It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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Crossing through the wide door into the room, what I saw was a quite spacious area with warriors watching us defensively from all sides.

And in the center stood a single warrior wearing an impressive helmet.

“Welcome, Queen of the Dungeon.”

A warrior with a sword made not of iron, but of some other material, a blade crafted from their own exoskeleton, hung at their waist.

She removed the helmet adorned with magnificent horns that jutted out like a bull’s, greeting me.

“I am Orea, Queen of the Muirmikian and the Clever Tribe.”

While removing her helmet with the upper pair of arms, she pointed to her other shoulder with one hand from her lower arms and bowed politely, exuding a knightly atmosphere.

“You’re quite handsome.”

“Uh… thank you.”

The heat that seemed to flow from the just-removed helmet showed a figure that was far from what I had imagined.

Both the impression I had from the helmet and the biases I held.

‘I thought she would be much bigger.’

This thought stemmed from the image of the ‘ant queen’ that I had seen in various media.

Realistically, her size was not much larger than an ordinary ant.

In animation or comics, when monster queens appear, they usually come out with enormous and massive bodies.

And even if she wasn’t big herself, she was often depicted in a situation where she wouldn’t be able to move because she was busy giving birth in the nest.

‘But…’

The queen I was now facing had an appearance that directly shattered those biases.

While she seemed slightly bigger, possibly due to her exoskeleton, her height was smaller than that of Eve or Xue.

The face revealed after removing the helmet didn’t resemble a human’s, making it difficult to make a firm judgment, but at first glance, she seemed like a very active individual.

This was like…

‘Rather than a queen, she feels more like a commander or… a general.’

Excluding the differences as a monster, she certainly had the face of someone from a ‘prince’ lineage.

“Should I call you queen?”

“Just call me by name or call me general. I’d prefer that.”

She appeared to genuinely think of herself that way, as her next words confirmed the assessment I had made in my mind.

I was slightly flustered by the fact that she seemed to have read my thoughts, but I didn’t show it.

“Understood. General Orea. I am Libertus. To put it in your terms, I’m the Queen of the Dungeon.”

“Nice to meet you, Libertus. Please, have a seat.”

She maintained a consistently stiff and strong demeanor, which was reflected in her next action.

“You. Bring out refreshments.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Even though she appeared to be an ant-human dressed like a maid or handmaiden, her response to Orea’s command was nothing short of military.

I understood.

‘Muirmikian’ are monsters that take the form of ant-human beings.

Inheriting the nature of the model ant, they’re diligent, social creatures with excellent reproductive capabilities, and most of their group comprises workers and warriors.

In essence, their entire group serves as both labor and military power. Strict hierarchy is likely an instinct for their species.

Without a special reason, they would have long been eradicated and ceased to exist.

‘If it weren’t for this coniferous forest…’

The fact that they have survived and maintained their numbers is essentially a concession from humans, but whether these monsters are aware of that, I couldn’t say.

Regardless of their awareness, it wasn’t a priority at that moment.

Right now, they were engaged in a fierce war with other monster factions.

“I didn’t expect you to come during such chaotic times, Libertus.”

“I have my own matters to attend to as well. I hope you understand that I can’t accommodate your circumstances, Orea.”

“What matters?”

“Just as you are fighting a war, I, too, must face many challenges and competitions ahead. So, it’s natural for me to seek the right timing for everything.”

“…”

“Cooperation with the dungeon is also something you need. Isn’t that right?”

Orea only furrowed her brow at my words without offering any further objections.

She seemed to realize that her rejection of a meeting was partially due to her own circumstances.

‘She probably wouldn’t want to be affiliated with the dungeon. She seems to envision a fairly independent life…’

The relationship between dungeons and nearby monster factions generally has the dungeon at the forefront of cooperation.

While monster groups often take a stance of hiding from humans, if they want to avoid that, they must ultimately win the cooperation of demon clans and the demon world.

The arrogance of dungeon lords coming to this region had some basis to it.

After all, it is the dungeon that can promise substantial support to monsters later on, compelling them to submit by offering a blank check.

That’s why my attitude seems peculiar to these monsters.

“You’re no different from other dungeon lords.”

However, from her perspective, it was only natural to feel that I was making an impression that was different from what other queens had received since I had barged in forcibly.

It’s not that I didn’t have anything to say to her, though.

“Considering that you’ve come to talk despite your fierce refusals, I think that’s already quite gentlemanly.”

“Hmm…”

Orea closed her mouth again.

There’s probably nothing more to say.

I had allowed Kamaya’s envoy to enter, but they were swiftly rejected, and the other envoy I sent afterward couldn’t even make it through the door.

‘The point of no return has long passed.’

“I’m not even sure if you have the qualifications to represent this area.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Do you think I’d argue against those enemies? I don’t think so.”

“…”

Thus, unless Orea chose war, she couldn’t retaliate against my blatant presence.

Continuing to refuse would mean she wouldn’t allow any opportunity for building a relationship, which would soon lead to facing another front.

When that time comes, she’ll understand that other queens won’t be able to assist her either.

In the end, they had provided me with the basis to act this way.

“Queen… No, Sister. We need to hear the discussion now. The situation is dire.”

“Etna.”

At that moment, the woman who had guided us there placed her hand on Orea’s shoulder and spoke.

“… Sister?”

I hadn’t thought she wouldn’t be a maid, but I didn’t expect that title either, so I glanced back and forth between them as Etna—so she was called—gave a slight smile, as if to say she was sorry for deceiving me.

