A Vicious Merchant Begs to Be Ravished
Having been acknowledged as Yuria's new master, I headed back to the chamber housing the Dungeon Core to finalize the Dungeon Master contract using the key Master Isabella had given me.
All it took was sliding the key into the slot and submitting my biodata to the scanning array. In mere moments, the registration process was complete.
When the Dungeon Core flared with a brilliant pulse of light in response to my presence, a wave of profound relief washed over me. I had truly become the master of this dungeon.
"Well, it was quite an ordeal, but I'm officially registered as a Dungeon Master."
A full-fledged Dungeon Master at last. Of course, the place had been abandoned for over a century, which meant endless repairs, and running it properly would require a mountain of gold. I still had an agonizingly long road ahead of me. Still, it wasn't all bad news. After all, I had just acquired a subordinate powerful enough to bulldoze her way through this dungeon's deadliest death traps with raw physical force alone.
"……."
Yet for some reason, despite having formally recognized me as her master, Yuria was glaring at me with narrow, suspicious eyes.
"What's on your mind?"
"It remains…… difficult to believe, it is so. The fact that you are…… Lady Isabella's apprentice……."
Oh, is that all?
It felt a little rich coming from someone who had just enthusiastically sucked my cock dry, but considering she had been slumbering for over a century, she probably had zero grasp of Master's current standing. Naturally, she didn't know a thing about Master's personal connections either, so it was only natural she'd doubt the identity of some random guy showing up out of nowhere with a master key.
"Well, I am a certified trap architect. Couldn't my work serve as proof? If you know Master as well as you claim, you must have recognized traces of her genius in the trap I built……"
"The trap…… you built……."
Yuria fell into deep, brooding thought. Then, all of a sudden, crimson flushed across her cheeks. As the memory of what had transpired inside that pit flooded back, she wrapped her arms around herself and began to shiver violently.
"Th-That trap was…… abnormal. Thrusting inside, body thrashing…… head turning to mush……. Torture like that, I have never heard of from Lady Isabella……. Could it be…… Lady Isabella has begun constructing such abominations……?"
"No, that part was purely my personal taste."
"Your taste is vile."
"Harsh."
Apparently, our recent coupling had been a completely alien experience for her. Well, that was nothing a little patient erotic conditioning over time couldn't fix.
"Putting that aside, Yuria, why were you left behind in this abandoned dungeon in the first place? A high-spec golem like you is worth a fortune. She should have taken you with her."
From what I had personally experienced, her body was practically identical to living flesh, save for the mechanical joints. Factoring in her autonomous artificial intelligence, the craftmanship alone involved advanced biomancy, artificial soul synthesis, and heaven knew what else. Hell, pawning her off would easily fund a full year of dungeon operations.
"This dungeon…… was an establishment Lady Isabella poured immense effort into. As a precaution, she left me behind. To eliminate intruders……. And, in the distant future, to entrust my custody to the one who would manage this place in her stead."
"Hmm. In other words, Master willingly handed over such a prized dungeon to me, her beloved apprentice, right?"
"If you are truly…… Lady Isabella's apprentice……. It is so."
I see. She still harbored her doubts, but since the Dungeon Core had registered me, she had fundamentally accepted me as her master. Seeking to drive the point home, I tossed a few more questions her way.
"Then starting today, you'll serve as my maid and help me run this dungeon, right?"
"It is so. Once again, Lady Isabella's dungeon…… restoration protocols shall begin, it is so."
"And throughout the process, you'll obey whatever orders I give without complaint?"
"That is correct, however……."
"Good, good. Anything I say, hm?"
My gaze drifted downward. Remembering the sweet, tight clamp of her synthetic pussy beneath that maid skirt, my eyes practically lingered there. Yuria flinched, clamping both hands over her skirt to pin the fabric down. She glared at me with glistening, near-tearful eyes.
"Are you…… planning to do that to me again……?"
"What?"
"Inserting genitals into genitals…… I reject it. That sensation, I never wish to feel it again. My head goes strange……. No. Stop. Cease it……. U-Uuu……."
Uh-oh. Looks like she was genuinely traumatized. Granted, she was quite a charming lady and I fully intended to train her properly later on, but right now, the dungeon was in such shambles that fooling around wasn't a priority.
"Relax. We've got a mountain of work to do before this place is operational, so I won't lay a finger on you for the time being."
"……For the time being?"
"A-Anyway! That's not what matters right now. Let's talk business. Real business."
Whatever the circumstances, once you become a Dungeon Master, you have to actually manage the place. Recalling the layout I had scouted on my way in, I laid out an immediate plan of action.
"First on the checklist: scale down the operational area, clean up, and start remodeling. Then dismantle all the pre-existing traps and repurpose the materials to forge entirely new ones."
"The current traps remain in operational condition. Is direct utilization…… not possible?"
"Completely out of the question. Every single trap here is specialized for instant lethality. Invaders would die long before we could harvest any meaningful negative energy from them."
