“Excuse me. I’m Suu, affiliated with the Demon Realm Trading Company. Ah! My department is Dungeon Support!”
A somewhat awkward yet clear voice rang through the dungeon.
The owner of the voice was Suu, a monster affiliated with the Demon Realm Trading Company. Taking the form of a human woman, she slowly moved forward, looking around the dungeon’s interior with curious eyes.
‘Ah… there really is a dungeon!’
Suu looked around the dungeon with an expression full of emotion.
Quite some time had passed since she joined the Demon Realm Trading Company, but she had never had the chance to be assigned to a dungeon.
‘This is the first dungeon I’ll be in charge of!’
Her colleagues who had joined at the same time as her were already in charge of several dungeons.
Since this was her first time being assigned to one, Suu wore a nervous expression.
Clap—
Just then, someone clapped his hands, drawing Suu’s attention.
“Greetings. I am Kaleido, who serves Lord Necros.”
Clap—
Kaleido clapped his hands again and introduced Necros.
“And the person beside me is Lord Necros, the master of this dungeon.”
“Clack-clack.”
(Nice to meet you. Welcome.)
At Necros’s greeting, Suu bowed her head and smiled brightly.
“Ah, I’m Suu! I look forward to working with you!”
As Kaleido and Necros welcomed her warmly, relief seeped into Suu’s heart.
‘I’m glad they seem like kindhearted people.’
She had heard that some dungeon masters treated merchants cruelly, but this place seemed far removed from that sort of atmosphere.
More than anything, this dungeon even gave her a strange sense of familiarity.
It was a warm feeling, as if she had come to a place she had known for a very long time.
“Ah, and I’m sorry for coming so late…. In truth, I wasn’t supposed to be this late, but our company has been terribly hectic lately….”
Suu bowed her head and offered an apology.
Her words were exactly half true.
The Demon Realm Trading Company had indeed been hectic lately.
In particular, they were short on monsters to work because most of their intelligence resources had been invested in the Kingdom of Sale.
But the Demon Realm Trading Company was a massive organization.
Since it was divided into many departments, there was no reason for there to be a shortage of merchants in charge of dungeons.
Even so, there was a hidden story behind why her visit had been delayed.
— Hmm. They say a newly formed dungeon has appeared, but its location is terrible. Of all places, it’s right in the middle of an area where humans travel frequently.
The words of Balor, the team leader of the Demon Realm Trading Company’s Dungeon Support Department, came to mind.
Just as the team leader had said, this dungeon’s location was not good.
Since it was right in the middle of a place where humans gathered, the fact that it had survived until now was practically a miracle.
This matter had been discussed within the company as well.
— And for reasons unknown, the aura of the new dungeon suddenly vanished. There’s no one here who doesn’t know what that means, is there?
The dungeon’s aura had disappeared. The likely reason was that it had been subjugated.
Even so, Suu had come here because of a suggestion from Evanelin, a colleague who had joined the company at the same time as her.
— But, Team Leader, wouldn’t it still be better to go and check?
Evanelin was a monster of the harpy race.
But she could not be looked down upon simply because she was a harpy.
After all, she had been born with the blood of a high-ranking demon.
Because of that, even the team leader could not ignore Evanelin’s opinion.
— Hmm, that sounds like a waste of time… and there isn’t anyone in particular to send, either.
At that point, Evanelin pointed to Suu.
— Then how about sending Suu? She hasn’t been assigned even a single dungeon until now, so why not send her this time? Since the dungeon happens to be in a place with many humans, Suu, as a doppelganger, seems perfect for the job, doesn’t she?
After that, things proceeded quickly.
In a situation where they did not even know whether the dungeon still existed, Suu was chosen as the person in charge of the newly formed dungeon for the sole reason that she was a doppelganger.
It was truly a poisoned chalice.
If this dungeon had indeed been subjugated and its aura had disappeared because of that, Suu would have simply been left holding the bag.
“……”
In truth, Suu knew as well.
She knew that Evanelin, her fellow new hire, had played a large part in this outcome.
She did not know why, but Evanelin disliked her.
