120. Secret Pact (1)
120. Secret Pact (1)
- 1 -
The morning after obtaining information from Scarlet. That is, the second day since the declaration of war.
Within the dungeon, now quiet with so many of my subordinates away, I steadily proceeded with other preparations.
"This is even more splendid than I had expected."
Among them, what I considered most important was, as expected, the equipment that would keep my subordinates from getting hurt.
"I am glad it pleases you. Regarding the custom order you mentioned, here is the prototype..."
"Yes. But I believe choosing a weapon will have to wait until later."
Receiving the mass-produced goods was finished, but as for the weapons for my other subordinates, regrettably, the situation was such that production had to be delayed further.
Upon hearing my words, the blacksmith, his face full of fighting spirit, opened his other hand and pointed to a different item.
"I heard that news as well. Those consumables are here too..."
"You are quite resourceful. Of course, I will make every effort to ensure you are paid."
"My Lady will surely pass through this ordeal as if it were merely a stepping stone."
"Thank you."
"Master. The two Queens have come to visit."
Amidst this, one of the slaves who was part of Eleanor's family approached and informed me.
It was news that Kamaya and Orea, the queens leading the Harpies and the Myrmekians, had arrived.
The moment they saw me, they approached with something close to worry in their eyes and spoke.
It was about the war to come.
"Master. Is it truly alright for us not to participate directly?"
"You must play a critical and decisive role at a more dramatic moment. Haven't I already told you this?"
"That is true, however..."
This was a statement close to rehashing something already decided.
But I was not displeased in the slightest.
Because the emotion I felt from them was closer to pure concern than doubt.
"You are worried I might lose."
"That is not it. I cannot even imagine a scene where our Master suffers defeat, but we are simply worrying that something might happen to you in the process."
I nodded at Orea's words.
If they were not truly worried about me, then the hope they placed in me must be great indeed.
Faith and worry are inversely proportional, but worry also grows in proportion to hope.
"Do not worry. Such a thing you fear cannot possibly happen."
"Is that so."
"It is."
On this point, I could nod with complete confidence.
Because war is not waged solely through all-out battles.
"Those ones have merely bonded for the moment, and are still separate factions to the very end. They are different from us."
"What do you mean...?"
"A union of individuals who merely grew their size is bound to be full of gaps."
Raising my subordinates' specs was at most a contingency in case this matter failed.
And there was no need to use all the power I possessed, either.
"Do not worry. For they will crumble even before the battle begins."
To Kamaya and Orea, who wore puzzled expressions, I offered a smile.
Because the work was already in progress.
"Kamaya. By the way, are there enough blankets?"
"Ah, about that, well..."
"Take more than enough. For we are now one family. Orea. You as well. I brought honey from the Demon Realm, so take it for the children."
"Thank you, Master."
Therefore, the queens need only worry about their own species' prosperity.
At least for now.
- 2 -
That afternoon, the day Libertas was conversing with the queens.
Scarlet was in a different office, not her usual Central Department 2.
"Hello. Dark Elf-nim."
Hansol, the assistant manager of Eastern Department 1, which was in charge of liaising with the unaffiliated dungeons located in the eastern region of the Eastern Continent, widened his eyes when he met the gaze of the guest who had come looking for him.
This was because she was the influential person being mentioned as the next department head, the one overseeing the dungeon that had been causing quite a stir within the company lately.
"Manager Scarlet? What brings you here...? Uh, if it's our department head or manager..."
"I came because I have business with you, not those two. Assistant Manager Han."
"Y-you mean me? Why would I..."
Scarlet raised her head and glanced around.
"Urk."
"..."
This was because jealous gazes from women were flying toward them from all over Eastern Department 1.
Of course, it stopped there, and no one directly threatened her.
Because Scarlet knew as well.
That Assistant Manager Hansol, who looked frail and youthful for a Dark Elf but had risen to assistant manager not long after joining, was quite popular.
'As if I'm interested, though.'
