episode_0099

“Let’s just say the three of us carried this in. How about that?”

“It’s too big, isn’t it? With beds and a table. This isn’t camping, it’s a luxury trip. If we say the three of us split carrying it, no one will believe us.”

Irene said, looking around our dwelling.

“…I’ll just say I brought it. I can say it’s a tent I got from the clan, provided by a company I’m under contract with for testing purposes. It’s not quite this level, but surprisingly similar products do exist.”

“That’s a great idea!”

Good, thanks to Irene, we had a plausible explanation. I could just tell the other students that when they arrived later.

There was still plenty of time before it was time to sleep. We changed our clothes and started to relax.

First, I needed a bath. After hours of walking through this humid jungle, I was drenched in sweat and really wanted to wash up. I remembered how happy my friends were to see the shower facilities.

“What temperature should the water be?”

“Make it slightly cooler than body temperature.”

“I don’t like cold water! Make it warm.”

As the order was received, the Violets waiting at the central lodge put several large water containers they had prepared into their inventories. The Violet inside the jungle dungeon received them and took them out.

All that was left was to pour the water into the portable shower’s water tank. My friends entered the shower tent in order. To prevent anyone from peeking, I had double curtains set up nearby, so there was no need to worry.

A little later, the clean girls entered the tent with refreshed faces.

“Drink this!”

“This feels more like camping than a field trip. The sticky feeling has gone away a bit.”

Irene took a sip from the cold water bottle I handed her and sat on the folding chair. Instead of her combat coat and tactical vest, she was wearing a much lighter short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

“This is so comfortable! To enjoy such luxury. Violet is the best!”

Daphne even dried her hair, then happily flopped down onto the cot. She looked a little tired. It was understandable, given she had been walking through the rough tropical forest all day without rest. Moreover, among the Awakened, she was on the weaker side physically. This was in stark contrast to Irene, who showed no signs of fatigue.

Awakened individuals generally possess superior abilities compared to non-Awakened, but there are individual differences even among them.

I also flopped down onto my bed. Speaking of which, dinner time was approaching.

What should we eat tonight to make it famous for being delicious?

The Violets outside the dungeon began to discuss.

「Let’s eat ramen! I’ve always wanted to cook ramen when camping.」

「No. All the instant ramen sold in the academy city is Japanese-style. The spiciest ramen sold there is milder than mild ramen.」

「Then what about delivery food?」

「Then there’s no fun in cooking.」

The reason the Violets were discussing was simple.

We could share not only the taste of the food but also the feeling of eating it with our other selves. Therefore, there was nothing that brought more joy to life than special food eaten in a special place.

And it was food eaten while camping with beautiful girl friends. Imagine how delicious it would be.

「We have a lot of retort food bought, and also canned goods. Let’s do that.」

「That sounds good.」

I poured the retort food and canned goods onto the table. Hearing the noise, the two girls’ gazes turned towards me.

“Let’s eat this for dinner tonight.”

Daphne, who had risen from her bed, walked to the table and picked up a pouch of instant meatballs.

“It’s all instant food.”

“It’s convenient, isn’t it?”

“You don’t really want to eat this, do you? I was thinking of cooking something myself.”

“Cooking?”

When I asked, she began to take out cooking tools and ingredients from thin air. Now that I thought about it, Daphne also had the inventory I gave her.

“Thanks to the artifact Violet gave me, I can carry things like this around now!”

She took out pasta noodles, vegetables, and various other ingredients. I hadn’t thought of using the inventory to store ingredients freshly.

「Well, we only eat instant food all the time.」

“I was thinking of making pasta for dinner tonight, how about it?”

“This is my first time eating pasta in a dungeon. I’m in favor. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Then Irene-ssi, please organize the ingredients a bit. And Violet.”

“Did you call me?”

“Please take these plates and forks and put them on the table.”

Soon, Daphne began to cook. She chopped vegetables on a cutting board, prepared ingredients, and boiled water. Today’s dinner menu was oil pasta. The smell made it seem delicious.

