Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Free VER.C.DAWN
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After the rebellion ended, there was something I had decided to take care of.
It was sorting out the slaves I had brought to this Daboseok place.
I had squeezed every last drop out of them in the army, so now I planned to boot them all out.
“Come out now. You're free.”
“No, thank you.”
“Get out.”
“No!”
They were the ones who had lived in the beautiful Daboseok dungeon world all this time, free from worries about food or clothing, steadily building their skills.
They had grown so fond of the lifestyle the dungeon provided. In fact, they had secretly developed real affection for it.
He would drop by every now and then to correct their fighting stances and such.
Perhaps because they had expected cruelty, his pretense of concern had unwittingly filled them with affection.
On top of that, receiving the rebellion plans together and moving under that girl's command to claim victory had been utterly exhilarating.
For people whose lives had been nothing but defeats and being dragged around by others, working hard and grasping success in their own hands brought an immense sense of accomplishment.
They desperately wanted to keep going alongside the dungeon.
Being here had honestly halved their worries, leaving nothing but good memories.
Only after living like proper humans did they realize that the slave caravan's entire system had been a hellish yoke.
The dungeon had talked about sacrificing them all as army fodder, but regardless of intent, they were grateful just for being pulled out of that place.
Sometimes, thinking of the dungeon would make their chests tighten with emotion.
There was something about it that made them want to give back even more.
“We pledge our eternal loyalty!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes!!”
“Then scram. You guys always pissed me off.”
“We'll heed everything except that!”
“Oh, is that so.”
The dungeon pulled out a massive carpet and spread it across the ground.
“Then everyone, get on here. That's an order.”
The slave soldiers tilted their heads but climbed onto the carpet as instructed.
Once every last one was aboard, the dungeon spoke.
“World transfer.”
The scenery around them shifted in an instant.
When they opened their eyes, they were in Altoid territory.
Collin had taken the initiative to partially restore the villages they had invaded and prepared vehicles to send them back home.
“Go on, return to your old lives. I've distributed seeds for farming too, so live well using what you've learned.”
They all stared in stunned silence at suddenly being sent back home.
“Is this... for real...?”
Most of the people inside the jolting massive carriage were in a daze.
The beautiful world and the girl were still vivid in their minds.
They had just been living in that dreamlike world with guaranteed homes and meals, and now they had been thrust out into the world—it was hard to believe.
It felt like abruptly waking from a dream.
“Ah, but why weren't those elf kids kicked out? Is it species discrimination?”
“No, it's because they were refugees chased out of their homeland to begin with.”
“......What?”
It was such a warm reason?
Quite a few people were thrown off since they hadn't known.
“We've got families and hometowns to return to, so she's sending us back. She didn't just dump us either—she built us up with enough skills to survive on our own and even gave us seeds. You still don't get her intentions? From the very start, she came to save us purely out of pity.”
The one who snapped at the ingrate mentioning species discrimination recited his interpretation of the dungeon's character over the time.
Someone else chimed in that it was just incidental while looking for reinforcements, but they were ignored.
“No matter how I think about it, I need to pledge my loyalty by her side. I don't have any family anyway. I'm heading back.”
Maybe she'd welcome them more if they came voluntarily?
With fewer rivals, he might even get a chance for a personal chat.
“Me too!”
“I'll go with you.”
A group started chiming in one after another. They fled the carriage and ran back toward where Count Altoid was.
“Call Dun, please!”
“We need to talk to Dun!”
“I want to live with Dun!”
Collin stared at the ex-slaves who weren't heading home and were instead seeking out Dun.
'Ah.... Why are these guys coming back.'
Dun had just acquired a mansion, so he needed to quickly fill it with whatever she required.
Knowing her personality, she'd probably crash on a dusty bed without bothering to decorate.
Separate from handling the past, this was the perfect moment to prove his own capabilities.
Collin was racking his brains using every ability at his disposal, leaving him quite on edge.
That's why he nearly hurled a flowerpot at them to tell them to get lost but stopped himself short.
