Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 244: Dungeon Master (2)

Chapter 244: Dungeon Master (2)

“Your Highness, that’s…….”

Ivar Lodbrok went silent. He couldn’t possibly finish his sentence.

I know how much this person despises Demon Lords. In <Dungeon Attack>, Ivar Lodbrok joined the human army even though he was one of the representing members of the demon world.

There’s a method for a demon to escape from the innate control that Demon Lords have over them……in other words, applying a slave seal on yourself and giving a stronger power of control over to someone else. Ivar Lodbrok willingly became the hero’s slave.

This was around the time the hero had only defeated up to Rank 20 of the Demon Lords.

Not only Agares, but Barbatos was still alive and healthy. No one believed that a mere human swordsman could slaughter all of the high-ranking Demon Lords. “A human who knows how to swing his sword a bit,” that was the impression they had.

However, Ivar Lodbrok threw away the career, connections, and money he had built up for thousands of years in the demon world in order to join the hero’s group. It was a gamble.

The chances were abhorrently slim, but the possibility of killing every single Demon Lord was enough for Ivar Lodbrok. He despised Demon Lords enough to throw his life’s work into flames. He probably wouldn’t want to show his main body even if it meant his life. Especially to a suspicious Demon Lord like me.

I asked him a question.

“Head of Keuncuska, is there no way around this?”

I wasn’t reproaching him. I spoke in a troubled tone.

“There is a lot that has been built up between us. Nonetheless, I have never attacked or criticized you. I do not know if you are aware of this, but my connections are not that thin either. If I so desired, I could have told Barbatos, Marbas, and Gamigin to stop trusting in Keuncuska.”

“…….”

Ivar Lodbrok listened to my words quietly. His expression was composed, but who knows what was going on in his mind.

Merchants live off of trust. Demon Lords were like trust certificates to merchant firms in the demon world. A Demon Lord purchasing goods from your firm was like a mark of honor.

What were to happen if they were abandoned by those Demon Lords they relied on so much? No matter how well the Keuncuska Firm is doing, they’ll receive a huge blow. This was something that Ivar Lodbrok definitely didn’t want.

“But I didn’t.”

“…….”

“Do you know why? It’s because I’m grateful to you. Cornering Paimon during the Crescent Alliance was something that would’ve been impossible without you.”

Ivar Lodbrok bowed courteously.

“I am honored.”

“You don’t understand at all…….”

I shook my head as if I were tired. I didn’t bring that up to be thanked for appearance’s sake.

“Do you still not understand? I am treating you like a person of equal standing to me.”

“……!”

Ivar Lodbrok looked shocked.

“I do not forget my gratitude to other people. I form my relationships with people while considering the things they did for me in the past. This is how I show that I am treating the other person as an equal. This is impossible if the other person doesn’t look straight back at me.”

I muttered bitterly.

“I have tried to establish this kind of relationship with you since a long time ago, but it seems that I appear no different from other Demon Lords in your eyes…….”

Ivar Lodbrok came to me immediately after the ceremonial speeches and he lamented as if he were crying out. He cried out about how demonkind was nothing more than pets to Demon Lords. That they were not given freedom in the end…….

“Between us, is it not you who is refusing to look at the other party properly? You are judging me at your own discretion. I cannot stand this.”

“Your Highness.”

“It’s fine. I will leave the brokering rights of the magic tools to Keuncuska.”

I stood up and turned my back to Ivar. This was a clear sign of dismissal.

“I hope you good tidings with this business, Chief of Keuncuska.”

“…….”

Ivar Lodbrok couldn’t say anything. I could feel his perplexed emotions from behind my back. He was feeling distraught as he didn’t know how to react. Ivar Lodbrok left the reception room as if he were running away.

The reception room. A room like this was made as my Demon Lord Castle became more elaborate. Famous works of art from the demon world and the main continent were hung on the wall like wallpaper. On one wall was the head of an ogre, which I had never hunted before, that was clearly severed and stuffed.

The room was luxurious but quiet.

* * *

Rumors about Dantalian’s Demon Lord Castle soon spread throughout the entire continent.

Refugees gathered as if they were clutching at straws, but there were also people who headed to the Demon Lord Castle with clear hostility.

“Isn’t Dantalian the Demon Lord who ridiculed and cajoled humanity? Hah. How could someone reach out to a Demon Lord like him in order to live? I’ll subjugate Demon Lord Dantalian!”

They were normally young humans with a strong sense of justice.

There were a fair number of knight applicants among them. Most of them were young men around the age of 15 and 18 who were admitted to the academy because they had some talent when they were little but were later revealed as being ‘defective’.

The education fee of academies was something that normal commoners couldn’t handle. They would have to work as vassals under lords for several decades in order to pay off their debt. The issue was the fact that even lords would feel reluctant to use defective products as vassals.

They were definitely more useful than normal foot soldiers. It was only natural since they were educated to be knights for several years.

However, their pride was needlessly high.

“You all will grow to become knights that will one day protect our lord and king. Be proud as knights and always act as honorable warriors no matter where you go.”

Knight applicants would get fed these words constantly before their brains could properly mature. Education that went beyond their means was engraved into their bones. If you added them to a normal army, then they would only create discourse because of their pointlessly high noses.

Fortunately, a few of them would come to their senses. They would do their best to show their instructors that they were useful. Only these people would be capable of becoming non-commissioned officers and become the knights of one of the lords on the lower end.

However, there will always be people who refuse to lower their pride at any point in time.

This young man was one of them. He was extremely angry. He was disappointed by the instructors who failed to notice his potential and he was jealous of his classmates who became successful even though they weren’t as righteous as he was.

