Chapter 20 - Chapter 20: Defeating Monsters with Monster Katsu
I'm being followed by a strange female adventurer.
It seems she suspects I'm taking advantage of the girls since I have female guild members.
She said she's an acquaintance of a female staff member at the government office and was asked to do this.
I think it's completely unnecessary interference, but I can't get angry since they are acting out of concern for Sana and Ren in their own way.
Well, I have no choice but to ignore them, but if they get too close, there are side effects like not being able to use the Item Box or take photos.
Since they're in the way, I wish they would just disappear quickly.
"Haa... haa... I finally found you!"
The woman had come rushing, breathless.
We were on bicycles -- she was walking -- so that's how it is.
Maybe she didn't even think we would come up to the 4th floor.
"You followed us all the way here?"
"You brought the girls to such a floor!"
"They agreed to it, so it shouldn't be a problem? I'm the one doing most of the fighting and leveling them up."
"Stupid BBA!" "Don't get in our way! We're living off this!"
"Ah, aren't you guys being deceived?! Making you dress like that!"
The woman criticized Sana's low-cut robe.
"I chose and wore this myself for my video site!"
"W-well, it's not commendable for young girls to do such things..."
"None of your business!" "Yeah! BBA is annoying!"
"Uu... I'm not a BBA..."
The woman was flustered after being shot down by the two girls.
They are really living off this.
Sana especially has to earn money not just for herself but for her old man and younger sister's food.
"BBA is annoying."
"I'm not a BBA!"
At Ren's words, the middle-aged woman flew into a rage.
You shouldn't hit the core point like that.
You should wrap it in cotton wool...
Well, from their perspective, she is sufficiently a middle-aged woman, so it is an undeniable fact.
"BBA is persistent, BBA is useless."
Before I knew it, a line from a certain anime came out of my mouth.
"Shut up! You're an old man too!"
"I know I'm an old man, and I don't deny it."
"Uuuu..."
I don't care about this kind of middle-aged woman.
We have our own things to do.
This time, it was only Hobgoblins.
Hobgoblins are truly the worst of the worst.
They are only dangerous and don't yield money.
In the end, we took down a total of six, earning 100,000 yen per person.
Well, 100,000 yen a day means 3 million yen in 30 days -- it's good earnings compared to normal jobs, but is this price fair when risking your life?
If you let your guard down, you get injured, and there's even a possibility of losing your life.
Healing magic and potions exist, but if treatment isn't in time or it's instant death, they are useless.
Fed up with Hobgoblins, we decided to retreat.
That woman was still wandering around us.
"W-wait a minute!"
A stop came from the nuisance.
"No, why should we wait? We have nothing to do with you?"
"Isn't it okay if you help us?"
"Huh? Follow us on your own and ask for help -- I don't know you."
"Don't say things like that! Dungeons are about helping each other, right?!"
Annoying -- she's my most hated type.
I might consider it if she were a gentle woman, but I saw her true nature just now.
"There's an elevator and a train over there. Just ride them to go back."
I pointed toward the brightly lit direction.
"It costs money!"
"I don't care. You have a certain level, right? If you take down even one Orc, you can easily cover the fare."
"Am I supposed to do it alone?!"
"Of course, right? I did it alone."
"There's no frontliner, so a mage shouldn't be able to fight, right?"
"I don't know..."
Since it wasn't getting anywhere, I decided to ignore her and go back.
The girls agreed.
Because it has nothing to do with us.
If the other party were a pitiful girl, I might consider it, but she isn't a girl.
"Well then."
"You inhuman!"
"Why? That's a terrible thing to say."
"What's with that guy?"
Ren was also dumbfounded by the woman's attitude.
"Well, just in case -- it seems she came out of concern for you two..."
"Annoying!"
"Doesn't she think I'm deceiving young girls?"
"Daisuke-san isn't that kind of person."
Sana trusts the old man too much.
The woman just now, regardless of age, had a decent figure, but those kinds of people are usually nuclear landmines.
"Ahaha, thank you."
Mixing into the darkness, I took out the bicycle from the Item Box.
Going is easy, but returning is scary; the slope between floors on the way back is troublesome.
I can go up the slope with high-level power...
"Ren leveled up too, so maybe we can go up the slope?"
"I'll try it!"
"I'm counting on you."
She lifted her white thighs and got on the mountain bike.
"Ah! Amazing! We can go up easily!"
Since the level has gone up, leg strength and stamina must have increased too.
It's truly convenient.
"Good. Then let's go back by bicycle."
"Yes!"
I got on the bicycle too and put Sana on the back.
Even with two people, I can go up the slope steadily.
No electric power assist needed.
Physically it's no problem, but if I put too much load on the bicycle, it might break.
