Prologue

This world was teeming with creatures of the night. Each preferred the darkness for their own reasons: Some were nocturnal to avoid natural predators that hunted them in the light, while the black fur of others simply meant they’d burn under the sun. Some organisms likely turned to the night only because their prey slept during the day, while others did so to avoid competition with other predators.

Sometimes, it was advantage that caused nocturnality; other times, it was necessity. In any case, nocturnality was the forced result of negatives and positives. Thus, if any beings were active during the night because that nocturnality was predetermined, they must have been a warped, modified creature.

On the Red Planet, vampires represented the creatures of the night. Detesting the strong rays of the sun, they instead operated under the faint glow of the moon. However, it was not evolution that created their current form and ecology; they had been this way since they were born on this planet. The gods who constructed this world had sidestepped evolution, releasing vampires onto the Red Planet already at their peak form.

Creatures of the night hustled and bustled between streets and buildings tinged by the faint glow of lanterns. Among them was a young girl flanked by a large, armored man and giant black wolf. She seemed no older than twelve. Her glossy blue hair, long enough to reach down her back, was tied at the nape of her neck. Her black Chester coat adorned in golden accents fluttered behind her, while an ascot tie was wrapped around her neck. Her appearance radiated a noble air, and any who laid eyes on her would assuredly know she was a young woman of high birth.

Her golden eyes had elongated pupils like a cat’s, which alone glowed eerily in the dark. Vampire eyes had evolved to see clearly when light was scarce, and reflective plates lay behind their retinae. These plates amplified the light so that they could see in the dark without issue. It was this reflection that caused their eyes to glow, and this mechanism that blocked their vision when light was too bright. Thus, this girl wore light-blocking glasses to assuage this flaw. And as there was plenty of light in town and indoor locations, this made for a perfect remedy.

While the girl retained her youth, she already exuded beauty and a noble air. Her name was Mercedes, and she was the eldest daughter of Duke Grunewald. She had once been an office lady on planet Earth—at least, those were the memories etched into her brain since birth. Even Mercedes wasn’t certain of their veracity. Still, she had resolved to mentally separate that person from her current self, partly to bid farewell to her boring past life.

Boring... Yes, even she herself thought her life had been dull and insipid. She experienced no great joys and no extreme woes—had neither sincere rivals nor close friends. And while she never took a step forward, she never took one backward either. She simply stood still, living an emotionless life devoid of purpose.

It wasn’t a bad life. In fact, it was a peaceful one that others might envy. Eventless days were what happiness was truly made of. Yes, that was the normal sentiment!

However, that was exactly why Mercedes knew she was so twisted, and why she always felt so unfulfilled. Just like the moon overhead on the night before the full moon, she lacked what would make her full. A small desire smoldered perpetually in her chest, which was why she had chosen to live this life. She would find purpose and live life to the fullest to see that goal to completion. She believed that was what would allow her to die with a smile this time.

For that reason, she had set her sights on conquering the dungeons. When the Guardian that dwelled within the deepest parts of a dungeon was vanquished, that dungeon would become the property of its conqueror, and the path to truth would be paved. Thus, she would conquer every dungeon and unlock the truth reserved for their conquerors.

That was Mercedes’s goal, and she was making steady progress. She had already conquered two dungeons and had gained fragments of the truth. She knew that the “gods” of this world were Homo sapiens, and that all creatures of this world were artificial organisms crafted by their hands. The goal of these “gods” was to create humanity’s successors—the progeny of a species unrecognizably transformed after generations of unchecked gene manipulation. She had also learned that those possessing memories of past lives, such as herself, were a part of this system.

However, that was all Mercedes knew as of yet. She’d need to conquer more dungeons if she wanted to get a more complete picture of this truth.

“We’re here. This must be it.”

Today, Mercedes stood outside another of these dungeons, though not one she hoped to conquer. Two types of dungeons existed in this world: natural dungeons that spit out countless monsters, and “quasi dungeons” that were created when monsters overflowed from natural dungeons and inhabited caves and ruins. Unfortunately, Mercedes was one of the latter. Nothing could be gained from conquering this dungeon, and once the monsters were eradicated, it would return to being nothing but a pile of rubble.

Therefore, she could ignore such dungeons. But unfortunately, she couldn’t ignore an investigation request from the kingdom—specifically from Princess Sieglinde, her best friend.

