Nihonium Dungeon, 7th floor underground.
　I was hunting a lightning-clad mummy.

　I'm working harder on practicing more techniques on this floor where magic is not available.
　On this day, I'm also putting a lot of effort into practicing "techniques" that aren't just brain-dead lapses, such as sniping, being aware of maintaining hit rates, and countering.

　I noticed that (,) after a while after I started hunting, and when I was aware of it, I knew more clearly and became more convinced of it.

　A seed is dropped when you defeat a mummy, a nifonium drop.
　That's not the only thing that drops, it also drops sand and gold.
　The blessing of Aulum, a small amount of sand gold drops along with whatever you defeat, a small amount of gold.

　That had increased before I knew it.
　Roughly 1.5 times as much.
　It wasn't something that increased with a bang all at once, so it took me a while to notice and to be sure.

'Blessings of Aulum, huh?'

　I stare at the increased sand and gold drop, the amount in my hand.
　I don't know why there was an increase, maybe because I brought Aulum to our house.
　I pick him up when the sun goes down and let him live in the mansion at night.

　I didn't use that word, but Aulum was happy about it, having welcomed us as part of his "family" in effect.
　He'd always liked being out and about, and he liked the mansion that Emily had tended, so this was what happened.

　It was a pleasure.
　I was glad that Aulum was happy to see me.

　I put away the sand and resumed my mummy hunt.
　The happiness had a nice effect on my technique.

　The second half, until the spirit rose from a D to a C.
　The gun's hit rate was a hundred and one shots, maintaining 100%.

　　　　　☆

　The saloon in the mansion at night.
　After we finished eating, our friends scattered to do their own thing, and there were only three of us in the saloon, me, Emily, and Aurum.

''Everyone's busy today, aren't they?''
'Yes, sir!　There's a magic storm forecast for two days in a row starting tomorrow, Celeste said you're going to work hard tonight.
Okay. Where's Alice and Eve?
Alice is a sarfa. Yoda was in great shape today, so he said he's going to work harder with Liuchin. Eve is a continuation of the carrot party.
"Carrot Society?

　I'm on a roll, and it's new information to me whether Tori-ching is too, but I was more concerned about Eve's carrot party and all that.

'Yes, sir,'
What's it all about?
'Sorry ...... I don't know either, Eve only said it was a carrot party.
I see. Well, it's somewhat predictable.

　It's Eve, and I guess it's either a group of people talking about the deliciousness of carrots, or a group of people talking about the deliciousness of carrots, or somewhere around there first. Her obsession and love for carrots is real, you know.

''Speaking of which, Emily's on the award partner of the year, too.
Ha, I'm so ashamed.
I don't know how many stars it was, but it was pretty amazing.

　Cell explained carefully.
　I heard that every year, and the ones that are even more outstanding than the 1 star ones, but the ones that aren't as decisive are ranked as 2 stars.

　The Nobel Prize or the Akutagawa Prize.
　I felt like I was in a class that is nominated for a big award like that once a year.

I'm not much of a prize winner.
'No, you don't. I've been getting more and more fans of Emily Hammer lately. I hear you're planning a new model, too?
Yes, sir. Next time, they're going to make it a little easier for you to pretend it's still the same weight.
I hear you have to sign the hammer as well?
'Hey!　How do you know that?

　Emily suddenly starts to panic.
　Her face is bright red and her eyes are almost in an X (baton) state.
　The way she's waving her hands around is so cute that it makes me want to tease her even more.

'I saw an adventurer in town with a signed hammer. The guy who signed it was so proud of it.
Huh. ......
Wow, Emily, you're a celebrity. He'll be the first to buy the new model when it comes out. Oh, and before that, there's that trading card. Oh yeah, you'll have to sign my magic cart too.
Ugh, ...... Yoda is so mean to me.

　I finally pouted my lips and sulked.
　That sulking face was cute, too, so I apologized for teasing it too much, but I kept the expression firmly in mind.

　Suddenly, I realized.
　I realized that Aulum hadn't joined the conversation at all, even though he was in the same salon from earlier.
　I turned my eyes to her, wondering why Aulum, who has a cheerful personality, hadn't joined the conversation.

