44. Discipline (1)
44. Discipline (1)
- 1 -
"Dammit!"
"Ah..."
When Sonia spotted a figure across the hallway, she instinctively raised her hand in greeting, but then her expression hardened and she hid herself.
"It pisses me off that I'm getting used to this..."
A person in a maid outfit, moving with a tomboyish energy she couldn't hide, expertly carrying a multitude of cleaning tools.
Because that person was none other than Maria.
'Maria unnie...'
Though they lived in the same dungeon, the two rarely ever encountered each other.
The young sorceress's living quarters and the material storage she was entrusted with were on the second floor or in the corners of the first floor—spaces inaccessible from the surface—while the waiting rooms for summoned creatures that Maria cleaned were primarily underground.
So the only time they could meet was when they went out to get some sunlight, but even that didn't align, as Sonia went out early in the morning while Maria went out late in the afternoon.
Of course, there were occasions when they glimpsed each other's faces in passing, or sensed the rare 'trace of a human woman' within the dungeon...
But being in the same space properly was something that hadn't happened in over a month.
And besides, what happened before that was quite the incident.
'I don't know what kind of face I should show her.'
It was only natural that Sonia hid upon seeing Maria.
Because she was well aware of her contradictory feelings—holding both resentment and kinship toward someone she ought to thoroughly despise.
"Sonia?"
"Hyeeek?!"
So when she stepped out, having reassured herself that Maria had just disappeared, she couldn't help but be startled once again.
The voice of the woman she thought had vanished came from behind her.
"What's with that face? Anyone would think you'd seen a ghost."
"Ma...ria... unnie..."
As Sonia turned around while pressing down on her chest, she saw Maria's face looking at her. For a moment, she had the illusion that they had returned to their daily lives.
Maria's smile as she looked at her...
"Yeah. Why?"
"Ah... no."
...was the same as always. As if nothing had changed.
But what surrounded them was a dark dungeon corridor, and as Sonia came to her senses because of that, she shook off the sense of dissonance rising within her and managed to put on something resembling a smile.
"You were hiding just now, weren't you? Are you hiding something tasty from me? If you've got something like that, share a bit. The food here is always lacking."
The 'people' currently remaining in the dungeon were five: Sonia, Maria, Jacob, and the new arrivals from the western continent, Jin-kyung and Alexis.
Among them, except for Alexis, who was constantly being taught something by Libertas and Evangeline, the meals provided to the four were not exactly abundant.
Enough to maintain health, but only just barely enough. Still, considering they were in a dungeon, it was, in truth, an excellent meal.
So it wouldn't have been strange for someone who'd eaten normal meals outside to voice a complaint—if that someone hadn't been the very same Maria who once said those words.
[Always be grateful that there's anything to eat. In some dungeons, there were times when we spent a whole week on nothing but jerky.]
"..."
Once again, Sonia felt a sense of dissonance, yet she shook her head inwardly.
One reason was hope, and the other was relief.
Hope that Maria hadn't broken, and that they might be able to plan a better future together than they had now.
Relief that in a place with so few people to talk to, she now had someone she could talk with about everyday things.
'She can't be... fine. But still...'
She, too, knew perfectly well that Maria was not fine.
Nevertheless, she believed that holding onto hope was essential for both of them. For Maria, yes, and even more so for herself, whom she considered weak.
If someone heard this, they would shake their head and say 'she's just not bloomed yet'...
But ironically, what that hypothetical someone would know was something Maria—who had spent quite a long time with Sonia—did not.
"Sonia. I know you can't help it as you are now."
"Huh...?"
"If your mana hadn't been sealed, you might have been able to land a hit on that thing, but expecting that now would just make me an idiot. So wait. Until the opportunity comes."
As Maria spoke with a serious face, Sonia questioned her, her confusion plain to see.
And Maria continued talking as if she hadn't seen the look on Sonia's face.
An invisible wall already stood between the two of them.
"Unnie...?"
"It won't be long, I'm sure."
Only then did Sonia realize that Maria's focus was not directed at her. As if she were looking somewhere else entirely.
"I left someone to contact them. My parents."
"Ah... the two of them..."
"Yeah."
Unlike the orphaned Sonia and Jack, Maria and Lemia had very much alive parents.
Perhaps the reason they had never mentioned their existence until now was because that alone was their hope.
Maria already had hope. Even if it wasn't herself.
Though it felt strangely disappointing, it was also something Sonia could quickly let go of for that reason.
"I... but."
"Hm?"
Strangely glistening eyes. The obsession that filled them.
Meeting those sick eyes, the woman who had been sick herself could ultimately only shake her head.
"... Never mind. Unnie. They'll definitely come for you. Both of them."
"Yeah. When that time comes, I'll tell you right away. I have to do it now. Now... if I don't, there won't be a chance... she got so strong, so fast..."
Watching Maria's retreating figure and her swaying black-and-white hem, Sonia's complexion gradually darkened.
Though she couldn't say it, she knew clearly.
That Libertas was not such a lenient being. And that in the rural backwater of Solemio, the appearance of a high-ranking adventurer was something that drew attention.
In such a situation, the whereabouts of Maria and Daniel would have been treated as valuable by those who dealt in information.
In the worst case, that 'contact' was likely already in a state worse than death.
"Trampling on a hope that will rot and fester beforehand is the way to be of help to that person, Sonia. Because the later you do it, the deeper you'll have to dig. And then, won't that scar also grow deeper."
And having heard those words from the woman who had met with her, Sonia was now certain her guess was correct.
"Master..."
Though it wasn't articulated in clear words, Libertas's eyes seemed to ask Sonia, 'When that time comes, will you be able to bear Maria's despair?'