Of course, Scarlet merely sneered inwardly.
Because she had not been interested in men in the first place.
"Let's go. Let's have a short talk."
Since it was not a topic to discuss openly, she inwardly shook her head, gestured toward Hansol, and turned her body first.
An attitude that did not even doubt he would follow.
'Did I cause some kind of accident...?'
Naturally, Hansol, though from another department, also lacked the nerve to refuse the words of a manager being eyed for department head.
"What would you like?"
"Ah, I'll..."
"This is for my business, you see. It's fine, so just tell me."
"Then... coffee would be nice."
After each receiving a drink at the company cafe, the man and woman, led by Scarlet, headed to a room where voices could not leak outside.
'C-could it really be me...?'
As Assistant Manager Hansol, who could not possibly know this pink-haired succubus's tastes, was drawing a pink-tinted fantasy inwardly, Scarlet, having taken her seat, sipped her drink silently for a while.
She knew her own appearance and reputation, and was someone who did not hesitate to use them.
It meant she knew well that the longer she waited, whether he began to misunderstand or felt the pressure, the conversation would become easier.
After a brief moment like that.
She bluntly revealed her business.
"I know you are connected with the Archduke Astaroth's faction. Assistant Manager Han."
"What? Th-that can't be!"
Hansol denied it loudly, startled the moment he heard those words.
His reaction was extremely natural...
'That's a prepared act.'
Scarlet had already become certain from the fact that there was not even the shortest gap between his fluster and his action.
'Oh no. That was too fast.'
And Hansol also realized he had been caught.
Yet, the Dark Elf youth brazenly maintained his fluster. After all, the expression he wore was fluster, and there was no need to purposely show otherwise.
'How does she know? This was a project proceeding in secret...'
Just as Scarlet said, Hansol was in contact with the Archduke Astaroth's faction.
Because he supervised the Dungeon Lords of the Eastern Continent.
If he successfully built a cooperative relationship with one of the great dukes there, like Eligos or Astaroth, achieving fast promotion like Scarlet would no longer be just a dream.
"Let's not hide it between seniors and juniors. I came knowing everything, you see. I even brought a matter that could help you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about..."
"Hmm."
Scarlet narrowed her eyes, looking at Hansol who was pretending ignorance to the very end, her bewitching gaze formed by her narrowing eyes.
Then, she immediately stood up from her seat.
While the situation might be different outside the company, within it, there was nothing for her to feel inferior about.
"Well, fine. If you won't listen, it cannot be helped. Know that you will become my competitor the next time we meet."
"What?! What do you mean by that?!"
Just as expected.
The genuinely surprised Dark Elf grabbed her first.
'What in the world does that mean...!'
However scarce high-ranking positions were, since he was the employee in charge of the Eastern region, even if promoted, there should normally be no reason for conflict with the Central Department.
Internal competition within the company was limited to the department, as a single division was large enough by itself.
Also, generally, becoming hostile with a manager working in the Central region would not have much direct influence.
But Manager Scarlet had wide connections and many acquaintances, and her subordinate, the new employee Mari, was infamous in a different way.
If he were to become estranged from them, the path to promotion might truly be blocked.
'I can't let that happen!'
"Weren't you pretending to know nothing?"
"You will keep this a secret... right?"
"That depends on what you do."
The Dark Elf, who had been rolling his eyes and pondering for a moment even after grabbing her, eventually surrendered when the succubus again showed signs of rising from her seat.
"That's right! I am trying to establish a connection with a Dungeon Lord to get in touch with the Archduke Astaroth!"
"As I thought."
"It's been quite successful, I tell you! If you interfere, I won't stand still either!"
"It's fine. Because this talk will benefit you as well."
As Scarlet, who had sat back down, spoke with a soft eye-smile, Hansol felt his heart pound despite the situation not warranting it.
It was because the succubus aura Scarlet exuded was simply too intense.
"Among the nobles you are contacting, isn't there Lady Kyricia?"
