“So that happened?”
Celia nodded in response to Maru’s words.
“It seems Master was being considerate because it would likely be hard on you, Maru.”
Maru nodded as well at her words.
“As expected, Master is deeply considerate. To think he would care so much for lowly servants like us—this Celia is moved.”
Celia even closed her eyes, as if she truly were touched.
Hearing her words, Maru also became certain.
When he thought about it, what reason would there be for Master to suddenly quit the ramyeon he had been eating so well all this time?
Maru was convinced that Master’s instruction not to put his own touch into the cooking had been out of consideration.
“Clack!”
Then Maru brought up the words Master had entrusted to him before he came here.
“What? Master gave you a request?”
Because they were the words of the Great One, Celia naturally showed interest.
“Clack-clack-claaack—”
Maru even gestured as he conveyed Master’s words.
“I see.”
Celia cupped her chin.
“He wishes us to send dead monsters as sacrifices?”
And not monsters from some other dungeon, either.
Master had instructed them to send as sacrifices those among the monsters in this dungeon who had died.
“Oh my!”
After carefully thinking over the words Maru had conveyed, Celia smiled brightly.
“I understand his profound meaning—that Master will embrace even the dead! I shall send them at once!”
“Clack?”
(We have some?)
Maru expressed his doubt at that.
Master had clearly said to send dead monsters as sacrifices if any appeared, so how could she send them right away…
What was going on?
Just then, a skeleton knight entered from outside.
In the knight’s bony hand was a wooden tray, and on top of it sat two cups.
He came over naturally and placed a cup before Celia and Maru.
“Thank you, Sir Knight.”
They were elegant cups, and liquid was inside them.
“Ah, this is tea we found among the adventurers’ belongings. It tastes quite wonderful.”
Celia offered Maru the tea.
“?”
Maru stared at the tea, then drank it down in one go.
It had no taste whatsoever.
Nor did he feel anything like heat.
The liquid merely flowed into his mouth, passed through his torso, and spilled onto the floor.
“……”
Looking closely, Celia’s workspace contained various luxury snacks and drinks.
There was tea like this, of course, as well as things like cookies and jerky.
It was possible because quite a few adventurers had visited this place until now.
All the adventurers carried belongings in one form or another, most of which were money or food.
Sometimes there were luxury items like this too, so Celia held tea time.
“As expected, the depth of tea’s flavor is splendid.”
Celia also took a sip of tea and savored it.
Then she gave an order to the skeleton knight beside her.
“There are some dead in Area Two, yes? Bring over the bodies. They are to be offered to Master, so handle them with the utmost care.”
At her command, the skeleton knight saluted and turned away.
“Were there any other words?”
After the skeleton knight left, Celia looked back at Maru and spoke.
Maru thought for a moment, then said something.
“Clack—!”
This was the important part.
“Rattle—clack-clack—!”
“I see.”
“Clack-clack-clack.”
“I can only marvel at Master’s insight.”
Maru spoke with the sound of bones, and Celia nodded at his words, marveling at that insight.
The story Maru conveyed was simple.
- Draft and report a proposal for the organizations and units needed in the dungeon.
Even now, everyone had a rough role assigned, but it was not systematic.
From now on, the dungeon’s size would continue to grow.
It would be good to slowly establish its framework starting now.
Master had clearly said as much.
Maru conveyed Master’s request to Celia exactly as it was.
“He is absolutely correct. For now, we are only dealing with adventurers, but we must look to the future. Once we devour the kingdom, we will need various organizations.”
“?”
Devour the kingdom?
Since something Maru knew nothing about had come up, he stayed still.
“When that time comes, we will have to consider war not only with the nations of humans, but also with other dungeons. The scale itself will change. It is certainly right to prepare from now on.”
She understood Master’s objective well.
However, Celia asked Maru for additional help.
“In that case, Maru, what sort of organizations and units would be good?”
Maru was no ordinary monster.
He was practically an adjutant assisting Master at Master’s side.
He surely understood Master’s thoughts well.
That was why Celia asked Maru.
“……”
Maru hesitated for a moment at her question.
Organizations? Units?
What would be good?
In truth, Maru did not really know Master’s intent either.
He mainly did housework, after all.
But regardless of Master’s intentions, he could still help answer Celia’s question.
Because he used the smartphone every day whenever Master slept.
Maru was a monster with his own store of knowledge, having watched not only cooking videos but also videos of hunters.
Using that knowledge, Maru spoke.
