Chapter 158: Negotiations for the Dungeon Management

I tried negotiating with Creator God-sama for the management of the Dungeon Ruins in Vestier.

He had created it for the sake of training heroes, but it wasn’t even certain whether a hero would appear once in a hundred years. Thus, people couldn’t enter the Dungeon Ruins unless they formed a group with someone from another world, whose level had to be below 100.

Because of that, it was almost left unused.

The dungeon had been cleared twice already, and I was the one who did it both times.

Moreover, Hakua, the Dungeon Master, had also become part of my family.

Dungeon management required a colossal amount of mana since it was needed to birth the monsters that served as prey for heroes, as well as to expand the dungeon.

On the other hand, with sufficient mana, the dungeon could achieve great things. And I had unlimited mana, thanks to the Evil God’s curse.

I could draw magic circles using mana, and I could also create characters using it. I could even make them colorful so that others could see them.

With some practice, I might even be able to do illustrations.

Though I wasn’t great at drawing, I could create images of the sceneries and things I imagined using mana.

To be precise, as long as I could imagine it, I could turn it into an illustration.

To prove my point, I created some materials using mana, projected them into space, and presented them to Creator God-sama.

He approved my request.

“Then I’ll leave the management of Vestier’s dungeon to you, Halt. Your idea of using it to train low-level people is brilliant. Please, by all means, proceed.”

“Thank you very much!”

Creator God-sama praised me.

If more novice adventurers could raise their levels, the overall strength of people would increase. This was good news for Creator God-sama.

If people became stronger, their life expectancy would lengthen, and so the period of their devotion and prayer offerings would also extend.

“By the way, how did you project these letters and pictures into space?”

Creator God-sama seemed interested in my presentation materials.

“I manipulated my mana to write letters in the air.”

I gathered mana at my fingertip and wrote the word ‘hello,’ which floated in the air.

“Usually, I use this to draw magic circles, but I tried applying it to create pictures. How is it?”

“Hmm, it’s marvelous, to say the least. It made everything extremely easy to understand.”

Information in this world was mostly conveyed in writing, with occasional illustrations.

I included some drawings to make it easier to follow.

I was really glad I took that information literacy elective back in my world. I never thought I would use it in an isekai, though.

Anyway, I received permission from Creator God-sama to manage the dungeon.

“Well then, I’ll take care of the Dungeon Ruins from now on.”

“Yes, I’m entrusting it to you. Also, about the condition I mentioned—”

After the presentation, Creator God-sama sent me a telepathic message in a voice that only I could hear, outlining his condition.

“Yes, I will take care of that as well.”

I accepted the condition.

Creator God-sama believed I could do it, and because of that, I felt confident that I probably could.

“Is that so? Then I’ll entrust that matter to you as well.”

Creator God-sama disappeared after saying those words.

Suddenly, we were standing in the Great Shrine’s hallway again.

“Halt-sama, Creator God-sama mentioned a condition at the end. What was that about?”

“Hmm, can I keep it a secret for now? I’ll definitely explain everything before we return to the magic academy.”

Tina asked, but I couldn’t tell her yet.

I thought failure was unlikely, but in case I did fail, things could become awkward.

However, since the condition also involved my family, I would need to explain it to everyone before we went back to the academy, assuming I succeeded in meeting Creator God-sama’s conditions.

Everyone seemed curious about what Creator God-sama's condition was, but they backed off when I promised to explain it later.

The condition was—

I had to welcome the Saint of the Holy City of Sanctum into my family — in other words, Creator God-sama wanted me to marry Seira.

Marriage wasn’t a necessity, though.

If I could release Seira from her position as Saint, that would suffice.

Creator God-sama wanted Seira to rest, as she had served as Saint for 200 years already.

He had sent oracles multiple times, urging her to pass the role on to someone else. However, Seira refused each time, as she had yet to find a successor she could entrust the role to, and her strong sense of responsibility wouldn’t allow her to step down.

She had raised prospective candidates many times, but the timing had always been unfortunate. With the Demon King’s revival, Creator God-sama wasn’t able to send her another oracle at the time.

Raising a candidate took a lot of time, but once someone became a candidate, the period before becoming a full-fledged saint was short.

Only a maiden who reached her sixteenth birthday while still pure could become a saint.

That was why Seira remained the Saint for 200 years. She had started as a simple town girl, but even Creator God-sama said she had incredible mental resilience.

The girl who had the potential to become a saint was about to celebrate her sixteenth birthday this week.

Because of that, Creator God-sama planned to send an oracle. My task was to convince Seira to step down as Saint.

Apparently, I could either persuade her gently, or... forcefully deflower her.

Of course, I would never choose the second option. Creator God-sama knew that too, which was why he presented the choices.

So, what should I do now?