Today's plan is to attack the dungeon. Of course, I didn't bring Amy with me.
　Since there was something I wanted today, I didn't focus on breaking through the tiers, but instead dealt with insect-shaped demons at the 11th level and below.

　There are many types of insect-shaped demons, from worm-like creatures to smaller caterpillars that appear in the Valley of the Wind, spiders, mantises, and grasshoppers.
　Some of them were even good to eat. There were also some insects that I had eaten in the village of Kukuri in the past.
　My personal recommendations are worms, caterpillars, and spiders. They may look disgusting, but depending on how you cook them, they can be considered high quality food, which is not uncommon in this world (you can like them or not).
　And surprisingly, some spiders have the taste and texture of a crustacean. My dad used to catch this one, and we used to have it with caterpillars as a snack for drinks.

　Thinking about this as we descended the hierarchy, the 16th floor felt different.　
　The previous floors were all rocky surfaces, but this floor was covered in what looked like tree roots, with lush leaves growing in places. The height to the ceiling was nearly twice as high as it had been, and the passage was wide.

　As I proceeded onward with caution, small demons such as those that were mimicking the shadows of roots and leaves attacked me. Even the most demons were about 50cm long at the most, so it was easy to defeat them just by punching them.
　Some of them were spiders and caterpillars that could be eaten, so I decided to pack them in my bag and take them home.

　As we progressed to a certain point, we now started to see some decaying trees.
　As we broke down the rotting tree, we found the caterpillar we were looking for.
　The caterpillar was about 10 centimeters long and was called a white caterpillar.
　The caterpillar had a whitish body, which was nutritious and tasty.
　Mom didn't like them because of their appearance, but Dad and I ate them occasionally.
　We had heard in the guild that we could get these caterpillars, so we came to capture them, thinking they would be just the thing to feed the chicks.

　I take an empty barrel out of my magic bag and put the caterpillars I caught in it. We found a lot of caterpillars, and in no time there were more than 50 of them.
　So I put crushed wood and chips into the barrel, covered it with a lid and tied it with a string.
　We also got a few dozen worms while collecting the caterpillars, so we put some wet wood chips together in another barrel.

　This fulfilled the purpose of the day. However, I had quite a bit more time on my hands, so I headed back to the entrance from the warp zone near here, and once on the ground, I warped back to where I found the eggs this time.
　What I did as soon as I warped was to fill in the vertical hole I had come down to make this place my private room.
　As expected, it would be too much work to fill it all in, so I decided to fill in about 10 meters from the bottom, and then fill in some of the places underneath that were like narrow passageways as well.
　Even if you find a vertical hole in this place, there should be few people who notice the space beyond it.

　This place is going to be like a secret base, and we're going to build a furnace, an anvil, and a fire pit for blacksmithing. These will be removable and usually kept in a magic bag on my wrist.
　It's an amateur build, so the workmanship may not be as good as it would be if my day job were to see it, but I'm going to use magic to cover that up, just like I did when I made the Kogarasuma.

　It took me a long time to make all this, as expected, so I decided to go back to my room.
　In front of my room, even though it was almost time for the sun to go down, Amy was waiting for me.

'Sir! It's too late!

　He hadn't made any specific promises, but he thought Amy was going to teach him.

'As expected, I can't teach you every day but it's just fine, I had something for Amy.

　Then I hand him a barrel of worms and a barrel of caterpillars.

'This is food for the chicks; it will last for a week, so give it to them along with the other food.

　In the meantime, the chicks have been entrusted to Amy, and I'm letting her take care of them as part of the imprinting process, but I've told her that if she signs a contract without permission, I'll never teach her magic again.
　Amy was listening intently too, so I trust that she understands it well.

　I don't want you to be surprised, so I'm telling you what's in the barrel first. I told him to keep them covered with water every day to prevent them from drying out, and to keep them in a cool place with the lid on.
　By the way, the caterpillar is separate from the one I gave Aimee, and I've also reserved some for me.

'Um~ Sir? I know what worms are, but how do you give them a caterpillar?　

　The question came up, and so, briefly

Grind it up and get it down!

　I taught them that. However, I don't think it would be possible for me to eat the caterpillar raw and spit it out before giving it to her (as expected, even I wouldn't like it), so I decided to grind it up instead.

　Amy looked understandably disgusted, but I told her how nutritious (I don't know how many) and delicious the caterpillar was, and asked her if she wanted to try it. When you ask.