Assisting the Dungeon Lords of the surface world was primarily the responsibility of the Mammon Company, but among them, the nobility of both the surface and demon worlds often supported those who showed promise.
Those belonging to the Surface Archdukes did it to survive and expand their influence, while the nobles belonging to the demon realm's great dukes did it more out of simple interest.
'There's no way I could contact the main figure from the start.'
And in the case of such Surface Archdukes, it was common to bestow the title of 'Baron' here and there upon the Dungeon Lords they contacted.
To raise them and make use of them.
This was the reason Scarlet could identify the appropriate conversation partner the moment she heard the title of Baron.
"That far...? How did you know?"
"Who knows."
Actually, discovering this was done by her subordinate Mari, but Scarlet decided to gloss over that part.
Because she had heard from Libertas through a hint that Mari was hiding her true self.
And while it was quite insolent that Mari had failed a task sometimes due to hiding her true self, as her superior, Scarlet couldn't say she was unsympathetic to having her own difficulties.
In truth, the reason she was going easy on her was simply because Libertas had told her to, though.
In any case.
"That person recently, I found they have been dipping a finger into the faction that is antagonizing my assigned dungeon."
As soon as Scarlet's words fell, Hansol, who had been leaning forward and listening intently, leaned back to create distance again.
"Wait a moment. That is an overreach, isn't it? Meddling in the battles of surface dungeons..."
The next words he uttered were a common-sense objection.
However, Scarlet smiled.
Because his words gave her an opening to apply carrot and stick simultaneously.
"However, I cannot simply stand by and watch a promising junior lose an important connection. As a senior, that wouldn't be right."
"Is that so...?"
"Also. You are surely aware that instigating a Dungeon Lord to eliminate another for the sake of a great duke is also a violation of the rules?"
"Ah."
The Dark Elf, whose face briefly turned pale, soon composed his expression and leaned forward again.
This action was possible because he had not forgotten that Scarlet had said she came to help him.
"Then... what did you mean by helping me?"
"Even if we leave it as is, Lady Libertas can overcome this degree of difficulty in no time. But if that happens, you would only incur a loss, wouldn't you?"
At Scarlet's words, Hansol furrowed his brows. It was because his trust in her statement momentarily dropped.
"How can I trust that? You aren't trying to overturn the fact that your Dungeon Lord is at a disadvantage, are you?"
However, even at such a natural question, Scarlet's expression remained unchanged, simply composed.
At that face, Hansol felt his suspicion gradually melting away.
"I suppose you could see it that way. But I, you see, believe in the Lady I am in charge of."
"Hmm..."
Scarlet believed.
That Libertas, even without her help, could ultimately overcome the attacks of the three high-grade Dungeon Lords and rise high.
But that would be troublesome.
'If she keeps rising that fast, my share will disappear, I tell you...!'
Of course, it's said that the initial investment doesn't vanish, but it's inevitable that its relative weight decreases over time.
For Scarlet, who had her eye on Libertas, this was something that simply could not happen.
[Connect me to her through the company's internal network. And please, deliver this letter.]
"Please deliver this letter to Lady Kyricia."
"Is this a letter from Lady Libertas?"
To this Scarlet, Libertas's request this time — no, she wrote it down as a request but read it as an order — the task was something that could increase her share, even if just a little.
Thus, she could only consider that assisting in such an important matter was essential.
"And you should know this much too. Lady Kyricia is..."
"Ah, my mistake... I hadn't thought of that part..."
The collusion of the two dungeon merchants was thus established.
This was what allowed Kyricia and Libertas to meet.
- 3 -
Strictly speaking, the 'meeting' between Libertas and Kyricia was not a face-to-face encounter.
It was a conversation via remote magic communication to the very end.
Libertas had wanted a direct meeting, but Kyricia did not, which resulted in this method.
- I heard you wanted to meet.
- Yes.
And at that first meeting arranged like this.
Libertas made a prophecy.
- If you continue like this, you will die. Kyricia.
- What did you just say?
She foretold her death.