Chapter 13: Cave

Char and I walked along the path that led deeper into the woods. There are only faint traces of the road, it is so narrow that it is difficult to walk on because of the overgrown grass. And if you are not careful, you will easily get lost.

“Father, what is there beyond this?”

“Well, I also don’t know that. That is why we are doing exploration.”

“Ooh~! Then exploration means going to unknown places huh! Char loves to explore!”

The curious Char is full of energy.

I drew my sword and slashed it along the way. After a while, we found an orange tree. The branches of the tree are laden with ripe fruits.

Oh yes, I remember now!

There were a few fruit trees growing in the game too. They can be harvested regularly, eaten and sold. I remember that in the early days of the game, it was an important source of food and income.

“Father, the sun fruits are ripe!”

“It’s an orange.”

“Hohoh~, it is called orange huh.”

“Have you ever eaten an orange?”

“It can be eaten!?”

Char looks up at orange fruits with a twinkle in her eye. It looked like she couldn’t wait to try one.

I swung my sword and cut off one of the fruits.

“Let’s eat~”

I hurriedly stopped Char as she tried to bite into the orange with the peel intact. If she did that, it would end up tasting bitter.

“Wait, peel the skin first and then eat it.”

“Peel the skin?”

“It tastes better that way. Look, let me show you.”

I made an incision and then peeled it. In an instant, a refreshing citrus scent spread throughout the surroundings. Char squirmed and she is about to drool.

“It smells good!”

“Here, have a taste.”

I gave her the fruit I had divided into sections, and she quickly stuffed it into her small mouth.

“Mm~, it’s so delicious! Charlotte loves oranges!”

She seems to like it a lot.

She had eaten the meal for dinner and breakfast happily as well, but she seemed to be gobbling this fruit down even more than she did with the previous meals.

I think she has a sweet tooth. Mmm, I’m sure of it.

I also took a bite. It was a sweet, juicy, fragrant and very tasty orange. I’ve never had an orange like this in the Dantes Estate. The people in the city would be happy to buy this for sure.

“It’s too much to carry now, so let’s harvest it on the way back. Then we’ll have it for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Yes. We should harvest a lot!”

“We can’t harvest that many. We won’t be able to carry it you see.”

“Char will carry the basket on my back.”

Come to think of it, Char is quite strong. It may be possible to harvest that much.

After a short break, we walked past the orange tree and went further inside the woods.

The road led to a rocky mountain in the depths of the woods. It was about 700 meters in a straight line from the cottage to here, but it took about an hour to get around and cut through the bushes.

In front of me is a large, suspicious black boulder. And as expected, the boulder is sparkling.

Possible to Build: Small Cave Description: A cave from which various materials can be obtained. Required points: 5 Note: If you create the cave, a cave key will be given as a gift. Spare key included.

This cave will be an important place for the development of the island. This is because I can obtain alchemy materials and other valuable items inside.

Moreover, as I level up, I will be able to grow it from small cave → cave → underground dungeon, and so on. This will allow me to be able to obtain more rare items.

However, I also need to be careful because the monsters that appear inside will grow more powerful as the area become larger. Without proper equipment and weapons for dungeon exploration, I could end up with a Game Over. In this world, that means death.

That doesn’t change the fact that the cave is an attractive asset though.

I still have 8 points, so let’s make one right away.

After the creation, the entrance to the finished cave was covered with iron bars. A large key is still stuck in the entrance door. I immediately pulled out the key and put it in my pants pocket. This will prevent the monster inside from coming out, and without my permission, no one else will be able to enter the cave.

“Krrrrrr……”

“What’s wrong, Char?”

Char let out a small growl as she stared into the darkness inside the cave.

“There are monsters……”

I tried to look closely, but I couldn’t see what she is seeing. It must be a special ability of dragons.

“What kind of monster?”

“It’s an insect. Three cockroaches about this size.”

Char spread her arms wide to explain the size.

What the…… a cockroach about the size of a large dog!?

What a nasty enemy.

As expected, caves are not that easy to explore.

“They’re not a big deal though. I’m going to kill them with my punches!”

A ferocious color oozes in Charlotte’s round eyes. That’s really encouraging, but I don’t have intention of entering the cave right now.

“We’ll first need a lantern to investigate the area inside. It’s pitch black inside the cave after all.”

But Char said she wanted to go inside the cave right away.

“I can see them clearly even without a light.  Father can’t see them?”

“Yes, unfortunately, I can’t see them. Besides, aside from the lantern, we need to bring some snacks, right?”

“Snacks? Yes, yes! It’s an absolute must!”

Looks like I have convinced Char. Thus, we decided to go back to the cottage for the time being.

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

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