He had just thought of a way to make use of them.
“I needed workers to help tend the Sabak ducal gardens and decorate the mansion. Perfect timing. You're hired.”
And so, the returning slave soldiers were hired as indoor servants for Dun's mansion.
“We're suddenly getting jobs?”
“That's right. As ex-slaves, you'll pick things up quickly. Here are your tasks—move fast.”
After assigning their duties, Collin checked his pigeon messaging.
He always got insanely nervous sending notes to Dun.
{Collin: Dun, what style do you like? For groups, not personal stuff.}
His father used to dress the mansion servants to his tastes.
At 15, she was old enough to know these things. Marriage was legal from 14.
Still, it seemed like a pretty tactful way to ask without embarrassing her.
A reply notification popped up right away.
For some reason, getting a response from Dun felt novel. He'd gotten used to her ignoring his lengthy work reports.
{Dun: Don't.}
{Collin: Don't what.}
{Dun: Don't go too far on your own.}
{Collin: What exactly.}
{Dun: No idea, just anxious. Don't. Just do what I tell you.}
{Collin: Just doing orders is amateur level.}
{Dun: Even that gets you to mid-tier.}
{Collin: Sticking to mid-tier makes you stay an amateur. Fine, got it. I'll handle it with some tact.}
There had been a page on 'mansion servants' in an out-of-print slave clothing catalog.
He could show it to Dun later, buy whatever caught her prolonged gaze, and have the servants trained accordingly.
The next day, Collin visited Dun's mansion.
“Dun! Dust over there for me!”
“Got it.”
He knocked and entered to find Dun cleaning every nook and cranny, sleeves rolled up alongside Rihowel.
'Knew it.'
Tch, one step too late. No servants, so she was doing manual labor with her mother.
She wasn't saying it, but inside, she was surely cursing him as 'Collin, you useless idiot.'
But if he quickly staffed it to her tastes, it could turn into a win. His father had praised him lavishly back then.
Collin appeared in a dapper suit, carrying a leather suitcase.
“Oh my, who might you be?”
Rihowel noticed the highly conspicuous Collin and greeted him.
Dun, who had been vigorously mopping the floor, leaned on her mop handle and narrowed her eyes.
“What're you doing here.”
'As expected.... She's resenting me for not being quick enough and making her work.'
His heart raced. It's fine—turn it around.
Collin cleared his throat a few times, approached Dun, and opened the suitcase.
Rihowel, whose curiosity had been piqued by the suddenly attention-grabbing Collin, headed over as well.
Lately, Dun had been away from home a lot, so when she mentioned getting a mansion somewhere, Rihowel had just let it slide.
But now some guy who seemed affiliated with a big organization shows up out of nowhere—it only made things more suspicious.
『Slave Clothing Catalog』
“Here, take a look from this page all the way to here.”
“......”
“......”
Rihowel's gaze turned to Dun, who broke out in a cold sweat. Her pupils shook nonstop.
“What the hell have you been up to outside?”
“Mom! No, it's a misunderstanding!! I'm wholesome! I live a wholesome life!!! Ack, ow!”
Crash!
A mother-daughter chase erupted inside the mansion.
“Hey! I told you just doing orders gets you halfway there! No, Rihowel, it's not like that! Explain quick!!”
He had no clue what he was supposed to explain. Normally, wouldn't parents be thrilled to see their kid bossing servants around?
He had recently learned something from mingling and chatting with the territory folk.
This was a clash of values.
That mother seemed to have values quite different from his own.
Some people were shocked by what he said, others didn't care—and chalking it up to values differences worked every time.
He wasn't sure what was what, but in situations like this, it felt like he had values that diverged sharply from most people.
The kind that was hard for the majority to accept.
He'd think about the reasons later. For now, since Dun had asked him to explain, he should.
“It's not like that.”
“Duuuun!!!”
It didn't even land.
There was no sign of the fury from the woman who looked like her mother letting up.
His voice might as well not have registered.
