Chapter 6

As Mercedes was mapping the dungeon while wandering around, several vampires approached from behind.

The number was... thirteen. Quite a large group.

The dungeon is narrow, so it’s not suitable for a large group to enter.

However, they seemed to understand this and were walking at a distance from each other, so as not to get in each other’s way.

They seemed to be quite familiar with the dungeon. They were probably other seekers.

"Huh? Why is a kid here?"

The man at the front noticed Mercedes and spoke mockingly.

His face was full of contempt, looking down on her.

Vampires are creatures that place the highest value on strength. Therefore, they are harsh on the weak.

"I don’t know how you got this far, but know your place.

The dungeon isn’t a playground for kids.

From what I can see, you don’t even have a torch.

You can buy a long-lasting candle lantern at the Zaha Street hardware store. It’s a good deal.

Here, take this torch and go home if you understand."

He roughly pushed the torch into Mercedes' hand and told her to go home.

He waved his hand dismissively, which was quite rude.

"Beginners should buy monster-repelling incense and complete simple requests to save money. Otherwise, it will be tough later.

I’ve wasted my words. Know your place, girl."

Another man mocked Mercedes and walked away without looking back.

"Hey, you don’t even have any equipment. Are you making fun of the dungeon?

If you’re interested, go to the construction site in the fourth district and get some iron pipes.

They’re kind to kids, so if you ask, they’ll modify them into spears. It’s better than buying cheap weapons at first.

But it’s none of your business. Don’t wander around if you don’t know the basics of the dungeon."

After saying all that, the group of seekers walked away.

They were probably heading deeper into the dungeon.

Given the number of people they had, it was clear they were serious.

Although she was underestimated, it was also a fair assessment.

Mercedes, a novice, didn’t even understand the gap between herself and them. It was understandable that she was seen as playing around.

She couldn’t be in the same place as them yet.

With that judgment, Mercedes returned to her work.

◆

When Mercedes returned to the city, it was already past 11:00 AM.

The sun had risen, and at this late hour, most families were asleep.

The town, which had been so lively at night, was now quiet.

However, the Seeker Guild was open 24 hours. Mercedes entered the guild, followed by a blue wolfman tied with a rope.

Valavolf Blau, compared to the giant mole, was a much tamer monster, and he lost his will to fight just by seeing Mercedes.

Mercedes had lightly disciplined the wolfman and brought him here.

"Oh, you’re back early. Did you abandon the request?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. Can’t you see the guy behind me?"

Considering the travel time, Mercedes' return was too early.

So it was assumed she had abandoned the request, but that was a huge misunderstanding.

Mercedes handed over a complete map of the first and second floors of the dungeon, a bottle of water collected from the spring on the second floor, and the captured Valavolf Blau.

"I’m surprised. To complete this in such a short time, what kind of magic did you use?"

"Well, I used magic."

"Right, you’re a wind attribute. But can you move this fast with 'Fliegen'?

...Well, it doesn’t matter. You’ve completed the request. Here’s your reward."

The receptionist handed over four 10,000 Elka bills.

The 10,000 Elka is the highest denomination in the country, featuring a portrait of a past great figure.

A gaunt-faced male vampire, according to a book, was the first king who founded the first vampire nation, Mercedes recalled.

"Since the map was well done, I added a little extra. I hope you keep up this pace next time."

◆

The next night, Mercedes visited the city again.

As a side note, in this world, or rather among vampires, the start of the day is at 12:00 AM, and the end of the day is at 12:00 PM.

In other words, the day starts at midnight and ends when the sun rises.

The dark night illuminated by moonlight is the time of vampires. The dimly lit streets were filled with noise.

Mercedes first visited a large hardware store.

Here, various daily necessities were sold, including items useful for exploration.

First, a candle lantern. It has a candle inside a glass container, and one candle lasts for two hours.

Candles are sold separately in sets of ten, and by replacing the candles, it can be used indefinitely, making it a convenient item.

Mercedes put one lantern and three sets of candles in her shopping basket and headed to the next place.

Next was shoes. As a seeker, she needed to walk around, regardless of whether it was a wasteland or not, and fragile shoes would break easily. In fact, Mercedes' shoes had already reached their limit after just one day of use.

So she chose shoes made of durable dragon skin.

According to the description, the skin was taken from a Lesser Dragon, known for its high durability and water resistance.

Additionally, the toe part was reinforced with the bones of a Lesser Dragon, similar to safety shoes.

Mercedes put two pairs, including a spare, in her shopping basket and headed to the next place.

Next, she needed clothes. She wanted something sturdy and that could get dirty.

Her current clothes were frilly and not suitable for exploration.

After browsing for a while, Mercedes chose a white shirt and a dragon skin manta ray vest to wear over it.

For the bottom, she chose short pants for ease of movement and spats to protect her knees.

Finally, she bought a black coat for warmth.

Lastly, she went to the food section. The purpose was to buy non-perishable food.

Ideally, she wanted block-type balanced nutrition bars that could be eaten like snacks.

However, she knew that such items probably didn’t exist here, so her main target was chocolate.

While chocolate is often thought of as a sweet treat, it is well-known as an excellent emergency food.

Considering she might spend several days in the dungeon, she wanted to bring it.

Canned goods would also be good to have.

However, Mercedes' expectations were disappointed. Or rather, she had expected too much.

To summarize, balanced nutrition bars were naturally non-existent, and there were no chocolates or canned goods.

