Since the expedition had been postponed, I had some breathing room, so I decided to do Urrs a favor.
I fried potato croquettes for Aiz, packed a proper lunch, and then followed Bell's guidance down into the Dungeon.
"Where is the Xenos village?"
"The 20th Floor."
[We're short on time, so why not punch through the floor like last time?]
"We can't do that. A lot of them are afraid of sounds like explosions or things breaking."
"Explosions?"
"Yes. Apparently, many of them have been burned to death along with the sound of something breaking..."
...That sounds like my magic sword, doesn't it?
[Seems like it. There aren't any adventurers carrying explosives in the Dungeon, are there?]
You can kill monsters with explosives, but it's horribly inefficient.
On the upper floors, it might still be manageable, but once you got into the middle floors, there were plenty of monsters tough enough to survive an explosion, and the noise could draw even more of them in.
That was why most explosions in the Dungeon came from magic or magic swords.
And my magic was the power to project magic swords.
...So I should probably not use it today.
"Then I guess I'll use this."
I drew [Ganjiang and Moye] after a long time.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
[Ehh... what a waste...]
It was easy to make it down to the 20th Floor.
Even without a magic sword, my basic physical abilities were high enough to handle the monsters on the upper floors with my fists, and with [Ganjiang and Moye] as well, I could descend quickly.
...Come to think of it, why can I project [Ganjiang and Moye]?
[The ore itself is unusual, so I think it counts as a magic tool.]
"I see..."
In that case... what would happen if I made a magic sword out of this?
"Um... Bellf! I'm going to ask the Xenos for permission!"
"All right."
[Let's eat the lunch!]
"...Tell me before you pop out."
Urrs suddenly slipped out and rummaged through the luggage I'd brought before pulling out the lunch box.
"I thought you weren't interested in food."
[I developed an interest recently.]
Urrs burned through the contents of the lunch box one by one, almost as if he were savoring them.
"I should eat mine firs—"
[Oh, a monster.]
Just as I took out my own lunch, a monster hiding behind a rock appeared.
The monster was staring straight at my lunch.
[It doesn't seem hostile... Is it hungry?]
"Who knows..."
Monsters born in the Dungeon were said to get their nourishment from the nutrient fluid that flowed through the Dungeon's pantry.
But they also ate humans, and apparently they could eat ordinary food as well.
"...Here."
I tore off a piece of sandwich from the lunch box and threw it to the monster.
"Kiruuk!"
The monster happily tore into the sandwich and ate it.
"Kiru-ru-ru!"
"What is it saying?"
[...It sounds like it's calling you Mom.]
"Cough!"
[That shocked you that much?]
"I'm a man. If anything, shouldn't it call me Dad? Why Mom?"
[Who knows...]