Formerly the Villainess, Now an Adventurer!

“Mm, what a great morning!” I exclaimed with a big stretch while climbing down from my bed. I couldn’t stop smiling as I looked around my RV, which had become quite a bit more spacious than before.

This RV was an actual recreational vehicle, which I could summon using my intrinsic skill.

This world, which was one of a video game, had two types of magic: elemental magic and intrinsic skills. I was born under the element of darkness, but I couldn’t use any magic. I wasn’t sure if this was to make up for that or what, but...I could use the intrinsic skill RV Summon. It was an incredibly rare skill, and I hadn’t seen anyone aside from myself who could use it.

Currently, my intrinsic skill was at level 10. The RV I summoned had been a camper van built out of a relatively small vehicle, but now I could summon the typical RV you’d see on TV. This was a standard kind of RV known as a Class C vehicle.

It was now a lot more spacious inside, which had instantly made living in here more comfortable! The only downside was that this Class C version of my RV was larger than its camper van form, which meant I could transport lots of things with me, but it was difficult for making tight turns...

I turned my bed back into a table and seating, then headed to the changing area right beside it. The sliding door that led there had a noren curtain hanging in front of it, just like a public bathhouse in Japan. When you entered, there was a mirror to the right with shelves beside it. I always got ready here, since I kept my clothes in these shelves.

I used the shower to quickly wash my face before getting dressed, and left the RV. Currently, we were in a grassy field southeast of Kokoshka. The view was great and the skies were blue—it was a fine day for camping.

It was early summer, and the green of the fields shone brightly. Eating meals outside felt great too. It seemed like it wasn’t getting too hot, so we could lounge comfortably outdoors.

Suddenly, a delicious smell wafted over from somewhere. There’s no way I wouldn’t be hungry after smelling that...

“Oh, you’re awake. Good morning, Mizarie.”

The source of the delicious smell was Raoul, who was preparing breakfast for us outside. Ohagi was also there, perched on his shoulder.

“Good morning to you two!”

“Mrow!”

These days, Raoul took care of breakfast, whoever was free took care of lunch, and I took care of dinner. But I spent most of the day driving, so Raoul often handled lunch as well.

“I just finished making breakfast. After we eat, we’ll train.”

“Yes, sir!” I enthusiastically responded.

“Mau!”

Raoul handed me breakfast: bread, salad, a sunny-side up egg, and a sausage-and-vegetable soup. After eating, we began training. Lately, this was our daily routine since we were currently preparing to clear a dungeon.

Our objective in clearing a dungeon was to obtain an elixir! We hoped to use the elixir to heal Raoul’s left arm, which he could barely move.

Raoul had originally joined us when he was injured and I helped him out, but adventuring together turned out to be incredibly fun, and now I considered us a three-member party: Ohagi, Raoul, and me.

And so, it was time! To train!

Though we called it “training,” it was just Raoul teaching me the basics, now that I’d become an adventurer. He was teaching me essential information, like where to camp outdoors, about terrains, and about what plants and monsters I could gather and hunt. I didn’t know anything about fighting because of my aristocratic background, so he also taught me how to move my body, and how to wield a weapon.

I knew about some things from back when I’d played the game, but none of that knowledge had actually been put into practice. Because of that, even if I understood how some things worked, they didn’t go as I expected them to.

On a complete sidenote, I started my training sessions with stretching exercises! I spent a lot of time driving the RV, so if I didn’t take care of myself, my body would get tense really easily. I now took adequate breaks, and spent every day learning about how important it was to move my body... Also, for an adventurer, not having a full range of motion for my shoulders and legs could be fatal!

After I finished my stretches, Raoul mumbled, “Maybe we’ll try actual combat today...”

“What?!” I exclaimed. “Even though I was just practicing how to use a dagger against you until yesterday?! I think it’s way too soon!” I shook my head vigorously, and Raoul laughed.

“I won’t make you do anything too crazy. You’ll just fight a slime. Even you’ve defeated a slime before, right?”

I fell silent. I hadn’t.

As I averted my gaze, not saying a word, Raoul’s eyes widened with surprise. “You’ve never even taken down a slime? What are you, a noble lady?”

“Ha ha ha, that would be crazy,” I said nervously. Since that crazy notion was totally true, I’d gotten a little spooked.

Monsters existed in this world, and slimes were the smallest of the small fry—even children could take them down. Thanks to that, it was a common belief in this world that anyone could defeat a slime. The only monster I’ve defeated is the leaf goblin I rammed with my RV...

Ohagi had actually taken down a slime before. It took one swipe of her vaunted claws, demonstrating that while she was a cat, Ohagi must be an incredibly strong cat. I knew you were special.

Still, I was about to head into a dungeon. They were likely filled with monsters incomparably stronger than slimes. I couldn’t fall behind because I was afraid of a mere slime.

“I’ll do my best, Raoul, so...let’s do this!”

“Y-Yeah!”

Armed with the bay laurel dagger dropped by the leaf goblin, I steeled myself to fight a slime.

The bay laurel dagger felt heavy in my hand while holding it to fight a slime. It was much heavier than when it just hung off my belt.

I took several deep breaths over and over, trying to calm myself down. It might just be a lowly slime to Raoul, but for me, it’s the first monster I’m fighting—the grand slime!

“You’ll be fine. Slimes are weak,” Raoul reassured. “Just relax your shoulders and swing your dagger a few times. That’ll be enough to defeat it. Actually...a stabbing motion might be better than a slicing motion for you, Mizarie.”

“Stabbing...” Perhaps as an attack, that was a better approach. But it feels like there’s a taller mental hurdle to overcome with stabbing as opposed to slicing... Still, I was about to go into a dungeon and fight. I couldn’t afford to be whining. I psyched myself up with an “All right!”

Just then, a slime emerged from the shadows of the grass. You could’ve waited a little longer to show up, I thought in spite of my resolve.

“Mrow, maaau!”

“You can do it, Mizarie!”

Ohagi and Raoul cheered me on. In order to live up to their encouragement, I kicked off the ground and ran toward the slime. As a beginner, I felt that the key to success was to push myself and just do it. Actually, that’s the only way I’ll be able to do it!

“Yah!” I thrust the hand holding the dagger forward, and it slipped past the slime’s right side. I-I missed! “Ugh, so embarrassing...!”

“It’s all right, Mizarie! Don’t worry about it. Keep stabbing until you hit it!”

“Mrow mrow!”

“O-Okay!” Yeah, it’s normal to fail on your first try! I thrust the dagger toward the slime once more with a “Yah!” This time, I stabbed it right in the middle! “Yay!” All right, time to go for the second hit... Just as that thought crossed my mind, the slime turned into particles of light and disappeared. “Huh...?”

As I stood there shocked by how quickly it was over, Ohagi jumped onto my shoulder with a joyous “Maaau!” She then proceeded to rub her head against my cheek.

“You took it down, Mizarie! Congratulations!”

“Yeah, thanks! But...I thought it would be a bit more of a struggle, so I was surprised.” Slimes are a hundred times weaker than I expected!

“Oh, it might be because of that,” Raoul said as he pointed at the weapon in my hands. “That dagger’s a lot better than the ones you can find at any old market. It’s obviously much higher in attack power, and it’s pretty durable too.”

“I see!” The bay laurel dagger in my hands was an item dropped by a leaf goblin, a strong enemy. There was probably a world of difference between this and a regular dagger. Thank you, my dear dagger! I beat the slime thanks to you! “I’ll have to take good care of it.”

“Yeah. I’ll show you how to clean and care for it later.”

“Thanks!”

I was worried about facing a dungeon, but perhaps we’d be able to enter one sooner than I’d thought... My excitement grew a little more.

We leisurely drove farther southeast, and day turned to night. We were still driving through a grassy field, and parked the car right there.

I hummed a tune as I prepared dinner under the star-filled night sky. I was sitting in a chair in front of the fire with a small cutting board on my lap, where I was wrapping blanched asparagus in pieces of pork. Mmm, I haven’t even cooked these yet and they already look delicious! I lightly sprinkled the pork-wrapped asparagus spears with salt and pepper before placing them in my skillet and bringing it over to the fire.

The campfire was built with the stones placed creatively around it so that I could set my skillet on top. Raoul was the one who had built it! Next to the skillet was a small pot where I was boiling chicken for Ohagi.

As I admired the sizzling sound and smell of meat cooking, I used a branch to roll out something I’d placed inside the fire. They were potatoes, which I had placed inside wrapping leaves. I placed pats of butter on top of the cuts I’d made earlier, and with that, it was done: simple butter potatoes.

“Mmm!” The smell of the butter melting entered my nose without any resistance, spreading throughout my body. I could eat these right now, I thought with an internal sigh.

“Wow, that looks delicious!” Raoul exclaimed.

“Maaau.”

Perhaps enticed by the delicious smells, Raoul and Ohagi exited the RV. Raoul brought out some bread with him.

“It’s almost ready,” I said. “That bread looks so good too!”

The pork-wrapped asparagus had just finished cooking, so I portioned out spears of it and the butter potatoes, and handed Raoul his plate. Then, I pulled apart Ohagi’s chicken by hand, making it easier for her to eat.

“Mrow mrow!” Ohagi begged as if she was rushing me to prepare her food. It was so adorable, and I could honestly just watch her forever...but I couldn’t do that.

“Here you go, Ohagi.”

“Maaau!” Once I placed her dish in front of her, Ohagi’s tail began wiggling as she ate. The way she desperately chomped at her food was so adorable, I couldn’t help but smile. Time for the humans to eat too.

Raoul and I sat beside each other, and I gave my thanks for the meal before starting with the butter potatoes. The butter had melted a perfect amount. I blew on it a few times to cool it down before taking a bite. The fluffy texture and richness of the butter that had seeped into the potato filled my mouth.

“Mmm!” This is so good. Definitely a win!

Raoul gulped as he watched me take a hearty bite, and quickly dug in.

“Augh!”

“Of course it’s hot...” I said. You can’t underestimate how devastatingly hot a steamed potato can be! I quickly poured water into a cup and handed it to Raoul. “Here, drink some water. You’ll feel better.”

“Hank you...” Sounded like Raoul’s mouth was still too hot to speak right, at least not immediately. “Phew, that really helped! It was hot, but it’s really good!”

“Glad you like it!” I said with a chuckle while stabbing the pork-wrapped asparagus with my fork. The juices of the meat flowing out and aroma of the asparagus whetted my appetite. “Mmm, yum!” It was great on its own, but I wanted to try another way of eating it. “Tear the freshly baked bread and put the pork-wrapped asparagus...right in there!”

“You’re eating it with the bread?!” Raoul watched me, his eyes wide and filled with envy, but I ignored him as I chomped down.

The juices from the pork seeping into the bread were as delicious as any sauce. And the crunch of the asparagus was a great textural addition.

“It’s so good, I could eat a million of these!”

“Me too, me too!” Raoul quickly ate one of the pork-wrapped asparagus spears, and his face relaxed into a grin as he mumbled, “I’m so happy.” He then finished the butter potato, blowing on it as he ate. “It’s unfair how delicious this is for just being a potato with butter on it. The pork-wrapped asparagus is also good in a new way when sandwiched between bread...”

“I totally get it,” I said.

Complicated dishes were of course delicious, but just steaming something and topping it with butter was enough to make a delicious dish. It was one of the mysteries of cooking. Well, it’s also knowledge gained from those who came before us. Thank you to all the people who’ve developed easy, delicious recipes! I prayed to the strangers who’d preceded us.

“Let’s have it again some time,” I suggested.

“Agreed! I could probably make something like this too.”

“I’m excited for future breakfasts!”

“Leave it to me!” Raoul said as he pounded his chest. Breakfast just got even more exciting.

Camping is the best, I thought as I leaned further back in my chair, enjoying the meal as I stared at the fire. Watching the flames sway made me feel at ease for some reason.

It would be nice if I could spend my days like this forever. With that thought, the day came to an end.

≈≈⛟

I was giving it my all doing practice swings beside the RV, as I did every day, while Raoul was looking at a map, lost in thought. Could he be planning our next destination...? That act made it feel like we were really adventuring, and the corners of my mouth naturally turned up. I’m even fired up for my practice swings!

“All right... Let’s go to this dungeon today, Mizarie!”

“Yeah, okay— Wait, today?!” The sudden plans for today left me super surprised. I mean, I did think that we could go to a dungeon sooner thanks to the bay laurel dagger, but still... “I’m not mentally ready yet!” I said with a grimace.

All Raoul did was chuckle in response. No, no, no. This is no laughing matter. “The dungeon we’re going to is where adventurers just starting out go, so it’ll be okay. Right, Ohagi?”

“Mraaawn.”

“Ohagi?!” Is she taking Raoul’s side...?! Though I was shocked by the betrayal, Ohagi was a slime-defeating super cat. Perhaps a dungeon was no big deal for her...

Raoul laid out the map, and as I glanced at it, Ohagi jumped onto my shoulder. So cute.

“We’re currently in these grassy fields southeast of Kokoshka, right? If we go east from here, we’ll reach a town called Labyrinth City. There are a few dungeons near there, so we should make it our home base for a while.”

“Labyrinth City!” It sounded so fantasy-like that it was enticing. “If there are a bunch of dungeons nearby, it must be huge.”

“Yeah, they sell a lot of things, and there are loads of people too. I’ve been there a few times.”

“Wow...!” I’m getting even more excited. According to Raoul, we’d be able to reach Labyrinth City today, and he was thinking we could stop by the beginner-friendly dungeon on the way there. “I see... By the way, can people just enter dungeons freely?” Places like dungeons could be managed by the kingdom or the adventurer’s guild.

“The kingdom and adventurer’s guild are aware of and manage the dungeons, but I don’t think there are any restrictions or anything. The only thing is, there are several dungeon-related job requests at the guild, so most people accept jobs before going to a dungeon.”

It seemed that there weren’t any issues. The only thing to look out for was that the adventurer’s guild assigned ranks to dungeons, so it was best to enter one that matched your own rank. I’m grateful they do that, since it’s useful for weak people like me to gauge what we can handle...

“Should we accept a job at the adventurer’s guild before we go to the beginner dungeon, then?” I mean, we could get a reward if we accept a job first, right? That would definitely be better.

“Well, even though it’s a beginner dungeon, it’s really, really beginner-friendly—like somewhere children go to test their strength—so there won’t be any job requests.”

“I see...” Though it sounded a little pathetic, a dungeon that kids went into was probably the perfect level for me. “I can’t lose to the kiddos!”

“Right.”

“Mau!”

I’m gonna do my best so I can eventually visit my first real dungeon!

My First Dungeon

And so, I drove the RV, heading for the dungeon. The warm early summer weather made it possible to roll down the windows and let in refreshing air. Going on a drive is the best!

Since we were driving through grasslands, we rarely ran into people. But with my navigation system, I could also see where any people were located, so I was avoiding them as much as possible.

I still wasn’t able to avoid everyone, and people were astounded when they saw us. I would pop my head out of the window and say, “It’s my skill—I’m sorry for surprising you!” That would make them nod in understanding.

Still, a dungeon, huh? Now that I was thinking about how this would be my first ever foray into a dungeon, I was starting to get nervous. Will I be okay? Will I be able to fight? What should I do about lunch and snacks? Is there a limit to how much I can bring?

“Mizarie, you look intense,” Raoul pointed out.

“Mau?”

“Huh?!” Sounds like I had been driving with a serious look, and Raoul was waving while going, “Are you okay?” Yeah, I’m totally tense...!

“I’m just getting nervous about the dungeon...” I explained.

“That’s a surprise! You’re always so relaxed,” Raoul said with a laugh.

I puffed my cheeks. “You might be used to combat, but I’m a beginner, through and through! Of course I’m nervous!”

“But you’ve already taken down a leaf goblin,” he said.

“That was different!” I had basically run it over with my RV, so that didn’t count.

Just then, a question popped into my head: could I use my RV inside the dungeon? Now that I think about it, I’m not that familiar with what’s inside a dungeon.

“Hey. Raoul,” I called out. “What’s the inside of a dungeon like? Can I drive inside one with my RV?”

“Drive inside a dungeon...?! Well, I guess that makes sense. It’s your skill after all.” It makes sense...? Raoul mulled over it with a groan as he began explaining his thoughts to me. “I don’t think using it will be an issue, but if there are a lot of people or narrow pathways, it might be difficult.”

“Ah...” I nodded in understanding. If I thought about it as driving through a pedestrian’s paradise, it became clear how reckless an idea it was.

“The RV is pretty useful. It might not be possible in every dungeon, but we should use it when we can,” Raoul said with a grin.

“You’re right. It’ll be on a case-by-case basis, and we’ll be flexible!”

“Yeah! Oh... I can see the dungeon.”

“What?!” It was so unexpected that I reflexively yelled. Already?! The RV makes travel so fast—in fact, too fast!

As I became flustered, Raoul laughed again. It seemed like Ohagi was laughing as well, leaving me in a state of going, “Come on, guys!”

The dungeon Raoul had pointed to was the entrance to a cave in a rocky stretch past the grasslands. If he hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t have realized it was a dungeon.

I was excited, but now that I’m actually looking at it, I’m kind of nervous...

I left the RV and took a deep breath. It was a little past noon, so I couldn’t execute operation “Let’s Just Go Tomorrow.” You’re a strong woman—have courage, I told myself.

“All right then, let’s go.”

“Already?! I want you to explain the kinds of monsters that’ll appear—or at least what it’s like inside first!” I said, raising my hand.

“Oh, right.” Raoul began to explain in detail. “This is a cave dungeon. There’s no special name for it.”

“I see, I see...”

According to Raoul’s explanation, this cave dungeon had two levels: the ground level, and one underground level. It wasn’t too spacious inside, so multiple monsters rarely attacked at once. There were three kinds of monsters that appeared on the first floor: slimes, jackalopes, and skelties. Since our objective today was to get used to what it was like inside a dungeon, we would only be visiting the ground level.

“You’re right, I should be able to handle them!” I’d defeated a slime during practice, and I could probably handle a jackalope as well. Skelties were a monster that looked like the bones of a small animal... Maybe describing them as similar to skeletons would make it clearer.

“Yeah, that’s the spirit! Let’s do this!”

“Yeah!” I exclaimed back.

“Mau!” Ohagi’s cheering me on too!

I took several more deep breaths and did some quick warm-up exercises, placed Ohagi on top of my head, and then stepped foot in the dungeon.

The cave dungeon was deathly silent and dimly lit. Raul explained that the walls were shining slightly because there was a luminous mineral mixed into the dirt. The rest of it was just a normal cave.

Though there was a good amount of width to the path, the ceiling was quite low, at roughly two meters. If I summoned my RV, the roof would probably scrape against the ceiling. We’ll have to do our best on foot!

I couldn’t help but curiously glance at our surroundings.

“I wouldn’t know this was a dungeon if you didn’t tell me,” I said with a sigh.

“Yeah, there aren’t many monsters here, and adventurers rarely come. That’s why we should just take it easy and not put too much pressure on ourselves. If something does happen, you have Ohagi and me.”

“You’re right!” I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest, and I began walking faster.

Yeah, I can do this! As we progressed forward on the slightly winding path, a slime appeared. It was the same as the one I’d seen in the field, and I felt confident that I could take it down.

Just then, Ohagi trotted forward before looking back at us.

“Mau?”

“No, no. Mizarie’s going to take it down,” Raoul said, stopping her. “You’re on cheering duty.”

“Mre-reow!”

“This is my prey...!” I said. I had almost let Ohagi take down the slime. That was close. I collected myself and kicked off the ground, dashing toward the slime. I then sliced it with the dagger, and the slime turned into particles of light and disappeared all too easily. “Dungeons...are fun!” I said with a beaming smile.

“Yeah,” Raoul agreed.

“Mreow!”

They both smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Rah! Yah! Ho!” Overconfident from the slime I’d defeated, I was walking on air. Most of the monsters that appeared were slimes, with the occasional jackalope, but I was able to take both down with a single hit.

“You’re on a roll,” Raoul said with a smile as he walked behind me.

“Yeah! I can’t believe that I was so scared... Oh!” I heard rattling coming from ahead. It sounded like bones rustling against each other—probably a skeltie.

Most of the skeleton-type monsters in video games were humanoid. It was rare for one to be the bones of an animal. It’s my first time against a skeltie, so I’m a little nervous... The monster that soon appeared was a rabbit skeltie.

“Oh, since there are jackalopes here, the skeltie is also a rabbit...?”

“That’s right. They say that skelties are born from the bones of monsters within dungeons... Well, I don’t really know if the monsters have bones, since they disappear when you defeat them.”

“That’s true.” When it came to how monsters appeared or disappeared, it was all part of the game’s system, so there was no use racking our brains over it. I nodded in agreement with a wry chuckle.

I kicked off the ground and closed the distance between the skeltie and myself in an instant. I quickly landed a hit, but...it wasn’t defeated yet. It’s a whole level stronger than slimes and jackalopes?! I leaped backward to put distance back between us and reposition myself. This could become a long battle...!

With that thought looming over me, I landed another blow on the skeltie!

“Now I can land multiple blows... Wait, it’s defeated!” I was just about to look back and swing my dagger in a cool manner, but my opponent was already gone! The skeltie turned into particles of light and disappeared, dropping a bone shard.

“You’ve got a handle on this cave’s first floor!” Raoul cheered without missing a beat.

“Mraaawn!” Ohagi chimed in.

I had thought it would take much longer to take the skeltie down, so I felt a bit deflated.

“It’s because you taught me so many things! Thank you!”

“Of course!”

Since we were also here to practice being in a dungeon, I continued taking down monsters on the first floor for a bit longer before we finished our exploration. We ended up with seven jiggle-jiggles, three jackalope meats, and four bone shards.

A jiggle-jiggle was an item dropped by slimes. It was a mysterious object with a jiggly texture, and similar to the sort of slime that grade school boys had been obsessed with for a while in Japan.

Ohagi could eat jackalope meat as well, so it was going to be served as our food.

Raoul explained that though bone shards dropped by skelties didn’t go for much, guilds would still buy them. They would apparently become fertilizer for fields.

Pretty good for my first dungeon exploration... I think.

“The best thing after dungeon crawling is definitely a bonfire!” And so, we decided to light a bonfire in front of the dungeon.

I didn’t have enough energy to go gather branches, so I used firewood—in other words, branches I had gathered before. They were bundled using rope, so they really added to the camping ambience, which I liked.

I used a knife to carve a branch into a feather stick, mixed it with the firewood, and then lit a fire.

“Yeah, looks good!”

I had gotten pretty familiar with lighting a fire, and I was getting good at it. A small spark crackled and slowly grew into a larger flame. That sight was sort of fun.

As I silently and blankly stared at the fire, I heard Raoul calling for me.

“Mizarie, dinner’s ready.”

“Huh?!” I turned to see Raoul holding bread and a soup chock-full of meat and veggies. There was even some boiled jackalope meat prepared for Ohagi. It had gotten dark before I knew it. I thought I had been looking at the campfire for a short while, but quite a bit of time had passed.

“Wait, how long was I staring at the bonfire for?!” Fires can be so terrifying...!

“I think a little over an hour? You’re probably just tired. It’s your first day in a dungeon, so it’s normal.”

“That long...? I’m sorry, and thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it.” It seemed that Raoul had prepared dinner for us, considerate about my exhaustion. He was too good. “Come on, you should eat and go to bed early.”

“Thanks, Raoul. Yeah, I might actually be pretty sleepy,” I said as I took the soup from him with a nervous chuckle. If Raoul hadn’t called my name, I might’ve fallen asleep in front of the fire.

I took a sip of the soup, and it was filled with the savory deliciousness of the vegetables. It was quite good.

“Jackalope meat for you, Ohagi,” Raoul said.

“Mre-reow!” Ohagi seemed hungry as well, and immediately dug into the jackalope meat. The way she meowed as she happily scarfed down her food was something I could watch forever.

“Heh heh, it’s good, isn’t it, Ohagi?”

“Mraow!”

After hearing her energetic response, I dug into my delicious dinner.

Once dinner was finished, all I had to do was shower and go to sleep, but...I missed the campfire.

“Urgh, I want to keep staring at the fire! But I’m sleepy! What if I just sleep in front of the fire...?”

I always slept inside the RV, so I hadn’t slept outside before. Maybe I could do it if I use a sleeping bag? Oh, but a sleeping bag is normally used inside a tent... Hm, sleeping in front of the fire seems difficult. It’s also probably not a good idea to fall asleep with the fire still going.

As various thoughts ran through my mind, Raoul rushed me.

“Come on, hurry up and shower. It would be bad if you fell asleep out here. If you don’t rest properly, you won’t recover mana.”

“That would be bad!” Raoul’s words made me stand up in a hurry. Running out of mana not only made me feel terrible, but I would also pass out. In the worst case, I could also possibly die. Recovery is very important! “I’ll shower right away and head to bed!”

“Good.” As I quickly started getting ready, Raoul began taking care of the fire. “You better rest properly.”

“Yeah, thanks. Let’s go, Ohagi.”

“Mrau.”

Raoul said to leave the cleanup to him as well, so I took him up on his offer and went to bed first with Ohagi.

Labyrinth City

Corn-and-Mayonnaise Bread in a Makeshift Dutch Oven

After spending several days getting familiar with dungeons at the cave, we arrived at Labyrinth City.

“Wow, this place is thriving!”

“It’s close to a neighboring kingdom, so there’s a lot of people coming and going. But it’s mostly because of all the adventurers that gather here.”

“I can tell just from looking!”

“Maaau.”

Labyrinth City was an expansive town and similar in scale to the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Richard, where I’d grown up. Because there were dungeons nearby, the outer walls of the town were quite thick. Even if monsters were to swarm the town, the walls wouldn’t be destroyed easily.

The town was lively, with shops and stalls along the street standing out. There were many people walking around as they ate the foods they’d purchased, showcasing the easygoing mood here.

The mansions grew in size as they got closer to the center of town. The lord of this territory likely lived at the center, while the outer edge of town was filled with relatively inexpensive lodging.

“Looks like this town will be pretty comfortable,” I said.

“There are plenty of item shops here. Also some cheap, delicious places to eat at.”

“Sounds promising!”

We walked for a bit through the town, and an appetizing smell was already wafting over. Ohagi, who was on my shoulder, seemed to be interested in the scent as well, and she began curiously glancing around before locking in on a stall selling meat. I understand, Ohagi. Deliciousness is justice...!

“We also need to stock up on groceries,” I pointed out.

“Since we’ll be going to a dungeon soon, we’ll want some preserved foods too,” Raoul suggested. I nodded firmly in agreement.

Though beginner-friendly locations like the cave dungeon could be day trips, the dungeon with the elixir we were after wouldn’t be like that. It would have many levels, which meant spending several days inside the dungeon. Still, we did have the RV, so we would likely be pretty comfortable.

As we continued walking through the town, I listened to the chatter of some townspeople.

“I heard that there’s a large thing driving around these days.”

“Something large? Like a carriage?”

“It’s apparently much faster than a carriage.”

Looked like people who saw my RV had gossiped about seeing something “similar to a carriage but completely different and incredible” driving around. Raoul and I glanced at each other.

“I thought I was being careful about being seen, but I guess I was wrong,” I said.

“Even if no one’s nearby, they might see us from a distance... There are even skills and magical instruments that help people do that.”

“Oh, that makes sense!”

If someone had a telescope-like magical instrument, they could spot us from afar. Gatekeepers guarding the town had probably also seen us from the top of the outer walls. I think my guard was too low...

“Still, there’s a limit to how much I can hide it,” I added.

“It’s not a good idea to be too public about the RV since it’s a rare skill, but it’s difficult to completely conceal.”

“Mreeew...”

Actually, considering the fact that I want to use it in the dungeon, it’ll be difficult to keep hiding it.

“It might be a good idea to become a skilled adventurer so you won’t get taken advantage of,” Raoul noted.

“That’s true...”

