When the pot was almost empty, I finally took a breath.

　As I stretched out and looked up at the ceiling, I noticed that the glow of the sun rock was getting a little dull.
　It must be linked to the sun on the ground, so it must be around three or four o'clock in the afternoon.
　It looks like we won't be able to explore the fifth level, which was our plan for today.

　Well, we've had a good harvest today, haven't we?
　As I looked around the square, I saw a group of satisfied goblins laughing and smiling at each other.
　Mia and Paula were also sitting side by side, chatting away.

"I see. I see. You can't just keep pushing, can you?
"Yes, yes. Auntie Rosa says it's effective to make him uncomfortable sometimes.
That's good to know. I tend to think in terms of devotion.
Else said that men want to chase. You have to run away more!

　"Who told Mia something she shouldn't know?
　Yoru and Kuu, looking exhausted, are sleeping peacefully on their knees as they continue their conversation.
　It seems they've worked too hard and have reached their limits.

　I guess that's it for today's dungeon search.
　As I relax my shoulders, a gentle voice calls out to me from behind.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Nino.
"Ah, Mr. Hans. How did it go?
Yes, it was very informative.

　I was busy serving, so I asked you to get some information from the goblins for me.
　Of course, I couldn't communicate with them, but I was able to get by with gestures.

"First of all, that charging bird is only seen on this side of the wall.
That's good news.

　That's good news." I was relieved to know that I didn't have to worry about being attacked by the villagers working near the entrance.
　It's no joke to have a flock of vicious demons invading while you're farming.

I heard that flocks of birds move from place to place, and the goblins have sent out guards to watch for them.
Maybe it's the same five that attacked us the second time. No, there are no birds near the stairs, are there?
Maybe they're on a rabbit hunting or garlic collecting tour.
I see. Rabbits are very important.

　The horns are used as arrowheads, and the goblin's clothes, which I thought were made of tattered cloth, were apparently made from the skin of a horned rabbit that was beaten and stretched.

The rest of the story was a little confusing, but it was said that the birds attacked that bright rock on the ceiling twenty or thirty times in the blink of an eye, once or twice.
That's about once a month.
He also complained that the village had been destroyed many times by that very large bird.

　Hans smiled and continued.



But now that Nino is here, I'm not afraid anymore. So they say.
............ I don't want to deal with him too much either.

　"It depends on how often the Greedy Beast returns.
　If it's only once a year, it might be a good time to hold a meat festival.

Oh, by the way, I heard that olive tree comes back in about ten days after it's cut down.
That's fast!

　That's also good news.
　There may be no shortage of wood.

Oh, there's more. Here's another one.

　Hans-san handed me a leather bag, and when I opened it, I found a bunch of red magic stones.

What's the matter?　What is it?
It's from Akabane. He said he couldn't accept it from his friends.
You're conscientious in a weird way. It's easier to get along with business partners.
I thought so, so I handed him a replacement.

　When I turned my head to look at Hans-san's gaze, I saw the goblins hard at work scraping the wood together.
　They were hammering what looked like flint into the resulting wood chips.

　As I watched, a small cloud of smoke rose up and the goblins jumped for joy.
　Oh dear, I hope the village doesn't burn down the next time I come back.

I'll give you something too.

　I'll give you something, too." With that, he piles up a bag of slime filled with assault bird meat and salt and places it next to the shell pot.
　Maybe he'll come up with a new dish or something.

　Hans told me that he showed the leather shields and bat feather hats to the artisans and they were very interested.
　Just as the goblins are developing a concept of fire, their sewing and leatherwork skills may hopefully grow as well.

Yeah, I'll try to introduce them tomorrow. ............ Let's call it a day, then.
Yes, I'm really tired of all this.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. ............

　I'm not sure why the big caterpillar is more popular than me.
　It's understandable, though, since he's been working hard to protect the village.

　That's why I decided to leave the caterpillar here.
　The fairy Yoo was flying around, looking a little lonely.

It's surprisingly high. It's also quite bumpy. Whoa, whoa, whoa!
"Go, Gee-chan!　Hooray!



