Chapter 32: Renovating The Dungeon — Part 2

Lefi, who'd assumed that she could beat me in a battle of wits, furiously stomped off as I childishly demolished her in a game of trump. Her destination was obvious—she was headed straight to bed so she could lie around and sulk. That in turn left me with the time and space I needed to return to my goal: renovating the dungeon.

To start, I left the throne room and entered the cave. I then turned around such that I was facing the door leading back inside as I slid a finger through the air and fiddled around with the menu.

It was time to add another floor. More specifically, I wanted a nice, flat prairie; a piece of land filled with naught but grass. And though creating a massive plain in the middle of a cave didn't seem possible by any stretch of the imagination, it was. The dungeon's mysterious powers rendered it a simple task so long as I had a sufficient amount of DP.

Of course, I had no intention of just dumping a random prairie in the middle of the dungeon and calling it a day. The plan was just to start with a prairie and work my way up to something much more grand. All I had to do was manipulate the floor through the plethora of options and customizations the dungeon's system offered.

With that in mind, I expended a non-negligible amount of DP and brought the grassy field to life.

"Wow…" I blinked a few times as I looked through the door. "It actually worked."

Before me was the exact item offered by the dungeon's catalogue, a flat grassland that extended as far as the eye could see. Gazing at it immediately led me to recall what I had seen of the Japanese Alps. The two scenes contrasted each other to such a degree that they may as well have been polar opposites.

One of the most mysterious parts of the alteration was that the door remained unchanged. It looked exactly as it had a few seconds ago despite now leading to a whole other place.

Stepping through the door, I was greeted by green and blue. The lush vegetation that filled the field almost seemed to glimmer as it was illuminated by the sunlight. I was still technically inside of a cave. Yet, all I saw when I directed my gaze upwards was a clear blue sky—a sight as impossible as the gentle breeze that embraced me and sent the grass aflutter.

The sole disturbance, the sole part of the scene that wasn't sky or grass was a single, unnatural looking door, all by itself off in the distance. The door that led to the throne room. This is kinda a little late seeing as how I've already done a bunch of sh*t with it, but god damn, the dungeon sure can do a lot of sh*t. How does it all work anyway?

I was unable to find an answer to my question, so I redirected my attention elsewhere and began wandering towards the inconspicuous door. After reaching it, I gave its knob a twist and stepped inside to confirm that the throne room was indeed on the other side.

I noticed Illuna and the two maids flash me curious looks out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't pay them much heed as I stepped back outside and circled behind the door to confirm that there really was nothing on the other side. My expression of disbelief was so primitive that I almost felt like a monkey in the midst of being introduced to the concept of a mirror. Just how far does this prairie go, anyway? It almost looks like an entire world of its own.

Driven by curiosity, I spent a bit of time investigating. I walked around and flew about until I finally came to understand the size of my new domain. With the gate to the throne room as the centerpoint, it was about five kilometers in any given direction, save for up. It was only about a thousand meters high. The boundaries were delimited by a set of invisible walls, much like the blocking volumes that appeared in video games. I had actually hit my head on the invisible ceiling while flying around. It hadn't hurt, but it had left me quite startled.

All in all, I had to say that it was well worth the pretty penny it cost me. The area was larger than I'd anticipated, and I could expand it at will with the press of a button should I ever feel that it was starting to get a bit too cramped. Oh yeah, speaking of the menu…

I began manipulating the dungeon's UI. Specifically, I began sifting through the menu that allowed me to customize my newly added floor. It's a bit bland as is, so I'll add a river to make it less boring. Might as well throw in a few mountains off in the distance while I'm at it. Oh, there's gotta be a bridge if there's a river. And I also kinda want me some cherry blossoms, so I'll throw in a tree. I do like me some cherry blossoms. Hmmm… looking at all this makes me want to throw in a nice, Japanese style building. Oh, what if I put one of those traditional inns? Y'know, a good old Japanese ryokan. I'm making a ryokan, then it goes without saying that I'm going to need a hot spring. Should probably make it a nice, luxurious open air bath while I'm at it. Oh, and can't forget the garden. And the pond. And the koi that go in the pond. I remember seeing them somewhere in the menu for monsters. I'm pretty sure they don't belong there, but whatever. Anyway, next, I'll need to add…

***

And so, I ended up with a nice, riverside inn. The interior was expressive of traditional, old fashioned, Japanese tastes. It gave off an aura of refinement, and even just entering the space was enough to fill me with a sense of nostalgia. Ascending to the veranda allowed me to gaze at the beautiful cherry tree I'd set up and the pond beside it.

