Morning.
Baron Gilbert opened his mouth with a grave expression before a gathering of vassals, bureaucrats, and influential figures wielding considerable authority.
"At dawn, I went to the dungeon in question."
Some flinched in surprise, some expressed doubt, and one closed his eyes as if to say, Let us hear it.
"As a result of my visit, I have learned one important truth."
"The truth, you say..."
"That Jake Gilbert may still be alive."
"......."
One might wonder what difference there was from the meeting held at midnight.
"I have decided. To rescue Jake Gilbert, I shall not give one million gold to the Demon King's Army."
The moment the Lord made his decision, the course of the entire Gilbert Barony was set.
"Effective immediately, that dungeon shall be called 'Jake's Dungeon.' Its danger level shall be B-Rank, and the House of Gilbert shall exercise strict control so that no adventurer below Silver Badge may enter."
The Lord's words poured down like a hail of arrows.
"The barony itself shall do its utmost to rescue my half-brother, Jake. At the same time, to prevent them from attacking us instead, we shall erect a fortress before the dungeon. Knight Commander."
"Yes, my Lord."
"I designate Sir Philip as the commander of the fortress. The knights and soldiers stationed there shall periodically sweep the dungeon's interior to confirm whether monsters are hiding within, and must report immediately should any abnormal phenomena occur in the dungeon."
"I shall follow your orders."
The Knight Commander obeyed the baron's command, though he seemed somewhat skeptical.
There were still unclear aspects, but for now, since the baron had said he would dispatch troops to rescue his half-brother...
"We shall request support from the Adventurers' Guild. We request that the dungeon's rank be raised, and I, Blake Gilbert, shall write a 'Letter of Recommendation' for those who challenge the dungeon."
"......!!"
The Guild Master of the Adventurers' Guild opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"A l-letter of recommendation, my Lord?"
"Indeed. Though I am but a baron, I am one elevated above baronage by His Majesty the King's grace. I do not mean to gild my own face, but with my recommendation, entering as a knight of an earldom should be possible, at the very least."
A baron he may be, but he was still nobility, and a noble's letter of recommendation was not something easily obtained.
"Of course, since it is a dungeon that has already devoured dozens of adventurers, challenging it alone will raise one's fame. But if a letter of recommendation is added to that, it will certainly be of great help. Guild Master. Make the preparations."
"A-ah, understood. I shall ensure it is clearly conveyed to the adventurers through the guides."
"Good. As for the rest..."
The baron took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Let us not lose the 'hope' that Sir Jake Gilbert is still alive. All of you."
"......."
"Though he and I have different mothers, we grew up as brothers sharing the same father. Though it has already been weeks since he entered the dungeon... I want to believe that he is alive."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
"Solemn" would be the more fitting word for it.
"Um, my Lord."
The butler cautiously opened his mouth.
"If Sir Jake is alive, then the 'woman' who was captured with him must also be..."
"I do not know much about that person either."
The baron shook his head.
"But if that woman were alive, would they not have demanded one million... no, even more, from the House of Albatea instead of us?"
"...Are you saying they cannot negotiate because she is already dead?"
"That, even I do not know. But to find out, I shall continue the campaign against the dungeon."
The baron slammed his hand on the desk and rose.
"There will be no negotiation."
The baron's eyes blazed with fervor.
"We shall never, ever deal with the likes of demons!"
* * *
"Tamer-nim. A human with writing on their body has entered."
Lilith reported.
"What. One more came in? After nobody came for three days?"
"Yes. He appears to be a slave. They sent him with writing carved near his slave brand."
"What does it say?"
"There are two separate markings. One says to send back as a corpse. The other says to send back alive."
"As expected of the baron."
Three days since the negotiation.
For three days, not a single human had entered.
But just now, one had crossed the grey fog shrouding the dungeon's dimensional gate and come into our dungeon.
"What about cooperation with the 'Defense Corps' guarding the dungeon entrance?"
"I did convey the message to avoid killing as much as possible, but if they fail to properly subdue him during the engagement, they will likely cut him down without hesitation."
"So is this one alive?"
"He is dead."
"Well, damn."
The interception of humans entering the dungeon fell to the Defense Corps.
No matter what secret pact we had made, that pact was not prioritized over the dungeon's fundamental rules.
"Invading enemies" who entered through the dimensional gate were all to be killed.
