“Mmm…!”
After more than an hour of sitting, I finally raised my butt up and stretched my whole body. Not that I would suffer stiffness and cramps for having a High Human body, I just wanted to do it since I missed doing so.
I just finished checking the features of the newly conquered Raevender Dungeon, and I was done with the configuration of it as well. Earlier, we decided to rearrange the order of floors beyond the 100th for security purposes.
Currently, the 101st floor was the formerly 102nd floor, which was an empty plot; the 102nd floor was now my private floor; the former 40th; the 103rd was where the mansion was erected; and the last floor was the floor with the control panel. 𝑜𝘷𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔
In the [Modify] section of the [Dungeon] app, there was an option to alter the stairways between the floors. Since I don’t want anybody to intrude on my private, experimental workplace, I removed its entry and exit points and made the stairs connect the 101st and 103rd floors.
The changes had been implemented, and the dungeon was now ready to operate. After that, there was something crucial that should be discussed with everyone. Once I finished stretching my body, I faced my family and opened a conversation.
“Now, then, I think we should start discussing the future of Raevender Dungeon, everyone. It is an important matter that potentially affects our lives for life.”
“You are right, Raphael. We indeed need to talk about it.”
When Mother agreed with my statement, we subsequently before we took our seats. Mom and Mother sat together while I sat arranged our own chairs with the table in the middle of the room before we took our seats. Mom and Mother sat together while I sat next to Big Sis. I took our four glasses and a jar of water from Inventory for refreshments.
“Alright, first thing first, should we open this dungeon to the public or keep it exclusively to ourselves?”
Almost immediately after everyone sat, I spoke and uttered a natural question to everyone on the table. Upon hearing my question, everyone looked at me and then at one another before Mother explained her response.
“Hmm. There are many things to consider before we can decide about that. For example, if we were to hide the dungeon, we should assure that it would be completely concealed from the rest of the world. If ever it was disclosed, it would only cause problems to us, such as issues with our credibility or even being accused of treason.”
That was what she explained, and it made sense to everyone in this room. Hiding the whole thing would only cause us harm. Hiding the dungeon was like hiding an essential asset: corruption, which caused awfully massive public distrust.
If it came to this, the only option left was to…
“So this dungeon has to be disclosed, huh? Big Sis sighed.
“If we do that, a city needs to be established on the surface,” Mom noted. “From what I have seen, the settlement on the surface is still in the middle of a village and a town, so a lot of improvement and development should take place for it to become at least a town.”
Like Mom just said, the human settlement on the surface was not at the level of a town in terms of size. The population was growing, but the numbers had not reached three hundred yet, way too far from the density of even a small town.
“But before we have to mind that matter, we should think about the distance between the dungeon and our territory. Even though it is not as long as the distance between Raevender and the empire, this dungeon is seclusively situated in the middle of the Great Forest of Darkness. So making it here is like stepping a foot into the grave.”
What Mother said was all true. The distance alone was hundreds of kilometers. Many people would hesitate to venture the distance, let alone walk a path full of dangerously deadly monsters. But there was a solution for virtually everything.
“Actually, I have measures for that distance matter, as well as ensuring the security of the people.”
“Really?”
“Really, Mom. But we have to pave the road, level the ground, and excavate some hills before all, of course. And I hope your cooperation for that.”
“Of course we’ll help you, Raphael.”
What I was planning to do was use a type of transportation for shorter trips. We have to make a path for it to run. It would be a long road to pave, but the essence of magic would definitely make the work way easier and faster than the Earth’s way.
“I have already discussed this matter with Sophia before, but I am planning on making a new mode of transportation. The vehicle itself is done and is ready to test.”
“You made it by yourself?”
“Yes, Sis, made and tested on the former 40th floor. However, my resources are logistically not enough to build the entire track that trails the future road. So, Mom, if you may…”
“Don’t worry, Raphael, I’ll try to talk to Brother about it.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
Making the whole track of a specific vehicle was lavishly expensive and needed an abundant amount of materials and manpower. That was why we approached the Raeven Company to fill our lack of logistics.
Uncle Steville has been helping us ever since. He played a huge part in the establishment of my company, after all. I did not want my family to owe favors, but our domain was not that big, so we resorted to doing so. Moreover, the Raeven were a family; it was better to be them than borrow gold from anyone else.
We could do it by ourselves, but a huge portion of our time would be consumed by doing that, so hiring workers was our optimal solution. By doing that, we would be giving people job opportunities.
“Alright, let’s move on.”
A matter about the dungeon had been settled. Putting my chin over the knuckles of my clasped hands, I glanced at the others with a serious look.
“Once the city has been established in the future, who will be governing it?”