Chapter 96

“So Jelmy  is dead…”

“Yes… unfortunately, the eyewitness accounts make it certain. He ventured into a dungeon, and when the dungeon collapsed, he went missing…”

“Even with the reincarnated ones, we can no longer sense his life force or magic. Most likely, he was caught in the collapse.”

The king processed the death of his child with calm detachment.
He efficiently utilized reincarnated beings, even making use of demons who had defected to his side. While these traits made him an impressive ruler, he had little personal interest in Jelmy  himself.

“…Most likely, the collapse of the dungeon was Jelmy ‘s doing.”

“The dungeon itself? Surely that’s a power beyond human comprehension…”

“He conducted experiments that pushed the power of reincarnated beings to their limits, sacrificing everything else in the process. He must have taken one of the experimental subjects with him.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t that lead to war with the dwarves?”

“Just like your earlier reaction—no species, not even reincarnated ones, should possess the power to collapse a dungeon. That assumption is fundamental. Because of it, the collapse is being dismissed as the result of an old, decrepit dungeon finally falling apart, isn’t it?”

“Th-that’s true… Survivors and witnesses all seem to share that explanation.”

The king decided to be satisfied with the fact that no additional complications had arisen.
However, Jelmy  was strong, even if not at the level of a hero. Despite taking along elite guards and modified reincarnated beings, none of them returned.
With such an uncertain factor lingering, challenging dungeons elsewhere could prove risky.

“What about… resurrecting Jelmy ?”

“That is one option. However, we only have one vial of resurrection elixir, and using it on Jelmy  instead of other valuable reincarnated beings or talented individuals would be unwise.”

Naturally, the king himself was a candidate for resurrection. Given that, there was little benefit in reviving Jelmy  at this time.

The resurrection elixir wasn’t worth wasting.

“We already know his death was self-inflicted. Reviving him might even reveal unnecessary information to the dwarves, which would be problematic.”

The prince had died in a dungeon created by the Demon King’s army.
Even if that fact were shouted to the world, it wouldn’t unite the various species.

If anything, it would expose weaknesses on their side.

“Just to be safe, warn the challengers of the Goblin Dungeon as well. Say something like, ‘The Demon King is regaining his power, and the monsters are becoming more active.’ That should suffice.”

“Understood!”

“Sigh… Charging ahead recklessly. What a foolish son.”

“Hey, Lopez-san. What brings you all the way to this shop?”

“Oh, Tokito. My workplace shut down, so I’m looking for something to do. Got anything I can help with?”

“It shut down…? So, it’s true—the dungeon in the dwarves’ territory collapsed.”

I’d heard a little about it, but I didn’t know the details. Normally, I’d ask Pilkaya-san for the scoop, but for once, he kept quiet.

“Luckily, everyone made it out safely, but the business is completely gone.”

“…Lopez, didn’t you say before that with the power given to you by the goddess, you could cause a similar collapse if you wanted?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Cut it out! I can’t, and I wouldn’t!”

Lopez-san vehemently denied Eriko-chan’s words.
I hate to say it, but I couldn’t help thinking it might be possible with his powers.

“The bosses, the senior officers, even the Big Boss—they were terrifying after that. If anyone betrayed them after seeing that, they’d have to be a hero or something.”

“Can you not pin false accusations on me!?”

Ah, Kazama-kun’s here.

I see. If that shop’s gone, then Kazama-kun, Hara-chan, and Sera-chan must also be free for now.

“Oh, sorry. That’s not what I meant. Takemi doesn’t seem like the hero type, after all.”

“Give me a break… Honestly, just thinking about the Four Heavenly Kings or the Demon King being angry is terrifying. If I became their target, I’d be shaking in my boots.”

“But Takemi did try to protect us, didn’t he?”

“Well… yeah, of course.”

And now they’re flirting.
I guess they must really be bored.

Not that I mind. I don’t need their help—it’s not like I’m short-staffed or overwhelmed with work.

“So, are you guys going to be free for a while?”

“Depends on the boss. But with plans for a new dungeon and shop underway, it’s probably just a short break for us.”

I see. Rey-san really works hard. I need to work just as hard to survive in this world.

