Chapter 85: Relaxation is Important
「Nya! Look, Ariachan. It’s a 〝Safety Zone?. Let’s take a rest, nyan!」
「Yeah, I guess it’s about time we take a rest. We’ve been going on for hours.」
Labyrinth, 10th floor―
Vulcan suddenly stopped, and then, pointed at a certain path.
In the labyrinth, there existed a certain path that led to a safety zone.
Safety zone was the name given to an area where monsters couldn’t enter. It was a haven for humans.
As for the reason such an area existed in the labyrinth, and why it didn’t appear in the normal path, those mysteries remained unexplainable, even until now.
But for the adventurers who needed a rest during labyrinth exploration, that place was akin to a sanctuary.
So, whenever such a place appeared during labyrinth exploration, there was no reason to ignore it.
The first thing to do when a path toward a safety zone came into view was to take a rest inside the room.
Doing so might turn out to be a decisive factor in labyrinth capture.
「He~! Such a place didn’t exist in the labyrinth where we lived before!」
「A place where monsters won’t appear is really convenient, desu~!」
Lily and Faeri happily smiled when they heard the contents of Aria and Vulcan’s conversation.
The continuous battles so far had exhausted them, so their curiosity piqued when they heard about the safety zone.
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Their interest wasn’t surprising.
The reason was that no safety zone could be found in the Forest-type labyrinth where the two fairies used to live.
Several labyrinths did not have a safety zone.
It seemed that the safety zones only occurred in a major cave-type labyrinth, like the one in labyrinth city.
「He~! It’s really a big room, isn’t it!」
「There’s a source for fresh water too. It’s just the right place to take a brea~k!」
After they trod on the path toward the safety zone, Lily and Faeri started to make a merry inside the room.
The safety zone’s area itself was quite wide.
In addition, it was just as Lily had said. There was a fresh water fountain in the center of the room.
（Umh… There was no problem with the water when I tried to check it.）
Tama approached the fountain and sniffed to check its safety.
He had not heard of any reports of abnormalities in the bodies of the people who drank the water in a safety zone before.
But still, just in case, he checked it.
Tama’s extremely sensitive nose could easily sniff any poison mixed in water.
… Even if Aria and co. drank poisoned water, no problems would appear in the first place, thanks to the 《Divine Protection of Lion King》 granted by Tama. But still… it didn’t mean that they could let their guard down.
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「Aria, I’m hungryyy!」
「Come to think of it, you’re right! Let’s have dinner before we hit the bed.」
「YAAAAAY! Meat, gimme meat! Steak if possible!」
Hearing Aria’s words, Stella, whose stomach was already rumbling due to hunger, spoke in a rhythmic manner.
Steak aside, it was rather unreasonable for Stella to ask for meat inside the labyrinth.
But, such a limitation wasn’t applicable to Aria’s party.
「Tama, can you take out the foodstuffs from your item box?」
「Nyan(Roger that, master)!」
Tama invoked his 《Storage》 skill when Aria asked him.
Thus, foodstuffs such as bread, meat, and vegetables suddenly appeared in front of Aria and co.
Before they dived into the labyrinth, they had stored as many foodstuffs inside Tama’s 《Storage》 as it was possible.
They had also taken along kitchenware such as a frying pan, a kitchen knife, and a kitchen table.
「Nya~, The 《Storage》 skill is really useful, nyan! It’s all thanks to Tama-chan that we can enjoy a hot meal, nya~」
After washing her hands with the water from the fountain, Vulcan sent a hot gaze toward Tama, and took out a piece of meat. She then started to prepare the meat.
Just as Vulcan had said, for long hours of capturing the labyrinth, a normal adventurer party would only bring along preserved food such as dried meat and wheat flour. Then, they would boil all that together, forming a tasteless soup.
A hearty meal affected the morals of the party.
It was especially true for Stella, Lily, and Faeri, for whom the effects were imminent.
With Tama’s 《Storage》 skill, they could take long as many of their favorite foodstuffs as they wanted.
Thus, those three bought whatever amount of their most beloved meat and sweets was possible.
「Let’s start with Stella’s request first. It’s been a while since we had barbeque?」
Aria rubbed the beef meat with salt and pepper, and then Vulcan sliced it.
After Vulcan was done slicing all the meat into suitable proportions, she made an open fire by using the firewood that they had also stowed in Tama’s 《Storage》.
When she saw Vulcan controlling the strength of the fire by blowing a wooden pipe, Faeri, who stood nearby, muttered 「That seems interesti~ng!」. Then, she began to help Vulcan.
As they looked at Aria’s cooking show, Lily and Stella trembled in excitement.
Tama was watching over everyone with a satisfied look on his face.
The beef meat that was placed on the iron net let out an irresistible sizzling sound.
Soon, the fragrance of grilled meat and spice started drifting around the safety room.
And, thanks to the effect of grilling on the open fire, the sizzling meat soup and the fat meat had made the fragrance more captivating.
「Aria! Make it rare for mine!」
「Roger that, Stella-chan?」
The reason Stella loved rare grilled steak might be linked to her being a former dragon.
Aria accepted Stella’s request as she flipped over a piece of meat with her tongs.
Then, everyone decided to have rare grilled meat like Stella.
The grilled meat was placed on each of their plates.
As a finishing touch, Aria then added a small cube of butter on top of everyone’s steak.
「Well then, let’s dig in!」
「Let’s dig in!」
「Ya~y! I love sweets. But meat is delicious too~!」
「The dishes made by Aria-san is delicious~!」
When they saw Aria’s signal, Stella, Lily, and Faeri, who were eagerly watching the meat on their plate, took a bite.
The meat that had been baked on top of open fire had a stronger fragrance than usual. Its simple flavoring combined with melted butter was simply the best combination.
「Nya~! Steak is the bhe~st nyan!」
Meat was the favorite food of the tiger eared girl, Vulcan. You could say that she was extremely satisfied to have a chance to eat a hearty and warm meal inside the labyrinth.
「Now then, Tama. A~hn?」
「Nya~n!」
Aria cut up a small piece of steak for Tama and then brought it up to Tama with a fork.
Tama opened his mouth while letting out an adorable cry. He ate the entire piece of steak.
（Humph, master’s cooking skill is the best after all!）
Tama came to understand… The power of open fire steak.
They spend their time with ease, merrily chatting among themselves, as if they weren’t inside the labyrinth.
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