Chapter 31 This is Just a Job
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Is everyone okay?”
Back at the inn, I greeted the returning group and checked them for injuries.
”Yes,” Shirley replied, her expression tight with frustration. “Honestly, the floors we can reach in a day are far too easy now. It wasn’t particularly good training.”
Because they were over-leveled and equipped with top-tier gear, even their sloppiest attacks resulted in one-hit kills.
”Isn’t that fine?” I asked. “Cutting it close is just asking for trouble.”
”No, while we want to stay safe, having too much leeway means our coordination and skills won’t grow…”
I see. If the fight ends in a single strike, there’s no room for teamwork to develop. Still, looking at their faces, everyone seemed bright. Shirley was the only one brooding.
Lotte-chan, in particular, was all smiles. After I gave her a crash course in magic the other day, she’d become able to use it almost instantly. She wasn’t quite at Sage-senpai’s level-where you can just cast by thinking-but as long as she had the knowledge and could channel the right amount of Mana, the spells triggered.
I’d taught her what I knew, and she’d mastered it with ease. Her power output was abnormal for a beginner, though considering her high level, she was naturally leagues ahead of any actual rookie. Luna-chan was the same. Once I explained the mechanics of the human body, she picked it up immediately. Of course, this was only after a few hours of study. I planned to keep the lessons going.
”Regardless, it’s good that you’re all stronger,” I said. “There’s no rule saying you have to push yourselves to the limit. If you’re so strong that it feels like child’s play, then for now, you’re perfect.”
”Ah… I suppose that’s true,” Shirley admitted, nodding in agreement. “Our combat potential has certainly increased.”
I shared a nod with her, satisfied. While I served food to those who hadn’t eaten yet, I listened to their stories. Everyone was in high spirits, and the conversation was more lively than usual. Even Amelia, who was normally silent, had begun to join in. It was a relief to see. Our daily life was becoming a much more comfortable space.
Once dinner was over and we were relaxing, Shirley turned to me with a serious look.
”So, what shall we do about the training?” she asked.
I thought it over for a moment. “It’s probably more efficient to wait until our levels plateau, right?”
”I… wonder. If there were a suitable place to test ourselves, perhaps, but…”
She had a point. At higher levels, the proper hunting grounds in dungeons were too far away, and on the surface, it was difficult to find enemies that provided a decent challenge.
”Are you still feeling uneasy, Shirley?”
”Yes. A little, if I consider what it would take to exert my maximum power. But we’re growing at such an extraordinary rate that I’m not in a rush.”
Then it was fine. If we could just power-level at this ridiculous speed, we might as well keep going. It felt more efficient to grind until we hit a wall and then do internal mock battles, rather than spending weeks on a dungeon trek. When I explained this to Shirley, she considered it before nodding firmly.
”Certainly… that may be the better path,” Shirley said.
”In that case, how about we go on a Monster Subjugation Tour?” I suggested.
Charlotte laughed. “That sounds like it’ll just end up being a camping trip.”
”Charlotte, it’s not even a camp,” Lisha added. “We’re staying in a mansion, after all!”
Laughter broke out. Seeing them so relaxed, I took it as a ‘yes.’ After shopping for clothes and supplies, we took the plane toward the uncharted lands.
We flew as far as the uncharted territory where flying monsters were reportedly absent, then landed to begin moving.
”Ibuki-sama, are we going underground already?” Charlotte asked, looking surprised.
”Yeah. It’s easier this way.”
”Is digging actually faster?”
I gave her a disclaimer-“We won’t know ’til we try”-and started carving a path. I summoned a cart that filled the entire tunnel, with wheels on the floor, walls, and ceiling to keep it locked in place. At the front, I attached a pickaxe so heavily modified it was unrecognizable.
”Um, I think I get what you’re trying to do,” Lisha said, “but don’t you have to strike the rock three times?”
”Yeah. That’s why I added these rubber mounts to make it bounce. A pickaxe this size can clear about a kilometer at a time. If this works, traveling will be a breeze.”
We started moving, but the plan was a bust. Traveling through the tunnel was comfortable, but the digging failed. The pickaxe was just getting stuck instead of bouncing back. I spent some time tinkering with the tension to get the bounce right, eventually making the pickaxe smaller. It only cleared about a hundred meters now, but it dug without stopping.
The power source was purely manual-bicycle style. Since everyone was so strong now, even with a full load, whoever was pedaling could cruise through. It dug perfectly even at a decent speed, so we went charging through the earth.
I had my hands full filling in the occasional pockets of air or holes we hit. I had Luna-chan handle the light source with magic. After a few hours of cooperation, we reached a monster-infested zone.