“Let’s go,” said Mercedes, addressing the armored man and black wolf beside her. Their names were Benkei and Kuro, and they were monsters she had captured within dungeons.

Mercedes stepped inside the ruins, but to understand what brought her here, we would need to rewind time to a few days prior.

Chapter 76: Those Who Change and Those Who Do Not

Five years had passed since Mercedes had stolen Beatrix’s dungeon. She was now seventeen, and only a year away from graduating. Sieglinde had reached her perpetual age a year prior, so her appearance had stagnated at the ideal age between young girl and young woman. Her breasts had always been rather developed, and they now shook with every step. Whenever she walked, the eyes of every boy in the academy were laser focused on her.

Mercedes questioned whether that degree of shaking was healthy, but unfortunately, vampiric nations were still only at a medieval level of development, meaning brassieres had yet to be invented. While there existed underwear that could support the breasts, it was not the proper item that existed in modern-day Japan.

Still, the fact that vampiric busts never sagged was what truly accounted for this. Their Cooper’s ligaments were tough and would regenerate if lacerated. Consequently, Sieglinde’s breasts bounced every day, drawing much attention from the boys.

Felix had reached his perpetual age at twenty, so he had stagnated almost perfectly at his physical prime. It was an ideal perpetual age for a male. As he shared some similarities with Frederick, the academy’s former principal, Mercedes had worried that Felix would never reach his perpetual age, but thankfully, his clock had stopped while he was still young.

Felix had already graduated and now studied tirelessly to one day become the heir of House Grunewald. Sadly, Bernhard still paid him no attention.

However, Felix had become friends with Empress Beatrix (to be exact, the body double that ruled the Empire, as the real Empress was locked away in Mercedes’s dungeon), which may have caught Bernhard’s eye. Perhaps he still saw use for his son, as he had yet to abandon him.

Margaret and Monika were now sixteen and had seen continual improvement in their academic performances since their enrollment in the academy. They also showed promise in the physical sense.

The once timid Margaret had now developed into a soft-spoken, polite young woman who had many secret admirers among the male students. And while Sieglinde’s was bigger, the size of her chest contributed to her popularity. Monika was a slender beauty and still wore her hair in the same ringlets as when she was young, which was just one of her many selling points. While both girls were now bigger than Mercedes, they still adored her as their elder sister.

As for Mercedes... She hadn’t changed at all. Not in the slightest. She was still as flat as a pancake.

Mercedes had always feared this would be her future, and she had been proven correct. She had reached her perpetual age at twelve and hadn’t changed at all. With Hannah at her side, it tragically looked like two children had snuck into their class. Incidentally, Hannah was now friendlier with Mercedes than she had been in the past, and clearly fonder of her niece Mercy and new “buddy,” to use her words. Apparently, she viewed Mercedes as a kindred spirit.

Mercedes was still number one in her class and sat far on top in both the hunting and martial arts festivals. While no one belittled her, some would occasionally observe her as if she were some sort of amusing spectacle. She wasn’t a fan of that.

Personally, Mercedes had wished to reach her perpetual age at twenty, just like Felix had. Unfortunately, reality could be harsh. In a fight, height, weight, and reach played deciding roles; the bigger the animal, the stronger it tended to be. However, her body failed to develop no matter how much she wished and hoped, so all she could do was curse her form.

The academy had lost Principal Frederick, but the school remained open, and classes continued as usual. A new teacher was appointed principal, but that had been the only change. Well, the school had closed its doors temporarily for two weeks to deal with the chaotic aftermath and to allow the knights to investigate, but that was truly it. To Frederick, the academy had been something he couldn’t live without. But to the academy, Frederick had evidently been anything but essential.

In actuality, Edelrot Academy was run by the kingdom, which meant its true head was the king—or right now, Sieglinde. The title “principal” had always been a simple job without any actual power. And naturally, the academy couldn’t have continued if the principal had committed treason and sold out Sieglinde. Frederick’s plan had been flawed from the start.

While the empire had promised to keep the academy’s doors open, Beatrix had apparently planned to remove the female students and use the school as an isolation facility. Mercedes had confirmed this with Beatrix herself.

In conclusion, it had been business as usual at the academy. It was almost sad.

***

“Do you have a moment, Mercedes?”

Once classes were over for the day and Mercedes was on her way to the dorms, Sieglinde stopped her. They had once been of similar height, but Sieglinde now towered over her and had a much more developed figure. It made them look like sisters of largely disparate ages.

