Ch.426Debuting NPC. (1)

“I got scammed into a fraudulent marriage with the wrong man. I lose my divorce settlement and house. Half of my land and a fine of 1 million cans to the court… ARGH!! What is this?! This game is a scam! Why is it always me?!”

“Hehehe. Grace, you should have found a good man—wait, what? You went bankrupt after cosigning for a friend’s family?! Is this because of Grace’s family?!”

“Why would it be my family?! At least Ira has—!!”

“Oh! You’re having twins with your husband. Receive 500,000 cans as a congratulatory gift for each child~”

“Why does Ira always get the good stuff?!!”

Ah. How peaceful. It’s so peaceful that even the sight of my little sister and her friends screaming while playing a life simulation game made in Aiti seems like happiness to me.

I was practically buried in a reclining sofa, leisurely sipping my coffee while watching the kids shriek excitedly. As soon as my cup emptied, Chikuyo, who was lying beside me, moved only her tail to immediately refill my cup. I tilted my head and smiled in thanks, and Chikuyo, without even looking at me, just gently swayed her tail in acknowledgment. Then, Miho and Rei approached Ira and her giggling friends with snacks, sat down with them, and smiled brightly as they asked to join the next game. It was truly a picture-perfect scene.

Ah, I just want to live like this forever~

“…You can’t live like this. You’re all essentially under detention, you know?”

In response to my muttered thoughts, a voice bringing me back to reality spoke with apparent disbelief. I turned my head to see Ms. Carrier Orwell, the chairman’s maid, standing at the entrance of the luxurious room, holding what looked like an expensive box of snacks and tonight’s dinner.

“Haha! Hello there.”

“Ah, you look better than when you were in Neiti?”

“Well, if this is detention, I could endure it for years.”

“The chairman pulled some strings to get you into this VIP room, but you all could have ended up in prison if things had gone wrong, you know?”

After greeting our group lightly, she gave the snack box to the children and placed the rest of the food on the large dining table before approaching me.

“There’s no reason for us to go to prison~”

“…You’re being treated as criminals who attacked Aiti’s gateway by causing a massive wave that destroyed the engineering train, and you say there’s no reason to go to prison?”

“Yes. If they had tried to throw us into some trashy prison in chains instead of treating us this way, I would have smashed everything that day and hidden until Gor was restored.”

When I answered with a bright smile, she flinched slightly and shook her head, begging me to please be patient because she believed I would actually do it.

Well, if they don’t mess with me, I won’t mess with them. If they do, I’ll pay them back several times over. That’s my life motto.

“…I see. I’ll be careful from now on too.”

“Oh, I don’t hit pregnant women, so don’t worry about that. So, were you able to take your leave?”

“Yes, thanks to you, my request for extended leave was approved. Thanks to Ira’s magic, I was diagnosed with injuries that would take 12 weeks to heal. During that time, I’ll be mediating between the chairman and all of you. But that comment about not hitting pregnant women sounds like you hit other women… Oh. You do hit them?”

“If they deserve it, they should get hit, right?”

*Flinch!*

When I slightly clenched my fist while speaking, for some reason, Rei and Miho blushed and flinched. Ah, come to think of it, Rei has been quiet lately—is she a masochist? And Miho has a history, so maybe that’s why she reacted that way. While I was absentmindedly observing their reactions, Ms. Orwell started saying something that could easily be misunderstood: “Don’t tell me you actually hit your women?”

Geez, what are you saying? I’ve never hit a woman because I wanted to—they either asked for it or did something that deserved punishment. I decided to exercise my right to remain silent on this matter and instead asked Ms. Orwell about our current situation.

“For now, the council has identified you as the culprits behind the train’s destruction, but based on the driver’s testimony about seeing a Sand Dragon in the sandstorm that day, along with the testimonies of your escorts, that issue might be resolved. However, there’s still much debate about the tidal wave that reached the gateway. Honestly, the fact that a massive wave traveled to a gateway that would take six hours to reach even by train is difficult to overlook, even if it wasn’t intentional.”

“What if they don’t overlook it? We did what we had to do to save the people on the train. What, are they going to expel Miho and me?”

“No, they’re thinking of imposing compensation. About 100 million cans…”

“100 MILLION?!!”