But something still felt a little lacking. Would this be enough?

As I pondered, I realized what the best dish for camping was.

It was meat!

「This won’t do. Someone from outside buy some meat! Lots of it!」

「Didn’t Kalia’s house have an unused barbecue grill in the warehouse? Go get that!」

The Violet in the tent rushed out.

“Violet, what are you doing?”

“Meat! Let’s have a barbecue party!”

“Where did that come from now?”

My friends, who had come out of the tent, looked at me with bewildered expressions. In the blink of an eye, I had finished preparing to grill meat.

The beef on the grill sizzled as it cooked.

“Not just a tent, now even meat…”

Both of their jaws dropped.

A moment later, the pasta Daphne had prepared was demoted from a main dish to a side dish. On the table, succulent, well-grilled steaks were piled high.

“Alright, let’s eat!”

The girls, who had been blinking at the dishes before them, picked up their forks and began to eat.

***

The meal was satisfying. Irene, who was eating freshly airlifted pudding for dessert, spoke up.

“Not just beds and showers, but even a lavish dinner… This is my first time exploring a dungeon so luxuriously. Even our clan members don’t eat like this.”

“Isn’t Helios a well-known clan? I thought they’d be able to bring a dedicated trailer and cook meals.”

“That’s only when there’s leisure. Most of our meals are combat rations. Most places a trailer can’t go, you see. Sometimes drones or vehicles airlift warm meals, but it’s not uncommon for them to be destroyed by monster attacks.”

I see. Hunting work seems similar to military life.

I imagined having to eat combat rations because the food truck was destroyed. That would be terrible in its own way. Ugh, I’d hate that so much.

Daphne, who was leisurely enjoying her coffee, also said,

“We’re the unusual ones. How many artifacts like the multi-dimensional bags that I and Violet possess are there?”

Listening to her, it seemed we were truly living lavishly. It felt like we were on a tourist trip.

While other students were picking at their combat rations, we were enjoying the luxury of pasta and steak.

“Since it’s like this, let’s go even more extravagantly! Aren’t you hot? Should I bring an air conditioner and a generator?”

As I made a gesture of taking something out of thin air, Irene stopped me.

“That’s too much.”

“Just kidding!”

I gulped down a carbonated drink with ice floating in it. As I was eating the remaining dessert, Daphne pointed at the steaks piled on a plate.

“What are you going to do with all that? If you just throw it away, it’ll attract bugs.”

“Just put them in the multi-dimensional bag!”

Excited about having a barbecue outdoors, we had grilled too much meat. Most of the steaks piled on the table had not been touched.

「We can eat them.」

「Meat! Meat!」

I put the steaks into my inventory.

Patting my full belly, I looked around the dungeon outside the safe zone campsite. The dungeon sky was a hazy, milky color. There was no concept of day or night in this isolated space.

Then, I saw students entering the safe zone entrance. They were the second team to come to Sector 3, besides us.

“Those people are…”

“That’s Lucian and his team from earlier.”

Three tired students entered Safe Zone Sector 3. The gazes of the three who entered the entrance turned towards our tent.

“Is that a house?”

“Oh, it’s huge…”

“Are you an idiot? That’s just a tent. It’s just a bit big.”

Lucian and his teammates approached our tent. Their eyes, full of curiosity, were directed at us. I waved my hand.

“It was you?”

“Oh, hello. So you were here…”

Lucian grumbled, and Levi, who was standing behind him, awkwardly spoke up.

“Is this your team’s?”

Granite asked.

“Yep! To be precise, it’s Irene’s. It’s a cutting-edge special tent being test-operated.”

Hearing my answer, Lucian nodded as if he had expected it.

“As expected, Irene would have such expensive equipment.”

Lucian’s team examined our tent for a moment. Their eyes held a mix of surprise and envy. Then, Lucian, snapping out of it, irritably called Levi and Granite.