I have to be careful about that.
We proceeded smoothly inside the dungeon and returned to the entrance hall.
As usual, we got off the bicycle a bit early and stored it in the Item Box.
The girls hid their figures by pulling their robes deep over their heads.
"...?"
I thought it was the usual entrance hall... but something was buzzing.
"What is it? It feels like something is buzzing." "What? A strange feeling."
"I don't know -- but let's Google it later."
"Yes."
We went out of the dungeon.
Checking the time -- it's past noon.
"For now, can we stop by the government office? We have to complain to that staff member."
"That's right."
That woman might have acted out of good intentions, but the girls agreed, so we headed for the government office.
Entering the office, we went straight to the window where the female staff member was.
"Hey, I want to make a complaint."
"Ah..."
She seemed to remember me.
That's natural.
She sent that kind of woman after all.
"Using an acquaintance of a staff member to spy -- isn't that mixing private and public affairs?"
"B-bu..."
Sana attacked the staff member who tried to dodge the words.
"If we are allowed adventurer registration, doesn't that mean we are recognized as adults?"
"E-e-yes."
"If so, shouldn't we be able to do whatever we want without being told this and that?"
The female staff member lowered her head at Sana's words.
"I'm sorry -- I was thinking of you."
"None of your business!"
Being told clearly, the woman became dejected.
Adventurers who came to the office were staring at us.
I added one word too.
"Please contact her and tell her not to follow us anymore."
"Y-yes, understood."
Well, I don't want to make a big fuss either.
"Get the manager out here!" -- I wanted to say that, but if that woman disappears, that's enough.
"You two, let's go back to the inn."
"Yes." "Okay!"
"Well, let's go back and make curry."
"Yay!"
Ren jumped up.
"I get that Mio-chan will be happy..."
"But Daisuke Curry is delicious! Ehehe."
"That's right -- maybe they're selling Katsu at the stalls..."
"Got it! Katsu Curry!"
"I want to eat it too..."
Sana seems to agree with Katsu Curry too.
Mio probably likes it too.
If it's sold in the Special District, it might be monster Katsu, but the taste isn't a problem.
It has no weird taste, and I feel it's more delicious than normal meat.
Speaking of which, I remember there was fried food sold at the shop where I bought tortillas before.
Let's buy it there.
The three of us head toward the stall's butcher.
"Wa, there's so much~" "Looks delicious!"
"We have money, so let's stock up."
"Yes." "Yay!"
"Oh?! You're a customer who came before."
The shop owner seemed to notice me.
"Huh? You remember me?"
"Yeah, you were a rare person who asked various things about meat. I remember you well."
"Haha, sorry."
"It's fine! It's natural to be curious about what you're eating."
"That's right."
"Actually, I think it would be strange not to be curious."
Here, we buy a large amount of meat and fried food.
Even if we buy a lot, we can just put it in the Item Box.
Plus, it's hot whenever we take it out.
Is time completely stopped inside the storage, or does time flow slowly...?
I put cameras in with the switch on, but there's no change in time -- or rather, even if a few seconds or tens of seconds pass, I can't tell, it's like an error...
Since lunch isn't done yet, I'll buy the tortillas here again.
It was delicious before.
I order about 10 servings at once -- I can just put this in the Item Box too.
We can't use the Item Box in the city, so we all carried the luggage back.
Once we stuffed all the luggage into storage, we were about to head to the roof, but we were stopped.
It was Ren.
"What's wrong, Ren?"
"Daisuke -- when I checked the status just now, I learned the Warm magic."
"Really? Good job."
"Ehehe."
"Ah, maybe you can make curry with that magic?"
"Seriously?"
"Since it doesn't use fire, maybe we can cook here..."
"Then let's try it."
For now, I decided to take out the cassette stove and cook on top of it.
I feel like magic might work even if placed directly on the mortar...
But I feel like the floor getting hot would be bad.
"By the way, let's remove the cassette gas canister for safety."
It would be a problem if it exploded from being heated by magic.
I take out a huge pot from the Item Box.
There's a little curry left, so I transfer it to a plate.
I can just store this as is -- back into the Item Box.
"Does this pot get clean with magic?"
"I'll do it."
Sana also has Clean.
She spreads newspaper on the floor and casts magic on the pot.
"Clean!"
As blue light soaked into the pot, the curry solidified and flaked off the pot.
There's no sticking or anything like that at all.
This is the power of magic.
"Seeing it like this, magic is amazing."
"Yes. It's sparkling."
"Even the blackened bottom of the pot becomes sparkling?"
The curry that fell below was wrapped in newspaper and put back into the Item Box.
We can throw it away when we enter the dungeon.