“Let’s open a shop.”

“A store? Or an inn?”

“No, I’m thinking of opening Magirema-san’s cafeteria to the public.”

“Yay!”

Magirema-san expressed her excitement dramatically.
It wasn’t an unreasonable burden on her—she’d been hinting for a while that she still wanted to do more work.

The Demon King’s army, including Pilkaya, sure had a workaholic streak… even though Lady Fiona’s policies made it a fairly white-collar workplace.

“I just love cooking! Preparing meals and bentos for everyone here isn’t enough to satisfy me.”

“Since Magirema-san is so enthusiastic, I thought we could even attract intruders into the dungeon for her food.”

“So, you’re thinking of setting up a cafeteria inside the dungeon?”

Yeah, it’s suspicious, isn’t it?

I could tell Primilla  wanted to say something.

“If we build it in an open space like Primilla ‘s field, even though it’s inside a dungeon, people might just think of it as a quirky little cafeteria in an unusual location.”

If it’s treated as a hidden gem of a restaurant in a remote area, then instead of challenging the dungeon, intruders would come purely for Magirema’s cooking.

And if we set up a heat-energy conversion room in that cafeteria, the more customers come, the more magical energy we can generate.

At this point, it wouldn’t even be a dungeon anymore—we’d just be running a restaurant to attract customers.

Because, you know, in dungeons, there are always people who try to destroy things! Well, maybe there aren’t that many of them, but I just want to carefully increase our sources of magical energy.

“So, you’re saying we’ll eliminate the closed-off feeling of a dungeon by creating an open space and placing only Magirema’s cafeteria there… Wait, does that mean we won’t be able to eat Magirema’s meals anymore?”

“No, I’m planning to build partitions to create private spaces inaccessible from outside.”

“I see… So the employees will use that space, huh.”

I was reminded once again of how incredibly efficient the heat-energy conversion room was.

If it hadn’t been destroyed, we might already be spinning the resurrection potion lottery with Lady Fiona by now.

“Are we completely abandoning the Dwarf Dungeon and having the employees work at Magirema’s restaurant?”

“Yeah. With Karmal as the leader, and Kazama and Lopez around, I think we can feel pretty secure.”

At this point, we might as well build Magirema’s restaurant into something really big.

We’ll add accommodations, a store, and even bring in the mining crew—all of them will work as employees there.

“So, while I’m resetting until we get a big cafeteria set up, Pilkaya, could you scout out a suitable location for it?”

“Got it… Wait, resetting?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what it means either, but it’s probably something best not to overthink.”

◇

“Lunchtime! Let’s go, quickly!”

“You don’t have to rush so much; that place doesn’t have long wait times.”

I know, I know, but that’s not the point.

The seaside cave. Ever since I discovered that place, I’ve come to appreciate the wonders of food.

Since I eat three times a day, it’s better if the food is delicious.

And when it’s extraordinarily delicious and cheap, I can’t imagine living without that restaurant anymore.

“Welcome!”

“I’ll have today’s special, please!”

Everything in this place is delicious.

That’s why ordering the special is always the best choice.

The menu changes every single meal, so eventually, I’ll try everything on the menu. Leaving it up to the restaurant is the smartest way to order.

“The staff here are so capable, as always.”

“Right? But don’t you wonder how this mix of humans, halflings, and dwarves came together?”

Since we’re merfolk, our entire nation is by the sea.

With industries like fishing, trade, and tourism, it’s not unusual for people from other races to visit this country.

Still, it’s pretty rare for them to open such a large restaurant with only non-locals.

Opening such a big restaurant without hiring local merfolk must mean there’s some specific reason behind it.

“Thank you for waiting.”

“I’ve been waiting for this!”

Oh well, it doesn’t really matter. The food is delicious, after all.

The reason doesn’t concern us. As long as they provide such wonderful food quickly, cheaply, and deliciously, we don’t need to worry about it.

Not just us, but other non-locals in this country also use this restaurant. They must have been confident that it would be successful.

That’s probably why they brought along an experienced team of employees to set up this restaurant here.

As I savored my omelet rice, I watched the constant comings and goings of customers from different races.