"Foxfire!"
"Magic Arrow!"
"Firebolt!"
Five flames in three consecutive shots hit the group of enemies directly, immediately followed by a rain of light.
Amidst the screaming, disintegrating Goblins, an especially large flame struck the sole surviving Goblin King, easily obliterating its barely remaining HP.
"We did it...!"
The 10th-floor boss battle, over in barely a minute.
"Wow, I had no role there, did I? That was super easy."
"It is good to have clear role demarcation."
Furi cheered delightedly and went to collect the dropped items, while Mei, who also had no role, smashed the nearest wall with her fist and shoved as much stone material as she could into her Storage.
Ren breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the little fox sitting on her shoulder, and smiled, saying,
"Thanks to you, Shion, that ended quickly."
"I'm glad I could be of service."
Having experienced the dungeon up to the 10th floor, Shion seemed quite accustomed to it, and her voice was lively.
"Iris-sama, thank you for the finishing blow as well."
"Oh, that's nothing. It's because the two of you defeated the other enemies."
Iris, who smiled humbly, had also significantly improved her skills, a testament to her daily practice. Her Firebolt was now larger and more powerful than before, capable of instantly obliterating low-tier Goblins. The Goblin King, already staggering when it took such a hit, must have wanted to scream about the injustice.
At any rate, the conquest of the 10th floor—for the umpteenth time—was complete.
Shion, who seemed to have leveled up, declared, "Next, I plan to acquire the fourth tail."
"You're really reliable."
"I know, right? The power of her Foxfire is increasing, so she can fight in mob battles a little bit, too."
Her class skill points were mainly used for elemental attack power UP, and she also gained a unique skill called "Ki Recovery."
This skill has the effect of "recovering a minuscule amount of MP according to the amount of MP consumed, whenever someone consumes MP."
The principle seems to be collecting surplus magical power scattered in the atmosphere. It reacts not only to her own Foxfire but also to Ren's and Iris's magic, so even if she uses a little MP in mob battles, it's recovered by the time they reach the boss fight. It also synergizes well with Ren, who uses a lot of MP.
With more things to do, Shion was in high spirits, wagging her tail and saying, "I'll be even more helpful."
"However, I've had a thought recently."
"Hmm?"
"Isn't my level-up speed slower than others?"
-----------------
In Ren's case, the Succubus class gains experience easily through Energy Drain and sexual acts, and the Mana Conductor class gains experience through all activities that involve manipulating MP. The wide range of compatible actions for her classes, combined with how well they mesh, results in rapid growth.
On the other hand, it's unclear what actions grant good experience for Shion's Yōko and Immortal classes. She knows using magic is effective, but as is well-known, the high MP consumption makes it inefficient for repeated use.
"What exactly are actions befitting a Yōko and actions befitting an Immortal...?"
"Eating mist?"
"Eating abura-age?"
"Can you really gain experience from such things? Also, how does one even 'eat mist'...?"
Well, let's try it anyway, I thought, and after she ate some abura-age, she gained experience.
"Is that really all there is to being a Yōko? Well, since it's my favorite food, I don't mind."
"Haha. Speaking of which, last time we made Inari-zushi, Shion-chan said, 'I leveled up without realizing it' afterwards, right? Maybe that was thanks to the abura-age too."
If it's effective for Shion's growth, we decided to increase our consumption of abura-age.
It can be used in simmered dishes, or it's also delicious when stuffed with meat and grilled.
"Actually, isn't it delicious just lightly toasted and seasoned with soy sauce?"
"That sounds wonderful!"
"Haha. That feels more like a bar snack than a side dish, but then again, we can drink alcohol now, too~"
I've come to enjoy the bar snacks my parents liked to eat since coming here. I used to enjoy some of them as snacks before, but they are exceptional when paired with alcohol. Pork jerky made from Orc meat (temporary name) is a prime example.
"Speaking of which, have you ever had alcohol, Shion?"
Ren asked, being careful of her tone to avoid sounding too masculine, and Shion replied, "No."
"I know that everyone has it, but in this body, it's hard enough to open a liquor bottle..."
She added that since she never felt an intense desire to drink, she hadn't paid it much mind.
This prompted,
"What a waste."
"It is a waste."
Furi and Ren exchanged glances and nodded.
While you can't force someone since some people dislike it, not even trying it once is a loss.
Iris also agreed with this,
"Strong alcohol can also be a stimulant in an emergency, so there's no harm in being able to drink."
"A-A stimulant? Is there ever such an occasion...!?"
"A situation might arise where you have no healing magic or medicine, and cannot return immediately. In such a case, the best course of action might be to cauterize the wound with a heated knife—"
"Let's go home before we get into such a critical situation. Please, can we do that?"
Ren agreed wholeheartedly.
Besides, if Ren is present, a situation where healing magic runs out is nearly impossible. Recovery at high speed involves the awkward sight of kissing someone while rapidly casting Heal and Cure, but recovery is possible even from 0 MP.
"Iris, you're scaring her too much."
"I-I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."
"Setting aside the cauterization, since we're here, why don't you try a little bit? You might even get extra experience points if it's considered an offering to the gods."
"If that increases the experience, the Yōko will look more and more like the embodiment of gluttony."
Putting Shion's protest aside for the moment, Ren decided to prepare several types of alcohol available in town, since they were going to let Shion try it.
She gathered red and white wine, ale, distilled spirits, and for something unusual, seishu (sake).
Alcohol made from rice is expensive due to the price of the raw material, but it is surprisingly widespread because of its dedicated fans. Even Ren and the others were trying sake for the first time.