“It’s also important to be proactive—to accept jobs from guilds and build a good relationship with them.”

“It would be reassuring to have them on my side if anything happens,” I said, nodding in agreement. I decided for now it would be best to keep taking on jobs. Regardless of the world I was in, it seemed that having personal connections was important.

“Let’s set aside shopping for later, and head to the adventurer’s guild to look at what jobs they have,” Raoul said.

“Yeah!”

The adventurer’s guild was near the town’s southern gate. It was a spacious building with three floors. There were many people going in and out, and it seemed to have a tavern inside as well. I spotted the job board and saw tons of requests.

There were people dressed similarly to Raoul and me, with clothes that looked easy to move in. But there were also some equipped with thick plate armor from head to toe. Having a sturdy build probably helped with success in the dungeons.

“Oh, Raoul! They have a map over there.”

“Hm? Oh yeah, that has the dungeon locations listed.”

“Got it.”

The map displayed next to the job board had our current location, Labyrinth City, at the center with a total of five dungeons surrounding it. The dungeon closest to town was frequented by adventurers who were just starting out, and spawned relatively weak monsters like goblins. There were also dungeons that intermediate and expert adventurers visited.

If the dungeons are this bustling, I might not be able to drive my RV inside them, I thought as I stared at the map. There’s also the issue of how wide the paths might be. We had explored the cave dungeon on foot for two reasons—so I could get experience doing that, and to accommodate the low ceiling.

“What’s wrong? Are you thinking about something, Mizarie?”

“Mreow?”

“The dungeons around here are popular, right?” I asked. “I was thinking about how I might not be able to drive my RV around if there are a lot of people.”

“Oh... That’s true,” Raoul said as he started thinking. “Maybe we could go to a dungeon with fewer people.”

“Is there one?” I thought all the dungeons around here would be crowded.

“There isn’t anywhere completely empty, but if we go to a dungeon farther from town, there’ll probably be fewer people. It’s hard for people to travel for a day by carriage, you know?”

“Yeah, it’d be a waste to spend a day getting there, and then have to leave soon after too. Also, getting back after battling sounds like it would be a pain... But I have the RV, so we could travel with a little more room to breathe...?”

“That’s right.”

Raoul suggested we go to the Spirit’s Dungeon, which was quite far from town. The monsters in the lower levels weren’t too strong, but the deeper you went into the dungeon, the stronger they got. And so the dungeon hadn’t been fully explored. Because of that, there was a good chance that the treasures obtained when clearing it would be quite good. In other words, we might be able to find an elixir...!

“Yeah, that sounds good! Let’s go to the Spirit’s Dungeon!”

“It’s decided, then. The Spirit’s Dungeon has a few jobs available, so let’s accept those before we go.”

“Mrow!”

I checked the postings immediately and mainly saw two types of jobs: requests to hunt monsters and requests to investigate the dungeon. Aside from that, there were jobs requested by people looking for someone to guard them while they foraged, or people looking for someone to join their party as a onetime thing. Looks like there are all kinds of options.

“The ones we’ll be accepting are the hunting jobs. The investigation jobs can be accepted after the fact,” Raoul said. “If something happens, we’ll take the job and report the incident, but I don’t think we’re in a position to focus on what’s going on inside the dungeon.”

“Agreed,” I said. “But the hunting targets seem pretty hard... Can I take down a goblin?”

The hunting jobs targeted monsters I’d never fought before, like goblins, wolves, and orcs. They were standard monsters you’d expect in a video game, but fighting them in person was a different story.

“It’ll be a breeze,” Raoul said, but I disagreed... Still, I was going to do my best in order to get an elixir and heal his arm.

“Why don’t we accept the ones to take down wolves and goblins for now?” he continued. “These two species are on the first level of the dungeon, so they should be easy for you to beat.”

“Let’s do that!”

We decided to just accept hunting jobs targeting monsters on the second level and farther down next time if it seemed doable, and completed the steps necessary to accept the jobs we’d settled on.

After we accepted the job requests at the adventurer’s guild, it was time to go shopping. We were at an item shop right by the guild. It was lively and full of adventurers, and the store seemed to be stocked with a wider variety of items than the places I’d been to before.

“I bet the item shops in Labyrinth City have some unique and incredible things stocked!”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s not that different from other towns. Oh, they do have lots of equipment, though, since that’s a necessity.”

According to Raoul, the shops here had an extensive assortment of dungeon-made equipment. There were items dropped by monsters, similar to my bay laurel dagger, as well as items obtained from treasure chests.

Aside from that, though they didn’t have anything as rare as an elixir, they had plenty of recovery items in stock.

“These are super important for clearing a dungeon!” I exclaimed.

But now that my RV had leveled up and gotten bigger, I wanted to buy other things as well, like furniture and cookware. Of course, it’s important to have good equipment when you’ll be fighting enemies, but isn’t it just as important to be comfortable in the dungeon? But at the same time, my budget can’t fit everything...

As I stood there, agonizing over what to do, Raoul began grabbing things. “We need these,” he said while grabbing more. “I’m getting three novice’s potions, one journeyman’s potion, and some antidote potions. You have regular potions, but no antidote ones, right? You should buy some.”

“Got it,” I said. There weren’t any monsters that dealt poison damage, but it was reassuring to have some just in case.

The other items that interested me were tableware and a firepit. I didn’t know what it was going to be like in the dungeon, so having the latter would probably be helpful.

I saw a section of the store selling firewood and went over to find firepits. A firepit—the item beloved by campers!

“Whoa! This is getting me excited!”

“A firepit, huh? It might actually be good to have one.”

“Got Raoul’s approval—all right, let’s buy one!”

“My approval...?” He let out a dry laugh, saying such a thing wasn’t necessary, but it was important to me.

“Okay then, what kinds of firepits do they have...?”

They had three types on sale. The first was a round barrel, and you placed the firewood inside of it. The second was rectangular, and had a deeper tray. The third was rectangular like the second, but it had a shallow tray. The barrel-shaped pit was the cheapest, while the deep rectangular pit was the most expensive.

The look of the barrel-shaped firepit immediately disqualified it as an option. The shallow rectangular firepits were nice to get warm, but could be inconvenient for cooking. They would also require a constant flow of new firewood.

As I mulled over which to get, a different adventurer party bought one of the shallow models.

“Man, they picked it so easily! Unlike me...”

“Firepits are convenient to have, but they’re extra weight you’ll have to lug around. Big ones are heavy, so something smaller is light and nice.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

There were plenty of other necessities when it came to adventuring, like food and recovery items. I was probably the only person who prioritized a firepit above other things.

“That’s why it’s pretty advantageous that you don’t need a tent or sleeping bags. You don’t need to carry a huge bag of things either,” Raoul said, giving me a look of deep envy.

“Heh heh, isn’t my RV nice?” I had gotten used to living in my RV and had forgotten that people usually carried their luggage with them when going dungeon crawling. Unless you have someone to carry your things and someone in charge of cooking, it’s probably best to pick based on how portable it is.

I thought back to the firepits I’d seen in my previous life and remembered they were quite stylish. There were ones with deep trays as well, but there were lots of relatively flat ones. I remembered being impressed by models that you could place a grill grate on top of.

“I also have to think about what shape is easier to use, the square or the rectangular ones...” A square would be good if we were cooking with one big pot, but the rectangle would be better for using two skillets at the same time. I think I also remember seeing models attached to a table in my previous life. You could just move the skillet to the side when you were done cooking, so it seemed useful. “But there isn’t something multifunctional like that here...” I mumbled to myself.

I took a closer look and saw that even the inexpensive shallow model was five thousand rooks, which was quite the hefty price tag. The deeper model cost eight thousand rooks. Though I wasn’t considering them, the barrel-shaped pits were two thousand rooks.

“Out of these models, I like the deep one, but spending eight thousand rooks on that is...” Now that I’d remembered the firepits I’d seen in camping videos, the price made me hesitate. I thought they were more affordable. I groaned and agonized over my decision while standing before the firepits.

“You’re overthinking this,” Raoul playfully jabbed.

“But I don’t know what to do...!”

I explained why I was thinking about this so hard, which made Raoul nod in understanding.

“I see. Why don’t you pick the barrel-shaped one or the shallow one for now? I’m sure we’ll be mostly using the RV, but some of the safe areas might be narrow.”

“Oh, that’s a good point...” The relatively safe areas in a dungeon weren’t always going to be spacious. Even if we were inside the RV, we wouldn’t be able to relax and sleep if monsters were swarming right outside. Raoul’s explanation made lots of sense.

“In that case, taking cooking into consideration as well, the shallow one is probably best.” That party from earlier was right on the mark!

And so, I decided on the shallow firepit.

“Mreooow.”

“Hm? What is it, Ohagi?” She began rubbing her face against my cheek as I reached for the firepit. Ohagi then looked at the soup mugs on the shelf.

“Mau.”

“Do you want that?”

“Mrow.”

I never thought Ohagi would pick out dinnerware!

Ohagi was looking at a soup mug that was off-white on the outside and dusty pink on the inside. It had a cute design, and was the perfect size for her to eat or drink water out of.

“You picked it out, so let’s use this for your meals. We can buy one in a different color and use it for water!”

“Maaau,” she happily meowed once I picked up the soup mug, which was now Ohagi’s bowl.

I ended up buying only the firepit and Ohagi’s bowls on this trip. I could just buy anything else I needed after actually camping in a dungeon and figuring out what was missing.

“It can be agonizing, but it’s fun to pick out stuff.”

“Sure is,” Raoul agreed.

With that, I left the item shop in high spirits.

Staying in town after shopping was...not the plan. Instead, we were sleeping in the RV as usual. You could say we’re saving on lodging costs.

After driving several hours away from Labyrinth City, we decided to rest.

Raoul and Ohagi had gone off to hunt monsters in the area, so I was alone at the moment. The two were out getting food as drop items and clearing out some of the monsters too as a safety measure, since we were spending the night here.

“Since I have time today, I’ll try using the firepit!”

I unloaded the firepit from the RV while humming a tune. The shallow firepit was unassembled, split into the tray—which sat on top—and the legs. It was easy to transport and likely valued by adventurers. I quickly put the firepit together and placed firewood inside the tray, but...it was difficult to keep it balanced.

“Hm... I wanna cook on top of it tonight, so it would be best if it doesn’t wobble when I put a frying pan on top...”

It was for the best to properly lay out the firewood. I made sure to be reasonable with the amount too—I used four large pieces, and I could throw in branches and such between the spaces. It’s a bit of a hassle, but I’ll have to keep adding branches and small pieces of firewood to keep it level. I added a feather stick as well, which I’d gotten quite good at making, and quickly started a fire. Perfect!

“I feel like having bread today,” I sang to myself, but in reality, I was having bread every day. As a former Japanese person, I wanted to have rice one day. But I could make lots of delicious things with bread by being creative, so it was okay.

I mixed flour and other ingredients that I’d bought in town to make a bread dough. While I let that rest, I prepared Ohagi’s food using the kitchen in the RV. I’d gotten my hands on some fish fillets, so I was going to add it to the usual chicken. I planned on lightly grilling the fish and mixing it in.

Along with the chicken, I boiled some corn I was planning to use as a filling for the bread. It would’ve been best to steam it, but steaming was still difficult for me. Mr. RV, could you please get a microwave? I asked in my thoughts shamelessly.

“Oh, but grilled corn is good too. I don’t have soy sauce, though. I can’t believe I can’t have the delicious combination of butter and soy sauce...” I was disappointed.

As the chicken poached, I decided to resume bread-making. I melted some butter in a frying pan, then rolled the dough into a log and laid it in a circle around the rim. I planned to use the corn in the open space in the middle.

“The mayonnaise is going to be a problem...”

I knew how to make mayonnaise, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to turn out okay. I guess there’s nothing I can do about it if it doesn’t turn into actual mayonnaise. All I had to do was mix egg yolks with vinegar, salt, and vegetable oil, but this was quite the difficult task. I began mixing the ingredients together, slowly adding vegetable oil while monitoring the sauce.

“Having mayonnaise would increase the variety of dishes I could make,” I pointed out to myself.

I was only making enough for the bread right now, but it would be nice to have some made ahead of time. I could use it on vegetables, and even make some yummy potato salad. The possibilities are endless. As various ideas popped up in my mind, I finished the mayonnaise.

“Whoa, good job, me!” I tried it, and though it wasn’t as deep in flavor as the stuff sold in stores, it tasted pretty good. “Things really do work out, don’t they?”

I nodded to myself in satisfaction before mixing in a little bit of sugar and some cream cheese. Once those were mixed in, I added the removed kernels of corn and mixed it up. Once it was mixed together, I added it to the middle of the bread pan. I even sprinkled some cheese on top.

“I haven’t baked it yet, but I know it’s gonna be amazing...!”

I was going to turn the frying pan into a makeshift Dutch oven, and “bake” it over the fire.

Recipes using Dutch ovens were popular, and I’d seen tons of videos using them in my previous life. After watching those videos, I had plenty of recipes I wanted to try out.

But they were cooking videos, so it was tough to watch them on an empty stomach...! It would’ve been nice to make the recipes right after watching them, but I was always exhausted after work and couldn’t do it... I’ll do it now! To make up for all those times!

“It’s a Dutch oven recipe that I’ve waited so long to make...” I placed an iron lid on the frying pan, and all that was left to do was bake it. But then I suddenly realized something. “Oh! I think I’m supposed to use low heat! If only the cooking area wasn’t directly over the fire on this firepit...”

A firepit that conveniently had a separate cooking area probably only existed in modern times. After thinking about what to do, I decided to just use the pieces that were already turned into charcoal for the firepit, and build a new campfire beside it. You can never have too many campfires!

“Wow, it smells great!”

“Mreooow.”

Some time had passed, and Raoul and Ohagi returned. They had some items in their hands, so it seemed that their hunting had been successful.

“Welcome back!” I greeted.

“Thanks.”

“Mre-reow.”

I told them to go wash their hands first. While they did that, I began plating the food I’d made. While the bread baked, I’d made herb grilled horse mackerel from another world. It was a simple dish made by bundling the fish in wrapping leaves and gently placing it in a fire. It seems simple, but I did properly break down the fish! I’d also prepared it with green beans and eggplants, so veggies were in there too.

“Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!” I was getting pretty used to cooking with a campfire, so I’d probably be able to make a wider variety of dishes in the future.

Right as I finished plating everything, Raoul and Ohagi returned from washing up. Raoul was holding Ohagi’s bowl in his hands—he’d apparently plated her food for me.

“I brought Ohagi’s food. Is that okay?”

“Yeah! Thank you!”

“Mrow-mrow!” Ohagi’s tail swayed as she urged Raoul to hurry with her food. A meal eaten after hunting is on another level.

“Let’s dig in!” Raoul and I exclaimed in unison.

“Mrow!”

As I watched Ohagi dig right into her food, I removed the lid from the frying pan. It had been smelling incredibly delicious for a while!

“What’s this? Bread...?”

“It’s corn-and-mayonnaise bread, baked in a makeshift Dutch oven!”

“Duh-ch...?”

“Oh, it’s a type of pot that the frying pan reminded me of, so I named it that. The main part is the corn and mayonnaise!” So don’t think about it too deeply, Raoul.

I tore off a piece of the bread’s edge and dipped it into the corn-and-mayonnaise mixture in the center.

“You dip it in the sauce in the middle and eat it, like this.”

“I see. It smells interesting. I’ve never heard of this ‘mayonnaise’ thing before.” Though he seemed a bit puzzled by it, Raoul took a big bite of the bread. I couldn’t help but stare because the moment he took the bite, he let out a surprised “Mm!”

Does he not like the mayonnaise...? I’d never seen mayo in this world before, so I figured it was a condiment he wasn’t familiar with. Even so, I think mayo is a condiment that everyone in all worlds should love! My heart pounded as I waited to hear Raoul’s thoughts. He blinked while looking back at me.

“Mizarie, this...”

“H-How is it...?”

“It’s amazing! What is this stuff? I love it!”

“Right?!”

It seemed that mayonnaise had captured Raoul’s heart. Since I’d made it despite not being entirely familiar with the process, I couldn’t stop grinning.

“So the corn is in the sauce...? It has a nice bite to it, and it gives the sauce a nice texture. There’s even cheese in here... Something this indulgent shouldn’t be allowed.”

He seemed to like everything about it. As I watched Raoul keep eating, enticed by the bread, I took a bite as well. Yeah, it’s baked up great and tastes amazing! The rich mayonnaise mixed with the cheese for an even richer experience. On top of that, it had plenty of corn—the texture provided by the kernels was addicting.

I scooped up the mixture with the bread, making sure not to drop the melty cheese stretching from the pan, and popped it into my mouth.

“Mmm!” The mayonnaise that had seeped into the bread put a smile on my face. It was a flavor naturally loved by children, but adults like us enjoyed it as well.

Next up was the herb grilled horse mackerel. It was a fine dish prepared with a mixture of bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, and several culinary herbs that coated the fish.

“Mmm! The herbs really whet your appetite—and there’s no fishiness, making it delicious!”

“I almost never eat fish while sleeping outdoors, so this feels new,” Raoul said before taking a big bite and chomping down on the fish. “It’s delicious!” It was definitely worth making. “I didn’t know that herbs went well with cheese too. The garlic adds a nice accent to the dish as well. Also, the flesh of the horse mackerel is easy to eat.”

“It might be hard to find uses for them, but herbs are great when you’re cooking!”

There were different kinds of culinary herbs in different regions, so I could expand my repertoire through future travels. Finding new ingredients is one of the joys of traveling. “Fish is so light, I feel like I could eat tons of it... Hm?”

Ohagi suddenly came up to me with a “Mrow!” I looked over to see her bowl was empty, and she looked satisfied.

“Was it good, Ohagi?”

“Maaau.” Ohagi began rubbing herself against me, and I smiled; it looked like she’d enjoyed the food. Though, come to think of it, she could be rubbing against me because she wants seconds!

The bread that had once filled the frying pan, as well as the fish, all disappeared in an instant. After eating too much, we spent some time relaxing in front of the fire.

Arriving at Our Destination!

Radiant Grilled Mushrooms

I let out a yawn. I’d gotten up early, which was rare for me. I sat up and stretched out, then looked to my side. Ohagi was there, still sleeping peacefully while purring. So cute.

I got dressed in the changing area and thought about today. After driving for just another hour, we would be arriving at the dungeon we were headed for. It was going to be my first nonbeginner dungeon! And with that, I was quite nervous.

“Oh, maybe that’s why I woke up so early?” I wondered aloud. Or maybe it’s because I got full and fell asleep early, I thought to myself with a wry laugh. “Might as well go on a walk, since I’m up already.”

I left the RV and took a deep, deep breath. The morning air felt incredible, and the view of the mountains in the distance was beautiful. I did some light warm-up exercises, made sure to grab my dagger, then headed out on a leisurely walk.

When parking my RV for the night, I had done my best to avoid anywhere people might see us. We were surrounded by grasslands, but the area where the RV was had relatively tall grass and trees, so we didn’t stand out too much.

Well, you can’t get into the RV without permission, so there aren’t many risks. That’s why it should be okay to leave the RV and go for a walk. As such thoughts crossed my mind, I noticed that there were medicinal herbs growing near my feet.

“Whoa, it’s only morning and I already have good luck!”

I had my own uses for these nonculinary herbs as well, but they could also be sold to the adventurer’s guild. The only problem was that there was a plant that looked exactly like these herbs, so I had to be careful when collecting them.

I inspected the shape of the leaf, making sure to check that it wasn’t a mock herb.

“The RV has an appraisal function, but it would be a pain to use it every time,” I muttered to myself. It would also be a pain to head back and appraise this right now. In order to hone my abilities as an adventurer, I wanted to be able to see the difference between herbs and mock herbs with my own eyes.

After collecting several herbs, I resumed my walk.

“I wonder what else I’ll see.”

I was starting to have fun, and I spotted a small flower. It had pink and white florets, and looked similar to culinary herbs. Maybe it would be nice to pick a few and put them on display in the RV? I didn’t have something as fancy as a vase, but it would be pretty cute even in a cup with some water. The only issue with that would be whether the cup would fall over when the RV swayed while driving.

“Well, it’s probably fine. I’ll spruce up the RV!” And so, I picked just a few and resumed walking. “It might be dangerous to go too far... Wait, something’s there!”

A patch of tall grass right before me rustled, and it seemed like something could jump out at any moment. I felt my heart rate increase as I held my dagger and braced myself. I’ll be fine. I’ve gotten stronger! Just then, a slime jumped out.

“A slime!”

I let out a long exhale, relief instantly washing over me. It was just a small fry—a piece of cake for me to handle. I easily sliced through its jiggly, fascinating body, and the slime turned into particles of light before disappearing.

“Victory!” I feel like I’m getting some good exercise this morning.

The area seemed to be full of monsters, so I headed back to the RV.

≈≈⛟

Though I was driving the RV, headed for the Spirit’s Dungeon, I was being lectured by Raoul and Ohagi, who were in the passenger seat.

As for the flowers I’d picked, they were now in a cup with some water, and sitting in the cupholder.

“I panicked when I woke up and didn’t see you, you know?”

“Mreooow!”

“I’m sorry! You were both sleeping, so I didn’t want to wake you up. Also, I took down a slime!” I did it all by myself! I know it’s just a slime, but I’ve gotten stronger as an adventurer!

Hearing my proud declaration, Raoul sighed. “That doesn’t mean you can go off without saying anything. That area was fine, but you don’t know what might happen in a dungeon.”

“Urgh... I’ll be careful from now on,” I said in apology. “I wouldn’t go off on a stroll if I wasn’t sure the area was safe.”

“Seriously, be careful,” Raoul said with a serious look. Right as that happened, the dashboard chimed and I gasped. “Oh, you leveled up. Congrats.”

“Mrow.”

“Thanks!” I parked the RV for now and checked the details of the upgrade. Let’s see. How did the RV evolve with this level-up?

<You’ve leveled up! Current Level: 11>

Level 11 Dimensional Expansion

“Dimensional expansion!”

“Dimensional...? No, there’s no use in being surprised at this point...”

I gotta check this out right away! With that, I immediately headed to the living area. Though I’d headed there directly from the front seats, there wasn’t anything that was obviously different. It didn’t seem like the living area had gotten more spacious overall. With the front seats to my back, the kitchenette was to my right as usual. To my left was the table and chairs that turned into a bed.

“Oh, maybe a bathtub was added to the shower?!” That must be it!

Confident in my theory, I slid open the door to the changing area before opening the door to the former shower, which had surely turned into a bath, to see...nothing had changed.

“Gasp!” I said, voicing my shock and disappointment. Japanese people and baths go hand in hand...I guess it’s unrealistic to have a bath in an RV. It might be a bit extravagant, but can’t a girl dream?

Ohagi, who was on my shoulder, rubbed her face against my cheek to cheer me up.

“Could it be this, Mizarie?!”

“Huh?!”

“Mau?”

I quickly turned around when I heard Raoul’s voice, but he was nowhere to be found. I looked around and spotted him on the slightly raised space where he usually slept.

“Wait, there’s a door!”

“Mre-reow!”

A cheeky little door had appeared beside the window.

“Did you open it...?” I hesitantly asked.

“I wouldn’t open a door without permission,” Raoul said.

“Such integrity...”

My heart pounded as I opened the new door. I slowly peeked inside and found a room that was roughly seven square meters in size. It had wood flooring and off-white walls, except for one accent wall covered in light blue wallpaper. It was stylish. There was even a closet with white doors. It seemed like a standard room.

Ohagi jumped down from my shoulder and began exploring the room carefully. She sniffed the floor, but then seemed to relax as she rolled over.

“Ohagi’s adaptability is incredible,” I said, impressed.

“This is insane...” Raoul said, surprised.

“It’s incredible! I’m glad—now we have a space for you to sleep.”

“No, no. It should be your room. Why would I get the room?”

“Huh? Oh...”

Raoul was sleeping in what was essentially the trunk area of the RV, so I’d felt bad about it. Because of that, my first reaction was to be happy that Raoul finally had a proper sleeping area, but he had a point. I wouldn’t be able to take a room before the homeowner had one.

“Urgh, then I guess I’ll take this room. Would you mind using the convertible bed?”

“It’s more than enough,” he said with a nod. It was decided that I would take the room, and Raoul would have the bed.

“I guess I’ll put my stuff in here for now.”

“You’ll need some bedding, or else you won’t be able to sleep. Do you want to lay out a foldable mattress, or do you want to keep our sleeping arrangements the same until you buy a proper bed?”

“I’ll just lay the mattress out on the floor, so we can go ahead with the switch.” Though a bed was convenient, people in this world usually just put a foldable mattress on a bed frame. They didn’t have regular mattresses, so it was honestly not that different from sleeping on the floor.

“You sure? I’ll move your mattress in here, then.”

“Thanks.”

While Raoul moved my foldable mattress over, I stored my belongings—like my clothes and bag—in the closet. Though it was now my room, it didn’t have any furniture yet.

“I guess it’ll just be a place to sleep for now. I’d like to get a desk and some other furniture eventually.” I returned to the front seats as I thought about all the possibilities.

I continued driving my recently leveled-up RV in high spirits until Raoul suddenly exclaimed, “I see it!”

Ohagi, who had been napping on Raoul’s lap, seemed surprised as she let out a “Mrow?!”

“Is that the Spirit’s Dungeon?”

“Yeah!”

The Spirit’s Dungeon was located a little ways up a mountain. I drove along a stream and found the entrance next to a small waterfall. It looked like a regular cave, but I could tell it was the entrance right away since there was a statue of a spirit. There wasn’t anyone at the entrance, but there was evidence that someone had lit a fire, indicating that there was some amount of activity here.

I stepped out of the RV and stared at the statue intently. The base had “Spirit’s Dungeon” written on it. As for the inside, it seemed too narrow to drive through with my RV. It might actually be difficult to summon my RV inside there.

“Mreow-mreow.”

“What is it, Ohagi?” It looked like she had spotted something, and she headed into the cave. “Hey! Wait, Ohagi!” It’s a dungeon! You can’t just go inside by yourself like this! I hurried after her in a panic and found her right by the entrance, sniffing a glowing mushroom. Wow, it’s a fantasy mushroom. “I wonder what kind of mushroom this is. I wanna take it back with me!”

Raoul, who’d followed us right away, began explaining. “That’s a light mushroom. They’re valuable in dark places like this, since they glow.”

“Light mushrooms, got it.”

It appeared that the cave wasn’t too dark thanks to these mushrooms. They naturally grew on the ground, but they were also growing on the walls and the ceiling, which dimly lit the entire pathway in the cave.

“Does it keep glowing if you pluck it?”

“I think it keeps glowing for about five minutes,” Raoul said. “It’s only for a short time, so you can’t use it as a portable light source. It would be nice if you could do that.”

We had no choice but to use an item like a lantern, or create light using magic for dark areas. It would’ve been convenient if we could use the light mushrooms, but things didn’t work out so easily.

“That’s too bad. Still...there’s quite a lot.”

“Yeah. There are lots of dungeons that are lit like this, so there aren’t actually many times where you need a lantern.”

“I see!” I said, nodding along to what Raoul was saying. But my mind was already thinking of something completely different. “Can you eat these light mushrooms?”

“Huh...?” Raoul looked absolutely shocked by my question. “I’ve never thought of eating a light mushroom, but I’ve heard rumors of adventurers who’ve eaten them.”

“So there are people who’ve eaten them.”

“I think there are cases where people run out of food, so they resort to light mushrooms... I guess it’s better than dying of starvation?”

“Oh...” So they don’t want to eat a suspicious, glowing mushroom, but it’s better than dying. “Are the people who’ve eaten them all right?”

“All right?”

“Like, were they poisoned...?” The one fear I had about mushrooms was poison. Back in Japan, I would see a news story every year about someone who foraged mushrooms in the mountains and got poisoned.

“I haven’t heard anything about them being poisonous.”

