Chapter 732: Forming an Alliance
Chapter 732: Forming an Alliance
“Hmph. It is decided. And one more thing. This one assumes you are already aware, but the information we are providing is to be kept secret from others. Ensure that it never leaks outside your clan. We cannot know what sort of hindrance it might become to fulfilling the Goddess's mission, and even if not, it would only lead to needlessly endangering those blinded by ambition.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. And… you are also a practitioner of magic, are you not? If so, would you be willing to stake your mana? It is not that this one does not trust you, but as this matter is related to the Goddess’s mission, this one wishes to be as cautious as possible.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Miriel immediately agreed to Diana’s subsequent condition, making a Pledge of Mana without the slightest hint of hesitation.
Even though she was a magic swordsman, she must value her mana as much as any mage.
Especially if her goal was purely to become stronger.
“Of course, this one is not asking you to stake your mana unilaterally. This one shall also pledge her mana…”
“No. I have no intention of committing such a discourtesy to the Supreme Archmage. It is fine. I trust you.”
Seeing this, Diana prepared to make her own Pledge of Mana, but Miriel shook her head, stopping her.
A Pledge of Mana was an act of staking one’s entire mana pool.
Forcing such an act upon the Supreme Archmage, an idol to all mages, was probably unthinkable.
Besides, no matter how ambiguous Miriel’s position as a magic warrior was, the fact remained that she had set foot on the path of a mage.
Though she didn’t cause a scene like the people from the Mage Association, Miriel might also idolize Diana just like other mages.
But even so, I got the impression that Miriel was trying too hard to reassure us.
No. Maybe it was just that once my mind was set on that idea, every single thing she did started to look that way.
“Is that so? Then let us speak of what is to come.”
Still, there was no reason to refuse the goodwill the other party was offering.
Perhaps having judged it so, Diana skipped the Pledge of Mana and moved on to the next topic.
“This one said we could go beyond the 6th Layer, but we do not know the exact path. As you are likely aware, we have not even set foot on the 5th Layer yet. We merely know how to find the way.”
“Yes. That is more than enough.”
After that opening, Diana told her everything we knew.
That the sub-layers were connected to each other, and that the key was the penis of a hidden male monster. And that by descending through the sub-layers, we should be able to go beyond the 6th Layer.
“Hmph. We have already confirmed the path up to the 4.5th Layer. Therefore, our immediate goal is the entrance to the 5.5th Layer. In other words, finding the male on the 4.5th Layer. Due to certain circumstances, we are unable to go to the 4.5th Layer for some time, but…”
“If you provide us with the penis, we will explore ahead of time to map the area and pinpoint the male’s location.”
As Diana deliberately trailed off, Miriel, her expression burning with the desire to start as soon as possible, answered immediately.
Of course, Diana must have trailed off with this very intention.
This was the whole reason we proposed a collaboration with the Arachne Clan in the first place.
“Hmm. Is that so? In that case, we shall hand over the key right away. You, give these people the male penguin’s… You. Come to think of it, did you get the penis when you fought the male last time?”
“No.”
If we handed over the penguin’s penis here, our negotiations with the Arachne Clan would be more or less concluded, but unfortunately, we didn’t have one right now.
It made sense, since last time, that thing died before I even had a chance to use my Saint skills.
We could just get another one when we go back later, so it would have been nice if we could give them the one we used to use, but that had long since been synthesized into Leia’s staff.
“……”
And Sara, who had played a decisive role in preventing us from getting the penis from the male last time, started staring off into the distance, as if she had a guilty conscience.
No one’s blaming you, so stop trying to act so obviously innocent.
“Well, since it’s come to this, I guess we have no choice but to go back and get one.”
“Is that so? We would like to explore the new area as soon as possible… Could we ask a favor of you? I know you just returned from the Dungeon, but I must insist.”
Ah, so the polite speech is only for Diana.
Well, she was kind of like this with me when we went to the 5th Layer together before.
And she even knows we just got back from the Dungeon.
No, wait. Considering the day we met Alicia in the Dungeon, it’s only natural for her to guess that we haven’t been back for long.
“Sure. We’re partners from now on. That’s no problem. If you want, we can go get one right now.”
No matter how dangerous my suspicions about her were, on the surface, we had established a cooperative relationship.
I replied lightly, making sure not to show any of my doubts on my face.
“No. Even so, I have no intention of making such a shameless request. I see. How about we depart tomorrow? We will also select people to accompany you so that we can receive the penis on-site and begin exploring immediately.”
But no matter how fixated Miriel was on going beyond the 6th Layer, it seemed she wasn’t thoughtless enough to ask us to go right back into the Dungeon after we had just returned.
Well, I didn’t think it would make much of a difference whether we went now or tomorrow.
“Then let’s do that.”
“I’m counting on you.”
As she said that and offered a handshake with a faint smile, Miriel didn’t look at all like someone harboring dangerous thoughts.
How should I put it? She looked upright, like a natural-born warrior, the kind you’d see as the righteous hero in a martial arts novel.
No. Since the Demon God's true identity is a Martial God, does being a natural-born warrior make her more dangerous?
Anyway, after that, we talked a little longer, coordinating the details of our future partnership, and then we were able to leave the Arachne Clan.
“But to go back to the Dungeon tomorrow… Guwon-ssi. Are you really going to be okay?”