“Speaking of which, I guess I haven’t introduced myself. Properly greet them, Etna.”

“Okay.”

Rising from her seat, she gathered her upper pair of arms towards her abdomen and lifted her skirt with her lower hands in a delicate greeting.

While Orea’s figure was more slender and muscular, the younger one, being her sister, had a notably appealing silhouette even over her exoskeleton.

“I’m Etna. I’m serving as the chancellor for our Clever Tribe. Personally, I’m Orea’s younger sister.”

It was clear at first glance.

This place had certainly absorbed a good amount of culture from both humans and demon clans.

That was undeniably not just the appearance of a monster raised in the wild.

Even wild monsters, when not simply hiding, show signs of gradually adapting to the human world, making humans see them as a threat.

As the population increased, so would the competition for land.

“A chancellor, huh? So you handle the internal affairs.”

“Though I’m lacking, I’m doing my best.”

However, as I watched the two of them, a question arose in my mind.

Their appearances seemed too tailored for ‘the same role,’ leading me to wonder.

“No matter how I look at it, you two seem quite similar… Is only Orea the queen among you?”

Only one ant can become the queen among ant species.

Once a queen ant is born, she exhibits control to prevent other queens from being born from her kin.

So, it’s odd to have two queen-like beings within the same ant-human tribe.

“Ah, that is…”

Hearing my question, Orea remained unfazed, but Etna’s expression changed.

The sheer surprise on her face did not match her title of chancellor…

‘In a monster territory, it’s unlikely for political or factional strife to arise, so it’s possible for a ‘chancellor without political finesse’ to come about.’

That’s roughly what I understood and moved on.

“If my question was rude, you don’t have to answer. It was a query born merely out of curiosity. I apologize if it was impolite.”

“That’s not it.”

Orea shook her head once, then seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head again.

It was a refusal.

“But we’re not close enough for me to share that information.”

“Is that so? Well then, let’s talk about something else.”

Judging by her demeanor, it wasn’t anything grandly secretive but seemed to have a meaningful memory for the two sisters.

I didn’t mention it again and returned to the main subject.

“So, I must ask, why did you reject the meeting?”

“I believe I already mentioned that.”

Orea’s atmosphere, which had relaxed briefly as if recalling the past, became sharp once more like a blade.

From the beginning until now, except for just moments ago, she consistently emanated a cold and sharp aura.

No matter how I looked at it, she was much closer to a general than a queen, as she claimed herself.

“We’re at war. Therefore, we have no time to participate in a meeting.”

“From what I’ve seen today, it seems you’re at an advantage in battle. Plus, you weren’t even on the battlefield.”

“That’s…”

Orea sighed as if there was nothing to be done.

After a bit of hesitation, she finally presented her answer while dislodging part of the exoskeleton attached to her chest.

“Sister…!”

“It’s because the enemy’s leader is powerful.”

There existed a strong discomfort there.

The differences between them and humans lay in their antennae, the fact that they had four arms, and the joints that were constructed like a doll.

In Orea’s case, one more thing had been added.

“What about that injury?”

The fact that she was alive despite having a massive puncture wound that seemed to have removed one side of her chest.

One side of her chest was utterly shredded.

I didn’t know what she used to stop the bleeding, but though blood wasn’t flowing, one side was pierced through to the back, and the others were sunk deep, exposing her insides.

“It’s an injury from the enemy’s king.”

“It’s an injury I received a week ago, so with sufficient nutrition and every treatment method employed, it should be healing by now… yet it’s not getting better at all. I’ve never experienced anything like this before…”

After showing that injury, the atmosphere of the two shifted slightly.

Etna spoke in a voice that seemed like she was about to burst into tears, and Orea grimaced, as if revealing the pain she had been hiding until now.

‘Has she been hiding it well up until now, or is she just oblivious to the pain?’

If she were genuinely feeling the pain, it must be a severe injury that made it hard to even act.

Even so, Orea had never shown any signs of that pain until now, which naturally raised my suspicions.

“Let me take a look at it first.”

But suspicions were suspicions, and work was work.

As I stood and approached, Orea briefly flinched as if to guard herself, then relaxed.

A sigh was added as a bonus.

“… I suppose there’s no helping it. Please do.”

“… Please help us, Queen. She won’t listen to me when I say she should rest…”

The unfazed yet seemingly indignant look in Orea’s eyes and Etna’s gaze filled with anticipation and worry.

Receiving the two conflicting gazes while inspecting Orea’s wound, I realized a few things.

‘This isn’t… particularly difficult, is it?’

One was the magical aura felt from the injury.

The other was the miserable state of magical competence possessed by the Muirmikian… at least by the Clever Tribe.

Lastly, it became clear that these beings were quite narrow-minded.

“Have you thought about showing this to another queen?”

If they had genuinely strived to identify the cause of this lingering injury, they wouldn’t have needed to let it go this long.

“Uh…”

“…”

Sure enough, the ant queen sisters fell silent, unable to say anything in response to my question.

Etna was flustered, and Orea stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

While I couldn’t know the thoughts of Etna or the other ants, I sensed I understood Orea’s thoughts somehow.

‘There’s no way I can accept help from another race during wartime.’

“… Is that what you’re thinking, Orea?”

“How do you know that?”

I seemed to have perfectly grasped at least one thing.

These ants’ refusal of a meeting wasn’t due to some ulterior motive, but rather simply ‘because they are at war.’

“You… no, Orea, you really are quite narrow-minded.”

That approach made it impossible for her to hold back a single word against me.

These sisters.

I really couldn’t leave them like this.