But first, ......, Yol.

　The sound of our chatter woke him up.
　Yoru woke up unsteadily, but he noticed that I was not right next to him.

　When I called out to him, his face immediately turned into a big smile.
　Then he grabbed his still sleeping brother by the ankles and trotted over to me.

"Aruji-dono!
Good morning. Yeah, you're looking good today.

　Picking up Yoru, I reached out and stroked Kuu's head.
　He was bobbing up and down violently, but he seemed to be perfectly fine.

　But then she started biting my fingers in her sleep.
　She buried her face in my shoulder and started sniffing me as she does every morning.

　When I looked out into the noisy square, I saw that the awakened women and goblins were quickly getting ready for breakfast.
　
　This is a standard dish in goblin villages.
　The black rock mushrooms and hunchback mushrooms we had just picked up yesterday, and the familiar garlic of the labyrinth.
　Today's dish seemed to be seafood-based, with crab and turtle meat taking center stage.
　The rest is seasoned with labyrinthine salt and sprinkled with dried rosemary for the finishing touches.

　The delicious smell that came out of the kitchen made my stomach start to churn.
　Yol, who is clinging to my shoulder, and Koo, who has yet to wake up, are drooling profusely.
　Well, it's not a good time for a complicated conversation.

"Let's have breakfast first. Where is everyone?
I've got a little something to eat. ......

　I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the sight of the young men's eyes glued to the steaming pot.

"So, you want to join us?
Thank you!
Yay!

　They were innocently happy, but then they suddenly remembered to take down the big basket they were carrying and show me the contents.

"Oh, right. I forgot. This is the one I killed on the way here.

　Stuffed into the basket were the carcasses of slime and worms.
　He had not left them there, but had collected them.

　In addition, the bats, whose legs were tied up in bundles, had been drained of their blood, thanks to Mr. Etan's guidance.
　The bats had been killed with bows and arrows, and most of them were recovered with clean wings.

Thanks for your help. Worms are heavy, aren't they?
"No, I'm fine with this.

　It wasn't a sign of pride, but a result of his improvement.
　When he had finished collecting the worms, the goblins came up to him and held out the basket with interest.


　I guess I'm a sucker for new things.

"You like the basket?　It'll come in handy.

　Olive nuts are wrapped in fur and carried around.
　It may be hard to weave them in detail, but goblins love to do so.

"Where did you get the ivy for this?

　I asked Etan, and he answered easily.

You can get it in the forest. I've also seen it on the fourth and eighth floors here.
Is that what you want?
Yes, if you wash it well, boil it in a pot and then dry it, it will become strong.
I guess we can use purification and depletion then. Yeah, I think I'll ask you to collect them too. Well, I guess I'll just ask you to collect them.

　While they were chatting, the pot seemed to be boiling.
　I quickly got in line and asked them to serve it to me on a plate of crab shells.

　When I put the cooled stew close to Kuu's nose, his heavy eyelids finally opened.
　He takes a spoonful in his mouth and looks around.
　Then he looked up at me and smiled happily.

"Mmm!
"Good morning. Want some more?
Yuck!
You're killing me!

　They open their mouths in competition, and I quickly cool them down and feed them the soup in turn.
　They can't handle hot food.
　But if I keep taking care of them, I won't have time to eat, but that's where the witty Paula comes in.

"Here you go, sir. You.

　This has become a standard way of eating.
　For some reason, the young people in the village were looking at me and blushing.

Let's start again. We'll go through the motions, but if you have any questions or objections, please feel free to raise them.

　After we finished eating, we sat down in the square and resumed our discussion.
　The participants included me, Paula, and the other deep-sea attackers, Heimo the blacksmith, and the village chief and his wife.
　The four wives of the sewing team, and the three elderly villagers who had helped us plant the fields yesterday.
　The rest were the eleven members of the youth group who had come to the village this morning.

The first thing we need to do is to get to the fifth floor. I'd like to leave this to the youth group as before.

　They've made it this far without our help, so they should be fine.
　The youths were all excited at the prospect of being entrusted with the job, but I'll remind them.



You'll have to train the others, of course, but if you keep getting injured, I'll reconsider.
Okay, okay!
"And you'll be in charge of collecting. I'll show you a map later, so try to remember the locations.

　To be honest, labyrinthine water moss and bat feces and urine are much more important than dead bats and big worms.
　I think it would be better to give them a map with the collection points, so they won't forget to pick them up, but there is no need to be too careful about this.
　If it should fall into the hands of a third party, it could be dangerous.

　Just in case, I'll also give you the intermediate wound healing medicine I had.
　Have the chief and Paula keep the other two.
　And don't forget to collect ivy on the fourth floor.

And don't forget to collect ivy on the fourth floor.　Chief.
"They're sprouting nicely now. However, I think it needs watering soon.

　Garlic is said to be resistant to drought, but it still needs water.
　The boss slime's sack carries a large amount of water, but most of it ends up being consumed by the goblins.