Sieglinde’s hair had once only reached her neck, but now that she had given up on disguising herself as a man, it reached her back. No one would ever mistake her for a prince again.

Still, just what had caused this vast difference between them? Was it pride, environment...?

No, there’s no point wallowing in despair. I need to look on the bright side.

Carrying such excessive weight around the chest was a disadvantage in battle, plus it didn’t match Mercedes’s martial techniques. If she wanted to continue working as a Seeker, it was better to be thin. She did wish she was a bit taller, though; longer reach was never a bad thing. Had this been a result of perpetually casting increased gravity on herself since childhood?

These thoughts only lasted a fraction of a second. In a flash, she regained her usual icy, expressionless look as she turned to Sieglinde. “What?”

“I have a request for you as a Seeker.” Sieglinde was this nation’s princess, and thus she had personnel she could mobilize to investigate anything she wanted. Some Seekers were nobles, and others worked exclusively for the nation. With enough money, they surely wouldn’t refuse a request from her.

However, it was Sieglinde’s faith and trust in Mercedes that had inspired her to skip these Seekers entirely and go straight to Mercedes. But at the same time, Sieglinde was also certain that Mercedes was the most skilled Seeker in the nation anyway.

“Is this going to be a hassle?” She didn’t ask why Sieglinde had come to her first, as she didn’t need to. Mercedes knew it had to involve a secret these other Seekers couldn’t know, or that this request was beyond their capabilities. Or perhaps, they were all busy with other jobs. Thus, Mercedes had truncated these unnecessary questions and jumped straight to the next part of the discussion.

“A bit.”

Mercedes began to head toward the dorms, and Sieglinde followed. They continued their discussion as if they were simply chatting about the weather.

“We’ve confirmed quite a few quasi dungeons outside of the city.”

“Then nearby monsters inhabited the area or began to breed.”

“That was my assumption too, so I sent an investigation team.”

Apparently, Mercedes had been right. Sieglinde had brought the matter to other Seekers first. She nodded and waited for Sieglinde to continue her story.

“But they never returned. I sent a Seeker party to locate them, and then they went missing as well. After discussing the matter with Hannah, we concluded that sending any more half-hearted forces would only result in more casualties.”

“So you decided to send me.”

This must have been beyond what the other Seekers could handle. Mercedes had never revealed that she possessed any dungeons, as this would only cause trouble for her. But even so, Sieglinde trusted Mercedes’s skills. After all, this reliable schoolfriend had defeated King Isaac, the Beatrix Empire, and Principal Frederick, knocking down all obstacles in Sieglinde’s way to create a path forward for her.

“Yeah. But if things get tough, return home. I don’t want to lose you,” said Sieglinde, staring at Mercedes with worried eyes as she took Mercedes’s hand in hers.

The students who happened to witness this scene stopped in their tracks. One boy muttered, “I wish I was between them,” earning a smack on the head from his friends.

However, Mercedes responded calmly and without emotion. “Leave it to me.”

Mercedes was as curt as ever. It was just her natural disposition; she never spoke with kindness. A few days later, Mercedes had arrived at the quasi dungeon in question, and we return to the present time when this story began.

Behind Mercedes were Benkei and Kuro, whom she had summoned in advance. They brimmed with excitement, ready for their first dungeon dive in a long while.

“Master, we are ready whenever.”

“Wait a moment. I want to analyze our surroundings first.”

Benkei urged her forward, but Mercedes put a stop to him, summoning one of the monsters within Blut Eisen, her halberd. It was Chirpy, a large bird. She sat on his back.

Blut Eisen was the weapon form of the first dungeon Mercedes had conquered, made of unbreakable metal. Just by thinking the command, she could summon the monsters stored within it.

Based on what she could gather from above, this quasi dungeon appeared to have once been a fortress used in war. While the Kingdom of Orcus seemed peaceful on the surface, a virulent war with the beastmen had raged just a few decades prior. Fortresses built during the war had remained standing and now littered the land. Mercedes didn’t know why they hadn’t been destroyed; perhaps Orcus thought they might see use again, or maybe they simply wanted to save the money it would cost to tear them down. As a result, they had become the dens of monsters, which perhaps made the decision seem questionable in hindsight. But the Seekers who made their living in the dungeons had no complaints.

