“Black Businesses”

The dungeon management is on track, and with each of them reaching a temporary stopping point in their respective pursuits, the trio of Rare, Blanc, and Lyra gathered in the conference room of the Aural Kingdom Castle.

"Um, Lyra-san. Is it okay if I leave a zombie in this castle? Dealing with the ones flying in is quite troublesome."

"Oh, right. I was going to ask the same. Anything goes, but if Blanc is turning it into a zombie, count me in too."

"Hey, could it be that you two don't like me? You're the types who don't like anyone else! Besides, Rare-chan, just today, you casually warped in aiming for the archbishop's position!"

"Resistance successful"

"…What are you up to now, Lyra?"

"…Nothing, really."

"…Well, forget it. I'll ask later. More importantly, considering the location and surroundings, wouldn't it be better for this group to gather in the city under my control, Rifure?"

"Rifure… Is that the city in the Hiers region closest to Aural? Did you conquer that?"

"I didn't conquer it. I just peacefully placed the entire city under my control. I conquered the zone next to it, the grasslands."

"So, by peacefully controlling that city, are you planning to economically dominate the human side? Isn't that sneaky? Especially since you're managing a dungeon on the monster side."

"It's a mutual arrangement. Lyra, you're probably thinking of controlling some boss in some region and setting up a dungeon farm, right? You showed interest when we talked about farms before."

"…I can't follow this conversation at all. Oh, these waffles are delicious."

Blanc is being left out of the conversation. Lyra, praised for the tea treats, responded.

"Right? I tried baking them in the Liege style."

"What about the waffle iron? Did you make it?"

"Well, of course, I had to make it. By the way, I got a Mithril one as a reward for an event. It doesn't rust, and it has high thermal conductivity, so it's super convenient. It's probably not made of aluminum, right? It's light. With its high compatibility with magic, if I could add fire attributes or something, I might be able to cook with just that. I haven't tried it though."

While I generally know about the properties of Mithril, the compatibility with magic is news to me. I wonder how Lyra found that out.

"Oh, really. What should I do? I got one too, but I don't cook."

As a special reward, Rare and the other two received Mithril ingots as prizes for ranking high.

Though it should have effects other than just that, if Lyra is using it for cooking utensils, maybe it's not such a remarkable metal. I think it should have performance comparable to Adamant-something.

"Now then, if you've enjoyed the waffles, let's get to the main topic. It's been three weeks since the massive update called the Transference Service. I think it's about time we shared and aligned our information. I've completed the projects I was working on, and I think you, Rare-chan, and the others have settled down by now."

"Huh?"

Blanc looks around anxiously. It seems Lyra did something again. I want to press her for details, but since it might stall the conversation, I endure it. The purpose of this tea party is information sharing. She probably has plans to explain it later.

As for the situation calming down, that's accurate. In Rare's dominion, there are player visitors in the Old Hiers capital, La Colinne, and the Tuer Grasslands, but all regions are steadily increasing their sales.

In exchange for the increasing number of high-rank materials circulating among players, by having the surplus quickly bought by the NPC merchants in the nearby Safety Area, the outflow outside the dungeon is minimized.

This measure is also taken with the Greater Tarantula threads in La Colinne. Gustav, who Rare met through players in the capital, dispatched an Urban Family merchant to La Colinne, and a rest area was built in the nearest Safety Area.

Many players came there originally to buy threads to sell to NPCs, but if you offer higher prices than those NPCs, unnecessary scattering of materials can be controlled.

Perhaps players think that materials sold to NPCs disappear, and no one mentions what happens after we buy them.

The economic activity in the city of Rifure is also going well. The outer walls have been expanded, and they manage it by calling the central area the First District and the outer area the Second District.

Most players, while not as wealthy as merchants or nobles, have more gold coins than regular NPCs. Attracted by their wealth or perhaps the glittering allure of gold coins suitable for betting their lives, many NPCs have migrated to the city of Rifure. The increase in NPCs has boosted the overall vitality of the city, attracting even more immigrants.

Although there is an element of anxiety about the rumored downfall of the Hiers Kingdom, Rifure, being a local area, is close to Aural. If things get tough, they can always escape into Aural, or perhaps the brilliance of gold coins is deemed worthy of risking their lives, causing an unending influx of immigrants.

Additionally, in Rifure, there are quite a few refugees who come with the naive estimate that things will somehow work out as long as people gather, without any connections or prospects.

However, preparations are in place to support even such individuals to live.

They started cultivating medicinal herbs in the shallow depths of the adjacent dungeon, the Tuer Grasslands. Initially, they had the engineer ants brought from Liebe Forest take care of it, but if there's excess labor in the city, there's no reason not to use it.

Under the guise of Lord Albert's request, they launched the medicinal herb cultivation project, allowing refugees to handle cultivation, harvesting, processing, and sales at a higher daily wage with danger allowances, all as dungeon internal work.

Perhaps due to being in a dungeon, various medicinal herbs grow exceptionally fast. While normally insect and animal pests, or rather, damages caused by monsters, would be abundant, this area is completely under Rare's control. As long as monsters are kept away from this area, there's no problem.

