Night eventually fell.
Everyone gathered around the campfire, chatting and laughing.
Aqua was in high spirits, casting Banquet Magic left and right like a drunken party planner with zero self-awareness.
Rim and Milim, the two pint-sized disasters, were deep into an eating contest.
Milim lay flat on the ground, groaning and clutching her bloated belly.
"Ughh~, I'm done… can't eat another bite…"
"Rim-chan, you win…"
Next to her, Rim's stack of empty plates had ford a mini-mountain.
But she showed no signs of slowing down.
"Yummy~, so yummy~."
She happily chomped steak with wide, satisfied bites.
"Chishiya-sama!!"
Shion trotted over, proudly holding a plate.
Chishiya's mouth twitched. Danger alert.
"This is dinner made with love~. Please enjoy every last bite, Chishiya-sama!"
She opened the tray.
A bowl of bubbling purple soup sat in the center. It looked… unstable.
Surrounding it were tentacle-shaped and eyeball-shaped side dishes. Just looking at them felt like a threat to one's sanity.
"Eat it all?"
He swallowed hard.
"Yeah!" Shion bead.
"…."
After a long pause, Chishiya decided to test the limits of his protection skills.
He picked up a side dish and popped it into his mouth.
"Well? Well?!"
Shion leaned in eagerly.
"…."
Chishiya closed his eyes, kicked his legs out, and leaned all the way back.
His throat felt like it was on fire.
Thanks to his resistances, he couldn't actually die from poison…
But that didn't an it was painless.
Poisoned. Recovered. Poisoned again. Recovered again. Repeat.
If soone was looking to die in the most dramatic way possible…
Chishiya would absolutely recomnd this cuisine.
It really makes you appreciate how good it feels to be alive.
"Shion… I feel your love…"
"Well done. Let's not do that again."
"Huh?!!!"
Shion looked devastated.
She clenched her fists.
I'll work even harder next ti!
She swore to herself silently.
---
As the feast neared its end, Chishiya gathered everyone from the Technical Departnt.
He pulled out the blueprint for the Library of All Worlds.
"Everyone, take a look. Can we actually build this thing?"
Kaijin and the other dwarf craftsn sat around, examining the plans carefully.
"Chishiya-sama… did you design this?!"
It had a grand, sacred air that rivaled anything they'd ever seen.
Even the palace of Gazel Dwargo couldn't compare.
And it was just… a library?
A library of this size could probably hold every book in existence.
"Well? Can we do it?"
Kaijin nodded slowly.
"Technically speaking, yes. But it's a massive undertaking."
"It'll test our manpower, resources, and funding."
Chishiya asked, "Rough estimate—cost and construction ti?"
The dwarves did so ntal math, then gave their answer.
"At least 2,000 gold coins. About one year."
Chishiya rubbed his chin.
That's no small figure.
His current trade with the Ard Kingdom only pulled in 300 gold coins a year. Way too low.
"Alright. I'll figure sothing out."
"We can at least start selecting the site."
He didn't need to pay everything upfront.
But he was determined to make this wonder a reality.
Once the trade network opened up and the Labyrinth gained traction, profits would surge.
He needed to scale up.
Make the Labyrinth bigger and more profitable.
Finally, Chishiya handed off so tasks to Geld and the Queen Ant.
Things like planning the post-rger infrastructure between two towns, road design, shopkeeper selection…
Manpower allocation to the various departnts…
In short, as CEO of Underground Labyrinth Enterprise—
There was never a dull day.
"Phew…"
"Finally… a break."
After wrapping up everything, Chishiya stretched and flopped onto a bench.
"Best friend!"
Milim smacked his shoulder and leaned over.
"I've got to head back now."
"I had a blast. Next ti, I'll bring my servants with ."
"You gotta teach them how to cook tasty food!"
Chishiya raised an eyebrow. "You're leaving?"
His arrival had changed a lot.
But the general plotline of the Tensura world wouldn't shift much.
If mory served—
Once she went back, that annoying devil Clayman would co knocking.
Then she'd go off-script and cause a mountain of trouble.
"Don't worry, I'll be back!"
Milim grinned with her hands on her hips.
She figured Chishiya was gonna miss her.
"Bye," Chishiya said flatly.
"Eh? Why do you look so happy?"
"Really! I'm super sad to see you go~."
Chishiya gave a casual wave.
All he could think of was the Demon Lord Banquet, the Holy-Demon War, and a pile of etings…
Just imagining it gave him a migraine.
Hard pass.
".…"
Milim pouted. Sothing definitely felt off.
"Fine, I'm going!"
"See you next ti!"
PONG!
Milim transford back into her default black jacket look.
She kicked off the ground and shot into the sky like a teor.
Chishiya slouched back in his chair.
He had things to do too.
Like—
Building wonders? Needs money.
Feeding Rim? Needs money.
Running the Labyrinth? Needs more money.
In summary? Two words: make money.
First small goal—
Earn 2,000 gold coins and finish the first wonder!
Damn it.
Chishiya cradled his head.
He needed a new business plan—fast.
---
The beach feast was over.
Chishiya returned to town.
The road to the Ard Kingdom of Dwargon was finally complete.
It stretched over ten ters wide, paved with smooth bluestone.
There was a street lamp every 50 ters.
Powered by magic crystals, the route was fully functional even at night.
Geld gave a progress report on the side.
"Chishiya-sama, the road to Dwargon is complete."
"Good."
Chishiya nodded. "How are you handling monster threats along the trade route?"
Jura Forest was still full of wild monsters.
Now that a trade path existed, they had to prevent ambushes on caravans.
"Aqua-sama's exorcism barriers were installed on every lamp post."
"They're surprisingly effective. Wild monsters can't approach at all."
…Aqua did sothing useful?
Chishiya raised an eyebrow.
Well then, the trade route was officially secure.
And—
He already had his next big business idea.
Online shopping!
(To be continued.)
***
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