Even if they were not humans, but fellow demons.
'They killed him this time, but just like with me, they still tried their best to keep him alive.'
If one surrendered without resistance and laid down their weapon, they put shackles on him.
Even if he resisted, if they could easily subdue him, the Defense Corps soldiers would neutralize him directly and put shackles on him.
If he died despite that, it meant his resistance had been fierce enough to warrant killing.
He must have struggled with all his might to survive.
"It'll be troublesome if adventurers or soldiers enter from now on. The Defense Corps, I get the feeling they'll try to kill them all."
They must be growing dissatisfied.
No matter how much taking prisoners alive was the top priority by the Vampire Princess's order, if the purpose of taking them alive was for taming, they couldn't help but think differently.
'The same mission changes depending on who gives the order, after all.'
They probably hadn't cared at first.
After all, Chief of Staff Achamond had personally overseen it back then.
'At first, they probably did it just because it was an order, even if it was annoying.'
They must have let it slide, thinking the higher-ups probably had some plan.
'But it turned out to be helping a human tamer?'
Yet the moment they recognized that their mission was to help a human tamer.
'I get the feeling they'll try to kill even those they could save.'
For some reason, the very act of taking prisoners alive would start to feel disagreeable to them.
'But it's not like I'm going to bow my head to orcs or goblins and beg them for favors.'
Yet going to the Defense Corps and rubbing my hands together saying, "Please don't kill just anyone, at least spare the virgins," was a bit much.
They'd obviously retort, "Then why don't you stop jerking off in the back and go catch some adventurers yourself, you fucking bastard."
Therefore.
"Secretary. If we capture adventurers directly, would that be overstepping the Defense Corps' authority?"
Capturing them directly.
"......."
"Secretary?"
"...Yes."
Lilith pondered for a long while before nodding heavily.
"Each corps has its own domain, and 'Welcoming Strikes' are the Defense Corps' domain."
Welcoming Strikes.
To meet and repel.
The act of receiving and striking back against attacking enemies.
There was the word "interception," but from the perspective of one who defended a dungeon, the term "Welcoming Strike" fit better.
"Then we can't do Welcoming Strikes at all?"
"It would be a different story if the Defense Corps let adventurers slip through and they reached the taming sector, however..."
Lilith shook her head and continued.
"That won't happen. The taming sector was a prison area to hold captives long before the position of Tamer was created. If they broke through that far, the entire dungeon would be..."
"What if they do break through?"
"...No way."
Lilith's expression contorted.
"You don't mean the Defense Corps would let them through on purpose...?"
"Probably not on purpose. They might just be incompetent."
Though it was highly likely to be selective incompetence.
"Do the succubi of the Taming Corps even have a way to fight enemies right now?"
"......."
Frankly, it would be difficult.
I knew.
Because my first death had come during a riot, when Jake rampaged in the prison, ran to the taming room with a sword in hand, and took my head clean off.
"Unfortunately..."
"If Eris's shackles break and she regains her power, is there anyone who could stop her?"
"We check and maintain her shackles seven times a day so they do not come off."
"I know. You're looking after her diligently. But even so, Eris won't draw her sword for us. Not against humans."
She might fight against monsters transferred from other legions, but who knew.
"Still, it's certain that we're lacking in military power, right?"
"...Shall we make some kind of request to Dahlia and Zentia?"
"Them? No way. They're even less willing to fight than Eris."
The prisoners being tamed and the vampires whose taming was complete were likewise excluded as combat forces.
"Unless a prisoner comes out who can't function without my dick, I'll just have to tear my hair out until then."
I pointed at the floor.
"Secretary. The corridors, I mean. Can we install traps?"
"It is possible to install them, but we lack justification. If we say they are traps to receive enemies, it could be seen as a lack of trust in the Defense Corps..."
"On the contrary."
"Huh?"
"We just need to coordinate among ourselves and hide the truth."
The actual purpose was, of course, to deal with enemies coming from outside.
"If anyone asks, answer like this: They are traps installed in case a prisoner escapes. For taming purposes."
If the external purpose fell under taming, they wouldn't be able to say anything carelessly.
"Even if the floor traps in the dungeon contain aphrodisiac baths instead of sharp iron spikes, there's nothing strange about that, is there? Since this is the Taming Corps' domain."
An aphrodisiac slime in a floor trap was the most basic of facilities.