Chapter 22 - Lady Auf’s Excitement
“Welcome back. Good work, Vihita.”
“Yes, I’ve just returned, my lady.”
Upon returning from the 11th floor, I found Lady Auf having tea in the garden.
On the table was an unfamiliar square loaf of bread.
“...Is that the new bread they say has started appearing in the No-Hunger Dungeon?”
“Yes, would you like to try some, Vihita?”
“Thank you, I’ll gladly accept.”
The moment I took a bite, the bread was unbelievably fluffy, with a deep, rich flavor... As I swallowed, the fragrant aroma of the bread filled my nostrils.
“Ahhh~... It’s truly... delicious. I can see why everyone’s making such a fuss about it.”
“You’ve also achieved quite a lot, Vihita. Your skin looks unnaturally beautiful.”
“Huh? Ah... hahaha... Everyone... will want to go there, won’t they?”
“If it were Queen Yuzha, she’d probably rush there immediately. But from the looks of it, the 11th floor was quite exhausting?”
“Yes, it was... exhausting doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
I explained to Lady Auf about the relentlessly tiring areas of the 11th floor.
As a dungeon researcher, she asked for every detail.
“...I see. It seems it’ll be quite a while before we can take the queen there.”
“Do you understand? First, we’ll need to have the other guards, who’ll likely accompany her, complete a trial run.
We’ll also need to thoroughly investigate the area around the 11th floor for safety.
We only found the hot spring this time and had to return due to exhaustion, so we haven’t fully explored the surrounding area yet.”
“Wouldn’t the escort targets also need a certain level of physical ability to handle that forced exercise zone...?”
“We’ll provide support, but there are limits... Queen Yuzha has some martial arts training, so she should be fine, but...”
“It would be impossible to escort someone like me, who gets out of breath just from running a little,right?
...For now, we should build exercise equipment in the square modeled after the dungeon’s structure to train the escorts.
Also, we should make it a permit system, excluding anyone who can’t meet the baseline physical requirements for the equipment.”
“...Do you think they’ll accept that?”
“It’s a matter of life and death, so they’ll have to. If they complain, they can just train harder.
I’m training myself too, after all.”
“Oh, how’s your progress, my lady?”
“I think I’m almost ready to tackle the second floor...”
...In other words, she’s reached the point where she can walk for several hours.
Among the many soft escort targets who, driven by desire, aim for the 6th floor without understanding their own physical limits and end up collapsing on the 4th floor, Lady Auf is exceptionally wise and humble in her self-assessment.
Yes, it’s truly a relief.
A few days later.
Construction began on a large wooden staircase and exercise equipment in the square, where you had to swing from your arms to move.
Queen Yuzha, observing the construction, asked:
“How much of this would one need to complete to challenge the 11th floor?”
“For example, with the large staircase, we’ll prepare wooden boxes as footholds to make it easier to navigate...
But even with such assistance, you’d still need the stamina to keep going for about half a day.”
“......Half a day.”
The queen made an exasperated face.
But within that expression, I could see a determination that said, “Fine! I’ll do it to get that skin! Damn it!!”
So I’m sure she won’t back down and say, “No, no! Forget it!” Escort duty is confirmed.
“Queen Yuzha! Is Queen Yuzha here?!”
A messenger came running from afar, looking flustered.
“What is it? What happened?”
“Yes, a new ingredient has appeared in the No-Hunger Dungeon.”
The messenger pulled out a beautiful glass jar.
It was... too beautiful.
Completely colorless and transparent, without a single flaw, the jar itself was a work of art.
“...What’s inside?”
“Honey.”
The queen’s face twisted into a complicated expression.
On one hand, honey, a luxury item, would now be appearing in abundance, which could be profitable.
On the other hand, the royal family had long monopolized honey as an ultra-luxury item—the ultimate sweet treat—for nobles, controlling its production and distribution through secretive agreements with merchants. This structure was now crumbling before her eyes.
For a moment, she was torn between joy and frustration.
After sitting in silence for about five minutes, she finally spoke.
“Forget the escort. I’m returning to the castle for now... You! Messenger, summon the merchants to the castle!”
With that, she left for the castle.
Since the queen, whom I was supposed to escort, was gone, I decided to return to the Duke Nausa’s residence.
Back at the mansion, Lady Auf was excitedly examining the honey jar I had seen earlier.
“Ah! Vihita! Look at this! This jar!”
“Yes... I saw it earlier, but you’re interested in the jar itself?”
“Yes! Look at this! The lid has a glass protrusion with a screw-like pattern, and the thin metal lid fits perfectly into it! How does this work? How does such a simple structure achieve this level of airtightness? Even if you fill it with water and flip it upside down, not a single drop leaks out!
I understand the structure and theory, but it’s unbelievable! Achieving this level of precision is practically an art!”
Lady Auf rambled on excitedly.
For her scholarly mind, the honey itself was just honey.
It was the precision of the lid’s mechanism that excited her.
She even had detailed sketches of the lid’s protrusion and underside.
I only thought of it as a clear, colorless, and perfectly smooth jar—nothing more.
“Earlier, Queen Yuzha went to discuss the contents of the jar...”
“Huh? Oh, the contents. Yes, the royal family should quickly inform the poor that they’ll buy the honey at a fair price.”
“What do you mean?”
“If they don’t, a flood of unscrupulous merchants will surely try to swindle and intimidate the poor into selling it cheaply.
If that’s left unchecked, the value of honey will plummet. The royal family needs to guarantee a minimum price to maintain its value...
The merchants should be guided to think not about buying low but about trading it as a luxury item with other countries to earn foreign currency.
But forget that. Look at this jar’s smooth mouth and the rounded protrusion! The lid’s airtightness, the precision...
It’s amazing... I could open and close this lid endlessly. It’s truly incredible, wonderful.
To collect more of these jars, the royal family should buy them up en masse... Mumble mumble...”
While admiring the lid, Lady Auf casually mentioned how the honey should be handled, as if just mentioning it in passing.
I’ll make sure to relay her suggestions to Queen Yuzha later.
“Vihita, it might just be my intuition, but...
I think the will of the Hot Spring Dungeon and the No-Hunger Dungeon are in close communication with each other.
And I believe the Hot Spring Dungeon has started giving instructions to the No-Hunger Dungeon.
That’s why we’re seeing such rapid changes.”
“Dungeons communicating with each other?”
“I don’t know the nature of their relationship, but it’s strange if they’re parent and child or siblings...
Right now, I think ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ might be the most appropriate description...? That’s why the 9th floor is like that...
But it’s too hasty to apply human relationships to dungeons... Mumble mumble...”
“????”
I had no idea what Lady Auf was talking about. Dungeons? Boyfriend and girlfriend?
What is she saying?
“Anyway! Now that the Hot Spring Dungeon’s will has intervened over there, I think new ingredients will start appearing soon.
Judging from the Hot Spring Dungeon’s previous patterns... it’s capable of introducing things that could fundamentally change society.
I think the commotion over honey will pale in comparison to what’s coming.”
“Hahh...”
Sometimes, Lady Auf’s thoughts are so far ahead that I can’t follow what she’s saying.
Around the time the 11th-floor exploration training course in the square was nearing completion, reports came in that a new ingredient had started dropping in the deeper floors.
This time, it was salt and pepper.
Yes, this is bad.
I have a feeling this is going to escalate into discussions involving neighboring countries.
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