Yuri Empire

“Speaking of which―――in this Labyrinth Dungeon, there are no corpses left behind of the demons you defeat?”

“Oh, how did you notice that?”

I’ve been looking at the images while drinking cold tea, and when Estoa saw the scenery after the battle on the screen, she let out a few words.

The people who were exploring the area would have noticed it immediately. I thought it would be surprisingly difficult to notice from a viewer’s point of view. The fact that they were able to detect it right away was a feat of observation.

“I’m sure you’ll agree that your search will be slowed down by the fact that you’ll have to dismantle every single demon corpse that remains. Since this labyrinth is a facility for ‘leveling up’, the corpses of defeated demons are automatically collected to save you the trouble.

If the corpses are left in the corridors, the labyrinth will soon become unsanitary. I hope you can understand that this is an unavoidable specification.”

“I see, that’s what I’ve been told…… So explorers can’t earn money from demon materials?”

“No. We’ll take care of the demons we recover and dismantle them as we see fit. You can get the resulting materials by going to the counter after you’ve finished your search, okay? Of course, we will collect some of the materials as a labor fee.”

“Oh? You can get a decent income, but you won’t be overwhelmed by demon materials while exploring. That might be…… very gratifying.”

“There is a high demand in the market for materials such as meat and leather from demons, but they are bulky to carry around. The meat from the demons we recover will be kept fresh by the government, so you can come and pick it up right after you finish your search, or you can come and pick it up later.”

There is a ward that the <Red Plum> children can deploy called a [Recovery Ward] that will automatically [Recover] any demons that are defeated within the ward. Conveniently, they can even [Dismantle] it.

The materials obtained from the dismantling process are accumulated in designated locations within the ward. The attendant from <Nadeshiko> stores them in the [Samurai Bag] to maintain their condition.

Information such as which and how many demons were defeated in the labyrinth is recorded by the [Camera] beasts that accompany each party.

After the search is completed, the receptionist will pay the material reward based on the record.

“What can I say…… it’s perfect.”

“We are trying to make it as convenient as possible. I hope that some people will be interested in the labyrinth and come to visit.”

Of course, the reason why we have various convenient specifications for the labyrinth is that it brings enough profit to the “Yuri Empire”.

Among the items dropped by the messenger beasts, those that are particularly useful to the Yuri Empire and have many opportunities for consumption. They are not paid as rewards to the explorers but are instead confiscated by the government as a labor fee.

The goal is・・・・・to provide a labyrinth dungeon, ‘a place where anyone can safely raise their level’, and allow explorers to produce materials that are useful to the country.

In other words―――the [Labyrinth Dungeon] run by the Yuri Empire is ‘resource production facilities’.

Of course, there is also the hope that the national economy will flourish as a result of the more active distribution of materials for demons and the growth in the level and work efficiency of the citizens of Yuritania. But that’s just a byproduct of the main goal.

“Sister, are there any treasure chests in the labyrinth?”

“Oh, I see they found it.”

The image showed Altorius and his team standing still in front of a blue treasure chest.

I knew that the treasure chest would be spread as gossip among the explorers once the labyrinth was up and running. I hadn’t intended to talk about the existence of the treasure chest in this broadcast―――but since Altorius and his group had been fortunate enough to find one, I couldn’t help but explain it to the audience.

“As Estoa said, sometimes you can find ‘treasure chests’ in the labyrinth. If you look at the color of the chests, you can tell what’s inside, and in this case, the blue chests contain several items other than equipment. In particular, you can often get Life Potions.”

“Life Potion……! Isn’t that a high-class item!”

“Is it? If that’s the case, it will probably be cheaper in the future. I’m sure the labyrinth dungeon will produce a lot of them.”

Needless to say, the elixir to be enclosed in the treasure chest was produced by the “Dragon’s Bile”. To be more precise, it was mass-produced by a follower of the son of the “Dragon’s Bile”.

It’s an item of little value to Yuri and her friends, but it’s in great demand in the marketplace. You can sell them for money, and of course, they are good for explorers to carry around for themselves.

“Are there other chests besides the blue one?”

“Yes. You can get equipment from the white chests and money from the gold chests. There are also red treasure chests that contain items of high value, though you won’t know what’s inside until you open them.

―――However, red treasure chests are always trapped in some way. You’ll need to be prepared for the risk of opening it or have a thief, scout, or tinkerer accompany you to open it safely.

