It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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Leaving everyone behind, I approached the ‘Two-Tailed Fox’ only accompanied by Xue and Eve. She lowered her head and body right there, performing a full prostration before me.

Although I had never been to the Western Continent, I could tell at a glance.

That this was the utmost etiquette when addressing a supreme being.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Yes, my lord. Though it hasn’t been long, to me, it felt like a thousand years.”

“My lord, huh.”

“Please allow me to use that title. If you do not, know that my heart aches painfully.”

“… Alright.”

Crouching so much, she spoke in a suppressed voice, showing no sign of lifting her head.

It was like she had resolved not to raise her gaze until permission was granted.

The title was ‘my lord,’ but it felt as though she was treating me like an emperor or a king.

“Will you raise your head?”

“Just command me. The honor is too great for me.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

At my repeated words, she hesitated but did raise her head. She faltered again as she stopped in front of my feet, and when she was about to raise her gaze again, she hesitated once more, stiffening in front of my outstretched hand.

Finally, when she fully raised her head and looked into my eyes, she became completely frozen.

“… Huh.”

Then, it seemed like she was about to burst into tears any moment.

It was a reaction similar to when we first met, yet much more intense.

“Your clothes are a mess.”

Seeing her like that, I reached out to her garment first.

The Western-style attire that looked like a mix of a hanbok and a kimono was in disarray to the point where her chest was almost fully exposed. It was evidence that she hadn’t cared for her appearance while performing the prostration.

It was impossible not to care. Among the nobles behind me, there were men.

“Still, you are truly kind…”

Once I arranged her clothes and magically attached them back in place, I looked into her eyes. Though still on the verge of tears, she spoke with a much more calm demeanor.

Her praise was hardly different from the other two, prompting me to glance at them anew.

“Hmm…?”

– Clack.

“No.”

Evangeline still had her hand on her waist sword, and Xue hadn’t released her hardened nails.

While being cautious as those who were guarding, their demeanor was certainly not hostile.

They judged that the woman before them was not dangerous. With two tails, she should have strength similar to mine at the very least.

‘Well, in this state, she absolutely could not be a threat.’

This imuhou was fully releasing her power.

The magic she could freely use was all being released into the surrounding air.

In this state, she couldn’t use magic. It was simply because she was in a state of ‘letting go’ of all her residual power.

In other words, she was voluntarily disarming.

If someone were to suddenly attack her, she wouldn’t be able to resist and could die instantly.

It was clearly not an attitude of one facing an enemy.

Unless it was a master, of course.

Still…

“I’ve heard you are bound to humans, but you don’t seem like it.”

“I was indeed bound to humans.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It is as such. The difference is that it was my will, not theirs.”

“Your will…?”

As I naturally responded to her words with a question, she blushed slightly, nodded her head twice, and answered with a smile.

One hand was holding onto the garment I had fixed with magic, treating it carefully.

“Uh.”

– Snap.

…Hmm. I felt a negative emotion from behind me. Was that an illusion?

Moreover, my ‘senses’ were telling me something.

She was hiding her true nature.

The intensity of the warning wasn’t strong, and even the current appearance seemed to say it was ‘genuine,’ which was problematic. It wasn’t a lie, yet she had two sides.

She really was a ‘fox.’

“I first met a human right after I was born, so I had no power to resist them.”

“So you were trying to appeal to your harmlessness voluntarily.”

“Indeed, you are wise.”

“And you are clever as well.”

“That is too kind of you. If I were truly clever, I should have left with you sooner, so please refrain from such flattering words.”

As I returned her burdensome praise, she humbly bowed her head once more.

Yet, no matter how I heard it, those words didn’t impart a positive sentiment.

“There’s no need for empty flattery. You must have soberly assessed your strength before acting; otherwise, you would be dead. You can’t call that cleverness.”

“… I apologize for my falsehood.”

“Quick to admit, I like that.”

“I’m sorry.”

Looking down at her, who lowered her head, I had mixed feelings.

Originally, I intended to decide her fate upon seeing her, whether I would spare or kill her, but the moment we met, one option had already been erased.

Her demeanor made it obvious to me.

‘You know me.’

You know me well and are revealing a willingness to rely entirely on me.

‘How?’

The doubts I had felt when I saw Eve and Xue resurfaced.

It felt like they knew each other, and the suspicion I felt then returned.

It could be coincidence twice, but not three times. If there was a third, there might be a fourth.

