“I know. But it’s a hard life, you know? Lanceil’s the only one who can take any heat, so I have to add the extra spice to my own bowl every time, even though it’s so much better when you can let it mix in with the whole batch,” my spice-loving sister complained. “Oh, that’s right, I was playing around making a new hot spice the other day and wound up re-creating the seven-spice mix you use. I never would’ve expected pain relief fruit would play the key role.”
“Damn, you’re amazing.” Pain relief fruit? Oh, poppy seeds?
“I’m gonna try my hand at making the broth for udon next. Those little granular things you brought are super handy, but I bet you get way more flavor if you make the broth from scratch. I asked Ghett to pick some seaweed for me, so it’ll probably be waiting for us at camp when we get back. Oh, and once I finish that, I’m gonna move on to balsamic oils and little fermented fish dishes.”
“What are you, a master chef?!” It wasn’t long ago that the extent of her cooking skills was pouring boiling water into instant ramen. Talk about amazing growth.
“Souya.”
“Yes, Pops? Do you like it?” I’d been so engrossed in my conversation with Éa that I’d forgotten about him.
“Looked like you weren’t going to need it, so I took one of your rice packs off your hands.” The eye-patched man had blown through his portions, finishing both of his and pouring the rest of his curry over one of mine.
Afraid complaining would cost me the other, I gave it up and loaded my remaining rice with the ginger fried pork. The sweet and spicy glazed pork and cabbage paired perfectly with the bed of rice, providing my tired body just the calorie kick it needed. No matter how down or exhausted I was, white rice would always raise my spirits.
“Medîm, want to try some of this on your curry? It’s really good,” offered Éa, grinning mischievously as she took out her special spice mix.
“Aye, my thanks.” Unconcerned, Pops held out his curry. Shuna, who’d already fallen victim to this ploy once before, looked disgusted. Éa sprinkled some of the red flakes from her small jar over the stew, and Pops gobbled up a few bites. “Mm? Oh. Well.” His expression remained cool and collected, but streams of sweat ran down his brow.
Truth is, Éa, I’ve got some of your special spice on me, too—it’s a perfect blinding pepper spray.
“What do you think? Good, right?” the elf chef asked, beaming, not a hint of ill intent to be seen.
“Mm, not bad.” Pops shoveled the rest of the curry in his mouth, then gulped down all the water left in his bottle. His face had turned a bright shade of lobster red. That spice was too strong for heim consumption. Though, to be fair, it had made Lana cry out in pain, and she was an elf, too.
After lunch, Lazalisa made some tea for us. Its lovely aroma calmed my soul, regardless of its taste.
“Lana, Lady Freyja, please have some,” I said, handing them a bag of hardtack along with a squeeze bottle full of apricot jam. “It’s helped Lana replenish her magic before, so I imagine it’ll help you as well, Lady Freyja.”
“My, we have dessert as well? What a lovely tea party this is turning out to be.”
“Thank you. But I haven’t expended any magical energy yet, so—”
“I’ll take it,” Lis declared, then swooped in to snatch the biscuits Lana refused.
“Wait, Lis, you’ve got, like, unlimited magical reserves!”
“Hisss!” She bared her fangs, threatening me. I don’t really get it, but you’re basically equal to goddesses, right? You sure you can go around hissing at people?
“Souya, where’s mine?”
“Any for me in there?”
I ignored the young boy and the middle-aged man. “Lazalisa, how does it look?”
Freyja munched away at the dried sweets like some kind of elegant hamster. Lazalisa took her employer’s ryvius in hand to check her magic.
“Milady, these desserts are remarkable. Your mana is shooting back up.”
“Excellent decision to serve such rare delicacies, Sooberier.”
So maybe magic is somehow related to mental energy?
“Right, little chicks.” Waving his hand, Pops called for our attention. “We’re taking two bell tolls to rest,” he announced, then pulled out an hourglass. The bells rang every sixty minutes, which meant we’d have about a two-hour break. “Everyone, check your equipment for damage and your own ryviuses. Then pair up with at least one more person to inspect yourselves for injuries. I’ll keep watch. The rest of you, get some sleep. Once we get back to it, we’re heading to the twentieth floor without breaks. Prepare yourselves as best you can.”
We all got to work following Pops’s instructions. I checked my own gear, then surveyed everyone’s ryviuses. All good. Éa and I looked at each other for injuries and found none. Lana paired up with Freyja to do the same. That done, we all got comfortable in our own ways and rested. Using my backpack as a pillow, I decided to catch some shut-eye.