“Wow, a trap. Do they explode when you open it……?”

“Of course there is such a thing. You are free to open treasure chests at your own risk, but if an explosion trap is activated, the contents may not be safe. You may end up with a lot of pain in the end.”

“It’s sad, isn’t it ……?”

The video just showed Altorius and his team recovering four potions from the blue treasure chest they had opened.

There are two red potions and two blue potions in the box.

The former is a life potion and the latter is a mana potion.

The latter will be especially useful for Altorius party, who can all use healing magic.

“Treasure hunting sounds like a dream and fun. I might want to dive into the labyrinth as soon as possible and look around for treasure chests.”

“Oh, well, I’ll tell you something good Estoa. Treasure chests are often placed in labyrinths, especially in ‘dead ends’, so it might be a good idea to visit such places.”

“Wow, is that so? I’ll have to draw a map then.”

“Yes. If you’re looking for a treasure chest, that would be wise.”

The demons placed in the labyrinth move and stop at random, so they tend to accumulate at dead ends due to their behavioral patterns.

The demons that are defeated are automatically resurrected somewhere on the same level, but conversely, unless they are defeated, they will continue to stay. This is also the reason why monster houses tend to form in places where there is little traffic of explorers, or ‘dead ends’.

So the idea was to use the treasure chest as bait to give the explorers a reason to actively search for dead ends, and get rid of the monsters before they accumulate too much.

“Hmmm, it’s not that dangerous.”

“Yes, it is. They seem to be fighting very well.”

Next, Altorius and his group faced a group of four goblin warriors.

Of course, because of the difference in numbers, one of the goblins immediately retreated, and a fair battle of three by three began.

The goblin warriors are level 21 demons, but they are somewhat strong enemies for their level.

This is because the goblin warrior carries a weapon, albeit a crude one, with a long reach, and the attack power of the weapon is also added.

Even so, Anessa’s handling of the shield was so skillful that even though she was facing two goblin warriors at the same time, she did not receive even a single attack on her body.

This is probably because she usually serves her country as a holy knight and often trains against humans. From her point of view, goblin warriors are much easier to deal with than other demons because they only use the same methods of attack as humans.

As long as the two of them are unable to take down the shields, it’s only a matter of time before the remaining goblin warrior is hunted by Altorius and Sarum, giving them a numerical advantage.

The goblin warrior was cut down by Altorius’s sword and easily defeated.

The remaining two were also defeated in the usual fashion.

“Ah, there’s the transfer gate…”

After the goblins were defeated, there was a “Gate of Light” with a slight phosphorescence.

This morning, Yuri had set up a [Transfer Gate] connecting the Holy Land of Nimun to the new city, and Estoa had used it to visit the new city with Altorius and the others.

Since she had just used it, she must have recognized it at a glance.

“Sister, where does this transfer gate lead to?”

“It leads to the entrance of the labyrinth. It’s a one-way transfer gate that can only be used to get back, so we might as well call it the [Return Gate].”

“I see. It would be useful to write down the location of the return gate on the map so that we can get back quickly.”

“Yes. That’s why we’ve set it up, and I hope you’ll use it.”

However, it seems that the structure of the labyrinth is designed to automatically change every ten days.

What kind of design would be used to build such a labyrinth?―――To Yuri, the architectural ability of the children of <Kikyou> seems to be an abnormal cheat.

……Anyway, that’s the reason. Even if you make a map, it will surely turn into a piece of paper after 10 days.

Whether you think it’s beneficial to make a map because you can use it for 10 days, or whether you think it’s useless to make a map because it’s only good for 10 days, is probably up to you.

“It seems that Your Eminence has decided to enter the [Transfer Gate]―――or rather, the [Return Gate].

“It seems that he decided to “just go in for now”. I guess it was my fault for not explaining about the return gate beforehand.”

However, I think we’ve had enough of ‘test exploration’ and ‘broadcasting’ of the labyrinth, so it’s about time.”

“Yes, I think it’s enough. I’m already looking forward to the day when this new city is completed! I’m going!”

“It’s fine to go, but don’t neglect your main job as a Saint.”

Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle at Estoa words.

Although Estoa has a gentle personality and a sincere character that deserves to be called a ‘Saint’. It’s not hard to imagine that she’s also a bit of a battle fanatic・・・given her extremely high level of 64.

They are welcome to come after the new city is completed, though. But I think we should be careful not to go too far and end up ‘living’ in the new city.