Volume 4 Chapter 7 The Undying Dungeon and the Price of Safety
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The table inside the Master Room was covered with all sorts of snacks and drinks, stuff Hirose had brought from his own place. As they munched away, the dungeon strategy meeting just kept rolling on.
Himari and Kairi, the adventurers who’d totally passed out in the treatment room, had been cleaned up by the other girls and were now fast asleep on the treatment bed. To save what little dignity they had left, a blanket from Hirose’s room was draped over them.
”So, about the entrance fee,” Fuyutsuki Saori articulated, her tone business-like. “I think we should start with a small amount first. If too many clients show up, then we can always raise the price, right?”
”Yeah… but they always say that the lower the price is for a service, the lower the quality of the customer is going to be,” another companion murmured, thoughtfully.
”What about people who need their problems fixed but just don’t have the money?” someone else wondered aloud.
”Even if the price is a little high, I think most people can manage a thousand yen¹ or so… maybe we should start with one coin, five hundred yen?” Saori suggested, ever the pragmatist.
Saori had always planned to charge an entry fee for this Beauty Dungeon. It wasn’t for her own pocket, of course, but a way to funnel money back to Hirose. Still, this was a dungeon that didn’t disappear even after its boss was defeated. Being able to enter it over and over meant they could do things no normal dungeon could.
”Adventurers have to be at least sixteen. High schoolers can get part-time jobs, so five hundred yen sounds just right, doesn’t it?”
”Yeah. Just like Saori-san said, we can change the price later depending on how things go, so let’s start with five hundred yen,” Hirose agreed easily.
”Let’s do it!” Kirino cheered, clapping her hands.
”Abah!” Asami blurted out, her expression simple and expressive.
With everyone in agreement, the initial entry fee was set at five hundred yen. They had no idea how many people would come, but even one person visiting over and over would bring in money exponentially.
”Oh!” Hirose suddenly exclaimed, a moment of realization hitting him right after the fee decision.
”What is it, Hirose?”
”I really wish adventurers wouldn’t die in my dungeon… is that even possible?”
Hirose had voiced his concern about the adventurers’ lives. Everyone who entered a dungeon was, at the very least, putting their life at risk. That was why countless adventurers had died over the years. People with families, people who chased dreams with their parties… even those with less-than-good intentions.
”I don’t want to watch people die in my own dungeon, you know?”
”Hirose…”
”Hirose-kun…”
His words cast a somber quiet over the room.
”Oh, no, I mean… it’s just the nature of a dungeon, so it can’t be do—”
”We can,” Ecoa declared smoothly, having stood silently behind Hirose in her maid outfit all along.
”Huh?” Hirose questioned.
”We can,” she repeated, her voice matter-of-fact.
Ecoa was claiming she could stop the adventurers from dying.
”This will be a contract with the adventurers who enter the dungeon. The moment a contracted person sustains a certain level of physical damage, they will be teleported to the entrance and receive healing magic. This guarantees their safety,” Ecoa explained with cool logic.
”Whoa…” Hirose breathed, left speechless by the thoroughness of the adventurer safety plan. It was far more perfect than anything he’d imagined.
”—However, this will require a vast amount of magical power. Asami-sama’s magic is honestly more than enough, but consuming it on such a massive scale could be detrimental to the dungeon’s maintenance, I must admit,” Ecoa cautioned.
”What do you mean by that?” Koharu asked, leaning forward, her tone practical.
”Maintaining the dungeon requires magic. If that magic runs out, the dungeon will collapse,” Ecoa explained simply.
”Seriously!?” Hirose exclaimed, his mouth agape at this critically important piece of information. It turned out the Dungeon Core could easily become nothing more than garbage depending on how it was run.
”Generally, the dungeon also relies on the Master’s magic volume. Since Asami-sama has an enormous supply, I don’t believe there’s any danger of collapse. However, the magic consumed for maintenance is usually collected from the people who visit the dungeon,” Ecoa elaborated.