“Really? I guess we can eat them, then!” Yay! I got a mysterious fantasy ingredient! It’s a mushroom, so grilling it would probably be yummy... Oh!

“That remnant of a fire in front of the dungeon, could it have been because they were grilling light mushrooms?!”

“Of course not!” Raoul teased, making a comedic jab at my completely unexpected statement.

“My bad!”

“You would light a fire here if you arrived at night and wanted to wait for morning,” Raoul explained. “Not to eat light mushrooms.”

“I see.” Darn. As I thought about how unfortunate it was, I plucked one of the light mushrooms growing on the wall. “Oh, it’s still glowing!”

“Are you really going to eat it...?” Raoul let out a nervous chuckle, but my curiosity toward food had taken over.

We decided to use the remnants of the fire in front of the dungeon. We quickly lit a fire and placed a grate on top, and began grilling slices of the light mushrooms. The mushrooms continued to glow even after being sliced.

“I wonder how they glow...”

“I think the mana in the mushrooms makes them do that,” Raoul said.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Public opinion seemed to be that they glowed for some magic-related reason.

The mushrooms started sweating, and I sprinkled them with salt. I hope this will draw out the flavors of the light mushroom... I plated the grilled light mushrooms and stared at them. They just look like regular mushrooms, but they’re still glowing.

“They’re done, Raoul.”

“I’m not sure if I...”

“What? Ohagi can eat it since it’s a mushroom, but it’s probably not the best for her digestion—”

“Mreeew,” Ohagi interrupted, turning away from the mushrooms.

“What?! Ohagi, the glutton, is refusing even before trying them?!” The light mushrooms were quite unenticing. “I guess it can’t be helped. I, Mizarie, will eat them!” I popped a slice into my mouth.

The texture was similar to a standard mushroom, but it had none of the savory flavor typical of one—or rather, it had zero flavor.

“I knew it would be bad,” Raoul said.

“Mmrgh, it’s like chewing rubber. Does it have no flavor because it’s a mysterious ingredient, or because it’s from a dungeon...?” I wondered aloud, tilting my head in confusion.

“Hm. At the very least, there are good ingredients you can get in a dungeon, so that shouldn’t be the reason why something tastes bad or doesn’t have any flavor.”

“Then maybe it’s because it glows,” I said.

“It’s possible that all its flavor has turned into mana.”

I nodded along to Raoul’s words and managed to swallow the light mushroom. I feel bad, but I can’t eat a second piece...

“Oh...” Raoul said, worried.

“Mrow?!”

They both made noise as I tried to get rid of the remaining light mushroom slices. I turned to find concerned looks on their faces.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“You can’t tell?”

“What?” Before I could ask what was going on, I realized that my hand was slightly glowing.

“Huh?! What’s this?!” I quickly stood up and inspected myself.

I was glowing like a light mushroom.

“It’s definitely because I ate the light mushroom, right?!” I exclaimed.

“I can’t think of any other reason.”

I didn’t think I’d fall for something like this... No way, what do I do?

“Will I be glowing forever...?” Without thinking, I grabbed onto Raoul, desperate for help.

“Uh, I’m not sure...” Perhaps he sensed how panicked I was, because he averted his gaze.

Wait, am I really going to... “Oh, it’s gone.” The hand I had curled around Raoul’s arm stopped glowing. I cautiously inspected the rest of my body and saw that I had returned to being a normal human. “Phew, I’m glad.”

“Light mushrooms stop glowing about five minutes after they’re plucked, so it’s probably been five minutes.”

“Oh, that’s what happened?” What was I panicking for?! “Hey, why didn’t you say something if you knew that?! I was so surprised—I never expected to start glowing!”

“My bad, my bad. I didn’t know it would make you glow, but there aren’t any glowing adventurers, so I thought it would go away eventually.”

“That’s fair... Still, I was totally shocked...” I let out a deep exhale and rested for a while to calm myself down.

The Spirit’s Dungeon

“Let’s start by exploring the first level,” Raoul said.

“Yeah!” I exclaimed with a nod as I gripped my dagger.

The Spirit’s Dungeon was confirmed to have at least five levels. From the looks of it upon entering, the path on the first level was too narrow to bring out my RV. The dungeon appeared to have a sixth level and to continue deeper than that; but that was just a rumor, and it wasn’t official information. I get it. If you’re someone who’s cleared it, sharing information would mean you’d gain rivals.

Despite the lack of information, we were headed for the deepest level of the dungeon—just like everyone else—to get an elixir. We had a chance of obtaining that either when we reached the final floor or cleared the dungeon.

“I’ll do my best... Oh, a slime!”

“It should be a piece of cake for you by now, right?”

“Of course!” I easily took down the slime that had hopped my way. All right, nice! Just then, a goblin jumped out from behind a boulder. “Hyough!” A strange sound escaped my mouth.

The goblin was knee-height with green skin and a dirty cloth wrapped around its waist. It held a wooden stick in place of a weapon.

The goblins that appeared in manga and video games were often drawn with cartoonish proportions, and could be cute. But goblins in real life were far from that. Actually, it smells... I’d taken down a leaf goblin, which was stronger than a goblin, but I’d just rammed into it with my RV. That was why I’d never known that they smelled so bad...!

“A goblin, huh?” Raoul said. “I think you can handle it—”

“Please show me how!”

“Got it!” As soon as I asked him to step in, Raoul jumped forward. The goblin let out a screech that sent a shiver down my spine.

“You can do it, Raoul!”

“Mrow!”

Ohagi and I both cheered Raoul on, but he probably didn’t need it because he was totally composed. He lightly kicked off the ground, accelerating, and before I knew it, he had swung his sword to the side and sliced the goblin in two.

“S-So strong...!” I muttered. As I was surprised by Raoul’s swordsmanship, I felt myself sweating with anxiety. I don’t think I’m ready to handle a goblin yet...

“Goblins can be troublesome when there’s a bunch of them, but on their own they’re not a threat,” Raoul explained. “Don’t worry about it too much, Mizarie.”

“Still, they’re humanoid, so they’re a little scary,” I said with a nervous chuckle.

“That’s fair. Then I’ll be in the front. You attack from behind, only when you think you can. How does that sound?”

“I think I can do that!” Immediately going up against a goblin one-on-one sounded difficult, but it would be different if I had Raoul’s support. I started to feel hope—I could do this too.

Suddenly, Ohagi pawed at my feet.

“Mrmrow?”

“Are you trying to fight too, Ohagi...?!” It’s true that she took down a slime with one hit, but...

“I think a goblin is a bit much for you, Ohagi,” Raoul said with a chuckle. “I’ll ask for your help when there’s a slime. You’re the slime captain!”

“Mau!”

Ohagi was appointed the slime captain. We were starting to become more party-like with Raoul and me handling goblins as Ohagi took care of slimes. Yeah...this is nice!

We continued progressing forward in the dungeon, taking down monsters along the way. There were slimes, goblins, and even a wolf. Just as the name suggested, wolves were canine monsters, and they moved swiftly. Because of that, Raoul handled them instead of me. It was impossible for a rookie like me to keep up with a wolf’s speed.

“Why don’t we take a break?” Raoul suggested.

“Yeah!”

“Maaau.”

We were in a spacious clearing, so we decided to rest. The area was roughly the space of a basketball court, so I could bring out my RV. I hope there are a lot of places like this. It’ll make it easier to rest.

Raoul scanned the clearing and checked to see if there were any dangers.

“It should be fine to rest here. It doesn’t look like there are any adventurers nearby either.”

“Okay then! RV Summon!” I used my skill, and the RV appeared.

I wanna sit on the couch and snack on something. I also wanna use the restroom. Being able to summon a restroom in a dungeon is the best.

“Oh, right. I guess there’s enough space for you to summon your RV in a place like this,” Raoul said, impressed.

“Resting in the RV will help us recover more than sitting on rocks or the ground, don’t you think?” Well, being outside with a campfire is a whole different story.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I headed into the RV and washed my hands as I thought about what to do next. I checked the time, only to see it was already evening. Much more time than I’d expected had passed. Should we just camp here for the night?

Just then, I heard Raoul’s stomach growl.

“Oh...”

“I’m hungry too,” I said, laughing while Raoul stood there, bashful. “Should we just have dinner and rest here for today?”

“Let’s do that.”

And so, our adventures for the day ended there.

≈≈⛟

Three days had passed since we entered the dungeon. Our plan had been going well, and we were making progress smoothly with Raoul at the vanguard and me at the middle guard.

“Raoul, there are stairs! There are stairs over there!” I’d found a staircase that took us down to the second level. Each stair was a boulder that led farther into the dungeon’s depths.

“Whoa, it’s about time!”

“There are stronger monsters past here, right?”

Raoul nodded. “They get stronger, and their numbers grow. You know how most goblins on this floor appeared on their own? But the deeper you get, the more of them there are. Even if it’s the same monster, depending on the floor you’re on, the difficulty can be leagues different.”

Raoul’s words made me gulp. If I let my guard down because I was up against monsters I’d taken down before, I was going to get hurt. It wasn’t rare for quantity to be more overwhelming than quality opponents.

I’m gonna have to be even more careful. I’m gonna protect Ohagi too!

“So, we should have a talk here.”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to head back to Labyrinth City first, or do you want to keep going forward and head to the next level?”

“Oh, right... The jobs we accepted were to hunt goblins and wolves, so we’ve completed those.”

Beginner adventurers like me usually went to hunting grounds or dungeons that would only require a day trip. Though we were visiting a less busy dungeon, it was probably the right time to return. I groaned while I thought about what to do.

“To be honest, since we’re resting and sleeping in the RV, it hasn’t been too bad...” I said.

“That’s true! There aren’t any other adventurers sleeping outdoors so comfortably,” Raoul remarked. “The fact that we have that mysterious shower thing makes our accommodations several times—no, several tens of times more comfortable than any old inn!”

“Th-Thanks.”

We were also washing our clothes in the shower and hanging them up to dry indoors while we slept, so we were staying hygienic too. It was quite important to be able to get our hands on clean water.

Even the kitchenette on its own made having the RV amazing. We could store some foods; and since we could cook, we could also prepare delicious foods.

“I guess the main concern would be food,” I said.

“Right. We bought extra dried meat and things like that, so we should be fine, but when it comes to Ohagi’s food...”

“Yeah, salty foods are her enemy.” That was why we couldn’t give Ohagi things like dried meats, which were heavily seasoned.

“It would’ve been nice if we could hunt for meat, but there aren’t any jackalopes here,” Raoul pointed out.

“It’s all goblins and wolves,” I said. Those couldn’t be food. “I think there’s about two days’ worth of food for Ohagi left. Even though we have the fridge, meat doesn’t last for very long... But the fact that we have some room to breathe does make it feel like a waste to head back right now.”

“Hm. Then what if we check out the second level a little bit before turning back?” Raoul proposed.

“Oh, that’s a good idea!”

Since we’d come all the way to the stairs to the second floor, it would be much too sad to leave right now. We decided to just take a peek at the second floor before returning to Labyrinth City.

“Watch your step,” Raoul cautioned.

“Okay.”

We’d gone down the stairs in the cave and arrived on the second level.

“Mrrmrow!”

“Whoa, the second level is so spacious compared to the first!” Ohagi seemed excited, so I picked her up to make sure she wouldn’t run off on her own. It would be terrible if she were to run off and fall prey to a goblin. Just then, Raoul began stretching his arms out in the middle of the path and checking the height of the ceiling. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, it’s pretty spacious so I thought we might be able to drive the RV here...”

I gasped. It was true that the path had gotten wider, and it felt like I had enough space to drive. Still, it would be a tight fit; and this was a cave, so it would be difficult to drive if there were large boulders sitting near the walls. Still, having the option to drive would be nice.

Raoul turned to me and asked, “Want to try summoning it?”

“Yeah... I guess I won’t know how it’ll go until I bring it out—let’s give it a shot. RV Summon!” I used my skill, and the RV appeared with a poof, filling up the space. Fortunately, the RV appeared facing the direction we were headed in. “Let’s see...” I walked around the vehicle and checked how much space there was on every side. “It looks like there’s a gap big enough for one person to pass on either side.”

“Looks like we should be able to drive the RV here,” Raoul said.

“Yeah...!” I responded hesitantly.

Can I navigate this narrow path with my driving skills? Can I drive on a path similar to the cramped roads of Japan, when lately, all I’ve been driving on are open grasslands? Though I was worried, my RV was going to look as good as new once I leveled up, so I decided not to worry about it and smiled at Raoul. It’ll be fine. I’ll get better as we go!

“Let’s try driving a bit, then,” I said before we hopped into the RV.

The Thundering RV

The RV rattled as the body of the vehicle scraped against the walls.

“Raaagh!” I roared. It had only been three minutes since I started driving.

“These roads are narrow. It’s not your fault,” Raoul said, trying to comfort me.

“Urgh... The scratches will be fixed when I level up, so I’ll just focus on driving and getting used to the dungeon paths...”

It turned out to be incredibly difficult to drive the large RV down narrow and unfamiliar roads. I wasn’t used to them at all.

Despite all those troubles, switching to the RV actually had its benefits. Since we could use the navigation system, we already had a map of the dungeon. On top of that, monsters appeared on the map as blue dots, so I could tell where they were with one look.

The RV also had automatic headlights, so the dungeon was brighter now. Though there were glowing mushrooms growing in here, man-made lights were definitely stronger. The RV’s way too compatible with dungeon crawling!

“Wait, shoot! There are monsters up ahead after that slight turn—two of them!” We have to get out and fight them right away! Despite what I needed to do, the wall was right next to the door because of my lousy driving skills, meaning we couldn’t exit the vehicle...! “Gyaaah! What should we do?! The monsters are right up ahead!”

Is this what a mini panic attack is? I pressed my foot down on the gas to keep going forward and hopefully get some more space between the wall and the vehicle, but ended up pressing harder than I meant to. The RV took off with a vroom.

“Aaah, shoot! This is bad!” This is gonna be a head-on crash! I can’t even joke about it! As I fumbled to step on the brakes, my eyes met those of the goblins in front of us. There was a loud thud, and the goblins turned into particles of light before disappearing.

“Huh...? Did I take them down?” Or rather, did I run them over...? My heart thumped loudly, making an uncomfortable sound.

“Wow,” Raoul said in a carefree manner. “You don’t usually find skills that provide a living space and take down monsters. If we can just keep defeating monsters like this as we move forward, we might be able to clear this dungeon at an incredibly quick rate.”

“Huh? Oh... Yeah, I guess so,” I said, nodding along to Raoul’s words.

I couldn’t help but feel like I had just run something over, but this actually counted as defeating a monster with my skill. The fact that this world didn’t have cars could be a factor contributing to that, but it helped me feel better, and I felt relieved at once.

“Why don’t we keep driving, then?” I said.

“Sounds good!”

“Mau!”

After hearing Raoul’s and Ohagi’s energetic responses, I resumed driving.

We progressed forward, running over the monsters we encountered with loud thuds, whacks, and thumps along the way. Sometimes the RV would rattle as it scraped against the dungeon walls, but it happened much less than when I first started driving.

“This time there’s one wolf and one goblin,” Raoul noted.

“Okay!” I firmly stepped on the gas and swiftly rammed into the monsters. The damage from driving slowly was low, so the monsters could survive the hit. That’s why we had to attack with vigor when we saw one! However, there was a big problem with this method.

“Raaagh! The dropped items!”

Yes, we couldn’t collect the items dropped by the monsters, even though we’d taken them down. Technically, we could collect them—we just had to exit the RV and gather them. But that was quite the hassle... Because of that, we decided to only step out and collect dropped items when there were either a large number of enemies, or if there was a rare item.

Monetarily speaking, dropped items were important to collect. But we concluded that taking down more monsters to get a better reward from the hunting job would be a better deal. Still, it feels bad leaving behind items. As I screamed in frustration over not being able to get all the dropped items, the dashboard chimed.

“Huh? I leveled up already?!”

“That was fast,” Raoul said.

“Mrau!”

Though my level-ups had been coming at a slower pace than when I started out, I had an unexpected upgrade. As I wondered why it happened, Raoul suddenly exclaimed.

“Oh! Could it be because you’re taking down monsters?”

“Huh? Oh, I see... The RV is gaining experience from taking down monsters!” Makes sense why the RV leveled up.

“What improved this time?” Raoul asked.

“I’ll take a look.”

<You’ve leveled up! Current Level: 12>

Level 12 Bathtub Installed

“W-Waaah!” I couldn’t help but make a strange sound; my RV had advanced with a shocking upgrade. “This is insane, Raoul! We have a bathtub now!”

“Bathtubs are those things that only aristocrats have at their mansions, right? We have one of those extraordinary things...?!”

“Mreow?”

Raoul was trembling at the unbelievable news, and Ohagi seemed confused.

“I gotta see this right now!” I exclaimed.

“Me too! But I don’t think we should park the RV here... Then again, there aren’t any other adventurers here, so it’s probably fine.”

“Yay!”

I parked the RV right there in the middle of the path, and we moved to the living area.

The place to check out was, of course, the shower room. The noren curtain, sliding door, and changing area were all the same. It would’ve been nice if this area got more spacious, and a vanity was installed or something, but I’ll refrain from being too spoiled.

“I’m opening it, Raoul, Ohagi...”

“Okay...!”

“Mreow!”

My heart pounded as I opened the door to the bathing area. Until now, there had only been a shower there, but... Aaah! It’s a bathtub! It’s there!

“Yay! It’s a bathtub!” I’m so happy!

The bathtub installed was fairly normal. It was the small kind often found in apartments, but considering that we’d only had a shower before, it was more than enough. The entire bathing area was unified with bright colors, and aside from the shower, there was a mirror. A control panel was on the wall, which automatically filled the tub with hot water.

“There’s even a dryer function...?!”

“Whoa, so that’s a bathtub! It’s impressive,” Raoul said as he peeked in and looked inside the bathing area, his face full of excitement.

“The tub isn’t too spacious, but if you sit, I think you can stretch your legs out.” Just like they did on TV when testing out the size of tubs, I climbed into the tub and extended my legs. Yeah, my toes are just barely not touching the tub walls, so it’s the perfect size for me.

“So that’s how you use it. I’m looking forward to it.” It might be a little cramped for you, though, Raoul... “How do you use this?”

Though he could tell that it was something noteworthy, Raoul didn’t seem to get how the tub was used. That’s fair—it’s set up like a Japanese bath.Maybe I should show him how to use it. I began explaining how to operate the control panel.

“If you press this button that says ‘automatic,’ the tub will fill with hot water. When you’re done bathing, you push this thing in the tub to drain the water... And at the end, press this button that says ‘ventilation’ on the control panel.”

“So I just push buttons. That seems easy enough for me to do!”

“Yeah. Oh, also, don’t forget to plug this hole before using the ‘automatic’ button to fill the tub with water.” I’m sure everyone’s forgotten to plug the drain and ended up with an empty tub at least once in their life... They have, right? I plugged and unplugged the drain several times to show Raoul how to do it.

“Got it!” he said with a beaming smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

There were other settings as well, like the amount of water and the temperature, but those were probably fine at the default setting. The only adjustment we might have to make would be to raise the temperature a little in the winter.

“Then let’s test it out! Try filling the tub, Raoul!”

“Huh, me? Okay... I’ll do it. Since you know how to use it, it’ll be better for me to do it and learn.” Raoul nodded with a serious look before pressing the button labeled “automatic.” The next moment, hot water spurted out vigorously.

“Whoa, that’s incredible! Huh, is this hot water? Is it a magical instrument...? Even if it is, this intensity is really impressive...” I couldn’t tell if he was just impressed or moved by this device, but regardless, Raoul was staring intently as the water poured out, mumbling, “Incredible.” He seemed to be having fun.

It kind of reminds me of when I’m looking at a campfire... However, there was a terrible thing happening, and Raoul hadn’t noticed.

He’d forgotten to plug the drain, and the hot water pouring out was all leaving the tub. Please forgive me—I accidentally just watched as it happened.

“Raoul, what’s going on with the water...?”

“Huh? It’s supposed to pool in this, right? Wait... Huh?! It’s draining away?! Oh, the plug!” He realized that he’d forgotten to plug the drain, and he quickly did so. The hot water immediately started pooling in the tub, and Raoul sighed with relief. “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal to forget this thing.”

“Yup, it is, so be careful.”

“I will,” Raoul said, using the back of his hand to wipe away the sweat that had beaded on his forehead during his moment of panic.

Since we’d filled it up, I wanted to take a bath, but I didn’t feel comfortable just bathing while we were parked in the middle of the dungeon path, so we decided to head to a clearing first. The plan was to take a break at the clearing to bathe and eat, then turn around and return to Labyrinth City.

“All right, let’s give it my best and keep driving!”

“Mreow!”

Though I’d psyched myself up, I needed to check the roads first. The amazing navigation system had a map of the area, so I could see if there was a clearing nearby. I operated the dashboard with my finger and checked out what was ahead of us.

“Hm, looks like we’ll find a spacious area if we drive another ten minutes. Factoring in the monsters we’ll run into, it’ll probably take a little more than that.” There were blue dots representing monsters along the way, so we would be gaining a healthy amount of experience as well when we took them down.

“Sounds good! Still, you should know that we’re making progress at an extraordinary speed. Dungeon crawling usually isn’t this easy.”

“I know, I know!” I reassured.

I pressed on the gas and we took off with a vroom. Since the paths were narrow, I drove more carefully than usual. I checked the dashboard along the way as I took down goblins with the RV, and I noticed a red dot.

“Huh? That wasn’t there just a second ago...”

“What’s wrong?” Raoul asked.

“It looks like someone’s at the clearing we’re headed for,” I explained.

“Oh, this red dot?” Raoul tilted his head in thought, then suddenly exclaimed “Oh!” as he seemingly realized why the person was there. “The stairs to the next level are probably at this clearing!”

“Huh? Oh, that makes sense!”

We were supposed to only check out the second floor just a little bit before turning around. But since it turned out we could drive the RV here, we’d cleared this level much faster than we’d expected. It was a happy miscalculation.

“Does that mean there’s an adventurer resting there?”

“There’s a pretty good chance of that. They’re probably on their way back.”

“That makes sense,” I said. In that case, should we give up on going to the clearing and turn around?

The plus side of going to the clearing was the possibility of meeting the adventurer and getting information—they were probably at a deeper level than us, so just hearing their experience would be nice.

The only scary thing with that was that there was no guarantee the adventurer was a good person. If they saw us and demanded money or attacked... I couldn’t help but think of Raoul’s former party members.

As I groaned and agonized over what to do, Raoul spoke up.

“Let’s go. I don’t know what kind of person is there, but this dungeon is far from town. There’s a good chance that the adventurer goes dungeon crawling here on a regular basis, so it would be good to meet them.”

“That makes sense!” The only thing I’ve been able to think of to tell him is “That makes sense.”

“We should decide whether to show them the RV or not after we meet them,” Raoul pointed out.

“Yeah, I think we should go there on foot after driving closer.”

“Agreed.”

It was decided we would go as planned, so I drove us closer to the clearing.

I stored my RV and placed Ohagi on my shoulder before walking off with Raoul leading the way. Once we arrived at the clearing, Raoul hid behind the wall of the path to scope things out.

“It’s rare for someone to visit this dungeon on their own... Wait, they’re passed out?!”

“Huh?!”

Raoul rushed into the clearing, which surprised me, but I followed. Perhaps the adventurer had been attacked by a monster and had fled here. That’s right, some people have to flee—this is a dungeon after all!

I checked that I had potions on me as I rushed to the person on the ground, and I noticed it was a familiar face.

“Hold on, it’s Fifia!”

“She’s a pretty skilled adventurer, so why is she...?!” Raoul wondered aloud. “But from the looks of it, she doesn’t seem injured.”

Why is she passed out, then? The moment that thought crossed my mind, Fifia’s stomach growled loudly. The unexpected development made Raoul’s and my eyes widen with surprise as we turned to look at each other.

“Thank you very much... I never would’ve thought that I could eat something so delicious in a dungeon.” Fifia, who was sitting before me, bowed deeply, and then wasted no time in finishing off the sandwich and soup we had prepared for her.

Fifia was a solo adventurer who had helped us when we were hunting the leaf goblin that had appeared near the village of Friulia. She had pale blue hair that was tied up in a ponytail, and she had a distinguished look to her. Her green eyes felt very fitting, since she was an elf. Though she was small in stature, she was an active, high-rank adventurer.

“Please don’t worry about it,” I said with a smile as Fifia repeatedly thanked us. “I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”

“Even so, there’s nothing that can be done when one runs out of food... I’m not very good at cooking, so I have trouble rationing food when I’m staying outdoors,” Fifia explained, adding that she was embarrassed as she hid her face with her hands.

Raoul was the one to cheer her up. “It’s quite difficult to ration food when you’re dungeon crawling. You also have to prepare for the worst-case scenario, so there’s a lot that doesn’t go according to plan.”

“It makes me feel better to hear you say that,” Fifia said with a nervous laugh. Then I remembered I wanted to thank her for her help back in Friulia.

“Thank you for everything you did back in the village of Friulia. We went to the adventurer’s guild after everything.”

“I see... I’m glad to hear that.”

Fifia had been the one to bring Raoul’s former party members in to the adventurer’s guild. Because of that, we were able to collect fines from them. I didn’t think it was good to continue this gloomy topic, so I decided to tell her about our plans moving forward.

“After resting here, we’re planning to head back to Labyrinth City. Would you like to ride with us?”

“Oh, is it okay? That would be really great...”

“Of course. Right, Raoul, Ohagi?”

“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

“Mreow.”

The other two readily agreed. Yeah, we can’t leave her behind when she’s out of food. I let out a sigh of relief.

All right then, time to head back—actually, there’s something to do before that.

“Okay, time to take a bath!” I’ve been waiting for this! My excitement rose in an instant, and Fifia looked at me with confusion. It was like she had a question mark hovering over her head.

“I’ll make food while you’re bathing, then,” Raoul said.

“Wait, really?”

“It’ll just be the same sandwich and soup from earlier, though. Also chicken for Ohagi.”

“That’s more than enough, thank you!” I’m so grateful for Raoul! Also, there’s... I turned to the elven adventurer. “Why don’t we bathe together, Fifia?”

“What...?”

“I’m sure you sweat in the dungeon, and we can wash our clothes while we bathe. If you don’t have a change of clothes, I can lend you my loungewear.”

“Take your time and enjoy,” Raoul said, sending us off.

With Ohagi still on my shoulder, I brought Fifia with me, somewhat dragging her as we headed to the bathroom.

“Whaaat?! What is this place?!” After I swiftly disrobed her, Fifia stepped into the bathing area and stared, her eyes wide with shock. “I was thinking the same thing back when you let me ride with you before, but your skill is unbelievably irregular, Mizarie...”

“I think I really struck it lucky,” I said with a serious look.

“Mreow.”

“You really did,” Fifia said with a smile.

Before soaking in the tub, I lathered up the soap I had bought in Totto and washed my body. Since I’d been mostly driving, I hadn’t sweat too much, but it felt good to get clean.

As I washed Fifia’s back for her, I noticed that her hair was very beautiful. It was silky smooth and didn’t look anything like the hair of a woman who’d been battling monsters in a dungeon. If anything, it was reminiscent of a noble lady’s hair.

“Your hair is really pretty, Fifia.”

She gasped. “Thank you. Um, you don’t have to be so formal with me—in fact, I’d appreciate it if you weren’t.”

“Really? Then I’ll take you up on that. Your hair’s so silky smooth and feels great to the touch!” As I got excited, Fifia seemed embarrassed and happy at the same time.

My hair was relatively straight and easy to deal with, but it had gotten damaged compared to when I was an aristocrat. But I cut it into a bob, so it’s not too hard to deal with...

After rinsing off Fifia’s back, I quickly scrubbed down Ohagi, and we finally got into the long-awaited tub.

