The eighth floor was a dungeon with many treasure chests.
They were even scattered about in the normal passage.
But the majority of treasure chests contain monsters.
Well, with "Truth Sight" I can tell that immediately.

Probably because he learned his lesson at the water dungeon, Tilt doesn't get close to the treasure chests.
Dark was actually teasing him with that.
"Oh, Tilt. Aren't you going to open it?"
"Shut up!"

By the way, inside where mostly swords, shields and armors that looked like they were sold at stores.
It was only junk that could be bought with some small gold coins.
We returned everything except the medicine into the chests.


The ninth floor was a desert.
When we left the room with the stairs, we were in a huge desert of about one square kilometer.
There were scorpions, lizards and a 30 meters big Sand Whale.

Even though it was big, there was no way for it to win.
Lapisia pulled the whale out of the sand with her strength, Celica paralyzed it with her sword and the others showered it with blows.
According to Minya's wish, I and Lapisia held it at its head and tail and turned it around to drain the blood.
Next, Minya gutted it. We got whiskers, meat, skin, bones and other materials.

After that we had lunch.
Because we drained the blood, the meat didn't smell bad and it was actually amazingly delicious.

======

On the tenth floor were kitchens.
When we left the room with the stairs, there was a spacious and clean kitchen. It was fully equipped with a kitchen stove, a furnace, chopping boards and so on. It left nothing to be desired. There were even cake pans.

There was also another kitchen just like this one, and inside was a woman with rabbit ears who wore a chef's hat.
--------------------
[Status]
Name: Gelato
Gender: Female
Race: Rabbit Man Race
Job: Cuisine Researcher
Class: Cooking Lv 68
--------------------
68...
It's more than four times as high as Minya's cooking skill and one and a half times higher than the level of the imperial court's head chef Clarissa.
This is amazing.


A table and seats were in the back and a man with a large belly was sitting there.
He shouts when we enter.
"Gooolden, Cheeeef!"
A deathly silence fills the room.


With a *cough*, the chubby man cleared his throat.
"It must've been several tens of years since we had visitors. Just as you see, this is the kitchen. You have to prepare a meal and if it satisfies me more than the one made by my exclusive chef, the door to the next floor will open. Are you fine with that?"

--This is troublesome. It's not a fight?
I guess I could also simply threaten the man to open the door to the next floor...but...

As I looked beside me, Minya was literally piercing the kitchen with her eyes.
She fidgets while her tail stands from excitement.
There are countless cooking utensils made by the hands of masters. They are sparkling.
Just one of the kitchen knives is worth a house. Even a king can't arrange a kitchen with such tools lined up.
This is the kitchen every chef dreams of and yearns for.
--Might it be a good experience to her?


"Well, I guess we can just as well take on the challenge...Minya, can you do it?"
"I'll work hard"
Her ears are leaping upwards as she fires herself up.

The chubby man pointed at the back of the room.
"The ingredients are over there! Use as much as you want!"
A door opens with a *gogogo*, and white chilliness flows out.


Gelato, the Rabbit Man Race, is hopping into the room. *hop hop*
We also enter.
The inside was a magical refrigerator of the size of a warehouse.
There are meat, fish, vegetables, fruits. There were all kinds of ingredients.

Gelato casually selects her ingredients in an experienced manner.


Minya curiously wrinkled her cute brows as she picked out ingredients.
"There is so much... it's hard to choose."
She returns the meat in her hand to the shelf, takes dried scallops and scratches her neck.

I bring my face close to Minya's cat ears.
"Minya, the opponent's skill is amazing. We won't win if we do it upfront. Is it possible to make it with ingredients that are not here?"
"Not here...? Ah, there is no snake meat. If I remove the bones and crush them into chunks..."
"And I can make a matching sauce... maybe a demi-glace. That should go best with the light snake meat. Please taste-test it then."
"Demigla...? Understood, I'll leave it to you, Keika-oniichan"
"Okay, let's do it"


Using "Truth Sight", I pick high-quality meat and vegetables, cow bones and liquor, also wheat flour and butter, and we return to the kitchen.

I fire the stove and put the meat, vegetables, cow bones and finally the Sand Whale meat into a pot.
Then I pour water into it and boil it.
"--'Wind Compression'"
I boil it while I put pressure on the pan.
That way, the stew which normally takes days, is done in several minutes.

A nice fragrance is spreading out when I open the lid.
The meat and vegetables were mushy.
"*Ooh!?*", The chubby man at the other side of the room raises his voice in surprise.


Minya comes to my side.
"That smells nice. I've never smelled this before."
"How about the taste?"
I add liquor, sugar and salt and let Minya drink a spoon full of the seasoned soup.

Probably because of her cat tongue, she twitches and the fur on her whole body is bristling.
"It's hot... but, it's delicious"
"Then I'm glad"

I stir-fried butter and wheat flour in another pan and add an eye-balled amount of the mushy soup to it. I remove the bones and scales.
Then I put it on the fire again and boil it under magic pressure.


Meanwhile, Minya nimbly moved her kitchen knives.
She carefully removes the bones from the snake meat and minces it with her two sword style.

"Ooh", Gelato, who was watching Minya, spoke in admiration.
"That looks different from an ordinary adventurer. I get that you've properly learned the foundation. It's a well trained movement without any wasteful motions."


