Monster Company Tycoon - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Monster Company Tycoon
Chapter 41
I barely managed to calm my wildly hammering heart as I stared at the box overflowing with money.
Since this world didn’t use banknotes, it was filled with colorful coins instead—so much so that it felt like I was gazing at a treasure chest straight out of a video game.
“Wow… how much is all this?”
Did it really make sense for the representative to receive the entire company’s assets from an employee? Shouldn’t I give it back right now?
At least Brownie hasn’t seen this yet, so I still have a chance to—
“Chiwawa, what are you doing? The skeletons said you walked into the office grinning like an idiot….”
Caught red-handed.
“Money!?”
Brownie flew straight at the box and dove headfirst into the pile of coins, splashing through them as if they were his own personal treasure.
“Where did this come from? Did you shake down some passing monster?”
His voice was more excited than I’d ever heard it.
“No, I just….”
“A box means you cleared a dungeon, right? Which dungeon? You’re weak anyway, so you must’ve stolen it—we need to get our story straight before anyone asks, so tell me if you need an alibi.”
“I just received it.”
“Received it? That doesn’t make any sense!”
Brownie suddenly bounced up and frantically rifled through my clothes, pulling out the Square Plate Necklace.
“I was worried you’d sold off your Dungeon Authority.”
“I didn’t sell it. I really just received the money.”
No matter how desperate I was for funds, I’d never sell off a dungeon. What does he think I am?
“Then who gave you this money in the first place?”
“Well… Sabira gave it to me….”
“Sabira?”
“And Durahan.”
Brownie, who’d frozen like stone for a moment, suddenly broke into a wide grin.
“Of course! That bastard was human before, right? So he would’ve saved up money before he died!”
“True. But shouldn’t I give it back? Money isn’t just used by humans—monsters use it too….”
“Are you insane!?”
“Ow!”
Brownie lunged at my head and yanked my hair like he was pulling weeds.
“Why would you give back something precious like this? They said you could have it!”
“Wait, use your words. Use your words!”
He huffed and finally let go of my hair, then sprawled across the top of the box like he was settling in for a siege.
“Absolutely not! Once you hand it over, it’s gone forever!”
……
“Chiwawa, think about it wisely. Are we really in a position to be picky right now? We’re desperate enough to take coins from children’s pockets!”
Brownie was the type who’d steal the money back from Sabira secretly if I ever did give it to her.
“…Fine. I’ll use it for dungeon operations.”
Still unconvinced, he hugged the coins and made threatening growls like an excited dog.
“I’m serious. Come on, get out of there. Let me count it and see how much there is.”
“Do it in front of me.”
“I told you I’m not giving it back!”
I removed the coins from the box one by one and sorted them by type to calculate the total.
Once I finished counting, I realized Sabira had given me exactly 200,000 Eon.
“Wow….”
The amount was suspiciously round. It was as if she’d carefully saved for a specific goal, dropping coins into a piggy bank until she hit exactly that target.
Like there was something she’d always wanted to buy that cost exactly 200,000 Eon.
Given the high proportion of small denomination coins—1 Eon and 10 Eon pieces—it looked like she’d scrimped and saved with great care.
‘That’s why she didn’t bring it on adventures and hid it under the floorboards instead. Was it an emergency fund?’
Of course, if she’d brought it on her adventures, this money would likely be buried somewhere in the Demon Realm by now.
“We’re rich now!”
“Rich is a stretch with 200,000 Eon….”
“With this money, we can recruit more monsters. Right?”
“True, but we can’t just spend it all at once. I think we need to be more thoughtful about our investments.”
Brownie was already lost in thought about what to do with this newfound fortune.
‘It is money that’ll give our operations some breathing room….’
The unease didn’t fade, but as Brownie said, we weren’t in a position to be picky about cold or hot water right now.
I resolved to close my eyes and swallow hard.
***
“Now they’re showing some promise.”
After finishing today’s training session and watching the exhausted staff sprawled across the dungeon floor, Luadis offered her assessment.
“Oh, is that so? Well, Sabira has been helping the team members with their training since joining us. I suppose that’s why their skills are improving so rapidly.”
