Otoko Nara Ikkokuichijou no Aruji o Mezasa Nakya, ne? Chapter 167

Things are going to feel pretty slow for a while. Though I think around 6-8 months pa.s.ses in the story over the next 40~ chapters, a lot of it is character development stuff rather than advances in plot/dungeon. Coincidentally I can't get as motivated to translate them so expect a slower chapter pace. Pretty soon I was thinking of going to just putting chapters out on the weekends as well. Next chapter in 4-8 hours.
Year 7444, Month 12, Day 19
Starting today we're really challenging the 7th floor in a full group of 10. After taking a shower, I started organizing our combat potential a bit while eating breakfast.
The first one, me. Capable of both front line and rear support. It's safe to consider me the cornerstone of the {Slaughterers}. Since it's my a.s.sessment of myself it might be too generous but I think if I were to be excluded they're only just a bit better than the other top teams. If Miduchi were to be excluded as well then they probably aren't a match for the top team. Though I don't know the true abilities of other top teams so it's just guesswork through.
The second one, Zenom. Since he can't use magic or projectile weapons he specializes in the front line. However, his true skill is high and other than me he's the one I can trust the most on the front line. His specialty is to find openings in the opponent and damage them a bit at a time while fighting persistently.
The third one, Miduchi. The same as me, she can do both front line and rear support. Well she's like an inferior version of me. But in terms of synthesized abilities she's without a doubt the next after me. If she gets used to the missile spells then I think Miduchi alone could compete with the other top teams. Up until then she's a mana tank with a lot of direct attack power. Even though I say that it's big that she can using attack spells in rapid succession.
The fourth one, Ralpha. For the most part she can use magic but she's still technically a front line attacker. In terms of close combat on the front line she's the fourth strongest in the {Slaughterers} but including her Unique Ability if she can just make an opening in her opponent and land a single heavy blow then the situation could make a complete turn around with how much explosive power she has hidden away.
The fifth one, Bel. Since she specializes in the bow and magic she's rear support. Just in case she can also hold her own reasonably well on the front line as well. Since she has more mana than an ultra first-rate sorcerer if you look are synthesized abilities including spells then it's not incorrect to say she can exceed Zenom. If Miduchi and I were to be excluded the way Bel is used is critical.
The sixth one, Toris. Since he started to use the shield he's become more focused on the front line. Since he can use magic as well of course rear support is possible as well but in that case in relation to his MP he's just about average for an adventurer magician. If he can just raise his magic spell skill levels a bit higher than along with his diligent personality he should be able to grow quite a bit.
The seventh one, Gwine. Rear support. Or rather, she's situated between the rear and the front in the middle. She's started to become skilled at making good use of the gaps the front line creates and thrusting her attacks in there. It has no relation to her combat abilities but her Unique Ability might be the most important fro the dungeon. I would like for her to be able to go around the battlefield and keep an eye out for when the enemies are aiming at the rear and keep them in check while reading the circ.u.mstances of the whole. If she could do that then she'd change into something completely different.
The eighth one, Zulu. Front line. His close combat skills are about the same as Toris. Thanks to holding a shield he's also gained a defense UP. Since he's also pretty loyal he was charming but recently...I guess this doesn't matter at all.
The ninth one, Angela. Front line. Her close combat skills are the same as Bel, you could say she's above Gwine, but one step behind Toris and Zulu. Thanks to holding a shield she's also gained a defense UP. But it seems like she forgets the existence of her shield often.
So we're including Basutoral into here huh...Since we're having him use the spear in terms of position I'm sure he'll protect (?) the middle like Gwine but for the time being he's probably useless. If I were to think of it in terms of combat potential, even Giberuti might be better right now. But, his level went up by 1 in just the time we cleared through from the 1st to 6th floors and is 4 now. In just three days he gained 3,000 experience points. Starting today, if he can earn 1,400 - 1,500 a day for the next seven days on the 7th floor then I'm sure his level will go up once more.
I crunch away at some salad with cabbage as the base while looking at Basutoral's state as he has a pale face and doesn't seem to have much of an appet.i.te. Last night the moment we brought him to the camp, it was like his tension was cut and I remember his state laying down from the fatigue that had built up over the last three days. They must have read my worry, Zenom and Miduchi called out to Basutoral.
"Saji, eat properly. The real thing starts from today."
"That's right Saji-san. If you don't properly eat then you won't be able to move when the time comes."
"Ah? Eh? Yeah, I guess so...However, I wonder why? Even though it's this delicious I don't have any appet.i.te..My feelings are pretty worked up? After all, we managed to obtain that many magic stones."
One our way up until here we made close to 200,000 in value in total. If we sell them to the magic tool shop then it's close to 1,500,000 Z (150 silver coins) in magic stones. This guys share is 1.5 silver coins.
