"Low level, empty.
I didn't see anyone in this house either.

　I raised an eyebrow when I heard both Eve and Celeste's reports when they returned.
　I looked around the city after clearing out the tetramine, hagremonts, but there wasn't a single resident.

　I looked for buildings here and there, but not a single person was there.

'We don't want them there,'

　Eve says quietly. That's for sure.

　It was a biohazardous situation with hagremonos strolling around the city.
　It would be counterintuitive to be told that the residents were hiding in their homes in this situation.

'But it's funny, if this is the kind of situation we're in, then the way they asked for help from Ryota-san should be different.
I was thinking the same thing.

　I look around, after the battle with the Hagremonos, the tetramine looks like a ruin.

　Dale asked me to move my headquarters to him.
　So Neptune said, "It's for your tax dollars," and I agreed.

"I guess in this situation it's more straightforward, save the city from monsters.
And there's no need for a lower level.

　Eve's dialogue is spot on, too.
　The reason she looks grumpy is probably because I've been called in and her carrots are down.

''Well, it's just a matter of asking ordinary adventurers to exterminate the monsters because they're overflowing,'' she said. On this scale--a hundred men could be thrown in for a day.
What's going on?

　　　　　★

　I soon found out why.
　The monsters had been wiped out, and the troopers from Cyclo were in town, bickering, when Dale and the other city residents returned.

'Thank you!　Thank you!

　When Dale heard that we were the ones who cleaned up the place, he thanked us all in unison with the city's residents, over and over again.

'Better yet, explain it to me. Why did you ask us to do that under these circumstances?　If monsters were taking over the city, I wouldn't have refused them, not really.
It's not!

　Dale hurriedly explained in a way that sounded too flustered to sound like a good excuse.

'I was doing it just in time, the dungeons were coming out(,) poorly. But we kept the city looking presentable until I left for Cyclo.
So, you're saying that since you left, things have changed?
'Yes ...... my subordinate ...... the man who was the vice chairman of the ...... subordinate ran off with all the money in the city that was left. While I wasn't there, .......
......
So the city's money came through, and I was walking a tightrope when I got here.
It all broke down at once.

　Dale nodded.
　The people in the city behind him nodded as well.

　It doesn't sound like they're lying.
　Even if one or two people can lie, it's impossible for hundreds of people to tell the same lie.

　As the number of people involved in the lie increases, the probability of being found out increases at an accelerated rate.
　The more people involved in a lie, the more likely it is that one person will be exposed, and that's it.

　That's not how it feels, what you just said is true.
　All we need to do is get out of town, and we need to get everyone out of there and away from the monsters.
　The faces of the exhausted city people were strong and convincing.

　　　　　☆

　I'm just looking for all sorts of benefits, but thanks to Ciclo's people coming in, we got to go around the city for now.
　Putting the city aside for now, Celeste, Eve, and I entered the dungeon.
　Let's let the city go, and let's check out the dungeon first.

　Plumbum Dungeon, first basement level.

''Mmm, this is ......''
I'm in the water!　Why!

　Me and Celeste were surprised at the first dungeon we entered.
　The inside of the dungeon looked like it was submerged.

　Water plants drifted around, and our body movements were extremely sluggish due to the resistance of the water.

'Huh?　But you can breathe.
You're right.
So there's that.
'Eve?　You've been here before?

　Eve gave a small nod.

'The last time I was at a party before,'
You've been to a lot of parties.
'There were. But we always split up over dungeoniness.

　So I don't know if it's like a difference in musicality, which is what I thought the last time I was there.

It's just that I feel like I'm in water, but I can breathe normally.
You're right.

　Celeste took out her magic tool, a bicorn horn, and shook it.
　A bicorn horn that could use a fireball at infinity, it shot out a ball of fire normally.

'I can do this normally, it's underwater, so the flames aren't going to be weakened or anything.
Okay, so this one's okay then?

　I pulled out my gun, loaded it with infinite lightning rounds, and shot it into the wall.

　It lands and spreads electricity around me, but it doesn't seem to conduct electricity to me just because it's underwater.

　It looks like it's underwater, but it's not underwater.
　Such a strange dungeon, Plumbum.

Well, the monster was at ......

　I quickly found a monster.
　It's an underwater looking monster that looks like a fish swimming in the air.

　The size of the monster is large, similar to dolphins in an aquarium.
　But his face is fierce, with fangs like an ogre coming out of his mouth.

"Killer fish, rabbit, I hate this.
Killer fish, huh?

　I reverted from infinite lightning bullets to growth bullets and shot at the Killer Fish as it swam in the air in a thingy manner.

　The bullets caught the killer fish and penetrated vertically, though.

　BOOM.

　After a deafening noise, the Killer Fish split in two.

'Nah!'
'There's two of them!'
'Such a monster. I'm going to burn one of them with magic.
All right!　Bicorn Horn!

　Celeste sent the fireball flying.
　The fireball caught the killer fish tightly, though, and set it on fire.

'There's more of them!'

　The burned Killer Fish split into two bodies again.
　The first one increased to three in two attacks.

''These things, if you don't take them down, they will increase with every attack.

　Eve approached and slammed a chop into one of the Killer Fish.

　Boooooooooo.

　After the loudest noise of the day, the number of Killer Fish increased by more than twenty at once.

'It happens.'
Stop with the multiple hits!

　Eve's chop looks like a single shot, but it's actually the type of move that you can hit a hundred times a second or so.
　I did that and the killer fish went through the roof.

'This is the kind of thing that makes rabbits hate these guys.
I'm not talking about that!　There's too much of it, you know--

　Celeste panicked.
　I loaded the bullets and fired wildly after a deep breath.

　I increased my firepower and took down the killer fish with a barrage of penetrating bullets.

　The Killer Fish, which had increased to more than twenty, were defeated in one go.

''--and it was okay. That's great, Ryota-san.''
'You're so cocky for a low level.'

　I realized there was more to it than their compliments.

'I see,'
What do you mean, "Oh, yeah?
Here.

　I pointed to an object floating in the air.
　It was a white thing, a white thing floating in the water.

　Judging by the smell, it was probably milk.

Yes, Prumbum, first floor, the drop is milk. You can retrieve it slowly from the water.
I didn't realize how useful this dungeon is.

　Celeste was right.
　The milk wasn't in a container, but it was there, like a droplet of water floating in weightless space, not mixing with anything else.
　'This is useful, though,' he said.

'On the other hand, it's deadly.'
'What?　What's fatal?
Don't you notice?　How many I just killed.
'What?　I think it was about twenty?
No.
What?
One.

　I said, puking and floating and pointing at the milk.

'One.'
...... eh, jeez.

　Celeste is puzzled.
　Just as another Killer Fish swam in, I gave it a light poke or two and split the Killer Fish with a weak attack.

　This time I did it myself, so I counted them.

　When I got to just 100, I took them all out again with another random shot.
　Celeste cheered again, "Wow," but I was shocked shortly after.

　The 100 Killer Fish were gone and only dropped milk for one of them.

　The more you let them split up, the worse the laboriousness felt.

　This was the reason why Plumbum was getting lonely.