That complicated feeling intensified as I observed her next action.

“… What are you doing?”

She handed over a strong magical artifact that was undeniably the dungeon’s core, a mass of powerful magic.

“This is the Power Orb… the core of this dungeon.”

“Right. So I’m asking why you’re giving it to me.”

This was something that simply couldn’t happen logically.

If her releasing her power was a total appeal of surrender, then this was nothing less than offering her life as a Dungeon Lord.

“Do as you wish. Even if you use it to kill me, I will comply.”

Just as she said now.

“…”

“But please, if possible, if you have no hesitation in your heart, please take me as your subordinate. I will be willing to bite and kill your enemies to present their hearts and souls to you.”

After uttering such a violent statement, she returned to her modest bowing posture.

Her ears were completely flattened back, and the tails that had been moving gently were now motionless.

It was a clear sign of her feelings.

‘Fear.’ Probably regarding rejection.

‘What am I to you?’

I felt a complicated emotion.

Eve, Xue, and this Fox Yokai all acted as if I were the entirety of the world. It felt like if I were to disappear, so would their lives.

While such appearances became a driving force for me, they were inescapably burdensome.

Certainly, I couldn’t delay talking any longer.

But before that…

“I haven’t heard your name.”

As I received the core from her, I spoke, and the Fox Yokai, who had been looking up at me with a bright smile, also smiled widely.

“The person who named me said the meaning of my name is ‘will.’ They thought my situation was similar to that of yours and chose one of the meanings closest to their name.”

“Will…”

While she hadn’t openly stated it, it was something I couldn’t overlook at this point.

I was convinced that the one who named her was deeply connected to me. I had guessed beyond that but decided to hold back my certainty.

Well, ‘will’ was one of the elements of ‘freedom,’ as I viewed it.

“The will needs to be as solid as steel… and at the same time, beautiful. Thus, the one who named me brought together the jade of diamond and the light of ‘Lan’ to name me Yuran。”

“Yuran. A name that suits your hair, beauty, and the sparkle in your eyes.”

“Your praise makes me feel undeserving.”

I understood immediately. I had a good semblance of the reasoning.

When carbon is highly compressed, it becomes diamond, one of the hardest precious metals.

‘Strength’ associated with will and the beauty of the woman before me was the most obvious material to think of if you separated them.

The namer probably thought of this from her quietly sparkling black hair.

“Is this room truly where the core was located?”

“Yes.”

“You have no change in your will to offer your life to me.”

“Of course, that would be sad.”

“Well then.”

Beeee –

Nodding, I adjusted my magic to cast the designated summoning signal.

At that moment, light shone from the mountain gate set at the entrance of this room, and the previously empty space filled up. It became a black stone door with the figure of Mammon, the Grand Duke of the Demon World, engraved on it.

As expected, it was a portal leading to the Demon World.

The core room was now connected to the Mammon Trading Company.

“Central district, department 2, Scarlett Spira Spina! Responding to the call of the Dungeon Lady!”

“Welcome, Scarlett.”

Of course, the one who came through was the pink-haired Succubus that I knew well.

Since I had seen her face, I had to check on a few things too.

“Is the construction of my dungeon going well?”

“Of course! Just a moment ago, I got feedback from the Gremlins that they had done nearly everything possible within the current budget and structure! About three more days left!”

“Thank you for your efforts. I always appreciate it.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Scarlett let out a goofy laugh while placing her hand on her head.

She had initially been somewhat calculating and charming, but what made her end up like this?

While I felt some questioning about that, it was certainly true that I had always been grateful to her, so I didn’t need to pry.

“I had something I wanted to purchase, which is why I called you here so urgently.”

“If you have something like that, you could have just contacted me! … Ah, this is a different dungeon! But anyway, I’m so happy!”

“You still enjoy a good joke, it seems.”

“I’m sincere…”

She looked a bit glum for a moment but brightened her face again, approaching me while spreading out the scroll, as etiquette demanded.

The form of the item appeared in an illusion, and I placed my hand on that illusion, pushing it aside until the item I wanted surfaced and then pulled it out with my hand.

It was a single scroll.

“The Dungeon Contract! Could it be you’ve already summoned your subordinate Lord…?!”

“Seems to be the case.”

“Truly remarkable, my Lady! You are indeed someone who will become a Demon Lord!”

“Scarlett.”

“I’m serious… It’s 500 V, and my Lady only needs to pay 350 V of that!”

