It was time for the request's Preparation Turn!
I enlisted Miti-chan’s help to mass-produce potions, grinding our skills in the process. Since the work took place at the Home, I acted as the transporter, hauling materials from the Royal Capital Frilene through Alto’s Home.
"Heave-ho! One potion done-o. On to the next one!"
"Yeah, keep ‘em coming. We’ve got materials to burn."
We were producing them at a breakneck pace. Since the deal was to return anything not used for the exploration, I was essentially swapping the raw materials for finished products. They were happy to see their supplies turned into usable items, and I was thrilled to grind skill levels to my heart's content. It was a total win-win.
Munch, munch...
Every so often, Miti-chan would snack on a Medicinal Herb. Well, I decided to consider her little treats as the technical fee and labor costs. She was munching on quite a few... maybe to recover MP? Either way, as long as I could rack up skill Experience Points for essentially zero cost, I wasn't complaining.
"Whooooa! I’m a regular Potion Generator right now-o!"
"Medicinal Herbs go in from the right and come out as potions on the left... Hmm, marvelous."
"I got praised! I'm so happy-o! Yay!"
Oh, she sped up. Then she failed.
"...I'm sorry-o."
"Don't worry about it; failures are just part of the expenses! If anything, keep going full throttle! Got it?"
"Yeah... I'll go full throttle-o!"
She redoubled her efforts and dove back into her Alchemy Skill tasks. Good, good. Just like that. Keep it up. After replenishing her supplies and collecting the finished potions, I headed over to Penpen's station to do the same.
"Oh, you're making potions here too."
"Since I have unlimited materials, I figured I might as well-ssu. I'm not going to lose to Miti-chan yet-ssu!"
Even though Penpen usually focused on Crafting things like food and furniture, her potion-related Alchemy Skill was still higher than Miti-chan's. She was taking full advantage of the situation, burning through materials to level up.
"Ah, the potions I finished are over there-ssu."
"Got it."
I gathered the potions that were scattered haphazardly around the floor and dumped in a fresh load of materials.
"Oh, you've even got status recovery potions."
"You should have Miti-chan make some too-ssu. They often require rare materials, so the Experience Points are high. Take advantage of this chance! Though the experience efficiency is Poor if you don't actually succeed-ssu!"
"Yeah, I've got her on it. She’s even sharing her recipes!"
We were allowed to view every recipe available for purchase that corresponded to our Alchemy level and Alchemist Certification Rank. Apparently, the official line was that high-difficulty recipes weren't shown to those with insufficient levels because the failure rate would be too high. You had to raise your Rank to see more—a very "gamey" mechanic, indeed.
So, the plan was to power-level, get certified, and expand the library of recipes at our disposal!
Man, this Limited-time Event was the absolute best! Royal Family Cases were incredible! Living on an expense account was even better!
I wondered how Alto's preparations were coming along. Just as I returned with a fresh batch of potions, a weary-looking Alto arrived.
"Mwee-o..."
"Oh, perfect timing. How are things on your end?"
"Good-o. I’ve pretty much wrapped up the Preliminary Investigation-o."
"A Preliminary Investigation, huh?"
I wondered what exactly went into a dungeon Preliminary Investigation. Did she gather info at the Adventurer's Guild or something?
"Well, for starters, I actually went all the way to the door of the Boss Room-o."
"Ah. So it was a Preliminary Investigation (Solo Conquest)."
Well, research was one thing, but actually seeing the place for yourself was vital. The fact that she could clear it solo was definitely a confidence booster.
"The monsters weren't a problem-o. But the real question is how much the Prince's skill is going to change the difficulty-o."
"Since it's full of narrow passages, they probably won't be able to swarm us in huge numbers. They'll have to line up to attack."
"We can't bring a whole army, but the same goes for the enemy-o."
True, true. Narrow passages... wait. If the paths were that cramped, then Miti-chan might actually be a major asset. If she moved along the ceiling, we could add another combatant to the fray without her physically getting in anyone's way!
"Oho! That's a great idea-o. I'm planning to call in Nika-chan to serve as the Rear-guard too-o."
"In that case, we might as well go with a full party of six... actually, let's leave Penpen behind. Gin-chan’s combat stats are higher, and it would be a disaster if anything happened to Penpen."
"Taking the Preliminary Investigation into account, I'll start working on the party composition-o."
And so, our preparations proceeded without a hitch. By the looks of it, we’d be ready to take the Prince into the dungeon by the day after tomorrow in game-time!