Someone was walking inside the dungeon.
His face resembled a toad’s, a visage that no one could possibly call human.
His name was Gulron.
He was currently a manager belonging to the Audit Team of the Demon Realm Merchant Association.
As befitting his position, guards were attached to his sides, with Skeleton Knights surrounding him.
There were no fewer than twenty.
“Hehe.”
Who could receive such luxurious protection?
Skeleton Knights were nothing less than 3-Star monsters.
Of course, looking at the whole picture, they weren’t a very high grade. But even so, they weren’t a level that would be lacking anywhere, so having this level of escort could be called luxurious.
Naturally, this was a consideration given by the Association due to his belonging to the Audit Team.
Gulron looked around the dungeon interior with a satisfied expression.
‘The inside of the dungeon is just so-so.’
It had a crude appearance without a single refined feeling.
“Hmm.”
Just because its appearance was crude didn’t mean Gulron evaluated the entire dungeon poorly.
What kind of place was this?
Was it not the place that had helped Moru, who had had no achievements at all within the Association, transform into the top performer?
That meant its transaction volume was just as large; in other words, it also meant the dungeon’s master had money in spades.
That was why Gulron had visited this dungeon.
Of course, there was a separate person in charge of transactions.
One of the Association’s rules was not to arbitrarily change the person in charge, so even though he was from the Audit Team, he didn’t have the authority to violate that.
Gulron wasn’t interested in such things either; he had come here for different business.
Walking with the Skeleton Knights as an escort, he soon came to a three-way fork.
“…It’s big.”
What he had checked was that the dungeon hadn’t been around for long.
Looking at the transaction records, there had been dungeon expansion work done through the Association, but could it expand this much from just that?
It was closer to an impossible story in Gulron’s opinion.
“As expected, so it has ability.”
Newly created dungeons were commonly given the lowest credit scores.
There were many variables since they might be subjugated by external raids at any time, so from the Association’s standpoint, the risk was high.
But this place was a new dungeon that was also attracting attention within the Association.
If the Association was watching, showing this level of ability was the right thing to do.
Stopping briefly before the three-way fork, someone walked out from the right path.
“I have been waiting. I am Celia, who is in charge of managing the dungeon.”
Gulron looked at the one who had greeted him first.
She possessed tremendous beauty and dignity.
Her clothes also made her appear even more refined.
Gulron was momentarily distracted by such bearing before coming to his senses.
“Ah, pardon me. I am Manager Gulron, affiliated with the Association’s Audit Team.”
Gulron deliberately put emphasis on the word ‘Manager.’
It was an act to seize the initiative in the conversation with the other party.
“Nice to meet you, Manager Gulron. I shall guide you this way.”
Without any change in her demeanor, Celia simply smiled and guided Gulron to the right path.
Gulron followed behind her, thinking.
‘Why did she erase her presence?’
He couldn’t feel any energy from her at all.
Usually, there were two cases: one was that she was of a level so high he couldn’t detect her, or she was deliberately hiding her energy using a skill or artifact.
‘Probably the latter.’
If she were of a level high enough that he couldn’t recognize it, she’d have to be at least 5-Star, but no matter how dignified she appeared, she didn’t seem to be of that level.
‘Then she hid it on purpose.’
What would be the reason for deliberately hiding it?
There were occasionally such people.
The type that disliked revealing their hand to the Demon Realm Merchant Association.
It was a method that showed an intention to not be pushed around.
‘Perhaps this place isn’t all that special either.’
Maybe they had lucked out and captured a wealthy adventurer, which was why they had so much money.
Various guesses crossed his mind, but Gulron silently followed Celia without changing his expression.
The first place they arrived at was a field.
There, green grass, flowers, and butterflies filled the air.
They were all monsters, not ordinary creatures.
‘Lower grade than I thought.’
They were far too low.
It looked like a dungeon that would be quickly cleared by adventurers with even a little experience.
‘I’ll have to report this to the Association when I return.’
If this was the level it possessed, there didn’t seem to be a need to pay it any special attention.
Gulron thought so and moved to the next place.
There was a large lake there.
Goblins could be seen drawing water near the lakeshore.
Gulron continued to rack his brain as he watched this scene.
‘So goblins are stationed in other areas too.’
He had learned something new, but nothing seemed worth paying much attention to yet.
He circled the lake and moved to the next place.
Finally, he arrived at the dungeon’s central area.
Gulron first examined the location of the core, worthy of being called the dungeon’s heart.
Because depending on how it was managed, the dungeon’s level could be seen.
‘The security is decent enough.’
Troops were deployed around the core.
Though they were wrapped in large robes so he couldn’t tell who they were, they at least seemed to care about security.
“Oh… is that a human?”
And one more thing.
Beyond the bars, a human woman could be seen; her belly was swollen.
“That is the fate of one who dared come here without fear.”
Celia answered, still smiling.
At her answer, Gulron raised his evaluation of the dungeon slightly.
A dungeon needed such ambition to be called a dungeon.
Passing the prison, a certain facility caught Gulron’s eye.
He didn’t know what the space was for, but several Skeleton Knights were guarding it.
