After roughly taking down the large group of Iblieth, Mika returned the insecticide to her pocket.

The ground was covered with countless black demons.

The remnants of one and a half bottles of insecticide still lingered in the poorly ventilated cave, and the Iblieth at her feet were gradually ceasing their movements.

“Oh dear, this might be bad.”

She glanced over at Dada and the others, who were desperately finishing off the still-breathing Iblieth. However, they didn’t look too good.

Though their masks offered some protection, their hands had turned red from handling so many Iblieth. The petite Dada looked like she was about to collapse, swaying unsteadily.

“Let’s step outside for now.”

Striding over, Mika swiftly picked up Dada and called out to Zurah and Gatt before heading out of the cave.

Even as the three of them began walking away, the remaining Iblieth showed no signs of attacking.

Exiting the dim cave, the high sun stabbed at their eyes with its bright light.

“Dada, are you okay?”

“Y-Yes…”

Despite her answer, Dada’s complexion was pale, and she seemed too weak to stand. Gatt, who had followed behind, was still energetic, but Zurah, though walking, was unsteady on her feet.

“…I’m sorry, everyone. I got carried away and sprayed so much insecticide…”

“It’s fine. We just need a little rest…”

Removing her mask, Zurah smiled weakly.

“We were surrounded by that many monsters and came out unharmed—that’s thanks to you, Mika.”

“But still…”

“I still have a bit of magic left, so I’ll cast a simple healing spell on Dada. After some rest, she should recover.”

“Got it. …Wait, no—hold on! Is there anywhere around here where we can wash up? A river would be too cold… maybe a hot spring?”

“There’s a shower in the shed outside. But why?”

“This insecticide lingers as a fine mist in the air and sticks to the skin. We should wash it off as soon as possible. Let’s hurry to the shed!”

The shed was a break room for miners. Since the door wasn’t locked, they borrowed the shower. Dada, though unsteady, managed to wash herself.

After the shower, once the healing spell was cast, Dada finally regained her usual energy.

“I’m sorry… how pathetic of me…”

“Don’t say that. If anything, I’m the one who put you all in danger…”

“No, it’s… everyone’s safe, and that’s what matters. More importantly, we need to think about what’s next.”

Checking her phone, Mika saw it was 1:05 PM. Her shift today was six hours, including a 30-minute lunch break, ending at 2:00 PM.

Now refreshed, she took out her lunchbox, and they discussed their next steps while eating inside the shed.

“If this were a dungeon, we could just leave things as they are—dead bodies and items get absorbed eventually. But since this mine hasn’t fully turned into a dungeon yet, we’ll have to dispose of the defeated monsters.”

Mika wondered if Iblieth could be eaten or used as materials, but apparently not. Good—she’d feel uneasy eating anything doused in that much insecticide.

“Iblieth are useless monsters. Since this request is about making the mine usable again, we don’t even need to collect proof of subjugation.”

They didn’t need to wipe them all out—just reduce their numbers enough for safe mining. The plan was to carry the dead Iblieth outside, dig a hole, and bury them. After that, a guild employee would come to verify the cleanup.

However, Mika was out of time today, so they’d have to leave things as they were until their next visit. Though it was winter, the cave wouldn’t get as cold as the outside.

Today was originally just a scouting trip. They hadn’t expected to take down so many Iblieth at once, so they hadn’t planned for disposal.

The idea of dealing with a pile of half-rotten Iblieth three days later was absolutely unappealing.

As they all racked their brains, Zurah suddenly gasped.

“What about this? Can we use it?”

She pulled out two small boxes—one white, one red—each about five centimeters square with black buttons on them.

“Earlier, we were too surrounded to use them, but…”

Zurah explained that these were magic tools: the “Ice Bomb” and “Heat Bomb.” They weren’t actual explosives but devices that drastically lowered or raised the surrounding temperature, weakening monsters vulnerable to extreme temperatures. They were reusable—just replace the magic stone inside.

“If we place the Ice Bomb in the center of the cavern, we can keep the cave as cold as a freezer. The magic stone only lasts a day if left on, but with the outside temperature already low, it should hold for about three days.”

With the remaining time, Mika went back inside to activate the Ice Bomb while Gatt and Zurah gathered wood scraps to block the mine entrance until their next visit.

Just in case, Dada scribbled “WARNING: DEADLY POISON – DO NOT ENTER” on a piece of paper and slapped it onto the makeshift wooden barricade.

And thus began the legend of… “Annihilating Poison Mist.”