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Volume 9 Chapter 2 Part 6

We try fighting the Black Diamond Tuna again. This time, even though it was Sherry who finished it off using her spear, an oyster was left behind as a drop item.

When the smoke dissipates, a milky-white, jiggling object remains.

It is an oyster. But since it’s so white, does that mean that it’s only the content inside of the shell without the shell itself?

At the very least would somehow resemble volley if the shell was attached. I tried using 「Identify」on it, but once I did, I saw that it was properly identified as an Oyster, so I picked it up carefully, and put it inside my Item Box.

「So, is this an oyster? How exactly are we going to eat it?」

「You can bake it. Or probably boil it? I had it once when I was a kid, so I don’t remember the details clearly, but we’re going to figure it out, don’t worry.」

Sherry seems to have eaten oysters before. Baking or boiling them seems good, but can’t we just eat them raw? Or would that be disgusting and make us feel sick? It is an item dropped by a monster, after all, and so far, I haven’t attempted to eat any of such Drop Items raw.

When it comes to the oyster, it is about the size of my palm.
Oyster Shell seemed like a pretty large enemy, but I don’t know if I can say the same about its Drop Item, because in comparison to the monster that dropped it, it’s Drop Item could be only described as small.

If possible, then I would like to have at least one oyster for everyone to try.

Because it was killed by Sherry this time, it is perhaps possible for the effect of Cook’s 「Increased Rare Item Drop Rate」 Skill to be shared by other Party Members, so I need not kill it myself.

I try it once more to get one for everyone. And then I try it again, and again. I try it many times, and then I try it once again

I keep on saying that and repeating the process it because it is important for the purpose of today’s dinner. And then finally….

「It dropped one more oyster. As expected of Master.」

「Amazing, desu.」

「Is that so?」

Roxanne and Miria are praising me, but have I done anything that would be worthy of praise? No, not at all. We challenged the Floor Boss a total of twenty or so times before I managed to get five pieces of oyster, so we definitely could have done that a little bit better, but on the other hand, things could have been much worse for us and take much longer.

However, I still don’t know if the effect of 「Increased Rare Item Drop Rate」is shared by the entire Party or not, since it didn’t always drop oyster when I killed it. However, it felt like it was more likely to drop oyster when I killed it.

In the first place, I don’t even know the drop rate of oyster. All that I know about it is that it is a rare item, and that rare items have a much lower drop rate than the common items, but that’s about it.

Well, I guess it will be alright when we fight Black Diamond Tuna. Hopefully, I will not need twenty rounds of fighting against it just to get one Fatty Tuna.

We move to the eighteenth floor next. We had no problems with the clearing of the sixteenth floor, so I feel like we are going to be okay on the eighteenth floor as well, or at least I hope so.

「Vesta, until you receive an attack, you only need to observe. If one of the monsters remains after it survives my magic, step forward and try to receive its attack. There may be many enemies capable of inflicting poison upon you if they manage to hit you, so you need to be careful about that as well.」

「Okay master. Though I think It will probably be alright.」

「Alright. Roxanne, what groups of monsters are nearby?」

「There is a group of Fly Traps and a Clam Shell around here. There seem to be multiple Fly Traps, but only a single Clam Shell.」

I thought we would fight only the monsters that use poison, like Fly Traps and Kettle Mermaids, but Roxanne easily found a group that also had a Clam Shell in it. She is just so amazing that words cannot describe it properly.

First I sweep both the Fly Traps using 「Fire Storm」.

The problem with a Clam Shell is that it is strong against Fire Magic, so even if it gets damaged by it, it will definitely not be enough to kill it, so as we surround the remaining Clam Shell, I cast 「Sand Ball」on it while Vesta steps into the front once more.

She receives a body blow from the Clamshell, and once she does, I apply 「Plating」on her again and cast another Earth Magic Spell afterwards.

I tried to finish it off right away using magic, but it didn’t drop down with just one Spell, so Roxanne exchanges places with Vesta.

I cast another 「Sand Ball」after which the Clam Shell finally collapses.

Like I thought, it took some time to deal with the Clam Shell here on the eighteenth floor. It was fine, though, since we did not receive any other attack.

「How was it?」

「If it’s this much, there is no problem. It might have been the effect of this helmet, but I think I will be fine receiving even more attacks. Also, the shield may not be necessary for me anymore.」

「Then, you do not have any problem with standing in front of the vanguard?」

「Yes. Ah, this much recovery is fine.」

Vesta asks for me to stop after just one 「Heal」. She also says that she won’t be needing a shield, even though we are on the eighteenth floor? Damn, 「Damage Reduction」is a really fearsome Skill. It is perhaps thanks to 「Plating」, too.
Thereafter, we continued fighting the monsters while exploring the eighteenth floor. Vesta received several attacks from the enemies, but it was only occasionally, so it doesn’t look like she’s going to be having any sort of trouble going forward because she never spoke as much as a word of complaint.

It is entirely possible that starting from tomorrow onwards, Vesta might not even need me to cast 「Plating」on her anymore.

「Alright. I know it is a little early but how about we call it a day? We have yet to go shopping, after all.」

「We are going shopping?」

As soon as she hears the word 「shopping」, Roxanne’s interest gets picked immediately.

I was indeed thinking of buying some stuff for Vesta. Will Roxanne be fine with it even if the things that we’re going to be buying are not going to be meant for her?

First and foremost, I need to go buy a maid outfit and an apron for Vesta.

I’m not sure if a maid outfit is going to look good on her due to the proportions of her large body, but an apron should still fit her quite nicely. But the single, most important article of clothing that she is going to need is going to be a nightgown.
「We will go to the clothing store in the Imperial City first.」

「Yes. Picking a right negligee for Vesta is going to be very important.」

I can clearly see Roxanne’s desire to choose a negligee for Vesta reflecting on her face. I don’t like it when she’s getting overly enthusiastic like that, but at least it’s better if she started complaining all the time.

「For me?」

「Yeah. I am going to have various outfits made for Vesta, just like for everyone else.」

「Thank you very much then.」

Vesta bows her head to me thankfully.

「I know there was a lot of trouble today, it being your first day with us and all, but I look forward to you helping us advance through the Labyrinths from now on.」

「Yes. I thought the monsters inside the Labyrinth would be extremely tough, but they weren’t all that strong, so I think I will be okay.」
She is neither complaining nor whining. I never thought that these are going to be the words of someone who just entered the Labyrinth for the first time in their lives after only fighting the monsters outside of it before, even when we took het to the eighteenth floor.