No, sir! I can't even touch it!

　I was refused. I knew the caterpillar was too hard on the girl, I thought.

'Well I'm sorry, but these boys are in the meat...'
I'll do it!

　...I think he made up his mind before he finished.
　Be that as it may, I've taught you how to make food I've shown you how to mash a caterpillar. The steps.

　Cut off the head.
　2, Put them in a mortar.
　Open the chicks' mouths with their hands and spoon it into their mouths.

　That's it. It's not that hard, is it?

So desperate.....

　I got a cattatical reply. I actually let Amy try it, and she was able to do it, although she turned away from me.
　The important thing is that the chicks seemed to like it very much, and after the first time they were only made to open their mouths, from the second time they opened their mouths on their own and waited.

''It's kind of a mixed feeling...''

　Amy looked at the chicks who were eating the mashed caterpillars with relish and made such a comment.

''Well then, you'll be giving it to them properly tomorrow.

　Amy let out a dry chuckle at those words.
　I watched Amy go back to the house and I decided to make our own dinner in my room.

　Today's menu consisted of steamed spiders, buttered caterpillars, caterpillar soup and uncooked fried worms.

　What kind of ghetto food is on the menu alone! You might think, "I'm not sure what I'm doing," but I'm doing proper prep work.
　For example, the head of a spider is cut off, the internal organs are removed, and salt is rubbed into the spider to clean it and remove its odor at the same time. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, a little butter and milk, and then mixed it with milled and sauteed vegetables.
　The worms are torn lengthwise and cleaned in salt water and then fried at high temperature to remove the muddy smell.

　The ingredients are ghetto, but the taste is really good.
　Incidentally, these were a hit with my dad and grandpa, but not with my mom (the ingredients themselves).　

　I gave Shiroumaru some raw meat that I had saved, and Slarin ate leftover spider heads and guts.
　I felt sorry for Slarin, but Slarin himself didn't seem to mind and went into the trash can himself... and of course I fed him the same food I was eating afterwards.

　I hadn't tasted it in a long time, so I ate it while reminiscing about the old days.




　While Temma was drinking the caterpillar soup while reminiscing about the old days, a letter arrived to a man.
　After reading it, the man read it in one sitting, changed his blood and started to run.
　The man's destination is a nearby mansion. It was so luxurious that no half-hearted nobleman could have it, but now that the master of the mansion was in trouble, the spacious garden was in disrepair and the walls of the house were cracked.
　However, it's a relief that it doesn't look like a haunted house, as occasionally those who have been commissioned from the outside will do the cleaning.

　The man ducked through the gate and entered the mansion as he was accustomed to do.
　There were guests inside the mansion, but he was someone I had met here several times before, so I just bailed and hurried to the owner of the mansion.
　As soon as he opened the door of the mansion's master's room, the man

Oh, my God! I'm alive, Temma is alive!

　That's what he shouted, and at those words, the two men inside (...), the one who was dressed in gorgeous clothes.

Is it true!

　Then he grabbed the man by both shoulders and shook him.

'Heh, your majesty! Please forgive my rudeness!

　The man was Alex, the king of this country.

　Merlin had recently become half-blurred by the grief of losing his family and his long recuperation.
　Even now, he didn't respond much to Mark's words, but as Alex shook his body, he

'Sir Merlin! They say the Temma is alive!

　I called out to him a few times.

Ten-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah-mah! It's Temma alive!

　He suddenly shouted loudly, rose vigorously from his chair, crowded up to Mark, and

Where's Temma! Where are you!　

　and grabbed his collar with both hands and tried to hang it up.
　Then Cliffe and Jean, who had been able to chaperone the king, hurriedly pulled Merlin away from the mark.

'Calm down, Master Merlin. This won't allow Master Mark to speak!

Yes, Master Merlin. What a force to be reckoned with! It's really the power of the old man!

　It took two people to manage to pull Merlin away from him.
　It was then that Merlin seemed to come to his senses.

Well, what are you here for? I thought I heard something called Temma...

　He looked around and twisted his head around.
　Mark sweltered for a moment after Merlin let go of his hand, but then he caught his breath and held out the letter to Merlin.

'This was sent to me by an old good friend of mine, and in it it said that a boy with a silvery white wolf named Temma is staying at his inn. The place is in Gunjo City.

