Chapter 17
What's the most important thing in life?
Family? Lovers? Friends?
No. None of those!
The most important things are survival and food!
You can't live without food!
So, if I can control the Tower's food supply...
That means absolute power is in my hands.
“But wait a minute!”
“What is it? Speak up.”
“While you were stuck here, Chef, how did the Tower's entities fend for themselves? Weren't all the ingredients pouring in here?”
It seems the Tower's basement is full of facilities for managing the Tower.
There's the office and the library, for example.
But before I arrived as Administrator, none of them were functioning properly.
The office worker wasn't showing up at the office.
And without a librarian, the Constellations were stealing books from the library.
The kitchen on Floor -4 was the same.
It was full of ingredients left to rot without a chef.
So what had the Tower's entities been eating all this time?
“You've got something wrong, Administrator.”
“I do?”
“Yes. Look at the scraps scattered around here.”
“Aren't these all usable ingredients?”
“No. Look closely. Focus on what you're seeing.”
“...Hmm?”
How much closer was I supposed to look?
I did as Chef said and focused on the scene before me, but...
[Disable the antipsychotic filter?]
“Huh?”
“Administrator, you're human, so you're restricted from perceiving everything in the basement as it really is. But if you try to see its true nature, you can temporarily lift the Tower's restriction.”
“I see...”
Just as Chef explained, a message popped up asking if I wanted to disable the filter when I focused on what I was seeing!
What? This was a feature?
I had no idea.
I thought the filter just switched itself on and off automatically, but it could be toggled.
Maybe Chef knows so much because they're the oldest basement employee I've met so far.
“Disable.”
[The antipsychotic filter is disabled.]
The scene before my eyes soon began to change.
The bright, cheerful world instantly grew dark and gloomy.
I looked at the world as if I'd been forced to grow up, my childhood innocence stripped away.
“Ugh....”
The worst part was something else entirely.
I could now smell the rot and foul stench I hadn't been able to detect before.
The kitchen was in far worse shape than I'd thought.
“You can see them now, can't you? These traces.”
“Yes... Now I can see them clearly. All of this...”
“They're scraps. Leftovers. Not even one percent of the ingredients that should've come here was getting through. And even that one percent was garbage like this.”
So all the ingredients pouring through the hole in the kitchen ceiling—the ‘food transfer chute’—had been little better than food waste.
Someone had intercepted the fresh ingredients meant for the basement, eaten them, and dumped the leftovers here.
So what had been falling here really was nothing but useless trash.
“Ugh....”
“Turn the perception filter back on. Your humanity is still too high to face the basement as it truly is for long.”
“Okaaay... My head hurts...”
[The antipsychotic filter activates.]
Phew~ That's better.
My headache's gone!
The world looks bright again, and the stench has disappeared, too.
“Now then, Administrator. What do you think we should do?”
“Uh, so there are bloodsuckers leeching off the Tower's resources! We need to beat them up! Right?”
“Correct! Absolutely correct! Excellent work. You're a fine Administrator.”
Chef smiled and clapped.
That's a little over the top, but! I like it.
“Now, you know what you need to do, don't you?”
“Get the food back from the faction that's been hoarding the Tower's supplies. Right?”
“Wow! You're sharp! The Administrator really does catch on fast!”
Well, figuring that much out was no big deal.
“Then get started. If you change the information listed on the meal plan, you'll be able to control everything as you please.”
“Yes! I'll give it a try!”
Time to take down the bastards who've been hoarding all the food and living it up~
First, I'll raise the ingredient supply for the kitchen on Floor -4 from one percent back to one hundred percent.
Next, I'll reclaim all the food from Floor 70, where an absurd amount has been getting used up.
So they've been throwing a party on Floor 70, a floor humanity hasn't even reached yet!
No. No more parties. Parties are banned from now on.
Your food belongs to us now.
“Is this all right?”
“Excellent. Just keep going like this. Change anything that seems strange. And look here. Can you see the names of those receiving food?”
“Yes. Uh... Smiling Mask? Huh?”
Where had I seen that name before?
I'm sure I'd seen it recently...
“Ah...!”
That's right!
That bastard I'd advised to send an Apostle to ‘Frozen Heart’!
Their username was Smiling Mask.
“So you recognize the name.”
“Yes... I recognize all the names written here...”
I'd seen them before...
In the Constellation Gallery!
“What the hell?!”
Were the Constellations stealing all the food meant for the Tower's basement and eating it?
Those bastards were already stealing grimoires from the library and distributing them however they pleased!
And now they'd raided the food stores, too?
They were nothing but a bunch of thieves!
They'd been taking whatever they wanted from the basement and using it however they pleased.
“We have to revoke all their privileges!”
“Exactly! Now, hurry up and serve them a big fat dose of payback.”
“Yes!”
Exactly. The basement belongs to the Administrator and the entities!
How dare the Constellations invade it?
This is a clear violation of our territory!
And you're not even full-time Tower employees like the Floor Masters.
Constellations are transcendent beings who used to be climbers and simply climbed high enough in the Tower to claim a position for themselves.
So, to put it simply, aren't they like interns?
Since when are interns allowed to steal snacks from the break room whenever they want?
The interns' negligence, embezzlement, and extravagant lifestyles.
As a full-time basement Administrator, I can't forgive that!
