第４０４堀：ゲートの経済説明と溜まる悪感情 (Part1)
### Chapter 404: The Economics of the Gate and Growing Resentment
**Side: Yuki**
"Haa... tea tastes so good."
I was relaxing in my office, sipping on some tea.
"It really is delicious, isn't it? I feel like you’ve been living on nothing but energy drinks lately."
"Indeed. Though, I suppose those have their place."
Ria and Jessica replied while enjoying their own tea.
They weren't wrong. When I was working on the reports, my desk hadn't been cluttered with tea cups, but rather a chaotic sprawl of energy drink cans and bottles.
"Mm. Optimal for quick nutritional replenishment. Appropriate for that battlefield."
As Cleena said, it was the right tool for the "battlefield" of pulling three all-nighters in a row.
Because of a variety of overlapping factors, I had forced through an unreasonable operation. Delaying the summary report would have been problematic and could have caused us to stumble in our future developments, so I had finished it in a rush.
It was what you might call "crunch mode"—the kind of state where manga artists or doujin creators burn their lives away to finish a manuscript.
I was usually on the reading side of things, so I’d only helped out a few times. Even so, I vividly remembered the gruesome state of things during those crunch sessions, back when I was just helping with the solid black fills.
I never imagined that after coming to another world, I’d be the one experiencing it myself.
I regretted installing electric lights and other light sources just so I could work through the night.
"I agree with the sentiment, but I would like you to stop doing that in the future. For our sake, and for your own, Yuki-sama. Milly-san was panicking and crying, you know. She was worried about the toll it might take on the child."
"I’ll be careful from now on."
I offered a sincere apology to Samantha for her rebuke.
Even if it was for Milly’s sake, I realized now that I had pushed myself too hard and gone overboard.
My wives were the type to worry even if I just pushed myself a little; after three all-nighters, they were naturally even more concerned.
At the time, I had been desperate to ensure that Milly could welcome her childbirth in peace and comfort.
Once that was achieved, the feeling of finally being able to openly celebrate the pregnancy she had been hiding took precedence.
I mean, if she kept her pregnancy a secret because she was worried about me, wouldn't that make me a failure of a husband? That’s what I thought.
Well, Milly is currently taking maternity leave at home, so everything is for the best.
As for the New Continent, the fine-tuning and cleanup are being handled there, so I don't need to intervene for a while.
In other words, for the first time in a long while, I can actually relax.
Well, Weed had been somewhat neglected due to the New Continent affairs, so I still have to deal with that backlog.
However, the political and economic aspects were divided up from the start, and most of the representatives have already changed, which has reduced the burden on my wives. The documents I need to sign off on are mostly related to mana depletion or the trends of various countries.
Since I’ve already processed the urgent matters, what remains isn't all that critical, so I can take my time with it.
"However, looking at these Weed reports, the economic situation is truly unbelievable. Even a soldier like me can understand that much..."
Jessica, as if remembering something, set down her tea and looked over Weed’s annual balance report.
Hearing that, Cleena also looked over the documents, but only tilted her head.
"...I don't really get it. Is it that impressive? Samantha?"
Well, it’s normal not to understand.
The scale of a nation’s annual balance is usually so vast that it’s hard to judge what’s normal.
"I suppose so. To be honest, the figures are impossibly high. Weed is essentially a nation consisting of only one city. It looks vast because it spans the upper and lower levels of the dungeon, but that’s just an illusion; at best, it’s like a slightly large city and a granary region of a major power. And yet, the amount of money flowing into Weed far exceeds the balance of my homeland, Roday, or the royal capital of Cleena-san’s homeland, August."
"...That is amazing."
"Because of the differences in currency value, I can't say for certain, but it’s roughly three times higher."
"Yes, even the military budget is five times larger than Zilba’s. Even I can tell that much."
"I see. I’m the same as Cleena—I don't understand money matters. I’m just Yuki-san’s guard. But why is there such a difference? Yuki-san?"
Ria asked, looking puzzled.
...Hmm. How should I explain this so Ria can understand?
Well, rather than overthinking it, I’ll just explain it plainly.
"Simply put, it’s thanks to installing the dungeon gates."
"Oh, so that’s why so many merchants and people come here, and why the tax revenue is so high."
"...I see. That makes sense."
Yeah. They understood, but it’s not actually that simple.
...Should I teach them the deeper side of it?
As I wondered what to do, Samantha spoke up.
"Indeed, as the two of you said, the increased flow of people like merchants is one reason. But that isn't the only reason, which is why Yuki-sama said it was 'thanks to installing the gates'."
"...What do you mean, Jessica?"
"...I don't really get it."
"Haa. Well, you two were originally a villager and a seeker of magic, so I suppose you have no interest in these things."
As Jessica said, Ria changed her job from a villager to a Hero, and Cleena is a pure mage with no interest in politics. Cleena’s grandfather is a court magic advisor for August, so he could probably handle politics, but Cleena is so painfully shy that she only came to the Academy to improve that... so it’s natural she wouldn't know these things.
I see—the more talented someone is at being a villager or a specialist, the easier they are to use.
It means the pieces I can think of are inappropriate. Especially disposable Heroes.
In that sense, Ria and Cleena are the type who would faithfully head off to defeat the Demon Lord under a country's orders in a story.
Haa, I’m glad I was able to protect them. Well, in Ria’s case, Lilishe sort of just certified her as a Hero on a whim.
"However, we are now Yuki’s wives. It’s impossible for me to expect you to know everything, and I won't ask that of you, but grasping the basics can be a help to Yuki. Since this is a good opportunity, let me explain why the gates have resulted in a balance that exceeds the major powers of the New Continent. Is that alright, Yuki?"
"If they don't mind, sure. There’s no point in forcing it on them. What do you think?"
"Yes! I’ll do my best!!"
"...Mm. I haven't touched this field before, so it’s quite interesting."
In truth, because Ria’s main job was being my guard, I had intentionally not taught her these things.
It was the wives' policy. Since my explanations start by overturning the "box of common sense" and building a new container for a different kind of common sense, they said there was a risk Ria would have a mental breakdown and be unable to function as a guard.
No, even if they say that, it’s just the common sense of Japan—or rather, Earth.
As for Cleena, she hasn't been a wife for long, so it can't be helped.
Actually, the fact that Jessica and Samantha understand is what’s abnormal.
Well, I suppose it’s because they were originally in positions where they had to worry about money. A soldier and a duchess—they must have had their fair share of headaches.
Riel says she leaves the difficult stuff to Tori and puffs out her chest, while Tori just cries.
As for Aslin and Firia, it goes without saying. It’s still too early for them to understand such things.
As I was thinking about this, Jessica and Samantha pulled over a whiteboard and began to prepare for a full-scale explanation.
In the center of the whiteboard, a picture of a gate was drawn, with the words "What the Gate Brings" written at the top.
"Now, first, as Ria said, the movement of merchants and people has become easier, which has activated the economy."
Saying that, she wrote down: *Increased circulation of people leads to an active economy.*
"However, as Samantha said, this is not the only cause."
"Or rather, this should be called the final result."