If one were asked to name the country closest to the Demon Realm, everyone would say the Kingdom of Seil.
The Demon Realm was an unknown land, and no one knew exactly what kinds of monsters lived there.
They could only speculate based on records from the past.
Then, since the Kingdom of Seil bordered the Demon Realm, was it a dangerous place invaded by monsters every day?
One could confidently say that it was not.
Between the Kingdom of Seil and the Demon Realm stood a massive wall.
Because a mountain range blocked the way.
Thus, the existence of this vast mountain range explained why the Kingdom of Seil was relatively safe.
In a way, the kingdom received a certain privilege thanks to this enormous mountain range.
And there was one other being who benefited from that privilege.
“Haa… haa….”
Someone who had been sprinting at full speed until just a moment ago had stopped briefly and was gasping for breath.
The one taking deep breaths was a little girl.
However, to call her human would be strange, for the fangs protruding from her mouth were quite unusual.
Her name was Aren.
And at the same time, she was a vampire.
“Mom, Dad… where are you…?”
Aren spoke sadly.
Her parents, who had been playing with her not long ago, were no longer by her side.
“…Bad mister men.”
Aren had been living in a small dungeon made up of vampires.
But that peace did not last long.
All of a sudden, people armed in pure-white armor had raided the dungeon where Aren lived.
It had happened far too suddenly.
The dungeon had no strength to stop their surprise attack.
Only Aren, using her small body, had managed to escape.
She had been lucky.
After that, she ran without thinking.
Even when paladins chased after her, she looked only ahead and kept running.
It was terribly hard to run while clutching the sword her parents had given her, but Aren ran bravely.
As a result, she had shaken off the paladins and escaped all the way here.
To the vast mountain range bordering the Demon Realm.
“I just have to go a little farther.”
If she crossed this mountain, the Demon Realm would appear.
“Then I’ll be able to see Mom and Dad again.”
Before they parted, her parents had told her.
They had said they would follow later, so she should go to the Demon Realm first.
If she went to the Demon Realm, she would meet her parents again.
Aren firmly believed that.
Growl—
But she had eaten nothing all day.
For little Aren, even that was a critical situation.
“I’m hungry… I miss Mom…….”
Tears were about to come again.
“Hold it in. I have to hold it in….”
She could not cry now.
Instead of crying, she had to muster even a little more strength.
Muttering to herself, Aren wiped away her tears.
Squeak—
A squirrel approached the crying Aren.
“Hehe, it’s a squirrel.”
At the appearance of the cute squirrel, Aren’s expression brightened.
It felt as if all the painful emotions she had been feeling until just now melted away because of the squirrel.
“Little squirrel friend, come here!”
Aren reached out toward the squirrel.
Perhaps the squirrel understood her feelings as well.
Though it was wary at first, the squirrel soon climbed onto Aren’s palm.
“Friends are good!”
Speaking with a lisp, Aren gently wrapped her hands around the squirrel.
Squeak?
Holding the squirrel cupped in her hands, she lifted it just like that and sank her molars into its body.
Squeak!
“Delicious friend, hehe.”
Joy overflowed from Aren’s expression.
“So sweet!”
It was as if she were drinking sweet juice.
Red liquid dripped one drop at a time from the corners of Aren’s mouth.
“Little squirrel friend, see you again later!”
After sucking her self-proclaimed friend dry, she set what had once been a squirrel on the ground and stood up.
She still had a long way to go.
Staying here was not a good choice. She never knew when the scary mister men might come chasing after her.
And so Aren got bravely to her feet.
“Let’s do our best!”
For the day when she would meet her mom and dad again someday.
Aren carefully hugged the sword her parents had given her.
Her parents had explained something about the sword, but there was no way young Aren would remember it.
“Ah!”
Aren’s eyes turned toward the ground.
She had discovered a snake crawling across it.
“A long friend!”
With the sword held against her chest, she snatched up the snake in her tiny hands.
“Let’s go together. Delicious friend.”
At least for the time being.
Aren’s mouth did not seem likely to be bored.
* * *
Celia was busily moving around the dungeon.
It was none other than for an internal inspection of the dungeon.
After hearing that paladins had appeared nearby, Celia had immediately begun preparing.
Fortunately, the funds needed for such preparations were more than abundant.
‘Where did he get all these magic stones…?’
The great Master had given her no fewer than twenty thousand magic stones.
With this much, they had enough to prepare for the paladins.
“I’d like traps installed here.”
Celia pointed inside the dungeon.
As she inspected, she mentioned the parts that needed attention.
“Please use traps that can be installed quickly.”
She was conducting business with the Demon Realm Trading Company regarding this.
The person in charge, “Moru,” had a smile on her face.
Moru had recently become a hot topic within the Demon Realm Trading Company.
That was because her performance, which had been at zero, was rapidly rising.
Until now, Moru had been discriminated against within the company solely because she was a half-blood succubus born between a succubus and a human.
But through good fortune, she had been assigned as the manager for this dungeon.
That had become a turning point for her.
The dungeon she was currently in charge of was no ordinary wealthy place.
‘I know they used a lot of magic stones last time too….’
This time, they had requested not only traps, but also replacements for the weapons to be used by the monster soldiers.
“In addition to the traps here, weapons for the goblins and skeletons to use as well. Will that be all right?”
“It doesn’t matter how many magic stones it costs, so we need the highest quality possible.”
They even requested good quality for every single weapon.
“But, Miss Moru?”
“Yes! Just tell me what you need.”
“Do you perhaps have equipment like armor as well?”
The weapons would be acceptable for the most part, but the defensive gear was lacking.
No matter how good their attacks were, what use was it if their defenses were breached?
