Enemies use it too
Return to Rirya’s room.
There she was, warming an egg.
Carefully wrapping it with the tail of a snake, guarding it like it was her own.
I paused for a moment, watching.
A kind of sacred motherhood radiating from her.
"Envoy-sama."
"Good, stay still."
I stopped Rirya from rising.
"How are you feeling?"
"Yes, I think it’ll hatch soon. I can feel it inside now."
"Hmm."
I nodded, eyes on the egg.
Hard to tell just by looking, but if she says it’s real, then it must be.
"I’ve prepared a few things. The room over there—three blocks down— I turned it into a fruit grove. Planted trees of all kinds, set up a system that lets them water themselves, added lighting too. As long as you don’t cut them down, they’ll keep bearing fruit—can you eat the fruit?"
"Yes. I like them better than meat or fish—no choking on bones."
"Huh?"
"I mean, I can swallow them whole."
"Oh. So they don’t get stuck in your throat?"
That hadn’t occurred to me.
"And I placed a chest in the other room. It’s full of valuable stuff, but bulky. Once you grab it, your hands are full—you’ll have to leave the room. That’s how I’m making sure they leave satisfied. So don’t go near that room."
Guess Rirya’s worth quite a bit more than I thought. That’d be tempting for any intruder.
"Thank you."
"Then, on the opposite side, I made a fake queen’s chamber. Not dismantled—just smashed with regular weapons. Ruins after an attack. I’m going for the ‘abandoned nest after a human raid’ vibe. It’s meant to scare them off, so you really shouldn’t go near that one either."
"Thank you."
"And—"
I kept explaining one after another to Rirya.
Not building a town. Building a dungeon.
I made a system to repel intruders, but even more so, I set up a way to trick them into leaving on their own.
Unlike the towns under my control, I can't station defense troops here.
So instead of forcing them out, I made it easier for them to just... go home.
I thought to myself, *Damn, I'm being awfully roundabout about this.* Maybe it would’ve been better to just force it through law or the king’s authority—something more direct. But for now, this’ll do.
“Messenger-sama…”
“Huh?”
“Messenger-sama is really amazing. In no time at all, you’ve made something we couldn’t even imagine—amazing!”
“Tachi?”
“Our family. Mom, and her mom, and her mom before that—all of them just dug deep, stayed hidden, and avoided contact as much as possible.”
“Hmm. I’d like to hear about that expertise someday.”
“Eh?”
Rira, stunned.
“W-well, it’s not really anything special…”
"Can't say for sure. Some things they think are nothing at all end up being pretty impressive anyway."
"Is that so?"
"Menu open."
Pulling out DORECA, I emergency-produced ice cream using magic.
Used up fifty thousand mana.
"Want some? It's called ice cream. Sweet, cold, and delicious."
"Sweet and cold...? Really? It's amazing! I've never tasted anything like this!"
"Even this is just one of the 'nothing special' things. Now that I think about it, fifty thousand mana is a lot."
"Ah... yes."
Rirya understood what I meant and nodded.
"Besides, the fun is in combining little things—things that seem pointless—and turning them into something big. That's the basics of making stuff."
"Is that right? I see. Next time, I'll show you my mother's nest."
"Ah, do that."
"Master."
Oliga arrived.
"An intruder has appeared."
Rirya's body tensed.
Her face tightened. She tucked the egg behind her body, guarding it more tightly.
“How’d it go?”
“After seeing the fake queen’s room, I came back. She said, ‘Tch, got played,’ then smashed the room apart. That’s what happened.”
Hearing the intruder was gone, Lila visibly relaxed.
“Sulking. Leave the room broken. Let’s keep the real adventurer’s wreckage. Appreciate it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Finishing her report, Oliga waddled off with a stiff gait.
“You’re amazing, messenger.”
“Huh?”
“If it were me, I’d have fixed that place.”
“Use what’s there. Nothing special.”
“Yes, messenger, you’re amazing.”
Lila said that, warming the egg, her face growing even more adoring.