99
Chapter 99
An Intruder had appeared in our Dungeon for the very first time.
The intrusion likely occurred around dawn, and the Intruder was currently locked inside the Prison by the Werewolf Fake Doll.
Beyond the yellow iron bars.
There was more than one Intruder locked inside.
And they were of a very familiar race.
"Gom-gom?"
The identity of the Intruders was none other than Human.
It seemed they hadn't given up and were still diligently exploring this continent.
They must have stumbled upon our Dungeon by chance and wandered in.
I poked my head in and carefully examined the inside of the Prison.
It was too dark to see clearly.
Click-!
I immediately turned on the lights attached to the Prison ceiling.
Only then did the trapped Humans come clearly into view.
"■□□ □■...!"
"■□■□ ■■■...."
The moment the inside of the Prison brightened up.
The Humans startled and looked around.
Soon after, they spotted me and said something with terrified expressions.
Of course, I couldn't understand a word they were saying.
I leisurely and slowly turned my head, scanning the inside of the Prison.
There were eight Humans in total.
Only three of them were still alive.
Five ruthlessly torn corpses were piled up in the corner of the Prison.
Judging by their state, it seemed they didn't die inside the Prison but were killed by the Werewolf Fake Doll.
It seemed the corpses were thrown into the Prison along with the captured ones, just in case.
I wasn't particularly curious about why the Werewolf Fake Doll killed five of them.
They were probably full of hostility, put up a fierce resistance, or just lacked manners.
There's no way it would disobey my orders just to enjoy the slaughter.
"□□■□□ □■...."
"■□■■...?"
"■□□■......."
The fact that those three were kept alive must mean they didn't fall into any of the categories I just mentioned.
Because I had ordered to capture such individuals alive instead of killing them.
"Gom-gom."
Nice to meet you-gom.
For now, I waved my hand to say hello.
They obviously couldn't understand me, but they would at least comprehend that waving a hand is a greeting.
The faces of the Humans turned deathly pale.
Terrified, they slowly scooted backward on their butts.
They weren't afraid of me.
Even though I look cool, I'm not exactly scary-looking.
The reason the Humans were paralyzed with fear was likely because of the Werewolf Fake Doll currently standing behind me.
More importantly....
Those Humans are quite strong.
Checking their information, they were at a level that my past self from a while ago wouldn't have been able to beat.
Are they Monster Slayers too?
Just as I was thinking that, the Badge attached to the Humans' clothes caught my eye.
Red Badge.
Which rank was that again?
It probably wasn't the Special Grade, Crimson Slayer.
Because I heard Crimson uses a Crimson Badge.
Crimson and red were completely different colors.
Hmm, the Red Badge....
...Ah! I remember now.
Red was Orichalcum, right?
And I'm pretty sure Orichalcum was the highest among the metal ranks.
So an Orichalcum Slayer was at that level.
I acquired some new information.
"Ribbit? Those guys......."
Suddenly, the frog's voice could be heard.
He naturally stood next to me and stared intently inside the Prison.
It seemed he had finished organizing the gifts and came down.
"It was dark earlier so I didn't know what race they were, but seeing them in this bright light, it seems they are the Human race, ribbit."
"Gom-gom-gom?"
You know Humans too?
I asked while looking at the frog.
The frog nodded his head.
"Ribbit. They are the ones causing a lot of rumors on the continent lately, aren't they. Recently, a few Humans also visited our lake. They all attacked the Master of the Lake and died, though. And I especially travel around a lot, so I've run into Humans quite a bit."
"Gom-gom."
"Ribbit ribbit. Not all of them, but most of them are very belligerent. The sample size is still small, but based on my observations, the ones with blue skin are highly likely to be ferocious."
"Gom-gom, gom-gom."
I pointed to the five corpses piled up in the corner of the Prison.
Then I spoke.
It's annoying to dispose of them, do you want to take them?
"Ri, ribbit?"
I didn't really need the corpses.
Just taking the Soul Weapon is enough.
The Human race doesn't have a Mana Stone in their bodies, and their Soul Weapon is practically their main body anyway.
I don't really want to eat a Human corpse.
Killing them is fine, but eating them is a bit repulsive because of my past life memories.
Ailee, who used to be Human, would probably feel the same way.
The Fox is a vegetarian, and the Princess Doll and Tosuni are of the Doll Tribe, so they don't need to eat.
Jjokkomi or the Little Yellow Dragon might eat it deliciously, but....
Seeing them eat Humans would make me feel strange.
So I generously yielded them to the frog.
Even though the monster carcasses stored in the warehouse are running low because of the festival, there will be plenty of better prey than Humans out in the wild outside the Dungeon anyway.
"We clearly said we wouldn't accept gifts, but... a small gift like this should be fine, ribbit."
Surprisingly, he didn't refuse.
The frog gulped down his saliva while looking at the Human corpses.
Seeing him smack his lips, it seemed he had eaten Humans before.
And he probably ate them very deliciously, too.
"Got it. Since you keep offering, I have no choice but to accept, ribbit."
