Chapter 16
When Bianca praised them, the skeleton was extremely pleased and bowed politely.
I'd thought this since before, but this pretty-skull fellow had surprisingly elegant mannerisms.
Perhaps in life, they held a noble status.
When I told them to go back to their work, the skeletons returned to their respective stations.
Watering the fields, drying herbs, building fences, decorating graves……
It was a peaceful, tranquil scene of the skeleton village.
"At first I was a little worried whether it would go well according to the child's plan, but it's become such a wonderful farm."
"It's thanks to the skeletons working hard. We've already harvested two types of herbs."
In the shade of the pergola were baskets filled with the harvested herbs.
Namibiensis, with leaves plump like fruit, and Littlegem were the main ingredients for healing potions.
"I should take them to Dad and ask him to check the quality."
I stuffed the baskets of herbs right into the satchel bag I had brought.
Bianca was surprised to see the basket, much larger than the bag, disappear as if sucked in.
"How did you do that?"
"Ah, this. It's an item called the Graverobber's Treasure Bag that I got from catching Ardimant last time."
[
Inventory. Can use a subspace of roughly 15 pyeong as storage.
Note: Cannot store living people or animals.]
When I explained it as is, Bianca immediately demonstrated her applied thinking and made a suggestion.
"If you put it in subspace, you won't feel the weight either, right?"
"Yeah."
"That works out perfectly. You can use that to move the skeletons' tombstones."
At the word tombstone, the skeletons' heads snapped up.
It wasn't just my imagination that their empty eye sockets seemed to sparkle.
With everyone's attention on me, I made an announcement.
"That's right, you all. I'll be ordering tombstones, so let me know your desired shape, name, birth date, death date, inscription…… Why did you suddenly get so solemn?"
I stopped talking because it was suspicious that the usual clattering sounds couldn't be heard.
Bianca, who excelled at communication, explained.
"Maybe they don't remember."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Their brains would have rotted away long ago……. Hmm, that somehow sounds like a pretty harsh insult.
The skeletons nodded their heads vigorously.
"Alright, I get it, stop nodding your heads off. Then just choose the shape and inscription. I'll give you your names. Is that okay?"
Judging by the way they grabbed their shovels and went 'eot-sya eot-sya' while dancing, it seemed like a positive response.
After settling the tombstone issue, Bianca brought up another topic.
"Looking at the speed of progress, it's about time to organize a trading guild to distribute potions. Leave that to me."
"Hm? You're not taking bids from existing guilds and making one yourself?"
"Seeing the trading guilds that deal with the Count's castle, I think it'd be better if I do it."
Come to think of it, even my dad was constantly being called out because of problems with the herb guild. It was a convincing point.
"And this would be a good opportunity to build an intelligence network too."
As expected of a capable young lady. How moving.
"I'm glad you're helping, Via. Thank you so much."
"It's nothing."
Bianca shared her plan to first find shops within the Gillette territory and supply them on a trial basis.
Listening to her, it seemed like all I had to do was make potions.
When the topic of ingredient procurement came up, the conversation drifted to the advantages of the dungeon farm. Bianca expressed her admiration anew.
"Making a farm inside the dungeon means time flows quickly so you can harvest right away—that seems amazing. The soil is fertile too, so the herbs grow well."
"Right. The soil quality is really good. How can the entire ground look so lustrous?"
"Hmm, maybe because it was originally a communal graveyard?"
"Huh? Ahah, the corpses became fertilizer and made it fertile."
"……."
"……."
We happened to be drinking tea brewed from herbs cultivated right here. It got a little awkward.
"Well, whatever. Normally there are always a few corpses on a farm, child."
"That's right, Via. Besides, the last corpse buried in this dungeon seems to be well over a hundred years ago, so it's practically the same as regular soil now."
Having finished rationalizing in perfect harmony, we decided to change the subject.
"The fast flow of time in the dungeon has its drawbacks too. I need to check on it frequently."
The skeletons did the manual labor, but the technical aspects had to go through my hands.
Even visiting once a day meant visiting only once every three days in dungeon time, so it was a bit cumbersome.
The skeletons were learning diligently, but they were still unskilled, so it wasn't very reassuring to leave the farm work to them.
'It would have been convenient if there was a skeleton who was a farmer before dying.'
It was when I was sighing in regret. An unfamiliar system message appeared.
[
Ah, it's today.
As soon as the countdown ended, the update started immediately and finished in less than 5 minutes.
"Via, give me a moment."
"Yeah."
I pretended to write something in my notebook and checked the update details.
