After finishing my meeting with Fuse, I returned to the Monster Country.
Thanks to my Space Transportation ability, I could teleport instantly to any location I'd visited before.
It consumed a fair amount of Magicules, but relative to my total reserves, it was negligible.
It was simply a convenient ability that let me move around without any issues.
No sooner had I arrived back in town than I received a thought call from Geld, whom I'd just contacted moments ago.
(Urgent matter, Sir Rimuru!)
What's going on?
Thinking that, I transported myself to Geld's location.
I could get close to him in an instant, like teleportation. It had become incredibly useful.
I couldn't appear right beside him, of course—I had to picture the landscape of wherever he was and teleport there.
If the space was tight, I might materialize right next to him, but this time it seemed I landed a bit of distance away.
Well, since it only worked for places I'd been to before, it wasn't as though I could pinpoint someone's exact position.
But at this range, I could easily figure out where he was. I started walking in that direction.
The location was the wreckage of the
The remains of the destroyed Magisteel tunnel were still scattered about, looking as though they had erupted from the ground.
I'd ordered the salvage operation, but it didn't seem to be progressing.
Was that the cause?
Geld appeared to be arguing with someone.
"I'm telling you, this area is ours now!"
"That may be what you say, but I cannot accept that. I'm going to ask Sir Rimuru about this, so please wait."
"No way! We abandoned our old dungeon and came all the way over here! You're trying to kick us out when we have nowhere else to go?"
"I never said anything of the sort. At the very least, stop trying to sneak Magisteel out from here."
"Tch. Sharp eyes, aren't they! Keep nitpicking like that and
I suppressed my presence and crept up, easily managing to capture
Then I looked her straight in the face.
It was unmistakably Ramiris.
"What are you doing?"
"H-hey there! How've you been, Rimuru?"
Ramiris returned my greeting while avoiding eye contact.
I didn't even need to ask—her plan was obvious.
She'd been trying to repurpose the Magisteel to build a dungeon in the ruins of this tunnel.
She'd mentioned wanting to move over here before, and that she wanted to build an entrance, so I was pretty certain.
"So you were trying to build a dungeon here and got caught by Geld, huh?"
"Huh… well, that's not… I mean, it's kind of… maybe… not exactly…?"
"Sounds like I nailed it. Seriously, you…"
"Heh, hehehe…"
She was so obviously trying to laugh it off and brush past it.
Surveying the mess around us, I thought about how we needed to quickly salvage the materials and clean things up—when an idea suddenly struck me.
Actually, what if we just allowed the dungeon to be built here?
I recalled my earlier conversation with Myōrmaí.
He'd been making repeated trips to the Monster Country.
But not every day—once a season seemed about right.
So was there a way to draw a decent number of people here daily?
What if, for example…
There was an Underground
Wait—that might actually work.
I glanced at Ramiris. She was looking up at me with an awkward, strained smile.
A little—no, quite a bit—unreliable, perhaps. But it might just work.
I steeled myself and made my proposal to Ramiris.
--- My proposal was simple.
Ramiris would build the dungeon here, and I'd entrust her with its management and operation.
We'd profit from the adventurers who came to tackle the dungeon.
And in return, Ramiris would get a dungeon to live in, a job, and an allowance from me.
It was an idea that required both of us to cooperate, but it didn't seem half bad, did it?
When I finished laying out the plan— "Huh? Huh?! Does that mean—I can actually build a dungeon here?!
…Wait, does this mean I might finally shake off this awful reputation as an 'unemployed shut-in'?"
Ramiris's eyes went wide and she started babbling in a panic, as though she'd been struck by lightning.
The shock of hearing my plan must have hit her hard.
"U-um… the allowance thing—does that really mean for real for real?"
She swallowed hard and asked me cautiously, clearly terrified I'd say never mind.
As if I'd say that. Well, I couldn't promise a specific amount, but still.
"I'm serious. Though we won't know how much profit there'll be until we try…
Well, there'll be operating costs and all that, so how about I give you twenty percent of the profits after expenses?"
"How much would that come out to?"
"Let's see—if about a thousand adventurers come per day, your share would be roughly two gold coins?"
"Whaaaaaat?! I'd actually get that kind of money!?"
