Chapter 105
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Dragon Blood
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"Also, the Holy Empire Yukram has an existence called the 'Saintess'."
I had recently started studying. Given the progress of my [Main Quest] so far, it seemed inevitable that I'd be stuck in this world for quite a while, and I felt like I knew too little about it. So, I was getting various bits of knowledge from Alfred, who had the most expertise.
"Heh heh... To think you couldn't accumulate proper knowledge because of discrimination for being a half-breed...! Ugh...!"
"...Yeah. That's right."
The misunderstanding that I was a half-breed, which had been utterly useless before, was actually helping this time. Since they thought I was a half-breed, they didn't find it strange that I knew so little.
"Heh heh heh... Discrimination... Hoo, where did you face discrimination...?"
"...Why do you ask?"
"Curse... The curse...!"
For some reason, Pandora—who had been sold here before and ended up with that curse sickness, leaving her short on basic common sense—was receiving the same education right beside me, and every time I saw her, it made me feel burdened to death. More than anything, seeing her devote herself like this under the misconception that I was a half-breed pricked at my conscience.
"Ahem. Anyway, what's this Saintess about?"
I averted my gaze from Pandora, who was preparing some curse for who-knows-who, and decided to hear the rest of what Alfred had been saying. Alfred, who had been looking at Pandora with a sour expression, finally got back to the topic properly.
"The Saintess is also called the proxy of the gods, known as a being who can hear the voice of the gods directly. She possesses divine power on an entirely different level from ordinary priests, and even without being chosen by a Holy Relic, she wields strength comparable to most Heroes."
"Hmm..."
It was about what I'd expected from the term 'Saintess,' but hearing the gods' voices directly... Having seen the Holy Relics and the beings in the dungeons, I could believe gods existed in this world...
'Gods. Gods, huh...'
I was pretty curious. If gods truly existed and looked down on the earth, giving revelations to the Saintess, would that god know about my existence? Or was that god the same entity that had summoned me here?
I'd love to meet the Saintess in person and ask, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Since the Saintess stays holed up in the human capital, not much is known about her among the demonkin, but it's said she can wield a power called 'miracles.'"
"Miracles? What kind of power is that?"
"Miracles, just as the word implies. The power to turn the impossible into possible. They say she can open the eyes of the blind and make the lame walk."
"Can't divine power heal anyway?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself... but I've heard that the divine power used by human priests and the power wielded by the Saintess are fundamentally different. Priests' divine power can heal external wounds but isn't very effective against illnesses."
Hmm. So divine power isn't some all-purpose panacea? I had seen it heal wounds and neutralize poisons, though. That alone made it tricky enough.
'Well, now we have healing methods of our own.'
In that Walpurgisnacht dungeon or whatever it was called, we'd offered up a massive batch of potions as tribute this time. Apparently, they could be used by demons or humans alike to heal wounds, so now even if someone got hurt in an emergency, we had a way to recover.
Up until now, while I could heal my employees via the [Employee Management] function, there was no way to heal myself if I got injured... Now I could finally relax a bit.
"Grrrrr!"
"Kyarruk!!"
And in the middle of my conversation with Alfred, a massive beast like a wolf wreathed in flames barged between us. On top of it sat a red-haired girl grinning innocently.
"Ah! Sorry for interrupting, Master! I was practicing riding Nureong..."
"...No problem. Keep practicing."
"Yes!"
That said, Nureong? Isn't that too plain a name for a hellhound spewing flames like that? Not that it mattered since Rio liked it.
-Thud! Thud!
"Kikikik!!"
And it didn't stop there—beast roars echoed from all directions. The wood golems, steadily moving under Dry's direction, were silently transporting the heavy tributes sent by the Dungeon Masters now under my command. There were wolf- and horse-form beasts saddled up for the werebeasts who had become Erzsebet's kin to ride.
The kin mounted on the wolves' backs were swinging high-quality weapons crafted by the dwarves as they practiced marching in formation. Dust kicked up with every movement...
"Go do it outside."
"...Pardon? Master, but..."
"Now."
"...Yes, sir."
These guys were riding animals inside and kicking up dust. Shouldn't that obviously be done outside? I'd shelled out big money from the dungeon merchants to buy those beasts...
'Sigh. It's an investment, an investment.'
With the number of residents in the ruins increasing and now even buying beasts, the interior got filthy in no time, which naturally grated on me. It felt like they'd tracked mud into a place I'd just painstakingly cleaned.
The increased [Robot Vacuums] were working hard to clean up, but it still felt insufficient.
"Kyahak!!? The curse!"
Having chased them outside, the traps—excluding the friend-or-foe identification—activated as they passed through the corridors and hit them, but that level shouldn't be a problem. I'd blown through my piled-up points to outfit every [Employee]-designated personnel with full cleaning suit sets.
'Just not tearing counts as better efficiency than most armors.'
Those suits alone would drastically boost survival rates if worn under armor. They weren't on par with my max-level gear, but they repelled contaminants, so they should handle the trap zones just fine.
'...Though it'll hurt like hell.'
Of course, lacking materials to level up all the gear meant their performance wasn't perfect at lower levels, so it'd hurt insanely every time they passed through... but they wouldn't die or suffer major injuries. With gear like that, they had to endure it.
"Incredible, Master! With that level of equipment and beasts, plus a bit of training, your dungeon could rightfully claim to be the best in the south. No—factoring in the demonkin under your command, you could seize the entire south!"
Alfred, having inspected the equipment I'd distributed, was making a fuss. Conquering the south? I had no intention of that. What would be the point? I couldn't even go out.
