DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON
We had such a tough time finding those stairs up,
but as soon as we decide to move forward, we find this.
It makes me feel queasy.
It's still wet.
Falin must've passed through here not too long ago and made her way down.
It must've been a tight squeeze.
The sixth floor
consists of canals made from tunnels dug by ancient dwarves.
Endlessly vast and long,
they crisscross under the city like veins.
Many things must have flowed through here over the years.
Water, of course, but also people, animals,
conspiracies, lies, and rumors.
Money and blood.
I-It's chilly!
The sixth floor is supposed to be hot and humid.
Maybe we're in the wrong place.
No, I recognize this route.
This is definitely the floor where the Red Dragon attacked us
and almost wiped us out.
The walls and paths shift around in this dungeon.
So it's not surprising if the temperature changes, too.
Better cold than hot,
but it's hard to follow the blood trail under all this snow and water.
Why don't we head back to where we got nearly wiped out?
If the Cleaners haven't gotten to them yet,
maybe we can retrieve the stuff we left behind.
I hope Falin's okay.
This cold must be rough for a Red Dragon.
Oh, is that why she had feathers?
So what's the plan?
After bluffing and telling Shuro
that you're going to take down the lunatic magician,
you do have something in mind, right?
About that...
Falin was looking for someone named Delgal.
It was an order given to the Red Dragon by the lunatic magician.
That's also why the Dragon was sleeplessly roaming on a different floor.
Delgal?
Who was that again?
The name sounds familiar.
He was a king.
Delgal was the last king of the Golden City
that fell a millennium ago.
There are inscriptions praising him all over this dungeon.
That's it!
His name is on excavated stuff as well.
Wait a minute.
Didn't Delgal...
Yeah.
When this dungeon was discovered,
he appeared on the surface, turned to dust, and disappeared.
So, this lunatic magician
has been commanding a Red Dragon and reconstructing the dungeon,
all to find a king who vanished ages ago?
The lunatic magician saw the previous king get killed before his eyes.
Since then, he's been afraid Delgal, the king's son, will meet the same fate.
That's why he thought we were assassins and attacked us.
Huh? Who told you that?
Did you make that up?
No, actually,
I bumped into the lunatic magician in those Living Paintings.
That's how I found out.
Remember when I mentioned someone getting mad at me
after I had some food in those paintings?
You what?!
You should've said sooner!
I didn't recognize him at the time!
I see.
So you relived the past.
Just to confirm, the lunatic magician is an elf, right?
Can elves really live for a millennium?
There are records of that in the distant past,
but now, elves can only live up to 500 years at most.
Only, huh?
Well, if he can control the lives of others at will,
it must be a piece of cake for him to prolong his own life.
Impossible!
Extending your own lifespan with your own magic
is like eating yourself to live longer.
Anyway,
if he mistook us as the king's foe,
and attacked us...
Maybe we can clear up his misunderstanding by talking to him.
The wind is getting stronger.
It's freezing!
I can't see ahead.
Can you hear me?
Are you guys still with me?!
Where are you, Laios?!
I can't see a thing!
We can't afford to get separated here!
Everyone, hold hands!
We can't go on like this.
There's a tunnel!
Let's take shelter!
Is everyone here?
Chil?
Here.
I'm good.
Marcille?
Uh-huh.
I'm here.
Senshi?
Yeah.
I'm fine.
That's a relief.
Huh?
-Marcille, lights, please? -Hm? What was that?
This place feels like it used to be a prison.
Anyway, for a moment I was worried that...
-Huh? -Huh?
-No way! -No way!
-Huh? -Huh?
-What's this? -What's this?
There's more of us!
Dammit! What's going on?
Is this illusion magic?
No.
I think these are Shapeshifters.
Shape-what?
Don't you know them?
They're monsters that pop up back in my hometown from time to time.
When trekking through the hills or fields in a thick fog or blizzard,
you suddenly notice your crew or family have multiplied.
But they're Shapeshifters pretending to be them and blending in.
Your hometown sounds like a dangerous place.
Are they a kind of fairy?
Do they work mischief?
If you don't catch on, they'll devour the original and take their place.
What?!
We have to sniff out the imposters now!
I must eat.
What a pickle.
Say, the Laioses over there...
It's obvious they're imposters.
True.
They don't seem to know much about monsters.
They say Shapeshifters can read the minds of creatures
and mimic the looks of those they're close to.
The three versions of me over there
are probably how I appear in your memories.
True.
If you look carefully,
they all look a little different.
Well then, can you start by dealing with her?
What?
She's clearly an imposter.
True.
You've got it all wrong!
Take a closer look!
-I'll use magic! Black magic! -So annoying.
Whose memory is that?
Those two are clearly imposters, too.