"As I said, it's just a projection, and I can't guarantee it'll go smoothly.
But you were planning to set up camp here anyway, right? So there's no downside for you, is there?"
Ramiris nodded vigorously at my question.
She'd originally planned to move in uninvited anyway, and she would have been maintaining the dungeon whether anyone asked or not.
She had no objections.
She threw her arms around my head and happily bounced around in glee.
Once we were both satisfied, we decided to revisit the development plans for the area.
With the three of us—myself, Ramiris, and Geld—we hashed out the new plan.
Initially, this location had been slated to serve as a rest stop at the end of the highway.
From here, it took less than half a day's walk to reach the Monster Country.
It sat just ahead of the town's outer perimeter, which served as the final defensive line against the Holy Knights.
I figured it was about ten kilometers away. The highway had been completed, and the plan had been to build a place here where people could stable their horses and mounts.
We'd intended to lay rail between here and the town to enable both cargo and passenger transport.
I'd wanted to keep horses and magical beasts out of the town for sanitary reasons.
That was why we'd been salvaging the Magisteel in the first place, but we could always source more.
Since it was relatively close to the town, a rest stop here might not attract many visitors.
So the original plan had been to build an inexpensive inn.
But if we put a dungeon here, then a rest stop would actually turn a profit.
And more importantly, the Monster Country was right next door for anyone who wanted to take it easy. The division of space worked out perfectly.
A dungeon built here to draw adventurers. And the horse-drawn carts coming from the former Farmus Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom would stop here and be stabled.
I sketched out a rough floor plan and confirmed it with Geld.
No issues.
Further, slightly away from this spot, there was the location that had become the main battleground against the Holy Knights.
It was about two kilometers away, on the opposite side of the highway.
That was where the arena would be built.
Since it was close to the Monster Country as well, spectators would walk to attend events.
Unlike my previous world, most travel here was done on foot.
A round trip of twenty-plus kilometers? People would walk it without blinking. After all, the days started early and ended early.
If we scheduled the martial tournament from ten in the morning to three in the afternoon, there'd be plenty of time for travel.
Some could stay at the rest stop, and it would be nice if the place was fully developed by then.
After finishing the meeting with Geld, I handed him the blueprints for the arena.
My conversation with Myōrmaí had sparked a flood of ideas, and I'd whipped them up quickly.
In my old life, it would've taken days on a computer, but now I could sketch them out by hand in no time.
Raphael's support was useful even for these little details.
Geld reviewed the blueprints, confirmed there were no problems, and took his leave.
I happened to glance at Ramiris and found her— "Hehehe… now I can finally get some real money. No more being called an unemployed, broke Demon Lord!"
She was tripping, lost in her own little world.
Well, she'd be fine.
She must've been mocked really badly up until now.
Come to think of it, I'd never heard of a Demon Lord who wanted money.
It wasn't really the money itself—more the fact that she didn't have a job, which was the real problem…
Sure enough, there hadn't been a single person in Ramiris's dungeon.
She must've been so bored and lonely.
I hoped adventurers would come—not just for my sake, but for hers too.
I called Ramiris back from her daydreaming and asked her in detail about the dungeon creation.
For once, Ramiris had a serious expression on her face, showing real enthusiasm.
I had five main questions: 1. How many underground floors can you create? 2. How many days would it take to build? 3. What about the monsters inside? 4. Can you freely modify the interior layout? Can you place treasure chests and the like? 5. Is there a mechanism to resurrect people on the surface if they die inside?
Her answers were: 1. There's no hard limit, but realistically, a hundred floors. 2. It can be done in a single day. The Unique Skill "Dungeon Creation" lets me build it in an instant. The interior furnishing is a separate matter. 3. Monsters will inhabit it on their own. At my previous location, spirits lived there, so nothing spawned. However, if the Magicule concentration isn't high enough, only weak creatures will appear. 4. Yes. More efficiently, the interior can be customized using my ability. It's also possible to change things daily, though each floor would need to be done individually. Swapping out furnishings rather than altering the structure itself doesn't take much effort. 5. Yes, provided that the recognition items created through "Dungeon Creation" are worn.
"That's incredible! You're amazing, Ramiris!"
