Chapter 67 - Transport Corps
“Oh! Captain Touji, you’ve returned. Well done.
Hm? But your team seems a bit thin. Where are the others?”
Her Majesty Yuzha addressed the returning captain.
Captain Touji respectfully explained that the rest of the team, along with Vice-Captain Yunev, had stayed behind to explore the newly discovered dungeon level.
“Hah hah hah! So you’re the one who came back.
Well, that’s fine. I doubt your strength is needed just yet on the 13th floor.”
“However, Your Majesty, I could return to the investigation immediately if needed.”
As long as the loot was safely delivered, there was no reason she couldn’t jump right back into action.
The dungeon had been so relaxed—delicious meals, barely any real resistance—that spending a week there hardly felt like enough to count as a break.
Captain Touji had already restocked her jerky and cooking oil, fully intending to dive back in.
“Now, now, don’t be so hasty, Touji.
You know of the floor in the Hot Spring Dungeon where temporary enhancement potions can be made, yes?
I had left its investigation to the third daughter of House Nausa and the Second Unit. Thanks to them, most of the effects have now been analyzed.
There’s talk that if we use these potions for special training, it might unlock new levels of strength.”
“!! Please, tell me more!”
The moment she heard those words, Captain Touji’s eyes sparkled like a young girl’s. She leaned in, completely hooked.
“U-Um, yes. For example—if one takes a potion that temporarily increases physical strength, then trains with weights they’d normally never be able to lift... what would happen?
Or suppose one takes a potion that prevents stamina loss, then performs an exercise so intense it would normally exhaust them in ten seconds—but instead keeps going for several minutes. What kind of training results would that produce? We’ve come up with dozens of ideas along those lines...”
“I see... Yes, it’s true. Unless we actually try it, there’s no way to know.
Whether pushing yourself during the effects of a stamina-boosting potion results in better training—or whether it’s all meaningless—it’s impossible to judge through theory alone.”
That’s what she said aloud.
But her face? It was lit up with anticipation, practically glowing with excitement.
No matter the field, any dedicated practitioner eventually hits a wall—a plateau, a ceiling they can’t seem to break through.
Just the possibility that this kind of training could shatter those limits... to Captain Touji, it was like being handed a beacon of hope.
“Yes, we have to try this. Let’s do it! Right away!”
“However... I will not permit another situation like last time, where you spent days deep in the dungeon training and practicing martial arts with no other purpose.
Your new routine must include transporting dungeon goods—like those heavy soaps and alcohol—from the deeper floors up to at least the ninth. That way, you’ll be training and contributing to the kingdom’s interests at the same time.”
“Hm? Why only up to the ninth floor?”
“The higher you go—closer to the surface—the thinner the miasma gets. And the thinner the miasma, the weaker the effects of the enhancement potions. Past a certain point, training with the potion becomes meaningless.
Besides, from the ninth floor upward, we’re planning to establish a dedicated transport corps to handle all drop-item recovery. You’ll be handing the goods off to them.
We’re actively recruiting anyone with strong endurance and a knack for climbing—along with guards to protect them.”
In large dungeons of other nations, dedicated transport units were standard.
Until now, the Kingdom of Sepans had never had one.
But given the sheer quantity and value of recent dungeon loot, it seemed the court had decided that setting up a full-scale logistics unit would be cost-effective after all.
If you let foreign transport teams handle dungeon drop items, they’d fleece you for an outrageous cut in return.
Frankly, Captain Touji didn’t like transport corpses for that very reason.
But handing goods over to your own country’s transport unit? That was as good as bringing back everything in full.
“There are always a ton of applicants hoping to get into the First Unit each year, right?
Even the ones who don’t make the cut—if they join the transport corps, they could still end up living comfortably.”
“Well, very few people even pass the preliminary exam each year, and most of those who do... disappear during the final test.”
In the Kingdom of Sepans, getting into the First Unit could elevate even a pauper or commoner to the rank of a high noble. But that gate was exceedingly narrow.
Each year, barely a handful passed the provisional trials, and then came the real test—collecting drop items from the lower twenty dungeon floors in another country for a whole year. That final step thinned their numbers drastically.
Why? Because they died, broke, or simply couldn't endure it anymore.
And even if they survived that ordeal and were accepted into the First Unit, they would continue living under the same brutal conditions until the day they died or retired.
Compared to joining such a crazy unit, becoming part of the transport corps and leading a stable life was far more sane.
“There are plenty of folks happy to settle for being moderately wealthy commoners. I don’t think we’ll have much trouble finding candidates.”
“Recruitment for dungeon personnel really is one of Sepans' strengths...”
Thanks to the lower levels of the No-Hunger Dungeon—an endless food paradise disguised as a slum—aspiring warriors dreaming of glory popped up like weeds.
To foreign eyes, it must’ve looked like a country where soldiers sprouted straight from the fields.
“Understood, Your Majesty Yuzha. Then shall we prioritize securing drop items from the Hot Spring Dungeon or from the No-Hunger Dungeon?”
“The Hot Spring Dungeon.
The No-Hunger Dungeon can still be effectively mined by independent adventurers and even foreign military forces.
But the Hot Spring Dungeon isn’t so easy—men can’t enter freely, and we’ve already pushed the Second Unit to their limits.
Plus, the production of mirrors is, for now, a monopoly of the Kingdom of Sepans. We must continue sending personnel into that dungeon’s depths at all times.
...And more importantly—”
“More importantly?”
“I don’t want anyone else discovering a new floor before we do.”
“...I see.”
“The No-Hunger Dungeon doesn’t worry me. All it does is produce strangely delicious meals and expensive gemstones.
But the Hot Spring Dungeon... is different.
The deeper we go, the more I get the feeling we’ll uncover effects too dangerous to reveal to the outside world.”
The time-limited power-boosting meals from the 14th floor were still acceptable, as their effects were confined to the dungeon.
But if that kind of food became usable on the surface... the kingdom would suddenly be seen as a nation capable of mass-producing the most terrifying weapons in the world.
No one knew what else the Hot Spring Dungeon might generate next—and that uncertainty alone was a threat.
“Understood. Then the lower floors of the Hot Spring Dungeon will be secured by the First Unit.
In the meantime, our regular duties will focus on securing mirrors, soap, and producing potions.”
Captain Touji had no objections. The tenth floor had baths with effects that boosted training efficiency, so the Hot Spring Dungeon actually suited her better.
“Good. Before Vice-Captain Yunev and the main force return from the No-Hunger Dungeon, go speak with Vihita. Learn everything you can about the buff meals on the 14th floor—their effects, how to prepare them, and the proposed training regimens built around them.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
With that, Captain Touji gave a crisp reply, then took her leave of the palace.
She made her way toward the Nausa family estate, where Vihita awaited her with the knowledge she needed.
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