New chapter of Let’s Create a Dungeon is out! (2/5 chapters)
Short Story (1)
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Hide’s Daily Life
Hide, who led the Goblins and Hobgoblins, was always busy. He was in charge of all the crafting in the dungeon. From small props to houses, everything. Moreover, recently, new residents had arrived from outside, and the number of subordinates had increased, leading to a steady increase in work.
When he woke up in the morning, he instructed his subordinates on what to make that day, and by noon, he took orders from other demons about what they wanted and what was lacking. Sometimes, he was given a rough sketch that wasn’t even a blueprint directly from the Demon King and was ordered to develop it. By the time the sun started to set, his subordinates brought up the materials they were running low on, and he was running around to get those materials from other demons. Once the sun set, it was just time to eat and sleep.
However, despite such daily life, Hide felt fulfilled.
After all, he didn’t feel the danger to his life. He didn’t have to suffer from hunger. The demons he used to fight over food were now working together as comrades under the same Demon King.
Hide had discovered happiness under the Demon King.
“Hide, I want you to make this.” (Nobunaga)
On that day, the Demon King personally asked Hide for a development task.
Looking at the drawing handed directly from the Demon King, the first thing that came to Hide’s mind was a cart. It was something the humans had when he attacked them while they were moving in the past. However, this one has no horses or roof. It also looks small.
“What is this, Maou-sama?” (Hide)
“That’s a rickshaw. It’s something used to carry a lot of goods easily. It seemed difficult for kobolds and orcs to carry items. By the way, there’s also a single-wheeled version.” (Nobunaga)
Saying that, he added another drawing. This one looks quite different. The loading capacity appears to be less than the two-wheeled version that was first provided.
Looking at the two drawings, what Hide felt was reverence for the Demon King. Creating something to carry things. Such an idea would never have crossed Hide’s mind. If it was difficult to carry something, he would just think of adding more hands. Moreover, he could easily draw up the blueprints. This time, he made two. Though the shapes were different, he could naturally imagine how they would move.
Truly, a person with unfathomable wisdom. Possessing the power to repel adventurers and the mercy and wisdom to consider his subordinates. Hide felt proud to serve such a Demon King. Given a development order from such a Demon King, there was no way he would refuse, nor would he cut corners.
“I understand! I will definitely make it!” (Hide)
Hide quickly gathered his subordinates who had reached the second floor to hold a production meeting.
“The wheels are the problem, after all.” (Hide)
The Hobgoblins, who pushed all the production onto the Goblins, gathered and shared their opinions, and a general method of construction was decided. However, the method of making the wheels was difficult. Normally, it would be fine to just repurpose logs, but the Demon King had drawn wheels that used axles and wheels. As a result, many Hobgoblins ended up troubled.
“Shall we just make it for now?” (Medium Goblin)
“Yeah, we won’t know anything unless we try.” (Medium Goblin)
Thus, after numerous prototypes, the rickshaw was completed.
It received great acclaim from all the demons and was praised by the Demon King as well. Because of this, the orders from other demons increased, and the Demon King requested even higher technical creations. It seemed there wouldn’t be a day for them to be free anytime soon.
—
Shiba’s Daily Life
The Kobolds had superior group behavior and mobility among the demons, and because of this, they were given the roles of messengers and scouts by the Demon King. Thus, the activity range of the Kobolds extended from the throne room at the deepest part of the dungeon to the Great Forest of Owa outside the dungeon.
In front of the door that connected to the throne room, Shiba was troubled. This was also due to work. The Kobolds had a lot of responsibilities. They waited in front of the throne room to receive orders from the Demon King, lay down in front of the dungeon door to warn of intruders, and reported back to the village and the Demon King. When they went outside, they hunted alongside the lizardmen and looked for spots with many large stones. They also asked the demons in the Great Forest of Owa, who were not under the Demon King’s protection, if everything was alright. There was a lot to do.
That said, the work itself was easy. There were plenty of people to do it, so if everyone was assigned tasks, there was no shortage of hands. The work was simple, and there were enough hands. So why was he troubled?
It was about the popularity of each task. Regardless of which task he chose, the food remained the same, and all tasks were important. Therefore, he wanted to choose something he liked. The most popular task was to wait in front of the throne room.
