Earth Dungeon 73.1

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Chapter 73.1. Union

Within the outer town, closer to the inner town, lies a place where those who live better lives than the lower classes of the well-dressed inner city reside. Among them, there's a high-end restaurant that has been renovated solely because of its expansive premises, compared to the well-known restaurant chains of the past.

In the VIP room of this restaurant, where the price of a single meal could blow away half of the average annual income of the outer town, a few men in suits and military uniforms were dining. 

Seated at the head of the table, the man in the military uniform sipped on wine that cost an amount that would make anyone from the outer town's eyes pop. Captain Anayama, responsible for supplies in the Taito and Adachi districts, sat there indifferent, sharing his meal with those around him.

"Captain Anayama, this isn't right! Why are you accepting supplies from those rubble-dwellers? It's not right!"

Amidst many expensive dishes on the table, one middle-aged man openly displayed his frustration by slamming his fist on the table.

"If you keep buying crops and ale from those trash folks, our harassment will be in vain. We've been suffering great losses, selling them at cheap prices. We thought they'd beg for forgiveness once they dried up, but we'd run dry ourselves. It's been a tough few weeks."

In response to the middle-aged man's accusations, Captain Anayama coldly stared at him, picked up his fork, and skewered a slice of roasted beef on his plate.

"I believe the agreement was for you to temporarily stop accepting ale, potatoes, and corn, right, Suwa-dono?"

"That's correct. I believe I even gave you more bribes than usual for that."

The man called Suwa gritted his teeth and glared at Captain Anayama. He was the head of the liquor union in this district, responsible for the flow of alcohol from the inner town. The money involved was immense, and Suwa held considerable power.

Other unions, such as the grain and clothing unions, were also gathered at this meeting with Captain Anayama, discussing their recent target: the company established in the burgeoning rubble city, Amatsugahara Corporation.

At first, they had paid them no mind – just a bunch of annoying people selling bread. That's how they saw them, as outsiders trying to make a meager living. The outer town residents sneered at them, treating them condescendingly, begging them to earn a little money.

With no steady employment and struggling to put food on the table, these people from the abandoned town seemed like mere slaves. However, within a few short months, they had rapidly gained power.

The Core Stores were the game-changers. Vending machines of the supernatural kind that exchanged monster cores for various items had transformed everything. At first, it was only water and plain bread, but then came potatoes, corn, and the ultimate blow: ale. There were soybeans, soba, and cabbage too, but they hadn't made their way into circulation yet. So they could be ignored for now.

But ale was a problem. So were potatoes, bread, and strangely enough, even pieces of cloth. The sudden influx of these goods had dealt a severe blow to the union leaders who had lived comfortably until then.

Stores began to stock ale, and the high-priced alcohol from the inner town saw a decline in sales.

They were struck with astonishment, realizing their foundations had been shaken. 

Dungeons also appeared in the outer town, but people didn't venture to battle monsters with their lives on the line, unlike the trash in the abandoned town. The military was appropriately equipped to conquer them. And they sent the cores they obtained during these operations to the inner town. In other words, there was no chance for those from the outer town to obtain cores, let alone ale.

The people of the abandoned town would continue to explore dungeons, and goods would eventually flow into the outer town. That hinted at one of the possibilities of a future where their positions would be reversed.

In response to this situation, the union leaders took swift action. They hadn't become union heads due to incompetence. They were sensitive to the scent of money, adept at maneuvering, and quick to act in times of crisis.

They needed to subordinate capable individuals from the abandoned town under their control. They needed to exert their dominance. Hence, they planned to crush a company called Amatsugahara Corporation. Once the money ran out, the company would get dissolved, and they could hire the remaining skillful president, or so they thought.

The company had created a market, and money was now a necessity. Through their investigation, they learned that the corporation could buy cores and sell merchandise. The market had been created by Amatsugahara Corporation. But if their financial situation worsened, it would all end. The people of the abandoned town and others would undoubtedly start competing against each other.

No matter how much power they had when money was involved, it was their territory, and they couldn't lose. That's what they believed.

And so, they planned to hire the president who had lost his money and create a new market similar to the one they had. It was an incredibly attractive idea, and they believed their crisis had suddenly turned into a significant opportunity.

That is unless Captain Anayama betrayed them.

They aimed to reduce their opponent's sales with cheap knockoff products. Amatsugahara Corporation, which had probably been penniless until recently, was supposed to suffer from financial difficulties due to a short-term offensive.

They had amassed an enormous amount of money over the years. They couldn't lose. That's what they thought. They believed that they could recover their short-term losses in the future. But if Captain Anayama continued to buy ale and crops from the people of the abandoned town, it would be meaningless. Their funds wouldn't run short anytime soon.

"There's no helping it. We've encountered some issues here as well. I've heard some troubling rumors. I'm sorry, but we're in a bit of a situation too. We can't stop our purchases."

Captain Anayama had initially intended to accept the union leader's proposal. He felt sorry for the people of the abandoned town, but in the end, it was just an introduction from the unsupported Cat Girl. Besides, he believed that if the union leaders controlled the market, the future inflow of money would increase significantly. And if he gave the Cat Girl more money, she wouldn't complain.