Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Futile Plan of the Jealous One
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Clack.
A sound like bones clattering came from beside me.
"Uh, yeah... Thanks?"
In the game—no, in the reality hidden within the smartphone disguised as a game.
A skeleton soldier had emerged from there.
Right now, it had just pulled a drink from the fridge and handed it to me.
Then it started mopping the floor again.
Originally, I'd tried to send it back because it was too conspicuous at first.
At the altar's current low level, sending it back was impossible.
It wasn't the right time to upgrade the altar either, so there was no way to send it back.
The good news was that the skeleton soldier was extremely polite.
It followed my every command to the letter.
House cleaning was a given, and now it was even fetching drinks for me without me moving. Maybe there was no need to send it back after all.
"Can you bring more, by any chance?"
A spark of curiosity hit me.
"Tch."
Whenever I try something, it doesn't work.
I took a sip of the drink the skeleton soldier had given me and focused on my smartphone.
My goal was, of course, to check if my dungeon was running smoothly.
The game logo appeared on the screen.
I tapped to bring up Celia first.
"Yeah, that outfit looks great on her. Makes me proud."
I'd gone a bit heavy on the cash shop last time.
From that, the 'Miscellaneous Gacha' system popped up.
I spun the gacha right away, and one of the items was the outfit Celia was wearing now.
The red dress highlighted her charms even more than the maid uniform.
It was straight-up cheating.
Naturally, no one would wear the maid uniform anymore, so I'd planned to retrieve it, but Celia had timidly made a request.
The gist was whether she could handle the maid uniform's usage herself.
"Sure, do whatever you want, my Celia."
Her trust was already maxed out—what's a little request like that?
I remembered handing full authority over the maid uniform to Celia back then.
I didn't know where it was now, but Celia would handle it.
I stopped worrying and looked at other areas.
"But who is this?"
Since there was a person in front of Celia for the first time, I clicked on it.
"Aren?"
The name appeared, but there was no detailed explanation.
It felt similar to the merchant who'd visited the dungeon before.
"Must be an outsider like a merchant."
She was talking to Celia anyway, so I decided not to interfere.
I tapped to the next sector.
First, Sector 1.
The Death Knight stood out immediately there.
With that massive shield on its back, it looked incredibly reliable.
And there was another newcomer here too.
"What's this one?"
I'd seen the dullahan before, but there was something else besides it.
"Why's a Holy Knight here?"
It was even acting like it was guarding the dungeon.
I pondered why a Holy Knight was guarding the dungeon.
"Ah, Banshee, got it."
The Banshee's ability was mind control.
Looked like one Holy Knight had fallen to her.
Holy Knights were supposedly resistant to Banshees, but her powers must be exceptional.
"Maybe I should form a Banshee squad at this rate."
I'd decide after checking gacha results later.
After confirming Sector 1, I scanned the rest sector by sector.
"Nothing unusual."
The goblins were all inside their huts, so they weren't visible.
I should upgrade those huts sometime...
Sector 3 had a wide field blooming with flowers.
Vampire Butterflies fluttered above them.
A creepy spider lurked in the corner—nothing wrong here either.
Sector 4 was peaceful too.
The newly summoned nagas were probably in the water, out of sight, and goblins were sporadically drawing water.
"This should be fine for a while."
Gem purchases weren't available yet anyway.
After checking all dungeon sectors, I hit the exit button.
Then I handed the smartphone to the guy beside me.
"Charge."
At my word, the waiting skeleton soldier plugged it into the charger.
Convenient.
I kept thinking it, but there was no real need to send it back.
"Maybe there's a way to make use of it?"
Like in the dungeon, for example.
"Hmm..."
Let me think.
The Adventurer's Guild was buzzing with activity.
Specifically, the one in the Sail Kingdom.
Even without the usual crowd of adventurers, the staff were rushing around frantically.
There was one reason.
A Heretic Inquisitor from the church was scheduled to visit.
A priest had gone missing recently—right here in the Sail Kingdom.
So the White Church had decided to dispatch a Heretic Inquisitor.
"Check quickly! Any dungeons entered under the church's name recently? Or places that haven't been cleared in a while?"
The branch chief hurried around, prodding the staff.
Then someone responded to the chief's urging.
"Chief!"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Look at this."
He snatched the documents the staffer had found and scanned them.
"Hmm..."
It was a dungeon that had been downgraded from bronze to iron rank.
