Chapter 121

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 121

Chapter Title: The Usual Thing

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"........."

"........."

A suffocating silence passed between them.

Several pairs of eyes turned toward me. And toward the woman standing at my side.

"....Um... Master. Isn't that human next to you... the Saintess...?"

In the end, Alfred—the eldest (or so he claimed) in the group—broke the silence and cautiously pointed at the woman standing beside me.

Dazzling golden hair. Dressed in a pure white clerical robe, she wore a slightly stiff smile, clearly awkward herself. It was Saintess Jeanne, standing at my side.

".....I've bound her with a magic contract, so rest easy."

"No, I mean... uh.... Understood."

Alfred, who had been about to unleash a barrage of questions, meekly bowed his head in the face of the atmosphere that brooked no inquiries. After all, the being before him was his lord and the Dungeon Master—he figured there must be some reason for it.

"Ah....!"

Meanwhile, Rio, who was mixed in among the group, lit up with a hint of delight but quickly glanced at the adults' expressions, fidgeted, lowered her head, and subtly waved a hand down by her legs.

Seeing that, Jeanne seemed to relax a bit herself and introduced herself.

"....I was called the Saintess in the Empire, but now I'm just Jeanne, the Master's subordinate."

Subordinate. Yeah. In the end, I'd accepted Jeanne's proposal. Just in case, I'd bought an expensive magic contract from the Dungeon Merchant and signed it, even registering her as an [Employee] to boot.

There were plenty of reasons. Her Saintess abilities were tempting, and since she'd taken down a 5-star Hero, I couldn't predict how the Empire might react, so keeping her as a prisoner made sense. She knew a lot about various things too...

But setting aside those minor reasons, there were two big ones.

'One who receives revelations from the gods.... And she said she got one recently too.'

First off, the Saintess could hear the voices of the gods themselves. Lately, I'd all but given up on finding clues inside this ruin about why I'd been summoned here. Everyone I met had memory issues, and there weren't any solid leads.

But a god who gave revelations to the Saintess—surely a god knew something? Or beyond that, maybe the god was the one who'd summoned me here in the first place. With that in mind, I'd decided to keep the Saintess, who could hear that god's voice, by my side.

And the second reason. Honestly, this one weighed even heavier on me....

'...The first human I've met who doesn't harbor any hostility toward me.'

All the humans I'd encountered up to now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were Heroes hell-bent on killing me. In kill-or-be-killed situations, I'd slain countless Heroes without a second thought for my conscience.

But Jeanne was different. She hadn't shown any killing intent toward me, didn't harbor particular disgust for demons or half-breeds, and had even saved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Rio, a demon.

Before I knew it, I'd been surrounded only by demons, treated as a half-breed, and my own humanity had started fading. I'd taken to casually calling this continent's humans the Empire's "humans" and speaking in ways that distinguished myself from them—as if I'd forgotten I was human too.

In that state, the arrival of a pure human who didn't treat me as an enemy had a stabilizing effect on my mind, which had grown deeply distrustful of humans... no, bordering on outright hatred after seeing nothing but humans trying to kill me every time.

I might never get another chance to meet a hostility-free human like this. That's why I couldn't even consider treating Jeanne harshly or the like.

'I have to... go back home.'

My goal was still to clear this damned [Main Quest] and use the reward—a wish—to return home. If that reward was real, a simple wish to go home should be granted.

But if things continued like this, even if I made it home, I'd be steeped in severe human distrust, ready to kill anyone at the drop of a hat.

"I can't speak for all humans, but... if there's anyone here who's suffered persecution from humans without cause, then I apologize."

"......What?"

"A human... apologizing?"

In that sense, Jeanne—who sincerely accepted demons without discrimination and repented her own sins—came across positively to me.

Of course, that didn't mean I'd let her wander the ruins freely without a thought.

"So... Lilith. You're on surveillance duty for her."

"Pardon? M-Me? Why not someone else...?"

"Not many could subdue the Saintess if things go south. Among them, your abilities can neutralize her without harming those around, and your unique illusion powers let you approach easily."

"...Ugh... If you look at me like that and say it... F-Fine, I'll do it."

For now, I had no tasks for her. I planned to observe who Jeanne really was for a while. Lilith would handle surveillance in the meantime.

Come to think of it, I'd registered Lilith as an [Employee] in the heat of the moment too.

I'd dumped points into registering Lilith as an [Employee] to deal with the 5-star Hero in a pinch. As expected, she was 5-star with some pretty useful talents.