“Of course! At our Demon Realm Trading Company, we stock not only adventurer equipment, but also equipment seized from the Order. The Order’s defensive gear is especially good in quality. But, as expected, the price is…”
“Then shall we discuss that?”
“Ah! Yes!”
Moru answered happily.
If this deal also went through smoothly, she would have no need to worry about her performance at all.
‘I absolutely have to stay with this person to the very end.’
Moru thought this as she glanced at Celia beside her.
Since she was her best customer, Moru resolved to accommodate her as much as possible.
* * *
There was one thing I had to correct.
Despite having said I probably wouldn’t be able to play the game for a while, I launched it without fail.
[Eldorad]
The simple title of the game appeared on the screen.
In practice, it was closer to an idle game, but it had its own kind of fun.
“Oh.”
Especially because the characters were somewhat three-dimensional, should I say?
Even now, several characters were moving busily around the dungeon.
Everyone looked busy except for Area 1, where the undead lived.
“But who’s this?”
An unfamiliar face was beside Celia.
I clicked immediately to check who the character was.
“Moru?”
Her name was Moru.
According to the description, she was a merchant belonging to the Demon Realm Trading Company, and there were two stars beside her.
That merchant was moving here and there together with Celia.
“Ah, so dungeon development is done through her.”
Moru, huh…
If I needed to make any trades in the future, I would just have to remember the name Moru.
“Tsk.”
Still, if they moved around that busily, there would be nothing left for me to do.
The reason I had entered the game was actually simple.
I had wanted to dispatch Celia for fun to support another dungeon.
But Celia was working hard.
If I assigned her additional work here?
I would be an exploitative employer.
That said, in this situation, it felt wrong to pull out the Death Knight too.
Someone had to guard the dungeon, after all.
“This dungeon seemed kind of special…”
I saw one unusual dungeon that had appeared on the [Dungeon Support & Dispatch] list.
An incubus dungeon.
On the surface, it looked ordinary.
The problem was that the dungeon’s location was not on the continent of Eldorad.
“Another dimension?”
Something that defied my expectations had appeared.
It was interesting, so I had been about to dispatch someone right away.
On top of that, it was an incubus dungeon.
If it was an incubus dungeon, then the monsters had the opposite nature to succubi.
“No matter how I look at it, Celia is perfect for this.”
I stared at the screen with regret.
“Well, there’s still time.”
A timer was displayed beside the incubus dungeon.
- Time Remaining: 1 day, 2 hours, 16 minutes
Perhaps I only had to dispatch someone within this time?
Since in-game time and real time flowed the same way, Celia’s work would probably be more or less finished before then.
I watched the dungeon changing to my satisfaction.
* * *
The vice guildmaster’s office of the Firebird Guild.
There, two figures were having a conversation.
“You said Jeong Yerin is going into the dungeon tomorrow?”
Vice Guildmaster Jeong Taeyeong asked back in a cold voice.
“That’s what I’m saying. She must have really made up her mind, because she was preparing thoroughly too.”
Jeong Ujin answered Jeong Taeyeong’s question.
Jeong Ujin held a position managing personnel authority and dungeons within the Firebird Guild, though not to the same extent as Jeong Taeyeong.
They were Jeong Yerin’s eldest and second elder brothers.
“Hyung, think about it. What a great opportunity is this?”
That dungeon contained a Goblin Lord.
A Goblin Lord was an A-rank monster.
And their younger sister, Jeong Yerin, was a B-rank healer.
The team members under Team Leader Jeong Yerin were all C-rank or D-rank hunters as well.
No matter that Jeong Yerin was a B-rank hunter, she was a noncombatant healer.
In reality, it would be fair to say the highest rank in that party was C-rank.
For a party like that to enter a dungeon containing a Goblin Lord? Naturally, it was insanity.
But they did not stop her.
“Then give her as much support as possible. That way, no one will be able to complain later.”
Rather, they hoped Jeong Yerin would enter that dungeon.
They intended to support her sufficiently so that even if Jeong Yerin died later, no one would raise questions.
In truth, to them, Jeong Yerin was nothing.
Even so, there was always the possibility of the unexpected.
They intended to trample the sprout before Jeong Yerin could grow any bigger.
And now that such a good opportunity had come, how could they simply let it pass?
‘Mother will be pleased.’
Their mother in particular hated Jeong Yerin.
No, it went beyond avoidance and was closer to disgust.
Because she was the child born from another wife of her husband.
But now, even that would be over.
Good news would be heard before long.
“Ah, come to think of it, are you preparing well?”
As if something had occurred to him, Jeong Taeyeong asked Jeong Ujin a question.
Jeong Ujin was also scheduled to enter another dungeon.
“Of course! Who do you think I am? I’ve already sent reconnaissance into that dungeon.”
“What are you going to do if the dungeon prepares for you because of that?”
It would be one thing if they were low-rank monsters.
But as their rank rose, monsters’ intelligence rose as well.
If one conducted reconnaissance so openly, the monsters could prepare.
That was why high-rank dungeons were said to be difficult to clear.
The dungeon Jeong Ujin was preparing for was B-rank.
It was by no means a low-rank dungeon.
“Don’t worry, hyung.”
Jeong Ujin smiled as he spoke, as if it were nothing.
“There were only incubi there.”
“Is that true?”
What were incubi?
Unlike succubi, they were dream demons that targeted only women.
And yet there was a dungeon containing only incubi.
“In that case, you must have composed the team entirely of men.”
It was only natural to form a party solely of male hunters for a dungeon containing only incubi.
Men were not affected by the brainwashing of incubi.
No matter how much the incubi prepared, it would be useless.
‘A picture where Jeong Ujin succeeds and Jeong Yerin fails…’
It seemed the heavens were on Jeong Ujin’s and his side after all.