After returning to the ground, Mercedes stored Chirpy back in her dungeon, summoning a human-shaped jelly slime in his place. Dungeon masters could spend dungeon points to limitlessly create and direct monsters. This no-good jelly slime had been produced in Mercedes’s dungeon and would survive as long as its core remained intact. But somehow or other, this slime had become toned and swole through weight lifting. It now looked nothing like its old self.

But how the heck could slimes even build muscle...? Well, it was probably best not to question it. Logic and common sense couldn’t be applied to monsters.

The jelly slime energetically ran up to the quasi dungeon’s entrance. But as soon as it stepped inside, it tripped on something, causing a hail of arrows to pummel it from all directions. However, its tough body deflected them all. It flaunted its uninjured body with a side chest pose.

“So there are traps here. This will be annoying.”

Real dungeons were equipped with traps by default, regardless of the intelligence of the monsters that populated it. There wasn’t a reason for this; it was the default option, and triggered traps would be automatically reset. Therefore, traps could be found in dungeons containing no intelligent monsters, and traps couldn’t be used to predict the intelligence of the monsters inside.

On the other hand, quasi dungeons were simply ruins inhabited by monsters. They weren’t equipped with traps, which meant their presence implied that the monsters inside had to have the intelligence and craftiness necessary to set them.

“Let’s go.”

Mercedes had the jelly slime lead to check for traps as the group headed inside and traversed the dungeon. In real dungeons, the goal was always to make it to the next floor, but quasi dungeons held no clear objective. Parties would seek to eliminate all the monsters inside instead of reaching the end. Therefore, the typical destination was where monsters were most dense—the most open space in the structure, and Mercedes had set that as her goal. But once she had ventured a bit inside, a door suddenly shut behind her.

“Master!” shouted Benkei.

“I know. We’ve been closed in,” responded Mercedes curtly as she upped her defenses. The majority of traps would be defunct once disarmed or triggered, which was why she had the jelly slime at the front to trigger traps. However, that wouldn’t work for traps that triggered after a delay. The investigation squad must have been eradicated after their escape route had been cut off. What came next was obvious.

“Benkei, Kuro. On guard. Here they come.”

Benkei and Kuro quickly assumed battle stances to protect their backs. The people in the investigation squad weren’t idiots. Once their path had been blocked, they would have realized the danger they were in and tried to secure an escape route. They would have attempted to open the door or find an alternate route. Worst-case scenario, they would have tried to destroy the wall to break out of the fortress.

However, if no one returned, it could only mean they weren’t afforded the time to attempt those measures. And Mercedes was right. Monsters swarmed out from deeper within the fortress, ready to finish off their cornered prey.

Actually, were these monsters? At a glance, they seemed to just be armored soldiers.

Mercedes transformed her Blut Eisen into a brooch to make her body lighter and leaped forward. The proper name of her beloved halberd was a master key, and it was the dungeon itself. Such items were also called dungeon keys.

These keys had two modes: “Key Mode” for when it was used as a key, and “Standby Mode” meant for easy transport. The key could be shifted between forms at will. Mercedes had personally chosen a brooch for Standby Mode and halberd for Key Mode.

Once Mercedes closed in on the armored monsters, she again shifted the master key to Key Mode and swung her halberd. It sundered the armor in two, revealing an empty cavern underneath. These monsters were nothing but empty animated armor, and even though this one had been cut in two, it was trying to right itself.

Mercedes sliced the next armor that attacked in half, while Benkei cut down the one approaching from the side with his sword. Kuro ran about the room to toy with the armor, ripping it apart with his claws.

However, these enemies were tough. They fired arrows at the party from a distance, which Mercedes knocked down with her Blut Eisen. Benkei responded with arrows of his own, while Kuro closed in at lightning speed to rip apart the armored archer. Mercedes herself returned her Blut Eisen to a brooch again, ran up to one of the monsters, and slipped behind it. Then, she immediately reverted her weapon back to a halberd and struck, reducing the armor to scrap metal before absorbing her surroundings.

She was right next to a door. After kicking it open, she found a mess hall. More armor monsters sat on tables and chairs, equipped with bows.

The monsters seemed impossibly coordinated in their attacks. Could monsters that had naturally made this their dwelling place truly exhibit such levels of synchronization?

