Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Beacon
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South Kingdom's shabby constable, Restia.
That was how she referred to herself, and she hoped everyone would keep calling her that from now on.
"Section Chief Restia, what's the most efficient way to fight a dark sorcerer?"
"Could you please tell us about what happened during the manticore subjugation?"
What could she say.
Ever since returning alive from the Roh Jinrat Mountains, the way people saw her had done a complete 180.
Her superiors had officially recognized her for subjugating the manticore.
And as a reward, she had been promoted to Section Chief of Section 3—the youngest ever.
'Fuck... I don't even know...'
Restia felt wronged.
She hadn't taken down the manticore.
The Dungeon Master of Dreamland had.
All she got was an old gold necklace from the worn-out beast.
Of course, she had bluffed to Sinclair that she was the one who subjugated it.
But that was just to repay the Dungeon Master of Dreamland.
No matter how much of a Dungeon Master he was,
he was the one who saved her life—she couldn't stab him in the back.
'A-and he even showed me himself that he could come outside...'
Truth be told, it felt like something terrifying would come for her at night alongside those horrifying creatures.
Fear had played a part in it too.
Anyway, after that,
Restia's dream of being a cushy government drone shattered into pieces.
As Section Chief of Section 3, she often had to handle dangerous missions.
To avoid dying on the job, she cut back on sleep and worked tirelessly.
The truth was, Restia had talent and instincts.
She just hadn't developed them because she'd been slacking off until then.
She learned magic and became one of the strongest constables in hand-to-hand combat.
She must have grown several times stronger since that time.
Just as days of praise from superiors
and respect from subordinates were dragging on wearily,
"A Branded Elf has surrendered?"
"Yes. Her name's Lilia. She says she'll give up info on the Forest of Life, so please let her rot in prison forever... Help her be reborn as a true elf, or something like that."
Lilia.
Looking at her file, all her crimes so far were minor offenses.
She wasn't a villain, but not some heinous criminal either.
Branded Elves were, by nature, those whose crimes were built on a foundation of murder.
An extremely rare case.
"And she mentioned some dungeon name—Dreamland, was it...?"
"I-I-I-I-I'll meet her myself!"
The constable gave Restia a strange look.
"Ahem. Well, I just have this feeling that if I talk to her, I'll get some really useful, high-quality info."
"Ah, got it. Section Chief. This was under Section 5, but I'll ask them to hand it over to our section."
Restia let out a small sigh.
Her good reputation paid off—the Section 5 Chief smiled warmly
and agreed to pass the case to her, saying she was working hard.
The handover went quickly.
.
.
.
Restia met Lilia through the bars.
She wasn't the type to seek out work usually,
but she couldn't ignore that name.
"Let me ask again why you surrendered. So, you found a dungeon called Dreamland, entered it with the other Branded Elves, but it was such a terrifying place you couldn't handle it. You got help from the Dungeon Master, secretly stole an escape scroll from Tier—the captain of the Branded Elf exploration team—and got out alone. Now you're surrendering to the kingdom out of fear of retaliation. Is that right?"
Lilia nodded vigorously.
Any other constable would have slapped her and told her not to spew bullshit.
But for Restia, who knew Dreamland and the Dungeon Master's temperament,
it wasn't something she could just dismiss.
"I'm not in that high a position or anything, but I've cozyed up to the right people and know some useful stuff. If you don't execute me and just lock me up, I'll spill everything. Please... I'm begging you."
Restia pondered for a moment.
Then she nodded and said,
"One condition."
"W-what condition...?"
It was obvious.
Keep quiet about the dungeon for now.
***
'Do I really need to go this far...?'
She had returned to the kingdom with Sinclair, repaying that favor.
But she felt she owed a huge debt from the Roh Jinrat Mountains.
Repay favors received.
Basic human decency.
What could she do for him?
After some thought, she decided hiding the dungeon's identity was best.
The atmosphere in South Kingdom wasn't good right now.
Corrupt officials had been rampant for ages,
and the royal family was too weak, kowtowing to the power players, so public sentiment was sour.
Ever since that commoner beat a noble to death,
the people's discontent started expressing itself more actively.
South Kingdom was, in vulgar terms, fucked.
In their dilemma over what to do,
they'd planned to send the army to subjugate the Branded Elves as a stopgap to placate the masses.
Branded Elves were deeply entangled with South Kingdom's underworld.
They'd committed tons of crimes, causing much suffering to the people.
If they smashed these great evils,
the higher-ups probably thought it would temporarily soothe the angry populace.
'If Lilia's story is true... if the army finds the dungeon during the subjugation, the Dungeon Master could be in serious trouble.'
South Kingdom currently hosted a blessed one named Sinclair.
He was a dungeon raider.
If the dungeon's existence leaked, it would surely bring headaches for the Dungeon Master.
There wasn't much a single constable could do,
but she could at least pass on the info.
Restia headed to the Forest of Life alone.
Stealthily, so the Branded Elves wouldn't notice.
.
.
.
"Huh...?"
The forest was quiet.
As she entered the outskirts and approached the center,
she stayed vigilant, on guard, using detection magic,
but not a single Branded Elf in sight.
What the hell was going on.
The Forest of Life was known for tight security.
'No magic traps either. Did I get lost?'
