It's Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

* * *

Although it can’t be certain as it’s only theory, it can be expected that the body of a Dungeon Lord who has reached the end of high rank or monarch rank would be sufficient as a sacrifice for more than one grand magic.

If that Dungeon Lord was precious to the caster, the power as a sacrifice would be amplified even more.

Also, using my body would be possible if it was my instruction, but I wouldn’t have ordered regression.

Therefore.

“I died.”

‘Probably for certain.’

I felt my mouth tighten.

My last will was probably…

‘Use my body in a way that benefits you all the most.’

…This must have been it. No, this is the only thing I can think of.

‘That’s why they’re keeping quiet. Of course, ‘loyalty’ is one of the reasons, but this must be more important.’

Even if I had asked about this in the previous conversation, they would never have given this answer.

Or they might have told an outright lie.

‘It’s an emotion I’m embarrassed to say with my own mouth, but they certainly hold respect and affection for me.’

Therefore, I expect that they would have come with a firm mental preparation not to speak about my death.

It’s highly likely that from the beginning, they decided not to answer other questions to avoid reaching this question.

To avoid lying as much as possible, and also to prevent an uncertain future where they don’t know how I would react if they said it.

“Then…”

‘I can guess why they were able to consume my body in some way.’

To them, I would be irreplaceable. Even including the corpse.

So.

‘The only person who can instruct them to do something using my corpse is me.’

For whatever reason, I think I must have asked or instructed them myself.

To use my body.

However, there was one last thing I couldn’t understand here.

‘I’m not someone who would ever instruct them to regress.’

“Absolutely not.”

I believed I wouldn’t have become such a being.

One who orders precious people to hurt themselves.

That I couldn’t have become such a monster.

‘Even if it ultimately benefits both me and them, how much pain would there be until then? And if the attempt fails again at the end. Regress again? That’s nonsense.’

Even though I just learned about my own death, I couldn’t have bestowed such a future on them when I feel confusion but not fear.

Pursuing one’s own interests by cutting down those considered dear.

That’s the most hated form of possession that my former father inflicted on his family.

Yes… This is ultimately what I did to Sonia and Maria as well…

“No.”

I shook my head to scatter the thoughts torn and broken by trauma, and covered my wounds that had burst open from a sense of duty.

My PTSD or guilt wasn’t important right now.

At the same time, I wasn’t trying to become a good person or a perfect one.

‘Rather, if I was aware of being evil in this world…’

At that time, was the value of their lives and souls any different from that of goblins or orcs to me?

No. It wasn’t different.

There’s no reason to feel guilty about what I did to them when they were enemies.

What happened after that was my choice, so it’s right that I should carry the guilt and self-loathing without needing to make excuses, but.

‘The same goes for the Arachne King.’

If I, who had doubts about myself, had carried out the disposition against him.

Due to the doubts, anger and hatred would have cooled quickly, and there’s a high possibility that I would have kept him alive to some extent to set an example.

That’s why the two of them stepped forward.

They, who knew that killing Tigris was the right thing to do, even though my judgment was spontaneous.

“So for now…”

Self-verification of the thought ‘Did I really order them to regress?’

The question of ‘Can I really become a monster of selfishness?’ is more important.

This was a much more serious matter to me than killing or sparing enemies.

Tak!

I immediately ‘recorded’ my image in the dressing table mirror, then looked at that surface and flicked my finger near my ear.

I could see myself beyond the glass surface lighting up my eyes while looking at me on this side.

My mind becomes hazy.

“It’s comfortable…”

“Tell the truth in your heart as you think it.”

My unfocused and somewhat comfortably disheveled appearance and my upright sitting posture are simultaneously reflected in the mirror.

The magic of hypnosis performed with all my magical ‘resistance’ released.

It instantly and firmly permeated my core, breaking down all psychological barriers.

“Are you afraid of your observed death?”

“You are someone who will instruct them to ‘start everything again’ when your death is confirmed.”

My self beyond the mirror asks me.

A question that can’t believe the answer of my awakened self.