This was no monster horde. It was an organized army. Mercedes could vaguely sense what seemed to be someone’s intent, and the only one capable of such a feat had to be what Mercedes was—a dungeon master. If that was true, things were about to get messy.

As she contemplated the possibility, Mercedes continued to mow down these armored monsters.

Chapter 77: Armored Monsters

Mercedes and her monsters continued to cut down their enemies until they finally reached the fortress’s reception hall. Just as she had expected, countless monsters were lying in wait for her. But after quickly scanning through her enemies, she determined this wasn’t what she had been searching for.

To put it plainly, she had already eradicated a high number of monsters—a number that was atypical for a quasi dungeon—so it was difficult to believe that these monsters had gathered and bred here naturally. Actually, could inorganic armor monsters even breed? An armored monster dressed in a suit ready to head into the office, an armored monster cooking in an apron, an armored monster sitting in a stroller sucking on a pacifier... That was the bizarre scene that flashed through Mercedes’s mind, though she quickly abandoned such thoughts. That didn’t matter right now. Even if these things could breed, they couldn’t have naturally grown to these numbers in such a short time. That meant someone had gathered these monsters here, and they were most likely either a dungeon master or someone borrowing monsters from one. But that someone wasn’t present. It was only the monsters.

“Push through!”

“Yes, master!”

“Woof!”

Mercedes barked orders at Benkei and Kuro. Then, they ran through the monster horde, cutting down only the ones that stood in their way. If Mercedes’s instincts were right, fighting all of these monsters would only be a waste of time. If there was a dungeon master, these monsters would reproduce endlessly as long as that master had points to spare. Mercedes’s party would be forced into an endless battle of attrition like a horde survival game.

Mercedes utilized her lightness to jump atop one of the armored monsters’ heads, then ran through the crowd, using their helmets as stepping stones. Kuro jumped on and ran over the wall, while Benkei pushed his way through with tackles and attacks. Only the no-good jelly slime failed to break through the crowd and fell victim to the monsters’ blades.

Oh, that’s right. I forgot to return him.

Mercedes swung her Blut Eisen up as hard as she could and threw it with all her might. It cut through the armored monsters as it hurdled toward the jelly slime.

“Return!” That command activated the Blut Eisen’s storage capabilities. In a flash, the jelly slime had shrunk to a size that could be stored away and was sucked inside the master key. Immediately, Mercedes placed an attractive field on her Blut Eisen and summoned it back to her hands, causing the giant weapon to revert course like a boomerang and fling aside monster after monster until it was back in Mercedes’s hands.

They had reached a staircase. Monsters pushed their way downward like they had been awaiting their arrival as other monsters swarmed from behind. In a way, this is even more annoying than a real dungeon, thought Mercedes as she cursed under her breath.

Monsters in dungeons typically attacked independently, but not these armored monsters. They worked together to back their enemies into a corner and fought ferociously.

Mercedes returned Benkei and Kuro to her dungeon, jumped over the monsters, and arrived on the upper part of the staircase. Then, she used gravity magic to fling aside the monster waiting at the top, while other monsters naturally toppled from the stairs after being caught up in the attack.

Once Mercedes reached the second floor, she found an empty hall and a giant armored monster—it had to be four or five meters tall—blocking her path. A door was behind it, which the monster seemed to be guarding.

“Rwrrr!” The giant monster screamed—or perhaps spoke—as it swung its fist toward Mercedes. She jumped to dodge and landed on the monster’s arm, using it as a footpath to reach its head. Once there, she swung her Blut Eisen—but it was tougher than she had expected! Her attack only left a scratch in the armor; it didn’t cut through.

The Blut Eisen was a master key, which made it tougher than this armored monster. But still, when two hard weapons clashed, the weaker didn’t always snap in half. Hammers didn’t always break rocks; it required some serious power. In other words, this foe was sturdy enough that a typical blow from the halberd wouldn’t crack it.

The giant armor flung a fist at Mercedes in retaliation. She quickly kicked off that fist and used the force to fling herself backward, landing on the wall. Normally, this would be impossible, but by temporarily switching the direction of gravity, Mercedes was capable of sticking to walls like a bat.

Before the giant armor’s next attack could reach her, she ran across the wall, jumped, and swung her weapon down from above. The giant armor blocked with its arm, sending her flying backward. But this time, she landed on the ceiling. She ran across it with her head pointed toward the floor, jumping from wall to floor to ceiling to confuse the giant armor. As soon as it was about to step on her, she’d dodge. But right when the giant armor thought she had jumped to the side, it found her suddenly falling from above. Right when she’d been stuck to the ceiling, she had leaped into the air to fall downward.

