Chapter 51: Hidden room

After joining Erna and others, I decided to explore the mansion. If this place was built by Great Mage Moore, it’s not just a mansion for sure.

“It looks like it’s not weathering as much as I expected.”

“Well, that’s probably because Federer was using it. It doesn’t seem to have much dust either.”

When I brushed the window with my finger, only a few dust stuck to my index finger. It’s possible that he made his skeleton familiars do some cleaning here. It’s interesting that he loves cleanliness despite being a demon beast.

We found a suitable room then we start looking around.

“Shinichi! This one!”

Erna brought a golden lamp. When she pressed the button, a faint light illuminates inside the lamp.

“It’s a magical tool huh. It’s still usable and it appears to be expensive.”

“In addition to that, it’s a precious magic tool since this lamp is powered by the magic stone of light! I wonder how many clothes I can buy with this alone!”

“I won’t buy clothes for you though?”

Shaking off Erna, who wants new clothes again, I also explore the other rooms. Then, this time, Freya approached me.

“Tanaka-dono, isn’t this something that can be sold for money?”

“Silver plate huh… It’s not bad. It looks like it will fetch a good price when sold.”

I stored the silver plate in the bangle. Vampires were supposed to hate silver though… Oh well, he may be different from the Vampires I know.

“Father, this”

What Pero brought was a golden pocket watch.

A beautiful woman is painted on the cover made of gold and when I opened it, I heard the ticking sound. Up until now, the second hand of the watch is still ticking.

“This is a nice one. It might be a waste to sell it.”

“Then I’ll just give it to Father.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yup, make another dish instead.”

While thanking my child, I gently patted his head.

I then quickly used Analysis skill on the pocket watch.

【Analysis Result: Moore’s pocket watch: One of the collections of Moore, whose hobby was collecting watches. It is modelled after his twelfth wife, he had twelve wives in all. It has high rarity and artistic value, all ten pocket watches kept by the Kingdom are considered as national treasures: Rarity A】

My hand holding the pocket watch trembled. I didn’t think that it was this valuable. But the more I look at it, the more I feel that I can’t let go of this precious pocket watch. I’ll just keep this matter as my secret and speak nothing of it.

“Ah right. Father, come over here.”

Pero tries to take me somewhere. I entered a room while being led by my cute child.

“I found that clock in the inner area.”

It was a small room surrounded by bookshelves which could be called as a study room. More than a thousand books are lined up on the shelves and a desk is placed in the center. Perhaps, with a pen in hand, Moore used to write in this room before.

“This way, this way”

Pero started pushing one of the bookshelves. Then, the bookshelf slides to the other side while making a creaking noise.

“You’ve done well noticing it Pero.”

“Yeah, I remembered our house and tried it.”

I stroke Pero’s head. Moore seems to like using bookshelves as a hidden door. Then me and Pero quickly entered the hidden area. When we went down the spiral staircase, we arrived at a small room of about 6 tatami mats in size.

“That pocket watch was on that desk.”

The desk Pero pointed to was in the corner of the room. A golden lamp is placed on the desk, and an unfinished letter and pen laid there. There was nothing else. It’s a very simple room. I turned on the lamp for the time being and warm light illuminated the room’s interior.

“It’s like a letter for someone…”

I read the letter.

『To my beloved wives,

I am now living in the depths of the Great Dungeon. It’s quiet here and it calms my mind. I apologize for the sudden disappearance. However, it is too difficult for me to live in this world after losing my beloved wife, Maria.

I am already ――』

The letter ended there.

“Moore lost his wife huh…”

I felt a sense of closeness with Moore. Well, that’s because I also lost my wife. It wasn’t a bereavement, but I experienced the sadness of divorce.

“Father?”

Pero stared at me with concerned look. Uh-, not good. I’m not qualified as a father if I make my son worry. I have to change my mood. As there’s nothing else to do, I decided to open the drawer.

“What is this?”

When I opened the drawer, I found a small wooden box.

“A box?”

I opened the box right away and what’s inside was a round gem wrapped in cloth.

【Analysis Result: Magical orb (Thunder): It is said that magic stones are inferior magical orb. Magical orbs are considered to be the pinnacle of a magic stone. Compared to magic stones that are consumed when used, magical orbs will not be used up even if used ceaselessly: Rarity SS】

Meaning, it’s a magic stone that will not disappear even if used ceaselessly huh? The round gem has a golden sparkle. It’s appearance exactly fits as the King of the gems.

