In the end, Ouka took the initiative to break the stalemate. He placed the axe he was carrying on the ground, and when his gaze swept over Zephyr, he simultaneously nodded slightly to greet Lefiya and Lilli behind him.
"Zephyr-san, are you going to explore the Dungeon?"
"Yes."
Zephyr didn't feel awkward at all. To be precise, he had to thank Ouka and the others for being able to successfully complete the [Gourmet Sharing Mission] given by the system. Without their help, the mission progress would not have advanced so quickly.
He asked, "What about you guys?"
"We should just explore to the Middle Floors." Ouka answered.
Putting aside Zephyr's special hobby, he felt a sense of closeness toward him. Moreover, even though the time was very short, getting along with Zephyr, Lili, and Lefiya was no different from getting along with his peers beside him. They had no sense of superiority belonging to top-tier Familia Adventurers.
"The Middle Floors, huh."
Regarding this, Zephyr was a bit surprised. He already had a relatively clear concept of the strength of the Takemikazuchi Familia party where Ouka and Mikoto belonged. It should be in the stage between Level 1 and Level 2.
Mikoto spoke up, her eyes filled with a serious expression, "Um... the Dungeon exploration should go smoothly."
Mikoto showed a hint of shyness as she asked, "If it's possible, can we travel together in the Dungeon?"
"Huh?"
Hearing this request from Mikoto, question marks kept appearing on Ouka's forehead. He hadn't thought that such an unexpected episode would occur.
Mikoto seemed to notice his confusion and added, "I want to ask Zephyr-san questions about cooking."
"Hm? Ask about cooking?"
Hearing content related to cooking, Zephyr was a bit surprised.
He didn't give an answer immediately. After all, he knew the potential risks of traveling with a party.
If they encountered Gourmet Creatures while traveling with them, he couldn't just play dumb in that situation, right?
But from an objective perspective, traveling together had benefits. An increase in party size meant that when encountering those large numbers of monsters in the Upper Floors, they could be dealt with in a shorter time.
Moreover, this level of Dungeon exploration company didn't really count as a team-up in the true sense. It was just purely looking out for each other in the Dungeon. Most importantly, facing the extremely sincere gaze cast by Mikoto, he didn't know how to refuse.
After pondering for a moment, he turned around to seek the thoughts of Lili and Lefiya. "What do you think?"
Lili pondered for a moment ane stated, "If it's just reaching the middle floors, I think there's no problem. But if we want to go deeper, it might not be very convenient."
First, there's the issue of Familia standing.
Second, since they were merely passing acquaintances, there was no need for the presence of other Adventurers to affect Zephyr's exploration situation in the Dungeon.
Furthermore, making such an answer was actually a bit of her selfishness.
If they were heading to the middle floors along the way, with so many Adventurers present, the only thing they could discuss was cooking. That was better than communicating privately after returning to Orario.
Lili asked for Mikoto's opinion, "What do you think? After all, our exploration goals might be a bit different."
"Of course, no problem." Mikoto answered quite readily.
But the moment she finished answering Lili's question, she realized that her impulsive move to ask Zephyr to travel together was a bit reckless.
Bypassing her captain to extend such an invitation to another Familia?
"Um..."
Turning her head, her face showed a trace of guilt as she looked at Ouka, about to explain. But the words were just on the tip of her tongue when she saw Ouka scratching his head, his smile tinged with a complex emotion.
"Sorry for the trouble."
"It's fine."
Since neither Lili nor Lefiya had any objections, Zephyr shrugged, not feeling that it was any trouble.
The difficulty was very low for his party, but the overall quantity was high. It would take quite a bit of time to clear them. But now, traveling with Ouka's team, at least they could reach the final target floor faster than expected today. It was actually a positive help to the exploration plan.
Zephyr swept his eyes over Lili and Lefiya, and then said to Ouka, "Shall we set off then?"
"No problem."
—
The reality was no different from what Zephyr had guessed.
