The Dungeon is a dangerous place, but as you descend, you eventually encounter a "safe floor" where monsters do not spawn.
And even in such a place, human greed drives people to set up shop and make a profit.
An outlaw town located on an island in the center of the lake on the 18th Floor.
That was the place known as "Rivira's Village."
"Bors~ I'm back!"
"Gyaaaaaah! Get away from me, you demon!"
"The bomber! The bomber has returnednnnn!"
The strongest man in Rivira's Village and its representative, the Level 3 adventurer Bors Elder.
Right now, however, he was my punching bag.
No, wait. It hasn't been that long since I last passed through, so was it still breakfast time?
Come to think of it, how many days have I been inside the Dungeon now?
I feel like I'm starting to lose my sense of time. That's a dangerous sign.
I should finish up my business here and head home as soon as possible.
"What, what is it?! Why are you here again!? You already cleaned me out last time!"
"Ah, sorry. I used almost all of that up recently. The request I took this time required quite a bit."
"Gaaaaah!"
Bors went berserk.
But what could he do?
In this outlaw town, the weak are the guilty ones.
"Don't be like that. It's a fair-market deal. You aren't losing anything."
"You shameless demon...! Where do you think the transport fees and storage costs come from, huh?! Do you think I survive without eating?!"
"Anyone listening would think you were the one who actually dug everything up yourself."
And that was the truth.
The terms of the deal between Bors and me were simple.
I paid in cold, hard cash.
In exchange, Bors sold me the herbs and drop items he had in stock at the exact quantity I requested, and at the base price.
To any observer, it was a deal that was endlessly unfair to Bors.
Perhaps on the surface, it would be different.
But here, even on a safe floor, monsters still roam, making it a perilous place. Once you remove the risk premium from the goods, there's almost no profit left.
And yet, he spouts this nonsense despite the fact that he doesn't gather the items himself—he mostly buys them for next to nothing from his underlings or passing adventurers.
It really rubs me the wrong way.
"In that case, it can't be helped. Let's end the deal here. I won't have to go through the trouble, and you'll make more money. A win-win."
"Huh? Ah, no. That's not what I meant... Come on, don't be so cold between friends. Here, here. Have a nice cold glass of water and let's talk this over calmly."
"Water, my ass. Bring me some fruit wine."
"Of course, of course! Hey, one deliciously chilled fruit wine over here!"
At the end of the day, I hold all the cards, and Bors is just the subordinate.
The reason? As of now, Rivira's Village has been destroyed exactly 332 times.
This current version is the 333rd Rivira's Village.
It has suffered countless monster attacks and been rebuilt through immense sacrifice.
But recently, there hasn't been a single casualty.
A perfect safe zone within the Dungeon.
That is the current state of Rivira's Village, and I am the one who made it possible.
"Hmm, doesn't look like there are any problems. It hasn't been long since my last visit, either. Anything unusual happen in the meantime?"
"Not really. Some clueless party got chased all the way here by monsters recently, but as usual, they were intercepted by the barrier's artillery as soon as they got close. Other than that, it's been perfectly quiet."
"Is that so? Well, as the one who installed it, I'm glad to hear it's working without issues."
I half-listened to Bors while carefully inspecting the barrier surrounding the village.
This barrier dates back two years.
It happened shortly after I first met Lili and Tiona, when I reached the 18th Floor alone for the first time in my life.
Back then, I had accidentally lost all my emergency rations along the way and barely stumbled into Rivira's Village, clutching my starving stomach.
Naturally, I ordered food without a second thought. Unaware of the unspoken rules of the town, I naively complained that they were gouging me because I was an outsider.
Looking back, I was incredibly dense.
Of course, that kind of privileged whining didn't fly with the outlaws here. Before I knew it, my wallet had been pickpocketed, and I was accused of being a dine-and-dasher. It was a total disaster.
So, what happened next?
I got so worked up that, in a fit of rage, I just caused a scene.
I really went all out.
Of course, I got my wallet back.
