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Re:Monster - Volume 5 - Chapter 22




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Chapter 22: Day 186 ~ 190

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Day 186

I have nothing in particular to talk about today.

Reconstruction has silently progressed and as a result, the store portion of the mansion is nearing completion.

At this rate, it will be completed tomorrow. Although a large portion of the first floor still needs work, since the store is only a small part of it, we should still be able to start doing business once I finish putting our merchandise on display.

Day 187

The work that we started in the morning was completed shortly after noon.

To put it simply, our current plan is to have a part of the store function as a supermarket.

Given that the shop became a structure that's roughly fifty meters long, forty meters wide, and seven meters tall, a lot of merchandise can be put on display in such a spacious area.

A basic commodity that we'll have is various materials that are used in alchemy, such as vegetables from the Great Forest, Black Skeleton bones, and so on.

We'll have cooking utensils for use at home such as large pots and kitchen knives whose sharpness and ability to cut things won't quickly deteriorate, as well.

Using air transportation, we'll bring fresh vegetables grown in our ≪Farmlands≫ to the Royal Capital, as well as a great variety of other ingredients, such as Black Fomorian meat.

We're also planning to have clothes that Kanami-chan and others have designed, as well as weapons and armor that were made by the Dwarves and Leprechauns.

In addition, we'll also have daily necessities such as scissors and expensive work gloves that are blade-proof, which I used my thread to make.

These are the types of items that our merchandise list will be composed of.

At first, I want to acquire regular customers by spreading the image that our prices are kept at a very reasonable level, so one can get almost any item they need by coming here.

Eventually though, I want to attract various shops and expand the business into a large-scale shopping center.

Anyway, the shop was more or less completed in this way.

After a short discussion, we decided that the store's grand opening would be in three days.

Although I'm feeling anxious about it, I'll try and run this shop for the time being. If it's not serving its purpose, I guess I can always make modifications. Even if the business fails, we'll still be able to eat because we can continue our mercenary work.

I calculated that if the Tomboy Princess moves, our customers will also include nobles, so I immediately told her about the day the store will open through the ear cuffs.

My only concern is that the First Queen will probably come, as well. Well, that shouldn't be a bad thing...probably.

Day 188

Today, I left the remodeling to the foreman and the other craftsmen and left the Royal Capital with the members of ≪Solitude≫.

I had them line up in two columns and we quickly headed for a forest that's roughly an hour's walk from the capital.

Seeing as they were wearing light leather armor, with things like swords and short spears in their hands and a backpack with food and medical supplies on their backs, the members of ≪Solitude≫ would've previously become worn out immediately, with the exception of some like the ringleader.

However, because their eating habits have improved and they've obtained combat-related jobs, they've reached the point where they can just barely handle actual combat with the help of body strengthening enchantments. When we arrived, although they were tired, not a single member had dropped out.

After we arrived, I had them all rest for roughly a minute so they could catch their breath. After that, I grouped them into parties of four, told them to go hunt monsters on the outskirts of the forest, and saw them off.

Since there were fifty of them, I was able to make twelve groups, though two people were left after doing so. I decided to have the two remaining people, the group leader and his bratty second in command (who is female), team up with Auro and Argento.

Since high level monsters don't come to the outskirts of the forest, I also told them to hunt further in it, as well.

It should be fine since Auro and Argento are with them, unless several Hind Bear ranked monsters appear. Since they have the ear cuffs with them as well, they shouldn't die either way.

If it's necessary, I'll just have to go and save them. While we waited for everyone to return, I trained with Redhead and Kanami-chan outside of the forest.

Everyone returned in the evening.

Although many of them suffered various major and minor injuries, some of them were able to hunt Horned Rabbits and Armored Tanuki, which were nostalgic to see. Another group had taken several legs from a Demon Spider, only to have them stolen by a type of wolf monster right after. Some of them harvested things like 【Thorned Fig Tree Roots】, which are roots that are delicious, but come out of the ground when something approaches and stabs them. There were also those who hunted Sleep Moths, a moth which scatters scales that causes those who inhale them to become drowsy. Surprisingly, it seems they did their best.

As I expected though, the group that had the best results was Auro's group.

