Nihonium Dungeon.
　I came to the fourth floor of Tellurium's basement to take a frozen bullet for the first level to be attacked.
　You never know what you're going to find, so it's best to be prepared.

''Huh?''

　I winced.
　It was widely known that it wasn't dropping, and it was a quiet Nifonium every day, but today there were people there.

　It was rather noisy, and as soon as I stepped into the basement level, I came across the group of people who were causing the noise.

　It was a strange bunch.
　Five men and one woman.

　One man is like a middle-aged foreman giving out all kinds of instructions, and the other four are like lowly errand boys.
　The woman on the other hand is young - or rather a bit young.
　She's a fluffy-looking princess, and that's why she's dressed in pure white armor.

　There's a longsword of prey at her waist, but it's such a thin arm that it's doubtful she can even wield it properly.

''Hm?　What are you?

　A guy who looked like a foreman found me and asked me if I was in the field.

"Yeah, I'm just, you know, hunting here every day.
Hunting in here?　You love stuff.
What are you doing here?　Since you say you like things, you know this place isn't going to drop anything, right?
So I'm here.

　The man lifted the corners of his mouth in a grin.
　So you came?　What does it mean?

　I wondered, but I soon found out.

　The skeletons appeared.
　First, four of the errand boys attacked the skeleton.
　Are four of them strong enough to be necessary?　But the four of them were obviously not knocking him down, but were carefully taming him, weakening his skeleton.

　Eventually, the skeleton became tattered and could hardly move.
　The girl finally started to move.
　Sluggishly, she swung her longsword with as much ineffectiveness as she looked, and delivered a blow to the skeleton.
　The skeleton fell down and couldn't move.

　I see, the men weaken it and let the girl do the final tome.
　A scene you sometimes see in games and such. The stronger men weaken the monster and let the weaker men do the work for them to gain experience.
　In a way, that's what I did to Emily, wasn't it?

　But I guess that wasn't the case.

　After the skeleton fell, the men rushed to move.
　I put the skeleton in a box.
　A box that was somewhat well made, a box that would seal and store something.
　They put the skeleton in there and sealed it tightly.

　And then I heard a pop.
　The sound of a monster disappearing and dropping - if it's a Nifonium, it doesn't drop anything, but it's the same sound.

　Inside the box, the skeleton disappeared.

'Alright, up a bit.'
What was that?
The airbox.
Airbox?
'You know that the monsters here only drop air, right?'
'What?　Oh, that's how it's supposed to work.

　My sense was that it didn't drop anything, but then again, Emily said that the monsters in this world drop water and air when they don't drop anything.
　It's a bit of a different perception.

'This nihonium place doesn't even give water, it only drops air.
I see.
This is the airbox made by Princess Margaret. This is the air that comes from the monsters she killed. It's our signature product.
'Air!　You can't sell that!

It sells. Come on, the air that the princess made. That's what sells.
......

　I was stunned.
　It was a world too deep, if you will.

　　　　　☆

　I stocked up on frozen rounds on the first floor of the Nihonium basement, then came to the fourth floor of the Tellurium basement.
　I left Emily behind because I was going through the cocrosstime den on the third floor, and I came by myself.

　Now, what is a bat-slime?
　I soon found out.

　It came with a flapping sound of feathers, a dark blue body, bat-like wings, a slightly evil-looking face, and sharp double teeth.
　Just like the name of the bat-slime, it was a slime with bat elements in it.

　It flies at you and scares you, you think it's going to hit you, but it opens its mouth wide and bares its sharp teeth.
　Is it biting or is it sucking blood?
　I don't know which one it is, but I avoided it because it would have been disgusting if it did.

　I dodged and fired my gun when the bat-slime stopped its momentum.

　I don't know if it was a head shot or a body shot, but it hit in the center anyway.
　The slime fell to the ground and disappeared with a clunk.
　What came out was a bamboo shoot, a slick, heavy, fresh bamboo shoot.
　A drop from this fourth underground floor that Eric had requested.

　Pick it up and go around the dungeon some more.
　I left the dungeon after hunting a certain amount of coherent numbers.

　　　　　☆

"Hmm, here's your bamboo shoots.

　I came to the tavern yesterday.
　It was still midday, so there were no customers, and the owner was preparing to change the menu tags before the bar opened.
　I was a little concerned about the fact that they were changing two out of ten beers of the day, and I secretly wondered if I'd come back tonight.

　Eric looked at the bamboo shoots I had brought with me.
　I stared and sniffed them.

"Hey, this is .......
What's going on?
Excuse me.

　After refusing to do so, Eric took a knife from his pocket.
　A nice knife, small but well cared for and sharp looking.
　It wasn't just the knife that was good, Eric's skills were also very good.

　He used the knife to dexterously peel and slice the bamboo shoots.
　It's an adorable skill, like a top-notch cook.
　I didn't expect him to be a good-looking gentleman, and I thought he would leave the cooking to others, even if he was a gourmet.

　He ate the sliced bamboo shoots as they were.
　He ate them raw!

　I was surprised, and then Eric started to swoon.

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on it. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that there's not a hint of bitterness despite the fact that it's raw. I've never tasted bamboo shoots like this before.

　This time, he praised the deliciousness of the bamboo shoots with exaggerated expressions, just as he called himself a gourmet.
　He seemed to like it.

　　　　　☆

　The tavern, Villa Diechee, just after it opened.
　I met up with Emily and we enjoyed a drink after work for the second day in a row.

'Then you were satisfied,'
'Yeah. It was a bit of a shrug, though, with a reward of two thousand piro.
How old were the bamboo shoots?
Ten. That's 20,000, so that's pretty good.

　2000 piro for a single bamboo shoot. The price was like an expensive department store food, but honestly, I was expecting a bit more, considering Eric's appearance and all.
　Well, it's not like I was losing money, but whatever.

By the way, I saw this thing called an airbox today.
What's an airbox?
I don't know if it's a box of air, or if it's a brand name, or what it is.

　I enjoyed a beer with Emily as we talked about what we had seen in Nifonium.
　Today's beer of the day is the one that drops thirty floors below the farthest dungeon this place has a contract with, called Beryllium, and it's some sort of bitter-chocolate flavored local beer.

　It was quite tasty, and as I was about to raise my hand to call for a refill, I saw Elsa come in from the entrance.
　She is looking around the shop as if she is looking for something.

'Ah, Lyota-san!

　It looked like I was the one to find.
　She came trotting down the street in a straight line to our table.

"What's the matter?
I've heard about it. You must sign up with us!
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What do you mean, "What's the deal?
We'd love to have Lyota bamboo shoots at our house.
Lyota bamboo shoots?

　What the heck.
　Speaking of bamboo shoots, it's all about Eric: .......

There's a rumor going around Cyclo right now that Eric Macy's bamboo shoots have been approved.
'It's going to be a rumor!'
I'd love to bring Ryota's bamboo shoots to my house. And I'll sign a contract with you to be allowed to use your name. Of course, we won't lose anything in terms of terms, please.

　I was pressured by Elsa, who was trying too hard, and I nodded my head, unsure, and accepted the story.

　Thus, with Eric's blessing, I was able to create a brand of bamboo shoots called Lyota bamboo shoots.
　The brand of bamboo shoots, called Lyota bamboo shoots, was born and I was able to earn a more stable and higher income.