That event marked the 332nd destruction of Rivira's Village. Once I came to my senses, I helped rebuild the town out of guilt and cast barrier magecraft on the outer palisade.
Since then, I've visited occasionally to maintain the barrier, which is how my current relationship with Bors developed.
For him and the villagers, the benefit of having a 100% safe zone in the Dungeon far outweighed the slight losses they took in their deals with me.
Or perhaps they just preferred that over provoking my temper and suffering even greater losses.
"All right. I've checked everything. Internal magic stone scan: normal. [Monster Repellent]: normal. Barrier durability: normal. Artillery output and condition: normal. In short, everything is fine. Ah! Do you have any additional requests?"
"No. It wouldn't be free anyway."
"It is free, though?"
"Really!? Then, you know, could you maybe add a little more here..."
"Just kidding."
"...Shit."
I snickered as I teased Bors, then packed the herbs and drop items he'd gathered from the middle floors into my bag.
Lili helped me from the side.
After all, two pairs of hands are better than one.
The bag swelled up so much it looked ready to burst, but thanks to the lightweight magecraft I'd already cast on it, it was still manageable.
Maybe I should prepare spatial expansion for next time.
Hmm, I wonder if the cost would be worth the benefit.
"Honestly, why does someone of your caliber hang around a place like this? Why not go deeper into the lower floors? With your skills, you'd be set as long as you had a decent party."
"Not interested. I don't have the time."
Bors casually tried to nudge me toward the life of an adventurer.
But of course, I refused flatly.
That one-eyed bastard's real intention was likely just to hitch a ride on my coattails and get safer access to loot from the deeper floors.
But from the start, I've absolutely loathed that kind of physical, fieldwork-heavy labor.
I've said it many times: my dream is to be a perfect shut-in, a researcher who never leaves his room.
Brief visits to the Dungeon for research and material gathering are more than enough.
If I ever venture beyond the middle floors into the lower and deep floors, it will only be after I've thoroughly investigated and finished researching everything in the upper and middle sections.
That probably won't happen for at least another ten years.
"All right, then. I'm off. See you next time, Bors. Make sure you've gathered more by then."
"Tch. Take care on your way back. And make sure you eat."
Our Bors, grumbling and huffing, still saw us off in a surprisingly good-natured way.
For all his bluster, he's a decent guy.
And our mutual trust is actually quite high.
But I will never let that show.
I have no intention of wasting my goodwill on some man's tsundere act.
"At last, we're heading home. If we cash in the loot this time, it should be quite a windfall, An."
"Yeah. It should."
On the way back, Lili was all smiles, grinning from ear to ear.
And yet, even behind that bright smile, her accumulated fatigue was hard to hide.
It made sense. Unlike other adventurers, we hadn't just followed the standard route. We'd spent several days poking around every corner of the upper and middle floors to gather materials.
Let's see... by my estimate, it's been about four days to get here.
We pulled an all-nighter on the first day, ate while moving to save time, and barely slept, taking only short naps as we pushed forward.
We really pushed it hard this time.
For me, aside from the physical movement, it was my usual routine, so I was fine. But for Lili, who is still growing, it must have been a brutal schedule.
I wanted to do something for the girl who worked even harder while everyone else was resting, but what would she like?
That Monsterphilia festival or whatever is probably already over.
Should I secretly give her a little extra pay?
Or maybe...
"Ugh, my brain's fried. Let's just go. I'll sleep on it and think about it after I get home."
"Yes. Let's hurry back and get some sleep, An."
Even my wretched body had started complaining about sleep deprivation, just like Lili.
Dragging our exhausted frames, the two of us headed for the surface using the standard route, unlike the way we descended.
And so, after spending two more days in the Dungeon, we finally saw sunlight again after about six days.
Of course, once we returned, we agreed to meet again tomorrow and immediately split up. Neither of us cared about cashing in or dividing the loot—all we wanted was a deep, uninterrupted sleep.
Ugh, I'm so tired...