”Wow… even I can tell,” Erina whispered, looking up toward the surface we couldn’t see. “It makes my skin crawl.”
To them, these still felt like high-ranked, terrifying monsters. Their Mana signatures were high, but compared to the Orc King, they were adorable. Still, we hadn’t identified the species yet. I didn’t want to take any risks, so we started the real preparations.
This time, I built the traps using Mithril blocks from the start. Learning from my failure with the inorganic monsters, I made sure that while there were spikes, the top and bottom blocks would mesh perfectly, leaving no gaps. Of course, I made a solid escape route. Though, since we were positioned behind reinforced glass in the middle of a drop-off, anything that couldn’t fly wouldn’t even be able to reach us.
Once the setup was done, I lured in a few monsters to test the drop. They looked like fighting bulls-far more rugged and powerful than normal cattle. But as they fell, I dropped the Mithril blocks from above.
Squish. They were instantly turned into mincemeat. Seeing how easily they were crushed, I realized we had plenty of room to spare. I switched back to the “Spiked Pit”¹ method. After a few more successful tests, I knew we could handle the usual massive numbers, so I used Cocoon over a wide area to call them in.
As they started falling in droves and I began the Storage process, I felt the heat of the level-ups-enough that even I felt the burn. Lotte-chan and the others looked like they were having a rough time. I asked if we should stop, but they all gave a firm “We can endure it,” so we kept going.
The intensity didn’t last. Soon, the level-ups slowed down, everyone regained their cool, and small talk broke out.
”We… we definitely just got stronger again, didn’t we?” Meena, the thief, muttered with a strained laugh.
”I mean, after feeling that many level-ups, how could we not?” Rosanna agreed.
”Is this… is this really okay?” Fran asked, looking around anxiously.
”If the Master says it is fine, it is fine,” Shirley lectured them. “This power is to be used for the Master’s sake, so accept it with gratitude.”
Shirley’s tone was unusually sharp, but everyone seemed convinced and calmed down.
”I understand that,” Erina said, “but for us to stay like this, doing nothing… as someone who can’t even cook, I feel useless doing nothing on the battlefield.”
”Whoa, slow down, Erina,” I interrupted. “You think this is a ‘battlefield’? Listen, this is just a job.”
Erina and the others blinked, speaking in a confused chorus. “A… job?”
”I mean, you can’t really call this ‘combat,’” I said. “They fall, they get skewered, and I put them in Storage. That’s it. Sure, I’m busy closing up the holes I make, but it’s just a chore.”
We kept up the annihilation while we chatted. After an hour, the area was cleared, I sealed the tunnels, and we moved on. After a few dozen minutes of travel, we hit the next hunting ground, set up the same way, and started over.
”H-here we go again…” Fran whispered.
”Hey, could you not make it sound like we’re doing something illegal?” I asked.
”I-I didn’t mean it like that! I swear!”
She seemed genuinely worried, so I told her I was just kidding and started talking to the others to pass the time. Eventually, everyone got curious about what came next.
”Let’s see. By the time we’re done here, you guys should be able to move around the city safely. Maybe we’ll look for an underground organization that deals with other races?”
”Ah, I heard some rumors about that,” Charlotte said. “So, once we get back, we’re all going to investigate?”
”In that case, allow us,” Rosanna and Olivia said in unison.
”Well, they’re ‘underground’ for a reason, so they won’t be easy to find, but any lead you can dig up would be a huge help,” I said.
”I’ll help too,” Amelia muttered.
”Then the rest of you will probably be doing special training with Shirley,” I told the others.
The remaining members responded with a spirited “Yes!”
”Alright, since I’m going to make you all work when we get back, just relax and chat for now. I’ll do the ‘work’ now so I can slack off later.”
”Ibuki-sama, I don’t have anything to do…” Charlotte said.
”You haven’t given me anything either!” Lisha added.
Charlotte and Lisha, the non-combatants, looked at me with troubled faces.
”Well then,” I said, “I guess I’ll have you two focus on carving out a niche for us here.”
”Eh…?”
The two looked even more confused, wondering exactly what that meant.
”No, I’m just going to have you operate under the ‘Sha-sha’ brand,” I said. “We won’t do anything flashy this time, but let’s buy a house we can use as a storefront and set up a proper base of operations.”
”What?! You’re actually going to open a shop!?” Guildmaster Lisha² cried out, her face a mask of pure shock.
”Yeah. If we build the shell and hire a manager, we can basically just leave them to it, right?” I asked.
”Well… true. But training someone to that level would take quite a bit of time,” Lisha replied.
”It’s fine. It’s not like you master combat techniques overnight, either,” I said, waving a hand dismissively. “As long as the person we put in charge doesn’t stab us in the back, we just need to get the ball rolling. Even if it goes south, it’s not like we’re actually losing anything.”