　What I'm doing is that on my way home, I suddenly thought of giving a ride on the back of a ramming bird.

　The feathers were soft and comfortable to sit on, but when it started to run, its buttocks bounced so violently that I almost fell off.
　The head of the bird is not shaking at all, but the body of the bird is very dynamic.
　I've heard that fearsome birds have a very large semicircular canal so as not to miss their prey.

I really want a saddle and stirrups for this thing. I'm going to bite my tongue.

　Unlike me, however, who was barely holding on to her neck, Mia was riding her assault bird with a cool face.
　Is this what youth is all about?

　In addition, an even more surprising fact was revealed.

　Hans and Paula were following the fast pace of the assault bird without a care in the world.
　A normal person would have been gasping for breath right away, but both of them were running alongside us without a care in the world.

"Hey, are you okay?
Yes, I'm fine. ............ I've been slow because I've been following your footsteps. You're not aware of that, are you?
"Oh, you didn't. I'm sorry.

　I apologized for pointing out that I hadn't noticed at all, and Paula, who had been so harsh with me for some reason, looked upset.
　She then hurries up to pass Tocchan and catches up with Mia and Gecchan, who are running in front of her.

Mia, I can't do it. Mia, I can't do it. It's tearing my heart out.
"Good luck, Miss Pau. Whoo-hoo!

　As I watched them quickly close the distance between them, Hans said gently, "You should stand up straighter.

You'd better straighten up, Master Nino.
"Yes, like this?
I have an unused donkey saddle in the village, if you'd like me to put it on when I get back.
Yes, please. By the way, Hans-san, are you okay with this?

　Hans is not even sweating, though he is jogging at a speed similar to a human being.

Yes, I've been in this labyrinth for two days now, but I feel like my body has been completely transformed just by breathing the air here. The magic element is wonderful, but it is also ...... terrifying.

　I felt these words even more strongly when I arrived in front of the stairs.
　The fields that I had asked the villagers to cultivate had been ploughed over to an alarming extent.

How do you like it, Master?　How do you like it? I tried a little hard.
"Wow, I never get tired here, it's a strange place.
"Well, that's a big bird!　But it's not so cute.

　I don't care what you think of the assault bird, but it's extraordinary how hard it works.
　I've said that the status values are relative, but it seems to have an effect as much as it goes up.



　Half a day of leveling up and you'll be a different person, or too bad. .......

　Today's harvest.
　The first four floors are almost the same, so they are omitted.

　Fifth basement floor.
　One small white magic stone. Five red magic stones. 31 green demon stones.
　10 Goblin Talismans (2 stars).
　5 Wild Hare Horns. 4 Wild Hare Skins. Four pieces of wild rabbit meat.
　Nineteen pieces of assault bird meat and thirty-six pieces of assault bird skin.
　One hundred and sixty-one claws of assault birds. Sixteen green hard nuts.
　Fairy Silver Crown (2 stars). Big bones of a fearsome bird.
　Six great skins of greed (3 stars).
　Six greedy claws (3 stars).
　Three pieces of delicious giant bird meat (3 stars). 　

　Wrought.
　Twenty-one bottles of jade oil.

　Sixth basement level.
　Three blue magic stones.
　Two giant crab shells. Two giant crab meat. One sea turtle meat.

　Smelted.
　Four bags of labyrinth salt.

　All that's left are the 85 red magic stones that were returned.
　I'm getting a lot of meat. I'll have to work hard on tanning the skins.

　The new additions are the assault birds, Tottori and Geckori.
　These new monsters are expected to become our means of transportation in the future.

　Since there was a battle against a unique monster this time, each of us has leveled up a bit.
　Kuu is level 23, Yoru is level 22.
　Paula and Mia are level 20, and Imotchi is also level 20.

　The fairy Yoh and Gobbler are level 19, and the two slimes and Hans-san are level 18.
　The two assault birds are level 16.
　I also gained some special skills, but we'll see more about them in the next time I explore the underground labyrinth.


　The eventful fourth day has come to an end.