The Slash-and-Burn Village Before the Dungeon, Las Village (6)

Monsters are a vital resource. And the methods to obtain them are extremely limited. Thanks to Lime, a Slime sub-dungeon was created, allowing me to obtain up to 153 slimes per day, three times a day. Of course, a single Slime Dragon is better in terms of taste, nutrition, and efficiency than fifty regular slimes, so every time my daughters went in to level up, I accompanied them to secure a Slime Dragon.

Then, how should I obtain resources other than slimes? I found the answer. Borrow them from the Demon King! If I summon monsters using magic stones, they become my property and minions under my command. Now, this monster is mine. It’s mine to do with as I please. Currently, the number of monsters I could summon was greater than I thought.

'The variety has increased tremendously just by looking at the types.' Since I had evolved them normally, I could now summon a Slahole. At the same time, because I had summoned a 2-star Gargoyle, I could also summon its lower-tier variant, the Mini Gargoyle.

'Slime species aren't worth summoning.' I can just get them directly from the Slime sub-dungeon. Therefore, slimes are out of the question. If there’s nothing else to summon, I can just summon one for the daily quest and eat it deliciously.

'I’ll use the harpies for their feathers.' Eggs are being produced in real-time at the poultry farm. However, there is no way to obtain harpy feathers. So, let’s bring them in from the Demon King’s Castle! It would lower morale to kill the descendants of beings hatched from eggs laid in this dungeon, so let’s kill and use the monsters dispatched from the Demon King’s Castle instead.

'It’s a relief that their corpses remain.' If the monster corpses were consumed by the dungeon and disappeared, or if the system blocked me from using them, I would have given up. But my plan worked out perfectly.

"Master! I’ve finished it!" Ryun held up a pillow stuffed with the feathers of two harpies and smiled brightly. The skin of the Slime Dragon, which had been emptied of all bodily fluids and washed in water, had been cleaned once more by Lime. Then, she filled the cleaned skin with harpy feathers to create a pillow. A long pillow for the three of us—me, Ryun, and Eila—to use at the same time. The Slime Dragon’s bodily fluids hardened too quickly to be usable. In contrast, the harpy feathers were appropriately fluffy and provided a substantial amount.

'With two of them, I could make three pillows each.'

Ultimately, the goal is to make blankets and clothes, but for the time being, I decided to focus on making pillows where we could comfortably rest our heads.

"Ryun."

"Yes."

I held the harpy claws that remained after Line had finished eating. Line didn't like eating hard things, so she didn't even touch the bird claws. "Hmm..." Ryun fell into thought for a moment. I scratched the floor with the claws until Ryun answered. While there was a durability issue, they were truly perfect for digging the ground.

"Is it a bit much to just keep the claws and use them to plow the field?"

"...Wouldn't the harpies be shocked?"

"Then let's not do it."

I handed the claws to Lime, and she happily accepted and ate them. 'My sensibilities are different from theirs.'

If Ryun, who possesses the common sense of this world, is disgusted, then it really is a problem. "How about laying slimes on the floor to make a bed?"

"It would be squishy and fluffy, but we wouldn't know when we might get eaten by the slimes."

"What about using the hard arms of the ghouls as some kind of stick?"

"No matter what, swinging around corpses is a bit..."

I asked Ryun about the ideas popping into my head one by one, and what she said no to was definitely a no.

"Then it would be fine to use things other than living creatures, right?"

"...Master?"

Ryun turned pale, but my thought of siphoning resources from the Demon King’s Castle did not stop. "Hehe." There were still lowest-grade magic stones left. And quite a few low-grade magic stones remained as well.

"Ryun."

"Yes."

"Do you know what tool human civilization started using first, a very long time ago?"

"......?"

"It’s stone."

I placed 25 low-grade magic stones into the summoning facility. With the capacity still maintained at 40, it was time for a new monster to appear. "Gacha!"

