To get to the conclusion, the dungeon has been normalized.
Rupia accepted the surrendered goblins as part of the dungeon, and the golem lived peacefully as if nothing had happened with the ones it fought.
However, the goblins as a species were somewhat unsuitable to be used as combatants.
Perhaps because they are low-level monsters, their stats were far too low for battle.
While I could teach them something like “crossbows,” which has little stat dependency, it still wasn’t much compared to swordsmanship or magic, so I couldn’t expect much power from it.
Because of this, I decided to use just over a hundred of them as workers.
“Alright, you all will handle gathering and farming.”
To create self-sustaining food sources, they plowed fields near the dungeon and planted seeds.
“You all will handle animal husbandry.”
I had them build pens to raise goats and pigs, which they had brought as spoils from the Goblin King’s lair.
“You will handle mining and crafting.”
They developed the dungeon’s underground areas to extract ore, which could be used to make weapons and armor.
“And finally, you all are in charge of cooking.”
To prevent the catastrophe of “Stone Powder Soup Seasoning,” I expanded the cramped kitchen into a communal cooking space and taught them simple recipes.
The dungeon expansion work took about a month.
The costs for the construction were covered with gold and jewels taken from the Goblin King’s lair.
“…It seems I still have some room left even after all this?”
I’d spent over 5,000 gold, but there was still about 1,000 gold left. This was after accounting for the monster contract fees and other expenses.
I started thinking about what I would need next.
“The goblins are all working as laborers, so I need combatants… hmm.”
I thought about raising a golem with better stats, but one wouldn’t be enough.
The invaders this time were goblins, but I didn’t know what powerful monsters or adventurers might come next.
I casually glanced at Rupia, who was dozing off on the stone throne, and then spoke.
“Sorry to disturb your rest, my lord.”
“Mm…?”
“Could I ask a favor?”
“A, favor?”
Rupia murmured with a meek voice as she wiped away some drool.
“Well, if it’s a general’s request, I’ll do anything, but… I’m sorry if it’s something too difficult…”
“It’s not that hard. I just need you to draw a map on some paper.”
In strategy simulation games that involve concepts of invasion and defense, the map is the most important thing.
I asked Rupia to draw a map centered on the dungeon.
“Oh ho! I’m good at drawing!”
Rupia took the paper confidently and scurried off to her room.
About 10 minutes later, a picture that looked like a child’s doodle was placed in front of me.
“…?”
I stared at it, unable to make sense of what was drawn.
Rupia hesitated, then traced her finger along the pictures one by one as if explaining a code.
“This is our dungeon… and this is the forest…”
“What’s this bigger thing than our dungeon? A kingdom?”
“Ah, that’s an orc village.”
…What’s this thing that says “Dangerous Area”?
“That’s the wolves’ territory. They’re quite ferocious.”
There was a dungeon smaller than the orc village, which had lost a territorial battle to a pack of wolves.
The useless map eventually faced a paper-folding punishment and was folded into the shape of a frog.
I handed the folded frog back to Rupia and decided to just ask the key question.
“Is there a city where demons or monsters can freely come and go? A place where you can hire mercenaries or buy rare items?”
Rupia seemed to like the folded frog, as she fiddled with it before answering.
“Well, there’s the Underworld, a demon realm, but it’s a little far…”
Rupia, who was speaking vaguely and trailing off.
“Well, the truth is, I’ve never really properly explored Underlis, so I don’t know much about it. Sorry.”
“What? You’re the Demon Lord, and you’ve never properly explored it?”
“Well, you see, there are other demon lords I’d rather not run into… and every time I’ve gone to make a contract, I’ve only been mocked…”
Rupia’s face was filled with embarrassment as she lowered her head.
This is why she was buying monster summoning stones from some shady merchant without knowing where they came from.
“Let’s go this time.”
“Eh…?!”
Her reaction was like that of a puppy being told it was going to the vet.
“Don’t worry too much. This time, I’ll go with you.”
“Ah, no, I mean… well…”
Rupia clearly looked like she didn’t want to go.
She seemed to be thinking about it for a moment before saying:
“Well, if the general leaves the dungeon, who will stop the intruders?”
“That’s exactly why we’re going. If I’m away, there should be at least one person here to stop any invaders, don’t you think?”
