Among Pis, Saint, and Suji who spent the night organizing materials and talking, Suji was the first to wake up.

Suji approached the kitchen, unknowingly drawn to find the source of the savory and sweet aroma wafting from somewhere.

Wearing a black apron she didn’t even know existed in the kitchen, he looked like an actor cast in the role of a chef.

And not just any chef, but a protagonist who is gruff in the kitchen and nitpicks the staff at every turn.

Always seeing him with the giant sword ‘Silence Swallowing Screams’ as tall as himself, seeing him wielding a knife barely the size of his palm even looked cute.

She sat blankly at the island counter, watching Elaine prepare ingredients and cook on three burners simultaneously.

Of course, it might be natural for him to be fast given his high basic stats, but his skill went beyond that.

Charring bell peppers black to peel off the skin, searing steak in a very heavy cast iron pan with frequent flipping, handling shrimp and fish without any hesitation.

Because Elaine acted so calmly with a composed face, it might have seemed like nothing special, but watching multiple dishes progress simultaneously was truly amazing.

‘It’s like… watching a show.’

Since he had never volunteered to cook before, Suji had assumed Elaine would be just as terrible at cooking as the other three here.

But he produced not just decent, but excellent food.

The dishes were completed in an instant and placed on the table.

Couscous salad, shrimp salad, scrambled eggs, steak, roasted potatoes, frittata, pancakes, fish dish, yogurt topped with blueberries and honey, carrot juice, and even coffee with a fragrant and savory aroma.

The long island counter was filled with dishes comparable to a hotel breakfast.

The team members, who had been drawn by the smell and were now sitting next to Suji, only burst into applause after seeing Elaine put down the last dish, wash his hands, and take off his apron.

Clap clap clap.

“Wow… I didn’t know you had this side to you?”

“What is all this?”

“You’re quite talented, Elaine.”

Elaine replied nonchalantly while distributing tableware:

“I’ve regretted not knowing such trivial things before. You learn quickly if you try.”

“Regretted? What’s there to regret about not being able to cook?”

“…Just. There just is.”

“I really had no idea you were this good.”

“Well… Even if you’re good with a sword, it’s better not to use it if you don’t have to, right?”

Suji, who had been listening blankly to the three’s conversation, added a comment.

“It’s really amazing. You must have purposely lost with skills like this, right?”

As she kept exclaiming in admiration while grabbing a plate, Pis and Saint quickly joined in serving themselves food.

“I’ve set aside Daphne’s portion separately.”

“Pardon?”

How did you know what I’d want to eat?

He usually guessed her tastes eerily well, but weren’t there too many choices here?

Suji opened her eyes wide, but Elaine answered casually.

“They should all be menus that Daphne likes.”

That.

Was true.

She was about to protest but looked over the items on the table one by one and quietly closed her mouth.

It’s really uncanny, considering she’s quite a picky eater and not the type to eat well.

Suji received her plate with a satisfied expression.

“Elaine, that’s enough, come eat quickly too.”

“Alright.”

Not just the menu selection, but the seasoning was really spot on.

She didn’t think she was that hungry, but it was so delicious that she ate with her nose practically buried in the plate.

Not just her, but the fact that the other team members, who were never short on words, quietly emptied their plates seemed to leave no doubt about his cooking skills.

Only after finishing the silent meal for quite some time did everyone finally find their voices again, like people who had just regained the ability to speak.

“Wow… I really ate without thinking.”

“We’ve eaten a lot of delicious things before, but nothing compares to freshly made, piping hot food, right?”

“That’s true, but I think Elaine really has great skills.”

Elaine just calmly smiled at the people praising him so openly and drew a clear line.

“No matter how much you praise me, this is it. We won’t have the luxury to cook for a while anyway.”

Suji couldn’t help but feel disappointed, but there was nothing she could do.

She had to be grateful that he had shown his skills even once.

She inhaled the aroma of the coffee with a satisfied expression.

She had been drinking coffee frequently long before becoming an adult.

