[T/N: Not my fault you have to read Ch140 not Ch142. If you had told me that I skipped a chapter, I would have given a bonus chapter today.]
Seeing the Level 4 adventurer Tiona showing a look of envy, Lunoire couldn't help but feel a bit proud inside, the corners of her mouth involuntarily lifting slightly.
"This… was made by Shirou-kun, right?", Tiona carefully stroked the patterns on the gauntlet, her eyes full of curiosity and envy.
Lunoire nodded, "That's right."
Tiona, upon hearing this, showed a thoughtful expression, "Mm… I'm starting to hesitate now. Should I ask Emiya-kun to make me a sword, or a pair of gauntlets? Or maybe… both?"
Lunoire let out a laugh, slightly lowering her voice to remind her, "Um, Miss Tiona, please also pay attention to the price…"
However, Tiona was obsessively caressing the gauntlet, completely ignoring her words.
On the other side, Chloe was staring at Aki without blinking, until Aki started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Only then did the [Black Cat] finally speak, "It's hard, isn't it?"
Aki: "What's hard?"
Chloe said with a serious face, "Holding back from saying 'meow' must be really hard, nya. I've tried it before, nya, but after a while it becomes really unbearable, nya."
Aki's mouth twitched slightly, "…It wasn't uncomfortable at first, but now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable."
Chloe grinned, "Then stop pretending to be serious, nya. Cats should be free and easy—nya!"
Before she could finish her sentence, her whole body was lifted, Emiya had grabbed her by the collar and helplessly pulled her up.
"Sorry, Miss Aki," Emiya apologized to Aki on Chloe's behalf.
Aki was a catgirl with a strict and serious personality, always working hard to suppress the typical carefree nature and "nya" speech habit of catfolk.
However, the two mischievous catgirls in the tavern were always eager to see her slip up, racking their brains to make her "break character."
Chloe failed again this time, caught red-handed by Emiya, and could only put on a pitiful face before quickly fleeing the scene.
Aki looked at Chloe's back and couldn't help but laugh, "It's okay, nya~"
Emiya froze for a moment, clearly startled by her words, and couldn't help but glance at her.
The two made eye contact for a moment, and the air fell silent.
Aki realized she had slipped up, and her face turned slightly red, "I… I didn't say anything."
Emiya held back a laugh and nodded, "Mm, I didn't hear anything."
The atmosphere became a little delicate for a moment. Emiya thought for a bit and said, "But, Aki-senpai is always so reliable, taking it easy once in a while isn't so bad, right?"
Aki paused slightly, then looked up at Emiya, "Shirou-kun… is that what you think…"
The girl's long black tail swayed back and forth a few times.
"Shirou-kun, do you think I look better when I'm being serious…", She paused, and her tone turned soft and cute, "Or… like this, nya?"
———
Inside the tent in the distance, where Finn and Gareth were discussing the next strategy, Riveria slightly furrowed her brows.
Riveria sighed, "As expected, Drgaon's Vase, Floor Ignoring, and [Valgang Dragon], no matter how you look at it, they're incredibly troublesome."
The Loki Familia's last expedition only reached the fifty-first floor.
Because from the fifty-second floor onward, it would be an entirely different realm.
From this floor, the common sense above the fiftieth floor would be completely overturned. From here downward is the true hell.
The [Zeus Familia] and [Hera Familia], who once ruled over the pinnacle of the labyrinth city, still hold the deepest exploration records of the dungeon to this day. They are the only two factions that ventured deep into this hell and returned alive with information.
And the two familias gave this floor domain a name, a name that still sends chills down one's spine: [Dragon's Vase].
A dragon's nest, where many dragons dwell.
At the very bottom of the Dragon Pot, on the fifty-eighth floor, resides the cannon dragon [Valgang Dragon].
This type of monster can directly sense adventurers up to the fifty-second floor and then launch magical bombardments that pierce through the rock layers with precise targeting.