　The letter was dated about a month ago (........) and was a reply to a letter Mark had written as he remembered, after he had moved to the royal capital from Kukri village.

'Gunjo City, I'm going there now!

　Merlin takes off his nightgown as if it's too much trouble to change, throws a robe over his pants and tries to jump out the window.

'Lord Merlin, please wait!

　In a hurry, Alex and the others all held them back (physically), but Merlin was still putting up a fierce resistance.

'That's right, Master Merlin! When you meet Master Temma, he'll hate you for looking like that!

　Merlin, who managed to calm down through the desperate advances of Clef, and Alex, who is here to help.

'I know how you feel, Lord Merlin. I want to see Temma as soon as possible. But it will be nightfall and dangerously close to home if I go now. Therefore, I will have the people in the castle prepare for you today. In the meantime, Lord Merlin should be ready to go, too. Please make sure you are dressed in such a way that Tenma won't be embarrassed when you meet her!

　He said so quickly, and then used Temma to further dissuade him from using his mind.
　Merlin was reluctant, but he was convinced that if it was for Temma's sake, he would agree, but just in case, Mark, who was going to accompany him, was going to go ahead and pack up his things and take care of Merlin's surveillance.

　Cliffe is going to go back to the castle first to get ready. Apparently Alex was also excited by the news of Temma's survival and tried to prepare to go with him, but he had to give up due to the firm opposition from those around him.

'Wait for me! Temmer! Grandpa's going to be there soon!

　Merlin's howl echoed through the night in King's Landing.

　The next morning, those gathered in front of Merlin's mansion to pick up Temma were Merlin, Mark, Chris, Edgar, and about a half-dozen knights in his escort. There were more knights in the house.

I don't need that much! If anything happens, my magic will explode!

　Merlin's words that he would destroy anyone who got in his way, and the ten of them included only the minimum amount of guards.
　The others were Alex, Cliffe and Jean, and Mark's wife, Martha, who had moved from Kukri village.
　Everyone was happy to hear that Temma was alive, and they were calling out to Merlin to meet him as soon as possible, and handing him the food and other things they had brought with them.

　It was almost time for them to leave, so Merlin got into the carriage.
　This carriage is a box carriage with two horses, the front half being the seat and the back half being the cart.
　The other four horses are prepared, and this one is basically ridden by the knights in shifts to warn and intimidate the surroundings, or to serve as a reserve for the horses in the carriage.
　The coachman is to be a coachman, and Mark and the others will take turns being the coachmen.

　Edgar was the captain of the knights on the road this time, and Chris was the vice-captain.

''Merlin-sama. I'd like to stop in Seigen on the way and resupply.

　Edgar suggested that we stop in the town of Seigen, about 200km away, to take a break.

I think we're closer to that road than we are to that one.

　Merlin traced his finger along the road that was almost a straight line on the map to Gunjo City.

'This road is a bit steeper, and I'm sure it will be more dangerous...'

I don't care! I'll help you with your magic, so it won't be a problem!

　Merlin interrupted Edgar's words and spoke up.

'I understand. If Master Merlin is willing to help us, then it will be as good as no danger.

　Edgar easily changed his plan and followed Merlin's instructions. In fact, it was bandits and demons of about B-rank at best that would be on that path, so with Merlin around, the danger would be much lower.

''Well, let's get going then.''

　With those words, the group headed for Gunjo City not knowing that Temma wasn't already there........

　



　A week later in Seigen, Tenma had been watching Amy practice her magic since morning.
　Day by day Amy's magic power was increasing, and at this rate she felt that in the near future she would be able to use at least two of the rockbirds with no problem.

　But Temma didn't dare to tell Aimee about it. The reason for this was to keep Aimee from getting carried away with her not yet having the basics in place.
　Well, there is another reason, too, that Tenma's standards are strict. After all, he himself has been greatly enhanced by the gods, and because many of the people he's met so far have been talented, with Merlin at the top of the list, he doesn't know what the average strength of someone of Amy's age is.
　Well, it was Temma's opinion that it was better to be strong.
　If Aimee continued to train Tenma every day until she was fifteen years old, she had grown up enough that she would definitely be able to make it as an adventurer who could reach the top-notch.

''Teacher! It's time to move on!

　Amy was getting slightly bored with her current training.
　The current training was the second stage ... making a pillar out of a tub of water.
　Amy was now able to make a water column about 50cm high in the tub.
　Now that she could make it fairly consistently, she wanted to move on.

