Humans are weak to the word “profit.”
The primary reason given is probably that directly earning money improves one’s standard of living.
With money, one can obtain delicious food, trendy clothes, and luxurious houses, leading to a sense of satisfaction.
Some people even say that earning money is fun.
It is such people that make people listen to the word “profit.”
“If you do X, you can earn good money,” or “That part-time job is efficient and profitable.”
People are easily drawn to such words.
However, most of these stories have a catch, and cases where money can be earned easily are very rare.
The only way to get a lot of money by sheer luck is probably winning the lottery with a whim purchase, isn’t it?
So, how do you make a profit? It comes down to either working or “investing.”
“Now, let us begin the meeting to discuss the decisive battle against the dragons. I will serve as the chairman.”
I say this even though I stirred things up myself, but money is a scary power.
I watched the proceedings from a distance, feeling that the atmosphere of the usual room had changed.
The party room was rearranged in an instant, quickly taking on the appearance of a conference room.
It was a display of skill that could only be described as a wasteful use of magically enhanced bodies.
And at the carefully prepared meeting table sat Minami, who had declared herself chairman.
Her eyes and the palpable, almost audible, fighting spirit revealed her seriousness.
She sat in the seat of honor, striking a pose like a certain commander from a new century.
Behind her, standing with her back straight before the whiteboard, was Kaido, in a position akin to a vice-commander.
“Haa, Jiro-san, I also impulsively agreed, so it’s hard to say, but didn’t those two just switch to a weird mode?”
“What a coincidence, I was also reflecting that I might have egged them on a little too much.”
“I have no regrets.”
“It’s good that they’re motivated. It also means I have to take responsibility for my own words.”
“In Minami’s case, it’s not so much motivation as it is greedily driven…”
“Hey!! We’re discussing private matters, so be quiet!!”
The remaining members whispered amongst themselves, discussing Kaido’s and Minami’s behavior.
Money is a demon, they say, but I never imagined it to this extent; they were more formidable than monsters in any lousy dungeon.
Seeing the two with dollar signs in their eyes, the rest of us felt a slight disconnect in terms of excitement, but we each took our preferred seats.
“So, without further ado, we will discuss how to earn money efficiently!!”
“I knew this would happen, Minami, you’ve already gone off track. The main objective is to retrieve my Ore Tree, remember?”
“That’s secondary!!”
“………Haa, Minami, perhaps you need to cool down a bit?”
“Fufufufu, at my current state, I don’t think I’d lose to the leader!!” I won’t lose to anyone until I see a mountain of gold!”
“Alright, well roared. Don’t have any regrets.”
This sparked Minami’s discussion, but to reboot Minami, whose thoughts were only functioning to earn money, I had no choice but to resort to physical force.
A few seconds passed with a “Please wait a moment” subtitle.
What happened during those few seconds is a secret.
All I can say is that Minami, who was so spirited at first, was only screaming at the end.
“Uh, let’s get back on track. We’re starting a meeting to retrieve the leader’s Ore Tree and earn money~”
“Oh, alright.”
A few seconds later, a somewhat tattered Minami, looking dejected, began to proceed with the meeting.
Huh? What did you do? What happened?
Nothing much? We just had a chat.
Did you know? A human’s roundhouse kick can cut through steel.
And there was a target at just the right height, which I cut.
At that moment, I felt a slight discomfort in my body, and I thought something was wrong after being injured by the Dragon Kings.
I realized this was bad and readjusted myself.
And I had Minami, who was acting all high and mighty, confirm it.
Ah, and I did it away from everyone else, you know? Though I might have been a little close to Minami.
The source of the discomfort was that my stats had increased, making my control of strength difficult.
“That was a rather forceful reboot, wasn’t it?”
“Jiro-san, you were a little scary just now.”
“It’s Minami’s own fault.”
At that time, I also presented Kaido with a smile, but for some reason, Kaido also seemed to smile.