“It feels so good!” I exclaimed.

“It feels so nice. I just want to fall asleep in here...”

“Mreooow.”

“I get it,” I said, nodding in response to Fifia. I then asked her the question that had been on my mind. “Do you visit the Spirit’s Dungeon often?”

“Yes. I want to clear this dungeon, so I’ve come here several times. But I still seem far from that goal.”

“Is the dungeon pretty deep?”

Fifia nodded. “I’ve cleared up to the fifth level, but it’s difficult to get past that. There’s a clearing in front of the stairs that goes down to the sixth level, so people trying to clear this dungeon use it as a campsite.”

“The fifth floor...!” This was only the second level, so it was a long way to go. “I heard there weren’t many people dungeon crawling here, but it’s pretty popular, huh?”

“Well, my impression is that there aren’t as many people—but those that are here are serious about clearing this dungeon.”

“Is that rare?” I thought that dungeons were somewhere you visited to make money, so it felt rare to see people who actually wanted to clear them.

“Most adventurers go to a level that matches their skills and hunt monsters to make money, so there aren’t as many who want to clear a dungeon,” the elven adventurer said, bringing up what I was thinking.

“Does that mean that those who want to clear dungeons aren’t after money?”

“Not necessarily,” Fifia said, shaking her head. “Of course, there are people whose goals aren’t to make money. They might be after honor, or the satisfaction that comes with clearing a dungeon. But if you clear a dungeon, you have the chance of obtaining never-before-seen treasures.”

“Oh, so rather than using reliable methods to make money, they’re the type of people who want to get rich quick!”

“That’s right,” she said, giggling. “Though, the image of someone who wants to get rich quick is a bit strange when paired with someone who’s seriously trying to clear a dungeon. Are you guys trying to clear this dungeon too?”

I nodded. “We’re looking for an elixir. I don’t know if there’s one here, but my skill stands out, so we chose a dungeon that seemed less crowded...”

“It’s true that your skill would stand out...” Fifia seemed to understand why we had chosen this dungeon. “There actually might be an elixir here, though.”

“Really?!” I reacted with such intensity that the bath water splashed onto Fifia’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Fifia said with a smile as she wiped the water off her face. “I should tell you, though... The elixir being here isn’t a sure thing. It’s just a possibility...”

Despite there being no guarantee of an elixir, it was hopeful to hear a seasoned adventurer say there was a chance. I wanna get an elixir as soon as possible and heal Raoul’s arm.

“Why did you choose this dungeon?” I asked. “Isn’t it difficult getting here?”

“As an elf, I wanted to meet a spirit. That’s why I chose this dungeon.”

“There’s a spirit here?!” The sudden mention of a spirit left me shocked.

“You didn’t know?” Fifia said, surprised by my reaction. “It’s called the Spirit’s Dungeon.”

“Huh? I didn’t think that meant there was a literal spirit here...”

Fifia looked a little exasperated at hearing my honest thoughts, and she began explaining how dungeons worked.

According to her, dungeons were like homes. This dungeon had already been named the Spirit’s Dungeon when it first appeared. The statues outside of dungeons, as well as the names carved into them, appeared at the same time a dungeon did. That would become a marker of the dungeon.

Because of that, a spirit resided in the depths of this dungeon, and the monsters were protecting this spirit—or so people thought. If the dungeon was cleared, and the master—in this case, the spirit—was defeated, the dungeon’s name would disappear. That meant that the cave dungeon I’d first visited lacked a name for that reason.

“I see, this is really useful... Thank you for explaining all of that.”

“You’re welcome.”

So there’s a spirit here. I kind of want to meet the spirit, but could I really clear a dungeon that even Fifia is having trouble with?

“By the way, what are you going to do when you meet the spirit?” I asked.

“I want to plant a sacred tree in the Elven Village. I’m going to ask for a seedling.”

“A sacred tree? That sounds incredible!” I said. “I hope you get one. I’m rooting for you!”

“Thanks.”

Sacred trees were somewhat of a symbol in this world, and when you played the game, they appeared in fairy tales. I don’t know the details of what they’re like, but I’m sure they’d be perfect for the Elven Village.

“That’s why I want to clear this dungeon and meet the spirit, no matter what...”

“Yeah, yeah! Wait, Fifia? Aaah! You’re bright red! You’ve been in the bath for too long!”

“Mreeeow.”

It seemed that we’d been talking forever. I supported Fifia as she stumbled and headed out of the bath before letting her rest in my room.

Ah, shoot. I was used to taking baths, but Fifia possibly wasn’t, which led to her overheating. I gave her some chilled water from the fridge to drink. I didn’t have a fan, so I tried to cool her off with a towel.

My room lacked a bed, so I laid out the floor mattress I’d previously bought and had her lie on it. I was planning on getting a bed frame, among other things, once we got back to Labyrinth City.

“I’m sorry, Fifia... I should’ve been more careful.”

“No, it’s not your fault. I got too into the conversation as well, and it’s been a while since I’ve taken a bath, so it felt nice.”

“Fifia...” My apology had ended up making her be considerate. “I’m surprised it’s not your first bath, though. There was no need to be so shocked.”

“Don’t compare that to a standard bath.”

“Okay...” It seemed my statement was absurd in this world.

Raoul was currently in the bath. Before that, he had worried over Fifia. And while he fretted, he had also trembled, saying, “I didn’t realize it was such a terrifying thing...”

“I’ll be fine after lying down for a while, so why don’t you go eat?” Fifia said.

“But...” I was worried about her, so I had planned on staying by her side for a while, but she repeatedly insisted that she was fine.

“I think I’ve also just been exhausted. Is it okay if I take a nap?”

“Of course.” Since Fifia had been leaving the dungeon before passing out from hunger, she was undoubtedly exhausted. I should’ve had her rest sooner! “You should be alone if you’re going to sleep. I’ll be out there, so don’t hesitate to call for me if you need anything, okay?”

“Sure, thank you.”

I poured some more cold water for her just in case, then left the room.

“All right, let’s eat while Raoul’s enjoying his bath.”

He had prepared food for us while Fifia and I were bathing, and I brought it over to the table. It was a chicken-and-vegetable sandwich, as well as a soup with various beans. I placed Ohagi’s chicken into her favorite dish before digging in.

“Mmm, delicious!”

“Mreow mreow!” It seemed that Ohagi’s food was just as unbearably scrumptious, and she couldn’t stop raving about it as she ate.

I quickly cleaned my plate before motivating myself with an “All right!” I wanted to get us closer to the surface while I had the time. The clearing we were at was also the location of the stairs to the third level, so people could show up here at any moment. In that case, I thought it was best to distance ourselves, even by a little bit. Someone dangerous could show up, so it’s better to be safe.

I was grateful to be able to drive without any issues, even if people were in the RV’s living area. It’s okay. I’ll just be more cautious than usual!

A New Kind of Campfire

Hard Candy with Elf’s Flowers

Right after we left the dungeon, the dashboard chimed.

“Whoa, I leveled up already?!”

I had driven the RV through a good portion of the dungeon and had taken down tons of monsters along the way, which probably contributed to my swift level-up. I immediately checked what upgrade I’d gotten this time.

<You’ve leveled up! Current Level: 13>

Level 13 Walk-In Closet Installed

“I never expected to get a storage solution!”

A walk-in closet was like a small room where you stored mainly clothing. They were usually two to five square meters in size. I wonder if it was added like a separate room.

As I sat there, restless with excitement, I heard Raoul yell out, “There’s a new door!” Looked like my hunch was right.

I quickly parked the RV and headed to the living area. Fifia was with Raoul; maybe the sound of his voice had woken her up.

“Oh, Mizarie! There’s a new door!” Raoul exclaimed again.

“What’s going on?” Fifia asked.

“Mrrmrow.”

I slipped past Fifia and a very shocked Raoul. Ohagi jumped onto my shoulder, and I started petting her head.

“I leveled up,” I explained.

“Oh, I thought I felt some swaying,” Raoul said. “I didn’t realize you were driving.”

“So your skill leveled up? Congratulations,” Fifia said.

“Thanks!”

It would’ve been nice to have given them a heads-up that I’d taken off, but Fifia had been sleeping while Raoul had been bathing. My explanation made them nod their heads and murmur “I see.”

“How far did you get?” Raoul asked, confirming our current location.

“We just left the dungeon,” I explained.

“What? Already?!” Fifia exclaimed, shocked by how quickly we’d returned to the surface.

“Can I first take a look at the new room?” I asked. “I’m so curious! It’s supposed to be a walk-in closet.”

“A walk-in closet?” Raoul and Fifia repeated in unison, tilting their heads in confusion at the unfamiliar phrase.

I explained that it was basically a room to store clothing. Fifia quickly understood and nodded, saying, “So it’s a wardrobe room.” Raoul still seemed completely lost. I get it—it’s not really something commoners have experience with, especially if you don’t have a family...

I suddenly thought about how RVs didn’t usually have walk-in closets. It was a nice convenience that I appreciated, but as my RV became more comfortable to live in, it was also turning into something quite different from those in my previous life.

“With that, I’d like to reveal the new room. Ta-da!” I hadn’t seen the room myself, but I still opened the door with grandiose flare.

“Whoa!” Raoul and Fifia both exclaimed.

“Mreeeow,” Ohagi meowed in unison.

We all stepped inside together. The walk-in closet was about three and a half square meters. It wasn’t too spacious, but there were built-in shelves and closet rods installed. Another nice feature—there was space for long pieces of clothing to be hung. Even if Raoul and I were to store all of our clothes here, we would have plenty of space left over.

“It’s a little cramped, but I think it’s enough space since I don’t have that many clothes,” I said.

“Yeah, I just have a couple outfits total,” Raoul agreed.

“Same,” I said. I had an outfit for adventuring, one outfit for when I wanted to dress up a little, and some loungewear that doubled as pajamas. I’ll buy some more clothes once I make bank from dungeon crawling!

“I can’t believe you even have a wardrobe room in here. Your skill is really incredible, Mizarie,” Fifia remarked. “It’s not that different from dungeon crawling while having a whole house with you.”

Raoul nodded. “I don’t think I can imagine living without the RV anymore...”

“That’s completely understandable,” Fifia said.

Raoul then joked about how he might cry if he was told to go back to living the way he used to. Jeez, so dramatic, I thought to myself with a chuckle.

“I’m happy to have you here for as long as you’d like,” I said with a smile.

“Th-Thanks,” Raoul said, his voice in a slightly higher pitch. I thought I saw him blushing a bit, but perhaps I was tricking myself into seeing what I wanted to.

≈≈⛟

We decided to spend the night in the RV before heading back to Labyrinth City. We would usually have dinner at this point, but since we’d just eaten, no one was really hungry.

“Oh, why don’t I make some kind of snack?” I stepped out of the RV and stretched out. The sun had set long ago, and it was already night. “Maybe we have some time to light a fire too...?!”

I won’t waste any extra time I have to light a campfire! A grin spread on my face as I thought about what kind of fire I should light today. Using the firepit would be nice, but lighting one directly on the ground would be fine here. Just thinking about it is exciting!

Just then, I noticed something on the ground. I could try lighting a new kind of fire if I use that. My excitement was ramping up. There was something I’d seen in a video from my past life, and I’d been wanting to try it.

“This log...!” I reached for the log on the ground and gave it a light knock. It sounded light, and I could tell that it was thoroughly dried out. It would catch fire wonderfully. I rolled the log closer to the RV and started remembering the steps. “I think I’m supposed to open a hole in the log, then light the fire there...”

This method was going to create a campfire that stood on its own and could be used for cooking. Just the thought of the log fire was enough to fuel my enthusiasm. But I immediately ran into a problem.

“How am I supposed to open a hole in this...?” It was a point I had overlooked. The person in the video had used some sort of tool. Some other videos had people cutting slits into the log. “Hmm...” I stood there, racking my brain over what I should do.

“What’s wrong?” Fifia said as she stepped out of the RV.

“I was thinking of starting a bonfire, but it’s not going well.”

“Isn’t that a little big to use for firewood?”

“Oh, no! That’s not what it’s for!” I did my best to explain what kind of fire I was trying to set up.

“I see,” Fifia said. “It would be easier to start a regular fire with firewood. You do strange things, Mizarie.”

“Ha ha...” It seemed like I was in the minority as someone who was particular about campfires. Though I already knew that, it was still a bit unfortunate.

“I think I can help with the hole,” Fifia said.

“Really?! I’d really appreciate it!”

“Leave it to me.” Fifia crouched down before the log and placed her hand over it. Just then, Fifia’s ponytail swayed in the wind and flew up. “Wind...!” The next moment, the air roared as if there was a blast, and the wind instantly carved a hole into the log. Wood shavings floated in the air.

“Wow!” I kept being surprised at each step, and I was entranced by the sight of Fifia performing magic.

“Is this good?”

“Oh! Yeah, it’s great! Thank you, Fifia!”

“You’re welcome.”

There was now a hole in the center and on the side of the log for the fire. The hole in the center was the larger of the two, and that would be where I would light the fire. While I was satisfied with the results, Fifia still seemed confused.

“This is going to turn into a bonfire?” she asked.

“It will! Or rather, it should...”

“It should?”

“It’s my first time doing this. I’ve seen other people do it, so I have an idea of how to do it...” Since my information was from videos I’d seen in my previous life, there was no doubt a huge difference in our methodology, considering all the convenient tools the people in the videos had. Because of that, I was worried about properly setting this up.

“We all have things we’ve never done before. Let’s just give it a shot,” Fifia said, reassuring.

“Okay.”

The shavings from the hole carved in the log seemed like the perfect thing to use, so I stuffed them back into the log. I placed several thin branches on top of that, creating the base for a campfire. If this catches fire, then I’ll be set! I pulled out two ignition rocks, a magical instrument used to create sparks and light a fire. I struck the rocks against each other, and the sparks lit the shavings on fire. Soon, the whole thing went up in flames.

“All right, it worked!” Fifia exclaimed.

“It’s better than I thought it would be!” I beamed. But after a few moments, the fire finished burning and disappeared. “Ah man!”

“Hm, it seems like it’ll be hard to keep it burning here.”

“No way...” It looked so good in the videos. I just need to think back to them... I suddenly remembered something. Right, they used a small thing of fuel in the videos!

It was unbelievable that they had been using the power of science despite building the fire out of a log. As someone with no access to the fuel they had, I couldn’t do anything about this situation.

“It’ll be okay,” Fifia said, trying to cheer me up as I stood there gloomily. “I didn’t realize how much you liked bonfires. I don’t know if it’ll make up for it, but what about this?”

Fifia then pulled out a small rock. It sparkled, and there seemed to be bubbles trapped underneath the surface. The rock seemed like some kind of magical instrument, but it didn’t look to be processed in any way.

“This is something made in the Elven Village. You put this here, and...” Fifia placed the rock inside the hole in the log, and placed her hand over it. “Salamander, spirit of fire, I gift this spirit stone to thee.”

“Huh?” Suddenly, a flame burst out from the spirit stone. “Huh? What? Huh? Salamander? What’s going on?!” I was shocked by what had just happened in front of me.

“It’s said that in the past, elves would communicate with spirits. We don’t see them these days, so there’s no proof that it’s true, but we can borrow the spirits’ powers by using stones like this.”

“That’s incredible!” I wonder if that’s why she’s trying to get the seedling from the spirit. I was beginning to harbor a desire to meet the spirit in the dungeon myself.

“This fire should burn for a while,” Fifia said.

“Really? That’s amazing! Are spirit stones easy to obtain?” If it’s possible, I wanna get some and gift them to the spirits to perform magic. I waited eagerly for Fifia’s answer, but unfortunately for me, she shook her head.

“Unfortunately, no. There aren’t that many spirit stones in general, and I don’t believe they lend their powers to humans.”

“It’s limited to elves?!” What in the world?! Why didn’t the game devs make the villainess an elf?! I screamed internally as an urge to throttle those developers flared up.

“It’s said that elves can use spirit stones because our ancestors that communicated with the spirits had some kind of contract with them, or something like that...”

“Got it.” Does that mean if I become friends with the spirit in the dungeon, I might be able to use spirit stones...? Now I’m feeling really motivated!

“I’m gonna try to make a contract with the spirit in the depths of the dungeon!”

“That’s easier said than done, but I feel like you might be able to pull it off, Mizarie.”

“Hee hee.” I should buy things in Labyrinth City to give as tribute to the spirit. Maybe some treats and alcohol.

“I was wondering—are you planning on doing something with this fire?” Fifia asked.

“Oh, that’s right! I was planning on making a treat.”

“A treat...? Using the bonfire...?” Fifia looked at me with disbelief.

I guess that’s fair. I don’t think anyone, regardless of what world they’re from, would try to make a sweet treat using a campfire.

“All we need is sugar and water!”

“What?! There’s no way you could make something with just those ingredients. Are you sure you weren’t tricked by the person who told you this? You’re so kind—who knows what you might believe...”

“No, no! I’m making candies, so I don’t need the kind of ingredients you’d need for treats like cookies.” After I explained what I was doing, Fifia seemed relieved. Do I really seem that gullible? I guess I can be a bit of a pushover. “You only need sugar and water, but herbs can be nice in them too. And so, I’m going to add...this!”

“That’s a regular flower you can find growing anywhere, right?”

“Yup.”

It was the very flower I’d picked when I went on an early morning walk. When I showed it to Raoul, he’d said that it was a flower that had a bit of nectar, and kids would snack on them. I thought it would look really cute inside the candy.

“That sounds adorable,” Fifia remarked. “Could you use these flowers too?” Fifia pulled out flowers with petals that faded from white to pink. The tips of the petals were rounded, and they looked similar to cliff maids, which I’d seen in my previous life.

“Those flowers are so cute! Are they edible?”

“They are. These are elf’s flowers... They have a lot of nectar, and the petals also have a touch of sweetness to them. They’re sometimes used as a garnish.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!” I bet they would look really nice on a salad or dessert. “Can I have three of those?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks!”

I quickly brought out the necessary tools, sugar, and water from the RV. Raoul and Ohagi were curious about what I was doing, and followed me out as well. It was time to start making candy.

The steps were simple. I put about half a tablespoon of water and three tablespoons of sugar in a ladle, which I then held over the fire. The mixture turned golden, at which point I took the ladle off the heat and poured the contents onto a wrapping leaf. As the mixture hardened, I took the florets from the flower I’d picked and sprinkled them over it, then placed the elf’s flowers in the middle.

“Okay! The hard candy with elf’s flowers is complete!”

“What, it’s done already?!” Raoul exclaimed.

“That was so quick... You’re so good at cooking, Mizarie,” Fifia said, amazed. “It’s so pretty,” she added, praising how the candy had turned out as well.

The flowers Fifia had given me looked great inside the transparent, golden-hued candy. The florets from the flower I’d picked were a nice accent as well, and it had turned into something quite beautiful.

“Hope it’s good,” I said. It was my first time making hard candy, and there wasn’t any point where I could taste test the mixture, so I took the first piece. I popped the candy into my mouth and gasped.

“Hey, why do you get to go first— Wait, what’s wrong? Mizarie?” Raoul seemed worried that I suddenly went quiet.

A beaming smile spread on my face, and I couldn’t help myself from grinning. “It’s absolutely wonderful! There’s more to it than the sweetness of the sugar—I think it was a really good idea to add the flowers. They look cute too... This is the best!”

“Jeez, you had me worried! I’ll try some too... It’s so sweet—it’s delicious!”

“Mmm, this is really good.”

Raoul and Fifia both seemed to enjoy the candy as well. Smiles spread on their faces. Thank goodness it turned out fine.

“Mreow...”

“Oh...” Ohagi was the only one who couldn’t have any, and she let out a sad cry. “I’m sorry, Ohagi. You can’t have this.”

My chest hurt from how bad I felt, but I couldn’t give my cat something that was basically pure sugar. Humans were the only ones who just ate whatever. Sorry for being such a gluttonous race...

Raoul started chuckling. “I thought this would happen, so I brought out a piece of chicken from the fridge for Ohagi.”

“Wow! Good thinking, Raoul! Thanks!”

“Mraaaaaun!” Ohagi seemed happy about it as well, and jumped for the chicken in Raoul’s hand.

“Whoa! Calm down, Ohagi! The chicken isn’t going anywhere!”

“Ohagi turns invincible when it comes to chicken,” I said.

Fifia and I both chuckled as Ohagi kept attacking Raoul. Ohagi’s appetite knows no bounds!

Our Fun Life as a Party

“This is incredible! You hunted this many goblins and wolves?!”

“Yes...!”

Upon returning to Labyrinth City, we first headed to the adventurer’s guild. Fifia had her own jobs to report back on, so she was in the guild building too, but a different clerk was handling her business.

Our objective at the guild was to report on the hunting jobs we’d taken. The number of monsters we’d defeated were counted on a guild card, and we would get rewards based on the number of monsters we’d hunted.

The clerk gulped before announcing our results. “Sixty-three goblins, and forty-seven wolves!” Since I was speeding through the dungeon with my RV toward the end, we’d racked up quite the number. “The rewards for hunting monsters are eight hundred rooks per goblin and one thousand rooks per wolf. Your total reward comes out to 97,400 rooks.”

“Whoa, that’s amazing!”

The money was prepared right away, and I felt quite satisfied. Now I could buy a bed frame for my room, and I could get some extra preserved foods as well. I also want to start getting some more items for daily use. With my RV evolving consistently, I had so many things I wanted for it.

“I’m surprised you were able to take down so many in such a short period of time,” the clerk remarked.

“I have an intrinsic skill that helps me move quickly...”

“Oh, I see. That’s how you got around so fast. The Spirit’s Dungeon is unpopular because of how far it is, so I was wondering about that...” The clerk smiled and told us it was helpful that we took hunting jobs for the Spirit’s Dungeon. “Oh, that’s right. Your performance has raised your rank as an adventurer, Mizarie.”

“Really?! That’s great!” Since I was an F-Rank adventurer, I must’ve been upgraded to Rank E.

“Congrats, Mizarie,” Raoul said.

“Mraun.”

“Thanks, you two!”

Adventurers could accept jobs that were up to one rank above their own adventurer rank—but in my case, I had Raoul in my party, who was a C-Rank adventurer. Because of that, we were allowed to accept jobs up to Rank C, if we took them as a party. If Raoul were to accept a job on his own, the highest rank he’d be allowed to accept was B. Shoot, I’m holding Raoul back... I’m gonna go through more of the Spirit’s Dungeon and keep raising my rank!

“Would you like to accept other jobs before you go? You can accept hunting jobs for all types of monsters that appear in the Spirit’s Dungeon.”

“What, we can accept that many?”

“Of course. Oh, but there is a limit when it comes to ranks, so please be careful of that.”

I nodded and decided to accept all the jobs we could with our limit being up to Rank C. Raoul agreed with my decision. “After all, we do have the RV,” he pointed out.

“So, the hunting requests for goblins and wolves are ongoing, while the new targets are goblin mages, goblin riders, high goblins, high goblin mages, high goblin riders, and orcs. The teardrop golems on the fifth level are a B-Rank job, so you can’t accept it at this time. It’s dangerous, so please be careful.”

“Will do. And I’ve gotta say, there sure are lots of goblins.”

“Yes, but goblins are highly reproductive, so we want to hunt as many as possible. It would be terrible if they stampeded out of the dungeon...”

“Yeah...” I felt a shiver run down my spine hearing the clerk’s words, and I gave her a firm nod.

Stampedes were when monsters overflowed from the dungeons, running out of them. If that were to happen, almost all of the monsters in the dungeon would leave simultaneously. The adventurer’s guild always had hunting jobs posted to keep that from happening.

It would be no joke if goblins came spewing out of the dungeon! Though goblins were small fry to most adventurers, they were a threat to civilians. Even an adventurer like me had been scared of them before actually fighting them.

“Okay then, we should be set on accepting jobs,” Raoul said. “Should we go shopping next?”

“Yeah! Oh, before that, I have something I wanted to talk to you about regarding Fifia.”

We thanked the clerk for helping us and decided to talk in the lobby available to those visiting the guild. After we sat down, I immediately got right to it.

“Since Fifia’s also exploring the Spirit’s Dungeon, I was thinking it might be nice to form a one-off party with her.”

“I have no problem with that, but Fifia’s Rank B, and she’s a solo adventurer. She might prefer to do things on her own.”

“Oh, that’s true...” I had thought it would be much simpler, since I wanted to learn more about elves and spirits, and I thought that Fifia would be able to take it easy by traveling in the RV.

That’s fair... She’s probably on her own intentionally, so it might be a nuisance to invite her to join us. The fact that I hadn’t considered that made me upset with myself. I laid my head on the table between us, and Raoul laughed.

“I think there’s no harm in asking. Let’s talk to her about it, and if she doesn’t want to, then we’ll continue forward with just us.”

“That’s true. It doesn’t cost anything to just ask.” That thought made me feel a bit better. I then told Raoul about the things Fifia had told me regarding the Spirit’s Dungeon. There might be a spirit there...!

“Oh, that’s a good point! Dungeons already have a name when they appear. I’d like to meet the spirit too, if there is one.”

“Right?” We would be lucky if we could meet a spirit while looking for an elixir for Raoul.

“Mre-reow.”

“Hm? What is it, Ohagi?” Ohagi, who’d been on my lap, suddenly got up, placing her front legs on my chest.

“I’m done,” Fifia said as she made her way toward us.

It seemed that Ohagi was letting me know that Fifia was here. I petted her head since she was such a good girl, making her purr. Adorbs.

“Welcome back, Fifia.”

“Did you two accept your next jobs?” Fifia asked. Raoul and I both nodded.

“Yup,” Raoul said. “We accepted every hunting job aside from the one to take down teardrop golems.”

“We’re all set!” I chimed in.

“That sounds good, considering Mizarie’s skill,” Fifia said with a firm nod.

“Did you do the same?” I asked.

“That too, but also...” Fifia began. “I’m working on an investigation job. It’s only about the areas I’ve cleared, but I’m reporting information regarding the Spirit’s Dungeon.”

“I didn’t realize you had nonhunting jobs too.” She’s such a skilled adventurer. I feel like she’s so much more competent than me. I’ve just got my hunting jobs. “For now, all your jobs are in the Spirit’s Dungeon, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. On that note, I need to swallow my pride and ask you something. Is there any way I could tag along with your party?”

I gasped. She had suggested what I was just about to ask. Raoul and I looked at each other in shock.

“Actually, Raoul and I were just talking about that. I enjoyed hearing about spirits from you, and I thought it would be nice if we could clear the dungeon together.”

“But our adventurer ranks are lower than yours, so we thought we might be holding you back,” Raoul added on.

“You two could never hold me back—not with Mizarie’s skill or Raoul’s great cooking.”

“Huh?! You think I’m great at cooking?! That’s just the bare minimum!” Raoul exclaimed in shock. “Mizarie’s the amazing one!”

“No, no. Boys who can cook are a rarity!” I said. “Maybe it’s not the best proof of your skills, but even your former party members raved about your food!” Raoul also helped me out a lot, and he even made food for Ohagi. Raoul should be prouder of his cooking skills!

Hearing my encouraging words, Raoul said, “I guess I need to work even harder, then.” I’ll praise you as much as you’d like if your food’s gonna get even more delicious than it already is.

As we went back and forth, Fifia stood there, looking at us while twiddling her thumbs.

“I said I wasn’t very good at cooking before, but the truth is I can’t really cook that much.” The elf seemed defeated as she turned bright red.

“That much?” I asked.

“Not at all, actually,” she admitted. It looked like she’d been bluffing when she said “that much.” It seemed she truly could not cook in the slightest. Her lack of cooking abilities appeared catastrophic.

“It’s not just about managing how much food I have. I usually fail when trying to put something together, ruining the food. That’s why I usually just take dried meats and nibble on those, but that always ends in me getting sick at the end of my crawls...”

“Yeah, it sounds tough to try and clear a dungeon while only eating dried meat.” I could never endure living like that.

