Chapter 91
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91
“Hmm? No. I’d love to fight you one day, young lady, but this time, I’d prefer it if you just stood back and watched.”
The Yaksha’s finger pointed behind Rene. At the same time, his tribesmen, who had been watching, moved in perfect unison to clear a space for the fight.
Swallow, the one singled out by the Yaksha, had been slumped over the back of Melju’s familiar for some time before he slowly raised his head.
“……Me?”
“Yeah, you. You’re Swallow, right? Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever seen the boss of a Great Evil Cave running around in person just to recruit monsters. We can’t let such a rare opportunity slip by, can we? I’ve been curious for a long time—just how strong is an Ancient Monster?”
“Lord Swallow, you do not need to comply. You Yakshas, do you even know who you’re speaking to so informally? Allow Rene to properly educate you—”
“No, it’s fine. If that’s what he wants, I should oblige.”
“Haha, that’s what I like to hear!”
As if even standing up was too much of a chore, Swallow rolled over and tumbled off the familiar’s back. After crawling around like a caterpillar for a moment, he finally stood up and scratched the back of his head.
Determined not to give Swallow even a second to prepare, the ecstatic Yaksha charged forward, swinging his fists.
“Come at me with everything you’ve got!”
* * *
Next is the Drake. I hear they possess immense pride.
“Don’t make me laugh! Who do you think I am?! I am Caligos, a proud warrior of the Drake clan and the tyrant who rules over this entire region! Behold, my ultra-powerful acid brea—gwaaaargh!”
* * *
Next is the Arachne. After all, what is a cave without spiders and bats?
“We are so sorry.”
By the time they entered the cave, all the spiders were already prostrating themselves on the ground.
“We’re sorry. We’re so sorry. Please spare us.”
“……We haven’t even done anything yet.”
“We have already heard the rumors of how you defeated the Cyclops and the Yaksha in an instant. We heard you blew the Yaksha to pieces with a single blow. We are deeply sorry for not coming out to greet you.”
“My, everyone seems to be getting rather docile,” Melju remarked.
“Oh my. Word seems to travel fast among monsters,” Rene added.
Swallow scratched his temple awkwardly. It was a misunderstanding—at least, the part about the Yaksha was. The guy had begged him to fight with everything he had, so Swallow had obliged, only for the Yaksha to get himself killed.
“I didn’t come here to kill you,” Swallow said, reaching out a hand.
At that supposedly warm gesture, the Arachne gasped in terror and pressed her body even flatter against the ground.
“P-Please, do not subjugate our dungeon! We have nothing but the food we feed our babies!”
Subjugation, huh?
…So that was how they were interpreting it.
“From what this queen has observed by your side, the results are indeed worthy of being called a subjugation,” Melju chimed in.
Swallow, who had been standing there completely baffled, spoke in a lifeless voice.
“……I didn’t come to subjugate you. I came to make a proposal. I was wondering if you’d like to become monsters of our dungeon.”
“Pardon? How could a lowly spider like me ever dare… I am a far more useless monster than you think. I am not even worth killing.”
“I told you, I didn’t come to kill you,” Swallow grumbled under his breath before continuing in a weary voice, “I’ve heard plenty about your strength from Patrick’s explanatory notes… no, I mean, from rumors here and there. I’d like you to join our dungeon and lend us your strength.”
“W-What would we even do there?”
“We also pay a very generous salary,” Rene cut in, seemingly quite annoyed by now.
Swallow chimed in with a faint smile. “That’s right. It’s hazard pay.”
“L-Lord Swallow! If you make disadvantageous statements during a negotiation, it makes things difficult for Rene! That is… practically a taboo word in negotiations!”
Feeling awkward, Swallow hesitated for a moment before climbing back onto the familiar’s back and lying down like a corpse.
The Arachne and the adult spiders exchanged glances. Still unable to make a decision, the Arachne asked cautiously, “If we refuse… what will happen to us?”
At the question, Rene offered a bright smile.
“Naturally, you will d—”
“Lady Rene, that is also a taboo word.”
*
“I’m not doing it. I quit.”