"I haven't helped in the inn for nothing.--I won't lose."
She has the pride of an innkeeper's daughter who worked hard in the capital for 13 years.

She first adds beef tallow and other meat to the snake meat, and then little by little breadcrumbs while she minces it again.
She sprinkles spices on the chopped meat and kneads it with her hands to make it round
She firmly made a dent the center.

After that, she leaves the stove behind, prepares a charcoal fire and begins to grill it over the flame.
The fat flowed from the hamburger steak and fell onto the charcoal, causing aromatic smoke to rise.

"Aah..."
The chubby man was turning in his seat.


Meanwhile, Gelato was bustling about the kitchen.
She made a meat tart and a seafood soup. She grilled a massive steak.
Then she garnishes it with colorful salad.

Minya seemed uneasy as her pointy ears were tingling.
"...should we make more?"
"No, it's fine. Even if we make more, there is no point if it isn't satisfying. We'll concentrate on this dish for now."
"Understood... I'll believe in you"
Minya returns to dedicate herself to the grilling of the hamburger steak.

My sauce was boiled down.
"Is it done?"
"Yes, it's nicely grilled."
I put the hamburger steak onto a plate.
I pour lots of demi-glace onto it.
The rich fragrance of the blending meat and sauce hangs in the air.

Tilt's stomach is grumbling.
"Ugh, it wasn't me--*au*!
"That's unsightly, Tilt"
"Shut up!"
Tilt turned his red face as he retorted.


And then, Gelato's dish was also finished.
The meals are arranged on the table of the chubby man.
The man looked at it with shining eyes.

After that, he put on an apron with an agile movement you wouldn't believe with his chubby belly, picked up the fork and knife and started to eat.

"First is our cook"
He drinks the soup, cuts the meat and brings it to his mouth.
"Aah~, the taste is exquisite as usual. Es expected"
"I'm honored"
Gelato bowed. Her bunny ears are drooping.


Next is the hamburger steak we made.
The chubby man's gaze is fixated.
"Hmm. I understand that you kneaded the meat into a round shape, but this sauce with its complex aroma is, just what is this...?"
He cuts the hamburger steak with his knife and covers it with the sauce before he brings it to his mouth.

At that moment the man's eyes opened wide.
"Mmh--! What a plump taste! The lightly compressed meat unfolds on the tongue and the rich sauce is like a twinkling star! It's like a fervent first love! An ardor that bursts into flames from youth! Ooh--, from the mouth to the stomach, no, it's a sweet feeling that fills the whole body with life!"
The man exclaims while his hair is ruffled up.

There was no need to compare anymore.
His strong impression was well transmitted.

The man now really digs into the hamburger steak.
He finished it in no time.


The man courteously wiped his mouth with the hem of the apron and smiled.
"You pass. Wonderful--This is the first time that I was so satisfied after our chef began to cook the meals."

Gelato is coming to the table.
He scoops the remaining sauce with his fingertips.
"Excuse me a bit. --Hm! Th, this is a wonderful taste... Not just the meat, it's like various dishes are mixing... it's my complete defeat."
Maybe because he discovered new possibilities for dishes, his eyes were sparkling although he lost the match.

"Well then, you can go to the next floor."
The man was pointing at the side wall.
The wall opened and the stairs appeared.


--Then.
Minya brought a kitchen knife.
"This, can I have this...? Is it bad?"

I look at it with "Truth Sight".
[Peerless kitchen knife] Kitchen knife made of magic silver with a beautiful blade pattern. Sterilizes all ingredients during cutting. Offense +120. Effects of "Detoxification" and "Antisepsis".


The chubby man folds his arms and thinks.
"Hmm~, that is really precious..."
"I'll pay as much as you want for it. Won't you sell it to Minya?"
--It's definitely worth it if Minya wishes for it. I want it by all means.

"Hmm~. The craftsman who made it is already dead... that's right, how about you leave the recipe for the sauce and the ingredients to me?"
"Okay! We have a deal."

I took out the snake meat and the whale bones and lined them up on the table.
"Wow, those are the ingredients?"
"Meat of a Crystal Boa and bones of a Sand Whale. The rest of the ingredients were from the storage... and this is the recipe."
"What was that!? A Crystal Boa! They are just absurd to kill."
I taught the recipe to the impressed nodding man. I told them that it's necessary to boil it for at least a day if you don't use wheat and pressure.


"Heh. Well then, you didn't come here just for that. You should go now."
"Thanks for the business.
"Please come by at any time when you learn a new recipe."
"Can I come here immediately?"
"Hahaha, of course"
The man shook his plump belly and laughed.


Then we climbed the stairs.
Minya's ears are happily swinging from side to side along the way.
She holds the kitchen knife in its sheath close to her chest with both hands. It looks like she treasures it.

"Thank you, Keika-oniichan"
"You're always taking care of me. This isn't much."
Minya squinted her eyes and nodded when I stroked her head.

Then, Minya's cooking skill rose to twenty in one go.
Not only did she cook with the best tools and ingredients, she even sneaked a peek at Gelato's cooking skills and movements.
She only made one dish, so she could afford it.

Because you are recognized as grown-up in this world when you are Lv20 in any Job, Minya should have reached the point where she could make something like an inn.
I'm glad that we participated in the cooking competition because I can now eat even more delicious meals than before every day.