(The ale, by the way, was ordered at a tavern, poured into an airtight container, and carried back in Storage.)
They also prepared some snacks: cheese, roasted beans, and toasted abura-age.
It was a strange situation to have a drinking party with only girls under the age of 20, but it was legal in this world. Wait, Iris is over 20, so it's legal in Japan too, I guess.
"Alright, Shion-chan. Which one do you want to start with?"
Furi asked eagerly, and the girl, saying, "Just a little, please...?" brought the ale to her lips first.
Poured into a small ochoko (sake cup), Shion could hold the vessel with her paws. The girl sipped the carbonated beer, paused for a moment, and said, "It's bitter."
"I've heard that this is good in the summer, but if the carbonation is what's important, does it need to be alcoholic...?"
The adult group of Mariabelle and Aisha would later hear about this and argue, "She just doesn't get it," but setting that aside.
Next, she drank the red and white wines, giving them a high rating, saying, "They're delicious." However, wary of how quickly it might affect her small body, Shion stopped after just one sip of each.
Then came the distilled spirit.
Shion tasted a tiny amount of the strong liquor and said, "My tongue is tingling," but managed to drink the entire cup's worth.
"...Huh? I feel like... it's starting to taste good."
"Hmph, oh really? Hey Ren, is this..."
"Yeah. Shion might surprisingly have a 'good tolerance.'"
Shion denied this, saying, "That can't be." But when it was the sake's turn, the atmosphere changed.
Shion sniffed it, looking somewhat excited, said "Itadakimasu," and quickly downed the entire drink—
She let out a breath that could be taken as ecstasy.
Her cheeks might have been slightly flushed.
"How is it, Shion-san?"
To Iris's expectant question, Shion replied,
"...This is a bad kind of alcohol."
"I see. That means you like it."
"No. It means that drinking this will ruin me. Therefore, I shouldn't drink it."
She seemed to really like it.
Incidentally, she also gained experience from drinking the alcohol. Although the difference in the amount gained was minuscule, the seishu (sake) seemed to give the most. It appears that a race with strong Japanese roots prefers a Japanese-style alcohol.
Ren nodded, pouring some sake into her own cup.
"Shion, why don't you have a little more?"
"No, but—"
"Come on, it's fine. You gain experience too, which means there's a reason for a god to accept offerings."
Whether the vague excuse worked or not, the girl eventually said, "If you insist..." and began to slowly sip the sake as it was poured.
From there, they added more food, turning it into dinner and a drinking session.
Shion's favorite combination was still the abura-age and the sake. The sight of the little fox eating small pieces of abura-age and slowly sipping sake was somehow cute and heartwarming, something you could watch forever. If there were a god like this, you'd want to bring offerings every day.
"How do you like the seishu, Ren-san?"
"Yeah, I like it too. I seem to prefer the strong stuff."
"Master, that's completely the remark of a heavy drinker."
"H-Hey, it's fine. It's probably an effect of being a succubus."
So far, while I feel a certain pleasure from drinking alcohol, I don't recall ever becoming completely intoxicated or feeling sick the next day. It's unclear whether this is due to my restrained drinking or if it's because my nature is to "lure, drink, and devour."
Furi was also smiling and tilting her glass of sake; Japanese sake was a hit.
"Hmm. We might want to keep a bottle of this handy."
"We shouldn't be so extravagant, but the things I want keep increasing."
Incidentally, while Iris also liked sake, she preferred wine with a fruity sweetness. She mainly sipped her wine while nibbling on cheese.
Mei, the Golem, as usual, was just watching and occasionally ingesting stone, but then,
"Master. I, too, would like to request the ingestion of fuel."
"Fuel? Well, I guess you could handle even Spirytus."
Since drinking alcohol is too much of a waste to use as fuel, Ren asked her to use non-drinking alcohol if she truly wanted fuel.
"By the way, what exactly does 'eating mist' mean? Fasting?"
"I wonder. Or maybe it's like the skill Shion-chan acquired, absorbing magical power from the air and converting it into energy?"
"I've also heard tales of beautiful celestial maidens who lure men lost in the immortal realm and drain them of their life essence."
"What is that? Does that mean celestial maidens aren't much different from succubi?"
"Indeed, Ren-san is also someone who can live without eating, isn't she...?"
Since I can "stockpile" energy, it might even be possible to go without eating or drinking for a while by absorbing plenty from someone I meet occasionally.
"In other words, I'm also compatible with the Immortal class...?"
"You might want to consider changing jobs once you run out of skills to acquire in Mana Conductor."
I have a feeling, but since it doesn't seem to be a bad skill match, I'll keep it in the back of my mind.
Shion, meanwhile, was horrified by the truth (?) of the celestial maiden. She shouldn't worry; such lustful maidens are surely Mei's imagination, influenced by light novels or ecchi manga, or just a fringe rumor.
"What else could there be for Shion-san's level-up method?"
"Taking in the ki of nature might be effective? Though I have no idea how one would do that specifically."
"Useless."
Still, just to test it out, we took her to the forest to breathe the fresh air and had her sunbathe in the sunlight, and she surprisingly gained experience points.
"Does this mean I can level up by just eating and sleeping...!?"
"Wow, that's great, Shion-chan. It seems you can grow without doing anything special."
"Ugh, I'm a little unconvinced..."
Shion, who liked to work, was slightly dissatisfied, but Shion sunbathing and playing in the forest was well-received by both her party members and Iris's family.
============
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