The frog nodded, pretending to be persuaded against his will.
I only offered once, though?
"The Master of the Lake might get furious again, but I will try talking to her well, ribbit."
The frog's expression was full of greed.
Looking at him, it seemed obvious he was planning to eat them all by himself on his way back.
...No, maybe not.
On second thought, there was no way he would embezzle a gift.
That guy is actually quite loyal, more than one would think.
Even if his expression showed he wanted to hog it all, he was the type to just swallow his greed internally.
"Gom-gom-gom, gom-gom-gom."
This is not a gift for the Master of the Lake.
I'm giving it to you, frog, so you can just eat it all by yourself.
When I said that, a sparkling light poured out from the frog's eyes.
So he really did want to eat them all by himself.
"Ribbit?! Is that really okay?"
"Gom."
"Teddy Bear, if you're begging me that much, I have no choice but to eat it all, ribbit!"
I never begged you, though.
Anyway, I left the disposal of the corpses to the frog like this.
***
After briefly opening the Prison.
First, I confiscated all the Humans' Soul Weapons.
Just in case, I called the Old Man Fake Doll to safely do the confiscating.
Next, I gathered the five corpses.
I moved the corpses right in front of the Portal so the frog could take them.
The living Humans didn't put up any resistance when their Soul Weapons were taken away.
Leaning against the wall, they just stood there shivering.
It was probably because they knew we were opponents they couldn't beat.
Seeing how terrified they were, the Werewolf Fake Doll must have killed the five of them quite brutally.
I wonder how on earth it killed them.
I closed the Prison door again.
I hadn't made a decision yet on how to dispose of the remaining Humans.
I plan to take my time and think about it.
More importantly, when is Ailee coming down?
Earlier, I asked the frog to go up to the 2nd floor and fetch Ailee.
I called her just in case there was a familiar face among them.
Because there was a chance she might know someone.
Also, I wanted to use this opportunity to check if Ailee could communicate with the Humans.
I turned around and looked at the maze.
Just then, I saw the Little Yellow Dragon and Jjokkomi slowly approaching.
Why are they coming instead of Ailee, who I asked for?
"Yooong! Papa, what are you doing here-yong!"
"Kkuo? What are those? Are we going to eat them?"
Jjokkomi showed interest in the Humans trapped inside the Prison.
What, do they look appetizing or something?
Even though I would feel weird watching her eat a Human, there was no reason I couldn't let her if she wanted to.
It would just feel a little weird.
Watching someone else eat them wouldn't be all that repulsive.
If it got too unpleasant while watching, I could just look away.
Jjokkomi carefully peered inside the Prison.
In that moment, Jjokkomi suddenly scrunched up her face.
"Blegh... I feel sick, I'm not eating that."
"Yong-yong? Then I won't eat them either-yong. Yong-blegh!"
Jjokkomi turned her back.
It seemed she recognized at a glance that they were of the same race as the Old Man who killed Mother Bear and Urami.
No, perhaps she realized they were Humans through some unique racial scent?
Because it's hard to tell just by their appearance.
It seemed Jjokkomi found the Human race unpleasant due to her trauma.
To the point where she was even reluctant to eat them.
Still, she was merely filled with resentment toward the Old Man.
She didn't seem to resent the Human race itself.
Because she didn't attack them in a fit of rage.
For reference, she doesn't hold much resentment toward the Old Man Fake Doll now either.
Since she realized that it is a completely separate entity from the Old Man when he was alive.
Instead of turning her back and leaving, Jjokkomi simply sat down right where she was.
While the Little Yellow Dragon was curiously poking its face at Jjokkomi.
"Teddy Bear! I brought her, ribbit!"
"Bear Baby! Humans were caught?!"
"...!"
The frog returned with Ailee.
The Princess Doll was with them too.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom."
I locked them in here.
I pointed to the inside of the Prison with my Cane.
As Ailee neared the Prison, she slowed her Speed, then abruptly stopped right in front of the iron bars.
The three Humans were reflected in Ailee's eyes.
The Humans were all keeping their heads bowed low.
Ailee stared at them silently for a moment before asking me.
"...Bear Baby, can I try talking to them?"
"Gom-gom-gom, gom-gom. Gom-gom-gom-gom-gom-gom, gom-gom."
That's why I called you.
I don't know if conversation will be possible, but please try talking to them just in case.
Ailee looked at me, nodded, and shifted her gaze back to the Humans.
Of course, I didn't open the Prison.
There was no way Humans who lost their Soul Weapons would be a threat, but you never know.
Safety was the top priority in all things.
With the iron bars between them.
Ailee slowly spoke to the Humans.
In a slightly louder voice than when she spoke with me.
"E-excuse me?"
"......."
The Humans raised their heads at the same time.
Then, their eyes grew wide upon seeing Ailee.
"■□■□□?!"
One of the Humans shouted in surprise.
At that,
"A-ah, no. I'm not a Human. Not currently, anyway."
Ailee answered naturally, as if it were obvious.
...Ailee can communicate with them?