It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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It was a time when she would normally be asleep, lost in dreams.

However, Sonia was determined to engrave every pattern on the ceiling into her memory, wide awake all night long.

This was due to two worries weighing on her mind.

“… Sigh…”
‘What is Master planning?’

The first was related to what Libertus was doing, having separated from their group.

She hadn’t informed anyone of the purpose of this journey from the start.

She had merely instructed them to prepare for travels and banquets.

‘I don’t blame them for that.’

She had asked for them to share the secrets, but she didn’t expect to be accepted from the beginning.

After all, Sonia herself called her Master that, but she didn’t really trust her on a human level—what could she say?

This was merely a way of indicating her ‘will’ to herself.

[Feel free to speak anytime you need something. I am counting on you.]

Libertus, that “ironically cruel yet affectionate” Dungeon Lord, had subtly let her know that she was always ready to accept her.

What she said today was simply an acknowledgment of that.

It was a process for Sonia to approach Libertus’s heart. A wish for her to become a more ‘human’ being.

‘I guess the only person who knows Master’s thoughts completely is… that one person.’

In Sonia’s mind, a “neatly eerie” Skeleton named Evangeline, who had a Bastard Sword hanging from her waist, appeared.

Currently, the only one allowed into Libertus’s “deepest fence” was that very person alone.

Recently, especially today, she felt Lin Xue was dangerously hanging on the edge of that fence, but for now, there was still just one.

‘It’s most likely… a brutal task.’

The reason Libertus had purposely kept people apart was because it was not something that could let them become ‘familiar’ with her.

Adaptation to life as monsters, being part of the dungeon, was only a natural step for them, but what she had to do now would not be something that could be employed for such adaptation…

In other words, it probably wouldn’t be merely a simple act of butchery or violence, and that was Sonia’s concern.

“… Is someone talking about me?”
– Crack?

“No, I think it’s just my imagination.”

“P-please, just let me go…!”

Pwah-!

“Gaaah!! Argh!! Aaaah!!!”

And that thought turned out to be correct.

Libertus was currently in the process of making Hailey into the property of another entity while keeping her consciousness intact.

Sonia, unaware of this, could only imagine realms up to the level of “ordinary torture.”

[I love you deeply.]

“Ugh…”

As she thought of Libertus, the ‘real reason’ she couldn’t sleep began to flicker through Sonia’s mind.

While it was true that she was worried about what Libertus was doing, she was also the type of person who easily gave up on things that were out of her hands.

She had long since grown accustomed to such situations.

Having lived like this for a long time, if her Master knew, she would likely say, ‘I need to quickly change that thought,’ and she was indeed acting on it, but hadn’t fully overcome that attitude yet.

[If possible, I would like you to associate with me. I swear on my magic, I will not leave you alone.]

Thus, the reason she couldn’t sleep tonight was closely related to why she was forced to think about Libertus.

Leonis’s confession.

That incident from the ballroom today.

‘Why did the senior suddenly… No, it wasn’t really sudden. It had happened before… Yes, probably that time when he hugged me…’

Covering half of her face with a blanket, Sonia let out a sigh.

Her face, however, was flushed bright red.

‘How perplexing…’

But the reason was not ‘throbbing excitement.’

It was closer to ‘surprise’ regarding the romance she was experiencing for the first time in her life.

No matter how one looked at it, she still possessed a ‘young’ heart to truly understand love, as Libertus once said.

She would probably deny it thoroughly, though.

[You don’t need to speak. If you accept this ring…]
[Sorry!]

So, Sonia’s rejection wasn’t because she disliked Leonis. It was deeply burdensome, and she wanted to postpone the decision.

She didn’t have the composure to express those feelings adequately, instead blurting out a simple refusal, which left Leonis dejected, but she was in no position to worry about him.

‘What kind of face should I even show my senior…’

“Phew.”

Finally, after taking another deep breath, Sonia felt sleepiness finally creeping in and closed her eyes.

– Bang – !!!

“Ugh…!”

Suddenly startled awake by the shock hitting her ears and body.

Bam!

“Sonia! Wake up!”

“W-what is it, sister…? What’s happening?”

“It’s monsters!”

“W-what?! Is it possible that… Master…?”

In Maria’s frantic explanation as she burst into the room, Sonia momentarily thought of Libertus.

She might have recalled that her Master had never used such methods, but it was a reflex reaction from having been thinking about her just moments ago.

Maria shook her head.

“That’s not her style. Monsters have been summoned in the city. This must be the work of zealots.”

“Ah…!”

Summoning of monsters from the Magical Realm or Demon World due to zealots.

Though rare, it wasn’t impossible. And when that happened, the only task that adventurers in the city had was a singular one.

Protect the citizens.

With that realization, Sonia got up and began gathering her gear.

And at that same moment, she realized something else.

‘Sister said she couldn’t use a sword right now. Then…’

The only people left in this household were Sonia, Maria, and Leonis.

Leonis hardly knew anything about combat magic from the start, being a sensing-type Mage, and Maria had said that all of her abilities were currently sealed, as stated by her Master, Libertus.

So then.

‘It means I’m the only one who can protect them.’

“Sonia? We need to go. We have to move, you hear?”

Feeling as if a heavy burden had suddenly landed on her shoulders, Sonia stood frozen, staring at Maria.

It was only herself. The one who could wield proper strength.

That meant.

“Where do you want to go?”

“There are people out on the street. We need to save them…!”

