Chapter 65

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 65

Chapter Title: Camera

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"N-No... There was one door in the place where I was staying too. But even when I tried to open it, it just wouldn't budge..."

The day after the heroes had stormed in. While everyone was still in the thick of cleaning up the aftermath, I figured I'd bought us a little time by sending up a false report through the heroes. With that in mind, I started prioritizing what I could realistically get done in the interim.

Suddenly, it hit me—maybe there was another passage ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leading somewhere else in that underground chamber where we'd found Lilith. So I asked her about it, and sure enough, she said she'd seen a door leading somewhere while she was trapped in there.

"Wanna go check it out, Master?"

"Nah."

I had no intention of stirring up more trouble right now. Sure, the [Main Quest] meant I'd have to check it out eventually, but that was for after I'd shored up everything else. Exploring new areas of the ruins was on hold for the foreseeable future.

"Whoa! The beans are already all grown!"

"Tomatoes too!"

I'd pulled the Red Demon Tribe members who'd been on standby as reserves back into farming duty. The crops had always grown pretty fast thanks to Dry, but ever since she started using her humanoid avatar, something seemed to have boosted it even more—the growth rate was now at least double what it was before.

At this rate, we might even be set to raise animals soon. Pigs, chickens, that sort of thing.

"Master. We've collected all the valuables from the human corpses."

"Good."

Perfect timing—we'd scored a ton of human-world currency this time around. Soon, I could send some demons to follow up on the false report, scout the humans' movements, and pick up some livestock while they were at it.

"And we've set aside the mages' gear and other magic tools separately. As for these..."

"For trading with the dungeon merchant, right?"

"Yes."

I'd tried [Decomposing] a mage's staff once before, and all I got were raw materials—no magical effects taken into account. Stuff like that was better off traded through the dungeon merchant rather than decomposed, so I'd kept it separate.

"M-Master? If it's okay, I think I'll just... head out now..."

As I was getting reports from my kin, Lilith started sneaking peeks at me, clearly itching to slip away. Even with her illusion up, she seemed deeply uncomfortable around people.

Well, if that's just her personality, what could I do?

"Gross!"

"D-Dirty...?!"

Dry, who'd been glued to me like a barnacle ever since manifesting her avatar, wrinkled her nose and yelled at Lilith. Startled, Lilith flinched but shot back a fiery glare at Dry.

I mean, she really was filthy, though? I could understand not bathing while locked up, but why hadn't she cleaned up since getting out? We had plenty of water thanks to the [High-Pressure Cleaner].

"W-Well, with the illusion on, I don't really need to bathe, you know? No blood or anything... Heh heh..."

"...Dry."

"Yeah!!"

"Dunk her in the lake."

"Got it!"

"Huh? W-Wait a sec... Kyaaack!!"

The moment I said it, Dry whipped out her wooden roots, bound Lilith up tight, and started dragging her toward the reservoir we'd set up for washing. We'd turned it into a sort of lake-bathhouse combo, and yeah, she seriously needed a scrub.

Just to be safe, I should have Rio keep an eye on her to make sure she actually bathed. Kids seemed fine around her true form anyway—she didn't get all squeamish in front of Dry or Rio.

'Once Lilith's done bathing, I guess I should "clean" that lake too.'

I started brainstorming ways to clean the now-dirty reservoir. At first, I'd use the [Dry Mop] to suck out all the water, scrub the inside, then refill it with the [High-Pressure Cleaner]... but now I had a different method.

If I end up registering Lilith as an employee later, maybe I could assign her to lake duty? Tell her to clean herself while she's at it.

'I do want to register Lilith as an employee, though.'

She was putting up a desperate struggle... wait, no, why was she hating it so much?

Anyway, watching her resist, I pulled up the [Employee Management] screen. I hadn't decomposed everything yet, but I had more than enough points to register her.

Still, I held off on making Lilith an official [Employee]...

'What if her "illusions" don't get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠classified as pollutants?'

She was just Dry's snack right now, but Desmond—one of my proper [Employees]—had a talent like this:

Ignore the front part—that bit about subordinate undead not being classified as pollutants was the kicker.

Thankfully, since Desmond was unconscious and out of commission, the underground undead did register as pollutants...