She utilized this momentum to cut off one of the giant armor’s arms.

Once she landed, she resummoned Benkei and Kuro from her Blut Eisen to distract the foe, then used this opportunity to summon a goblin and throw it inside the empty cavity of the giant armor’s severed arm.

“Bwah!” Unable to wrap its mind around this illogical development, the goblin let out a cry that reverberated inside the armor.

All right. So I can go inside.

Mercedes had been afraid that entering the armor could leave her vulnerable to a surprise attack, and thus she had tossed a goblin inside as a guinea pig. Now that she had determined doing so was safe, she no longer hesitated: She jumped inside the severed arm herself and used her gravity magic to levitate it.

As Mercedes looked around inside the armor, she discovered something.

“A core. So these things move around until their cores are destroyed like jelly slimes.”

Mercedes now knew how to counter these things. She returned the goblin to her Blut Eisen and attacked from within! She swung her halberd to the side, destroying both the core and the giant armor. To finish it off, she spun around and around as she cut the giant armor in half before finally escaping from the crumpled metal.

All that was left of the giant armor at this point was its top half, and it lay still. Just to be sure, Mercedes and Benkei swung their weapons down on its head in unison, destroying it completely.

“That was tougher than I was expecting. Maybe I should have captured it.”

“Indeed. Why didn’t you?” a woman’s voice responded to Mercedes’s musings. It was Zwölf, the administrator of her dungeon. In a sense, she was the dungeon’s—and Blut Eisen’s—brain.

“I don’t want to overrely on those functions. It’d make me rusty.”

Mercedes had a way to cheat in battles against monsters. She could decompress her dungeon and then compress it again, storing everything present—even monsters—inside. Using this function, she could trap all her foes in her dungeon. Additionally, monsters could be “registered,” allowing her to replicate the beasts and command them as underlings.

However, Mercedes wasn’t a fan of this method. It was too simple, and nothing could be gained from taking shortcuts. Doing this would dull her skills. In her opinion, this was the dungeons’ pitfall. Many in the past must have conquered dungeons, but there were no records of great men in possession of multiple disrupting the power balance.

Wasn’t that because they’d get too used to how easy it all was? The privileges of a dungeon conqueror made them overpowered. Even if two people both possessed dungeons, if one was a conqueror and the other only an inheritor, the conqueror would trounce them overwhelmingly. They were practically invincible, and if they wanted to conquer a dungeon in the typical sense, they could stroll on through without a fight just by trapping all the monsters within their own dungeon.

However, those privileges were nullified when facing the Guardian that lay at the dungeon’s depths. Additionally, the only monsters that could be used in battle against a Guardian were those captured through merit alone. Those who continued to take the easy route would helplessly fall at the Guardian’s hands.

Being invincible didn’t mean you weren’t vincible. If you opted not to fight, your skills would naturally deteriorate. The conquerors who sat on their laurels and were satisfied with their invincible privileges would stagnate.

“Well, it was a bit of a shame, but I think I got enough out of it.”

Still, realizing the quickest path to victory and failing to take it was tantamount to going easy on your opponent and purposefully elongating a battle, which was something Mercedes harbored a psychological aversion to. She wanted to go all out in fights, not simply pretend to. Therefore, she had struggled a great deal to find some sort of mental compromise that she could barely accept as a legitimate reason.

Still, this battle with the giant armor could be considered an exception.

“I’d be wasting space storing away something so big.”

Dungeons weren’t boundless. They were compressed, but there was a limit to what they could store. Of course, one of these giant armors would fit, but it would occupy too much space. Not only were these monsters massive, they were hard to use, and she now knew that if someone managed to make their way inside them, they were powerless. If she wanted a big monster, Principal Frederick’s Dämon Forest would serve the role much better. Even had she captured this monster, she wouldn’t have used it. Having reached that conclusion, she was able to appease the part of her that regretted eradicating it.

Actually, the giant armor was already covered in scrapes and bruises by the time she considered capturing it for herself, so doing so would have been meaningless anyway. But no one had to know that.

Monsters registered to dungeons would be saved and reproduced exactly as they were at the point of registration, meaning she could have only produced tattered armor. It would’ve been nothing but metal scraps and a waste of space.