”So, we get the magic needed to keep it running from the adventurers, then?”
”Precisely. Therefore, a lack of visiting adventurers will lead to the dungeon’s eventual collapse.”
This meant they couldn’t simply raise the entry fee too high and scare all the adventurers away. It looked like they’d have to stop raising the price once it hit a certain limit. For now, it was five hundred yen, but who knew what the future held?
”Okay, I get the collapse risk now. But for the moment, thanks to Asami-chan, we seem to be fine,” Hirose concluded with a nod.
”Abah!” Asami squeaked.
”That is the case,” Ecoa confirmed.
Ecoa quickly drank the water from the ceramic-like cup she had conjured, and the discussion moved on.
”Next topic, then. The conditions for entering the dungeon. We briefly talked about this before—that we’d allow non-adventurers to enter so that all kinds of people could have their problems fixed. That was the plan, right?”
This was Hirose’s dearest wish. Restricting the wish fulfillment to only adventurers seemed too narrow.
”So, we’d allow people to hire an adventurer and dive into the dungeon together?” Koharu summarized.
”Yeah. It’s kind of like Dungeon Tourism,” Hirose explained.
Dungeon Tourism was where non-adventurers, the general public, would visit low-rank dungeons with an adventurer hired as a bodyguard. Looking at it that way, the conditions for the Beauty Dungeon were similar to those for Dungeon Tourism.
”Since we’ve made it so no one can die, I think it should be fine as long as at least one adventurer accompanies them. What do you all think?”
”Yeah, I think that sounds good. But what if people with a lot of money hire strong adventurers to beat the dungeon and push out the weaker adventurers?” Koharu asked, her tone worried.
This was Koharu’s concern. Her only previous dungeon experience was that Dungeon Tourism trip, but she’d since researched the subject thoroughly. Her Gift of Mitigation was one that qualified her to become an adventurer as a support magic user. Though she had no desire to become one, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t get caught up in the kinds of trouble that frequently happened during Dungeon Tourism.
”Similar issues often occur in normal dungeons, you know. High-rank adventurers ignoring the low-rankers to steal their treasures or monster kills,” Saori pointed out, speaking with authority on dungeon lore.
”Hmm… The main goal is really to let people with genuine issues challenge the dungeon. To help them get to know the dungeon, we could put in treasure chests and things besides the treatments, too,” Hirose pondered.
”Maybe we should just try the current conditions first, and then think about it later? If a low-rank adventurer is treated badly by a high-ranker inside the dungeon, maybe we could have Ecoa-san or Asami-san step in?”
”Oh… that’s a good idea! It’s going to be a little hard on Asami-chan, though… Is Ecoa actually strong?”
They were talking about a sort of dungeon mediator or arbitrator. When a problem arose, they wouldn’t ignore it but actively handle and resolve it. Murders sometimes happened inside dungeons between people. Hirose definitely didn’t want that happening in the Beauty Dungeon.
”Yes, I believe I am second in strength only to Asami-sama,” Ecoa replied, her face impassive.
”Ehh!?” Hirose gasped in surprise.
”I registered the Master and Asami-sama, and gained a magical connection. Asami-sama’s magic in particular is immense and granted me great power—observe.”
Ecoa placed a hand over one of the holographic monitors and activated something.
”Woah!”
Inside the monitor, the dirt floor swelled up, and a wall of earth appeared—what you might call an Earth Wall².
”I… I can’t do that…” Asami murmured, her voice a whisper of astonishment.
Hirose had assumed Ecoa could only use the Gifts of her Master and Sub-Master. Yet, Asami herself was saying Ecoa was doing something she couldn’t.
”I am the one who actually built this dungeon. I can materialize anything that can be conceptualized,” Ecoa explained, a faint pride coloring her precise voice.
”If she’s as strong as Asami-chan, she’ll be totally fine!” Kirino cheered, clapping her hands and smiling. She knew Asami’s strength well and was her biggest admirer.
