, for now, that isn’t important.

What is important, though, is something that happened in the dungeon.

Finally, it was time.

The dungeon was captured———.

It was the one thing that I did not want to happen most.

I had thought that it would happen someday, probably. But honestly, I also thought it would happen in the far future. The dungeon that I had personally took great pains to build... I won’t say that it’s the hardest in the world, but it shouldn’t be wrong to call it a difficult dungeon.

And I had plans to mold it and make it even more difficult in various ways...

...When that party invaded my dungeon.

There was a human, and a stupidly huge wolf, along with a really tiny dragon and a slime. It was a party of miracles......

At first, I didn’t pay them any mind. My dungeon was popular, and every day lots of adventurers stopped by. Also, some percent of them would lose their lives in this dungeon, and become my sustenance. To me, the adventurers that would come daily were only delicious prey. And even so, when it came to that party......

On the same day they entered, before I knew it, they were already at the 22nd floor. Not only that, what the hell is up with that laid-back atmosphere?! Even though they’re in a dungeon, that party was enjoying a meal!! Do they want to say that my dungeon is easy pickings?

I was a little pissed off, so I put some extra monsters in their way.

But...... what the hell is up with their power?! The human aside, the stupidly large wolf, small dragon, and slime are so strong it’s unreal!

The stupid big wolf turns monsters into slices of meat with just a swing of its front leg, and even its magic causes sure death. Not only that, but it even uses Lightning magic, which is said to have the highest attack power of all the elements!

Even the small dragon… like, what the hell is up with that speed?! It even wraps itself in Fire magic to ram into things, and it also uses Lightning and Ice magic, too!

And that slime, what the hell is up with its attacks?! I’ve never heard of a slime that shoots acid! And what is up with the Water magic that slime uses?!

Water magic is mainly balls and stuff, right? Using Water magic that cuts things left and right like that is strange, right?!

Slimes are supposed to be weaklings, so what the hell is that slime?!

Hahh, hahh, hahhh... Oops, I couldn’t stop myself from getting a little worked up.

Still though, I think I got across just how impossibly strong that strange group is. Especially that stupidly big wolf, that small dragon, and that slime. That party just keeps traipsing through my dungeon like they’re on a picnic, taking regular breaks to enjoy food.

And finally, they stepped foot into the 26th floor. On the 26th floor of this dungeon, its form takes a drastic change. From the 26th floor onward, it’s my best life’s work, made just for housing strong monsters everywhere!

It’s a field type dungeon with lots of space, and of course all the monsters placed inside are strong. Especially the 28th and 29th floors. I took the opportunity after they’d been breached around 50 years ago to do a huge overhaul.

Before, the 26th to the 29th floors were all forest, but now the 28th is a swamp, and the 29th is a desert. Of course, they’re still home to strong monsters. Also, each floor’s boss are monsters specially hand-picked by me.

For the 26th floor, a huge snake monster that has powerful poison, the vaasuki.

For the 27th floor, the crafty and ruthless manticore.

For the 28th floor, a huge crocodile-type monster that can crush anything within its powerful jaws, Gustav.

For the 29th floor, a giant sand golem that has great resistance to both physical and magical attacks.

And, on this dungeons final, 30th floor, as the last bastion, the strongest monster that I can produce at the moment, a behemoth!

I probably shouldn’t be saying this myself, but it’s a perfect setup. As proof, this dungeon has never been conquered. But even through all of that… this party!!

They buried the 26th floor’s boss in an instant. Rather, it was a one-sided slaughter. Even against my special lineup......

It might just be an excuse, but it’s totally unfair for the dumbass big wolf, the small dragon, and the slime to all fight together! Just one would be almost too strong, but three of them together?! Of course it’d turn into a one-sided slaughter!

And finally, they got to the last floor boss, my strongest monster, the behemoth. Even with the three of them together, I thought that the behemoth wouldn’t lose easily.

But......

No way, man. Really, no way.

The three of them had ridiculous attacking power, and they came out swinging at the behemoth, pushing it back and never letting up. Even the behemoth, with its toughness as its selling point, wasn’t able to stand it and got sunk.

In the end, the final floor boss, the behemoth, was also beat up on one-sidedly. And that was how my dungeon was finally conquered.

It’s extremely frustrating, but there is something I learned from this strange group: that overconfidence is the enemy...

...And, that there are powerful existences that I still don’t know about, even with how long I’ve existed.

I made a resolution to use this experience as fuel, and expand and remodel this dungeon to be even stronger.

I will never let this place be conquered again. I’ll put in the effort, so that someday, this place will be known as unconquerable!