If Master Isabella were to grade the traps her past self had built here, she'd give them a C…… no, a strict D-minus at best. Leaving them as-is went directly against the Demon King's Army's operational doctrine. Scrapping them for raw materials to build fresh mechanisms was the only sensible way forward.
Specifically, erotic traps capable of milking negative energy exactly how I liked it.
"Besides, my design philosophy doesn't rely on cheap terror and agony."
"If not terror and agony…… then what……?"
"Humiliation, mental chaos, and all the delicious byproducts created by overwhelming pleasure. It's already proven that such methods harvest an exceptional grade of negative energy, so that's the direction I'm taking."
"……To future intruders…… do you intend to do what you did to me?"
"Naturally. We reap massive amounts of negative energy, and I get to enjoy myself to my heart's content. Tell me, is there any business model more lucrative than that?"
"……."
Yuria stared at me with pure, icy contempt. It was abundantly clear that getting on her good side was going to take some serious time. Clearing my throat, I turned my attention back to the dungeon corridors.
"At any rate, we need to procure the supplies necessary to rebuild the place. Yuria, you helped Master run this place in the past, right? Do you know where we can source labor and raw materials?"
A terrifying thought had briefly crossed my mind—would I have to swing a pickaxe and earn startup capital with manual labor? My vision had practically gone dark for a second. Thankfully, Yuria's answer was far more promising.
"Procurement of dungeon operating supplies and supplementary labor…… can be conducted through a commercial guild affiliated with the Demon King's Army, it is so."
"A merchant guild?"
"Commonly known as the Deviless Merchant Guild. Founded primarily by demons and operating under an exclusive procurement contract with the Demon King's Army, they facilitate trade in garrison forces and dungeon construction materials, it is so."
"Hmm. Trade means we need capital, right?"
"Correct. Acceptable tender includes standard currency, rare minerals, magical relics, negative energy…… or living captives."
So they'll take anything of value, even warm bodies. A ruthlessly demonic way of conducting business, through and through.
"The catch is, I don't possess a single coin. Can we still make a deal?"
"It is my understanding that loans may be secured through collateral and credit ratings. However, interest will accrue, and failure to repay within the stipulated term will incur severe penalties. In the worst-case scenario, the guild retains the right to seize the dungeon entirely, it is so."
In short: if you're broke, gamble on credit and pay them back when you strike it rich. Well, for a penniless demon with zero financial backing, that was pretty much my only viable option. Besides, I was supremely confident in the negative energy extraction efficiency of my erotic trap setups. All right, taking out a loan it is.
"Yuria, how do we get in touch with this guild?"
"There is an external communications chamber. Transmission can be initiated there."
"Lead the way."
Following behind her, we arrived at a dusty, dilapidated chamber showing every sign of a century's neglect. Wiping away the grime revealed a series of stone tablets inscribed with glowing runic scripts. Yuria channeled her mana into them, activating the latent mechanism nested within the dais.
"Communication has been successfully relayed to the merchant guild. Once contact is established, their assigned representative will arrive on-site."
"About how long do you think that'll take?"
"Estimated time of arrival is ten."
"Ten days? That's quite a wait."
"Nine, eight, seven……."
"Wait, what?"
"Three, two, one……."
The moment her countdown hit zero, the air beside us tore open with a sharp, spatial rip. Stepping briskly out of the dimensional fracture was a pink-skinned demoness sporting a provocative business suit.
"Yes~ A warm greeting to our valued customer~! I am Lufo, sales representative from Deviless, the merchant guild under direct contract with the Demon King's Army~!"
"Oh, uh, hello, Miss Lufo. I am—"
"Ah, hold that thought for just a moment! Let me pull up your credentials on file."
Completely brushing me off, Lufo compared the parchment in her hand with the surrounding dungeon architecture. Her eyes lit up as if a puzzle had clicked into place, and a greasy, triumphant smirk spread across her face.
"Yes! You must be Lady Isabella, the supreme trap architect stationed at the Demon King's Castle~!"
"Pardon? No, that's my mas—"
"I have heard endless tales of your legendary renown! For nearly a century, you designed traps across countless dungeons under the Demon King's Army, inflicting unimaginable agony and despair upon adventurers to fuel our army's supremacy! A true specialist among trap architects! For an esteemed executive like you to return to her historic dungeon…… you must be planning to re-establish an autonomous stronghold outside the army's direct command, am I right?!"
"Uh, excuse me? Are you listening to a word I'm saying?"
"Hehehe, securing an exclusive supply contract with the foremost trap architect herself! My corporate ladder has practically turned into an express elevator~! Just you wait, Salesperson of the Year award! No, why stop there?! The chair of the Deviless Merchant Guild will soon be mine, all mine, hahahaha!!!"
Good grief. She had completely mistaken me for Master.
"This individual is not Lady Isabella."
As I struggled to interject, Yuria stepped forward and cut through the demoness's manic laughter with a flat, robotic declaration.
"Lady Isabella is female. Furthermore, this individual is remarkably young. Mistaking him for Lady Isabella is entirely illogical."
"Huh? Wait, looking at the paperwork, it certainly says female……."