His voice was filled with a solemn gravity, as if he were prepared to fight to the death. Yet, wanting to emphasize it, Swallow muttered the same words repeatedly after throwing himself onto the inn’s bed.
“I’m not doing it. I said I’m not doing it. We’ve been running around for two whole days. They say when humans or monsters do things they don't normally do, it's a sign they're about to die. I'm going to die. Dammit. Let's just stop.”
As he whined like a spoiled child, Rene brought some food and set it before him. Since they hadn't had the luxury of cooking during their two-day journey, she had bought these items in bulk from the streets of Knecht.
—As expected, well-made human food is much tastier than humans themselves.
This thought had been the sole pillar of support that allowed Swallow to endure the past two days. Even as he grumbled, he stealthily reached out a hand toward the food.
To sum up the results, the fruits of their labor were rather poor. In truth, it was safe to say the Golem was the only one they had successfully recruited.
The Wolf and the Cyclops, who had resisted fiercely to the very end just to protect their damn pride, had been crushed along with it. Meanwhile, the Yaksha who introduced himself as a descendant of Kubera had been unintentionally sent to the point of no return. A flustered Swallow had blurted out an apology, which only made the atmosphere too awkward to recruit the rest of his tribe.
The Drake was out of the question, and the Arachne had done nothing but bow and scrape.
“Still, we obtained quite a lot, Lord Swallow.”
“……We basically looted them, though.”
Indeed, by the time their tour was over, they realized that instead of monsters, they had returned with a bundle overflowing with spoils of war. Rene had hurriedly packed them up under the pretext that their owners no longer existed. Even the Arachne had bowed her head and offered tribute, saying, "We have nothing of value, but please accept these and appease your anger."
“It was a truly magnificent subjugation.”
It was Melju’s utterly cold assessment, free of any sarcasm.
Having no excuse, Swallow pretended not to hear and simply stuffed his face with food.
Rene and Melju sat side by side with their legs stretched out, untying the bundle. Since Melju reverted to her original small form whenever they went indoors, she looked like a little kid. The two small girls huddled together looked just like children sitting in front of a toy box.
As they untied the bundle, the items they had stuffed inside spilled out like a flood. Swallow glanced over at them.
There was an unusual amount of junk. This was likely because the monsters, ignorant of the value of the spoils they took from hunting humans, had simply piled them up haphazardly.
“As expected, there are many magic tools.”
As they laid the items out on the floor one by one, quite a few fascinating things caught their eye. From simple-looking leather gloves to rings and brooches, every single item was imbued with magic.
“Let’s see if there’s a magic tool that can blast a hole through Patrick’s bones.”
Swallow, who had finally managed to stop his endless yawning, also fixed his gaze on the bundle. As his eyes drifted over the stream of items, they stopped on a small headband.
“Is this a magic tool too?”
At Swallow’s question, Melju, who was casually scanning the items, replied, “Yes, Lord Swallow. However, its enchantment is damaged. It seems it originally held a spell that would reduce the damage of a fatal blow, but it has already been triggered once, leaving only an empty shell.”
“So it’s just a useless trinket now.”
“There is a preservation spell cast on the flower, though.”
“A preservation spell? Isn’t that fairly difficult magic?”
“Preserving a massive creature in its entirety is difficult, but a single flower of this size is not particularly hard. This queen estimates it would probably sell for about twenty silver coins.”
“Hmm.”
Swallow examined the headband from various angles. Though he had no eye for accessories, he could tell at a glance that it wasn’t anything high-end—just a simple headband adorned with a red flower.
“It’s a spider lily,” Rene said, her eyes catching sight of the headband in Swallow’s hand. As she spoke, her gaze met his.
It didn’t seem to be his imagination that her eyes were sparkling.
…He couldn’t tell if they were sparkling because she was looking at him or at the spider lily.
After they exchanged glances for a moment, Swallow, contrary to his usual self, was the first to speak.
“Do you want to try it on?”
“Pardon?”
Though she voiced her confusion, Rene dazedly took the headband Swallow offered and removed her headdress. After a few clumsy attempts to pin it in place, and with a bit of help from Melju, she finally secured it properly and looked at Swallow.
