It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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– 1 –

“What happened?”

Seeing Melody sitting with her subordinates, I felt the need to voice my concerns before getting to the main issue.

“You look extremely exhausted. Your face isn’t doing well at all.”

“Ha… that’s because…”

Upon hearing my question, she forced a laugh and furtively glanced at Eve and the paintings.

Her face, which appeared quite haggard compared to earlier, was reason enough for my concern.

“The Lady’s people…”

“My people?”

It seems my thoughts were beginning to run wild.

Could it be that Evangeline had committed some faux pas? Or perhaps set excessive conditions…

I wasn’t worried about the traders as they were seasoned in negotiations, but this was the first time I had entrusted her with a deal. I believed it would go smoothly since there were friendly and capable individuals by my side.

“Ha, well…”

Still, I sensed she might be fed up with the situation; it didn’t seem like hatred was involved…

Luckily, my escalating thoughts were cut short by her next words.

“… They seem to be working quite hard. We ended up having to give quite a lot.”

“That’s a common occurrence. It’s my pride, after all.”

“I thought so. Here… this is the statement outlining the trade conditions. Please take a look, and if you have any questions, I will answer them right away, Lady.”

Now that I had observed her expression, it was more irritation than disgust—it made sense as Evangeline and the traders likely extracted every possible benefit from the Baritra family. From an administrative standpoint, it could be seen as a negative achievement, so irritation was understandable.

I quickly glanced through the documents we needed to keep on our end and handed them back to Evangeline, who was standing behind me.

“Um… you don’t need to check them…?”

“I trust my people, Melody.”

The individuals looking at me were filled with varying emotions—some had concern and admiration in their eyes.

The former came from the two demons of the administration and traders, while the latter included the members of the Baritra Marquis House.

Their worry was about what could happen if I didn’t thoroughly review the contract.

The admiration was for someone who entrusts their people with trust and confidence.

If they felt even the slightest goodwill towards me and had some relevant knowledge, that would be expected.

They wouldn’t know that I read through the document with speed-reading abilities that make one question why I fall under the category of ‘nobility,’ while being confident that there were no issues.

“This is excellent.”

It was only natural for us to keep the secret about the ‘Baritra’s illegitimate child.’

And in return, Baritra would provide support for the various material demands arising from the dungeon.

In other words, the Baritra family would cover part of the material costs that the Mammon Trading Company had to purchase.

The method would involve setting a maximum cost for each material and halving the ratio if the material’s price was too low.

This might not have a significant future effect, but currently, it was a substantial boon. After all, none of the materials in high demand were overly expensive.

“You could say it’s like a beginner support package.”

However, the supporter was set as an NPC in the game, not an operator.

I was satisfied with this arrangement.

“Other investments can wait for later.”

“I’m… the noble lady of the demon world…? Actually, I have my own mother and father…?”

“Yes. That’s right. Young lady. We are now going to meet the head of the family.”

As I turned my eyes towards the administrator, she was receiving various answers from the Baritra house’s attendants, completely unable to imagine what sort of events awaited her from this point onwards.

She might envision what was closer, but the more distant future was something entirely unpredictable—the troubles of being a noble.

It was only natural, considering it was a field she had never dealt with so far.

“Did you hear? Just so you know, I’ll be letting you have it later. This wrist value, I’m definitely going to collect it!”

“Ah, Miss. The Dungeon Lady is of a higher status than you…”

“Wait, are you saying I got downgraded instead? What does that even mean…?”

This childish reaction was quite amusing.

Immediately, Administrator Melody turned pale, nervously shaking her head.

It seemed she was worried I’d be angry and upset about having to serve a new fool.

“Yet, you can have whatever you want to eat or wear. The family’s chef and tailor are exceptional.”

“I have no idea what’s good about that.”

If I had lived solely as a Dungeon Lord on the surface, I might not have understood the meaning even when meeting human nobles.

Knowledge and experience are two completely different things.

I figured I could postpone my observations and let them go for now.

I had plenty to do myself.

“Go on. The family will surely be busy welcoming the new lady.”

“Indeed. It was quite an impressive meeting, Lady.”

Julian stopped his embellishments and replied, bowing his head in greeting.

He was the one who hadn’t bothered to care about what was happening nearby, busy fixing his face, which had been sulled from spilling tea earlier.

“You’ve been through a lot, Melody.”

“Thank you…”

Impressive indeed. Such foolishness.

“Serika. I will leave my contact information with Melody, so if anything comes up, contact her.”

“Uh? Why me?”

“Well, why not?”

“No, don’t touch me! Seriously…”

I patted the confused vampire lady’s head and pushed her toward the Baron’s people.

Her resistance had lessened compared to before.

Even if she said that, I had saved her life among humans, and after living as a Dungeon Lord, she couldn’t have been entirely unscathed, so her grievances toward my wrist was almost nonexistent.

This was already something discussed and proceeded from the necessity.

The evidence was that her previously harbored annoyance and fury was merely close to a prank, not genuine resentment like Sonia or Maria had.

“I’ll see you later, Serika.”

“Hmph. Let’s go. So, that makes him my older brother, right?”

“You still don’t have the right to call me that. We’ll see when we get to the family.”

“What are you saying? Just looking at him, he’s obviously my brother.”

“Hmph. Wait until you can act with the dignity of a noble.”

But do they really hold any kind of power struggle? Looking at the two of them now, I can’t tell.

They already seem like foolish siblings.

『The dungeon’s level has risen. Lv. 3 ▶ 4』

『Demon Lord Candidate ‘Libertus’ Dungeon Lv. 4』

“That will be something to keep an eye on later.”

Now, that’s their concern.

As for me, I simply needed to do my job.

“Bring them over.”

For instance, concerning the elite adventurers we just caught.

