“Alright, fifth floor! We’re making good progress!”
We cleared the fourth floor without any trouble and smoothly reached the fifth floor.
Leveling up is going well. We’ve been steadily defeating the beasts on the lower floors, and I’ve gotten quite used to the feeling of taking lives.
Unfortunately, the drop items we’ve gotten so far have been pretty lackluster, but the magic stones seem to fetch a decent price.
The buyer? The Adventurers’ Guild.
Since registering with the guild is mandatory to explore the dungeon, we took care of that beforehand.
The folks at the church didn’t seem too happy about it, but rules are rules.
Not that I minded—I was more than happy to register with the guild. And I wasn’t the only one. Akimi had this smug grin on his face, so I’m sure he was secretly thrilled, too.
As for Natsuki , she didn’t seem to care much about the guild itself, but when she heard it was a place that buys dropped materials, she eagerly registered. She’s reliable like that—classic little sister behavior.
We’re storing all the drop items in the Item Box. After a week of dungeon boot camp, we plan to sell them all at the Adventurers’ Guild.
So far, we haven’t gotten any rare drops, but apparently, magical tools and weapons sometimes drop below the tenth floor. That’s our main goal for now.
By the way, floor bosses apparently start showing up below the twentieth floor.
“Let’s check my current stats.”
When I mentally commanded Open, a transparent board appeared in front of me. I carefully reviewed the familiar status screen.
Status
Haruto Date (17)
Titles: [Summoned Hero], [Knight]
Level: 13
HP: 150,000/150,000
MP: 8,000/8,000
- Strength: 520
- Defense: 340
- Agility: 200
- Dexterity: 50
- Intellect: 100
- Luck: 30
Skills: [Universal Language Comprehension], [Appraisal], [Item Box], [Life Magic], [Jujutsu], [Boxing Techniques], [Fire Magic]
Unique Gift: [Fist of Demon Bane]
Title: [Blessing of the Creator God]
“Hmm… Level 13, huh? I thought it’d shoot up faster, like in a game, but it’s surprisingly steady progress.”
“Haruto, let’s take a break in that safe zone.”
“Oh, good idea. We won’t need a tent, right? I’ll just set out the table and chairs.”
“Yeah, no need for a tent. We’re only taking a one-hour lunch break before moving on.”
The three of us headed to the safe zone.
In this dungeon, safe zones are easy to spot—they’re small rooms.
While the dungeon itself is a straightforward cave with no branching paths, these small rooms appear around the transition between floors.
Each room is about the size of ten tatami mats and is hollowed out. Oddly, there’s a small spring in the back, making it a nice resting spot for adventurers.
“Having water available is great. Not that we need it.”
“True. We can just use Purification Clean for washing up.”
“But it’s handy for boiling water when we’re cooking, right?”
Natsuki and Akimi didn’t seem too keen on using the spring water, but I didn’t mind at all.
It’s convenient, after all.
We did bring barrels of water from the castle, but taking them out of the Item Box every time is a hassle.
“Appraisal says it’s potable, and I’ve never gotten sick from drinking it.”
“…Fair enough.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
Even though they accepted it logically, they couldn’t shake off their discomfort or sense of caution.
Well, that’s just how they are.
“Alright, let’s eat!”
The folding table and small chairs were items I bought from Brother Tohma at a 300-yen shop.
They were of better quality than what you’d find at a 100-yen shop, so I replaced my old ones and have been using these ever since.
By the way, the knights accompanying us bought the 100-yen shop items from me. They paid quite a good price, so I ended up making a nice profit. Apparently, they’re now using them in this dungeon as well—foldable items really are convenient.
“Today, let’s have instant noodles, rice balls, and grilled meat skewers.”
The rice balls and skewered meat were prepared back at the castle and stored in the Item Box in bulk.
I heat up pre-cooked rice packs with the life magic Heating Heat, mix them with flavored seasoning, and shape them into rice balls—they pair wonderfully with instant noodles.
