Until just moments ago, thanks to Baalcherit, Dambi and Lils had been subjected to an inspection that was not quite an inspection.
To resolve the situation, the two contacted Celia through the shadows.
And before long, someone in an officer’s uniform appeared in person.
Wiping away sweat, he bowed politely before Dambi and Lils.
“I apologize for the delay. I committed a discourtesy without realizing you were persons of such noble standing. Ah, my name is Kael Ludens, and I am in charge of public order here in the city of Lakusberry.”
As active as trade was here, there were not only soldiers but officers as well.
And Kael Ludens had rushed over in shock after receiving the contents of the message a short while ago.
‘For the royal family to contact us directly!’
It made him dizzy.
Kael Ludens’s gaze turned to Dambi.
An adventurer who looked perfectly ordinary, aside from being handsome.
But one must not be deceived by appearances.
It was because of that ordinary-looking adventurer that the royal family had contacted them.
‘Just who is he?’
At present, the royal family of the Sale Kingdom had come to possess tremendous power.
On top of that, Her Majesty the Queen was being called a saintess, and there were even rumors that the Church might soon officially proclaim her as such.
That alone was enough to show just how formidable the royal family’s authority had become.
And they had inspected an adventurer connected to that royal family?
As the senior officer, he wanted to turn his subordinates inside out, but for now, he desperately held himself back.
There was still a way to make up for this mistake.
“To apologize for this incident, I will attend to you with the utmost sincerity!”
Kael Ludens bent at the waist toward Dambi.
Then the soldiers around them hurriedly bowed as well.
Respect and fear coexisted on their faces.
“For now… Ah, that’s right. Since your identities have been confirmed, you may come down now. We sincerely welcome you to our Sale Kingdom.”
Kael Ludens treated Baalcherit, who looked far younger than himself, with great courtesy as well.
“Hah. It is good that you admit your sin and seek forgiveness. But mark my words. The fact that I forgive you is solely due to my mercy—mmph!”
Dambi covered Baalcherit’s mouth as he spouted whatever nonsense came to mind.
If he let this fellow run his mouth any longer, they would likely get entangled in yet another incident.
While Dambi was covering Baalcherit’s mouth, Lils stepped forward this time.
“Thank you for your consideration. However, we have matters to attend to separately, so we will gratefully accept only your goodwill.”
“Ah…”
At Lils’s words, the officer revealed a regretful expression.
He had wanted to make up for his mistake and perhaps form some connection with them, but it seemed that would come to nothing.
Still, forcing the matter would be rude.
Above all, there was a high chance they had come here under the royal family’s orders. If he detained busy people for no reason, he would not hear anything good from above.
“Haha, that is truly regrettable. In that case, I will arrange the finest lodging where the three of you can rest comfortably. I am sure it is of no concern to such esteemed persons as yourselves, but the prices here are indeed quite high. This is the very least I can do, so I hope you will accept it.”
But Kael Ludens was not so easy to dismiss either.
He worked to create even the smallest connection.
At his sincerity, Lils nodded.
“In that case, we will gratefully accept.”
In any case, the timing was awkward for them to return to the capital today.
Moreover, there was no reason to refuse when he was offering to secure them top-class lodging for free.
“Then please leave your luggage to us.”
When Kael Ludens gestured, the soldiers quickly took Dambi’s party’s luggage and led the way.
At the same time, he subtly observed the expressions of Dambi’s group.
They did not seem used to such treatment, but they did not look flustered either.
‘As expected, they’re different.’
Admiring them inwardly, Kael Ludens began guiding Dambi’s group to their lodging.
For a moment, he furrowed his brow as he watched the little young lady being dragged along by the adventurer.
‘By the way, just what kind of combination is this?’
What sort of story did they have?
Curiosity arose, but he did not ask aloud.
As an officer protecting the Sale Kingdom, he would simply remain faithful to his duty.
* * *
Officer Kael Ludens guided Dambi’s group to the most luxurious lodging in Lakusberry.
It was located amid a magnificent view that overlooked Yenarian Lake at a glance.
“Now, this is where you will be staying. The scenery is truly a work of art, is it not? If you need more rooms, I will inform the front desk in advance, so please use them without hesitation. I must be going now, as I have duties to attend to. I hope you rest comfortably, and may the goddess’s blessing always be with you…”
He left those words of greeting and was about to turn away.
“Ah. I am sure you already know, but you must not approach the southern forest. Access is restricted there regardless of one’s identity or status.”
Leaving behind that brief warning, he exited the room.
Since they intended to leave as soon as they finished their mission anyway, Dambi did not particularly pay it any mind.