But if I registered Lilith and she had a similar [Talent], her illusions—which were earning me a tidy stream of points—might stop being treated as pollutants, locking me out of [Collection].

'Maybe later when points are overflowing... For now, hold off.'

In the end, I tabled registering Lilith as an [Employee] for now and moved on to the next item.

'Approved.'

Next up: leveling the [Robot Vacuum Cleaner]. It had more than pulled its weight in the last fight.

Plus, with all the traffic keeping the entrance corridor filthy, I planned to leave its cleaning entirely to the robot from here on out. Plenty of work ahead for it.

So I went ahead and leveled it up.

'No clue on this one.'

I knew what leveling other cleaning tools did from playing [Cleaning Game], but the [Robot Vacuum Cleaner] was new to me even there. No idea what the upgrade would bring. I'd have to test it when I had spare points.

"...That's it?"

Underwhelming. Well, for just hitting Level 2, that was about right... but still a letdown.

'Let's bump it up once more.'

With all these materials and points piling up, why not push it higher and see what changes? You never know—might unlock something crazy.

'Camera?'

At Level 3, a new feature popped up: 'Camera.' Weren't the sensors basically a camera already?

I fumbled around not sure how to use it, and a system window appeared right in front of me.

"Oh. This is..."

I set the robot vacuum I was holding down as a test, and its field of view started displaying directly in the system window—like I'd installed a CCTV camera.

I tested further: used [Quick Movement] ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to head to the entrance corridor, set it down there, then warped back home. Even from that distance, the robot's view kept streaming in the window.

"This is handy."

Used right, it could scout low passages too narrow for people, act as a real CCTV at the entrance, or—if I could get it up high—survey wide areas from above.

-Whiiiir...

As I nodded to myself, the robot vacuum—detecting pollutants via its sensors—began scooting along. It brushed and sucked up the lingering dirty footprints that hadn't been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fully erased yet, following their trail bit by bit.

'...Where's it headed?'

Curious about its improved performance, I watched it clean... and started panicking a little.

The [Robot Vacuum Cleaner], trailing those footprints, rolled right past the ruins' entrance—which we'd left open for ventilation.

"Hey! Hold up!"

I [Quick Movement]'d to the entrance in a hurry and lunged for the robot as it tried to leave the ruins—but it slipped out before I could grab it.

"Shit."

And of course, I got blocked at the entrance.

The robot could leave, but not me? What kind of bullshit was this?

"Whew... Guess that's the downside. Gotta be meticulous with doors when using the [Robot Vacuum Cleaner]."

I was about to summon a kin to retrieve it since I couldn't go out, but then I glanced at the still-active 'Camera' feed... and curiosity got the better of me.

'...So this is what outside the ruins looks like?'

Come to think of it, thanks to this damn cleaning zone restriction keeping me cooped up, this was my first real look at the outside world. A different world from Earth, no less.

Honestly... I was curious. I knew it was some isekai from all the demons and heroes showing up, but I'd never actually seen the landscape.

'...Should I let it roam a bit?'

With the 'Camera' function, having a kin recover it would be easy anyway... Why not let it go a little longer and sightsee?

-Rustle. Rustle.

A bit further south than Delron. An unnamed forest where Eugene's ruins were located. Someone had just stepped into the outskirts of that very forest.

"The trees are whispering... Is this the place?"

A slender woman strolled through the treacherous woods as casually as if out for a walk, leaping lightly between the trees with graceful movements.

Her strikingly pointed ears twitched alertly as she drew her bow, scanning the surroundings with dazzling golden hair. She'd been following a pull she'd felt since yesterday, pushing through the forest.

"The sacred tree...! It's the voice of the sacred tree!"

That 'pull'—something only she and her 'mother' could sense. No doubt about it: the presence of the sacred tree. Their pride, their hope, the thing they'd dreamed of reclaiming for so long.

"If I can just get the sacred tree...! Mother will be okay. And our dungeon too...!"

Uttering the words 'sacred tree' and 'dungeon,' she slowly advanced deeper into the forest, following the pull.

-Whiiiir...

Unaware of something puttering along the ground nearby, not far from there.