The object that caught my attention was a milky-white, rectangular block about the size of a cigarette pack. I checked the product description on the display card; apparently, it was soap made from fats extracted from red boar meat. When I picked it up, it had a satisfying weight to it.
Was it like one of those animal-fat soaps, like horse oil soap?
"Huh. I guess dungeon food isn't just for eating; there are other ways to use it."
Now that I thought about it, there were plenty of precedents for using animal fats like this. It made sense that people would think to try it with monsters. Reading further, the description claimed it was particularly effective against oil-based stains. Oil-based... like the sweat stains around a collar?
My mother often complained that the grime around collars was a pain to wash out. It might be a good idea to buy some as a souvenir for her.
"They have several other kinds, too. Wolf soap, rabbit soap..."
The lineup looked like they had experimented with everything they could find and turned the successes into products. The surface of each plastic package featured a stylized, chibi version of the corresponding monster, making it easy to identify each variety at a glance.
Each soap seemed to specialize in a different type of dirt, suggesting it was best to choose the one suited for the task at hand.
"I see. Still, what kind of people besides explorers have a high demand for minoushi soap’s ability to remove bloodstains? And it’s unnecessarily expensive, too."
Even the cheapest option, the wolf soap, cost a thousand yen per bar, while the minoushi soap was priced at nearly ten thousand. It was a bit too pricey for casual laundry use. Rather than a daily necessity, this was strictly a souvenir item.
Then again, considering the cost of the raw materials, I couldn't necessarily call it overpriced.
"What else..."
I returned the soap to the shelf and moved on to the other products. The next thing that stopped me in my tracks was the fabric. A square of cloth only twenty centimeters wide was being sold for over ten thousand yen. Ten thousand yen for such a tiny scrap? What kind of pricing was that?
Startled, I leaned in to read the sign.
"Let’s see... a handkerchief made from horn rabbit hair?"
Technically, the fabric was categorized as a handkerchief. When I picked it up, it felt incredibly thin and light, yet pleasant to the touch. If this was truly made from horn rabbit hair, it should have a strength comparable to ballistic-grade fibers. Could you even call this a handkerchief?
Curious, I gave it a light tug, but the material showed no sign of stretching or yielding. It was the fur of a monster that could deflect bullets, after all; a little pull from me wasn't going to do anything.
"If you used this as a lining for clothes, you could probably make standard stab-proof or bulletproof vests."
It might be a bit unreliable against monsters, but it would be more than enough protection against a thug with a knife. Even if you just kept it in your breast pocket, you could pull off a scene from a movie where a bullet hits your chest, only to be stopped by the handkerchief in your pocket.
Actually, instead of putting this in a gift shop, wouldn't it be better to sell it as raw materials to manufacturing firms? Well, maybe they were already doing that.
"...As I thought, no bear cloth."
Just like with the soaps, there were various fabrics made from different monsters, but nothing from the high-level creatures found beyond the 20th floor. Even if they did stock them, they would probably cost hundreds of thousands of yen, making them a waste of shelf space. Besides, a bear cloth handkerchief was a bit excessive for a souvenir.
Still, paying ten thousand yen for a single handkerchief felt steep. I wondered who they expected to buy these things.
"I suppose it’s a fitting souvenir for an explorer, but it’s far too expensive to just give to someone on a whim."
It might work as a commemorative gift for a special occasion, but it wasn't the kind of thing you’d hand out casually.
...Could it be that they really intended for explorers to buy them as hidden protection, just like in the movies? In that case, it was more like armor than a handkerchief.
"If you think of it as a lucky charm... well, it’s still expensive."
I put the handkerchief back and, realizing I’d spent too much time in one spot, looked around. Yuji and Hiiragi-san had already moved quite close to the dungeon food corner where Mika and the others had headed.
I wanted to browse the other goods a bit more, but I decided to regroup first. I could always bring the others back to see the rest later. I left the craft corner behind and went to find Mika and her friend.
As I hurried over, glancing briefly at the shelves along the aisle, I found Mika and Saori-chan getting excited over some retort pouch meals made with dungeon food.
Most of the comments I overheard were exclamations of shock at the high prices.
"Hey, what's going on with you two? If you're too loud, the Clerk is going to get onto you."
"Ah, Onii-chan! Look at this! This retort curry is so expensive!"
Mika noticed me and shoved a box of curry toward my face. The packaging featured a stylized minotaur character, indicating it was made with minotaur meat.
"Hm? Oh, that... Well, given the ingredients, it’s bound to be. It’s not cheap, but isn’t that a fair price?"
"Wait, this is fair!?"
"If you consider the market price for minotaur meat and add in processing costs, that’s about right. It was actually quite tasty."
"Wait, you've eaten this before!?"
"Yeah, just once."
When I gave her my review, Mika’s eyes widened in surprise, asking if I’d actually bought it. I had bought it—well, I’d been pressured into buying it—for a taste test the last time I was here. It was delicious, certainly, but whether it was worth that specific price was something I couldn't judge, as I wasn't much of a gourmet.
Personally, I felt that rather than spending that much on one pouch, I’d rather get my fill of cheap beef bowls at a chain restaurant. I was a growing high school boy, after all.
"Kokonoe-senpai, have you tried this one too?"
