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Chapter 224 – Daily Life in the Demonic Land as Autumn Deepens Part 2
The next day, mining for magic stones began at the mine to the northwest.
The quantity was small because the dungeon folk were doing the mining, but having work was the most important thing. Due to physical differences between races, some tasks suited certain races better than others, leading to a natural division of labor.
The Arachnes and Lamia were a huge help, fearlessly entering the tunnels. The Satyr had become the dragons’ full-time caretaker, even cooking for them.
The Demon King was busy dismantling the monsters we had hunted. Though the dungeon folk, the Demon King included, had learned to handle monsters, hunting itself didn’t seem to be their forte.
When Jennifer suggested gathering nuts and herbs, a large group gathered and headed into the forest. Jennifer was quite skilled at rallying the people.
“Don’t you think we could carry this much ourselves?”
Chel asked, looking at the pile of magic stones being mined. Though it was called a pile, it was barely big enough to fit inside one of Chel’s magical water spheres.
“True, but let’s have the dragons help, too. I’m worried that if we gather too much, it might turn into a monster. Arachnes made the bags, so let’s divide them up and take them.”
“Magic stones turn into monsters on their own?”
“If we have a Golem Cube, we could make a Magic Stone Golem, right?”
“That might work.”
We can use the Golem Cube to create a Magic Stone Golem and have it walk to the east coast. No one would have to carry anything.
For a moment, that did seem like the easier option.
“But monsters and plants will attack it. If something big, like a boss monster, ate it, it’d be a disaster.”
“Guess we can’t take the easy way out after all. I wish we could build floating islands like in ancient times…”
“But there are unrepaired golems left over at the desert base, right? I was thinking of putting them to work at the iron mine.”
“Having lots of hands is a good thing. It means we can develop more. However, people have different abilities, so if we don’t put them in the right places, they might not work.”
“I see. We’ve always been short-handed, so I’ve done everything and done what I liked, but a division of labor changes things, huh?”
“Yeah. No matter what, Katan’s bread is just tastier, you know?”
Chel had retired from the bakery in the demonic land after eating the chestnut bread Katan had made.
“In that case, we should invest in infrastructure, right? Build roads so we can travel to distant settlements? Now that we have dragons and harpies, we could build routes through the sky.”
“Interaction between residents, huh? Who’d have thought things would turn out like this in less than a year?”
“The demonic land used to be uninhabitable, but now it’s full of people.
There are the people in the Beast Demon Disease dungeon; the undead in the port town to the southwest; the golems at the desert base; the Magic Sealing Clan living on the Sea Turtle of Ten Thousand Years; the harpies from Cliff Garuda; and the ancient refugees inside the giant magical beasts. I never imagined the concept of residents would expand like this.
“Everyone lives in different places now. Trade will start, right?”
“Yeah. So that means we’ll need currency, won’t we?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“The demonic land keeps changing, so nothing’s certain anymore. But maybe it’d be good to have a currency that only works within the demonic land.”
“I was thinking the same thing. For the other residents of the demonic land besides us, magic power and magic stones are probably important.”
Monsters can move as long as they absorb magic power. Conversely, some undead might vanish if they lose their magic power.
“So, wouldn’t a currency exchangeable for magic stones be convenient?”
“That’d create some serious power struggles! Mining output fluctuates by season. Magic stones aren’t only found in mines—monsters have them, too. If magic stone prices fluctuate, we’ll need an exchange and someone who can do the calculations.”
Chel realized how dangerous this was, and her accent vanished.
“But you know, the demonic land is technically a territory of the Estinia Kingdom, right? Can we just go ahead and create our own currency?”
The director at the Genetics Research Institute said that counterfeiting currency is possible.
“We can, but we shouldn’t. Still, if residents far apart trade with each other, it seems like it would happen naturally.”
Honestly, with people gathering in the demonic land and settling into their own areas like this, shouldn’t we call representatives from each region for a council of sorts, like a council of tribal chiefs? We’ve all been figuring out what’s lacking where on our own, but once roads are built, people can interact freely. The lords would only need to resolve any issues that arise.”
“Wow, that sounds so lordly!”
“What? You don’t like it?”
It must have been written all over my face.
“It’d be a hassle.”
“You’re the lord.”
“Yes.”
Jennifer and Lipa returned, so I consulted them. Their reactions were different. Jennifer’s eyes sparkled, but Lipa looked troubled.
“Isn’t that amazing? Creating our own money!”
Jennifer was more excited than she had been in a long time.
“Logically, we should just use Estinian currency, right?”
“No way. Think about it: Look at the price of these magic stones.”
Jennifer picked up a large magic stone.
“About two gold coins?”
“It’s worth at least twenty. And we have mountains of these stones! If we converted them to gold coins, the rest of the Estinia Kingdom would run out. We should absolutely create a currency for the demonic land!”
“I don’t know what creating a currency would mean, so do as you please, Makyo-san. But no matter what, some people will have less money, right?”
Lipa must be anxious because he had a tough life in Cliff Garuda. I understand, having been kicked off my farm myself.
“Lipa, I thought about that, too. But you can live in the demonic land without money. We’re not using it now anyway.”
“You’re right about that.”
“So, I think that in the demonic land, the ability to survive matters more than wealth gaps caused by currency. What do you think?”
“I see. The land belongs to Makyo-san anyway. So, it just makes exchanges more convenient?”
“Hmm… At least we’d use it differently than other residents would. For example, Jennifer could gather dungeon folk and start a gathering company, or Katan could open a restaurant.”
“I see! That means hiring people would be easier, too!”
Jennifer said this and started sketching on the ground what kind of company could be formed.
“Makyo, is this why you made me the Mine Dungeon Master?”