“Hey, follow me. Are you going to sleep outside?”

“Alright, I’m coming…”

“I said hurry up!”

I sat in a chair and watched Lucian’s team prepare their camp. The three moved a good distance away, then each opened their bags and took out and unfolded collapsible tents. Three small tents, just large enough for one person to lie down in, appeared. Afterward, Lucian took out a long stick from his pocket and drew various minor spells around the tents.

“What’s that?”

“That’s insect-repelling magic. And that’s a waterproof and humidity-proof spell. It’s a complex composition, but his skill is good.”

Daphne, who was tidying the table, answered when I mumbled to myself.

Soon, Levi took out a burner and boiled water. From the setup, it looked like combat rations that you just add hot water to. As I continued to watch, the situation with Lucian and the other two didn’t look good.

“Uh, over here, it’s dinner…”

“I don’t want any. You guys eat it or not.”

“You must be hungry, why don’t you eat first?”

“Hey, I said I don’t want any! Just go away!”

Levi went to Lucian with his share of combat rations. Lucian sullenly refused the meal.

Levi was struggling, and even Granite tried to talk to him, but Lucian was consistently irritated and holed himself up in his tent. The two dispirited people didn’t know what to do in front of the tent.

I approached the two of them.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s Violet…”

I led the two over near our tent and asked what was going on. The two looked somewhat embarrassed.

“Why is he acting like that?”

Granite answered in a deflated voice.

“Actually, it’s our fault he’s angry.”

“Your fault?”

The situation from a few hours ago, when the Crawltides swarmed us, came to mind.

The two slowly began to explain.

“All day today, we just relied on him.”

After that, it was pretty much as I had expected. Indeed, the field trip for the two, excluding Lucian, was a mess.

“I-I think I took the field trip too lightly. I just thought I could bring my own equipment.”

Their equipment wasn’t suitable for the dungeon environment. Overall, it was amateurish.

“From guiding the way to combat, Lucian took on all the tasks for our team. While he led the way, we couldn’t provide any proper help.”

Moreover, their personal dispositions also contributed to holding Lucian back.

“Wh-When the Crawltides charged so close over my head, I was scared… I couldn’t aim properly.”

I remembered when I saved Levi from seniors who were bothering her with a duel. This girl was naturally timid. So, what was the problem with this big friend?

“I was the same. Honestly, it’s embarrassing to say, but… I’m scared of bugs. This place is full of bugs, it’s awful…”

“Really?”

Granite was nearly two meters tall. Yet, with such a body, he said he was scared of bugs. I couldn’t understand it.

Just then, a beetle crawled on the ground, so I picked it up and showed it to him.

“Are you scared of this too?”

“U-Ugh… Please, just get it away from me! I beg you!”

His face drained of color, so I quickly tossed the beetle far away.

“Anyway, this is our fault. It’s natural for Lucian to be so angry, given how much he struggled with burdens like us.”

“We were just a nuisance.”

Irene, who had been listening quietly to the two talking behind her, spoke up.

“So, what do you want to do?”

“We want to apologize to Lucian. And we want to do our best for the remaining time on the field trip.”

“M-Me too…”

“Hmm,” Irene said briefly, then asked the two with a serious expression.

“First, you two. Did you bring your auxiliary weapons properly?”

“Uh, auxiliary weapons, you mean…”

“Like this?”

The two showed their respective jungle knives and hand axes. Irene shook her head.

“Those are tools, aren’t they? You brought weapons that aren’t even suitable for the environment, how do you expect to be of any help? Didn’t Instructor Frederick-nim say anything?”

“Ugh…”

Since it was a field trip, the difficulty was low, so it was overlooked, but from their reaction, they must have been scolded terribly.

“Seriously, didn’t you take this field trip too lightly? What will you do if your main weapon breaks down when you go to a more dangerous dungeon than this later? You should have brought at least one auxiliary sword.”

Irene was right. Daphne, for example, even though she doesn’t need to use it, has a one-handed sword at her side.