“Just you wait. When I become a hero and my name becomes widely known, I won’t become a knight even if they come begging to me!”

Of course, the young man had nothing since he was a commoner. He only had his brilliant diploma in his hand. In other words, a document that shows he has decades’ worth of debt to pay off.

The diploma was only an object of pride to the young man.

“I’m someone who graduated from Frederick Academy.”

It wasn’t much, but it was because he himself had nothing else that the piece of paper felt like it had some immense value to it.

There weren’t a lot of paths that this young man could take. If he turned his head a little, then he would actually see a lot of paths, but he had no desire to turn his head. He was seeking out a path that satisfied his pride and also ascertained his success…….

“I’ll subjugate the Demon Lord.”

Thus, the young man packed his traveling equipment and headed to the Demon Lord Castle.

Demon Lord Dantalian being the lowest rank was also an important fact. The young man may have been foolish, but he would never even consider taking on a higher-ranking Demon Lord. Nonetheless, shouldn’t he at least be able to defeat the Rank 71 Demon Lord? Even if he can’t do it on his own, couldn’t he do it if he gathered a few comrades?

With this absurd dream in hand, sword swingers started to gather to Dantalian’s Demon Lord Castle.

“……I thought it’d be more desolate here, but it’s not.”

The young man was surprised after he saw the fairly decent city built near the Demon Lord Castle.

The Black Mountains were known to most humans as a place where monsters were as common as the pebbles. The fact that a city like this was under the Black Mountains was surprising.

The young man was now truly broke. The small amount of money he had gathered was also used up traveling to the Demon Lord Castle. The young man quickly headed to the city’s adventurer guild.

The adventurer guild was a decent building. It wasn’t an old structure that looked like it was on the brink of collapsing. The guildhall being built properly by bricks meant that the guild would be functioning properly as well.

“Mm.”

The young man seemed satisfied as he nodded to himself. This was the perfect spot to begin his journey as a hero. The young man entered the guild filled with hope.

The inside of the guild was rather noisy.

“Is there anyone who wants to go subjugate goblins? 2 silver coins per goblins.”

“No, how does 1 gold per person make sense!? We’re already barely able to make a living!”

“I’m telling you, Helena Mage Tower offers more than that other Mage Tower. I’ve been living at a reasonable loss all this time, fuck.”

Rough-looking adventurers were either trying to recruit members for their parties, hire people for a fee, or were sharing useful information with each other. They were all at least 4 years older than the young man.

The young man got a bit nervous, but he believed that he had to behave that much more confidently.

After registering as an adventurer at the reception desk?he didn’t have the 1 gold for the registration fee, so the young man had to go even more in debt?the young man walked to the center of the building with bold steps.

‘You can do it, Schiller. You’re someone who’s capable.’

The young man took in a deep breath.

‘I’m different from these riffraff. I’ve held the blade since I was little. There’s no way I’d be afraid of a Demon Lord. I’ll succeed here and return home in glory. Now then, let’s do this. Let’s go with a bang.’

The young man shouted sonorously.

“Adventurers! Those whose lives are closest to that of warriors!”

His loud voice made the adventurers who were talking noisily stop to look at him.

The young man almost cowered as all of the delinquent-looking people in the room turned to look at him all at once. The young man continued.

“You all must have once held the passion to subjugate a Demon Lord, but how are you all now? You are happy being able to make a living by slaying a few mere goblins. Are you not ashamed by your current lifestyles!?”

“…….”

“As you all know, Demon Lord Dantalian is a criminal who has done unpardonable atrocities to us, humans. The Goddesses will not forgive us if we do not slay him!”

There were no changes in the adventurers’ expressions. They all simply looked at the young man quietly.

The young man let out a yell of delight in his mind. The adventurers were listening to him. As he expected, adventurers were humans too. Even if they didn’t now, there was probably a point in time where they did aspire to slay a Demon Lord.

He continued in high spirits.

“My name is Schiller. I’m a knight who graduated from Frederick Academy. I’ve come all this way to subjugate Demon Lord Dantalian. If there are those of you who also wish to put your names down in history, then don’t be shy and step forward! Let us defeat Demon Lord Dantalian together!”

There was a long moment of silence.

The young man believed that he gave a fairly good speech. His voice wasn’t excessively loud or weak. He didn’t look down on them or flatter them too much. The young man believed there was a classic beauty to speeches.

However, the adventurers didn’t give him the response he expected.

“”Puahahaha!””

Laughter. He received a great amount of laughter.

More than forty adventurers started to laugh all at once. Even the staff members behind the front desk were chuckling. Adding to this, the adventurers didn’t even laugh that long as they stopped exactly 5 seconds after they had started laughing. They turned away as if nothing had happened.

The adventurers went back to their previous conversations.

“I’ll only take 2 silver coins for each goblin-.”

“Let’s go with 5. This is the lowest I’m willing to go. All right? If you have a conscience, then…….”

“Okay. The Mage Tower ran by demons is surprisingly more trustworthy. I was hesitant at first as well, but after I got used to them, well, it was fine.”

After that brief moment, the adventurer guild immediately returned to its usual noisy state.

“…….”

The young man was the only one who didn’t understand what had happened. What kind of response was that?

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I wonder how long this knight aspirant is going to last? He’s definitely not off to a good start. On another note, I’ve come to terms that I really dislike having to translate research papers. 2 pages could’ve been shortened to like maybe 4 sentences. I’m getting paid for this, but it definitely didn’t feel like it was worth the effort. I’ll probably avoid translating this kind of work from now on.

Welp, in any case, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.