Though damages from regular insects cannot be avoided, preventive measures are possible by installing insect repellents created through [Alchemy] using Camphor Treant leaves. These repellents are mass-produced in Rifure's artisan district and sold externally at a high price.

In the first place, refugees likely originated from cities that Rare and Blanc destroyed multiple times. The cities they originally came from are already under Rare's control, making them, in a sense, Rare's assets. It's just a difference of whether they're alive or dead. Offering generous protection is only natural.

Some may have spent nearly a month, crossing the country.

Taking into account the likely depletion of their physical and economic resources, refugees are offered interest-free loans from the Urban Merchant Guild. They are also given priority for temporary residence in boarding houses.

Naturally, everyone is registered with their residence and repayments meticulously managed.

Those in debt are referred to the national project of medicinal herb cultivation by the Urban Merchant Guild, effectively becoming part of the workforce.

I summarized the information in this manner.

"And well, that's roughly how things are on my end. It seems to be going well overall. I have a few ongoing projects as well."

"You secured Rifure because the entrance and exit of the Transference are close, right?"

"That's right. If there are other cities with the same specifications, long-distance transfers become possible. The economic value is immeasurable."

"In fact, I also secured a city in Aural with the same specifications. It's called Felicita. I call it a portal for convenience. If Rare-chan has the portal for Hiers, it might be better for future similar gatherings to be held in Rifure."

"…That makes sense. Then, I'll call it a portal too."

"Teacher! I don't understand the meaning!"

"A 'portal' is a term used for an entrance or exit."

"Not the meaning of the word!!"

I explained to Blanc about the unique features of the city of Rifure and the existence of a similar city in Aural, and probably in other countries as well.

"Wow. Is Transference that convenient? I never thought about it since I can pretty much warp anywhere with [Summon] and fly in the sky."

"Most players can't warp on their own, and they can't fly in the sky either."

"Oh, I see. While warping might not be a big deal, if someone flies in the sky to attack, it could be troublesome."

"It would indeed be quite troublesome to be warped by someone else."

"More importantly, how about you, Lyra? Progress on the national management simulation and the farm?"

"Oh, right. Regarding national management, it's probably mostly the same as Rare-chan's dungeons in the big picture. We don't have a Safety Area disappearing, but the death penalty doesn't change either. The original purpose of governing a nation is probably for the sake of the citizens' lives and happiness, but that's irrelevant to a player like me. So, although the framework is set up as a system, the goals to achieve are vague. If I were to set specific goals as a game, it would probably be to make the nation more powerful. So, I decided to start by annexing the surrounding cities! In simple terms, forcibly annexing them with overwhelming military force is quick and easy. However, even if each city has a certain degree of independence, going as far as complete domination, especially if the homeland shows up, would likely lead to a full-scale war. Even if you can win against a country, there are some countries that would find it a bit tough, and even if you win, other countries wouldn't stay silent. So, I decided to invade more subtly and less conspicuously. That is, economic warfare. But in the current world situation, each country is pretty much in a state close to isolation, with economic activities being self-contained within each country. There might be some trade, but there are no countries that are properly calculating profits and losses, and even if there were, it would be at the city level, depending on whether the lord there cares about profit and loss. So, honestly, even if you have economic power at the current state, it doesn't have much impact on the power relations between nations. Each city independently conducts trade, and whether the partner is a city in their own country or a neighboring country, no one cares. Each city has its unique features, and the races are different, so in that sense, it's undoubtedly a foreign country. But on the other hand, they speak the same language, and the currency is common. Therefore, they have a faint consciousness of dealing with a foreign country. In other words, you could say that this continent's economic world has no borders. And so…"

"That was long."

"Oh, um, more tea, please."

Blanc is completely bored, but she's enjoying the waffles and tea.

Although she had heard that lately Blanc has been having fruit tarts and royal milk tea for breakfast every day, it's impressive how she can consume such sweet things all the time.

"…Well, for now, I spent about half a month Subordinating all the lords within Aural, working to create a united and strong nation. Simultaneously, I focused on enhancing trade with cities in neighboring countries. I also progressed with projects like road construction and crushing territories to reduce trade risks.

I also increased the number of monster subordinates, and in my free time, I instructed them to invade nearby dungeons. We didn't completely conquer the dungeons, but we had them kill players for experience points and hunt dungeon mobs, which I guess is what Rare-chan refers to as the 'farm'.

For territory expansion, I used the knight order for a large-scale publicity campaign, and I emphasized Aural's commitment to trade. I showcased the improved roads as evidence and, as a trial, distributed agricultural products almost free of charge.

I also used the monsters under my control to attack fields in surrounding countries, disguised idle knights as bandits to steal food, and, thanks to territory expansion, some cities no longer needed the knight order, so they found new employment."

"I was listening with a certain level of admiration even though I didn't fully understand, but the last part is too much!"

"Don't do that in Hiers. More importantly, I don't kill other country's citizens to weaken their nation."

"We are an agricultural powerhouse. It's more profitable for other countries' citizens to stay alive and buy our crops. If it's a city near the border, it's faster and cheaper to buy food from us than from the central areas of their own country. The currency is the same.

