48. Discipline (5)
48. Discipline (5)
Inevitably, there were several things strictly forbidden to the contractors living within the dungeon.
Going beyond a certain distance outside the dungeon.
Approaching the Dungeon Lord—that is, my private quarters or the material storage warehouse.
Using force within or near the dungeon that could spread waves of mana.
Those three were the primary prohibitions, and of course, I had established the standard that restrictions could be lifted under supervision if reported to the core in advance.
Frankly speaking, I thought they were fairly lenient standards.
- What is this about all of a sudden, Mr. Daniel? Do you know something?
- ...
"Everyone has gathered. Then, now..."
However, this time, the first case of violating those standards had appeared.
I could not let this matter simply pass.
Immediately, all contractors and sentient beings within the dungeon were summoned, and for those outside the dungeon in a position to observe, the proceedings were shown as images visible only to their eyes.
It was what one could only call an enforcement of discipline—far too simple to be called a trial.
"Tell me, Maria."
"Did I do something? I'm not sure."
"It is about the reason you wielded violence within the dungeon, Maria. Using mana, no less."
Was I being too harsh when I already knew all the circumstances?
Not at all.
This incident didn't even need the word 'too' attached—it was inevitably something that had to be punished. Both to establish disciplinary authority, and to ensure that I, the dungeon's master, was not disrespected.
If a monarch did not know how to properly establish authority, the entire order would eventually collapse.
Now that I had learned today that my attitude toward the sentient beings within the dungeon was on the soft side, there was no reason to hesitate in taking this action.
"Must I call it violence when I couldn't even muster my strength, let alone hit the target?"
"The use of force without the consent of the other party, and persecution through language, are both violence. I never expected that I, not even a human, would have to tell a human these theoretical principles that only humans would cherish."
"I never expected that someone resembling a human would also enjoy pretending to be human. Great Lady of the dungeon."
Maria spat out a sneer laced with a simple provocation aimed at me.
Honestly, it was a provocation that was nothing more than adorable to me, but...
- Tak!
- Grrr...
The reaction was immediate.
For everyone directly observing this, every sentient being either held goodwill toward me or simply could not tolerate the very act of mocking me.
"Why? Do you have some complaint? Then why don't you try killing me? Aren't they just sons of bitches who can't even bite on their own without their master's command anyway?"
A provocation characteristic of someone who had lost both their hatred and the means to resolve that hatred—a mix of resignation and the desire to see the other party ruined.
And hostility tinged with a frenzy that did not hesitate at murder, delighting further at the sight of those provoked.
- Maria...
At that, I momentarily turned my gaze toward someone not present here but who could certainly see this scene: a man with bright green hair, who loved Maria. Daniel had his eyes tightly shut and his head bowed, as if he could not bear to look at her.
He ought to watch properly—to see what punishment she receives. So that she would not suffer such things again—to ensure he gave proper admonishment.
"Let me correct a few misconceptions."
I rose from the large chair and approached Maria, slowly drawing near and walking around her as I casually tossed out the words.
"If these children are my cute little puppies, as you said... then you are now in a position worse than my dogs. In other words..."
I paused briefly and looked at the restraint around Maria's neck, and she covered it with her hand as if feeling shame, glaring at me.
At that sight, an appropriate word came to mind.
"... Yes. A slave."
"To the likes of you...!"
"Yes. You are an adventurer who was captured by a Dungeon Lord—a low-rank Dungeon Lord at that—and became a slave, Maria."
"Kk—!"
Maria, currently dressed in a maid uniform, wore no other restraints besides the one around her neck.
The magic restraint possessed the power to limit not only mana itself but also various attributes that reinforced the body and all mana fixed as traits.
Her attributes were below half, and with all her traits sealed, her current self would struggle even against a couple of my Skeletons.
This was also why, even though I was approaching her as she expressed her hatred toward me, neither Evangeline nor anyone else stepped in to stop me.
"Where else would you find such a generous master who, for a slave such as yourself, relatively leniently allows all actions? Even knowing that you have been sharpening your blade toward me."
"That's because you, to Sonia...!"
"Yes. That is the second misconception."
As I said that and stood directly before her, Maria's wavering eyes were clearly visible.
It was a reaction as if she had already guessed what I was about to say.
"Maria. Maria. Your movements were far too conspicuous to the people of the city—so much so that one could hear about them without even straining one's ears, and see them without paying close attention. How much more so for the Information Guild members?"
"No way... those city people sold me out...?"
Sometimes, certain people tended to trust the words of someone they wanted to ignore rather than those close to them.
