episode_0004

The heart of the dungeon, just like usual!

“Heehee~ pumpkin~ pumpkin~ trick or treat~”

Lilien was walking ahead excitedly.

Her steps were light, and she was humming more than usual.

From behind, Arte expressionlessly watched her and asked.

“Are you that excited, Lilien?”

“Of course, Arte!”

Lilien turned her head with sparkling eyes.

“It’s a Jack-o’-lantern? Regular pumpkins are delicious, but how delicious must a Jack-o’-lantern pumpkin be!”

Today’s dungeon was a place they came to because Lilien strongly recommended it.

She had suddenly heard about it from a junior knight she met after a long time, and explained it passionately for a while.

“…I hate pumpkinnnn.”

At that moment, a droopy voice was heard from behind.

Needless to say, it was our Demon Lord, Ellis.

“Don’t be so picky, Ellis. Pumpkin varies greatly depending on how it’s cooked.”

Ellis stuck out her lip but sighed, as if she had already anticipated a sweet smell coming from somewhere.

“Well… if Yuan makes it, I’ll eat at least one bite!”

“Hehe, it doesn’t matter if you don’t eat any of it. That just increases my share!”

“……”

I looked at Lilien who was walking ahead with sparkling eyes, and Ellis who was slowly starting to realize she had been tricked.

Surprisingly, if you look at Lilien’s image, she seems to be a picky eater, but the truth is she’s far less picky than Ellis.

Our knight would elegantly enjoy fine wine and medium-rare steak, but would also sometimes challenge strange foods out of eccentric adventurousness.

You want a few examples? Uh…

Cthulhu *tangtangi*, or,

Gryphon forefoot stew, or…

I was really terrified when she suggested going to eat things like that.

Thinking such thoughts, I glanced over at Lilien.

At that moment,

“Oh ho?”

Lilien suddenly noticed my gaze and came over with a playful smile before I knew it.

“Yuan, weren’t you thinking something strange while looking at me just now~?”

“Huh?”

Before I even had time to react—

“Alright~ your older sister will give you a hug!”

In an instant, I was put in a headlock.

“Ugh?!”

It wasn’t strangling me, but she held me firmly with a feeling of gently wrapping around me.

The problem was that my shoulder… no, to be precise, my face touched her chest.

Squish.

“……Huh?”

“Oh my?”

Lilien slightly lowered her head and observed my reaction as if amused.

“Yuan, what kind of lewd thoughts were you having while looking at me? Come on, tell your older sister~ It’s okay~”

Her voice sounded playful, but the feeling of her deliberately whispering close to my ear made my heart pound even more.

“…I didn’t?!”

I quickly pulled my body away and flushed red.

“I just thought you were less picky than Ellis!”

Thereupon, Lilien rested her chin on one hand and smiled sweetly.

“Hmm? Really?”

“It’s true!”

“Really really~?”

I endured the embarrassment and turned my gaze away.

“What~ what are you two doing leaving me out~?”

Ellis tossed out words with pouting lips.

“No, it’s just because I got caught in a strange prank.”

“Really~?”

Ellis looked at us alternately with meaningful eyes, then immediately came close to me with a playful smile.

Her eyes sparkled.

“Then shall I try too~?”

Ellis came close to me with a smile full of mischief.

Leaning slightly and holding my arm, her attitude was familiar in playing pranks.

“Ah, Ellis. You’re lacking, so it’s not great.”

“……”

The air froze for a moment.

The feeling of the dungeon’s humid air turning dry in an instant.

At the same time, flames and lightning raged simultaneously from Ellis’s hands.

“Our Yuan… have you really lost your nerve…?”

The corners of her mouth turned up, and her eyes shone ominously.

“Hey hey! It’s a joke, a joke!!”

I hurriedly waved my hands and stepped back.

But the flames and lightning were growing bigger from Ellis’s fingertips.

What if I really get hurt by this?

Weren’t we just doing banter, My Demon Lord?

“Help me, Arte!! HELP!!”

To survive, I asked Arte, who was next to me, for help.

You were the guardian of the ruins! Protect me too!

However, Arte merely leaned against the dungeon wall, expressionless.

“It’s alright, Yuan.”

“What’s alright! I look like I’m about to become the roast chicken I ate at the tavern yesterday!”

“That’s because I’m a balanced type who only took the good points from Lilien and Ellis.”

“…Huh?”

“Not too excessive like Lilien, and not too lacking like Ellis. Yay~”

Arte even making a victory sign with both hands.

“Could you please not make such explosive remarks with an expressionless face?!”

Instantly, the gazes of the two people fixed on Arte simultaneously.

“…Ho ho? You’re making interesting remarks, Arte?”

“Arte, what did you just say?”

“Ah, no. Kids, Arte didn’t mean it like that—”

But it was too late.

Lilien put her index finger to her chin and slowly straightened herself.

“Finally… is it time for recycling, Tin Can?”

“Lady Lilien, violent reactions are not good.”

However, a sword was already beginning to be projected from Lilien’s fingertips.

Ellis was also smiling ominously beside her.

Wow, look, her hair is completely standing up from static electricity.

Oh well, I’m screwed now.

I quietly reorganized my backpack.

After putting the backpack on my front, I set it up like a shield.

And quietly, one step back at a time.

“Please let even me, a mere ordinary person, survive…”

The way to appease the women and explore the heart of the dungeon again.

You ask how I appeased that mess?

All the women in our party are weak to desserts.

So I always bring them in my backpack, and thanks to that, I saved my life today.

Thank you, cream caramel pudding!

