Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Snake's Jealousy (2)
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“...That’s how it happened!”
3-star Orc, Skol.
He also led the dungeon ‘Red-Headed Tribe’.
Skol had shared various stories with the Arc Lich.
Among them were events from before arriving at the social gathering.
A few days prior, the guild’s representative had visited Skol’s dungeon and handed him an invitation.
And not just him—every dungeon under General Manager Celia’s command had received one as well.
Especially noteworthy was the proposal that, upon attending the social gathering, the guild would take responsibility for protecting their dungeons.
But Skol had rejected the guild’s offer.
The reason was simple.
“I’m a warrior! I can never forgive entrusting my tribe to another’s hands! It goes against a warrior’s honor!”
One must protect their own territory themselves.
Skol believed handing it over to others was no way for a warrior to live.
“And we’re all strong!”
Nod.
The Arc Lich nodded in agreement at Skol’s words.
It was true.
Thinking about it, the Arc Lich had no worries whatsoever about intruders.
If anything, he should be praying for the souls of those who dared enter his dungeon.
In fact, after receiving the social gathering invitation, Celia’s first action had been to bolster the dungeon’s defenses.
She had expanded the defense perimeter even further.
The goblin scouts’ patrol range now extended beyond the General Manager’s dungeon to the surrounding forests of the four subordinate dungeons.
“......”
Even reconsidering it now, there were no issues at all.
As the Arc Lich fell into thought, Skol brought up another topic.
“By the way, Arc Lich! Since we’ve met here, it must be fate—let me introduce one of my tribesmen!”
Skol introduced another orc standing beside him.
“This is one of my tribesmen, ‘Mallox’! He’s the most reliable strategist in our tribe!”
Mallox had red hair just like Skol.
Skol bared his fangs in a grin, proudly boasting about his tribesman.
In truth, Mallox was Skol’s most loyal subordinate and effectively his chief advisor.
“Pleased to meet you! Name’s Mallox!”
Mallox extended his hand with a straightforward greeting.
The Arc Lich grasped the offered hand without a change in expression.
“?”
But something felt off after the handshake.
Clack?
A gold coin had somehow appeared in the Arc Lich’s hand.
“I hear you’re always busy serving the great ruler! This is a modest gift in appreciation.”
Mallox said that and stepped back.
The Arc Lich silently watched Mallox’s retreating figure.
Then Skol extended his hand for a handshake as well.
The result was the same as before.
After shaking hands with Skol, a gold coin was now in the Arc Lich’s palm.
“See you later, Arc Lich!”
Clack!
As Skol and Mallox withdrew, the Arc Lich immediately opened his notebook.
He began recording in the thick notebook with a fountain pen.
- Skol and Mallox show exceptional loyalty to the great master.
In recognition of this loyalty, no inspections of the ‘Red-Headed Tribe’ dungeon will be conducted for the time being.
Mallox, the so-called strategist.
Just by looking at him, the Arc Lich could tell.
Skol’s dungeon was being run so impeccably that inspections weren’t even necessary.
This had nothing to do with the gold coins.
With things as they were, the Arc Lich decided to meet the lords of the other dungeons as well.
There were four dungeons under Celia.
[Red-Headed Tribe]
[Sticky Pool]
[Demon Realm Scraps]
[Fog-Shrouded Village]
He had just met Skol.
Excluding the ‘Red-Headed Tribe’ dungeon, three remained.
The Arc Lich nodded.
Up to two representatives from each dungeon could attend the social gathering.
That meant six more monsters were present besides Skol and Mallox.
As an inspector, he had the authority to meet them.
Clack!
At the Arc Lich’s sound, a nearby skeleton immediately rose from its seat.
It picked up the Arc Lich’s notebook from the table.
That’s right.
This was the skeleton who had first offered a diamond to the Arc Lich when the banquet began.
They say life is all about timing.
By being the first to present a diamond, it had enlightened the Arc Lich.
For that single reason, it had become the Arc Lich’s right-hand skeleton for the duration of the social gathering.