It was a calming sight, one that put my heart at ease. Looking beyond the ryokan's boundaries was a large grassy plain that extended effectively as far as the eye could see. And far off in the distance lay a range of rugged looking mountains.

"Yeah, not too shabby, if I do say so myself."

After finally calming down, I found myself standing in front of a high class inn that featured a hot spring. The scene around it was so beautifully constructed that I was certain it would make a fine piece of art.

The atmosphere around the inn was warm and friendly, the complete opposite of the solemn castle that I had originally set out to make. That said, I wasn't complaining. I hadn't planned on building the castle immediately after acquiring the plains. Besides, this whole pleasant atmosphere? Yeah, that was totally all planned. Yup. I totally didn't accidentally get ahead of myself and randomly start adding sh*t without thinking because I let myself get carried away. None of that DP was wasted at all. None. At. All. I mean, just look at this thing. It's gorgeous. It's clearly just an extension of my wonderful, artsy mind. It's all but natural given that I am the Demon Lord of Creativity. Mhm. Yup. All planned. This is totally just another important step one needs to take to become a true demon lord. Mwahahahaha!

…

Okay yeah no. Not even I know what I'm blabbering on about anymore.

"Lunch is ready, Master!" Lyuuin stuck her head through the door as she tried to get my attention. "Wait a second! Where the heck am I!? What happened to the cave, and where'd this house come from!?"

I had already known that I was going to get called for food eventually, so I'd built the inn right next to the door leading to the throne room. To that end, it was the first thing Lyuuin, who was half panicking, saw.

A part of me had suspected that adding a floor would make travelling between the cave and the throne room much more painful than it needed to be, but it turned out that wasn't the case at all. The door was much like the one in H*wl's Moving Castle. I could change its destination as I opened it. In fact, anyone that was affiliated with the dungeon was capable of using that exact feature, which meant Illuna could do the same. Unfortunately, Lefi, Lyuuin, and Leila were all still treated as intruders, so they would have to bear with the inconvenience. Oh well. It kinda can't be helped.

"Oh, hey Lyuu. Gimme a second, I'll be right over."

I was quite happy to have the maids in my service. I'd always been responsible for making our meals, but now that Leila was around, I no longer had to bother. She was one hell of a cook; she had somehow managed to learn how to make food from earth in the blink of an eye. Seeing her in action reminded me that girls were just that much better at cooking than guys. They were more naturally inclined to be good at it.

While Leila was nothing short of excellent, the same couldn't be said for Lyuu. Well… she's trying, so good enough, I guess…

"Huh? Wait, you're not gonna explain how all this happened!?" Lyuu walked up to me as she continued to look around the prairie in wonder.

"Uhhh… Let's just say that it's because demon lords have got mysterious powers."

"Sorry Master, but I ain't followin'."

Yeah, figured.

"To be honest, I don't really understand it all that well myself. The only thing I can really tell you is that it's possible because it is," I said with a shrug. "Anyway, you get used to living here yet?"

I hit Lyuu with the classic 1-2: giving her a vague response and voicing a question of my own.

"Hmmmm…" She paused for a moment. "Well, to be honest, the fact that I'm here kinda makes me feel real weird. I thought that my life was totally over when I got turned into a slave, but now I've got myself a job again, and I'm workin' like nothin's happened."

"Yeah, I getcha," I laughed. "Life's full of all sorts of surprises."

Case in point, yours truly. I literally came from another world. I'd say that's about as big a surprise as surprises get.

"But I'm happy I'm here," said Lyuu. "The food's good, my bed's real comfy, and there's all sorts of interestin' stuff all around me. Best of all is that this place is Lord Fluffrir's home! Oh yeah, that reminds me, Master, d'ya happen to know when Lord Fluffrir's makin' his next visit?"

"Uhhh… dunno. Guy's as elusive as a phantom. He comes and goes as he pleases," I replied in monotone.

"Why're you sounding all deadpan all of a sudden?"

Unlike me, Lyuu didn't realize that Rir found dealing with her to be a rather difficult task. He just wasn't sure how he was supposed to act given that she'd set him up on a pedestal. In fact, he's practically been avoiding this place like the plague. I doubt he'll be showing up any time soon unless I ask him to.

"Cease your prattling and come to the table at once! Our meal will cool should you take any lo—" Lefi momentarily froze as she emerged from the throne room. "A prairie? How bizarre. I see that you are up to yet another one of your strange antics, Yuki."

"Whaddya mean strange antics!? That's rude. I was clearly crafting something that'll make this dungeon grow even further."

"It matters not what you intended," she shrugged. "In either case, it would be best if you returned unless you wish for us to devour your portions."

"Fiiiine…"

Lyuu and I offered a synchronized, lethargic reply before slowly following Lefi back into the throne room.