This is a standard floor-ignoring atrocity, a shocking ability known as [Floor Ignoring], where attacks cross multiple layers of walls.
"Luckily, we have the intelligence left by the [Zeus Familia] and [Hera Familia]. Otherwise, the moment we stepped onto the fifty-second floor, we might've suffered unimaginable losses," Finn said.
Gareth, sitting to the side, stroked his beard slightly, "Even with that information, it's still a situation that even this old man finds troublesome."
He looked at Riveria, "The response strategies we discussed earlier…"
Based on the [Hera Familia]'s information, the Loki Familia formulated three strategies to deal with the cannon dragon Valgang Dragon.
The first strategy was the most aggressive, Riveria would directly use her floor-piercing magic [The Lance That Shines to the End of the World] and bombard the fifty-eighth floor, where Valgang Dragon resides, with overwhelming magical power.
However, after testing the power of the magic slightly, they realized this method was far too risky.
The Dragon's Vase is an unstable structural area, and Riveria's magic is too powerful, possibly destabilizing the dungeon and triggering unpredictable consequences.
Especially since [Gale] specifically came to warn them upon learning Emiya would participate in the expedition. Saying that using such magic might cause a serious chain reaction, provoking terrifying enemies.
The second strategy was much more stable, having the Level 4 adventurers maintain high-speed movement.
Before Valgang Dragon could attack, they would quickly move to the next safe point, breaking through little by little.
Though safer, this method isn't easy. Every Level 4 adventurer must maintain extreme speed and alertness to dodge the bombardments.
Finn knew clearly that while this strategy minimized risk, they might advance too slowly and be forced to retreat before reaching the fifty-eighth floor.
As for the third strategy…
"Finn, we brought a large amount of fire-spirit cloth this time, right?", Riveria spoke.
Finn nodded, "Yes, we practically emptied the market in Orario."
The fire-spirit cloth wasn't prepared for the fifty-eighth floor, but for the fifty-ninth.
According to the Zeus Familia's intel, the fifty-ninth floor is labeled as the [Glacial Domain], covered in cold and frost.
To cope with the extreme environment of this icy area, they specially prepared large quantities of fire-spirit cloth to prevent the members from losing combat ability due to the cold.
"Then, now we have two choices," Riveria looked at Finn and Gareth, "Do we aim for the fifty-eighth floor, advance as far as we can and see where we end up, or go straight for the fifty-ninth floor?"
According to the [Hera Familia]'s intel, the main difficulty of the fifty-ninth floor lies in the extreme environment. The monsters there are not as strong as those in the fifty-eighth floor's [Dragon's Vase], and there is no Dungeon Boss on that floor.
The Hera Familia even believed that enduring Valgang Dragon's bombardment to reach the fifty-eighth floor and still preserving enough supplies to continue the expedition was much harder than the challenges of the fifty-ninth floor.
They ultimately chose an extreme method, having several Lv.7 and Lv.8 adventurers directly jump into the fifty-eighth floor through the holes created by Valgang Dragon's bombardments.
Considering all possibilities, Finn fell into deep thought.
At that moment, Gareth suddenly twitched his nose and said, "I think… I smell something nice."
Gareth: "Is Ais and the others cooking?"
Riveria shook her head and smiled gently, "No, it's Shirou."
Gareth: "Ah—"
Finn: "Ah—"
Riveria: "What are those expressions?"
Gareth stroked his beard, "Nothing, it's just… the way you smile when you mention that kid, tsk tsk."
Finn couldn't help but nod, pretending to click his tongue twice, "Indeed."
"You two, want to fight?"
———
Several portable [Magic Stone Lamps] around flickered with a faint glow, providing a bit of warm light to the camp.
The members of the Loki Familia gathered around the campfire, the firelight reflecting on their faces, driving away some of the cold and fatigue.
Only on these rare safe floors could adventurers lower their guard and truly rest.
In the center of the established camp, a large pot was set up, and the crackling fire beneath gave off lively flames.
