Chapter 2
NOW, KNOWING THIS DUNGEON, this may be a long run. I’ll have to prepare!
The Ancient Underground City was deep and vast. When combined, all of the dungeons Mira had been to since this world had become reality were still only a fraction of its size. If she needed a break, she couldn’t just simply log out partway through either.
Mira looked around the lobby as she considered all this, searching for the specialty shops for adventurers that were common in large Guild Union buildings. The lobby wasn’t just wide, it was extremely tall as well. The stone construction was imposing. On closer inspection, the pillars were covered in intricate carvings. The ceiling had a fresco painting of the Trinity in paradise. As someone who knew nothing about art, Mira simply found it all impressive and got back to her shopping. Or she tried, at least.
Hrmm… I don’t see any. She was soon discouraged by the lack of specialty shops.
“Very well. Next stop…” Mira stepped away from the map posted at the corner of the lobby and entrusted her hopes to the town’s shopping district.
Just then, a man ran over to her. He smiled affably, took up position right next to Mira, and said, “Pardon me. When you were at reception, they said you were part of the group that crushed Chimera, didn’t they? I wanted to ask you about the team—specifically, its members.”
He had a pen and notepad in hand and wore a loose-fitting shirt and pants. A big bag was slung over his shoulder. The man didn’t look to be an adventurer; Mira thought that he looked much more like an old-timey newspaper reporter.
“I’m afraid I don’t have much to share.”
Mira was acquainted with the executives at Isuzu’s home base, but she didn’t know much about the other members. In fact, she’d only met most of the people involved after the battle was over. How could she possibly tell him anything?
Despite Mira’s reluctance, the reporter pleaded, “Please, anything. Tell me what you know about the Spirit Queen, at least. Hobbies, favorite foods… I’ll take anything! Bust, waist, and hip sizes would be great too. I’ll pay for the information!”
Spirit…Queen?
The word pay tugged at Mira’s heart. She put a finger to her chin, her face serious, and silently repeated the other two words over and over. At the same time, the room fell silent. More precisely, the voices of those around them had ceased. This union, one of the largest on the continent, naturally had many staff members to serve its even more numerous adventurers. All attention had turned to Mira at the reporter’s words. Apparently, everyone else was keen to know about someone called the Spirit Queen too.
After ten seconds or so of this rare silence, Mira took the opportunity to speak. “Erm…Who is the Spirit Queen, exactly?”
Everyone instantly froze, and the air filled with tension. All those people with expectant looks on their faces widened their eyes in shock as if confused by the question.
“Huh? You know, the Spirit Queen!” The reporter repeated the name, clearly bewildered.
This still meant nothing to the summoner. Mira tilted her head. “Yes, I can guess that much. But is there anyone who actually goes by that name?”
People around her began to speak up, speculating that perhaps she’d lied about being part of the mission.
“Anyone from the mission would’ve seen the Spirit King’s appearance. The Spirit Queen is the one who caused it! She’s the unparalleled beauty who drew the Spirit King out of hiding!” the reporter shouted in frustration at the confused Mira.
Then she understood. The Spirit Queen who’d drawn out the Spirit King… All of her questions had been answered.
Wait a second. That’s… He’s talking about me!
Indeed, the Spirit Queen was none other than Mira herself. How could they not realize it was her? She’d shown herself off proudly during the demonstration, so anyone should’ve been able to tell at a glance. Was it her clothes? To be fair, she was wearing summer clothes now. Was that enough to make her unrecognizable?
Curious, Mira asked, “Can you describe what you believe the Spirit Queen looks like?”
The man seemed to return to his senses. He cleared his throat and described the Spirit Queen in glowing detail, like a little boy talking about his dreams. According to him, she was a tremendous summoner who had even the Spirit King at her beck and call. The Three Great Kingdoms had expressed interest in her, for they considered her the second coming of the Hero-King Forsetia. The man raised his voice further as he claimed that, above all else, the Spirit Queen was an unparalleled beauty with long, sparkly silver hair.
Definitely me. Why haven’t they noticed?
After the man finished his glowing description, Mira ostentatiously flipped her hair, puffed out her chest, and said, “Does that not sound a lot like me?” Surely, they’d make the connection.
However, both he and those around him recoiled.
“Your hair is silver…but you’re not like the Spirit Queen. Y’know?” the man said, looking Mira over. The other men looked disappointed.
That was all it took for Mira to understand. When stories spread far and wide like this, they often became exaggerated. It seemed the people here preferred someone large enough to stand out rather than someone who was just the right size.
“Then I’m afraid I wouldn’t know.” Now certain that these people were a lost cause, Mira turned on her heel, ignoring the reporter’s cries for her to stop.
