28. The Wolf from the West (3)
28. The Wolf from the West (3)
- 1 -
"Shu, Miss Shue...?!"
Scarlet's thoroughly flustered voice echoed through the room. There was no way she could have predicted something like this either.
For some reason I thought I heard someone say, "What an enviable act!" but that must have been my imagination.
"M-My apologies, Lady! Miss Shue! That's rude...! Come down at once! Quickly!"
"No. Smell. Good. A smell I haven't smelled in a long time."
As far as I knew, my body had practically no body odor, but it seemed there was something she could scent on me.
Be that as it may...
'A long time?'
Didn't that sound as if it was a smell she had smelled before?
The phrasing was strange and made me tilt my head inwardly, but the sensation burrowing into the nape of my neck chased the thought away.
"Wait..."
"Snuuff..."
Shue leaned her entire weight against me, buried her nose into my neck, and drew a deep breath.
It was a reaction like a cat that had sniffed catnip powder. She wasn't rolling around quite that intensely, but the way she clung to me unable to collect herself was on the same level.
A Dungeon Lord's body was strong, so it wasn't difficult to endure, but it was still decidedly burdensome.
"Would you mind backing off a little? We were in the middle of a conversation."
"... Okay."
"Good girl. Miss Lin."
"Call me Shue."
"Alright. Shue."
"Okay."
The silver wolf lady fidgeted reluctantly for a moment, and only detached herself after I called her by name.
But she didn't move far away; she was still sitting on my thigh just the same.
Having someone considerably taller, larger, and with a bigger heart than me do that blocked part of my view and made conversation troublesome, but if I tried to push her further away, the progressively glistening sadness in her eyes bothered me.
They had been strangely misty from the moment I first saw her, and now she genuinely looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"She's not usually this kind of girl, is she?"
I had no hobby of slapping a crying child's cheeks, so fearing she really might cry here if I provoked her further for no reason, I focused my gaze on Scarlet.
She, receiving my question, was looking at Shue with the same disbelief.
"... Yes. It seems she's someone who doesn't control herself well, that's true. I heard she never tried to get friendly with her previous employers, so her contract periods were always very short... but at least here, that doesn't look like a concern."
"So she wasn't originally your direct subordinate."
Scarlet looked at me with an expression that said 'Can I really say that in front of her?' and then began to answer, her look conveying 'She's never had a conflict with us,' while also replying to my question.
... For some reason, it felt like she and I were really hitting it off, which gave me an odd feeling.
"Ah, yes. That's correct. She is the direct subordinate of my junior, Miss Mari. She was assigned by her father, and she's a very capable person, so she will absolutely not be a hindrance to your dungeon."
"It does look that way."
"You can tell that too? As expected of the Lady!"
"..."
『Attributes - Physical Strength 38, Technique 16, Endurance 30, Magic Power 27, Resistance 32』
Ignoring Scarlet's nonsense again, I re-confirmed her attributes that I had already seen before.
Right now, her average ability score was close to 30.
That was a stat level quite high among the upper ranks, higher than my current self or even Eve.
Judging by the unusual color of her traits, she likely displayed even greater capabilities during combat.
Her Technique was very low and her Physical Strength excessively high, but her Endurance, Magic Power, and Resistance were also at considerable levels, which promised a playstyle of crushing enemies with raw output and sheer toughness.
Or else, killing the enemy with a single super-strike would be fine too.
Since my dungeon currently relied on the massed formations and lines of soldiers for 'tanking', being able to employ a vanguard capable of facing a truly powerful foe wouldn't be bad.
Besides, hadn't she eliminated the contract fee at her own wish, and decided to split even the upkeep cost fifty-fifty with the company?
These were terms that truly made one a fool not to accept.
Of course.
"Let's discuss the contract fee again."
Whether I became a fool or not, these were terms I shouldn't accept.
Whether for reputation, or to prevent misunderstandings.
"Pardon? It's already free?"
"I mean I want to give you money, naturally."
"Ah..."
Scarlet made a face that said 'Is there any need to do that for nothing?'
Looking at that, I somehow thought of someone who used to say 'Free is good' and then got her business ruined when she was caught by that very 'free' deal.
'Was that when it started? No, maybe it was even earlier than that...'
Let's stop with the pointless thoughts.
Getting back to the main topic, it seemed the Demon Realm lacked a concept of 'proper treatment' for mercenaries.
It felt like the thinking was: if it's cheap, it's unconditionally good.
Well, wasn't a 'fate' that had fallen off its thread on the continent originally treated that way regarding them? If a bad rumor like 'coward' or 'despicable sneak' spread about them in the Demon Realm too, what would happen?
They would lose their place to stand, and then slowly waste away and die.
Unless they had phenomenal ability or excellent personal connections, it wouldn't be strange at all if humans who became mercenaries in the Demon Realm were treated as 'cheap and easy-to-use manpower'.
"I don't need it."
"It would be better if you felt the need. Shue. The evaluation of your own ability is something you build yourself."
"I only need the Lady..."
"That's a happy thing to say. But hearing you say that, it only makes me feel more strongly that I'd like you to take care of yourself."
"... Okay. ..."
I think she just murmured something quietly.
I didn't catch it this time. If it was important, well, she'd tell me separately.
I turned my gaze back to Scarlet.
"If she possesses the skill level of Shue, she's sufficiently a veteran even among upper-rank. The industry average would be..."
"Half price."
But my gaze immediately went back to Shue.
Because she was the one who interrupted just now.
"Shue?"
"Half price. You can just record it over there..."
"But..."