‘Hmm…’
It was an extraordinary space no matter who looked at it.
Perhaps the Skeleton Knights stationed there were what showed the dungeon’s true strength.
It was undoubtedly a space rivaling the protection of the core itself.
Gulron kept this fact in mind and continued walking.
Soon he reached the end of the central area.
There was a chair decorated with jewels that looked like the seat of the dungeon’s master no matter who saw it.
A throne.
“By the way, would it be possible to know where the dungeon master is?”
Gulron looked around.
No matter how he looked, there was no one worthy of being called the dungeon master.
“Ah, the master is not here at the moment. But please do not worry. I have been granted all authority by the master, so you may speak to me.”
Gulron briefly had doubts about Celia’s words but soon reached a conclusion.
‘No matter how I look at it, this woman is definitely the master.’
What kind of master would abandon their dungeon and leave?
Especially when they had been notified that the Association was coming.
This was nothing more than propaganda.
“I see.”
Gulron wasn’t a fool who would speak his inner thoughts out loud.
“Then the conversation will be quick. I visited this place for no other reason than to make one thing certain.”
Gulron also put on a pleasant smile toward Celia and clapped once.
Clap—
Then two of the Skeleton Knights standing guard dragged something out.
There was a person stained with blood.
It was Juwel, who had been Moru’s superior.
But Juwel was in a horrific state.
Her two eyes were literally sewn shut, and red, bloody fluid dripped from the stitches onto the floor.
Not only that.
Her mouth was sewn shut just like her eyes, so she couldn’t even open it.
Only because the stitches were slightly parted could she breathe through the gaps.
Her throat had been cauterized with a hot iron, for she couldn’t even make groaning sounds, and her ears were blocked with unknown things.
Currently, she could neither see, hear, nor speak.
In short, she had been stripped of all freedom.
Gulron swept his gaze over Juwel once and then turned his head toward Celia.
At the same time, his greedy jowls wobbled.
“What do you think? Yesterday, one of our Association’s employees committed a great discourtesy toward your side. I hope you will see this as the bare minimum of sincerity regarding that.”
Gulron bowed at the waist.
It was courtesy toward a dungeon that had recently raised revenue for the Association, and at the same time, it was the end of one who had tried to frame such a dungeon.
“This one is no longer related to the Association. Please do as you wish with her, dungeon mast— ahem, Lady Celia. If you like, you could use her for monster breeding like that human wench. Keke.”
Gulron laughed like a demon.
There was also an intention to overwhelm the other party by showing the cruel side of the Demon Realm Merchant Association.
But Celia was surprised in a different sense.
‘So that’s what you call punishment.’
She had been too soft until now.
Celia thought that next time, she would have to impose that level of punishment on those who ignored her master.
When Celia said nothing, Gulron smirked and continued.
“Of course, our Association doesn’t end with this. From now on, we will offer discounts on transactions and special treatment.”
Gulron drew a card from his bosom.
It had a different appearance from the existing Black Card.
A golden star was drawn on a white card.
It was the so-called ‘White Card’ indicating a VIP of the Demon Realm Merchant Association.
The more stars, the higher the grade, but even one star held tremendous meaning.
The White Card wasn’t issued to just anyone.
Those who possessed this card received special treatment from the Association and gained the authority to attend special auctions; it was no simple card.
So giving a White Card to a dungeon that had been around for such a short time?
This alone showed how much attention the Association was paying.
Of course, Celia also knew this, as she had a little past experience managing dungeons.
Celia hesitated briefly.
The incubus that had invaded her dungeon.
She had known that Juwel was behind it, and she had been thinking of punishing her soon.
But somehow the Association had found out and already taken care of it.
From Celia’s standpoint, such an Association was irritating, but since they were manpower that would one day work for her master anyway, she decided to let it slide.
“I see. If the Association comes out like this, it would be rather difficult to refuse.”
Celia picked up the card Gulron handed over.
“By the way, the masters of nearby dungeons are holding a banquet this evening; how would you feel about attending, Lady Celia?”
Gulron said casually and raised his hand.
“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I’m only telling you because the master is not here at the moment.”
“Thank you for the good information.”
“This much is nothing. Our Association is always sincere. Then I hope to see you again someday…”
Celia expressed her thanks, and Gulron left the dungeon with those words.
Celia worried about how to dispose of Juwel, who was sprawled on the floor, then soon mulled over what Gulron had said.
“A banquet…”
This time, another restriction had been lifted.
The range they could leave the dungeon had increased further.
That meant it would be possible to subjugate dungeons that were farther away than before.
Celia thought the purpose of the banquet was preliminary reconnaissance before subjugation.
* * *
“Chwik, I would like to express my gratitude to those who attended this banquet…”
The orc who was speaking stopped.
Then he rubbed his eyes and cautiously opened them again.
“Chwik?”
Strange.
It was a banquet to build camaraderie with those in similar circumstances.
It was definitely such a banquet, yet a being of a completely different caliber had appeared.
“Uh…”
The orc stammered in confusion.
“I-I surrender.”
Starting with the orc’s words, everyone who had attended the banquet declared their surrender at Celia’s appearance.