The gears in her head finally ground back to reality. Blinking in bewilderment, she stared at me with wide, unsettled eyes. Seizing the opening, I quickly summarized the situation.
"Here's how it actually played out."
I explained how Master Isabella had taken me in as her apprentice, how I had recently graduated and earned my official qualification as a trap architect, and how she had handed over this century-old abandoned dungeon for me to register as the new master. As my explanation wrapped up, the excitement vanished from Lufo's face, replaced instantly by naked, disgusted disappointment.
"What the hell? You're just some fresh-faced greenhorn who barely got his license?! Tsk. And here I wasted my polite business persona on a nobody."
"……Sorry to burst your bubble."
"You should be! Ugh, and here I thought I finally landed the whale of a lifetime! How long am I going to be stuck dealing with low-level bottom-feeders?!"
Lufo spat out her complaints with venom, openly sneering at me. For a sales representative, her customer service was an absolute dumpster fire, but considering her demonic nature, expecting basic courtesy was probably a fool's errand. I decided not to take it to heart.
"Be that as it may, I can still conduct business with your guild, right? If possible, I'd like to consult on the dungeon's restoration."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fill out your intended operational scale and required materials on this form."
"Right. The scale will be roughly this much, and the materials needed are……"
"……Pfft! Ahahaha! Look at what you wrote! Just as expected of an arrogant rookie who doesn't know his place."
Skimming over my list, Lufo burst into derisive laughter. A tiny vein pulsed near my temple, but I swallowed my annoyance and kept my voice level.
"Did I request something unreasonable?"
"Unreasonable doesn't even begin to cover it~! Biting off more than they can chew, expanding like crazy, and going bankrupt overnight—that's the classic rookie Dungeon Master blunder~! Putting that aside, do you even have the capital to fund a project of this scale?"
"Well, as luck would have it, I'm currently penniless. I was hoping to finance it via a loan……"
"Hah! A loan? Meaning you want to gamble on credit and pay us back if you strike it rich? Listen here, kid: this market is crawling with cocky novices who took out massive loans, defaulted, and ended up as debt slaves rotting in the sulfur mines. What on earth makes you think I'd gamble guild capital on a complete novice?"
She cackled derisively. Judging by her reaction, she had been burned by naive first-time masters more than a few times. As I stood there scratching my head, Yuria stepped forward with solemn determination.
"In that case, I offer myself as collateral. Please process the loan request."
"Yuria?"
"Master. While your initial impression was utterly atrocious…… this facility belongs to Lady Isabella. And I am her loyal subordinate. If it is for her sake, sacrificing this chassis is of no consequence."
Incredible. To think she was willing to put her own body on the line just to see this dungeon restored. A wave of genuine admiration swelled in my chest. Lufo, on the other hand, didn't look touched in the slightest. She appraised Yuria with cold, calculating eyes.
"Hmm. It's an autonomous AI unit and the exterior sculpting is fairly decent, but something feels off……. Excuse me, missy. Was your manufacturing date over a century ago?"
"That is…… correct, however……."
"Ugh, forget it then. No chance of a collateral loan. Modern clients have ridiculously high standards for newly minted models. What kind of demand do you think there is for an obsolete antique from a hundred years ago? Scrapping you for raw metal would barely cover pocket change."
"Sc-Scrap metal……?"
Yuria's face drained of all color, looking as if she had just taken an iron sledgehammer straight to the back of the skull. It seemed the harsh reality of being an outdated relic of a bygone era hit her right in the pride. Taking pity on her, I gently rested a hand on her shoulder and flashed a bright, reassuring thumbs-up.
"Don't be sad, Yuria. Even if a hundred years have passed, your tits are still perky and your pussy was as tight as a virgin's."
"Go die, is the request."
"Cruel."
And here I thought I had delivered the highest form of praise.
"Well, I suppose…… if you truly are Lady Isabella's apprentice, you must have picked up something worthwhile from her, right?"
Perhaps feeling a shred of lingering hope, Lufo snapped her fingers. The air split open once more, and an object tumbled into her palm.
It was a dull, pitch-black crystal sphere—a portable negative energy harvester, the very same device Master had utilized during my final graduation exam. Lufo held it out toward me, a wicked smirk playing on her lips.
"I'll give you a single opportunity out of respect for your master's name. The terms are simple: unleash one of your custom-built traps on me and fill this harvester to the designated quota. If you succeed, I'll acknowledge your debt-repayment capability and approve the loan you requested."
"Wait…… you're going to experience my trap yourself, Miss Lufo?"
"Exactly. Experiencing it firsthand is the most reliable evaluation, so I'm graciously volunteering as your guinea pig. Don't go thinking this'll be a walk in the park, though. I might look delicate, but I've weathered my fair share of brutal ordeals in the field. My mental fortitude isn't something an amateur can easily break."
A sly, mocking grin curved her lips as she looked down her nose at me. But her smug provocation barely registered in my mind. My eyes were already glued to her gorgeous face and the mouthwatering, voluptuous curves bursting beneath that skimpy suit.
So, what she was saying was……
From this moment on, I had full permission to do whatever the hell I wanted to this slutty little body?