CH 44.1

Chapter 44.1. Hidden Interests In The Slums

-Masatoshi’s POV-

Masatoshi’s riding in a magic armored special limousine with Enraku, Masatoshi, and Duke Aguni’s people were leaving for somewhere. Behind them, several magical armored transport vehicles follow. They were bringing the elite of the Dukes of Aguni.

Restlessly touching his special’s armor, Masatoshi glances at his grumpy father, who was sitting opposite him and tapping his fingers. He has never seen his father in such a foul mood before, and he shudders, his shoulders narrowing and his body contracting.

Masatoshi’s trying to become an excellent person in the future in the Dukes of Aguni’s environment, but his heart is from his previous life. No matter how confident he may be, the sneering spirit that lies deep within him is ingrained, indicating that he is a small person.

But this heavy air became unbearable, and he stiffly opened his mouth. There is also a curiosity as to why his father’s in such a foul mood. He wondered why his father, who was acting the part of a man with a big heart, was in such a bad mood.

“Father, what in the world happened?”

Enraku turns his sharp eyes with an intimidating glare at Masatoshi’s question. He stops tapping his fingers, sighs and tells me.

“We’ve been working on developing cities. We got word that another nobleman has entered one of them.”

“Oh, they just stepped in, didn’t they? And yet you’re taking so many people with you?”

He cursed in his heart that it was a violent group. It’s insane to send soldiers just because they’ve entered our territory. It’s also strange.

Yes, it is strange. Would Masatoshi’s father, who uses intrigue, take his soldiers and ride in himself for such a thing? He would have sent his men toward them, protesting.

At the dubious look on Masatoshi’s face, Enraku exhaled in a bored manner.

“It’s a bit of a special place.”

“Special is ……? Perhaps it’s in a slum area. If so, are you trying to develop a slum?”

I looked out the window and saw the landscape had become filthy abandoned buildings and collapsed stores, with dirty people peeking out from behind the buildings. I have never been in a slum, but I have heard stories. Probably a slum.

“Yes. I’m trying to develop the slums. I bought some land around here a long time ago. It was too expensive to develop this place, so I had to abort the project.”

“I see, so you think that’s where the other nobles got into it?”

If they aren’t developing it. Why don’t they leave it alone? Masatoshi wonders if it would not be a problem for his father to leave such a dirty place alone.

There are piles of garbage everywhere, people burn the garbage in drums, and the poor camp there. It would be impossible to develop this area.

Masatoshi’s doubts are valid, but Enraku leans back in his chair in frustration.

As he peered out the window in dismay, wondering if Masatoshi had called to appeal for ownership of the slum, he noticed something odd.

“Snow? Is it ash?”

Snow was fluttering outside the window. No, upon closer inspection, it was ash. Ash had somehow fallen from the sky and covered the slum-like snow. The whole landscape had changed to white ashes.

“That’s why. There was a dungeon on my land, and it burned up last night.”

“Dungeon? What do you mean burned up?”

“I don’t know. Dungeons are made in the crevices of space. It burned inside, and the flames erupted outside, and then the ashes fell like volcanic ash.”

Dungeon. He’s hearing those words made sense to Masatoshi. A dungeon opens its entrance to the ground, but its interior is a subspace and does not appear by grinding underground. The dungeon must have been created without being noticed.

The fact that it spews flames from the entrance suggests that it is a dungeon in a fiery environment. Most dungeons are harmful, but some of them produce useful resources. It has resources like rare ores, magic herbs, and delicious monsters such as hornbeaks.

So Masatoshi understood that his father was in a hurry when the dungeon appeared. That was the intention. That is why he was on his way to appeal for ownership.

“A dungeon of fire? It seems to be very difficult to conquer. I hope there is something useful.”

If they were to equip themselves with fireproof equipment and attack the interior, it would not be surprising if a member of the Duke of Aguni’s family, who was resistant to flames, was dispatched to the dungeon. He frowned slightly, wondering if he would be a candidate.

However, he received an unexpected response.

“The dungeon was rich in ore, but the enemies were troublesome. Besides, someone had conquered the dungeon. That place should have been impossible to conquer. I was going to be well-prepared to attack it, and now I’m in trouble.”

“What? You know there is a dungeon. No, no, it’s nothing.”

His father’s story is contradictory. Strangely, he knew it was impossible to conquer the dungeon when he supposedly didn’t know about it. But I keep a lid on my curiosity. It’d so my life are spared. Maybe his father will tell him in a little while, but until then, Masatoshi will keep quiet. It seems it was a secretly managed training and resource-mining dungeon, so just guessing is enough.

Soon the car stops, Yan Le leaves as if to jump out, and Masatoshi hurries to follow.

As they get out of the car, it is humid and smells like rain, as if it is about to rain. The ashes are falling silently around the area, it’s eerie.

And in front of Masatoshi was a sight that could not have been possible in a slum. Magicians in magical armor were standing guard, weapons at the ready, and in the center of it all, several trucks were parked, and workers were moving heavy machinery.

“Stop! You guys, stop the work! Call it off!”

Enraku shouted angrily, waving his hands wildly as he zipped along. The magicians show alarm, but without doing anything, the workers stop the heavy machinery through Yanraku.

“Kuh, this is it!”

Masatoshi follows Enraku and sees the place that seems to be the center, looks up, and is now speechless.