NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 55
“Amazing…”
Sonia was attending a noble’s party for the first time. No, she had never participated in such a banquet, even outside the realm of nobility.
So, everything was enchanting, and she couldn’t help but feel thrilled as she took in the wondrous sights.
‘There are so many kinds of food I’ve never seen before… And they all look delicious…!’
What caught her attention first wasn’t the elaborate indoor decorations or the beautiful or stylish people, but the staggering amount of food that filled the banquet hall.
Sonia’s senses had blossomed vastly compared to before, suppressed by magic, and thanks to that, the scents of the food she now experienced were far more vibrant than ever.
Even the same food looked far more appetizing than before; one could only imagine how a completely new dish would appear.
“Try this, Sonia.”
“Is it really okay for you to keep giving this to me…?”
“Who would say anything if I feed my maid?”
Libertus was being considerate of Sonia, bringing food from all directions.
Well, to be precise, it was Mari and Xue who were fetching the food; they would request it or order it from the handmaidens and then offer Sonia a piece at a time.
“Eat up, everyone!”
“Lady… are you not eating?”
“Of course I am. But seeing Xue eat makes me happier.”
“Okay… I’ll eat a lot.”
Chicken marinated and simmered in a Western Continent style with garlic, onions, honey, and sugar.
A vibrant salad dressed with refreshing fruit juice from the Eastern Continent.
‘Donburi’ and ‘Ramen’ from Hua Country, topped with a uniquely sweet sauce from Shin Country, too.
While the names of these dishes differed in this world, based on what Libertus recognized, numerous foods with those names passed through her hands and into Sonia’s and the others’ mouths.
She acted as if feeding her companions brought her more joy than eating herself, and in truth, that was indeed the case.
‘They’re eating well.’
Sonia’s cute chatter about how delicious each dish was as she ate was endearing.
While Xue, who never hesitated to eat heartily regardless of the food brought, was rather amusing.
Mari, trying to appear a bit more reserved, had a subtly quick hand, which showed she too missed human food.
‘When we go back, I should get my hands on more ingredients.’
After all, storing human wealth in the Dungeon doesn’t hold much meaning.
Till now, she had gathered a little for other uses, but soon, they would start welcoming adventurers more actively, and the treasures of the human world would continuously pile up.
One must always expand the uses for their wealth.
‘But I must keep the sources of income a secret.’
Whether the ‘people’ would welcome the truth regarding the sources of that wealth was another issue, though she set that aside.
For Libertus, who thought like a gamer, believing they could simply gather more wealth when needed, the idea of using that wealth for the Dungeon’s members brought another level of joy.
– Clink…
Evangeline, knowing Libertus’ thoughts, was secretly racking her brains, but that was a secret…
‘I hope the day comes soon when Eve can eat with us too.’
… This fleeting thought made it clear that it was something she absolutely couldn’t stop.
Clatter.
As the empty plates began to stack up on the table where Libertus and her all-female party were staying, the gazes of those around inevitably turned toward them.
Even though they had disguised themselves with hair color changes and simple makeup, their stunning appearances were hard to hide, and witnessing them eat quietly but voraciously was quite the scene.
– Oh my, over there…
– They sure are eating well, those young ladies.
– Hmm… Quite vulgar indeed.
While evaluations differed from person to person, attention couldn’t help but converge on them.
When Libertus had not yet achieved her goals, she tried to ignore the gazes of those around her as she amplified her senses, but now that her tasks were complete, she had the luxury to focus on what she wanted.
‘No…’
In the end, the only one suffering from an unresolved headache while watching that scene was Leonis, as he thought about how to conceal their actions after they left the city.
‘It’s utterly pointless to draw attention. How could the residents of the Dungeon behave so thoughtlessly?’ he mused.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Leonis. Come here. You seemed quite busy; have you settled down yet?”
Leonis approached Libertus, whispering as if to question her, but the Dungeon Lord merely wore a harmless smile on her seemingly fragile face.
It didn’t seem like she had any particular countermeasures in mind.
Sssss…
However, the magic induced by her gesture effectively absorbed their voices, preventing them from spreading to the surroundings.
It indicated she understood what Leonis was saying.
“It’s not important right now. Don’t you see the attention we’re attracting?”
“So you were worried about that. Don’t worry. I’m moving to this city.”
“… What?”
“Yeah. We’re moving here, right?”
Her casual words startled Leonis and the others.
In fact, what she meant was related to the restructuring of the Dungeon, so it was different from a real move, but because it was the same regarding ‘improvement of living conditions,’ she didn’t add any further explanations.
‘As long as it’s done as estimated, they should be quite comfortable living here.’
The estimates Libertus had requested from Scarlett and Mari were already in place by the time they arrived in the city.
