Chapter 31

“The number of beastfolk survivors is increasing.”

“It seems so. Since there’s a shop at the entrance, they can replenish recovery items as much as they like, and it seems they’ve started retreating to regroup when they sense danger.”

Unlike before, they’re coming here lightly equipped. It appears the shop is more popular than I initially thought.

The beastfolk, realizing that this dungeon isn’t something that can be easily conquered, seem to have decided to gather information and take their time with the challenge.

“If they survive and leave, it’ll hinder Rey’s growth, which is a problem.”

“But if Rey goes all out recklessly, we might end up attracting the kingdom’s soldiers or reincarnators like with the goblin dungeon.”

That’s true. Maintaining the current balance is probably the right call for now.

Even though the experience points gained are fewer, the beastfolk accumulating more money might prove useful for something.

Since this world originates from a game, it seems all races use the same currency anyway.

“They’ve all retreated. Still, they’re putting up more of a fight than before, which makes things a bit bothersome.”

“Yeah, more of them are retreating and coming back for another attempt.”

“At this rate, they might start setting up camp nearby…”

“…Maybe we should block the entrance with a wall during off-hours.”

That could actually work.

No beastfolk stay here past midnight, so if we quietly create and reset the wall, they might think it’s a dungeon that only opens during specific hours.

“Hm? What’s this? Trouble?”

As I was about to head out for maintenance, Pilkaya brought it up.

I checked the map—no intruder icons.

So, it’s not that someone is still here.

“What kind of trouble are we talking about?”

“Uh, the bunny at the shop seems to be in a panic.”

Sharing Pilkaya’s vision, I saw Tokito looking flustered.

What’s going on? Let’s check it out while doing some maintenance.

“I’ll handle the escort.”

“No, I’ll go,” Fiona declared, cutting off Primilla .

With Fiona as the escort, there’s really nothing to fear…

Although, against Tokito, even one of the Four Heavenly Kings would be overkill.

“Hey, what’s going on? Trouble?”

“Eek! M-Maou-sama…”

When I arrived, Tokito was turning the shop upside down, looking for something.

Did they lose an item that was supposed to be on sale?

Fortunately, we’re not selling anything too expensive right now, so it wouldn’t be a huge deal if something went missing.

“Uh… Actually, the sales revenue is nowhere to be found…”

“What…?”

This was a bigger issue than expected.

“You didn’t pocket it or anything, right?”

“N-No! You can ask Pilkaya to confirm!”

“Yeah, no way. With Pilkaya watching, there’s no chance you’d try something like that.”

After begging for their life to volunteer as a clerk here, Tokito wouldn’t do something that foolish.

Which means the revenue really has disappeared.

“That one’s not lying~. I can’t figure out where the money went, either.”

Pilkaya’s voice came through, probably relayed via one of the shop’s torches.

“Well, what’s gone is gone.”

If this were a regular shop, it’d be a major failure.

But this shop is just an experiment to see how it works; at best, it’s an opportunity to collect funds that might come in handy.

If neither Tokito nor Pilkaya knows where the sales went, there’s no point in wasting more time searching.

“It’s vanished… Should we just assume future sales will also disappear? If selling things becomes meaningless, this place might just become a facility for keeping intruders neither alive nor dead.”

“I see. In that case, this facility doesn’t seem very useful.”

“Eek… P-Please don’t fire me! I’ll try harder!”

Fiona seemed unusually strict today.

Then again, perhaps this is her true self as a Maou.

If I didn’t know Fiona’s usual demeanor, I’d be just as scared as Tokito.

…No, I shouldn’t forget the stats difference. Even in her usual state, Fiona could squash me like an ant.

“Speaking of which… has anything changed in the dungeon?”

I checked the menu.

Maybe a new feature has been added, like a paid upgrade or some percentage of the revenue being funneled back into the dungeon’s magic power.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong, Rey?”

I stiffened slightly as Lady Fiona, in her serious mode, questioned me.

Feeling a vague sense of discomfort, I quickly answered her question.

“My status seems to have increased.”

“Because you repelled the intruders?”

“No, it’s strangely high… Ah.”

Status. Menu. Map. As I browsed through various screens, I noticed something.

The icon for this shop was selectable.

When I selected it, a settings menu of sorts appeared.

“Sales → Experience Conversion Rate: 100%”

There it was—an obviously suspicious setting.

Messing around with it a little, I found that the percentage value could be freely adjusted.

This must be the reason.

“Um, sorry. About the sales… I think I might have been taking all of them.”

“…Could you explain?”

Lady Fiona, after a brief pause, asked with an emotionless tone.

At first glance, she seemed to be suppressing her anger and maintaining a facade of calm.

But the fleeting look of surprise on her face made it clear she was trying not to let Tokito see her genuine reaction.

“It seems the shop’s sales can be converted into experience points for me.”

“Oh! …Is that so? That’s wonderful news.”

Her true feelings slipped out.

If Lady Fiona was happy, that was good enough for me.

Tokito, realizing that the issue was my fault, also looked relieved.

“Sorry for causing a fuss.”

“N-No! I’m fine…”

I genuinely felt bad about it.

No one could have imagined that the sales would disappear for such an inexplicable reason.

Even I, who set up the shop, didn’t know about this feature.

“Oh… but this means I can’t pay Tokito’s wages. I’ll change the setting for now, so just keep things going as they are for tomorrow.”

“Y-Yes!”

I had no intention of making them work unpaid or without breaks.

Even if there was a risk of betrayal, increasing that risk myself would be foolish.

Since they were part of the Demon Lord’s army, it was better not to exploit them with poor treatment.

If betrayal did come, at least I could face it without lingering regrets.

With these thoughts, Lady Fiona and I decided to return to the underground demon realm for now.

…Guess I’ll have to rebuild that wall. Maybe I should add a hidden passage or something?

No, that’s risky. It’s better to block the path even if it consumes some magic power.

“I’m back. Turns out it was my fault.”

“Yeah, I heard. Turning money into sustenance? That’s pretty greedy of you.”

“If it strengthens Lord Rey, it holds more value than the currency of other races.”

While I appreciated the sentiment, that approach wouldn’t work.

Since Tokito was properly employed, monopolizing all the sales for myself was out of the question.

For now, I set it like this:

“Sales → Experience Conversion Rate: 50%”

This way, Tokito would still receive some of the revenue.

If there was surplus currency, we could store it for something useful later, as originally planned.

Still, gaining experience based on sales is a pretty handy system.

It seems I’ll need to take the shop more seriously from now on.