Chapter 24 - Chaos
The recent state of the Kingdom of Sepans could only be described as pure chaos.
The sudden appearance of bread, honey, and pepper in the No-Hunger Dungeon, along with the massive influx of crops on the 9th floor.
The premium skin-rejuvenating hot spring on the 11th floor of the hot spring dungeon, and the athletic course leading up to it.
Not just adventurers and merchants, but even commoners flooded into the No-Hunger Dungeon, fighting over monster prey, with brawls and riots breaking out continuously in the shallow levels.
In the athletic field set up near the palace square, not only knights but also noble daughters, wealthy heiresses, middle-aged noblewomen, and even Her Majesty the Queen were seen frantically running around bizarre exercise equipment in a strange and surreal spectacle.
The poor, having earned decent profits from selling bread and honey, began buying new clothes and shoes.
Those with some combat ability started purchasing equipment to delve deeper underground in search of pepper.
The sudden surge in demand left shops unable to keep up, with clothes, shoes, and equipment constantly selling out.
If they couldn’t buy clothes or gear, they spent their money on alcohol, women, and the spring on the 1st floor of the Hot Spring Dungeon, indulging freely.
The entertainment district of the Kingdom of Sepans was in a state of perpetual uproar, packed day and night, a true bubble of prosperity. Eventually, even alcohol supplies ran short, and riots began breaking out in the streets.
“Leave the riot suppression to the general’s direct knight order! Use the money from selling the honey and pepper we’ve collected to buy large quantities of cloth and equipment from other countries. Demand will only keep growing. Don’t sell the bottles! Repackage them in different containers before selling! Got it? That’s all!”
Her Majesty Queen Yuzha issued these commands while drenched in sweat, running around the athletic course.
“Uh... and what about the large number of crops that appeared on the 9th floor?”
“Shut up! I don’t know, I don’t care! Stop asking me about everything! Handle it yourselves! Go talk to the agriculture minister or something!”
As the queen shouted dismissively, around her, noble daughters and middle-aged noblewomen, exhausted and drenched in sweat, lay sprawled like seals, unable to complete even a single lap of the course.
Normally, these people would be complaining, “Guards! What are you doing? Support us better!” But with the queen herself, drenched in sweat and not uttering a word of complaint, even the arrogant nobles couldn’t find the right moment to whine.
As far as Queen Yuzha was concerned, there was no way she was dragging a bunch of useless deadweight down to the deeper floors!
She had already given strict orders beforehand: Set the qualification standards for reaching the 11th floor as high as possible!
After all, the current exploration costs for the Hot Spring Dungeon were largely funded by these very nobles.
When they begged to join the large escort party accompanying the queen to the hot springs, it was impossible to refuse.
Even just taking them to the 6th-floor Moisture Spring was a nightmare, with them whining about sore feet and collapsing, hindering progress.
The thought of having to drag these people all the way to the 11th-floor hot spring was enough to send shivers down her spine.
But since they were the ones funding this, she couldn’t just dismiss them outright.
That’s why she had approved Lady Auf’s proposal: only those with the physical stamina to reach that floor’s hot spring would be allowed to accompany her.
And so, to convince the surrounding nobles, the queen herself was now running around the athletic course, drenched in sweat.
After all, the skills needed to navigate the 11th floor were essential, so there was no choice but to do it.
If this also meant she could leave these burdens behind, all the better.
“Huff... huff... huff... 30 laps done! Does this mean I’m ready to challenge the 11th floor?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty. You should be fine.”
“Phew... I haven’t had blisters like this in ages. But a soak in the 1st-floor bath will heal these right up. What a wonderful era we live in.
You there, lying on the ground! As usual, you’re permitted to accompany me up to the 6th-floor bath.
But if you want to go all the way to the 11th floor, you’ll need to build up the stamina to complete 30 laps here first! Understood?!”
Having delivered this message to the exhausted, burdensome noble ladies, Her Majesty Queen Yuzha, satisfied, made her way to the bath prepared in the castle.
At the duke’s residence, Lady Auf was intently examining the lid of a pepper jar, made of an unknown material.
As she marveled at the precision of the lid, which didn’t let a single grain of powder escape, Vice Captain Vihita returned to the mansion with a variety of crops reportedly harvested from the 9th floor of the No-Hunger Dungeon.
“Are these the crops harvested from the 9th floor, Vihita?”
“Yes, Lady Auf. Some are familiar grains and fruits, but many are unknown crops.”
She recognized wheat and rice, but the amount of grain per stalk was unusually large, and the grains themselves were much bigger, suggesting far superior quality compared to what she was used to.
The tubers were clearly tubers, but many were unfamiliar varieties, making it impossible to guess their taste without trying them.
As for the corn, it was a completely unknown crop to them.
“How do they taste?”
“According to those who’ve tried them, they’re all incredibly delicious. They say if these could be cultivated above ground, it would revolutionize agriculture.”
“Hmm... But dungeon-grown plants can’t survive above ground, right?”
Experiments to bring beautiful flowers or potentially useful plants from dungeons and cultivate them above ground have been conducted worldwide.
However, plants born from the dungeon’s miasma simply don’t grow in the soil and water of the surface world. There are no known successful cases of such cultivation.
“That’s right. While we might consider the possibility of exceptions and attempt cultivation experiments, it’s likely impossible.”
“..........”
“Lady Auf?”
Auf, holding a tuber, stared at it intently, deep in thought.
“...Hey, Vihita. Do you think this tuber would grow if we planted it in the 9th floor of the Hot Spring Dungeon?”
“...Huh?”
“I’ve heard of cases where dungeon plants from one country were planted in another dungeon for cultivation experiments, but none have succeeded. Plants from other dungeons are treated as foreign entities and absorbed.
But I think the No-Hunger Dungeon and the Hot Spring Dungeon are somehow connected.
In that case, would crops from the same 9th floor still be treated as foreign?
If they’re not treated as foreign and cultivation succeeds, it would mean we could set up a food supply area in the 9th floor of the Hot Spring Dungeon.”
“Ah... If that works, it would greatly reduce the need for carrying rations. That would be a huge help.”
“Vihita, the re-investigation of the 11th floor is scheduled for next week, right?”
“...Yes. We’re planning a thorough exploration of every floor with a large team. I’m already dreading it.”
“Then, while you’re at it, could you bury some of these tubers and seeds in the 9th floor for me?”
“Just bury them? That’s all?”
“Dungeon plants don’t seem to need watering or care... So just burying them should be enough, right?”
“True, considering that it never rains inside dungeons, yet grass grows abundantly in grassland areas, it might be pointless to think in terms of conventional farming methods.”
“On the other hand, if they don’t grow on their own after being buried, we’re out of luck. I have no idea how to care for them otherwise.”
The supernatural phenomena of dungeons are beyond human comprehension.
If burying them makes them grow, then they’ll grow. If not, then nothing can be done.
Auf believed that, in this case, it all depended on the “will of the dungeon.”
Thus, their approach was simply to bury the tubers, signaling to the dungeon their desire to grow food within its depths.
One thing was clear about the dungeon’s purpose: it wanted to draw people deeper into its floors.
The plan to cultivate food in the 9th floor of the Hot Spring Dungeon aligned with the dungeon’s goal of attracting people to its deeper levels.
If the dungeon responded to this plan—and if it was capable of responding—then the will of the Hot Spring Dungeon would likely arrange for the crops to grow.
That was what Auf believed.
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