Chapter 28

I'm standing at the entrance of what is said to be the largest bookstore in the capital.

What I'm looking for is something called a monster encyclopedia. I heard from Lebrant that it's kept in the library of the Adventurers' Guild, but unfortunately, I'm not old enough to enter.

Apparently, in the past, anyone could register regardless of age, but due to too many children who hadn't even reached adulthood dying, the rules were changed to require adulthood.

I came to the largest bookstore in the capital, and indeed, it's huge. The selection inside seems quite extensive.

In this world, books are quite expensive, but to have such a wide range of them makes it almost feel like a library.

"Ah, hello there, little boy. Are you looking for something?"

Despite my young age, the lady, who looks to be around 20, greeted me politely.

Thinking about it, coming to a bookstore at this age means I must have money, which is pretty normal.

"Um, I'm looking for a monster encyclopedia. Do you have one?"

"Oh, you're lucky. We just stocked up on monster encyclopedias. It's a new edition published by the empire, so the content is quite impressive. Of course, the price is quite impressive too."

As she finished speaking, she stuck out her tongue in a surprisingly seductive manner, and at 10 years old, I found it rather erotic.

"How much is it?"

"It's a three-volume set: upper, middle, and lower. Each volume costs two platinum coins. So, all together, it's six platinum coins."

The books she showed me were thicker than I expected, each about 10 cm thick.

Still, at 200,000 yen per book... If they're all handwritten, maybe it's not that expensive?

"Then, I'll take all of them!"

I took out six platinum coins from my pocket. The lady looked a bit surprised but quickly smiled and took the money.

She firmly held my hand while taking it.

...Why isn't she letting go? Is she squeezing my hand?

Is this what adult women are like!?

"Hehe, will you come back to shop again, little boy?"

The lady, who was looking at me but slightly bending her body, ended up emphasizing her chest.

This one is quite skilled, I see! No wonder this is the best bookstore in the capital. The customer service is top-notch.

"Hehe, come back soon."

"Of course! I'll come back soon!"

Oops, I reacted a bit too eagerly. I need to reflect. I am a gentleman.

Anyway, I managed to get the books I wanted, so that's good.

While checking the market for anything interesting, I ended up buying a lot of things.

"Phew, I'm home, Quinn."

Quinn greeted me with a shake.

When I got home, Quinn welcomed me. Since yesterday, I've been letting Quinn out of the subspace inside the house.

I bought a small sofa for Quinn from a furniture store and placed a cushion made from feathers I secured from the dungeon. That's become Quinn's favorite spot.

Of course, the rocking chair I've been dreaming of is finally complete.

With its perfectly calculated curved legs, refined overall design, and meticulous attention to detail, it provides a sense of comfort and security with the feather cushions on the backrest and seat, making it a truly exceptional piece.

It took a lot of effort to create something like this. I started working on it as soon as I came out of the dungeon, and it took about a week.

I made more prototypes than I can count on both hands.

And finally, this is the completed rocking chair.

When I sat in it, I realized it was so comfortable that I didn't notice it was already evening, and I thought I might have time-traveled.

I thought about discarding the prototypes as they were in the way, but I decided to sell them to Lebrant.

"Lebrant, it's been a while."

"Hey, Owl. What brings you here today? Unfortunately, we haven't stocked up on white flour and soybeans yet."

"No, it's something else. Please take a look at this."

I showed him the prototype rocking chair, but he seemed puzzled by the strange shape of the legs.

"It looks like a chair, but it seems unstable and might wobble, right?"

"That's right. It's a rocking chair. You won't understand its charm unless you sit in it."

This prototype is already quite complete thanks to the monster feathers I used.

"!! This is amazing! By intentionally making it wobble, it provides a relaxation effect that a regular chair doesn't have! And these cushions! They must be made from the highest-quality feathers?! Thanks to them, you feel enveloped and as if you're floating in the sky! This will definitely sell, Owl! Please, let my Lebrant Trading Company handle it!"

As expected of a merchant, he recognized the value of the rocking chair instantly. Still, it's impressive how he could speak so much without taking a breath.

"Sure, of course. I can even give you the design plans, so you can make it a product of your company."

(When this becomes popular, other trading companies will start copying it, but by then, I'll have made a lot of money. Since these feathers are hard to come by, it might be best to target the nobility.)

"Owl, can you supply these feathers regularly?"

"Um, it depends on the quantity, but I think it's possible."

"If so, could you gather as many as possible? Of course, only within your limits."

"Understood."

"Then, for the price, I'll buy the design plans for 10 platinum coins. I'll buy this chair for 5 platinum coins. For the feathers you supply regularly, I'll buy a sack of 20 liters for 2 platinum coins. How does that sound?"

Hmm, not bad? If the cost is about half, I can probably sell it for 10 platinum coins.

