We had finished milking the cow and were visiting layer 15 again.

　An automatic milking machine, a container, and some white paint to mark Strike Ox.

　The first thing we aimed at was the previously milked Strike Ox.

　The goal was to see how long it would take for the milk to recover.

　If we can get the same amount of milk in a few days or so, then this is a very promising farm.

　--although it would require exceptional physical strength for a herder or the fighting prowess of a high-ranking adventurer.

Strike Ox itself doesn't seem to be back at .......
Yeah. I don't see it.

　It's just down the stairs.

　Last time there was a Strike Ox wandering around this area, but so far no targets have been caught in our search.

　From there, I moved to the area where the last strike-ox was milking. ...... Yes, there it is.

　I'm not sure if it's really the same one as last time, but I'm pretty sure I know where it is.

I'm not sure if it's really the same one as last time, but I'm pretty sure I know where it is. Toya, take care of it.
I'm on it!

　Fortunately, Strike Ox does not seem to have the ability to learn.

　As I turned around, he grabbed me by the corner and pinned me down.

　Immediately, Yuki and I activated our "Earth Wall", and a rope was snapped around us to block our movement.

　The only difference I can think of is that the height of the earth wall has been halved to one meter.

　Yuki and I practiced this together and worked hard to get it to the same height. Two meters is still too high for milking.

It's nice and easy to catch, but it's kind of stupid, Strike Ox. ...... Well, it's good because it's easy. It's time to use my milking machine.

　Yuki took out the milking device, attached it to the Strike Ox, turned it on, and with a small sound, the milk began to fill the bottle.

　The first bottle was filled in about 30 seconds, and the second and third bottles - the total amount of milk that was finally milked was about 2.8 bottles.

　In other words, about 7 liters, almost the same as the last time we milked.

　If this Strike Ox is the same animal as the last one, then the amount of stored milk will be fully recovered in a few days.

"Oh, fast recovery, huh?

　If it was the same animal as the last one, it would have fully recovered its milk reserves within a few days.

No, it's normal for a dairy cow, you know?　I don't know about wild cows, but dairy cows need to be milked every day, so I'm wondering if Strike Ox is okay. There's no calf in sight.

　Of course, animals produce milk to raise their young.

　Even dairy cows do not always produce milk, but only during the period between giving birth to a baby and weaning.

　In other words, if there are no children, there is no milk, and on the other hand, if there is milk but no children to drink it, there is a possibility of disease, so milking is indispensable.

　But there are no strike-ox children around, and of course there are no dairy farmers to milk and care for them.

...... is it still a demon?
It's also possible that it's just a dungeon, though.
They don't care about the ecosystem, do they?
Yeah, right.

　In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a few things you can do.

　They don't even need food or water, which are basic prerequisites for living things to survive.

Now, let's just mark it and then let it go!

　Yuki takes out the white paint she brought with her and happily dyes Strike Ox's fur into a cow pattern, a Holstein-like pattern.

　But it doesn't look like a Holstein because it's just a random coat of paint, but it's enough to identify it from a distance.

Then, I put it on. Well, let's get out of here.

　I left Strike Ox flailing around on the mud wall and headed for the next area.


　From then on, I would find strike-oxes, determine their s*x, exterminate them, milk them, and mark them.

　It took us quite a while to wade through the 15 layers, and it wasn't until 3 days later that we finally finished the whole area.

How many animals were there after all?　I'm sure there were more than a hundred.
"I didn't count 'cause it's too much work. But it's not bad, as far as earning money goes.

　The milk alone would be worth a hundred gold coins if sold.

　In addition to that, the meat of the male strike ox that was exterminated, materials such as magic stones, and fruits that can be obtained from the forest as in the 14th layer are also worthwhile.

　Incidentally, the fruits in layer 15 were plums and peaches.

　Plums aren't very popular - or rather, they're too sour to be eaten in general, so they don't seem to sell well outside of certain areas, but peaches, on the other hand, sell very well due to the difficulty of transporting them.

　On the other hand, peaches sell very well due to their difficulty in transportation, but only up to a certain amount.

　The difficulty in transporting them means that it is difficult to go to other towns to sell them, so even if the supply exceeds the consumption of the area where you bring them, they will not be bought.

　But fortunately, there is a shortage of fruit in and around Laffan, so the amount of fruit we brought in would not be a problem, but in any case, the fruit available at this level was a little difficult to handle.

But when I think about it, it's the first time I didn't pick any when I could.

