Chapter 218:

Chapter 218:

Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Rest

A large clay pot is on the fire, bubbling with a delicious aroma.

"Alright... it looks about ready. Come on everyone, it's late but let's have dinner."

When the lid is opened with a flourish, white steam billows out, making everyone even hungrier.

"Wow~ It looks so good! I'm starving~!"

"Really, it looks delicious~"

"Mom! I'll get yours for you!"

"Oh, thank you, Ruu."

10 PM. After a long day, we're finally gathered around the pot at our food supply house for dinner. Tonight's menu is scorpion hotpot.

"Fuu~! Fuu~! Mm... hot hot!"

"See, that's what you get for rushing. Here, Machi, have some water."

Serai-san, who worked hard to drive away the monsters, is eating heartily. She's about to burn her mouth on a hot meatball, but Nina-san steps in to help.

"Mmm... it's really tasty!"

"Isn't it great? Coach is good at cooking too, Mom."

Ruu's mom, who first tasted the soup from the bowl Ruu served her, is smiling happily. Glad to see it suits her taste. Well, it's not so much that I'm good at cooking, it's the special salt we're using.

When we got home, Ruu turned pale because her mother was missing. But Ruu's mom had been next door, feeling lonely by herself. Thank goodness she's safe.

.....

And now, we’re having a somewhat eerie meal under the dim light of a fire wand. This is because the apartment building was hit by a fire.

As a result, the electricity, gas, and water are all out. Oh, by the way, I turned off the main gas valve by opening the machine room door. Leaving it leaking would be dangerous.

The water was usable for a while but soon got cut off.

Because the electricity is out, the booster pump stopped working, and the elevated water tank ran dry. It seems everyone tried to secure water at once due to the disaster.

"Mm~! This thick soup and meatballs are the best match~!"

"Machi, you need to eat your vegetables too. We don't know when we can get back to our normal life."

Yes, Serai-san seems to really like the scorpion hotpot. It looks just like a chicken meatball soup, despite the name.

This hotpot is made with coarsely chopped giant red scorpion meat mixed into a paste and made into meatballs, which are cooked with tofu, onions, and cabbage in a salt-based thick soup. So, Ruu's mom eats without any worries. Though I haven't mentioned it's giant red scorpion meat.

Of course, before cooking, we used aura psychometry and patch tests to confirm it's safe.

And the mucus created by the skill is also safe for the human body. With the water cut off, this is our only way to secure drinking water.

We are quite fortunate. With my mucus and all four of us having the acid skill, we won't have trouble finding water.

Especially since Serai-san and the others, being women, have been creating mildly acidic lotion for skin care with their acid skill. Impressive dedication to beauty.

Ruu wanted to express her gratitude for helping her parents. Though I could have said, "Don't worry about it," it seemed Ruu wouldn't be satisfied unless she did something. So, I decided to let her clean my ears.

I mean, a massage would be fine too, but with the size difference between Ruu and me, having the smallest one massage the largest one felt wrong.

Besides, Serai-san has been volunteering to give massages lately.

Serai-san seems to have a bit of a sadistic side, as she presses on the spots where I react, saying things like, "Does this feel good?" and then persistently digs in. When she says that and keeps pressing, it's unbearable. Ahem, what am I even saying? Excuse me.

Following Ruu in her combat suit, we head to her room.

Yes, we're both in our suits. It's an emergency, after all. We're not relaxed enough to take off our gear just because we're home. Plus, it wouldn't be fair if Ruu was the only one in casual clothes while the others stayed suited. But inside, we’ve removed our head and arm parts.

"Coach, please come here," Ruu says shyly, sitting on the edge of her bed with a towel on her lap. Her cuteness makes me want to jump on her, but I restrain myself. If I did something like that before she starts cleaning my ears, she'd probably get really mad.

"Okay, please."

I slowly get on the bed and lie sideways, resting my head on Ruu's thigh.

"Alright, I'll start cleaning your ears..."

With a mental sound effect of ‘Buppigan!' the ear cleaning begins.

[Rustle, rustle... Scratch, scratch...]

"........."

Hmm, this feels nice...

It's a pity it's not on bare skin, but even this situation is very relaxing. In Akihabara, these places apparently charge 3,000 to 4,000 yen for 30 minutes... Actually, having a beautiful girl in a combat suit clean your ears is a special experience that can't be priced.

"Coach?"

"Hm?"

"Your ears are very clean..."

"Really? Oh..."

Actually, during skill training, I tried ear cleaning with my mucus.

I let slime-like mucus enter my ears without blocking the hole, increased its viscosity to grab the earwax, then pulled it out, cleaning thoroughly.

"Well, I tried cleaning my ears with mucus a while ago. I couldn't tell, but are they that clean?"

"Yes, there's no need for ear cleaning..."

Oh no, Ruu's tone dropped. This isn't good.

"No, no! Your ear cleaning feels really good and is very relaxing! Even if they're clean, could you please continue?"

"Really? Okay!"

[Rustle, rustle... Scratch, scratch...]

Phew, she seems to have cheered up.

Yeah, having my ears cleaned feels nice.