CH 200

Episode 200 – The Starting Morning

TL Note: Sponsored chapter (1/3). Thanks so much for your support, KrazeyK! With the release of these 3 sponsored chapters, we will officially be caught up to the most recent released raw chapter. After this, there will no longer be daily releases and the release rate will become 1 chapter every 3-4 days. I won’t be accepting sponsored chapters anymore, but any donations to express your appreciation are always warmly welcomed. Enjoy!

It was the next day after discussing our party’s course of action in the cafe. Today was the day that we would finally dive into the Dungeon.

Yesterday, I had completely finished my preparations and had completed the upkeep of my equipment. I did some light exercise to wake myself up, then got dressed in my well-maintained gear. Just as I finished energetically slapping my cheeks to get myself fired up, a knock resounded at the door.

“Yes, what’s the matter?” (Lewin)

“Breakfast is ready!”

After I replied to the knock, I heard Ruth’s cheerful voice on the other side of the door. It seemed she had come to tell me breakfast was ready.

“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be right there.” (Lewin)

I got myself ready to leave the inn directly after eating breakfast, then set off towards the dining hall.

It was still early in the morning, so there was no one else in the dining hall of Ponpokotei. I was alone in the middle of this vast space… and it made me feel kind of extravagant. Plus, the dining hall was permeated with a nice, spicy smell.

“Ah, you’re here, Lewin-san! It’s ready. The curry you asked for yesterday!” (Ruth)

“You really made it! Sorry to make you cook my portion separately.” (Lewin)

“Not at all! Besides, you already paid us for it, and it was my mom who made it. I didn’t have anything to do with it!” (Ruth)

As a matter of fact, I had been negotiating with Ruth’s mother to see if I could get her to make me Dumbbell Weed curry, since the Dungeon attempt was about to begin in earnest. She thought it was a pretty absurd request considering how bad Dumbbell Weed tasted, but she was readily accepted nonetheless.

“I see. Then I’ll have to give my thanks to Ruth’s mother. Where is your mother right now?” (Lewin)

“Oh, she’s making breakfast for other guests right now, so she’s in the kitchen… But Mom seemed happy to have a new recipe, so you don’t have to thank her! More importantly, why don’t you hurry up and try the curry?” (Ruth)

“Ah, if she’s in the middle of cooking, I won’t go and cause her any more trouble. I’ll take you up on that and give it a try.” (Lewin)

…Okay, here we go. As far as our conversation went, it seemed that neither Ruth nor her mother knew what curry was, so I was a bit worried. But regardless, it still looked and smelled just like curry. In fact, it looked even better than the curry that I had been making nonstop for the past year.

All that’s left is to taste it… After savoring the smell of the curry to my heart’s content, I slowly brought the curry to my mouth.

“―Huh…? Y-Yummy…? Why is it so…delicious?!!” (Lewin)

As soon as I put the curry in my mouth, I imagined the intense, latent bitterness of the Dumbbell Weed. But instead of bitterness, I only tasted umami and sweet flavor profiles within the dish. I finished chewing and swallowed, without experiencing the slightest bit of bitterness.

“…Hey, Ruth. Not that I’m doubting you or anything, but did your mother actually put the plant I gave her into the curry?” (Lewin)

“Errr… that super duper bitter plant? You strongly emphasized it at that time, so of course we put it in, Lewin-san! Even Mom had a hard time getting rid of that intense bitterness!” (Ruth)

It was so delicious that I had to make sure, but it turned out this curry was unmistakably Dumbbell Weed curry.

This is amazing…

All of the food at Ponpokotei was exquisite, but for them to even be able to make Dumbbell Weed taste this delicious…

“Hehe. You’re surprised, aren’t you Lewin-san?” (Ruth)

“Honestly, I’m super surprised. No matter what I did, I was unable to get rid of the bitterness… Your mother is incredible, Ruth!” (Lewin)

“Yup! I’m proud of my mom!” (Ruth)

When I looked around after arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild, I saw Aruna, who must have arrived before me. I came much earlier than the promised meeting time, so I didn’t expect Aruna to be there even before I was. Maybe… Aruna also might have been nervous.

“Good morning, Aruna-san. Did I keep you waiting by any chance?” (Lewin)

“Nope. Just got here.” (Aruna)

“That’s good then. For a moment I thought I kept you waiting.” (Lewin)

“It’s okay.” (Aruna)

“In that case… It’s still a bit early, but shall we go to the reception desk and meet up with Rosalie?” (Lewin)

I greeted her lightheartedly, but she didn’t seem to be nervous or overly excited. The meeting time was pretty loose, so she probably just happened to arrive early.

In everyday interactions, Aruna’s personality made her feel somewhat unapproachable, but in situations like this, she seemed extremely reliable. Feeling that Aruna’s lack of emotional highs and lows as usual was actually rather dependable, I headed for the reception desk.

After the usual exchange with the receptionist lady, Rosalie came out from the back room immediately, as if she had been waiting for me beyond the door the whole time. Unlike Aruna, I could tell at first glance that Rosalie was pretty nervous.

“Good morning, Rosalie-san. I’m looking forward to working with you today.” (Lewin)

“G-Good mo― morning. L-Likewise, looking forward t-to it.” (Rosalie)

Just like yesterday, she was stuttering magnificently and her face was so red that it looked like she was about to burst. At the preparatory meeting at the cafe, I thought she had more or less gotten used to us… But right now her gaze was swimming about awkwardly, and she was trembling.

…But even with this seemingly unreliable appearance, according to yesterday’s talks at the cafe, Rosalie had gotten as far as the 42nd floor, and she belonged to an A-rank party at the time. Moreover, she also said that she was the deputy leader of that party.

To be honest, I was still a bit incredulous that Rosalie, who was always as stiff as a board, had not only reached a deeper floor than the [Azure Alliance], but was also formerly at a higher party rank. The fact that Rosalie was a Guild employee was the best proof that she wasn’t lying, though.

Well, for us, a strong addition to the team was always a very welcome and reassuring presence. But in case trouble stirred later on, I wanted to be able to accurately gauge her strength. I hadn’t been able to get a good grasp of Aruna’s strength either, so today was the day for us to figure out each other’s abilities.

I wanted to hurry up and put Tobias’s information to good use and gather Dungeon-specific plants… But I absolutely couldn’t get impatient.

Let’s make sure to leave plenty of time to share information and figure out the parts that we can’t just figure out through talking alone.