“Wow, things have gotten pretty interesting down here in the Netherworld.”
“That’s because Rey worked so hard. Let’s give him a head pat.”
…Fiona-sama seems unusually sweet to me.
Apparently, my human consciousness and demon instincts got tangled up, making me act a bit unstable.
But I’m fine now. I am a demon. Trying to reconcile with humans—or any other race—was a mistake from the start.
“Fiona-sama, are you trying to start a fire on my head?”
“If it’s me, I could do it in one go.”
The way she’s patting my head feels more like she’s trying to use me as kindling with all that friction heat.
And Pilkaya really could light a fire in one go, but I’d rather not die, thank you.
“I thought you were thinking weird things, so I increased the strength of my pats.”
“So…this is punishment?”
“Eh… It was supposed to be a reward. Did you not like it?”
What a tricky situation.
Anyway, I should avoid letting my mind wander from now on.
“Setting traps mercilessly with magic alone… If you can do all this with just magic, it’s no wonder the Demon Lord values you so highly.”
I guess that’s my strength.
Sure, other demons can make rooms, set traps, and tame monsters to deploy them.
But all that takes time and effort. My ability to do it instantly makes me invaluable for dungeon construction.
“Are the intruders Pilkaya-sama reported all dealt with?”
“Yeah. Didn’t I say? They were nothing but weaklings.”
“Then shall we move on to creating a small-scale, simplified dungeon?”
Primilla’s reminder jogged my memory.
Right, we originally discussed remodeling the dungeon to attract more intruders.
Huh. Seems like I’d already committed to being an enemy of humanity a long time ago.
“I’ll leave it to you, Rey. I’m feeling idle, so I’ll prepare to revive some other subordinates.”
“You’re putting it nicely, but really, you’re just asking Rey-sama to create treasure chests for you, aren’t you?”
“…I think my next attempt will hit the mark.”
Well, since I’ll be doing it with my own magic, there’s no reason to refuse.
As I created a new treasure chest, Fiona-sama seemed oddly sparkly-eyed.
Meanwhile, Primilla gave me a flat stare, saying, “Please don’t spoil him.”
“Uh, so… We start by deciding the entrance?”
“Right. Like I said earlier, this spot looks good. Nearby, you’ve got villages of humans, beastfolk, and elves.”
Hmm… I thought the locations were scattered, but even the nearby residents are a mix of different races.
“Then maybe here is the best choice?”
“Elves, huh? Why them?”
“The point of creating a new entrance is to secure magical energy for the dungeon, so I thought elves, with their high magic, would be a good choice.”
“Rey-sama, what the dungeon absorbs isn’t so much magic as it is energy. The intruders’ magical power doesn’t matter.”
“Plus, elves tend to be cautious. They’re old, after all. Unlike other races, they don’t greedily rush in.”
So that’s how it is…
In that case, there’s no real need to target elves specifically.
In fact, elves might be the worst candidates for a first dungeon setup.
“So, maybe the human village would be better?”
“That’s right. Humans aren’t as lacking in ambition as elves, nor are they as cautious as beastfolk. A reasonable number of them should invade.”
With Primilla’s approval and Pilkaya’s nod, the decision was made to place the entrance near the human village.
Of course, the entrance won’t be built until the dungeon is fully completed.
First, I need to design a simple, appropriate dungeon.
Let’s review the menu again.
- Create Walls: Magic cost 1
- Create Floors: Magic cost 1
- Create Ceilings: Magic cost 1
- Create Doors: Magic cost 1
- Create Room: Magic cost 5
- Create Hall: Magic cost 10
- Create Maze: Magic cost 20
- Create Signs: Magic cost 1
- Create Torches: Magic cost 1
- Create Straight Path: Magic cost 3
- Create Forked Path: Magic cost 5
- Oil-covered Path: Magic cost 5
- Create Treasure Chest: Magic cost 5
- Create Trap: Magic cost 5
- Rolling Boulder: Magic cost 5
- Spear Barrage: Magic cost 5
- Fireball: Magic cost 5
- Create Monster: Magic cost 5
- Create Mid-tier Monster: Magic cost 10
“Torches aside, I don’t see the point of making signs…”
“Wait, you can make torches? That’s great. If you fill the dungeon with torches, I can use my eyes to watch everything!”
“Maybe someday, but this dungeon is too big for that right now. Lighting every path and room would drain my magic.”
Still, Pilkaya’s ability to monitor things is highly compatible with this.
Having him act as a one-man surveillance system is a big advantage for us.