“No… It won’t happen in the future either. I just want to live my best. I’ve always been prepared to accept the results…”

“Absolutely not… But I know well that what will happen in the future can’t be determined…”

The me on this side answered.

Drawing up even what was deep in my heart.

“”Wake up.””

I blink a couple of times to come out of the hypnosis.

As quick as I fell into it, the recovery is also quick. That’s how the body of a Dungeon Lord originally was.

Since I didn’t set conditions to make me lose memories, all the answers I gave also came up in my mind.

‘If so.’

Adding to that answer, this time I assume.

It’s clearly unknown how my future self might change.

Couldn’t a person change after experiencing something incredibly shocking?

However, the current me is absolutely not that kind of person, so if you reconsider the meaning of ‘absolutely’, the probability of changing like that in the future is not very high.

Also, there was ‘Nobility’.

So, I thought under the assumption with a high possibility that I wouldn’t do that, and.

I quickly reached an answer.

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

The answer that in their past and my future, my death must have occurred in an incomprehensible form.

Of course, I tried not to forget that this was just an assumption, but…

‘This is the truth.’

From a corner of my mind, the ‘intuition’ that has always helped me was shouting an unwelcome message towards me.

‘Why did they do it?’

I wondered.

It is… denying everything we’ve walked so far and building it up again from the beginning… it’s a path that’s painful for me even just to assume.

Of course, it could erase past wounds, and by doing so, it could heal oneself with better results that appear.

‘But the pressure and fear they would feel as they sense that time approaching when they had failed once before…’

Who should compensate for that?

They might feel relieved now that the situation is better. However, they might also be terrified that that future might happen again.

This is something I can sufficiently guess even though I’m not a character who greatly empathizes with others.

I already had numerous ‘advance learning materials’ about regression.

“You shouldn’t do that…”

I raised my hand to cover my face.

I felt dejected and depressed, but fortunately, nothing flowed from my two eyes.

‘Nobility’ didn’t allow me to collapse.

And I absolutely couldn’t collapse either.

“I…”

I must become their hero and the god of this world.

I came to that conclusion and…

* * *

Libertas’s resolve was immediately made known to them. As quickly as it was firmly established.

‘This is…’

‘She noticed.’

‘She’s resolved.’

Not because she specifically informed them or showed it, but simply because those three people noticed.

“Why did you bring so much? At this hour of the night.”

“Because there are two things to celebrate just today, and there will be many more in the future, Master.”

It was at that moment, when Libertas smiled as she saw the three who had returned to their seats with food.

The smile she made was the same gentle smile as usual, but the three who saw that smile noticed one thing almost simultaneously, albeit with a slight time difference.

That she had figured out something, and there was only one thing she could have figured out at this point.

“I didn’t expect her not to know until the end, but…”

“My lady is too quick.”

“…”

It was the intuition of servants who had gone through many hardships with her, more than Libertas had imagined.

Originally, the intuition that a ruler has about their servants is less than what servants figure out about their ruler.

Of course, they hadn’t calculated this situation and remained silent.

“What should we do…”

“We should talk properly. As much as we can.”

They really hoped that Libertas wouldn’t know about their return.

This was just a case where Libertas’s thinking ability, which was ‘much more relaxed than the state they knew’ at this point, was superior to their memories.

“You all, right now…”

Libertas also quickly realized after hearing their conversation.

That the three women had noticed her thoughts.

It was almost a first-time experience for her.

There was no way she could know that until now, Evangeline and others had pretended not to know even when they knew what Libertas wanted to hide.

“We. It seems we need to talk again, Master.”

Once the person they had to serve had made up their mind, they would just follow, but.

If a ruler has misunderstood or made a mistake, it is right for the servants to correct it.

They started the conversation again.

“Please tell us what you were thinking, Master.”

“That is…”

This time, the servants strongly asked the ruler, and the ruler tried to hide her bewilderment from this unfamiliar experience and confessed one by one.

Her hasty conclusions.

