[39] Rousseau's Paradise A Dungeon's Secret Garden

"It's like something out of Rousseau's *Dream*," Lily said, her eyes sparkling.

*Rousseau's *Dream*?* I puzzled over it for a moment, but then I recalled that I had seen one of Rousseau's fantastical paintings a few years back. I couldn't remember the title, but it had to be one of those works. And with that magic circle from earlier, Lily seemed surprisingly well-educated for a high school girl.

We stumbled upon a vast Sky Cave deep within the dungeon, a paradise in its own right. Immediately, Lily used her detection abilities to check for any anomalies, but found nothing unusual.

Still on guard, we ventured into the cave, stepping into a thicket filled with lush greenery. Vibrant flowers bloomed everywhere, some even bearing fruit.

"Those fruits on the trees look delicious," one of us remarked.

"This fruit? It looks like a strawberry, doesn't it?" Lily pointed to a fist-sized red fruit at her feet.

"True, the leaves don't resemble strawberry leaves, but that fruit certainly does. Lily, can you identify it?"

"Sure. Identifying... It's called Paradise Strawberry."

"Simple name, but it fits perfectly."

I picked one and brought it to my nose; the sweet and tangy aroma was intoxicating.

"It smells good too. Should we try one?"

"Is it safe?"

"If this strawberry were so poisonous that a single bite could kill you, Lily's detection should have picked it up as an anomaly, right? Maybe it just didn't register because it's red."

"With how tempting these look, if they were deadly, that would be quite the trap. Let me identify for traps! Doesn't seem to be any!"

"I'll give it a try first.

But first, I should hand a healing potion to Lily. If something happens to me, make sure to get it into my hands immediately."

"Okay, I understand."

I quickly conjured a high-quality healing potion and handed it to Lily.

"If anything happens, I'll try to fall on my back, so at that point, please feed me the potion."

I said it jokingly, but Lily blushed and replied softly,

"I'll do my best then."

If I were to feign a collapse, could something unexpected happen? Though the thought was amusing, the aftermath scared me enough to dismiss it.

"Alright, I'm going to taste this."

I picked up a strawberry and took a small bite with my front teeth.

"It's sweet!"

In no time, I devoured the entire strawberry.

"I feel fine—it's almost like the fatigue just vanished, like when I drink a stamina potion."

"I'll try it too."

Lily plucked a strawberry between her fingers and brought it to her mouth.

"It's so sweet. The tiredness really seems to have disappeared."

"This truly is paradise in strawberry form.

I should take some back as gifts for everyone waiting."

Instead of putting them directly into my item box, I drew my Swordbreaker and carefully picked around twenty strawberries, ensuring not to damage them. Of course, I stored them in my item box afterwards.

"Those red fruits over there are apples. I bet they're called Paradise Apples," he said.

"Let's check!

You're right—they are indeed Paradise Apples."

The apples were quite large, so I only picked about ten. Some were out of reach, so I stored them directly in my item box.

"Now that we have our souvenirs, let's take a stroll around the wall of the Sky Cave to see how everything looks."

"Okay."

We stepped out of the thicket and walked along the wall of the Sky Cave. Up to about ten meters off the ground, the wall was covered with grass and moss, but above that rose a sheer cliff devoid of any vegetation. Still, the grass below bore flowers and fruit.

As we walked along the wall, we reached a spot that was directly opposite the entrance. A waterfall cascaded down from about thirty meters high on the cliff face. While it seemed like a spring lay beneath the waterfall, it appeared stagnant at first glance. I noticed the leaves floating on the surface of the spring and saw a small opening where the spring met the wall; water spilled out from there and flowed away.

The spring itself was roughly circular, with a diameter of about thirty to thirty-five meters, its bottom teeming with aquatic plants, and the deepest parts seemed to reach five or six meters. The area around the spring, except where it met the wall, was a sandy bank about three meters wide.

Lily peered into the gently rippling spring.

"What clear water! Oh! Look, there are fish. Are those trout?"

"Maybe it's paradise trout?"

"Let me check! Yes, it's called paradise trout. Is 'trout' another word for 'masu'?"

"Yes, 'trout' means 'masu.' It sounds better as 'paradise trout,' so it makes sense that the other world translated it that way."

"I bet they're edible."

"Probably."

Without any fishing equipment, we couldn't catch any trout, but it was perfect for refilling our water supply, so I stored a good amount in my item box. Despite taking a considerable quantity, the water level of the spring and the waterfall remained unchanged. I supposed that was how things worked in a dungeon.

I could activate both storage and Transfer as long as I could perceive them. While I might struggle to store a live fish, Transfer should work regardless of whether it was alive or dead. Did that mean I could freely catch the trout swimming in the spring?

I decided to test it by catching one. A trout swam towards the waterfall, tail fluttering, and I targeted it, activating Transfer.

The trout flopped onto the sand at my feet, wriggling vigorously. I attempted to store it in my item box, but it didn't work. I had previously been able to store an assassin from the temple whose heart had stopped but still had a chance of revival. Perhaps the difference was whether the fish was fully alive and healthy or not.