Perhaps the reason she had not been assigned even a single dungeon until now was because of Evanelin’s influence.
Of course, it was only a guess.
After all, there was no reason to go out of her way to hate someone like Suu, who had nothing.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.’
Contrary to everyone’s concerns, the dungeon was safely here.
‘Still, this is fascinating. To think I can’t feel the dungeon’s aura….’
Suu admired the dungeon’s ability to conceal its aura.
If a human had not guided her here along the way, she probably would not have been able to find it.
At that, Suu saw another possibility.
‘I never imagined he could even command humans. He must truly be incredible!’
Suu’s gaze turned toward Necros.
Although he wore a robe and a white mask, making it impossible to know his true identity, it was certain that an extraordinary aura was emanating from him.
Clap—
Kaleido clapped his hands and spoke to Suu.
“Now then, this Kaleido, ‘who serves Lord Necros,’ shall guide you, Lady Suu.”
Emphasizing Necros’s name, Kaleido proceeded into the dungeon.
“Yes! Please do!”
Suu responded in kind and followed behind Kaleido.
Behind them, Necros, the master of the dungeon, slowly moved forward.
And the moment they arrived deeper inside the dungeon, Suu’s eyes widened.
“Wow—”
Suu let out an exclamation at the majestic and splendid interior of the dungeon.
A grand chandelier, statues adorned in gold, even a marble floor.
At the sight that called to mind the palace of a Demon King, Suu could only stare in a daze.
“I can’t believe this….”
That was not the end of it.
In the center of the room stood a large golden fountain, and around it were heaped all kinds of gold, silver, and treasure, dazzling enough to blind the eyes.
At the incredible sight, a gasp of admiration escaped Suu on its own.
‘This is really a dungeon that was created not long ago?’
Not only did it command humans as its hands and feet, it was also a dungeon that had accumulated tremendous wealth.
It possessed such wealth and dignity that one might believe it had been operating in secret for a long time, evading the company’s eyes.
‘Are dungeons normally all like this…?’
Since this was her first time being assigned to a dungeon, and she had only learned about them theoretically until now, it was a great shock to Suu.
Clap—
“Now then, what do you think? Our Lord Necros has accumulated this much wealth.”
Kaleido clapped his hands and drew Suu’s attention.
There was no lie in his words.
All the assets Necros had siphoned off—no, honestly gathered—along with the wealth he had increased through operating the arena, were here.
Some of it was sent to the dungeon where Celia was, but even so, the amount of money coming in was enormous.
“Now, I shall continue guiding you.”
Kaleido took the lead again.
“We have recently been carrying out expansion work on the dungeon. As such, the finishing touches are still lacking.”
“No! It’s incredible!”
As they went a little deeper, the atmosphere changed.
Compared to the place she had seen just before, it definitely had a somewhat rough feel.
Unlike the area from earlier, which had been laid with marble tiles, construction was still underway here.
Ghouls were swinging pickaxes and moving materials.
‘Unlike its wealth, the quality of its soldiers is low.’
Suu’s eyes turned to the ghouls.
Ghouls were two-star monsters.
As soldiers guarding a dungeon, they were somewhat ambiguous.
On top of that, this was a dungeon overflowing with gold, silver, and treasure.
To guard a dungeon like this with mere two-star ghouls?
It made no sense.
Perhaps the dungeon master also knew that and would request a transaction with the company.
‘He definitely will!’
He would surely improve the quality of his soldiers in order to protect all this gold, silver, and treasure.
All sorts of thoughts passed through Suu’s mind.
‘What should I do if he says he’ll buy expensive monsters in bulk? Does the company even have that much inventory right now…?’
It was a happy worry.
If the dungeon she was in charge of placed a bulk order?
That would become entirely Suu’s own achievement.
‘If that happens, I might even be able to surpass the company’s legend!’
There was one merchant in the Demon Realm Trading Company known as a legend.
Though she had suffered discrimination because she was a half-blood succubus, she was now a legendary merchant whom no one could approach: Moru.
Who could have known that the first dungeon she was assigned to would be such a jackpot?
