episode_0012

A different type of dungeon than usual!

The core felt distinctly different from usual!

…And, it was a crisis situation completely different from usual.

“Arte! Faster, faster! Lilien and Alice will regress to infancy soon!!”

“I know, Yuan. It’s been a while since we’ve had a time attack.”

Tap tap tap—!

Footsteps running, echoing on the dry floor.

Amidst that, I urgently shouted at Arte, and she calmly matched my pace beside me.

But… the problem was behind us.

“Ughhhh I’m hungry… I’m hungry… I said I’m hungry! If it’s come to this, even the crystals here…!”

Lilien, unable to endure her hunger, was glaring at the translucent ore stuck to the cave wall, looking ready to lick it.

“Yuan, can I use Gehenna? Or Elemental Storm? If we crush the crystals finely, won’t they be easier to eat~?”

Next to her, Alice, whose eyes were already hazy, was just about to cast a spell.

I have to stop them.

I absolutely have to stop them.

“Just hold on a little longer, kids! We’re almost at the core! It’s there, I tell you! The core ingredient of this dungeon…!”

If I let them starve like this, a crystal shard stew might truly be born.

“This won’t do, Yuan. Let’s speed up. Excuse me for a moment.”

As she said that, Arte stopped in front of me.

“Give me the backpack.”

“Uh…? Uh, okay.”

I tilted my head, but meekly handed over the backpack, and Arte slung it over her shoulder as is—

Thump.

The next moment, I was floating in the air.

To be precise, held in Arte’s arms.

“No, wait… why a princess carry?! You could piggyback me?! No, why—?!”

“I refuse. A piggyback pose has an ambiguous center of gravity. Besides, carrying Yuan on my back while wearing the backpack is inefficient movement.”

“Ughhh…! Don’t argue so logically!”

“And…”

While running, looking directly into my eyes, Arte added.

“As it is now, I can run while looking at Yuan’s face, can’t I? By my standards, this is quite… advantageous.”

“I’m embarrassed~~!!”

So, why are we sprinting through the dungeon right now?

It’s all because of this dungeon!

This place is a mine-type dungeon where gems and crystals were actively mined in the past.

But one day, monsters appeared, and it became an abandoned mine.

And not long after, a rumor spread.

“They say a ‘salt-type monster’ with the highest purity is appearing in this dungeon! I heard it clearly!”

The moment that rumor was heard, a certain being immediately perked up without anyone needing to be first.

“Spices are also a type of gourmet food. Let’s go.”

It was Arte.

At her decisive words, we once again dashed towards the dungeon’s core.

But the thing is.

“Why is there nothing but rocks around?!”

Seriously… the surroundings were all rocks.

Everywhere was minerals and crystals,

and the monsters that occasionally appeared were all material-type.

What’s more, they were only crystal-type monsters that you couldn’t even eat, and it was questionable whether they even had digestive organs.

“As luck would have it, the dungeon structure is complicated like a labyrinth, hard to break through, and battles kept happening…!”

As a result of that triple crown hitting simultaneously—

Eventually, Lilien and Alice’s brains switched to ‘hunger mode’ and they entered a state of regression to infancy.

Of course, there is food. It would be quick to cook.

But unfortunately, we couldn’t use it.

Why?

“Won’t it only be meaningful if we cook using this salt~?”

“Uh-huh, not just ordinary salt! This salt here is important~!”

Because they had explicitly stated ‘don’t use it’ beforehand.

So there was only one option left.

Straight to the core.

We had no choice but to break through to the center where the salt-type monster is!

“Yuan, that seems to be a passage.”

Arte, who had finished scanning ahead, said.

“A very wide space with a crystal structure is detected ahead.”

“Alright! Run, run! I have to throw Lilien and Alice at the monster!”

At this rate, I felt like I would be eaten first, so I honestly shouted that.

The unknown crystal space waiting for us.

Hopefully, there will be an ingredient there that can satisfy the desires of this crazy party!

Bang—!

“Gah, safe!”

The moment we set foot inside, we slipped into the space.

We immediately started looking around.

“…Wow.”

It’s a space that makes you gasp in admiration, isn’t it?

A room made entirely of crystals.

Even the walls, the ceiling, and even the floor are covered in transparent crystals?!

“It’s beautiful. It makes you feel unnecessarily emotional.”

This is a dungeon, not an exhibition hall?

But the moment to feast our eyes was brief.

Crash!

Suddenly, a mass of crystals from the ceiling crashed down—

And something inside it rumbled! It rumbled! And broke out.

“An arm…?”

“A leg…?”

Grumble! Grumble!

Crystal shards fell off one by one, and a sparkling, muscular silhouette rose from within.

Standing tall, that being stood before us.

Suddenly, it started striking strange poses.

Woosh—!

Spreading both arms to the sides for a side chest pose!

Uwooo—!

Following that, a back double biceps pose as if showing off its back muscles!

“What is this? Side chest? Back double biceps? It’s a peculiar monster.”

“Yeah. It’s like it’s asking us to look. But, because it’s salt crystals, it’s dazzling.”

Its crystal body reflected light and was extremely dazzling, and that glare bounced back several times, using the entire space surrounded by crystals as a reflector.

“Ugh, if I’d known this, I would have brought sunglasses!”

“It’s troublesome.”

Suddenly, Arte finished her magic scan and said expressionlessly.

