This is my first siege in my life.

  Neither during my time as a working adult nor during my gaming days have I ever experienced a prolonged siege.

  Three days have already passed since the royal capital was surrounded by a horde of Stampede monsters, plunging us into this siege.

  "How did it go?""No good. None of the shops have any to spare. This is all I could buy."

  I was still living in the stable behind Jink's shop. Peeking out from the entrance, I saw Jink apologizing to Teresa with a guilty look after asking a merchant acquaintance if they could spare any food.

  "We still have some stock left, but it won’t st forever."

  The advantage of a siege lies in the sturdy defenses of the royal capital’s walls—they can block the endless onsught of Stampede monsters while allowing for safe counterattacks.But the downside?

  "Things aren’t too bad for us yet, but I’ve heard some are resorting to theft because they can’t buy food.""Already, after just three days? The streets outside are still swarming with monsters!"

  The complete severance of all external contact.In other words, all logistics to and from the royal capital have been cut off.

  The technological gap between modern Japan and this world when it comes to preserved food is as vast as the distance between the moon and a snapping turtle.

  Retort pouches, freeze-dried meals, cup noodles, canned goods—none of these exist in this world. They didn’t even exist in the FBO game.

  At best, you’d have dried goods or pickles.Dried meat, dried vegetables, salt-pickled or vinegar-pickled foods.

  That’s about it.

  This is… pretty bad.

  The royal capital’s popution is rge, and until now, it has relied on external logistics to sustain itself.

  Two or three days wouldn’t have been a problem.And if the monsters outside still dropped food, things might have been manageable.

  Listening to Teresa’s anxious voice, I quietly closed the door.

  "Liberta, will we be okay?""……"

  Nell was also in the stable, saying she felt uneasy staying in the room.

  For a moment, I hesitated over how to answer.Nell is sharp—if I tried to reassure her with empty words, she’d see right through it.

  "It might get a little dangerous."

  Since I knew she wasn’t looking for false comfort, I decided to share my own sense of crisis.

  In the game era, raids like Stampede never took this kind of defensive form.Instead, we unched massive offensives from the start, aiming to wipe out the enemy in one go.

  So, unfortunately, I’ve never experienced this kind of looming food shortage before.

  "Can we do something about it?""……"

  But just when I thought there was nothing we could do, an idea came to me.

  "There is a way. The nutrition will be pretty unbanced, but at least we won’t have to worry about starving. However—""However?""We’d have to reveal the Mochi Dungeon…"

  In FBO, there was a way to change a monster’s drop items.By using a certain skill, you could convert normal drops into food-reted items.

  Of course, this didn’t work on all monsters—only those that could reasonably yield ingredients.

  "Actually, now’s not the time to hesitate. If this keeps up, the food shortage could lead to riots. If there’s a way to avoid danger, we should act first."

  There’s also a chance this method isn’t widely known.

  After all, the skill required is Butchering, which falls under either Cooking or Hunter skills.If you finish off a monster with Butchering, you can obtain food items from it.

  In the game era, we couldn’t actually taste anything, but there were still combat-oriented cooks—pyers who specialized in collecting monster drops to boost their Cooking skill efficiency.

  The Butchering skill was the foundation—and the secret technique—of those combat cooks.

  If we can find someone with that skill, we can at least stave off the food crisis.

  "First, let’s talk to Jink.""I’ll come too."

  Rumors say those who took refuge in the cathedral are receiving food from the clergy, but the shopkeepers who couldn’t escape are starting to look desperate.

  If this continues, riots could break out in the capital.

  Once we made up our minds, we moved quickly.

  "Jink.""Oh, Liberta? What’s up?"

  Even though feeding one more person is a burden, Jink didn’t show any annoyance when I called out to him. He really is a good guy.

  "There’s a way to get food. Do you know anyone with the Butchering skill?"

  So, I cut straight to the point.

  "Butchering? Yeah, the father and son at the butcher shop have it. But how does that help us get food?"

  It seems people in this world assume only combat-focused csses fight monsters.Sure, production csses might be a step behind in combat ability, but that doesn’t mean they can’t fight.

  Well, someone like Amina—if they mastered their craft—could easily surpass mediocre combat csses.

  "If you kill a monster with Butchering, it drops ingredients that monster could provide.""So we’d kill the monsters outside? I used my connections to gather info—the monsters out there are undead goblins. I doubt we’d get anything edible, and beyond the walls, the pce is crawling with monsters. It’s far from safe."

  Combat cooks might struggle against inorganic monsters like golems, but against monsters that can be ingredients, they’re unmatched.It’s only natural, given their skill setup.

  Actually, some undead even drop fermented foods—like Surstr?mming-level stinky delicacies.

  But pointing that out wouldn’t help, so I focused on correcting Jink’s misunderstanding, the source of his worried expression.

  "I can guarantee it’s safe. We won’t be killing goblins—we’ll be killing mochi."

  As I spoke, I pulled out a Mochi Dungeon key from my pocket.

  "This dungeon key is reusable. We have four of them right now."

  I fanned them out in my hands to show him.

  (We actually have three more, but I’ll keep those hidden.)

  Nell didn’t say anything, so she must have picked up on my intent.

