Labyrinth Renovation – 041 | Sousaku – 創作

Episode 41: Out of Money!

"Evans-san! Sorry, we're a little late."
"Not at all, you're right on time, Fiona-sama. Is that Maho-sama? "
“Nice to meet you, I'm Maho Saeki. I look forward to working with you."

Evans-san was an elderly man who appeared to be older than Fiona's father, Fergus, the Count of Dharma.
There were dark circles under his eyes, and combined with his charming gray hair, he looked very tired. His attire is neat, but he also looks tired…… or rather, he gives off an air of age.

"I have heard some of the circumstances from the master, but first of all, Maho-sama. Thank you for saving the life of the young lady―― of Fiona-sama……! "
"Ah, eh, yes."

He gripped my hand firmly.
Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.

"I, along with all the other vassals, were lamenting our own powerlessness when we received the good news. How delighted we were…… I cannot thank Maho-sama enough. Please feel free to ask this Evans anything……! "

I don't intend to ask someone who already looks completely exhausted to do something difficult, but it would be helpful if he could help. What happens inside the dungeon is important, but there's actually more to do outside.

"First, please provide me with detailed information on the current financial situation of the domain. We are also working at a fast pace, but our response will vary depending on how much leeway we have."
"Yes, that's right…… I feel bad saying this right after saying that I would do anything, but…… there is almost no leeway."

Well, I already knew that because I heard it from Papa-san.
Evans-san really is a serious person.

"……As you know, we currently have two parties to whom we need to make payments. "
"Yeah. It's the magic stones to be paid to the country and the repayment of the debt to the merchant, right?"

Dungeon management is supposed to be profitable.
The country……In other words, the portion paid to the royal family serves as a kind of dungeon tax, and the amount paid is negligible compared to the amount brought out of the dungeon by explorers.
The royal family will purchase any amount exceeding that, and all of it will be our profit.
Of course, we also need to pay the explorers who bring magic stones out of the dungeon, but naturally, we set the price lower than what the royal family would pay, and the difference is our profit.

In other words, the more popular the dungeon, the more money you make. That is why Fiona's father invested a huge amount of money in developing the surrounding area. The result was disappointing, but even though they missed the mark, it was still a good bet.
In fact, Melquodia is a huge dungeon with a total of 101 floors, so there was no doubt that a considerable amount of resources could be obtained from there.

――If only it had worked out.
The problem was that everyone involved was an amateur……

"What about the magic stones sent to the country? I'm sure Fiona brought some with her."
"Ahh……Those. Of course, that amount is enough. It's enough, but――"

Evans-san spoke ambiguously. What's wrong?

"……They are too high quality."
"Too high quality? "
"Yes Until now, we had stored magic stones up to the 10th floor, but the ones brought by Maho-sama and Fiona-sama were magic stones of incomparable purity. Even something as small as a fist contains an extraordinary amount of magical power."
"I see. People will get suspicious."

After all, they're magic stones from the lowest―― from monsters below the 95th floor.
Even royal officials should know that the Dungeon in the Dharma territory is practically deserted. For that reason, if you suddenly bring out some mysterious high-quality stones, people will suspect that they were smuggled in from another dungeon or that there is some other reason behind them.
Of course, there's a possibility that they'll accept them without thinking twice, but…… those stones were dropped by the boss at the lowest level, right……? Rather than simply being high quality, they are more likely to be perceived as “abnormal”.

As a side note, when you defeat the bosses at the lowest level, they drop various sizes of stones with a loud bang. It's not just one stone per creature. Upper layer monsters……Goblins and such only drop a single bean-like stone.

"Even the small ones are no good? "
"Even the smallest stone contains magic power equivalent to that of a large stone that comes from around the 30th or 40th layer……"

Hmmm. I never imagined they would be such amazing objects.
Well, if push comes to shove, you could say that a really powerful explorer came and took care of it, but even then, it would still seem suspicious.
However, there is still a two-month grace period for payment to the royal family, so it seems that the option of not using the OOPArts is possible.
Even if that's not the case, as long as we manage to make the dungeon prosper to a certain extent by then, it shouldn't be a problem to mix in some small Ooparts stones in the confusion.

Of course, it would be impossible to present the largest stone that the Red Dragon produced, but if the dungeon flourishes, you could say that it came from a mid-level boss and offer it to the royal family.
In any case, it won't rot.

"So, the problem is the debt?"
"Yes I need to come up with a substantial amount of money by the beginning of next month…… I'm ashamed to say that I'm currently struggling to come up with the funds."
"How much do you need? "

Even as I asked, I still couldn't quite grasp the monetary values of this world, so the amount I was told didn't register.
According to Fiona, it is about the equivalent to a dozen houses.
This is also abstract, but I imagine it to be around 500 million yen.
Five hundred million by the beginning of next month………… What's more, when you don't have a good solution, you're in a real bind.

"Can they wait for the repayment? "
"…………They have already waited long enough, and just yesterday, they sent a final warning."