"Really, really really? So I really am pretty great after all?"
"Indeed. With this, our grand ambition is as good as achieved."
"I knew it! I knew I was awesome!"
We stared at each other and nodded in agreement.
"I'm counting on you, Ramiris."
"Leave it to me. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."
A big ship, huh. As long as it's not made of mud.
We couldn't shake hands due to the difference in our sizes, but our hearts were connected.
I gave Ramiris the Magisteel scattered across the surrounding area.
Might as well make something good out of it.
And from there, we brainstormed ideas for the Underground Dungeon, pooling our respective knowledge with great enthusiasm.
The two of us, bouncing ideas off each other with unstoppable energy.
We hurtled in directions we probably shouldn't have been heading, and a concept took shape for an Evolution-Type Underground Dungeon with functions beyond imagination.
All that remained was to build it.
True to her word, Ramiris casually promised to have it done by tomorrow.
I promised to come back the next day and returned to town.
I went to Kurobei and asked him to part with some prototype weapons and armor that weren't fit for the open market.
"Are you sure, Sir Rimuru? Those items have strong quirks and aren't suitable for the average person to handle."
"It's fine. I'm going to add a spirit's blessing and soak them in a place with a high Magicule concentration. They'll probably transform into something like magic swords or magic spears. It's like they were made for this."
"If that is the case, then take as many as you like."
He brought out an array of equipment from the warehouse.
I thanked him.
But I had to admire how many he'd produced.
Without my noticing, the count had exceeded a hundred. There were full mixed sets, and the quality surpassed anything sold in shops.
That said, as Kurobei had warned, every piece had strong quirks that made them unusable for ordinary folk.
The armor was a prime example.
Some absorbed magical power and converted it into physical strength. Others completely sealed off the ability to cast magic but granted the wearer extraordinary stamina.
Well, I doubted any of them would kill you just for putting them on, but I'd rather believe no fool would use them unappraised.
I couldn't guarantee that, though.
So what would we do with all this equipment?
As you might have guessed— place them in treasure chests inside the Underground Dungeon , or have the Floor Guardians guard them.
It was like running a real-life dungeon-building game, and the excitement was off the charts.
Sure, we could auction off these prototypes and failures and make quite a bit of money.
Actually, that might be the more reliable route.
But that wasn't the point. What mattered was the interaction between the residents of the Monster Country and humans.
The goal was for them to experience the appeal and charm of the Monster Country firsthand and keep coming back.
Originally, when Ramiris had proposed building a dungeon entrance, I'd been willing to let her put it inside the town.
But I realized it was actually more convenient to designate this rest stop as adventurer-exclusive and keep things properly divided.
The equipment and such they obtained here could be purchased at shops in the Monster Country.
Money exists to circulate. There was no point in hoarding it.
After buying necessary materials and covering operating costs, we could funnel the rest back to the adventurers.
Eventually, word of mouth would spread, and the Monster Country would become famous.
And perhaps most importantly, it meant the residents who ran inns and lodgings wouldn't be left idle.
The arena would only host major events once or twice a year, but we could use it for various functions year-round.
Military training, adventurer skill-testing tournaments—it all worked.
We'd built the facilities, and we could put them to full use. Having a dungeon on hand was great advertising to draw people in on a regular basis.
With these bait items secured, I went to visit the key figure in this plan.
Veldora.
Veldora was lounging around in my room.
How should I put it… he seemed right at home. Well, whatever.
"Hey, Veldora. I've got a small favor to ask. Mind?"
"Hm? What is it? I'm rather busy, you know."
Yeah, sure you are. You're reading manga, aren't you?
You look about as busy as can be.
"Oh… that's a shame. It was going to be an interesting proposal, too…
If you're busy, I can't very well impose. I'll ask
I turned to leave.
"Wait, wait—do stay a moment. I may be busy, but if it's your request, I suppose I can't refuse.
By all means, let's hear it!"
Hook, line, and sinker. Every single time.
For me, handling this old man was like twisting a baby's arm.
I made a show of reluctance.
"Well, the thing is, I've been thinking about building a place for you to live. I talked it over with Ramiris, and she's in the process of creating it right now."
