Beren Bloodworth remained on his knees.
His current appearance was so wretched that it was hard to believe he had once been the captain who led the “Red Fang” mercenary band.
The area around his eyes was swollen and bruised, and blood flowed from his nose.
His front teeth had already been knocked out, so drool was dribbling from his mouth.
Celia smiled in satisfaction as she looked at him.
Not because Beren’s appearance was disgraceful, but because the process of capturing him had pleased her.
“Indeed, everyone completed the duties assigned to them in accordance with their positions.”
As expected, each of them had been given tasks suited to their positions during this process, and from her perspective, the fact that they had all carried them out splendidly was worthy of praise.
First was Skol, who held the position of margrave.
As the master leading a dungeon and the chieftain of an orc tribe, he had subdued the enemy admirably.
She judged that he had faithfully completed the duty befitting his position.
Next was Inspector Lich.
He, too, had clearly carried out the duty befitting his position as inspector.
Had he not discovered the enemy first, then taken into custody those Skol had subdued and brought them all the way here?
And that was not all. Depending on the situation, he had even shown meticulousness in recording evaluations of the others.
“Hmm.”
Celia fell briefly into thought as she looked over the records Lich had written.
Then, soon after.
“Since the results were good, let’s say no one gets any demerits.”
At those words, Death Knight’s face lit up.
The records Lich had written.
Death Knight had just been scolded by Celia for dereliction of duty and leaving his post in the dungeon without permission, both of which had been written down.
At the mention of no demerits, Death Knight’s mood improved.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming warm and amicable.
A group of goblins appeared.
Lightly armed, they marched in formation and stopped in front of Celia.
The hobgoblin leading the group of goblins saluted Celia.
“Administrator, all preparations complete!”
They were the unit Celia had newly established.
The reconnaissance squad.
Since the Great One had set up the grand framework, it was Celia’s role to fill in the detailed pieces of the puzzle.
And the first of those pieces was the reconnaissance squad made up of goblins.
Lich did patrol as well, but strictly speaking, his purpose was more to inspect the others than to scout.
It would never happen, of course, but Celia, concerned that a hole might appear in their security, had organized a separate reconnaissance squad.
This was not difficult.
She armed the goblins with light equipment so their movement would not be restricted, then had them scout the area around the dungeon.
Goblins were agile, befitting their small bodies, and their green skin served as camouflage suitable for the forest.
On top of that, there were many of them, making them a race well suited to scouting in shifts.
That did not mean she had simply organized the goblins and left it at that.
A systematic organization was necessary, so first, she divided the reconnaissance squad into three teams for shift work.
Three-star hobgoblins were assigned as team leaders to command each of the three teams.
Finally, a Goblin Lord was assigned as the monster who would command the entire goblin reconnaissance squad.
In a way, it was an obvious choice.
And now.
The first team, newly established and about to depart on its first reconnaissance mission, had appeared.
Celia spoke to the hobgoblin team leader who was about to head out on the first patrol.
“From next time on, report only to the Goblin Lord and carry out your mission.”
At Celia’s words, the hobgoblin saluted again and left the dungeon.
It was the official beginning of the reconnaissance squad’s duties.
‘Now that the problem of scouting near the dungeon has been solved, there shouldn’t be any issues.’
In this way, Celia intended to do anything for her master’s goal.
Lich followed behind the reconnaissance squad as they headed out of the dungeon, but she paid no attention to that.
Lich was doing well, and more importantly, Celia had something else she had to do.
“Now, it is time for judgment.”
It was now time to pass judgment on the intruders before her.
And the one who would deliver that righteous verdict was none other than—
The one who had been granted the position of chief administrator by the great master, the one in charge of diplomacy, the one who established rules within the dungeon and set discipline in order—Celia would make the final judgment.
Celia looked one by one at those sprawled on the floor.
“To think you dared intrude upon the domain of the Most Exalted One. Normally, you would all deserve death, but I shall grant you a special opportunity.”
An opportunity?
At her words, those who had been on the verge of tears raised their heads.
From the moment they had been dragged here, they had thought themselves finished.
They had assumed they would probably be killed immediately, but the words of the woman before them gave them hope that they might survive.
She was surely the dungeon’s master.
No, considering she had referred to someone as the Great One earlier, she might not be the master herself, but it was certain she held a high position.
If so, their fate would change according to her words.
All of them thought the same thing and held hope in their hearts.
“I hereby sentence you to penal labor, in which you shall work until the day you die.”
Celia passed judgment on the intruders.
A punishment in which all of them would have to work until they died.
It was obvious they would be treated like slaves.
Even so, all of them sighed in relief at her words.
For now, surviving was what mattered.
Only by surviving first could they plan for the future.
After all, every one of them was thinking only of finding an opening and escaping.
She had said they would have to work forever, but an opening would surely come.
If they could make good use of that chance and escape, then the situation was not so despairing.
Some of them even had families to feed, so they clung to hope all the more.
Having delivered the verdict, Celia looked at Death Knight and opened her mouth.
“Mr. Death Knight. As the knight commander who protects the dungeon, carry out their punishment.”
Death Knight nodded at Celia’s words.
Then he drew the sword at his waist.
With a clear ring, the sword slid from its scabbard.
“Huh…?”
Beren was momentarily flustered.
Why was he suddenly drawing his sword?
But his thoughts ended there.
Because what happened next occurred in an instant.