Fifia seemed like she was about to burst into tears as she explained that cooking was the one thing she could never get right, no matter how many times she tried.

“Well, everyone has things they’re good at, and things they’re not so great at. I prefer cooking and setting up places to rest over battling—everyone just has things that suit them better.”

“Mizarie... That’s really kind of you to say. When I was in a party before, we had a falling-out over my lack of cooking skills.”

“Oh...” What the heck? There’s nothing wrong with everyone contributing, but it’s important to delegate and have people who are good at something handle that. But I guess some people can’t split the work like that.

“Raoul and I will take care of cooking, so there’s no need to worry!”

“Yeah, it’s important to take advantage of each of our strengths,” Raoul added on.

“Yup, that’s right,” I agreed.

Since Raoul and I had no problems with it, we decided to form a party.

Ba-ba-ba-bum!

Fifia has joined the party!

≈≈⛟

Before leaving Labyrinth City, we went shopping. Since Fifia had joined our party, I bought a large bed frame. Raoul was going to sleep in the bed I’d been using until now, and Fifia was going to sleep with me in my room, which had temporarily become the girls’ room.

Other than that, we also purchased some daily necessities, and I even took the plunge and bought a table we could use outdoors. Since our rewards from the jobs were pretty good, Raoul pitched in too.

“I thought we’d be staying the night in Labyrinth City, but I guess we’re heading right back to the dungeon,” Fifia said.

“It’s because we can live in the RV,” I explained. “Well, that would be a good reason, but honestly it’s so we don’t have to pay for an inn,” I admitted.

We’d used up a good bit of the money we made, so until we had a decent amount of savings to cushion us, we’d be living in the RV. Though, I might still prefer living in the RV even if we didn’t have to worry about money.

We took plenty of breaks along the way before returning to the Spirit’s Dungeon.

We traversed through the first level on foot, zoomed through the second level in the RV, then arrived at the third level.

“From this floor onward, we might be seeing parties who have been staying in the dungeon,” Fifia said. “I’m pretty familiar with some of them, so we shouldn’t run into anyone strange.”

“Thanks for the heads-up!”

According to Fifia, it didn’t seem like it would be an issue to drive the RV here either, since it could be explained as my skill. That was of course assuming I didn’t run over any people.

“The parties trying to clear this dungeon use the clearing in front of the stairs to the sixth level as their home base. Let’s aim to get there, then try to clear the sixth level.”

“Okay, sounds good,” I said with a nod. Since I knew how effective my skill was, there was no way I wasn’t going to use it in battle.

“Still, you need to be careful when you’re outside of the RV,” Raoul warned. “It would be terrible if something happened to you, or someone kidnapped you. I want you to stay close to me.”

“Oh, right! Okay!” As soon as I stepped out of the RV, I wouldn’t feel as invincible, so I was genuinely grateful for Raoul’s kindness. “Okay then, let’s keep going!”

I was in the driver’s seat, Raoul was in the passenger seat, and Ohagi was sitting between us. Fifia was back in the living area, peeking in.

I stepped on the gas and vroomed through the dungeon. The path was about as wide as the second level, so I couldn’t drive too fast.

Goblins, goblin mages, and orcs appeared on the third level. I could imagine what a goblin mage looked like, but the thought of an orc made me shrink in fear. They were probably quite muscular, so it was possible that ramming into them with my RV wouldn’t be enough to take them down.

“Oh, there’s a monster up ahead,” Raoul pointed out.

“Oh! I-I wonder if it’s an orc...”

“I’m not sure, but it’s possible.”

The thought of it being an orc made my heart pound faster. Though anxiety was sweeping me up, Fifia’s voice snapped me out of it.

“How do you know there’s a monster?” she asked. “Is it a skill of yours, Raoul? Do you have Detection or something?”

“It’s part of my skill,” I said. Pointing to the dungeon map on the dashboard, I explained what it was. “The blue dots are mainly monsters, and the red ones are people.”

Conveniently, there were three red dots opposite of the direction we were headed. They were probably a party of adventurers working to clear this dungeon.

“I told myself I wouldn’t be surprised by anything else, but I never expected a feature that allows you to see where monsters and people are... Not only that, but there’s a map, a map of the dungeon even, so easily available to you...!” Fifia’s voice grew quite loud; she was probably in shock. “I worked so hard to map the area, but you have something so detailed right here...”

“Oh, I’m sorry...”

“No, no, it’s not your fault. Thanks for sharing. Let’s keep going.” Fifia looked back toward the front, as if she was ready to drop this conversation here.

There was a slight curve up ahead, and after we passed it, a goblin and two goblin mages appeared. The goblin mages are actually in the rear guard. They’re monsters, but their formation makes them seem like a party. As those thoughts ran through my mind, I pressed down on the gas.

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah!” Fifia and Raoul exclaimed in unison.

“Mau!”

I rammed into the goblin, then kept up the momentum and hit the goblin mages as well. All three monsters turned into particles of light before disappearing.

“It worked! Thank goodness!”

“All right!” Raoul cheered. “But I should warn you, Mizarie, there’s an orc up ahead...”

“What?!” I can’t decelerate here! Instead of maintaining my momentum, I sped up even more. “Raaagh!”

There was a loud thud that sent the orc flying, and it turned into particles of light and disappeared.

“Huh? Did I do it?”

“You defeated it!” Raoul exclaimed. “Good job, Mizarie!”

“You took down an orc in one hit. That’s amazing!” Fifia chimed in.

“Mrau!”

Everyone was complimenting me. Ohmygod, I’m so glad that worked... The fact that I’d been so scared I almost cried was going to be a secret.

“Okay! There’s nothing more for me to be afraid of! Let’s keep going!”

After zooming through the dungeon’s third level, we reached the stairs to the fourth one in the blink of an eye.

“Th-That was so fast...” Although Fifia was completely stunned, I needed to snap her out of it so we could get out of the RV and head down the stairs.

“What’s the next level like?” I asked as we climbed down.

“Oh, the fourth level is... It has quite strange terrain,” Fifia explained. “The path is spacious so you can drive the RV, but there are some large boulders that make certain areas more elevated than others.”

“It sounds like we won’t just be able to drive through it.”

I wonder if it’ll be like an obstacle course? With such leisurely notions in mind, we arrived at the fourth level.

The fourth level had stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and the ground was incredibly bumpy. The path was wide with a clear view of what was up ahead, but just as Fifia had said, there were large boulders strewn about. This level was reminiscent of a solutional cave.

Looks like my stamina and athletic abilities are going to be tested here too, not just my RV, I thought with a gulp.

“This area looks pretty forbidding,” Raoul said with his hand on his chin as he looked out into the distance. He was probably thinking about what route we should take to get through the level. “At the very least, I think we can get up to that large boulder with the RV,” he said, pointing.

“That’s pretty far.” It was a boulder one could see with their naked eye, but it was probably several hundred meters up ahead. I nodded and summoned the RV.

Thanks to the RV, we took down monsters that appeared; then we got out and walked around large boulders, using those times to pick up any drop items... After we repeated that for a while, that moment arrived. Everyone reacted to the familiar sound that meant I had leveled up.

“Yay, my skill leveled up!”

“Congratulations!” Raoul and Fifia said in unison.

“Mrow!”

“Thanks!”

All right, what kind of incredible upgrade did I get this time? I tried to stop myself from grinning too hard as I tapped through the dashboard menu.

<You’ve leveled up! Current Level: 14>

Level 14 Side Awning Added

“What’s this? I got a side awning?” It wasn’t a term I was very familiar with.

“Side on-ing?” Raoul and Fifia both repeated, confused.

“Mraaaw?”

No one seemed to know what it was.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of it somewhere...” Think I saw it in a video from my past life... I desperately searched my memories. “Oh! I remember now!” I said, a light bulb going off in my head as I clapped my hands together.

If the tarp I typically used was properly attached to the RV, it would be a side awning. It was most often used to create shade from sunlight, and it was also great for rainy days. The fabric part of the awning was usually rolled up along the side of the roof, and you could pull that out and attach poles to set it up.

I’d seen RVs with side awnings in videos before. There was a wide variety, from small, basic ones to large ones that could cover a wide area. I remembered the people in the video explaining that they were usually expensive. So, my RV is getting a premium upgrade for free just by leveling up...? Isn’t that kind of crazy?

“Is it okay if I go check it out right away?” I asked.

“Of course,” Raoul and Fifia responded.

“Mau!”

Since everyone was on board, I stepped out of the RV. I went over to the passenger’s side and looked at the outside door to the living area, and above it...there was something there!

“Is that the side awning thing?” Raul asked.

“Yup. Inside of that tube is a rolled-up roof. I want to take it out, but I’ve never actually set one up before.” I’d seen one being set up in a video, but I was worried about doing it properly.

“We’ll help you too. Let’s figure it out together,” Raoul said.

“That’s right,” Fifia agreed. “I’m sure the three of us can work it out.”

“Thanks, both of you.” Though my heart was pounding with nervousness, I decided to try setting it up.

I called forth my memories from my past life, and it was time to go! I picked up the handle, which had mysteriously appeared in the living area, and looked at the right side. There seemed to be a spot to hook the handle onto, so I attached it and began rolling the awning out.

“Whoa, something’s coming out!” Raoul exclaimed.

“So that becomes the roof,” Fifia commented.

Raoul and Fifia both sounded impressed, but I was too busy trying to recall how to do this.

“I think that rolling out the whole thing will make it too heavy and break it, so you just roll out enough so you can reach it without the handle. Then, you’re supposed to use the legs that are attached to the underside, I think.”

Once the awning had rolled out enough for me to reach it, Raoul and Fifia checked the underside for the legs. There was one on each side, so Raoul and Fifia each grabbed one.

“So the legs are hidden here,” Raoul observed, impressed.

“Yeah, you pull those out and support the awning with it.”

“Got it!” Raoul and Fifia both responded as they carefully began setting it up. They were able to pull out the legs and extend them, so I rolled out more of the awning. After doing that several times, we successfully set the whole thing up!

All three of us cheered.

“Mauuu!”

It had been quite difficult since we were figuring it out as we went, but now our whole party was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Raoul seemed the most interested, and he was staring intently at the awning as he touched it.

“This fabric is pretty thick.”

“It’s not just thick,” Fifia chimed in. “It has a smooth feel to it, but it has a bit of a sheen to it as well. I can tell just by looking at it that it’s a premium fabric. You’d of course need an artisan to craft this, but the materials wouldn’t be that easy to get.”

The two were engrossed in discussing how amazing the awning was.

“It looks like it’ll be resistant to water as well,” Raoul said.

“Yes, definitely. I would love to be able to get my hands on this fabric...”

The two then glanced over at me.

“Hey! No! That’s an important part of my RV!” I yelled, desperate to stop them from taking my awning.

“I would never take it!” Raoul exclaimed.

“I would never ask to have it!” Fifia also yelped.

“You wouldn’t...?” I shot them a dubious glare, but they both just firmly nodded.

After putting away the side awning, we continued forward in the dungeon a little more, and ran into another large boulder.

“Another boulder?!” It was a pain to stop driving, but at this point, I was used to it. We all exited the RV and tried to take a detour around it, but this area had some difference in elevation. We had to climb up a rock wall that was about two meters high to get to the continuing path.

“Wait, now we’re going down?!” Right after we’d climbed up, there was a drop of about five meters. This time we would be going down instead of up. “Huh? How do you usually traverse this area?” I asked Fifia, turning to her for help.

“This is how you get through here,” she said, jumping down. She stepped across several of the large boulders below the drop as if they were stairs and made her way down. Her athletic abilities are incredible...

“Wait, I’m supposed to do that?! That’s impossible!”

“It’ll be a little difficult for me with my arm, but I don’t think it’s impossible,” Raoul said.

“Yeah, that’s expected.”

“Mrrmrow!” As I stood there thinking about what to do, Ohagi skittered down. As expected of a cat—she’s so light on her feet!

“Wait, don’t leave me, Ohagi!” I slowly looked down before I heard Raoul call my name.

“Isn’t this a prime opportunity to use the RV?”

“What?!” Raoul’s suggestion made me turn pale. It wasn’t uncommon for people to die in car accidents where the vehicle fell from a cliff. That sort of accident had a high enough rate of fatality that I’d heard about it sometimes on the news. Driving my RV in a place like this would be asking to die!

“No way,” I refused. “If I fall from here in the RV, I’ll die.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Raoul said. “You could set up the side awning from earlier down there, and jump onto it.”

“Huh...?” I blinked a few times, perplexed by the idea of using my RV this way, something I had never thought of. It was true that the awning fabric was quite strong, so it could probably stand up to a certain amount of weight...

“If you don’t hurry, monsters might show up,” Raoul warned.

“That would be bad! I’ve never done it before, but... RV Summon!Appear at the bottom of the cliff!”

Once the words left my mouth, the RV appeared at the bottom.

“You want me to set up the side awning, right?” Fifia chimed in. “Leave it to me!” With skilled hands, she set up the awning. Perhaps Fifia was better at handling it than I was.

“Okay then. First, jump on that boulder,” Raoul instructed. “Next, go to that slightly shorter boulder. After that, aim for the awning and jump. You should be able to get down that way.”

The route Raoul had instructed me to take was quite safe, and no single jump was more than a height of one meter. Even I would be able to get down using that path.

I carefully made my way down, watching my step as I jumped. I then jumped toward the awning. It bent a little under my weight, but the awning didn’t break.

“Thank goodness that worked,” I said with a sigh, relieved to have made it down safe and sound.

Raoul followed, using the same path, but he made it down in half the time it took me. After seeing how nimble Fifia, Raoul, and Ohagi were, I thought about how I wanted to train in secret as we pressed onward.

A Freezer Bursts onto the Scene

After making our way through the treacherous terrain, we made it to the fifth floor. Unlike the fourth floor, the fifth floor had plenty of smooth, flat areas. It was as if this floor was made for driving an RV.

“Yahoo! I can drive as fast as I want here!” The path was plenty wide, and I could probably step on the gas without any hesitation.

“Mizarie,” Raoul called out. “Up ahead there are two high goblins and one high goblin rider. Farther up ahead are three high goblin mages!”

“Okay!” I nodded and took down the goblins with my RV. Just then, the RV chimed. It was another level-up!

“Whoa, good job, Mizarie!” Raoul praised. “Congrats!”

“Congratulations,” Fifia chimed in.

“Mreooow.”

“Thanks,” I said, giving gratitude to everyone before checking on what upgrade I’d gotten with this level-up.

<You’ve leveled up! Current Level: 15>

Level 15 Kitchen Expansion

“Whoa!”

“Did you get another amazing upgrade?” Raoul asked. He was prepared to be surprised by whatever he heard.

“It’s another incredible one! The kitchen might be completely different!”

Raoul’s eyes widened until his pupils looked like two little dots.

We confirmed there was no one in the area using the map, then headed to the living area. The kitchen had become more spacious, and was now L-shaped. Not only that, but there was somehow a little more depth to it. I quickly left the RV to look at it from the outside, but it all looked exactly the same. It was strange, but I decided to accept that it was just magical like that.

There were now three burners, and they were lined up against the wall. If the cooktop was in front of you, the sink was to the right. Beside the sink was the Great Refrigerator, who’d become bigger. Yes, it was the Great Refrigerator. Why did I give it a name like that? It had to have a proper title—after all, it now had a freezer!

Without thinking or having said a word, I opened up the freezer. The cool air wafted against my skin, and I couldn’t keep the corners of my mouth from turning up. This is amazing. It’s revolutionary.

The top of the fridge had French doors, the middle section was the freezer, and the very bottom was a vegetable drawer. It was quite big—it probably had a three-to-four-hundred-liter capacity.

“Whoa, it’s cold! Is this an icebox...?” Raoul wondered aloud.

“I’ve seen magical instruments like this before, but I heard the upkeep costs a lot,” Fifia remarked.

Since their world had a magical instrument similar to freezers, they seemed to be familiar with this type of appliance.

“This is called a freezer,” I began to explain. “You can freeze food in here!”

“You can freeze things?! I try not to get surprised at your skill, but this is way too unexpected...” Raoul seemed to have gone beyond shock, and with a hand pressed against his forehead, he let out a long sigh.

“Let’s first freeze the chicken,” I said. “Making sure Ohagi has food is the biggest priority!”

“Mrrmrow!”

I moved the chicken from the fridge into the freezer, which made Ohagi think she was getting some. She jumped onto my arm, which was unbelievably adorable, but unfortunately it wasn’t time to eat yet...

After that, we took down goblin riders and various high goblins before eventually making it to the campsite on the fifth level. Since it was the base for other parties, there were several sets of tents. It reminded me of camping grounds, and I couldn’t help but feel excited.

I got out of the RV and scanned the area, only to find no one here.

“I think everyone’s down on the sixth floor, trying to clear it,” Fifia said.

“Oh, I see.”

According to Fifia, they would return once it was roughly nighttime, party loudly, then sleep like logs.

“The clearing on the fifth floor is so much more spacious,” Raoul commented.

“I thought that too!” I exclaimed. It seemed like there was plenty of space for others even if I left my RV out, and the path was wide enough for two vehicle lanes. I was grateful that the dungeon seemed to get more spacious the farther down we traveled.

“Mau, mrrmrow!”

“Ohagi?” From her perch on my shoulder, she suddenly jumped off and ran into the depths of the clearing. “Hey! Ohagi?!”

“What’s she doing?!” Raoul exclaimed.

I couldn’t let Ohagi run off on her own in a dungeon full of monsters! I ran after her in a panic, but Ohagi quickly slowed down.

“Mrau.”

“Ohagi? Huh? This is amazing...” Ohagi had run off down a narrow path at the back of the clearing, which led to a river full of fish. “I can’t believe there’s a river inside the dungeon...”

“Whoa, this is a really nice place to rest,” Raoul said. “As an adventurer, it’s really important to have access to water.”

“We could probably catch fish for our meals too,” I added.

I thought back to how I’d gone fishing in the mountain stream near Friulia. It would be nice to catch some fish and eat it... I wonder what kinds of fish are here.

“Are you all right?” Fifia called out.

“Yeah, we’re good!” I responded.

Fifia then appeared by the stream. “That’s a relief. The water here is clean, so it’s treasured as a spot for drinking water. You can eat the fish here too.”

“Can you drink it right away, without doing anything to it?” I asked.

“I drink it all the time,” Fifia said.

Now that the river had Fifia’s stamp of approval, I scooped up some water with my hand and took a sip. The cold water felt like it was refreshing my entire body.

“Mmm, it’s so good!”

“I’ll drink some too,” Raoul said. “Oh, it’ll be dangerous if you get swept away by the water, Ohagi. I’ll keep you in place.”

“Mau.”

Holding on to her, Raoul helped Ohagi drink some water too. The way she chugged down the water was so cute, I couldn’t help but grin. Why is it so adorable when cats lap up water?

After having a delicious drink of water, I began feeling restless. “Hey, why don’t we have the fish from this river for dinner? Since they’re edible.”

“I don’t mind, but what kind of fish are they?” Raoul asked.

“They’re called teardrop fish. They say that this river is the grace of the spirit of the dungeon. The scales of the fish are a beautiful teardrop shape, so they looked like the spirit’s tears—hence the name.” According to Fifia’s explanation, the fish were quite pretty.

“I have some fishing equipment in the RV, so let’s try catching some!” I suggested.

“Okay! Wait... Shouldn’t you rest a bit, Mizarie?” Raoul said. “I’m sure you’re tired from all the driving.”

“Even though it might seem like you’re just driving, you’re using your skill to take down monsters,” Fifia pointed out. “You’ve probably used more stamina and mana than you’ve realized.”

Thanks to the two of them, I noticed that I had indeed been driving quite a lot. My body was tense from sitting for so long as well, so stretching would probably be for the best.

“Then if you don’t mind, I’ll rest a bit... I’ll prepare dinner, so it would be great if you two could catch the fish!”

“Of course, leave it to us!” Raoul said.

“We’ll do our best,” Fifia promised.

≈≈⛟

Purr, purr... An indescribable yet comfortable rumbling woke me up. I looked over and saw Ohagi sleeping peacefully beside me. Ah, I’m so blessed!

“This is the best way to wake up... Good morning, Ohagi.” Still lying down, I pulled Ohagi closer to me. The urge to go back to sleep washed over me, and before I knew it...I was fast asleep again.

“Ah!” I gasped and sat up before looking around the room. “Feels like I slept for quite a while.” My body felt refreshed, and my mind felt clear. As for my stomach, I was pretty hungry. “Wonder how long I was asleep for... Were Raoul and Fifia able to catch anything?” As I thought about what to do for dinner, I changed into my usual outfit and left the room. “It doesn’t look like they’re in the RV.”

Are they still fishing? I wondered, tilting my head in confusion as I stepped out of the RV with Ohagi. Then I realized that several parties camping at the clearing had returned.

“Oh!” I thought about introducing myself to them, but Raoul and Fifia were already speaking to them. Raoul noticed I was there right away.

“You’re up! Let me introduce you. These are the adventurers who use this clearing as a home base.”

“Hello,” I said, greeting them. “I’m Mizarie. I’m in a party with Raoul and Fifia.” After I’d quickly introduced myself, the adventurers began to gather around us. It seemed like people who had returned to their tents came back out to say hello to me. They’re all so polite and nice!

“I’m Cordes. I’m probably the most senior adventurer here, so if you ever need anything, just let me know.”

“I’m Neville. I’m in Cordes’s party.”

“Name’s Logan.”

“I’m Nacke. It’s nice to meet you.”

Since they all introduced themselves one after another, I was worried about whether I would be able to remember them all. It seemed like there was a total of twenty people using this clearing as a campsite.

“We were just asking them about the sixth floor,” Raoul explained. “It looks like the monsters get a whole lot stronger, so we should progress cautiously.”

“They’re a whole lot stronger?!” I repeated, surprised. “That sounds like it’s going to be tough...”

Maybe I won’t be able to keep plowing through enemies with my RV, unrivaled.

At the Campsite on the Fifth Level

Teardrop Fish Burgers

All right then. It’s time to check out what Raoul and Fifia caught.

“How did it go, fishing for tonight’s dinner?” I asked.

“Heh heh, take a look for yourself!” Raoul let out a confident chuckle as he dramatically presented a wooden bucket filled with teardrop fish. The fish’s teardrop-shaped scales were a beautiful deep blue color, and they sparkled. Just one look was enough to tell that they were a gorgeous species of fish. Not only that, but there were ten whole fish in the bucket.

“How many people are you trying to feed?!” Their catch was way more bountiful than I’d expected, and I couldn’t help but playfully jab at him in response.

“Sorry. Fishing ended up being more fun than I anticipated...” Fifia admitted.

“I told her we probably had enough,” Raoul said.

“So Fifia’s the culprit behind this...”

I’d thought that Fifia would always maintain her composure as an adventurer, so I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that she’d followed her heart and kept fishing.

Fifia twiddled her fingers as she explained why she’d gone so overboard. “The truth is, I always run out of food, so I thought I needed to catch as many as I could...”

“So you did your best for us so we don’t starve,” I said. If that was the reason, I couldn’t let her efforts go to waste. “Still, it’ll be a little difficult to prepare these all on my own,” I remarked, looking off into the distance as I thought about what to do.

Raoul then raised his hand. “I’ll help too. I’ve never really broken down a fish before, so I want to learn how.”

“That’ll help, but I’m not very skilled at it either. If you don’t mind learning from an amateur, I’m happy to teach you.”

“Yeah, that’s no problem,” Raoul energetically said.

I nodded back at him, and we headed back to the RV for now.

Raoul and I stood in the RV’s kitchen, discussing the fish he and Fifia had caught.

“After breaking down the teardrop fish into fillets, we should freeze some of them,” I suggested. “It’ll be nice to have fish to eat while working through the dungeon.”

“That’s a good idea. We don’t know if there’ll be rivers up ahead, so we should stock up as much as possible.”

“Yeah.” I nodded back to Raoul, and began breaking down the teardrop fish.

“Wow, you’re good at this.”

“Thanks! Since you guys caught a lot, there’s a lot to practice on. You’ll get good in no time too.”

“All right then, I’ll do my best!” Raoul rolled his sleeves up, and seeing that made me want to do my best as well.

Okay then—let’s make a delicious meal!

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Fifia,” I called out. “Dinner’s ready!” I carried the prepared food with me out of the RV.

“Oh!” Fifia seemed to be exchanging information with the other adventurers while she waited for the food. She was in the middle of talking to several others, standing around as they chatted.

Oh, did I interrupt them? Though I was worried, Fifia’s eyes glimmered with anticipation as she quickly said goodbye and immediately joined us.

“Thanks, Mizarie and Raoul! Ah, delicious food...!” Fifia had probably been quite hungry.

“I decided to use the fish to make fish burgers.”

“Fish burgers?” Fifia tilted her head, confused by the dish she likely hadn’t heard of before.

“I fried the teardrop fish, and put that between some bread. It’s a dish common where I’m from, but it might make more sense if I describe it as a sandwich.”

“I see, so it’s a sandwich!”

I was relieved that she seemed to understand what it was.

After I put everyone’s fish burgers on the table, seeing everything ready made me even hungrier. The fish burgers were made up of a crispy fried fish fillet, fresh lettuce, and a slice of tomato, which was all sandwiched between bread. It was undeniably going to be a delectable meal.

I had also put a sweet and spicy tomato sauce on the burgers, which was going to pair wonderfully with the other ingredients. This dinner would surely satisfy our exhausted bodies.

To make the fish burgers easier to hold, I folded wrapping leaves around them. That way, our hands would stay clean, and the fish burgers would be easier to eat.

“Dig in,” I said.

“Thank you for the meal!” Fifia immediately chomped down on the fish burger, and I could hear the appetizing crunch of the crispy batter. The other adventurers also gulped in response. “Mm!” Fifia was surprised by the sound the fillet made when she bit into the sandwich, and her eyes widened.

I understand. It was a super appetizing sound. Also, she probably usually just eats super simple meals... The smell of fried food combined with the sauce was probably overwhelmingly scrumptious. Maybe I should’ve called her into the RV, instead of bringing it out.

“How is it, Fifia?” Raoul asked. “I tasted it while making it, and I think it came out pretty well!”

“Yeah, it’s incredibly delicious! I didn’t know you could prepare fish like this. The crispy texture is wonderful, but I think the acidity of the tomato really brings out the flavor of the teardrop fish.”

“Right?!” Raoul exclaimed in agreement. “Also, it was my idea to lightly toast the bread.”

“It’s amazing!”

Raoul seemed to be a big fan of the fish burger as well, and he was downing it with big bites. I remember how he kept saying we have to make these again while taste-testing it.

Deciding that there was no point in worrying about the others, I took a bite of my fish burger. Mm, the teardrop fish is a white fish, and it makes for a beautifully crispy fillet. It’s so good! Though I wasn’t as obsessed as Raoul, I could definitely repeat this dish several times.

As we were completely lost in our meal, some of the other adventurers—Cordes and Neville, to be exact—called out to us.

“Hey, that smells insane! How are you able to eat something that looks so delicious on the fifth level of the Spirit’s Dungeon...?!”

“Can you cook inside of that huge thing?”

Their envy was apparent on their faces. Now that I think about it, I don’t really know what the other adventurers do for food. Considering how Raoul and Fifia used to travel, they probably had some dried meat on hand—but just eating dried meat would get boring, and it wouldn’t be nutritionally balanced either.

I glanced over at the other adventurers’ tents. Since this was sort of a campsite, they had a big pot of soup going, but there didn’t seem to be very many ingredients in it. Most people seemed to just be chewing on dried meat. I thought it was something people ate every now and then, but I guess it’s the main part of their meals. Along with that, they seemed to be chewing on some hard bread that was probably made with having a long shelf life in mind.

There’s no joy in their food! Hmm, I have lots of teardrop fish still, so I can make enough fish burgers for everyone here. Luckily, I also bought lots of flour, so it’ll be easy to bake extra buns.

