Chapter 91: Prelude ①

It’s been ten days since then.

The clean-up of the Minos Units — the strange incident in the new dungeon — still isn’t finished.

The guild has reopened, but the city’s dungeon remains closed as before.

The only firm decision made is that the 12th floor of the dungeon has completely collapsed and is now off-limits.

I have a lot of thoughts about that. The collapse was something I caused.

Right now, I’m in the lab. I’m grilling meat in the Arc Lab.

Why am I grilling meat in the lab?

Because today’s yakiniku party is being held here in the lab.

The lab’s gate is no longer on the 12th floor.

It’s been reinstalled on the first floor of the watchtower at my home.

Now I can go to the lab from home anytime.

“Um, um, Wof-sama, the meat you grilled is so delicious!”
“I’m glad you like it. There’s plenty more, so please have some.”

Juicy-san smiled as she ate the meat I grilled.

For some reason, the table itself was functioning like a hot plate.

Half of the table was piled with meat, other ingredients, and drinks, and the other half was being used for grilling.

Suddenly, Mineha-san swooped in and pointed at the meat directly below her.

“Hey, can I eat this one yet?”
“Ah, yes, that one’s good to go.”
“And this vegetable?”

Pakira-san asked from the side, pointing not at meat but at the grilled vegetables.

“That one—ah, just a little longer.”
“Wof-kun, you should eat too!”

Bid-san suddenly tried to shove a skewer of meat into my mouth from behind.

I gave in and ate it. It was delicious.

“It’sh delishioush.”
“Yes, yes. Wof-boy, have some of Kon’s specially selected six-cut platter.”
“Ah, thank you very much.”
“Um, um, Wof-sama, I’d like to share this big chunk of meat with you.”
“Hold it. You mustn’t just eat meat — have some vegetables as well.”
“Here, Wof, I really liked this one.”
“This one’s tasty too!”
“Mmm… boy… you’re only eating… drink… drink your big sister’s…”
“Wha—Liv-san!?”

W–what is this? I’m surrounded by girls.

And not just any girls — they’re all really beautiful and cute, warm, and they smell nice.

Huh?

“Oh! Agaro-san, you’re becoming Class I!?”
“That’s right. Me, Megadia, and one other.”
“One other, huh?”
“Yeah, one other. Don’t know who.”
“Well, that’s something to celebrate. Like the seventh sister’s head and the twelfth sister’s head put together.”
“That’s not celebratory at all. And hey, your sister and little sister are right over there — shouldn’t you talk to them?”
“Don’t say it. I’ll talk to Juicy later.”

Over there, Agaro-san and Axe-san were having a lively conversation with the guys.

Hoss-san and Rel-san were also drinking and seemed to be having a good time.

So, Agaro-san and Megadia-san are becoming Class I, huh? Congratulations.

“This is tasty.”
“Na!”
“Even just grilling it makes it delicious.”
“Na!”
“Hey, Dagaa, want some more?”
“Na!”
“Ufufu, you’re so cute.”

Lupinas-san and Shesh-san were eating together with Dagaa for some reason.

Both of them are bona fide noble ladies… but right now, they looked more like a delinquent and a rich girl.

“Ah, um, yes, but… um, that rabbit Shesh is hanging… isn’t it talking?”
“You’re imagining it.”
“Do normal rabbits go around shouting ‘boobs, butt, thighs’ while hugging people?”
“Ah, well, no, but… uh, where even are we?”

Dova-san was staring with a complicated expression at the suspended Haiyaan.

Did that guy just try to hug Shesh-chan? That’s bold.

Everyone was having fun, chatting and laughing.

This all happened because that rabbit said he wanted to have a party full of girls.

Since it was BYOM — bring your own meat — we somehow ended up with a ridiculous amount.

I also needed to explain the whole incident to Axe-san and Liv-san.

And, well, the fact that the place was full of women…

At that moment, Hoss-san and Rel-san came back safely.

So when I invited them, Agaro-san came along too.

At the same time, Pakira-san and Lupinus-san returned — along with Juicy-san, Dova-san, and Shesh-san.

So I invited them too, and everyone came.

Apparently, half of Torquetam’s base mansion is going to become a Tasan family villa.

Curious, I asked Pakira-san what the Tasan domain was like.

She told me — with a dead-eyed expression — that she ended up having to explore the dungeon inside Marquis Tasan’s castle.