She was right. It was fine if it failed; I was just sowing seeds in my spare time. All I had to do was set the manager’s commission, have the rest of the profits funneled into a safe, establish the rules, and walk away. I could leave enough inventory in the basement to last years. If they gave the employees even a small taste of their power, only a suicide seeker would try anything; they’d probably do a decent enough job on their own. The products were top-tier, so the brand would build itself. Since Lisha was the head of the guild, this would naturally solidify her standing, too. That was the play.
”Wow… Dealing with you, My Lord, you break the mold so hard it takes my brain a while to catch up~desuwa,” Lisha said. “Still, is it really alright if they aren’t slaves? Since I’m the guildmaster, it wouldn’t be an issue for us to use slave labor…”
”Hmm… can you actually keep someone as a slave while having them run a shop?” I asked.
”You certainly can. It’s just that they can’t really stand up for themselves if someone treats them like dirt, so most people don’t bother with it,” Lisha explained.
If they’re going to be my employees, I definitely don’t like the sound of that, I thought.
When I told her that, Lisha offered a suggestion. “In that case, why don’t we hire both? We can make the slave a ‘reporting officer’ who keeps us informed if anything happens.”
”I like it. If we put the slave in charge of the keys for that massive hoard of inventory, it’ll be hard for anyone to pull anything too shady,” I said.
”Precisely! As expected of you, My Lord. You’re such a quick study~desuwa!” Lisha chirped.
As they talked, I noticed Charlotte pouting, her face scrunched in frustration.
”What now…?” I asked.
”I’m just an extra again… I want to actually do something useful for once, My Lord!” Charlotte whined.
At those words, Shirley turned a rare, piercing glare toward her. “Charlotte…”
For a second, I worried the mood had turned sour, but Shirley’s next words completely deflated the tension.
”Charlotte, aren’t you always the star of the show when it comes to the s*x?! Isn’t that enough of a spotlight for you?!” Shirley demanded.
”She’s right,” Lisha chimed in. “To be the lead in the bedroom and then demand to be the lead at the office, too? That’s just greedy, don’t you think?”
As Lisha joined the fray, Olivia and Amelia both gave small, silent nods of agreement.
”Ugh… s-sorry…” Charlotte muttered, looking completely dejected.
”Hahaha, well, that’s a new dynamic,” I laughed. “Personally, I’d prefer it if you guys told me when there’s something you want to do. If you find a dream, I’ll support you.”
I turned to Charlotte and asked if she’d had any goals from before we met.
”Even if you ask me that… I was born into the slave class. Dreams weren’t exactly on the menu,” Charlotte said quietly.
”I see… Well, if you don’t have one, you can just start looking now. I don’t plan on keeping you guys tied down forever. We’ve got plenty of time. Think about it,” I said.
I heard a few of the others whispering, ‘All of us…?’ “Yeah,” I called back. “All of you.”
I watched as they all lapsed into a stunned silence, clearly deep in thought.
”I’ve already decided,” Amelia said firmly. “Being by your side. That is my dream.”
”No, you’re already here. I mean, what do you want to do while we’re together?” I clarified.
Amelia groaned. “Mm… anything other than that is difficult.”
The others couldn’t seem to think of anything specific, either. A heavy, thoughtful silence lingered for a while, but the hunting itself was productive. They hopped from one hunting ground to the next, and before they knew it, they’d pushed straight through until midnight.
Deciding it was finally time to rest, I summoned the mansion right there in the basement of the ruins. We kept up that rhythm-resting and then restarting at dawn-for about a week. Eventually, the rush of leveling up started to fade for everyone; we’d hit the limit for this area. With that, I called an end to our Monster Subjugation Tour³.
—
Summary:
Realizing they’ve surpassed the current dungeon’s limits, Ibuki constructs a specialized underground tunneling vehicle to reach higher-tier monster zones with unmatched efficiency, treating the ensuing mass extermination as a precise mechanical operation rather than a true battle-an approach that swiftly elevates the entire group’s levels.
Afterward, he launches a business initiative under the new “Sha-sha” brand, leveraging Lisha’s standing within the Merchant Guild while the team wrestles with the ethical and logistical challenges of employing slave labor for store management. The chapter closes as the group completes a grueling week-long monster subjugation run, settling at a temporary level plateau that hints at both progress and the rising weight of their growing enterprise.
—
Trivia:
- Ibuki is filling in air pockets/holes manually as they dig to prevent tunnel collapses.
- The ‘bicycle method’ works because the group’s physical strength has increased exponentially.
