Floria, accompanied by Sally, arrived at Kousuke’s place.
Sally, who had visited the management layer several times before, was still looking around her surroundings with a sense of novelty.
Although nothing had particularly changed since Sally’s last visit, the management layer, filled with many magic tools made by Kousuke, seemed to hold a captivating interest for her.
Kousuke, not finding this reaction unusual, turned his gaze to Floria.
“It’s rare for you to bring Sally with you. Did something happen at the orphanage?”
He couldn’t think of any other reason for Sally to be at the management layer unless it concerned the orphanage.
Kousuke’s guess was correct, and Floria immediately nodded and said, “Ah, yes. However, it wasn’t a major accident or incident, so you can rest assured.”
Kousuke’s face showed a momentary surprise, but upon hearing the latter part of her words, he quickly returned to his usual expression.
“It would be best to hear the details from Sally,” Floria said, prompting Sally. Sally lightly bowed her head and spoke, “I apologize for the sudden intrusion. When I told Floria, she said it would be better to tell you directly.”
“No, that’s fine. I wasn’t in the middle of any urgent work. More importantly, what happened?” Kousuke thought he might prepare materials for making magic tools, but there was no immediate need to do so. He was more curious about the reason Floria had brought him here.
Sally, meeting Kousuke’s gaze, showed a slightly hesitant expression. “Well, it’s more of a consultation or a request…” Seeing Sally falter slightly, Kousuke tilted his head. It was unusual for the normally straightforward Sally to act this way. Knowing from Floria’s demeanor that she wouldn’t suggest anything unreasonable, Kousuke couldn’t understand why Sally looked so troubled.
Kousuke, tilting his head, urged Sally to continue. Sally cleared her throat once and then said, “The children have grown quite a bit, so I’d like to ask if you could prepare a more practical training ground for them. …That’s what I said, and Floria brought me here.”
“Ah, I see. So that’s what it’s about,” Kousuke nodded, understanding Floria’s purpose after hearing Sally’s words.
Still, Kousuke turned his gaze to Floria to ask her intention. “Were you thinking of a Summoning Circle, or something else?”
“Yes, that would probably be the quickest thing to prepare, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, that is true,” Kousuke nodded, and Floria tilted her head. She sensed that Kousuke was considering preparing something other than a Summoning Circle.
“Can you prepare something else? I haven’t heard of you making such a convenient magic tool?”
“Ah, no. It’s not that. I was thinking, since we’re at it, why not prepare a Dungeon?”
Upon hearing Kousuke’s suggestion, Floria’s eyes widened for a moment before she nodded in understanding. “…Indeed, that’s a possibility.”
Currently, at Amamiya Tower, only entire floors have been converted into Dungeons. However, if one wanted to, part of a floor could be made into a Dungeon. The reason this hadn’t been done before was simply the lack of perceived necessity. If it would benefit the orphans, creating a Dungeon on the floor where the orphanage was located would be no great feat. Amamiya Tower was currently generating enough income to accommodate such a task.
However, the problem would be determining what kind of monsters to populate the Dungeon with. “If it’s too strong, it won’t be effective for the children’s training, will it?”
“That’s true, but more importantly, is it safe to build something like that right next to the facility?”
“Well, I wonder?” Floria’s words prompted Kousuke to tilt his head slightly before looking at Sally.
Sensing Kousuke was seeking her opinion, Sally thought for a moment before speaking. “That would depend on what kind of opponents appear…”
Kousuke agreed with her pertinent observation and continued, “I can’t create a Dungeon with only Slimes appearing, but I can create one with monsters of that general strength level, can’t I?”
“You can!?” Sally’s face showed surprise at Kousuke’s words. Currently, the Dungeons being cleared by Adventurers don’t have such strictly defined monster appearances, so she hadn’t considered the possibility of creating one. Even within beginner monsters, the range of strength is quite wide for those who have just started learning combat skills.
At Amamiya Tower’s Dungeons, while individual monsters cannot be specified, the range of their strength can be set. This classification is quite detailed, making it possible to create Dungeons that are limited to a specific range. It was natural for Sally, who didn’t know these details, to be surprised, so Kousuke nodded and continued, “Yes, I can. after all, Dungeons aren’t needed for anything other than people to use them, so I haven’t made such fine-tuned settings before.” Limiting the types of monsters that appear also makes them easier to clear. Kousuke, who had no intention of making Dungeons used by people too easy, had deliberately not used such settings in existing Dungeons.
Floria seemed to ponder Kousuke’s words for a while before finally nodding. “Indeed, if the appearing monsters are limited, it would be a suitable place for training. However, the danger involved is still the same as elsewhere.”
“I don’t expect that much. Rather, it’s precisely in places like these that we need to teach them about such dangers,” Sally replied, shaking her head at Floria’s explanation. After all, what Sally had asked Floria for was a place where more practical training could be conducted. With that in mind, a Dungeon with limited monster appearances aligned with her requirements.
However, Sally had one lingering concern. “If you can prepare such a Dungeon, will the spawns be manageable?” In the Dungeons of this world, if monsters are not thinned out regularly, a phenomenon occurs where the monsters inside overflow and spill out. This phenomenon, unlike a flood, is feared in a different sense. However, as long as some thinning is done, spawns won’t occur, and it’s not feared as much as a sudden overflow. The problem arises when an undetected Dungeon is left unattended for a long time, leading to spawns.
Kousuke, hadn’t considered the spawns, hummed thoughtfully and replied, “In that case, perhaps we could station wolves and foxes near the orphanage. Goblins… considering the future, it might be better to avoid them?” As long as familiars are stationed, they can deal with any spawns in the Dungeon in the worst-case scenario. In the meantime, the orphans could remain safely within the facility, protected by a barrier.
Ultimately, regarding the placement of a Dungeon near the orphanage, it was decided provisionally that it would be removed if any problems arose. For the time being, to ensure the children’s safety, familiars would be permanently stationed there, more than necessary. Additionally, there was the objective of having the children become accustomed to Kousuke’s familiars. Kousuke felt it was a somewhat rough approach to learn by habit, but as someone who had entrusted everything to Sally, who was directly raising the orphans, he intended to provide as much backup as possible.
