While I was eating a mediocre mixed-meat soup that was neither good nor bad, I made a suggestion to Hiyarn.
"How about projecting mapped data instead of drawing on a scroll?"
"Projecting it?"
"It's certainly become a map with character."
Though honestly, for something drawn by a robotic arm, it had way too much of a human touch.
That was impressive in its own right, but as an exploration support unit, I'd say it was disqualifying.
"Are you being sarcastic, you little—"
Hiyarn bristled.
"If you want accuracy as a map, I think projecting the mapped data would be more precise than drawing it by hand."
"Hmm..."
"With projection, you could do 3D views and such, right?"
"Mmm. 3D... it's not impossible."
"While we're at it, why not attach two eye-like lenses and project from those?"
"Mmm... one idea after another, huh. Wof."
"Something like this isn't really that special."
"What a hateful kid."
Hiyarn gave a cynical smile.
Honestly, it was a shame.
Hiyarn had the technical ability but zero sense of aesthetics.
"First, like I said earlier, wouldn't it be better to use the arm instead of putting food inside and microwaving it?"
"Starting with that, huh?"
"Also, the flame projector you use for lighting fires would work better as a weapon as-is."
"Yeah, fair point. Anything else?"
"How do you handle scouting?"
"I've got these big ears, right? I use them to pick up enemy footsteps and give you a verbal heads-up."
So those ears weren't just for decoration.
"I think that's fine as-is."
I finished eating the mixed-meat soup.
"The improvements seem doable pretty quickly."
"So the ones going to that city are just the Four Star, me, and Hiyarn?"
"That's right. Given the location, only members who know about the lab can go."
Quite a few people knew about this lab.
But they were all trustworthy people.
"Oh, by the way, where did the witch run off to?"
"Apparently she's in the royal capital right now."
"The royal capital?"
"This time around, the Hiyarn Trading Company put together a dedicated caravan and has been touring all over."
"A dedicated caravan... I did see the posters plastered all over town."
They were literally everywhere — posters for the witch's water, stuck up on every wall in sight.
Posters of the witch holding witch water.
The level of exposure is something unimaginable for last year's witch.
And apparently, the witch's posters are being stolen from everywhere.
"It's the biggest event the Hiyarn Trading Company has had. Still, I think Lady Akindura is putting way too much into this."
"Like she's the witch's biggest fan, huh."
"...The enthusiasm is something you'd never imagine from her usual self."
Hiyarn spoke with a somewhat troubled look.
"What do you mean?"
"First, the Hiyarn Girls. And then she brought Lady Mineha and the Five Sisters along as guards."
"Guards? Wait — Mineha and the Five Sisters?"
Come to think of it, Mineha. She did say she was going somewhere a bit far off.
She said she'd bring back souvenirs or something.
"Yeah. The reason they're putting that much effort into it is probably because it'll be a hit on par with the Light Orb."
"No, forget that — the Five Sisters are the will of Hydrangea and the surrounding dungeons. Are they okay being away from the dungeon?"
"They're probably fine, right? They're literally in the Royal Capital right now."
I really don't get it. Dungeon consciousnesses.
"Still, the Royal Capital, huh."
"What's up, Wof? Haven't you been there before?"
"Originally, after I left the village, I was planning to go to the Royal Capital, not Hydrangea."
"Then why'd you end up at Hydrangea?"
"My uncle had a residence and said he'd give it to me, so that's why I ended up here."
"I see. Having your own place is a huge advantage."
"That's why I've never actually been there, though."
"Same here, honestly."
Someday, I'll go. Someday, anyway.
"So, are you already producing the various types of witch water?"
"Full throttle, twenty-four hours a day, still going. After what happened with the light spheres last time, I made it fully automatic."
"How much do you have stockpiled now?"
"Probably over a million by now."
"A million— I see. I see. Unlike the light spheres, these are consumables, so having that much might not be a bad thing."
"Anyway, there's something I want to grab on this exploration."
"Something you want?"
"That vending machine thing. I'm taking it."
"How? Those things are pretty heavy, you know."
"I'll use a legendary for that."
"You actually have something like that?"
Storage pouches are expensive, but they do exist.
Mine is one such pouch. Agaro has one with roughly as much space as a warehouse.
Even pricier ones are said to be able to fit an entire mansion inside.
But just because something has that kind of capacity doesn't mean it can store absolutely anything.
In short, only things that can fit through the pouch's opening can be stored inside.
"So this time, the main objective of the exploration is taking the vending machine?"
"No, Riv apparently has somewhere she really wants to go."
"Riv does?"
"She knows that place better than anyone."
Hayrn gave a wry smile.
Well, that was nothing new.
"But we can't let our guard down. That city is a dungeon. There's no telling what might happen."
"I know."
Monsters lurking in that eerie silence.
Well, I'd steel myself, but mecha were probably going to show up, huh.
I unconsciously looked at Yunitan.
It had ears attached, but it resembled that pink sphere.
Would things like this show up as monsters too?
And then, one week later.
The day of departure.
We gathered at the lab.
"I'm starting to feel oddly nervous."
"My lady. I am here with you."
"Yes, I'm counting on you."
"Leave it to me."
Lupinus was chatting with Shield.
"A dungeon unlike anything I've seen before. A bit unsettling, no?"
"Is that so? I'm actually looking forward to it!"
Pakira and Bid were chatting.
"Hm... there's a hotel..."
"Um, um, um, if there's a hotel, does that mean they serve food?"
"...Of...course..."
Riv was chatting with Juicy.
"Beep-beep... establishing connection..."
"---Unknown access detected... transmission of nonexistent data confirmed...--- The Afterlife Vision System is working toward a better tomorrow..."
"Hey! Hands off! What do you think you're doing to Uni-tan!?"
And then the pink sphere did something to Uni-tan, and Haiyan was furious.
"An unknown dungeon. Unknown booze, then."
Agaro said cheerfully, drinking away.
That was the exploration party for this run.
Yeah, you could call this an impromptu wolf pack.
Yep, an impromptu wolf pack.
"..."
Seriously, we're going with this lineup?