“Ara, Satsuki? It’s been a while!”
“It’s been so long! Raika-san!”
As soon we entered the room, Satsuki-chan exchanged greetings with a woman who looked a little older and was busily moving around inside.
Apparently, they knew each other.
“Oh my, is the handsome guy behind you your boyfriend?”
“N-no! He’s just… uh- well, a monitored subject!”
So she’s not even hiding it anymore.
Monitored subject. She actually said it out loud. I kind of wish she had gone with “friend” at least.
But more importantly… is this really inside a dungeon?
It felt more like a…
> Yep, this is definitely a gourmet house
> Looks delicious
> The monster dishes lined up on the counter are still beautifully presented
> Oh, there’s chimera stew!
> Whole roasted wild boar!
> There’s even ikarugo sashimi!
> Every time I see this, it just looks like a buffet restaurant lol
> Raika-san’s aura is insane
> Raika-san is an elf, right?
> Age unknown
> Rumor says she’s been here since the dungeon was first created
The word “elf” caught my attention.
Now that I looked closely, Raika-san’s ears were nothing like a human’s. They were longer, sharply pointed. Her eyes were green as well. And when I matched her appearance with my game knowledge, there was nothing that contradicted the idea that she was, indeed, an elf.
“Today I managed to get some really good ingredients, so I think everything turned out delicious. Help yourselves!”
“Whoo! Can’t wait!”
Satsuki-chan immediately took a seat at the counter stool. Across from her, Raika-san continued moving between the counter and the sink—serving plates, washing dishes, working as if this were completely normal. Meanwhile, Satsuki-chan was already holding chopsticks and a plate, scanning the spread like a kid in a candy store.
“Hmm, what should I pick~? Oh, Daishi-san, you should eat too!”
She was already dividing up portions onto her plate, urging me to hurry. Even if she knows the owner and has been here before… isn’t it a bit too shameless to start eating immediately?
And more importantly—was this place even free?
“Hey, handsome boy. What’s your name?”
“Ah—Ajiri Daishi.”
“Daishi-kun, got it. This is your first time here, right? You know the rules?”
Raika-san spoke rapidly, one question after another.
She really does have that talkative, Kansai-like energy… no, no, better not go there.
“I’m a beginner, actually. So there are rules? Can you please explain them?”
“Ahaha, figured as much. Oh! Satsuki, could you listen too before eating? The rules changed a bit.”
“Ah? Y-yes!”
Satsuki-chan is just about to put the food in her mouth. She quickly closed her mouth and reluctantly placed the fish-like dish back onto her plate.
“This is the ‘Gourmet House.’ It’s a lucky room that occasionally appears in randomly generated dungeon chambers, where starving explorers are treated to the finest cuisine.”
“Well, it’s basically the same as a Unique Room. Unlike that wicked rabbit’s room, this place is safe though.”
“By ‘wicked rabbit,’ you mean the Space-Time Rabbit?”
Raika-san turned the question back toward Satsuki-chan.
“Yes. I encountered it for the first time in my entire exploration history on the first basement floor.”
“In this beginner dungeon? That’s unfortunate.”
So even Raika-san knew about the Space-Time Rabbit.
I started to wonder—how exactly do all these systems connect? What’s the network behind all this dungeon logic?
But well, whatever. I’m hungry.
“You can eat whatever you like. However, this place is designed so that you cannot leave until you’re completely full. The only clear condition is to reach satiety—so make sure you eat until you’re satisfied.”
What a happy room!
I didn’t mind the idea of eating monsters so much anymore—especially not when the food looked this good. If anything, not getting full here would probably be the harder task.
Clearing this was basically guaranteed.
“Oh, and one more thing, the dishes here don’t just fill your hunger. They also restore HP and MP, and some even raise your stats. It might be fun for you to check your status as you eat.”
“Ohh! That’s amazing! So if I want to recover MP, which one should I eat?”
“Now, which one do you think?”
“…Huh?”
“I’m not that kind. It’s random.”
She smiled softly—but there was a faint hint of mischief in it.
Yeah… of course it wasn’t going to be that convenient.
“And also, Satsuki. Up until now, it worked the same way as before… but starting today, the system has changed slightly.”
“Eh? Really?”
“Yes. Previously, the only option was whether your stats would increase or not. But apparently that was considered too lenient… so an additional rule has been added.”
“What is it?”
“Some dishes that lower your stats have been added.”
“…Huh?”
Satsuki-chan’s expression visibly changed. She stared intently at the fish-like monster dish she had almost just eaten.
“Sorry. This isn’t something I get to decide.”
“Which ones lower stats?!”
“I don’t know that either. And just so you know… how much they lower your stats is also completely unknown.”
…Isn’t this suddenly a massive difficulty spike?
Just eating until you’re full could make you weaker—or in the worst case, even put your life at risk. Which can be considered dangerous, in a sense.
> Random stat debuffs is wild lol
> Can’t you see it with Clairvoyance?
> Dying from eating food is kinda rough
> Things are getting weird again
Actually, I already used Clairvoyance beforehand to inspect the dishes. I could roughly tell what kind of meat they were, and what they might taste like… But when it came to whether stats would go up or down, I couldn’t see anything. It seemed that kind of effect only revealed itself after eating.
“Oh, but I do have one piece of advice. It might not be very helpful, though.”
“What is it?”
“That dish on the very edge—don’t eat it. Absolutely don’t.”
She shifted her gaze to that dish. On a small table placed slightly apart from everything else sat a single plate. Something rested on it. Something that gave off an atmosphere that vibrates and creaks, as if even space itself was straining around it.
I am not using Clairvoyance right now and yet I could still feel it. A clear malevolent aura is radiating from that “food.”
Wait—
I suddenly remembered, very vividly. I encountered something with almost identical presence in the past… and I had eaten it.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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