Negotiations With the Red Dragon

"So, what exactly is Oku-sama dissatisfied with? I believe I've apologized sufficiently through my repeated [Dogene]."

"O-Oku-sama… ehehe… Wait, no! That's not it! That [Dogene] thing, is that really an apology?!"

Whoa, she's cutting right to the heart of the matter. Maybe she's not as dumb as I thought.

"Lowering not just your head but your entire body, there is no higher form of apology. Let me ask you instead: what posture does Oku-sama consider to be a proper apology?"

"Mu… Hmmm, now that you mention it… Showing your belly while lying down… or something?!"

"Understood. So I should do [Dogene] face-up, then?"

"Huh?! Is that how it works?!"

"The posture is essentially the same. And yet, despite apologizing to this extent, you still won't believe me… How sad."

"N-no, it's not that I don't believe you, okay?!"

I covered my face with my hand and cast my eyes down in a gesture that was maybe a bit too dramatic, but the Red Dragon reacted as though she was the one who'd done something wrong. As expected of Easymander's wife.

"Well then, if you truly believe me… Actually, about that tunnel we opened, I'd like to extend it from our side through to the other side of the mountain. Could we work something out?"

"… That's impossible!"

"Oh… So Oku-sama doesn't believe me after all…"

"No! That's not it! Um, well, Tsuia Mountain itself is basically my dungeon! There's no space for you to run a tunnel through!"

The Red Dragon denied it frantically. Wait, hold on. What did she just say?

"What do you mean by Tsuia Mountain itself being basically your dungeon?"

"Like, there's the mountain, right? The whole thing is pretty much my dungeon!"

So she means almost all of it is [Flame Cavern]?

It was hard to picture, so I decided to make a model. I pulled out some clay I'd made as a byproduct of the Clay Golems and roughly shaped it into Tsuia Mountain while looking at the map.

"Oh? That's Tsuia Mountain! You're pretty skilled with your hands!"

"Thanks. So, if this is Tsuia Mountain, how much of it is [Flame Cavern]?"

"About this much!"

She took over eighty percent of the clay. Of the remaining twenty percent or less, about half was the current size of our dungeon. We really are just at the edge of Tsuia Mountain.

… [Flame Cavern] is massive. How did we even manage to dig the tunnel this far without hitting it?

"Actually, when did you even start building a dungeon in our mountain?!"

"Ah, I'll need to check with our Dungeon Core about that… Rokuko, how long has it been?"

"Eh? … I haven't counted exactly, but around ten years, I think?"

Her reply came back. Ten years, huh…

"About ten years ago, apparently."

"We've been here for about five hundred years! We were here first!"

"Well, that's about right for Number 695… Hm? Come to think of it, Number 695… Why did I remember Number 695 as being a humanoid type?"

Huh? Ontentoo started pondering something that seemed unimportant… Setting Easymander aside, now's where negotiations come in.

A negotiation between Masters… Time to show what I can do!

"Is there any way we could get a tunnel through?"

"Hmm, it looks like the cave got this far by slipping through gaps by pure chance, but from here on it's impossible! No matter where you go, it's my dungeon. Not even a mouse could get through!"

"Could you give us just enough space to build a tunnel? I'm willing to pay in DP."

"Sure, give me 500,000 DP and it's a deal! That's what it'd cost to overwrite the territory and relocate facilities that are in the way if the tunnel goes straight through!"

500,000 DP… No, I don't think it costs that much to move dungeon facilities around. Plus, wouldn't "overwriting territory" be something we'd have to spend on from our end? In other words, she's ripping me off?

What nerve for an Easywife!

"500,000 is a bit out of my reach."

"Really? I know it's weird to say this myself, but that's a pretty tight, fair price!"

Hmm, there probably isn't any established market rate for territory exchanges, and even if there were, I wouldn't know it. Asking Rokuko probably wouldn't help either, and paying the full 500,000 DP she's asking for is simply beyond our means.

I'd like to haggle her down, but this Red Dragon seems honest enough that she might actually be quoting her real bottom line.

… Oh, that reminds me. It's not like I don't have gold coins on hand.

"Would fifty gold coins work?"

"What am I gonna do with gold coins? Don't be silly! I can't use anything but DP!"

The Red Dragon refused with a smile.

I figured as much. I would've been fine paying in gold if she'd take it.

… No, wait. Dragons supposedly love shiny things. Let me try flashing the real deal.

"… What if I put it this way: you buy one gold coin for 10,000 DP?"

I pulled out a single gleaming gold coin and held it in my right hand where the Red Dragon could see it.

"Hahaha, 10,000 DP for one gold coin… That's… w-what should I do?!"

Got her! When I slowly moved the gold coin, the Red Dragon's eyes followed it. Move it right and she looks right. Move it to the upper left and her face turns that way. She's completely hooked.

But not yet. She's still on the fence. I pulled out a silver coin I'd polished to a mirror shine and held it in my left hand.

"If you buy now, I'll throw in one silver coin for every ten gold coins."

"Wha—! T-that's, huh, really?!"

"Absolutely! I would never lie!"

As I said this, I spun the silver coin in my left hand round and round, and the Red Dragon's face followed it round and round.

This is… one more push and she's mine.

"B-but, hmm…?"

"Oooh, Oku-sama, you're still not satisfied? … Very well, then today only, as a special bonus! Today! Right here! Only if you agree on the spot to buy fifty gold coins for 500,000 DP! On top of the bonus silver coins… I present to you… this crystal knight figurine!"

"Uooooh?!"

The moment I placed the transparent, gleaming knight figurine on the table, the Red Dragon's eyes went wide.

The crystal knight figurine stood twenty centimeters tall, made from mana potion bottles.

"T-this is… it looks like it could start moving at any moment…! Magnificent!"

It actually could move if I wanted it to. It's a golem, after all. I'd made it specifically with dragons in mind, so it was designed to sparkle and reflect light to an absurd degree. The Red Dragon's eyes were sparkling just as brightly.

"This offer is only available if you give me an agreeable response right now."

"A-alright! Isn't this great, 112?!"

Like a child begging for a toy, she smacked at Ontentoo, who had been spacing out deep in thought.

"Huh? … Wait, I'm trying to remember something important here."

"Muu, hurry up! I can't get that figurine unless we answer right now!"

"Ahh, fine then… Ah. I remembered!!"

Ontentoo suddenly raised his voice.

"Number 695 is that [Betrayer] Number 89's comrade, isn't sheeeee!!!"

FWOOSH! Fire leaked from his mouth.

… Haku-san, so you're treated as a [Betrayer] in Dungeon Core circles. Well, you do hunt other Dungeon Cores, after all.