Year 7442, Month 12, Day 29
Morning, brother and the others stopped by Boil Manor. Since he had a practice match yesterday I thought he would drag out the day they return by one more day but it seems they're departing today just as planned. It seems that he'll be able to come around the middle or near the end of April next. Also it seems that the delivery of goods and taking orders will be the main thing that time but I was asked once again to find a good place to use as a headquarters in the capital. Of course I intended on that so I said leave it to me like you're riding on a large ship, but obviously he didn't get it like with Myun.
Rather than that, in regards to the condoms made intended for the royal family that I had them bring along but there were 50 bags this time. There's no way the royal family could need that many. I guess they intended for me to offer them as samples to the nobles and high-class brothels in Rombertia. After listening to various stories it seems that brother still sees room for improvement and is trying to make adjustments to them. I still don't have any experience on Orth but brother was saying things like "And, how was it? I think the ones I sent you last time should be a bit better than the last time. If there's anything you've noticed let me know."
It can't be helped so I said "How about making them ribbed along the way?" and he showed great admiration. He said, "What! Making them ribbed huh..After all you can notice things well. Once I return I'll try making a prototype right away. I'll need to remake a new model but I think it's a good idea.
Honestly speaking it's not my idea or anything like that.
I was overflowing with feeling like I wanted to lower my head to the makers of hygiene products in my previous life. I'm stealing their achievements and saying it almost like I thought of it myself. I feel sorry but this as well is all for the sake of preventing the spread of disease on Orth. Ah, though I feel like making them ribbed has no relation to the prevention of diseases though.
After talking until noon about our rough plans from here on out and the reputation of our current products, older brother and the others left.
After that I broke a sweat by running and then after getting some practice in the dungeon, I had dinner with Zulu and Angela and spent the rest of the day resting.
..............
Year 7442, Month 12, Day 30
Today is New Year's Eve. Although, just because it's New Year's Eve doesn't mean there's any changes to the town of Baldukk like in Japan. When I was having breakfast with the slaves just in case I told them that dinner might be late for today. I went and bought another sandwich bento and while using my empty flask as a lunch box I entered the dungeon.
Today I intended to investigate the mechanism on how the room bosses revive which I had been putting off until now. Up until now I've always avoided entering the rooms to avoid the worst case possibility of danger when I'm in the dungeon alone. Today I intend on spending half a day until night to investigate it.
I quickly wiped out a group of goblins I encountered on the way and after taking down the Black Gargantuan Leech that was the boss of the first room, just in case I dragged the corpse to a corner of the room and then sat down on a stone in the opposite corner of the room. Of course I haven't collected the magic stone from the corpse. The current time is 7 in the morning.
30 minutes have passed. Nothing has changed.
Another hour has passed. Nothing has changed.
One hour has passed. Nothing has changed.
One hour has passed. I can hear the footsteps of what appears to be a group of monsters approaching the room.
I prepared my bayonet and was ready to fire off a spell but in the end the footsteps started go far off.
One hour has passed. It's just become noon. I had my lunch while being careful of the corpse that's covered in the darkness of the corner on the opposite side of the room. My caution ended up meaningless.
One hour has passed. Nothing is happening.
One hour has passed. I can feel the call of nature. While remaining cautious I took care of my business in a different corner of the room then covered it with dirt.
One hour has passed. There's no change at all. I'm starting to get tired of it already. I made some tea.
One hour has passed. There's still no change as usual.
One hour has passed. It's already 5 pm. I'm almost out of time huh?
30 minutes have passed. Just when I was about ready to head back already. Something like a haze started to swirl in the center of the room. But, it's just swirling around and there's nothing in particular that occurred after that. I tried to Identify the haze but I couldn't do it. I started to get afraid so I left the room to get as far away from the haze as I could. If it's something like poison gas then it would be bad after all.
While observing it from outside of the room I noticed that the haze gradually started to get thicker. I wonder if this is the revival of the room boss? I'd rather not approach it right now but I think it should be fine if I observe it a bit longer, even if I Identify myself I'm still healthy and there's no change to my condition it seems.
The thickness of the haze gradually increases, the center of the whirl is almost like a thick fog with how deep white it's gotten.
The white portion of it is gradually getting bigger. I think it's already been around five minutes since I noticed the haze.
And, from the center of the whirl there was a flash of white light. It wasn't all that strong. I guess so, something on the level of a 30-40 W fluorescent light. The light immediately disappeared. The fog cleared up at the same time as the light disappeared. And right now where there was a whirl of fog until now there's a monster in the center of it.
It's a Scavenger Crawler. It's just appeared and it's trembling with a purpuruto~
Is this the revival of a monster!?
Suddenly an adult organism and they appear in the room!?
Then in that case I wonder if Goblins and Orks appear somewhere in the halls?
I was just standing there amazed while looking at the trembling Scavenger Crawler but I quickly came to my senses and took it down with two shots of {Ice Javelin}. After collecting the magic stone from it and the first Black Gargantuan Leech I killed, I cut the raw material for the paralysis and paralysis removal medicine from the base of it's eight feelers and put them into a rubber bag before quickly leaving the dungeon.