“I feel a magic coating. Originally material types are strong only against physical attacks, but that one will have resistance to magic attacks as well.”

“So that’s why it’s just posing so proudly. It’s the first time I’ve seen a monster provoke like that.”

It was then.

Thump! Thump thump thump!

Thumping footsteps approached from behind—

“Food! Food! Food food food food food food!!”

“Kill? Devour? Evolve?!”

Finally… they arrived.

Lilien and Alice, with only instinct left in their extreme hunger.

The two of them, radiating light like berserk warriors, charged into the middle of the crystal room.

“Lilien! Alice! That guy is the target this time! Go tear it apart! Debuffs are forbidden because we need to use the salt crystals! Don’t inflict status effects!”

Before that shout even finished, the two of them, let alone answering, zipped past me and Arte like the wind.

Whoosh! Swish!

The (former) Knight and the (former) Demon King lunging simultaneously.

“Ah, right! I need to warn them that guy has magic and physical resistance!”

Before I could even open my mouth—

It was already too late.

“For gourmet food…! Drop dead!!”

Along with Lilien’s shout, a raw, unrefined greatsword, without any projection, spectacularly slashed through the air and struck down!

CRUNCH—!!!

Instantly, the monster’s head, no, to be exact, the core of the crystal body, shattered into pieces.

“Die! Just die! Get smashed and only leave the salt crystals!!”

What followed was Alice’s lightning magic.

Sparks like flying fire erupted from her fingertips and directly hit the large monster’s body.

Pop pop pop—!!!

The magic coating that enveloped its entire body instantly evaporated.

The crystal-type monster, which was confident in its defense, was shattered into pieces by a single physical + magic combo, leaving behind only 99.9% pure salt crystals.

“Resistance or whatever, it’s useless in front of those two going berserk.”

Arte silently nodded her head and was organizing the fragments.

“Salt crystals… safely secured, Yuan. Shall we prepare to cook now? I’m starting to feel a lack of energy too.”

Arte, with Lilien and Alice tied up with mechanical whips in both hands, said with a calm smile.

“Yuan, I recommend you cook quickly. Their eyes are very dangerous.”

“Got it! I’ll do it right away!”

I opened the bag like lightning.

I quickly took out the portable brazier, grill, and cooking utensils inside and set them up at a familiar speed.

“Today’s menu is… two things!”

I held up my thumb and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“First, grilled shrimp with salt!”

Second, grilled pork belly with salt!”

Menus that can bring out the full flavor of salt.

And since it’s seasoned with the monster’s salt, it will become an even more special recipe, right?

On one brazier, I lined up plump shrimp, and on the other frying pan, I started grilling sizzling pork belly.

Sizzzzzle—!

The sound of oil splattering, the savory smell, and even the subtle aroma spread by the salt heated by high heat—

I already have a feeling of great success!

“Even I, who’s cooking, am looking forward to it? It’s Korean food in its own way, isn’t it?”

But as if reacting to that aroma…

“Ughhhhh… I’m so hungryyyyy…”

“Yuan… meat… pork belly… you’re grilling it and feeding it to me, right…?”

Lilien and Alice, who were tied up, started to act more childish.

“Please bear with it a little longer. They say good things come to those who wait, don’t they?”

Arte said calmly.

The whips used to tie them were made of special metal, sturdier than they looked, but right now they were tying up two strongest beings who had lost their minds.

“Before the whips break…!”

I placed the glossy pork belly and golden-brown shrimp on a plate.

And after sprinkling a little crystal salt on top, I finished plating with savory sesame seeds and grilled garlic!

“Done! Finished! Kids! You were really hungry, weren’t you? You did great—Whoa?!”

Before that sentence was even finished—

Snap!

The whips broke.

“Grrr!! Can’t take it anymore!!”

“Yuan, hand over that plate!”

The two people, whose eyes flashed open, charged straight towards me.

Held by the waist by the two who rushed in before I could finish speaking, I had to watch the plate in front of me be emptied instantly.

“Seriously… anyone seeing this would think they’d starved for 3 days on a battlefield.”

Sighing, I picked up the one plate that survived last.

“Here, Arte. You worked hard today too.”

As I carefully offered the plate, Arte blinked and looked at me.

“Thank you, Yuan.”

Arte picked up a piece of carefully grilled meat and quietly put it in her mouth.

Chew, chew—

Gulp.

A subtly spreading, softer curve around her lips than usual.

On her face, which looked like a robot’s, I felt a warmth greater than a human’s.

“It’s truly delicious. Thank you… today too, Yuan.”

At that sight, a smile spread across my face without me realizing it.

Enough to make the tips of my ears slightly ticklish.

“Yeah. As long as… you ate well today, that’s enough, I guess.”

[Eyecatch!]

Today’s Dish:

Dishes utilizing Salt Golem’s salt crystals!

1. Crispy Grilled Shrimp with Salt

Shrimp grilled crisply with the shell on.

Every bite fills your mouth with the subtle aroma of salt crystals!

“Actually, peeling shrimp is more troublesome~ Peel it for me, Yuan! Put it in my mouth too!”

ㅡA certain Demon King who really wants to be babied

2. Juicy Grilled Pork Belly with Salt

A dish that Koreans in this world would have rushed towards together.

If you eat well-grilled meat dipped in sesame oil with salt…!

“This is the sex! Nothing else is the sex, okay?”

ㅡA Knight who came to his senses after eating 5kg of meat alone