There were times when she had to stay awake at night due to time constraints, and separately, she also liked the smell.

As she took a sip of coffee for dessert, her body naturally relaxed.

“I was going to talk about something important, but after filling up on delicious food, I just feel drowsy.”

Pis also agreed with a hearty laugh.

“That’s right. To think we’d be this sluggish right after waking up.”

Saint held out one finger and waved it.

“Everyone, don’t get too comfortable and sit up straight! The team leader said she has something important to say.”

The problem was that the very person who was supposed to bring up that topic was practically lying back in her chair.

Suji only came to her senses and took out her device after hearing Saint’s mature words urging her to straighten up.

Then, holding her stomach full of satisfaction, she opened her mouth.

“Well, let’s start today’s meeting. Were there any incidents?”

It was the usual meeting they always had, but there was no way there could have been any incidents unless time had passed.

Suji nodded at the expected silence and brought up the next agenda item on her own.

“Then I think it’s best if I present first. What I thought was that our team alone won’t be enough to stop that monstrous beast. So even though we have an extremely short time left, how about aiming for joint development?”

It was about leading other teams to improve together as much as Team Daphne achieves.

As always, when Suji finished speaking, they raised their hands one by one to ask questions.

“Yes, Pis. Go ahead.”

“What’s joint development? Do you mean we should hold classes or something?”

Suji smiled at Pis’s question.

“That’s right.”

“So…”

“In the academy, they draw out the potential that hunter candidates have, right? Instead of monopolizing information, let’s try to maximize other hunters’ abilities to climb the tower and face monsters by sharing it.”

Pis stroked his cleanly shaven chin, lost in thought, and this time Saint twitched his rabbit ear item instead of raising his hand.

“Yes, Saint. Go ahead.”

“In other words, it’s about recruiting mercenaries. From their perspective, they might judge that not getting involved in a fight with no chance of winning would have a higher survival rate. Other hunters might think they could end up as meat shields.”

The words were quite harsh.

‘Meat shield’ was a vulgar term used in battles that didn’t value human life and pushed people to their deaths, like human wave tactics.

Daphne frowned and shook her head.

“We’re in a situation where we’d like to borrow even a rabbit’s paw, and since we’re not forcing it, I think it’ll be fine. We need even one more person’s help, don’t we?”

Suji’s words were right too.

And in a way, it was like giving away what Team Daphne had achieved for free.

As Saint drooped his rabbit ears and gave up his right to speak, this time Elaine raised his hand.

“Yes, Elaine.”

“I’m fine with it. But it might be better not to expect the information to be utilized well in the direction you want.”

“Why?”

At Suji’s question, surprisingly, Pis and Saint nodded at each other as if they already understood.

Suji tilted her head, holding her coffee cup.

She would understand if they said the information was too valuable and should be shared for a price, but she didn’t expect this kind of reaction.

As she kept racking her brain, unable to understand the situation for a while, Elaine continued with a bitter smile.

“It’s because most of the information can only be utilized by our team. You might not understand since you achieved SSS rank in the shortest time, Team Leader, but generally, obtaining this information will only make people realize how difficult it is to climb the tower.”

Suji shook her head.

“Of course that could happen, but it could also be helpful. Don’t think so negatively, and consider it as a way to reduce the risks for other teams or guilds.”

Watching the team members sip their coffee without readily agreeing, Suji added one more idea she had in mind.

“And one more thing. For what I just mentioned, I’m thinking of opening a broadcast channel for our team.”

Hearing her plan, the team members finally opened their eyes wide.

“A broadcast channel? Streaming?”

“…Are you really going to become a celebrity?”

“Inside the dungeon…?”

Suji nodded.

“The reason it’s realistically impossible to broadcast in ‘Laurel’ or ‘Sage’s Tower’ is because drones can’t enter such places, and it’s difficult to use manpower for filming. But we can do it.”

“…For what purpose?”

“For recognition and honor?”

…said Daphne, the most recognized hunter in the world, shyly.