159. Ask the Joker




 Tellurian dungeon, 4th floor underground.
 Put the bamboo shoots dropped from the Bad Slime in the magic cart and transfer them to the mansion.
 Now I've earned over a million piro today.

 Lately, I've been trying to round up my earnings at a million piro unless I have something in particular to do.
 I can make more money if I put my mind to it, but a million piro is a good limit, so I try to round up my earnings there.

Hmmm, is that not enough?

 It's a little hazy because it's a mental calculation, and if it's 990,000 piro or something like that, it's going to be a little nasty.

 Just to be sure, I decided to earn a little more money, so I loaded my gun and decided to look for the next monster.

 Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of people arguing with each other.
 One of them was arguing with something, while a few others looked unhappy.

''The rest is for 100,000 piro, there's no need to rush, we just need to get it dropped by tomorrow morning.
""......"
All right, I'll go up first.

 The man who looked like the leader said this and raised his hand with a shtick and turned to leave with a smiling face.

 .......
 That's not the kind of thing you want me to do, you're asking me to work overtime.
 No need to rush, but I want it by tomorrow morning.
 Work overtime, take your work home with you and do it at home.

 It's a trick I learned a long time ago.

 It's a nasty memory, and I thought I could help you out a bit - so I approached him.

"Huh! Lyota Sato.

 The man who was about to walk away looked at me and I cringed.
 You know me, then, just as well.
 I was about to open my mouth to say a word.

'Mi, guys! It's going to be tough, but we'll do it together.

 He turned around and said quickly to his friends.
 What are you talking about now? But the man defeated the bad slime that was born beside him with a tension that forced him to get excited.

'Come on, let's work together.

 I tried to make it even more exciting.
 The guy who was going to come back took the initiative, and the others reluctantly followed suit.

 I didn't have time to interrupt, so I watched for a while before going home.

     ☆

 The next day, the Cyclodungeon Association.
 I was in the president's office when I was called by the president of the association - the cell.

'...... If I remember correctly,'

 I looked around the chairman's office, not at the cell we were sitting across from, but at the inside of the chairman's office.

'This place must have been decorated like a normal office yesterday.

 Now it has been replaced with a gilded interior like any other royal palace.

"I ordered them to renovate it. It needs many things.
You did all this in one night?

 It's lightly beyond remodeling. It's almost double the size of the room, if it's my imagination. ......

'I need a lot of things,'
Really?

 Did you manage it with money? Or is it a monster drop?
 I don't know the details, but I thought it was amazing.

'But it's surprising,'
What?
'I thought they were supposed to display my figures, but I guess not.
......

 Cell silently looked away.
 'Hey, why do you look away there?

I'm glad you're here, Satou-sama, because I'd like to ask you a favor. I'd like to ask a favor of Master Sato at this time.

 I was diverted as much as I could.
 You're decorating ...... No, well, that's okay.

What are you asking for?
Uh, two things.

 Cell's face has changed.
 His face became serious and crisp.

'It's fine in my spare time, but I'd like Satou-sama to show his face on all levels in Cyclo. All you have to do is show your face.'
'Just show your face? Why?

 I didn't see the point of the cell request.
 What does it mean to just show up, to just show up in a dungeon?

'There is a whispering among adventurers these days - especially among the leadership level. 'Don't let Lyota Sato get involved.'
I don't want to be a part of this, okay? Did I do something wrong?

 Cell laughed.
 He laughed with a look that said no way.

'It was only after the Clifford incident that I started being told.
'Clifford? Barley.

 Cell nodded.

'Clifford's income clearly dropped after that one incident. I tried to get it up, but Satou-sama intervened and my income went down.
Yeah.
In addition to that, there have been several other instances where subordinates have defected because of Sato-sama's help.
It's...
I know. I know everything about you, Lady Sato.

 I tried to argue with him, but Cell said it with a straight face.
 Not the eyes of a stalker, but those of an understanding man.

'All of those people got what they deserved, and the ones who are now telling Satou-sama to stay out of it are all the ones who are going to get what they deserve again.

 There are so many of them that are black companies.

'Last night, things changed just as Satou-sama walked by.
...... stalker.

 It was a stalker, but it was serious.

'Just like that, just having Satou-sama show up would make the unreasonableness a lot less unreasonable, and people in trouble would be less troubled for now.
I see.

 I was wondering why it happened like that yesterday, but that's what it was about.

'So I want you to show up at various levels, and that's all it takes to save some people.

 Cel said and looked straight at me.

'Only Satou-sama could do that.
'All right. I'll just show up at random.

 I've decided to take the request.
 I'm a little wary of going down a new level, trying to widen my circle, but I'm willing to show my face for that.

I thank you. That's the Satou-sama we've come to expect.
What's the other one you said there were two more?
Mm, Auldurm.
What about Aulum?
"There has been an uptick in adventurer hunting lately.
"Adventurer hunting?

 It's a new word to me.
 But it's a word that's easy to understand and it's one that you know you have to do something about.

It's more likely to happen in dungeons like Ulm, where the drops are expensive relative to their volume. Instead of killing monsters and dropping them, aim for the adventurer who collects them and scoop them all up.
That's a robbery.
Hmm. And it's more than just robbery. Sometimes dead adventurers are hunted and killed.
That's going to be ....... It's something of an impetus.

 So you're forcing them to take it.

'And the adventurers are armed, most of them are hardened with rare items for stability in dungeons, which means--'
...... adventurer's corpse gives rise to rare monster haggle.

 I said, and Cel nodded.
 I nodded gravely.

'I want you to stop that. This is another thing only Master Satou can ask you to do.'
Only me?
Regular adventurers run steady laps, which means they specialize in the tiers they're good at. Adventurers who aren't very good at opponents spend 90% of their time on the ground.
Yeah, .......

 It's like an MMO where opposing monsters and opposing people are two completely different things.

''I can only rely on Satou-sama, who is highly capable and works hard day and night to be able to deal with every situation.
So stop stalking me.

 He chuckles again. How could I even know that kind of thing they do in the dungeon?
 I laughed bitterly, but what was said was something I couldn't leave alone.

'Okay, I'll figure it out,'

 He looked happy and relieved as he declared to Cell.