We arrived at Laureldite Republic, the next-door neighbor to Furblume, after saying our goodbyes to Frey’s party. Meowster, Lulu, Cocoa, Kent, and I were enjoying our journey, taking the time to walk or ride horses. If we came across a restaurant that looked good, Lulu insisted on stopping and trying their food. I think I gained some weight.
Now, we were in Ifrit’s Oasis, a dungeon in Laureldite. Meowster had told me that a lot of Alchemeowsts frequented the dungeon because of all the useful materials on the first floor. Meowster really does know everything. The entrance to Ifrit’s Oasis was marked by a giant boulder in the middle of the desert that concealed a cave and a descending staircase. Even though the dungeon was called an oasis, there wasn’t a drop of water to be found at the foot of the stairs—just cave walls and hot air.
No monsters here yet. We were still in a clearing that marked the starting point of the dungeon.
“Oof. It was hot up in the desert, but there’s a different kind of heat down here,” Kent said.
“At least there’s no sun,” Cocoa said. They both reached for their water.
I should hydrate while there aren’t any monsters, I thought.
“Tarte.” Meowster called me over once I put my water away. “You have to be hot. Do you want me to tie up your hair?”
“Yes, purrlease!” Just having my hair off my back would make a huge difference.
“Okay, I’m going to make it really cute!” Meowster was beaming, hair ties, ribbons, and a comb clutched in her hands.
I sat down on a rock and said again, “Yes, purrlease!”
“I always wanted to play with your hair. It’s so fluffy.”
“Your hair is so silky and beautiful, Meowster.”
“You think so? Thanks, Tarte. For a girl with straight hair like me, yours is a dream.” Meowster combed my hair, saying over and over again how much she liked it, and tied it up in two high pigtails. She even put matching ribbons on each tail, making them super cute. “Ta-da!”
“That’s so cute!” Cocoa gushed.
“Keeps hair out of food,” Lulu pointed out, immediately finding a practical benefit to this hairstyle. She really was a purrofessional foodie.
“Do you want me to do yours too, Lulu?” Meowster asked.
“Yes.”
I gave my seat to Lulu, whose long and flowy hair would take a while to wrangle. She’d look great with it tied up, though. Wondering how she was going to arrange Lulu’s hair, I watched Meowster work.
“You do have a lot of hair, Lulu! It’s going to take a lot of work to make it into tails like Tarte’s... Oh, maybe I’ll put it into a bun!” Meowster coiled Lulu’s hair into a big bun and left two strands loose so they still looked like pigtails.
“That’s adorable!” I purred.
“No hair in food,” Lulu said approvingly.
“I’m glad you like it!” said Meowster. “That was fun. I think I’ll throw mine into a ponytail while I’m at it.”
She did just that, but a simple ponytail perfectly showed off her pretty face, creating a very attractive look. Is that what it means to be a grown-up?! “You look beautiful, Meowster.”
“Thanks!” Meowster giggled and started applying buffs to us. Now that she was the Holy Maiden, her buffs made us much more powerful, so we could fight without worrying about getting hurt.
Kent, who’d been watching us from a different rock, stood up. “Let’s get going, then!” He looked excited to explore the new dungeon, even though it was a hot one.
“Our main goal isn’t to hunt monsters but to collect materials,” Meowster reminded him, “so we’re going to take it slow.”
“You got it!” said Kent. He led our formation, followed by Cocoa, me, Meowster, then Lulu.
After taking out a few monsters, we came to another clearing full of materials, just like Meowster had said! “Meowster, look at all the Fire Shrooms! I can make all the Mewlotovs I want...!”
“Yep. There’s no one else here, so it’s all ours!” Meowster said.
While I stood there mesmerized by the Fire Shrooms, Kent returned with the last monster’s item and took in the clearing. “These were the ones we were struggling to find in Zille, right? I should have guessed something called a Fire Shroom would grow in a hot place.”
“Zille was a little too cold for these to grow there,” I agreed. That was why I’d been so excited to come to Laureldite. The Adventurer’s Guild here should have plenty of Fire Shrooms for sale—at a much cheaper price since so many of them grow nearby!
While Lulu and I were gathering all the Fire Shrooms we could get our hands on, Lulu suddenly stopped and stared at the Fire Shroom in her hand.
“What’s wrong, Lulu?” I asked.
“Can I eat it?”
“What?!” I yowled. I’d never even thought about that. Mushrooms were usually edible, but these were used to make Mewlotovs—which made them seem very dangerous. “Meowster, is it safe to eat these mushrooms?”
“Uh... I’ve never thought to try them. To be fair, I haven’t heard that they’re dangerous or toxic to eat either. I’m not sure.”
Even Meowster doesn’t know...!
Kent began mumbling over the mushroom in his hand. “It smells like any other mushroom... Maybe a little spicier? What do you think, Cocoa?”
“I don’t know. These are more expensive than normal mushrooms anyway, so I don’t think anyone’s tried eating them.”
“Oh, right. I’d rather eat meat with the money it’d cost to buy one of these...” Kent said.
“Me too,” I chimed in. Instead of buying a smallish Fire Shroom, I’d rather spend that money on meat or bread or cheese.
“Hmm. A mystery.” Lulu stared at the Fire Shroom with her cheeks puffed out. “One day, when I’m a master chef, I’m going to cook one and eat it!”
Everyone looked shocked by Lulu’s passionate promise. I did know that she had been studying cooking in her purrsuit of delicious food. She would definitely cook us some ameowzing dish using the Fire Shrooms! Bubbling with anticipation already, I told her, “I can’t wait! There are other materials I use for Furmulation that are similar to common foods. I’ll show you what they are later!”
“Other foods...! They could taste incredible!” Lulu said, her eyes glowing with excitement.
I was going to gather all sorts of mewterials from all over the world, so she could count on me! “Let’s gather more of them!”
“Yes! All of them!” Lulu cried.
In purrsuit of both of our dreams, Lulu and I gathered everything we could with the help of Meowster, Kent, and Cocoa.