episode_0014

A dungeon as usual!

The core as usual!

“I don’t know much about this… but that’s it, right?”

“Yes, it’s clearly that, Yuan.”

Arte, who reacted sharply beside him, nodded.

“That’s the one that makes you go ‘Gwaah!’ when you eat it!”

Elis raised her hand very excitedly.

It was just when we were setting up the tableware to make a meal.

Just then, Lilien came running, holding something full in her arms.

“Yuuuaaaan~ put this in the hot pot too~”

“Huh? What did you bring? It’s edible, right?”

As I tilted my head—

Whoosh!

The things Lilien was holding all fell in front of me at once.

…It’s mushrooms. Quite a lot of them too.

It looks like she collected them from growing on the dungeon walls….

Hmm, no matter how I look at it, this seems a bit suspicious?

“Okay~ Should we throw them away? No, let’s burn them completely. Elis, Gehenna please. Can you target only the mushrooms accurately?”

“Of course~! I’ll turn them into bright red fireworks~ Pa-pa-pang!”

Elis making flames rise from her fingertips.

“No, no, no! What are you saying!”

Lilien hurriedly spread her arms and blocked the flames.

With puffed-out cheeks, a fidgety expression.

And then she just hugged the mushrooms tightly in her arms.

“These are mushrooms I painstakingly selected! Why are you burning them!”

The mushrooms tucked snugly in her abundant chest… I envy them.

The mushrooms. I’m very much envious of the mushrooms.

I’ve already reincarnated once, but if I reincarnate in the next life, I want to be born as a mushroom!

Hmm, what am I thinking.

It must be the hallucinogenic effect of the mushrooms.

Uh-huh. As expected, they were dangerous mushrooms.

Let’s burn them. Let’s turn them into bright red fireworks!

I cleared my throat unnecessarily, “Ahem!”, then spoke seriously.

“Arte? Please explain.”

“Yes. Lilien, mushrooms have a high probability of being poisonous.

Moreover, in a dungeon, that probability is even more dangerous.

They are fatal to inferior organisms like yourselves.”

“Why is your tone so mean?!”

Lilien pouted and shouted.

“Whether the mushrooms are poisonous or not, I can just eat one and find out~!”

Wow, there are people who say this with confidence…

“Lilien, anyone would think you have multiple lives. There’s no resurrection magic in this world, is there?”

“But Yuan. I really selected them carefully, you know? Only the soft and chewy-looking ones~”

“That’s even more dangerous, look at the color of this. It clearly looks like if you eat it, you’ll go to the Lord’s side in one go!”

As soon as I finished speaking, Lilien stuck out her lips, knelt down, and started whining.

“Nooo… I want to eat… the mushrooms… I found them myself… mushrooms~”

Holding tightly onto the hem of her skirt with both hands, blinking her eyes… that appearance…

Where in the world is that former knight order affiliation?

“Arte, you’re an Automaton, right? Do you have an analysis function, by any chance?”

You know, like in movies, when you hold it up to your hand, the components just show up.

When I asked half-seriously, half-jokingly—

“Unfortunately, I am a guardian and combat type. The chemical analysis function was not an option. At most, I can only say ‘This is dangerous’.”

“Isn’t that enough…?”

“You wouldn’t want to eat something based on a low-accuracy diagnosis, would you? Yuan, even though you say that, you’re careful deep down.”

“Don’t hit me with such bone-chilling words…”

Okay, you should understand by now, right? I turned my gaze towards Lilien.

“Did you hear? Unfortunately, regarding the mushrooms, let’s buy and eat them from a store when we return to the surface?”

“Nooo! No! No no no!!!”

The former knight rolling around while hugging the mushrooms with both hands.

“The mushrooms are crying… If you put them in the hot pot now… they might laugh…?”

What should I do with this precious knight?

“Haa…”

Just then, Elis, who was munching on a cookie, came next to me and spoke.

“Lilien. If you want to eat it that badly, you test it.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll cast recovery magic on you. If you get a stomach ache, I’ll give you first aid too. So, Lilien. If you’re really going to try eating it, be prepared, okay?”

*Thump*!

“That’s enough.”

Lilien’s eyes sparkling completely.

Tearing off a piece of mushroom, she smiled brightly at me.

“You’re really not going to eat it, Yuan?”

Lilien, holding the broken piece of mushroom in her hand, glanced up at me.

That expression, mixed with anticipation and mischievous playfulness in her eyes.

“I’m not a munchkin like you guys, I’m just an ordinary person. I’ll only eat what’s safe.”

“Tch. I thought we’d be together even when we die.”

“At least dying together while eating mushrooms is a no-go for me~”

“Okay. I’ll just eat it myself, then. Nom!”

With those words, Lilien put the mushroom piece in her mouth.

Munch munch.

After chewing for a while, she swallowed and then opened her mouth.

“Hmm… surprisingly okay… seems like… Ugh—”

*Thud*!

She just sat down as if her knees gave out, then headbutted the ground with conviction.

It was a collapse with all her might, as if throwing her upper body onto the floor.

“Huh? Huhuhuhu?! Hey! Lilien! Hey! Snap out of it!!”

Startled, I jumped up and ran to Lilien. Is she really dead?!

“Please use detoxification magic quickly. Lilien’s reaction is rapidly weakening.”

“Huh? Huhuhuh?! Yes!! Cure! Cure! Mega Cure! Cure Overdrive! Cure Meteor!”