The orange-red firelight intermingled with the glow of the magic lamps, bringing some life to the dim surroundings.
Loki Familia's members sat around the pot, eyes filled with anticipation. Nearby, Emiya, Ais, Tiona, and others were busy preparing various dishes.
Head chef was Emiya, while Ais and the others helped prepare the ingredients.
Using Emiya's projection magic, various kitchen tools appeared and were neatly arranged around the pot, making it seem like a luxurious kitchen had been set up in the dungeon's fiftieth floor, deep within the demon domain.
Seeing such a scene, the adventurers, who hadn't eaten anything besides dry rations for a long time, had their eyes shining.
"Ais, Tiona, I'll leave it to you," Emiya said to the two girls.
Ais gripped her sword tightly, eyes firm, "Yes, Master!"
Tiona also smiled and nodded, "No problem, Shirou-kun~"
Ais wielded her blade and began cutting herbs and tree fruits on the table. Her slicing was clean and precise. The herbs were finely minced, giving off a light fragrance, and the tree fruits were neatly split, releasing a sweet aroma.
On the other side, Tiona was in charge of handling the special fruits known as "meat fruits." These were round, soft fruits that not only tasted and felt like meat inside but were also rich in protein.
Tiona clenched her fists and pounded the fruits with force, mashing them into a chewy meat paste.
Her movements were lightning fast and powerful. The sound of her fists striking the fruits echoed through the camp like an intense battle.
Under her punches, the meat fruits gradually turned into a fine and elastic paste, and the scent of meat began to spread.
These fruits, herbs, and tree fruits were all food created by the dungeon, commonly consumed by dungeon monsters.
However, they were also edible by humans and surprisingly delicious.
Some rare tree fruits could even be sold for high prices on the surface, considered luxurious delicacies.
A former Lv.7 adventurer from the [Zeus Familia], known as the warrior of [Gluttony], once left behind a report on how to obtain food supplies in the dungeon.
That report had considerable reference value for future adventurers.
However, the food descriptions in that report required extra translation.
In the [Gluttony]'s definition, the standard for "edible" was worlds apart from a normal person's understanding.
With the unique skill [Deus Embrosia], [Gluttony] could even swallow living monsters whole.
But for ordinary people, most of these so-called "edible" things were hardly fit for consumption.
As for what [Gluttony] considered 'decent tasting,' for the average person, it was probably just 'barely edible.'
Unfortunately, the monsters in the dungeon turned to ash immediately upon death, leaving no corpse behind to preserve or consume.
Otherwise, if monster remains were edible, [Gluttony]'s strength might have been even more overwhelming.
Besides these special dungeon ingredients, they also had some ordinary food brought from the surface, such as bread, ham, dried cheese, and so on.
While not expensive on the surface, in the deep layers of a dungeon expedition, these items were extremely precious.
The expedition's packs could only spare minimal space for such goods, so by the time they reached this point, supplies were almost depleted.
While watching the two girls handle the ingredients, Emiya was also busy preparing the rest of the dishes. His hands deftly controlled various projected kitchen tools. Thick soup simmered on the stove, and as he stir-fried, the aroma of the ingredients wafted through the air.
Raul was nearly in tears, "Oh my god, stir-fried food… We're eating stir-fried food in the dungeon…"
Beside him, the [Noble Cat] Aki sniffed lightly and remarked, "So meat fruits give off this aroma after being boiled with chili… quite unexpected."
"Thinking about it, the past expeditions were really too hard. How did we even get through it?", Elfy sighed.
Raul: "Even if I 'pass on' after this meal, I'd be satisfied."
"Don't say such unlucky things…", A nearby companion frowned and reminded him, but also couldn't help swallowing at the fragrant scent, "Still… it really smells amazing…"
Even Bete, who was usually cold and quiet, couldn't help but have his silver tail sway slightly.
In reality, due to limited ingredients, Emiya couldn't make any particularly elaborate dishes, but for adventurers exploring the dungeon's deep layers, this was already a rare feast.
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