Doremi and Sola had just finished preparing a few things.

Firstly, during the month they had moved out of the Incinerate inn; It was a nice place, but the two decided to merge their funds and settle down here. They couldn’t just pass up the chance to be near a dungeon like this, even if they were just the expedition team. Besides, the Dungeon Association wasn’t all that rigid when it came to where people were. As long as they did their work, it was alright.

So, the two got a little house next to the dungeon; Close enough to get an easy first delve in the morning, but far enough so that the dungeon wouldn’t expand into it. Their part was done, and things were set to continue. Tido also got a place of his own, but he had said that he’d only really use it as a vacation house of sorts. His crows didn’t like being stuck in a given place, and neither did he.

Tido said that he’d be in that unnamed tavern on the other side of town. Why didn’t it have a name? Nobody really knew but nobody cared; If someone says they’ll be at the tavern, then that’s where they’ll be.

In the meantime though, Doremi and Sola were fixing up their little house together. It wasn’t too much but it had what they needed, and that was good enough for them. Sola had just finished cleaning everything up while Doremi started - well, tried - to make food.

“Sola… I burnt the pancakes… Again…”

Sola walked into the kitchen, looking at the pan and making an educated guess on where Doremi went wrong. She wasn’t good at cooking, but Sola still believed that Doremi could learn with a bit of help. She was certainly trying, and really, that’s the important part.

“You also forgot to butter the pan first. Let me help, pipsqueak, you were close this time.”

Doremi smiled sheepishly while Sola helped her out. It only took one or two tries before she understood it better, but she grumbled a bit over needing Sola’s help for cooking things again. The two ate their pancakes together in their house, and they were content. After a bit, Sola thought of something.

“Hey Doremi. Would the dungeon be called ‘The Pie Dungeon’ for short, since John named it ‘Lemon Meringue?’”

Doremi considered it and shrugged, pausing so that she could finish chewing.

“Dunno, but probably. Say, what do you think Tido’s up to?”

Meanwhile, Tido was at the tavern, sharing a story with Fizz about the church. Fizz was mostly indifferent about the church since they do let him snag some ‘holy ingredients’ once in a while, but Tido didn’t like them too much. According to his story, he did something wrong - and had no clue what it was, for the record - and the church suddenly decided that he was a blight on the earth.

“I’m telling you, they’re out for me and my crows. They said that I shouldn’t exist, and that my crows are my ‘evil servants’ since they work with me. So here I was, getting chased by a dozen men with pitchforks and torches, and I had to make an escape by jumping off a building’s rooftop and hoping Kraa would catch me! Now the church says I’m a ‘purge on sight,’ so I haven’t been able to come into the capital for ages.”

Fizz nodded sympathetically.

“I see ya’ on that. When I tried snaggin’ some ingredients - which were given to me by a very willing warlock! - they chased after me for a month. I think they’re just tryin’ their best when it comes to keepin’ the peace and such, but they mess up quite a bit. Hope you get that cleared up ‘fore it kills ya.’”

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Tido shrugged, idly sipping on his cup of lemonade. Sure, the tavern did have drinks, but Tido disliked the taste of alcohol in general.

“Well, they sure are good at finding me. It’s why I work for the Dungeon Association in the first place; they keep me moving away from the church, and if their information sources stay accurate, then I won’t get myself hurt anytime soon. Speaking of moving, I’m gonna be heading out a few days before the dungeon opens, give or take.”

Fizz nodded, nibbling on a cookie. The tavern wasn’t as good as the bakery when it came to sweets - for obvious reasons - but Fizz liked trying the competition, even if nothing would come of it.

“Makes sense ta’ me. The church likes being near dungeons; Easier to spread their message when a dozen people are flocking over. Not ta’ mention wit’ how unique the dungeon is, John’s gon’ be up to his knees in paperwork… Wonder how long it’ll take ‘fore they send ‘em some backup.”

Tido shrugged again. He didn’t have much else to say, but he liked Fizz’s company. Tido idly thought about visiting Fizz once in a while; His crows loved the snacks Fizz made for them, and Tido himself thought Fizz was a nice guy. Fizz and Tido hung out together for a moment longer, before Fizz decided to go check on John.

Fizz knew that John would be drowning in paperwork sooner or later. Unfortunately, Fizz was right. When Fizz went into John’s office, standing with a freshly baked cherry pie, John didn’t notice at all.

He was busy drowning in paperwork. The poor guy hadn’t even gone outside for long today, needing to log every single entity in Lemrio’s dungeon. Sure, he did log those beforehand, but the guide needed a smidge more information than he had. That included all the variations. John groaned, head in his hands, and muttered how he didn’t expect this when he got the job.

But, he still did his job anyway. He wasn’t going to send adventurers in without at least a decent guide, even if he knew the dungeon wasn’t that deadly to begin with. Remembering that he would also need to work time slots for delving so that the dungeon isn’t just a very crowded cave, he sighed again. Suffice to say, he was going to need some automation at some point. He took a short moment to stand up from his desk and wander in a circle, sorting his thoughts and muttering to himself.

“...If I get someone to manage the time slots, I’ll need the dungeon to at least have three or four floors so that I earn enough money from the delving tax to pay the person managing it, assuming that everyone delving the dungeon paid the tax to begin with and that it was at maximum capacity. Factoring in human error, and the general size of the dungeon floors to begin with, the dungeon will need to have at least five floors before I can hire someone…”

Fizz sorta just stood there. At some point he decided to steal a fork and knife from John’s cupboard upstairs to cut the pie, and then stole some plates to serve the pie. John stopped muttering when he finally noticed Fizz in the room.

“...How long have you been standing there?”

Fizz just smiled, and handed John the pie slice on a plate. John’s plate. He recognized it easily since John’s plates were white with a blue pattern while Fizz’s plates were white. John just shrugged, sat down, and decided to take a pie break. He could worry about the paperwork a bit later.

“John, you look like ya’ haven’t slept since yesterday. How long’ave ya’ been workin’ on this?”

“Not that long.”

John replied with a bit of a shrug, but Fizz squinted at him in response. Fizz could tell when John wasn’t feeling good, and right now, he knew that something was up.

“Be honest, pal. You look like ya’ died.”

Fizz stated bluntly, and John smiled. He liked that Fizz wasn’t the kind of person to sugarcoat things. Fizz grinned and grabbed John’s shoulders after a bit.

“Say, how about we go fishing?”

“...Fishing?”

“Fishing.”

“Sure, why not.”

The two men grabbed long abandoned gear, went to the river in the middle of the forest, and sat together for a time while waiting for fish to bite. John found it a bit funny, really. Fizz always seemed to know when he needed a break and barged into his home accordingly. After a peaceful moment where the two enjoyed the way the sunlight filtered through the trees, John looked at what Fizz was putting on the fishing line.

“...You know, Fizz, I don’t think that a cherry covered in sugar is healthy for the fish.”