As I thought about what to do, Raoul sat beside me and whispered into my ear. “Since we’re staying here with them, it probably isn’t best to deny them too much,” he said.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Still, there’s some effort involved in making the food, so...”

“What if we sell them?”

“What, sell them?!” Raoul’s suggestion shocked me.

I’d never attempted to sell my cooking before, and I didn’t even know what regulations there were around the sale of food. Was it different based on the town, or the kingdom? Also, was it different when inside a dungeon? There was so much to consider.

“It’s common in dungeons. Selling goods—as well as trading—is pretty typical. If you only do things for yourself, you can’t help but ruin your relationships with other dungeon crawlers.”

“I see. Maintaining good relationships is definitely important,” I said, understanding Raoul’s point.

According to him, it wasn’t necessary to apply for any permits or such when conducting business inside a dungeon. If you were to set up a stall or store in town, you would have to pay taxes, which required forms to be filled out. I’m learning a lot.

“For these fish burgers, I think about five hundred rooks should be good,” I said, which made Fifia look at me with disbelief.

“That’s way too cheap, Mizarie,” Fifia said, immediately rejecting my price. “We’re on the fifth floor of a dungeon, so you should charge at least two thousand rooks.”

“What?! That much?! Isn’t that too expensive?”

“That would still be a little cheap,” Fifia insisted.

I can’t imagine selling my fish burgers for two thousand rooks... I guess it’s like how buying stuff at the top of Mount Fuji is more expensive than when shopping at the base of the mountain.

“Well, it’s a little late for that today... I think we’d have to do it tomorrow.”

“That sounds good,” Fifia said.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Raoul chimed in.

And so, tomorrow we would be selling the teardrop fish burgers for two thousand rooks each.

≈≈⛟

The next day, we took the day off. Despite it being a day for rest, we had plans to sell teardrop fish burgers in the evening, so I wasn’t sure if it really counted as a day off...

Still, it was a rare break! Raoul and I headed to the river with some fishing gear. Ohagi was sleeping in the RV, and Fifia was taking a bath and relaxing while she stayed behind to watch over the RV. Choosing that to relax on her day off makes Fifia look like a real fan of baths.

“I still can’t believe how clear the water in this river is,” I said. “I wonder where it’s flowing from. Maybe it’s from an underground source?” Perhaps the river was flowing from wherever the spirit was.

“Hmm... Well, there’s a lot of things in a dungeon that are mysterious and can’t be understood. Though there are people researching dungeons, I’ve heard that they haven’t made much progress.”

“Dungeons do seem difficult for humans to understand,” I said with a wry laugh as I added bait to my hook. I then cast my line. “I’ll give up on understanding, so please grant me some fortune in fishing!” Perhaps my prayers reached the spirit, because I immediately felt something twitching on my line. It was only pulling slightly, so I kept waiting and watching my catch.

“Wow, what a good start!” Raoul said.

“Yeah, we need to have a huge catch to sell lots of fish burgers!” Now there was a big tug on my line, so I quickly pulled up the rod. Though the fish splashed me, I was able to catch it. “Whoa, it’s huge!”

“It’s a big one!”

The teardrop fish was so huge that I needed both hands to pick it up. It was probably twice as large as the fish Raoul and Fifia had caught yesterday. It was even big enough that for the first time in my life, I wanted to take a gyotaku print of a fish. For now, I put the fish into the bucket—but it was too big, with its tail sticking out.

“Wonder how many servings I can make with this one fish...”

“It would definitely be enough to fill us up.”

I turned to Raoul and saw he was just as drenched as I was, and we both laughed.

“I’d love to make some simmered fish too, but I don’t have the right condiments for it...” If I just had soy sauce, my repertoire would be a hundred times what it is now!

“Simmered fish?”

“I don’t think it’s a dish people around here eat. It’s a dish where you cook the fish in a sweet sauce, but you need soy sauce. Have you heard of soy sauce before?”

“Hm...” Raoul began thinking. This world was a vast place, so perhaps there was soy sauce somewhere out there. I’d known it was a long shot when I asked, but Raoul suddenly exclaimed. “Oh! I don’t know if it’s soy sauce, but I’ve heard of a condiment that makes things kind of sweet.”

“What? Really?!”

“I heard about it from a traveling adventurer. I think they were from an eastern kingdom. They said that the condiments from their homeland were completely different from here.”

“That sounds promising...!”

If they’re completely different, maybe they don’t have just soy sauce, but miso too!After this, maybe we can head east. Let’s set off for the unfamiliar eastern lands in search of soy sauce, miso, and rice...! Just kidding...

“Oh, you got something, Mizarie.”

“That makes our fifth fish!”

Perhaps the fish here weren’t too cautious, because we were able to catch them quite easily. After catching five, we likely had more than enough for dinner. Maybe I should catch three more for lunch... Since we had this great opportunity to enjoy freshly caught fish, I wanted to enjoy it. I eagerly cast my line once more.

“I think we caught enough,” Raoul said.

“The ones I’m catching now are for lunch! Let’s take this opportunity to enjoy delicious fish as much as we can!”

“Now I can’t wait to see what you’ll make with it,” Raoul said.

After catching three more fish, we headed back to the RV.

“Want any help, Mizarie?”

“Oh, could you take care of the vegetables, then? I want cherry tomatoes, and something green... Oh, I think we had some asparagus. Also, some garlic!”

“Got it!” After I listed the ingredients, Raoul immediately took them out and began washing them. He left the cherry tomatoes whole, and cut the asparagus into manageable pieces.

It would’ve been best if I had some small clams, but I couldn’t help what I didn’t have.

While Raoul prepared the vegetables, I took care of the fish. I removed the innards and large bones, which made it a little easier to eat. I pricked the skin with a fork, and seasoned the fish with salt and pepper before placing it in a frying pan with some olive oil and garlic, cooking it until the skin turned crispy. Mmm, it smells so good!

“That looks fantastic,” Raoul said.

“The aroma of the garlic’s pretty incredible too,” I said. After that, I added the cherry tomatoes, the asparagus, cooking wine, and water. All I had to do now was let it simmer until the fish was fully cooked. “We’re done with the fish now. I think it would be yummy to dip the bread in the acqua pazza... I mean, the broth from the fish.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Raoul said with a nod. He pulled out some rye bread and sliced enough pieces for everyone before plating it.

I then threw together a potato salad, and our lunch was ready.

“Fifia,” I called out as I knocked on the door to the changing area. “She wasn’t in the room, so I think she’s still in the bath...” I murmured to myself. “I hope she didn’t overheat again...”

I hadn’t seen her in a while. She’d gotten overheated the first time we took a bath, so I was worried.

“Yes?” a voice immediately responded. Thank god, she didn’t pass out or anything. I let out a sigh of relief.

“Lunch is ready. Can you join us now?”

“Lunch?! I’ll be there right away!” Fifia loved the bath, but seemed to love food even more. Her reaction was so cute, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Mmm, delicious!”

“It’s so good!”

“Mrow, mreow!”

Fifia and Raoul were smiling as they enjoyed the acqua pazza. Ohagi was enjoying some lightly grilled fish and boiled chicken.

“The acidity of the tomatoes really pairs well with the rest of the dish,” Raoul said. “I could eat this over and over again.” He placed some of the fish on top of the bread and chowed down. I’d been a bit worried that there would be too much fish, but it looked like my concerns weren’t a big deal after all.

I also dug in, taking a bite of the fish. It was moist, and had absorbed a lot of the flavor. Since I’d made the skin crispy first, it still had a snap to it. Mmm, this is amazing!

“Speaking of,” Fifia said as she glanced at the kitchen while eating. “It appears you were able to get fish.” The bucket of fish we’d caught was sitting right there on the kitchen floor. “Looks like we’re going to be really busy this evening.”

“We got a huge catch. I feel like we could just live off the land here.”

“We could, but I’d definitely miss meat,” Raoul said.

“We need vegetables too,” Fifia added on.

I’d thought it would be fun to live a leisurely life just fishing, but the two immediately pointed out the problem with that. I guess it wouldn’t be enough to just have fish... Also, meat reigns supreme.

“What if we plant something in an area with sunlight?” Fifia suggested.

“Do you mean you want to have a home garden in the RV?” I asked. That could be fun... I think cherry tomatoes, okra, or shiso would be pretty easy to care for. We could just go outside on sunny days, and it’ll probably make living in the RV more fun! And it’ll make cooking easier!

I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about buying pots and seeds once we returned to town.

“You’re grinning, Mizarie,” Raoul pointed out.

“Huh?! Maybe it was because I thought it would be fun to grow something in the RV...” That’s so embarrassing! I thought as I pressed my hands against my cheeks, but that didn’t stop me from grinning.

“It’s good to grow plants... No matter what happens, you can avoid starvation.”

“It sounds a lot more tragic when you say it, Fifia...” She was very convincing, considering she’d passed out from hunger.

Still, it’s true that growing some plants could help us avoid the worst-case scenario. There’s no harm in having some stock, considering we’re going to head deeper into the dungeon.

“Oh, right. I need to eat quickly and break down more of the fish,” I said.

“Maaau.” Ohagi seemed to want seconds, but eating too much would make her throw up.

“True, there’s a lot of fish to take care of,” Raoul said with a nervous smile as he looked at the bucket full of fish.

“If there’s anything other than cooking for me to do, I’m happy to help,” Fifia said. Anything other than cooking, huh...

“I want to sell the fish burgers in front of the RV, so could you set up the table outside?” I asked.

“Sure.”

It’s time to use the table and chairs I bought when we went back to Labyrinth City!

I managed to finish breaking down all the fish, and I let out a deep exhale. Let’s make the teardrop fish burgers from yesterday! First, the bread!

With twenty adventurers staying on the fifth level, and the three of us, I needed twenty-three buns, but...considering some might not turn out well, perhaps more was better.

“How many do you think I should make, Raoul? There’s no guarantee that everyone will buy one, so I feel like fewer might be better.”

“Are you serious...?”

“Huh?” I tilted my head, confused by what he meant. Raoul seemed troubled, but he explained his reasoning to me.

“You should make double—no, triple that number.”

“What?! Do we need that many?!”

“We need them,” Raoul said with an incredibly serious look.

I see... I guess the adventurers here need more than one fish burger. I feel like I remember seeing guys eat several sandwiches at burger shops in my past life.

“By the way, how many do you think you could eat?” I asked.

“I haven’t been moving around too much today, so probably just two or three.”

I fell completely silent. If Raoul could eat that many in his current state, how many could adventurers who went hunting on the sixth level eat...? I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I decided to prepare triple the number that I’d originally planned.

≈≈⛟

“Mizarie, is this okay for the table?”

“It’s perfect! Thanks, Fifia!”

She had placed the table so it would be right under the side awning. The fish burgers were going to be right there when I sold them.

I looked around and found the adventurers. They had come back from exploring, and were now glancing over at us.

“They’re ready!” Raoul said as he popped his head out of the RV.

“Really?!” several voices belonging to the adventurers chimed in right away, reacting to the news. I’d responded with the same thing as well, but my voice was lost in the sea of the adventurers’ excited shouts.

“Looks like everyone’s just waiting to dig in,” Raoul said as he brought out a huge plate stacked with fish burgers. The delicious aroma of fried fish wafted over, and I felt my hunger growing.

“Ah, it looks so good,” Fifia said. It seemed like she wanted to dig in right away, but right now our objective was to sell these. We would be eating after closing up shop. Fifia knew the plan, so she eagerly said, “Let’s sell these right away!”

“We have teardrop fish burgers for two thousand rooks each!” I couldn’t help but feel they were expensive as I announced the price, but the adventurers gathered right away. I gasped in surprise.

“Welcome,” Fifia said. She began speaking naturally to the adventurers before us. “You can purchase one at a time, and you’re welcome to buy up to two additional sandwiches. Please wait until you are finished eating to purchase another.”

The adventurers grinned back with a loud “Understood!”

“All right, me first!” Cordes said before taking a bite. “It’s delicious!”

“No fair!” Neville said. “Me too... It’s so good!”

One after another, the adventurers who’d purchased a fish burger from Fifia were raving about the food.

“Hurry up and sell me one too!”

“I-I’m sorry. Right away! That’ll be two thousand rooks,” I said after the adventurer’s voice snapped me back to reality, and I quickly sold him one. “Here’s your teardrop fish burger.”

“And here’s two thousand rooks. Thanks.”

“Thank you very much!”

The adventurer immediately took a bite of the sandwich. The crispy sound of the batter shattering surprised even the adventurer himself.

“I never thought I could eat delicious food this deep down in a dungeon... Thanks, miss.”

“N-No, thank you! I’m happy you’re enjoying it!” I couldn’t help but smile at the adventurer’s words.

“I’ve got another round ready!” Raoul said as he brought out more fish burgers from the RV. The adventurers’ eyes all glimmered. It looks like they’re waiting for seconds!

I did my best to project my voice and yelled out, “Thank you for waiting!”

Cordes immediately came back to the table. I thought he’d just ordered one from Fifia, but it seemed he’d already finished his fish burger. What? He ate it so fast...

“Hold on, what even are these? They’re way too good. You can’t even get food like this in town.”

“I would feel bad being compared to a proper establishment in town, but...it might be because of the ingredients. You can only get teardrop fish here, right?”

“That might be the case.”

Since teardrop fish were only in this river deep in the dungeon, they would take up a lot of space to bring back, and they wouldn’t be as fresh either, making them difficult to bring back into town. Not only would you have to carry the fish up to the surface of the dungeon, but they’d have to last on the trip back into town as well.

“It’d be nice if I was as skilled at cooking, but I can’t seem to get the hang of it,” Cordes said as he scratched his head.

“It’s difficult to cook inside a dungeon,” Neville chimed in. “We don’t have the space to carry a proper set of cooking tools either. We’d rather have weapons or potions on us.”

“Oh, that’s a fair point...” I said.

“It would’ve been nice to have a skill like yours, miss,” Cordes said.

I chuckled. Hearing their stories made me realize once more how unusual my skill was.

“Oh, if I keep talking here, the guys behind me are gonna smack me,” Cordes joked.

“I’ll get back in line after finishing this one!” Neville said.

“Th-Thank you!”

I watched as Cordes and Neville headed to the end of the line, and I sold a fish burger to the next person. Raoul came back out with more sandwiches, and we repeated this cycle for a bit.

“We’re out of fish burgers!”

“Whaaaat?!” several voices exclaimed.

As I announced that we were sold out, the adventurers seemed disappointed. I’m sorry, but Raoul and I can’t make any more... Despite their disappointment, the adventurers understood, and thanked us with comments like “That was delicious!” and “Thanks!”

It was a lot of work, but I’m glad everyone enjoyed it... I never thought that I’d be making money from the food I made. I probably couldn’t have done it without Raoul and Fifia.

I was filled with an indescribable sense of accomplishment.

After returning to the RV, I plopped down on the sofa chairs. Raoul and Fifia sat with me as well. As the party member in charge of relaxing vibes, Ohagi was sitting on my lap. So cute.

“Thanks for your help with selling the fish burgers!”

“Mraaaw.”

“Good job, everyone. I don’t think triple was enough, though,” Raoul said.

“Yeah, great work. Adventurers really can put it away,” Fifia said.

Raoul prepared some tea for us, so we talked about how today had gone as we sipped it.

“It seemed like they wanted us to keep selling from now on,” Fifia said, which made me let out a dry chuckle.

I was glad they’d enjoyed it so much, but we were dungeon crawling to find an elixir. I couldn’t be setting up shop for several days.

I counted our profits, and since we’d sold out, we’d made quite the killing. Not only that, but the main ingredient was fish we’d caught ourselves, so the sandwiches hadn’t cost much to make. We’d made extra and sold seventy, which came out to 140,000 rooks.

“We could probably buy some outdoor gear with this,” I mused aloud to myself. I couldn’t help it since there were plenty of things I wanted.

I could go to a blacksmith and get a custom version of that firepit I decided against last time. I also want a lantern, and some large cooking equipment for situations like today. Oh! I also want a wagon with wheels to carry stuff around. As my imagination ran wild, I heard Fifia let out an exhausted sigh.

“Aren’t there other things you should buy first, Mizarie?”

“Huh? Other things I should buy...? Oh, like a spare bandanna for Ohagi?” She always looked cute with the one she already had. “We’ve been busy adventuring—”

“Equipment! You should buy equipment, like armor!” Fifia said impatiently. “If you want to stay a rookie adventurer, you can keep going with what you have, but we’re on the fifth floor of the Spirit’s Dungeon. We’re planning to go to the sixth level. I think it would be best if you got some better equipment when we next head back into town.”

“You can keep the base of what you have the same, and maybe just add some armor,” Raoul suggested. “It might even be good to equip some defensive magical instruments. I think it’d be difficult for you to wear anything too heavy.”

“That’s true... There are so many monsters in the dungeon, and it’s probably precarious to go around in just these clothes.” I hadn’t thought about it until now since we’d been traveling in the RV. I nodded and decided to consider buying equipment the next time we went to town.

Full Speed Ahead!

Garlic-and-Steak Rice

“Thank you for all your support yesterday!” I exclaimed.

“Mre-reow.”

“Are you guys going to start exploring today?” one adventurer asked.

“I guess we won’t be eating those yummy fish burgers again...” another sulked.

It was the day after we’d sold the fish burgers, and we were saying goodbye to the other adventurers. Everyone was wishing us good luck, but some people were also shouting, “What’s for dinner tonight?!” We didn’t have the capacity to be cranking out more food for everyone after a full day of dungeon crawling, but it felt good to know they wanted my food.

“Well, they’ll be back at night,” an adventurer pointed out. “I hope we can count on you then, if you have any energy left.”

“That’s true,” I said. “If we can, I’d love to!”

We could also park the RV on the sixth floor and make that our home base, but we had no idea if we’d be able to guarantee our safety down there, so it probably wasn’t best to stay. This clearing on the fifth floor was populated with other adventurers, making it safe, so it was probably best to come back here. It felt a little embarrassing to have said our goodbyes only to be returning later that night.

“They really loved those fish burgers. Maybe we can sell them for five thousand rooks each next time.”

“Hey, Fifia!” an adventurer grumbled. “That’s more than double the original price!”

“But I’d still buy it!”

“Ha ha, me too!”

Fifia’s bold statement ended with the adventurers actually accepting the price increase. The power of delicious food in a dungeon is incredible!

“Do you have a moment?” an adventurer suddenly called out to me. “I have this ingredient I got my hands on a while ago, but do you want it?”

“Huh?” I took the burlap sack he handed me, and it was quite heavy. “What’s this?”

“It’s something we ate from time to time in the village I’m from. I never see it here, though.”

“An ingredient from your home... Oh, it’s rice!” I exclaimed, shocked.

“You know what it is? It’s pretty rare in this area.” This was my first time seeing rice since I’d reincarnated into this world, so it was a really rare sight for me.

“Thank you very much! I can finally have some rice! Is it really okay for me to have your precious rice?” It’s something he ate back home, so it must remind him of his mother’s cooking. Since you can’t buy it in this area, it’s probably pretty valuable to him...

“Don’t worry about it,” the adventurer said with a smile. “I’m a terrible cook. The rice I make either turns into a mushy mess or ends up too hard. It doesn’t taste good.”

“Oh...” I guess he’s having a hard time with the amount of water to use or adjusting his heat.

“But I also can’t have anyone else cook it for me, since they’ve never heard of rice.” It seemed that he thought it would be better to gift it to me, probably since I looked like a foodie.

It’s rare for someone to be cooking full meals in a dungeon like I do, so I think it’s fair that he thought to give it to me. I do love cooking after all.

“Then I’m happy to accept it. Thank you very much!”

“Yeah! Thanks for the delicious food yesterday.” The adventurer smiled about how good the fish burgers were before he left. He was probably off to get ready for the day.

Seeing that our conversation was over, Raoul came over.

“Let’s head out, Mizarie. Since we have the RV, it’s better if we’re the first to go.”

“That’s true.” It would be scary if an RV suddenly appeared behind you while you were walking through a dungeon. Even if the paths are wide, I would be a bit spooked. I nodded and turned to the adventurers gathered around us. “We’re off!”

“See ya!” they all responded in unison.

≈≈⛟

We headed down the stairs to the sixth level on foot, and I felt the chilly air grazing my shoulders. Since the dungeon was like a cave, it was cooler than it was outside, but the temperature here was significantly different.

“Huh? This is the sixth level...?” I took in the view before me and reflexively gulped.

The sixth level wasn’t like a cave anymore. It was a mystical, pale blue stone corridor. The path was decorated with evenly spaced-out pillars, and it looked like a shrine you would see in a photo album. There weren’t any signs of life in the area, but this was a dungeon, so there were surely monsters around.

I stood there, feeling restless, and Fifia began to explain the sixth level.

“The sixth level hasn’t been cleared yet, so the stairs to the seventh level haven’t been discovered—we don’t even know if there is a seventh level... The monsters that have been confirmed to appear here are teardrop golems, wargs, and dyaroses.”

“They’re all strong foes,” Raoul said.

Wargs were canine monsters with bodies made of bits and pieces patched together, and they were quite violent. Dyaroses were spherical monsters roughly the size of soccer balls, and they had one giant eye. They were black, and had wings instead of hands, but they couldn’t fly that high up. These were strong enemies that appeared toward the latter half of the game.

“We’ll get in the way of the other adventurers if we just stand around here, so we should start moving,” I said.

“Mreow.”

I petted Ohagi, who was perched on my shoulder, as I summoned the RV. Then we all climbed in. I checked the dashboard and it was the same as usual—a map of the entire sixth level and the path forward was on display. I marked our destination as the entrance to the seventh level on the RV’s navigation, and it even prepared a route for us. It looked like we would be getting to the seventh level without getting lost. The RV’s navigation system is so helpful!

“I worked so hard exploring this level...” Fifia, who was poking her head in from the living area, seemed depressed, but there wasn’t much I could do to comfort her. I’ll just have to think of it as being lucky.

I began driving, making sure to be cautious, and we took off.

As I vroomed down the dungeon path, we found a monster in just a few minutes.

“There’s a warg!” I shouted.

“Want to try just ramming them?” Raoul said, suggesting we do the same as usual.

“I’ll try...” I said with a nod. I kept driving, and without any struggle, I defeated the warg.

“Looks like getting through this level will be a breeze,” Raoul said.

“Yeah, looks like it...” I felt like it wouldn’t have been surprising if things had started getting difficult now, but it seemed that we could just keep pushing forward while taking down monsters with the RV.

I stepped on the gas and kept driving the RV forward. Immediately, we ran into more wargs along with teardrop golems and dyaroses. I took them all down with no effort. I’d been worried since Raoul mentioned that they would be strong, but it was surprisingly a letdown.

“At the next three-way intersection, turn right,” the navigation system instructed.

“Okay, okay.” By following the directions provided by the navigation system, we arrived at the clearing at the end of the sixth level in no time. It had probably only taken an hour.

“I’m going to park the RV,” I announced.

“Got it,” Raoul said.

I couldn’t drive down the stairs in the RV, so we had to head to the seventh level on foot. Also, I wanted to check if there was another river on the sixth level.

As soon as I was about to park, the dashboard chimed—it was a level-up.

“Oh, nice! Congrats, Mizarie,” Raoul said.

“Mre-mreow.”

“Congratulations on leveling up,” Fifia said.

“Thanks!” I then checked what had changed with this level-up.

<You’ve leveled up! Current Level: 16>

Level 16 Microwave Added

“Whoaaa!” I exclaimed.

“Wh-What is it?!” Raoul shouted. “Did you get that amazing of an upgrade?!”

A modern amenity! Heck yeah!

My voice had gotten way louder than it often did, so I’d surprised Raoul. Then again, I was always getting shocked about all sorts of things, so this was probably nothing too unusual.

Even with a fridge installed, this was still an RV, so I’d thought that a microwave would be impossible—making this a very welcome surprise. Having a microwave would mean there would be a wider variety of dishes I could make, and I would also save time. I could probably prep food in advance and freeze it too.

Oh, but what about microwave-safe containers...? I probably couldn’t microwave wooden dinnerware, but ceramics would probably be fine. Next time I go shopping, I should keep in mind things I can make in the microwave.

“I have to see it!”

“Mreow mreow!”

I eagerly headed to the living area, with Ohagi following me. And thanks to the microwave, I’ll also be able to warm up the food I’ve prepped for Ohagi.

“All right then, where’s the microwave?” I wondered aloud. Scanning the kitchen, I found it on top of the fridge. This was the best way to describe it: there was a small stand on top of the fridge, and the microwave was sitting on top of that. It was the kind of setup often seen in the homes of people who lived alone.

I stared at the microwave with a big grin on my face, and Raoul and Fifia came over.

“So this is a microwave!” they both said as they observed it.

“You open this part and put whatever you want to heat up inside,” I explained. They both just looked at me with questioning looks. It was probably better to show them how it worked.

Maybe I’ll heat up some chicken for Ohagi as a snack. I pulled some out of the fridge, and Ohagi let out a loud “Mraaaow!” She probably knew it was her food. Then she began purring and rubbing herself against me.

“Urgh, you’re so good at begging, Ohagi...!” While agonizing over how adorable she was, I turned to Raoul and Fifia, and said, “I’m going to do it now.”

I placed a plate in the center of the microwave, and selected how long I wanted to warm up the chicken for. Thirty seconds should be plenty. I then pushed the “start” button, and it began humming as it moved.

“Wow...” Raoul and Fifia both said.

“Mreow?!”

Fifia and Raoul peeked into the window of the microwave and stared. Ohagi seemed surprised by the unfamiliar electronic sound.

After thirty seconds, the microwave beeped and stopped moving.

“That sound signals the microwave’s done heating things up,” I explained. “Be careful when you take things out—they’ll be hot.”

“That really made it hot...?” Raoul said, giving the chicken a dubious look.

“Why don’t you try taking it out? You might burn yourself if you use your bare hands, so use a rag to take out the plate.”

“Got it,” Raoul said. He still seemed suspicious as to whether the chicken had really warmed up, but he used a rag and grabbed the edge of the plate. In an instant, his expression turned into one of surprise. “It’s actually hot!”

“There’s steam coming from the chicken,” Fifia observed.

“Mau, mrrmrow!”

“Ah! It’s hot—you have to wait, Ohagi!”

It was fine for Raoul and Fifia to be impressed by the microwave, but Ohagi was trying to jump up, and that was way too dangerous for her. Heating it up had probably made the smell of the chicken stronger, and Ohagi was really excited.

“Mreow...”

“I’ll blow on it and cool it off, so wait just a little bit more.”

“I’ll cool it down right away!” Raoul said, and he began blowing on the chicken.

“Looks like you’ll be able to eat soon,” I said.

“Mreow!” Ohagi seemed pleased.

“Okay, I think it’s good now,” Raoul said after blowing on it one last time. “Here’s your snack, Ohagi.”

“Mrrmrow!”

Raoul crouched down to give her the plate of chicken, and Ohagi trotted over. She was in a good mood, and her tail was waving as she walked.

Ugh, you’re so cute, Ohagi!

Unfortunately, the clearing on the sixth level didn’t have a river like on the fifth level. Though I was a bit disappointed, we went down to the seventh level, and found it looked just like the previous floor. Looked like the dungeon was formed in a similar manner in this area. I summoned the RV, and we climbed in.

“Hm, is it okay for us to just keep going?” I asked Fifia, who was peeking in from the living area. If I remember correctly, Fifia also accepted a job to investigate this dungeon.

“Of course. There’s nothing more I could wish for.”

“Got it, let’s keep going, then! We’ll head for the deepest part of the dungeon and find an elixir!” I cheered, getting our spirits up, and Raoul let out a nervous chuckle.

“Usually, you can’t progress through an uncleared dungeon this easily... Some dungeons are so difficult to clear that incredibly skilled parties or soldiers from the army are sent out to explore them.”

