It's Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

* * *

Sonia, who had come out of the Dungeon Lord’s room, muttered as if reassuring herself.

“A lie…”

However, she quickly realized that her own words didn’t convince her.

This was because that calm face didn’t seem like someone telling lies at all.

Dungeon Lords don’t know deception.

Even those who occasionally do, aren’t beings who deliberately tell lies and toy with prisoners in a situation where they’re overwhelming. Rather, they would cruelly torture and kill.

[Just like how you see other beasts.]

She had seen adventurers who visited the dungeon being killed after being captured here, but according to her words, they were ultimately prey and enemies.

The wise Sonia knew that denying the killing of such beings was no different from denying the survival principle of a living being.

Perhaps her being alive was not much different from the sense of humans raising pets or livestock for that woman.

“But… but if that’s not a lie.”

Angelita, no, Libertas was saying that she was lonely from birth and lived alone in this vast dungeon.

Moreover, she had said:

[Dungeon Lords come to resemble the first being they summon.]

However, she didn’t act as hideously as the undead, as wickedly as demons, or as violently as greenskins.

Although she had used deception to capture them, her subsequent attitude was rather gentlemanly.

Then where did she learn such deceptive, clever, and sometimes kind attitudes?

As far as she knew, the only teacher who could make a newly born Dungeon Lord know how to easily deceive people and take advantage was…

‘Only humans.’

If the Dungeon Lord’s first encounter was with someone, not through ‘summoning’, wouldn’t she become such a being?

That’s what Sonia speculated.

And that human wasn’t in this dungeon now. Or maybe they were, but at least they wouldn’t exist in the ‘form of an ordinary human’.

They would have taught Libertas ‘betrayal’ in some way.

‘Born from a demon, but ultimately a monster created by human betrayal.’

This assumption about the being who showed her a new sun of hope and then took that hope away again, however, came to Sonia as a conviction.

It was extremely eerie and also sorrowful.

* * *

When adventurers were defeated by the Dungeon Lord and confined in restraints, they trembled at the thought that they would all be cruelly tortured and killed.

Although it’s a faint saying these days, rumors about beings among Dungeon Lords who routinely torture and kill humans have been a traditional legend passed down from 200 years ago.

Moreover, since this legend was also a story about ‘Dungeon Lords existing in reality’, the fear that this Dungeon Lord might be such a being was very great.

As a result, the resentment of those hired by Maria was ultimately directed at one person.

“That woman betrayed us. I’m sure of it.”

Sonia.

An apprentice mage, but one who had learned magic from the Dungeon Lord and used strangely powerful attack magic.

And the only person who is not in this prison even now.

“Yeah. She was always by the Dungeon Lord’s side. That woman!”

“She must have gained that powerful strength by obtaining the Dungeon Lord’s power. By sucking up somehow!”

“Come to think of it, it was strange that she returned alive alone. She must have sacrificed her companions to survive!”

Sometimes people want to get angry and look for a target for it.

As if proving this, these three adventurers were building up their anger while talking and convincing each other.

“Miss Sonia is not that kind of person!”

Of course, many didn’t believe those words.

Those who originally knew Sonia.

Maria, Leonis, and Robin among the hired ones, knew that she was a weak and kind person who struggled even to kill a beast or monster when going on quests, and at the same time used what was left after buying the medicine she needed to help those around her, even if just a little.

Leonis Den, who was captivated by her such appearance, was even more so.

“How kind a person Miss Sonia is…”

“Sir Mage. You’ve been deceived, too! Look at this situation! Only she is alive and out there!”

“That’s right! We’re going to die! To those damn man-eaters…!!”

A high-ranking mage who was usually difficult to even make eye contact with.

But now, it was all too easy to be hostile towards Leonis, who had his power sealed and was in the same situation as them.

The illusion of being at the same eye level as a figure they usually looked up to along with the explosion of hidden envy.

Thud!!

“Ugh…! What are you doing…!”

It was natural that the more their emotions were hurt, the more they didn’t hesitate to act roughly.

“Damn, mage bastard. You’re probably promised to survive by sticking with that bitch, right? That’s why you’re taking her side!”

“Come to think of it, if you had properly detected the enemy’s strength, we wouldn’t have even entered, right?”

“What on earth are you saying! Selling people to a Dungeon Lord! There’s no way… Besides, our guild’s magic focuses on identifying dungeon traps and locations…”

“Shut up!!”