“Thank you for the brief guide.”

I nodded at Scarlett, who kindly guided me on the amount owed after excluding what Baron Baritra would pay, then scanned the Demon Lord’s guarantee written on the scroll to ensure there was nothing wrong with it.

If all went as I hoped, only one more necessary condition remained to be added.

“Dungeon Lord ‘Yuran’ is subservient to Dungeon Lord ‘Libertus’ as a ‘Maid,’ and this will remain in effect until one of them dies or influences the other permanently.”

The titles ‘Servant’ or ‘Maid’ are the basic titles assigned to subordinate Lords belonging to different dungeon Lords. It indicates that they no longer have the qualifications to become ‘Kings.’

So that title didn’t particularly matter, but…

I glanced over at Yuran, who was looking at me with expectant eyes, and considered whether to change the ‘Maid’ part, but ultimately decided to leave it as is.

There would always be a way to change it later on.

“My lord, I have a request.”

“Speak.”

It seemed the Fox Yokai still had some dissatisfaction regarding this contract.

I quickly realized what it might be.

“I would like to serve my lord closely. I want to breathe in the same space, sleep beside you, and wake up together. Would that not be acceptable…?”

Hearing her request, which was just what I had anticipated, I nodded once, then shook my head.

It was a mixture of affirmation and negation.

To put it plainly, her desire was to concede her position as the Dungeon Lord and simply become a ‘common summon’ by my side.

That implied she was giving up her qualifications to grow stronger, and she was saying something burdensome like that just to remain close to me.

“I mean to use this base as a point connected to my dungeon. So you must take responsibility for this place for a while.”

“… It saddens me that I cannot serve you directly, but I shall obey your command.”

This was a request I couldn’t accept.

Firstly, it would be regrettable to downplay her position.

Secondly, if I wanted to use this dungeon as one of my bases, it would be much more efficient to maintain the dungeon rather than destroying it.

For that, I needed a Dungeon Lord. Having two was much more convenient for controlling both dungeons.

If she really wanted it, she could create or hire another ‘management entity,’ but since it was something she could already do, there was no need for unnecessary expenses.

That said, I didn’t intend to completely deny her request either.

“If you wish, I will adjust the gate so you can come over anytime.”

“…! Thank you!”

As we both bit our fingers, the flowing blood signed the contract.

One of the two duplicated contracts seeped into Yuran’s core.

Swoosh -!

The blue symbol of a fox’s head surrounded by nine fox flames appeared above the core, then it turned purple and engraved into the forehead of the fox a skull surrounded by a purple flower.

It was an appearance intuitively indicating a hierarchy.

As Yuran’s eyes witnessed that, a momentary flicker of purple magic swirled within before returning to golden.

“Now you are bound to me. From now on, I shall call you ‘Lan.’”

“Please…!”

The procedure to bind a contractee to the Demon World was much simpler than one to bind a dungeon Lord, but it bore significant meaning.

A Dungeon Lord becoming subordinate to another Lord would serve as the cornerstone for ‘Magical Realm Transformation’ in the nearby continents.

And even considering the instances of higher-level Dungeon Lords becoming Masters, there weren’t many, even including those from ‘Mill Don 1’.

“Before saying anything else, I shall give you your first order, so listen closely.”

“Yes! I will listen!”

First of all, I decided to correct one of the phrases she had used. Whether it would go well or not, stating it had meaning, after all.

It would also aid me in assessing her character.

“From now on, never speak of me killing you again.”

“…! Yes! My lord!”

The Fox’s face, nodding vigorously, seemed to exude an innocent joy devoid of any worldly worries.

That quickly shifted.

“Uh, my lord… can I make a request?”

In the next moment, she narrowed her eyes and began to radiate a seductive atmosphere as she approached me with a request.

“Speak.”

“Can you promise to grant Yuran’s request if I may ask…?”

“I do not know what the request is, but if it does not pose a significant threat to life or honor, I will grant it.”

“Well, that is…”

Despite my reply returning, Yuran hesitated for a long while. And as that time passed, the ‘displeasure’ I felt from behind also grew stronger.

– … Snap!

That emotion, almost to the point of wondering what grievance she held, was conveyed from Evangeline.

I couldn’t understand why she felt so offended, but as soon as I heard Yuran’s request, I had a feeling I might know why.

“Is it alright if I give my lord a kiss of oath…?”

– Snap!

…That was quite shocking even from my perspective.