currently lying on the ground defeated with tears running down his face was laios, watching as his precious monster plant seeds was burnt in the fire after marcille tossed it in.

while he sulked and mumble about his now lost seeds, senshi was cooking the food that they had gotten from the plant they killed, making the fruits into a tart.

"-and when it starts bubbling a bit, it's time to drop the fruits in."

"i don't think they're listening to you, senshi."

chilchuck sweatdrops, sipping on his beverage as the dwarf sprinkled the chopped fruits on the tart.

"it's ready."

senshi says after a few more seconds, and he began handing out freshly cooked slices to everyone.

"it's a tart?"

"it looks like it, but it's not. the crust keeps it from burning, don't eat that part."

chilchuck took a spoonful, his eyes lighting up.

"it's more on the salty side, rather than sweet."

"yeah, but it's good."

laios took a bite on his slice, clearly enjoying it.

"go on and try it, marcille. i'm sure you'll like the flavour."

said elf grumbled as she looks down st her own slice, scooping a spoonful as she raised it up her lips.

"you didn't make this with the plant that the corpse fell out from, did you?"

she asked senshi, skeptical.

"nope, just its fruit. the gelatin from the stem of that species would've made this dish come out a whole lot better though. it's just not firm enough with the slime."

marcille hesitates before finally taking a bite, her face immediately going bright as she hums in delight.

"hmm, this is actually pretty good. the fertilizer-type fruit is juicy and sweet, while the digesting-type fruit is savory."

she raised a slice of fruit up, before munching on it.

"the animals must love these too. must be hard for the plants to make enough fruit to keep up with the demand. what's the point of making it if it's just gonna get eaten by others?"

"well, it is a carnivorous plant. it makes fruit to attract the animal it eats to survive."

"ehhh? then.. being delicious is a part of the plant's strategy. how amazing!"

marcille grinned, before she gasped out in realisation when laios blissfully closed his eyes, a single tear dripping down his cheek.

"now you see the appeal of monsters. aren't they great?"

"stop that!!"

after eating their fill, the group started cleaning their area to prepare for bed, washing the dishes and sweeping the floor.

marcille sighs softly with a small grin, looking up at the sky as she reflected on everything that happened lately. not everything was... nice, to say the least, but she's just grateful she's here, with the opportunity to try and save their precious friends.

speaking of which...

marcille's expression sours a bit as her mood drops, and she looks down at the wooden plate she's holding.

'falin, [name]... i wonder how you guys are doing now. it's less likely you guys are safe but... please wait for us.'

she grips the plate with a deep frown, her expression troubled.

falin was a special person for her. they've known each other for quite a while now, ever since they first met at her magic school.

she's someone marcille could consider... close. someone she'd actually willingly sacrifice her life for.

falin is a gentle soul, she'd never want to see anyone or anything in pain. she'd always do things that most people would find strange, but marcille finds them incredibly sweet.

she wonders if she truly just sees falin as a friend, or something more. the burning urge to give up everything she has just to bring her back... makes marcille think it's not just a simple friendship.

and then there's [name], a fellow elven girl like her. marcille also knew her from the magic academy, but not the same way she met falin.

[name] was just a mere chore girl. the chore girl that was well known in the academy for always sneaking in the alchemy room and getting caught by the head mage, always getting punishmens for unauthorized usage of magic and alchemy since she wasn't even a student there to begin with.

she had no idea how she befriended the strange girl, considering how she kept to herself most of the time. but she did, and now... marcille realised just how important they both are to her.

important... both of them... two girlfrie-

'...i shouldn't think like this.'

she mentally facepalmed, her face flushed in embarrassment.

"what's up, marcille? something bothering you?"

marcille almost jumped out of her skin when laios appears out of nowhere next to her, tapping her shoulder curiously.

"your face is all red. are you having an allergic reaction or something?"

"what? no! i'm... it's just hot, that's all."

she quickly thought of a lie, coughing awkwardly as she placed the clean dishes down.

"huh? it's hot?"

laios hums, looking outside with a thoughtful expression.

a moment of silence passed between them before laios suddenly spoke again.

"you think [name]'s alive?"

she flinched, looking at laios with her brows furrowed but stopped herself from saying anything negative.

she knew he could be morbid sometimes.

"i'm hoping she is. we don't really know anything for certain."

laios nods his head in agreement, and he seems to hesitate. he wanted to mention falin, but for his own reasons, he couldn't.

"we really need those potions of hers right now. they'd be pretty useful..."

"yeah, getting camouflage and speed without draining my mana would be very useful right now..."

laios then sighs, his shoulders drooping.

"i miss her..."

marcille raised a brow, crossing her arms.

"we all do. both [name] and falin really kept us together..."

"no like, i miss [name] because she'd always listen to my monster ramblings without looking at me strangely. the only people who listens to me is my sister and [name]."

'so she knew about his monster obsession before us?'

marcille deadpans, already imagining how the girl would react to laios spewing random monster facts.

'she'd probably listen to him and find it entertaining...'

"well, more reason to try and get them back as soon as possible."

she sighed before deciding to change the topic when she spots the corpse that they discovered earlier outside.

"well, what should we do with him?"

laios scratched his head as chilchuck made his way in between them, looking at the corpse curiously.

"we'd lose time by trying to drag him back to town..."

"i can resurrect him with my magic or something?"

"no, don't risk it. the spell could backfire."

chilchuck chimes in, resting his chin on his arms.

"if we just leave him where people could see him, he'll get picked up eventually."

and so the three came up with a genius (kinda stupid and scary idea) by tying the poor dude up with rope and pulling him up, literally hanging him on a tree.

"this works... i think."

"kinda reminds me of those things you see in gallows, don't you think?"

"eugh..."

soon after, the sun had gone down and the party got ready for bed, each going on their own routine while laios stays up, reading the notes on his dungeon food guide book.

that night, marcille had a nightmare. one about the monsters they'd consume so far, and one about homosexuality. (scary😱)

dungeon food, to eat or be eaten. there is no hierarchy to it. just the reality that to eat is the privilege of the living.

in the lower levels of the dungeon, sharp and peculiar (e/c) eyes glowed in the dark as they slowly blink open, watching in anticipation as another presence of a group of unassuming adventurers passed by, completely oblivious of the dangers ahead of them.

dungeon food, oh dungeon food... truly a delicacy you are.

'i... am hungry.'

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-second chapter doneee! i'm really enjoying writing the chapters, and i'm excited for the mc's appearance! i have a lot of scenarios in my head >•<

i love the touden party sm idek how to explain it

i have this awesome monster concept that i wanna show y'all as soon as possible so i'm just gonna write the chapters quickly mwehehe

idk how long the next chapters are gonna take but i hope u guys can wait, i'll try my best to publish them asap! ^^

here's the dunmeshi meme of the day :D