“I'll submit an explanatory report to your mother within the day.”
“No, please, just don't say anything. I'm begging you!! Please? Collin? Be a good boy?”
Collin couldn't bear facing the thoroughly pissed-off Dun, so he hurriedly returned to his own mansion to draft a letter of reflection.
On the way back, the image of Dun flailing as she was chased by her mother popped into his head.
More than self-reproach for failing to anticipate Dun's needs sooner, the sheer comedy of the situation made laughter bubble up.
'Ah, my apologies.'
Feeling sorry for laughing after putting her in such a bind, Collin returned home, sat at his desk, and picked up his pen.
Still, his heart wasn't all that heavy.
* * *
|Timeline (T.O-760) Achievement Tracker|
|VER.C.DAWN 33.33%
|VER.P.NULL 100%
|VER.C.PRIM 100%
|Current Timeline: T.O-760_(tp)
[Information has been updated.]
The pin marking the present had somehow reached the one-third point.
Fortunately, things were progressing as intended so far.
Even if that child had been created as a one-time tool for crisis response, discarding her outright felt too wasteful given her excellence—not to mention cruel—so this was the decision made.
For the sake of the timelines brimming with the most ideal possibilities, even if the path was circuitous and painful.
Pain had to be turned into growth, and that growth guided toward the right choices.
It had to be done perfectly.
A single misstep veering into T.D-763_(tp) could turn the being made for world reconciliation into a destroyer that erased not just this world but others as well.
I activated the Narrative Mage.
§Narrative Mage§
[Admin]
§Illitihia_dc143c-G13
[Narrative Helper]
§Illitihia_dc143c-G13
[Thought Narration] [ON]
[Language Setting][Korean][Latest]
I tweaked the settings to swap the helper.
[Admin]
§Illitihia_dc143c-G13
[Narrative Helper]
§ver.p.null.saebyeok(tp) (Abbreviate)
!Unsafe object with no designated world. Please discard and select another object.
[Thought Narration] [ON]
[Language Setting][Korean][Latest]
I used admin privileges to force it through.
[One error exists. Ignore and proceed?]
Yes
No (Recommended)
I hit 'Yes' without hesitation.
* * *
|VER.N.DAWN (Initial one-time display, then omitted)
§ Free ver.p.saebyeok(tp)
Kim Woosung had successfully kicked the bucket.
Uncle Lee Yoo-hyun had taken the Hunter Association president seat.
“Saebyeok, I've been waiting 13 minutes now!!”
Uncle becoming president didn't feel half bad.
She had put on that meat-wrap sobfest last time, so hopefully they wouldn't cross paths.
“Saebyeok, 14 minutes!!”
I glanced at the 'Lee Saebyeok' name tag pinned to my chest. The uniform felt kinda awkward.
It was weird wearing what other kids my age strutted around in.
“Saebyeok, 15 minutes!!”
Abyss kids had only gotten hunter training until now, barely any general education, so Uncle had sponsored us to go to school.
He said only those who wanted to should go, but pretty much everyone signed up.
They were curious about normal people's lives.
“Saebyeok, 16 minutes!!”
I was a little curious too.
Wonder if they'd teach mixed martial arts or Krav Maga at school.
“This could flash my panties if I move wrong.”
I tried a kick in front of the mirror, and sure enough, my square undies were on full display.
My legs felt too exposed, so I grabbed comfy training pants from the drawer and wore them under the skirt.
Very secure.
“Saebyeok, 17 minutes!!”
The diligent Woo Ji-yoon started calling out every 1-minute snooze interval. What was she even doing waiting outside.
“Coming.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and opened the dorm door.
“Ugh, what the hell happened to your face? The Joker?”
“Dunno. Put it on following a YouTube tutorial. It's overlip or whatever. Weird?”
“It's just straight-up overkill. Hilarious. Don't act like you know me at school later.”
Giggling and bantering with my roommate Woo Ji-yoon, the walk to school felt incredibly peaceful.
[Cheat-Using NPC Part 1 Complete]