Grab! Thud!

If those who knew about Sonia had taken Leonis’s side, it wouldn’t have come to this situation.

However, Maria Olas was too heartbroken to care about other people’s situations, Daniel Smith was even more preoccupied with taking care of her, and the last remaining one just stood by, so this happened.

“What are you doing?!”

“Miss Sonia… You shouldn’t come now…”

That flame of emotion briefly subsided when Sonia appeared to deliver food to them.

Although it was only one meal a day, the Dungeon Lord gave the prisoners unusually abundant food, so it was possible for the anger to stop briefly in front of that food.

Of course, it was only for a moment. After all, the target of their anger was right in front of them.

“You damn bitch…!!”

“If we don’t kill that bitch, we won’t be able to close our eyes even in death!”

“Look at her appearance… Hasn’t she already sucked our power?!”

“She must already be a witch!”

Sonia had her magic power sealed after being detained by the Dungeon Lord. She became a body that couldn’t use magic semi-permanently.

However, that sealing gave her an effect she never imagined, which was ‘beauty improvement’.

The stagnant state of growth and recovery of the body suppressed by magic power. Free from that, Sonia quickly became beautiful as she regained a healthy body by eating the abundant food given by the Dungeon Lord.

It was obvious how that appearance would look in people’s eyes.

“No!! Miss Sonia is just temporarily suppressed because she can’t use magic power…”

“I said shut up!”

Thud!!

“Stop it!! What are you doing to my senior!”

Sonia finally overcomes her bewilderment through anger and enters the room.

Jacob, who kicks Leonis trying to stop him from approaching her, and Gyeonghan, who raises one hand towards her.

“This bitch…!”

Thud!

-Clack.

If the Dungeon Lord hadn’t specifically attached Axe as her guard, she would have suffered a great ordeal.

Of course, that wouldn’t have helped with the misunderstanding about Sonia.

“Ah…”

The giant skeleton over 2 meters tall had a presence that could overwhelm unarmed people with its size alone.

At his appearance, the people who finally quieted down slowly backed away so as not to provoke the skeleton, and Sonia was able to tend to Leonis.

However, it was he who should have received treatment who ended up asking the question that shouldn’t have been asked.

“Miss Sonia… It’s not, right?”

“…What?”

“This… You’re not doing this willingly, right? That woman, no, that monster forced you…”

Seeing the appearance of the skeleton guard, in a state where he was about to lose consciousness from the people’s violence, he couldn’t endure the despair that was coming over him.

“If you stay quiet, Master will…”

Sonia wanted to give them some hope, and as an answer for that, she put those words in her mouth.

Without realizing her mistake.

“…Master?”

‘Teacher, Mentor’ is an honorific that can be attached to anyone. It’s a word commonly used for someone who teaches you something.

However, ‘Master’ was different.

In a mage guild branch, there exists one grand master, and masters and disciples who assist him. In the end, changing masters meant nothing less than leaving the guild.

And that guild was now almost the only relationship connecting Leonis and Sonia.

Containing all the memories and reminiscences between them.

Leonis’s words, interrupted before she could finish speaking. His eyes and expression were filled with shock.

The ‘oops’ expression appeared on Sonia’s face as she realized her mistake. Seeing that expression, Leonis felt as if the world was crumbling.

“…It’s not, right?”

“…Ah.”

“It’s not, right? Sonia. It’s not, right?”

In the end, it was as if Sonia had confessed with her own mouth that she had left the guild without permission.

Cutting off her relationship with Leonis for the sake of a new relationship.

And Sonia didn’t know how to deceive with sweet lies.

“…No. It’s true. I’ve decided to serve that person as my master.”

“Why…?”

“That’s…”

Leonis looked at her with empty eyes, just like herself a while ago. Sonia turning her gaze away, unable to meet his eyes.

Ironically, even the magic she learned from Rita that she was using to treat him.

“Hey! What are you going to do with us! You stopped talking midway! At least tell us that before you go!!”

Gyeonghan’s words echoed behind Sonia as she hurriedly left the place after finishing simple treatment, but no one turned their gaze to him.

“Remia…”

“…Haa.”

Only Maria’s empty muttering longing for her lost sister and the empty sigh of Daniel, who had been taking care of her until dawn for days and had been unconscious until now, leaked out.

After that, they couldn’t see Sonia.

Not because she didn’t come.

