Kays Translations

Chapter 50: Dungeon Achievements

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye since we arrived in the dungeon town.

Ever since the first day we set foot here, we’ve been diving into the dungeon daily.

However, our highest reached floor remains at the 10th level. For the past ten days, we’ve challenged the floor boss, the Minotaur, but haven’t made any real progress.

To be honest, considering how strong Sheila is, we could have pushed deeper if we wanted to… but our main occupation is still farming. Risking our lives—or even just getting injured—would be foolish. So, we decided to stop at the 10th floor.

Even so, since we entered the dungeon every day, we managed to earn quite a bit of money.

The fact that Lime and Mush barely had any food or lodging costs helped a lot, allowing us to accumulate two platinum coins.

On top of that, we collected an entire sack full of magic crystals. As far as winter activities go, this was the best way to spend our time.

That said… in these two months, I didn’t defeat a single monster. I was just the baggage carrier the entire time.

Not being able to defeat even one monster is my only regret, but there’s always next winter. I just need to work on getting stronger over the next year.

With the goal of taking down at least one monster next year in mind, we left the dungeon town and returned to our villa.

Returning to the villa after two months…

Having spent so much time in the dim, damp dungeon, it felt like forever since we were last here.

The snow had stopped falling, though some remained on the ground. It would probably take another two weeks to fully melt.

Once the snow is gone, we can start farming again—I can’t contain my excitement!

Since we were holed up in the dungeon, I hardly used any NP (Nourishment Points). The NP I saved before winter, aside from what I planned for the Christmas party, would all go toward farming.

Speaking of which, the Christmas party is scheduled for next week here at the villa.

We originally wanted to celebrate it on Christmas, but winter travel is a hassle, and we were busy with dungeon exploration. So, we decided to delay it.

I sent a letter to Velvet from the dungeon town, and she replied that she’d be able to come.

Since it’s a party that lasts a whole week, I want to make it as grand as possible.

Ideally, I’d like to give everyone presents, but I don’t have the resources for that. Instead, I’ll prepare delicious food and desserts. Sheila will help with decorations.

Thinking about all this, I stepped into the villa for the first time in two months… and was shocked by how clean it was.

I expected dust everywhere, but maybe Thread had been keeping an eye on the place at night.

I’d left him alone for so long—I needed to go see him as soon as it got dark.

Also, I should give him half of the magic crystals we collected in the dungeon.

“This place really puts me at ease. And… just being here makes me hungry.”

“The inn didn’t have a kitchen, so we couldn’t eat any Japanese food. Two months was a long time. I’m getting hungry too.”

“Does that mean… we’ll get to eat another dish from another world tonight?!”

“Of course. More than anything, I want to eat it myself. I’ll cook something special.”

“Thank you! To be honest… I’ve been craving another world’s food so much that I spent the past two weeks debating whether to suggest coming back to the villa. Now that I’m finally getting to eat it, I can’t stop grinning!”

Sheila looked genuinely happy.

If she’s this excited, I have to make something truly delicious.

I just decided that all my NP would go toward farming except for the Christmas party, but today deserves a little splurge as a reward for our hard work.

As I pondered what to cook, I headed straight for the kitchen.

Since I wasn’t restricted to tomato-based dishes this time, I decided to make my absolute favorite meal.

Using my tablet, I bought the ingredients for fried chicken and fried rice.

I was going to make Karaage Fried Rice.

Back when I was working, the karaage fried rice from a Chinese restaurant near my house was my one source of joy.

I probably wouldn’t be able to replicate it exactly, but since I often made both karaage and fried rice at home, I could get close.

Recalling the flavors in my mind, I got to work.

Both dishes were simple to make—the only real challenge was timing the karaage so it didn’t cool down.

Carefully adjusting my cooking time, I finished the fried rice, making sure it was fluffy and separate, and sealed the meat juices inside the crispy karaage.

Since I had made this meal dozens of times before, both dishes turned out incredibly well.

I had planned to make a Chinese-style soup too, but it would have cost more NP than expected, so I had to abandon the idea.

While the cost per serving was low, the initial investment was too high to justify.

With that in mind, I plated the fried rice and karaage nicely and carried them to the living room, where Sheila was waiting.

“Wow, it smells amazing! What is this dish called?”

“The rice dish is called fried rice, and the round pieces of meat are karaage. Both are among my specialties, so I think you’ll like them.”

“I’ve never had a bad meal from you, so I have no doubts! Can I start eating right away?”

“Of course. Let’s eat while it’s still hot.”

After a quick meal-time greeting, we each took a bite of the fried rice.

Delicious!

The rice was fluffy yet chewy, seasoned lightly but addictively tasty.

There weren’t many ingredients, but that was intentional—it was designed to complement the karaage.

As soon as my mouth started craving karaage, I took a bite of the crispy fried chicken.

Amazing!

Juicy meat burst with flavor inside the crunchy coating. Even though it had only been marinating for a short time, the seasoning had soaked in perfectly.

Maybe it was also because I hadn’t eaten Japanese food in two months, but this might have been the best meal I’d cooked since coming to this world.

“This is… incredible! The crispy outside and juicy inside of the karaage pair perfectly with the fried rice. It’s so good I could cry!”

“I’m glad you like it. I think this might be the best dish I’ve made since arriving here.”

We continued praising the karaage fried rice as we devoured our plates.

I had made quite a large portion, but both Sheila and I finished it in no time.

Once again, I confirmed that karaage and fried rice were the ultimate combination.

“Ahh… that was delicious! I feel so happy!”

“Cooking again after so long really hit the spot. Next up is the Christmas party. I’ll put my all into it, so look forward to it.”

“Yes! I can’t wait!”

With that, we finished our first meal back at the villa.

Afterward, we didn’t do anything special—just relaxed in the living room, unwinding from our dungeon adventures.

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