How come?
Huh?
Look closely!
My scarf isn't a muffler.
And Senshi's helmet is missing its notch.
Now that you mention it...
Those two must be straight out of Laios' memories.
His memory of us is too vague.
Is it okay to just leave them?
They aren't as intelligent as humans.
But if we hurt them, they'll put up a fight.
And I'd rather not fight unknown monsters in this situation.
Let's unmask these phonies peacefully and deal with them all at once!
It's great that he's enthusiastic, but...
Can he really spot the imposters?
I'm not too sure.
There are still six imposters left.
When they're all lined up, the differences are pretty clear.
But even as we do this, our foggy memories are getting corrected.
We need to get to the bottom of this fast.
Each Marcille has a different hairstyle.
I can't recall how her hair was last time I saw her.
-You can't? -You can't?
This style is pretty unique, so you must remember!
Come on!
It was freezing in that blizzard, so I had it down.
The texture of their hair is totally off.
Hair is really important for a mage.
They're all saying stuff that sounds just like her.
Well, they're the images we've got of her, after all.
I've got it!
We can tell by asking for information only the real me would know!
Don't go asking them to guess your mom's maiden name.
Not that.
The book of magic!
See?
One is obviously fake.
But the other two seem legit.
What? Oh, come on!
Her incantation grammar is all messed up!
That's what I was going to say!
Our stuff should help us spot the fakes a bit.
Senshi, show us your gear.
Take those three away!
We've managed to narrow it down to two each,
but now we're stuck again.
We've got three more imposters to find.
All right. Let's have a meal.
-In this situation? -In this situation?
We can't rely on appearances anymore to spot them.
We'll have to judge based on their behavior.
Everyone will cook and I'll be watching closely.
That's how I'll spot the imposters.
He didn't realize he'd run into the lunatic magician
or pick up on Shuro's feelings.
He couldn't even remember where he'd met Kabru before.
Are we really relying on Laios' observation skills here?
-I'm worried. -I'm worried.
I've got to figure out which of my companions are monster imposters.
It's a chance to earn back the trust I've lost.
I don't want to let my friends down any further.
I must pick up on those subtle differences!
This is Laios we're talking about.
He might find the monster imposters more appealing.
-That's possible. -That's possible.
-We've got to do something on our own! -We've got to do something on our own!
I'll be keeping an eye on things.
Good luck to you all.
So annoying.
What are we cooking?
We've got those things I found on the fifth floor
and those provisions from Lady Maizuru.
We've got the perfect ingredients to make...
And one more thing.
I want each of you to cook a dish in pairs with your counterpart.
-What? -What?
I'll be observing the differences in behavior as you work together.
You can get the recipe from Senshi.
So, everyone,
are you ready?
Start cooking!
First, the Chilchuck team.
Cut the meat.
Mix the egg and seasoning together.
Chilchuck A sat in the middle of the corridor,
while Chilchuck B sat on top of a wooden box before getting to work.
What are you writing?
You're making this awkward!
This thing won't open. Laios, give me a hand.
He slipped up!
Did you see that? B's the imposter!
Huh? Why do you say that?
Don't you get it?
I've got my principles and pride, you know.
People help each other out, Chilchuck.
I think you're being too cynical.
Now that I look closer, A has a bad look in his eye.
Hey.
Our Chilchuck is cuter than that.
Quit it!
L-Laios, you can tell, can't you?
Chilchuck A...
He does have a mean expression.
Maybe he's the imposter.
I'll think about it.
Keep cooking.
Dolt.
He insulted me in the common language.
Next, the Marcille team.
I know it's a little late to ask, but what egg is this?
It's a Harpy's egg.
I thought I said at the start,
no humanoid monsters!
I've been making compromises lately, but this is taking it too far!
Marcille B is business as usual.
Almost to the point of being extreme.
On the other hand...
Boil the chopped up Dryad.
What do you think, Marcille A?
I'm not thrilled about it,
but I've eaten Fish-man eggs and even Dryads before.
I wouldn't make a fuss about this now.
I'll do anything to save Falin.
Hey!
I'll do anything for Falin too!
Your determination is a bit lacking, B.
I mean, it's not like eating a Harpy will fix anything!
Once the Dryad is soft enough for a chopstick to go through, drain them,
and mash them up with some seasoning.
Hmm, this is tough.
They both sound like Marcille.
And finally, the Senshi team.
Where did you find the Harpy eggs?
There was a nest in an old, rundown house.
I gathered all I could find there.
Dice the meat into one-centimeter cubes.
After all,
eggs have all the...
...nutrition you need.
Sauté the ingredients with rice over a low flame and add the seasoning.
Rice was Shuro's favorite.
It's packed with nutrients adventurers need.
