Side: Eris
"Gyaaaahhh!? There's too much work!! I can't handle calculating all these documents anymore!!"
Ratz suddenly let out an explosive scream.
Still, she seemed to retain enough presence of mind not to actually knock over the mountain of paperwork.
"Ratz, calm down. Here's some tea. Let's take a break for a moment."
"She's right. If you push too hard and make a mistake, it'll be a problem. Let's rest."
As I offered the tea, Milly chimed in to support my suggestion.
But in all honesty, the workload is immense. Currently, we are in the General Affairs Office in the Residential District on the third floor. This is where the representatives of the immigrants will eventually work once they are chosen via election. Since the initial settlers won't understand Yuki-san's intentions, we are acting as the representatives for now.
The construction plans and the sorting of incoming supplies are finished. Everyone has been divided into their respective departments to get to work.
"Uuuu... please call Onii-san. Have him use the computer..."
"Ratz, Yuki-san is in the warehouse right now moving supplies..."
"Well, computers are convenient, but we have to learn how to use them ourselves. We can't leave everything to Yuki-san."
Ratz wants Yuki-san to use the computer to handle the calculations. But Yuki-san is the Dungeon Master here. Although he's granted us various authorities, he insisted on handling the initial deliveries himself. Well, it was also because none of the other members could handle this kind of clerical work.
Yuki-san did place a computer in each of our rooms as equipment... but there's no way we can use them yet. It's only been about a week since we got here.
We were still constantly amazed by all the convenient things Yuki-san provided, and we couldn't use them well yet. Especially the computer. Even Yuki-san said he couldn't use it perfectly, so expecting us to master it in three days was impossible.
We were saved by having calculators as a backup, but even so, we were physically short on manpower.
"Ugh... why do we have to handle the accounting for the other departments too?"
"It can't be helped. The only ones who are truly proficient in arithmetic are the three of us, Yuki-san, Labyris, and Tori. And the others who can do it are busy with the deliveries."
Milly tried to soothe Ratz further. It really was unavoidable. In addition to her department, Ratz has to handle the accounting for the shops. I've been entrusted with the accounting for the entertainment facilities myself.
Taking a sip of tea, I look over the personnel assignment sheet.
Current Personnel Details
Dungeon Representative: Seraria (figurehead)
Dungeon Deputy Representative: Labyris (actual representative)
Residential Area Representative: Male – Yuki, Female – Eris
Work Area Representatives: Farmland – Kaya, Smithy – Filia (assisted by Yuki and Riel)
Multi-Area Representatives: Adventurer – Milly, Entertainment – Eris, Leisure – Yuki
Military: Roshure Representative – Seraria, Dungeon Representative – Yuki
Police Representative: Tori
Store Representative: Ratz
Hospital Representative: Elju
School Representative: Yuki
Administrative Building Personnel
General Representative: Labyris
Deputy Representative: Aslin
Census Management: Eris
Accounting: Ratz
Complaints: Milly
Event Management: Riel
Insurance Management: Eris
Facility Management: Milly
...Even I'm handling four roles.
Ratts has only two, but she's doing accounting for the military, police, and blacksmithing—and for the shop, she's in charge of everything.
Milly has three roles, and the adventurer district alone will soon become extremely busy.
It's the same in every department—we clearly don't have enough people. On top of that, we also have training assignments for the incoming migrants.
---
Group Training Facility Personnel
Representative: Yuki
Deputy Representative: Labyris
Management Instructor: Yuki, Eris, Milly – Meaning of this dungeon, management methods, purpose, etc.
Arithmetic Instructor: Ratz, Labyris, Tori – To increase the number of people who can calculate.
General Knowledge Instructor: Eris, Kaya, Riel – Explaining the facilities and how to use items in this dungeon.
Job Instructor: Kaya, Filia, Ratz – Explaining the main jobs in this dungeon and wages.
Election Instructor: Yuki, Eris, Ratz – How to choose representatives, methods.
----
Just looking at it gives me a headache.
We need migrants to take over other departments as soon as possible. Otherwise... we'll be worked to death.
...Being a ruler is truly exhausting.
"Good grief... if I weren't eating luxury snacks like this, I wouldn't be able to keep going."
Ratz began munching on potato chips.
Regarding luxury goods, there was a discussion about avoiding anything too extreme to better fit this continent, but since we were going to release them eventually, we decided to put them out from the start. We judged it would be worse if we released them later and people complained that we had been hiding things.
"Ahh, potato chips are delicious. Especially the seaweed flavor."
"What are you talking about? Consommé is the best!"
""HAH!?""
Ratz and Milly began glaring at each other.
"Calm down. Before you start a fight over that, if you don't clear these documents off the desk, Yuki-san will be disappointed in you."
This glaring was mostly just play-fighting, so I usually leave them to it, but this time we really didn't have a second to waste.
"Ratz, after this, you, Milly, Yuki-san, and I have to set the prices for the shop goods. You need to get your papers together. Milly, you need to submit the pricing for the inns and taverns in the Adventurer District to me so I can finalize the Entertainment District summary. I have to finish summarizing the hotels, casinos, and game facilities myself."
"Waaaah, stop it! Onii-san, help... my brain is going to boil over!"
"...I want to drink."
Sigh. I need to snap these two out of their escapism and get them back to work. Just as I thought that, Yuki-san arrived at our workspace.
"Yo. Looking pretty rough in here."
"Ah, Yuki-san. Is the delivery finished?"
"Yeah. For now, the essential supplies have been placed in the main locations of each district. The counts are verified. The essential food is safely stored across four different warehouses."
"Then all that's left is..."
"Setting the prices and finalizing the training curriculum, then we're at a resting point. So, did the drafts get finished?"