“Hee-hee,” my younger sister giggled as she wrapped herself close around me. She’d been extra touchy these last few days, and while I only saw her as a sister, it was starting to feel rude to Lana. But as soon as we finished our business here, I’d have King Remlia tell me the truth about the war, and we could put this all behind us. I just had to hold on a little longer. We’d made it this far without any trouble. I prayed to my goddess the rest would go just as smoothly, then wondered if that was an ironic request to make of the Goddess of Malevolence.
A dream?
Yeah, I think so.
At least, it felt like one.
I was in a forest I knew, but I became someone else. My stomach roiled with gut-wrenching pain and sorrow. The smell of blood and gunpowder filled my nostrils; nearby, someone wailed.
Through the trees, I caught glimpses of a terrifying creature—a massive, deformed, ravenous beast. It had its gaze locked on an elf and a black cat, both familiar faces. The two exchanged whispers, prayers, and vows.
Then there stood an elf and a raven-haired woman. Like two full moons, the elf’s eyes turned bright gold. The colossal beast howled at the lunar orbs in the sky. Burning red balls of fire rained on the forest as if they were tears from the heavenly beings.
When I opened my eyes, another chestnut pair stared into mine. “Are you all right, darling? You were screaming.” It’d been two whole days since we’d spent time this close together; having Lana this near set my heart racing.
“Sorry, Lana. It was just a nightmare.”
My stomach still ached as if I’d been shot, but the phantom pain vanished as soon as I forced myself to realize it wasn’t real. Evidently, I’d been the last to wake. Everyone else had packed up their things, ready to go. I drank a sip of water. Lana had not left my side. She looked at me, worry in her eyes.
“Sorry, this is totally unrelated, but didn’t you have golden eyes?”
Thousands of times, I must have looked into those chestnut eyes, but they had been golden when I first met her. Actually, I got the feeling they looked that way at other times, too. If anything, it was weird to see them brown, no?
What’s going on? Is something messing with my memory?
“No, my eyes have always been chestnut brown since birth. Do you prefer blue eyes like all the others, too?”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” I don’t choose who I like based on their eye color.
“Lala, your eyes do change color sometimes, though. You too, Yaya. Is that some kinda spell? Can you put it on me, too? It’s supercool.”
“Huh? You’ve never mentioned that. My eyes change color?” The news clearly startled her.
“Good, Souya, you’re up. Let’s move.” But Pops cut in before the question ever got an answer.
We’ll have to talk about that after we get home, too. Once this expedition ends…… No, don’t go there. I don’t want to jinx anything.
The short nap had fully restored my ryvius. I only had about as much as a puppy to begin with, so even a light sleep maxed it out. After some stretches, I got back into mission mode.
“Souya, I’ve got a suggestion,” Pops offered.
We rearranged ourselves in a special formation to tackle the crucible that was the nineteenth floor. Pops, Shuna, and I took the front line, followed by Freyja, Lana, Éa, and Lis in the middle. Lazalisa and Gaslark brought up the rear, with the exception that the goblin in dwarf gear would take on a partisan role, moving freely up to the front or center at his discretion. We put the four highest-risk members in the center of the formation. The snatcher never took more than one victim. That’s why we wouldn’t let it break us up; we’d keep these four together and protect them as a group. Someone suggested we tie ourselves together, but the string would only get in our way and would be pointless if it was somehow cut. We would need to stay in this close-knit formation from here on until we reached the twentieth floor.
Almost immediately after resuming our trek, we ran into a monster.
“Eyes.”
Following our battle-hardened guide’s instruction, I shot an arrow through the thing’s peeper. It had two legs, kind of like an ostrich without plumage, and a face as flat as a frog’s, features that made it look like some kind of processed chicken. An arrow lodged in its eye, and the unnatural chicken lost its balance and collapsed, flailing about violently. Even a bolt straight through the head wouldn’t kill enemies that easily this far in the dungeon.
“Shuna, you take the left. I’ll go in from the right.”
“Yes, sir!”
Pops and Shuna raced toward the thing. A couple flashes of steel later, and the monster’s head and torso plopped to the ground.
“Souya, dispose of the corpse.”
“On it.” Dragging the body over to one side of the corridor, I doused it with oil and lit it on fire. This one, I was almost positive I could eat just like that.
“Next.” We kept moving. “Legs.”