We're lucky we got our hands on some.
Unlike me, who's just eager to try out monsters,
Senshi sees things a step deeper.
I can't match his attention to flavor and nutrition.
All the dishes look delicious.
I can't spot the imposters simply based on how efficient they are.
Um, nobody's mentioning it, so I'm going to ask.
Is it just me or is Senshi B kind of good-looking?
He's always been like that.
Senshi's always been cool.
-Huh? -Huh?
Is this some stereotype about dwarves?
Senshi doesn't look this dopey.
Senshi is cool.
The dishes are almost done, but have you made up your mind yet?
Honestly,
I'm stumped.
They all feel like they could be both real and fake.
Asking me to spot the illusions conjured up in our heads
is quite unfair to start with.
Hunting down monsters disguised as humans might be interesting,
but we're dealing with illusions here.
Hunting down monsters?
It's done!
MEMORIES OF THE FIFTH FLOOR PILAF
SWEET DRYAD
THE WHOLE FIFTH FLOOR PICCATA
All right, everyone, hear me out as we eat.
The ones I pegged as real are...
Chilchuck A!
The mean one with a bad look in his eyes!
Marcille B!
The one who wouldn't want to eat a Harpy's egg even if it was for Falin!
And Senshi A!
The one who looks dopey!
So,
please step into the cage, imposters.
-Wait a minute! -Wait a minute!
Why do you think he's the real deal?
That one's obviously the imposter!
What made you think that?
Just a hunch.
Anyway, I'll explain later.
First, let's get rid of these imposters.
Ju...
Just a hunch?
Get rid of?
As I thought, he can't be counted on.
We have to watch our backs...
On our own.
No matter who I picked, this was inevitable.
A shapeshifter is a broad term for monsters that mimic other beings.
Some mimic voices, possess others,
or even physically change forms.
This monster falls into one of those categories.
There's no way monsters could cook.
They're likely creating illusions, just as Marcille suggested.
Given that they target humans and animals, they're probably carnivores or omnivores.
They're timid and lack the strength to attack their prey head-on.
This place is cold, dark, and visibility is poor.
They're a beast that can handle the cold and relies on smell and hearing.
Downwind is that way.
Our enemy's probably waiting for us to tire out.
Randomly swinging my sword won't cut it.
What should I do?
Kensuke's awfully quiet too.
Maybe it'll die in this cold.
To take down a beast, you have to fight like one.
I'll turn the tables and make the hunter the hunted.
It's been a while, but I'll try that thing.
A-A dog?
He's good!
No, that's a hunting dog!
I've lived with dogs for as long as I can remember.
They taught me all sorts of things.
How to hunt,
how to take down something stronger than you.
Now, I'll teach you!
He's good!
He's really good!
Just like a dog!
You're not the hunter,
you're the prey!
Everyone, look! The illusions!
It's finally showing itself.
If you're a beast, you know the rules.
In this fight,
the one who flinches first is the loser!
-Laios! -Laios!
Are you alive, Laios?
I mean, are you sane?
Yeah.
I've got a lot of things I want to say,
but why didn't you draw your sword?
I got a bit too carried away in playing the part.
None of the dishes turned out.
They were made with the illusions, after all.
Let's make them again.
Anyway,
turns out your intuition was spot on, Laios.
What tipped you off?
Maybe it was how you acted when it came to monsters.
First off, I noticed Chilchuck was sitting on a wooden box.
Those are prime hiding spots for Mimics and Tentacles.
The fact he seemed totally unfazed by it didn't sit right with me.
There was a nest in an old, rundown house.
I gathered all I could find there.
Considering how much you care about the ecosystem's balance,
that remark seemed rather thoughtless.
I mean, it's not like eating a Harpy will fix anything!
Finally, the fact that Marcille threw away the boiled water.
If she were being cautious of an Undine, that action seemed reckless.
And what bothered me was her lack of concern about it.
In this situation, her carelessness felt more genuine to me.
I see.
I'm impressed.
I've got a higher opinion of you now, Laios.
Even if your viewpoint is a bit off.
But still,
seeing through illusions is practically impossible.
This monster banked on that one trick to survive, after all.
And here I thought...
I've eaten Fish-man eggs and even Dryads before.
You caught on because of that comment.
I mean, we've never had Fish-man eggs before.
Right?
Were they in the porridge we had that day?
The dessert is done as well.
-Yay! -Yay!
It's been ages since I've had something sweet.
How about some tea?
I'm pretty sure we had tea leaves in the provisions we got.
Maybe you misplaced it.
No, I'm sure I placed it right here.
The rice...
No one's here.
Marcille!
Drop your weapons and stay still.
Let's talk this out peacefully.
Subtitle translation by: Ai Matsuoka