Fortunately, even after registering her, I could still 'collect' illusions for points (albeit reduced), and now I had the ability to treat charmed targets as employees.

'.....What the hell is that in her disposition?'

Something weird was stuck in the [Disposition] section, but I decided to ignore it. Best not to dwell... No, but with that shady look, how could her disposition be.... Never mind, forget it.

"Don't worry about Jeanne for now. I'll handle her. More importantly... what's the damage report?"

"Two curse jars intact, everything else destroyed. Trap zone half-wrecked, outer forest obliterated. Werebeast dead: 5, injured: 7. Blood Demon Tribe dead: 2, injured: 1. Wood Golems all half-destroyed, Iron Golems all broken. Stone Golems...."

'....Whew.'

I'd deliberately shifted their focus from Jeanne by asking for the damage report, but the destruction was worse than I'd imagined. Blocking a Hero with this level of loss was lucky, though.... Hmm. Oddly, I didn't feel much guilt over my demon subordinates dying.

Maybe because familiars and curse jars were half-corpses to begin with? Or was my psyche wearing down?

Either way, the losses weren't just that.

'Oof.'

In the final moments against Lumen, I'd poured every last point into the fight, wiping out the over 100,000—nearing 200,000 thanks to [Sub Quests]—I'd amassed.

I hadn't even checked remaining points before spamming recovery in [Employee Management]. I'd gotten a bit back from incinerating Lumen beyond regeneration and recovering the other Heroes' gear, but I'd blown it all registering Jeanne.

"Focus on restoring the dungeon interior for a while. Have the dwarves arrived?"

"Yes. They've reached the dungeon entrance and are standing by."

"Use this chance to build proper structures with their help and upgrade the trap sections too. Once the witches arrive, have them lay down new magic circles with Pandora."

Meanwhile, Jeanne ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quietly watched Eugene at work, stepping back a pace to return Rio's stealthy greeting as the girl crept closer.

'He just... seems like an ordinary lord.'

It hit her anew how little she knew. She'd heard about dungeon dangers and reproduction, but never wondered how demons lived inside one.

To Jeanne's eyes, the dungeon was just a place where people lived. From the talk—worrying about farming, repairing collapsed homes, treating the injured—it was no different from human settlements.

And just like that, she realized how violent and narrow-minded she'd been, charging in to kill them blindly without knowing what a dungeon was.

'Of course, not all dungeons are like this...'

At least this one she'd invaded—and now belonged to—didn't look like a den of evil. Listening to the meeting, it seemed they ruled nearby lesser demons fairly, without coercion, like a proper lord of the area.

Of course, they deliberately excluded her from sensitive topics, but that was understandable. She'd earn the trust of this dungeon's Master—and presumed revelation recipient—over time.

"Alright, proceed like that... I'll be doing my usual thing."

"Yes!"

'His usual thing?'

With the meeting over, Eugene dismissed the gathered demons and headed off alone, without anyone else. Jeanne reflexively called out to stop him.

"Wait a moment. Um... what are you off to do?"

"Hm."

Jeanne instantly regretted stopping Eugene. She was still a suspicious outsider; she should be building trust quietly, not suddenly halting the Dungeon Master with questions. This was...

"....Well, whatever. You'll be doing it too soon enough. Follow me."

"Pardon?"

Eugene pondered briefly before leading Jeanne along without protest.

Passing demons rebuilding collapsed structures and sowing seeds in the earth, they traversed the vast forest inside the dungeon, then descended dim stairs that grew darker below.

'Underground? What could he be doing down there...?'

Maybe he wasn't a bad guy, just an innocent victim? Or perhaps he was plotting something sinister underground? Or the "usual" was a lie, and after accepting her like this to lower her guard, he'd do unspeakable things...

"Here."

"....?"

Eugene's voice snapped Jeanne out of her spiraling usual fantasies. He handed her...

"Br-Broom...?"

"Start with that."

Utterly confused by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sudden broom, Jeanne watched as Eugene calmly pulled out his [High-Pressure Cleaner] and [Dry Mop] set and began cleaning the grimy underground.

'Gotta refill those spent points.'

".....???????"

Seeing the dungeon's lord himself—the one who'd felled a 5-star Hero—personally cleaning, Jeanne fell into chaos. She recalled what Eugene had said when accepting her.

'Do you clean well?'

"....That was what you meant?"