“Don’t you dare go around telling people you work under me. It’s embarrassing.”
The staff had been worked relentlessly until they reached Sabira’s standards.
Gone were the days when no challengers showed up and they could sprawl on the dungeon floor, idle and chatting away.
As a result, I’d spent the last few days anxious about receiving workplace harassment complaints from my own employees.
“Are the conditions you promised coming along well?”
The two conditions Luadis had set for our cooperation.
The monsters needed sufficient skill, and we had to prepare special rewards for novice adventurers.
“Yes! Once Sabira moved to our dungeon, the problem was solved. We should be receiving items smoothly soon.”
The monster that had terrorized the Eastern Forest had vanished. Now the crafters could gather materials without fear.
Moreover, the Hidden Quest the crafters had posed somehow ended up completed, allowing us to conclude an exclusive supply contract with them.
Now whenever we ordered a Holy Stone Compass or Recovery Potion, we could receive it directly from the makers without going through a middleman shop.
With the distribution margin eliminated, our purchase prices had become much cheaper.
“By next week, we should be able to fill the Reward Room!”
Luadis had told me how many adventurers were close to graduating, and I’d preordered slightly more than the expected demand.
About twenty sets in all.
Each treasure chest in the Reward Room was to be filled with one Holy Stone Compass, two Recovery Potions, and six Purification Stones per set.
The Holy Stone Compass cost 800 Yen each.
The Recovery Potion cost 300 Yen per bottle.
The Purification Stone cost 100 Yen each.
Therefore, filling one treasure chest would cost 1,700 Yen total.
Assuming each challenger donated 100 Yen in the Offering Box per attempt, we’d need at least seventeen attempts just to break even….
The cost was rather substantial, but if I reduced the items further, it wouldn’t really qualify as a reward.
Besides, it went against my intention of providing whatever small “help” I could so our graduates could safely cross over into the Demon Realm.
At my words, Luadis smiled with apparent satisfaction and nodded.
But that lasted only a moment.
“Hmm….”
“Is there another problem?”
“It’s good, don’t get me wrong.”
She swept her gaze across the dungeon with an expression of dissatisfaction.
“Isn’t it a bit too sparse?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Real-world experience isn’t just about combat. Students need to develop the ability to handle various crisis situations.”
Cold sweat broke out as if I were facing a demanding VIP customer.
“Yes, for example…?”
“I think it might be good to give our students a bit more sense of danger. Right now it’s too simple.”
I understood immediately what she was getting at.
“The Demon Realm is such a capricious environment that if students experience similar situations beforehand, wouldn’t it help them later? Well, it’s not mandatory—just a suggestion I’d like to see.”
She wanted me to add traps and make the dungeon more dynamic.
So the students could develop the ability to handle various unexpected situations.
It seemed that Luadis’s reunion with Sabira had stirred something in her.
“Y-yes, you’re right. Our dungeon is quite simple compared to the Demon Realm. You’re absolutely right….”
I thought of the 200,000 Yen coin box tucked away in my office.
“Of course, you’ve met all my conditions. There’s no obligation to go further, but wouldn’t investing in the dungeon benefit you as well?”
Could someone who used to be an adventurer really tell me to develop the dungeon more…?
Regardless.
“I’ll take it under advisement. Truth is, I was already feeling like something was lacking. If the opportunity arose, I was planning to invest more in the dungeon anyway.”
Only then did Luadis’s expression brighten, and she departed.
“Hmm….”
The dungeon’s current assets, including the money Sabira gave us, totaled 348,800 Yen.
Tomorrow, 30,000 Yen from part-time work would come in, and 20,000 Yen would immediately go out as the monsters’ wages. An additional 34,000 Yen would be spent on purchasing items.
So tomorrow’s total assets would be 324,800 Yen!
“Which means I need to develop the dungeon with this….”
After deliberating for a long time, I made my decision.
I would recruit more staff.
But this time, not field workers—employees to handle facility maintenance.
Apparently, if I wanted to install traps, I needed an employee with a Trap Design certification. Why was developing a single dungeon so complicated?
“Brownie! We need to post a new job listing!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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