　Temma thought about it for a bit and decided it was time to get on with the next step.
　The method was to line up the two tubs so that they would stick together, fill one of them half full of water and transfer the water from the water column to the next one.
　I move the water from one vat to the other as an example. After a few times, I got into the swing of things and the water jumped in the form of a dolphin and moved to the next tub, which I did several times.

　At first Aimee was happy, but then her face grew darker and

'Sir do I have to be able to do the same thing...'

　I was worried. It was overkill, as expected, so I moved it again, moving it from the water column state to an archway to the next tub, and then

'Sorry, sorry, I just need to be able to do this.'

　I said apologetically. Aimee seemed quite relieved and started practicing with great effort.

　As expected, the difficulty level increased all at once, so even though Aimee could get to the water column, she couldn't move it from there.
　On the contrary, she was so distracted by moving it that the water column she had made often collapsed.

''Don't try to move it to the tub next to you all of a sudden, focus on moving the water column first!

Yes!

　I reply with a bluster, but it's going to take some time yet. With that in mind, I poured my magic power into the egg on my back.

　Crack, crack, crack, crack.

　The egg cracked with such a sound. I hurriedly lowered the bag on my back and took a look inside.

Cui!

　There was a small white dragon (...) that made such a pretty voice.

'Dragon!'

　At those words, Amy also looked into the bag.

'Wow~ Pretty~'

　When Amy pointed her hand up to touch it.

"Squeeze.

　The dragon began to threaten. Apparently, this dragon is wary of Amy.
　Instead, when I try to pet it, it happily rubs its head against my hand.
　So I immediately decided to make this dragon my subordinate. When I gave it magic power, the dragon returned the magic power to me, and I could feel something connected to it.

'Alright, your name is 'Solomon'.

Cuey.

　Solomon seemed to like the name too, and he chirped happily. When Shiroumaru heard his voice, he came out of the back and put his face close to Solomon's.

Cui.

　He made such a sound that he climbed up Shiroumaru's face and straddled his back. Shiroumaru doesn't show any signs of being uncomfortable, and he walks to keep Solomon from dropping him.
　Solomon's back has wings, but he was just born and doesn't seem to be able to fly yet.


His name...Solomon.
Age...0
Race... the dragon.
Title: Temma's Household

HP... 1000.
MP...2000

Strength...E-
Defensive power...
Speed...D+.
Magic... B
Mental strength...
Growth Potential...S
Luck... A

Skills....Abnormal Resistance 5, Light Magic 4, Magic Manipulation 3, Destructive Enhancement 3, Fire Magic 2, Water Magic 2, Wind Magic 2, Lightning Magic 2, Magic Enhancement 2, Life Force Enhancement 2, Resilience Enhancement 2, Night Eyes 2

Gift... the blessing of the beast gods.

　Even though he was just born, he has some impressive abilities. As expected of a dragon, I'd say.

　Solomon seems to miss Shiroumaru a lot, and he clings to Shiroumaru's back to keep his balance.
　Shiroumaru also seems to like Solomon, and is using his whole body to help Solomon keep his balance so that he doesn't fall off when he loses his balance from time to time.

　I took Solomon closer to see what would happen with Slarin, and although he misses Slarin no problem, he can't get on his back, so he tries to go towards Shiroumaru.
　On the way there, I found a back sack that had eggs in it, and he dragged it towards me, bringing it to me and getting into the sack.

Cukewee.

　He purred sweetly. It seems to be telling me to carry it on my back like this.
　When I carried it on my back as requested, it peeked out of the mouth of the bag and purred with satisfaction.

'Sir! Is it safe to touch it now?

　Amy doesn't seem to have given up yet. So I told Solomon about Amy and then asked him if it was okay to touch her.

Squeak .....................

　Apparently, permission was granted. In fact, when Amy patted Solomon's head, this time she didn't threaten him.
　Amy was quite excited, but I was surprised at how intelligent Solomon was.
　I spoke to him for no good reason, and even though Solomon had just been born, that meant he understood what I was saying. It took even Shiroumaru a year to understand some of my words.
　When you think about it, you can understand some of the greatness of dragons. But then there is another question that arises. It's about Slarin.
　Slarin had already understood my words completely from the time I made him a member of my family. Even though it was a mutant species, a slime that belonged to the lowest level of demons, that is!

　In a way, I thought, the most ungodly person in the world might be this Slarin'.