“We walked a lot. Where are we now?”
It’s our ninth day on the ninth floor, and we still haven’t hit the quota of five hundred.
There are eighty-eight to go. We’re in the double digits, but we haven’t had a chance to hunt a bunch of them in one go like on the first day.
I think we really were fortunate to be able to hunt those groups led by the lords.
“More or less in the middle.”
I look at Map, and see we’re right at the halfway point between the staircase and the opposing wall.
It’s like we’ve been going in circles around this area. We’re not doing this on purpose, we’re just chasing monster reactions.
“Are there any places with monsters and not people?”
“There are, but…”
Map shows we’re in the northeast, and the kind of place Argo is talking about is to the southwest.
There aren’t people nearby, but I do see reactions that I think are looking for treasure chests. If they’re heading for the staircase, they’ll probably encounter the monsters.
I tell Argo this, and he crosses his arms while thinking.
“Should we go back to town? It’s not like we have to hunt five hundred in one go.”
Rurika is right. People are starting to look tired.
We’ve been in a dungeon for longer, but the variety of monsters that appears here means our nerves are pretty spent. I think we’ve gotten used to the other floors where only specific types of monsters appeared.
“Rurika is right. How about we go towards the staircase? And if we find monsters along the way, we can hunt them.”
Says Argo, and we nod.
And in the two days we take to return to the staircase, we hunt a grand total of five monsters.
“Ahh, the air feels nice.”
Mia says with a deep breath.
It’s not like the air in the dungeon is stagnant, but the sunlight still feels good.
We go to the guild before heading back to the inn, to sell what we don’t need.
We’re taken to a storeroom, because they know we’re not going to take the monsters apart. We’re also unloading monsters from other floors, including orcs, because their scarcity made prices go up.
It’s not like we’re hurting for money, but it’s nice to have, and we hunted a few superior species, so we’re keeping those. They’re tastier.
I don’t know if the supply is naturally low or if it’s being kept low deliberately to jack up prices, but it doesn’t really concern us.
After we’re done, we head straight to the inn.
We take a bath and… Ah, we need to pay for our rooms.
Some parties stop paying while in the dungeon, but we’re keeping them rented because we want to be able to take it easy after leaving the dungeon. We don’t want to have to look for an inn.
Also, since we’ve been here a while, the innkeeper is doing us the favor of charging only for the rooms while we’re not here. We don’t eat here, so we’re not paying that fee.
Isn’t that just normal, you ask. Yes, in my old world it was, but the rules are different here. They differ from town to town too, and the fact that Zuirya is a dungeon town also plays a part.
There’s also the fact that we’ve gotten closer because people here cook with us when we borrow the kitchen.
We use flavorings and cook things that are rare here, and apparently they’ve been serving what they learn to the customers from time to time. And it sounds like they like it.
◇ ◇ ◇
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
As we eat, Argo and the others propose we take two days off.
According to Argo, they’re going to drink tomorrow like they’re bathing in it, and since they’re going to be in pain the next day, they need two days.
Yep, they’re going into it expecting a hangover.
In a way, Argo’s party is just helping us conquer this dungeon, and since we also need to rest, we have no reason to object.
But there’s nothing to do here. There are no sights to see, and people look at us weirdly when we walk outside.
When we talk about going out, Argo says one of them should come with us, but that would ruin their break.
“I guess we could just mindlessly take it easy.”
“Fufu, can you even do that, Rurika?”
“I-I can if I really try.”
Rurika doesn’t like to stay put. She likes exercise, so she probably wants to go to the training area of the guild and do mock battles there.
Or maybe not, because she moved plenty in the dungeon.
“…Should we go somewhere else with Transfer? We could tell the innkeeper we won’t need food for these two days.”
I mumble casually, and I get an instant positive response.
We tell Argo and the others, but since it’d be bad if something happened, they’re staying here and drinking.
…I don’t know if they can do anything hungover if something does happen, but I think they’re aware of that.
“Ah, then leave some things that will match up nicely with the alcohol.”
It’s not like I made it as a snack for drinking, but I can leave some stuff.
Then we have to decide where we’re going, but the decision is unanimous. Eril.
We contact Morrigan, and she says she’s there.
“…Should we tell Argo?”
Asks Rurika.
“Hn, I guess we could. He could’ve gone there, but I think he came with us instead because he couldn’t really make up his mind.”
Says Rurika. I’m not too well informed of this stuff, so I just go along with it.
I make a Transfer magic item and leave it, and we go to the place where the ruins used to be. The town of Eril, populated by the former inhabitants of the dark forest.
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Thanks for the treat.