“Really?” It seemed that trying to clear a dungeon was much more difficult than I could imagine.

≈≈⛟

After speeding through the seventh floor, we made it to the clearing at the end of the level. Our plan was to rest here for the day.

The monsters that had appeared on the seventh level were wargs, dyaroses, and cheleurs. Cheleurs were small tornado monsters that were like wind fairies. I probably don’t need to mention this by now, but every monster was taken down with a single hit of the RV.

I stepped out of the vehicle to stretch my limbs. “All right then. We’ve traveled two levels down, so...let’s do a bonfire!” Excited, I grabbed some of the stored firewood and brought out the firepit. I was used to lighting fires at this point, so it took no time for me to set up the firepit and start the campfire.

I wanted to place a frying pan on top of the fire today, so I tried setting up the logs in a way that would accommodate that. I then brought out my favorite chair and took a seat. This is bliss...

“Mreow.”

“Let’s relax together, Ohagi.” She jumped onto my lap, and we both kicked back.

As for Raoul and Fifia, they were investigating the nearby area. As far as we could tell from the map on the navigation system, there weren’t any other paths leading here, but they were checking just in case.

Fifia also had to report back to the adventurer’s guild, so she’d mentioned that she would be collecting things like rocks as well. I’d offered to help, but I was told to rest since I’d been driving all day. That led to me relaxing in front of the fire.

“After resting for a bit, I should make dinner.” For the first time in a while, I can have rice—and it’s all thanks to that adventurer’s gift! “Dinner, dinner... What should we have?”

I wanted to enjoy the rice, but we were inside a dungeon. Our ingredient list was limited, and even if we’d stocked up on eggs, I didn’t know how safe the food practices in this game world were. I probably couldn’t have tamago kake gohan, which featured a raw egg on top of rice with some other seasonings. Japan sure was blessed with delicious food...

“Maybe I could make a rice bowl? Oh, a mixed rice dish might be nice too. But we’ve been eating so much fish, so I think I want meat!”

Just thinking about what to eat was lots of fun. Suddenly, I heard purring from my lap. Ohagi had fallen asleep.

“You were driving with me all day—of course you’re tired...”

Maybe I’ll play with Ohagi while I’m cooking the rice,I thought as I enjoyed relaxing in front of the campfire for a little longer.

“Okay then...”

I decided to get started on dinner. Raoul and Fifia had already returned once, but they were out again to investigate the area a little more. Ohagi was sleeping peacefully on my chair.

First, I put the rice in a pot and placed it on one of the burners in the RV’s kitchen. While the rice cooked, I began preparing an onion soup on the second burner of the induction stove. After that, I sliced up the meat for the main course, along with some garlic, and then some parsley for garnish. That wrapped up my usual preparations, but I’d planned dessert as well.

“I should bring it out, since I’m going to finish it on the fire.” As I placed the dessert by the chair, Raoul and Fifia returned. “Oh, welcome back!”

“Thanks,” they both responded. They had a bag of something in their hands.

“Did you gather something?” I asked, tilting my head.

“We picked up some of the drop items,” Raoul explained. Since it was too much of a hassle to collect drop items every time we took down a monster, we’d left most of them untouched. It looked like they’d gone back to collect some of that loot. “It’s just the ones from nearby, so it’s not much,” Raoul said. “If the guild buys this stuff, we should get decent money for it.”

“Ooh, that’s great!” If we get more money, I’ll be able to get lots of other cookware and things like that. With the RV leveling up, I’m sure there’ll be more things I’ll need.

“It’s time for dinner already?” Raoul asked.

“Yeah. I think all that’s left is grilling the meat and adding the finishing touches,” I said with a nod. “Oh, right, I wanted to bring out the table. I think it’ll be easier to eat with that.”

“I can bring it out,” Fifia said, taking the lead to prepare things.

Though it was nice to sit by the fire and eat, it was also nice to have a table when the menu included multiple dishes. Next, I want a side table for extra counter space while cooking...

Fifia and Raoul set up the table and chairs while I went back inside the RV to get the rice and the onion soup. Fifia offered to portion out the soup, so I took her up on it.

I placed a frying pan on top of the fire, then heated up some oil. Then I placed the thinly sliced garlic into the pan. I sautéed the garlic until it was crispy, then removed it. I next placed the meat, which I’d cut into bite-sized pieces, into the pan. It made a nice sizzling sound as it hit the oil, and in an instant the area was filled with the delicious smell of meat searing.

“What a good smell,” Raoul said with an exhale.

“We’re having steak tonight,” I said.

“I can tell it’s definitely going to be delicious.”

Since Raoul was free, I left him in charge of the meat. I used a separate frying pan in place of a deep dish, and began filling it with rice.

“Raoul, can you put the meat on top of the rice?”

“Sure!”

Then he placed the cooked steak on top of the rice, and I sprinkled the fried garlic (also on top) before finishing it all off with the parsley for some color. Finally, I made a sauce—mainly using wine and butter—and drizzled that over the meat and rice.

“Okay, it’s done! It’s garlic-and-steak rice!”

“Whoa, looks good!” Raoul exclaimed.

“It smells delicious!” Fifia said.

They both seemed quite excited.

Of course, I hadn’t forgotten to prepare Ohagi’s chicken. With the steak-topped rice, onion soup, and Ohagi’s dinner, the table was ready.

“Let’s dig in!” the three of us exclaimed in unison.

“Mrow!”

This garlic-and-steak rice had a sauce, so it was best to mix it all together for a rich flavor, but I hadn’t had rice in such a long time that I wanted a bite of white rice by itself.

“Mmm!” It’s been so long—it’s so good! “Ah, I’m so happy...”

Seeing how I was dazed by the deliciousness of the rice, Fifia and Raoul gulped. They now probably had the mistaken idea that rice was a delectable dish on its own. Following in my footsteps, they both took a bite of the plain white rice.

“This is rice...? It doesn’t really have any flavor in particular. It’s a strange texture.”

“Hm. It does feel faintly sweet...maybe,” Fifia said. She seemed to be really getting a taste for the rice.

She’s right. Good rice is slightly sweet.

“It is good, though,” Raoul said, tilting his head in confusion.

I decided to give them some advice on how to enjoy rice. “There’s sauce on the steak, so try mixing it with the rice and eating it. That combo will be good too.”

“Oh, yeah. It does seem like it would be good eaten with other stuff,” Raoul said.

“I’ll try that,” Fifia said.

They each mixed up the steak and rice before taking another bite. This time their eyes widened with surprise.

“It’s so good!”

“Delicious!”

White rice by itself wasn’t too special, but it seemed that eating it with the steak completely changed things. Seeing them both satisfied put a smile on my face.

“I should do the same for mine too.” I mixed up my portion so that the steak sauce was equally distributed throughout the dish, and took a bite with a piece of steak and garlic as well. The garlic accentuated the savory flavor of the steak, and the rice gently balanced everything. “Mmm, it’s so good...” I could eat this forever, I thought with an internal sigh.

“Thanks for the meal!” all three of us exclaimed.

After enjoying my fill of steak and rice, I’m absolutely satisfied! was what I would’ve said, but I had dessert prepared as well. I sat in my chair by the fire, and thought about whether I should start getting it ready right away.

“Are you two still hungry?”

“I could eat more if it’s just a little bit,” Raoul said.

“The same goes for me. Is there something else?”

Raoul and Fifia both looked at me, confused. They both still had some room in their stomachs, which meant they probably could have dessert.

“Okay!” I said, then I placed what I’d prepared on top of the fire.

“What’s inside?” Raoul asked.

“That’s a surprise. It’ll be done soon...”

“It’s starting to smell good,” Fifia said, standing beside the fire as she sniffed the air.

A nice aroma was starting to waft over, so I could tell that the sugar had melted. It was probably perfectly golden as well.

I took the dessert—which was engulfed in wrapping leaves—off the fire and placed it on a plate. I then opened up the leaves to check the inside.

“Yeah, it looks good.”

“Are those bananas?!”

“Yup!”

I’d removed the peels from just one side of the bananas, dusted them with sugar, then wrapped those bananas up in wrapping leaves, and placed them sugar side down on the campfire. I finished them with some crushed nuts as a garnish, and after that, the caramelized bananas with crunchy nuts were complete!

I’d prepared three bananas—one for each of us. I handed Raoul and Fifia their bananas, saying, “Dig in.”

Raoul sliced his banana into bite-sized pieces with his fork, and then started eating. Fifia did the same, cutting hers into slightly smaller pieces before taking a bite.

“Whoa, this is so good too!” Raoul exclaimed, taking more bites with a beaming smile.

Fifia just gasped as she savored the flavor. I was glad that they both liked it.

I also sliced my banana into bite-sized pieces before eating. With one bite, my mouth was filled with the delicious flavor of the grilled banana. The sugar I’d dusted onto it was just the right amount of burnt, and provided a nice flavor.

“I didn’t know bananas could be so delicious,” Fifia said. “I’ve never had them cooked before.”

“They’re already good on their own, after all,” I said. There probably weren’t that many people in this world that would go out of their way to cook a banana. I recalled when I’d grilled a fruit known as a lyliche before, and how I’d surprised the people with me then. Fruits are great cooked. More people should try it.

“It’s nice to have dessert once in a while,” I said.

“I agree,” Fifia said with a giggle. “It also feels extravagant since we’re having it in a dungeon.”

“That’s true,” Raoul said. “It’s a place where you can be in life-and-death situations. Who knows what could happen if you let your guard down. That’s the kind of place a dungeon actually is...”

“You’re not wrong,” Fifia agreed. “But Mizarie would probably be fine no matter where she went.”

“I just want to leisurely travel...” I had no desire to go adventuring with a different group.

Perhaps it was because my tone grew a bit somber, but Fifia dropped that topic there.

Treasure Hunters

Though the dungeon paths had been narrow in the starting levels, the deeper we got, the wider the paths became. By now, we were able to speed through the dungeon easily. We had reached the eighth level.

“It looks like there are even more levels,” I announced while looking at the map.

Raoul nodded. “Still, the eighth floor is pretty deep. We might start finding treasure chests with some good items.”

“Treasure chests!” I exclaimed. Isn’t that one of the joys of adventuring? My excitement instantly grew. One might even have an elixir! “Would it be okay if I slowed down so we can look for them?”

“Of course,” Raoul and Fifia responded in unison.

“Mre-reow!”

With everyone’s permission, it was decided that we’d look for treasure chests.

I drove the RV at a snail’s pace so I could place less focus on driving and more on searching for treasure. This was only possible because there weren’t any pedestrians or other vehicles that I had to worry about.

“Oh, I found one!” Fifia was the first to exclaim. Since I heard her voice coming from the living area, she was probably looking out through the windows. We quickly exited the RV and looked for the treasure chest.

“Where is it? Where’s the chest?” I squinted as I scanned the area, and Fifia laughed.

“It’s over there,” she said, pointing to the back of a narrow passage.

It was a branching path that wasn’t wide enough for the RV, and it seemed to be a dead end right away. But at that dead end was a treasure chest.

Treasure chests could be found in dungeons. At times, they would be filled with great loot or rare items. Other times, they were filled with useless objects. What we’d found was a wooden box with metal trim—a typical treasure chest.

“Wow, I wonder what’s inside...” Opening one is the most fun part about a treasure chest. Excited, I reached out for the treasure chest—but someone firmly grasped my shoulders.

“Wait!” Raoul and Fifia both exclaimed at exactly the same time.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Oh, right, you two probably want to open it too. Sorry, that was so inconsiderate of me...”

“That’s not it!” they once again said in unison. They’re so in sync.

“Treasure chests aren’t always safe,” Fifia said.

“It could also be a mimic disguising itself as one, so you can’t just open them without thinking,” Raoul added.

“Eek!” The warning that it could be a monster made me pull my hand back at the speed of light. I don’t think I’d be able to defeat a mimic.

“How do you tell the difference?”

“The easiest way would be either to disarm any traps, or use a skill that can identify the true nature of an object...”

“Still, it’s difficult to see through a disguise,” Fifia said. “I do have an item that does that, though.”

“I have one of those too,” Raoul said.

They both pulled out small glass bottles. They were filled with a murky brown liquid. It didn’t look like something I would want to drink.

“If you pour this over a treasure chest, it’ll reveal if it’s a mimic in disguise.”

“Wooow! That’s useful. Is it okay to use it?”

“Of course...” Fifia and Raoul both responded after a short pause.

Huh? You guys seem like you don’t want to use it. Despite what I thought, Fifia handed me the small bottle, and I accepted it out of reflex. That probably meant I could use it.

Still confused by their reaction, I opened the small bottle—and I finally understood.

“It reeks!”

The contents of the bottle smelled incredibly awful! Yeah, even if I was a monster, I don’t think I’d stand a chance if this stuff got poured over me.I guess I see why it’s an effective item... I turned to look at Raoul.

“The truth is, if you use that item...the stuff inside the treasure chest will also smell like that.”

“Oh...” I responded, shocked. I hadn’t thought of that. “Does that mean if there’s a rare item in there, you’d end up with something really useful, but also smelly?”

They both nodded in response to my question. I see. That wouldn’t be good.

“What should we do?” I wondered aloud.

Suddenly, Ohagi hissed. She seemed fully on guard because of the smell from the glass bottle.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I forgot you have a much better nose than us.” Sorry for holding something so rancid near you...

“Mreeew...”

“Seeing how she reacted, we really can’t use this.”

“It’s probably too intense for Ohagi,” Raoul said. “I think we might have no other choice but to just hope for the best and open it.”

We all racked our brains as we tried to think of any better ideas. Just then, Ohagi, who seemed to not care at all about how cautious we were being, opened up the treasure chest with a “Mau!”

“Huh? Ah!” The moment I gasped in surprise, Raoul pulled me closer to him, protecting me.

“Watch out!” he exclaimed. “You can’t beat a mimic without armor!” Raoul sounded nervous, and it made me freeze.

“It’s okay—it wasn’t a mimic,” Fifia said. I had shrunk down in fear, but Fifia’s words made me relax. “There’s a potion inside. It’s a journeyman’s potion, so it’ll be of use to us.”

“Thank goodness,” I said with a sigh. “I just totally panicked—I have no idea how to handle a mimic.” I crouched down on the ground, and Fifia chuckled.

“I’m glad we’re all safe,” she said. “We can split the items from the treasure chests at the end of our adventure.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said, nodding. For now, we decided to store the potion in the RV.

After that, we opened up two more treasure chests, and found other potions. I was told that it was rare to keep finding potions like this, and I was getting even more hopeful that we’d find an elixir.

While I hummed along the way, we continued pressing forward, and found another treasure chest up ahead.

“I found one!” I exclaimed.

“Oh, I see it.”

Raoul and Fifia had found all the treasure chests until now, so I was really happy to have found one myself.

“Okay, let’s go open it!”

“Yeah!”

“Let’s do it!”

“Mrow!”

We exited the RV and I stared at the treasure chest. I felt like it was a bit bigger than the other ones we’d found, but I wasn’t sure. Maybe there’s a really incredible treasure inside of it. When I got closer to it, Ohagi suddenly made a loud sound.

“Mrow!”

“Ohagi? What’s wrong? You don’t usually yell like that.” While confused by her behavior, I extended my hand toward the treasure chest. This time, Ohagi ran up to me.

She hissed at the treasure chest—this was a cat’s way of intimidating their foe.

“Huh? What? What’s wrong, Ohagi?” I was shocked by her sudden behavior.

“I think I know what’s going on...” Raoul mumbled. “Maybe this one’s a mimic...”

“What?!” Fifia and I both shouted in unison.

“Does that mean Ohagi knew that the other chests weren’t mimics?” Fifia asked. “I wonder how she knows. Maybe monsters have a distinct smell. If that’s the case, we won’t be able to replicate it.”

“Wait, hold on, Fifia! It’s fine to think about it, but shouldn’t we first figure out what to do about the mimic?”

“That’s fair.” Fifia turned around and grabbed the RV door. “Since it’s a mimic, you should take it down with your skill.”

She had a point. If I were to run over an actual treasure chest with my RV, I’d ruin whatever was inside, but the chest being a disguised mimic made things easier.

We rushed back into the RV, and I stepped on the gas as I spoke to Raoul. “That’s really a mimic, right? It’s not actually a treasure chest with something important inside, right...?” I couldn’t help but feel anxious. Was it really all right to run it over?

“I don’t have any skill or anything to tell for sure, so I can’t confirm if it’s really a mimic,” Raoul said. “Why don’t we trust Ohagi? You and Ohagi trust each other deeply, right?”

“Mrow!”

After hearing Raoul’s words and Ohagi’s response, I smacked my cheeks to psych myself up. That’s right!

“I believe in Ohagi more than anyone else!” There was no need to worry. I trust Ohagi! That’s all that matters!

I stepped on the gas and rammed into the treasure chest. It burst open and a huge tongue popped out. It was definitely not a treasure chest, but a mimic! Right as I defeated the creature with my RV, the dashboard chimed with the sound of a level-up.

“Wow, I took down the mimic and leveled up!”

It seemed that using my skill—the RV—to take down monsters was contributing a significant amount of experience. I’d thought I only gained experience through the distance I’d traveled, so it was nice to have another method for gaining experience.

But the only downside was that—and I should perhaps say it was expected—the speed at which I was leveling up was gradually dropping, so I was starting to have more difficulty getting upgrades.

“Congratulations,” Raoul and Fifia both said.

“Mraaaun!”

“Thanks! I’m going to check out what got upgraded right away.” What kind of incredible feature did I get this time? I thought, my heart pounding as I went through the dashboard menu.

<You’ve leveled up! Current Level: 17>

Level 17 Dishwasher Added

“Wow, this one’s another insane addition...”

“What did you get this time?” Raoul asked.

“Whoa! The kitchen changed!” Fifia exclaimed. Since she was in the living area, she noticed the upgrade right away.

“Another upgrade in the kitchen?!” Raoul said excitedly as he headed to the living area.

Despite how shocked he always is, Raoul’s totally looking forward to my level-ups. That actually makes me pretty happy.

I made my way to the kitchen as well, and saw that a dishwasher had been installed to the left of the sink. It was a front-loading unit, and it could fit a lot of dishes. It was probably big enough to not only wash our tableware, but the frying pans as well.

Fifia and Raoul stared at it, puzzled. Perhaps they had never seen one before. Yeah, I guess you can’t tell what it does just by looking at it.

I pulled out some plates and a frying pan, and placed them inside the dishwasher.

“You put these inside here, and you press this button. Then it washes the stuff inside.”

“Wow, that sounds convenient,” Fifia said.

“Really?!” Raoul exclaimed.

Though Fifia didn’t react much to my explanation, there was Raoul—as he was someone who cooked, he gave a satisfying reaction. He understood what a pain dishes could be.

“Since we don’t have anything dirty right now, I’ll give a proper demonstration when the opportunity pops up.”

“Got it,” Raoul said. “I’m excited to use it!”

Since this was the only upgrade with the current level-up, the tour was over. I returned to the driver’s seat and continued our journey, headed for the next level.

≈≈⛟

The next day, we kept pressing forward while taking breaks. Now it was nighttime. We’d finally made it.

“You’ve arrived at your destination,” the navigation system announced. “Ending navigation.”

As I listened to the system make that announcement, I looked out ahead of me.

“So this is where the ninth level ends...” Raoul said.

“Next is the tenth,” Fifia said.

“Mreow.”

I nodded in response to their words. We’d taken down monsters on the eighth and ninth floors without any issues, and we’d experienced a truly smooth ride here. We got out of the RV and stretched our tense bodies.

After we looked around, it seemed like this level didn’t have a river like the fifth level either. Maybe there’s only something on the levels that are multiples of five.

As such thoughts ran across my mind, I looked toward the stairs, and saw something was different.

“I think those stairs are glowing a little...”

“Huh?” Raoul said. Then he saw them too. “You’re right, they’re glowing... I think some kind of glowing stone is mixed into the material of the stairs.”

“The tenth level could be the final floor,” Fifia said. “The monsters grew especially strong after we got to the eighth level.”

I gulped at Fifia’s words.

“So the next level could be the last...” I mumbled.

The Depths

We had planned to rest for the night at the clearing on the ninth level, then head to the tenth level the next day...but the idea that the next floor could be the deepest one in the dungeon made me so curious, I couldn’t bear it. There might be an elixir down there... Before I knew it, the words had left my mouth.

“Wh-What if we just take a quick peek? I don’t mind waiting until tomorrow to actually clear the level, but I’m so curious.” Raoul and Fifia both nodded in response to my suggestion. They were probably just as curious as me about what was up ahead. “Don’t leave my side no matter what, okay, Ohagi?” I said, tapping my shoulder. “Stay here.”

“Mau!” Ohagi jumped through the air and onto my shoulder. My gesture was enough for her to understand—Ohagi was so smart.

Fifia took the lead, heading down first, with Raoul and me following after her, walking side by side. The stairs until now had all gone straight down, but the stairs to the tenth level were in a spiral. Everything—from the quality of the materials that made the stairs to the shape of them—was different. Despite everything new about these stairs, it didn’t take too long to reach the tenth floor.

“Is this the final level...?” I mused aloud. The place we reached was similar in atmosphere to the previous levels, but the ceilings were incredibly high.

The most notable difference was that the path forward wasn’t a maze like the previous floors were. Up ahead was a large shrine-like structure, and there was a path leading to it, but there were no walls. It felt like we were standing in a shrine’s garden.

“The spirit might be over there,” Fifia said.

I gasped. “I wonder if the spirit would know if there’s an elixir here?”

“If there really is a spirit here, and if we can communicate with it, that’s definitely worth asking,” Fifia said with a nod.

“I know the plan was to head back for today and explore tomorrow, but...” I said, itching to go forward.

“It’s so incredible—how could I not want to explore it?” Raoul said, his eyes glimmering with excitement.

“Right?!” I agreed. We’re adventurers—we can’t help but want to explore the unknown when it’s right in front of us! “In that case, let’s—”

“No!” I wanted to just start exploring, but Fifia stopped us. Why? “We might not be that tired since we’ve been traveling in the RV, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’ve been active all day. We need to sleep properly, and save clearing the level for tomorrow.”

As a B-Rank solo adventurer, Fifia definitely was smart about these things. Raoul and I nodded in agreement with her.

≈≈⛟

It was the next day. I’d definitely gotten a good night’s sleep, but I’d woken up earlier than usual. It looked like Raoul and Fifia had done the same; they were already awake and preparing breakfast when I got up. Did they get enough sleep...?

After breakfast, we immediately headed down to the tenth level. This level was grand and expansive, unlike any other level of the dungeon. Up ahead of us was a shrine-like structure that was the perfect spot for a dungeon boss—which was probably a spirit in this case—to wait in.

We immediately climbed into the RV and checked the map as usual. Since it had information on the area’s geography and where monsters were, it was quite valuable.

“Huh? Hold on... It looks like there aren’t any monsters on this level.”

“What? Is that possible?” Raoul said, surprised.

“I guess we have no choice but to head out to the shrine-like structure in the center of the level,” Fifia said. “If there’s anything here, it must be in there.”

Since there wasn’t anything else we could do, I nodded and stepped on the gas. I expanded the map and watched out for anything that might pop up as I drove forward.

Though I’d initially thought of this area as something similar to a garden when looking from afar, I could now see that the plants here had withered. The deserted atmosphere wasn’t too pleasant.

What if there’s actually a monster in that structure? I’d been excited until moments ago, but such thoughts made me tremble a little.

Just then, Raoul looked out the window and sighed.

“What’s wrong, Raoul?”

“I was just thinking about how I haven’t seen any treasure chests.”

“Ooh, one of those on this level would probably have something amazing inside,” I remarked.

It was said that elixirs could be found in treasure chests in dungeons, and we had come here in search of one. Oh, right! I need to be looking for them too!Still, I haven’t seen any while looking straight ahead as I drive...

Even when there was a fork in the path, I glanced over at the opposite side to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, and I wouldn’t have missed a treasure chest if it was on the path we were taking.

As we talked about treasure chests, Fifia chimed in, saying, “I don’t see any.”

We probably weren’t seeing any because we were headed straight for our destination. Treasure chests were usually found at dead ends or in small rooms... At least, it felt that way.

“You’ve arrived at your destination,” the navigation system announced. “Ending navigation.”

I gasped. Before we knew it, we’d arrived at the shrine at the center of the level while we were talking.

“It would be nice if there were some kind of clue in the shrine— Huh? There’s a monster!”

Raoul gasped and immediately braced himself. “Where is it?!”

“There’s a blue dot—that sort of mark represents monsters on the map... It wasn’t there earlier.”

“Where is it located?”

“It’s in that shrine, up the stairs around the entrance...”

“I don’t see a monster or anything,” Fifia said.

“What’s going on...?” Raoul muttered.

I thought that a monster had stepped out of the shrine, but there wasn’t one in sight. All that I saw by the entrance were two gargoyle statues, one on either side of the door—

“Oh, I see! The monsters are disguising themselves as statues!”

“They’re gargoyles?!” Fifia exclaimed. “Those are rare monsters. It’s said that they won’t reveal themselves unless it’s for something big.”

“That must mean the shrine’s pretty important,” Raoul said.

We couldn’t head up the tall staircase leading to the shrine in the RV, so we all stepped out.

“C-Can we take them down?” I asked, nervous. “Actually, will they attack us?”

Fifia nodded. “They’ll probably try to get rid of anyone who wants to enter the shrine, but we have an objective—we can’t turn back now.”

“My left arm doesn’t really work, so I don’t even know if I can handle one of them...”

“I’ll support you,” Fifia said. She seemed ready to fight.

Raoul didn’t seem as motivated, but the strong look he gave me made it clear that running wasn’t an option. I grabbed my bay laurel dagger and took a deep breath to calm myself down.

“Let’s go,” Fifia said.

“Yeah!” I exclaimed.

“Let’s do it!” Raoul shouted.

We kept our eyes on the gargoyles as we carefully headed up the stairs to the shrine. So far, the monsters hadn’t reacted.

“What a view,” Raoul suddenly said. “Are we really in a dungeon? This is my first time in such an incredible one.”

I decided to also take a look. There weren’t any tall buildings, so there was a clear view of the withered garden. It’s definitely incredible, but it’s not particularly beautiful... That made me a little sad.

In order to get a grasp of the geography of the level, we stared out from the stairs for a bit.

“Let’s keep going,” Fifia said. “We don’t know when the gargoyles will start moving, so don’t let your guards down.”

“Got it,” Raoul and I responded in unison, both nodding as we resumed climbing up the stairs.

We eventually reached the door at the end of the staircase, but the gargoyles showed no signs of moving.

“Huh? Were they actually just statues and not monsters?” I was curious, but it was possible that touching them was a trap that would activate them.

“Since there was a mark for monsters on the map, I don’t think they’re statues,” Fifia said, calmly analyzing the statues. “I think they probably have some sort of requirement to be activated. Looking at their positions, I think it’s the door.”

I thought that was suspicious too...!

Fifia firmly grasped her sword and looked at us.

“Are you ready? I’m going to open the door.”

“Okay...!”

“I’m ready...!”

After seeing Raoul and me nod back, Fifia touched the door. Suddenly, the statues’ eyes turned red. I knew it—they are gargoyles! Fifia and Raoul each jumped to one side of the door, and they each handled one gargoyle. Since their bodies were made of stone, a single blow was probably quite the heavy hit.

I wanted to do something too, but I couldn’t imagine myself facing a monster that spread its wings and shot arrows of magic like the gargoyles were doing. I need to support them somehow!

The moment that thought crossed my mind, Raoul’s sword sliced through the air with a schwing.

“That was incredible, Raoul!”

“Huh?!” Raoul exclaimed. He seemed to be the most surprised with his own swordsmanship. He proceeded to slice off one of the gargoyle’s wings.

