40. Homework (1)
40. Homework (1)
Now that nearly everything was settled, the return trip by carriage moved at a more leisurely pace. There were still a few things to handle in another city along the way, after all.
As a result, the journey back ended up taking twice as long as the deployment.
"Yeah. So that's how it turned out."
As soon as I returned to my dungeon, Fate contact came in from the two Cerebrum Skulls I'd left behind in Copherin.
It was news that the subjugation battle's end had been officially declared in the city.
"That must've hurt... You did well."
Along with the news came the report that one of them had been 'executed' once.
The adventurers had acted on their own, failed to capture the Dungeon Lord, and wound up sacrificed in a self-destruction. There must have been a need for a public spectacle to announce the results and draw the crowd's attention away.
The means was an execution ceremony for the adventurer who had infiltrated the dungeon—the person I'd implanted the Cerebrum Skull into.
Because of this, relations between the Adventurer's Guild and the city must have grown quite strained.
- No. If it was for Master's command...
"You say such praiseworthy things. I shall consider a reward for you."
- It is an honor. If a mere spine can earn Master's reward, it is a profitable trade.
"That was an impressive thing to say."
- Once again, it is an honor.
This was something I had anticipated, and I'd even given prior instructions—including that the execution not be carried out too cruelly.
The method chosen for his execution was a simple beheading. A Cerebrum Skull doesn't stop unless the skull itself is destroyed, so while the act might have mattered to the man himself, to me it was fairly meaningless.
For the time being, he would have to rely on the other Cerebrum Skull accompanying him to regenerate his body, which meant the level of the information network would drop somewhat.
- In that case, I shall await our next meeting and continue gathering information here.
"All right. Keep at it."
- I pray you remain in good health.
My summoned creatures were exceedingly interested in my well-being.
This wasn't strange. Summoned creatures were fundamentally loyal to their Lord.
What I found strange was that, though I didn't know what kind of relationship other Dungeon Lords had with their summons, I was certain it wasn't anything like this.
Wasn't it obvious from watching the war between Serica and Copherin? She raised zombies once, sent them again if they failed, pushed them forward, and drove them onward.
Moreover, the objects of her attachment were only ever the core and the garden—just those two.
It wasn't an attitude she would have shown if she cherished her subordinates.
"Insolent. You little..."
- Tak!
"You're the insolent ones! How dare mere mercenaries and summons think of the Lord like that?! To force Fate contact like this...!"
Even in what I was seeing now, part of that habit was on display.
Considering the status of a Dungeon Lord, I had brought over the two people I cherished most, and yet they reacted like that.
It was deeply displeasing.
"You'd best watch your words. They are not merely mercenaries; they are my people, and I cherish them."
"What?! To some mere mercenary like that...!"
"Be quiet. Not even a human child, yet throwing a tantrum."
"...! Eek!"
No matter how I thought about it, she didn't seem the type to cherish other people or her subordinates.
Rather, seeing that she looked at me as if I were the strange one, I realized my own attitude was not the norm.
"... You truly rescued Lady Serica."
The goblin merchant, Geurim, who had arrived not even an hour after I woke up and made contact this morning, knelt down. When I extended my hand as a matter of course, he kissed the back of it.
... Wasn't I a bit too natural just now?
Part of it was probably the fault of 'Nobility', but it wasn't a trait that made me good at things I couldn't do. It seemed I had truly grown far too accustomed to this because Evangeline liked these gestures so much.
"It wasn't such a difficult task."
Serica had run so wild that she drew all the attention, and the two groups—the army and the adventurers, whose command structures weren't unified—cracked at the crucial moment according to their own greed.
The harmful effect of a hastily assembled group, one could say.
It wasn't down to my abilities alone. Luck had been on my side, too.
If I hadn't thought I could exploit the crack that opened, I wouldn't have considered going there in the first place.
"Even so, to have pierced the heart of the battlefield, extracted a Dungeon Lord from among the humans, and left almost no evidence behind—it was a bold and precise stratagem."
"You flatter me too much. It's something any demon of the Demon Realm could do, not just me."
"How could that be? It is a difficult task even for most established Lords or nobles of the Demon Realm. And what's more, you carried it out personally. That cleverness, bold judgment, and the ability to bring it to success... This Geurim cannot help but praise you."
Whether he knew it or not, nothing but compliments that made my face feel hot came out of Geurim's mouth.
I knew he was speaking more in the sense of 'it's amazing a child could do this' rather than because my actual ability was outstanding, so it wasn't that pleasing.
On top of that, it doesn't feel good to be praised too much for winning not because I did well, but because the opponents were incompetent.
"So. When is the client arriving?"
"That is... must you meet them in person?"
"What do you mean? They haven't arrived?"
"It's not that, but..."
When I forcibly turned the conversation back to the original business to cut off the string of compliments, Geurim unexpectedly spoke with a troubled expression.
"Surely, you aren't worried that if I make contact with a Demon Realm noble, I'll stop trading with your company."
I thought for a moment and probed at what I guessed was the reason.
Since a merchant would naturally be sensitive to profit, it was a question rooted in that common sense.
"Oh! It's nothing like that. You don't seem the kind of person to do such a... faithless thing, Lady."
"Then?"
Even under my rapid-fire questioning, Geurim rolled his eyes and wore a troubled expression. When I maintained silence and pressed for an answer, he eventually let out a sigh.
"Demon Realm nobles are, more than you'd think... uncultured. I judged it would be a bad influence on the Lady..."
