Side: Yuki
"Everyone, please listen carefully. Regarding the four-person rooms I am about to show you..."
Currently, Eris is giving an explanation to the 57 members of the Fairy race.
"Hah... this place is truly magnificent. Yuki-san, how did you come across such tools and knowledge?"
The Elder, Narjia-san, was reading the handmade instructional pamphlet with an impressed look on her face.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that here. Would you mind waiting until we've finished guiding everyone to their quarters?"
"Ah, my apologies. Everything is so rare that I spoke out of turn. But it seems you have quite a lot on your plate. Are you intentionally using two different styles of speech with me?"
"Oh? You noticed?"
"Yes. When you refer to yourself as 'Ore' (I), you are acting as the Master. Right now, as one of the dungeon administrators, you use 'Watashi' (I). Am I correct?"
"Exactly."
The Elder is quite sharp. I'm impressed she noticed the deliberate shift in my speech patterns. Usually, people would just perceive me as an administrator who hasn't quite settled on a style yet.
"Fufufu... Do not worry. Those who do not know your side as the Master will simply think you are being informal or perhaps just inexperienced."
"Was it that obvious on my face?"
"No, it was just a hunch."
As we conversed at the back of the group, it seemed Eris had finished her explanation.
"Now then, everyone. That concludes the explanation of the rooms. It may be a bit inconvenient, but please form groups of four. Furthermore, if your family consists of more than four people, please let us know and we will provide extra bedding."
It seems things are going smoothly according to the manual I drafted. Manuals are essential. There will likely be issues to iron out, so adjustments will be necessary.
"Elder, what would you like to do regarding your room? If you wish, I can guide you to a private room."
"Normally, I should demand to stay in the same area as the rest of my people, but since we have much to discuss regarding Yuki-san's plans, I will accept a private room. However, I would prefer a location where I can easily visit the others..."
"Yes, of course. As part of the management for the four-person block, we have two private rooms prepared. I shall guide you there."
Our current location is the third floor of the residential sector—specifically, the right-wing residential space of one of the collective training facilities. The left side is reserved for training.
Actually, I wanted to make this a three-story building, but...
'Wait?! Onii-san, even using concrete like this is pushing the limit of what's acceptable! Don't go making three-story buildings so easily!! The explanation would be a nightmare!!'
Ratz and Eris strongly objected.
Apparently, on this continent, two-story or three-story buildings don't exist unless you're incredibly wealthy or a noble. Since we shouldn't be building such things for immigrants anyway—and showing off too much technology makes explanations difficult—I had to settle for a single-story concrete facility.
The four-person rooms in the residential area have two bunk beds, one on each side. There's also a small living area and a kitchen, including a small refrigerator. The toilet and bath are separate. How to describe it... it feels a bit like a repurposed school building. One block can hold about 300 people, meaning roughly 75 four-person rooms. There are also private rooms for the training officers and such.
As I was lost in thought, Eris stopped.
"Alright, please use this section on the right. The rooms are all identical, so please use whichever you like. It's first-come, first-served, but if there is any serious fighting, that room will be placed off-limits. Please, make your choices. Also, since these are based on human standards, please forgive us if the sizes aren't quite right."
Once Eris finished, the Fairies hurried to pick their rooms, either individually or in their groups of four.
"Once you've chosen a room, your luggage is still at the gate where you entered. Please begin moving it in."
Now, time to guide the Elder.
"This is your room, Elder."
"Thank you for your kindness."
Since there are few private rooms, they are naturally close to the Fairies' quarters; there wasn't much of a choice to make.
"It's here. As you heard, it's designed for humans, so it might be a bit awkward..."
"No, it's fine. See?"
The Elder used her magic to float, easily reaching into the kitchen or floating a cup toward herself. Man, that's convenient.
"You can keep your clothes and some luggage in this closet. Please, make yourself at home."
"It really is convenient. You've prepared this for every room?"
"Yes. It's so that immigrants can stay here temporarily and get used to life in the dungeon."
"I see. Since you say 'temporarily,' is there another place to live?"
"Yes, we have those prepared. Workplaces, entertainment facilities, all sorts of things."
"My... that's amazing. Oh, excuse me. I need to take out my personal items..."
"Ah, my apologies. I'll wait outside."
I stepped out of the room.
The hallway was crowded with Fairies carrying luggage from the gate room. I spotted Eris observing the scene.
"Hey, Eris. How's it going on your end? Any trouble?"
"None so far. It's going exactly as the manual you wrote says, Yuki-san. Honestly, without it, things would have been mixed up or forgotten. It would have been a disaster."
The manual Eris held had checkboxes, making it easy to see if tasks were being done in the right order.
"If I had to say anything, it's that the toilets are the wrong size for Fairies."
"Ah, but it would be a pain to rebuild them specifically for them..."
"True. If they were going to live here permanently, we'd need to remodel, but..."
"It's still just a training center. They might move elsewhere, so let's put that on hold."
"Yes. For today, we'll stick to the manual's schedule."
"Well, there's no point in rushing things. Tomorrow is the dungeon's operational purpose, the tour of the training facilities, and how to use the baths. And maybe the explanation of work?"