Although the members of the Takemikazuchi Familia were Level 1, their exploration experience was quite rich, and the team's coordination was quite tacit.
Ouka was responsible for the front-line charge. He went head-to-head with the oncoming Goblins and Dungeon Lizards. After the axe swung, it could slice the monsters' waists clean in two.
Chigusa stood in a safe position in the back row.
Mikoto, who shouldered the duties of an all-around support, displayed strength that exceeded Zephyr's expectations.
The exploration speed of the joint team was significantly improved.
Zephyr was naturally happy to be idle. Since his custom weapon wasn't finished yet, he used an axe borrowed from the Familia's weapon arsenal, dealing with any monsters that slipped through as he pleased.
Very soon, the joint team arrived at the 12th Floor, an extremely spacious cavern. Likewise, this also meant that this joint exploration operation was about to end.
After the team arrived in this area, Ouka turned to walk towards Zephyr and said, "Zephyr-san, this is far enough. Going any deeper would be a bit of a stretch for us."
If possible, Ouka had thought about hitching a ride with Zephyr and his group to see if they could reach the 18th Floor. But he knew that continuing to advance with them, they, who were Level 1, would only become a burden.
"Understood. The efficiency of the joint exploration is faster than our speed. This kind of thing is team cooperation, mutually beneficial."
Zephyr was quite satisfied with this result. It saved a lot more time than yesterday, so reaching the goal of the 18th Floor was definitely not a problem.
Ouka nodded. "Then, when we get back to Orario, I'd like to treat you to a meal."
"Sure." Zephyr nodded in agreement, treating it as a polite gesture.
After all, in the overall environment of Orario, inviting each other to dine together was a common way for Adventurers to maintain relationships, which was quite normal.
However, just as he wanted to say goodbye to Ouka and prepare to continue exploring towards the deeper areas with Lili and Lefiya, he noticed out of the corner of his eye Mikoto looking at him.
She was currently holding a bento wrapped tightly in light blue cloth, her eyes looking towards him.
She explained, "This is the Far East cuisine I cooked this morning. I feel it's lacking something, could you give me some feedback?"
So, the question Mikoto mentioned asking for advice on was just to comment on areas for improvement in the meal?
Zephyr looked at Mikoto's extremely determined expression and didn't refuse.
"No problem. But it's still early, how about I give you specific feedback after we return to the surface?"
But just at this moment, thanks to the comprehensive improvement in all aspects of his body after leveling up, he keenly captured the turbulence around him.
In the spacious 12th Floor, muffled tremors suddenly came from the ground. It was obvious that multiple monsters were approaching rapidly.
"?"
He nodded towards Lili and Lefiya, signaling the appearance of a crisis.
Mikoto looked at Zephyr's suddenly serious face and began to wonder if her request was a bit difficult for him.
Immediately after, she saw him cast his gaze into the darkness ahead.
"There are monsters in front. If I'm not mistaken, there are quite a lot of them."
Looking in the direction of Zephyr's gaze, Mikoto saw those dense scarlet eyes gathering.
Encountering monsters in the Dungeon was normal, but in the time she had been developing in Orario, she had never encountered such a massive number of monsters.
Ouka looked at the darkness ahead, his head buzzing.
He subconsciously looked towards Zephyr, but he knew in his heart that not everything could be solved by relying on others.
Protecting his companions was his responsibility as the captain.
But Ouka did not rush to command, asking for Zephyr's opinion, "There are a few too many monsters. Should we temporarily retreat?"
"Let's take a look first."
If it were a Gourmet Creature, Zephyr would have an absolute reason not to leave. Every Gourmet Creature meant a significant increase in his strength.
His expression gradually grew serious as he looked at the girls beside him.
Recalling the Loki Familia exploration logs she had reviewed last night, Lili felt that this situation looked somewhat familiar, and she pondered carefully for a moment.
She raised her head and explained, "If I'm not mistaken, this abnormal situation should be a Monster Feast."