“Signs, huh… If you write a warning about danger at the entrance, you might be able to scare off certain intruders.”
“Scare them off? Isn’t it better to let them invade for the sake of the dungeon?”
“True for now, but when intruders increase, it might become necessary. If too many curious intruders come in and get hurt, it could lead to trouble—like the kingdom sending soldiers.”
That makes sense… Too many casualties might attract the kingdom’s forces.
Sometimes it’s better to let people leave unscathed.
“I’ll make a few rooms, some branching paths, and put two or three traps or monsters in each room.”
“Yes, for a small-scale dungeon like that, even if kingdom soldiers are dispatched, it wouldn’t cause too much commotion.”
“And don’t forget the treasure and a boss~.”
“Treasure and a boss, huh… Do we really need those?”
“Of course! People risk entering dangerous dungeons because of treasure. If they make it to the end and find nothing, they’ll never come back.”
Good point… In that case, I’ll make some treasure chests as usual.
I won’t infuse them with magic, though. The dungeon will absorb a bit of ambient magic over time, which should improve the contents naturally.
The magic I can freely use and the magic the dungeon uses for repairs or ambient effects are apparently separate.
Thankfully, treasure chests draw from the latter. If they didn’t, I might have created a dungeon without any treasure as Pilkaya suggested.
“As for the boss… Let’s see. Since I can create a lot of goblin-type monsters, why not make a goblin-themed dungeon?”
“Concepts are important~. For now, there aren’t any overly strong goblins, so that sounds perfect.”
“So, there are strong goblins too?”
“Oh, definitely. The more they swarm, the stronger they get, and higher-ranked goblins can empower their allies. They can become unstoppable.”
I had a feeling… Monsters that travel in groups tend to have that kind of synergy.
A Goblin King alone can significantly boost the strength of nearby goblins.
“Alright, it’s decided. I’ll start crafting while recovering magic as needed.”
Even for a small dungeon, I don’t have enough magic to make it all at once.
I’ll take breaks—building paths, then rooms, step by step.
“Wow… You really have some insane power, don’t you?”
“Impressive work, Rey-sama.”
“I can’t fight like you two, so I have to be useful in my own way.”
“Don’t forget to add torches. They’ll help me do my part too.”
Paths and rooms automatically generate minimal torch lighting, so that should be enough for now.
“Those boulder and spear traps… Don’t they seem a bit too lethal? Maybe use fewer of them.”
“Are they really that dangerous? I haven’t seen them in action, so I wasn’t sure.”
“Dangerous? More like brutal. As Primilla said, they’re overkill for a rural village.”
I see… Traps are more effective than I thought.
Maybe they helped take down those reincarnators too. I should think about adding more trap varieties in the future.
After taking advice from Primilla and Pilkaya, the dungeon was finally complete.
It has fewer than 10 rooms, connected by simple paths.
There are some forks in the paths, but no dead ends—every route eventually leads to the boss room.
The boss is a Goblin King, accompanied by various types of goblins.
The boss room contains a treasure chest, and a few other rooms also have basic treasure chests with minimal items, which I’ll restock as needed.
Yeah, it turned out to be a decent dungeon.
Of course, there’s no hidden passage connecting it to the Netherworld—it’s a fully independent structure.
“Oh, it’s finished? As expected of Rey.”
“Fiona-sama.”
“Your Majesty~. We helped with advice too!”
“Yes, Pilkaya and Primilla did well too.”
Fiona-sama came to personally acknowledge our efforts. She’s as thoughtful toward her subordinates as ever.
“…Your Majesty, do you plan to leave all future dungeons to Rey-sama as well?”
“Eh? Well… I mean, if we put so much effort into them only for heroes to destroy them…”
Fiona-sama’s response to Primilla’s question was hesitant.
“…I understand your feelings, and it’s our fault for leaving you alone after we died, but we’ll need you to step up eventually.”
“I-I’ll do my best… Maybe in a thousand years…”
Primilla didn’t seem angry, just nodding at those words.
The way demons perceive time is hard to grasp…
“By the way, isn’t it wasteful to place so many treasure chests in this simple dungeon?”
“But Pilkaya said we need them to attract intruders.”
“Well… Could you spare a few for me? I think I’ll finally succeed in reviving the third member of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
She’s still working on that, huh? Reviving the entire Demon Lord’s army will probably take much longer.
It’s worrisome that the Demon Lord seems addicted to treasure chest gacha.
If anyone found out I caused it, I’d probably get scolded by the entire Demon Lord’s army…