Wow, that’s truly a jaw-dropping amount. I felt blindsided and stared blankly out the window. Aiti, the Mado Engineering City. Also known as the Iron City of Aiti.

It’s a country that believes in magical engineering rather than magic or spirit arts—a nation that revolves around science in a medieval fantasy world. The sky visible through the window isn’t blue but gray with artificial structures, and the buildings don’t look like medieval wooden or stone structures but rather sturdy constructions made of cement or iron. The light illuminating the city interior doesn’t come from the sun but from the town’s streetlights and massive illumination systems.

In positive terms, it’s developed; in negative terms, it’s a gray world devoid of nature. It honestly feels more desolate than the cityscape of my previous life. And this heartless world seems to want to impose a 100 million can compensation on us, who rescued their chairman.

“Don’t worry too much. If I help you and you all work hard, we can gather 100 million cans in a month or two. It’s not an amount that can be paid in a lump sum anyway, so you’ll have some time.”

“This is ridiculous. Listen, Ms. Secretary, we’re basically life saviors to you, your husband, and your unborn child. We weren’t planning to brag about it, but isn’t this a bit much?”

Chikuyo, who was doubly buried in her own tail and the sofa beside me, frowned slightly and hit her with facts. Ms. Orwell expressed her sincere gratitude and apology for that but explained that to move freely in this city, we had no choice but to comply with the compensation ruling, and she bowed her head once more. Sigh, so what’s this about working hard for a few months? They’re not expecting us to go mining somewhere, are they?

“Of course not. I’ve already discussed this with the chairman. With the chairman as your sponsor, you can enter the dungeon starting next week. Mr. Jack, you know about dungeon sports, right? You’ll earn money through that.”

“…You mean through betting odds? I think there was a gambling system where people bet on how many floors you’d reach.”

“You really do know more than I expected. But the maximum payout is only 30 times the bet, and the maximum bet is 100,000 cans, so you can’t make 100 million cans in a month or two that way.”

Then what are you suggesting? I knew about the betting odds because they appeared in the game, but I don’t know about any additions now that it’s become reality. As we looked at her questioningly, she put on a wicked expression that made me wonder if she was the same apologetic person from earlier, looked around at our group, and slowly began to speak.

What’s this? I’m getting nervous.

“Mr. Jack, you’re surrounded by such beautiful women, aren’t you?”

“Well… I might sound like I’m bragging, but I do have good luck with women.”

“And your little sister and her friends are also very cute and strong, don’t you think?”

“Of course! My little sister is the cutest and most lovable in the world! And Grace and Latina are adorable friends too!”

When she suddenly started complimenting our group and I responded enthusiastically with laughter, she clapped her hands lightly and affirmed, “Yes, yes,” making me feel even better.

Wow, praising Ira and my girlfriends has the effect of making me smile brightly! I just learned this about myself today!!

“So, I was thinking, how about forming the same party you showed us on your way to Aiti and participating in dungeon sports?”

“Ah, the same party? But then, which party would I be in…”

“Hehe. I know you’re strong, Mr. Jack—I’ve seen it and heard about it. But I think you lack the flashiness needed for party activities.”

“That’s true, but wait a minute. What exactly are you trying to—”

I instinctively hesitated at what seemed like an attempt to exclude me, but ignoring my reaction, she clapped her hands and called a maid outside to bring something.

Huh? Is that…

“This is the Mado Display Board being introduced from Season 13 of dungeon sports. Through monitoring crystals inside the dungeon, this display board broadcasts real-time footage of people fighting inside. We’re calling it ‘dungeon conquest broadcasting.’ And while all the participating parties this season have proven their strength, many lack overwhelming brilliance and radiance. Of course, one can’t be just flashy and radiant when fighting monsters, right? But I believe Mr. Jack’s companions can capture both of those qualities—no, all three including strength.”

Carrier Orwell lightly tapped the glass panel that reminded me of a slim TV from my previous life, smiled with just the corners of her mouth raised, and drove the final nail in for us who were standing there dumbfounded.

“How about it? Would you like to earn big through a system called ‘view count’?”

It looks like all our kids are about to make their streaming debut in Aiti.