Chapter 25

“Ahaha! Nice! We’ve gotten the hang of things with that simple dungeon, so it’s time to move on to the next one.”

“Honestly, there’s not much we really need to do, is there?”

“True. If anything, we tend to overdo things, like almost wiping ourselves out with a flood of traps.”

“Shut up… I was panicking, okay?”

Just as Pilkaya said, the only real action I’d taken against intruders was triggering all the traps at once that time.
Other than that, it’s been maintenance stuff—remaking monsters, restocking treasure chests, and so on.

Maybe that simple dungeon actually worked better than I thought.
It fended off intruders with minimal effort on my part.

…Ugh, it really stung when a reincarnated hero set their sights on it.
It was such an easy source of passive income—magic power and experience flowed in without me lifting a finger.

But there’s no use lamenting it. That’s why I need to do it even better this time.

“But hey, let’s start by shoring up our foundation.”

“Meaning… we’re building another dungeon near a human village?”

“No, I meant we should finish fixing up the simple dungeon first.”

“…Wait, can we still use that place?”

The boss was defeated, and the treasure chest was emptied.
I thought a dungeon was done for once it was fully cleared.

“Come on, it’s just the monsters and the treasure that are gone.
We just have to restock them like always. It’s more than usual, but still.”

…She’s got a point.
Even though this is a game-like world, it’s also reality.
Dungeons don’t just disappear once they’re cleared.

“Ah, but… won’t a dungeon with its boss revived be seen as a threat?”

“Eh, it’s fine, right? Back when the Demon King was motivated, bosses used to come back the next day.”

“Wait, so dungeons were restored daily? How did they even have the energy to fight Lady Fiona after all that?”

Maybe they figured it was a losing game unless they took down Lady Fiona herself.
If other heroes dealt with the dungeons and the main party defeated Fiona, it would be humanity’s victory.

“As long as they didn’t leave it completely alone, monsters rarely left the dungeon.
They’d just thin them out periodically. Once cleared, the treasure chests were empty anyway.”

I see…
So they decided it was manageable as long as the monsters stayed inside the dungeon.

In that case, the simple dungeon can still serve its purpose.

If monsters start regenerating again, people will have to cull them to prevent them from spilling out.
If I restock treasure chests, more intruders will be drawn in.

In other words, with proper upkeep, it’ll work the same way it always has.

“Alright, let’s get that simple dungeon fixed up.”

“Feeling motivated, huh? I like it.
I wish I could raise my rank too, but it’ll be a while before I’m cleared to join any fights.”

“Pilkaya, your abilities are super useful. I think Lady Fiona holds you in high regard because of that.”

“You think so? Aw, shucks.
But seriously, if I get promoted any higher than the Four Heavenly Kings, we’ll need a whole new title.”

Higher than the Four Heavenly Kings, huh… Sounds like something they’d add as a bonus feature.

While Pilkaya beamed, I quietly worked on restoring the simple dungeon, recovering my magic as I went.

“Why didn’t either of you come to help me!?”

“We were restocking monsters and treasure chests in the simple dungeon.”

“We were monitoring the Underworld and the simple dungeon.”

Lady Fiona had returned, but she was clearly upset.
Pilkaya and I, without prior coordination, gave excuses that sounded plausible enough to deflect her anger.

It seemed to work, as she couldn’t find the words to argue back and fell silent.

“Both Lord Rey and Lady Pilkaya are diligently fulfilling their duties.
Demon King, I’d like you to do the same and show some enthusiasm.”

“Yesss…”

Why does such a powerful demon sometimes act like a scolded puppy?
Primilla would probably get mad at me for saying this, but seeing her like that makes me want to cover for her.

“But look—since Primilla and Pilkaya came back, dungeon-building has been going smoothly.
So making resurrection potions would really help the Demon King’s army, don’t you think?”

“There you go again…”

“Rey! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

Primilla and Pilkaya are allies too.

Moved by emotion, she started patting my head, so it seemed Lady Fiona’s mood had improved.

“Rey, I’ve narrowed down the options for you.”

“Oh, thanks… Wait, there are even more than last time.”

“You asked for places near the beastfolk villages, right? I focused on those areas and did a more detailed search.”

Hmm, this spirit really is capable.

“Beastfolk investigations? Is there something about them that caught your attention?”

“No, it’s just that the current simple dungeon has stabilized, so I thought it was time to prepare a new site.”

“I see. That makes sense—after all, the number of intruders might decrease now that the boss has been defeated.”

Lady Fiona, who used to manage all the dungeons alone, is always quick to catch on to discussions like these.
All that’s left is for her to stay motivated… though, if she becomes too motivated and I lose my job, that would be a problem. Better keep her as she is now.

“So, Pilkaya, you’ve been researching the beastfolk’s territory?”

“Yep! What do you think? Impressive, right?”

“Indeed, Pilkaya’s keen eyes are a huge asset.”

I agree. With Pilkaya around, our information about the surrounding areas is leagues better.

“By the way, why beastfolk? They’re so wild and crude.”

“You mentioned before how elves are cautious, while beastfolk are the opposite.
Unlike the simple dungeon meant for testing, this time I want to draw in as many intruders as possible.”

“That’s true. Beastfolk are perfect for that. Unlike human heroes, beastfolk heroes tend to slaughter any demon they see.”

“They even attacked me when I was guarding the entrance…”

“Exactly. For those beasts to try and kill my Rey… Shall we invade the beastfolk kingdom?”

“Please don’t. Our forces are nowhere near strong enough for that…”

If I die, there’d be no one to manage the dungeon system.
Lady Fiona seems furious with the beastfolk.

“Don’t worry, Rey. I will protect you, and I won’t let them harm you again.”

If Primilla is acting as my bodyguard, that’s certainly reassuring.
However… that beastfolk hero—the man who called himself the strongest warrior—had higher stats than Primilla.
If he regains his strength and attacks us again, the Four Heavenly Kings might not be enough to fend him off…

“Thanks, Primilla. I’ll keep developing the dungeon to ensure I’m not a burden to anyone.”

When the time comes to face those heroes again, I want to be prepared—to at least have more options to slow them down.

“Resurrection… you say? Even though the boss was defeated?”

“Yes, but thanks to Lord Kunimatsu, we managed to eliminate all the goblins once.
For now, only a few low-level goblins seem to be respawning.”

I see… even if the boss and treasure are taken, it doesn’t mean it’s all over.
In games, defeating the boss doesn’t stop weaker enemies from spawning either.

I had assumed that defeating the boss was the end of it, but in this world, maintaining even one dungeon seems like a massive undertaking.

“Shall we tackle it again ourselves, then?”

“No, it would be a waste of Lord Kunimatsu’s abilities to tie him to such a dungeon.
Fortunately, all that’s needed is to cull the weaker monsters inside, so from now on, adventurers will take the lead in managing that dungeon.”

The country offers small rewards to mobilize adventurers.
If they don’t, the risk of monsters escaping the dungeon is too great…

Dungeons here are far more troublesome than I initially thought.

If the Demon King continues creating more dungeons, humanity might eventually become too exhausted to resist.