It’s ugly. The gargoyle looked much worse than the first one I summoned. Its muscles weren't bulging, and it looked like a bat filled only with greed. I asked Ryun carefully so the gargoyle wouldn't hear. "Is it a bit worse than the first one?"

"They look the same."

"No. It’s ugly."

Specifically, the number of stars is ugly. If it weren't for Luna, it would be living as a statue at the entrance of our dungeon by now. "Master, by any chance...?"

"Is this a bit much?"

"...Since it’s stone, wouldn't it be fine?"

Permission was granted. I pointed to the front of me to the gargoyle standing blankly. "Come here." I pulled the gargoyle out of the summoning facility, and then— Thwack! I punched the gargoyle in the chest, shattering it. The gargoyle was soon smashed to pieces, and Ryun clapped her hands and let out an exclamation of admiration. "Wow, one hit!"

"You can catch it in one hit too, Ryun..."

Well, a level 75 should be able to do at least this much to catch a level 1 gargoyle. I picked up some quite decent items from the stone fragments of the gargoyle, which had turned into a pile of rocks. "Ryun. Don't you think these wings would be appropriate to use as shovels?"

"What are you going to bury?"

"Who knows."

Whether it will be a person or something else is a matter for the future, but for now, the stone fragments will be used in many good places. I picked up the gargoyle's claws. "Look at this. This can just be used as a rake."

"...It’s certainly better than harpy claws."

If you don't think about how it was made, everyone is happy. As humans are beings that use tools, the various stone implements and chipped stone tools obtained from the gargoyle will enrich the lives of the humans. Now, 20 magic stones remain. I want to get a few more harpies, but unfortunately, the sub-dungeon for today has been run all 3 times. Meari, Harpyia, and Slain. The levels of the three daughters have already reached 14. Due to the nature of the Slime dungeon, if I pour experience into them just one more time each, they will be able to level up tomorrow.

'Then now, I must do what needs to be done today.'

The main event. "Ryun, you check the state of the pillows with Eila. And Lime, you take all of these and follow me."

Kkeureureuk. Lime stuffed the gargoyle’s stone fragments into her body. When I lifted Lime, who had easily swallowed a whole statue into her body, I felt the weight of exactly one person. "Lime, is it heavy?"

Kkeureureuk. Lime seemed to find it quite burdensome, but she was enjoying the weight that came from holding the gargoyle’s stone fragments. Slurp. Lime rubbed her breasts against my face, and I carried Lime through the long dungeon passage, my vision dyed in red. Today’s main event. That is my evolution.

At that time, Virgo Barony.

"I'm going crazy."

Baron Virgo was on the verge of losing his mind due to the relentless rain. 'There is a dungeon.' Monsters jumped out of the dungeon and attacked the village. And they disappeared after eating everything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠completely, without leaving a single corpse. This "disappeared" part drove Baron Virgo to stress. 'It means the monsters came out of the dungeon according to orders, attacked the village, and then returned.'

It’s not a problem that ends with just a den where monsters live. There is an entity giving commands. And that is no different from saying that the entrance to one of the Demon King’s 72 dungeons has opened. 'There is no way to know what level it is.' If I organize a subjugation force, it’s advertising that a dungeon has appeared within the territory. If I organize a reconnaissance party, there will be limits to the power I can mobilize.

"...It can't be helped."

The well-being of the territory's people, or his own well-being? The Baron was a human who, if he had to choose, thought according to the latter. 'The people of the territory exist because I exist.' The only heir of the Virgo Baron family. He must be alive for the people of the territory to live safe lives. Then, to strengthen the power of the territory, he needed a means ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to grasp information about the dungeon without suffering losses to the territory, while maintaining his full power.

"I have no choice but to request it from the Adventurer's Guild. Sir Gei!"

The Baron, who had scribbled the text on parchment with a quill pen, summoned Sir Gei, and soon Sir Gei entered the office. "Did you call for me?"

"You, you were the child of a noble family with ties to the capital, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"...Then, could you go back to your hometown for a moment?"