A silver-rank adventurer had recently accepted a request for it.
The problem: no contact since.
"This is..."
Normally, the guild would investigate internally, but given the circumstances...
The inquisitors' raid was just a matter of time.
They'd be too busy dealing with the church then.
"Smooth it over appropriately. But bump the dungeon rank to silver."
"Understood."
And so, the rank of the dungeon 'Nest of the Evil God' was reset.
Molu's performance at the Demon Realm Merchant Guild was improving daily.
Most called it a rebellion by the guild's lowliest half-breed succubus.
And someone else was jealous of her skyrocketing success.
Molu's superior, Juwell.
After all, wasn't Juwell the one who'd assigned her that dungeon in the first place—the very reason for Molu's rise?
Right now, Juwell was clutching her head at her desk.
"Why did I give her that one?!"
Juwell had always seen Molu as a thorn in her side.
Unlike pure succubi like herself, Molu was a half-human hybrid.
It disgusted her to share space with someone of such tainted blood.
Then a dungeon requested trade with the guild.
Most dungeons couldn't sustain themselves and relied on the guild for growth.
From the guild's perspective, the top priority was whether the dungeon had trading power.
To Juwell back then, the requesting dungeon seemed poor.
It was a brand-new one she'd never seen.
So she tossed it to Molu.
Assigning a dungeon to a merchant in the guild was no small matter.
Once assigned, it couldn't be changed lightly.
Exceptions: the dungeon master requests a change, or the dungeon is cleared.
Otherwise, you stuck with it to the end.
So the merchant's competence mattered.
Merchants had wide discretion in trades.
If a dungeon lacked funds, they'd offer credit against management rights—also at the merchant's discretion.
Of course, this was possible only when the dungeon was doing quite well; it was impossible for a newly born dungeon.
Juwell went futher to think Molu might easily offer credit.
It was the first dungeon she took on, and judging by her character, she guessed that Molu would do so even then.
So, the credit continued to increase, and she imagined Molu eventually falling into ruin.
But everything became a mere bubble due to one single variable.
"I never thought it would be so wealthy..."
The problem was that the dungeon she had thrown to Molu had been incredibly wealthy..
So, Molu's performance must have soared like that.
Moreover, Molu was growing into a figure with wings attached to her performance, catching the eyes of the higher-ups at the market.
"This can't go on."
Did someone with such lowly blood dare to place themselves above her?
Juwell did not want such a situation.
So she hatched her own plan.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked.
"Come in."
At Juwell's permission, the door opened, and a small imp entered.
"Did you check what I asked?"
"Yes—Lady Juwell!"
At her words, the imp handed over documents with the findings.
"From nearby dungeons, the master of Molu's dungeon seems to be a succubus."
"A succubus?"
"Yes. But that dungeon's been conquering nearby ones lately."
Scanning the documents confirmed it: they'd been clearing local dungeons.
Juwell smiled at the imp's report.
The dungeon master was a succubus.
Focused on conquest and expansion.
Why would a succubus aim to expand a dungeon?
Regardless of the reason, it was an opportunity for Juwell.
First, the dungeons targeted for subjugation all had low grades.
They must have chosen only those at their level.
She was only picking on equals.
Originally, it is a rule not to touch opponents of a higher rank than oneself.
Secondly, all dungeons are originally customers of the Demon Realm guilds.
Conquering them hurt guild profits.
Sure, Molu's success via this dungeon meant no direct interference, but it was still a challenge to the guild.
"You don't even know the fear of the guild's might."
Juwell thought that she should show an example to this owner of the dungeon..
"A succubus, huh..."
As a succubus herself, Juwell knew well.
Succubi lived in groups.
All existing succubus dungeons were monitored in the demon realm.
Yet this new dungeon's master was a succubus?
She likely had no ties to the succubus queen or even acquaintances.
Just some rich nobody.
"You've done well. You're dismissed."
"Yes!"
Juwell smirked and infused mana into a small orb.
She was contacting someone.
"Hey, bro, doing well?"
As contact connected, her expression and tone shifted.
Like talking to a lover.
"Um, could you handle one little dungeon for me, bro?"
She called the other "bro."
He was an incubus.
Perfect for dealing with succubi.
That's why Juwell chose him.
Use the incubus to crush the dungeon master.
It'd go beyond that—utterly pathetic.
Molu, you're done.
Without the master, Molu's performance would tank.
Hurry up and come, that future.
Juwell could hardly wait.