"Starting today we'll be getting our hands on a lot more magic stones with an even higher value. It's not the case to be sprawling around. Now, eat a lot and build up some stamina."
Miduchi said that adding oatmeal to Basutoral's bowl. Basutoral raised a weak smile but even then he uncomfortably put his spoon into the oatmeal. I remember back when I was in the JSDF, I graduated from SD college and when we had an integrated training session with candidates from regular colleges and some other places we had to do a march of over 80Km over an obstacle course, everyone felt like they were going to die. It was harsh even on the JSDF members who had trained and had a reasonable amount of stamina but I'm sure it was far harsher on them.
Even when I was appointed as a 3rd lieutenant and a.s.signed to my station, one of my subordinates Ebara, ended up becoming one of the Northern shortstop CWCT "R" Ranger insignias and I couldn't close my mouth thinking he was some kind of monster from his stamina. Ah, it's my first time remembering Ebara in a while. I'm sure he's feeling like I or the normal candidates of the colleges did back then. If I hadn't retired then the next year I had a recommendation to take the "R" ranger course as well..supposed to do that.
"Basutoral. It's only exhausting for the first 2-3 months. Even if it's impossible to force it down."
It's a battle of stamina and mental strength for adventurers in the dungeon. After all during our descent into the dungeon this time we walked close to 25-30 Km on the first day from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor. I'm sure the actual time spent isn't even one minute each but there's combat along the way as well. Even if it's the same 30 Km as a road it's completely different from escorting a caravan. The distance you have to walk the next day is shorter but you have to walk through a nest of undead monsters, and yesterday we had to walk 7-8 Km while being afraid of teleport traps and huge wild boards. Since Basutoral had only taken part in farm work up until now putting aside stamina wise, I'm sure it's pretty harsh mentality wise.
That's the reason why our meals this time are oatmeal and eggs, various things that are easy to digest and still have quite a bit of nutrients. We brought along a reasonable amount of meat as well but the amount of meat itself isn't all that different from when we normally enter the dungeon. The amount of meat per meal has decreased a bit.
"It's alright. There's no way I could leave any of this delicious stuff leftover!"
Hidden behind his words, Basutoral has a stiff smile on his face as he carries the eggs and oatmeal into his mouth like a machine.
..................
..I guess around here we should have lunch. Thinking that I gave the instruction to take a break inside of the forest on the 7th floor. Today's lunch is something like minced chicken meat over soba. Though I say chicken meat over soba it's really just chicken meat cut into small pieces. It's flavored with salt and seasonings and and has a bit of soba flour kneaded into it. It has a bit of olive oil added for scent as well so it's a splendid meal. Then as vitamin replenishment there's one tangerine as well. Since fruits are quite the luxury item enjoy it as you eat.
Since we normally don't put anything sweet into our mouths while tangerines don't sell well in j.a.pan from how sour they are these ones taste considerably sweet. And then, it's the plot to make everyone forget their exhaustion naturally.
"Saji-san, I've been saying it since before but when you thrust in with the spear you need to twist it. Since the bodies of ogres are durable. Even if you just stab them they won't get any weaker. Just like this, you have to twist it in while stabbing in. If you do that the wound opens up even more and a lot of blood comes out."
Gwine is making a pose of stabbing the spear in and twisting it while teaching Basutoral. Wu..she sure has grown..this old man is happy. It's quite the dangerous growth though.
"I did that though..the muscle of the ogres is too hard that I couldn't twist it.."
"That's why you have to aim for the junctions in the muscles and thrust it there. If they seriously tense their muscles then there's no way to pull it out after all."
Toris added from the side. Certainly, regardless of whether it's the arm, thighs, or stomach if you go too far with stabbing then it's not easy to get back out. Though since she's a dwarf and her level has gone up quite a bit I think Gwine could do it with her grip strength. Recently Gwine's upper arms have become something amazing.
"Well, I'm sure things won't go well from the start. I think it's fine if you get used to it over time."
Ralpha says common sense while peeling a tangerine. I guess so. That's exactly right.
"However, everyone sure is amazing..Even though there's a lot of women..I've started to think I'm pathetic."
"Oh my? Thanks. But we really aren't much at all. The amazing one is Al-san."
Bel..I'm happy you're saying that but if you praise me too much I'll get arrogant so stop it. And I think it's true that everyone's gotten pretty amazing. We had a good pace going today and managed to defeat a total of 8 ogres in three battles in the morning but the only time I had to help was the time there were 4 of them. Since we noticed them first before they started moving I took 1 out and then before they got over here I killed just 1 more. Even if it's two ogres at a time you all can fight without danger.
"Saji-san, it's fine if you don't take it to mind so much. It's just as this person said in the morning, you'll quickly make up to where everyone else is. Just get used to it slowly without being impatient."
