Marvels

There are four wall-mounted candlesticks in the room.

A large, round table lies in the dimly lit room’s center, and thirteen figures sit around it.

Silence envelops the room. No one opens their mouth—until one woman rises abruptly.

“Thank you all for coming. Let’s begin our regular meeting. I’m sure everyone knows the agenda for today.”

The suspicious words cause a stir among the others at the table.

“I never believed they’d get this far.”

“Indeed. We let our guard down.”

“Without a plan, they will wipe us out in the blink of an eye.”

Words of concern left the attendees’ mouths one after the other, their voices strained and sorrowful.

The low illumination on their faces revealed dark, lifeless masks.

“Order. I’ve summarized the information we have thus far… If you would.”

Seated next to the speaker, a woman in clothing resembling a maid’s outfit rises at the request and opens the folder of documents in front of her. “They have seventy percent of the opened dungeon stratums under their control. Now, they’ve reached us. We must spare no effort to come together as a unified group and eliminate them. For that purpose, I’ve invited someone who is to be our trump card. A few words, if you please.”

“Welcome.”

That’s the only thing I can say, having been forced into a meeting between those authoritative eateries in the Clearflow Lake stratum’s settlement.

This meeting is held three times a year on the same days, and sometimes they have serious discussions, but they generally just trade information and end it with idle chatter.

This one, however, was announced in a hurry as an exception, and no one appears relaxed. They look like cornered rats, and that honestly makes me uncomfortable.

“If you have any opinion on the matter, Mr. Boxxo, you may speak at your discretion.”

It creeps me out when Munami adds “Mr.” to my name. So she’s the type to completely immerse herself in a given role, is she? She’s the spitting image of a talented secretary.

“Allow me to continue. Currently, a large number of people are moving into this settlement. Our population has increased by approximately one hundred, and there are rumors that our residence now numbers close to five hundred.”

“Well, it has been a lot livelier lately.”

“Normally, that would be cause for celebration.”

No matter how many hands they have for the settlement’s reconstruction, it won’t be enough, so people have been coming and going rapidly as we try to, at the very least, get the outer wall repaired for the winter. We’ve managed to procure just enough logs to get the job done, which has apparently set everyone’s minds at ease.

“It would normally be a very joyous occasion for the food industry to have more potential customers…but the sudden increase in people has also led to them making a move. You know them—their goal is to control all food in the dungeon. The ultimate evil in eateries—the Chains Restaurant!”

“Damn. Without them here, I thought I would be able to make some money!”

“I was doing business on another stratum when those buar-headed merchants stole that settlement’s whole food demand!”

As I watch the eatery owners act like the protagonists of a tragedy, I summarize it in my mind.

Each stratum in this dungeon has a settlement where people gather, and this massive restaurant business has a location in each settlement. In other words, a true labyrinth “chain” restaurant.

With the population at around only a hundred before now, they hadn’t bothered with us, since they didn’t think we’d be very profitable. With the recent uptick in people, however, they must have decided now was a good time to come.

This big chain’s name seems to be a reference to literal chains. Their locations are so big, you wouldn’t think they were eating establishments. Not only do they have food and drink, they also have a wide variety of preserved foodstuffs and take-home ingredients to support their catchphrase: The Chains Restaurant, for all your food needs.

They have connections with the workers of the transfer circle as well, and they can use it at a discount, so they don’t incur transportation costs for foods. That leads to a pricing and quality normal eateries can’t match.

And for any settlement the Chains Restaurant moves into, there’s really only one outcome the local food industry can expect: total defeat.

This stuff happens a lot in modern Japan, too. There are plenty of examples of big stores built in an area that crush smaller shops and dominate entire streets, leading to rows and rows of shuttered-up stalls.

“They must have been waiting for a time like this. Winter rolls in, and we’ve been trading for food at high prices—and with how cheaply they sell theirs, there won’t be any reason to worry. They possess many magic items that make it possible to keep food fresh, so they’ll be able to provide the same meals even in the wintertime.”

I wonder if those tools are like big refrigerators. Eighty percent of the eateries here are open-air, so they obviously wouldn’t have anything like that. They can’t stock ingredients, so they would have closed up today.

“They have their fingers in the transfer circle business, too. They’re blatantly starting to drive up prices, which is strangling the circulation of food. We’re trapped like rats at the moment.”

“Damn it all! Is waiting for them to trample us all we can do?”

“I have two adorable children at home. How are we supposed to last the winter?!”

Fists pound on the table. The store owners are visibly frustrated by all this. It’s especially clear from how they keep glancing over in my direction.

This extended farce has allowed me figure out the reason they called me here. They expect me to come up with a way to turn this situation around.

To be honest, as a vending machine, it doesn’t really matter to me if a big chain moves into town. I can operate twenty-four hours a day, and I have several products the Chains Restaurant can’t imitate. I don’t think the residents of this world could use the freeze-dry manufacturing method for cup ramen, for instance.

But I like the people living here, and I have Lammis to think about, too. It’s of no cost to me to show them favor. I’d like to secure a home for when I break down one day and become unusable.

I also have a bitter memory of a favorite shop of mine in my school days, run by an old couple, that was squashed by big business. It wouldn’t be so bad to have my revenge in this world.

