Monster Company Tycoon - Chapter 5

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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 5
I felt a deep empathy and wistfulness toward these strange creatures in this unfamiliar world.
But wait a moment.
Hiring monsters as employees meant I’d have to keep working in the same place with these creatures from now on!?
…Could I really handle that?
“Are you a monster too, by any chance?”
“How insulting! I’m nothing like those lowly beings. I’m a spirit—a pure form of life born from the condensed essence of nature itself!”
Brownie thrust out his rotund belly with sudden pride.
He explained that he was a being born from the gathering of the earth’s essence.
He went on to say that spirits cannot stray far from the nature from which they’re born, and since he came from the earth, he cannot leave that land—meaning the land upon which this Dungeon was built.
That’s why he was called an earth-bound spirit, he added.
When the Demon King purchased the Dungeon, Brownie came along with it.
“I’ll give you a tour of the Dungeon you’ll be managing. From the looks of you, fieldwork seems out of the question—you’ll just have to handle supervision. Do you have any hidden talents? Magic, perhaps?”
“I… I don’t have anything like that.”
“Then it’s office work for you.”
The spirit gave me a casual tour of the Dungeon’s interior.
The Dungeon was a four-story structure: three above ground and one below.
It was wide and low, closer to a tower shape, with modern, angular architecture that was somehow twisted throughout, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.
“The successful dungeons build a hundred levels or more, up and down. Once you make some money, you should invest it back into the Dungeon. If you compensate me fairly, I can expand the space with my power.”
“How much does it cost to build a level?”
“One million Wen. But as you add more levels, maintaining them requires more power, so the costs will keep climbing.”
“I’ll keep that in mind…….”
Predictably, the Dungeon was completely empty.
There wasn’t a single trap to slow down the challengers.
So he really did go bankrupt buying just the Dungeon itself, nothing else.
“Don’t we… need traps or something?”
“Ah, so you’re that type? The methodical sort who likes to torture challengers with clever designs! You’d want them, wouldn’t you? But if you want to install traps, you’ll need staff with Trap Design certification. Those specialists are in high demand, so you’ll have to pay them decent wages to recruit them.”
Why is a Dungeon this systematically organized?
What even is a Trap Design certification? Why do monsters have credentials!?
The longer I listened, the more absurd this world seemed.
Regardless, Brownie continued speaking in an excited voice, clearly delighted to be showing off his domain.
“The combat zones will use the ground levels, not the underground, right? We only have one basement level anyway, so it’d be cleared too quickly.”
Not entirely sure, but trusting that the spirit knew what he was talking about, I nodded.
“Then let’s set up your personal office down below.”
When Brownie clapped his stubby arms together, the endless corridor suddenly split open, and a cozy room materialized from nothing.
“Adding levels requires payment, but I can create or erase spaces like this without any cost.”
“Wow…….”
Though Brownie spoke matter-of-factly, I felt like I was witnessing incredible magic.
A room just appeared out of nowhere—how could that not be amazing?
“As long as you show me proper blueprints, I can reconfigure each level however you want.”
“That’s amazing!”
At my praise, the spirit twisted his body shyly, clearly embarrassed.
I sat down at the Desk and Chair the spirit had formed from earth. They were completely rough and unfinished, but I was grateful to have them at all.
“So what’s next? Should we start by hiring field staff first? Or change the layout of the levels?”
Brownie pressed me eagerly, his voice climbing with excitement.
I didn’t even have time to adjust before work was starting……
I would’ve appreciated a handover document at least.
“Actually… didn’t the Demon King own a Dungeon before? The staff who worked with him then…?”
“This is the first Dungeon our Demon King has ever owned. Before this, he just locked himself in his room doing research or slept all day. He’s mastered the art of seclusion.”
Suddenly I remembered that this Dungeon’s name was “The Hermit’s Dungeon.”
It seemed that name didn’t come about for nothing.