"W-what?! Is that true?!
But what does that have to do with the favor you mentioned?"
His interest was piqued in an instant, and he leaned in with a serious expression.
Seriously, too easy.
I explained the Underground Dungeon project to Veldora.
"The thing is, this Underground Dungeon needs a king to rule over it.
Ramiris will handle the management. And on the hundredth underground floor, we'll create an entrance to the Spirit Dungeon.
We need someone to be the guardian of that gate—the strongest guardian of all."
"I see… so you want me to take on that role?"
"Exactly. And while you're inside the dungeon, I'd like you to release your Demon Aura freely without holding back."
"What? You'd be okay with that?"
"Of course."
I nodded.
Truthfully, being the gate guardian was a pretext.
What really mattered was releasing Veldora's Demon Aura.
If it leaked out in the surrounding area, the Magicule concentration would spike to dangerous levels—and while we might be fine, ordinary people wouldn't survive it.
But if he held it in too long, it would build up and detonate all at once, just like last time.
That kind of catastrophe was nothing to mess with. I wanted him to release it periodically.
That meant I needed to choose a release point carefully.
Even the sealed cavern couldn't contain the Demon Aura of a fully resurrected Veldora.
That was precisely why I wanted him to periodically release his Demon Aura on the hundredth floor of the Underground Dungeon.
And the real purpose behind it was this…
From the high-density Magicules he released, monsters would undoubtedly spawn.
The Magicules would drift upward through the Underground Dungeon, and the upper floors would be populated with fodder.
The deeper you went, the more powerful the monsters would become.
Even while sealed, an "A-minus rank"
Storm Serpent had been born from his residual energy.
With Magicules streaming from Veldora now, I couldn't even imagine what caliber of monsters might appear.
There was even a possibility that slimekind—sentient slimes like me—would be born.
Release Veldora's Demon Aura and put it to productive use.
Two birds with one stone.
"So… you're saying I can greet the ones who come with something like— 'Kuahahahaha! How bold of you to come! Welcome, you worthless insects!' or— 'Fuhahahaha! You cannot escape from me! Did you not know? The Storm Dragon cannot be fled from!' and just… have at them?"
Veldora was already getting into it. His earlier feigned reluctance had vanished without a trace.
I gave a great nod.
"Furthermore, I'll arrange to deploy units and send adventurers toward them. In a manner of speaking, we'll be creating something like a real-time simulation game.
What do you think? Sounds fun, right?"
Veldora stood up and quietly tucked his manga into his robe.
He extended his hand toward me.
"As expected of Rimuru. As long as I leave things to you, I have nothing to worry about."
He said this and shook my hand.
Good thing he's an idiot.
And just like that, I secured Veldora's cooperation without a hitch.
The next day.
Veldora and I headed to Ramiris.
True to her promise, the Underground Dungeon was complete.
"Oh, Ramiris. Keeping well?"
"Oh, Master! It's been a while! I've been doing great!"
The two of them were still as close as ever.
At some point, Ramiris had already perched herself on Veldora's shoulder.
After exchanging greetings, she gave us a rundown.
The interior was configured exactly as I'd ordered— modular sections that could be restructured floor by floor.
This meant the layout could be changed every few days.
Every ten floors, there was a Save Point .
If you reached it, you could resume your next run from that floor.
Each floor's Guardian would be a powerful individual, and defeating one would grant permission to use the magic circle.
This way, the dungeon would remain fresh and challenging without growing stale.
Buying maps? That was cheating. Every run should be a fresh struggle.
And the critical feature—the resurrection item.
A charm created through Ramiris's "Dungeon Creation" skill.
It activated a single time.
It would negate death within the dungeon and revive the wearer on the surface.
Apparently, it triggered ten seconds after death was confirmed.
She could also prepare emergency escape items for teleporting to the surface.
These would be sold at the dungeon entrance as insurance—buy them or don't, entirely up to the individual.
But if you went in without buying one and died, that was on you.
I'd buy one. No question.
Pricing could be figured out later. For now, it was done.
I had high hopes it would perform as the centerpiece of our future plans.
There was still a mountain of features to implement, but for now, this was enough.
The three of us exchanged glances and broke into wicked grins.