This time it took close to half a day after I killed it until the room boss revived (?).
I wonder if things like the type of boss and the time it takes for it to revive changed based on the location and floor of the room? Or are they uniform? If they do change then what's the conditions for it? I have countless questions.
Although, even if it didn't revive like this, for example if the new boss we're to come wandering in from somewhere I'd have plenty of questions remaining so I guess I should just be satisfied that at least one question has definitely been resolved.
The traps which are repaired all of a sudden.
The monsters which revive all of a sudden.
It might even be possible that the gems and deposits of metal restore all of a sudden as well?
This large dungeon which has continued to swallow up countless adventurers who dream of getting rich for hundreds of years while they've only made it to the 5th floor in recent years. Even if there's a different cycle in how each of them are restored this dungeon of Baldukk was originally fixed "form" and when that "form" collapses I can't help but think that it's either being returned by the hands of somebody or has a function that was included in it to automatically be restored.
Of course, this is my delusion. I have no basis for it. All I have is one thing, the proof of sample that "a monster revived as an adult organism". I was unexpectedly able to see it this time but whether this definitely occurs or if it was an unusual phenomenon that was limited to this time that I just happened to catch sight of I can't determine yet.
In any case it can't be helped making an impatient decision. There's no choice other than to gradually gather samples that will work as proof like this time from here on out and then make a decision based on that.
That night, when we were taking a late dinner, I went all out and tried asking Zulu and Angela about the incident that happened today. And then the two of them got angry at me. The reason was why I was exploring the dangerous dungeon all on my own, I guess it means if something happens to their precious master it's a huge affair for a slave.
That precious master is me and it seems they can't agree with my own actions putting my own life in danger. If I were to die wouldn't you two become free? Why are you that angry? is what I was thinking so I tried asking about it.
And then, in the case that the owner of a slave passes away the slave is an asset so they are inherited by someone. In this case, my parents in Bakuddo or if my brother inherits the ranking of Viscount, I would automatically and legally be considered the second son of brother. Since I'm "Viscount Greed Family Second Son" after all. Father who was the head until now would return to his previous standing that was "Viscount Greed Family Third Son". Mother wouldn't change and would still be "First Wife" and sister-in-law would be "First Wife" as well.
In the case of a poor noble family in the countryside like us, the only ones who go through with naming during the succession of the Viscount peerage are father and brother and the rest of us are just left alone as we were. If this was a noble that was in possession of multiple noble rankings the circumstances would be different. Well it's unrelated to right now so I'll talk about that at a different occasion.
In any case, if I were to die then my assets that are my two slaves would be inherited by either father or brother. If you think about it with common sense it's unusual for a countryside noble to posses combat slaves. Normally the retainers of that noble that are the squires act as the combat personnel and soldiers so unless there's some unusual circumstances there's not much meaning in buying combat slaves.
If there's special circumstances like dispatching to a war that's going to occur soon or some monsters in the area have suddenly rapidly increased in numbers and are attacking nearby villages since other than that they're considered close to parasites and aren't welcome. If they're lacking in people they might be used as labor or serfs but that's a waste.
In that case it's normal to sell them to a slave merchant and turn them into money, is how it goes. Since there's no way combat slaves that have been sold again can't choose their next master for themselves, so they have to think about the possibility that their next master will offer unusually good treatment like me. And it seems that my treatment of them is considerably good is a reason for worry to them.
After hearing that I opened my mouth.
"Then what should I do? Are you two going to come with me into the dungeon on your days off as well? Can you endure the mental strain of entering the dungeon consecutively? Are you sure you can be in a good condition the next day when we normally explore the dungeon? I know it's strange saying but let alone in the past, right now I can wipe out monsters on the 1st floor with almost no tension. Even if it comes to fighting the room bosses one-on-one I can win with no problem."
"However, master, there's always the worst case. At the very least take one of us along with you. If you don't we can rest easy as slaves."
Zulu requested that with a strong tone of voice. Mwu, I guess it's the master's responsibility to make the slaves feel peace of mind. Though you know.. I'm, almost completely practicing with attack spells after all. Ah, I've already improved quite a bit on those so I guess it's already fine. For a while after this I intended to focus on investigating the way the dungeon works. Fundamentally it should be just waiting time. I guess if I have someone nearby then I won't be lacking in a partner for conversation huh?
"Nn..Well I guess it's fine. I understand. I'll take one of you along starting next time...Then, Wednesday is Zulu and Saturday is Angela. But if you're spacing out the next day after I won't forgive it. Alright?"
""Yes, I understand.""
The two of them responded at the same time while looking relieved.
"Well I intend to rest for the next three days starting tomorrow as well. I won't be going to the dungeon. That's why the next time is January 6th a Saturday. The first one is Angela. Alright?"
I concluded the conversation after saying that. Also, today is the payday for slaves. I paid Zulu 50,000 Z (5 silver coins), and Angela 40,000 Z for this months portion of wages and then we split ways. Since tomorrow is New Year's Day, I thought about giving them otoshidama but there's no custom like that on Orth so I stopped. I'll be troubled if it becomes a habit after all.