[
The integrated library has been upgraded, and from now on, books read or purchased after possession can also be stored.]
'Eonryeong-nim is the best!'
The suggestion I made before was reflected immediately. My desire to read flared up.
Other than that, it was all new product updates, but the product on the first line caught my eye immediately.
[
'No, is this!'
Had the time come to fulfill my dream of an unfulfilled rofan childcare story?
However, that dream was immediately crushed by the product description that followed.
[
An ultimate product that can change the genre of the possessed work.
Note: However, the changed genre is random among Fantasy, Romance, 19+ Romance, GL/BL, etc.
Price: 10,000,000,000 Cash]
What? The price is ten billion? And the result is random?
They called it a public service, but their profit-seeking was so extreme it was practically mocking consumers.
'They didn't make this to be sold.'
As I scrolled down, there were actually some decent products.
[
A product consisting of the 'Class Change Package' and 'Blessing of Rapid Growth' that can be gifted to others.
However, the gift recipient must have sufficient potential in the relevant field but be a newbie who has been at it for less than 1 year.
Note: An icon will appear above the head of a target who meets the conditions.]
'Packages can be gifted? This is pretty good, isn't it?'
Didn't this mean I could open the way for someone to awaken aura, magic, or divine power?
I quickly looked up and ahead.
"Child?"
At my intense gaze, Bianca tilted her head. I slumped my shoulders.
'Ugh, the entry barrier must be high.'
Nothing appeared above Bianca's head. I wouldn't have minded spending cash on Bianca, but it was a shame.
Well, most of the class change package was related to combat and labor abilities. And Bianca was more of a brain type than a physical type.
"Right, Via. You're perfect just the way you are. You'll become a wonderful lord, so it's okay."
"……Suddenly?"
Thinking it came out of nowhere, Bianca still smiled faintly, not seeming to mind it.
'Huh?'
Just then, a sky-blue icon caught my eye from a completely unexpected direction. The target was……
[
Has potential in cultivation. If raised well, they might become the incarnation of a Druid and revolutionize the agricultural world of the Serentra continent?! The farmhand's future depends on your choice!
Use 3,000,000 Cash to
It was the pretty-skull beauty who had brewed the tea.
'No. 1004? Is a number their name?'
Setting aside my pity, I gestured.
"Hey, come here for a second."
Rattle……?
"Yes, you. Don't hesitate."
With the intimidated pretty-skull beauty in front of me, I fell into deep thought. Was it really worth spending three million cash on?
The answer came quickly.
'Select Gift!'
[
[
[
Instantly, the pretty-skull beauty straightened their spine as if struck by lightning.
"You know what to do, right?"
Rattlerattlerattle!
With a vigorous nod, the one who ran off began making herb seedlings, which I used to do.
Bianka blinked her rabbit-like eyes.
"They suddenly got good at working."
"I guess they're happy about getting a tombstone."
With this, the dungeon farm would run on its own. From now on, I only needed to come when I wanted to, and even when I did, I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty.
Moreover, the skeletons, including the pretty-skull beauty, were obedient to me due to the notoriety effect, and they were fundamentally beings that couldn't escape the dungeon. There was no worry of the three million cash being scammed.
"Via, you're done with your tea, right? Let's head out."
"What are you going to do now? Going to the library?"
"Absolutely!"
How did our Via know I wanted to check out the integrated library update?
After leaving the dungeon, we spent a long time at the library.
The upgraded integrated library function was the best.
Even without necessarily reading, just slowly turning the pages stored the entire book's contents in the library.
'There's no separate scan function, huh.'
In a world where books were already precious, wasn't this like building a grand library in my head?
I could read anytime, so from now on, I should focus on scanning whenever Bianca took me to the library.
I picked out a dummy book, tucked it in my arms, and left the library. We walked along the 2nd-floor corridor to return to Bianca's room.
My gaze was drawn beyond the glass wall where the warm afternoon sunlight streamed in. I turned my head and stopped dead in my tracks, eyes wide open.
"That's……"
"What's wrong, child? ……Ah, it seems Lord Romdio is receiving swordsmanship instruction. A bit unsightly, isn't it? I wonder how they can call that training."
"Y-yeah, that's true, but……"
What had caught my eye was something else.
A sparkling sky-blue inverted triangle icon. And the message floating next to it was……
[
Possesses swordsmanship potential capable of awakening Aura. A future of active duty as a Sword Master revered by the continent depends on your decision. A guaranteed investment for only eleven million cash!
Use 11,000,000 Cash to
A future Sword Master was nearby.
A Privilege for the Possessor