– 2 –

Jinkyung, Alexis, Lin Xue.

Three elite adventurers…

“Lin Xue… s-she really died…”

“Ah…”

To be precise, two adventurers and one corpse.

They must have witnessed the scene when Lin Xue’s head was severed, but it seemed like it took them a while to accept the reality.

“I haven’t seen a corpse since then.”

The process of bringing the three of them was uneventful.

Dead Lin Xue could be summoned through my shadow magic without issues; the other two had been drawn into the dungeon by binding them through a ‘Minor Contract.’

The conditions of the contract were simple.

During the period the minor contract is maintained, “the subordinate shall absolutely obey the commands of the superior,” and “the superior guarantees the safety of the subordinate’s life while they do so.”

[Are you really going to accept it? This? Does that mean even from other monsters or the Dungeon Lord?]

[Don’t worry. As long as you have a proper minor contract with me, no one will be able to attack you.]

The terms were created under Alexis’s leadership; it was somewhat amusing to see him visibly relieved as soon as I confirmed them.

Did he really think I’d fall for that?

For two veteran adventurers who had lived freely surrendering right after their first defeat made sense to be suspicious.

[Just do nothing and wait.]

So I had already given such an order as my first command…

Jinkyung and Alexis didn’t betray my expectations.

“You’ve been working quite hard at something, both of you.”

“W-what do you mean…?”

The two were sending some sort of ‘signal’ as they traveled via carriage.

Had I not sensed the oddity early and expanded my perception, I wouldn’t have noticed at all—the covert magical signal they were communicating through magic, sorcery, and spirit in three ways.

In the end, it meant the minor contract was already broken before they even arrived at the dungeon.

If the monitoring hadn’t been thorough, they might have attempted an escape long ago.

“It’s a headache.”

The reason for the lengthy return to the dungeon was also due to this.

To lure the pursuers elsewhere, I had made a few rounds in the city; after making the right moves, I returned to the dungeon through hidden dealings with the smugglers to acquire materials for warding off the carriage.

Of course, that smuggler is probably sleeping comfortably by now.

Forever.

“So, that means you were wasting your efforts.”

“Ah, damn it. Why didn’t you tell me sooner…”

As soon as I finished my sentence, the expression of Alexis, who had been maintaining a groveling demeanor, changed drastically. It was astounding how it turned from one extreme to another instantaneously.

At the same time, Jinkyung’s face reflected resignation.

They looked as if they were in shock, appearing to have collapsed or surrendered to the circumstances.

“Quick to change.”

But now I think I understand Alexis’s behavior.

To confirm my suspicions and gauge their sincerity, I decided to test a recently recalled application of a certain spell.

The method was simple.

I would just use one spell that I had been practicing.

“「Sacrifice Appraisal」.”

With my accumulated magical power, I wet my eyes, first looking at the Western Continent’s Mage, Jinkyung.

『Name – Munyu Jinkyung』

『Occupation and Level – Elite Spirit Sorcerer』

…

『An adventurer mage with adequate abilities compared to her level. Her physique is top-tier, but her soul is fragile.』

I could see information popping up regarding her, meanwhile…

『Name – Alexis Zhulka』

With Alexis, however, nothing could be seen aside from his name.

This meant that the Dungeon Core did not recognize him as a ‘sacrifice’ as it did Jinkyung. In other words, he had yet to submit.

Despite his seemingly carefree demeanor, he was still seeking a comeback.

“Ah, damn…”

A stubborn man.

Whether it was merely the poison of a lower-class background or a desire stemming from accumulated regrets, I couldn’t tell…

But not giving up on any emotion in a hopeless situation is an impressive trait.

In some ways, it became even more exciting.

『Name – Lin Xue Rainer』

『Occupation and Level – Elite Archer』

With that, I shifted my gaze to the last sacrifice.

Lin Xue’s corpse, which I had placed in my space after her demise, looked no different from the form she had in life.

While time doesn’t completely freeze in the Necromancer’s shadow space, it somehow had a slight preservation function.

『Traits – Specialization: Longbow, Critical Eye, Owl’s Eye, Hummingbird’s Flap, Eagle’s Talon』

The three bird-named traits seemed to be specific shooting skills tied to a certain sect… My attention was drawn to the critical eye among the two glowing ones.

It was a trait that made me contemplate whether to utilize this elite archer for the enhancement of my second summon, Mire, or simply convert her into an archer summon as is.

“If it were a game, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.”

As a player in ‘Mill Don 1,’ I had a preference for nurturing summons I obtained early on.

The first combat unit must remain as the summoned ones up to the tenth, giving them all the growth elements possible.

After that, regardless of the good units that might appear, I would forcibly boost their specs with higher-priority special equipment or other enhancement magic systems.

Now this 「Sacrifice Growth」 ability stood before me, and it was only natural for doubt to swirl within me.

Should I acquire a higher-spec archer right away, or should I stick to my philosophy of enhancing the first archer?

“Mi-re. Come here.”

– Snap!

“「Sacrifice Enhancement」.”

While my deliberation was lengthy, my action was swift after making my decision.

I chose to follow my previous course of action.

I didn’t know if this investment would prove beneficial later on or if it would be foolishness…

『Moonlight Capture – Increases both the critical hit probability and critical damage of thrown objects or projectiles that hit the target.』

For now, it was sure to return a profit.

As a hero-grade trait, I could always use it cheerfully.

“Congratulations, Mire. You’ve regained your strength.”

– Snap!

As I proudly admired Mire standing up straight, I turned my gaze back to the remaining two elite adventurers.

Jinkyung, whose reactions had dulled from despair, and Alexis, who was now shaking his eyes wide open.

“…”

“Damn. What’s that?! Did you absorb a person into a monster? Did I really just see that?”

It was time to decide their fate.