- Lotte and Luna learned magic through technical knowledge rather than just intuition.
- The group is currently staying in a portable mansion, making ‘camping’ obsolete.
- Amelia is actively volunteering for tasks for the first time.
- Ibuki is purposely setting up the business so it can run autonomously without his direct supervision.
- Lisha’s suggestion of using a slave as a ‘reporting officer’ is a specific tactic to prevent manager betrayal.
- Ibuki explicitly tells the girls he doesn’t intend to ‘bind’ them forever, causing a significant psychological shock to former slaves like Charlotte.
- The ‘mansion’ used for resting is a summoned structure, allowing them to stay deep in dungeons/ruins for a full week
—
Character Insight:
Ibuki shows a pragmatic, almost detached view of combat, prioritizing efficiency over the ‘honor’ of battle. Shirley shows her role as a mentor, balancing her desire for true martial growth with the reality of Ibuki’s overwhelming power.
Ibuki shows a growing sense of responsibility for the girls’ individual identities, pushing them to find ‘dreams’ beyond just serving him. Charlotte’s dejection reveals her desire for utility outside of physical intimacy, while Amelia’s response highlights the difficulty former slaves have in conceptualizing self-actualization.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The ‘Spiked Pit’ method is a reference to ‘Sword Mountain’ (Hari no Yama), a classic Buddhist depiction of hell, repurposed here as a mechanical mob farm.
The ‘leveling up’ mechanic suggests a world governed by RPG-like rules where efficiency drops as characters grow stronger than the local monsters.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Shirley – 14yo ex-knight family swordswoman, Ibuki’s 2nd slave (8-gold scapegoat from Karl), rocking long red hair, dignified cool beauty in tight white dress—shocked by the chill vibes at first. Fanatic loyalist, weapon tester, security guard, blunt questioner of his slave game, one of his 3 wives, combat/sales pro but can’t cook.
• Lotte – 12-year-old slave girl under Ibuki, a scaredy-cat blue mage (water/ice) standing just 130cm with fluffy light-brown hair and big watery eyes. Lacks magic confidence, gets shocked by his OP power, one of the group’s sensitive lil’ sis types dreaming of spell-slinging skills.
• Luna – A 15-year-old girl with rose-pink hair, roughly 155cm tall. A Priest who suffered trauma and physical abuse (welts on her arms) due to her inability to use recovery magic during previous forced training. A companion who recently received armor and weapons from the protagonist.
• Amelia – Quiet, expressionless white short-hair girl with red eyes—smallest in the crew but arguably strongest—once robotic, now opening up, happy with Master’s food/clothes, craving to repay kindness. Ibuki’s loyal CQC bodyguard who goes full deredere lovey-dovey post-intimacy, struggles with personal dreams but sticks by his side.
• Charlotte – Short, skinny late‑teen slave girl with messy brown hair, feline eyes, and a soft, slender body. Was an Ex‑Level 8 farmer, now Level 10 and bound to Ibuki, who she calls “Master” and calls herself his wife. Wears rags at first, then pretty clothes he makes, plus his bat‑wing hairband. Blushy, clingy, protective, and easily emotional, she follows him on runs, fights, and flights while always worrying if she’s useful enough.
• Lisha – Mature native girl with killer curves, huge rack, brown long haired and big-sis vibes—polite, shy homebody type who calls banging Ibuki a
• Ibuki – Broke high‑schooler from Earth who got tossed into another world with the “Crafter” class he first thought was useless—turns out it’s totally busted. Black‑haired, germaphobic, and low‑key bitter but sharp as hell. Uses Synthesis, Processing, and Inventory skills to survive, craft gear, and haul loot while exploring. Currently a Level 10 otherworlder, wielding a stone axe, traveling the frontier forest with Charlotte, and just trying to stay alive long enough to find a bit of peace.
• Erina – A 17‑year‑old swordswoman and slave under Ibuki’s contract, originally from Paul, with drill hair, a refined noble‑like air and speech suggesting she was once a high‑born lady.
• Meena – A young girl and slave who is easily overwhelmed by Ibuki’s crafting abilities. An 18-year-old thief with a youthful appearance. Height is approximately 140cm (4’7).
• Rosanna – Member of the party searching for clues on the dark organization. Older, experienced member of the group. Volunteers for information gathering.
• Fran – A young member of the group who is easily flustered. Member of the group who expresses moral or existential concern over the ‘unnatural’ leveling process.
• Olivia – A member of the group who asks about the ‘weird’ monster types with some technical/magic-tech knowledge who is stunned by the efficiency of Ibuki’s skills. Archer. Eldest of the new recruits. Height approx 160cm (5’3). Deep blue-black hair. Calm demeanor.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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