"Thinking about it that way is a bit strange, isn't it? I wonder if this Bunny is newly born?"
Without realizing it, the Parrot had been given a name. It seemed I had to brace myself for this. Well, having just one Parrot doesn't seem like a big deal.
"Let's keep going and see if we can reach the spring," I suggested.
"Sure!"
When I turned around, I saw Lily feeding the Parrot again. That was fine, I suppose.
With the Bunny perched on her right hand, Lily led the way. As we moved past the shrub where the Bunny had been resting, a clearing emerged, revealing an open area filled with grass.
In the center of this clearing stood a stone pedestal. "This pedestal looks rather significant, doesn't it?"
Speaking of which, I remember that in a game I know, such a pedestal is referred to as a "pedestal." It didn't come to mind immediately, but I've recalled it now. While it doesn't seem like a word that would show up on an entrance exam, given Lily's wealthy background, she might have had one of these on display in her Western-style garden at home.
Based on my gaming knowledge, something is typically placed on such mysterious pedestals. Logically, one might think of putting a vase on it, but I haven't seen any vases in this dungeon. If I were storing something fragile like that in my item box, I could manage it, but carrying it around otherwise would be nonsensical.
One possibility, however, is a skill book. Placing a skill book on this pedestal might allow me to acquire that skill, which is entirely plausible. So far, the skill books I have in my item box are as follows:
- 2 for Bludgeoning Weapons
- 2 for Shield Techniques
- 1 for Body Techniques
- 2 for One-Handed Weapons
- 1 for Two-Handed Weapons
The skills that could be useful for me are the Bludgeoning Weapons and Two-Handed Weapons skills. Let's try placing the Bludgeoning Weapons skill book on the pedestal.
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The wolf-like monster that was dissected at the research lab in the city had lungs, a heart, a stomach, and a liver similar to those of a wolf. However, its other organs were degenerated, and no excretory or reproductive organs were found.
From this, it was determined that the ecology of monsters is entirely different from that of typical mammals. They can survive without consuming water or food, and they do not reproduce through traditional means. In essence, monsters are not animals. It also began to be theorized that monsters may not be able to survive outside of dungeons.
To verify this hypothesis, a capture net that could be fired from a recoilless gun was prepared for the purpose of capturing monsters. The Self-Defense Forces, entering the third pyramid, launched a monster capture operation using this net. They successfully captured a wolf-like monster initially; once ensnared, the monster quickly became docile.
The concern was that if the monster struggled within the net, it could break free, necessitating its execution, or it could sustain injuries leading to its death. Thus, the soldiers responsible for the capture breathed a sigh of relief.
The captured wolf-like monster was transported to a research facility in the city and placed in a cage. However, within three days, the creature, unable to drink the provided water or eat dog food or raw meat, collapsed from weakness and died. This pattern of rapid decline was observed in all captured monsters, leading to the conclusion that even if they ever emerged from a dungeon, they would perish shortly thereafter. Conversely, this indicated that dungeons are essential for the monsters' survival. Notably, the amorphous creature referred to as a slime could not be captured with the net.
Alongside these studies, the Self-Defense Forces began exploring not only the third pyramid, now dubbed the Third Dungeon, but also other pyramids scattered across the country.
Thinking that my staff skill might improve without using skill points if I played my cards right, I placed a skill book for striking weapons on a pedestal I found in the center of Paradise.
"Come on, come on, come on, come on! My skill!"
The black tablet I set on the pedestal didn't seem to change at all. When I tried to assess myself, this was the result:
Name: Zenjiro Iwanaga
Age: 27
Occupation: Alchemist, Transfer Specialist
Skills: Alchemy: Level Max, Item Box: Level Max, Transfer: Level Max, Staff Mastery: Level 3, Appraisal, Second Job Selection, Auto-mapping
Nothing had changed from last time.
"That's strange."
Behind me, Lily was playing with Bunny.
It might be the same with other skill books, but I decided to give it one more try. This time, I handed a one-handed weapon skill book to Lily, who was busy with Bunny.
"Lily, sorry to interrupt, but could you place this skill book on the pedestal?"
"Okay?"
Though she seemed unsure about why I wanted her to do that, Lily willingly placed the skill book on the pedestal as I asked.
As I suspected, the skill book showed no changes from my time. Still, just to confirm, I discreetly assessed Lily, and here's what I found:
Skills: Magic: Level 4, Alchemy: Level 1, Appraisal: Level 1.
Her skills hadn't increased. My reading was a hundred percent wrong.
With that in mind, I thought about the Rashii items. I placed various items on the pedestal, but none of them were a match.
"This pedestal might just be an ordinary object," I mused. "But my gamer instincts are telling me there's more to it than meets the eye!"
I focused on my item box, rummaging through its contents again.
"Oh, could this gold coin be relevant? The fact that I have thirty-two key items is a bit concerning, but I'll give it a shot."
I pulled a gold coin from the box, infused it with my hopes, and carefully placed it in the center of the pedestal.
Click!
A sound akin to something locking into place echoed, and a staircase appeared before me, leading downward.
"A staircase has appeared!"
I turned to see Bunny perched on top of Lily's helmet. Do as you please.