'Even then, that 5-star Hero would still beat us.'
No matter how many beasts I bought, armed and trained my minions, they'd only handle up to 3-star Heroes at best. The problem was 4-star and above... and 5-star Heroes.
To counter them, I needed special measures...
"Has the dungeon merchant arrived yet?"
In addition to the tributes squeezed from nearby villages we'd set up outposts in and those offered by the dungeons under my command, I'd scraped together all the steadily accumulated funds. Not just for beasts, but for various items I'd ordered—I irritably scanned for the dungeon merchant.
No way he'd taken all that money and scammed me, right? After how much I paid...
"They say the dungeon merchant has just arrived. Shall we go?"
"Yeah. Call Erzsebet too."
This purchase involved Erzsebet as well.
"Customer? We've prepared the special order item you requested and have come to deliver it."
The dungeon merchant, always wearing that sly grin, appeared rubbing his hands. Normally, when I ordered specific goods, he'd deliver the same day, but for this one—where I'd emptied my coffers—he'd said it needed time and asked me to wait about three days ago.
"Hope the wait means it's worth it."
"Of course! We dungeon merchants always sell only the finest goods. Here it is."
What I'd ordered... was blood. The highest-grade blood the dungeon merchant could procure.
'Not sure if it's legit, but Erzsebet said with enough blood, she could even beat a 5-star Hero...'
I didn't fully trust such dubious claims, but the power she displayed with sufficient blood backing her was real enough. Her one-night demolition of the alliance had burned through the blood she'd steadily consumed up to that point.
"Here it is!"
And since plain blood was one thing, but high-grade blood was hard to source otherwise, I'd gone through the dungeon merchant...
"...That's it?"
"'That's it'? This was incredibly hard to obtain!"
The blood the dungeon merchant handed over was barely one or two blood packs' worth. I had no idea if it was high-grade, but after taking all that money, this was all he brought?
"Hey, this is..."
"Isn't this dragon blood?!"
"...Huh?"
I was about to grill the dungeon merchant, but Erzsebet—who'd been waiting bored for the goods—suddenly lit up with excitement and lunged for the blood pouch. Dragon blood? What?
"Dragon blood... Dragon. So, dragon's blood, right?"
"Yes, Master! In terms of blood rank, nothing short of divine blood could surpass it—it's the pinnacle! And judging by the mana emanating from it, it's not even from a wyrmling, but ancient dragon blood!"
Dragons actually exist? I'd been learning about various races from Alfred lately, but there'd been no mention of dragons or dragonkin.
Wait, dragon or dragon? Translation issue? They sound interchangeable.
"Dragonkin... you say?"
Alfred, standing right beside me, wore an ambiguous expression.
"Alfred. You don't know about dragonkin?"
"Well... I know a little about the half-dragons living in the northern continent. They claim to carry dragon blood. But..."
Half-dragonkin who claim dragon blood exist, but true dragonkin do not. Records from the mythic era clearly show dragonkin once lived on this continent, but now, no matter where you search, none can be found.
'...That sounds familiar.'
A race that existed in the past but can't be found anywhere on the continent now?
"How the hell did you get this? Do you dungeon merchants have the power to hunt even those exalted dragonkin?"
"Heavens, no. The origin of our goods is, naturally, a trade secret. But one thing I can tell you... The amount you paid is actually a bit short compared to what we've prepared."
"What?"
After how much I paid... and it's still short? What the hell is dragon blood that it's worth so much?
"So you want more money?"
"No."
I glared sharply, suspecting a shakedown, but the dungeon merchant shook his head.
"This... is courtesy from our master to a VIP customer."
"Courtesy?"
"Yes. Your payment fell a little short, but our Dungeon Merchant Guild's master prepared this at a special VIP price for you. Satisfied?"
"More than satisfied!"
Erzsebet answered gleefully in my place and snatched the dragon blood from the merchant's hand. Seeing how much she liked it, at least it seemed worth something...
'Master? That Gord named Kench I met before?'
When the dungeon merchant first appeared, he'd introduced himself as the Dungeon Merchant Guild's master, Kench. From our first meeting, he'd treated me like a VIP, saying my emergence as a new dungeon was overturning the balance and letting them make money again.
But...
'A merchant doling out favors like this?'
It felt fishy. Thinking back, from the start, his goodwill went beyond just excitement over a rare new dungeon...
"With the goods delivered, I'll take my leave."
"Ah. Wait...!"
I'd meant to ask more about Kench, but the dungeon merchant vanished in a flash after handing over the dragon blood.
Last time, the elves had raved impossibly about my [Fast Travel] and [Employee Dispatch] functions... What were these dungeon merchants that they could move so freely?
"Master! Can I drink it?"
"Y-yeah... Bought it for you anyway."
I nodded, feeling an odd pressure from Erzsebet's uncharacteristically sparkling eyes. Refusing here might spark a mutiny.
-Slurrrrp!!
And without hesitation, she gulped down the scant blood. Then...
"Gah! This is..."
"What's wrong? Problem?"
She suddenly grimaced mid-drink. No way the dungeon merchant tampered with it...
"N-no, it's fine. It's real dragon blood. Impossibly high-grade, and even this tiny amount restored considerable power."
"Good... Then why the face?"
Why grimace after seeming so thrilled?
"...I don't know. Why did I do that?"
But Erzsebet, who had grimaced upon swallowing, now looked puzzled about her own reaction. After pondering a moment, she gave a vague answer.
"It felt like... drinking the blood of someone I really hate."
"...??"
What the hell did that mean?