Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Celia's Judgment (2)
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"What a cute gift."
The shadows moved at Celia's gesture. It was because the succubus race's charm had taken hold.
Gulron was stunned to see the shadows following her as if they had been her pets from the start.
At the same time, he felt a wave of relief.
'Was charm supposed to have that much power?'
Succubi were commonly known as beings that drained humans' essence through dreams.
And at a higher level, they could draw in targets using their allure even outside of dreams. That was charm.
But its power was impressive only in dreams; in reality, it barely worked.
Only veteran high-ranking succubi who had long preyed on human essence, or a succubus queen, could pull off what this succubus before him was doing.
'Is she really a succubus queen?'
But Gulron shook his head.
'No, she seems like an even higher existence than a queen.'
He was shocked that the succubus in front of him possessed such an elevated presence.
And he praised himself for not charging straight at her but surrendering immediately, thinking how fortunate he was.
'I nearly got myself killed.'
Had he made her an enemy, he would have fallen helplessly to her charm, just like the shadows.
A chill ran through him, making his whole body tremble.
Look at her now.
She was a being above even the 5-star vampire Baalcherit that the Merchant Guild was wary of—Celia, the succubus.
In other words, for Gulron, who had lost his connections in the Guild, this was a lifeline he had to grasp.
Not just any lifeline, but a golden one.
He didn't even need confirmation.
"S-So... you'll take me in? Please, spare my life."
He was a section chief in the Guild's audit team, after all.
Gulron emphasized this point to highlight his usefulness.
In the process, he had already spilled everything about the current situation to Celia.
About how the Guild was uncomfortable with the growing power of the dungeon she managed lately. And how the Guild planned to intervene to resolve it.
But Celia showed no particular reaction to Gulron's words. She simply stared at the shadows.
As she remained silent, Gulron grew anxious.
'Please, say something!'
She might not care, but he was in a hurry.
He had even bet his life on this, so his fate felt like a sandcastle ready to crumble at any moment.
If only she would give him firm assurance that she would accept him, he could relax—but she offered no answer.
"……."
How much time passed like that?
Finally, Celia spoke.
"Well, fine. Since you brought me such a gift, I'll show mercy just this once. But in return..."
Celia raised her hand and plucked a single strand of her hair.
"Feed this to that section chief."
"Pardon?"
What kind of nonsense was this all of a sudden?
'Feed my hair to the section chief?'
No, why feed it to him in the first place?
And even if he tried, how could he force someone to eat hair?
It was a flawed premise from the start.
Gulron looked at Celia with a bewildered expression.
"Oh, don't worry, Gulron. I've asked the shadows to handle it."
Celia smiled sweetly and handed the strand of hair to a shadow.
The shadow received Celia's hair reverently with both hands.
As if handling something precious, the shadows treated it with utmost care.
"The shadows will take care of it, so you just wait, Gulron."
Celia gestured toward the shadows.
Their presences vanished in an instant.
Like smoke scattering away.
"Graaaah!"
Moltis, the section chief of the Demon Realm Merchant Guild's audit team.
The owl-like demon was screaming.
He had been handling paperwork in his office just moments ago.
Then shadows appeared out of nowhere.
This was strange.
He had assigned those shadows to Section Chief Gulron...
That thought didn't last.
The shadows were restraining him, not attacking.
And stuffing something strange into his mouth.
Fortunately, as an owl-headed Moltis, his mouth was beak-like.
Thanks to that, he could resist a little, but only for a moment. Soon, he succumbed to the shadows' strength and had no choice but to open his mouth.
He had no idea why the shadows assigned to Gulron were grabbing him.
What was certain was that his hands were held by shadows, and another was prying open his mouth.
"Grk..."
Moltis's mouth was forced open.
The shadows shoved the hair they had received from Celia deep into his gaping maw.
"Cough, cough."
Moltis began coughing from the foreign substance in his mouth.
After a few futile resistances, he swallowed what had been forced inside.
"……."
Eh?
What just happened?
Who am I?
What was I doing?
Right, now I remember.
I'm Moltis.
A section chief at the Demon Realm Merchant Guild.
But why are the shadows here?
"……."
Ah!
That's right.
I forget sometimes, don't I?
I need to carry out Lady Celia's command.
"……."
Moltis naturally returned to his seat.
He had work to do for his master, Lady Celia.
He had never met her in person, but her presence was always felt within him.
