第３５掘：メロンの気持ち (Part2)
"We'll need personnel capable of handling rougher work eventually. Well, that's still a ways off, but it wouldn't hurt to keep it in mind."
While I was lost in thought, the conversation seemed to be moving forward.
"In that case, shall we leave the first and second floors as blank zones for defense?"
"Um, Big Brother... I'm sorry. Yuki-san, I have a question."
Aslin had called him "Big Brother."
She is incredibly fond of Yuki.
I don't think it's in a romantic sense, but she was the one who said it herself: if she were to have an older brother, wouldn't he be someone like Yuki-san?
Yuki’s eyes widened for a split second at how Aslin addressed him, but he immediately broke into a smile. I can feel the warmth radiating from him.
"Aslin, there's no need to apologize. I'm not a man who can do anything particularly special, but if you're fine with that, you can call me brother. That goes for you too, Firia, right?"
"R-really?! I'll call you Brother! Brother!!"
"Big Brother is wonderful!! It's okay!!"
Both of them look so happy as he pats their heads.
Everyone has paused the meeting to soften up at the sight.
You two are wonderful, Aslin, Firia.
I truly think you are angels.
"Um, excuse me. Aslin-chan, Firia-chan. You can call me Big Sister, too, if you'd like?"
Elju-sama, having been struck by the angels, stepped forward.
"Eh, but... Elju-sama is a Saintess..."
"U-um, Oriel-san is..."
"I am no longer a Saintess... Oriel!! I will not allow you to interfere!!"
"...I have no objections. Please, call Elju-sama 'Sister'..."
Oriel, you really have it rough.
Well, I can understand why she feels that way after what Aslin and Firia said to her back then... but she really is thoughtless sometimes.
"E-Elju Big Sister!!"
"Elju Sister!!"
"Kyaa!! Yes, I am your sister!! I finally understand how Chii-sister felt!"
Elju-sama, looking blissful as she lifts Aslin and Firia into her arms... she really is just a fool.
"That's enough of that. Aslin, you had a question for me, right?"
"Ah, yes. Big Brother, even though we're inside a dungeon, why is there a sky, and why does it turn into night?"
"That's something I create by spending DP. You can change the weather freely, too. Well, if you limit it to certain seasons or specific climates, it gets cheaper."
I see. So that's why it turned to night and had a starry sky at the inn.
"Wait a moment. Big Brother, we will need weather in the future, but just out of curiosity, how much DP does that cost?"
"Let's see, for the bottom floor of the inn we're in right now, it costs 5,000 DP to be able to change the weather freely."
"Gah!? Wait, even though we just earned 500,000 DP, that's... expensive, isn't it?"
"I wonder. If the space is small, it might be pricey, but it's set per floor. If each floor is spacious, wouldn't it be a pretty good deal?"
"I see. We should make the agricultural and livestock floors as large as possible. There's no merit in creating unnecessary floors just to sink 5,000 DP into them."
"Well, that's true. ...Wait a second. If I make a floor that only snows... I could ski and snowboard to my heart's content!! I just realized something amazing!! This dungeon is a paradise for leisure, isn't it?"
Yuki is off in his own world, convinced and delighted.
What is this "skiing" and "snowboarding" he's talking about?
When I look at the image in Yuki's mind, I see someone sliding over snow with wooden boards attached to their feet.
My, so you can use things like that for play.
"And once I spread the word, I'll hold a mini Winter Olympics..."
Just as Yuki was saying that, a screen from a Call suddenly opened in front of him.
What was projected there was...
『Yuki, why are you making such a strange face? I've finished most of the preparations on this end. I'd like to report back, is that alright? You must be happy, right? We haven't seen each other's faces in a while. You can just be honest and say you're happy to see Seraria's face, you know?』
The moment I saw that face, I felt a surge of irritation.
I'm quite busy today, you see. My apologies.