After a private discussion with my master, I returned to the workshop where Elsie was waiting for me .
　Yeah....... What kind of face should I put on .......

'Oh, Leo!　Good to see you. How have you been?
　As I was wondering how to treat Elsie, I saw someone in the workshop who I had seen before but who seemed to be slightly different .

'Hmm ...... Mr. Colt!　You've lost a lot of weight.
　When I first met him, he was such a buzzkill: .......
　I was taken aback by Colt's tight belly .

'Yeah, I'm a good worker. I hear Leo's been busy with his new fiefdom, too?

Yes, sir. I've been busy every day since I got the estate.

Well, I don't know what a nobleman does, but... I don't think that Mirdine will have to go through all that trouble.

That's not true. There's just so much to do already: ......
　I thought it was going to be easy, too.

'What's the matter with you?　That place was originally controlled by the Empire, right?

That official was corrupt to an awesome level.

Corruption?　What was that official doing?

Basically, embezzlement. And ...... Mr. Colt, have you ever heard of the black market district?

"Well, uh, ...... it's ......
　When I asked him about the black market, Colt suddenly lost his temper.
　Hmm?　Maybe ......

From the looks of it, you knew. If you still have your membership card, you better burn it now. Well, if you do: ......
　If you're involved in anything, I'd suggest you burn the evidence sooner rather than later: .......
　I don't want anyone I know to get caught .
　Well, it's just a matter of if .

." "Oh, ah, ......

What's this black market stuff?
　Colt's expression suddenly darkened, and Master asked him a question as an afterthought .

''There's a city underneath the Myrddin territory . It's amazing . Illegal goods are sold all over the place, and the people walking around the city are usually criminals .
　Assassins.
　Speaking of which, what happened to all the illegal magic tools?
　Most of the stores were broken, so it should be okay, right?
　Well, you and Lou can break the broken stores one by one later.

It's like an awesome ...... story.

'So what's going on in that city?　Don't tell me you've managed to do that all by yourself, Leo-kun?
　You're not going to do something so dangerous, are you?　Elsie will be looking at you like this.
　Yeah. ...... I've seen those eyes before.
　Oh, I get it!　It's just like the way Belle looks at me when she warns me not to go into the Devil's Forest.
　I have a weakness for these eyes. .......

No, sir. There's just no way I'm going to be able to do that. There's a lot of dangerous magic and medicine in there. I couldn't just stimulate them with my own.

'What?　But what do I mean by ......?
　That's what I'm talking about, Colt, you're very perceptive.

'Yeah, ...... what I'm about to tell you is super confidential, right?　This is something that only the emperor and a few people know about, so don't tell anyone about it.

Wow, okay. ......
Yeah, don't worry about it.
Merchants are so tight-lipped.
　The three of them nodded their heads immediately after saying that.
　Yeah, I think these three can handle it.

Really, please . Actually, there was a slave dealer in the ...... black market district that dealt in illegal slaves .

"Illegal slaves?

'Yes . It's a store that kidnapped and sold rare races like elves and beastmen. ....... . there was a slave of the demon race there.

'What?　Demon race!　How?
　When Elsie heard she was a demon, she looked surprised.
　Of course she did. It's probably the first time a demon race has come to the human world since the demon king.


　So if the public knew about Lou's existence, they'd think the Demon King had appeared and all hell would break loose.

I think she was tricked into bringing him here. He's too dangerous to keep.

'Well, I'm sure you will: ....... So you ran off and went on a rampage?

Well, more or less. He got out of the way when he was hauling it in to sell it to me. And then it was a rampage. The black market district was wiped out by a demon girl.

So what happened to ......?
　Yeah...... I shouldn't tell them that we played a game where the loser becomes a slave .
　If it was just the masters, it wouldn't have been a problem, but I feel like I shouldn't tell Elsie about it . Yeah .

''Well ...... I managed to negotiate with them and in exchange for guaranteeing me food and a place to sleep, I'm being kept quiet for now.
　Ugh, you're not lying, are you?　I just made a little violent bargain.

"What?　You have a demon girl in your house?
　Do you keep it?

'Well, yeah . Well, I've got my magic items binding your actions now, so you're safe.
　I almost laughed as I remembered Lou lounging around my house, and I almost laughed as I thought that was definitely like a pet.

'Oh, right. ....... So, how did you end up at our place?
　Now we're getting to the point.

To tell you the truth. Elsie and the rest of the Hollant Corporation would like to ask for your help in redeveloping the underground spaces of the former black market district.

Oh, we're in for a treat.

Are you sure?　With Leo-kun's creative magic, I won't waste my money, and it'll be ready in no time, right?
　An apologetic voice could be heard from beside the happy Master .

''That may be so, but . We want to develop the city as much as possible without creation magic, don't we?''

May I ask why?
　Yeah. ...... How do I explain this?

It's better for the city. This makes sense because it's done by hand.

What's this all about?
　It's hard to explain it simply, after all.

It's simple. To develop an underground city, you need a lot of people. It will give jobs to the homeless people in my city who sleep on the street ....... And when they have money to spend on the streets, the city will be better off. What do you think?　Absolutely, wouldn't it be better this way?
　This is a plan to give jobs to a lot of homeless people who are the biggest problem in my city.
　If this works, the lack of security in the city will be solved because there will be no more orphans and the number of military police has increased.

Yeah, that's right. Are you ...... really a child?
Ha ha ha. You're good.
　Master looked at me suspiciously while Mr. Colt laughed and patted me on the head .

''That's true. That's what I'm talking about, Leo-kun. You think too much already.
　A hot look from Elsie: .......

'Oh, thank you,'

So, what kind of buildings do you plan to build in the underground city?

'Yes, ....... I think I'll turn that place into a leisure facility . There are so many shops on the ground, there's no point in putting regular shops there. Also, I thought it would be nice to have something that only the Hollant Trading Company could make.
　In particular, it's a magic tool only Master can make.
　I'll have Master invent many more.

That sounds interesting... Great. Now that we know you have an idea...

Yes. So... ......
　Then I explained to the three of them in detail about the development of the underground city.
　Then I got their approval, and this project was to begin.