I really wonder why?
“Uh, ahem. First of all, I will explain the gathered information about the leader.”
While thinking about such things, Minami, back to her usual self, opened her PC and projected the screen onto the large TV in the party room.
“The dragon species confirmed are numerous, so I’ll have you all check them later. First, our destination. We’re aiming for the bottom of a canyon located within ten kilometers at a bearing of two o’clock from the entrance. It’s tentatively called the Dragon’s Graveyard.”
Based on my memories, I created a simplified map, calculated the route, and a distribution map of dragons that might be encountered along the way.
This was the data I prepared, and Minami, after reviewing it for about ten minutes, devised countermeasures.
While doing so, she also presented her improvement proposals, and considering that along with the content, we thought about the route to the Ore Tree.
“First of all, a steep dive from the air is not an option. Control of the air is lost to the dragons, and more importantly, it would be conspicuous. It’s the most likely way to attract the Dragon King, akin to throwing away our lives and money.”
There were three routes shown on the simplified map: blue, red, and yellow, indicated by arrows. Minami’s operation erased the red route, which involved traveling through the air.
This left the yellow route, which proceeds along the surface of the canyon and descends midway, and the blue route, which dives into the canyon from the start and proceeds through the lowest layer.
“Therefore, we must choose between the remaining two routes. I personally recommend the blue route.”
No one interrupted, and as we continued to look at the screen while listening to Minami’s explanation, the blue route began to blink.
“It’s a process of elimination, but the most important thing to be cautious of when challenging the Dragon King’s Dungeon this time is, of course, the Dragon King. Beyond that, fighting other dragon species while encountering such forces… what kind of lunacy is that game? If such a game existed, I’d immediately label it a trash game.”
Even while saying so, the next screen displayed the detailed reasons.
“Well, whether it’s a trash game or not is another matter. There’s a reason I called it a process of elimination. According to the leader, the Dragon King didn’t attack the bottom of the canyon. It’s speculation, but I believe the Skeleton Dragon the leader fought is the cause. I don’t know the exact reason, but considering that, I believe there’s more room for a solution by facing enemies we can’t defeat rather than facing the Dragon King, even knowing they are strong.”
Minami concluded her explanation, adding, “It would be a complete disaster if my prediction turns out to be wrong.”
“Well, that’s a reasonable argument. The combat itself will be tough, but not impossible. It’s more problematic to deplete our stamina and then encounter an opponent we can’t defeat.”
Kitamiya showed her understanding of the explanation. She likely judged that while it might be a bit difficult, it wasn’t reckless. Nodding with one hand under her chin, a habit when thinking, she did not object to Minami’s explanation and affirmed its possibility.
“Besides, this route would also lead to our level-up. It’s killing two birds with one stone, isn’t it?”
“Hmm, with how Minami-chan is thinking, she’s probably aiming for a third bird, though.”
“Gk!?”
“I’ve never seen someone physically say ‘gk!’ before. From that reaction, it seems Minami-chan hasn’t given up yet, has she?”
“Well, Minami prioritizes retrieving the Ore Tree, so can we overlook it?”
Amelia interjected with another reason for choosing this route, causing cold sweat to break out on Minami’s forehead.
“It can’t be helped!! It’s eight digits, eight digits!! I can’t just give up on such an amount!!”
Katsu intervened, and as I watched her with a lukewarm gaze, she became defiant and revealed her true feelings. She might as well be called refreshing in her bold declaration and assertion that money is everything in this world.
As Minami stood up and formed a circle with her thumb and index finger, a sound like a cash register echoed.
“Wow, what a waste of magic.”
“When did you learn that kind of magic?”
It wasn’t an imagined sound effect, but a sound that everyone present could physically hear. Kitamiya, sensing a faint residual magic, identified it as a magic.
“It’s sound magic originally used for distraction and redirection~ With some application, I can do things like this. My goal is to create an anime song medley with magic.”