Miduchi said that before throwing one of the chambers of the tangerine into her mouth. I heard the sound of her biting into a seed. I'm sure it was bitter. She made a pathetic face and then hid her mouth while spitting it out.

................
We defeated 7 ogres in the afternoon and that was the end for today. I can't stop the smiling in front of the 15 magic stones. The total identify value is 1821450. That's over 12,500,000 Z if we sell them. Roughly the value of one ogre is about 100,000 - 130,000, the magic stone that has the highest demand is the ones that are worth around 1,000,000 Z sold at the magic tool shop. If it's put inside of a lightning magic tool that's about that of a 40W light and the average family doesn't waste it then it will last for about 30 years but if it comes to a bar or place that works through the night using them as lightning then this level will only last about a year. Stoves consume even more. Compared to those I'm sure the refrigerator that has a low hourly consumption rate but has to be left on through the day consumes them at an amazing rate.
That's why other than the really high cla.s.s stores they only use at most one or two lightning magic tools and if they have two of them they're basically mid-range stores. Even that "Emerald Duke Club Reception Hall", putting aside the waiting room, it uses lamps for the individual rooms you play with the prost.i.tutes in.
Since refrigerators that use ice houses are common the demand for ice from an ice maker is pretty high as well. Magicians who can use water and fire magic at a high level can earn a bonus to their income by selling ice to and ice dealer (around 1,000 Z per 1 ton). In order to sell it at a practical level you need to use at least 8 MP and since it's just elemental magic so the amount of experience point gained is like two digits of less than 1 point (the higher the magic level goes up the more difficult it is to gain experience while using only elemental magic) so it can't really be called a very profitable part-time job though. At most a retired former adventurer will sell a couple tons every day.
Since the technology of using airtight methods in refrigerators is extremely crude they usually just wrap around 40-50 Kg of ice in a cloth into a normal two door refrigerator (they have ice inside of small durable doors) but in the summer it only lasts about 2-3 days and even in the winter it melts in about 2 weeks. Since the temperature it refrigerates at is around 10 degrees it's no comparison with the abilities of the refrigerator magic tool.
Since there's circ.u.mstances like those and just because the capital is right next to Baldukk, it's a grateful thing for us since the demand for magic stones is high. If it was the capital of Marquis Webdos territory, Keel and such places are too far in the remote regions so I'm sure it wouldn't be like this. That's why if it's not a place with a lot of n.o.bles, rich people, and bars then you can't sell a lot. So you could say we're contributing to the amount of time the stores in the capital can do business.
Also, I only found out about it recently but in regards to that magic stone powder you use when making contracts. If you prepare a lot of that. Then you mix a minuscule amount in with the normal compost you use when making fertilizer, rather, and it seems like you can somewhat increase the amount of your harvests over the overall planting area. The ratio is something like 0.001%. If you're making around 1 ton of compost then you would usually mix in about 100 grams or so (putting the labor aside it's about 50 goblin magic stones, with a value of about 70,000 - 80,000 Z to make that amount) and mix that.
When you're making this fertilizer you dilute it down about 10 times and then when the seedlings of the wheat are around 15 cm or so you dilute it another 20-30 times and spread it around the seedlings without putting it directly on them. It seems the way to use the fertilizer is the same as normal agriculture. By doing this it seems you can increase the harvest amount by close to 5%. Since you can basically get 1.5 more from just 1 ton of compost this is a pretty big boost.
Last year when I found out about this even though there was only 10 days before older brother comes, I ended up writing a letter home from how excited I was. It seems to be the latest research results of over 100 years of the country's ministry of agriculture. Toris happily wrote a letter to his home the same as me but Bel just said one word of Hmph, and lost interest and Toris and I were daunted by that att.i.tude.
We all took dinner together and since the amount of food we have is limited we watch as Ralpha's request for seconds is rejected by Giberuti while talking with Miduchi about our earnings so far this time.
After that took some showers and drank some tea while resting and taking it easy, then went to sleep early in preparation for tomorrow.
................
"..The trembling still hasn't stopped..I..I'm scared.."
"Since it's your first time it probably can't be helped..I was scared my first time as well.."
In the middle of the night, I opened my eyes hearing some whispering voices. I guess I'll go and take a p.i.s.s? My body is saying it doesn't want to leave the warm blanket but when I became aware of it I feel I have to go. It can't be helped..N? j.a.panese?
"Th..the sensation of stabbing monsters won't disappear.."
"You don't need to worry about it so much.."
"Yeah, I understand that. I intended to understand it..but.."
"Well, I understand your feelings. If you think you can sleep then it's fine if you do. It would be good if we could prepare something warm to drink but since I can't use water magic..I'm sorry."
"Ah, no, it's fine. I doubt I can fall asleep so easily, I'm just happy you're willing to listen to my story."
"Is that so..Then that's good though.."
"I need to earn some money..after all..I need to earn it and then go and pick up Cathy.."