Since the pot is clean, I put in the meat, but since I'm hungry, I proceed while eating tortillas.
This is lunch.
"Heat it up."
"Yes -- Warm!"
The meat turned white and sizzled immediately.
"Ooh, amazing! What about mana consumption?"
"This much is easy-peasy. But if I heat a lot, it might be bad."
"~, I can't use magic."
Since the meat is cooked, I put it in a bowl, and now it's onions.
I chop about four whole ones and throw them into the pot.
When I ask her to heat it with magic again, it turns fox-brown immediately.
What a time-saving cooking method.
"This is delicious!" "Yum!"
The two girls are biting into the tortillas I handed them.
"It was delicious when we bought it before. He said he gets good meat."
"That's right."
While eating, I fill the pot with water and put in potatoes.
These potatoes were peeled by everyone before.
I ask her to heat this pot with magic, but this time there's a lot of water -- what will happen?
"Muu! Warm!"
After a few tens of seconds, the water started boiling vigorously.
Amazing, even with this huge pot, the water boils in a few tens of seconds.
Instant kettles pale in comparison, but Ren looks a bit tired.
It seems she gets tired after heating for a few tens of seconds.
"So it consumes mana?"
"I don't use mana, but it might require a bit of concentration."
"Is that so?"
For now, I try sticking chopsticks into the potatoes, and they are already cooked through.
When heated by fire, heat spreads gradually from the outside, but with magic, it seems the heat enters evenly everywhere.
This is the difference here.
"It smells so good now~"
The ingredients are boiled, so I put back the meat I fried earlier and chop the curry roux taken out of the Item Box and throw it in.
If I just drop it in, sometimes it doesn't melt completely and stays solid.
"Curry is made like this..."
Sana is staring at the curry pot.
Not having seen how to make curry is a bit pitiable.
It means she hasn't even seen her mother standing in the kitchen.
"Haha -- well, there are various ways to make it depending on the person, so searching on the net is good too. I've always used this method..."
"~, it's completely curry now."
Ren is sniffing near the pot.
"Let's leave it like this for a while. Even with magic, the flavor won't soak in."
"Haa~, I want to eat already..."
"You just ate tortillas."
"Maybe my stomach is hungry because of this smell."
"I think you're eating too much. They said magicians use calories."
"My stomach gets hungry, so even though I have no money, I spend money on food..."
Speaking of which, I leveled up too, and as my stamina increased, my food intake increased.
It's not that much if I don't move much, but if I fight excessively, it seems I need calories for that.
After all, energy doesn't just appear from nowhere.
I put the finished curry in the corner of the room and close the lid.
That's right, it's not just curry.
I have to cook rice too.
I take out another pot and put in rice.
I take it to the place with the washbasin and wash the rice.
It's a bit concerning hygienically, but it will be cooked, so it should be fine.
When I return to the room, I soak the rice in water for about 30 minutes.
"Well -- what happened at the entrance hall just now? Let's Google it..."
While at it, I charge my smartphone.
I take out a mobile battery from the Item Box.
"Um, Daisuke-san -- can I ask you to charge it?"
Sana handed me her smartphone.
"Oh, sure."
"Huh?! Can I too??"
"Sure~"
"Yay!"
Ren happily hugs me and connects the charging cable.
"Muu!"
Seeing that, Sana looks a bit unhappy.
"Well, since you're guild members, don't hesitate to ask."
"Yes."
I Google the net, but there were no articles like that.
"Where do you charge this battery? Here?"
"No -- we all stay at the hotel. Since electricity is unlimited, we charged it then."
"So..."
Ren is fidgeting.
She wants to stay at the hotel too, but she can't bring herself to say it clearly.
"Of course, next time we stay, Ren will be with us -- ah, but then it might be a triple or quadruple room... it'll be quite expensive."
"W-well, maybe I should stop..."
"No, it's fine, right? We've earned enough."
Today, even with the worst Hobgoblins, we earned 100,000 yen per person.
"Yay! Thanks Daisuke~!"
Ren hugs me again.
More than that --
"Umm, no news about anything causing a commotion. Maybe it hasn't spread on the net yet."
"That's right."
Sana is checking the net too.
Soaking the rice is finished, so I start cooking.
In my hometown, soaking rice is called "urukasu", but it seems some places understand it and some don't.
"Warm!"
Cooking rice with magic -- surprisingly, it finishes in a few minutes.
This is amazing.
There should be less water.
The scent of freshly cooked rice fills the room.
Well, the rice is ready, so let's edit the videos until dinner time.
The highlight this time is the girls' magic.
Those will be uploaded to their video sites.
Since it's valuable footage of magic combat inside the dungeon, it might go viral.
I cut out the video shot with the action camera.
It's captured well.
