Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)

Now, Eris is leading me through Mistvale's winding streets again.

The afternoon sun spills a soft, golden light over the town, but there's a chill threading through the breeze—like winter quietly reminding us it's just around the corner.

Along the walkways, the trees are shedding their coats of brown and yellow leaves. They drift lazily from the branches, swirling and spinning before settling in thick, crunchy layers beneath our feet.

I can't resist.

With each step, I press my boots deeper into the leaf piles.

Crunch… crunch… crunch…

Hehe… it's so fun. So satisfying.

Like I'm walking on crispy snacks made by the season itself.

"Eris, where are we going now?" I ask, giving the leaves an extra stomp, just to hear them crunch louder.

She chuckles softly beside me, her boots joining in the crunchy chorus.

"We're heading to the Hearthcarvers Guild."

"Ooooh! That's the place that… sells houses in dungeons, right?" I perk up, my ears flicking at the thought.

"Mm-hmm." Eris nods with a grin, her golden eyes shining in the afternoon light.

But then I tilt my head, puzzled.

"Buuuut… dungeons are dangerous, aren't they? How can anyone live inside one? Isn't that kinda… insane?"

Eris giggles, brushing a stray leaf from my hair.

"Actually… not all dungeons are dangerous, you know?"

"Ehhhhh? For real?" I blink up at her, tail swaying curiously behind me.

"Of course!" Eris smiles. "Hey, how come you already forgot about dungeons classifications?"

"Oh right!" I exclaim, immeidately remembering it.

Dungeons are classified into F to S rank.

So, I guess the dungeons used for housing are all F rank dungeons!

"Nice, don't forget that again!" Eris says, patting my head.

"Nn!" I nod.

And so, she starts explaining to me about dungeon housing.

Apparently, this world has all kinds of dungeons. And nearly half of them… are practically harmless. Little to no monster activity, stable environments, some even have natural mana-rich springs, or beautiful sceneries no one can find on the surface.

So, if a dungeon's proven to be safe, and someone claims the land, they can build homes inside. Of course, they still have to go through inspections and all those boring procedures.

On the other hand…

Dungeon housing isn't actually managed by the Adventurer's Guild. Nope.

That's a whole different story. It falls under the Hearthcarvers Guild, a super specialized organization that handles all things dungeon housing.

Kind of like a mix between home construction experts and real estate agents… for dangerous places. They take care of everything—from dungeon investigations, safety verifications, land surveys… all the way to buying and selling dungeon properties.

But… apparently, living inside a dungeon is a bit pricier than living in a normal city like Mistvale.

Which… yeah, I guess that makes sense.

After all, you'd have to pay for regular safety checkups, monster inspections, and all kinds of maintenance costs—just to make sure your cozy little dungeon home doesn't randomly collapse… or get swarmed by slimes in the middle of the night.

Yikes.

And then, there's the whole isolation thing.

No nearby markets.

No schools.

No churches.

No public baths.

Sooo… for most people, it's just not worth the trouble. After all, why live in a dungeon when you could stay in a comfy, bustling city like Mistvale?

But for people like us, people who want peace, people who want quiet, people who want freedom from the endless noise of civilization, it sounds like a dream come true!

Sure, we'd have to give up visiting the market and stuffing our faces with delicious food every day.

But we could hunt, we could gather!

We could live off the land, no problem!

Self-sufficient Eris and Felicia, living wild and free!

Oh hell yeah, we could even buy seeds and grow our own garden!

Well… actually, scratch that. We're catgirls, we don't really eat vegetables!

But… a few flower patches would be sooo nice!

Umu… that would be adorable!

Ahhhh, I'm already dreaming about it!

But then—

Ping!

A question pops into my head.

"Wait, Eris!" I blurt out, ears perking. "How does this whole process actually work? I mean… who owns dungeon land to begin with? Like, when it's first discovered?"

Eris chuckles, clearly enjoying my curiosity.

"Oh! That's a good question." She grins, brushing a few leaves off her shoulder. "You're wondering how the Hearthcarvers Guild gets the right to sell dungeon land, right?"

"Yeah, exactly!" I nod eagerly, tail swishing behind me. "Like… how do you even get the right to claim unclaimed, uninhabited land?"

"Well… it's actually pretty simple." Eris flashes me a smile. "There's a law in this kingdom called the Right of First Discovery. And like the name says, whoever discovers a dungeon or land first… gets the legal right to claim ownership of it. Officially recognized by the crown."

"Oooooh! So it's like that, huh?" I blink, tail flicking thoughtfully.

Makes sense, I guess…

A treasure hunter's dream, right?

You find it…

You own it.

But then—

Ping!

Another lightbulb flickers on in my head.

"Wait a minute, Eris!" I blurt out, my eyes sparkling with sudden excitement. "If I discover a gold mine inside a dungeon… does that mean it's mine now? Like, all of it?"

Eris snorts, barely holding back her laughter.

"Nah, silly cat." She shakes her head, smiling. "It doesn't work like that."

"Ehhhh? Why not?" I pout, tail drooping.

"Well… the rules for claiming dungeon land are kinda strict, actually."

Eris raises her hand, holding up her fingers one by one as she explains, like she's teaching a kitten.

"First… the area has to be completely free of monster activity for at least twenty-four months after discovery.

Second… the air has to be breathable and free of any toxic hazards—no deadly mists, no cursed fogs, none of that spooky stuff.

And third… there's a minimum space requirement. The place needs at least ten thousand square meters of usable space."

She pauses there, smirking.

"And… there's a looot more rules stacked on top of that. But if I tell you all of them, we'll probably still be standing here when the moon's out!"