“The master told us many times not to do this… But we who decided to start this all made the decision voluntarily and happily. It’s true that we couldn’t accept the master’s death, but…”

Although they didn’t tell everything, they corrected excessive misunderstandings.

“I believe we can overcome anything if we’re with you, my lady. Sometimes, even pain and sorrow fade before will.”

They also properly conveyed the resolve they held.

“So please don’t think about shouldering it alone. Master. That was our biggest regret.”

They also expressed what they wanted most.

“Anyway. What needs to be done hasn’t changed much.”

Libertas’s expression hadn’t changed much from earlier, but they immediately noticed.

That a lot of strength and weight had been scattered from their master’s shoulders.

‘Did it work?’

‘We don’t know. But…’

‘From now on too…’

What they wanted wasn’t to correct all mistakes or monopolize everything in this world.

It was just to fill in the last missing piece for Libertas.

“So, don’t worry too much, Master.”

That one small but big thing.

That was precisely the reason why they came here by turning back time.

“I see… I should keep that in mind. While telling you to be at ease, I ended up jumping to conclusions.”

Finally, the second smile on Libertas’s lips contained two emotions.

The embarrassment of someone who misunderstood and made a decision alone, and the resolve that wasn’t much different in its intensity from what she had established on her own.

“That’s exactly it, my lady

And only after seeing such a smile from her, could the three people smile happily as well.

“I’m saying this now… but I don’t like that only you call her ‘my lady’…”

“Then why don’t you call her that too?”

“Ha… Look at you not taking off your mask even in front of the master.”

The food hadn’t gotten cold.

Thanks to Ran’s preemptive measures when they started the conversation.

The four raised their wine glasses together, simultaneously raising one hand.

“Let’s raise our glasses. So…”

“To our hero, and the future god, Master Libertas.”

At Evangeline’s words, boldly interrupting and snatching away her master’s words mischievously, Libertas slightly blushed and turned her head away, taking a sip of wine.

This blushing of hers was happening for the first time since coming to this world.

However, for the servants in this place, it was something they had experienced, albeit rarely.

Swoosh.

A moment later, Libertas looked around at the three people. She found them smiling while holding their breath.

“Haah…”

The sigh that naturally escaped filled her wine glass.

“If I had known you were this kind of child, I probably wouldn’t have named you Evangeline.”

A soft smile hung on Evangeline’s lips. For her, it was a very nostalgic phrase that she had only heard a few years later.

However, while doing so, she suddenly realized.

‘This much…’

Much faster, and also simpler.

How much closer her relationship with the master had become.

And at the same time.

‘What shouldn’t have gotten closer has also gotten closer.’

The anxieties still lurking inside.

Evangeline’s eyes gradually became calm as she recalled the faces of those who needed to be dealt with.

They wouldn’t be able to do anything. They would be screened out when they didn’t know anything.

[Wait wait wait!! Why, why are you trying to kill me…! Save me! Please!]

[I’m grateful for what you did back then. That’s why you’ve been quiet for a while, right?]

[S-Sorry! Huh? Didn’t you already do this much! So, please spare me! Libertas! No, Master!]

[So wouldn’t it have been better if I had killed you then? Hm? It’s your decision. This is!]

Like the original ‘second’ who lost his life to her hands not long ago, or the Arachne King Tigris.

* * *

“Master.”

After the small banquet ended, and after the three people left.

The door that was thought to never open again opened once more.

The one beyond it was her in the form of a black knight, one of the two new appearances she had acquired.

“Evangeline? Didn’t you go back?”

“There’s still… something I couldn’t say.”

“I see. Come in.”

She closed the door and entered the room, taking off her hood, and soon returned to that beautiful knight appearance.

Did she take that form because it was too conspicuous outside?

‘Whose eyes is she trying to avoid?’

However, such questions of mine quickly disappeared due to what Evangeline did as she approached me.

“Master.”

“What are you doing…?”

She knelt down and embraced me frontally as I was sitting by the bed.