[They said this was a sure investment...?]
The more someone was blinded by obsession over something, the more so.
"Well. They probably didn't intend to. Those people wouldn't have known who they were selling what to."
Of course, the Information Guild of Sollemio only realized what they had done after the incident occurred, and they immediately tried to take the necessary measures—namely, contacting Maria and Lemia's parents.
'Though it was a futile effort.'
But all such attempts were blocked, and would continue to be blocked. After all, both of my Cerebrum Skulls had infiltrated the Copherin Guild, the higher branch of the Sollemio Information Guild; there was no way they could know that.
Even if not forever, I could hold them off for quite some time. By the time that contact reached its original target, I would already have completed my preparations.
What I needed was merely to block direct-line contact.
"Then... I..."
"What you did was nothing more than venting anger coated in misunderstandings."
"... No."
Legs drained of strength, and convulsive denial.
But that expression, biting her lips, was nothing short of a sign that she had already accepted all my words as truth.
The next words proved it.
"What did you do to the old man—to my uncle?"
"I did not kill him. He was quite devoted to your family. Even in a situation where he knew he was dying, he worried about you all."
I did not mention that if the old man had shown even the slightest hint of betrayal in that situation, I would have killed him.
Gaining the complete trust of a family and earning the title of family is no easy task. Even among family, dispositions are never exactly alike.
Someone who had earned such trust and could still betray it was impossible to make use of.
Such a person must be killed to prevent future trouble.
Fortunately, he tried to die on his own without revealing anything. Because that person, who had taken on Maria's tragedy, also had the contact information of her parents—even though he could have lived if he had disclosed it.
Paradoxically, that was why he could live.
Because I wished to possess Maria.
"You... didn't kill him?"
"If you wish, I could even let you meet him once. Though you would never see him again after that."
"If you kill my uncle...!"
"If I intended to do that, I wouldn't have kept him alive in the first place. This is my mercy, Maria. Do not try to test it further."
Now there was only one thing left to say.
I lifted the chin of Maria, whose eyes had become empty, and met her gaze.
"And lastly."
"..."
"You did not only break the dungeon's rules just now. You also violated the contract, Maria."
"What...? When did I...!"
The moment the word 'contract' was heard, light momentarily returned to her eyes.
Inevitably so.
For what was bound by it was not her life alone.
"Did I not say it? 'Live doing your utmost to survive.' And the action you just took... was a deliberate and passive suicide attempt, disregarding death at another's hands."
"That is...!"
"Am I wrong?"
What I was pointing out was the provocative act from moments ago.
She had made remarks suggesting she did not care if she died at the hands of my summons. Even if the reason was resignation, it was speech and conduct deliberately courting her own death.
This violated one of the two contract conditions I had placed on her.
If I were to apply it strictly, gathering all personnel here could also be said to have violated the second condition of 'do not disrupt the dungeon's events', but there was no need to go that far.
The punishment I had for her was already prepared.
"Now, do you feel like speaking?"
"What...?"
"I am saying that if there is a justifiable reason for your actions, I might show a little leniency."
What I had expected here was for her to at least provide some justification for her actions, however incoherent.
If she had spoken of 'righteous grievance' here, I would probably have mentioned some degree of mitigating circumstances.
But Maria did not walk that path.
"... Who are you?"
Her choice was to deny me.
I had not expected it, but it was the choice I had predicted.
"Your master, and the rightful lord of this dungeon where you reside."
"Ha... I don't even want to deny the 'my master' part anymore. My master is always myself. But the surface is humanity's land. You are, at best..."
"You're spouting theoretical principles again."
Well.
In Maria's defiant attitude, I no longer sensed active resistance.
I sensed the time had come.
'I must take her, even by forcible means.'
That it was time to subdue her without taking everything away.
If I treated her generously here and that brought about bad results, the end would now only be her ruin.
"Every monarch is an invader and occupier before being a ruler. Would you not know this by looking at human history?"
"..."
"The domination of one sentient being over another is the same. Every monarch is also an occupier of others' freedom. So I am your monarch and..."
Approaching her from behind as she knelt, I placed a hand on her shoulder and then her neck, and whispered the final words into her ear.
"... your master."
When I distanced myself from Maria and sat back down, Evangeline, who had been visibly quite furious for a while, stepped forward.
In her hand, she held a particularly sturdy-looking long bone.
I sent her a look urging restraint, then looked down at Maria and gave the order.
"Stand and lift your skirt, Maria."
"What...?"
Of course, what returned was a cocktail of bewilderment and incomprehension.