"Anything more than this... I absolutely won't take."
When I looked at Scarlet with a troubled expression, she replied with a shrug that clearly expressed she couldn't do anything about it either.
Seems her stubbornness runs that deep.
And probably, the ability she could show in actual combat is also that excellent. Because if it weren't so, there was no way she could make such a strong assertion in a contract.
"Well, even so, Miss Shue is being incredibly well-behaved right now. As expected, recognizing Lady Libertas's nobility..."
"You're talking nonsense at every chance."
"I'm serious though...?"
On top of that, she'd probably had many conflicts with previous clients or Dungeon Lords.
Seeing that Scarlet trusted her ability, it didn't seem like Shue did anything malicious while being stubborn, but...
"Contract complete! Renewal is on a 6-month cycle. If you wish for a permanent contract or to terminate it, you can contact us separately!"
"You said three years would be fine..."
"Didn't I say that wouldn't do?"
Why on earth such a girl would be stubborn in a positive direction toward me, I could only grow more and more curious.
[ - Master.]
After all, this girl had addressed me like that when she clung to me.
- 2 -
After Scarlet said, 'Since the two of us have something important to discuss, I would appreciate it if you waited outside,' Shue stubbornly refused, saying 'Now that I belong to the dungeon, I only listen to the Lady,' and I personally sent her out.
"So. What is this important matter you have?"
Scarlet, left in the room, faced me with a smile.
It was a troubled smile, vastly different from the seductive one she usually wore at the corner of her lips. It was a smile that seemed to show she wasn't in the mood to smile at all, merely wearing it out of habit.
"Well... this is really something embarrassing for us to ask of you, Lady."
"What kind of request is it that you act like this?"
"By any chance, my Lady, have you established a proper information network in the vicinity?"
A sharp question.
Inwardly I was stung, but outwardly I revealed no emotion. There was no way a trait that had received 'Legend' could fail to conceal my mere feelings.
But there was no need to tell her everything.
Something like 'creating an information network using humans' wasn't a thought a young Dungeon Lord could genuinely conceive.
Let alone its execution.
"An information network... I do feel the necessity. It's just not easy. Why do you ask?"
However, since Scarlet likely considered me clever, playing completely dumb here would have been a foolish act.
"Ah, I asked because I was wondering if you had allowed humans inside your dungeon. You see, we need information about this surrounding area."
"Information? Why? ... No, do you truly lack information?"
But the answer that returned was truly unexpected to me.
While the other six great dukes continued their struggles of force and political power in the Demon Realm, Mammon maintained neutrality out of loyalty to the Demon King.
Scarlet's company was directly run by him, one of the Seven Great Dukes of the Demon Realm.
Because of that, it was also the only organization among the great dukes' forces that could influence all the Dungeon Lords on the surface. So to lament a lack of information in a place that could just rake in information like a claw from Dungeon Lords?
Thinking about it a little, there was only one reason.
"Are you seriously telling me I'm the only one?"
"..."
Hearing my question, Scarlet maintained silence, unable to continue with any particular words.
Looking at her, I felt a throbbing in my head and briefly pressed my forehead.
There was only one reason why the Mammon Company, a place where all information and goods gathered, could not obtain information from the surface.
'There would be no Dungeon Lord in the region capable of providing information.' That fact further suggested another fact, one disadvantageous to me.
That something was happening nearby, and in case my existence was exposed to people, I would be named the culprit of all those incidents.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"It wasn't my intention. Actually, one Dungeon Lord who had been working well undercover in this area recently became unable to fulfill their role..."
"Is that so?"
'No way...'
Hearing Scarlet's words, something came to mind.
The subject that was recently scheduled to sortie from 'Solemio.' About that existence of 'the big Dungeon Lord of the south.'
"So they failed at risk management?"
"Well, we are in the Demon Realm after all. By the time we responded, the 'Core' had already been stolen by humans."
I had asked just in case, and it really turned out to be that story. To think, the only neighbor among my neighbors I could actually communicate with was truly just that one established Dungeon Lord.
This literally resolved one unknown danger, but in exchange gave us a danger we could now clearly recognize.
In the end, if it was a benefit, it was a benefit—but a headache-inducing benefit.
"That Lord must've been insane."
"Exactly. So while our side is looking for a method to construct a core for that person, we desperately need a Lord who can form an information network, even if temporarily."
"So me?"
"Yes. It's not that there are no other Lords..."
Scarlet paused briefly and gave a bitter smile.
I could guess the reason for that bitterness.
Dungeon Lords, from the moment they are born, already awaken realizing the fact that they are 'Successors of the Demon King', and while doing so, they learn tyranny.
Meaning, most young Lords are incapable of rational dialogue.
"It seems there's no one this communicative."
"If they aren't, they're already being 'farmed'."
"... I see."
Another case.
It seemed there were instances where some of this world's Dungeon Lords were farmed by humans for 'experience' or 'hunting' purposes. Even just what I had grasped, there were about two such Dungeon Lords in this area.
Dungeon Lords reduced to sandbags for novice adventurers led by senior adventurers, strictly limited to survival-level 'food'.
If the situation didn't change, they would either become my subordinates in the future, or else bring an end themselves...
Or else, they would be the ones who would become my prey as well.
"So what you want from me is to understand the information network and... the status of that senior Lord, if possible."
"As expected, you are clever. My Lady."
Listening to Scarlet's words, I fell into thought for a moment.
This was simultaneously the recognition of a new danger.
"Very well."
And an opportunity.
An opportunity that, with luck, could significantly accelerate my growth.