NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 46
“Dungeon?”
The person who entered abruptly after roughly opening the door was a knight who had reached quite a high level. However, while an important guest was present, Leticia frowned at the knight’s rude behavior of coming in without notice and was about to point it out when the knight spoke, causing her to cringe.
“Is that really true? That dungeons are appearing all over the world, not just in the Empire?”
“It is indeed true. This was just conveyed directly from the Prime Minister at headquarters. Given the nature of the matter, it is classified, but the Prime Minister instructed that it must be conveyed to you, Lady Leticia, Lord Leo, Lady Irina, and Lady Chloe.”
“It’s classified, huh? Then shouldn’t Romani and I be left out of this?”
The knight seemed to share the same thought, as his gaze flickered when he met my eyes. But perhaps it was because he had attained a high rank, he quickly concealed his agitation and looked at Leticia with a steadfast expression, waiting for her response.
“These two are fine. One is the Demon King’s representative and the other is someone I trust more than anyone else.”
Leticia’s declaration, emphasizing “more than anyone,” conveyed a sense of resolve. Suddenly, it seemed as if she had glanced at Romani instead of the knight before her, but that was probably just my imagination.
“Hmm.”
…Or was it?
Romani looked amused as she eyed Leticia. I sighed inwardly, hoping the nonsensical tension between the two of them would end.
It was pointless for me to intervene; neither of them would listen. In the end, the poor knight could only respond nervously, glancing back and forth at them.
“…I have committed a rudeness towards the Demon King’s representative. Um. Given that this matter involves dungeons, I thought it necessary to be cautious with Mazoku, but since you trust her, Lady Leticia, it would be no problem for her to join our conversation. I apologize for judging rashly.”
“No, that’s alright. It’s only natural to suspect the Mazoku if, indeed, dungeons are appearing across the world.”
Only Mazoku could create dungeons, and among them, only high-ranking Mazoku with pure bloodlines and the Demon King could spread dungeons into the human realm.
Dungeons were the pathways connecting the human world to the Demon World. This was how the Demon King’s army was able to invade the human realm during the Demon-Human War.
However, the previous Demon King, who possessed the ability to create dungeons, was expelled from the human realm by our hero party and executed by the current Demon King.
The end of a war criminal who had caused countless bloodshed was absurdly uneventful, leaving nothing behind. Why was it now that the abilities of such a despicable Demon King were resurfacing across the world?
There shouldn’t be any Mazoku capable of creating dungeons anymore. In the deep silence that followed, I turned my gaze to Romani.
Since she had been an Archdemon of the previous Demon King, she might have some knowledge of the situation. However, contrary to my expectations, she grimaced and muttered as if it were nonsense.
“There shouldn’t be any Mazoku capable of creating dungeons right now. How on earth…”
The reason the current Demon King had signed a peace treaty with humans was multifaceted, but one of the reasons was that there weren’t any Mazoku capable of creating dungeons.
But now, to hear of dungeons in this situation… I cautiously asked Romani.
“Is there a Mazoku among them capable of creating dungeons? As far as I know, only a high-ranking Mazoku or a Demon King’s bloodline might be born under extreme odds.”
“There are no Mazoku among those I know who can create dungeons. And if high-ranking Mazoku could all create dungeons, the human realm would’ve been in chaos during the Demon-Human Wars.”
The Demon King alone had created a considerable number of dungeons. Remembering all the adventurers, knights, and mages who had perished, I couldn’t help but grimace.
“If that’s the case, then the one causing this now is…”
“It must be Ryuren. If it’s not him, then perhaps someone from the organization he belongs to could be behind it. We’re in a tough spot. There’s a possibility that he might be hiding a Mazoku capable of creating dungeons to evade the Demon King’s eye.”
Irina frowned in frustration. Indeed, as she said, with the emergence of a Mazoku capable of creating dungeons, we could not sit idly by.
I turned to the knight who was waiting for our response, clearly on edge.
“What is the current scale of damage?”
“…Excuse me? Ah, I-I’m sorry. Currently, dungeons have merely appeared, but since no Mazoku or monsters have emerged from within, there has been no damage.”
“Then those are either empty shells or ticking time bombs. Well, given that dungeons have appeared, they are more likely the latter than the former.”