Clack clack!
(Let’s go!)
Clack clack clack!
(Understood!)
The Arc Lich and the skeleton’s banquet had only just begun.
* * *
In one corner of the banquet hall, someone sat alone.
Her eyes had lost their light, and a dark expression shrouded her face.
Her golden hair had long since lost its luster, and instead of an elegant dress, a tattered cloak in places revealed her pitiful state.
Fear and anxiety made her body tremble.
Her wretchedness didn’t end there.
The bright light from the ceiling chandelier highlighted the scars etched into her skin.
“Haa...”
Her name was Baalcherit, and she let out a sigh.
A 5-star vampire.
High-ranking demon blood flowed through her veins, yet her current appearance was utterly miserable.
“Where did it all go wrong...?”
Baalcherit muttered weakly.
Once, she had lived a life others envied.
Fresh blood appeared on her table every day without effort.
Forces gathered under her name as a high-ranking demon without her lifting a finger.
Before long, she commanded enough power to be called the Vampire Queen.
Adventurers dared not touch her domain, and even the Demon Realm Merchant Guild treaded carefully.
It was a life fit for a queen.
But that joy didn’t last.
“The White Church...”
The sole church on the continent, the White Church.
Suddenly, they began purging vampires with holy knights at the forefront.
She didn’t know why.
But day by day, the church grew bolder, and her forces dwindled.
Countless vampires loyal to her perished.
As their numbers fell, her dungeons began to crumble one by one.
Her vast empire eroded bit by bit until it reached the brink of collapse.
At that point, even her loyal vampires started abandoning her.
This collapse threatened Baalcherit’s very survival.
It presented the church with another opportunity.
Even as a 5-star, couldn’t they eliminate her now?
Of course, she knew.
If things continued this way, she wouldn’t last much longer.
That’s why she had been half-forced to attend this banquet.
“Kuh.”
Normally, she should be in her dungeon, devising strategies against the church.
But the situation was too dire.
She needed to buy even a little more time for her crumbling balance.
Attending this social gathering was one such desperate measure.
Participation meant the Demon Realm Merchant Guild would protect her dungeon.
In the end, Baalcherit had been reduced to begging for the guild’s aid.
And word spread quickly.
That’s why no one approached her at the banquet now.
No one wanted to associate with someone already marked by the church.
Except for one person.
“Lady Baalcherit?”
A man in a tailored suit approached the despairing woman.
Sleek black suit, neatly groomed hair.
Black glasses and black shoes.
From head to toe, he was clad in black.
The man adjusted his black glasses and pulled out a document.
“Just sign here, and the contract is complete. This is our final courtesy to you.”
His voice was flat and emotionless.
Like a being devoid of feelings.
The document he offered Baalcherit was a contract.
「Dungeon Management Rights Transfer Agreement」
The man’s name was Serinu.
A demon affiliated with the Demon Realm Merchant Guild.
He tempted her once more with a honeyed tone.
“Don’t you want to rest now, Lady Baalcherit? Why not entrust everything to our guild and live comfortably?”
His slight smile was the whisper of a devil.
Literally, since he was a demon—but Baalcherit knew better.
The moment she signed that contract, she’d become nothing more than the guild’s puppet.
She’d manage the dungeon at their command, alter directives per their guidelines—a nominal owner in name only.
In exchange for becoming a figurehead, the guild would resolve her current crisis.
“......”
Baalcherit bit her lip in silence.
‘...Sneaky bastards.’
If they had the power, why not help her now?
But the guild stood firm.
No deals without her signature and the transfer of management rights.
Baalcherit could do nothing but glare at Serinu.
The guild was endlessly lenient with the strong but merciless to the weak.
And right now, she was the weak one.
All she could manage was a feeble response.
“Just... give me a little more time...”
Demon Serinu merely adjusted his glasses and smiled.
Baalcherit didn’t have much time left anyway.
Without signing, she had no way to turn things around.