Moments later,
an astonishing sight unfolded before her eyes.
What could be called the heart of the Forest of Life,
the Branded Elf headquarters, was devoid of even an elf's shadow.
'I heard they knew about the kingdom's subjugation plans and were preparing to flee, but this fast?'
Restia blinked.
As she entered the headquarters,
"Whoa, fuck, you scared me!!"
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!"
Right before her eyes
stood the Dungeon Master,
holding a clean knife
with a thoroughly flustered expression.
And around him
lay quite a few Branded Elf corpses.
.
.
.
"We meet here again. I thought we said we wouldn't."
"Y-yeah... you're right."
"Don't get the wrong idea—I didn't kill them. They were already dead when I got here."
"But there's no decomposition at all..."
"Then they must've died ten minutes before I arrived."
What kind of otherworldly conversation was this.
Still, the Dungeon Master's words didn't feel like lies.
From a constable's knowledge,
the wounds on the corpses suggested the Branded Elves had killed each other.
No bloodstains on the Dungeon Master either.
"What brings you here? I thought the Forest of Life was avoided because it's home to foul-tempered elves."
"I came to pass some info to you, Dungeon Master."
Restia explained everything.
Lilia's surrender.
South Kingdom's moves to subjugate the Branded Elves.
Even how she'd heard the name Dreamland by chance as a constable.
"Hmm, hmm, aha, I get it."
"So you should be careful. I know it sounds like I'm badmouthing my kingdom, but a lot of the higher-ups are blinded by greed. Of course! I! Will keep! Quiet about you and the dungeon from now on! I haven't said a word since then. Believe me, please..."
Restia bowed her head repeatedly.
Then,
"I believe you."
The Dungeon Master chuckled.
"......"
She'd thought it before, but this guy was seriously handsome.
Tall, long legs, small head—great proportions overall.
Neat hairstyle, sharp eyes with a playful glint, high nose bridge.
If he were in a kingdom instead of a dungeon, he'd have plenty of noble ladies swooning.
"Why are you staring like that? It's a bit uncomfortable..."
Oh no.
"Sorry."
"I told you no apologies in front of me."
"Oh, right."
"Anyway, thanks for the info. I've got something for you—wait here a bit."
Restia stood there blankly,
then decided to investigate the corpses since she had nothing else to do.
'Got some blood on me. Should've brought work clothes and gloves.'
.
.
.
.
.
An hour later.
"Here."
"What's this?"
"Gear used by Julius, the big boss of the Forest of Life. Looks expensive. Useless to me, so consider it thanks for the info."
Restia blinked.
The items she'd just received were genuine.
Not hard to tell.
Julius was the most infamous Branded Elf.
'So the Dungeon Master did take him out...'
Now she understood why the Forest of Life was in such a state.
'They brazenly entered Dreamland and got schooled...'
Without a central figure,
any group crumbles easily.
That explained the quiet forest—Julius was dead.
The corpses were probably from fighting over Julius's valuable belongings.
Not all dead, surely?
The survivors must have scattered.
Dungeons expand over time, they say.
Last time, it was just a bizarre maze.
By now, probably more added.
'Maybe the ones who need to be careful aren't the Dungeon Master, but the kingdom folks...'
"You've gotten pretty filthy in that hour."
"Couldn't help it investigating the bodies, hehe..."
"You work hard."
"Gotta, as a constable."
The Dungeon Master gave her a thumbs up.
"Thanks for protecting the kingdom."
"You're not from South Kingdom, Dungeon Master."
"I respect soldiers and police from any country. It's my motto."
"What's that supposed to mean. Hufu..."
He's a funny guy.
This time too, the Dungeon Master left with, "Let's not meet again."
"......"
Restia felt a strange pang of regret,
but
"Now what do I do with this..."
soon felt daunted staring at the trashed surroundings.
How the hell to clean this up.
If she reported it straight to superiors,
things could blow up and expose the dungeon's location.
Stay silent,
and the army might come, making it worse.
But
that helplessness didn't last long.
.
.
.
Soon, Restia's subordinates arrived at headquarters.
Armed to the teeth, they'd clearly followed her to the Forest of Life.
"Section Chief Restia! You okay?!"
"God, look at the blood on you..."
Restia hesitated for a second.
If she played this right, she could spin it somehow?
If she could prove she took down Julius,
maybe wrap it up in-house without army or other constables.
Becoming a hero who subjugated the Branded Elves' leader out of nowhere was disconcerting,
but success would hide the Dungeon Master for sure.
"Got lucky. As you can see, they noticed the kingdom's subjugation plans, so numbers were low. And from the traces, they were fighting each other... Julius was badly wounded too..."
Restia decided to mix lies and truth.
Subtly showing off Julius's golden gear,
"Golden armor, golden staff, golden dagger—jackpot... Section Chief, what the hell happened?"
"Those Branded Elf corpses too, no way..."
"Where's Julius's body?"
"Probably exploded from a body burst spell. Damn Branded Elf bastards... using dark faction magic."
The team filled in the blanks themselves.
Maybe because of her good rep—they believed her so innocently it almost gave her guilt.
'So this is how con artists pull off a big score. But maybe this is for the best...'
Restia bowed her head, unable to face her team.
.
.
.
After that,
it's said the South Kingdom army never came to the Forest of Life.