-Clack!

“Y-You mean me?”

But because they were called out one by one.

* * *

I had deliberately left her to take care of the other humans, thinking Sonia would quickly break if I told her not to care about them, but an accident occurred faster than expected.

It was simply because we lacked rooms at the moment, so I had put them together, and after a little time passed, I would have naturally separated them.

Well, from what I hear, it seems Gyeonghan, who originally had bad feelings toward Maria’s side, took the lead.

Probably because Maria and Daniel weren’t easy targets, so the stress bounced off to the wrong place.

Although I understand the whole situation like that, some things shouldn’t be overlooked.

“You were going to say unnecessary things. Sonia.”

“…I’m sorry, Master.”

About my intentions, trying to talk to them recklessly.

I had never said I wouldn’t kill them. I had only mentioned that I would ‘use them usefully’.

Perhaps there was a premise in her mind that they must be alive to be used usefully.

“I’ll have to punish you.”

Even a preliminary contract is a contract.

It’s nothing compared to the real contract that alters her body to suit the dungeon, but with Leonis’s life at stake, the weight of the preliminary contract will feel even greater to her.

So it might be good to use that punishment in a form that gives more help.

Coincidentally, she had a weakness to overcome.

“Go to Eve. She’ll pick out five skeleton guards to attach to you from now on.”

She was afraid of skeletons, the undead. This is not incomprehensible, but it’s not a weakness to leave alone.

“Master? That’s…”

“If you’re going to live here, it’s better for you to get used to it quickly anyway.”

“…I understand.”

Although it was pitiful to see her face turn pale with fear, there was no further objection after a moment’s resistance.

Perhaps she knows my words aren’t wrong.

“Then, I will carry out the instructions.”

“Yes. I hope you get used to it quickly.”

After Sonia withdrew, bowing her head deeply with her hands together.

Watching her dark face as she withdrew, I decided to deal with one of the two immediate tasks first.

Not the trio related to Sonia, but the other adventurers.

I was going to deal with them quickly anyway before they caused problems for Sonia, but I just moved up the time that I had given some grace period.

Dealing with easy and quick tasks before handling difficult ones that complicate the mind was a method I brought from Earth as my habit.

“Is anyone there?”

-Clack.

A skeleton entered making a presence, carrying a crossbow on its back and several daggers on its waist.

It was ‘Mire’, the individual created from the archer Remia.

As I nodded, she approached me from the doorway, prostrated, and knelt down, waiting for my instructions.

That the one who entered after Sonia left happened to be her. What a bitter coincidence…

No.

“Remia.”

Flinch.

Both her prostrate posture and attention momentarily falter.

Should I say it’s a sight proving the hypothesis of ‘what happens when someone with strong thoughts becomes undead’?

She can’t resist the necromancer since she became undead without contracting while alive, but traces of her past life still remain in her.

The information that forms her current self and future potential.

After all, what was absorbed into the core was only information not necessary for ‘Mire’s’ creation and growth.

The experiences Remia had trained in her past life, important memories intertwined with that training, and fragments of the soul closely related to those experiences and memories all remain here.

Though it’s just potential for now.

“Do as you please. As long as it doesn’t interfere with work.”

-Clatter.

“However, there’s nothing good to tell her about this.”

-Clack.

So that’s why you were watching Sonia.

I thought for a moment whether to tell Sonia about this or not but decided to maintain silence after all. There was no need to give false hope about something that might or might not happen.

Of course, if she becomes even more distressed, I’ll have to think about it then.

“…Information.”

『Name – Mire』

『Attributes – Health 7 Technique 15 Durability 6 Magic Power 9 Resistance 5』

Her status that I checked before returning to the main business had quite a lot of development compared to before, although it was less than Eve’s.

It’s the result of diligent hunting and enhancement.

The most noticeable among her abilities was ‘Technique’, which had completely surpassed her living level. Goblins seem to have higher Technique than other attributes, so this attribute rises really well when using them as sacrifices.

Thanks to this, Mire now handles crossbows and daggers even better than when she was alive.

‘It would be good to give her one good characteristic here…’

Coincidentally, I had one method in mind and decided to try it this time.

To look into that, the first sacrifice would be, of course.

“There should be someone named Gyeonghan among those captured. Bring him. Don’t forget to bring a few more soldiers.”

The man who was also the cause of this problem. The tracker Gyeonghan.