It’s not that the pandas in America are dirty; it’s just a matter of visibility.
In Washington, there were long lines, making it difficult to see them, but at Ad〇ture World, there were no lines or crowds.
You can see them right up front.
There’s no time limit for switching places, either.
Yeah, that’s definitely something unique to Ad〇ture World on a weekday. You can’t get that at Ueno Zoo.
I can imagine Hime trying to jump up and see from behind the crowd in America, only to be frustrated because she’s too short.
I can picture her with her twin tails bouncing as she jumps in vain.
「Alright, let’s start the meeting. Ayame, pass out the drinks over there.」
Still wearing her panda knit hat, Hime sets her panda plushie aside and distributes bottles labeled ‘drinking mikan’ to everyone.
I’ve never heard of mikan juice at a meeting, but I’m grateful since I’m thirsty.
When I take a sip, the rich flavor makes me feel like I’m drinking a fresh mikan.
If it’s cheap, I’ll buy some to take home.
「First off, we received a message from the prefecture the day before yesterday. My exploration range and those of Taira and Ayame have been expanded. We can now explore three floors deeper than usual. Ayame and I can go to the eighth floor, while Taira can go to the tenth.」
That’s great news.
The tenth floor, huh.
If I can reach that and copy it in the PD, leveling up will be even smoother than before.
「Milk can now explore up to the fifth floor, just like us. She was already able to reach the fifth floor last week, but you were lagging behind.」
「Our EPO corporation was slow to get approved, and we don’t have any experienced explorers. After all, we have two high school students and one college student. They probably wanted to avoid media scrutiny in case of an accident. But I managed to…」
What did she manage to do?
No, I don’t want to know.
「So, for tomorrow, is it okay if Milk explores the fourth floor, Ayame and I the seventh, and Taira the eighth to scout things out?」
「I can go to the fifth floor.」
Milk raises her hand to say this, but Hime shakes her head.
「No way. Exploring the fifth floor alone at level 11 is dangerous. This time, the goal isn’t to level up but to improve our magic proficiency.」
Even though Hime says this, Milk seems somewhat unconvinced.
「Ano, how about adding a support?」
「Taira as support? Taira is our ace. I’d rather have Taira level up independently and lead us when we go deeper together.」
「No, I was thinking of leaving it to Kuro, not me.」
「Kuro? A new member?」
Hime tilts her head in inquiry.
「Kuro-chan is a black dog owned by Ichino-san.」
Upon hearing Ayame’s explanation, Milk responds with a tired tone.
「Listen, Taira. You can bring animals into the dungeon, but they don’t level up. They can defeat slimes and walking mushrooms, but they can’t take down goblins.」
「No, Kuro looks like a dog, but he’s actually a monster.」
「「「Eh?!」」」
「It’s true! You know how eggs come from the can gacha? Kuro hatched from one of those eggs.」
I recall hearing about dragon eggs coming from D cans and use that as a setting.
People might think wolves, as mammals, can’t hatch from eggs, but there have been cases where monsters like the cat-like Cait Sith and the boar-like Stamp Boar hatched from D can eggs.
So, I decided Kuro could hatch from an egg too.
「He may look cute, but he’s smart and quite strong. He’s faster than I am, stronger than Hime, and most importantly, he has an excellent sense of smell, making it easy for him to hunt monsters. Once he picks up a scent, he can target specific monsters.」
「Tomorrow, let’s see how well Kuro can fight. If there are no problems, Milk and Kuro can team up to explore the fifth floor.」
After that, Hime explains the monsters that appear in each floor and the strategies to deal with them.
It feels a bit like a school lesson.
With notebooks and mechanical pencils provided for taking notes, it really adds to the classroom vibe.
Milk and Ayame seem used to studying and are taking notes seriously without any complaints.
「That’s all. The meeting is over. Dinner will be at 1930 in the restaurant on the second floor. Until then, feel free to take a bath or relax in your room.」
Finally, it’s over.
Wait, it’s already 1900!
Even for me, who usually takes a quick shower, I want to enjoy a hot spring bath. I’ll just take a bath after dinner.
For now, I’ll head back to my room and take it easy.
But first, I wonder if they sell this drinking mikan at the convenience store in the hotel.
「Taira, stay behind.」
…sounds like a detention order.
Milk and Ayame head to their room, leaving me alone.
「So, Taira. Kuro is a monster. Where did you get it?」
「I told you earlier, right? From the D can—」
「Sure, you can get monster eggs from the D can. But you need a special incubator to hatch monsters. There are only twelve incubators in Japan. In Kansai, there’s one in Osaka and one in Kobe, both managed by the Oshino Group. By the way, it’s rare for monster eggs to appear, and our group’s incubators haven’t been used in about three years. If they had been used, it would have caused a stir within the company. So, where did you hatch Kuro?」
「Um… ehto…」
「You can be honest with me, you know? I’ve kept quiet about Shizuoka from Daddy too.」
It’s not that it’s easy to do because she can—Hime is just amazing when it comes to information management.
I do not believe that the Oshino Group is sloppy in its management of information. It is simply that she is in a position to see that information and is taking full advantage of that position.
Now I have another secret to share with Hime.
「Don’t say you heard this from me, but monsters born in the Black Dungeon can potentially be tamed if defeated in other dungeons.」
「That’s the condition?」
「It seems that monsters born in the Black Dungeon return to the Black Dungeon when defeated, but if they’re killed in a dungeon managed by Danpon, they can’t return to the Black Dungeon, and their power remains. That’s what allows them to be reborn as monsters that can be tamed. You saw me get attacked by the Darkness Wolf in Shizuoka, right? I restrained that Darkness Wolf, took it into the dungeon afterward, and killed it, and then it became my companion.」
「That sounds a bit dubious. But since we agreed not to ask about your Subterranean Dive Earth to burrow into the ground, I’ll let it slide for now.」
So this is how it goes when I don’t mention PD generation.
At this point, I’m tempted to share the PD generation with Hime, but it could easily be used for nefarious purposes.
I need to draw a clear line between what information I share and what I keep to myself.
「Do you mind if I verify and publish the findings?」
「Are you going to capture the black monsters alive?」
「Quite the opposite. I want to take lower-level monsters from a regular dungeon outside and defeat them inside the Black Dungeon. The GDC group’s verification team could make that happen. I want to keep your name confidential during the investigation and then publish the results.」
「You’re planning to publicize it?」
「Yes. If it becomes known that dungeon monsters can be tamed, there could be various uses for that information. Plus, if the investigation progresses, then maybe—」
「Maybe?」
「Don’t worry about it. It’s just a hypothesis.」
「Then I won’t worry about it. Feel free to publish it or whatever. If taming monsters becomes common knowledge, I might not have to pretend Kuro is just a regular dog anymore.」
「Even if taming monsters becomes the norm, taming a Darkness Wolf wouldn’t be considered normal.」
Looks like I’ll still have to keep pretending Kuro is just a dog for now.
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