The reason was that he could see the Demon King. If he received instructions from the Demon King and completed them, he got praised for anything. Since the Demon King rarely left the throne room, the only ones who could see him were the leaders of various races. He could hear voices of envy from other demons as well. He wouldn’t yield. On the other hand, the least popular task was to lie down and wait in front of the dungeon door. The reason was boredom. It was rare for someone to come. Still, considering the possibility of something happening, they couldn’t skip this placement. It was similar to the most popular task.
That day, Shiba had come there somewhat forcefully, saying that he wanted to consult with the Demon King. He actually did consult, so there was no problem. He had been prepared to be laughed at for bringing up trivial matters, but the Demon King took it seriously and taught him two approaches.
One was a ranking system. In this case, it seemed to be based on levels. This meant that those with higher levels could choose their preferred tasks. Doing this might have made it difficult for those with lower levels, but it also seemed to encourage improvement. The issue was that there wouldn’t be any opportunities to raise levels for a while. This meant that leveling up would mostly revolve around hunting, and that popularity would rise, and it wouldn’t go smoothly.
The other was something called shifts. It was a method of managing the overall work and assigning tasks equally to everyone. With this, it seemed that there wouldn’t be clear advantages or disadvantages. The problem was that it was tough to think through, and there might be those who would come to pester him about it.
Both choices had their merits and demerits. It seemed he should first gather everyone’s opinions.
“Of course, it’s the ranking system!” (Kobold)
“Shifts are good!” (Kobold)
After lunch, when everyone was gathered and asked, opinions were splendidly divided. Those with higher levels pushed for the ranking system, while those with lower levels pushed for the shift system. Thinking about it, it was only natural.
“Chief! You think the ranking system is good too, right?” (Kobold)
“Shifts, everyone says so!” (Kobold)
Certainly, if it’s a ranking system, the one who benefits the most is the chief, me. However, only about 30%are pushing for the ranking system, while 70% are supporting the shift system. I don’t want to bring discord to the group. Which should we choose? I should find a way to avoid causing as little discord as possible.
Just as an uneasy atmosphere began to drift in the room.
“Shiba, are you there?” (Ran)
For some reason, Ran-san came in and broke the tension.
“Ran-san, is there something the matter?” (Shiba)
“The Demon King-sama asked me to hand this to Shiba. It’s something called a die.” (Lan)
Saying that, she handed over a six-sided cube.
Each side has a small indentation, but what is this?
“Ran-san, how do I use this?” (Shiba)
“The Demon King-sama said to roll it and use it. The number of indentations represents the number on that side. He said that if you use it well, it will help resolve your troubles.” (Ran)
This?
I tilted my head, and Lan-san also tilted her head. It seemed she hadn’t been told anything more than that.
…Use it well?
I tried shaking it two or three times to see what happens. Different sides came up each time.
………………!!
“So, that’s it!” (Shiba)
What a method! With this, I can decide without causing discord.
“Please convey my gratitude to Demon King-sama, Ran-san. His wisdom has provided me assistance, and I will surely repay it.” (Shiba)
“Understood. But you should also go and thank him.” (Ran)
“I will definitely do that!” (Shiba)
With that, Ran-san left.
I felt the anxious gazes of everyone behind me, but to dispel that, I turned around with determination.
“Everyone listen! We will decide the tasks with this die!” (Shiba)
Holding up the six-sided cube, everyone looked confused, as if they didn’t understand.
“The method is simple. First, we’ll assign numbers to the tasks in order of popularity. Then, in order of levels, we’ll roll the die, and the number that comes up will be the task for tomorrow.” (Shiba)
“But there aren’t six tasks? But it only has numbers up to six!” (Kobold)
“Simple. If enough people turn up for a task, we’ll remove that task and assign the other tasks to that number. This way, higher levels will have an easier time taking popular tasks, but it’s still based on luck. Lower levels will also have a chance at good tasks based on luck. Well, if you want to roll the die faster, you’ll have to raise your level.” (Shiba)
With this, dissatisfaction was less likely to arise. After all, it was based on luck. Plus, it was the person who rolled the die. They couldn’t complain. High levels found it hard to land on unpopular tasks, while low levels could land on popular tasks if luck was on their side.
Truly, wisdom from the Demon King. I never would have thought of it.
Since that day, after meals, the Kobolds had been seen rolling dice and experiencing joy and sorrow.
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