Chapter 65 - Collecting Liquor
“Welcome back, Vihita.”
“I’m home, milady...”
With that, I placed a towering stack of books on the table.
Dozens of volumes—these were the compiled results of the latest batch of alchemical experiments.
The sheer volume stemmed from the fact that, along with each new idea I received for ingredient combinations, fresh paper and ink were generously sent as well.
“Wow~ That’s a ton of research! Looks fun~ I’m jealous~”
That was the first thing milady said upon seeing the mountain of reports—”looks fun.”
Not a word about how difficult it must’ve been.
But that made sense. After all, she was the sort of person who would gladly shut herself away and spend months lost in research if given the chance.
It was precisely because of that passion that she could, without hesitation or malice, issue orders to prolong our stay again and again.
She was brilliant—no doubt about that. But... she really wasn’t someone who should be placed in a leadership role.
“By the way, milady. According to the messenger, the First Unit has returned...”
“Yes, I believe they escorted Her Majesty Yuzha and Queen Teta down to the 13th floor. You didn’t run into them?
...Well, it seems the special effect meals on the 14th floor are to remain classified for now, so maybe Her Majesty made sure you wouldn’t cross paths.
Right now, Captain Touji and her team are apparently enjoying unrestricted combat down in the newly opened bottom floor of the No-Hunger Dungeon.”
“I’ve heard some whispers... something about a ridiculously potent liquor surfacing down there?”
I’d love to try it myself. I can try it, right?
They even sent some Japanese sake along with the paper for my research, but drinking on duty was out of the question, so I used it all in the synthesis.
Honestly, knowing what it tasted like beforehand made it even harder to resist. It was a real battle to keep my composure.
“The latest alcohol they’ve unearthed... is a bit too intense for me. I think I’ll pass...
Apparently, some of those heavy-drinking adventurers are shouting stuff like ‘I was born to drink this!’”
“Are they really producing enough for adventurers to get a taste already?”
“Her Majesty ordered that all adventurers qualified to explore the 10th floor and below each receive a sip of Japanese sake and whiskey.
Naturally, all the drinkers flocked straight to the No-Hunger Dungeon.
Now that Queen Teta’s returned home, it’s actually more popular than the Hot Spring Dungeon.”
“Huh, in that case, the No-Hunger Dungeon might really outgrow the other one someday.”
“There’s a good chance it’ll enjoy a surge in popularity for a while.
But honestly, the No-Hunger Dungeon always seems focused on short-term hype.
The Hot Spring Dungeon, on the other hand, is designed with the long term in mind... like that new floor where you can create meals for temporary enhancement.
They’re probably aiming for something beyond even the uncharted 28th floor... and they want you all to be the ones exploring it.”
“...Please spare me.”
No, really—please spare me.
From what I’ve heard, even the First Unit has to bet their lives on every battle starting around the 24th or 25th floor. By the 26th, it’s apparently not unusual for people to die.
And as for the 27th floor? That’s just legend now—
It’s said that tens of thousands of Marponwear’s elite forces were nearly wiped out there decades ago.
Anything past the 26th isn’t even within the realm of human capability.
If the dungeon’s enhancement effects are meant to make us capable of going that deep, then in essence, it means we’re being modified into something more than human.
I could maybe live with being forcibly enhanced.
But what I really hated was the thought of being stuck down there for who-knows-how-long.
“But, there’s someone who does want that, right?”
“Captain Touji, obviously... She definitely prefers the enhancement baths over the beauty ones.”
“Then I guess it’s my time to shine—before we dive back into the Hot Spring Dungeon.
With these special-effect ingredients I, Vihita, and the others researched...
And the training-enhancing bath on the 10th floor... I’m going to design a whole new, efficient training regimen.”
Saying that, milady’s face lit up with the purest, most terrifying smile I’d seen in a while as she began poring over our notes on compound effects.
Why did I have such a bad feeling about this?
If it were just Captain Touji and her crew getting stronger through some temporary enhancement-based training program, I wouldn’t mind.
But I had this awful feeling we were about to get dragged into it too.
Just thinking back to that time... Six months of absolute hellish training... It sent a shiver down my spine.
I quietly broke off a piece of the hardened chocolate-and-honey bar I kept hidden and popped it in my mouth.
...It didn’t help. Not one bit.
Apparently, it barely had any calming effect when eaten above ground.
Someone... please save me.
♨♨♨♨♨
No-Hunger Dungeon, 12th Floor.
A boar-like monster came charging at full speed, trying to gore its prey with tusks as long as spears.
Captain Touji, with perfect timing, sidestepped the attack just enough to redirect its momentum—then brought her fist down, crushing the creature’s skull.
As the beast’s body dispersed into a mist of magic particles, a bottle of whiskey materialized in its place.
“Oh, been a while since we got one of these. What’s the count now?”
“We’ve found six bottles of whiskey, twelve packs of Japanese sake, and one gemstone.”
And then there were the countless loaves of bread, jars of honey, chocolates, and pepper.
Chocolate and pepper still held decent value.
But as for the bread and honey, they had become so common that even rookie adventurers on their first dungeon runs were gathering them en masse.
At this point, no one even bothered hauling them back anymore. People just picked wild fruit nearby, slapped it between slices of bread, and ate it as a quick meal.
Captain Touji bit into one such impromptu sandwich—bread stuffed with vegetables and fruit, generously doused in pepper.
“When you compare it to other dungeons, this place is heaven. Still, the 12th floor just doesn’t cut it anymore. The enemies are too soft.”
She wasn’t even using weapons anymore—just her fists—to avoid unnecessary wear and tear. That said everything about how underwhelming the challenge had become.
“I figured we wouldn’t need food and didn’t bring much in with us, but that was a mistake. There’s just not enough meat down here.”
“Yeah. At the very least, we should’ve brought some animal fat.”
Captain Touji mentally kicked herself. Just one jar of preserved rations—stuffed with dried meat and fat—would’ve made all the difference.
Instead, she was stuck chewing soft bread with sweet fruit fillings like some noble lady’s tea snack.
“Captain Touji, it’s almost time to regroup. Shall we return to the 12th floor entrance?”
There wasn’t much point in a big group roaming a floor filled with such weak enemies.
That’s why they’d split into teams of three for independent operations.
The plan was to reconvene at the 12th floor entrance three days after splitting up.
By the time they returned, about 80% of the unit had already arrived and was standing by.
“Alright, everyone—how’s the booze haul looking?”
“Captain! Good to see you, ma’am! In total, we’ve gathered 95 bottles and 170 packs.”
“Excellent. With mine added in, that puts us well past our goal of 100. Once everyone’s back, we’ll head back to the royal palace.”
“Actually, Captain... we’ve just received word that someone’s discovered a deeper floor.”
“Oh? That’s fast. This floor only just appeared recently...
...Alright then. We’ll split into two teams—one to carry the booze back to the surface, and one to explore the 13th floor.
The transport team will be the bottom three groups with the lowest booze recovery rate. Clear?”
It was, frankly, a rotten assignment. Carrying heavy alcohol back to the surface without even getting a glimpse of the newly discovered floor? A total loss.
No one wanted to end up in that group.
Which is exactly why Captain Touji framed it as a punishment for poor results.
—Several hours later.
“Captain Touji, we’re setting off now.”
“Mm... I’m counting on you, Vice-Captain Yunev...”
And so, Captain Touji was the one saddled with lugging the massive stash of booze back up to the surface.
Normally, a load like this wouldn’t bother her in the slightest.
But for some reason... today, it felt unbearably heavy.
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