The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter - Chapter 89

Chapter 89

Translator: “Kell” Editor: ”Weasalopes”

Each floor was rough and I was surprised to make it to the 11th floor safely . I think it’s only fair to give myself a reward right now . I made my way down the stairs, deeply moved by how I made it this far, and quickly snapped back to reality .

A volcano?

「Man, it’s stifling in here . 」

No, more like piping hot… Before me was something you don’t see too often: deep-red magma . There was a gray, ashen path, but it was rough and jagged, making walking difficult . It was wide enough, though with the boulders scattered here and there, visibility was poor .

Does Fire Resistance work with magma? No, the human body has its limits . Even with a rank S resistance, you probably won’t come out unscathed .

I trudged ahead slowly, careful not to come in contact with the magma . I was sweating buckets . It was sweltering and I was terribly parched .

「Fuu… fuu…」

I grabbed some water from my storage and gulped it down . Then I noticed something in the corner of my eyes . There, in the burbling magma, I could see the fin of a fish moving about . Judging from its sheer size, it was most likely a monster . I moved closer in range for my【Appraisal】 .

Name: Magma Fish
Level: 260
Skill: Swift Swim Poisonous Vision

A very powerful monster right off the bat, huh? More and more formidable enemies show up in the hidden dungeon which really put me in a spot at times .

「Time to call it a day and head home . 」

The heat was intense and I sure didn’t want to fight that monster . I picked up some rocks and stone that I could probably sell at the Rare Shop . Once I’ve finished gathering them, I activated my skill, transporting me back to the first floor, then left the dungeon .

As soon as I opened the door to my house, Emma came running at me .

「Oh, came here to hang out?」

「Yep! Come here!」

She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the living room . On the table were stuff I’ve never seen before .

「I was expecting you to come home soon so I made this . 」

A seafood salad with blue wakame1, and fried onigiri with red konbu2—ingredients I gathered from the 9th floor . Wait, they should all have been sold at the shop . Did I set some aside for us?

「I made these for you with your mom . 」

「They look unusual . 」

「You might even replenish your LP . 」

I took a seat and eyed the two dishes . The onigiri was fried crisply on the outside, with red konbu mixed in . The salad, on the other hand, had quite the unusual appearance . Chopped cabbage sat at the bottom of the plate with finely sliced salmon, shrimp, tomatoes, and scallops on top . The blue wakame mixed within stood out unnaturally, yet its color provided a soft contrast, highlighting the dish .

I wanted to savor the dishes with my eyes some more but Emma and my mother were urging me to eat so I took a bite of the onigiri .

「Yum!」

Impressions straight after taking a bite might be contrived and forced, but this time I really thought it was delicious . It was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside . The moment I took a bite, the flavour of the miso spread to every corner of my mouth . Miso introduced from another world was famous for being used in soup, but it’s also apparently great with rice . And the finely sliced red konbu provided excellent flavour as well . It was spicy and had a consistency to it . Konbu and wakame might look the same but they’re actually different and the former was plenty nutritious .

「Try the seafood salad, too . 」

「Okay… Wow, this one’s good too . The perfectly simmered wakame tastes great! It’s just sour enough to not be overpowering . I love it . 」

「Apparently, that’s how wakame is supposed to taste like . 」

「Really? It’s quite different from the common ones . 」

Sorry common wakame, but you have nothing against this . Those barely have any flavour .

I was starving so I went ahead and finished both dishes . I got some LP plus my stomach was full . Ah, this is the life . I was rubbing my belly when Emma gently wrapped her arms around me from behind .

「Ehehe~ Are you full, Noir-dono?」

「I am indeed full . 」

「That’s good to hear . I worked hard on those for you . 」

「And for that, I am grateful . 」

「You two sure get along well . I’m sure you had fun at the hot springs . 」 my mother said with a gentle expression, as Emma and I were cuddling .

「We sure did! But there was an incident . The boys were trying to peep on us!」

「Oh, my . 」

「But Noir tried to stop them all on his own . He cried out “Emma’s body is mine and mine alone!” then jumped into the water . 」

「Goodness! You’ve become quite bold with Emma, Noir . 」

「Yeah . His boldness puts me in a spot sometimes~」

Oh, crap . The conversation went too fast, I couldn’t say anything . I didn’t say anything about Emma’s body being mine . You’re making it sound like I’m some kind of a pervert . Then again, I can’t really deny that .

My father and Toramaru arrived at that moment .

「Oh, Emma-chan is here . 」

「Business was doing great today, huh, Uncle?」

「Thanks for buying the konbu and wakame earlier . 」

「Please don’t mention it . I just spent my allowance for the Stalgia family is all . 」

I knew it . Emma bought them from the shop to use as ingredients . My father placed his arm around my shoulders, grinning .

「You lucky guy . You have the rich Emma-chan so devoted to you . Makes me jelly…」

「I’m grateful for that, of course . Her cooking was scrumptious as well . 」

Looking at the empty plate seemed to have roused my father’s appetite as his stomach growled loudly .

「Alice is at a furniture shop . Let’s go get her and have some meat!」

「Father, I just told you that Emma’s cooking was scrumptious . I’m already full . 」

「What? Are you saying you can’t eat my food?」

「I might even decline precisely because you made it . 」

「Hey, Ma, Toramaru-chan, did you hear that just now? Those were words of a boy in his rebellious stage . So mean, right?」

「Dear, did you know Alice says a lot of things about you behind your back? A lot…」 my mother said matter-of-factly as my father was feigning tears .

「Uh… seriously? What kind of things?」

「Who knows… Just ask her yourself . 」

She was poking fun at him, but my father was really shaken up about it .

「Do you know what Alice is saying behind my back, Toramaru?」

『She says you’re bleep and how you’re sometimes bleeeeep』

「Tell me what those bleeps are!」

『I can’t . You might die from shock . 』

「Her words are that horrible?!」

He was at his wits’ end, grieving, and everyone burst into laughter .

He was in great shock . He could stand my verbal attacks, but not hers . I guess dads get more hurt when it’s their daughter being harsh than when their son does it . In the end, we had to drag his soulless body to pick Alice up . From there, we went to an expensive restaurant . The shop was doing greater than expected so a bit of splurging should be all right .

My dad was pestering me to eat so I had to force myself and ended up eating a lot of meat . Sure, I was a growing boy, but there’s such a thing as too much . Oh wait, if I made a【Glutton】skill, I can probably eat more without a problem .

Nah, let’s not . Emma and the others might not like me anymore when I get fat .

「Eat some more, Noir! I won’t be disgusted with you just because you got fat . 」

I guess I was worried about nothing .

All right, then . I’m gonna try just a little bit harder .

 

 

TL Note: Wakame (ワカメ), Undaria pinnatifida, is a species of edible seaweed, a type of marine algae, and a sea vegetable . It has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavour and texture . It is most often served in soups and salads . Source: Wikipedia  TL Note: Kombu (from Japanese: 昆布, translit . konbu) is edible kelp from mostly the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia . Source: Wikipedia