Chapter 24

After instantly killing the Gatekeeper on the 5th floor, I still had about 5 hours left until the scheduled time.

"Still, it's a seed. I guess we'll know what kind of seed it is once we plant it, but it's not quite what I imagined."

I immediately went down the stairs to the next floor, but the atmosphere had clearly changed. It had been a typical cave-like setting until now, but the next floor was a vast grassland area.

There were a few patches of trees here and there, but mostly it was just a plain. I bet it would be nice to lie down and take a nap in a place like this.

The monsters that appeared were slightly stronger, like Lesser Wolves, Horn Rabbits, and Grass Bees, but they were still just grunts. I mostly dealt with them using staff techniques for training, but if their numbers increased, I would use magic to take them all out at once.

As I kept moving forward, defeating all the monsters that attacked me, I realized I had collected a large number of magic stones, but I was only halfway to my goal.

"Even in a grassland area, to have a sky in a dungeon..."

The sky in the grassland area was filled with a few clouds and a clear blue sky. There didn't seem to be a sun, but would it turn to night if I waited long enough...?

"Come to think of it, I haven't let Quinn out since coming to the capital. I should let her out."

Actually, when I decided to come to the capital, I thought about leaving Quinn in Oren Village, but since she wouldn't leave me, I had no choice but to bring her along. However, since she couldn't be registered as a familiar due to her age, I had to try various things with magic to make it work. I managed to create a subspace magic that only monsters and animals could enter, but not humans. I thought it might be the completion of spatial magic, but apparently not.

"Come here, Quinn."

Quinn, who came out of the subspace, seemed to be enjoying the natural environment and was happily flying around me.

"Quinn, I'm going down, what about you?"

Shake, shake! It seems she wants to play here for a while.

"Quinn, there are other adventurers around, so be careful. I'll put a bandana on you so they know you're my familiar."

Quinn, with the bandana on, flew off toward the forest. ...I didn't imagine she would fly toward where there were a lot of Grass Bees, right?

After parting ways with Quinn, I ran as fast as I could because time was precious. The exhilaration of running through the grassland with body enhancement was so enjoyable that before I knew it, I had reached the stairs to the next floor.

A journey that would normally take half a day was completed in 30 minutes thanks to the body enhancement powered by my magic. Thanks to spatial awareness and presence detection, I didn't need to push myself, and there were no traps in the grassland area.

That's why it only took 30 minutes.

...Still, it feels like I'm cheating. But, it's convenient, so I can't complain.

The next floor was also a grassland area, so I ran through it with style. I was checking for treasure chests while running, but it seems there were none left in the upper floors.

I kept running and before I knew it, I had reached the 10th floor. There were adventurers along the way, but I ran past them without being noticed, so it should be fine, right?

"Still, for the boss room to be a grassland. And there's a single black wolf with an ominous aura... I think it's called a Black Wolf. And there are multiple Gray Wolves and Lesser Wolves. With this many, it's going to be a hassle."

The Black Wolf, which I assumed to be the leader, along with its subordinates, the Gray Wolves, and the grunts, the Lesser Wolves, made up a single boss.

As I was thinking, the Black Wolf gave an order, and the wolves approached. They were clearly well-trained, giving off an impression of being specialized in combat, unlike wild wolves. They were truly the monsters of the dungeon.

I dodged their bites from all sides using only body techniques and smashed their heads with my wooden staff. The staff, infused with magic, was as hard as steel and wouldn't break easily.

By fighting without using magic, I avoided being detected by presence detection, but one of them was caught by spatial awareness, so I jumped forward, and the Black Wolf was where I had been standing a moment ago.

What? Wasn't it there just a moment ago?! I clearly detected it there...

When I looked, there was a black mist-like substance that faded away.

So, it can fake its existence. It seems to have a troublesome stealth ability, but unfortunately, I know of a monster with an even better stealth ability!

Right. With my larger body, I can use the staff techniques I learned in my previous world.

I focused, closed my eyes, and aimed for the moment the enemy entered range.

*Staff Technique: Sword Form - Purple Lightning*

To put it simply, it's a technique where you draw your sword like a lightning bolt, but I made a slight adjustment for this world. I infused it with lightning magic to make it a lightning strike-like attack. Well, the real reason is that my body is still that of a child, so I can't generate as much power without the magic.

Hmm? I thought I had cleanly decapitated it, but it was a bit shallow? I'm not fully accustomed to this larger body yet. I need more practice.

But I seem to have dealt a lot of damage. Its movements are clearly slower than before. The remaining enemies are two Gray Wolves and the injured Black Wolf.

