Dungeon Delicacies! (II)

"Mari-sama! Thank you for waiting!"

Enema emerged from the kitchen, pushing a cart laden with extravagant dishes.

She began setting the dishes on the table one by one. There was quite a lot of food, enough to feed all of my subordinates, and it was served buffet-style, with large plates from which everyone could help themselves. However, the food in front of me was particularly abundant far more than I could possibly eat.

In front of Mary was a special meal of nuts and flowers, beautifully arranged.

Once all the dishes were served, Enema took her seat, and at long last, it was time to start the much-anticipated meal.

"Elrodea, is there a tradition in this world to say something before we eat?"

"Yes. We have a custom of expressing gratitude before meals."

"What do we say?"

"We put our hands together and say, 'Thank you for the life.""

"It seems that such traditions exist everywhere. In that case, let's follow the customs of this world."

"We give thanks to life."

Following my lead, my subordinates echoed in unison.

"We give thanks to life."

Just as I was about to take the food from the plate in front of me, Rorona and Rei each handed me a plate piled high with food.

"Lady Mari! Please, enjoy!"

"Here's another plate for you!"

The plates they handed me from both sides filled my vision.

"Thank you."

Having been in the workforce, I'm no stranger to this kind of consideration, and it usually makes me feel a bit guilty. But seeing the bright expressions on their faces, it's clear they aren't doing this out of mere politeness. They genuinely want me to enjoy the meal, so I decide to accept it without hesitation.

As I take a bite of the food they offer, I'm overwhelmed by its deliciousness, almost to the point of going crazy with joy.

The food is so good that I feel like I could burst into a dance at any moment. My subordinates share my delight, their faces beaming with happiness.

I express my gratitude to Enema, the one who prepared this mouthwatering meal.

Hearing my praise, Enema blushed and bowed repeatedly in thanks.

"Is this dish made with ingredients that Harumena and Artrius brought back from the dungeon?"

"Y-Yes. We used meat from the monsters living in the dungeon and also gathered some nuts. Additionally, we used some ingredients we acquired during our supply run."

"Now that you mention it, what kind of things did you get during the supply run?"

"We bought a variety of goods in the nearby town. We gathered a lot of food and supplies from this world."

"Buying things... But did you even have any money? I don't recall giving you any."

I hadn't given them any money, and more importantly, I didn't even have any of this world's currency to give them.

"You're right, Lady Mari. When we arrived in the town, the first issue we faced was a lack of money. We could have easily taken what we needed by force, but that would have tarnished your reputation. So, we decided to find another way."

Rei answered.

"In town, there was a place called a guild, where adventurers earn money by taking on quests. One of the quests involved exchanging materials from dungeon monsters for money, so we thought that would be a good way to earn some funds."

Rorona added to Kina's explanation.

So, we can exchange monster materials for money? In that case, we might actually be in a good position to make quite a bit. After all, we live in a dungeon, so we have an unlimited supply of monsters to hunt and materials to gather.

"So, we returned to the dungeon, hunted some monsters, and gathered the materials. We then took them to the guild, which exchanged them for a large amount of money!"

Since I don't know much about this world's economy, it's hard to understand what constitutes a large amount, but I'll just accept that they were well compensated.

"And with that money, we bought pretty much everything we could find at the market-food and all sorts of other things."

Given that they received a large sum of money and had to carry it all back, I'm starting to think they might have overbought.

"Are those things you bought long-term storage items?"

"Storage? Um... maybe?"

So, they bought without considering the storage situation.

"Lady Mari! That won't be a problem."

Enema answered from a seat further away.

"I cooked the perishable ingredients first, so there's no need to worry.

The remaining items are all things that can be stored at room temperature. However, if we could have a place to refrigerate the food, that would be a great help."

She's right. A refrigerator would definitely be necessary.

But does something like that even exist in this world?

Maybe some kind of cold-based magic? It might work, but the challenge would be maintaining it long-term.

If there's anything like that on the management board, I'd love to make one.

"Got it. I'll create one after we finish our meal."

The financial issue has been solved with the material exchange.

Money is essential for acquiring supplies and starting trade, so resolving this problem is a huge step forward.

But what about Cornelia and Diata, who went out to gather information? I wonder if they're managing okay.

Gathering information isn't something that can be done in a short time. It takes a long time to collect data and regularly report back. They'll probably need money to live outside, but... Well, Cornelia is originally from this world, so I assume money won't be an issue for her.

"Oh, right. Mari and Kaleido, how did the promotion go? Did anyone show interest in this dungeon?"

Mari paused her meal to give me a report on the promotion efforts.

"Well, we found a few people who seemed interested, but convincing them to move here is still difficult. Since they don't know what it's really like, no matter how much we tell them it's a good place, it takes a lot of courage to enter an unfamiliar place. Besides, we're newcomers to this world. It's rare for people to take what a stranger says at face value."

"That makes sense."

So, it seems promotion will still be challenging.

"Then how about we start by raising our own visibility?"

"What do you mean?"

"By joining the guild as adventurers, taking on various quests, and proving our strength and popularity to the world, if we do that, people might become curious about the dungeon where such powerful individuals live. What do you think?"

"That sounds like a good idea. It seems more effective than just spreading the word about the dungeon."

"Alright, then I'll have you two join the guild as adventurers from now on."

"Understood."

It might take time, but this will help promote our dungeon.

As I enjoy this lavish meal, I'll also start learning the common sense of this world. If I remain ignorant, daily life here might become unexpectedly difficult.

Apparently, Rei bought a map of this world, so I'll use it to study the nearby geography and terrain. I'd also like to find out where the other demon lords are.

It would be foolish to promote ourselves without knowing anything about the competition. It would be ideal if we could establish a mutually beneficial relationship with the other demon lords.