‘That was definitely a succubus dungeon.’
After achieving tremendous results, Moru had continued to be promoted.
Suu had thought it was an achievement she could never dare to follow, but now an opportunity to chase that legend had appeared.
‘I have to seize it, no matter what!’
Suu made up her mind.
She had to secure this dungeon at all costs.
She intended to do her utmost so that the dungeon master would never say he wanted to change the merchant in charge.
Though this was her first time acting as a merchant in the field, Suu had one strength of her own.
Namely, she was immensely knowledgeable when it came to theory.
For the sake of the day she would go into actual work, she had studied various fields such as dungeons, monsters, items, and artifacts.
‘If I just do as I’ve prepared until now, it’ll be fine!’
Nervous, Suu took a deep breath.
As she continued touring the dungeon while following Kaleido…
She saw someone in a corner, swinging a pickaxe alone.
“?”
There was a being with a physique different from the ghouls she had been seeing all along.
Suu took a step forward and stared intently at the being.
“…Huh!”
There, yet another shocking sight unfolded before her.
“A, a, a… five-star Death Knight!”
Just by looking, it radiated the aura of death, so as a merchant affiliated with the company, there was no way she could fail to recognize it.
Most of all, there was its ominous armor wrapped in pitch black.
In addition, a maid uniform was hanging from the shield the Death Knight held.
“That is!”
It was no ordinary maid uniform.
Others might not know, but it could not escape Suu’s eyes, which were thoroughly armed with theory.
‘I can feel an incredible aura from it! It can’t be an ordinary maid uniform.’
The sight of a Death Knight holding a shield with an extraordinary maid uniform attached to it while swinging a pickaxe was bizarre.
Still, one thing was certain.
‘To think he uses a five-star Death Knight as a worker.’
Suu glanced sideways at Necros.
Though his identity was unknown because of the blue robe and mask, there was no doubt that he was an incredible being.
‘Just who in the world is the master of this dungeon…!’
Several possibilities arose in Suu’s mind.
If he could use a five-star monster as an ordinary worker…
‘He must at least be someone who has reached the peak of five-star!’
In particular, she focused on the thick book Necros was holding.
‘Is that a magic book? If so, perhaps a lich-type?’
If it was indeed a magic book, then at minimum he was a mage-type.
On top of that, considering that he led a Death Knight, there was a high chance that the dungeon master was also an undead-type.
When it came to an undead that used magic, the first monster that came to mind was a lich.
However, a lich was a four-star monster.
That meant he was not a mere lich, but at least an Arch Lich.
Or he might even be an even greater being, an Elder Lich.
But since it had been a long time since a six-star had shown itself, Suu shook her head.
‘That makes no sense. Unless this place were the Demon Realm.’
Information regarding dungeons in the Demon Realm was treated as top secret even within the Demon Realm Trading Company.
It was information granted only to a small number among the executives.
That was why the dungeons of the Demon Realm were a place surrounded by nothing but rumors.
If this dungeon had been in the Demon Realm, one might suspect him of being a six-star Elder Lich, but unfortunately, this was not the Demon Realm.
Still, she could not let her guard down.
Suu looked around the dungeon a little more.
Perhaps because it was indeed a wealthy dungeon, countless workers were attached to the task of expanding it.
Clap—
Just then, Kaleido clapped his hands once again.
“This place is….”
A section of the dungeon where the atmosphere had changed.
A strange energy enveloped Suu.
It was only for a moment, but she felt as if her mind had grown distant, as though she had been hypnotized.
It was a feeling as if something had brushed through her mind.
‘This place is….’
She felt an indescribable sense of wrongness.
But soon, drawn in by Kaleido’s words, she shook off that feeling.
“From here on is the dungeon’s secret space. Would you like to take a look?”
A sudden proposal.
Was it a place different from those she had seen until now?
At Kaleido’s word “secret,” Suu nodded nervously.
“Yes! Please show me!”
In any case, Suu herself was the person in charge of this dungeon. She had a duty to examine every nook and cranny.
“Now then, shall we proceed with an exploration together?”
Clap—
Kaleido clapped his hands.