“I’m fine. If anything, I felt like I hadn’t loosened up enough since we came back so quickly last time. If we make another round trip, it’ll be about the same amount of time we usually spend in the Dungeon, right?”
If the male penguin hasn’t respawned by then, we might have to hold out for a few more days, but spending a few days in the male’s room where no other monsters will attack is no big deal.
“Ah, of course, if you guys are tired, I can talk to them again and adjust…”
“No. We’re the ones who did nothing last time, so we’re fine.”
“Leia’s right. You suffered so much last time you looked like you were about to die. Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”
“I said I’m fine. As long as I have one day to rest properly, mana depletion and stamina depletion are meaningless to me. You know that, right?”
To reassure a worried Sara, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her tightly against my side.
Mmm. Nice. So nice. It feels strangely fresh to hold her like this since she’s wearing a skirt, unlike usual.
“Honestly, this pervert always finds a way to connect everything to that.”
Sara, realizing I was talking about Healing Sex, gave me a sharp glare and a scolding, but she didn’t try to remove my arm from her waist.
I think connecting everything to that is just something I have to do as a Saint.
“More importantly, Diana. You noticed too, right? Isn’t she a little dangerous?”
“Hmph. Indeed. It is still too early to make a rash judgment, but…”
“We’ll need to be careful.”
Finally, I was able to voice the doubts I’d been harboring about Miriel.
And at my words, not only Diana but also Matilda nodded with serious expressions.
It seemed Matilda had also sensed something dangerous in Miriel’s words.
Well, her position made her more sensitive to these things than anyone.
“For now, Alicia seemed to know more about why Miriel is so obsessed with going beyond the 6th Layer, so I don’t think we need to worry too much. The fact that Alicia knows probably means all the executives know. And it’s hard to believe all the executives would be in on something like that.”
It was true that when you thought about the members of the Arachne Clan’s executive board, many of them seemed like they would be obsessed with strength, but there were also those who didn’t seem that way at all.
Lutia-noonim was a prime example. There was also the bard-noonim.
“There was a Holy Knight there as well. Even if she operates independently from the church, it’s hard to believe she has abandoned her faith in the Goddess…”
Even as Matilda said this, her expression didn’t relax.
“So, if you realized she was that dangerous, why did you offer her those terms, Diana? You were even about to make a mana contract. Letting them accompany us when we fight a strong enemy… If, by some chance, that strong enemy is the Demon God and she betrays us at a critical moment, wouldn’t that make things even more dangerous?”
“Hm? Have you still not realized? This one thought you would have caught on immediately.”
At my follow-up question, Diana replied with a surprisingly nonchalant expression.
“What do you mean?”
“It was a play on words. Think carefully once more about what this one said.”
Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?
‘We shall permit you to accompany us when we must face the powerful foe we are anticipating.’
That’s definitely what Diana had said. If that was a play on words… ah, I see.
“It seems you have caught on. This one never specified what level of foe the ‘powerful foe we are anticipating’ would be. Even if the Demon God were to appear, this one could simply say it was not the level of foe we had in mind. Besides, to keep this one’s word, we would have to know in advance that we would be facing that foe to let them accompany us, would we not? If we encounter them unexpectedly and a battle breaks out, it ends with us saying we were unfortunately unable to have them accompany us. Lady Miriel probably anticipated that much as she listened, but she likely did not think that this one, the Supreme Archmage, would resort to such wordplay.”
“…Is that something you should be saying so proudly? No, more importantly, can a mana contract be bypassed like that?”
“Of course not. What this one said is merely the excuse this one would give Lady Miriel when the time comes. The mana contract would activate properly.”
“What? Then that’s a huge problem!”
“It might be for other mages, but not for this one.”
“…What do you mean?”
“This one can simply reincarnate. There is the problem of my level returning to 1, but with you around, my level can be recovered somewhat quickly, can it not? The recovery process seems like it would be arduous, so this one would rather not do it, however.”
Diana’s face flushed slightly and her body trembled, as if she were imagining herself returning to level 1 and being held by my current self.
I see. So that’s why she had a countermeasure all along, and why she so readily accepted when Miriel said she didn’t need to make a mana contract.
“…That’s a total scam.”
And I trembled for a different reason.
Seriously, sometimes her mind works in truly wicked ways.
It’s a good thing she’s genuinely kind. If she had a nasty personality, by now she wouldn’t be called the Supreme Archmage, but something like the Most Vile Witch, and be treated as a walking disaster.
“It is a white lie for the sake of protecting the world.”
Protecting the world… well, she’s not wrong.
Anyway, let’s leave it at that for now. It seems everything has been resolved smoothly for the time being.
And keeping an eye on Miriel’s movements is a problem for much later.
“Well, anyway, we have to go back to the Dungeon tomorrow, so since we’re all dressed up, how about we go on a date and do some shopping?”
“Yes!”
I decided to focus on the present rather than worrying my head over things that might happen in the future.
Here I was, with five peerless beauties showing off their looks, all dressed to the nines. I had to enjoy this.
Of course, my girls happily accepted my proposal.
And so, I enjoyed a date, walking the streets with all my girls for the first time in a while. But the day didn’t end with just happiness.
No. In a way, what could be called the greatest trial of the day was still waiting for me.