Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Phoenix Guild's Proposal (1)
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"Alright, everyone, great job!"
Celia gathered the monsters in the center of the dungeon.
They had successfully completed the mission, bringing the Sail Kingdom under their control. This was the follow-up meeting.
She began with praise and encouragement for the monsters.
"Goblin Lord, you did an excellent job guarding the dungeon while we were away."
The Goblin Lord nodded.
When the high-grade monsters had left, it created a gap in the dungeon's defenses.
To fill that void, the Goblin Lord had led the entire goblin scouting team in maintaining a vigilant watch.
Of course, there hadn't been a single intruder in the dungeon or even the nearby forest.
Even so, just fulfilling his duty of guarding the dungeon perfectly was enough.
Celia's praise continued.
Necros had played a role in raising Irene's notoriety during this mission by turning some people into skeletons.
The new family member, the half-vampire Dhampir, and the young hydra had herded humans toward the outskirts of the capital. Despite it being their first time working together, they had performed admirably.
In addition, the skeleton knights, hobgoblins, zombies, and other monsters dispatched to the Sail Kingdom had terrorized people, destroyed buildings, and sown fear.
"And Death Knight..."
The Death Knight had returned to his original form.
Due to the aftermath of the temporary evolution, he was now afflicted with the incapacitated state.
"Master originally wanted Death Knight to stay put quietly. But since the results turned out well, we'll let this slide without holding you accountable."
Normally, he would have been punished.
He had been told to stay quiet, yet Death Knight had acted on his own and nearly escalated things too far.
But in the end, it had worked out for the best.
So Celia decided not to pursue it.
That meant it wouldn't be reported to Master.
At her words, the incapacitated Death Knight broke into a bright smile.
"However, you're responsible for supervising the human you brought from the kingdom."
There was one human brought from the kingdom: Viscount Beaton.
Viscount Beaton had been put to work on fortification construction in place of the immobile Death Knight.
A pickaxe in hand.
With the discussion wrapped up, they moved on to the next item.
"The biggest change for us is that some of our restrictions have been lifted."
Their range of movement had expanded thanks to this mission.
Previously, due to the restrictions, they could only go as far as the forest around the dungeon at most. But now, things were different.
"It seems we can travel to the Sail Kingdom without much issue."
The moment Celia sensed the restrictions loosening, she had tested it immediately.
The result: they could go back and forth to the Sail Kingdom with no problem.
"So now we have a lot more to do."
Celia continued.
"From now on, we need to manage not only the dungeon but the kingdom as well."
In short, more places to oversee.
That meant more manpower would be needed.
However, they couldn't neglect any one area, so the forces would need to be properly distributed.
"First, Dhampir."
The first one Celia called on was the Dhampir.
"Head to the adventurers' guild in the Sail Kingdom."
As a half-vampire, the Dhampir's appearance was close to human.
Unless closely inspected, there was no risk of discovery.
"Raise your notoriety as an adventurer and blend in among the humans."
The Dhampir bowed at Celia's command.
Banshees were already scattered across the continent anyway.
Banshees had no movement restrictions as long as they could manipulate other humans.
Exploiting that, Celia had dispersed the banshees to various regions long ago.
Those seeds planted would one day sprout and bloom.
Planting another seed in the form of the Dhampir followed the same principle.
It was a long-term piece that would prove useful someday.
"Next, Necros."
At Celia's point, the first-floor guardian, Necros, nodded.
"Sorry, but from now on, please handle the kingdom's affairs as well."
"Tak?"
For the time being, there was no issue with dungeon defense.
In this situation, Necros didn't need to guard the dungeon specifically.
"What Necros needs to do is establish an underground organization in the kingdom. Or rather, manage it."
Managing an underground organization.
The Sail Kingdom was in chaos now that a large number of nobles had been executed or imprisoned.
This had left the nobles' vested interests and the underworld's order in limbo.
"From questioning Viscount Beaton, whom we kidnapped, it turns out the Sail Kingdom has hidden organizations operating covertly. They mainly run things like human trafficking, drugs, gambling dens, and speculative ventures to build their power."
An underground organization was inevitably a destabilizing element in the kingdom.
But wiping them out outright was burdensome.
New ones would just fill the vacuum.
So Celia thought it better to manage them directly.
What you hold in your hand is truly safe.
"Necros, please manage the organization."
But Necros seemed indifferent.
Rather than such a hassle, he'd prefer to stay in the dungeon—
"You can manage the profits from the organization autonomously. I, Celia, guarantee it."
Necros figured going to the Sail Kingdom was better than staying in the dungeon after all.
Great power comes with great responsibility, as they say.
Necros nodded at Celia's order.
"Now, let's move on to the next item. Above all, about placing monsters in the Sail Kingdom..."
The meeting in the dungeon's center continued.
The special mission ended faster than I expected.
I thought it would take at least a few months for Princess Irene to become queen.
Becoming a nation's ruler isn't that simple, after all.
But shortly after dispatching the dungeon monsters, everything wrapped up.
"Attaching Maru to the princess was definitely the right call."
She was queen now, but the mission's goal had been to make the princess ruler.
To that end, boosting the princess's notoriety and plunging the Sail Kingdom into chaos had hit the mark.
Thanks to that, Princess Irene had shone brightly.
From Celia's report, Irene's popularity had skyrocketed due to this incident.
The Sail Kingdom's king then took responsibility for the crisis and announced his abdication. In contrast, the elevated Princess Irene ascended as the new queen immediately after.
"It's so convenient when everyone does their jobs well."
When all moved with one heart and mind, things resolved smoothly.
I wore a proud smile as I tapped my smartphone.
Especially, a major change came with the mission's end.
The dungeon monsters' range of activity had expanded all the way to the Sail Kingdom.