Staring at Rene with his usual lazy expression, Swallow offered his thoughts in a dry, flat voice.
“Oh, looks good.”
“D-Does Rene look alright?”
“You can have it.”
It wasn’t out of any deep meaning; the thought had simply crossed his mind. He had never once given Rene a gift. He even recalled that the flowing dress she had worn last time wasn’t actually hers. Furthermore, though he tried to ignore it, Rene’s mood seemed to have fluctuated frequently since they arrived in Knecht. Yes, she had a look of expectation, an atmosphere that made him feel like he ought to give her something.
“……I’ll buy you something better later.”
Feeling a bit guilty about handing her a piece of looted junk, Swallow scratched the back of his neck with his index finger as he spoke.
Only after a few seconds had passed did Rene’s face turn bright red, and she whipped her head away.
“……Rene is happy!”
“Ah, right.”
Did she really like it that much?
At any rate, relieved that things had worked out, Swallow let out a silent sigh and fumbled for the plate where the food had been. His hand grasped nothing. The food was gone. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over him. Now that he was finished eating, everything was starting to feel like a massive hassle again.
“We’re all done now, right?” Swallow asked.
Blushing, Rene replied in a shy voice, “No, we still have two places left!”
“Wow, dammit.”
Phase. 4
An Empire for the Imperial Citizens.
Sunlight streamed warmly through the window. Perhaps because a light drizzle at dawn had washed away the dust, the incoming breeze felt fresher than usual.
“...”
If she listened closely, she could hear the distant chatter of children. Since it was audible even across the massive garden, they had to be quite loud. It meant the streets were crowded, and the weather was perfect for an outing.
“I’m bored.”
Despite the beautiful weather, the ‘Hero’ Uin Historia was sprawled out on her bed.
It had already been three months since Uin Historia last stepped onto the front lines. Though she had fully recovered over a month ago, Uin remained confined to her room under the pretext of recuperation.
The rare outings she was granted were only possible with Ar’s permission, and even then, any use of force was strictly forbidden. At the recent general assembly of the Dungeon Subjugation Union Headquarters, her only role had been to watch. Even when the entire Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights drew their weapons due to a clash between Ar and another captain, Uin could do nothing but watch with her arms crossed.
Miss Uin, it is best if you do not use your strength for the time being. Even if you have fully recovered, you should not show it. Especially in front of the Imperial Family.
Keep a low profile.
That was the advice Ar had given her. He never hesitated to warn her to be wary of the Imperial Family. While it was true they had to protect the Empire and defend its rulers, he always emphasized that the Imperial Family was not always in the right.
If Uin were to show that she had recovered instantly and was capable of returning to the front lines, and if that caught the eye of the Imperial Family… they would treat her even more ruthlessly. Ar was certain of it.
‘Ar has never been wrong.’
From Uin’s perspective, there was no one as thoughtful as Ar. Even without knowing his reasons, she trusted him completely.
“……Still, I really am bored.”
Stretching her limbs out wide, Uin muttered to herself. Her body was itching for action, but her mind was even more restless. Even as she lay in bed, she felt anxious. It was a constant, innate sense of duty, a chronic restlessness.
Because Uin Historia was a Hero.
Because she had to save the Empire.
Even while she was resting, imperial citizens could be in danger somewhere. Of course, she couldn't save everyone, but the thought of failing to save those within ‘striking distance’ always weighed heavily on her mind.
…At the very least, she wanted to confirm that Riaze was at peace.
“Should I sneak out?” Uin muttered. Her voice was dazed, but she was entirely serious.
Since she had already had lunch and tea, no maid would be coming by for the next three or four hours. Her room was on the third floor of the annex, so as long as she landed properly, her soles would only tingle a bit. This wasn't her first or second time sneaking out; avoiding the gardeners' eyes would be a breeze.
‘Though I should probably wash up before going out.’
After all, she had spent the entire day lounging in bed simply because she had nothing to do. Her hair was a tangled, greasy mess, and her dress, which doubled as pajamas, was hardly suitable for walking around outside.