“Come to think of it, the Jack-o’-lantern is a strong monster, Yuan.”

Lilien finished her pudding and put down her spoon, saying.

“…How strong is it that you say that?”

“Hmm~ according to the junior knight… I think it was 2.3 Dragons?”

“…What?”

“Isn’t that amazing? It’s a strong and cute monster~!”

Lilien smiled as if pleased, but my face literally turned pale.

“Hmm hmm~ I guess running away was the right thing to do?”

I immediately turned around.

“If it’s 2.3 Dragons, it means I could get cut in half right then and there if I’m not careful! It’s dangerous~ I’m going to run away~ I might die~”

“Yuan, just a moment~?”

Lilien subtly grabbed my arm, but I desperately turned my body.

“Last time fighting a Dragon felt like the end of the world! But it’s several times stronger than that? This is truly a coffin ending!”

“It’s alright, Yuan.”

“……?”

“It’s not several times, but only 2.3 times.”

“…That’s not comforting at all?”

“Is that so?”

Arte tilted her head expressionlessly.

“What if you lose then?”

I was seriously raising a realistic problem.

Yet Ellis spoke casually with her arms crossed.

“Then what can we do? We’ll just have to obediently get eaten by the Jack-o’-lantern.”

“Please put away that weak-eat-the-strong Demon race way of thinking, Ellis!”

“Hehe~ It’s okay, it’s okay. Surely you won’t die?”

Ellis patted my back with a playful laugh.

“You’re setting up a death flag in real-time… Whoa!”

A sudden flame attack burst out.

The air heated up in an instant, and a giant fireball flew towards me.

However—

“Force field deployment.”

Bang!

Arte quickly deployed a force field, forming a shield in front of me.

The fireball hit the transparent barrier and scattered into pieces.

“You saved my life! Thanks, Arte!”

“…It finally appeared. I missed you, Jack-o’-lantern.”

Lilien aiming with a projected sword.

At that moment, a monster with a giant pumpkin head leaped out from the darkness.

Flames were blazing all over its body, and a grotesque laugh was flowing from its round, torn mouth.

“Kukukuku…”

“It’s quite big. We can eat our fill so we won’t think about pumpkin for a while. Let’s go, Ellis.”

Lilien kicked the projected sword with her foot in one go, blocking the Jack-o’-lantern’s follow-up attack.

“Finally, a battle! It’s okay to cook it first, right, Yuan?”

Ellis ignited flames and lightning in both hands and charged with Lilien.

“I will also provide support.”

Arte also extended a force field with one hand, while installing a bazooka with the other and firing a powerful energy blast.

The showdown between the strongest party members on earth and the Jack-o’-lantern with 2.3 times the might of a dragon began!

“It’s delicious! It’s sweet, so I keep eating it~”

Lilien scooped pumpkin soup with a happy face and even took a delicious bite of steamed pumpkin.

“Was pumpkin this tasty?”

Ellis looked at the roasted pumpkin as if amazed, then picked up a piece as if curious and put it in her mouth.

“…Oh? It’s delicious?”

One bite, two bites.

Admiring the sweetness that spread softly in her mouth, she kept picking up and eating the pumpkin.

Arte, who was eating pumpkin pie next to her, also quietly added a remark.

“Unexpectedly, the nutritional efficiency isn’t bad. Please give me one more plate, Yuan.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that~”

Smiling, I put more roasted pumpkin on her plate.

Naturally, we won the battle.

What’s 2.3 times a dragon? It’s still weaker than our party members.

But the real problem was elsewhere.

In proportion to the Jack-o’-lantern’s enormous size, a tremendous amount of pumpkin came out.

In terms of quantity… a few hundred servings?

We definitely made lots of various dishes, cooking everything from soup, roast, to puree, but there was still a lot left.

Looking at the mountain of pumpkins, I let out a deep sigh.

“Shall I give some to Ms. Wilmarina later? I think she’d like it.”

Thereupon, Ellis waved her fork and said.

“Okay! Let’s have a pumpkin party at the tavern!”

Lilien also nodded and smiled brightly.

“That’s good. It’s a waste to eat such sweet pumpkin alone.”

Arte also quietly added.

“It’s a rational choice…. However, we can eat about a few dozen more servings.”

“…You guys, you really have a good appetite?”

Today’s dungeon exploration was unintentionally turning into a ‘Great Pumpkin Festival’.

[Eyecatch!]

Today’s Menu: Various Pumpkin Dishes using Jack-o’-lantern

Pumpkin Cream Soup

Soft pumpkin is thoroughly cooked, finely blended, and then fresh cream and herbs are added to complete the deep, rich flavor!

The sweetness and savory richness that spreads throughout your mouth the moment you take the first spoonful!

“It’s a dish that captures both taste and nutritional balance.”

–An automaton who expressionlessly finished four bowls

Steamed Pumpkin & Roasted Pumpkin

The dish where you can best taste the original flavor of the Jack-o’-lantern pumpkin!

After steaming the soft and sweet pumpkin, a little honey and butter are added to make it even more moist.

Also, the crispy roasted caramelized pumpkin is crispy on the outside! Moist on the inside!

“Drizzle more honey! I like it sweet!”

–A Demon Lord with a child’s palate

Pumpkin Pie & Pumpkin Puree

A dessert that maximizes the sweetness of pumpkin!

Adding spices for a soft and rich pumpkin pie, and pumpkin puree with concentrated sweetness!

The moment you take a bite, the taste of autumn fills your mouth!

“I ate 7 slices of pumpkin pie~”

–A knight who broke the scale the next day