第２０掘：モーブ…アウト！！ (Part1)
**Dungeon Floor 20: Mauve… Out!!**
Mauve… Out!!
A group of newcomers—humans—has finally arrived at the dungeon. It’s been a while since I’ve had fresh faces. Things have been so hectic lately that I’m only just now able to properly begin managing the dungeon.
For those of you thinking that what we’ve done so far was already the mid-game, or that this was some "impossible game without a tutorial," I’m sorry to disappoint. I’ve finally gathered enough data to prepare for the grand opening.
To me, this whole "dungeon management" project sounded like someone saying, "I’m opening a convenience store in a war zone. Send me a quote!"
So, I gathered information. Luckily, I managed to get to know some royalty and skilled adventurers, and somehow, I secured the official operating permit from the kingdom.
But I digress. The "newcomers" are the slaves I asked Mauve and his group to procure.
Mostly—no, *entirely*—young women. That was my instruction. I won’t deny there was a "harem, woo-hoo!" motive behind it, but more than that, I needed reliable pawns. There are various reasons for it, but if I’m being honest, it’s mostly "boobs! Boobs!"... I really need to stay calm.
No matter how beautiful they are, I truly want to avoid princesses, drill-haired princesses, or saintesses representing some nation. When I think about the future, I can’t even let my imagination run wild anymore.
Well, never mind my delusions. I’m going to use Mauve and his friends as the sacrificial lambs.
"Alright, Mauve, you’ve gone ahead and purchased the slaves. I’m going to start by analyzing and criticizing your taste in women."
"Hey, wait! You said 'criticizing'! Is that already decided?"
"Well, well, it’s just the petty resentment of a guy who can’t leave this place, so don’t worry about it."
"I *am* going to worry about it!"
"Anyway, let’s get on with it. Start by introducing them, Mauve."
I’ll handle things my way and cut them off as I please. They might have complaints, but they’ll just have to endure it for the sake of my circumstances.
"Fine. I’ll start with the general overview. As you can see, we bought nine of them. Sorry, but we couldn't get every single race. Some are extremely expensive, and others are just plain rare."
"Well, that’s to be expected. So, three per person?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to choose them all by myself since you said you’d be judging my taste."
"Tch, should’ve timed that better. By the way, there are no issues with the slave contracts, right?"
"Yeah. Though, it doesn't really matter if we’re providing protection here. For now, they’re officially registered as slaves to the three of us."
"I see. I’ll ask you three as well—are there any girls you want to keep for yourselves?"
"No. We’re stable as a trio. Adding an amateur into the mix would just ruin the balance."
"Fair enough. Let’s start with the introductions."
As I stood before the nine slave girls, they all flinched slightly. It seems they haven't been treated very well.
"Now, I don’t know how much Mauve and his group have told you, but my name is Yuki. I am your employer."
At that, a girl with long ears reacted and asked a question. An elf, I presume? Her figure doesn't follow the standard trope; she’s quite curvaceous.
"…Excuse me, but are you not treating us as slaves? What do you mean by 'employ'…?"
"Ah, I’m not going to treat you like slaves. I have something I want to do, and I need your cooperation."
"…Cooperation? Wouldn't it be better to treat us as slaves?"
"Heh heh heh… well, there’s no point in hiding it. You might find your days here even harder than being a slave."
When I said that, everyone’s face twisted in discomfort.
"Hey, hey, you don’t have to scare them like that. It’s pathetic."
"Calm down, Mauve. That’s just Yuki’s way of being considerate. They have to manage and protect this place from now on."
"Coming from you, Curse, that carries some weight. Considering you ran away."
"That hits a sore spot."
Curse tried to back me up, but Raiya poked at his weak point, making him wince.
"Manage this place? What do you mean?"
The elf girl tilted her head, confused.
"It’s simple. Elju-sama—though she is deceased—successfully managed to control the dungeon core. There’s talk of building a village and a town here. The current ownership belongs to her sister, Seraria-sama."
"…So we were brought here as an experiment."
She’s quite sharp. If she’s educated, she could really grow.
"No, your safety is guaranteed. What I want to do here is something else."
"Something else?"
"If it’s not an experiment, why were you called here? It’s simple: it’s Elju-sama’s wish. She wanted a place where people who lost their homes and families in the war could live in peace…"
"Elju-sama did…"
"The plan is to gather former slaves here, set them free, and create a safe haven. The first thing we need is manpower. You’ll cooperate after hearing this, right? That said, I can’t just put anyone in charge. The wish is for this place to be built primarily by the former slaves themselves."
Thank goodness for Elju-sama. Thanks to her, my existence can remain completely unknown. The safest thing in the world is to be invisible. That way, no one will ever target me. I can just stay here, quietly and leisurely, as a Dungeon Master.
"But, I… no, none of us have any experience in building a village or town…"
She looked at the other slaves, who shook their heads in agreement.
"Don’t worry about that. That’s what Mauve and his group are here to support. First, I want you to tell me what’s necessary to build a village here, and teach me about the cultural differences between the various races. We’re planning to have many different races gather here, and I want to identify potential problems early on. I’m asking for your cooperation."
"…If we can’t produce results or cooperate, will we be kicked out?"
"That won’t happen. However, since you’ll be seeing and hearing things related to the management of this place, I’ll have to ask you to keep quiet about matters that shouldn't be made public."