“So, Mr. Boxxo, will you cooperate with us?! …If you do, we’ll halve Lammis’s inn fees when we finish rebuilding it.”

Munami leans in close as she whispers the Lammis part to me; if I had a physical body, I’m sure I would have reacted. Hmm… I planned to help out even without her negotiations, but if this will benefit Lammis, any reason I might have to refuse has been eliminated.

“Welcome.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Boxxo!”

“Ohhh! If Boxxo helps us, we’ll have the strength of one hundred men…one hundred boxes!”

“With Boxxo, we might just be able to pull through!”

I’m fine with them making a big deal out of it, but this is all going to be my responsibility, isn’t it? They’re excited, thinking they’ve already won. What would they do if I can’t help them at all?

I want to heave a sigh, but it would only produce a canned phrase, so I endure.

“So this is the Chains Restaurant, huh? I’ve heard the rumors, but wow, it’s big!”

“Looks like this place has finally made it to our stratum, eh?”

I’ve come with Lammis and Hulemy to spy on the enemy. We’re in front of the store now. It’s definitely not the size of a shopping mall, but it’s probably the second largest building I’ve seen in this world, next to the Hunters Association building.

The ceiling is domed, and it looks like it has one story. A circular store made of warped wooden panels fitted into one another. The design stands out prominently in the settlement.

The entrance is large, and in front of it are employees in almost-pure-yellow jackets calling out to attract customers.

“Welcome, welcome. Welcome to the Chains Restaurant, your friendly neighborhood store with delicious foods at low prices! Chains Restaurant, at your service! And as a store-opening celebration, all products are half price—that’s right, folks, half price!”

I’m starting to feel nostalgic. You see this kind of thing all the time in Japan, but it seems like a foreign element in this world. An endless stream of people step inside, attracted by how unusual it is.

They’re flourishing. Are their name and accolades lending to their success? I can understand those new to this settlement wanting to choose this store over the smaller shops.

“Oh, oh my. Well, well, well. Come to scout out the enemy, perhaps?”

A slender man calling for customers walks over to us, rubbing his hands together. The businesslike smile on his face gives me the creeps.

“H-how did you know what we were doing?”

“Lammis… Behind you,” says Hulemy, putting a hand to her forehead, shaking it tiredly.

I mean, I think anyone would figure it out if you’re carrying me on your back. Does she not realize how much we stand out?

“That must be Boxxo, the magic item with a mind I’ve heard so much about. Our president is interested in you, too. Are you interested in working for us? I can guarantee that you will be treated well.”

I didn’t expect a recruitment offer. He doesn’t seem like he’s joking. His eyes aren’t smiling.

From the other side’s perspective, I’m the biggest obstacle here. Is their intention to rope me into their business instead?

“Boxxo won’t work in a place like that. He’ll be with me forever. Right, Boxxo?”

“Welcome.”

“See?”

Why is Lammis sticking out her chest and acting smug? Still, now that I’ve been reincarnated in another world, I’ve frankly no interest in a normal, stable workplace. If I worked here, I have a feeling it would be no different from being a supermarket vending machine.

“That is unfortunate. Well, I’m sure you’ll come around in a few months. Now then, we are quite busy, so I will take my leave.”

What are you talking about? You were the one who came to us.

I thought Lammis and Hulemy, their enthusiasm spoiled, would turn around and leave. But we can’t go back without doing anything, so they enter the store with me behind them.

The entrance is large enough for them to go through it with a vending machine, and inside the store, there are no partition walls, creating a big, wide-open space. To the right is where they sell food. It looks like they offer dried beef and other ingredients that will last a long time. The goods seem aimed mainly at hunters.

Left of the center is a wide counter with a kitchen behind it—probably the kind where you order and it’s prepared for you to take on the spot. Long tables are set up as well, with chairs spaced at even intervals. It has a similar setup to a food court.

Lammis orders meat and pasta with yellowish-green vegetables in it. Hulemy asks for bread and something that looks like a whitefish meunière. They both look delicious to me, but they’re really no different from the ordinary stuff you can get in any old cafeteria.

“Hmm, it’s good in a normal way,” says Lammis.

“Yeah,” agrees Hulemy. “It tastes just like you think it would.”

As they eat their food, they don’t really show any emotion. I don’t have taste buds. Not being able to compare foods stings, but it must taste good. I don’t see any of the joy of eating coming from them, though. They both seem happy whenever they eat my stuff.

“It’s good, but… It’s just kind of normal.”

“Maybe we’re too used to Boxxo’s food. I’m not surprised or impressed. It’s good in a normal way.”

I see. It’s the kind of flavor you tend to get at above-average Chains Restaurants. They don’t use any strong seasonings so everyone will like it. Rather than going for a hundred points, they aim to keep it above seventy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—every shop has to have a unified sense of taste. They can’t use complex recipes and spices. Plus, the prices here are the selling point, so they can only spend so much on ingredients.

To add to that, spices are valuable in this world, meaning saltiness and light flavors are commonplace.

Maybe there’s something we can exploit in that.

The menu seems to be sticking to the basics as well. Yes, yes—I think I’m starting to get an idea.