Dungeon of Precious Stones Again (3)
"Arri~ved at~"
"The third floor~"
We took a lunch break along the way, but we reached the third floor by snack time.
"... You really never get lost, huh?"“”Is amazing?””
"Amazing. It's so amazing that it's oddly strange!"
“”He said is strange~””
Even when called strange, Allen and Elena laughed it off.
"I know I’m the one who said it, but is it really something to laugh about?"
“”It's good to laugh~"”
The children didn't seem to mind at all.Well, being strange should mean "different from normal," so it's not an insult. In fact, it's an accurate description.
"Well then, in response to Dill-san's expectations, let's smoothly go through the third floor, shall we?"
“”Smooth going~””
"No, wait! I don't have any expectations, so let's just go normally!"
"Dill, no need to hold back, you know?”
"I'm not holding back!?"
Not just me and the children, even Kaiser teased Dill-san with words… No, maybe Kaiser was making a serious remark?
"Now, which way do we go?"
“”That way~"”
"Huh, are you listening? Hey, are you listening to me?”
“”We're listening~"”
"Dill-san, we're going~"
"Wait a minute!? Are you really listening to me?”
"”Come on, let's go~"”
Seeing Dill-san, who was flustered and not moving, Allen and Elena went behind him, pushing his back to force him to start walking.
"Mhm, Dill, are you tired?―Takumi, wouldn't it be better to satisfy your hunger?"
"Isn’t that just you asking for snacks?"
"Umu."
“”Will eat snacks~””
It was a snack request using Dill-san as an excuse.
"Alright, alright, what do you want?"
“”Hm, you see~... that!””
"Do we have crepes?"
"With choco and Nana fruit!"
"Crepes... oh, yeah, we have enough for the current number of people."
There were just enough chocolate banana crepes for everyone.
"We should make more when we have time~"
“”Will help~””
"You know, making a lot~"
"With various flavors~"
"Hahaha, I see. Well then, let's make them when we leave the dungeon."
““Yeah!””
It seems they're fully committed to making a large quantity. Well, if I bake the crepe shells and have the children add cream, jam, and fruit before wrapping them up, mass production should be easy.
"Lunch was delicious, but this is tasty too. Are both made by yourself, Takumi?”
"Yes."
"Amazing. However, neither seems like something you'd eat inside a dungeon, right? They're more like something you'd find in a fancy restaurant."
"They're just things I made for fun. But I'm glad you appreciate them."
It's nice to be praised in a straightforward manner.
"However, even if you have a magic bag, normally you'd carry some portable food, right?"
"Well, ordinary equipment can be so bulky, after all~"
As the food gradually diminishes, I think it'll be replaced with loot, but considering bringing spare weapons, mining tools, magic tools, and such, the capacity of a magic bag is limited. The longer the expedition, the more compact the food needs to be.
"Do you know about instant soup, Dill-san?"
"Oh, that portable food that's been on the market recently? That's good stuff. Can't have it for every meal, but it's great to have when you really need it."
The price per serving of instant soup has been kept relatively low, but there are still costs associated with magically processing it. If you switch from things like hardtack and jerky to instant soup, does the cost per meal still end up being higher? Honestly, I've never bought hardtack, jerky, or instant soup, so I wouldn't know~ Oh, come to think of it, they mentioned that instant soups come in different flavors depending on the country, aside from the classic ones~
"I heard that different countries have soups with different flavors. Do you know what flavors are sold in this country?"
"It varies by country? I didn't know that~"
“The ones I know of from Guardia are, um... egg soup, cabbage soup, sausage curry soup, and kikibi soup. There might be more now, though."
"The first three seem similar. But I don't know about kikibi soup."
"Those three were common products at the start, and then each country introduced new ones."
"So, the clam soup is a product made by this country?"
It seems like the Regillus Empire has an original product, clam soup.
"Oh, clam soup. That sounds delicious too."
"Sounds delish~"
"Wanna try~"
"Right. When we get back to town, let's go buy some."
“”Let’s go~””
I need to remember that.
"You can find it at the Dungeon Management Headquarters."
"Oh, really? Thank you."
Instant soup is sold at government-run shops, and since the Dungeon Management Headquarters is a national facility, it's a logical place to sell them there.
"Oh, you’d like, I'll give you the kikibi soup, Dill-san?”
"I'm interested, so let me buy it."
"I'll give it to you."
"No, I'll buy it. I absolutely will buy it!"
"Can't you stop saying, 'I absolutely won't accept anything for free!'?"
Perhaps still influenced by the recent incident with the Ruby Branch, Dill-san strongly insisted on purchasing it.
"If I give in even one, it seems like I'll have a tough time later, so I absolutely won't stop!"
"......"
Dill-san didn't waver from his stubborn stance.
“”Oniichan, Oniichan~””
"What's up?"
"”Something's strange here~"”
"Huh?"
While Dill-san and I were talking about instant soup, the children, who had been leading the way and defeating monsters, seemed to have found something.
"A wall? Does that mean there's a hidden room?"
"Huh? I've never heard of a hidden room on the third floor!"
"Kids, is it this wall?"
""Yeah, this one~"”
"Alright, wait a moment."
Kaiser rotated his arms and forcefully punched the wall. The wall crumbled and something came out from behind it.
"Mu? Something came out."
"Is this a joke!?"
It wasn't a hidden door that emerged; instead, several palm-sized marble-patterned tiles were attached to the wall.
"What's this?"
"Well... it looks like marble, stone tiles. They're usually used for walls or floors in houses."
"”Can use?””
"Hmm, I wonder? They're often used by laying many of them out, so having a small number might be limiting. Oh, but you can place them sporadically on a wall like this one."
“”Hmm~ is kinda strange~”
"... Well, it’s not exactly strange."
Since I couldn't clearly indicate their practical use, it seemed the children lost interest.
"Well, for now, let's collect them."
“"Yeah~"”
If we find more tiles somewhere and gather enough, they might come in handy for something, so we decided to collect them just in case.