Naturally, the name of the Spirit Queen had supplanted the name of Mira when it came to news of Chimera Clausen’s defeat. The Spirit King’s overwhelming presence had made everyone more or less forget about Mira’s introduction mere moments prior. Moreover, Mira’s “cute” aesthetic had been idealized and dramatized until it had become “beautiful.” So now she was the Spirit Queen, and from that title emerged a false image of a woman with bountiful proportions. If Mira had measurements closer to Luminaria’s, there wouldn’t have been any question.
Rumors went halfway across the world before the truth could even get its boots on. It would take some time before Mira was recognized by the average person.
***
“Ignorant jerks… This is perfection! All those idiots care about is size,” Mira grumbled as she left the union building with a hand on her ideal bosom. After getting a good feel for their size and softness, she confidently faced forward and declared, “Perfection!”
Then she headed into town in high spirits. The opinions of the unwashed masses didn’t matter to her.
Now where are those shops?
She wandered around for some time, but she never found a single store. Mira stopped. Grandrings was ridiculously large, and she’d only been here a few times in the past. She didn’t remember much about its layout. Many adventurers passed by, but only residences and government buildings lined the road. When she turned around, she saw the Adventurers’ Guild Union.
Most of the unions she’d stopped by, up to this point, were conspicuously placed in convenient locations—downtowns or commercial districts. It seemed this one was an exception. She’d expected to find shops near the building, but there were still no shops in sight. This was just so odd.
Just when she’d decided that boarding Pegasus and looking from the sky would be faster, someone addressed her. “What are you doing standing around here, little girl? Are you lost?”
When Mira turned, she found a beautiful woman in a man’s blue coat. Indeed, a man’s blue coat. The woman was of average height, and while her clothes were masculine, certain feminine parts were still prominent. Her cute face bore an innocent expression, but anyone could tell that she was a fully grown woman at a glance. Mira stared at the woman’s chest, thinking her “little girl” remark was a snide insult. But just like the ignorant masses she’d just scorned, she found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Mira’s perfection aside, she found herself entranced by the quality of the woman’s quantity.
While Mira gawked at the woman’s feminine curves, the woman mistook her expression as confusion and said with a gentle smile, “Er, guess I surprised you. Sorry about that. I’m not a creep or anything. Just figured it’s a little dangerous for someone like you to stand still in a place with so much traffic like this.”
“Ah, hrmm… Um, well.” Mira averted her eyes, flustered by the kindhearted woman’s pure intentions. Then she made an excuse, hoping it seemed as if she hadn’t just been ogling her. “I expected there would be shops near the union building. Haven’t found any, though. It’s a bit of a surprise.”
“Oh, so you’re an adventurer too. Is it your first time in town? I’m not surprised you’re confused. Things work a little differently here.”
Thanks to her appearance being that of a cute little girl, Mira’s staring had gone unnoticed. The woman spoke gently, explaining the difference between Grandrings’s Adventurers’ Guild Union and those of other cities. As Mira knew, most were conveniently located near shopping districts and downtowns. However, this city’s long history meant that there were many long-established shops in the shopping district, leaving no space for such a large building. As a result, they’d refurbished an old party venue in this district, which was otherwise full of residences and government buildings, and turned it into the union.
“But as you saw, the union is as busy as they get. It’s probably for the best that they kept it out of the shopping district,” the woman said, wrapping up her explanation pompously. However, her femininity won out, making it just look cute in the end.
That explained, the woman told Mira where the shopping district was, and the two parted ways. Mira watched her as she left. It was then that she noticed a familiar symbol.
“Goodness, she was one of Cyril’s guild? No wonder she’s so kind.”
The scarlet bell—the symbol of Écarlate Carillon, a guild led by former player Cyril—adorned the woman’s coat.
Next time I see Cyril, I’ll have to mention her…except I forgot to get her name. Well, I’ll just call her Takarazuka. I’m sure he’ll get it, Mira thought to herself, while she followed the woman’s directions and successfully made it to the shopping district.
***
Grandrings’s biggest shopping district was just as busy as the ones in Sentopoli and Roslein. Despite the old-fashioned, subdued appearance of the streets, the crowds were thick and rowdy. Many of the people here were adventurers. Armor shops and potion stores thrived, and people gathered at the familiar equipment specialty shop.
While I am curious about that one, I must focus on the most important thing: food.
Mira gazed at the “New products in stock!” sign hanging at Dinoire Trading’s Grandrings branch, remembering the reality of her situation.
The Ancient Underground City was massive; it could take a month to clear. Since she didn’t know where Soul Howl was, she’d have to search extensively. This meant she’d be gone for more than just a few days—she’d have to prepare for weeks. The biggest problem was food. Monster meat could serve as a source of protein if she could stomach the taste, but it would not provide vitamins normally found in veggies. An underground city received little sunlight, which meant she wasn’t likely to find any fruits or wild vegetables to forage. And without proper nutrition, it would be impossible to search the underground city.