“You parasites of the Tower...!”
Constellations = parasites.
Officially established.
First, everyone whose name is on the meal plan is fired!
Food Operations Officer: Smiling Mask – Fired.
Food Supply Officer: Seven-Star Azure Dragon – Fired.
Production Commissioner: Goddess of Spring – Fired.
It was a mass firing.
The Constellations' names were erased one after another.
In their place, new names appeared: mine and Chef's.
Unlimited food supply for a limited time.
How generous of us.
Now it's all confiscated.
‘And one more thing...’
I can't stop here.
They were supposed to pay points to the basement to receive food.
But while Chef was stuck as a crippled potato entity with nothing but their head left, they were spending it all on their own selfish desires, weren't they?
That's not just dining and dashing. It's taking over the whole restaurant!
That's not a petty offense. It's a serious crime!
They need to be punished. We need punitive damages.
I should make those outrageous Constellations pay a huge number of points.
“All Constellation benefits are revoked. Every last one. From now on, get in line and pay for your meals.”
Effective immediately, all Constellations living in the Tower must buy ‘meal tickets’ at ten times the standard price.
And since you've been leeching off basement supplies without permission, you'll pay three times as much in maintenance fees, too.
“At last, things are returning to normal. Well done, Administrator.”
“By the way, Chef, I'm told points are coming in, but what can I do with them?”
“You can repair the broken equipment and renovate the basement. We'll also need to buy food properly.”
“I see!”
When I used the points, the basement ceiling really did open, and fresh ingredients began pouring in.
So this is how much food was supposed to come down to the basement in the first place!
There's so much! How many servings is this?
“Administrator, I'm sorry, but it looks like I'll be quite busy from now on. I need to inspect the neglected facilities and get to work right away. So I'll leave the rest to you.”
“Yes! Don't worry!”
“You're very dependable.”
Chef's arms started moving incredibly fast!
They were almost too quick for my eyes to follow.
At incredible speed, Chef burned away the mountains of food scraps.
Then Chef quickly prepared the ingredients pouring down from the ceiling.
It looks like Chef's doing the work of a thousand servings all by themself.
“Let's take a quick look at the Constellation Gallery while we're at it.”
====
Title: Aaargh! Basement Administrator, I'll kill you!!!!
Posted by: Smiling Mask
This fucking Administrator!!!
How dare you fire me????
Do you even know who I am? How dare you pull this kind of crap...!
I'm sending out every Apostle.
I'll destroy the basement and everything else.
I won't let you live.
[Comments]
└Frozen Heart: LMAO, serves you right.
└Frozen Heart: How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?
└Smiling Mask: It feels even shittier than I imagined.
└Seven-Star Azure Dragon: I never thought I'd suffer such humiliation at the hands of a mere Earthling.
└Seven-Star Azure Dragon: Now we'll have to spend a huge amount of points buying meal tickets. This is a disaster.
└Spider of the Abyss: Hey, what are you guys doing?
└Spider of the Abyss: How are we supposed to cover our kids' food expenses?
└Spider of the Abyss: We trusted you and left this in your hands because that guy said so, and look what happened.
└Giant Soldier of the Azure Sky: It's a mess on our end, too.
└Giant Soldier of the Azure Sky: Constellations with lots of slave races are in real trouble.
└Giant Soldier of the Azure Sky: We'll go bankrupt at this rate. We need to sort this out ourselves before that person arrives.
└The One Who Peeks Behind: LOL, that's why living alone is the best.
└The One Who Peeks Behind: Since it's come to this, just grind up all those slave races or whatever.
====
What a mess!
No wonder all the food was getting intercepted.
They've been using it to feed their slaves!
If you can't afford their food, you should give up being a Constellation and come down here.
Ding!
====
[The Floor Masters' trust has increased.]
[Locked Tower functions have been unlocked.]
[Resource production across the entire Tower has increased.]
====
Locked Tower functions?
====
[The ‘Tower Merchant’ is traveling around the Tower.]
[‘Stairway City’ has opened.]
[The ‘Miniature Labyrinth’ has been unlocked.]
[Your achievements resound throughout the Tower!]
====
“Wow...”
Just how much had those Constellations been swiping for all these functions to be locked?
Isn't this basically pulling up the ladder?
They'd locked away functions that should've been there all along and lived in luxury in the Tower's upper reaches!
The Constellations are disgusting!
Ding!
====
[Your Goal!]
Turn four or more climbers into your underlings.
[Reward]
-The Cooking King's Spatula
-3 geun of ritual meat.
※The more, the better.
====
While I was still reeling at how disgusting the Constellations were, a new quest popped up.
It wanted me to recruit at least four climbers and make them my underlings.
“Underlings, huh?”
Hyeji's already on my side, so I only need to recruit three more!
Should I post a recruitment ad on Babel Gallery?
====
Title: Recruiting Underlings.
Posted by: BasementAdministrator2088
I'm recruiting people to be my underlings!
There are all kinds of benefits!
Please show lots of interest!
If nobody's interested... I might be a little disappointed...
====
What if nobody wants to be my underling?
I'd be really sad if everyone just ignored me.
But I've been trolling nonstop up until now.
I've stirred up so much trouble that I'm a little afraid everyone might hate me...
But my worries turned out to be for nothing.
The post's comment section promptly exploded.