Following the knight’s words, Romani seemed eager to relay this information to the Demon King, glancing at Leticia before quickly diverting her gaze to pull a crystal ball from her robes.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
With those words, Romani opened the door with a stern expression and stepped outside. Watching her back as the door closed, I let out a sigh, realizing that I had suspected her for even a brief moment.
“She’s not the culprit.”
Feeling foolish for having even considered the thought. I realized I was still trapped in the aftermath of that war. As I lowered my gaze, a bitter smile escaped my lips.
“Charlotte?”
“Oh? It’s nothing.”
I simply felt a wave of nostalgia. I suppressed my words, shaking my head in response to Leticia’s question about why I was making such a face.
However, it was impossible to entirely dismiss the possibility that this was all an act.
Since we shared the same enemy, trust was essential, but a measure of caution was indispensable.
Still, right now, we should believe rather than suspect.
Resolving the dungeons that had appeared across the world was our priority. It seemed more plausible that Ryuren and his organization were creating dungeons as a stepping stone for the Second Demon-Human War rather than Romani, who was on our side.
“Dungeons… What a headache. I have nothing but bad memories about them, and now I have to go in again.”
Only Leo, who had been cursed to change gender after accidentally touching an ancient artifact while breaking the dungeons remaining in the human realm from the remnants of the Demon King, spoke up with a reluctant expression.
As Leo sighed, seemingly recalling the moment of transformation into a woman when he touched the artifact, I casually remarked, “Who knows, maybe while resolving this incident, you might once again stumble upon that cursed artifact left by the Mazoku and accidentally turn back into a man.”
“Is there really such a possibility!?”
“Why not? You never know what could happen. If you’re lucky, you might break the curse.”
Leo shouted, his face flushed red, while I laughed at him. Leticia looked at us with an exasperated expression, while Chloe and Irina watched with affectionate smiles. The knight, who had been observing our banter, seemed at a loss as he swallowed nervously before asking, “Excuse me, but could I ask a somewhat rude question? Is that person the new Hero I’ve only heard rumors about?”
“Oh.”
“I had heard that this generation’s Hero was attending this Academy and was a woman, but I didn’t expect her to share the same name as the previous Hero…!”
Now that I think about it, only a select few, including the king, knew about Leo’s transformation into a woman. After defeating the Demon King, Leo had hardly shown himself in public, allowing him to keep this a secret until now, but to discuss it so freely in front of someone who was completely unaware was careless.
I looked at the knight who seemed honored to meet Leo, and in turn, Leo silently gestured for help, keeping his lips tightly pressed together.
It wasn’t surprising that there had been rumors about Chloe being a female Hero in this generation, so it made sense if someone confused her for Leo.
I had spoken too freely. Scratching my head, I looked around for assistance, but Leticia only wore a mysterious smile, and Leo’s wives remained silent.
Well, considering that the fact of Hero Leo transforming into a woman was classified, it couldn’t be helped.
What a hassle.
If my strength and wisdom remained the same, it would have been easier to disclose that I had transformed due to touching a Mazoku artifact, but that would only lead to more complications.
Could we brush this off? I would definitely take responsibility this time since Leo played a part in it.
After a moment of rolling my eyes, I made a statement that everyone could nod their heads to.
“Yes. I am one of the Hero candidates following in Leo’s footsteps. While I am somewhat expected to be a Hero, given the situation, this information must remain classified.”
“Ah…!”
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“Ah, understood…!!”
The knight, now with a respectful salute, had transformed from his earlier incredulous expression to one filled with newfound resolve as he opened the door and exited. I murmured to myself.
“That should suffice.”
“Probably?”
“One of this generation’s Hero candidates, huh… Leo, that’s good for you. You’ve got a fresh start right from the beginning. Perhaps it might be a good idea to assist your juniors as a new Hero candidate?”
“Are you talking nonsense?”
Just as this banter continued and the atmosphere began to ease compared to earlier, Romani returned with a grim look on her face.
“I’ve heard that a dungeon has also appeared in the Demon World. And it’s said to be completely different from the dungeons of the previous Demon King. The King intends to assemble an investigation team soon to look into the dungeons.”
It seems the situation isn’t progressing in a favorable direction.