“So that’s why……”
“That’s why he ranks the lowest among all the Demon Kings. But it seems the Demon God gave him an ultimatum—stop shirking his duties or face removal from his position. So he had no choice but to buy this Dungeon.”
“So being a Demon King isn’t a lifetime position.”
“At first I was thrilled when I found out the Demon King bought my Dungeon? But then I heard he was the lowest-ranked Demon King among them all, so I was a bit disappointed. This is a secret, okay!?”
“I get it. That makes sense.”
“You really do have an amazing sense of empathy. I’m so happy you’ve become our Dungeon’s administrator!”
Brownie spent a while nuzzling his rough, grainy earthen head against my cheek affectionately.
Because of that, I had to quickly brush away the dirt clinging to my face whenever he wasn’t looking.
“I think we should hire some staff first.”
“I was thinking the same thing! We don’t know when adventurers might attack, so let’s get started right now!”
Brownie’s voice rang out with infectious enthusiasm.
And so we made our way to the Dungeon entrance.
The very place we’d fled from in panic before, only to skulk back like cowards.
Perhaps because my mind felt more at ease now, I found myself admiring the strange yet beautiful forest landscape, sensing that this too was a living world.
“How far is the Residential Area from here?”
“If you head straight that way, you’ll reach it before nightfall. This Dungeon has excellent placement, actually—if it were too remote, people would never find it.”
For a moment, I imagined what would happen if I simply fled into the forest.
The image that formed was hardly encouraging.
No, I decided—it would be better to stay in the Dungeon for now until I could formulate a proper plan.
There was nothing anyone in a Residential Area could do for me anyway.
The thought of a foreigner with no connections drifting into an unfamiliar village didn’t sit well with me.
I wasn’t even sure we’d be able to communicate.
‘But how is it that Brownie and I can understand each other? Is it the Demon King’s power?’
While I was tilting my head in puzzlement, the spirit suddenly darted off somewhere.
“Ah, nothing there as expected. About what I figured.”
Brownie peered into a stone box that had been sitting in front of the Dungeon entrance, then spoke with a note of disappointment.
“What is that?”
“It’s a Prayer Donation Box. Pathetic, isn’t it? Once this Dungeon becomes notorious, we’ll be able to use a much larger one.”
“Why do you call it a Prayer Donation Box?”
“Adventurers leave money here and pray to the God of Fortune before attempting to clear the Dungeon. They ask for safe passage through the clearing, or for generous rewards. Various reasons, really.”
“I see…”
Brownie chattered away cheerfully.
“The God of Fortune is also called the God of Windfall—he loves money dearly. The more money you offer and the more earnestly you pray, the greater the fortune he grants.”
I stepped closer to the Prayer Donation Box and examined it from every angle. Inside, there was nothing but dust.
“That’s why adventurers facing difficult Dungeons throw in large sums and pray. They say adventurers leave a million coins every time they pray at the World’s Dungeon—the one run by the first-ranked Demon King! Isn’t that enviable? If we manage our Dungeon well, we’ll rake in serious money someday!”
“Rake in?”
“We have to run this Dungeon on the money that accumulates in the Prayer Donation Box.”
I laughed dryly. So that’s how a Dungeon secured its operating funds—this was the system.
“But is it okay to just take money that was offered to the God of Fortune?”
“The God of Fortune doesn’t need the physical money itself—what matters is the sincere desperation of those offering such large sums. Besides, the God of Fortune has a partnership with the Demon Kings, so it’s perfectly fine. In the end, the Dungeon has to keep running so that adventurers keep coming to make offerings and pray, doesn’t it?”
I was genuinely impressed by this surprisingly well-structured capitalist system.
“You know what, you really do explain things well. It all makes perfect sense now.”
“Hehe… The former Demon King used to hate how much I talked… but since you like it, I’m so happy. Honestly, I’ve been so lonely all this time. No one to talk to.”
The spirit scratched his head sheepishly at receiving yet another compliment.
He clearly loved being praised.
Now then.
“How do we actually hire employees?”

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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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