CH 184

Grown adults are shedding tears without even hiding them.

All I did was cut fruit from those trees…

Are they really that good? It’s not just one person, it’s several people that are reacting like that.

Wait, you too Siphon? Yuno is basking in its afterglow too.

Well, I was hesitant to try it at first, because of how it looks. I probably wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t see the big smile on Hikari’s face.

“I’m pretty sure these are the ones the guild asked to pick.”

Says Murok while chewing.

“Are they really that good?”

“I think so. Maybe we’re not that moved because we’re kind of used to them, or maybe it’s just because we eat other tasty things too.”

Says Chris.

Hikari says cake is better.

“They could just post a quest in the adventurer guild.”

“But there aren’t that many people that come here, right?”

I hear Fred and Siphon talking. You two heard about the quest too?

I stare at them, and they look away.

This field really is a pain. Monsters appear in packs, and unless you get lucky and find the staircase, you need to be prepared to spend at least three days here. It’s especially annoying for this country’s adventurers that are used to dungeons and have a hard time camping in wide open spaces.

Although this is a dungeon, we spend a few days exploring the forest, and the miners start acting more and more strangely.

I’m not the only one who notices, and when I ask one of the miners about it, he gives me an answer I wasn’t expecting.

“This is a wide open area, right? When you spend a long time in mines, you get used to closed spaces, and feel more relaxed there. We don’t like this kind of place very much.”

They really should’ve said that before, but some of the adventurers nod along. Have they been corrupted too?

Could it be that the reason why floors that are multiples of five are unpopular is actually… The tenth floor is pretty open too, but is that one different? Maybe I should talk to Leila about this.

After we’re done eating, it’s time to take turns keeping watch. We have a lot of people with us, but we can’t make the miners keep watch, so we have less leeway than it looks.

Having to be on the lookout for all directions makes the fifth floor a lot more exhausting.

We make three teams of five or six, but out of the sixteen adventurers, eight are girls, so the matching causes some complaints.

There are three girls in Fred’s group, including Yuno. The two I don’t know are new members, who left another party.

This camp is pretty big, so instead of sitting and staying alert, we move around like we’re patrolling. If it was just us adventurers we wouldn’t have to be so vigilant, but we settled on this because we have to protect the miners.

Sitting by ourselves would make us drowsy, so this also helps us stay awake.

I guess we’d even fall asleep standing up if we were that exhausted, but I don’t think we’ve been moving around that much.

By the way, I’m in a six person group. I haven’t fought in front of the miners, so apparently they feel less safe with me in a group with less people. Fred tried to tell them it’s fine, but they weren’t convinced.

I really am just the cook here.

After a while, Fred walks over my way.

I see he’s here, and move to a different place. We do this to make sure no one’s asleep.

It does stave off the sleepiness, but I get the feeling that moving around like this only makes things harder. It’s not that bad though.

Our turn lasts about three hours, and then we switch. From what I see on Map it looks like the monsters are sleeping. At the very least, they’re not moving. It would be different if we stepped into their territory, but they’re not coming all the way out here just to attack us.

We wake up early the next morning. I make breakfast, and then we’re off. I think someone else could take over and make it for a change. Of course, some people help, but they leave all the seasoning to me for some reason. And they mouthed off so much on the first day too.

Our exploration of the fifth floor ends on the sixth day.

When we find the staircase to the sixth floor, the miners shout with joy.

Everything was going too well until this floor. They probably weren’t expecting to take this long on a single floor.

Fred realizes this, and asks Murok to explain to the miners how it’s going to be from this point forward.

We got here pretty quickly, but the further down we go, the more difficult it gets. We need to make sure they understand this, or it might be dangerous for them.

It’s too soon to be worrying about that, but there are traps starting from the eleventh floor too.

“Well then, good job everyone. Should we continue three days from now?”

Fred asks, just to check.

“Yes, we’re kind of in a hurry too. And we’re pretty confident in our stamina, so we’ll be fine if we get a nice rest in an inn.”

Right next to Murok are other miners yelling about booze.

“With that much energy, you guys could make it all the way to the tenth floor.”

Says Murok, and I see their shoulders tremble.

“And what are you people going to do now? We’re having an afterparty. Wanna come?”

I think about it, but as soon as they mention there’s going to be good food, Hikari starts saying she wants to go, so we’re going. Maybe I’m too soft, but oh well.

When I heard about an afterparty I pictured them going wild and drinking, but it’s more about enjoying the food while reflecting on our guard work this time.

This world doesn’t actually have rules about how old people have to be before they can drink, but no one in our party drinks. In Fred’s group, the girls had a drink with the guys, but then switched to fruit juice.

As for the food, there’s more than just the strong type of food that adventurers tend to like, and it really is good.

I particularly like the steamed rock bird meat.

“Still, you really are good at cooking, Sora. And you use storage magic too. That’s something I’d love to have in my party.”

“…I heard from Fred that you can use more magic too. You could make it as an adventurer.”

“Yes. And he carries himself pretty well. He’d probably be good at fighting close quarters too.”

Siphon and Geitz catch me and start talking about me. Siphon’s face is getting red, and he suddenly stops talking.

“That name, Sora. I knew a guy with that same name, so I started talking to you like I know you. Sorry about that. I guess it’s the same for him, because he doesn’t usually talk that much.

Siphon says.

Rurika and Chris are listening in with worried expressions on their faces.

I think it might get weird if I ask how that Sora was, so I don’t. I don’t want to step on that landmine.

Siphon gets black out drunk pretty quickly for a change, and that ends the afterparty. I thought Yuno would get mad, but today she just gently watches over him and warns him.

“Well then, see you in the guild in three days, Sora.”

Says a slightly tipsy Fred as we leave.