“Clack! Cla-cla-clack!”
“You mean reconnaissance and vanguard units.”
Celia nodded and sank into thought.
They were certainly necessary units.
At present, there was a reconnaissance unit made up of goblins.
So there was no need to organize an additional reconnaissance unit.
However, they did need a unit that would stand at the very front and break through enemy defensive lines.
“Ah!”
The name vanguard was too ordinary.
It did not suit Master’s dignity.
At the very least, a unit belonging to the great Master should be capable of piercing through the enemy’s front line in the first strike.
Celia immediately began writing something on paper.
- [Shock Troops]: A unit composed of numerous skeletons that stands at the foremost line.
Its primary mission is to break through enemy lines.
If Master approves, Inspector Arch Lich is planned to be appointed as commander of the Shock Troops.
One unit was organized immediately.
“What else will be needed?”
Celia looked at Maru.
“Clack-cla-clack!”
“Indeed. Reinforcement is necessary in war.”
In the end, war was a battle of attrition.
The side whose resources were exhausted first would inevitably lose, and support had to be properly delivered to other units.
In short, a unit for support was needed.
Celia immediately came up with an idea.
“As expected, when it comes to replenishing troops, Sir Death Knight is perfect!”
Arch Lich could do it as well, but he had already been appointed commander of the Shock Troops.
Celia immediately began writing the next unit on the paper.
- [Undead Reinforcement Brigade]: Its primary mission is to endlessly create ghouls and replenish troops on the fronts where needed. It also handles prisoner management.
If Master approves, Death Knight is planned to be appointed as commander of the Undead Reinforcement Brigade.
Of course, Death Knight had the position of knight commander.
But in Celia’s view, it did not suit Death Knight.
The proposals for two units were already complete.
Celia and Maru continued talking and began laying additional foundations.
- [Special Operations Bureau]: A unit composed of shadows and banshees. Its primary missions are special assignments such as intelligence gathering and rear-line disruption.
Using the abilities of shadows, it gathers intelligence and assassinates key figures.
Using the abilities of banshees, it gathers intelligence and disrupts the enemy rear.
If Master approves, Celia is planned to be appointed as director of the Special Operations Bureau.
- [Search Unit] (planned): A unit reorganized from the existing goblin reconnaissance unit.
Once restrictions on its range of activity are lifted, it is planned to be assigned missions beyond patrolling only the dungeon’s surroundings, including searching and scouting enemy territory.
Since only the name of the Search Unit will be changed, Goblin Lord will remain appointed as unit commander.
Many other proposals emerged as well.
A Defense Command to defend all of Master’s territory going forward.
A Goblin Magic Guard made up of half-goblins.
The fire brigade Master had organized not long ago was reorganized into the Facilities Safety Department with Maru’s help.
And things would not happen only on land.
Considering that, Celia even organized an underwater unit made up of nagas.
“Mm…”
Units and organizations would continue to increase in the future.
But Celia felt as though something was lacking.
“As expected, we must organize a unit solely for Master!”
A unit that would devote its loyalty and protection to Master alone.
It was none other than a personal guard.
“I must select exceptional talents suited to Master!”
This unit would interact closely with Master and would essentially remain by Master’s side.
Because of that, the members of the personal guard had to be selected strictly.
They had to be talents suited to the Great One, of course, and they had to act solely for Master and praise only Master.
But for the moment, no such talent came to mind.
“It cannot be helped.”
Celia wrote only her own name under the members of the personal guard.
For the time being, it became a unit with Celia as its sole member.
Celia and Maru’s conversation continued.
Everything they were doing now was part of strengthening Master’s forces.
It was something that had to be accomplished no matter how long it took, so Celia’s hand moved busily.
And then—
A skeleton knight arrived carrying something in a large sack.
“Ah, you came early? Place all of those on the altar.”
“Clack!”
At her command, the skeleton knight saluted again and dragged the sack away.
“It is nothing much.”
Seeing the curiosity on Maru’s face, Celia answered with a smile.
“They are merely those who died during training.”
“?”
For a moment, Maru flinched.
Training?
His hometown, to which he had returned after so long, had become a terrifying place.
The corpses inside the sack belonged to goblins.
Last time, in accordance with Master’s order to make them attain enlightenment, Celia had ordered Goblin Lord and Arch Lich to train them.
At the same time, she had granted them the authority for summary execution, and these had all come from the goblins.
Of course, it was not that Goblin Lord had executed them on his own.
