Chapter 13
Chapter 13
The place where the carriage came to a stop was a massive stone building that radiated pressure from the very entrance.
“Igripa-nim, get down. This is the most expensive place in the South, at least.”
Canis stepped forward as if she were used to it, but what stood before me was a giant glass cylinder. Inside it, four partitions rotated in a circle.
I had no desire whatsoever to move forward.
“Mm, what are you doing there?”
Canis, who had already passed through the partitions, gestured from beyond the glass wall. Lupus had already gone far inside, admiring the glittering accessories on display with a bright smile, so it was awkward to just stand here doing nothing.
Because of that, a strange sensation rose from my neck—like saliva refusing to go down properly despite having no esophagus.
“Ah, I’m coming.”
From up close, the rotating glass trap looked like it swallowed people one at a time and then spat them out.
Judging by its trajectory, it seemed to have a fixed rotation cycle. If I entered at the exact right timing, the partition in front of me wouldn’t touch my body.
Unless the one who installed this thing had designed it to suddenly change speed or reverse midway—but so far, there was no sign of that.
‘I’m going.’
I clenched my fist and aimed for the moment when the empty space behind the partition Canis had disappeared into came toward me. Like a beast pouncing on prey, I launched my body with perfectly calculated timing.
Crack—! Crash! Boom!
The partition shattered with a deafening noise.
“Igripa-nim.”
…
Right in front of me, Canis stood with her arms crossed, glaring at me from within the wreckage of the broken partition.
…
Did I do something wrong?
The situation turned out to be more complicated than expected. The Baphomet guards rushed in, clearly alarmed at me breaking through the rotating glass partitions.
But only for a moment—once they saw Canis and Lupus standing beside me, they immediately bowed and scraped, and before I knew it, I was being escorted to this VIP room without understanding anything.
‘…Luxurious.’
Even to someone like me, who knew nothing of luxury, the place was clearly filled with expensive furniture. A chandelier glowed overhead, and a subtle fragrance rose from the teacup in front of me.
Across from me stood an old Baphomet, bowing repeatedly with a face that looked ready to cry.
“Lady Canis, Lady Lupus… if only you had informed us beforehand…”
With trembling hands, he poured tea while watching their reactions.
Since I’d never gone out with them before, I hadn’t known—but it seemed Canis and Lupus held quite high status.
“...Haha, the general manager is currently out on urgent business. I hope I am not committing a discourtesy by attending you in his place…”
“Well, the general manager is always busy, isn’t he? It can’t be helped.”
At Canis’s casual response, the old Baphomet flustered even more, waving his hands nervously.
“T-that’s not it. We never expected such distinguished guests to visit so suddenly. We’ve already sent people to fetch the manager. If you could just wait a moment…”
“No need. We just came shopping anyway.”
At Canis’s cold reply, the old Baphomet didn’t even think to wipe the cold sweat running down his back.
Silence settled heavily in the room.
Even the steam rising from the teacup seemed hesitant as it dispersed into the air.
Then—
“What’s this? Showing up without notice—what’s going on?”
A middle-aged Baphomet with ornate golden epaulettes burst into the room.
Judging by the old Baphomet’s reaction, he must be the general manager.
With a cigarette in his mouth, he sat across from Canis and casually extended his hand.
“Seriously, what was so urgent that you came out of nowhere? I had to leave in the middle of an audience with Lady Belial. And why did you break the door?”
“…”
“Well, whatever. Not like you’d be in a good mood.”
When Canis ignored his hand, he laughed awkwardly and stood up.
“The East and North can’t say a word to the Green Dungeon itself, so they’re just venting their anger on you and the South, huh?”
“That’s about right.”
“Yeah, figures. No way you’d feel good about it. Alright, I get the situation.”
He made a money gesture with his fingers while staring straight at me.
“Not a plant-type today, I see.”
The general manager approached and began tapping my shoulder bone and elbow. He even brought his hand near my hollow face and started inspecting it.
Was he measuring bone density? As expected of someone running a large department store—he seemed to have a good eye for bones.
“Hmm, I’ve never seen an undead that looks like this. From the Green Dungeon, I assume?”
He grinned, but I shrugged at the strange sensation. Even if it was hollow, having someone rummage around inside my skull felt… odd, emotionally speaking.
‘Is this how they measure clothing sizes in the city?’
Back when I was human, clothes were made, not bought. Even when buying them for festivals, it was from small village shops. Most of the time, they didn’t fit properly and had to be altered at home.
But this… was clearly different.
“Hey! Don’t just touch him like that! What are you doing?!”
Lupus suddenly shouted, frowning.
“Haha, you’ve got to touch the product to understand it.”
“I’m serious! I warned you!”
“Yes, yes, warning received~”
Even so, the general manager didn’t withdraw his hand from inside my skull. If anything, he seemed amused by Lupus’s reaction and moved even more roughly.
“Hmm, fascinating. An undead that feels nothing at all… So, how much are you asking?”
“That’s not it.”
“...Huh?”
Canis’s voice cut in coldly.
“What do you mean?”
“I said, he’s not a product.”
“…?”
Sweat suddenly formed on the manager’s forehead.
“Why? Isn’t this the person you’ve been wanting to be introduced to?”
“…Don’t tell me—”
“That’s right. This is Igripa-nim, the master of the Green Dungeon.”
Silence fell.
The cigarette slipped from his mouth and hit the floor.
Slowly—very slowly—he raised his gaze to meet mine.
The hollow darkness of my skull stared back at him.
…
Thud.
Argas—the Baphomet—fell from the sofa and slammed his forehead into the marble floor.
“I have committed a sin worthy of death…! To fail to recognize the lord of the Green Dungeon and dare to—!”
All traces of his earlier composure had vanished.
He trembled under Canis’s cold gaze.
Why had things turned out like this?
Just thirty minutes ago, Argas had been attending an audience with Belial in her dungeon.
“The Lycan sisters came? Without notice?”
“Y-yes! The deputy manager is attending them in the VIP room, but the atmosphere is unusual—”
“You fool! And you interrupt an audience for that?!”
Argas kicked the messenger and hurriedly bowed deeply.
“Forgive me, Lady Belial! My subordinates are poorly trained—”
“Enough.”
Belial, resting her chin on her hand, lazily opened her eyes.
“The Green Dungeon is a hot topic. Compared to us, those Lycan sisters who trade with them are more important.”
“…You are correct.”
Then—
“Go. Do as you wish.”
“Thank you!”
With excitement, Argas had rushed back.
And now—
Why had it come to this?
His forehead struck the marble again with a loud crack.
Cold sweat poured down his back.
The lord of the Green Dungeon—the one none who entered ever returned from—stood here before him.
And he had… stuck his hand inside that being’s skull.
“…Please… forgive my ignorance…”
But the abyss gave no answer.
Only the hollow darkness stared back.