A dungeon in a castle? Isn’t that his home? The Zecatria Dungeon?

According to Juicy-san, it was the underground mausoleum room of her elder sister, who’s a shut-in.

Rel-san, what is even going on with the Tasan sisters?

Well, putting that aside…

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like seasoning, please let me know. I have about twenty kinds prepared. I recommend my own homemade ‘Munieka-chan Special Sauce.’”
“Shiro isn’t really big on meat, but I like this soup.”

In one corner of the lab, a pure white tea table sat looking completely out of place.

On it were twenty small jars, and next to them, a pure white-skinned girl sipped a miscellaneous-meat soup.

It was the maid Munieka-san, and the Class I explorer with the long name, Shiro-san.

Why are those two here? Especially Munieka-san… ah, she’s coming this way.

“Witch’s disciple.”
“Y-yes?”
“Don’t just keep grilling — eat more yourself. There are twenty sauces over there, but try this one, my Munieka-chan Special Sauce.”
“Y-yes, thank you very much.”

Munieka-chan poured a generous amount of her… special sauce over the already heaping pile of meat.

“If you don’t eat, you won’t grow big, you know.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Hey now, don’t start acting like Wof-boy’s mother.”
“W-What is with this maid…?”
“Um, um, um, um?”
“She’s got quite a presence, huh.”
“Why is the maid from back then here?”
“Mmm… tasty.”

W-Why… why is this happening? Ah, that meat—
It’s not cut yet.

“Um, this meat hasn’t been grilled yet, so… I’ll go ahead and cut it.”

I went over to the uncut hunk of meat, as if escaping from them.
Come to think of it, that knife I took from the Tom of Death… I haven’t used it yet.

It was found deep within the Tomb of Death, but it seemed to be an ordinary knife with nothing special about it.
Alright. Let’s use it.

The meat was cut thick, so it’d be better to make it thin. The slab was quite wide, and the meat seemed a bit tough. In that case, it’s best to swing down in one go.

“Wait! That meat has a bone—”

Clang! The blade sank hard into something solid.
As I pulled it out with force—crack!—the knife split diagonally in half.

“Um.”
“Eh?”
“Oh my.”
“My, my.”
“Yikes.”

Ahhh…

There exists a mid-tier gem-class monster called the “Mountain Eater.”

It is a massive hydra with five heads.
Each head unleashes a different relic power—fire, wind, lightning, blade, and poison—and a single bite can consume even a mountain.

The “Mountain Eater” had caused tremendous damage to nearby towns and villages.
Its lair was in the bottom of a steep, deep ravine in a region unstable due to ethnic conflict, making subjugation difficult.

However, in recent years, the conflict ended, and full-scale efforts to hunt it began.
But even when a large-scale subjugation was launched, they failed to kill it—in fact, the entire force was wiped out.

It wasn’t that they underestimated the “Mountain Eater.”
The subjugation force was centered on skilled Class II explorers.

And yet, they were annihilated.
The “Mountain Eater” was already on the verge of reaching upper-tier gem-class status.

Then he grew irritated—like one annoyed by a swarm of buzzing gnats.
He decided to destroy the place where the most gnats were and kill as many as possible.

For it, killing gnats was a hobby—a way to blow off steam.
Gnats multiply whether you deal with them or not, so it would “play” every few years.

But to be provoked this much by mere gnats? Unforgivable.
In the midst of his boiling anger—one shadow appeared before him.

One hour later.

The ravine housing the lair had completely collapsed, and even the surrounding mountains were blown away.
On the largest plain in the area lay the five severed heads of the “Mountain Eater.”
Its bisected massive body sprawled there, as if proudly declaring it had been slain.

“O-Ohh… so this is… the power of a Rank I… the ‘Sword of Swords’…”

On the cliff from which the corpse could be seen, a Class II explorer trembled all over.
In front of him stood a huge man, arms crossed, laughing heartily.
His hair was spiked blond, and his body was a fortress of muscle.

At his side stood a beautiful, dark-skinned elf woman with blue hair and long, pointed ears.
She wore a pair of white swords, large and small, at her waist, and kept her eyes closed in silence.

A short distance behind them lay a large dog with blue fur, lounging bored against a tree trunk.
Leaning against that tree was a long greatsword.

He was a Class I explorer. The world’s strongest blade.
His title—the “Sword of Swords.”

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