"Well, that's about it. It's a bit early, but I'll stop here for today."

I deployed 10 Aqua Lances. The battle ended instantly, and the drop items appeared.

"This is a cloak? It's black and looks cool, and it's my style. The next thing is the treasure chest."

When I opened it, a small leather pouch caught my eye.

...I have a bad feeling about this.

I opened it slowly.

"Another seed? Well, it's fine, I guess? I'm a farmer... but still."

I feel uneasy, but there's nothing I can do... I'll call it a day here.

There's a transfer crystal on the Gatekeeper's floor, so you can go to any floor with it. When I went back to the 6th floor to look for Quinn, she flew over, ...and she was leading a lot of Grass Bees.

What!? Quinn, why did you bring monsters!?

I immediately deployed Aqua Lances, but Quinn was panicking. She seemed to be trying to protect the Grass Bees.

"Quinn, what's going on with them?"

Shake, shake, shake, shake!!

Yeah, a panicking Quinn is cute. But that's not the point. Did you make them your subordinates? Indeed, she is the queen bee of the Genocide Bees, and she is very cute.

"Quinn, we're going home today. I'll bring you back another time."

Shake, shake!

After retrieving Quinn and using the transfer crystal to return to the surface, the guard from before noticed me and ran over. There was still plenty of time, so I should be able to return to the duke's house without any problems.

"Master, how was the dungeon? Did you manage to reach the 2nd floor?"

"No, I only managed to reach the 10th floor."

"Really, really! Well, next time... Wait? Haha, you have a good sense of humor."

Well, it's natural that he wouldn't believe me. After all, I'm only 10 years old. There's no point in arguing further. Oh, we're already here. We only walked for about 15 minutes, but it seems the duke's house is closer than I thought.

"Thanks, guard!"

"Sure thing, say hello to the old butler!"

When I entered the duke's house, Albus greeted me.

"Ho ho ho, how was it?"

"Well, it was okay. If I go again, I'd like to spend a few days and go as far as I can."

"That's great! I'm glad you had fun. I'll take you again. It's almost dinner time. Why don't you wash up first?"

When I looked at my body, it was indeed a bit dirty. After taking a bath, I found new clothes waiting for me, so I put them on without hesitation.

The dinner was quite luxurious, and I ended up eating too much. As expected, the head chef is a great cook.

The next day, the ingredients I had been looking forward to finally arrived. The quantity wasn't that much, but I would try making the dishes I had in mind and see if the maids enjoyed them. If they did, it should be fine, right?

First, I tried Italian cuisine.

Pasta can be made quickly from wheat, so the problem is the sauce. Hmm, maybe Carbonara and Bolognese? I can make cream with magic when making pastries, and I have bacon. I also have milk and eggs, so I should be able to make Carbonara easily. I'll try making different types of pasta.

Linguine, fettuccine, vermicelli, and pappardelle should be enough. I'd like to make macaroni and penne too, but maybe next time.

I made Carbonara and Bolognese and had the maids and the head chef try them...

"Master!! What is this richness! This rich sauce! It's delicious, so delicious!!"

...Yeah, it seems to be fine.

The pizza was also well-received, as expected. ...However, there is a problem. Pizza gets hard over time. Maybe this isn't a good idea?

I also tried Chinese and Japanese cuisine, and they were all well-received. The head chef is now treating me like a god, which is a bit annoying. And the maids are trying to seduce or appeal to me, which is both flattering and troublesome.

"Alright, the sweets and the meals are coming along nicely. Head Chef, I'll leave you the recipes for the dishes I showed you today. Remember them! The preparation for the dishes starts the day before, so please help out!"

"Leave it to me, Master! I'll have the other cooks help with the preparation too!"

"Thanks! Good night~!"

When I returned to my room, I practiced the staff techniques. There are a few I can't do yet because my body isn't fully developed, but I can do the simpler ones. I need to get more used to my body.

I went to bed around midnight. I slept for about 3 hours? I really did a lot today.

However, after making the dishes, I realized that my cooking, or rather the cooking from my previous world, might be too new for this world. ...I have a bad feeling about this, so I should take all the necessary steps.

Fortunately, I still have time and money, so I should do it now. I don't need to attend the birthday party, and I have a contract to keep my identity as the cook a secret. Still, it's wise to assume that the information will eventually leak.

I need to make more cakes since the ones I made earlier were all eaten by the maids. I'll make more tomorrow and stock up. Then, I'll go around the city and check things out.

...Ah, at this age, I can't fight off sleep. Good night.

I'll update this bit by bit.

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