Realizing their mistake, the two were too ashamed to lift their heads.

“Still, since you know what you did wrong, you can do well from now on. Violet. Do you have any spare swords you could lend to those two?”

“I do!”

I went into the tent, took out two swords, an unused small crossbow, and a rifle from my inventory, and returned. These were 1-star weapons I had obtained from beating various monsters to death.

“I’ll lend them to you. You have to give them back when we leave!”

“Thank you. I’m ashamed.”

“I-I’m sorry. I-I’m just being a nuisance again…”

Daphne, who saw us talking, also came out of the tent.

“Now, don’t be so depressed. You know what you did wrong, don’t you? If you go apologize and show your sincerity that you’ll do better from now on, Lucian-ssi will cool down.”

“Will he really?”

“Of course. Even if he doesn’t cool down immediately, if you show effort, his attitude will change.”

Daphne’s kind words made the expressions of the two dispirited people relax a little.

These guys were incompetent, but they weren’t malicious. At least they knew what they did wrong and wanted to fix it. The situation would change depending on how they acted from now on.

Suddenly, the meat I had eaten earlier came to mind. Did these guys eat dinner?

The combat rations they were preparing for their meal came to mind. I looked out of curiosity and saw that they were the same tasteless, very cheap items I had tried before. Eating something like that would surely make one’s mood turn bad again, even if it lifted their spirits momentarily.

「Should we help them out?」

「They brought us to the infirmary when we were drunk and passed out before. Let’s consider it repaying the favor they did for us.」

I thought of the leftover steaks. Eating something delicious would surely lift their spirits.

“Hey, do you guys want some steak?”

“Steak? What are you talking about? Now that you mention it, I do smell grilled meat…”

I handed them untouched, warm steaks, various snacks, and even ice cream, and sent them off. The two approached the tent where Lucian was holed up.

“Uh, Lucian…”

“Just leave me alone, okay? Ugh… What’s that smell?”

One minute later, he opened the tent and came out. Lucian’s eyes widened significantly.

“What in the world…”

I watched the three talk carefully. Lucian took his share of steak and food and disappeared back into his tent.

My friends, watching this, each made a comment.

“Will it really work?”

“That depends on what those two do.”

I idly watched the tent of Lucian’s team.

Soon, I could see the three of them talking. What was going on?

The three were calmly talking while eating the ice cream I had given them.

“I just came out to eat ice cream, so don’t get the wrong idea! I have nothing to talk about with you guys.”

“Anyway, we’re sorry. We’ll do our best for the remaining time.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“…Just don’t hold me back.”

Lucian grumbled.

Looking at the atmosphere, it didn’t seem so bad. That’s a relief.

***

Time flowed, and night fell in the dungeon. I lay in bed and tried to sleep.

How much time had passed since I fell asleep? I rubbed my eyes and woke up to the sound of an alarm. I frowned at the unusual dampness. It was humid and unpleasant.

“What is it?”

I tilted my head. A thick fog had settled.

“That’s unusual, fog.”

“Let’s pack our bags first. There’s not much time left to go back.”

We quickly packed our bags and left the safe zone. Lucian’s party must have already packed and left, as there was not a trace of them to be seen.

The way back was eerily quiet. With visibility at zero, I released my clones. Using the clones as moving wards, we quickly crossed the jungle.

The sound, which seemed to be made by students, gradually grew closer. Through the fog, Lucian’s party became visible. The Hero party I saw yesterday was also there.

The moment I saw the students’ expressions, I felt something was off. Everyone’s faces were filled with confusion.

“Aargh! The gate!”

“Calm down. It must be temporary.”

Someone even screamed.

As I got closer, I understood why. The gate, which was supposed to serve as the entrance, was sputtering like a broken CRT TV.

「It seems like problems occur wherever I go.」

「It must be a coincidence!」

It seemed there was a magic that caused accidents wherever I went.

The Chloris Forest gate was closed.