Mr. Yoda, you have a visitor.

　I was relaxing in the saloon of the mansion at night, when Emily came to call me.

'A visitor?　Who is it?
I'm new here, how can I help you?
I'll see you anyway.
All right. I'll show you where to go.

　Emily left the salon in a flurry.
　A first time client at this hour, what kind of person and what do you want?

"Ryota, let's go to the bar, let's go to the bar.

　As we waited for Emily and the others, Aulum came in this time.
　She's holding Meeke, a mini-wise man who has now become her partner.

'The tavern?'
'Yes!　A place where she's around and you can hear all kinds of stories.
Yeah, well, that's what you like to do.
'Yes!　So let's go. Hey, I'll buy you a drink.

　Aulum said, holding out his hand and producing a gold nugget.
　It was a pyramid pile of gold with a market value of 4 million piro in one piece.
　That's the master of the Aulum dungeon, the golden incarnation.

''No, no, no, that's a lot of gold. I don't need that much, I'm going to the tavern.
"I'll buy everyone a drink, anyway!　It's a real bar, and it's worth it!
You really like it, don't you?
'Yes!　So, hey!
You're welcome to go, but...
Mr. Yoda, we're waiting for you.

　Emily walked into the salon with a client.
　He's a man in his fifties, looking a little tired, like an old man in an overpopulated shopping district.

'--I've got a customer here.
"I see. ...... Sorry.

　Aulum held up his hand and made the gold disappear.
　He was a good listener and pulled back easily, but I felt sorry for him when I saw him shunned.

'I'll go tomorrow instead,'
Really?
You can talk to people while you're at it. People will come to you for free.
"--Hey!　Thanks Lyota!

　Aulum hugged my neck and kissed me on the cheek, tutting.
　As it was, I hugged Meeke in a good mood and skipped away from the salon.

'...... gohon,'

　I cleared my throat and faced my visitor again.

"I'm sorry to make you look weird. I'm Ryota Sato.

　He's the first person I've ever met, so I've become a respectful person.
　It's a company animal - no, it's a remnant of my salaryman days, or maybe it's just natural manners.

''My name is Dale. Um, ...... excuse me, but isn't the person now, Aulum-sama, ......?
Yeah?

　When he nodded, Dale's eyes changed color.

''You really do live with Spirit-sama, don't you? Moreover, it's also the power of Spirit-sama that made the gold nugget disappear just now.
Oh, yeah.

　The tension was so high that I flinched slightly.

　After the introductions were done, Emily left the salon to make tea for the visitors, and I sat down across from Dale.

So, ...... what can I do for you?
I'm the president of the Tetramine Dungeon Society.
Oh,

　Tetramine, that's a poisonous name.

'I'll be blunt!　Would you be willing to move your activities to our Tetramine!
Yeah?　You want me to move to ............ for a base of operations?

　He thought for a moment and then asked back, and Dale nodded curtly.

'Yes!　I have prepared a mansion for you to stay in for Master Lyota, with a well-trained maid, and I will have a buyer just around the corner. These, of course, will be for all of your companions--and more.
More?

　Is there more than just a mansion with a maid?

'The dungeon Plumbum that my tetramin has. We will be issuing licenses for all levels, of course.
Plumbum: "Plumbum: ...... lead?
What?
'No, it's this way. Hmmm: ......

　That's a weird story.
　It's not like they're just going to come in and tell us they're going to set up a house or something.

　It's something, isn't it?

"...... I don't have a straight answer, just give me a few days to think about it.
'Thank you!　I urge you to consider it positively!

　Dale leaned forward meh.
　I didn't know his intentions, but I could feel his desperation.

　　　　　Stars.

Haha, it's for the taxpayers.

　The next night, as promised, I brought Aulum to the tavern, Viradiech, and I ended up having a drink with Neptune, who was there.
　When I brought up last night's events as a snack, Neptune answered with a joyful laugh.

'Taxes?'
'You should know your influence a little better. How many members of the Lyota family are there now?
'Me and Emily, and Eve and Celeste and Alice and Meeke. Oh, and the Cliff family and the Margaret family will be in there too?
'Aside from the second half, that's six in the direct line alone. And the taxes?
What?
How much tax do you think you'll pay in a year?
How was the tax ......?

　I never paid much attention to it.
　It's hard to keep track of adventurer's taxes in this world in the first place.
　They take a little bit out of every purchase.

A little over a billion.
Eve?

　At the next table, Eve, tipsy from beer and carrots, joined the conversation.

'The low-level family's taxes have gone to a billion.
That much?
'You're a low-level, high taxpayer'
Yeah.
So. You'll bring your family over, and the taxpayers' money will help pay for it. TetraMin is suffering from depopulation these days. Even if it's a billion dollars, it's still a lot of money compared to Cyclo.
I see.

　It feels like the whole mystery is solved.
　I didn't know this was going to happen.

"By the way, it's a big deal for a guy like you to move out of town. There's going to be a city war.
That's such a big deal: ...... or not so much.

　A billion dollars is all it takes.
　Neptune also said that TetraMin was getting depopulated.

　My first impression of Dale, that he was the right guy in a depopulated shopping arcade, was right.
　From that point of view, a billion is no joke, and it's all about life and death.

　But--

'Tetramine, and Plumbum, what's the cause of the overpopulation ......?

　It means that people have disappeared from the city and from the dungeon, right?
　Hmm.

"Phew.
It's .......
I thought, "Oh, I see your bad habits are coming out.
Is this a bad habit of mine?
Oh, do you need a prophecy?　You're not moving out, but I'm leaving for Tetramine tomorrow. I just wanted to see if I could do something about it.
......

　I chuckled, I sure did.
　I'm already planning on doing that.

　An underdeveloped tetramine, and a plumbumbing dungeon.
　I practically asked for help, and if I could manage it, I would.