“”That way~””
Monsters occasionally appeared on the white cobblestone passage of the hidden route. We have advanced for a while now, but there have not been any changes from the fifth floor so far.
Just when we were founding this path a bit disappointing... a place that was slightly different from until now appeared.
“Oh? This place has a somewhat different ambiance from the locations up until now.”
“Indeed. It looks quite like a garden.”It was a hall a stone pavement, but there was vegetation growing everywhere, moreover, there was a water fountain in the center.
“Onii~chan.”
“There, herbs~!”
Allen and Elena who ran around the hall have apparently found an herb among the vegetation.
“Al-sama~”
“Can we pick~?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind.”“”Yaa~y!””
Allen and Elena properly got permission from Al-sama and began picking the herbs.
Since they have properly asked for permission, they must correctly understand that Al-sama is the big boss here.
“You two can tell apart medicinal plants?”
“”Yea!””
“This you see~ is Cantella.”
“That one, you know~ is Bletilla.”
When Kevin-sama approached Allen and Elena who were picking the herbs, the two began merrily explaining about the herbs.
Kevin-sama and the twins had warmed up to each other to a degree it would be hard to believe that Allen and Elena were vigilant at first.
That is a very good thing, but this room...——
“... N~?”
“What’s wrong, Takumi?”
“Al-sama, don’t you smell alcohol in here?”
“N? —— Yeah, you are right. It’s faint, but I do smell it.”
“I thought so. Is it that fountain then?”
This fountain is suspicious. Because we have found a brandy well in a dungeon before, it’s possible that alcohol comes out of this fountain instead of water. Well, the liquid is clear this time, so it’s correct to say that it’s not a brandy this time.
When I Appraised it, I found a surprising truth.
“Nippy Liquor” appeared when I appraised it, but the ingredient was White Wheat. So that means——
“As I thought, this water... it’s Nihonshu (Japanese rice wine), isn’t it?”
When I scooped it out with my hands and tasted it, the taste was nostalgic.
Still, “Nippy Liquor” ... cold sake? It certainly is cold, but... hot sake——does it mean that it can’t be drunk warm?
“Nihonshu? It’s my first time hearing about such alcohol.”
“Ah~ Nihonshu is how it is called in my birthplace. Its actual name is Nippy Liquor.”
“Hou, I had never heard of such liquor before.”
It’s a liquor made with White Wheat that is used as fodder, so it’s only natural that he did not hear of it before. Besides, he would absolutely not understand the term Nihonshu, to begin with.
Well, putting that aside, I have to secure this Nippy Liquor!
“Al-sama, do you mind if I fetch some?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind, but are you planning a drinking bout, Takumi?”
“I did not have a drink in a long while, after all. However, this can also be used in cooking.”
“Cooking, huh. I see now~ Let me see, I will give it a taste.”
When I began filling several casks I retrieved from my Infinite Storage, Al-sama got more curious about the Nippy Liquor and scooped a little in his hands to try.
“”Your Highness, wait a moment please!!””
However, before Al-sama could taste the Nippy Liquor, the voices of Najack-sama and Claudio-sama resounded around.
“What? We are in a dungeon, so there shouldn’t be a problem with a mouthful, no?”
“There’s a problem before that!”
“Please let us taste unidentifiable things first!”
Al-sama claimed that there’s no problem in trying alcohol that comes out of a dungeon, but the two knights had apparently stopped him for a different reason.
“Even though there’s no way there would be poison in something like that...”
Al-sama sighed deeply.
Having each and every action you take being watched... being a prince must be hard.
Moreover, the two spoke about poison tasting it for Al-sama, but both of them refuse to drink alcohol on duty.
“You two are so stubborn~”
There, Kevin-sama who returned to us scooped out the Nippy Liquor to taste while giving a sidelong glance to his two serious colleagues.
“Oh, this is quite something~ ——it’s my first time tasting something like this, but it’s a tasty liquor. Your Highness, I believe there’s nothing wrong with this liquor.”
Having Kevin-sama’s permission, Al-sama finally tasted the sake.
“Hou, this certainly is tasty.”
It appears he liked it.
“It’s tasty, but... do we have to return here to fetch it?”
“That would seem to be the case as we only have leather bags with water on us.”
“It seems like something Father might like, so I thought of bringing him some as a present~”
It seems that Al-sama didn’t want it for himself, but he wanted to gift it to Tristan-sama.
Tristan-sama was quite happy when I gifted him the brandy the last time. Does he perhaps have a taste for alcohol?
Kevin-sama seems to be a drinker too as he seemed disappointed.
“Then, I will fetch Al-sama’s share too.”
I retrieved more casks from Infinite Storage and fetched Nippy Liquor for Al-sama.
“Why do you have so many casks, Takumi!?”
“Why, you ask... for times like this.”
Aside from casks, I have prepared many jars, baskets, and wooden boxes. I have experienced many settings like this, after all. I would be brought to my knees if I did not have anything to store liquids in again.
“If you’d like, shall I fetch some for you as well, Kevin-sama?”
“Err, I would be happy about that, but... is that fine?”
When I asked Kevin-sama, he seemed to be a bit troubled.
Something about being on duty and stuff, perhaps? If you say it like that, then I am on duty too. Well, I did get permission from Al-sama, though.
“It wouldn’t be a problem if I fetched some for Najack-sama and Claudio-sama too, right? They have not sampled it now, but they must be curious about the taste too, after all~”
When I looked at Najack-sama and Claudio-sama, they awkwardly averted their gazes.
“Takumi, I give my permission so please fetch more.”
I received permission from the chuckling Al-sama. There’s no need to feel restrained anymore, so I fetched Nippy Liquor to my heart’s content.
“”Onii~chan.””
Just about when I finished fetching a large quantity of the Nippy Liquor, Allen and Elena returned with their hands full of herbs.
“Welcome back. Looks like you have gathered a lot~”
“”Yea!””
The two were presenting me their fruits of labor, so I patted their heads.
“What is.”
“Tha~t?”
Then, they got curious about the fruits of my labor.
“This? This is alcohol.”
“”... Uniyu.””
The moment they heard alcohol, Allen and Elena made sour faces.
It seems that alcohol caused them quite a trauma.
“What? What is this about?”
Seeing the children’s faces, Al-sama inquired.
“These children had tasted alcohol behind my back before and had a terrible time.”
“Hahaha~ so you did something like that!”
“”... Wasn’t delish~””
“Hahaha~”
Al-sama burst into laughter while holding his stomach.
It was not only Al-sama, but even the three knights were also giggling.
“”... Au~””
Frustrated from being laughed at, Allen and Elena clung to my legs and buried their heads into them.
“Look, the two got sulky because you all keep laughing at them~”
After that, Al-sama and others were trying to cheer Allen and Elena up.
With Al-sama’s appeal for the sake of the children, we took a snack break on which we enjoyed ice cream and then we resumed the capturing of the sixth floor.
After we resumed on our way, Allen and Elena defeated monsters such as lizards, bears, wild boars that gradually got larger in one hit, and we found the staircase leading to the next floor before long.
Following after that, we captured the seventh floor as well and we finished the capturing for the day when we found the staircase leading to the eight floor.