Even while playing with Bunny, Lily seemed to notice the staircase, as expected.
"Wait, there's a staircase? When did that appear?" It seemed he was completely unaware of my struggles.
"I'll try applying a Detect Anomaly spell on the staircase," he said. There were no red flashing spots around the staircase.
"This staircase might be shorter than usual," he added.
"What should we do? Should we go down the stairs or explore the uncharted parts of this level?"
"Let's methodically explore this floor," I suggested.
"Alright. Sounds good. How about that Great Sky Cave?"
"I think we'll be back many times, so we can investigate it little by little then," he replied.
"You're right. Let's head further into this level." I couldn't leave the gold coin on the pedestal, so I stored it in my item box. With a click, the staircase vanished.
"Ah, so this was a toggle switch as well? Let's test it out." I placed the gold coin back on the pedestal, and with another click, the staircase reappeared. It was such a curious sight that I repeated the process four or five times.
Feeling Lily's gaze behind me, I finally triggered the staircase one last time before putting the coin away. The staircase disappeared again.
"Alright, I'm satisfied. Let's go," I said. With Lily holding my hand, I focused on transferring Bunny with us and once again activated the magic circle to return to the room.
"Wait, Bunny? Is that you...?"
"I really thought about Bunny when I transferred. Does it only work if I'm touching him? Let's go back to that staircase in the Sky area."
"Okay."
When we returned to the Sky area, I heard Bunny's cheerful chirping from the bush where he had first stopped.
"Lily called out, 'Bunny!' and he flapped his wings to land on her right shoulder.
"Let's try again."
Lily silently took my left hand, and I reached out my right hand to Bunny on her shoulder. He pecked at my hand with his beak, clearly displeased with an old guy touching him. Of course, I was wearing thick work gloves, so it didn't hurt, but it might have stung quite a bit if I had been bare-handed.
"Bunny, be still!" Lily scolded him, and he settled down.
I gently placed my left hand on Bunny's back and said, "Transfer!"
When we appeared in the magic circle room, Bunny was nicely perched on Lily's shoulder.
"Such a troublesome little guy."
"Lily, the transfer worked, but if we carry Bunny around and run into a monster, won't he be in danger?"
"That's true. Bunny isn't a monster; he's a parrot, so he's quite vulnerable."
"Should we go back to the house and drop off Bunny?"
"Does that mean I can keep Bunny?"
Despite emitting an aura of wanting to adopt Bunny, the question felt insincere.
"That's the idea. I don't think Bunny would run away even without a cage, what do you think?"
"I'm not sure about that."
"Thinking it over, I could easily make a cage. The real question is whether Bunny would actually go inside it."
"That won't be a problem. I'll explain it to Bunny."
She seemed really confident.
"Alright then. We're not in a rush for our dungeon expedition, so let's head back to the house for now and set up Bunny's living space."
"Sounds great!"
Her radiant smile perfectly captured Lily's joy in that moment.
With that, we decided to return to the house.
We brought Bunny back home earlier than usual, but before changing, I thought it would be better to make a cage for Bunny first. After removing my leather armor, gloves, and helmet, I switched to my work suit and began building the cage in the living room.
The construction process involved first alchemizing some wire, then bending and joining it until a sizable cage took shape. It measured about 1.2 meters in diameter and stood 2 meters tall. I made the bottom tray from heavy steel plates, giving the whole structure considerable weight.
Since there were no suitable trees or branches to serve as perches, I decided to try crafting one but failed, likely due to my lack of artistic talent. I abandoned the idea of wood and ended up making something resembling a plastic stick, securing it about two-thirds up from the bottom of the birdcage.
While I was busy in the alchemy workshop making the birdcage, Bunny sat on Lily's shoulder, chirping in a high voice, which drew the attention of the children. Lily had removed her helmet and gloves but still wore her leather armor.
"Look, a bird!"
"That's Bunny, the parrot!"
"Is Hanane-san buying it?"
"Yep."
"How cute! Can I touch it?"
"Just wait a moment. Let Bunny interact with the kids first. It's safe, but remember to take turns."
"Okay! I'll go first."
Eva gently reached out, softly stroking Bunny's head, which caused Bunny to close its eyes, clearly enjoying it.
Next was Olivia, followed by Kiria, and finally, Iona, each taking their turn to pet Bunny. Each time, Bunny closed its eyes in bliss.
Damn it. It didn't like being touched by me. It must be a male—definitely a male with a long snout! Even while thinking that, I focused on finishing my work properly.
"Alright, the birdcage is ready!"
The birdcage I built this time is quite large—small humans can easily crouch and enter through the door. Lily stepped inside the cage with Bunny perched on her shoulder and set him on a branch. At the bottom of the cage, I had placed an iron water bowl and a feeder that I'd crafted. The water bowl was filled, but the feeder was empty, waiting for food.
"Bunny, be a good boy!" Lily said as she exited the cage.
"For now, I'll give him a Paradise Apple," I decided, pulling one from my stash. Lacking a proper knife, I used a dagger I had found in the dungeon to slice the apple into eight pieces, then reached in from outside the cage to place them in the feeder. The knife was surprisingly sharp, just as it appeared.