It should have been normal to feel displeased since she did it without consent, but… I wasn’t as displeased as I thought I would be.

I was just wondering why she was doing this, but that question disappeared the next moment with what she told me.

“The injury you said you’d give for winning the duel. I haven’t told you about it yet.”

“…It seems you want me to go along with your forceful request.”

“Please. I hope you understand that this is already me holding back a lot.”

“So.”

I raised my hands that had been left hanging, unable to find their place, and hugged her back.

To soothe the anxiety I was feeling from her.

This is the second time I’m embracing her.

It’s ironic that both times were for different kinds of encouragement.

“It’s alright. I’m not upset. What’s making you so anxious?”

“Master. …Master…”

Fortunately, as I embraced her body, the anxiety quickly subsided.

Instead, what filled that place were fragments of some great emotion.

When I was about to properly identify what it was, she loosened her arms and stepped back, then knelt down fully on both knees in that place, looked up at me and said.

“You don’t know… how happy I am to see you again like this, Master.”

“I suppose so. How many people in the world don’t even know their own emotions?”

“So… I want to show you that emotion I have from now on.”

“What?”

Evangeline smiled once and closed her eyes.

From inside her heart, I could see something gradually ‘blooming’ and approaching me.

Visually speaking, it was like seeing each seed become an aquilegia containing various lights, and then a sunflower holding that opened its bud towards me.

If described olfactorily and auditorily, it was an emotion that seemed to require drawing on all expressions of beauty.

However, there was no way to properly express it with any description.

Nevertheless, if there was one word that could be compared to this…

“Can you feel it?”

“Yes. It’s extremely… difficult to describe.”

Smiling softly as if she knew everything, she rested her head on my thigh and continued her next words.

I naturally placed my hand on her golden hair and stroked it, and placed her other hand that couldn’t find its place on my hand.

Her voice vibrated my leg.

“You will. Even before, you had trouble describing this when you saw it.”

“…I feel like I want to give a proper answer someday.”

“Even those words.”

“I see.”

It seems my future self was clearly receiving this emotion from her.

This emotion that seems too insufficient to simply call ‘love’.

“Do you know?”

“What?”

“The emotion that you were sending to us was also this, although the direction was different. It was the same for others too, so there were times when I felt jealous.”

“…I see.”

“Yes.”

To think that I would treat others with such emotion.

To think that my emotions could be so beautiful and fantastic.

It was truly hard to imagine.

“So I hope you won’t feel too much guilt towards others. Even if the method was a bit wrong… you are certainly someone who will love and cherish them. Enough to cover all the sins committed against them.”

“You knew.”

“Because you told me.”

I caught a glimpse of a somewhat sly smile appearing on Evangeline’s lips.

To think she wants to tease her master even in this situation, truly an irreverent servant.

Grabbing and stretching that cheek, I spoke with that dissatisfaction fully contained.

“I wonder why I told you everything. It’s to the point of being resentful.”

“…Definitely.”

Hearing my playful complaint, she raised her head, gathered both my hands in hers, looked straight into my eyes and spoke.

“I will make you happy enough to cover all that resentment and guilt. Master.”

It was a passionate confession of emotion that made my cheeks red for the second time.

“Are you confessing right now?”

“Eh?”

However, at my one remark, Evangeline’s face instantly crumbled, and all the slyness and softness disappeared completely.

What filled that place instead was a face that seemed to have scraped together all the bewilderment in the world.

It’s like the face of some loner from an animation I saw before.

“No. That, no, how could I! I wouldn’t dare… No, even if I did, rather than this situation, more properly… No, what am I saying!”

“Thank you, Evangeline.”

What was clear was that she was becoming an even greater support for me.

That was clearly something comforting, but at the same time, something that should be guarded against as a ruler.

‘But still…’

Just for this moment, it should be okay.

“Come here.”

“Master?”

I pulled her bewildered face close and pressed my cheek against her head.

The warmth of her body, which had gained a warm temperature, was enough to push me away from all the worries of the world.

She was still, from the beginning until now.

My hero.