Sir Gei was flustered by the sudden vacation. The Baron would not just give him a vacation. "Is there something you would like to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say to my family?"

"No. I am already sufficiently grateful for your contribution to our Baron family. What I am asking for is this, this." The Baron tapped the parchment with his finger. "Isn't the Leo Marquisate on the way to the capital? Please formally submit this request to the Adventurer's Guild there."

"Ah!" Sir Gei admired the Baron’s wit. "As expected, the soldiers of the territory won't have to go and check it themselves!"

"Sir Gei. Phew... this can't be helped. Our territory's knights and soldiers are so busy that there is no way to check a small monster den in such a remote area. Isn't that right?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Then I leave it to you."

The Baron handed the parchment to Gei. The two pairs of eyes met for a moment, and convinced of each other's true nature, they smiled. "Then, Baron, when does the vacation start?"

"...Wouldn't you like to have lunch together for the first time in a while before you go?"

"Baron."

Gei tucked the parchment into his chest with a subtle look. His firm chest muscles were slightly exposed, and the Baron gulped. "Since it’s been a while, wouldn't you like to have a cozy meal between lord and vassal?"

"Good."

The Baron called the attendant. Scritch, scritch. Only the sound of cutting steak echoed in the dining room.

Outside, humans were in the middle of working. "Ah... have you come?" The first person to welcome me was Lily. Lily was laying logs down straight, and with the help of a ghoul, she was making firewood to light a fire. "This is the equipment for you all."

I distributed the gargoyle’s stone fragments to the humans. Lime scattered all the gargoyle fragments she had inside her body onto the floor. "The shape is like this, but they are quite hard. Use them where needed."

"......."

The humans picked up the crude gargoyle fragments one by one and began to make something appropriate using them. Someone was carving wood, someone was using gargoyle wings like real shovels, and someone was weaving wood and gargoyle claws together like rakes. Watching their movements, exclamations of admiration came out of me automatically. "You guys are very used to this, aren't you?"

"Because we are people who have lived in slash-and-burn villages several times."

Lily answered nonchalantly and dug a hole in the ground. The ghouls who had come out to support the labor very skillfully inserted the logs into the grooves dug in the floor. "Th-there, just a little bit more to the left..."

Kkeureureuk. Jirunam asked, intimidated by the ghoul, but Harsus didn't care at all and set up the wooden fence according to the request. The area outside the dungeon, which had originally been just an empty lot, was gradually taking shape. It was crude, but it was gradually taking the form of a guard post.

'As expected, it’s much better for humans to use their heads.'

Their skill in setting up wooden fences and building houses on their own was truly excellent. If things continue like this, there will be more than enough of a human village outside the dungeon. 'You can increase the number of humans outside the garden as much as you want.'

Since time is being accelerated by Solomon, how good is this? I called over two men who were reinforcing the hut while carrying logs together. "You two there."

"Yes, yes? Are you talking to us...?"

"......."

Jorunam bowed his head with a servile face. Jirunam couldn't bring himself to speak, so he just bowed his head and kept an eye on me. "Depending on how you do, I will give you an appropriate opportunity."

"By opportunity, you mean...?"

"Harpy."

Jorunam brightened, and Jirunam frowned. "If you want, I will give you a harpy as a partner. If the party involved also wants it."

"R-really?"

Before he knew it, Jorunam was deeply in love with the harpy's breasts. "Yes. Depending on how you act, you might be able to eat the harpies, or you might be eaten by the harpies."

"Yes...."

"And you."

"Hick."

The four female slaves stopped what they were doing and trembled. I just wanted to talk, but they were so scared that I felt sorry for them. But now it was time for them to see their fate. I lifted Lily, who was standing confidently next to me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into the air. "Watch closely."

"W-wait a minute, this shame, huck?!"

Riiip. I grabbed Lily's thighs from the inside and lifted her up, spreading them left and right. Harvesting, 10 minutes left.

"Ugh, huck!"

Lily's body began to heat up to the fullest, and the humans' gazes were fixed on Lily.