"That one?"
Saori-chan spoke up, holding a different item. This one featured a chibi illustration of an orc and some ginger. In other words, orc ginger pork.
They’d started selling things like this, too? It hadn't been here last time.
"No, I haven't tried that. I didn't see it the last time I visited, so it must be a recent release."
"It wasn't here last time?"
"This shop hasn't been open for very long. I imagine they're cycling through different products to see how customers react."
"Does that mean new products are being developed fast enough that they can change the lineup regularly?"
"Hmm, I suppose so."
As Saori-chan noted, the fact that new products were arriving so frequently meant that companies were constantly developing new goods using dungeon food. It was proof of how much these ingredients were starting to permeate society.
After all, no one would bother making new products if there wasn't any consumer demand.
"Hey, Onii-chan."
"Yeah, what is it, Mika?"
"I was thinking... when we’re collecting research on food, it would be a lot more interesting for people if we included reviews of the taste..."
"...Hey now."
Mika began to speak with a meaningful, upward glance, repeatedly swaying the box of curry in the corner of my eye. I knew exactly what she was getting at.
I let out a small sigh and scratched my temple.
"I don't mind. However, if you want to include taste reviews, you have to buy the research materials with your own money."
"Ehh!"
"Don't 'Ehh' me. You were totally planning on making me pay for it, weren't you?"
When I told her with a flat look to pay for her own samples, Mika pouted and groaned in protest. Of course I’d say that. This wasn't a professional gourmet report; we didn't strictly need taste reviews for a school festival presentation. Besides, how many things did she plan on 'reviewing'? If we collected samples of every dungeon food product, the cost would easily reach tens of thousands of yen.
I ignored Mika's protests and turned back to Saori-chan.
"Anyway, Saori-chan, you’ve got the right idea. It might be interesting to look into the release schedules for these new retort products."
"Right? I think we can gauge how much dungeon food has integrated into the world by looking at the trends and release dates of new products!"
"Yeah. Even just a graph of monthly new releases would make for an interesting presentation."
The numbers had probably spiked around April or May of this year. That was roughly when dungeon food started becoming a common sight in ordinary supermarkets.
Thinking about it that way, it had been a year since the dungeons appeared and only six months since they were opened to civilians... The speed of penetration was incredible.
"...A slightly scary thought just crossed my mind, but I think that’s a great angle for your research."
"I knew it! Okay, I’m going to focus my material collection on that!"
"Good luck."
"Thanks!"
With that, Saori-chan’s direction was set. That just left...
I shifted my gaze to Mika, who was looking awkward as she debated what to do with the retort curry in her hand.
"There you go, Mika. It looks like Saori-chan has her plan. What about you? Are you going to stick with the gourmet report idea?"
"Well..."
Mika looked troubled and began scanning the room for an escape.
After a few seconds, her face lit up as she spotted someone.
"Yukino-san, Yuji-san! You’re late!"
"Oh, did we keep you waiting?"
"Sorry, we got a bit distracted looking at the various goods."
It seemed Mika had spotted Yuji and Hiiragi-san. They had been close by when I looked earlier, after all. Mika had successfully dodged the question.
The two of them approached at a leisurely pace, apologizing for the delay.
"Phew... Did you find anything interesting?"
"Yeah, quite a bit. There were things I didn't see last time, so they must be new."
"Same here. They’ve added quite a few new products."
Apparently, the shop was still figuring out its permanent lineup. As a customer, it was nice to see something new every time I visited, but it must be a lot of work for the staff to cycle through the stock like that.
After hearing about what they’d found, I mentioned the new items I’d discovered.
"Huh. I didn't realize there were uses like that. I’ve always thought of meat as just something to eat, so I guess my thinking was a bit narrow," Yuji admitted.
"It’s true. Since animal fats have always been used that way, it only makes sense that dungeon materials would be applicable too. I can’t argue with the fact that our thinking was a bit rigid," Hiiragi-san added.
Upon hearing about the monster fat soap, both of them looked genuinely surprised.
It was understandable. I’d had the same 'so that’s an option!' realization. When it came to monster meat, I usually only thought about eating it or selling it for cash.
"But if you can make soap with those properties using monster fat, maybe I should try making some with oil extracted from plants," Hiiragi-san mused. "Normal animal-fat soaps can have a bit of a gamy scent, but plant-based oils wouldn't have that problem..."
"Hiiragi-san, that’s a fine idea, but please don't put it on the market yet. Right now, the source of those materials is a bit... problematic," I warned in a low voice.
"I know. Even if I make it, it’ll be for my own personal use at home."
It probably didn't need to be said, but I wanted to be sure. The plant oil she was talking about came from flora on the 30th floor. If people found out where the ingredients came from, it would cause a massive stir.
Still, soap made with that oil... given the rarity of the materials, it would probably cost more than ten thousand yen if it were ever sold.
"Well then, since we’re all here, why don't we go around and look at what everyone found?"
After another thirty minutes of browsing the shop together, we finally headed toward the registration desk to enter the dungeon. The visit to the shop had been incredibly useful; the place was practically overflowing with good ideas. We were all feeling quite satisfied with our progress even before the actual exploration had begun.
That said, the main event was still ahead of us. We had to stay sharp.