第１４６掘：ゆっくりさせる気がないこの駄女神 (Part1)
**Dungeon 146: This Useless Goddess Has No Intention of Letting Me Relax**
**Side: Yuki**
"Hey, hey! Congratulations on defeating the Demon Lord."
Right in front of me, the very person who dragged me into this other world was helping herself to the remaining cookies in my private banquet hall.
"What’s the occasion? You’re the one who reached out to me."
I sat down across from her, poured some tea, and faced the useless goddess.
Ever since the Lilishe incident, she’s started showing her face around here more often. Usually, she’s just busy, popping in to snatch some dinner or offer advice to my wives, but she rarely speaks to me directly.
Well, she *does* talk, but it’s usually about how busy she is or the state of other worlds—the kind of stuff I couldn't possibly let my wives hear. So, for her to be offering praise for my actions? Something is definitely up.
"What is it? If you’re praising me, does that mean there’s some kind of bonus?"
"Yes, I’m giving you one."
"Don't tell me you're planning to warp me to another region."
"Eh!?"
Bullseye.
"How did you know?"
"Because that’s not a bonus at all. It’s a total nuisance."
"Hey! Answer my question. Besides, you’d be gaining control over another territory. That’s nothing but a bonus, right?"
"What are you talking about? You know my stance. Expanding my direct jurisdiction is a pain—or rather, things here aren't even stable yet. It would be idiotic to spread myself thinner. And to answer your question, Luna: you just want me to take the DP I’ve accumulated here and spread it to other regions, right?"
"Ugh, you figured that out too?"
"I had a hunch. If the world’s mana could be circulated just by building dungeons, there would be no need to appoint Dungeon Masters in the first place. You could just place dungeons wherever you saw fit and let the mana circulate on its own. You show up here often enough; I’m not buying the 'I’m too busy' excuse anymore."
See, the reason I came to this world was to circulate the planet’s mana. Luna’s explanation was that dungeons collect mana and cycle it back into the planet. I know that part is true because I’m doing it.
But the method of circulation? I’d assumed it was all handled by the dungeons, but each dungeon is independent. They each have their own masters. That led me to a hypothesis.
"Dungeons were originally meant to be connected, weren't they? Like a parent company and its subsidiaries?"
"…Yes. The idea was for regions that earned a lot of DP to send mana to regions with less… to spread it out."
"You tried to apply Japanese corporate logic here and failed, didn't you?"
"…Shut up. My expectations were too optimistic. Since the title of 'God' carries weight here, I just gave orders from above, but in the end, it was all about individual greed rather than cooperation. It became a problem before we could even talk about coordination. My ideal was to have those who gathered a certain amount of mana act as the headquarters, but it’s all a mess now."
"I bet you told them the world would end in a few thousand years because the mana would dry up, right?"
"Exactly."
"That’s impossible. Even on Earth, where global environmental issues like climate change are backed by hard data, the world still can't get its act together. You think the locals you picked at random are going to actually do it? Unlike Earth, they can't even see the numbers or the reality of the problem. They’ll just think, 'I was chosen by a god,' and do whatever they want."
"That’s why I brought you here."
Right. Because I secured a massive amount of DP and mana in a short time, Luna recognized me as the 'parent company.'
"So, I assume accepting this 'bonus' is basically mandatory?"
"Yes. The mana in that continent is almost completely depleted. If we don't build a dungeon and start circulating mana immediately, it will take an immense amount of time, effort, and mana to start from zero."
"Ah, like trying to turn a desert green?"
"Something like that. I need you to move as soon as possible. I’ve already set up a gate in the deepest part of your dungeon."
"Hey, don't just go connecting things on your own! Don't link the dungeons without me knowing the situation on the other side. That’s incredibly annoying."
"Don't worry. Though, I suppose you won't agree to it as you are now."
"Obviously. I have no intention of putting my wives and the people of Weed in danger."
"That’s why, this time, I’ll provide full support as a request from me."
"No, if that’s the case, just use your divine power and do it yourself."
"You know full well that would only be delaying the inevitable!!"
"Yeah, I know. What matters is that the people living there recognize the problem and act on it themselves. And the fact that you’re offering 'support' just proves you know this isn't a real bonus, doesn't it?"
"…I’ll prepare something else, so just forgive me."
Something else, huh? There isn't much I really want. If she gave me a bunch of modern weapons for free, given the political climate of this continent, it would likely just fuel the escalation of war. That would force us to manage it strictly, which would lead to us being eyed by other nations like Rumel, making it harder for us to move freely.
Right now, our modern weaponry isn't publicly known, and in military operations, we’ve only used them during the annihilation of the Ranks. It’s all within the realm of what can be explained by magic. Weed is recognized as a small nation with strong soldiers, nothing more.
So, I can’t use my DP to force a strategy on this new continent like Luna wants. It has to be for self-defense only. If I used that kind of firepower for an invasion, we’d end up in a situation like Rumel. And those cheat weapons you see in games and stories? Those are out too. Too much excessive force.
Well, I wouldn't hold back on anything for my wives, though.
"Oh? So MS and AC units are fine?"
"Those are just for my hobbies. If I use them in a war, it’ll just lead to more trouble."
The same goes for the Mobile Suits and Armored Cores.