We arrive at Prekes a week after we left Majolica, and decide to spend the night here.
This is where the other dungeon of the Magic State is located, but it feels kind of deserted, because it’s less active compared to Majolica.
“There used to be entry restrictions to the dungeon here, so a lot of adventurers left. And it looks like many of them never came back.”
Says one of the drivers. Yes, that’s how Siphon and his party ended up in Majolica too.
Shizune turns away when she hears that, likely because she knows something.
Also, it seems the feudal lord here is also a problem. He has been favoring some adventurers, which upset others.
He also sent knights and adventurers to the dark forest when it was time to defeat the demon king, and many never made it back, reducing the population and worsening the overall safety.
He’s put in measures to welcome adventurers going to the dungeon, but according to the driver, that’s not going well.
“Ah, and I looked it up later, but apparently this dungeon is pretty gimmicky too.”
Siphon says this dungeon only has twenty floors, but every floor is a field, so once you’re in, you probably won’t come out for ten days.
“The twentieth floor doesn’t have any monsters except the dragon that’s its boss, but dragons are strong anyway, so it’s tough to beat. Dragon materials are worth a lot, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t beat it. And a lot of people have lost their lives trying.”
That said, the dragon was beaten a few months ago, and the commerce of its materials that happened for a time became a talking point between adventurers.
“Dragon…”
I’ve heard from Kotori how it was.
They were accompanied by knights until a certain point, until they were unable to keep up, leaving the six of them to beat the dragon.
Kotori also said that the way there was the toughest part, especially with the desert and lava fields.
That said, the desert is apparently a good source of profit. There are monsters that look like cacti, and the flowers that bloom from them at night are valuable to alchemists.
“You’re going to explore the dungeon here eventually, right?”
“Yes. It was supposed to happen after Majolica.”
“Then I’ll help when the time comes. I’m feeling like shooting out some magic too.”
Shizune says some alarming things.
I look at her face, and I feel like we need to let her let off steam before something bad happens.
We enter Prekes before noon, so we’re going to have a look around, while Siphon’s party is going to see someone Yuno knows.
“We don’t have to leave tomorrow, we could stay another day.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
And so, we use this time to look around Prekes.
I see a lot of young people wearing the same clothes. I ask about it while eating at a stall, and I’m told they’re students from the Fortuna magic academy.
When I say we came from Magius, they say that unlike the students there, most students here don’t go to the dungeon. And they know that because adventurers who came here from Majolica said so.
We’re also asked about Majolica, so we tell them about how the dungeon was conquered.
“Maybe I should go do business over there…”
The owner of the stall is seriously pondering it.
We know people in Majolica, and it’s nice to see it prosper, but it’d be a bit bad for us if this place was empty by the time we came here to explore its dungeon.
I can source food and disposable items from other towns with Transfer, but stalls sell food we can only eat in these towns.
“Master, that’s bad. We need to conquer all stalls.”
Says Hikari with a serious tone.
Then we look around general stores and stores that sell equipment, and while they’re not badly stocked, they aren’t doing too well because there aren’t many adventurers.
I get a few magic stones and ore, along with materials like wood. It’s pretty cheap, and these are things I can use with Alchemy and Creation, so it never hurts to have them.
“So Prekes turned out like this…”
Says Shizune after we return to the inn.
When she was in Prekes before, she basically only went back and forth between the inn and the dungeon, and she even went to the dungeon by wagon, so she never walked around town.
They were told it was for safety reasons, but now she knows it was to limit their freedom.
And considering how Elysia was, they probably didn’t want them to learn about this world.
I tell her that, and…
“I wish I could’ve punched him just once.”
She’s really mad.
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Thanks for the treat.