'......'
Auldurm?
......

　Aulum was dazed.
　He was vaguely uptight and his face was blushing strangely.

'Aulum, what's wrong?'
...... Huh?　What?
What: ...... What's up with you, you're on top of things.
'Yeah ...... umm, yeah'

　He made a thoughtful gesture with the sky above and nodded further with a dazed expression.
　A series of raw replies, what the hell is going on?

'...... I'm sorry for a minute,'

　Emily leaned forward and put her hand on Aulum's forehead.

'You have a fever,'
Fever?
Yes, sir.

　He interrupted Emily's nodding side and placed his palm on Aulum's forehead in the same manner.

It's hot!
It's a fever.
It's a lot of heat, don't you think it's close to 40 degrees?
...... Huh?

　It's a tremendous heat, but the person in question was a blur, fuzzy if he even understood.

　　　　　☆

　Outside Aulum's room, Emily came out of the room as I waited.

'It's probably a cold,'
A cold?　Do spirits catch colds too?
It's a cold.
That's true, but ......

　There was a huge fever in the sky above me.
　As soon as I forced him back to his room and tucked him in, his nose was dripping with snot, too.

　If this was just a human, I would have been convinced of a normal cold too.

'Maybe, but ...... genie has been in the dungeon the whole time, so he doesn't have much resistance to the disease.
Oh, ...... it's like growing up in a sterile room.
A poultry room?
I was raised in an overprotective environment, which means I'm extraordinarily frail.
Yes, sir.
I see. ......

　I looked at the door of the room.
　Behind this door Aulum has a cold and is seething with fever.
　If he has a cold because he's really low resistance, I'm the one who took him out .......

'It's not the same. It's not Mr. Yoda's fault.
...... Don't read people's minds.

　He chuckled bitterly.

'I'm sure Aurum is like that, too. 'Don't worry, it's just a cold and you'll be strong after a few bouts.'
'Right. I shouldn't let that distract me from how happy I was when she got out.
Yes, sir!

　Now, when it comes to ...... colds, .......

Can you work your magic?
The best way to keep warm and hydrated is to stay warm and hydrated.
You're with me on this side too: ......

　Just as they say that if they developed a real cold remedy, they'd win a Nobel Prize, I guess there's no magic that can cure the common cold here. So I'm sure the same is true for the recovery bullet.

　Well, it's a cold, so it's best to just let him rest quietly.

...... would like a peach.
Are you a peach?
'Yeah, canned peaches, or rather peaches in syrup. It's a staple when you have a cold.
That's great. I'll get a peach. You can eat it when you're healed if you make it now.
Wait for ......, I'll get it.
Yoda?
'Since you're here. I'll make that with my drop of delicious peaches.
Hmmm ......

　For some reason Emily twisted her head to show her difficulty.
　Did I say something difficult?

What's going on?
There's only one floor of cyclo peaches. It's a bit of a difficult hierarchy.
Five floors down and up. ...... What's it about?
It's a killer of the strong.
Hmm?

　He raised an eyebrow at the not-so-gentle name.

''The strength of the monster isn't about the level, it's about the adventurer's ability. If you are a weak adventurer, the monsters are weak, so if you have the right equipment, you can only fight in the mud. But if you are a strong adventurer, the other side will be very strong as well, so it's very dangerous.
I see.

　The weaker of the two, the better - or is it a relative advantage?

What floor is this?
Are you going, Mr. Yoda?
Yeah.
But it's not safe.
I don't want to hurt you.

　Part of me wants to feed Aulum good food, part of me is grateful.

'-- it doesn't feel right to me to avoid it.
But .......
I've got Emily's best stuff waiting for me, so I'll bring you the best ingredients.
Yoda: "Mr. Yoda: ......

　Emily looked at me.
　Her face looked worried, but eventually changed to a huff and a smile.

'Mr. Yoda is still Mr. Yoda, after all.
I'm sorry.
No need to apologize. I'll get ready for it.
Yeah, I'll be ready for you.

　I open the door a little and look at Aulum's face as he lies on the bed with a pained look on his face.
　In my case, I'm going to get you the best peaches you've got right now.