On top of that, I gained Queen Irene's absolute loyalty.
"At this point, it's basically like the Sail Kingdom has fallen into my hands."
Now my owned monsters could operate freely even in the Sail Kingdom.
Celia would surely seize the kingdom's interests.
With the queen on our side from the start, no one would complain.
This was more than enough.
"Might as well have her manage the mountains properly now."
By "manage," I meant something closer to control.
Using the Sail Kingdom for mountain management would make it easy.
Of course, total control would backfire.
I just needed to loosen things up moderately so adventurers stayed away from near my dungeon.
That would naturally reduce intruders and secure the dungeon's safety.
I immediately issued the order to Celia.
She would grasp my intent perfectly, so I trusted her with it.
"Perfect."
It felt like just finishing the tutorial in a game, but I couldn't help the grin.
With things tidied up, I turned off the smartphone screen.
Time to eat.
"Maru, make some food."
As I left the room, I called to Maru.
"Tak!"
Maru nodded and headed to the kitchen. Beside her, the skeleton soldier Coco assisted.
A perfect harmony.
As I watched with a satisfied smile, a voice came from the side.
"Um, th-that..."
The voice belonged to Ciel.
Ciel was the elf I'd acquired through an auction at the Demon Realm Merchant Guild.
She was so taciturn that communication had been a concern. But ever since accidentally infusing her magic into the gargoyle, she had started opening up bit by bit.
"Th-that... M-Master?"
I hadn't ordered Ciel to call me Master. It was just her own choice.
"Yeah, what's up?"
Of course, the fact that Ciel was speaking first was a huge win, so instead of correcting her, I answered carefully.
"S-Someone... is coming..."
"?"
Someone was coming to the house?
How did Ciel know that?
"...Th-the wind spirit... I contracted... told me..."
The wind spirit she contracted had informed her?
I was curious how it communicated, but that wasn't the priority now.
"Are you sure they're coming here?"
The place I lived was a villa.
They might not be heading exactly here.
"Yes... here...!"
"How many?"
"Th-that's... quite a few..."
Not just one or two.
If Ciel was right, the key was who and why they were coming here.
'The Association?'
No, unlikely.
The Association usually notified hunters to come in person.
'Intruders, maybe?'
Even if they were intruders, I wasn't the same as before.
5-star Maru.
And the gargoyle that reached 5 stars after receiving Ciel's magic.
No ordinary hunter could break into the house.
'Not confirmed as intruders yet, so stay calm for now.'
The father-son duo who tried to eliminate me last time flashed in my mind, making me edgy.
For now, I calmed myself and waited.
And shortly after.
Ding-dong—
The doorbell rang.
"Is anyone home?"
It was a man's voice.
Ciel had been right.
"Who is it?"
I responded to the voice.
Figuring out who they were came first.
Fortunately, they answered promptly.
"We're from the Phoenix Guild."
Phoenix Guild?
A completely unexpected visitor.
Why would the Phoenix Guild come to me?
'Not about the monster wave, I hope?'
The monster wave Azmo had caused last time.
The dungeon where it erupted was one the Phoenix Guild had been managing.
The problem was that I'd moved the dungeon after the wave ended.
With the wave-origin dungeon vanishing, the government had grilled the Phoenix Guild relentlessly.
The media kept reporting on them, and the public pointed fingers.
They'd even been framed as traitors trying to destroy the nation.
Since I was the cause of the dungeon's disappearance, it made me uneasy.
Surely not here for revenge?
'But they couldn't have linked it to me.'
That much, at least, I was certain.
Then why come to my house?
As various thoughts raced through my mind, another voice spoke up.
"Yi Kang-hyun, it's me."
A woman's voice.
"I'm Jeong Ye-rin. Do you remember me?"
Jeong Ye-rin?
I'd heard the name before.
And the voice felt familiar from somewhere.
But unfortunately, I couldn't recall who she was.
"We met at a cafe last time..."
As I stayed silent, she mentioned the specific location: a cafe.
'A cafe...'
Then it clicked who she was.
I'd only gone to a cafe once since returning to Earth.
And how could I forget that peculiar person?
She had approached me out of the blue and handed me a Phoenix Guild business card.
Then said thanks and left abruptly.
In short, a weird woman.
I considered ignoring her, but opened the door anyway.
Maru and the gargoyle were home. If they tried anything funny, we could handle it.
This house was practically a dungeon now.
"Indeed."
After the meeting ended, Celia nodded while handling her duties.
Master had just issued a command.
"Using the kingdom to manage the mountains, right?"
But Celia didn't take the order at face value.
The great one wouldn't simply command them to manage the mountains plainly.
There must be a hidden true intent.
This was a test.
"Manage the mountains..."
It surely wasn't just about plain management.
"Maybe hide the dungeon?"
She soon shook her head. That couldn't be it.
Hiding the dungeon would eliminate intruders.
No intruders meant no sacrifices for Master.
That was absolutely unacceptable.
"Won't do. Bring the map."
Celia ordered the skeleton knight serving as her attendant to fetch a map of the continent.
"Tak!"
It was an adventurers' exclusive map obtained through Queen Irene.
A map marking even the Demon Realm, inaccessible to low-rank adventurers.
"Hm..."
Celia pondered as she stared at the map.
There had to be profound meaning behind it.
After gazing at the mountains for a while, enlightenment struck her.
"Ah!"
Currently, three nations bordered the mountains on the continent.
Excluding the Sail Kingdom, only the Free City Alliance and the Kalrn Empire remained.
And the nation closest to the Sail Kingdom was the Free City Alliance.
"That's what managing the mountains means!"
This was the signal to prepare.
To prepare for conquering the nearby Free City Alliance.
"That must be it."
Having grasped the great Master's intent once more today, Celia couldn't hide her pride.