Yuki-san looked away from me and turned his eyes toward Ratz and Milly, who had buried their heads in the piles of paper and weren't moving.
"...If Onii-san gives me a warm embrace, I'll submit the documents..."
"...Alcohol... I want delicious alcohol..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. We'll bring those out while we talk, and then the pricing will be done. Hang in there."
"You promised! An embrace in the bath, please!"
"I've wanted to try 'Moët and Chandon'! Please!"
The two of them suddenly regained their vitality and moved to the meeting room with their summarized documents.
"...Well, paperwork is like that. Eris, is there anything you want?"
"No, nothing in particular for me..."
"Hmm. Well, I'll prepare something. I can't have Eris be the only one without a reward."
With that, Yuki-san started walking toward the meeting room. I followed behind, watching his back. He looks so young, yet he's a strange human with a very mature soul. His intellect is on par with us Elves. While I am grateful he saved me from slavery, part of me still felt a sense of caution or fear toward him.
Thinking about that, I remembered something an Elder once taught me.
"Eris, listen. Fear isn't just fearing for the sake of fearing. It has a source. A powerful monster is scary. We feel fear. Do you know why? Because we cannot win; we fear because we might die. We fear being scolded by our parents. That is because we are afraid of the act of being scolded. So, when you feel fear, think carefully about what is scary—what the cause is. That will surely become your path. To ensure you don't overlook what is important, remember that fear isn't always for self-preservation. It can make you feel excessive dread and do things that aren't necessary. Even if something is done out of kindness, if you wrap yourself in fear, you might end up pushing that hand away. Eris, you are very clever. That is why you might wrap yourself in a very specific kind of fear. Remember that well."
I stared at his back and thought about what I was afraid of. It felt like the answer was right there.
Was it his power...?
No. There was no point in fearing that; if he felt like it, he could tear us to pieces in an instant.
Was it his brilliant knowledge...?
No, that too was wrong. That knowledge was being used for our sake.
"Ah..."
I realized it. I was afraid of Yuki-san because I didn't know what he was thinking. He was an enigma. I had heard his stated goals, but I couldn't bring myself to believe they were the whole truth.
"What's wrong, Eris?"
Noticing I had stopped, he called out to me.
"......This may be a bit rude, but may I ask something?"
"I don't mind."
"I am afraid of you, Yuki-san. I feel a sense of dread. What is your 'true objective' for doing all of this?"
"Oops. You noticed?"
"......!"
He raised one hand, and my body went rigid.
This is that unnecessary fear.
I messed up... To calm my own needless dread, I had gone and stirred up his emotions.
What matters isn't what he's planning. He has cared for us so deeply until now, and yet I've gone and repaid that kindness with hostility.
He gently patted my head.
"Well, even if I told you the true objective now, there's a high chance you wouldn't believe it, and you'd probably just think I'm an idiot. Once things stabilize a bit more, I'll tell everyone. Until then, can you keep helping me? I won't force you, though. Once the immigrants come, you can forget about it and just be one of them."
Yuki-san looked somehow very apologetic, very sad.
...Ah, I knew it all along.
He had never forced us.
He had bowed his head and shown us his sincerity by asking for help, and yet, despite having accepted, I didn't trust him and threw those cruel words at him.
"...I'm... sorry. Hic... I... how could I say something so horrible..."
Before I knew it, I was in tears, apologizing to Yuki-san. He should be the one who wants to cry, yet I have no right to be the one weeping...
"W-Whoa!? Hey, did I do something?! E-Eris-san, are you okay!?"
Yuki-san was panicking in front of me.
"Onii-san, Eris is late... wait!?"
"Eris!? Yuki-san, what on earth did you do!?"
Ratz and the others must have come to see why we hadn't arrived. No, Milly, you're wrong. Yuki-san did nothing wrong at all.
"...I think I'm the cause. Sorry, but please comfort Eris. Let's do today's meeting tomorrow instead... I'm sorry, Eris."
He said that and left the area as if running away.
"...I can't imagine Onii-san doing something like that... Eris, let's go back to the room and tell us what happened, okay?"
"Sniff... Yes..."
* * *
Accompanied by Ratz and Milly, I returned to my room and told them the whole story.
"...Onii-san did absolutely nothing wrong."
"...Ah, I took such a tone with Yuki-san. What should I do..."
Ratz and Milly were clutching their heads.
"...I'm sorry. It's my fault."
"Well, it's not like I don't understand how you feel, Eris, but..."
"...Given everything Yuki-san has done for us, it's not really a problem worth agonizing over... But why did Yuki-san leave without defending himself even though he wasn't at fault?"
"...Onii-san doesn't actually want to involve us. He didn't become a Dungeon Master by choice, after all. That's why he took the approach of pleading for our help. It's for the policy of this village, too, but if we said we hated it, he wouldn't try to keep us here. No matter what the reason for wanting to quit was, he wouldn't get angry or try to hold us back."
Silence followed.
"For now, Eris, you have to apologize to Onii-san. That much is a fact."
"...Yes."
"But Onii-san will probably just accept it and do nothing else."
"Yes..."
"That's why I'm going to punch you. Prepare yourself. It's punishment for being so stiff-necked and making Onii-san make a face like that!!"
* * *
At dinner that night, I apologized to Yuki-san.
Just as Ratz said, he looked slightly troubled and simply said, "I look forward to working with you from now on."
Labyris, who was nearby, glared at me with an intense look and slapped me on the cheek opposite to where Ratz had hit me, sending everyone into a panic.
I've made up my mind.
I intend to follow Yuki-san until the very end. I will witness his mysterious nature and my fear with my own eyes. And when he tells us his true objective, I intend to help him achieve it.
Now, tomorrow will be another busy day. Especially since we got a little behind today.