Thud—
As soon as Death Knight drew his sword, he drove it toward Beren’s heart.
Beren’s heart was pierced through by the blade.
“Guh.”
Beren let out a short cry and met his end.
Seeing that, the others fell into panic and screamed.
You said you’d spare us!
You said you’d give us a chance!
But there was no one to listen to their cries.
It was nothing more than a silent clamor.
As everyone wailed, a very small change began.
“Grrrgh…”
A strange, phlegmy sound came from somewhere.
Those who had been screaming fell silent at that faint sound.
What was that?
Where was it coming from?
And soon, they realized where the sound was coming from and what change was taking place.
Beren, whose heart had clearly been pierced, was rising while making that strange noise.
“……”
Everyone fell silent.
Those who had once served Beren as their captain were horrified.
The Captain Beren they had known was already gone.
In his place existed only a ghoul wearing Beren’s form.
Beren Bloodworth, who had been sentenced to death by him and obtained a new life as a ghoul.
It was the effect of Death Knight’s skill.
At the sight of him, Celia smiled brightly.
“Oh my, this time an ordinary ghoul came out.”
Those sentenced to death by Death Knight were reborn as ghouls.
In truth, the ghouls that had appeared until now had been abnormally powerful; this situation was actually the normal one.
This ghoul was an extremely ordinary two-star, after all.
Of course, they were not people she had intended to use for combat from the start, so Celia was satisfied.
“Well, there shouldn’t be any problem with putting him to work.”
Celia looked at the rest as well.
“Now we can train our laborers.”
Ghouls were undead.
Once one became undead, there was naturally no need to rest. Of course, there was no need for sleep either.
They did not even need to consume food, so they had the advantage of being able to devote themselves solely to work.
Their durability might be questionable, but ghouls would be mass-produced anyway.
In other words, they were worker slaves armed with the ultimate cost-efficiency.
At Celia’s words, the surviving ones screamed and thrashed.
“I don’t want to die like this!”
Someone screamed and tried to flee, but this place was already inside the dungeon.
The moment he rose, he died to Death Knight’s swinging sword.
And like Beren, after a short while, he rose again as a ghoul.
“This isn’t right! I have a family to feed! Please… please, I beg you. Show me mercy.”
One of the mercenaries began to beg and plead.
But that was that human’s problem, not something Celia needed to concern herself with.
Most of all, if he was someone who cared for his family so much, he should not have come here in the first place.
That was simply how dungeon subjugation worked.
It was something one had to undertake while always keeping death in mind.
Death Knight’s sword moved again.
“Ah, Goddess. Please grant me salvation.”
Even amid the screams, despair, and sorrow running rampant, someone offered a prayer.
But there was no goddess here to hear that prayer.
Instead, Death Knight cut down the man who was praying.
The result was different, but that man was freed from despair and pain.
And by becoming a ghoul, he was saved.
The birth of a new life that appeared alongside death.
This dungeon was surely a place of salvation.
Death Knight’s sword continued to move.
It was as if he were dancing.
Everyone screamed and transformed into ghouls.
From now on, they would take charge of all the odd jobs involved in the dungeon’s operation.
Unless a second death came for them, they would offer eternal loyalty to the Great One.
That was the way they would atone for the wrongs they had committed. This, too, was their fate.
“Grrr.”
“Grrgh…”
All of them were newly born.
Just like Beren, who had been their captain, all of them became members of the dungeon.
Celia, who had been watching the scene with satisfaction, lifted her head again.
“Another guest has arrived, I see?”
Someone had entered the dungeon’s domain.
Celia had already sensed the presence of a group for some time.
She had left them alone because they had merely remained still at a distance, but now that they had directly entered her master’s domain, she could not simply ignore them.
Depending on the other party’s purpose, the action Celia would take was going to change as well.
“Now, everyone, finish up and prepare to greet our guests.”
* * *
Gullon, presenting himself under the identity of the merchant company, had come again.
Of course, deep down, he wanted to shout his surrender at once, but the presence of the shadows behind him bothered him, so he merely kept talking in circles.
The awkward smile was a bonus.
“Is there nothing else the dungeon requires these days?”
“Haha, the weather has been truly nice lately, has it not?”
He had no idea how many times they had already talked about the weather by now.
In other words, only meaningless conversation was continuing, and Celia, who had no desire to waste any more time, opened her mouth.
“Now, it’s all right, so I would like you to get to the point. Enough of the meaningless talk.”
At her words, Gullon thought for a moment.
Then he glanced behind him.
The shadows remained still.
Thinking this was his chance, Gullon swallowed once, then made up his mind to act.
He quickly ran toward Celia and then dropped to his knees on the floor.
“Please, spare my life! The merchant company is trying to get rid of both me and this dungeon!”
Gullon spoke in an elevated tone.
Then he glanced back again.
‘Strange.’
No matter how anyone looked at it, his current actions made it seem as though he had betrayed the merchant company and thrown in his lot with this dungeon.
But unlike what he had feared, the shadows took no action at all.
Rather, they simply stood there in place without the slightest movement.
“Huh?”
Something was odd.
As Gullon tilted his head, Celia’s voice reached him.
“To think you would bring me such a gift. I do not know who they are, but they are rather kind, aren’t they?”
At the same time, the shadows bowed their heads toward Celia.
“Uh…?”
Gullon could not understand the situation.
Did it not look as though the shadows were swearing loyalty to Celia?