The names of the Cure magic are getting weirder and weirder.

Anyway, perhaps it’s a magic that works, as the pale pink magic power emanating from her hand enveloped Lilien.

Instantly, Lilien’s shoulders twitched.

“Haaaugh!!! I really thought I was going to die…!”

She resurrected like a dog immediately.

Lilien getting up, wiping her sweat-soaked forehead with the back of her hand.

“My tongue… I thought my tongue was going numb…

My lungs felt like they were blocked too…

My eyes were full of green mushrooms.

And I think I saw a strange-looking badger shooting poison needles, which was annoying…”

“That’s a hallucination, Lilien.”

“If Lilien collapsed like that, even I, the Demon King, would go down in one go?”

“That’s why I told you it was dangerous!”

“But it tasted heavenly! It was the most delicious mushroom I’ve ever eaten!”

“Elis! Burn this type of mushroom! It had narcotic components too!”

“Understood~! Gehenna!”

Rising red flames.

Immediately, the mushroom piles burned without a single tear.

“Ah, what a waste… It’s okay! There are still many mushrooms to test!”

The precious knight looking around with eyes holding a glow, even after nearly dying.

That look, it’s madness itself?

Anyway… after that, experiments continued with different types of mushrooms.

Of course, the result was—

“Blurgh… Augh…!”

“Cure!!”

“I realized it! The essence of mushrooms!”

“Alright, discard. Arte, Destruction Ray~”

“I shall disassemble them at the photon level.”

“This time it will be different! Augh—!!”

“Re-Dive!”

“Hey.”

“Whoa!!”

“Okay, this one is also designated for sealing.”

“Shall I throw a sealing artifact, Yuan? I have some I used at the Demon King’s castle.”

Repeating collapsing and coming back to life like that—

Eventually.

“You finally picked out mushrooms that are edible… Amazing. Our knight is wonderful~”

As I admired her, Lilien struck a pose with a very proud look on her face.

“Heh heh~ Humans have a beautiful spirit of challenge, you know!”

“Did that line apply to mindlessly challenging mushrooms too?”

“It applies!… Probably!”

“Well… anyway.”

Elis handed me the three white mushrooms that survived in the end.

“Yuan, make a hot pot dish with these! We checked them many times, so they’re safe! I used up too much magic power on healing magic too!”

I sighed deeply and took out a portable pot.

“Ah… alright, alright. Wait a bit. I’ll make it quickly.”

The hot pot was cooked in an instant.

Slice the vegetables and meat thinly, put them in, and pour in the pre-prepared broth until full, and you’re done!

“Alright, Elis. Fire, please.”

“Hehe~ Leave it to this Demon King!”

As Elis flicked her fingertip, the bonfire burned gently and spread below the pot.

The hot pot warmed up nicely in that light.

The hot pot bubbling and boiling. Now only the last ingredient remains!

Looking at the mushrooms on the cutting board, I briefly took a breath.

“Whew… It’ll really be okay, right? Oh well, who cares~”

Gathering courage, I tilted the cutting board and put the mushrooms in as they were!

The mushrooms that softly fell into the water spread gently, and a subtle yet rich mushroom aroma wafted up.

“The aroma is quite nice, isn’t it?”

“Olfactory sensor response, very positive.”

“Wow… the Demon King’s intuition tells me. It’s going to be delicious!”

The pleasant hot pot smell filled the dungeon, and the appetizing aroma made the members’ eyes start to sparkle.

And finally, the bubbling hot pot is complete!

Good. Now, all that’s left is to dish out this warmth onto everyone’s plates.

“Alright, everyone worked hard today. Let’s eat.”

In response to those words, the members who were gathered around smiled brightly and shouted.

“”We’ll eat well~!””

In front of the warm pot, amidst the steaming vapor, the meal began with sincere greetings.

Carefully, one bite.

After blowing on it and then putting it in my mouth, the moment.

“…Huh?”

The deep and rich umami flavor spreading in my mouth.

The meat, vegetables, and that subtle mushroom aroma harmonized, creating a taste that was excellent beyond imagination.

“It’s delicious?!”

Everyone looked at their plates with eyes full of surprise and admiration, continuously moving their spoons.

The warm, steaming hot pot was a perfect meal, enough to make us forget the cold and fatigue.

The person who smiled the brightest at that reaction was, of course, Lilien.

She slurped the hot pot broth, closed her eyes lightly, and—

With a soft smile, she tilted her head slightly and looked at me.

“Hehe. Today too… was a day true to the gourmet spirit!”

She smiled warmly like sunlight.

Carefully putting down her spoon, she gently held out her empty bowl with both hands.

“So… one more bowl, would that be alright?”

[Eyecatch!]

Today’s Dish ㅡ Hot Pot Dish with Dungeon Mushrooms Added

Numerous human experiments and (truly numerous…)

Safety thoroughly verified with recovery magic from the (former) Knight and (former) Demon King!

Mysterious mushrooms carefully selected from the dungeon.

Harmonizing with rich and deep broth, tender meat, fresh vegetablesㅡ

One bowl of warm and flavorful hot pot!

The subtle aroma filling your mouth, the chewy texture of the mushrooms, and even the umami of the broth!

The moment you take a bite, today will be healed with gourmet food.

How about a bowl for you too?

(*There is no resurrection magic in this world. Before consuming, it is recommended to eat with someone capable of high-level healing magic.)