She had no capacity to spare energy for people whose faces and voices she didn’t know.

“Sister. We can’t move.”

“What? Ah…?”

For a moment, Maria, looking as if she couldn’t understand, gazed at Sonia. But soon, she realized the situation too.

‘Right. I can’t even use my sword…’

As Maria gazed blankly at her hands, Sonia’s heart ached for her, but she didn’t stop there. She had to think of what needed to be done.

They needed to make this house a fortress.

At least, until Libertus arrived, they had to protect their bodies.

– Kyieeek!!

“[Ice Barrier]!”

Sonia slammed a shield made of ice, created by cold magic, right into the face of a Goblin rushing through the window, pinning it in place.

– Gaaah!! Help me…!!

‘Sorry.’

She heard the screams of someone dying on the other side, but Sonia, already having steeled her resolve, did not waver in her thoughts.

She knew well.

The ‘fairy tale’ about those with power needing to protect others.

Having never truly possessed strength in her life, she had barely acted on it, but the vow of adventurers to protect the weak was her first solemn promise.

‘But nobody keeps such a vow.’

Yet, Sonia didn’t see many people who honored that vow throughout her life.

Aside from a handful of close friends and acquaintances.

[You are saying you’re an adventurer with that body? Isn’t dying the way to help?]

She could have heard mockery directed at her.

That mocking voice prompted her to depend on her friends even more blindly, but…

‘But I can do it now. I can protect my sister and senior.’

Look at her.

In the end, she had turned her curse into a blessing.

Though it was not solely her strength but also due to her Master’s help, it proved that her life up until then had value.

‘The Solemio Guild had been friendly neighbors most of the time, but when a big issue arises, they turn a blind eye to our business. Even the guild leader, who always smiled with us, and his staff.’

And what she had experienced until now.

Those who couldn’t even protect those close to them had no room to turn their gaze toward greater troubles.

‘If it weren’t for sister Maria, we wouldn’t have even hired adventurers for the investigation in the first place. So why do we have to protect others?’

Even friendly neighbors acted like that in this world.

Yet in such a world, how absurdly would one help others when they could hardly protect themselves?

Such thoughts were arrogance.

A dangerous arrogance which could cost them around and even lose themselves.

And most critically.

‘Sister said no, but I don’t know what’s happening.’

She suspected one more possibility.

To prevent that possibility from being realized, they must not join the others.

In fact, it might be more helpful to separate themselves.

“Sonia? What are you doing…! If you block the door here, what about the people…!”

“We can’t go out, senior.”

“W-what? Ah…?”

Sonia’s statement naturally met with resistance from another person in the house.

Of course, Sonia was prepared for that, but the cooler voice that came out was beyond what she had expected.

“… And we can’t let anyone else in. Please barricade the second floor.”

“But…!”

“Did you forget? We belong to a dungeon. What we need to do is only protect ourselves until our Master arrives.”

Erasing her usual expression of helplessness, Sonia glared at Leonis with the sharpest eyes she could muster.

Though her spirit was still lacking, her determination was clearly communicated, and Leonis’s face stiffened.

She focused on his movements.

The Leonis she knew was a good person. Persuading him with such straightforward words would likely not suffice.

As expected.

“I’m sorry, Sonia.”

Leonis did not stop there.

“[Create Rift]…!”

“[Ice Hammer]!”

“Sonia…?!”

Seeing Leonis reaching for the icy window to cast his spell for an escape, without hesitation, Sonia used an attack spell to knock him out cold.

In that moment, as he chose to escape through a window that would be easiest to block, there was a hint of a thought to endanger only himself, but Sonia had no intention of letting him go.

It would be tough to guard this place alone, but allowing someone who could potentially ruin everything to stay was a far greater risk.

“Sonia?”

“Are you going to interfere too, sister? While I’m trying to protect us?”

Bam!

– Kyieek!!

Sonia summoned magic light in her eyes and conjured an ice block in one hand that could knock Maria out at any moment.

To Maria, Sonia looked more foreign than before, focusing on her own will as if that was what mattered despite the sounds of monsters invading from the second floor.

Even in that dark dungeon, even if there seemed to be no hope for her, she didn’t hesitate to reach out for herself, now coldly rejecting others.

‘But right now, I’m the only one who can understand this girl.’

However, Maria wasn’t someone who would not comprehend that reason.

Adventurers weren’t volunteers. The priority was to protect themselves; only then could attempts to save others be made.

In fact, rather than being an adventurer prioritizing saving people, she was a mercenary who would gain nothing unless she first secured her own well-being.

That guy Leonis was simply just too nice.

“… No. But right now, I’m just going to be an obstacle…”

“There seem to be a lot of them, but thankfully, there aren’t any major monsters in sight yet. Sister, it’s better for you to take a weapon so you can protect yourself. And I’m counting on you for senior.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Monsters are coming in. I’ll block them.”

Immediately, Sonia handed over the sword she had at her waist to Maria, took an axe from her thigh, bade her to take care of Leonis, and promptly began to move.

Thud! Thud thud!

– Krrrr…

– Kyiee…

From the second floor, where she hadn’t managed to block yet, the noise gradually increased, and figures with red-tinted eyes began to appear one by one.

The outside monsters had realized there was prey here and rushed in.

“Come in.”

Sonia, gripping her axe and wand tightly with all her might, glared at them as she spoke.

As if the words had been understood, immediately.

– Kyieeek!!

– Kyahhh!!

Numerous figures colored entirely green burst out all at once.