”Then we should just leave the trouble to Ecoa, not Asami-chan,” Hirose declared, relieved.
”Leave it to me, Master. As long as I am here, no one will get away with acting selfishly in this dungeon. Hmph!” Ecoa stated, her emotionless face shifting just slightly, her brows furrowing into a determined arch.
”Haha. I’m counting on you,” Hirose chuckled, reassured.
He and the others all nodded, and the task of mediating trouble was fully entrusted to Ecoa.
* * *
The meeting for the day was over. The group passed through the gate and exited into Hirose’s room, accompanied by the now-awake Himari and Kairi.
However, three people still remained inside the Master Room.
The time was three in the afternoon. Sunset was still a little ways off.
”—Takanashi, Senior…”
The one who called his name was Yaginuma Asami, cute like a foreign doll.
—
Summary:
The dungeon’s inner circle finalized the logistical plans for the ‘Beauty Dungeon,’ including setting the initial entry price at five hundred yen. The conversation turned somber when Hirose expressed his deep concern for adventurer safety, a fear Ecoa, the Dungeon Core, was able to immediately address by proposing a magical contract for automatic teleportation and healing. However, this safety feature introduced a new threat: the massive consumption of magic, which could lead to the dungeon’s complete collapse if not maintained by a steady stream of visiting adventurers. The group decided to allow non-adventurers to enter via ‘Dungeon Tourism’ and entrusted the formidable Ecoa, powered by Asami’s vast magic, to mediate any in-dungeon conflicts or unfair treatment. The tension of the strategy session gave way to a quiet, unresolved moment as Asami unexpectedly called out to Takanashi after the others departed.
—
Character Insight:
Hirose’s commitment to safety, even within a fantasy dungeon setting, highlights his fundamental kindness and sense of responsibility as the Master. He’s not interested in the usual gold rush or power fantasy; his priority is fixing problems without causing harm. This makes his emotional connection to the dungeon and its users unique, yet it also exposes him to complex management issues like magic consumption and adventurer politics. Meanwhile, Ecoa’s revelation of her immense power—second only to the quietly powerful Asami—solidifies her role as the dungeon’s absolute enforcer and protector of its rules.
—
Behind the Scene:
The team’s strategy meeting confirmed the ‘Beauty Dungeon’ as a persistent, subscription-style magical facility, deviating sharply from typical disappearing dungeons. The concept of the Dungeon Core needing to be ‘fed’ magic is a critical world-building piece, turning the entrance fee from simple profit into a necessary life-support mechanism. The final, intimate scene with Asami and Takanashi hints at an emotional turning point after the heavy business talk, shifting the narrative focus back to their personal relationships.
—
T/L:
1 [Note: Roughly equivalent to seven US dollars, which is a common affordable price point in Japan.] ↩
2 [Note: Not a literal magic spell name from a fixed system, but an English term for a wall made of earth that the character would understand.] ↩
Notes:
• Fuyutsuki Saori – A guild staff member who possesses the ‘Appraisal’ Gift. She is called in to assess Asumi’s critical condition, identifies the injury as a magical curse, and reveals that Hirose might be the only one who can cure it, despite the professional risk to herself.
• Kirino – Strikingly beautiful with blue long hair (F, 168cm), Kirino is gifted with ice magic and feels isolated because of her appearance. Hirose’s Beauty skill helps her improve her self-image and social comfort, directly affecting Kirino’s relationship with her family and classmates.
• Ecoa – The Guardian of the Dungeon Core, a beautiful entity with long blonde hair, slit eyes, and distinctive pointed ears reminiscent of an elf. She initially appears in black ceremonial robes, which instantly transform into a revealing, classic black maid uniform. Her existence was previously undetectable by ‘Appraisal’ Gifts. Her sole purpose is to serve and support the Dungeon Master, Hirose.
• Yaginuma Asami – 16-year-old 1st-year, many inherited/stacking gifts, stores items, reflects attacks, teleports, resists conditions, mixed Japanese-English.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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