They simply overwhelmed the other groups as they took down things like the following:

Orcs, with their pig heads and fat bodies.

Dire Looks, a large striped cat that confuses its opponents by emitting a scent that has a bewitching effect.

Gray Lizards, lizards that have characteristic gray scales and make use of unrefined axes.

Well, I wasn't really worried about them.

I gave them both praise and patted them on their heads. Though it was almost as if they were being tickled, they didn't seem to hate it.

After that, I gathered all the materials and loot into my Item Box and we set out to return using a Skeleton Centipede.

Since the majority of the children had fallen asleep, we took our time on the return journey. They smelled of blood and sweat from running around in the forest all day long, so when we returned to the mansion in the Royal Capital, the first thing I did was put them in the bath.

After the bath, I prepared meals for each specific group using the prey they hunted as ingredients. Since the people who hunted more had more extravagant meals, it should help motivate them in the future.

The message this gave them was, "If you want to eat something better, then work harder for it."

It's simple and effective.

Day 188/Sidestory: Ringleader's POV (Future commander of the [Solitude] Corps of Parabellum)

Just until recently, I did not have dreams about the future. After all, getting enough food just for the day poses difficulty, and it only gets more difficult as the capital city gets colder by the day.

Finding someone you talked to yesterday dead in the morning is nothing unusual, and that is why I did everything I had to in order to survive. However, that unreasonable way of living has a limit, and I found out the hard way.

To live we stole, get caught, and dragged to a back alley we get beaten by several adults. Kicks without restraint struck my whole body. I had no choice but to wait for it all to wrap up. I thought that, I would die before it ended. However, perhaps I stink because I was washed with gutter water the day before, I lucked out when it ended sooner than usual. I didn’t die from the beatings. Even though my whole body hurts, I didn’t die yet. But, it won’t be far off, before I die like the others.

But, on that day, my destiny did a 180 degree turn.

There’s tasty food. There’s a safe place to sleep. There’s nice clothing that has been washed. There’s weapons to defend ourselves with. And more than anything, there’s someone who offered us protection.

It was like a dream, although of course nothing came without a price. What was needed, was us ourselves. Doing what we are told, with our given roles was requested.

The daily training we were assigned was hard. For us who hadn’t had enough to eat, the training was almost unbearable. But, we endured it. Endured and endured and endured, we clenched our teeth and continued training. And the day we see the results came.

At the forest an hour’s walk from the capital. Today we headed for it. This time the Commander's with us too, everyone was fired up. The Commander was our saviour. Without the Commander, half of us would have died.

The first time we met the Commander was scary, but we found out this place was warm, we couldn’t imagine anywhere else. I don’t know what the others think, but at least, I want to protect this warm place. That’s why I wanted to become power for the Commander who taught us how to live, who gave us a place to belong to. Even as little as it is, something that is as good as nothing, I thought I wanted to be of help. I thought I wanted to be useful.

As I reconfirmed those feelings, we formed parties of 4 under the Commander’s instructions, and dived into the forest.

Even though we were taught in our training, walking in the unaccustomed forest was difficult. On top of that the monsters that appeared went after our lives without mercy, it was very scary. I thought I’d start shaking if I let down my guard. But, I brought up my courage and thrust out my short spear. The monster that attacked — the Blade Rabbit’s fur split, pierced muscles, and torn organs gave a unique feel. And I felt when the spear had luckily pierced through the heart, the feeling of life slipping through.

As I looked down to the dying Blade Rabbit what I felt was not the guilt of stealing a life, but rather a strong sense of accomplishment. It was the certain feeling of me who was weak and only to be used, getting stronger.

Little by little, but steadily, becoming stronger. Still a far away dream, but I want to become useful to the Commander someday. That's my goal. That's why, for now, I focused on killing one monster at a time.

It's not an exceptional result, but the road's still long. I found a dream I didn't have before and there's many thing I want to do now as well.

The despair from back then, it feels like a memory already. Right now, I only need to walk forward with a single purpose.

Believer candidate. Future executive candidate.


Please be careful with raising this child.

Secured a promising force for the future.

Day 189

I left the redecorating to the foreman and the other craftsmen again today, and left the Royal Capital with Kanami-chan this morning.