  For now, four should be enough to solve the immediate food problem.

  "The enemies in this dungeon are safe to kill, and we can handle the boss. The mochi drop rice cakes as ingredients—they can be grilled with salt or added to soup. At the very least, we won’t have to worry about starving."

  If the siege continues, the first things to run out will be perishables—fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit.Then, longer-sting staples like wheat and dried meat.

  I don’t know the royal capital’s exact popution, but it’s sizable.With no food coming in, supplies will eventually run out.

  If there were at least a clear end to the Stampede, it’d be one thing—but if the siege drags on for months, people could start starving to death.

  (I’ve never starved to death in a game, so I can’t say for sure…)

  "...Alright. Teresa, I’m heading out again. Liberta, wait here."

  After staring at me and the keys in my hand, Jink—without asking how I knew this—handed the food to Teresa, then jogged off, his belly jiggling slightly.

  A few minutes ter…

  "Hey, Jink. You said we could get food, but this is just your shop’s backyard. What, you pnnin’ to start a vegetable garden or somethin’?"

  He returned with a bald, rough-looking man who also had a bit of a gut.

  "Punk, I brought you here to prove it. You’re worried about food running out too, right?""Yeah, but there’s none left anywhere—""Liberta, this is Punk, the butcher. He’s got the Butchering skill."

  Cutting off the reluctant man’s compints, Jink turned to me, as if to say, Show him the proof.

  "Understood. Since we might be seen out here, let’s do it inside the stable.""Right. Punk, come with me—I’ll expin.""Tch, so the kid’s involved?""That’s right."

  With the Stampede still ongoing, using a dungeon key in the open would be risky, so we did it inside the stable as usual.

  Jink and Punk seemed to have a good retionship, so Punk reluctantly followed along.

  "Alright, Nell, get ready.""Leave it to me!"

  My bamboo spear was confiscated by Lady Esmeralda and hasn’t been returned, so Nell would be our main fighter.

  Punk’s skepticism grew as he watched Nell grip her spear with determination, but when I activated the dungeon key, he flinched.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold on!"

  He grabbed my arm in a panic.

  "What the hell are you doing, casually trying to make a dungeon?!"

  Even civilians knew about dungeon keys—and that the Stampede was caused by them.

  "Rex, Punk. It’s a Mochi Dungeon. It’s safe.""Y-yeah, but it’s still a dungeon! Jink, something’s off here. You drag me out saying we’ll get food, and now this kid’s making a dungeon?"

  Fortunately, my stats were high enough that he couldn’t just snatch the key from me.

  "Punk, we need you to use Butchering on the mochi in this dungeon.""Listen, kid. Butchering’s for chickens and cows—not monsters.""Punk.""What, Jink?""Just trust me."

  So I expined, and despite his tough appearance, Punk patiently crified how Butchering worked—though his understanding differed from mine.

  "......""......"

  We wouldn’t make progress unless we bridged that gap.But Jink vouched for me, and after a long stare-down between the two men…

  "…Fine."

  Punk sighed heavily and released my arm.

  "If things look bad, I’m runnin’.""That’s fine. I’ll go with you, so don’t worry.""Damn right you will."

  Grudgingly, he seemed to accept it—trusting Jink’s judgment.

  "Then let’s go."

  Without dey, I activated the dungeon key and opened the Mochi Dungeon’s door.

  The usual scenery, but this time with two new companions.

  "Have either of you been in a dungeon before?""Not once in my damn life.""I went in once but turned back immediately."

  So even full-grown adults could be dungeon newbies.Jink must have leveled up his skills without ever really venturing inside.

  "I see. You know what mochi are, right?""Yeah, even kids can beat ’em.""I’ve taken down a few myself."

  Mochi—the poster children for weak monsters—being useful like this must have been unexpected.

  "So this is a dungeon…""Looks different from what I’ve heard.""Well, it’s the weakest dungeon."

  Despite his tough appearance, Punk cautiously stepped inside, scanning the area.Jink, meanwhile, seemed to take it in stride.

  "Those are our targets—the mochi. Please use Butchering on them."

  The white, bouncy creatures hopped around carelessly, completely unbothered by the newcomers.

  "......"

  Punk wasn’t convinced just because some kid told him, but after a confirming nod from Jink…

  "…Tch."

  With a sigh, he drew the butcher knife at his waist.

  "Butchering!!"

  He swung it down with a shout.

  The bde, gleaming with skill energy, split the mochi cleanly in half—and there, left behind, was…

  "What the hell is this?""Rice cake.""That’s a mochi monster, ain’t it?""No, that’s edible rice cake."

  A palm-sized white mochi y on the ground.

  "You can grill it, boil it—it’s a preserved food."

  Punk picked it up, a question mark practically floating above his head.Peering at it, I nodded—it was exactly like in the game, and just like the ones I’d seen in my past life in Japan.

  "For now, let’s gather mochi while clearing the dungeon. Then we’ll have a tasting session.""R-right."

  At the very least, I’d convinced Punk.Though he still seemed doubtful about whether it was edible, the fact that we could safely and reliably obtain food-like items made him move efficiently after that.

  In the end, the butcher sughtered every st mochi in the dungeon.