Amelia, having identified the nature of the sound, was impressed but couldn’t help but chuckle at its application. Kitamiya, sitting next to her, was equally dumbfounded. I also gave a wry smile, thinking that while I thought she was skillful, she had now started using magic for fun. And once the plan was settled, it was time to move on to the preparation phase. Bringing the conversation back on track, Minami finally showed a list.
“So, Leader, these are the items we need as incidentals, but…”
“…You’ve packed quite a lot in there.”
“They are necessary incidentals.”
The list included consumables like potions, new weapons and armor, and magic tools to support combat.
“What about the Magic Bag?”
“It’s a necessary incidental. To recover even a little of the expenses incurred this time, because we cannot move smoothly with luggage, and one is needed as a fixed warehouse for healing supplies to increase our sustained combat capability.”
“You might be good at sales.”
“To give a presentation to someone you’ve just met, is the leader ordering me to get an ulcer?”
When questioned about the Magic Bag hidden within the list, she gave plausible reasons accompanied by her true feelings. In essence, she wanted to collect as many dragon materials as possible. It was difficult to accept, considering the cost was approaching eight digits, even if it didn’t reach it. The final decision was up to me, the leader, but I hesitated to use the party’s funds.
“I suppose it can’t be helped. Either way, if your equipment isn’t renewed, it will hinder future battles.”
Minami’s reasoning was sound enough to be considered necessary expenses. With the Kiō’s Dungeon also proving to be a bottleneck, upgrading our equipment and increasing our combat strength wouldn’t be a bad idea. If that’s the case.
“Minami, a revision to the list.”
“Huh? Which part should I cut? I thought I had already narrowed it down considerably.”
“Don’t make such a sad face. Don’t worry, we’re not cutting anything.”
If we’re going to do it, we’ll do it thoroughly. The current party funds are sufficient to cover this expense, with plenty left over. We’ve been saving for times like these, so a little overspending is acceptable.
“Add thirty percent of the party funds, and an additional ten million from my own earnings this time. If we’re going to do it, we’ll do it with all our might. Minami, recalculate.”
“Ki.”
“Ki?”
“IT’S HEEEERE!!!”
At my words, Minami’s eyes widened as if she had just won the lottery. For my part, I simply wanted to provide them with slightly better equipment to guarantee their safety just a little, as they were accompanying me to the dangerous Dragon King’s Dungeon. But Minami was jumping for joy as if she had achieved nirvana.
“Wait, are you sure you can say that? That’s money Jiro-san earned, isn’t it?”
“What? We can probably recoup some of it by raiding that place. Besides, they’re accompanying me to retrieve the Ore Tree. I have to spend a little of my own money.”
Unlike Minami, Kitamiya voiced her concern, but I waved it off with a smile, telling her not to worry.
“Besides, they’ll have to work hard to make up for it. Come on, hurry up and chime in before Minami decides how all the money gets spent.”
I waved my hand dismissively at Kitamiya. Looking around, everyone except Kitamiya was intently looking at the PC screen operated by Minami, who had finished her ecstatic dance, and were chiming in with their opinions. Thinking they were quite fickle, I decided that since the final confirmation was up to me, I would unceremoniously scold them if they bought anything strange and told Kitamiya to hurry.
“Really, I guess I have no choice.”
With a wry smile at my attitude, she probably wanted to go shopping herself. Watching Kitamiya, who had pushed Kaido aside with her body reinforcement and started voicing her opinions, I drank my coffee while waiting for the list to be finalized.
Today’s word: If it’s necessary, don’t be stingy.
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*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year.
Volume 2 was released on December 19.
Volume 3 was released on February 20, 2019.
The content includes revisions and additions to the material posted on “Shōsetsuka ni Narō,” with the addition of unpublished interlude chapters.
Please also check out the new releases!
The manga adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”
We hope you enjoy that as well.
We look forward to your continued support of this work.