This was surely loyalty.
"Tsk, to think I handled things so poorly."
She would be so disappointed if she knew.
Moltis checked the documents on his desk and discarded them all.
Then he began drafting new ones.
- Regarding the merger of the recent 26 dungeons, here are the investigation results I wish to share.
There are no disadvantages to our Guild; rather, the dungeon's owner has been very cooperative with our instructions...
Moltis diligently prepared his report.
"Oh, I nearly forgot again. The only one who knows about this matter is my superior, Director Kaisen. He's been troubled lately by enemies within the Guild."
Moltis spilled all the information he knew, even adding unnecessary personal opinions.
"I hope this proves helpful to her."
As soon as his words ended, the shadows vanished.
And the next day, the Demon Realm Merchant Guild was turned upside down.
News spread that Kaisen, one of the directors, had taken his own life.
Of course, as he wasn't a top executive, the matter was quickly buried.
"What a shame, Director."
Moltis muttered over his coffee upon hearing the news.
"That's why you shouldn't upset her."
Gulron naturally returned to the audit team at the Guild and resumed his duties.
But the atmosphere felt off somehow.
It was because of Section Chief Moltis.
'What did she do to the chief?'
The chief's personality had completely changed.
Gulron hadn't even finished the tasks the chief had assigned, yet there was no mention of it.
It felt like the chief didn't care at all.
'Is this actually a good thing?'
In the end, it was a situation Gulron could laugh off.
He had returned to the Guild without issue, and he no longer needed to beg the succubus for his life.
"That said..."
One lingering doubt was why she had let him go so easily.
"I wonder how things are really going..."
It felt like a dream.
Maybe none of this was a dream?
He pondered briefly, then brushed it off.
Good was good.
No need to overthink and give himself a headache—just focus on work.
He stepped outside for some fresh air.
Subordinates were already out there.
"Hm..."
Seeing them made Gulron's mouth itch to talk.
He couldn't help wanting to share his experiences.
Especially about the succubus he had seen.
She was undoubtedly a being of immense stature.
Normally, he should report it to the Guild, but he feared her potential retaliation.
So he chose to spread rumors instead.
Gulron slyly approached the group of subordinates.
"Oh, Section Chief. Good morning?"
One greeted him.
"Uh... yeah. Good morning."
He couldn't recall the employee's name.
Probably not someone he paid much attention to. Actually, closer to a new face.
Ah, a newbie maybe.
But he hadn't heard about any new hires.
Come to think of it, all the employees here were unfamiliar faces.
He felt awkwardly out of place.
'People from another department?'
As Gulron tried to slip away from the group,
"By the way, Section Chief Gulron, did you have something to say?"
Someone called him back.
"Huh?"
Gulron turned around.
"Looks like you've had some unusual experience?"
Gulron brightened at that.
He needed someone to kick off the conversation anyway.
"You think so?"
He cleared his throat.
"Well, about what happened to me..."
Stories poured from Gulron's mouth.
"Come on, no way. Taking down 26 dungeons? In such a short time?"
"It's true! That's why the chief chewed me out."
"And the dungeon owner is some succubus queen-level being? Who let you go just like that? You're exaggerating."
The employees laughed and chatted.
"No, really!"
Gulron grew frustrated as they refused to believe him.
So he explained in more detail.
From start to finish.
As he spoke, Gulron suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
Eh?
The surroundings had gone quiet.
No, not suddenly.
He had been talking alone for a while.
Gulron looked around.
All the employees stood there with blank expressions.
Then their eyes began rolling wildly.
"Gasp!"
Their eyes all fixed on Gulron.
Their mouths opened.
They spoke in unison, but it was a single voice.
"My, Gulron. I told you my mercy was only once."
Eh?
It was a familiar voice.
The succubus Celia's voice.
'No way...'
As Gulron snapped to his senses, the Guild scenery vanished.
And a familiar landscape appeared.
The dungeon that had merged 26 others in record time.
The one managed by the succubus.
"How was the dream? Sweet?"
Celia smiled ahead of him.
Gulron was in the dungeon.
To be precise, he had never left it in the first place.
"Did I seem like a joke to you?"
"No..."
Gulron despaired.
"No! That was a mistake!"
But Gulron had squandered Celia's one offer of mercy.
"Gaaaaah!"
Gulron's screams echoed through the dungeon.
It was Celia's judgment on the one who had thrown away his single chance.