Then, with the mental map that my clones had filled in, we left and flew to the Labyrinth City "Aquarium," which is a place I haven't been to yet.

Aquarium is located far away from the Royal Capital and the Kuuderun Great Forest, near the borders of the Atarakua Demon Empire, which is ruled by a Demon Emperor; I'll just call it the Demon Empire from now on. Since it's so far away, none of our members that grew up in the Great Forest have been there before.

When it comes to introducing Aquarium, the first thing that I'd have to say about it is that there's an 【Age of the Gods Dungeon】 there.

As for 【Age of the Gods Dungeons】, their high degree of difficulty can't be compared to the 【Derived Dungeons】 like the ones we've entered up to this point. This Labyrinth City is among the liveliest places that I've been to so far, though.

Special 【Artifact】 level items collected in the 【Age of the Gods Dungeon】 are more valuable than other dungeon items, though I was able to see the occasional adventurer wearing some unique armor on their body.

Because its difficulty is high, the level of the adventurers that challenge it appears to be suitably high as well. Since some of those amongst them possessed 【Divine Protection】, many of them were very appetizing.

Getting back to discussing the 【Age of the Gods Dungeons】, this one in particular was made by the 【Demigod of Spring Water】 and it’s classified as a 【Demigod Rank】 dungeon. The name it's been given is 【Waterfall Basin of Spring Water, Aquarium Forlia】.

One of the dungeon's basic specifications is that it's made up of underground levels. In addition, many of its traps are water-based, and the monsters that appear there are primarily those of the elemental, fish, and shellfish systems.

The final layer is fifty floors down, and in the dungeon's long history, there's been very few stories of adventurers making it to that floor and successfully killing the boss.

Most of them aren't capable of defeating the boss enshrined on a specific level. Since this prevents them from delving deeper, it looks like these people enter the upper levels of the dungeon every day in order to collect items and earn daily cash income.

By the way, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but the 【Age of the Gods Dungeons】 have ranks as well.

When it comes to the 【Great God Rank】 dungeons, which have the highest degree of difficulty, most 【Heroes】 and 【Great Heroes】 would be annihilated on the first floor if they challenged one.

According to the small amount of information left behind, only five of these exist in the world, and it looks like the small fry in them are basically the same level as Wyverns. Also, because they’re small fry, there’s a considerable number of them.

How scary.

【God Rank】 is the rank that comes before that in terms of difficulty. Although it’s difficult, these dungeons appear to be something that 【Heroes】 and 【Great Heroes】 are somehow able to delve into. Having said that, it seems they're often killed by the floor bosses, so they can't let down their guard in them.

Then there’s the 【Demigod Rank】, which is easiest rank of 【Age of the Gods Dungeons】.

If they're extremely cautious, it looks like ordinary people are somehow capable of descending into these. However, the amount of risk that 【Derived Dungeons】 carry is still incomparable to the 【Demigod Rank】.

Since even high-level people are mercilessly killed in these dungeons if they're careless, there aren't many who enter them.

However, for those that are reckless and continue to enter these dungeons, a large amount of money can be obtained all at once, if everything goes smoothly.

That’s the gist of it, anyway.

Anyway, I gathered information as I looked through the merchandise in the street stalls and shops. Although I did enter the dungeon, it looks like I’ll have to put in a lot of effort if I want to completely capture it.

I only went and leisurely explored the first floor this time around. There was a long and wide passage with a splendid interior that resembled a temple in some respects, and the floor was submerged up to my ankles in cold water. This causes a person's body temperature to constantly drop. They'll also consume more stamina than usual simply by walking.

Moreover, the dungeon strengthens the monsters within it by approximately 2 ranks, making them very tough, as I expected.

However, since everything was so appetizing, I decided to explore the dungeon a little bit more.

As a result, I obtained the following:

Twenty three Iolite Elementals, which have a spherical blue core that's wrapped in flowing water. The greatest magic from the Aqua system that it can use is third-grade magic.

Eighteen Armored Scissormen, which are roughly the size of Goblins. They normally lie camouflaged on the floor, but they'll jump up and try to catch those who get close with their shell and cut them. Their shell is stronger than steel.