It's sad that heartless bandits sometimes attack people, but I keep it to the extent of injuring them without killing. If injuries reduce productivity, our sales increase. Also, as long as the injured people are alive, they need food."

Lyra boldly claims that Aural is an agricultural powerhouse. Depending on the region, Hiers was also quite something in terms of agriculture. Lyra was the one who dealt the finishing blow to Hiers by killing their royal family.

As mentioned in the conversation, trade is mainly conducted between cities rather than nations. Therefore, even if Hiers as a nation disappeared, not all transactions would stop, but there would be some impact. The situation might not be entirely unaffected.

"Ah, if you say it's an agricultural powerhouse, then give me some fruit!

I realized recently that my lower-level vampire children are dying periodically; turns out, they are starving. Come to think of it, I haven't been sucking blood or anything."

While Blanc criticizes Lyra as if she were inhuman and compares her to Rare, this statement alone reveals Blanc's own macabre nature. It seems that Rare is the only one among them who is relatively normal.

"…Blanc-chan, isn't that a bit too much? There's a limit even in a black company environment. You could get sued?"

"No, because it seems the zombie village children don't need meals, and I guess vampires are the same."

"But Blanc is a vampire, too, right? You enjoy fruit tarts and milk tea for breakfast, and your excuse won't fly."

Undead creatures are generally not in need of food and drink, but vampires are an exception. Or perhaps strictly speaking, vampires may not fall into the undead category.

In the end, they settled the matter with Erntal by regularly importing fruits from Aural. Despite the considerable distance, they transported them to Rifure by carriage and then brought them back using Blanc's [Summon].

Including this arrangement, Blanc left her subordinates in Rifure, and it was decided that future similar gatherings would be held in the city of Rifure.

Lyra mentioned that she would teleport from Aural through the portal in Felicita.

"Oh, by the way.

You might have already tried it, but if your subordinate is acting with their consciousness transferred, you can use the teleportation service as is. Even with NPCs."

"Really? It was written that, as a rule, NPCs can't use it."

"When they say 'as a rule,' it usually means there are exceptions. Otherwise, they would express it more definitively."

"So, the constraint of not being able to act with your face revealed is practically nonexistent. When going to Rifure, just use your subordinate's body and go incognito. Maybe I'll borrow Cecilia's body."

"Be more discreet."

"I'm kidding, Rare-chan."

"Resistance successful"

For now, they left Lyra behind, and Blanc informed the puzzled expression on her face that she is the current queen of Aural.

"And, of course, you can't use the inventory when pretending to be a player, so be careful. It seems it's somehow linked to the main body."

You can't use the inventory of the subordinate where you've transferred your consciousness.

However, that doesn't need to be mentioned.

Even though it seems fine with this group, there is a slight unease about Blanc.

It's not like they can criticize others, but they can't say for sure that nothing outrageous will happen with Pokamis.

"So, how is Blanc-chan's dungeon management going? Besides the food issue, everything seems okay?"

"Yeah. I've arranged for Azalea and the others to take care of any players who get too close to my mansion. So far, things are going smoothly. Deas-san, who I'm borrowing from Rare-chan, also goes out occasionally to play with players.

The zombie village has become a hunting ground for beginners, but I'm just leaving it alone. Even if it were completely wiped out, it wouldn't be a problem. And if the players who earn money and grow there come to Erntal, they'll become high-paying customers."

"…Will the difficulty increase if the hunger problem of lower-level vampires is solved?"

"…I wonder. Blanc, does being in a state of hunger affect your abilities?"

"No, rather than that, if they are dying periodically, it means that the fighting force is constantly reduced by a certain percentage while in combat. It's normal for the fighting force to be relatively low, so won't the difficulty increase when they become a full-fledged team?"

"Hmm, rather than feeling weaker due to hunger, it's more like fighting with a constant reduction in the fighting force. I don't know anything beyond that."

"Even if it's the same difficulty level, there is a range, so for example, when the team is full, it might be closer to ☆4 out of ☆3, and when weakened, it might be closer to ☆2 out of ☆3."

"Ah, there's a range. I see."

"I understand."

With this, the overall status report should be almost finished.

Most of the waffles have already been eaten.

Even though the hunger gauge is full, she can still eat if she wants to.

Rare silently pushes her empty plate toward Lyra.

"…Okay, okay."

Lyra hands the maid the plate, and the maid leaves.

She thought the maid looked familiar, probably one of the maids who had swapped with Princess Cecilia.

"Is she okay not being with the queen?"

She can't provide political support, so it's fine. She usually helps with things like this.

Well, that's about it for the current report.

"Now, does anyone have any useful information to exchange or something?"

"I told quite a significant tidbit earlier, so I'm good."

"About how to have your subordinates use the teleportation service? Is a significant tidbit a big or small thing?"

"Oh! That's right! I forgot! By the way, a player with the toughness of Rare-chan's robot came to Erntal! It was about three weeks ago."

"Isn't it a bit late to mention that? I already knew."

"Eh? Wait, what robot? Does Rare-chan have a robot? What does that mean?"