“Wait……”

Suddenly, a good idea comes to mind. The magical gem is not that big, it’s only about the size of a marble. The magic stone in the magical sword that I usually use is also about the same size. In that sense, I thought that it could be used as a magic stone for my magic sword. When I unsheathed the Bull King’s sword, there is still a hole in the handle.

Actually, when I asked Rodman to forge it, I requested for him to put a hole with magic circle carved around it so that it could be used as a magic sword. I hold the magical orb between my finger and tried to fit it into the hole in the handle of the sword.

“Uh-, it’s a little tight.”

I then pressed the magical orb into the hole to force it in. Then, with a pop, the stone snapped into the hole. It’s done.

The golden stone is glowing on the pure black sword. When I looked closely, large number of particles of light swirl around the orb and it look like a small Jupiter.

I then tried to touch the magic circle. With crackling sounds, purple thunder bolts runs on the blade. The magnitude of that power seemed to have exceeded the magic sword I used so far. This room is likely to be destroyed by such power so I hurriedly lifted my finger from the magic circle.

“Father, that’s amazing”

“Yeah, I may have gotten something amazing.”

After I put the sword back in the scabbard, I decided to explore the room further.

When I opened another drawer, it’s packed with picture books about naked women. I closed it in a hurry. Moore was also a man, I gained such unexpected enlightenment.

After that, we did not find anything else so we decided to leave the mansion.

◇

“We are now in the 28th floor, right? I wonder what is there on the 29th floor.”

“Who knows, we won’t know until we get there.”

We were wandering in the 28th floor looking for the stairs. The 10,000 skeletons followed behind us in succession. Familiar Summoning has its drawback, there is no problem when summoning my familiars but I can’t send them back. So I have no choice but to walk with my subordinates like a daimyo procession.

“Tanaka-dono, what is that?”

I can see something like a bird’s nest in the direction that Freya pointed to. When I looked inside, I found about three white eggs. Upon holding it, I noticed that it is still warm and I can tell that the parent bird was here until a while ago.

【Analysis Result: Night chicken’s egg: Night chicken prefers darkness and it has a black body as its protective coloring. Its meat is known as a delicacy and it is sold and bought at a high price. It’s a phantom chicken meat for those chicken meat lovers. Its eggs are also of excellent quality, the yolk is full of flavour and mouth-watering that you can’t help but grab more: Rarity C】

I gulped down.

I can finally eat my long-sought TKG (Tamago-Kake-Gohan). TLYN: Egg over rice.

After I silently stored the eggs in the bangle, I looked around to find the parent chicken. Two chickens were poking on the grass at a distance. Its pitch black and its appearance is just like the Silkie chicken in Japan.

“Skeletons! Catch those chickens!”

At my command, the skeletons flocked towards the two chickens. The chickens were so surprised seeing the approaching skeletons that they keeps crying –Kokee!!?

I took some wood out of the bangle and with nails and a hammer, I started making a hut. All I have to do is lay straw inside the hut, then put the food in a small box and place it inside the hut.

The skeletons seem to have gone farther to find night chickens, not just the two I pointed out. When about thirty night chickens were gathered, I decided to put them inside the hut and see what will happen.

“With this, I can now harvest eggs regularly. Kufufufu.”

I can’t stop grinning while looking inside the hut. I now have the two ingredients for making TKG. The only thing left is soy sauce, but I have already reached the limit of my patience. If I sprinkle it with rock salt and eat it, it will also be delicious enough.

“He’s grinning at the chickens…”

“Tanaka-dono has an extraordinary passion for food.”

Erna and Freya are looking at me as if they were piqued. The two of them will not understand the feelings of being a foreigner. No matter how far I come, I will never forget the taste of food in my hometown. Even more so since I lived in Japan, which is full of gourmet food.

At this point, I can’t be satisfied with unpalatable food anymore.

“Father, I’m looking forward to those eggs.”

Pero looks happy while looking inside the hut. My child is of a different race but he is always on my side.

“Shinichi, it’s about time we go.”

“Hn? Ah, that’s right.”

I give orders to 9,900 skeletons. They must take care of the night chickens in this hut and other than us, no one should be brought close to the hut. After giving a month’s worth of chicken food to the skeletons, we decided to move onwards with 100 skeletons coming with us.

◇

“Is this the 29th floor?”

