Chapter 392

Speedrunning a Dungeon 5

“Then, let’s have lunch~”

“”Lun~ch♪”

After collecting plenty of Silk Fruits, it was just about time to eat, so I decided to have lunch. Of course, the menu was all about tofu.

“Well then, let’s make it!”

I don’t think the kids will be able to eat spicy mapo tofu, so I’ll make a thick stir-fry style with minced meat, Silk Fruit, and Ena gra.s.s. I will also make deep-fried tofu with grated daikon and Miso soup, of course, with Silk Fruit. I’ll also add wakame seaweed and leeks. Ah, a salad with raw vegetables, diced Silk Fruits and sesame dressing would be nice, too.

“And, it’s done! Let’s eat!”

“”Yay~””

“”(((((Itadakima~su.)))))””

The tofu dishes were quickly prepared and everyone began to eat.

“How is it?”

“Allen loves this~”

“Elena loves it, too~”

(Oniichan, it’s yummy!)

(I thought the Silk Fruit was bland, but it’s because they’re bland that they can be used for this kind of dish~ Niisama, you are amazing!)

(Aniue, every dish is very delicious.)

(Tasty! I wanna eat lots!)

(I also think it’s yummy, but it’s a bit unsatisfactory. I want more meat.)

Generally, it seemed to be well received. I can understand Vector’s unsatisfactory, though… It’s okay because it’s lunch now, but if it were dinner, I would have thought it was not enough, too.

“… Vector, let’s have meat for dinner.”

(Ohh! Thank you, Niichan!)

After we finished eating and resting, we immediately headed to the eleventh floor.

“”Something, something~?””

The children carefully searched the surrounding area, as they knew that they could find medicinal herbs, of course, but also ingredients they had never seen before.

“”Uniyu~…””

However, they could only find a handful of medicinal herbs on this floor.

“Allen, Elena, don’t be so downhearted.”

Perhaps because they could not find anything to collect, Allen and Elena’s expressions gradually darkened.

“”But~””

“There’s nothing~”

“Around here~”

“That’s just what kind of floor this is. Let’s go to the next floor now.”

“”Okay~””

We gave up searching on the eleventh floor and moved to the twelfth floor.

(Ah! Oniichan, there are Silk Fruits over there~)

“Really? We picked quite a few at the tenth floor, but if you see them, we should pick more.”

(Yeah! Let’s pick lots!)

As soon as Joule started searching on the twelfth floor, he found some Silk Fruits. We have enough for ourselves to eat, but we can get more for the Ruven family to eat or give them to Oswald-san, so we decided to pick them.

“”Huh~?””

As we approach the tree to collect the Silk Fruits, Allen and Elena tilted their heads, making a puzzled noise.

“Is something the matter?”

“”Is a bit different~?””

“… N? The color of the skin is certainly a bit creamier than that of the Silk Fruit~—Ohh?”

I immediately appraised it, and found out that what we thought was Silk Fruit wasn’t actually Silk Fruit.

“It’s Cotton Fruit!”

It really existed! Cotton Fruit!!

“”Cotton Fruit~?””

“A friend of Silk Fruit. Its texture should be a bit different… I think.”

At least, if it’s the same as the cotton tofu I know, it should be…

“Anyhow, let’s pick them first!”

“”Alright~””

Of course, we picked up all the Cotton Fruit we could find.

“Do you think they are harder to the touch than the Silk Fruit?”

(Niisama, wouldn’t we be able to tell the difference if we tasted it?)

“That’s true, too. Let’s give it a try.”

Just as with the Silk Fruit, we peeled off the top of the skin and tasted it.

“”No flavor~””

(Yeah. It’s similar to the Silk Fruit.)

(But, as Niisama said, the texture is a little different.)

(Indeed. It’s a bit coa.r.s.e.)

(I don’t like it~)

(It will become yummy when Tak.u.mi Nii cooks it!)

“I guess it feels a bit wrong because we are trying to eat it as a fruit~”

Since it looks like a fruit, you can’t help but imagine it’s sweet.

“”Picked it all~””

“Thank you. Let’s continue onwards.”

“”Ohh~!””

After collecting the Cotton Fruit, we continued our search and collected various things, and arrived at the Boss room before dinner.

“”Facing off Boss~?””

“No, let’s stop here today.”

“”Is over~””

“Tomorrow morning, we will defeat the boss, and then return to the town.”

I decided to take a break before the Boss battle.

“That benign the case, let’s make preparations for dinner~”

“”Cotton Fruit~?””

“No, let’s leave the Cotton Fruit dishes for another time. Let’s have meat for dinner as promised.”

(Yay~! Meat~!!)

As expected, we shouldn’t be eating tofu dishes in a row. I promised Vector that I would cook meat tonight.

(I want yakiniku~!)

“Yakinikui? Is everyone else alright with that?”

“”((((Sure~))))””

Since there were no objections, we filled our bellies with meat at the yakiniku party, got a good night’s sleep, and challenged the Boss first thing the next morning.

“If we went in order, Bolt would be next, right? It’s not an opponent that needs all of us fighting, so Bolt, you should be fine on your own, right?”

(I don’t think I will have trouble with that Boss in particular, but… it’s a Boss battle, you know? Are you sure?)

“It’s just one Snowman, and anyone of us would be able to overpower it no matter what. So, let’s take the order as we decided at the beginning.—Allen, Elena, that’s fine with you, right?”

“Yeah, is fine!”

“We promised!”

I thought the children might want to fight the Boss, but they followed the order and gave in.

“You two are so good at keeping your word, aren’t you? Good kids!”

“”Ehehe~””

When I praised them, they smiled happily.

I don’t care if they call me a foolish big brother! My younger siblings are honest and adorable!

(Then, I’m going to take it down quickly!)

When the Snowman appeared in the Boss room, Bolt soared high into the sky.

Then, clad in lightning, he plunged straight into the Snowman with great force. Then, he pa.s.sed through the s...o...b..ll in the middle.

“”Wow~””

“Ohh~ he really finished quickly~”

With a single blow, the Snowman collapsed.

“Good job, Bolt. That was awesome.”

(Thank you very much, Aniue, the loot was a magic stone and white powder-ish substance.)

“White powder? Err… this is a material used for cosmetics called snow powder. Let’s give it to Rebecca-san, Almeria-san, and Rosalie-san as a souvenir.”

In two short days, we conquered the “Dungeon of Snow” twice and decided to return to the Capital.

It was a day when I realized once again that for my children, the lower level dungeons are really just places to play, without any danger.