Episode 39: Still Not Enough Hands!

"We're seriously short-staffed! "

　I shout while renovating the first floor.
　There was a time when I thought that there were plenty of materials available for renovating the dungeon and that even a small number of people could manage it.

　I, Maho Saeki, was preparing to rebuild a huge labyrinth consisting of 101 floors, but it was so deserted that not even birds sang there.
　First off, I wanted to create a map of the upper floors. For the time being, I have finished creating up to the sixth floor, and I have made a clean copy and copied it in large quantities to keep in stock.
　Everything had been going well up to this point.

"The dungeon is too big. At this rate, the deadline will arrive before we can renovate it to a level that guarantees safety."
"That's why I told you it was unreasonable!　『Renovate』 you say, as if it was that simple! "
"That's easy for you to say, Fiona. I thought it would somehow work out."

　After all, we can use unlimited materials from the hardware store.
　With Seir, who is skilled in teleportation magic, moving things in and out is a piece of cake. It was supposed to be just a matter of proceeding with the construction work as planned, but……

　Currently, I am working on creating a safe passageway on the first floor, the slime floor.
　Yes. We are still working on the first layer.
　And there's only about two weeks left!
　We are blocking off all branches except for the shortest route up to the second floor with plywood, but this is surprisingly difficult.

　The standard plywood sold at the hardware store is 910 x 1820 mm (35.82 x 71.65 inches), but of course this is not enough to reach the ceiling. You need to cut and affix it to the right size to completely block the passageway. Otherwise, the slimes will invade the pathway. Once the wall is completely sealed, the next step is to fill in any gaps with caulking compound.
　In addition, doors need to be installed in several places to allow people to enter and exit as desired. For mages, the first layer is not a bad hunting ground (though it's not great either).

　The tricky part of this dungeon is that the only monsters in the first layer are slimes with absolute physical resistance (though I haven't tested whether it's truly absolute yet).
　On the other hand, they are extremely weak against magic and can be defeated with even the weakest offensive spell, but that magic is the tricky part. It is not a power that can be used freely by anyone from the other world, but only by those who have successfully made a contract with a god.

　Ars and Tina, who are active in this dungeon, are also mages. I saw them once from a distance, and it was quite fantastic to see them attack enemies with flaming spears that appeared out of nowhere.

　Incidentally, Fiona cannot use offensive spells like Ars and company.
　The magic you can use depends on the god you contract with, or something like that. I wonder what this world's “god” is.

　Anyway, it's quite hard work to cut the pieces and set them up on site.

"Isn't two floors enough?　I think that's enough, don't you? "

　Fiona says as she effortlessly carries a piece of plywood taller than herself.
　She has been bestowed with something called 『Warrior's Blessing』, which makes her stronger than me.
　Even if that weren't the case, her higher rank (level) means she has much more power and endurance than a normal girl.

　The demon Seir is helping us, so we have plenty of power and are making good progress, but we still can't make up for the lack of manpower.
　It's been a whole day and we haven't even finished the first floor yet.

"At this rate, we're never going to make it."
"Well, Fiona. You say that, but we're going to lure people into the dungeon, right?　In other words, just like when tons of people flocked to this huge labyrinth in the past, a large number of total beginners will be coming. Not only the second floor, but also the third and fourth floors are critically unsafe. We need to take measures."
"I think just providing information about the map and monsters is enough……"
"Not everyone can read such warnings. There are reckless people out there who are far beyond our imagination."
"I don't know if I'd call them reckless, but you're right. It was really awful here at first, too……"

　When the dungeon appeared. It seems that several young people with no information and only wooden sticks they picked up here and there were eaten by slimes and goblins.

　As long as I'm in charge, I will never allow such a thing to happen.
　Our goal is to create a “safe and profitable dungeon”.

"We need to keep redeveloping the area outside the dungeon, too."

　I've left the outside to Doppy, my Doppler who has transformed himself into me.
　Since it's my appearance, there shouldn't be any problems, but unlike renovating a dungeon, there's a lot to do.
　Things must be pretty tough over there.

　We piled up materials for redevelopment from the hardware store in the middle of the night (Seir carried them).
　We are employing local people by providing them with payment in kind—strictly speaking, food and alcohol. We have a fair amount of building materials that we transported during the night, so I think things will work out. If we can't get a proper building in time, we could use prefabricated buildings as lodging for poor explorers.

(Hardware stores have samples of prefabricated finished products, so you can transport them as is and use them right away!　Of course, prefabricated buildings are also available in unlimited quantities.)

　After all, we are on the "side of authority". It's great to be able to do things without being nagged from above.
　Why is there so much food and building materials?　Even if someone questions it, just say it's the “lord's stockpile” and that's good enough. Everything will be fine if you do that. It's not like we're doing anything that's detrimental to the people, so some people may have some doubts, but nothing more than that is likely to happen.

　A shrewd businessman might notice something unusual, but what we're doing is basically a get-rich-quick scheme. I don't think there's any problem.
　The problem will be the higher authority, the “country,” but by the time the information reaches the country, we should already be well on track.

　Well, in any case, the die has been cast.

　――In this way, we are rapidly moving forward with plans to relaunch Melquodia Labyrinth City.
　There isn't much time, but postponing it is also not an option.
　After all, Ares and Tina, who had been diving every day, and the townspeople they had brought with them (apparently merchants) came to the entrance of the dungeon every day, urging us to reopen.

　Rather than suddenly inviting a large number of people and starting right away, I think it would be better to have a soft opening to test things out, even if there are some uncertainties about the details, and work things out with Ares, Tina, and the others who are familiar with Melquodia.

"Yeah. Should I summon an other demon to help again with that magic array? "
"Eh?　Oh, you're going to use that thing again……?　I think you should stop that……"

　Fiona seems to be against it.
　It was fine when I summoned Doppy, the doppelganger, but after summoning Seir, who claims to be one of the gods, she seems to be quite scared.
　Seir looks like a human being, or rather, a noble prince riding a white horse, but he is an eccentric who never speaks and communicates by writing on a flipboard.
　Well, if you ask him to help, he'll get off his horse and help you out, so he's not a bad guy. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that I don't really understand what he's thinking, but in any case, the contract seems to be binding, so I don't think there's much to worry about.

『Lady, Maho. Is that okay? 』

　Seir, who had been hammering nails into the plywood, wrote something on the flipboard to convey his message.
　Handsome men have strong eyes. Although we haven't known each other for long, Seir is the type of person who doesn't express his opinions very much. Perhaps because he is the type who values contracts, he seems to be quite loyal to my orders. Well, he doesn't really speak much in the first place…… I'm fine with communicating in writing.

"What's wrong? "
『That summoning array is losing its power because it summoned me. I don't know about small items, but if you want to summon something big, once more is probably the limit.』
"What!? Really? "

　So calling for help is a bad idea……?　It could be a trump card in the future, and helping with renovations is something anyone can do, so it seems like a waste to use it for that.

"Thank you, thank you. I'll refrain from summoning for now."

　When I said that, Seir didn't change his expression, just flicked his cloak and went back to hammering nails.
　By majority vote, Fiona and Seir are opposed, so let's think of another way to deal with the manpower issue.

"That's enough for today, Maho. It's about time."

　Fiona checked her watch and said.
　I let her choose a watch she liked at the hardware store and gave it to her.
　As expected, the shape of the numbers was different from the Arabic numerals used on Earth, but the concept of time was the same, so she got used to it quickly.

"Is it already time? Well, let's go back, shall we? I have to change my clothes."

　I have an important appointment today.

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