I explained that I was going to find some useful talent, whether mercenary or recruited fully.
“Even so… even so…”
Now Rupia was starting to sound like she was on the verge of tears.
In the dungeon, Rupia was a socially maladjusted, hikikomori (socially avoidant) Demon Lord.
To get her out of the dungeon, I would need a pretty good bait.
I recalled the deer steak that Rupia had enjoyed so much last time.
“My lord, surely in a grand city known as the Demon Realm, there must be delicious foods you’ve never tasted in the dungeon?”
“…Well…”
“Don’t you wonder what the high-end steaks from the Demon Realm would taste like?”
“Ho, ho…”
Rupia raised her head slightly, showing interest.
I didn’t miss the opportunity and began to describe the “Hellfire Steak” from Underlis, a place I had never been to and a food I had never tasted.
The surface of the steak was lightly charred by the intense heat of the Hellfire, creating a crispy crust that seemed ready to crumble at any moment. As the knife cut through that crust, the soft interior gently yielded.
As soon as it touched the tongue, a subtle scent of flames spread and enveloped the taste buds, while the perfectly melted juices flowed like sweet butter, creating a mouthwatering, heavenly steak.
Gulp!
Before I knew it, Rupia was drooling, her eyes sparkling like a star as she longed for the steak.
“H-hmm… I suppose it might be worth going once…”
“Then it’s decided.”
I immediately prepared to leave before Rupia could change her mind.
I handed over authority to Lupia and appointed the golem as the dungeon’s head of security.
“My lord and I will be going to Underlis for about three days, so please take care of the dungeon while we’re away.”
“Gra…!”
The golem sluggishly raised its arm and saluted.
It was better than the goblins, but since the golem was so slow, I honestly felt a little uneasy.
“Before we leave, I’ll teach you one combat skill. Follow me to the training area.”
The newly built training ground was a space that created an atmosphere like a real battlefield.
The floor was made of stone, there were trap zones, crawling tunnels, and various other terrains arranged. On the weapon racks, various weapons, from maces to crossbows, were neatly lined up.
I picked up a crossbow and spoke.
“Listen carefully, golem. You’re slow.”
“…Grr?”
“You have great strength and durability, but you’re just too slow. If the fight is close-range and the opponent is at the same level, you’ll have no problem. But there are many smart opponents in this world.”
Like the Goblin King, who nearly killed the golem with magic last time.
I loaded a bolt without a tip into the crossbow and shot it at the golem.
“For example, what would you do if an enemy attacked you from long range? What if they don’t want to fight you up close?”
The golem paused for a moment, then, as expected, began to stomp the ground and charge at me.
I lightly stepped backward, evading the golem’s attack range, and fired the crossbow.
With the golem’s slow speed, it couldn’t catch me. It would be the same for anyone.
“See? If the bolt I just shot had a steel tip or was enchanted with magic, you would’ve been shattered like last time, without being able to resist at all.”
“…Grr…”
The golem nodded its stone head, seemingly acknowledging what I said.
“Strength is your advantage, but slowness is your disadvantage. So, how should you fight? Like this—”
I held up a weapon that had a sharp spike at the end, thick and sturdy chains wrapped around it, and gave off an imposing presence.
“A mace. It’s a weapon with great power, and because it’s heavy, it can easily smash through armor or shields. The long chain also allows for long-range attacks.”
In human times, mid-level infantry used this weapon. Those with strong physical power could handle it well, and because they were fully armored, even if they made a mistake, it wasn’t a big problem.
It was a weapon that combined the golem’s brute strength with armor-like durability.
I taught the golem the art of using the mace.
[You have taught ‘Mace Combat.’]
[Proficiency: D]
[0% to the next proficiency level]
Usually, the lowest F-grade is where everyone starts, but it seemed the golem had some talent for this.
“Give it a swing.”
I pointed to a target placed on the outer wall of the training ground.
The golem swung the mace in the air, spinning it before hurling it. The mace cut through the air with explosive speed.
Boom!
The stone target shattered into pieces.
A thick crack ran across the target, and deep fractures spread through the stone.
Broken stone fragments scattered all around.
The impact of the mace made the wall tremble as if alive, and dust and small pebbles lifted into the air.
I nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright then, please take care of the dungeon. Head of security.”