"That's right, give it your best."
"Yeah, that's right isn't it. I give it my best to earn and then I'm going to get married. I'll make her happy.."
"I'm jealous of your wife."
"Wa ha...I still haven't married her, it's too soon to call her my wife. But together with everyone, I'm glad I was able to meet with people from j.a.pan...Being freed from being a slave, even being given such a good job.."
So it's Basutoral and Gwine who are on lookout? Today Zenom and I are on the last lookout and they were before that so it should be between 2 and 4 right now.
"Even though I'm sure Faruerugaz-san and Hirosukol-san aren't bad people either. I wonder why Al-san didn't invite them.."
"That's right. Since I'm in debt to them as well I think it would have been rea.s.suring to work together with them but since it seemed like they were knights, Rodrick, Faruergaz-san is the eldest son of a Count, and since it seems that Hriosukol-san was originally quite the older person as well. Since something like that happened at the start, wasn't it difficult for them to lower their heads maybe.."
Oh, so that Tiger-man knight was an elderly person, that explains why he had that way of speaking. I'm sure everyone around him looks like brats and he couldn't help it. Adding to that I'm sure his feelings have gotten younger so I'm sure it's not unreasonable.
"By the way, what you guys mentioned before..that is..in regards to making a country but.."
"Yes?"
"Honestly speaking, I don't really get it..Please don't take this the wrong way but I feel like my hands are full with what's in front of me so I can't think that far."
"If I think about Saji-san's current situation then I'm sure that's the case. I don't think it can be helped."
"That's why, when Fio and Hirosukol-san said something like it can't be done, or that you were being deceived I couldn't say anything. Of course, if you think about it with common sense I think it's impossible. But, I don't think it's completely no good right.."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, this is a world where there's no bombs or airplanes and the wars are only at the level of the warring states era right? Isn't it possible to do depending on how you go about it? is what I thought. Since I'm a boy as well.."
"Hn~ I don't really care either way. I think Saji-san would understand but my parents were killed by monsters, and since I wasn't sure what to do, I thought it would just be no problem as long as I can earn money.."
What are you saying..in a place like this. Rather than what should I do about taking a p.i.s.s. It's gotten difficult to get up. Since I'm enduring it partway through I can't care to listen too much.
"Right..you have to start off with being able to eat or else things don't start...Ah, that's right, is it really true if we sell the magic stones from today it's 10,000,000 Z?"
"If they're at that size and color with 15 of them then I think so?"
"Ku...alright..In just a single day that means I earned over 100,000..That's amazing~ it's really like a dream."
"If you give your best you can double the amount I think."
"That's right! That. It's really amazing..If it was 200,000 every day then that's 6,000,000 in just a single month. I can repay my debt and buy Cathy..not just that I could become a rich person after that I think.."
"..As expected staying on the 7th floor every day is unreasonable.."
"Is that so? I mean, Al-san was able to make it through the 6th floor with just him and a slave the two of them right? Even today it was amazing~ Didn't he take out an ogre in just a single attack..Isn't it simple?"
"That's true but that person is special. Everyone, is frantic. In the first place your feelings won't hold out. Even this time, since we have the new years holiday after it's something like preparations for going to the 8th floor and on but if I were to speak honestly I think it's going to be quite exhausting from here on out."
"Ah..sorry..that's right isn't it. I, wasn't useful at anything...All I did on the way here was stab monsters that Miduchi-san froze and made it so they couldn't move..And I'm just finishing off the ogres that everyone's weakened..Not to mention I'm getting scared over that..even though there's girls as well.."
"It can't be helped since it's your first time..Even on my first time we didn't come down this far, since Basutoral has come down to the 7th floor all of a sudden. I don't think it can be helped that you're afraid."
Mufu...My bladder feels like it's going to rupture. Going off their conversation I think it should be fine for me to get up pretty soon? I guess?
"U~n~"
I made some noise while rolling around in my blanket to show I've just woken up and then left my blanket and rushed out the room. When I entered the pa.s.sage and was sure they couldn't see I went pigeon-toed and trembled while somehow moving to the place where there was dirt. Of course there's no time to waste so I started pulling my pants down on the way. Right as I arrived at the toilet it was time to drain the dam.
....Fu...
I shut away my son who's recently started to vaguely show his head from the end recently and then washed my hands before returning to the room.
"..Good~ morning~ what time is it?"
"Good morning, Al-san."
"Go..Good morning to you too."
I said it while seeming tired and put some beans and boiling water into my flask while preparing bean tea for three.
"It's around 3:30."
I hand out a cup to Gwine while responds. What the, so there was still 30 minutes left before my shift?
"So I guess it's about time to shift..I'll go take a shower after drinking this.."
Since Basutoral is pleased as well, we need to earn. Of course, in order to achieve our objectives.