"Uncultured?"
"You know well that a Dungeon Lord is the nominal successor to the Demon King—a candidate for succession, that is—but if they lack actual ability, they cannot be treated with respect in the Demon Realm."
Hearing that much, I could guess what he was getting at.
Since the Demon Realm valued 'power' even more than the surface world, it meant it was questionable whether I, still weak, could even be treated as a noble, let alone a Lady.
It also meant that while the Mammon Company was a neutral faction extremely loyal to the Demon King, and its subordinates never lost respect for Dungeon Lords, the same couldn't be said for the Archdukes, who were each building their own power base in the Demon Realm.
"What you mean by uncultured is that they might treat me like a subordinate."
"... That is correct. It is difficult to be acknowledged as a proper Lord with just one request. This meeting could have a bad influence on the Lady."
"I see..."
So, Geurim's attitude was ultimately born from worrying about me.
Why did I have so many people worrying about me?
He was, in the end, a business partner, not a subordinate or relative, so I wouldn't dwell on it consciously, but I couldn't help my tone softening a little.
"If that's the case, all the more reason to meet them."
"Pardon?"
Of course, that didn't mean I intended to bend.
Keep your allies close. And your enemies closer.
That saying applied perfectly right now. The truth had a way of asserting itself, after all.
"Shouldn't I be ready to thrust a blade under the chin of anyone who tries to walk all over me or sit on me?"
"Oh... what wonderful words."
"So don't worry. I won't hold this matter against you."
"Perish the thought! I never dreamed of such a thing."
"A pleasant lie."
"Hahaha..."
When I smiled and said that as he shook his hands and head from side to side in alarm, Geurim wiped the cold sweat from his broad forehead, bowed once, and spoke.
"In that case, they shall arrive shortly."
"You were prepared."
"I had to confirm your intentions first."
"An excellent stance."
"It is an honor. Lady! Scarlet! Mari! Open the doors!"
""Yes!""
At Geurim's command, the red and blue succubi who had been waiting opened the great gate leading from the core room into the company.
This gate was normally kept hidden and was only opened when the company side moved. Since it was fated to the dungeon's core, if any trouble occurred in the dungeon, it would vanish immediately.
Ultimately, no matter what happened, it remained invisible to any adventurers attacking the dungeon.
"The eldest legitimate son of the Baritra Marquis Household, one of the Twenty-Four Marquis Houses of the Demon Realm, Viscount Yulian Baritra, enters!"
First, over a dozen servants and knights rushed out of the gate.
As if proving every fantasy about vampires, they all emerged with uniformly handsome or beautiful faces, laid a red carpet across the floor, and lined up on both sides. The servants raised trumpets and the knights raised swords as they noisily announced the noble's entrance.
I had only one impression.
'Tacky.'
I wasn't the sort to curse aloud, but I was glad I could at least think it.
It was less frustrating that way.
At any rate, according to what Geurim had told me previously, a Dungeon Lord's standing in the Demon Realm hierarchy stood decidedly above that eldest-legitimate-son brat of a marquis household. It ought to be, at a minimum, a position of mutual respect.
Yet they were staging this grand entrance ceremony in my dungeon, the Lord's domain, without so much as a word to me?
And a mere Viscount, not even a Count, at that?
Hm.
"Uh, uhh..."
"Ah..."
Geurim and Scarlet were already sweating with embarrassment, and Mari, though she knew nothing, at least darted her eyes around nervously as if sensing something was going wrong.
And me.
"This turned out well. Serica."
"What? What's that supposed to mean all of a sudden..."
I offered Serica congratulations. Without explaining the exact meaning.
From the fact that such a moron was introduced as the 'eldest legitimate son' and not the 'successor,' I could already guess the state of the marquis household.
At the very least, the person in charge of confirming the result of the family's request was the eldest legitimate son, not the successor. And what reason could there possibly be to deliberately search for an illegitimate child under these circumstances?
At the very least, they weren't searching out of the marquis household's pride, contrary to my initial assumption, and it was certain that the succession of the marquis household hadn't been settled.
In other words, there was a chance for Serica, too—though, given that she was an illegitimate child, the possibility was extremely slim.
"Take this."
I handed her the thing I'd been fiddling with in my hands while I thought.
The 'unexpected bonus' I'd picked up inside the dungeon.
"This is..."
"A core fragment. I don't know which moron it was, but they dropped it and left. With this, tracking should be possible."
"Core..."
"You're not calling her 'M-Mom' anymore."
"Don't tease me. ... I already knew, originally."
... It might sound strange to say this about a monster that killed people, but all the same, she was saying something that sounded quite admirable, like a child.
Perhaps it was because she was a Dungeon Lord with accumulated experience.
"Yeah. It seems you've pulled yourself together a bit."
"Hmph."
With the core fragment, I should naturally be able to find the original. I could make something like a compass with the right magic.
Even if she didn't think of it as 'Mom,' it was certain the core was still the object of her attachment. If I helped her with that, maybe the dislike she'd held onto so far would dilute a little.
It was an investment I had no expectations for, and no losses either.
"A pleasure to meet you. Lady Dungeon Lord Libertas. I am Yulian, the eldest legitimate son of Baritra."
"Welcome, Yulian."
That said, even for a small investment, it's the common hope of every investor to see a large return.
Thinking I'd like the same to happen for me, I smiled at the idiot who had approached.
A smile of nothing at all. A mask.