For me, collecting feathers isn't that much work, so it's fine. A sack is about 20 liters.

If I need to, I can sell feather quilts for money too.

"Sure, that's fine. How about 20 sacks every two weeks?"

"Great, we have a deal! Let's make the contract for about 6 months, okay?"

"Understood."

All I have to do now is regularly enter the dungeon and collect feathers. I might even go deeper and see what happens.

After that, I went home, played with Quinn, had dinner, and slept soundly.

The next day, I set up a new smoking room in the corner of the yard. A small shed can be built in about 2 hours, and magic is really convenient.

"By the way, I should go hunting soon. I need to restock on orc meat. I should also deliver bacon and sausages to Lebrant. I can't make soap anymore since I don't have tea oil... Oh, maybe I should make some toner. For that, I need to go hunting. The forest area of the dungeon should have herbs, and there are high orcs, so it's a two-for-one deal. If I'm careful, I can even get the meat."

With that decided, I prepared to go.

My equipment is the black cloak and wooden staff I got on the 10th floor. It looks completely like a wizard.

"Quinn, I'm going to the dungeon, so wait in the subspace."

Shake.

I used the transfer crystal to go to the 15th floor and released Quinn on the 16th floor, where she disappeared into the forest.

"Well, let's look for a high orc."

High orcs, high ogres, and high goblins are different from regular orcs, ogres, and goblins. They are larger and have a darker skin color.

I've read the monster encyclopedia thoroughly, so I can now recognize the names of monsters to some extent.

By the way, the boss on the 20th floor is called a 'Thunder Eagle' and is a dangerous monster with a Class A hunting rank.

"Normally, it would be strong..."

But now, it doesn't feel that strong. It seems I've grown enough to overpower it with magic.

"Oh, this presence... is it a high orc?"

After that, I continued hunting high orcs while advancing to lower floors.

The method to secure high orc meat, which I found after trial and error, is quite simple.

I cut them with magic until they're almost dead, then heal them with Ex-Heal before killing them. I repeat this process.

This way, a lot of meat is left over.

Thanks to this, by the time I reached the 20th floor, I had nearly a ton of meat, so I think that's enough for today.

Actually, I started feeling sorry for the high orcs...

While thinking about this, I entered the boss room on the 20th floor.

GYAooooooooooooooo!!!!

It bravely roared, but it was meaningless.

Lock Chain x 20!

The Thunder Eagle, unable to move, fell helplessly.

Then, I hit its head with Lock Bullet to shake its brain, and it calmed down.

In about 10 minutes, a featherless, cold-looking Thunder Eagle was complete.

Since I had the chance, I used the same method to strip the meat from the Thunder Eagle.

I managed to get about 50 kg, so I think that's enough for now. I also got orc meat, so I just need to collect feathers.

After 10 loops, I was finally bored. I can't do this anymore today!

"Quinn~. Let's go home~"

To go back, I searched for Quinn on the 16th floor, but I couldn't find her.

Hmm, where did she go?

"Uwaaaaa!!!"

Hearing a sudden scream, I ran towards the sound.

When I arrived, a party of two men and two women was fighting, but Quinn wasn't there.

"!! Whoever you are, can you help us!"

To notice me while I was hiding my presence means they are quite skilled.

Looking closely, three of them were barely conscious. I need to act fast or they might die.

I quickly put on a mask from my storage and joined the battle.

The enemies were five high orcs, three high ogres, and a red ogre.

"That red ogre is a Red Ogre! It's fast!"

Thunder Ray x 9!

"What!? No incantation and multiple casts!?"

Ignoring the surprised leader, I continued the battle but couldn't defeat the Red Ogre.

"Hmm, even with that much magic power. It's quite tough. Then..."

I'll show you the evolved version of Thunder Ray that I recently developed.

Glitter Lance!

A technique that imagines a spear of light, even stronger than lightning.

GAaa..?

Thanks to hitting its brain, it fell silent instantly.

Maybe now I can handle the monsters of the Azalea Spirit Mountain with ease.

After collecting the Red Ogre's magic stone, the leader was calling to the three unconscious people.

"Are you okay!? The monsters are gone. We can go home now!"

...No response. Looking closely, the leader was also in bad shape, and it was a miracle he was still conscious.

"Area Hi-Heal"

"..."

The three who were near death regained their color, and the leader, who was breathing heavily, seemed to calm down.

This should be enough. They should wake up in a few minutes, and getting involved further would be troublesome, so I'll leave now.

"Ah, thank you! I'll definitely repay you someday! At least tell me your name!"

"...Owl"

This was the first encounter with 'Crimson Wing,' who later became S-rank and world-famous.

By the way, Quinn had occupied several new beehives, and several queen killer bees were wrapped in thread-like substances.

Oh, so Quinn has control over the beehives in this area.

I'll get a lot of honey.

I'll update gradually.

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