## Chapter 348 – Dungeons and Adventurers (15)
A dungeon hidden from prying eyes near Floraz.
A plan to utilize it to the fullest.
[Public Dungeon Development Plan]
The outline alone spanned over ten sheets of parchment, and the details filled dozens more.
Aurora, clutching it tightly to her chest, handed it to me with her tentacles, wearing a seductive smile that even I, no longer human, found dangerously alluring.
Well, since it landed in my hands first, there seemed to be no problem in reviewing and executing the plan itself.
‘The plan itself is quite excellent.
It explains all the potential profits and indirect benefits.
Instead of clinging to secrecy and trying to monopolize it…
She’s actually creating an entire economic system…
How could Aurora come up with something like this…?’
After all, the people of the back alleys shared the same desire to protect their own interests.
Limit the information that could reach the royal family as much as possible and keep the secret, but if they didn’t have to shoulder the burden alone, that was enough.
‘How could she…
Is she hiding something from me…?’
I suddenly wondered about Aurora’s past. If she hadn’t fallen into being a drug-addicted dealer, how brilliant of a talent could she have become?
‘Even though she’s from a common background…
With this kind of mind, she would have definitely secured a position anywhere she went.
She might have been living a decent and wonderful life.’
If Vivian felt like a charismatic, high-profile politician who swayed people with her charisma, Aurora felt like a behind-the-scenes power broker who quietly manipulated people from the shadows, without showing much presence.
Of course, Vivian only started appearing in public recently for the operation of Floraz, but watching her act as a subordinate hidden behind Vivian’s name…
As Aurora started managing the businesses, the division of roles became clearer in recent times, so observing the differences between them was quite interesting.
‘But if she was going to do something dangerous, wouldn’t she have done it already…?
It sounds like I’m praising myself, but the tentacle brainwashing is perfect too.
I guess I don’t have to worry…?’
Aurora had a great understanding of the world people created, and she knew how to handle their secrets skillfully.
Anyway, as written in her plan, the public opening of the dungeon to the people of the back alleys was bringing various changes to the back alley ecosystem.
One was, as I mentioned earlier, the formation of a new commercial district centered around the dungeon within the back alleys.
If a profitable business emerged, various benefits would inevitably arise from it, as always.
“Just cut it a little more.”
“I’ve already cut it three times!!
I’m barely making anything at this point!!
I’m the only one who cuts it this much!
If you don’t like it, go somewhere else!!”
“Here, selling bundles of arrows!!
Ten bundles for five silver coins!!”
As the dungeon was opened, hunters emerged to hunt monsters, and then butchers to slaughter and dismantle the monsters hunted by those hunters, and artisans to process the byproducts and make products gathered.
Even odd-jobbers to do errands so that hunters could focus on hunting, general merchants to procure necessary items and sell them on-site, and even seductive prostitutes for enjoyable nights of harvest were no exception.
Although the outpost itself was protected by some force, it was also a part of the dungeon.
Due to the industry’s special nature, where it wouldn’t be strange to die at any moment, a certain premium was added to the prices here.
Therefore, there were already more than enough people in this back alley willing to take risks for an attractive “jackpot.”
“Oppa? Are you coming back from hunting?”
“That’s right? What, are you interested?”
“I like heroic tales?
I enjoy listening to them?
It might be even better to hear them in bed…?”
“Heh? You’re a girl who does good deeds?
But what a pity? My bed is already full?”
“What…? Weren’t you just getting started…?”
“Ah, there’s a reservation, you see.
If you want to make money, you’ll have to work harder. Haha!!”
Prostitutes who targeted the hunters’ bulging wallets after their diligent and sincere work were no exception.
Of course, they couldn’t earn as much as risking their lives fighting monsters, but if the industry’s special nature was applied, the money earned by prostitutes who entered the dungeon with risks was not insignificant.
It was mostly because women were sensitive to danger.
Many women were afraid to enter the dungeon, where their lives were at risk.
Except for a few brave women or those who had nowhere else to go and aimed for a reversal of fortune, not many could boldly enter the dungeon and work as prostitutes.
Unlike men, women tended to prefer safe and stable jobs, even if they earned a little less, rather than risking their lives to earn a lot of money.
Therefore, except for those who came in as swordsmen or hunters with determination from the beginning, there couldn’t be many women who came to the dangerous dungeon to do other odd jobs.
Perhaps as evidence of this, despite the increasing number of “women” disappearing in the dungeon, the number of female swordsmen entering the dungeon every day was constant.
‘They were designed that way from birth…
I have to understand that part, no matter what…’
Anyway, if that were to happen, it was only natural that the Henias would play an active role in areas other than hunting.
The special forces of the lair, composed of loyal females of beastkin origin, armed with wild instincts.
Although they had only recently begun to show their might, they deserved to be evaluated to that extent.
As if they had never been weak and slender females, their bodies gradually mutated as they were soaked in Enic’s nutrient solution.
The powerful strength that Enic gave to the host female, and the well-nourished body, unlike the previous skinny body, allowed them to draw out their inherent wildness.
As their hunting ability could be called the best in the dungeon, the Henias could hunt efficiently even with a small number of people.
“You caught quite a lot this time?”
“Yes, Queen…!! It just so happened that we ran into those guys in the middle…”
“That couldn’t be helped.
Then, next time, just in case…
Let’s set the target a little lower.