The officer’s goodwill was more burdensome than expected, but Dambi nodded at the dazzling sight of the lake.
“This much is acceptable.”
But now was not the time to leisurely admire the scenery.
Dambi drew the curtains and covered the window.
Then he first offered an apology to Lils.
“I’m sorry. I never imagined things would go awry because of one of my own kind.”
In conclusion, they had nearly been dragged into a troublesome matter because of another vampire.
As Dambi had vampire blood mixed into him, it would be difficult for him to avoid responsibility for this incident.
“It’s all right, Lord Dambi. We can visit the Adventurers’ Guild tomorrow. We arrived earlier than expected anyway.”
“I’m grateful you say that.”
Lils accepted Dambi’s apology with a smile.
In any case, the situation had already happened.
If they went to the Adventurers’ Guild now, they would only draw the soldiers’ attention for no reason.
In such cases, it was better to rest today and carry out the request tomorrow.
Then she opened the lid of a small container.
Inside the container, a fish-shaped monster was splashing about and swimming.
While Lils was unpacking, Dambi approached a certain being with an expressionless face.
“Ugh. D-do not look at me with such eyes! How insolent!”
The being reached out with her eyes closed.
“Who are you?”
“To dare call me ‘you’! How lacking in manners!”
But Dambi’s expression turned frightening.
“Ugh. I-I am…”
Baalcherit fell into brief contemplation.
Whether to reveal her real name or give an alias.
No matter how ignorant she was of the ways of the world, she knew well that her name was infamous.
“My name is… Riche!”
In the end, Baalcherit brought out the name she had prepared in advance instead of her real name.
It was the “cheri” part of her original name, Baalcherit, flipped around.
In fact, Baalcherit admired her own genius idea.
With this, there was absolutely no way her identity would be discovered.
“Mm. Riche, is it…”
Naturally, it was a name Dambi had never heard before.
“Did you come from the Kaln Empire?”
The dungeon Dambi had originally belonged to was in the Kaln Empire.
However, because of the Church’s subjugation operation, most of the vampire dungeons had collapsed, and many of his kin had lost their lives.
Dambi, who had at least looked close to human, had been able to survive among humans.
Riche nodded.
“Th-that is right. I came from the Kaln Empire through the City Alliance!”
As expected, it seemed that even if their dungeons were different, they had belonged to the same group.
But Dambi’s expression was not good.
A vampire suddenly appeared before his eyes?
Something felt suspicious.
“Then why did you come to the Sale Kingdom?”
The vampires Dambi knew would at least try to hide their identities.
But the one before him was different.
“Hah…”
Riche bit her finger and was drinking her own blood.
At that sight, Lils came to Dambi’s side and whispered in his ear.
“She seems to be a vampire whose mind is somewhat strange.”
At Lils’s words, Dambi found himself nodding naturally.
Dambi threw her part of the arm of the bandit he had killed at the inn the day before.
That body part had not been drained of blood, so it was still moist.
“Oh! Thank you! As expected, you are a good fellow!”
Riche sucked once on the human hand Dambi offered her, then answered the question.
“There is someone I am searching for. If it is that person, he will surely remember me… That is why I am heading to the royal capital—”
As Riche spoke, tears flowed from her eyes.
“S-sob… I made such a foolish mistake… and that person… hic.”
The conversation seemed to be going off track somehow, but Dambi and Lils nodded as if they understood.
“It seems she was abandoned because her mind is strange.”
“I think so too.”
The two whispered in front of Riche.
Vampires were an intelligent race.
When the situation was unfavorable, they would naturally cast aside comrades of no value first.
In that sense, Dambi felt that Riche was in the same situation as himself.
“Haa…”
Normally, he would have wanted to follow only his master’s orders, but seeing a member of his own kind in the same circumstances left a bitter feeling in his heart.
Perhaps understanding how Dambi felt, Lils seemed to sympathize as well.
“Since our destination is the same anyway, I think it would be fine to travel together until then.”
As it happened, they too had to return to the royal capital after finishing this request.
With their destinations being the same, Dambi was not so coldhearted as to abandon a mentally unstable member of his own kind.
“Miss Riche, please don’t worry too much. We’re on our way to the royal capital too, so let’s go together.”
Lils extended a hand to Riche.
“R-really? You will do that for me?”
Riche, who had been crying just moments ago, smiled brightly and asked again.
And so, Dambi and Lils found themselves saddled with the being known as Baalcherit.
* * *
“I see. So they encountered a vampire…”
Celia checked the documents handed to her by the shadow.
They contained a report stating that Dambi and Lils had met a vampire at Yenarian Lake.