Just rice balls feel a bit lacking, though, so I add some grilled meat skewers to my meal. I made sure the kitchen back at the castle had Japanese salt and pepper for seasoning, so the flavor is spot on.
Natsuki , always mindful of nutrition, makes it a point to include vegetables and fruits in her meals. She bought a lunch box from Brother Tohma and packs it with colorful side dishes.
Her main meals vary—sometimes rice balls, sometimes pasta, or even pancakes. As for soup, we have a variety prepared in large pots back at the castle, and we take turns eating them. Today’s soup is a hearty consommé filled with ingredients.
Akimi , being a bread lover, usually sticks to bread for breakfast and lunch. He quietly munches on sweet bread he bought from Brother Tohma .
Recently, he’s started experimenting with baking in the castle kitchen, using flour and some kind of bread improver he found at a 100-yen shop. Just the other day, he successfully made hamburgers.
He hasn’t quite mastered making sliced bread yet, so no sandwiches, but he’s managed to make hot dogs. As expected of someone at the peak of their appetite and burning energy through magic, he piles his meals with meat- and egg-filled stuffed bread and soup.
“The knights and priests who came with us rely on portable food, don’t they?”
“Except for the ones Haruto sold instant noodles to.”
“I secretly sold calorie bars to some of them, too. Either way, we’re pretty fortunate, thanks to Brother Tohma .”
“Yeah, for real. In a world where the only seasoning is salt, it’s hard to feel motivated.”
“Still, it’s true we’re getting a little bored with the food. None of us can cook like Tohma , so making creative recipes is out of reach.”
“Natsuki , didn’t you learn cooking in home economics?”
“So did you two. Do you remember any of it?”
“………”
The three of us, who had no interest in home economics, barely paid attention in class and didn’t retain much.
We also never cooked at home. There was no need to.
“Brother Tohma scolded us, saying we’d live alone as adults someday, so we should at least learn to cook…”
“…I’ll pick it up here, at least.”
“Yeah. I want to get good enough to cook monster meat on the field.”
“I’ll master frying food.”
“Nice, Akimi . I want fried chicken.”
“I want fried chicken and croquettes.”
“Don’t! You’ll make me miss convenience stores!”
“Ugh, Akimi , you idiot! Now I’m thinking about convenience stores!”
“Not my problem.”
As we finished our leisurely lunch chat, a notification chime rang.
It was a message from Brother Tohma in the group chat of the Creator God’s app, Hero Messenger.
“What’s this? ‘Opened a convenience store’…?”
Just one line. That was all.
The three of us stared down at our smartphones, frozen. A convenience store. Opened a convenience store? No way!
“I’m spending one gold coin.”
Akimi declared this quietly.
I glanced up at him to confirm, and his face was serious. One gold coin—worth 100,000 yen in Japanese terms.
Even in Japan, we’d never spent that much in one go, let alone at a convenience store. But still—
“I’ll put in a gold coin too. Let’s buy out the entire store’s stock.”
After all, convenience stores sold fried chicken, croquettes, and other hot snacks. There was no hesitation.
Naturally, my sister also took out one gold coin with a determined look on her face.
“I’ll pay too. Convenience store hot snacks and sweets—they’re worth a gold coin.”
“Sure, but we’re basically tethered to the church and castle as heroes, so we can’t waste our allowances.”
“Then let’s earn more in the dungeon.”
“Akimi ?”
“The plan was for a week, but let’s extend our time. If we go down to the 20th floor, the floor boss will show up. They’re usually rare or elite types, and their drop items are valuable. This is a chance to earn big.”
The three of us exchanged glances and nodded slowly.
Our expressions, more serious than before, showed we meant business.
“For the sake of convenience store goods.”
“Let’s crush this dungeon!”
“Yeah!”
The hot snacks we hadn’t had in ages were so delicious they brought tears to our eyes, so our dungeon exploration was bound to be incredibly motivated from here on out.