- 2 -
- So that's why I said no...
"Serica. My apologies, but I must go now."
- What, already? It hasn't even been 30 minutes.
For an ordinary call, thirty minutes is more than enough to cover the essentials and then some—so what more was there to talk about?
It had already been five days since she left.
Yet Serica, as if she had forgotten saying 'I don't know why I have to contact you,' continued to reach out at least once every day or two.
The calls, mainly driven by the sentiment that 'the mansion and the nobles here are too suffocating', lasted anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. I had already realized during the first call that if I let her go on, it would continue endlessly, so it was right to cut things off appropriately.
"Something has come up on my end."
- ... Got it. I won't bother you.
However, even though this time I truly had something to do and was cutting the call, it was hard to ignore how dispirited she sounded on the other end.
'I'm not sure why she's approaching me like this...'
... But I was also weak to people who approached me.
After clutching my head and pondering for a moment, I decided to give one piece of advice, also with the intention of extending the interval between our calls a little more.
"It will naturally take time for you, who grew up fiercely like a wildflower, to adapt to a new environment. But in the end, you will bloom like a jewel. I sincerely hope you adapt well at your family's home."
- ... Okay! I'll contact you next time!
Thankfully, my effort paid off, as Serica's voice at the end was noticeably brighter.
- Click-clack.
After that, as my gaze turned downward, a bizarre-looking summoned creature—its eyes fashioned from death energy set in human bones—crawled up onto my desk.
Maria probably felt at ease, thinking that I had no idea about the two's personal lives.
But I was always ready to listen in on their conversations.
How could I, who always emphasized the importance of information, bring unstable elements into my dungeon and take no measures at all?
Sonia likely knew how much I valued information, but there was no way she could know the exact means.
- Click.
That means was the 'Eye of the Necromancer', which had now crawled onto my hand like a spider—a creature primarily used by other Dungeon Lords to monitor the outside of their dungeons.
A very minor summon with almost no other functions, capable only of seeing, hearing, and retrieving small objects.
Of course, I hadn't just strewn these recklessly all over the dungeon. There was no need for such an inefficient act.
- I have to do it now. Now... if I don't, there won't be a chance... she got so strong, so fast...
I placed them in locations where Sonia and Maria were likely to encounter each other, and when they passed through those spots, I had no need for the skeletons I'd attached to them for surveillance.
It was simply the story of the two meeting in one such place.
'It's a story I already knew.'
Though not exactly refreshing, it was a result that made the effort worthwhile.
'There's also the assumption that Maria noticed the surveillance and said something else...'
Well. At least for now, it didn't appear that way.
Not only did Maria not seem like the kind of person capable of such calculation, but if she were, then this recent incident had truly changed a person at their core, and that wasn't something I could have prepared for anyway. There would be no choice but to use more defensive measures to respond to that.
Of course, there was also the option of simply removing her right now...
- Clack.
"No."
It was Mire, standing beside me even now, that troubled my mind.
'Though she won't betray me, she could still break.'
This was one of the events that often occurred in Milden 1 as well.
An event where, if the original person's family was executed, a retainer who had already been turned into a summon would break for some unknowable reason.
Thinking that such a thing wouldn't happen in this world would be far too optimistic.
Of course, objectively speaking, the loss of one such as her wouldn't cause a significant loss of combat power. Though she possessed a hero-grade trait, it hadn't yet become a major force in combat.
'If she were to disappear... I would probably be quite dejected...'
The reason I was wary of her breaking was purely due to my 'attachment'.
Because the attachment I originally had toward my summons on the other side had only intensified after coming to this place, where it had become reality.
Thus, I wanted to 'possess' Maria as much as possible.
Though half of it was the mindset of a gamer collecting their collection, the biggest reason was to hold onto the attachment I had truly come to feel since arriving here.
I had no intention of specifically maintaining humanity as a Dungeon Lord, but I also had no intention of becoming a heartless monster.
The care I was now putting into ensuring Sonia and Maria didn't completely break was also part of that mindset.
- Click-clack, click-clack.
"Trampling on a hope that will rot and fester beforehand is the way to be of help to that person, Sonia."
"Master..."
After releasing the 'Eye of the Necromancer' and watching it crawl away, I greeted the woman who entered the room.
"I have come as summoned. I... please, I beg you..."
She had been watching me with eyes filled with deep turmoil, and as if she couldn't think of an appropriate response, she simply bowed her entire body on the spot, greeting me with the utmost formality reserved for the highest of personages.
I could understand what that meant.
"Even if you don't beg. I have no particular intention of doing anything to her. For I am one who treasures my possessions."
"... Thank you."
As she rose from her spot and lowered her gaze, her expression was one of utter emptiness.
Having lived her entire life under the shadow of a condition tied to her very lifespan, she had come to exude a pitiful, almost ephemeral air, as if she might let go of life at any moment.
『Mana Overadaptation - Currently sealed.』
One trait could be cited as the reason this woman had come to possess such an aura.
This hero-grade trait named 'Mana Overadaptation' was an excellent trait that naturally increased one's mana over a lifetime and also raised the stability limit of that mana.
However, because the discovery of this ability came late, the excessive mana halted her physical development, leaving her physically stuck at the level of a child, before she ever began working as an adventurer.
In effect, it was a case of a body unsuited for adventurer work being forcibly brought along with the help of friends.
"Now... choose."
"What...?"
And from now on, I would take this woman's trait.
"Whether you will maintain that 'blessing' you hold. Or whether you will cast off the shackles of a lifetime and become an ordinary sorceress. I am curious as to what your choice will be."
"..."
Through one of two methods.