Worried that they might get caught up in something strange, Celia had relayed the relevant information to Queen Irena.
After that, Queen Irena acted swiftly.
Thanks to that, Dambi and Lils had been able to get through the inspection safely.
“By the way, there is still a mountain of work to handle.”
Documents were piled high on Celia’s desk.
Now she had to concern herself not only with the dungeon but also with matters of the Sale Kingdom.
Even just the dungeon’s affairs were enough to leave her body with no respite.
She had to send out the Goblin Lord and clear out the surrounding dungeons. At the same time, she could not neglect the dungeon’s development.
And now, she had reached the point where she had to review kingdom business as well.
Even now she was focusing solely on work day and night, yet the things she had to do were steadily increasing.
At one point, her master had sent her an adjutant, but for now, it was still useless. The adjutant currently named Kkomul was being managed by Aren, so it would not be of any help with her work for a while.
But this was a trial from the Great One.
That was why Celia was doing her best today as well.
“Still, the efficiency is far too poor, isn’t it?”
It was about time she prepared another method to improve work efficiency.
Rather than Celia handling every task alone, it would surely be faster if someone assisted her by her side.
But in the current situation, there were no particularly suitable candidates.
It would be nice if the banshees could help with the work while controlling the adventurers, but they had important uses elsewhere.
The goblins were excluded, as they were not a particularly intelligent race.
As for the undead, they could handle simple tasks, but they fell slightly short when it came to thinking for themselves.
For a moment, Maru came to Celia’s mind, but Maru was that person’s escort knight.
“What a pity.”
She also briefly considered the vampire Dambi had mentioned, but after receiving the report that the vampire was mentally strange, she excluded her.
Even as she pondered this, Celia was scanning the documents.
Then, suddenly, her gaze stopped on one document.
‘…Jeremiah?’
The documents sent by the royal family contained the name of an inquisitor.
Beneath the name, Jeremiah’s movements were recorded, and it said he had visited the inn where Dambi and Lils had caused the disturbance.
According to the testimony of the investigator who met the inquisitor there, he had named the vampire Baalcherit as the one behind the murder case.
“Baalcherit…”
The inquisitor’s guess had missed the mark, and everyone seemed inclined to believe it, so Dambi and Lils would not be suspected.
“That is fortunate.”
It was best to minimize unnecessary variables.
Celia continued reading through the documents, only for her gaze to stop in one place again.
“A five-star vampire.”
Baalcherit, the five-star vampire infamous among humans.
The mere fact that the Church was currently pursuing her was enough to guess how dangerous she was.
“If we could obtain that being…”
A bold plan took shape in Celia’s mind.
If she could capture that powerful vampire and offer her to her master, she would surely be making a tremendous contribution.
Just imagining how pleased her master would be made her heart swell.
“Tell the royal family to find Baalcherit’s whereabouts.”
As Celia had a record of being sealed by the Church herself, she knew well.
Inquisitors were not beings who moved on mere instinct.
It was no different from saying that Baalcherit was inside the Sale Kingdom.
“To think the prey would come of its own accord.”
The corners of Celia’s lips rose.
This was a five-star being, no less.
A being like Baalcherit would surely be of great help to her master’s plans.
If there was one problem, it was whether such a being would willingly follow them.
Absolutely not.
“Keep all forces on standby in the dungeon for the time being.”
“Clack!”
At Celia’s order, the skeleton knights headed to each area of the dungeon.
As one infamous among humans, she would not be an easy opponent.
On paper, she was written as five-star, but one must not judge carelessly.
It was Celia’s job to always assume the worst-case scenario and prepare accordingly.
“I am truly looking forward to this.”
If they were to receive a dangerous being, they had to inspect the dungeon’s condition on a large scale. To do that, she needed someone to assist with her work.
“What are the kingdom’s nobles doing right now?”
When Irena became queen, many nobles had been imprisoned.
Of course, that was what was known outwardly; in reality, they were confined here in the dungeon.
“Clack clack, clack clack clack!”
(Some are still being tortured, and the rest are carrying out fortification construction under the supervision of the Death Knight mid-boss!)
As the skeleton knight said, not only humans captured from outside but even nobles had been put into fortification construction.
They were currently carrying out work to expand the lake in Area Four.
“I see. Then ask whether there are any nobles willing to help with my work. If any volunteer, inform them that compensation will be provided.”
Right now, even one extra hand was precious.
Moreover, nobles were elites who had been educated from childhood.
Though they were not monsters, she believed they should at least be capable of handling work related to the kingdom.
“From now on, we will actively make use of humans. Let us consider it a preliminary test for when my master builds a nation.”
And this would be of great help when her master came to lead a nation.