Forty seven Bullet Fish, which are approximately sixty centimeters in length and have a characteristic pyramid shaped head that's as heavy as lead. They swim in the air like it's water and when they detect prey, they rush at them at a speed of roughly 130 kilometers per hour.

Eight Dirotonis, which are huge fish that are approximately two meters in size and have strong teeth that can even crunch Armored Scissormen. They have a scaled shell that's hardened to the point that it's like metal armor.

Ten Water Leapers, white frogs that are roughly the size of a large dog. It has the tail and fins of a fish, which makes it look like it has grown wings.

That about sums it up.

In addition to the item drops I got from the various monsters, since I was able to collect raw materials that can be gathered in the dungeon as well, my heart was warmed.

...Would it be easier to understand if I just said that I simply hunted monsters as I casually explored the first floor, and that I obtained approximately one million gold coins as a result?

After seeing the merits of the 【Age of the Gods Dungeon】, I'm sure that this is a place where I can make quite a lot of money.

I decided to return home before dusk, so I bought some magic metal and local ingredients as souvenirs on my way out of the city.

Because I can get home in no time if I fly through the skies, I want to develop some sort of air transportation in the future.

Day 190

Today is the opening day of the shop. Opening time: 9 A.M.

The Tomboy Princess was already there and she exclaimed 『I came!』 with a triumphant look on her face. Even though it's cold enough outside for snow to fall, she’s been waiting out there for three hours. Honestly, that fool.

She was wearing high-quality winter clothing to keep her warm, but she's still young. If I let her stand outside, she'll most likely catch a cold.

Although I was shocked for a moment, I brought her to a small snack corner that I had set up near the store's entrance and served her some hot tea.

The First Queen, Dark Hero, and their servants arrived just a few minutes later.

A chill ran down my spine for a moment when they glanced at me, but I'm trying to avoid thinking about that for the time being.

Since she thought that she was the first to arrive this early in the morning, the vexed expression that the First Queen momentarily displayed when she saw that the Tomboy Princess was already there left a deep impression.

They were arguing back and forth like a normal parent and child would, but their carefree mood told me that it wasn't anything serious and that they actually got along with each other.

Despite such an event occurring, the opening proceeded without any problems. Since this was coupled with a week-long opening sale, we had more visitors than I expected.

Though we hardly advertised through the distribution of flyers and things like that, it looks like the Tomboy Princess had been talking to the Nobles, and the Foreman to the commoners.

While I thought, "It's unexpected, but despite my skimping on advertising, it looks like there's a chance we can make a living with this because of our acquaintances," there was some trouble caused by nobles and commoners being gathered in the same place.

However, it looks like the problems were safely resolved by discussing them.

I won't bother talking about what happened though, since it's not worth mentioning.

Anyway, as for Female Samurai, she displayed unexpected success as a salesperson this time.

Apparently, she worked at a similar job as a part-timer before coming to this world, so she was accustomed to this sort of work. In addition to that, the experience she's gained from living in this world for several years has made her capable of grasping and promptly responding to the subtleties of other people's minds.

Because I only anticipated her fighting strength and her radar for Otherworlders, it looks like I've found something unexpected.

She was perfect for it, so I gave her the title of "Royal Capital Shop Manager."

She gave me a bitter smile, but I want her to work hard since the title comes with perks that include a salary increase, among other things.

Although there was a bit of trouble, the first day ended in this way.

Because it was more popular than I thought, it may unexpectedly be the right thing for us to do. As for Blacksmith-san, although she was doing this sort of work for the first time, since it looks like accounting is her strong suit, I'll have her take care of that from now on.

However, since I'm our representative, I’ll have to think of new goods and tactics in the future. As I was doing so, I cooked the prey that I brought back from the dungeon yesterday, ate it, and then went to bed.

One more thing. The dungeon monsters from the 【Age of the Gods Dungeon】 were very tasty.

They almost melted on my tongue when I ate them raw, but they were even more delicious when I cooked them.

I shouldn’t just explore the 【Demigod Rank】 dungeons, but also the 【God Rank】 ones.

As I cleaned up my excess drool, I thought, "Someday...the 【Great God Rank】 dungeons."

Today's the day that I decided on a clear goal for the future.



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