Has the cultivated land expanded much?
Yes, nearly five times as much as in the beginning.

　It's a wonderful pace, thanks in large part to the work of the earthworms.
　If we continue to expand the field, we can solve the water shortage at the same time.

There's a large pond at the end of the west wall. There is a large pond at the end of the west wall. Chief, please coordinate the fields and canals.
Yes, I'll take care of it.
Until that's done, can your helpers go to the spring on the fourth floor to fetch water?
Yes, I understand.

　Since there are only fairies and giant caterpillars, even villagers who are not used to fighting should be able to get there and back without worry.
　If you combine this basket with the slime bag, you should be able to carry a lot of stuff at once.

Then we'll sow some bone meal and continue with the soil preparation. When Hans comes back at the beginning of next month, we'll start planting in earnest.
Yes, I'm looking forward to it.

　Vegetables are good, but considering the coming food shortage, summer wheat is also important.

Next, this goblin village, shall we call it Goblin Village No. 1?
"Oh, what the heck!　What are you trying to do?

　Heimo asks angrily, but he's right.

I'm not sure what to make of it. I think it's safer and faster to build a new base and capture it.

　The wolf hunt on the eighth floor has proven that it's easier with more allies.

Before that, Mr. Ethan.
Yes, what is it?


Shall we secure a place to rest on the eighth floor first?

　There's a lot of material on that floor, so we need more people as soon as possible.
　It's also hard to get rid of the wolves in three hours every time.

I understand. I'll leave it to you!
If possible, we should also aim to secure wood.

　There are only olive trees on the fifth floor, and even though they will regenerate in about ten days, too much felling will affect the harvest.
　Since the goblins began to boil and cook, the fuel shortage had become serious.
　Then the village chief intervened.

...... It's about time for the village above us, then.
"Is that so?
Yes, every year in February we go to the forest to collect firewood.

　As I recall, the moisture content in the wood is lower in winter, making it easier to cut down.

We'll have to get that early, too. ......
What should we do?

　"What should we do?" asked Karina, the leader of the sewing team.

We have a lot of work to do here, too. For now, we need you to continue making products.

　Due to the abundance of leather, the sewing team's skills, including those of the goblins, are rapidly improving.
　At this rate, we should be able to make something that we can sell in the near future.

　It's easy to get paralyzed when you're in an underground labyrinth all the time, but it's still cold above ground, and the demand for furry winter gear hasn't diminished yet.
　Also, durable leather gear is a must for the coming battle.

　There are still plenty of leather bags, shoes, hats, and gloves that I want for daily use.

Also, ......, a loom, right?
Yes, if it is possible.

　If you can grow a large caterpillar, you can gather a lot of fine silk threads.
　The silk yarn is strong and useful, but if possible, we would like to raise the value of this product to make a profit.
　Therefore, we need a loom that can weave silk cloth, but it is not something that the common people can afford.

　Therefore, the plan was to invest the money from the sale of the Shirasho stone in the loom.
　However, since Hans is the only one who can go to the market to negotiate, we will have to wait until next month.

I'd like to save up some silk threads before then. I'll ask Yo to do his best, too.

　The caterpillars that played an active role in yesterday's attack by the assault birds did not reach level 20, unfortunately.
　I'm planning to increase the number of caterpillars, so I need an efficient way to raise their level.

What am I supposed to do?　"What should I do?

　The next person to ask was Heimo, the blacksmith.
　His tone is angry, but his eyes are full of excitement and anticipation.
　You've been with me for two weeks, and you're getting to know me.

Right. First of all, you should continue to train your apprentice as you are now. And--


And what's that?
You're too picky. You can get rusty swords on the seventh floor. Couldn't you re-hang it?
Oh, that's it. Huh, I'll take care of it!

　He said he wasn't used to making weapons, so hopefully this will be good practice.
　I hope this will be a good practice for you. As for climbing the tower and retrieving it, I'll have the village chief and his wife, who can use healing techniques, and the youth group do it.

I'll also need you to continue repairing the lantern base and the farm tools.
What a pain in the ass!
Why don't you have your apprentices do it? I've got all the materials I need.
Oh!　You're so smart, dude!

　At the same time, we need to find a place for the workshop.
　This first village is fine, but I'm afraid of fire and the hassle of transporting fuel, so I'd prefer a more convenient location.

Also, ......, do you know anyone who's good at silversmithing?
Me?　You don't think I know anyone?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Well, I know one guy who knows someone!
You do?

　Looks like we're gonna have to find a use for that silver ore.

All right, all that's left is to conquer the tenth floor. I think I'll continue to use the current team for this. We may not be able to go back up as far as we'd like, okay?
"It's Memba. I understand, my lady. I'll accompany you wherever you go.
Mmm, hold on. I'll do my best!
No way!
No way!

　But we'd like to bring in some new recruits.
　Now that we've got a rough idea of what we're going to do, let's get on with the tenth level today.