"Lily, I caught a trout!"

Eager to observe the fish, I picked a leaf from a nearby bush and laid it on the ground, placing the trout on top. But it bounced energetically and quickly dashed back into the spring. Since I hadn't actually caught it, the trout seemed full of life.

"What a shame," I said.

"There's always another time to catch one, so I'll let it go today. But this place is really amazing. Building a vacation home here would be paradise."

"Absolutely."

"If I could build a log cabin myself, it would be perfect, but I don't have those skills."

"What size can you make with your alchemy, Rockwell?"

"Huh? Are you thinking my alchemy could create a log cabin?"

"Yes. After all, the Turtle Ship is far more complex than a log cabin."

"That's true. If we had a model house somewhere, we could easily replicate it. If I pull items out of the box onto solid ground, they could be used right away. That means it doesn't have to be a log cabin; we could just copy a regular house from a housing exhibition. But as soon as I store it, it would tear out the electrical wires and plumbing."

"What about those temporary rooms they set up at construction sites?"

"Unit house, huh? I doubt we'd get in trouble for that, but there's none of that in this paradise," I said.

"That's true, I suppose," Lily replied.

"Maybe I'll think about it when I return to Japan. It's getting close to noon, so we should head back to the mansion."

For a moment, Lily froze, staring at her own flickering green form. Thanks to the Detect Life feature, both of us continued to emit that green light, synchronized perfectly. While it was quite an amusing sight for an outsider, it wasn't funny for us at all. Just imagining us blinking green together at the mansion during lunch was more than a little awkward. That said, we had entered the dungeon saying we'd have lunch at the mansion, so we had to return.

We transferred to the entrance hall of the mansion while still synchronized in our green blinks.

"I'm home! I just got back. I'm going to change in my room," I called out.

"Welcome back!"

"Master, welcome home!"

"Welcome back, Hana!"

"Hana, you're back!"

Voices from the kitchen chimed in. It seemed the kids were helping Lisa.

Once in my room, I stripped off my heavy armor, helmet, and gloves, leaving on the cumbersome all-black work uniform. Just as I thought, my green spirit surged from within, unchanged even after removing the armor. If that was the case for me, it must surely be the same for Lily.

If it had just been one person, it would have been a simple matter; however, the fact that it was a pair—a man and a woman, despite their age difference—made things awkward. There was no point in worrying about it; it was beyond my control.

"Dinner is ready!" came a voice from beyond the door.

"Thanks! I'm coming," I replied, heading down to the dining room.

In the dining room, Lisa and the kids were already seated. Only Lily was missing, but she soon arrived and took her seat directly across from me, her light flickering.

"Alright then, let's eat."

""Let's eat!"" the children chimed in unison.

As we started our meal, an odd silence settled over the table. Instead of conversation, I felt the kids stealing glances at me and Lily.

I supposed the children had grown up.

I went along with the quiet, eating in silence, and Lily followed suit.

Just as everyone was finishing up, I remembered the treats I had brought back.

"I found some fruit in the dungeon. Let's have it for dessert. Please prepare small plates for everyone. We might need forks too... and knives might be a good idea."

I placed the large, fist-sized Paradise strawberries—two for each person—on the prepared plates. The bright red strawberries, when illuminated by the green glow from me and Lily, took on a dark, unappetizing appearance. I could ignore that; at least the taste and aroma were exquisite.

As the small plate adorned with strawberries made its way around the table, I announced, "These are called Paradise Strawberries. They might have been better chilled, but they're delicious as they are—so go ahead and try one." With that, I stabbed a knife into a strawberry and took a big bite. My mouth filled quickly, but it was still just a quarter of the fruit. Without chewing, I crushed it against the roof of my mouth, letting its sweetness, slight tartness, and indescribable aroma wash over me.

The children and Lisa took a bite each, their eyes widening in surprise. Hehehe. How do you like that?

Not long after lunch, the children devoured two fist-sized strawberries each, their bellies swelling; they were soon immobilized by their fullness. I figured a healing potion would bring them back, but they were probably too stuffed to down even a hundred cc of it.

"Hey, you all leave the cleanup to Lisa and just sit on the sofa for a bit," I instructed.

"Sorry, Lisa!" they chorused.

"It's okay," she replied.

As a post-lunch treat, we shared the Paradise Strawberries, leaving the cleanup to Lisa. After a short break, Lily and I returned to our room to put on our armor, preparing to transfer back to our paradise.

"Our paradise"—it sounded almost embarrassing to say. I should find a moment to tell Lily.

I arrived by transfer at the edge of a serene spring. It was undeniably beautiful, and I wished this moment could last forever.

"Time, stand still! You are breathtaking!"

Though I had not been summoned to heaven, a fierce urge welled up within me to protect our paradise.

"Those two high school girls from the temple should be entering this dungeon soon; we definitely don't want them to disturb our paradise."

"If we shift the numbers on that magic circle at the entrance, it might just close the door," Lily interjected, bypassing the mention of 'our paradise.'