The day after tomorrow, we decided to spend the night in a room that was as big as the mansion above ground and exit the second labyrinth as planned.

　The labyrinth is vast in its own way, but we already knew the shortest path leading to the second level, so if you just want to move around, it's just an underground passage with many twists and turns.

　However, if you accidentally get lost, you'll be in trouble, so after warning Leila not to leave by mistake, I walked through the labyrinth with Travis in the lead.

　And after descending the windowless spiral staircase - the scene of the second level, illuminated by the morning sunshine, is spread out.

　Lush green hillsides. Rivers and lakes filled with rich water. A densely wooded area.

　Unless you strained your eyes to look far into the distance, you couldn't see the walls and ceiling of the dungeon clearly and almost forgot that you were in an underground space.

''Oh, is that ......?''

　Leila scurried around with a scowl on her face.

　Apparently, the scene on the second level had far surpassed her imagination.

''Oh no, it's so different from the first time I came here!

　Ulysses narrowed his eyes dazzlingly and muttered sincerely.

It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about it. I'm sure the ceiling of the underground space lost its luminescent function and the dawn stopped.
Yeah, it's good to see you're functioning well again.

　It was an incident with a bit too much impact to be called nostalgic.

　It's not an exaggeration to say that visiting the neutral city of Athropolis, where demons live, administered by the dryads, who were equals with the Demon King Gandalf - that town changed our attitude towards this dungeon.

　I'm not going to be the only one who has been in a position to do this. It's a neutral city.

It's a short walk from here, but there shouldn't be much danger and we should be there by sunset. There is a bath and a bed provided for you there, so you can rest easy.
Yes, sir. ......!

　After informing Leila of this, we resumed our journey to the neutral city of Athropolis.

　There is a base for adventurers to explore the second level of the city, and the route we're going to take on foot is one that many adventurers use to get there and back.

　Therefore, just like the "Sundial Forest" and the first level, a route has been carved out for us to travel safely in a short period of time, and the forest and bushes that are in our way have been cleaned out.

It's true that they didn't bring in horses and drive a carriage. It would have been a little easier if we had a street carriage.

　Immediately after Garnett casually mentioned such a thing, there was some kind of sound as if wheels were rolling on the ground from the other side of the hill, and an object not unlike a carriage jumped into view.

　It was an ox cart, not a carriage, driven by a creature that looked like an ox with a bluish body color.

...... Hey, there it is, the white wolf's.
I'm surprised ...... and it's not just a cow. It's a demon water bull.

　The car that Waterbull is towing is not a so-called carriage, but a cart with no roof or walls.

　It is filled with plenty of water, and the Half-Fishman Demon Gyojin is holding the reins with his upper body out.

　When the Half-Fishman Gohonin noticed our presence, he uttered a greeting in the common Westland language, with a distinctive noisy pronunciation that came from the shape of his throat.

'Guga ...... ohaow .......'
'Yeah, good morning. You're working hard today.

　Travis returns the greeting to the half-fishman Gosha as if it were a matter of course.

　I looked at the back of the wagon as it passed by and saw several large, live fish swimming in the overstretched water.

'...... Travis, what was that?'

　After the carriage disappeared down the hill, I asked Travis, who seemed to know what was going on.

　Even Garnett and Alexia, not to mention Leila, are looking at me for an explanation, but as expected, I don't know everything.

　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You know that half of the ingredients used in the Demon King's Castle are sourced locally, don't you?　Especially for fish and meat, the second tier is the main source of supply.
'Yeah, that's what the Order is reporting to you.
Initially we were sending people from the Demon King's Castle to procure them, but we thought it would be more efficient to pay the local demons to transport them. Yeah, we're doing that on a trial basis.

　After listening to Travis' explanation, we were surprised and convinced to varying degrees.

　Most of our group was surprised that the demon race in the neutral city (Asropolis) had started to get involved in logistics as well as food procurement, and convinced us that it was indeed efficient, and that it had progressed that far.

　However, Leila was the only one who seemed to be astonished by something else entirely.

''Ah, um!　Wait a minute!　So, the meat and fish that was served for dinner yesterday and breakfast today can be found at ......!
'......?　That's a guy from the second level (here). If you're doing dungeon exploration, local procurement is rather basic.
'As expected, I can't eat an unknown creature, but I'm often indebted to those who have found it safe to eat. It tasted good in its own way, didn't it?
'It was good, though!　But isn't that like a demon or something!

　Leila seems to have received some kind of culture shock and is confused with her head.

　It seems best not to mention for now that the animals included in demons by definition were also mixed in with yesterday's menu.