................
Year 7443, Month 1, Day 1
I thought there wasn't much meaning in it but after eating breakfast and before running I went to the temple in Baldukk for my first shrine visit of the new year and gave an offering of 10,000 Z (1 silver coin). The priests looked at me strangely when I was standing before the Torii clapping my hands together in prayer but who cares. In the first place visiting the temple at the start of the new year or even visiting the temple for worship in the first place isn't common. Normally people only g oto the temple for the naming ceremony and money exchange.
Incidentally, any currency above silver shu around here is only minted in the temple at Rombertia. How they're minting it is completely covered in a veil of secrecy, and anyone who steps foot into the temple grounds trying to expose that will have divine punishment physically befall them.
It's the same as those who attack the exclusive pack horse for the purpose of exchanging magic stones and currency between the temples. The divine punishment falls upon them regardless of whether they're people or monster. If you try to stick close to the temples pack horse like a parasite thinking it's safe nearby divine punishment hits you in the same way. There's no problem if you're just passing by them periodically.
The divine punishment is lightning falling from the sky. You could say it's the only proof that God exists in this world. If you take silver, gold, platinum, or magic stones into the temple they're the materials needed for currency so they'll buy them but the rate is low. It seems that only a royal family that the temple has recognized is allowed to buy and sell them at a better rate.
If I say this then it might be thought that if the temple doesn't recognize you, then you can't found a country but that's different. For example, using the countries with a temple that mints currency along the western part of the Oladd continent and there's only Rombert Kingdom, Guranan Empire, Suisag Empire, and Korakut Kingdom. Among those it seems that Suisag Empire even has two locations with temples that can mint currency. There's no temple that can mint currency in Bakuluni, Kanbitt, or Devas.
It's true that it seems like countries which currency are minted in and those that aren't have different levels of wealth when compared but in the end that's the only difference. It's only the difference of what rates you can convert rare metals and magic stones to a decent amount of money. Particularly magic stones even if the formal royal family brings them in the rate is considerably bad it seems. It's far more profitable to sell them to a magic tool shop. It seems that the rare metals you sell don't accurately match up to the amount of currency you get in terms of value as well. Well, if you ignore the rate then no matter what temple it is they'll exchange currency for you so it's not as if you definitely need a temple that can mint currency.
It seems they process the magic stones in some when minting them so any currency above silver Shu have a name that appears when you use Status Open on them. Normally minted copper and large copper coins only have the name of the metal. Therefore it's almost impossible to counterfeit high value currency. Since there's almost no profit in counterfeiting copper coins and lower currencies no one does it.
It seems in the past there were people who tried dispatching an army to obtain the minting techniques of the temple but they were all wiped out one after another through divine punishment so in the past 1,000 years or so idiots who don't believe in the legends try to sneak in to steal and end up being hit by lightning and you sometimes hear of incidents where a charcoal corpse is found. If the priests, ministers, or shrine maidens that work at the temple try to do something wicked then divine punishment merciless falls on them too, that's why there's close to absolute faith placed in the temple.
Though it's not like it's worshiped like an original religion or anything. It's just normally related to daily life. The priests and minsters marry and have children as well. The people who receive wages from their service to the temple and make their living are the same as the people in the towns. However the occupation can't be inherited so it's not guaranteed that your child will succeed you.
It seems that as an occupation it usually pays slightly higher wages than the average for the area. The people who work at the temple can be of any social standing. However it takes into consideration a criminal record and if it's someone who's committed a crime even once regardless of whether that's come out in the open I've heard that they aren't given the job but it seems that this is just a rumor.
In most cases, during childhood they get something like an oracle and then they go to the temple. And then they're given the job. Very rarely it seems there are adults like that as well. Even if you lie and you say there was an oracle it seems that divine punishment befalls you. The employment as a worker for the temple is a narrow gate. It's not as if there aren't temples where there were no members accepted and ended up unmanned either. In those cases, most of the time a higher ranked temple will dispatch people but if it's situation where even the higher ranking temple is lacking people they're just left alone for a while.
Even if someone tries to sneak in to steal from a temple like that divine punishment will hit you and in a few years someone will come along so it's not really a big problem. It seems that the God that passes divine punishment is tolerant to everything other than that and unless they do something like outrageous like trying to directly lay hand on the temple even the judgement of major criminals is left up to the hands of people.
Well just like that the circulation of the amount of currency is controlled by the temple (=God) so there's not much need to worry about inflation or deflation. Even if something similar happens it's temporary and resolves quickly. Almost exactly like when a magic item comes out of the dungeon and that goes for several tens of billions of Z, something on that level only comes out once in every ten years or so. The economy of a single country can't be suddenly shifted by just something on that level. I mean, even the poor Bakuddo village originally had revenue of 180,000,000 Z. Though the income from sale of the amount that could be sold was 1/20 of that.
I was thinking about things like that while doing my early running on New Year's day. Even if they say to be optimistic with the calculations economics is important after all. I don't want to suddenly have to investigate it in a hurry when I eventually make my own country. It's necessary to normally investigate it in daily life or rather gather information.
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