It was simply that some goblins had died because the training was too hard.
After the skeleton knight left, a goblin entered this time.
It was clearly the goblin shaman who had been active in the reconnaissance unit.
“Three, intruders here. They strong. Krrk.”
The goblin shaman reported to Celia that three intruders had appeared.
Their clothing was ordinary, but their martial strength was no joke.
One squad of the goblin reconnaissance unit that had gone out to scout had been nearly annihilated.
And the opponents continued moving in this direction.
“How dare vermin appear while we are carrying out Master’s orders.”
Normally, she would have left it to others.
But right now, this was an important meeting where they were planning Master’s future.
And intruders had suddenly appeared and ruined the mood?
Celia was furious.
And she immediately made a gesture with her hand.
At Celia’s gesture, the three people wandering near the dungeon stopped moving.
It was her skill, Charm.
Because Celia’s grade was high, even though there was distance between them, those people quickly fell under her charm.
“They have been dealt with, so reorganize the reconnaissance unit.”
The goblin shaman answered that he understood and went outside.
“Mr. Shadow.”
When Celia spoke into the air, a hazy shadow appeared behind her.
It was a shadow monster she had intercepted from the Demon Realm Trading Company, and Celia was controlling it now.
“Interrogate those people and find out why they came here. Once you are finished dealing with them, offer them to Master as sacrifices.”
The shadow bowed its head and vanished.
“Haa. I apologize for that.”
“Clack!”
(It’s fine!)
“Since it has come to this, let us rest for a moment before continuing.”
* * *
- A skeleton knight has offered a “goblin corpse” as a sacrifice to Master.
- The “goblin corpse” in question has been confirmed to be a goblin belonging to the dungeon managed by Master.
- Absorbing the sacrifice immediately.
- You have acquired the goblin’s trait [Slightly Sturdy Stomach (E)]. It can be used for enhancement.
“Oh, what’s this?”
There were several things I had relayed through Maru.
Among them was the order to offer up the corpses of my dead minions.
But to think it would be carried out this quickly.
My original intention in having them offer those corpses as sacrifices was this.
Until now, most of the beings Celia had offered as sacrifices were adventurers or paladins who had invaded the dungeon.
And when they were offered as sacrifices, it took six hours to absorb them.
During those six hours, I would pass out, leaving me defenseless.
So starting last time, I had ordered Maru to prepare for any possible situation.
It was a mission to have Maru guard me while I was unconscious.
But when objects were offered as sacrifices, I did not pass out.
Last time, Celia had once offered a paladin and a demonic sword as sacrifices at the same time, and I had only passed out while absorbing the paladin’s ability.
The demonic sword had nothing to do with passing out.
Another type of sacrifice was monsters belonging to me.
When they were alive, they were summoned, but what would happen if a dead monster was offered as a sacrifice?
I suddenly became curious about that point.
And the result had already appeared.
A monster belonging to me appeared immediately as a stat that could be enhanced, without any time needed for absorption.
Naturally, I did not pass out either.
- A skeleton knight has offered a “goblin corpse” as a sacrifice to Master.
- The “goblin corpse” in question has been confirmed to be a goblin belonging to the dungeon managed by Master.
- Absorbing the sacrifice immediately.
- You have acquired the goblin’s trait [Greed (F)]. It can be used for enhancement.
The problem was that only goblins had been offered as sacrifices, so there were no particularly useful abilities.
“Where would I even use something like this?”
If I raised Greed, would there be anywhere it came in handy?
While I was thinking for a moment, another alert appeared.
- An unidentified shadow offers a paladin of the White Order as a sacrifice to Master.
- Absorbing the sacrifice paladin’s ability.
(Time remaining: 6 hours)
“?”
After the goblin came a paladin.
“No, what on earth happened?”
Why was a paladin in the dungeon?
And who was this unidentified shadow?
When I looked around the dungeon, I had never seen anyone with a name like that.
‘Did Celia hire it separately?’
Celia sometimes increased the number of monsters through the trading company, so it seemed to be something similar.
- An unidentified shadow offers a paladin of the White Order as a sacrifice to Master.
- Absorbing the sacrifice paladin’s ability.
(Time remaining: 6 hours)
And there was not just one sacrifice being offered.
- An unidentified shadow offers a paladin of the White Order as a sacrifice to Master.
- Absorbing the sacrifice paladin’s ability.
(Time remaining: 6 hours)
A total of three paladins were offered as sacrifices.