Menu no.34 - She did it!

I could hear voices calling my name.

“Daiki!”
“Mika!”
“Wake up—please!”

The sound felt distant at first, like echoes underwater. Then pain rushed back into my body all at once, sharp and heavy. I gasped and opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was chaos.

“Kazuha—stop!” Asuna screamed.

Kazuha was still hacking at the dragon’s massive body, his blade buried deep in its scales. Blood splattered across the ground as he struck again and again, his movements frantic.

Only then did I realize—

Tiara was pinned beneath the dragon’s corpse.

“TIARA!” I shouted as my body jolted upright.

The dragon had collapsed sideways when it died, its enormous weight crushing Tiara beneath its chest and neck. Her armor was barely visible under the frozen, bloodied scales.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then panic exploded all at once.

“Get it off her!”
“It’s too heavy!”
“She’s not moving!”

Kazuha slammed his blade into the dragon again, not in attack, but in desperation—trying to cut through its body to lighten the load.

“Dammit—dammit—!” he snarled.

The dragon was far too massive to lift. Even with all of us pushing, it wouldn’t budge an inch.

“Asuna!” Kazuha yelled. “Burn it!”

Asuna wiped tears from her face and nodded, raising her staff with trembling hands.

Flames erupted along the dragon’s side—not wild, uncontrolled fire, but precise, focused magic. The heat melted ice, burned scales, and softened flesh just enough.

Kazuha worked like a madman, slicing through hide and muscle wherever Asuna burned. The smell was overwhelming—scorched meat, blood, and magic mixing in the damp forest air.

Finally—

The dragon’s body shifted.

“NOW!” Erina cried.

Together, we pushed.

With a dull, wet thud, the corpse rolled aside.

Tiara lay there, completely still.

For a terrifying second, no one spoke.

Asuna dropped to her knees beside Tiara immediately, pressing her hands against Tiara’s chest. Flames flickered softly around her palms, no longer destructive—only warmth.

“Come on… come on…” Asuna whispered.

Kazuha knelt too, gripping Tiara’s hand so tightly his knuckles turned white.

“Don’t you dare,” he muttered. “Don’t you dare leave us.”

I held my breath.

Then—

Tiara coughed.

Her chest rose sharply as she sucked in air.

“She’s breathing!” Erina shouted.

Tiara’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first.

“…Ow,” she muttered weakly.

Asuna let out a broken sob and hugged her without hesitation. Kazuha followed, wrapping both of them in a tight embrace.

“Idiot…” Asuna cried. “Absolute idiot…”

Tiara gave a weak chuckle. “Worth it… didn’t want… him eating the barista…”

My legs finally gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground in relief.

“…Thank goodness.”

Once Tiara was stable, I hurriedly poured coffee into a metal cup—one of the last prepared bottles. I helped her sit up and gently handed it to her.

“Drink this,” I said. “It’ll help restore your stamina.”

She took a slow sip.

“…Bitter,” she said. “But… good.”

Night slowly crept in as the forest quieted. We decided it was too dangerous to move immediately, so we set up a temporary camp nearby.

A fire was lit. Tents were raised. The dragon’s remains—now partially butchered—lay off to the side.

And eventually…

We ate dragon meat.

It was surprisingly good. Dense, slightly sweet, and rich with mana. Tiara insisted on cooking it herself, despite everyone protesting.

As we sat around the fire, exhaustion finally settling in, silence took over.

Then Kazuha spoke.

“Hey… Daiki.”

“Hm?”

“Did you ever think about this?” He poked the ground with a stick. “The soil here.”

“…The soil?”

“This place,” he continued, looking around the forest. “A dragon’s nesting ground. Means this land’s been mixed with its waste for years.”

I froze.

“…Ah.”

Erina tilted her head. “Is that… bad?”

I stared at the coffee cherries we’d harvested earlier.

“No,” I said slowly. “Not bad.”

Images flashed in my mind.

Fermentation. Soil composition. Microorganisms. Minerals.

“…Actually,” I muttered, “it might be incredible.”

Everyone looked at me.

“Where coffee grows,” I explained, “matters just as much as the bean itself. Altitude. Soil. Temperature. What nutrients it absorbs.”

I swallowed.

“In my old world… there was a coffee called kopi luwak. Beans eaten and excreted by animals. The process changed the flavor completely.”

“…You’re kidding,” Asuna said.

“This,” I gestured to the ground, “might be something similar. Dragon-infused soil. Mana-rich. Fermented naturally.”

Kazuha let out a low whistle. “So… dragon coffee?”

“…Possibly,” I said.

Erina’s ears perked up. “Erinyan wants to try!”

“Let’s not,” Asuna said immediately.

Despite everything—the danger, the fear, the near-death—we laughed.

After a long rest, once Tiara was able to walk again, we decided to return.

Our bags were heavy with coffee cherries. Enough to last a while.

As we left the forest, I looked back one last time.

The dragon’s nest.
The soil.
The whispering Dungeon.

Something about this place felt… important.

Not just for coffee.

For me.

And as we began our ascent back toward the upper floors, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Dungeon itself had been watching.

Waiting.