By now, the Elder Gremlins should have arrived at the Dungeon, laying the groundwork for the new Dungeon structure.
By the time she returned, the living environment of the Dungeon would have greatly improved in a positive direction.
『Owned Wealth – 113,087 V』
It was still impossible to configure it entirely as desired, but making adjustments according to the existing wealth was feasible.
Currently, the Dungeon’s wealth had accumulated significantly, covering both the Demon World and the Human World, ensuring that the structure of the Dungeon would undergo a major transformation.
Due to the expressed regrets of the Mammon Trading Company regarding the noble’s heir conducting the event without consulting the Dungeon, the compensation received after the noble had apologized was quite substantial, making this all possible.
Originally, Libertus intended to pass over this matter while pretending not to care and thought to label it as a ‘favor.’
However, with the ideas regarding the Dungeon’s improvements confirmed, a situation arose where the ‘debt’ they hadn’t acknowledged had to be converted into wealth.
“In truth, we’re just buying a house.”
Thus, even while observing their astonishment, she merely nodded graciously, as if to indicate that everything was fine.
The idea of ‘luring people into a trap and inviting them to the Dungeon’ was something she would avoid stating here.
Witnessing the scene, Leonis naturally calmed down, melding into the ‘master’s’ atmosphere.
“What’s the difference… No. After the party, we don’t need to conceal our actions, right?”
“It seems you’ve been concerned about that the whole time. You don’t need to.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Yeah. … Oh, the music has changed. It seems the banquet is ending.”
Upon Libertus’ remark, Leonis and the surrounding women came to their senses, discovering that the tables, once filled with plenty of food, were being cleared one by one.
Among those, only two truly understood the significance.
The faces of their companions turned tense, while a smile lingered on their master’s lips—one that indicated a readiness to witness a comedic performance or romantic drama.
“Ah…”
“What are you doing? Hurry and make your request to her.”
“Excuse me?”
“Plenty of men in this hall won’t care that she’s a maid. I’ve seen it myself, so I know it’s true.”
At Libertus’ words, the mage began to look around, witnessing several men subtly approaching their direction.
By their attire, they were evidently the scions of nobles or wealthy families, focusing their gaze on the women here.
At the end of those gazes was Sonia, wide-eyed and astonished.
‘Oh no.’
Leonis, his lips pressed tightly, took a step toward Sonia, intending to speak.
… Or so he thought.
‘… Why?’
Realizing it as he looked back, he found he hadn’t moved at all from where he stood, completely frozen like a mannequin.
He couldn’t immediately comprehend the cause.
However, Libertus knew.
– So, after failing to protect her once from a natural disaster, you’re thinking of staying completely still this time?
– That’s…
The words of the soul conveyed not through the throat but via the contract.
Upon hearing that, Leonis’ eyes widened in realization of why he was frozen.
Even though the perpetrator had brazenly compared herself to a natural disaster, it was an overwhelming shock to his psyche that left him unable to argue against her.
– If you have no plan to remain motionless, it’s better to get moving. Though I don’t find you reliable, I also don’t intend to hand Sonia over to the wolves.
“Um…”
Libertus had no intention of allowing him the time to recover from the shock.
She was already aware that people nearby were approaching Sonia, having noted her somewhat fragile impression. It wasn’t a matter of rejecting them; it was clear they would be a continuous annoyance.
“We have a prior engagement. It would be better to seek out other ladies.”
“Ah…”
“Oh, I see. My apologies for the intrusion.”
Look at that.
With a firm expression contrary to her delicate impression, she had successfully driven away one wolf, and yet beyond that, the cads with sly smiles had begun to close in once more.
‘Just a bunch of losers.’
Realizing that among those men, there wasn’t even a semblance of ‘exceptional talent’ or ‘strong spirit’ made Libertus’ brow furrow.
Now, she didn’t want to observe Leonis’ actions out of consideration for him.
Having already accrued plenty of negative points for hesitating in making a decision.
– 「Move」.
In the end, she commanded the soul to shove Leonis’ back.
“Oops!”
“Senpai…?”
“… Excuse me. Lady Sonia, would you…”
Sending a mix of resentment and gratitude through his gaze, Leonis finally mustered courage in front of Sonia.
“Uh, um… is it acceptable to say that I would like to…?”
“…! Yes!”
And as she shyly accepted his courage, Libertus smiled.
That smile resembled that of someone wishing happiness for a younger sister or daughter.
It’s only natural for someone with empathy and intelligence to wish for the happiness of others, as long as they don’t feel miserable themselves.
“Lady.”
“Xue?”
Yet that smile was swept away in an instant by an astonishing event that transpired in the very next moment.
“Please grant me the honor of sharing my first dance with you.”
Libertus’ eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Xue, who had suddenly stood up, gracefully kneeling before her.