There were overgrown grass at the end of the stairs. However, what’s different compared to the brick-like passageways until now is the bright ceiling. There was a lot of grass densely growing from the floor, and vines stuck to the wall.

“Shinichi, I feel a creature’s presence.”

Erna ears were twitching. Apparently, there are decent creatures living here. When I look at the ground, I can see a familiar plant.

【Analysis Result: Edo beans: Leguminous plants. If you pick it up while it’s still young, you can eat it with its skin. Freshly germinated ones can also be eaten and use as ingredients.】

I jumped in excitement. This is a green pea. In that case, I can also get some pea sprouts. Peas are famous as a plant with various appearances. The young state is harvested as pea sprouts, and when mature, it is harvested as peas. Furthermore, the germinated seedlings are harvested as pea sprouts.

Well, I don’t really like green peas, so I might as well harvest them as pea sprouts.

After I pulled out the Edo beans, I quickly stored it in the bangle.

“That’s Edo beans… I don’t really like it.”

“I don’t really like it either, but it’s hard to give up on peas and pea sprouts. I’m going to bring them back to the garden and grow them.”

Freya seemed to be convinced as she said “I see”.

Even so, if there are peas, it wouldn’t be strange to have soybeans. Most of the time, vegetation and growth rate are ignored in the dungeon so it’s no wonder that soybeans are in the same hierarchy.

“Everyone, get ready for battle”

When I instructed, we move forward while I’m looking for soybeans on the way.

I analyzed the plants one after another while suppressing my excitement. The reason why I want soybeans so much is because with that, I can finally make soy sauce. Soy sauce and miso are made from soybeans. So if I can make soy sauce, I can naturally make miso. Or rather, miso is easier to make.

“Father! Something is coming!”

We stopped hearing Pero’s voice. There’s something approaching from the other side of the passageway, three of them.

“Aguuu”

When it showed up, it has a physique similar to that of an adult male with light green skin. With its villainous appearance and long aquiline nose, it reminded me of those goblins.

“Shinichi, it’s a hobgoblin!”

I immediately used analysis skill hearing Erna’s words.

【Analysis Result: Hobgoblin: It is a superior race of goblins and surpasses goblins in all respects. Acts in groups and each one has a role that contributes during their hunt: Rarity D】

【Status】 Name: Hobgoblin Race: Hobgoblin Magic attribute: Earth Magic: Rock ball, Rock arrow Skills: Paralyzing Eye (Advanced), Claw strengthening (Advanced), Strength Enhancement (Advanced), Leg Strength Enhancement (Advanced), Danger Detection (Advanced), Intimidation (Beginner), Forced Pregnancy Evolution: Does not meet the conditions. [Evolution Condition: Claw strengthening (Special), Strength strengthening (Special), Leg Strength Enhancement (Special), Leadership (Special)]

As expected, its status is incomparable to Goblins.

The thing I’m concerned about is the skill, Paralyzing Eye. With the name itself, I know that it’s a skill triggered by its eye, but does it mean that it paralyzes the targeted enemy?

“Aguaaa!”

The hobgoblin glares at me. Then I felt something like numbness spreading in my body.

“Oh, this is the paralyzing eye skill huh!”

My body is gradually getting numb. This strangely feels good. However, I can’t move that much.

“Father, I’ll go first.”

“Yeah”

After Pero comes forward, he instantly kills one of the hobgoblins with his claws. Surprised by the quick event, the two hobgoblins turned their backs and tried to escape. However, Pero’s legs are faster than them. He kicks on the wall and go around and cut in the direction of the two hobgoblins.

He killed one with a straight fist, the other was killed with a roundhouse kick.

“Tanaka-dono, I’ve killed the enemies behind us.”

Freya also came back. With my enemy search skill, I also sensed the shadow of the enemies approaching from behind. Thus I decided to leave the enemies behind us to Freya.

“Were the enemies behind us also hobgoblins?”

“Yes, they use decoys to hunt you see.”

As expected. Even though it’s called as hobgoblin, its intelligence doesn’t seem to be different from a kobold. Having acquired the hobgoblin’s skill, I started walking again in search of soybeans.

(Author’s Note: Although it was described as pea sprouts, bean sprout is the correct one as peas seems not suitable for making sprouts. By the way, what is currently distributed as bean sprouts are soybeans, mung beans, and black beans. In particular, mung beans are available as the main bean sprouts because they can be made at low cost.)

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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