Mira often thought about the differences between the game world and reality when she read the Encyclopedia of Skills, which she’d obtained from Luminaria. The biggest major difference was food. While it had once been optional, it was now an indispensable must.
“I’ll just have to buy several weeks’ worth!”
The Ancient Underground City was a popular dungeon. Instead of pinning her hopes on foraging greens that other adventurers might harvest before her, it would be far more efficient to bring safe, shelf-stable ingredients. Unlike the User’s Bangles held by most veterans, Mira’s Item Box had no capacity limit.
With a spring in her step, she looked around the shopping district for a grocery store. She’d finally get to use one of the adventurer’s items she’d purchased in Sentopoli: the cooking set. There was something exciting about using a new tool for the first time. Fantasizing about what she might cook first, Mira stopped in front of a store.
After looking at all the colorful, juicy fruits and veggies, she declared, “I’ll buy a little of everything!”
The shopkeeper turned, surprised. “Th-that’s going to be pretty heavy. Are you sure?” he asked, concerned.
Mira showed off the glistening bangle on her left wrist. “I’ll be just fine,” she replied. Despite being fundamentally different, Mira’s bangle looked like the User’s Bangle used by veterans.
“Oh, an adventurer? Did your party send you shopping?” the shopkeeper mused. He was impressed when he saw the bangle and began arranging piles of each vegetable and fruit in stock. As he went, he told Mira how long each one lasted. Some remained fresh for two weeks. Others had to be eaten in four days for freshness, and so on. “Be careful out there, now.”
She bought around 30 kilograms worth of produce, costing 52,000 ducats in total. As she left, the shopkeeper turned to serve other customers.
Most of these expire in under a week. There’s no way I can eat all of this in time. Nah, I’ll be fine!
The expiration dates the shopkeeper gave her didn’t matter much to Mira. Unlike User’s Bangles, former players’ Item Boxes still functioned like they had in-game. As long as something wasn’t already expired when placed in the Item Box, it would stay fresh—worrying about expiration dates was unnecessary.
According to Solomon, there were former players who took advantage of this to make money by importing fresh seafood to the mountains. Fresh food always tasted better than frozen, making it popular among noble gourmands. It was a simple but clever way to earn honest money.
Still…I splurged a bit. I don’t even know how to cook some of these.
Mira checked the type of each fruit and vegetable as she deposited them in her Item Box. Some vegetables were the same as those in her old world, while others were totally unfamiliar. Should she look for a cookbook? Or should she entrust her fate to the all-powerful cooking method that was boiling? After she finished storing everything, Mira found her next objective: the butcher on the other side of the road.
***
The butcher had meat from rabbits, sheep, goats, horses, deer, frogs, and even snakes, in addition to such staples as beef, pork, and poultry. They also sold a variety of fantasy meats from dragons and other exotic beasts.
Mira slipped into the crowd of meat-seekers and took a good look at each cut. However, she turned her face away from the rabbit meat; the image of her adorable Luna popped into her mind, and it was too much to bear. All of the others were fine, though.
“I’d like two kilograms of each of these!”
Mira pointedly avoided the rabbit meat, but she picked out beef, pork, and poultry, along with some others based on their appearance and pure curiosity.
“Did someone send you out shopping? Aw, poor kid.” The woman running the store gave off a laid-back vibe. She smiled when she saw the bangle on Mira’s arm. But she was all business as she skillfully wrapped Mira’s order with dark green paper.
“Mm. Is it just me, or does that paper smell good?” Mira asked. It smelled like sweet herbs and didn’t seem to be simple wrapping paper.
“That’s because the paper was seeped in medicinal herbs. It absorbs the smell and makes the meat less likely to spoil. And it’s cheap! My boss says all butchers use it.”
“Oho, so it’s the smell of medicinal herbs. How interesting.”
No doubt the green paper took time and effort to prepare, but it was cheap enough to always be available. How convenient, Mira mused as she watched the wrapped meat pile up in no time. She learned that it was called preservative paper. Former players had produced and circulated it throughout the world.
Once the transaction was done, the butcher smiled and waved to Mira. “Okay, thanks for your business. Come again soon!” Another customer promptly called her over, and she left to deal with them, staying relaxed the whole time.
With this much food, I think I could last a month down there.
She had bought two kilograms each of beef, pork, and poultry—sirloin, ribs, thigh, and more. She’d also picked out a few bits of sheep, deer, and dragon based on their fattiness and marbling. Now she had 35 kilograms of meat in total, which had cost her 150,000 ducats. Combined with the produce she’d bought earlier, this shopping trip was over 200,000 ducats already. She’d used one-fifth of the funds she’d received from Solomon already, and there was still shopping to be done.
Mira smiled gleefully as she deposited the wrapped meat in her Item Box. It felt like getting ready for a trip. Once the huge pile of meat was put away, she ran around the shopping districts in search of more.
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