Chapter 76

The Bloodbull steak was by far the best monster meat I’ve ever eaten.

I enjoyed a beautiful piece of lean meat with a nice marbling, cooked medium-rare, as a celebration for the new house—just me and my companion, a cat.

“This is close to Kobe beef… no, it surpasses it. This flavor is incredible.”

When I accompanied my mother on a business trip to the Kansai area, I had the privilege of being treated to Kobe beef at a famous steakhouse during a business meeting. Until then, I had thought that taste was the pinnacle of beef, but that record has now been shattered.

“Bloodbull meat, this is the best. We should hunt for this regularly.”

“Nyaa!”

“Ah, you’re up for it too? I knew it. It’s just so delicious, right?”

Kote, who was sitting at the same table and enjoying some of the Bloodbull meat, was excitedly ready to join in. The cat-like fairy, Shī, had recently started using a form of telepathy, albeit a bit awkwardly. She was a smart one from the start and could understand most of my words, so I expect her to speak fluently soon. I’m looking forward to it.

“Bloodbulls are magical beasts from the 80th floor, so we’ll hunt them there for a while. Of course, we’ll keep the meat for ourselves, but the magic stones and materials are also quite valuable.”

A palm-sized magic stone is worth 100,000 points. Drops like horns and hides can also fetch several thousand points. If we defeat special monsters or floor bosses, they drop rare treasure chests, making it a great floor for earning points.

“It’s great that we can sell things without worry, so the drops like golden ingots and jewelry are nice too.”

When we first cleared the 80th floor, the treasure chest dropped a golden staff and a flashy necklace adorned with jewels. Of course, neither was of use to us, so I exchanged them for points right away. Whether 1.8 million points was a lot or not, I’m not sure.

By the way, the treasure chest also contained a high-quality brush, which I’ve been using to groom Kote. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a magical tool, but the quality was good, and I really like it.

“Once we’ve secured enough delicious beef, we’ll head further down. Not sure if our levels will increase much more, but…”

My cousins, who are summoned heroes, seem to have grown beyond the world’s level cap of 100. As for me, although I was originally from another world, my body was created here, so whether I can grow any further is uncertain.

“I want to conquer this dungeon, and I need points, so I’ll keep pushing.”

It’s a bit disappointing to have no more level-up goals, but we still need to earn points. For our comfortable lives and for my cousins, making money in the dungeon is essential.

Fortunately, this dungeon is perfect for farming points. The monsters in the Great Forest also give high points, but the dungeon has denser spawn rates, making it easier to farm.

“Plus, there are treasure chests and rare drops in the dungeon.”

I’m especially happy about the useful magical tools. Speaking of which, my cousins also dropped a restroom recently. I wonder if magical tool craftsmen have managed to create toilets yet. A flushable toilet might be tricky, but I hope they can create a decent one with magic.

“When we eventually leave the Great Forest and travel through this world, if the restrooms in the towns are terrible, I might just want to stay indoors…”

When I first got reincarnated in this world, I was worried about being a burden to my summoned hero cousins. I also found out that the country that summoned them was trying to discriminate against demi-humans, like beastfolk and elves, and enslave them, which made me consider hiding away in the Great Forest.

“Now that my level has gone up and I’ve learned advanced magic, I’m a bit more confident in my ability to escape. Maybe it’s okay to venture out into the human settlements now?”

Since this is an entirely different world, the Great Forest and the dungeons are fascinating, but I also want to visit towns and royal cities. Most of all…

“I really want to talk to people properly soon!”

“Nyaa?”

Yes, thanks to the cute little kitten, my monologues have turned into gushing over my pet. But seriously, I just want to have normal conversations.

I have a large extended family and quite a few friends. I was adored by my cousins, and I was never bored back in Japan.

“Now that I think about it, those were some pretty fun times…”

I used to think being alone was nice, but after several months of solitude, it’s starting to get lonely. If Kote hadn’t been around, I might have been really down.

