Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Lieutenant Celia's Loyalty
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I sat in the cafe, sipping my coffee and enjoying a moment of leisure.
The smartphone in my hand was busy running the game screen.
One thing I'd realized while playing this game so far.
Celia was definitely a capable one.
'This must be due to her lieutenant stats, right?'
Even if I left the game idle, it developed the dungeon on its own.
It even increased the number of monsters stationed in the dungeon.
'Good call setting Celia as my lieutenant.'
No matter how much it was just a game, how could you not adore a subordinate who worked that hard?
"She'll handle this mission perfectly on her own."
The content I'd played this time was sending support to another dungeon. And I'd sent Celia there.
The place I sent support to was near the mountain range where my dungeon was located.
There was a reason I'd chosen a nearby dungeon.
'I need to know what kind of guys might come invading in the future.'
Any user playing this game had to have that kind of intel.
That way, you could respond to any situation.
My current dungeon was located in the Sail Kingdom's mountain range. It was also adjacent to the Demon Realm.
But a nearby dungeon was requesting help?
That meant something had happened around here.
As a fellow dungeon in the same region, I naturally needed to know what it was.
"Might as well have some cake while I wait."
I set my smartphone down on the table and turned my gaze to the cake.
My most reliable lieutenant, Celia.
With her dispatched, the outcome was obvious even without checking.
What would it feel like to have such competent subordinates?
At least you wouldn't have to micromanage everything.
Ding-
Sure enough, an alert popped up right away.
'That's right.'
The strategy would change depending on what came out of that conversation.
Now, dig up the info on why they asked for help.
Celia, you got this!
What the hell is this?
Wasn't this supposed to be support for a dungeon?
I definitely dispatched her to help, so what was this?
Was what I was doing not support, but conquest?
I double-checked just in case, and yes, it was dungeon support.
This content of helping other dungeons had instantly turned into one that expanded my dungeon's forces.
"Was she always like this?"
The Celia in my mind was smart and obedient.
Ah, was this the feeling of a father watching his daughter hit puberty?
Well, it could happen.
She needed a quirky side now and then.
Being too consistent would get boring.
These irregular events might actually make Celia's character stand out in three dimensions.
She'd done so well up until now, so I'd let it slide.
You couldn't go too straight-laced in one direction.
'Speaking of straight-laced, that'd be the Death Knight.'
The Death Knight, my first 5-star pull.
After that, the Death Knight was... well...
He had this solid image of silently defending the dungeon without much presence.
He was probably still quietly guarding the dungeon right now.
Ding-
"......"
Ha... what?
Was I the one who couldn't keep up with the game now?
Why had the Death Knight left the dungeon instead of guarding it?
Even if his restrictions were lifted and he could go outside, I hadn't given any such order.
At least with Celia, I'd dispatched her myself.
The Death Knight had straight-up gone AWOL, left the dungeon, and conquered another one.
"Jeez..."
That meant my dungeon had been defenseless for that time.
Sure, there was the Goblin Lord, but what if something unstoppable had come?
'Is this how they balance difficulty with these wild twists?'
It worked out in the end, so whatever.
But I'd have to pay more attention to this from now on.
Right on cue, an alert said Celia had submitted her report.
I tapped it immediately to check.
"Hm."
From what I could see, the gist was this.
The Goblin Shaman had requested help because Holy Knights had been increasing in the area lately.
'Holy Knights?'
On the Eldorado Continent, Holy Knights only came from the White Church.
But the Church controlled the southern region of the continent, while my dungeon was in the Sail Kingdom's mountains.
The Sail Kingdom was in the north, so the distance from the Church was enormous.
And now Holy Knights were operating in the mountains, not even the kingdom proper?
'Why come all the way here?'
I kept reading Celia's report.
With Holy Knights appearing nearby, she asked how to handle encounters with them.
Oh.
Once again, I was impressed by Celia.
She really was competent.
'Holy Knights, huh...'
If it were yesterday, I'd have ordered their extermination without hesitation.
But that nagging doubt from earlier made me hesitate.
It might just be my imagination. Still, my mood had cooled on giving such an order.
Instead of multiple choices like last time, commands were entered by directly typing.
I tapped the screen and typed out the message letter by letter.
I finished typing the command and was about to hit confirm when a thought struck me.
"Offerings, right?"
The game had notified me twice so far that offerings had been made.
And both targets were humans.
I added one more line to the command.
I hadn't paid attention to offerings until now.