Her extermination by the church was only a matter of time.
Knowing this, the guild could afford to be patient.
She was the one in a hurry; a bit more time, and she’d bow her head on her own.
“You know time is short, right? We’ll await good news soon. Baalcherit.”
He’d called her ‘Lady’ until moments ago, but now just her name.
She was no longer even a client.
Such was the sorrow of the powerless.
As Serinu left, tears welled in Baalcherit’s eyes.
“Hic.”
Her situation looked so pathetic.
No solutions beyond that contract in sight.
Overwhelmed by her own helplessness, she wept.
‘I should have accepted that offer back then...’
A mysterious being of unknown power.
Such an entity had once extended a hand to her.
But she had rejected it outright.
Why toil serving another when life was plentiful without effort?
Especially galling was having a high-ranking demon like herself look down on by some nobody.
So she refused.
But that refusal now cut her to the bone.
What if.
What if she had accepted then?
If she had followed that being’s words, would the outcome be different now?
Perhaps her forces wouldn’t have crumbled.
Under a powerful entity, she might have gained immense strength herself.
She regretted that choice deeply.
“Please... please come back...”
Since then, she had developed a habit of muttering to the empty air.
What if that great being returned?
If given one more chance, she’d grovel like a dog.
Wail and beg.
Offer everything she had.
But reality was cruel.
That miracle never returned.
With a hollow expression, she stared at the contract the demon had left.
Time was truly running out.
* * *
“Any updates on the investigation?”
Serinu, the guild-affiliated demon.
Leaving Baalcherit behind, he addressed his subordinate.
At Serinu’s question, a small winged lesser demon spoke up.
“We’ve sent monsters to scout that dungeon. You’ll have results soon.”
Serinu had issued one order.
Investigate the dungeon currently the talk of the guild.
A dungeon owned by a mere succubus, yet its trade volume with the guild was overwhelming.
The handler was reportedly grinning from ear to ear.
But Serinu sensed something off.
A newborn dungeon, barely established.
Yet inexplicably flush with cash.
Worse, its information was shrouded in mystery.
The audit report had come from the inspection team.
But something felt wrong.
He couldn’t shake the suspicion that they’d reported only partial intel.
The succubus owner’s rank was unknown, and notably, she hadn’t appeared at this social gathering.
“Definitely suspicious.”
The situation struck Serinu as too peculiar.
And one detail in particular bothered him.
‘A 5-star standing in for the succubus.’
The monster who came in the owner’s stead was the Arc Lich.
Its rank: a whopping 5 stars.
‘Does that mean the owner is 6 stars?’
Serinu shook his head.
Unlikely.
Maybe in the depths of the demon realm, but no 6-star existed in the human world that he’d heard of.
The succubus queen herself, in hiding, was only 5 stars.
No way another succubus outranked her.
‘Though dungeon owners aren’t always high rank...’
Then a hypothesis struck Serinu.
‘No way.’
And it was highly plausible.
‘What if the succubus isn’t the real owner...?’
What if the succubus was mere propaganda?
What if the true master was that Arc Lich?
It made perfect sense.
A mere subordinate like the Arc Lich couldn’t strut around like that otherwise.
A sinister smile crept across Serinu’s face.
‘They tried the same old trick.’
Daring to deceive him and the guild.
Outrageous.
He wanted to land a solid blow on that Arc Lich.
The price for deceiving the guild would be paid in full.
How to go about it?
After a moment’s thought, Serinu gave an order to his subordinate.
“Summon Arcaneya.”
Arcaneya, owner of a dungeon attending this social gathering.
A monster with a serpentine lower body, currently seething with jealousy toward the Arc Lich.
Her spotlight had been dimmed by him.
‘The snake’s jealousy.’
A snake denied the heavens becomes terrifying.
Snakes pursue and crush their object of envy to the end.
“Tell her we’ll share a way to beat the Arc Lich in the next event. She’ll come running.”
And so, Serinu decided to exploit Arcaneya’s jealousy.