It has quite a bit of impact.
"Look, Sana, it's captured well."
"Amazing!"
"It's probably the first video of attacking monsters with magic, this one might go viral."
"Yay!"
"I wish..."
Ren envies Sana jumping up and down.
Attack magic is definitely flashier and looks better.
"How about filming a scene of boiling water with magic?"
"There are many of those..."
That's right.
There are many videos of magic usable outside the dungeon.
It seems many people shoot that video first after becoming adventurers and gaining the ability to use magic.
"Then how about healing magic?"
Searching the video site, there are quite a lot of those videos too.
It's common to hurt your own hand or arm or get injured inside the dungeon and heal it with Healing magic.
After all, there are many videos of magic used outside the dungeon.
Until now, cameras couldn't be used inside the dungeon, so viewers are starving for dungeon videos.
To go viral, you have to supply what the other party wants to see.
"Haa..."
Ren sighs.
"Well, well, you might learn attack magic someday -- like Fireball."
"Huh? Fireball? I'd prefer others..."
Fireball doesn't seem very popular on the front lines.
Even if the magic hits, it doesn't kill instantly, and the monster runs around raging while burning.
Eventually, they suffocate or suffer severe burns to their lungs and trachea, but since they can't stop the enemy's movement, the evaluation is low.
Also, if the prey gets burned, it loses value as material.
It's a magic that can only be used against worthless Goblints and Hobgoblins.
It's inevitable to be treated as a worthless magic.
"It seems that at high levels, even normal Warm magic can be used for attack."
"Is that so? It's impossible unless you're a very high level."
As Ren said, you need magic power enough to boil the huge pot used for curry in an instant to use it for attack.
If you can do that, you could take the enemy's life instantly.
It's lonely that Ren's channel has no videos even though she's a guild member.
I proposed recording a healing magic video -- the subject is me.
I hurt my hand and heal it with magic.
Just that would make it a plain video, so I record it on Ren's thigh.
This should differentiate it -- hopefully.
First, I film Ren's seated thigh sufficiently, then insert my cut hand there and use magic.
"Heal!"
When she uses magic, the blood flowing from my wound stops immediately, and the wound closes before my eyes.
"~, I've never seen it up close, but it's amazing."
"Since the level is low, I think it's impossible to heal major injuries."
Potions, the cheap ones, can only heal simple wounds, so that's how it is.
Otherwise, the meaning of levels would be lost.
Anyway, what is a level? That aside.
Gods or demons created the dungeon and manifested a place that bends the laws of physics.
It's pointless for us to think about things science can't prove.
It might disappear eventually, but for now, we have to think about surviving by using this.
Since Ren's video is done, I uploaded it to the site immediately.
"I hope both of your videos go viral."
"That's right~" "Yes."
"It's all thanks to Daisuke-san that we are doing well."
Sana bowed her head.
"Well, well, as an old man -- I can't stand seeing young girls struggle."
If I didn't have the luxury, I would think about it too, but I have the luxury of being high level.
And at my age, it wouldn't be strange to have children like them...
"But nothing good happens to Daisuke-san..." "That's right!"
"It's better to have some warmth than an old man diving into the dungeon alone and fighting grimly -- hahaha."
While talking, Mio returned from school.
"Ah! I smell curry!"
"It's ready there, let's eat it in the evening."
"Yes!"
"What a good answer."
"Ehehe."
Mio has a beaming smile.
I listen to Mio's stories from school and play with her.
"Daisuke! Look, look!"
Ren shows me her smartphone screen and hugs me.
It seems this girl is close to people.
"Ah! Mio too!"
Seeing Ren hug me, Mio jumps into my place and occupies my lap.
"Muu"
Seeing the two of them, Sana looks a bit unhappy.
"Hehehe, Sana should hug Daisuke too."
"Should Big Sister get a hug too?"
"I'm not going to do that..."
While doing peaceful things, the sun tilted -- dinner time.
I take out tableware from the Item Box and prepare the meal.
When I take out the bought Katsu and cut it, the sound of the crispy coating cutting reflected off the mortar walls.
I put that on a plate with rice and pour curry on top.
Monster Katsu Curry is complete.
"Wow~ Looks delicious!"
Mio's eyes shine.
"Well, let's all eat."
"Thank you for the meal!!"
"Delicious!"
As expected, the first to speak was my younger sister.
"It's delicious, hahaha."
While everyone is drumming their tongues on the curry, the door was knocked.
"Who is it? Is it the inn's middle-aged woman?"
I open the door, and the one in front of my eyes was that woman I left at the dungeon.
She looks quite tired and exhausted.
"Curry!"
The woman pushes me aside, barges into the room, and sits in front of the pot.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
What is this woman?