Chapter 7
Chapter 7
“Kiiiik… eek! Kieeeek!”
The desperate screams from behind made me pause the shovel I was using to level the soil. When I turned around, the Blood Peppers that had disappeared earlier were there, clinging to my shinbones while trembling in convulsions.
They buried their heads between my legs, crying and sniveling as if their lives had been ruined.
It was… strange.
“Hm.”
I looked down at them quietly. Even if they were Blood Peppers, at their core they were still peppers. Over the past year I had witnessed all kinds of absurd things—crops growing legs, sprouting wings, transforming in every grotesque way imaginable.
But this was the first time they were crying this pitifully.
“Can you not cling to me? You’re disgusting.”
I tapped their heads away with my foot, trying to peel them off. But they only clung tighter to my shinbones, refusing to let go.
I didn’t know what they had been through out there, but I really wished they wouldn’t keep dripping their unpleasant tears all over my farmland.
“Igrifa-sama… the sounds outside are rather unusual.”
From the throne, the queen spoke while trembling and pointing toward the door.
Indeed, there were loud noises coming from beyond it.
Should I close the door first?
“Yeah, it is noisy. Sorry about that.”
With Blood Peppers still hanging from my legs, I closed the door. It was quite thick—after that, the noise from outside was no longer audible.
“Alright, the leveling is done… next is—”
While I was thinking about the next step, the massive stone door suddenly collapsed inward with a deafening crash.
“….”
It didn’t really hurt. I had broken bones far more often thanks to Kanis and Lupus anyway.
A stone door like this couldn’t hurt my bones. Even if it was piled on top of me, it honestly wouldn’t matter.
“Found you!!!”
But I couldn’t accept what I saw.
Through the dust cloud appeared a woman, drenched in blood, laughing like a madwoman. The red aura pouring from her greatsword was violently tearing apart the carefully prepared farmland soil.
And just like that, the level ground I had worked so hard to prepare was ruined.
“Hahaha! I thought there might be something interesting here since you were running away crying, but it’s just this?”
“Hey! Stop hiding and come out! Let’s see this through to the end!”
She swung her blade wildly like a mad person, slicing the air. Every slash scattered the soil I had carefully prepared.
I had no idea what she was looking for—but why was she making a mess of my field?
For a moment, I almost lost my patience.
“Step back, intruder.”
Bark drew his sword and pointed it at the woman.
In the three days since I met him, I had thought he was just a polite silvertree noble youth—but his stance with a blade was surprisingly solid.
“Hey~ don’t glare like that. You’re scary.”
“Shut up. You made it this far—this will be your grave.”
At Bark’s threat, the woman shrugged.
Unlike the serious Bark, she bounced lightly on her feet. Was this the difference between nobility and commoners?
“What’s this? After I let you live once, you think we’re equals now?”
She stopped moving and sheathed her sword.
Bark’s face flushed red beneath his armored bark.
Fascinating. Even that hardened armor showed veins when angered.
“Don’t joke around! I’ve lost all interest in you. Honestly, you’re boring.”
“How dare you… insult me!”
At her mocking finger, Bark tensed his legs, ready to leap.
From the throne, the queen spoke calmly.
“Stop. You are not strong enough.”
Bark flinched.
Then both Bark and the queen looked at me.
I didn’t understand, but I nodded anyway. It usually helped situations move along.
Bark silently sheathed his sword.
“Good choice. It’s a nice day to die, but not for you.”
Even after Bark backed down, the woman continued mocking him. She brushed off her shoulder and looked toward the throne.
“Hey~ you must be the queen, right? First time meeting you.”
There was no respect or caution in her tone—only curiosity, like she was observing a rare monster.
“By the way, why are you outside? Isn’t the dungeon master supposed to protect the core?”
She sat down casually on top of the fallen stone door.
The queen elegantly covered her mouth and pointed at her “pet rock.”
“…Humans really do have poor eyesight, don’t they?”
Ah, so the proper name was “dungeon core.” So I really had been taking care of a pet rock.
“Wait… this wasn’t outside?”
The woman frowned, looking up at the artificial sun I had created.
I even painted the ceiling blue because it felt too dull otherwise.
It was honestly something I had been proud of.
But she just tapped the ground with her sword tip, uninterested.
“What about the queen? Is she strong? Probably just a silvertree, though.”
Bark stepped forward in anger, but the queen stopped him again.
Then both of them looked at me again.
…What am I supposed to do?
The woman laughed.
“Yeah, just stay there. Your queen will be handled by the armor idiots. Go ahead and die quietly.”
At that moment, two more figures entered through the broken gate: a woman in priestly robes and a man in heavy armor.
“Kasian. That’s enough. You’ve come outside.”
“Leader, if you keep acting on your own, we’ll have to restrain you.”
From their appearance, they were likely from the Holy Empire.
A nation northeast of the Kingdom of Lugnis, ruled by the belief that the world was created by a single god. Not exactly known for friendly relations.
Yeah… I already didn’t like the sound of this.
“Shut up… it doesn’t matter if it’s carrot or pepper. That flame I felt earlier—I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
The woman pressed her sword against the nun’s neck.
“Don’t interfere.”
But the nun didn’t even blink. Instead, she stepped forward and pressed her forehead against the woman’s.
“Kasian, remember. I was dispatched by the Church. I don’t care about your interests. Focus on the core. That is an order—”
She stopped.
Her gaze suddenly locked onto me beneath the stone door.
And then the others followed her gaze.
“Uh… hi?”
A short greeting slipped from my skull through the crack in the stone.
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Beatrice forgot how to scream.
The moment it made eye contact, the stone door had already begun to rot away.
From the ruins, the skeleton that slowly rose was something beyond anything recorded in imperial documents.
“It shouldn’t be like this. The ground is uneven.”
It muttered incomprehensible words.
None of them responded.
Its empty eye sockets contained writhing Blood Peppers, trembling like parasites. More of them clung between its ribs like grotesque fruit.
“Kieeek… kieeek!”
They hid within its bones, spraying mucus-like fluids at the intruders.
A grotesque insult to reality itself.
“Leader! Stop!!!”
Grad shouted.
But it was already too late.
Kasian charged forward, smiling.
“You’re the boss of these things, right?”
Her blade aimed at the skeleton’s skull.
“Then you must be stronger than those carrots, right?”
“….”
The skeleton caught the blade with one hand.
“Ha! You think that stopped me?”
The blade turned to ash.
“…W-what is this?”
Kasian stepped back, but it was already too late.
Her arm was being consumed by black smoke, flesh dissolving into bone.
“…Hmm. The arm wasn’t in the plan.”
The skeleton tilted its head slightly.