Livelihood Dungeon! (English Version)

Its face was smooth.

If one were to judge by its face alone, it could easily be mistaken for a human.

A child?

Peter was startled and silently pondered to himself.

He froze when his gaze widened beyond the creature's small face—the same face he had been staring at just moments ago.

So its face only seemed small because it was still a child.

Beautiful.

That was the first word that entered his mind to describe the small creature.

Brown?

No, that wasn't quite accurate either.

Ashen brown would probably describe it better.

Fine and glossy fur covered almost its entire body. It was brown in color, yet tinged with traces of ash, silver, and a peculiar shimmer.

If one failed to observe it carefully, that fur could easily be mistaken for human skin instead.

Meanwhile, the fur from its chest down to its abdomen was a different color—lighter and almost similar to its somewhat pale face.

"Gwi! Gwi! Griiiii!"

It bared its fangs angrily at Peter in an attempt to intimidate him.

But it failed.

It was far too cute to be frightening.

Yes, it had broad shoulders and a muscular physique that gave it a strangely cool appearance.

Yet despite that, its cuteness still overwhelmingly stood out more.

Especially its round belly and droopy cheeks that clearly showed how well cared for it was.

Peter could no longer hold back the laughter he had been suppressing as he watched the young monkey with strange patterns on its body desperately pretend to be terrifying.

At first, he only chuckled softly, but before long, he burst into full laughter.

"Gwe?!"

The young monkey let out a confused grunt.

Peter wiped the corners of his eyes as he tried to calm himself down.

"Sorry!" he immediately apologized.

The young monkey scratched its head, utterly confused by the strange creature standing before it.

It even stepped back when Peter made a move as if to touch it.

"Sorry..." Peter awkwardly repeated.

Peter fell into thought.

Not long after, it was as if a light bulb suddenly lit up inside his mind.

Right!

"Stay right there!" Peter excitedly told the young monkey.

The monkey was left dumbfounded and confused after Peter's sudden remark. It did not know whether it should leave or stay.

Iyashi carefully and slowly approached the wary monkey.

The young creature immediately stepped back in response.

"Kyu!"

The Regeneration Slime greeted it enthusiastically while desperately trying to make friends.

"Gwe?!"

the young monkey replied in confusion.

Iyashi looked like a child whose entire world had collapsed after failing to communicate.

Nevertheless, it had piqued the innocent creature's curiosity.

"Gra!!"

A complaint escaped the bad-tempered Ichiro.

Startled out of its wits, the young monkey jumped backward.

Only now did it notice the gigantic wolf silently standing behind Peter.

Ichiro was already hungry, but their master had strictly warned them not to touch the one standing before them.

"Grr! Grr! Grr!"

The young monkey angrily snarled while once again baring its fangs at Ichiro.

"Kyu!"

Iyashi immediately scolded the wolf for what it had done.

The young monkey felt genuine hatred toward Ichiro's presence.

It closely resembled the creatures that had taken its father's life—and the same creatures its mother continued to fight every single day.

Ichiro's ears drooped as its gaze repeatedly shifted between the young monkey and Peter.

Its face clearly looked like that of an innocent being wrongly accused.

After all, it truly had not done anything bad aside from letting out a simple growl.

It had no idea the monkey would be that sensitive.

It had merely been in a slightly bad mood earlier.

If only it had known, it would not have tried to scare or snarl at it.

Upon returning, Peter noticed the strange atmosphere between his companions and the still-furious young monkey.

He looked at them one by one.

And when his gaze landed on Ichiro, he noticed the wolf deliberately avoiding eye contact with him.

Peter merely shook his head before grinning after immediately understanding what had truly happened.

The young man reached into the sling bag he was carrying.

When his hand emerged once more, it was now holding a long and plump fruit.

A banana.

He peeled it in slow motion.

He also walked slowly toward the little monkey's position while deliberately swinging the banana in his hand with every step.

Peter smiled when he saw that the monkey was no longer moving from its spot and that its eyes were completely fixed on the food he was holding.

Before long, he arrived right in front of the monkey.

The small creature cautiously shifted its gaze back and forth between Peter and the banana.

Overcome with temptation, it could not stop itself from licking its lips.

Peter slowly brought the banana closer to its face.

The monkey was just about to reach for it, yet it immediately pulled back its outstretched hand.

That happened several times before it finally could no longer resist the overwhelming temptation.

Peter watched the monkey happily eat while blinking repeatedly.

He laughed when the monkey glared at him as if he were about to steal back the food he had given it.

Peter could only shake his head when the monkey stared pitifully at the banana peel after finishing the fruit.

However, its eyes immediately lit up again when Peter pulled out another bunch of bananas from his bag and placed them in front of it.

The monkey instantly devoured them.

Peter could no longer resist the temptation and gently patted the happy creature's head.

The monkey pretended not to care about the touches of the strange being it had only just met.

After all, it was far too busy and in far too good a mood while eating the delicious fruits.

And since the creature before it was the one who had given them, it would allow the touching for now.

Just for now.

That was the young monkey's firm declaration inside its mind as it continued stuffing bananas into its bulging cheeks.

After some time, it looked at Peter once more with hopeful eyes while producing all sorts of sounds.

Even though the three could not understand what it was saying, Peter still managed to grasp its intentions through its exaggerated gestures.

The man could only scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

He did not know how to answer the hopeful young monkey.

"Uhm..." Peter began.

"Just come back here..." he said while pointing at the spot where they stood, "tomorrow."

"I didn't bring anything else with me," he added while showing the contents of his bag.

Peter had to explain himself several times before the monkey finally understood what he was trying to say.

The innocent creature's shoulders slumped at the realization.

Peter immediately comforted and hugged it while trying his best to make it understand what he meant.

After a while, the monkey eventually recovered.

It slowly walked away, though it repeatedly glanced back at Peter several times.

And each time it looked back, Peter waved at it in return.

Peter could not help but worry whether the young monkey had truly understood their conversation.