Touring the Imperial Capital (4)

Today we came to the sea, a little ways from the imperial capital.

A sandy beach. It's still too cold for swimsuits, but I'd love to come swimming here in the summer.

By the way, Haku-san isn't with us today.

"As expected, taking three consecutive days off has caused work to pile up…"

"I refuse. You can handle that much, Chloe. I'm busy entertaining Rokuko-chan."

"That won't do."

"Ah, w-wait. Kuh… F-fine, I'll work today. But I'll finish three days' worth of work in one day! I'm taking tomorrow off again!"

And with that, she was dragged away by Chloe.

Being at the top of the empire means you have a lot to deal with… or rather, does Haku-san really have that much work? Isn't she supposed to be a retiree living the easy life?

… Ah, I guess you can't just let someone with that much power sit idle when they don't even need to worry about succession or aging.

Being capable is its own problem. I swear I'll proactively delegate work to others and sleep. I made that vow in my heart.

"… The sea—-!"

"Woah, what is it, Kehma? Shouting out of nowhere."

I tried shouting toward the sea.

A white sandy beach without a single piece of trash, a clear blue sea, and bright, refreshing sunlight.

If only there were a beach house here, it would be perfect for napping. Taking a nap while feeling the sea breeze at a beach house. Well, it's not summer though.

Apparently there's a more developed tourist spot closer to the capital for noble vacations, and there are no buildings here… Haku-san is planning to take Rokuko to that tourist spot on another day.

So for today, we came to this beach with nothing on it. We got here via [Teleport] from Dolce-san, a member of Haku-san's party and her subordinate.

It seems all of Haku-san's party members except Misha can use [Teleport].

Yes, everyone except Misha can use it — Misha, who was slimed by that Big Tentacle Slime yesterday but ended up defending her chastity by physically defeating it after thinking "Can't I just punch it with magic-clad fists?"

Dolce-san, wearing a white robe like a certain RPG's white mage, was exhausted and lying limply in the shade of a rock. She was in human form and didn't have any particular problem with the sun, but being originally a wraith, she seemed uncomfortable in such open, bright places.

"Ugh, the sun can just die… I'm melting…"

"Um, there seem to be sea roaches and such over there."

"… I'm fine. I actually like bugs and spiders. Fufufu, scurry scurry…"

… I'll just leave Dolce-san be.

I should look for some shade where I can sleep too. I did bring a parasol and beach chair just in case though.

"Wait, we came here to scout for where to build the dungeon, not to sleep!"

"… Right… Ah, doesn't that cliff over there look really good? You know, the kind where a murder suspect would get cornered."

"What's that supposed to mean. Do the scouting properly."

Come to think of it, even if we scout the area, we're going to dig and make it into a dungeon anyway, so I don't think it matters much where we build.

I could use unlimited seawater here, maybe I should make salt? That's about it.

… Salt, right. Come to think of it, I wonder what Rin's up to these days.

"Still, this is my first time here, but the sea is kind of smelly, isn't it?"

"That's the smell of the tide. For some reason, it's weaker than the sea I knew. I don't really dislike it."

"It smells fishy… Hey, Kehma. Could we use sea monsters?"

Sea monsters, huh… That could work. Like a kraken, or sharks?

I opened the DP Catalog from the menu.

… Oh, there's even a two-headed shark. I wonder if there are ghost sharks or flying sharks too?

For now, the standouts are giant octopus, giant squid, and giant nautilus. There are also humanoid ones like sahagins and mermaids, as well as plenty of sea creatures like jellyfish and sea cucumbers.

… Dagon? I feel like I shouldn't look too closely at that one in the catalog. Besides, it costs over 100 million DP, so it's not relevant this time anyway.

And then I noticed something.

Various sea-related things were cheap in DP… In exchange, mountain-related things far removed from the sea, like [Heat Source] or wyverns, were more expensive.

Even Iron Golems, which cost 500 DP each at Tsuia Mountain, were displayed at 2,000 DP here—four times the price.

"… Could it be that DP costs change depending on location?"

"Heh, let me see… Hm? Goblins haven't changed at least, they're still 20 DP."

Why did you check goblins first. As expected of Rokuko.

… Ah, ghost-types are cheaper? I guess the sea is more prone to such things. I'd have thought mountains would have their share too, though.

"I see, so there are DP differences like this, reflecting regional characteristics… The Dungeon Core and Master probably also increase or decrease DP costs."

"Wait, Kehma, what are you saying now… There's no way you could get otherworld food without Kehma being here."

I see, so Japanese goods being exchangeable with DP was my characteristic. Maybe golems too, being humanoid? Haku-san also used bipedal humanoid monsters that use both hands.

… In that case, I should learn about our opponents too. It could help with countermeasures.

"Hey, Rokuko. What are our opponents like this time?"

"Hm? Let's see. First, Team Dragon has three cores: snake, frog, and slug."

What a rock-paper-scissors trio. Reptile, amphibian, and… what even is a slug? If it's a snail, that'd be a shellfish, right? Those slimy, gooey types — looks like they'd get that kind of monster cheaply.

"And Team Demon, they were in human form, but… um, Core Number 666 was… what again? Sorry. I don't know."

"… Let's ask Haku-san tomorrow."

For now, I prepared a folding beach chair and parasol in my [Storage] for just such an occasion.

I stuck the parasol into the sand and lay down on the beach chair in its shade.

The sound of the waves—swoosh, shhhh—made for a pleasant BGM. Looks like I'll sleep well.

"… Niku, apparently building a sand castle is how you're supposed to enjoy the beach?"

"Yes, I'll join you."

By the way, when I woke up in the evening, either it had been washed away by the waves or they'd decided not to build one after all, there was no sand castle.