So this time, I ordered an artifact instead of a living being.
Just to test it.
"Ha..."
Even I thought it was ridiculous.
But to shake off my unease, this was the right call.
I hit the final confirm button.
The "good job" was just to make myself feel better.
Didn't it feel like I was really giving orders to a subordinate?
Before closing the game, I went into the shop.
And purchased 20,000 gems.
That was a whopping 220,000 won in cash worth of gems.
This game was unique in that it developed the dungeon on its own even without me, consuming gems in the process.
"This should hold me for a bit."
I'd be busy again soon.
My A-rank trait, Mana Sensitivity.
Sensing mana still felt alien.
So I needed time to adapt.
I planned to train a bit over the next few days for that.
Once I fully made the trait my own and picked up a suitable skill, the rest of my life would be smooth sailing.
I closed the game with visions of a bright future.
"Time to head home."
I'd finished my coffee and cake.
As I started to get up...
"Excuse me."
Someone called out to me.
I turned to see a woman approaching my side.
What was this situation?
I set my smartphone down and just stared at her silently.
When I didn't say anything, she quickly greeted me.
"I'm Ye-rin Jeong, a hunter from the Phoenix Guild."
She introduced herself, revealing her name.
And handed me a business card.
It had the Phoenix Guild logo and Ye-rin Jeong's name printed on it.
"Ah, sure. I'm Yi Kang-hyun. No card on me."
I introduced myself in kind.
I had no guild, so just my name.
But after the intro, she went silent for a while.
"......"
What the hell? What did she want?
I couldn't figure out why she'd come over to introduce herself.
Did I make too much noise playing the game?
Whether that was it or not, the woman kept staring at me.
I had no idea what was going on.
But in a situation like this, I couldn't show weakness.
It was a world where only the strong survived.
I stared back at her.
With a confident, slightly arrogant expression.
A moment later...
"Well, thanks. You've solved my dilemma."
The woman muttered something incomprehensible and stood up.
"If it works out, I'll come find you again."
"?"
What situation had I just gone through?
I couldn't understand why she'd said that and left.
One thing was clear: she'd ordered me a slice of marble cake before going.
"What the...? No clue."
She seemed like the dangerous type to keep at a distance.
"Ye-rin Jeong, huh..."
I'd remember that name.
As someone to stay away from.
Celia gazed at the dungeon with a satisfied expression.
She had successfully carried out her master's command.
"This much is only natural."
She was his faithful servant.
It was her duty to succeed at any command, no exceptions.
Failure didn't exist.
"As expected of such a great one."
At first, Celia had racked her brain to understand her master's intent.
Busy conquering nearby dungeons, and suddenly an order to provide support?
She'd had a moment of doubt, but it was her master's command.
She intended to help the specified dungeon as ordered.
But thinking it over, would her master have given such a simple order?
He wouldn't have sent her if that were the case.
From then on, Celia pondered deeply.
What was her master's true intention?
Eventually, she reached a conclusion.
'The order to support another dungeon meant to rescue it from dire straits.'
Rescue meant her master's mercy.
Mercy meant entering her master's embrace.
In Celia's mind, already...
Help another dungeon = Join our dungeon.
This bizarre equation was established.
"I understand perfectly, Master!"
As expected of such a great being!
"Today too, I feel like I've gotten one step closer to you, Master!"
She had also reported the conversation with the Goblin Shaman to her master.
'Holy Knights are indeed tricky foes.'
The Goblin Shaman had said as much.
Lately, Holy Knights had appeared in the mountains.
He didn't know their purpose.
But anyone could tell their intentions weren't good.
As lieutenant, Celia had a duty to ask her master how to deal with them.
Her master's response was as follows.
"I truly feel my own shortcomings in the face of Master's profound wisdom."
He'd ordered mercy and leniency toward the Holy Knights.
Mercy meant his embrace.
Even if they were from the Church, Master intended to embrace them.
And the final word, "eternal life," caught Celia's attention.
"You mean turn them into ghouls!"
They could live eternally in comfort within Master's embrace.
She muttered that she'd need to collaborate with Mr. Death Knight on this.
This was the moment the Holy Knights' fate was decided.
"As for artifacts..."
A great being deserved artifacts of equal caliber.
She couldn't just offer any old artifact because he'd said "artifact."
"I'll procure a legendary-grade artifact! Please wait, Master."
Today too, Celia faithfully followed her master's commands.