　Plums have a wide range of ripeness, from green and hard to yellow and soft, all of which can be used to make dried plums, but this time we only had enough for three buckets.

　We could have picked more if we had wanted to, but as Yuki said, we left them behind this time.

　Because--

"There's a limit to how much plum we can consume at home.
"Too much ume is bad for you, and we don't drink ume wine.

　With other fruits, you can eat as many as you like, or sell them if you have trouble processing them.

　But in the case of plums, they are not consumed around here, and we can't eat them as they are, so basically the only way is to make dried plums.

　We can eat only one pickled plum per meal.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

I'm going to candle them and make juice out of them, but I won't be using tens of kilos of them. Unfortunately.

　So, for the first time since I entered this area, I had to do something that made me feel slightly frustrated: ignore the fruits that were ready to be picked.

　I can't help but feel like I'm missing out somehow, can I?

Speaking of disappointments, the meat at Strike Ox was a little disappointing, wasn't it?

　The last time I was back home, I also tasted the meat from Strike Ox, and compared to the quality of the milk, the meat was quite ordinary.

　It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very tender, more like imported beef worth a few hundred yen a gram.

　Some parts of the meat would be delicious as steak, but my overall impression is that it is a meat for everyday use.



"Oh, yeah?　It was good, right?

"Toya likes hearty meat. I thought it was a good red meat too.　Maybe it would be better if you aged it. I don't know how to do that.

I think it's better than marbled meat. It's hard to eat fatty food every day.

Yes. It's also a good meat for making beef jerky.

　It seems to be well received by people other than me.

　No, it's not that I'm bad either. It's just that it's not what I was expecting.

What do you mean, "beef jerky"?　Can you make it?　Can you make it?

"Yes, yes. I can make it, but I don't know if I can season it well. ...... If you're imagining something like what they sell in Japan, you'll have to go through trial and error. What's wrong?

"Well, I like beef jerky, but it's hard to find, you know? It's expensive.

　Natsuki may have used the term "beef jerky" to refer to the dried meat that is made around here for meat preservation, but dried meat and beef jerky are two different things.

　Aside from the dried meat made from task boars that we used to make ourselves, the dried meat that you can buy around here is basically just salty and hard.

　It's hard to eat as it is, and it's not something that can be called delicious.

　What I want to eat, of course, is beef jerky like the ones sold in Japan.

　Of course I want to eat beef jerky like the kind sold in Japan.

　...... dried meat?　What is it?

　I'm not sure if it's really the same dried meat, knowing the dried meat I buy over here.

I'm sure it is.　Well, you're right, it's a bit expensive to buy with your allowance.

　Even if it was cheap, it would cost about 1,000 yen per 100 grams, and a high school boy would run out of that amount in no time.

　If you consider that the raw material is beef and it is dried, you can understand the price, but understanding and being able to buy are two different things.

　It was a little too expensive for me to buy it as a snack with my allowance.

If Nao wants to eat it, I can make it. We have a smokehouse that we don't use often.
Seriously?　By all means, please!

　I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to eat my fill!

　--If I actually ate it, it would be bad for me.

　Incidentally, the smokehouse in our house, as Haruka said, is not used very often despite its splendor.

　The reason for this is that we are away from home a lot, and we have a magic bag that we don't need to worry about its shelf life even if we don't smoke it.

　We only use it for cooking, not for preservation, so unless we are making a very large quantity of food, we can just use the compact smoking tools that Toya made - a simple box that you can buy by mail order in Japan. I usually keep it in the shed.

　Well, it's not a waste of time, because I usually keep cured ham or something like that hanging in the shed.

　It's not a waste of money, but it's a very tasty ham with a hint of smokiness.

　　　　I'm sure you'll like it.

"Well. Well, shall we go in now?

　After finishing the 15th level, we were resting in front of the place where the stairs leading to the 16th level should be, if the pattern was the same as before.

　But here was the door to the boss room, which we hadn't seen in a while.

　In other words, we were taking our time to recover our strength before the boss fight.

　Because, judging by the fact that we were in this level, the Orc level Strike Ox.

　If you compare the strength of Pickau and Tyrant Pickau, the boss here is not to be underestimated.

　He is at least as strong as an orc leader, and possibly as strong as an orc captain.

　Fortunately, dungeons in this world are not like "You can't escape from the boss! So if it looks bad, I'm planning to run away at once.

"Right. Everyone, okay?

　After confirming that everyone nodded, Toya carefully opened the door.

　Behind the door was the usual boss's room.

　And there it was, a demon more than two sizes larger than Strike Ox.