Chel asked, furrowing her brow.
“No, that wasn’t my intention. But you are a wealthy fellow. You hold the mining rights for magic stones.”
With Chel managing the dungeon, the mine shafts could easily be sealed off. Moreover, Chel could determine the value of the demonic land’s currency.
“Huh!? Wait a minute! Where is that currency even made?”
Jennifer was flustered.
“The Genetics Research Institute dungeon. But I suppose any dungeon could counterfeit it. We’ll need to set rules and enforce them.”
“If we don’t enforce them strictly, won’t there be battles immediately over ownership of the Botanical Garden dungeon or the Magic Sealing Clan dungeon?”
Lipa was concerned about conflict.
“Ah, so that’s how ancient dungeon wars started. It really is a hassle.”
“No, but we can’t stop it now. There are residents. Wealth gaps will form, and we have to expect some conflict…”
Chel crossed her arms, looking like a tycoon.
“True. Of all times, Sylvia and Hel aren’t around. Maybe I should consult the captain. If creating demonic land currency is legally forbidden by the Estinia Kingdom, then we couldn’t have created it in the first place.”
“If it’s a certificate instead of currency, it’ll be even more troublesome. The demonic land is especially hard to preserve.”
If we make certificates, we’ll definitely have to inscribe a time magic array. Even then, if they get lost, they’ll likely be eaten by plants or monsters and disappear.
“Hmm…”
“Hang in there, Lord.”
“Yes.”
I took off, flying into the sky as if escaping.
My destination was the frontier military facility where the captain was stationed.
Traveling by air allowed me to cross the demonic land with ease. From the treetops, I could see that the density of greenery differed between the demonic land and the outer forest. The demonic land had more vegetation, while the outer forest appeared to have gaps between the trees.
I knew this even from the ground, but seeing the difference so clearly, separated only by a small stream, was still surprising. Moreover, I reached the military facility quickly.
The fields had already been harvested. The huts were empty.
I heard the shouts of soldiers coming from the direction of the arena.
“Hello~”
The soldiers’ hands, wielding swords and spears, froze.
“Huh? Makyo-kun, did you die?”
The captain asked hesitantly.
“No, I can fly now.”
“Oh, that’s all? You can fly now? That’s a relief. Wait! You can fly now!?”
The captain did a perfect double-take.
“Well, if you interfere with buoyancy, it’s actually pretty easy to fly.”
“No, normally you can’t fly.”
“There was a time I thought that, too.”
“So, you came to tell me that you can fly now?”
“No, that doesn’t matter. I actually wanted to discuss something about money.”
“The military budget is limited, and this frontier is barely scraping by. I can’t lend you much.”
The captain rummaged in his pocket.
“I’m not asking to borrow. It’s just that the population in the demonic land has grown. I thought we might need the demonic land’s currency.”
“Ah, I see. I figured you’d realize eventually. Right… Sorry. Could we talk about it after training ends?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll wrap things up quickly.”
While I was watching from the arena stands, some soldiers asked me to spar with them, so I gave them a light workout. I didn’t demonstrate any special techniques, but I blocked every attack. Nothing unusual happened. No soldiers tried any surprise attacks; they were all straightforward.
After training, I was led to the reception room to face the captain.
“So, you wish to create your own currency?”
“That’s correct. Until now, currency wasn’t widely used in the demonic land. However, with the increase in strange inhabitants—including those who can fly, such as dragons and harpies—interaction is beginning. We want to prepare currency for that. We discussed it, but the residents pointed out that no amount of gold coins would be enough if we align with the Estinia Kingdom’s exchange rates.”
“I see. That’s largely as the royal family predicted. There’s nothing we can do about it. Even if the lords tried to stop it, this is bound to happen once exchanges begin. However, the Kingdom of Estinia prohibits the arbitrary creation of currency.”
“I understand.”
“The demonic land trades with three other nations besides Estinia, correct?”
“Yes.”
We already have relations with Cliff Garuda, the Meiju Kingdom, and the Elven Kingdom. We even provided aid to Cliff Garuda.
“Using any of those countries’ currencies would be problematic. Yet having no currency at all is inconvenient.”
“Are promissory notes the only option?”
“In the demonic land? Even the papers proving ownership in the demonic land were forged, weren’t they?”
“That’s true.”
East Kenya and the Elf Kingdom initially used that to attack us.
“If it’s a unique currency that can’t be used elsewhere, permission might be granted.”
“Of course we’d like that, but…”
“And it must withstand the Demon Realm’s environment without bending or breaking.”
That’s when it finally dawned on me. It doesn’t have to be gold coins.
“Would stone or iron coins hold almost no value elsewhere?”
“None. But are there stone coins that are more valuable than gold?”
“Dungeon keys are probably more valuable than gold coins, right? If we use time magic, we could make indestructible ceramic money.
We just need to use a time magic circle. Few people understand magic circles to begin with.
“Wouldn’t pottery be easy to counterfeit?”
True, but the materials are abundant, so they could be forged endlessly in the dungeon.
“In that case, iron might be better. Iron is scarce in the demonic land.”
“But wouldn’t it solidify the moment you make the mold?”
“We can make an unfinished piece with the mold and have a magic item craftsman finish it.”
“Iron coins, huh? That fits the demonic land. Let’s ask the royal capital first. I’ll send the royal family a letter with the details.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I wouldn’t usually send a letter for something like this. It’s fine. Besides, try to see things from the soldiers’ perspective. They’d have to arrest Makyo-kun and the others if currency was forged without permission. The Kingdom of Estinia doesn’t want to provoke the demonic land either.”
“I’m sorry. Thank you.”
It took several days for a reply from the royal capital to arrive.
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