We need to control the inventory released to the market.”
“Yes!! I will keep that in mind!!”
While a small number of them went out hunting, the rest of the Henias took a break and worked as prostitutes, taking turns when the time came, and everyone would leave when the third shift was over.
‘We don’t need to rush.
After all, we’re the ones in control.’
This is basic economics, but if the supply becomes too excessive, its value decreases.
Even if all the Henias, who were born hunters, were dispatched to hunt monsters excessively, it would only have the adverse effect of plummeting the market value of monster materials.
If we could control both areas appropriately, that alone would be enough to maintain our advantage.
Especially since this wasn’t the only place with a dungeon.
If the dungeons scattered throughout the royal capital also started to become active, the monster material market would gradually become saturated.
The problem was when that would happen, and for the future, we should never aim for operations solely for a jackpot.
‘We’re not here to make a quick buck.
It’s important to keep it going as long as possible.
First, it’s important to extract important resources from here for as long as possible…’
We were basically planning to maintain this dungeon system for as long as possible, so unlike others who were aiming for a quick buck, we had to maintain the most stable direction possible.
“Ooh-hoo… You came to see me again today…♡”
“Here, aah♡ You’re so handsome…
Can I look forward to tonight too?”
Whether it was because of the clothes that covered so little of their bodies, or because of their healthy bodies that were as good as sculptures.
The Henias, with their lewd and coquettish appearances, were receiving enthusiastic reservation requests wherever they went, and men were begging for the honor of being able to have them next to their beds.
“We’re fully booked today…”
“Don’t say that…!! I’ll give you double, how about this side?”
“I’m so grateful that you want me that much…
But breaking a reservation is against our rules…”
“Ah… No…!!”
“I’ll treat you well next time, so I’m sorry, but please visit me next time, meow…?♡”
Now, the Henias’ night work skills were becoming famous, and it was a bit of a sorry thing to say to the desperate outside women who came into this dangerous dungeon, but if those women’s skills were high, they wouldn’t have come to a place like this.
The Henias were chosen as the first priority in all options, and it was becoming a point of pride among the hunters sitting around in the bar to have called a Henia tonight.
“Kuh…!! Again today…!!”
“The Henias of Floraz, I wish I could see their faces even once!!”
“Hehehe!! Suffer more!!
As long as it’s not meeeee~!!
I don’t even mind being sucked dry tonight!!”
Even though they didn’t monopolize the dungeon and shared it with the surroundings, the actual income of the Jebi Faction and the Enic Family didn’t decrease, but rather steadily increased.
In the end, the veiled status of the Jebi Faction and the Enic Family in the darkness was gradually increasing within the back alleys as time went on.
.
.
.
“Hmm… Appropriate for the first time.”
At the same time as the red blood dripping from the sword of the woman standing at the front dripped onto the ground, she flicked her long, bright orange hair and rushed forward in an instant.
“Hmph… Hooo… Hmm…!!”
The sword, quickly cutting through the air with a breath that seemed to give it a little power, neatly took the monster’s life while cutting the mass of flesh in front of her into several pieces as if it would pour out a shower of blood.
And from among the people who were watching that scene from behind for a while, an awkward groan was flowing out.
“Ugh…”
“Wow… Wow… Instructor, nice shot…”
“Borgia-senpai…!! So… So cool…!!”
The one who was neatly receiving the glare in the center of those people was none other than Anne de Monehen, the second daughter of the Monehen family.
The glares she was receiving for bringing someone unimaginable to their ‘illegal’, ‘livelihood’, ‘unofficial dungeon’ were at a level that would make ordinary people want to sneak away while watching the mood.
That’s because the dungeon that appeared this time was, in a sense, a new blue ocean opened at the forefront of national interest.
A member of a noble family who was related to national interests, or at least could claim that right.
Bringing someone from the ducal family, who was the highest-ranking person, was practically a call for everyone to die together.
But Anne also had no choice, so she was somehow managing to withstand the gazes around her.
‘Would you guys have had a choice?’
The supreme being of the Saint Flansina Academy Swordsmanship Department, excluding professors and associate professors, and a heaven-sent genius who could surpass them someday.
Someone who might already be comparable to the professors who had been rolling in the front lines for decades with just her innate combat sense.
Her family was the Borgia Ducal Family, who had no one above them except for the king, the existence above all others.
Saying ‘I don’t like it’ to her when she asked her to bring her was, in a sense, no different from saying ‘I want to die’.
Even Anne, who had a pride that pierced the sky, had to refrain from that new type of suicide method for the sake of her family, at least for now that she had come to her senses and started to face reality.
At least she had a reason not to give up.
Her last bit of pride that she could never lose to her rival.
Anne, who chose the latter between being despised by Lucia for lying, or believing in her character and proceeding with it for now, ended up leading Lucia here.
When you think about it, going against Lucia was on a different scale compared to going against Vivian.
One young lady from the Grenot Marquis family, who could be seen as being in the upper ranks among the marquis families, was able to almost completely destroy the economic base of the Monehen barony with a little power.
Then would the ducal family be worse than that?
And the Borgia family, who were called the upper ranks among the ducal families?
Even after she had the virtue of being able to bow her head a little for the sake of her family, she would probably have made the same choice.
‘I… I didn’t think this was right either…’
A bitter smile was gently forming on Anne’s lips as she stepped back and looked at Lucia.