“What? My body feels light too!” Fifia also seemed to be lighter on her feet than usual, and she was moving swiftly. She did a few test jumps before instantly closing the distance between the gargoyle and herself, slicing it in half.

“Wow...”

In the blink of an eye, the two had defeated the gargoyles. As for me, I was experiencing what it felt like for my jaw to drop.

The two gargoyles turned into particles of light and disappeared, leaving behind magisteel. Raoul picked it up, and stored it in his bag for now. He then stared at his hand, still gripped around his sword.

“It was like I was fighting with someone else’s body...” Raoul muttered.

“You were way faster than usual!” I said, agreeing with him. Raoul still seemed to be in awe of the way he’d moved. “I wonder why you were able to move so well all of a sudden. Did you secretly train or something?”

“Not really...” Raoul seemed to have no idea why that’d happened.

“I think it’s because we’ve traveled here while taking down monsters with your skill,” Fifia said. “I think we got stronger from that too.”

“Oh, that would make sense,” Raoul said. “I guess it didn’t feel like we’d gotten stronger because we weren’t directly fighting.”

Fifia had easily solved the mystery. It seemed that the experience I’d gained from taking down monsters with the RV was being split between the three of us. With how upgraded my RV had gotten, if Raoul and Fifia were also getting the same amount of experience, there was no way their strength would’ve stayed the same. Does that mean I’ve leveled up too? I couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

In this game-based world, if individuals fought together as a party, the experience was split between them. The only thing that you could confirm was that your skill level had increased—but pure, individual levels not restricted to measuring a skill didn’t exist.

By experiencing battles, you did get stronger, but there was no way to confirm that increase in strength by checking your level. There probably weren’t levels because this world was originally an otome game, so battle elements like levels had probably been considered unnecessary.

Fifia wiped her forehead and looked over at Raoul, Ohagi, and me. “Is anyone hurt? If not, I’m going to open the door.”

“I’m fine, of course!” I responded.

“I’m good too,” Raoul said.

“Mrow.”

After checking with everyone, Fifia opened the door to the shrine.

The door creaked as it opened. It seemed to be a bit stuck.

From far away, the pale blue shrine had looked mystical. But up close, it was stained in some parts, and it was clearly deteriorating. It had probably been beautiful in the past.

As we cautiously made our way inside, a voice suddenly called out.

“Who’s there?” The ceilings of the shrine were tall, and the voice was clear.

I saw that Fifia and Raoul immediately took their battle stances, so I also grabbed my dagger.

“Who’s there?!” Fifia called out loudly.

“There shouldn’t be anyone else aside from us on this level,” Raoul said.

“Yeah...” I agreed.

The voice replied. “This is my home. I won’t allow anyone to enter without permission.”

“My home”—in other words, the voice belonged to the master of this shrine. That meant that it was the boss of this dungeon, the spirit.

“Huh? The spirit...?” I mumbled quietly.

“Do you know me?” The voice had heard me and asked a question back.

Fifia’s the one who said a spirit is here... I turned to look at Fifia, who nodded. It looked like she would speak for me.

“My name is Fifia, and I’m an elf. I found out that this is a great spirit’s dungeon, and I came here to meet you.”

The voice gasped. “An elf? You’re really an elf?!” The voice had sounded cautious until now, but it now sounded cheery.

“Y-Yes,” Fifia answered.

Looks like spirits and elves really do have a good relationship.

The next moment, a bright light appeared before us. The spirit had shown itself.

The spirit was small enough to fit on my palm, and small fuzzy circles of light floated around her. The spirit had long wavy golden hair that sparkled. Her pale blue eyes were gentle, and words like “stunning beauty” really fit her.

She was adorned with a golden circlet on her forehead and a matching necklace on her collarbone made of decorative gold chains and a light blue gemstone. She wore a white dress with plenty of lace, making the spirit seem even more mystical.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen an elf,” the spirit said.

“I-It’s an honor to meet you, Great Spirit,” Fifia said before kneeling. Raoul and I quickly followed. It would be bad if we were rude and upset the spirit.

The spirit just laughed, and didn’t seem to mind. “There’s no need to be so formal. I’ve been bored here all alone, so I’m happy you’re here!”

“Thank you very much,” Fifia said, standing up. We copied her and stood up as well.

I’m glad nothing bad happened. My relief only lasted a moment.

“Oh, but... Did you come here to clear the dungeon? To take me down...?”

I gasped. The spirit had remembered where we were—what the point of a dungeon was—and immediately seemed ready to kill. Despite her small stature, she was incredibly threatening. So, this is a spirit—the ones they write fairy tales about.

I should’ve been holding my dagger, but my body wouldn’t move. All I could do was stand there and gulp, impressed by what a real threat was.

“Grh, ah...”

“Anyone who dares to invade my dungeon—”

“Mreow,” Ohagi meowed from my shoulder, interrupting the spirit’s words.

“What? A cat...?” Perhaps she had let her guard down because of Ohagi’s meow. Either way, the spirit’s threatening aura was gone, and I could finally move.

Fifia began speaking fast, trying not to waste this opportunity. “We aren’t here to travel through the dungeon or clear it—we came here to see you, Great Spirit!”

“To see me...?” The spirit had been reaching out to Ohagi out of curiosity, but before she could pet her, Fifia had spoken up.

I decided to back up Fifia. “We came to this dungeon in search of an elixir! We’re not here to harm you, Great Spirit!” I made it clear that we weren’t the spirit’s enemy. If I didn’t, who knew when she would attack us.

With how potent just her threatening aura was, her attacks could be incredibly strong. Just the thought of what could happen terrified me.

The spirit stared at us. “You, the elf, came to see me, right?”

“Yes,” Fifia answered. “If I may be blunt, I came here to ask you for something.”

“What is it...?”

“I came here for a seedling of a sacred tree—the Elven Village doesn’t have one anymore. Would it be possible to receive some of your power for a new one, Great Spirit?” Fifia had spent so long trying to clear this dungeon in search of the spirit, all so she could receive a seedling of a sacred tree.

“I see... So the sacred tree I gifted to the elves in the past is gone.” It felt like the spirit found that unfortunate. She then turned to look at Raoul and me. “You said you wanted an elixir, but what about you?”

“Oh, I’m the one who’s hurt,” Raoul began to explain. “We want an elixir to heal my injury, which brought us here.”

“I see. So, you two wish for the same thing.” The spirit seemed satisfied with Raoul’s answer, and she placed her finger on her mouth as if to think. The fact that she hadn’t immediately turned us down perhaps meant that both were possible. “Very well. I shall grant both your wishes.”

“Really?!” I exclaimed. Yay! Now we can heal Raoul’s arm! As I stood there with obvious joy, the spirit continued.

“However, I need you to find something for me.”

“Find something?” I repeated. It seemed like this was an exchange.

“Please find the Drop of Life. It’s somewhere on this level.”

In exchange for the spirit granting our wishes, we had to find something for her. This Drop of Life was something I’d never heard of, so I had no idea what it was.

“What sort of item is that?” Fifia immediately asked, pressing for details. “Could you tell us how big it is, along with what sort of shape the item is?”

“It’s a ring. I always wore it, but it’s gone now...”

A ring that the spirit always wore...

“That must be a very important ring to you, Great Spirit,” Fifia said. “We promise to find it!”

“Hey, wait...!” Raoul said, trying to stop her, but Fifia had decided for us without asking.

I mean, we needed to accept her request to get the elixir, so I think this is fine...right?

“What are we going to do?!” Raoul said in a pained, hushed voice. “Rings are already so small, but we need to find a ring that the spirit—the Great Spirit—wears, right? That’s impossible...!”

“Oh...!” It was only after Raoul had pointed it out that Fifia realized this would be an incredibly difficult task. Fifia was usually calm and quiet, so it was rare for her to take action like this. “A ring—an incredibly small ring...” Fifia glanced over at the spirit and mumbled, “About the size of a sesame seed...?” The elf was on the verge of tears.

“It might be that small,” I said with a nervous chuckle, which made Fifia hang her head low.

“Good luck. I’ll be waiting in the room upstairs.” With that, the spirit disappeared.

“Really...?” Raoul said. “What are we going to do? But if we find it, we’ll have our wishes granted. I guess we should just try looking for it.” Raoul got down on the floor and began searching.

“You’re right,” Fifia said. She then got on her knees and began looking for the ring as well.

Fifia probably just didn’t know, but Raoul had forgotten about something.

“I think this calls for my skill!”

“Mau?”

Raoul and Fifia both let out a sound of confusion. Everyone looked as if they had question marks floating above their heads while I stood there with a confident smile.

“I’m glad this shrine is so spacious. RV Summon!”

“Hey! You’re summoning it here— Oh, I see! You’re going to use the appraisal function!”

“Bingo!”

Raoul immediately realized what I was doing. I headed inside with Ohagi, and went through the dashboard menu to use the appraisal function. Once I turned it on, the names of the items the lights shone on popped up.

<Pillar> Pillar that supports the shrine. Deteriorating.

<Wall Fragments> Remnants of the crumbled shrine walls.

<Stairs> Path to levels above.

“It doesn’t seem to be around here. I’ll move the RV a little, so let’s check a different area.”

“I’ll go open the door to that room over there,” Fifia said. Just as she was about to open the door, the spirit appeared once more.

“I believe the ring isn’t in that room.”

“What? Is that so...” Fifia was troubled by being stopped so suddenly, but she nodded back. The spirit seemed relieved, but...Fifia’s hand had already been on the door knob, which made the door open. The structure itself was so old that the doors had become easy to open. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Fifia quickly tried to close the door and said, “You already said it isn’t here.” But before she could close it, I’d already seen the results of the appraisal that had popped up. At the same time, I saw the spirit freeze up in the corner of my eye.

<Paper Waste> Trash.

<Toy Horse> Old, used wooden toy.

<Book> Picture book.

<Paper Waste> Trash.

<Cup> Cup. Has a crack.

<Box> Wooden box.

<Plate> Ceramic plate. Dirty.

<Grass> Withered.

<Vase> Almost broken.

It was a dirty room. The room itself seemed to be a drawing room or something, since it had a table and couches. But there were so many things strewn about that the floor was covered, and between the couches in the room, there was only one with enough space for someone to sit down.

Describing it as a dirty room felt like an understatement. It was beyond cluttered—it was a chaotic mess.

“Whoa, what’s with this room...?” Raoul said. “This is insane...”

“Even with the appraisal function, it would be difficult to search through this mess...”

“I said not to open it!” the spirit yelled loudly. “You’re the worst! I’m an honorable spirit! Why can’t you listen to a simple instruction?!” It seemed that her attitude from earlier was a mask, and this was her true self.

“I-I’m sorry,” Fifia apologized.

For some reason, I felt sure that the ring was in this room. It was going to be difficult to read through all of the text, but I’d already decided I was going to get an elixir for Raoul—I wasn’t going to be discouraged by something like this! I psyched myself up. Let’s do this!

“Finding the ring is an impossible task. Why don’t you leave already?” The spirit was sulking after we’d seen her messy room.

Seeing her peeved made me let out a wry chuckle. “Don’t worry. We’ve already found it.”

“Even if you cry about how it’s impossi— What? You found it?! No way!”

I held out the Drop of Life, the ring, and the spirit flew over at an incredible speed. She grabbed the ring and said in an impressed tone, “You really found it!”

“I’m so glad we found your ring, Great Spirit,” Fifia said.

“It’s really important to you, right?” Raoul said.

They both smiled, but I was sure that they were secretly thinking, “This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just kept this room neat and organized.”

“It’s definitely the real ring...” the spirit said.

“I’m glad,” I responded. The appraisal light had found it, so it had to be the real thing.

As I let out a sigh of relief, the spirit’s eyebrows turned down, and her expression grew pained before my eyes. Huh? What’s wrong?

“I can’t give you a seedling of a sacred tree...” the spirit admitted.

Fifia gasped, while I objected to the sudden admission. “What? That’s not what you promised!” We’d searched for the ring because she was going to give us a seedling of a sacred tree, as well as an elixir. If she couldn’t give us the seedling, then our work would go to waste.

Unlike me, who was obviously angry, Fifia stayed calm. “Could you please tell me why, Great Spirit? If it’s something I could be of help with, I’d like to offer my support.”

“Elf... You are a good person.” The spirit teared up as she began to explain. “I’m a newly reborn spirit. Spirits are reborn once every several hundred years, but they’re born with a ring that stores all their previous powers.”

“That must be the ring from earlier,” Fifia said.

“That’s right,” the spirit answered, nodding before she continued. “But I’d lost my ring for a long time, so I’m not at my full strength...”

“I see... Will the ring ever regain its power?”

“Um... If I wear it for a while, the ring’s powers should come back, but I don’t know how long that would take.”

It could take several days, several years, or even several hundred years. Apparently, the spirit couldn’t prepare the seedling unless her powers were fully restored.

“I’m sorry,” the spirit apologized, tears spilling out.

“It’s all right, Great Spirit. I’m an elf, so I have a long lifespan. Could I stay by your side until your powers return?”

“What? You would do that?”

“Of course.”

As the spirit and Fifia spoke, decisions were quickly being made.

In order to not bother the two, Raoul whispered to me, “It seems like Fifia’s going to stay here.”

“Yeah... But considering her relationship with the Great Spirit, maybe that’s for the best.”

“I agree.”

If this was a dangerous place, I would’ve said something. But it seemed safe here, and Fifia looked satisfied. It was also probably the perfect opportunity to reignite the bond between elves and spirits for the future.

“Thank you,” the spirit said as she burst into tears, perhaps moved by Fifia’s offer.

Fifia wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. It was a heartwarming scene.

“Oh, Great Spirit! Will you be able to prepare the elixir?!” We were going to be in trouble if she didn’t know when she could prepare an elixir for us either.

I anxiously waited for her to respond, and the spirit said, “Oh, that’s right.” It seemed she’d forgotten about our wish. “Elixirs are the tears of spirits—like me.”

Fifia, Raoul, and I all let out a confused gasp. The shocking revelation made our eyes widen with surprise. The legendary medicine, an elixir, is actually a spirit’s tears...?!

After finding out the truth, I had a sudden realization. “You’ve been crying a lot, haven’t you, Great Spirit?!” Isn’t that stuff on the ground and soaked up by Fifia’s handkerchief...elixir? I couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes, it’s all elixir,” the spirit said.

“Ahhh!” I shouted. “Raoul, your arm! Your aaaaarm!”

“R-Right!” he responded.

We had no time to waste: we had to collect tears that were falling in real time. Raoul immediately extended his left arm under the crying spirit.

“Your left arm is injured?” the spirit asked.

“Yes... I can’t move it very much. That’s why we came to this dungeon in search of an elixir.” As Raoul answered the spirit, several of her tears dropped onto his arm.

When the tears hit Raoul’s arm, it began to give off a blinding glow. This was probably the light from the healing powers of the elixir. It was a light that warmed even those just in its surroundings.

After some time, the light faded away.

“Your arm should be healed now,” the spirit said.

“You’re right, it’s working... My arm is working! Thank you very much, Great Spirit!”

“You found my ring for me. This is the least I could do.” The spirit seemed happy that Raoul’s arm was healed, and she smiled.

Raoul then came up to me. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to show how his arm had healed, or if he was just excited, but he was swinging his left arm around.

“It’s healed, Mizarie!” he exclaimed. “It’s all because you came with me to this dungeon. I’m truly grateful. No matter how much I thanked you, it wouldn’t be enough. This is a debt too big for me to repay.”

Watching Raoul laugh with tears in his eyes, I felt myself sob. “Huh...?” I muttered, confused.

Something warm dripped down my cheek, and I finally realized that I was crying. Although this surprised me, I jumped onto Raoul and hugged him. “I’m glad! I’m so glad!” Before I knew it, I was bawling as I kept expressing my joy for Raoul’s health by repeatedly saying, “I’m glad.”

Raoul’s Full Recovery!

Whole Roasted Chicken

The Drop of Life was the next most important thing to spirits after their own lives. Usually, it was impossible to lose such an item, but...on occasion, a spirit who was destructively bad at being neat and organized would be born.

“I can’t believe I’m holding the Drop of Life in my hands again...” The spirit slid the ring onto the middle finger of her left hand, and the color of the world changed, starting with the floor below her.

The three of us all gasped, while Ohagi let out a “Mrrmrow?!”

The pale blue floors and walls of the shrine looked like they had an addition of platinum. The deteriorating building was also repairing itself at a rapid rate. The wall fragments and cracks in the structure were all returning to normal.

The effects continued outside of the door, and I couldn’t help but follow them outside. Once I stepped out, the light pouring out revived the withered grass and flowers. This magic looked like a miracle.

“Whoa... This is amazing.” I was so moved that I couldn’t put it into many words.

Once the restorative light reached the edges of the level, it traveled upward to the ceiling. The light made its way to the center, above where we were, trying to return to the spirit.

I thought the light was going to turn into stars and rain down on us, but suddenly the center of the ceiling bloomed.

“Huh? What’s going— I-Is that a sacred tree?”

A tree had sprouted from the center of the ceiling. It grew in the blink of an eye, and the leaves sparkled. It was about the same size as a standard roadside tree. It probably didn’t fully grow because the spirit didn’t have enough power. As proof, the spirit was looking up at the ceiling with a sad expression.

“I guess it can only grow this big...” the spirit mumbled, mentioning again that it would probably take a while for her to provide a seedling.

≈≈⛟

“I still think I should help, Mizarie.”

“You can’t! We’re celebrating your recovery, so you just relax in front of the fire!”

As usual, I’d prepared a campfire. Since Raoul had fully recovered, I was about to prepare a feast to celebrate. I’d lit the fire so that Raoul could leisurely wait. He could surely spend hours just staring at the fire. I’d also lent him my chair—he was set to relax.

I looked up and saw the sparkling sacred tree. It was probably the first and last time I would be lighting a fire in such an amazing environment.

“I want you to enjoy the heck out of this special fire!” I insisted.

“O-Okay...”

I headed inside the RV with Ohagi and made my way to the kitchen. I’d parked it under the stairs to the shrine.

“I didn’t think the day would come when I’d be using this whole!” I pulled out a chicken from the fridge, which I’d purchased whole. All the prep work was done, so I was going to cook it just like this. “I’m glad we have some rice left!”

I washed the whole bird and wiped off the remaining moisture before seasoning the surface and insides with garlic and salt. For the best results, the garlic and salt needed to be really rubbed into the chicken.

Next was the filling. I sautéed some cooked rice, mushrooms, vegetables, and crushed nuts together in a frying pan. I seasoned it simply with salt and pepper. Then I stuffed the bird with the sautéed mixture before brushing the entire chicken with olive oil.

“Now all I have to do is put this in a pot and cook it like it’s in a Dutch oven for a little under an hour, then it’ll be done!”

There was a bit more to do, like brushing on some additional olive oil while it was cooking. But all I had to do was basically just let it cook, so it was a simple process. Since I had the campfire ready, I cooked it outside.

“I’m going to put today’s main dish on the fire,” I said.

“Whoa, that’s a big pot,” Raoul said excitedly.

“Please wait for an hour-ish,” I said, letting him know how long it would take until it was ready.

“That long?!” he said, shocked. “I wonder if I can wait... Your cooking always tastes so good. If it also starts smelling good while I sit in front of the fire, it’ll be torture.”

“You’re exaggerating,” I said.

“Not at all! I’m not exaggerating! Wait, it’s already starting to smell good.” As Raoul said that, his stomach growled, making a cute sound.

While he watched over the fire, I went back into the RV to prepare a pot-au-feu with plenty of veggies. After that, it was time to make Ohagi’s dinner. Since we were having a feast, along with some meat, I prepared some cat-safe vegetables for her. I even added some teardrop fish, since Ohagi had enjoyed it before.

“Yeah, this looks good too,” I said to myself.

After having fun cooking, I went to call Fifia and the spirit over. Before I knew it, the main dish was ready.

“Cheers to Raoul’s full recovery!” I exclaimed.

“Cheers!” Fifia, Raoul, and the spirit all said.

“Mreow mreow!”

After hearing our glasses clink, I chugged down the fruit soda in the glass. It was unfortunate that this wasn’t alcohol.

“I’m so glad your arm’s back to normal,” Fifia said. “You’re going to continue adventuring, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Raoul said. “I need to make a ton of money!” Raoul flexed his arms as he discussed his future with Fifia.

“That’s true. You’ll probably need a lot of money,” Fifia said, glancing over at me for some reason.

“More importantly,” the spirit suddenly chimed in. “Elf, I mean, Fifia. Are you really going to stay by my side? I won’t forgive you if you’re lying!”

“Yes. I’d like to serve by your side, Great Spirit.”

“I-I see! Very well, then. No one comes here, so I was very lone— I mean, bored. Now that you’re here, it’s perfect!”

It seemed that the spirit got lonely easily. I found everyone’s conversations heartwarming.

The roasted chicken had just finished cooking, so I took it out of the pot. I’d brushed the surface several times with olive oil, so the skin was nice and crispy. As I began carving it with my knife, I heard the skin shatter.

“Whoa, that looks delicious!”

“I really pulled out all the stops for this one. Inside is... Ta-da!”

“There’s stuffing?!” Raoul and Fifia both exclaimed in shock as I cut open the chicken and showed them what was inside. They’d probably thought I’d just roasted the bird.

“Heh heh. You added cheese inside skewers before, remember? I wanted to surprise you too!”

“You really got me,” Raoul said. “I was pretty surprised!” My plan was a great success.

“There’s rice and vegetables inside that’ve soaked up plenty of the bird’s deliciousness!” In other words, the stuffing was going to be scrumptious no matter what.

I wanted Raoul, whom we were honoring, to try it first. I sliced the chicken into bite-sized pieces, so he was able to take a bite with a spoon. He chewed, savoring the bite, before suddenly opening his eyes wide.

“Agh...it’s too delicious! Every time I eat your cooking I think, ‘This is the best dish!’ But then you keep overwriting that...” According to Raoul, my cooking always surpassed the limits of deliciousness. “Not only that, but this time it’s a whole roasted bird... The skin is so crispy, but the meat is so tender... Most of all, this rice that’s soaked up the chicken’s flavor is the best thing ever!”

“I’m glad you understand the greatness of rice,” I said. It was definitely worth using up the last of our rice.

“Your repertoire of amazing dishes is mind-blowing,” Raoul said.

“I just love eating yummy food,” I said. In other words, I’d honed my cooking skills for myself.

“Hey, give me some of that food too! It looks delicious!” the spirit demanded.

“Of course, here you go.”

I had wondered whether the spirit ate; apparently, she could, even if she didn’t have to. Basically, she had a choice. I can definitely see why she’d choose to eat. I served Fifia along with the spirit.

They both took a bite at the same time and looked at each other before exclaiming, “It’s so good!” Their voices harmonized.

“You, Mizarie, was it? Why don’t you stay here and serve me?!”

“That is called being a chef, Great Spirit...” Fifia said.

I was happy that she appreciated my skills, but unfortunately, I had no intention of serving anyone. “I’m traveling with my RV, so I won’t be staying here. I apologize.”

“I see... But I’d like it if you visited from time to time!”

“Of course I’ll visit,” I said.

“I’ll come by too!” Raoul chimed in. It sounded nice to come back here every now and then to see Fifia and the spirit. “Anyways... Mizarie, can I get seconds?”

“Sure!” There was plenty of roasted chicken, so I wanted everyone to eat until they were full.

After serving Raoul, I ate some of the chicken as well. It felt like the flavors of the rice were seeping into my body. Suddenly, something sparkly rained down.

“Oh, is this light from the sacred tree?” I lay on my back and looked up at the sky—no, the ceiling. Without thinking, I was praying in my mind.

I hope these happy times continue forever and ever.

≈≈⛟

“Thank you for the past few days!” Raoul and I both said. We’d stayed here in the shrine for just a few days to help clean up the dirty room. That was so much work...

“Thank you so much for everything, Mizarie, Raoul,” Fifia said. “I didn’t think we’d be parting ways like this, but I wish you well.”

“I wish you well too, Fifia. We’ll be back to visit now and then.”

“I never expected you’d end up living with the Great Spirit, but I’m sure you’ll do well,” Raoul said.

“I’ll do my best,” Fifia said with a smile of relief. I couldn’t tell her that I was a bit worried about her food situation—but I hadn’t thought of a solution, so there was nothing I could do about it at this point.

There are apparently some fields on this level, so I would love it if she learned to cook...

“You two have been a great help,” the spirit said. “This is a parting gift... Take it!” The spirit curtly handed us some elixir.

“What? Is it really okay for us to have this?” I asked.

“All we did was help you clean,” Raoul said. “This is too much.”

Raoul and I were both flustered, but the spirit just puffed her cheeks. “It’s fine!”

“Oh!” I had just remembered something. “If it’s all right, then please make a contract with me! I want to try using a spirit stone.”

“A contract?” the spirit said, squinting at me. Perhaps it was too brazen of a request. “You’re too greedy! But, well...come back again to thank me for the elixir! If you make some good food then, I’ll think about it!”

“Yes! Understood!”

Raoul and I both smiled at the spirit’s words. After being given such an incredible gift, we definitely had to come back on a regular basis. I’ll bring lots of gifts of my own with me. That way, she might make a contract with me one day.

“Be well too, Ohagi!” The spirit told the cat, practically giving her a command.

“Mau!”

Maybe it was because they were of a similar size, but before I knew it, Ohagi and the spirit had gotten close.

“All right then, we’ll be heading out,” I announced. “Thank you so much, Fifia, Great Spirit!”

“We’ll be back to visit!” Raoul said.

“I’ll be waiting!” Fifia said.

“You guys are welcome anytime!” the spirit said.

After saying our goodbyes, we climbed into the RV.

As I vroomed down the path, I looked over at Raoul and Ohagi.

“That was fun!”

“Yeah. I’m looking forward to where we’re going next.”

“Mau!”

Raoul’s words made me voice the thought that had been on my mind for a while. “I want to try going to a kingdom with rice!”

During this adventure, I’d learned that rice existed in this world. Surely miso and soy sauce existed as well. Now that I had that knowledge, I couldn’t keep still...! But it is an extremely selfish reason to travel...

“Oh, that sounds good! I want to eat rice again too!”

“What? You’re really okay with it?” I was surprised that he’d so willingly accepted my suggestion.

“Of course!” Raoul said with a smile.

Our next destination had been decided quite easily. My travels with Raoul and Ohagi were only going to get more fun.

“All right, let’s first head to town!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah!”

“Mrow!”

Afterword

Hello. I’m Puni. Thank you for picking up the second volume of RVing My Way into Exile With My Beloved Cat: This Villainess Is Trippin’.

The differences between the warm days and cold days this winter were intense, so I caught a cold for the first time in a while. Everyone, please take care of yourselves...!

Similar to the previous volume, I focused on campfires and food while writing this story. As for differences, I think the biggest one would be how Mizarie sped through the dungeon in her RV, taking down a bunch of monsters. Saying that RVs are invincible in dungeons would be an understatement.

Another fun point is how Mizarie is slowly gathering more camping gear. Starting with the firepit, she also bought a table and a bed. The RV is becoming even more comfortable.

I think the RV is the ultimate item for a shut-in, LOL.

Finally, my acknowledgments.

To Canarinu, the illustrator of this book; when I saw the cover for this volume, I thought, “I want to bite down on that meat and eat it!” I think everyone else feels the same way... Also, I was once again smitten with how adorable Ohagi is. Thank you for your wonderful illustrations.

To KONNO Takashi, who was in charge of illustrating the map, I’d like to say that this volume had the map as well as the depiction of the dungeon, so there was a lot to look at. Thank you very much!

To Abe-san and Fujiwara-san, who were in charge of this project, I’m once again grateful for all your help on this volume. Thank you very much! I’m always causing you so much trouble, but I look forward to continuing working with you two...!

Finally, to everyone who was involved with the creation of this volume, and to all the readers, I thank you. I’m very happy you read volume 2 as well.

I hope to see you all again.

Punichan