It ended up being much tighter than I had expected.
I asked what kind of repayment plan they had, and it seemed to be much more reasonable than I had expected, with a small amount in the first year and gradually increasing amounts thereafter. In other words, if the dungeon gets on track, the repayment plan will be problem-free…… but if it doesn't, you'll be on a hellish downward spiral of increasing repayments year after year……

At first, they seem to have made ends meet with the income from the domain, but since it was not a self-supporting business to begin with, it has certainly become difficult. With all that going on, it seems like things are finally reaching a critical point.

A final notice means presenting a defaulted bill to the royal family.
If that happens, the Dharma family will most likely be ruined. This is because, in lieu of payment by the royal family, the land will be returned to the royal family in its entirety.
Of course, the dungeon will also be included.

"You need to find money urgently, I see…… The question is how to raise the money. Do you have any ideas? "
"No…… To be honest, I'm at a dead end."
"How about selling off parts of the territory? "
"That would be considered treason against the royal family."
"I guess so."

If they were to sell the land, they would have no choice but to sell it to another country. I guess you can't just sell it to a neighbor.
But, hmm. Five hundred million yen…… huh?
Incidentally, in my opinion, it seems strange that even a minor lord would be in such a state of turmoil over a debt of only 500 million yen, but this is a drawback of living in the modern world. In rural areas that have not developed much, it is not easy to generate cash.
From what I gathered, it seems like life revolves around bartering in areas away from the city.

……That said, I think it's an amount that can be managed somehow.
In terms of national scale, it is really not a particularly large amount. For what Fiona refers to as a self-proclaimed poor domain, it's a fairly decent amount, but it's not completely impossible. In Japan, even individuals who are slightly wealthy can easily borrow such amounts. I think about 1% of the population had that much in savings. Calculating backwards from the percentage of farmers in this world, the answer is 0. It may be less than 1, but it must be an amount that nobles and wealthy merchants can easily pay.

I wonder if I can obtain it by utilizing something from the hardware store.
Will I look suspicious?
Simulation games—like Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Nobunaga's Ambition—you sell rice to merchants during a bountiful harvest and use the money to buy weapons. Could we use that strategy?
If you say something like “we had a stockpile,” it won't seem so suspicious.

The question is which merchant to sell to, but the first option that comes to mind is to pay the merchant who lent you the money directly with the goods.
Five hundred million yen worth of food? That sounds like a lot, but we have flour, rice, and potatoes here. It'll be a hassle to transport, but not impossible.
But you know. This seems like the next best option.
Although even merchants understand that the Dharma territory is barely holding on, so they will find it suspicious. However, it is just suspicious, so if there is no other option, this is acceptable.

One option is to sell food to another merchant and get cash in return.
It may be safer this way. It would be better if the merchant didn't know the situation here.
……But, thinking about it logically, is it possible that a merchant who can prepare 500 million yen would not know about the situation in the Dharma territory? There's absolutely no way. Even if there is, they will probably look into it before deciding to buy.

Another option is selling items from the hardware store as rare items.
This is also acceptable. It seems like anything will work against rich aristocrats.
The problem is that I basically want to use the stuff from the hardware store in the dungeon. Besides, the stuff sold at hardware stores is basically cheap, and judging from Fiona's reaction, even the most expensive item, a carpet, doesn't seem that great.
If you're going to permanently wholesale cosmetics and alcohol, it might work, but then it's not much different from hiring a merchant.
I can't say this is a good idea either.

That being the case, in the end――

"Shall we sell the dragon's magic stones to a wealthy noble or royal family? Say it didn't come from the dungeon, but is a family heirloom passed down through the Dharma family. You're cool with it, right Fiona? "
"What? Well, I don't mind either way."
"So that's how it is. Since it's the real thing, I don't think anyone would think it's strange if you just sell it on its own. Selling large quantities would obviously be suspicious."

If you're just releasing a single item, you can give the impression that “well, stuff like this happens”.
I don't know the history of Fiona's family, but nobility is nobility. If you say it's been passed down through generations, there's no reason to doubt it.

"Hmm. That may indeed be a clever idea. If it's that stone, we'll get enough money to pay off the debt with change to spare."
"Oh! Maho, why don't we put it up for auction? "
"Auction? Is there such a thing? "
"Mm-hmm. I think they were doing it in the Merry Jane Labyrinth City. There are a lot of treasure chests there, so people trade things they find in the labyrinth."

That sounds good. Auctions in another world sound kind of cool. Should we take advantage of the situation and sell some items from the hardware store too? If we say it came out of a treasure chest, it sounds plausible.

"Oh, but Merry Jane is pretty far away, so we might not make it in time. The round trip will take at least ten days."
"Fiona, have you forgotten already? Distance is no longer a problem."
"Eh? Why? What was it?"
"Seir's Ability."
"Ah."

Seir, who calls himself a “God,” has the ability to teleport.
It doesn't matter how far away you are.
The problem is rather whether the auction date is approaching. If it's held once a month, it'll be tough.
But well, we'll just have to go and see.

"Alright, first let's raise some money at the auction! "