“Yeah, I’ll avoid the dangerous countries as much as I can, and aim for other ones. I do need to keep earning points for a while though.”

Fortunately, I have some gold and silver coins left from when my cousins bought me things from Japan. It seems silver coins are worth about 10,000 yen, and gold coins are worth around 100,000 yen, so I can probably live comfortably for a while in the human settlements.

There seems to be an Adventurer’s Guild here, so I could join it as a form of ID and earn some points. I could also sell items I bought through summoning magic as a merchant.

“…Honestly, I kind of want to help them with their evil dragon hunt.”

Without the hero’s blessing, I’d probably just be a hindrance, but I plan to support them as much as I can, even if I’m not confident.

“For now, though, I need to make up for the money I spent. Kote, starting tomorrow, we’ll be heading to the dungeon for a while.”

“Nyaa!”

That’s a great response, and it made me smile. That night, I relaxed in the new bathroom, regained some energy, and went to sleep a little earlier than usual.

◆◇◆

Living in a proper “house,” surrounded by walls on all sides, brings such a sense of security. I slept so peacefully that I could truly feel that difference.

It seems Kote also slept well, as I was woken up early in the morning by him complaining of hunger.

Since the kitchen is so nice, I decided to cook breakfast while also preparing lunch.

For breakfast, I made a Japanese-style meal. I cooked fresh rice, miso soup, teriyaki chicken, and steamed vegetable salad.

For lunch, I prepared sandwiches with leftover orc cutlets as the main filling, along with tamagoyaki and tuna mayo sandwiches.

The vegetables were from the garden I made at the base.

The vegetable seeds were from a 100-yen shop, but they all grew beautifully.

I used cucumbers and baby leaves in the sandwiches, and the rest went into the salad.

The mini tomatoes turned out so well that I sent some to my cousins, and they were happy to receive them.

Apparently, mini tomatoes don’t exist in this world.

I spent the morning until the evening exploring the dungeon, and had dinner at the container house.

For a while, I needed to put in extra effort to earn points, so I focused on keeping a balance. I made sure to prioritize meals, sleep, and relaxation time in the bath. Proper rest should improve efficiency in dungeon exploration.

This way, I spent about half a month.

◆◇◆

Thanks to steadily earning points, I made good progress in the dungeon and reached the 90th floor.

I was pleasantly surprised that my level, which I thought would cap at 100, actually continued to rise.

“Alright! I finally reached 10 million points! The lower floors are tough, but the earnings are great!”

Grinning, I checked my status screen.

My [Item Box] evolved into [Infinite Storage Inventory] after surpassing level 100. Now, I could store anything without restrictions, which was very convenient. It was reassuring to be able to take the container house with me when traveling.

“I’ve been working nonstop for a while, so I think I’ll take a break today. A barbecue on the roof sounds nice.”

“Meow.”

“Huh? I got it, I got it. Barbecue with Bloodbull meat, huh? Such a luxurious cat.”

Excited to enjoy a cold beer in the afternoon, I began preparing for the barbecue and headed up to the roof of the container house.

I set up a sunshade tarp and started grilling the meat. Sipping from a can of beer that I had kept chilled in a cooler, I grilled the special meat.

“This is a rare drop, Bloodbull tongue steak. Make sure to savor it.”

“Nyah!”

“Told you it’s delicious.”

Under the clear blue sky, I enjoyed the cold beer and tasty meat, lounging happily in a chair when I suddenly noticed something, holding my breath.

A dragon, with golden scales shining in the sunlight, was flying across the top of the container house.

It was a majestic and noble dragon.

The strongest magical beast, at the top of this world.

(Don’t worry, don’t worry. The barrier of this house is certified by the creator god to repel dragon breath. Besides, they shouldn’t be able to find us… right?)

I thought I had imagined it when my gaze briefly met the dragon’s, but for some reason, the golden dragon changed its trajectory and began flying directly toward us.

“Wh-what…?! Seriously?!”

The dragon landed just outside the barrier.