This was not because the cultural level of this world was low.

First, the block-type balanced nutrition bars first appeared in the 1980s. Such a recent invention wouldn’t exist in this world.

Canned goods were first made in 1810 in Britain, long after the medieval period.

While the history of chocolate is old, the prototype drink only appeared in Europe after 1540, and it was only popular in Spain.

The modern chocolate we know today didn’t appear until the 18th century.

So, what emergency food was available?

The answer was the red liquid in bottles in front of Mercedes.

...Blood.

Of course, this made sense. This was a vampire nation.

So, the food that vampires loved had to be blood.

There was a question of whether blood could be stored for so long, but since it was actually sold, they must have found a way. Fantasy is amazing.

Of course, even as vampires, they didn’t only eat blood. They could also eat ordinary vegetables, fruits, and meat.

However, the most efficient food for them was still blood.

Mercedes had never drunk blood since birth, but she had to accept it as part of her nature and get used to it.

She had drunk it a few times... but it just didn’t agree with her.

No, she did find it delicious. As a vampire, she couldn’t help but find the taste of blood on her tongue sweet, and she did think it was delicious.

However, she felt a sense of disgust at herself for finding it delicious.

This unconscious feeling of "it doesn’t agree with me" led to a mild rejection reaction to blood.

So, Mercedes didn’t drink blood more than necessary.

She had told her grandmother not to add blood to her food.

The thought of blood interfered with her taste and led to rejection.

Sadly, if she didn’t know it was blood, her body would instinctively find it delicious. Her body, separate from her mind, was still seeking blood.

However, it was too early to give up.

After wandering around the food section, she found cocoa beans.

They were not popular and were casually placed at the end of the food section.

Mercedes couldn’t help but frown at this.

(What kind of treatment is this for a luxury item that was once used as currency on Earth...

Even in a fantasy world, no one has realized its value?)

Chocolate became popular in the 18th century, but cocoa had been enjoyed as a delicacy long before that.

A drink made by dissolving cocoa powder in hot water, with vanilla and cornmeal, was loved by people and gradually evolved into the form we know today.

However, she never expected to find cocoa beans being sold at a low price in this world.

(Cocoa drinks were used for medicinal and strengthening purposes.

Since vampires could get everything from blood, they didn’t need it... so it never became popular, right?)

No matter how much she thought about it, there must have been some reason she didn’t know.

In any case, what she could say now was that there was a treasure in front of her, being sold at a ridiculous price.

The price suggested it wasn’t even considered valuable.

(...Well, there are many things to nitpick, but I’ll take it as a fortunate opportunity.

If I can do this right, I might be able to make a fortune.)

A money tree was right in front of her.

And everyone around her was passing by without noticing this shining gold tree.

If she could use this well, how much profit could she make...

Well, it’s fine. If no one else will, she would use it.

She put as many cocoa beans as she could into her shopping basket.

Then, sugar. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find milk, so she would have to look at another store.

She also bought a mortar-like tool. The name was different, but cooking tools in any country or place tend to have similar shapes.

She then bought a pot and a thin stick, which she planned to use later.

Finding something similar to vanilla was fortunate. It was a spice with a long history.

Even in a different world, people didn’t overlook vanilla.

She also wanted something to cool things down.

There was no refrigerator, but was there something that could be used as a substitute?

After wandering around for a while, she found a section labeled "Magic Stones."

"Excuse me, what are magic stones?"

"Oh, yes. Miss, is this your first time seeing a magic stone?

This is an item that seals magic, allowing anyone to use it easily."

After listening to the explanation from the clerk, Mercedes was impressed by how convenient these items were.

It seemed that in a world with magic, unique developments occurred.

Mercedes looked for a magic stone that sealed ice magic and found several similar ones. According to the clerk, the more expensive ones had higher effects. The main use was for combat.

However, Mercedes deliberately bought the cheapest one and also purchased an ice tray and a box with high sealing properties.

After leaving the large hardware store, she went to a cow shed.

She bought milk and finished her shopping, then returned home.

This was an unexpected change of plans. She had intended to return to the dungeon after finishing her preparations, but she found something more important to do.

If she could do this, it would make future dungeon exploration easier.

Thinking about it, this was also necessary preparation.

[When buying milk]

Minotaur ♀: "Oh, little girl, do you want milk?"

Mercedes: "...Ah, yes."

Minotaur ♀: "Then wait a moment... Mooooo!" *Squirt!*

Minotaur ♀: "Here you go." [Bucket]

Mercedes: "(°Д°)"

By the way, the female Minotaur looked like a bipedal Holstein cow.

She was not a busty woman in a cow costume. Just a standing cow.

By the way, among the readers, is there anyone confident in making chocolate from cocoa beans?

If so, I would be very happy to receive advice on how to make it in a fantasy world.

However, no modern tools that can’t be obtained in this world.

I have done some research, but...

1. First, grind the cocoa beans in a mortar.

Me: "Hmm, this seems doable in a fantasy world."

2. Next, refine it. Without this, it won’t have a smooth texture.

Me: "Hmm, I see."

3. Use a refining machine.

Me: "...There isn’t... such a thing...!"

4. Then, tempering. Recently, non-tempered chocolate is available, so that could be an option.

Me: "...There isn’t... such a thing...!

More like... isn’t there... something... that can be done with common tools... a convenient way for amateurs...!"

I’m at a loss.