Chapter 336

Chapter 336

Invaders

​ “Uuu, it’s so cute…!”

​ “Yeah… this is paradise . Fluff Heaven…”

​ “Heeh, how can rabbits be such wonderful creatures… I can’t eat rabbit meat anymooooore!”

​ “Idiots, the rabbits here aren’t like those outside… see how clean and pretty they are? … Ooooh…! Are those for them to eat out of your hand…!?”

​ The adventurers were all over the rabbits .

​ “Y-Yes, a cup of vegesticks is six copper . ”

​ “Six for that much? Isn’t that overpriced?”

​ “Idiot . Can’t ye see it’s somethin’ the rabbits love to eat? Imagine them, right on your lap…”

​ “Oh, that’s cheap . ”

​ “A-Also, the profits a-are used to manage the facility protecting the rabbits! O-Oh, and used cups are bought back for a copper . ”

​ “I see, so they’re really just five copper? I’ll take three, then . ”

​ The vegesticks Strawberry was going around selling were very popular as well .

​ At any rate, what Strawberry was selling was very popular among the rabbits . They didn’t seem to eat much of the vegetables other adventurers who heard about it brought in, though .

​ They may have contained something like catnip for rabbits, but the five copper cost included the management of that . It was cheap and sold like hotcakes .

​ … As for them preferring Strawberry’s, I had them go to eat on their own accord whenever they saw the special cup and judged that it was one of hers . Ignoring that rabbit that could just keep on eating and eating everything put in front of it (the one Ichika was controlling), they ignored mostly everything else .

​ The recovered cups were reused by Strawberry to be sold again with the recovery rate currently at a hundred percent .

​ Let’s put some plan in place for managing people who come with their own cups . But like, these rabbits aren’t carefree animals at this point . They’re intelligent creatures running customer service nonstop .

​ “Haaah, man… this place is better than bliss . ”

​ “Oh, big sis Renyu? You’re likin’ it here too?”

​ “‘Course I do, it’s too much… fluffy fluffy…”

​ Some of the people in this second search team were a few cuteness-curious adventurers Tokoi talked about . One of them, Renyu, was a female adventurer .

​ “I was wondering about the heck Tokoi was on about with the whole rabbit fund but now I think I’ll donate five gold . ”

​ “You’re really liking this place . ”

​ “Yeah, I really do . Haah, they’re too cute . I want to take them home and keep them…”

​ “Y-You can’t take them . They live here!”

​ Overhearing Renyu, Strawberry, who was in the middle of selling vegesticks nearby, spoke up .

​ “Huh? … Oh, yeah . Forcing them to part from their friends would be sad . That’s what you meant, right Strawberry?”

​ “Y-Yeah . ”

​ “I wonder if rabbit beastkin can talk to rabbits after all… hey, do you know what this one’s saying?”

​ “Huh? Mmm, let’s see… yep, yep, I see, I see . [Onee-san’s kind, like! Pat me more, stroke my belly too!] is what he’s saying . Oh, and that he’s full . ”

​ With that, the rabbit rolled over to show off its stomach to demonstrate that her words were true . It was swelling from eating so much .

​ “Ooh, seriously? I can pet his belly… haah, uwaah, it’s true . He’s so cuuute . Seriously cute… cuuute!”

​ Renyu immediately went to petting the rabbit’s stomach . Her vocabulary shrinking to some cute-filled amalgamation of baby talk couldn’t be helped, of course . People couldn’t help but saying anything but that something was cute if it was, in fact, cute .

​ “It’s the first time I’ve seen her like this… rabbits’re scary . ”

​ “They’re just that cute . ”

​ “I kinda want to live here…”

​ Renyu might have just been joking around, but she did say that .

​ “I wonder if we could make a village around here?”

​ “… Probably not . We couldn’t make a village at a dungeon with nothing but rabbits . But if it’s just as a base for us to relax at, we could… wait, aren’t we already using it for that…?”

​ “Big bro Tokoi was talking about setting up a shop that sells stuff to eat here . ”

​ This was an idea that Kehko (Kehma) passed along to Tokoi .

​ It was easier to have the idea be accepted from a B-Rank adventurer from the imperial capital than from a no-rank adventurer .

​ “Doesn’t that sound fine though? What do you rabbits think? … Wait, they can’t understand me, huh? Hey, Strawberry, could you try explaining it to the rabbits so they’ll understand?”

​ “O-Okay… Umm, it looks like they’re fine with it . Just, the employees will have to reside inside the dungeon so that it doesn’t swallow up the building . ”

​ “In that case, we could set up the warehouse and kitchen outside, then have the shop itself and the rest inside? Or we could have them just walk around with a box like an arena concessions salesperson . ”

​ “Oooh! As expected of big sis, that’s a great idea!”

​ It happened just as the three of them were having such a discussion .

​ BNNNG, BNNNG, BNNNG!

​ A loud noise sounded out .

​ Following that, the green light indicating the Safety Zone’s boundary blinked and disappeared .

​ “Wh-What was that sound!?”

​ “Hey, the Safety Zone’s gone!!!”

​ The members of the survey team started clamoring . It was natural, of course, as the Safety Zone just disappeared from around them .

​ “Everyone, take up your weapons! Prepare yourselves!”

​ “Sis! You’re scaring the rabbits! Quiet down—”

​ “No, th-that’s not it! It wasn’t Renyu-san’s voice—the rabbits, they’re s-saying enemies… are coming!”

​ Hearing Strawberry translate the rabbits’ words for them, they once more prepared themselves .

​ With that, moving stone statues—gargoyles appeared from the passage connecting into the dungeon . Three of them . If they were ordinary gargoyles, the research team would be able to handle them with ease .

​ “Strawberry, are those the enemies?”

​ “… Y-Yes, they are! Please defeat them!”

​ “I see… alright guys, get ’em! Protect the rabbits!”

​ “”” Yeah! “””

​ To speak of the results, they were dealt with easily .

​ They protected the rabbits with their shields, axe, sledgehammer, and sword skills and quickly cleaned up the gargoyles as usual .

​ Although it was somewhat anticlimactic for it to end so easily, the Safety Zone flicked back into place upon the gargoyles’ defeat .

​ “The heck was that… uoh!?”

​ “Wah—hey, hey! What’s wrong with you al?”

​ Just then, the rabbits that had been frightened up till then gave it their all in loving on them .

​ “… O-Oh… s-so much… fluffiness…!”

​ “Big sis! Your face, it’s…”

​ “Don’t look! … Aw, a-are you all alright? Uoh, s-so cute…—”

​ They appeared to be incredibly happy at the enemies being defeated .

​ A few moments later, three more rabbits appeared ferrying along a basket with three potions in it .

​ “… Th-They say it’s a gift . ”

​ “Haha, thanks! … I see, so that kind of a dungeon does exist . ”

​ “That kind? What do ya mean, sis?”

​ The sign at the dungeon’s entrance . The rabbits . The rabbits’ enemies . The potion reward .

​ Connecting the dots, it was easy to understand that it had that kind of rules .

​ “I’m pretty sure that this dungeon gives items for [Defending the rabbits] . There wasn’t an attack last time people came, so there might be other rules!”

​ “Heeh! That’s great . That means we can protect these cuties and get items for it to boot!”

​ “I-It’s a good dungeon, d-definitely . ”

​ “Yeah, well we do need to investigate a bit further in, but it’s probably that kind of a dungeon . ”

​ Strawberry smiled back at the conclusion Renyu came to .