"Right. The work explanation will likely just be a brief overview. Learning the dungeon's goals and how to use the baths is more important."
The manual schedule is basically divided into seven stages.
Stage 1: Headcount management, issuing IDs, guiding to living quarters, explaining tools inside the rooms.
Stage 2: Explaining the dungeon's purpose, touring training facilities, teaching bath usage, light explanation of work.
Stage 3: Touring and explaining recreational facilities, full explanation of work.
Stage 4: Touring dungeon facilities, visiting workplaces.
Stage 5: Assigning jobs based on personal preference, beginning proper training at the training facility.
These first five stages are planned to be completed roughly one per day.
Stage 6: Training period.
Stage 7: End of training period, moving to residential area, beginning life as full residents.
These first five stages are planned to be completed roughly one per day.
Stages 6 and 7 have no fixed timeline.
Since the slaves have a period to buy back their freedom, it might be a long-term process.
"Oh, right. These people aren't slaves..."
"True. That might throw the schedule off in a few places."
As we talked, the Elder stepped out of her room.
"I am sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Not at all. Actually, we're the ones who should apologize, but we have some things to discuss regarding the future. Is now a good time?"
"Yes, that's fine. Nana, could you come here for a moment?"
"Yes! What is it?"
The Elder happened to call over Nana, the girl I helped save alongside Coville.
"I am going to discuss future plans with Yuki-san and the others. Please tell everyone to stay on their best behavior."
"Yes, understood!! ...Um, are you Yuki-san?"
"...Oh? How did you know? I thought you were unconscious when I was carrying you."
"Ah, um, I can identify people by their mana!! Th-thank you so much for saving me!! Your healing magic felt very warm!!"
She thanked me with a bright red face.
"Wait, Rurua was the one who treated you, wasn't she?"
"Yes, Rurua-sama healed most of my injuries, but you were constantly keeping a 'Regene' (Regeneration) spell on me, weren't you?"
"Oh, I've been caught."
"I knew it! Thank you very much!!"
"Nana, if you're done with your thanks, could you do that task I asked for?"
"Ah, sorry!! I'm going right now!!"
Nana hurried off to speak to the other Fairies.
"Eris, where are the others?"
"They're currently in Training Room A for a debriefing."
"Then let's hold the meeting there. Elder, shall we?"
"Yes."
* * *
When I brought the Elder to Training Room A...
"Gyaaah!! There wasn't any time to take photos! Push it to tomorrow!!"
"Yes, yes, Ratz, calm down. We've set aside plenty of time tomorrow for things like that, haven't we? Tori, did you have any issues?"
"No, the Fairies were very cooperative, so there were no problems with the guidance."
"They're amazing. They're always flying around using magic. I've seen them in towns sometimes, but I never had a chance to talk to them."
"...My identity is crumbling."
The adults were conversing like that, while the children...
"They looked like they really enjoyed the onigiri~"
"Yes. The egg furikake was very popular."
"It is delicious, after all."
They were having a heartwarming conversation.
Oh, Elju and Oriel are on standby.
"Yo. Good work, everyone. That was a good rehearsal, right?"
"...Onii-san, if you don't sleep beside me tonight, I might break."
"For now, things are proceeding smoothly."
Ratz and Milly answered on behalf of the group. Well, Ratz's answer was a bit different.
"I've brought the Fairy Elder to discuss future plans. I want to go over the schedule and make sure there are no issues from the Fairies' perspective. Is that okay?"
"I think that's a great idea,"
Ratz replied, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"I am the Elder of the Fairies, Narjia. I cannot express enough my gratitude for you taking us in. If there is anything we can do to help from here on out, please say the word. We will cooperate as much as we possibly can. There are also things I wish to confirm."
"Alright, everyone take a seat. I'll give the Elder an explanation."
Over the next three hours, I explained the current situation and our future policies.
"...I see. This manual, and these textbooks for training? They are magnificent. To even grant authority over DP... you truly have no intention of establishing a monarchy centered on yourself, do you, Yuki-san?"
The Elder understood the explanation perfectly. As expected, she's no amateur.
"Yes. That's why Onii-san participates as one of the basic administrators. Elder, if you would, we'd like you to participate in our administration as the representative of the Fairies."
"I would prefer that as well. It would cause problems if someone else were chosen over me from among my people right now. I don't know when the next 'Election' will be, but I would like to act as representative until then."
"We look forward to working with you. Now, for the next issue: currently, the dungeon has very little actual currency. So, even if you work, we aren't in a position to pay wages..."
"Regarding that, we are essentially under your protection. Providing free labor for a while is no problem. Besides, the aid from the Kingdom of Roshure should arrive in five days, correct?"
"Yes, that's the plan. But since it hasn't arrived yet, I can't give a absolute guarantee."
"I see. In that case, let us use the smithing facilities and provide a portion of our products as a form of payment. If you sell those elsewhere, you should be able to earn a decent amount of money."
"Hmm, okay. Next..."
* * *
We continued ironing out details.
The current time was 10 PM.
...Looks like we're going to pass midnight at this rate.
"Onii-san, what are you spacing out for!? I'm going to tackle you!!"
Ratz scolded me.
...Am I really the one in the wrong here?