Mercedes refocused her mind away from this failure and kicked open the door the giant armor had been guarding. What could possibly be behind it? Unfortunately, reality did not meet expectations. It was completely empty.

“What...?”

“Perhaps this is not the right place, master?” asked Benkei as Mercedes examined the room. At a glance, it really didn’t seem like the right place. It was empty, after all.

However, that emptiness in and of itself caught Mercedes’s attention. “It’s too empty.”

This place used to be a fortress, which meant this room must have once been used for something. However, she found no trace of anything. It was completely unnatural, as if movers had come in and cleaned out just this room specifically. It would have been one thing if the room was in a similar state as it had been when it was abandoned, or if it became infested with bugs after all these years—but it being so clean and empty was weird. Even had this room been completely cleared when it was abandoned, you would expect there to still be dust and dirt.

Mercedes traced her finger over the open window frame. It was entirely free of dust. The room was eerily clean for a fortress that was supposedly abandoned. Could the armored monsters have cleaned it? No, that would be ridiculous. Mercedes possessed monsters adept at housework, so she couldn’t completely deny the possibility. But if a monster like Shufu had been in here, the whole fortress would have been cleaned, not just one room.

Actually, Shufu’s whole existence was a major distraction. One Mercedes wished she didn’t have to think about.

“Hmm...?”

Mercedes glanced out the window for a mere second and discovered someone or something running across the plains. They were equipped with what looked awfully like peafowl wings—and they were gaudy. Was it a monster that lived nearby, or perhaps just a normal bird...? Had it been just a tad closer, Mercedes would have captured it. But unfortunately, it was already too far gone.

Well, whatever. It was probably just some random monster anyway.

“What shall we do, master?”

“I’m going to look around a bit more,” she said, despite already knowing there’d be nothing here. There was no logic behind this conclusion; her senses as a Seeker had simply told her that their foes had gotten a jump on them.

Once again, Mercedes had no specific reason or evidence to prove this, which was why she continued her investigations. This quasi dungeon had been the work of a dungeon master—one who had been in this empty room recently. But before she could step inside, that dungeon master had stored everything away and ran.

It was a strained interpretation—a forced reworking of previous events based on a predetermined conclusion. It’d be wrong to consider this true deduction.

Afterward, Mercedes eradicated the armored monsters and continued her investigations. But unfortunately, there were no traces of either the mastermind behind this quasi dungeon or the missing investigation squad.

Chapter 78: The True King

It was the day after Mercedes had investigated the quasi dungeon, and she once again found herself walking through the capital. The fortress, now devoid of monsters, was currently being searched by Hannah’s underlings. Thus, Mercedes had lost her job and decided to return to her core occupation, a Seeker. She was embarking for the dungeons.

Five years had passed since she’d obtained her two dungeons, and she was now a B-rank Seeker. Had she wished to, she could have easily climbed to A-rank. The problems typically associated with it—like being scouted to exclusively serve the crown—were nullified by the fact that Sieglinde was currently the head of this nation. Mercedes accepting the quasi dungeon job was proof that she half served the crown at this point anyway.

However, she had decided not to climb the ranks ultimately to avoid garnering unwanted attention. News that someone had conquered Stark Dungeon had spread among most Seekers, and when considered alongside the sudden shift in relationship between Orcus and the empire, it was clear to anyone with any sense that something had taken place. Naturally, the most renowned and highly skilled would be the first called into question.

Mercedes didn’t particularly want to avoid attention, nor did she want to live the typical quiet life of a houseplant. She didn’t want to live in the shadows either. She had no biases, but she still didn’t want to be surrounded by flip-floppers, newfound “relatives,” and unsolicited invitations either, like a lucky lottery winner who was dumb enough to announce his earnings to the world. That would just be annoying.

So rather than shoot through the ranks, Mercedes decided it’d be best to climb slowly and naturally so as not to draw eyes. With this in mind, she carefully chose her jobs. Failing to work would lower her rank, so she still had to accept jobs regularly, though she wasn’t too fond of exploring Practis Dungeon. It was only supposed to have fifteen floors, but ever since her second visit, that had suddenly increased to eighteen. This should have been big news, yet she never heard any Seekers discuss that development, and whenever she casually brought it up, she was always told, “Practis Dungeon’s only got fifteen floors, no?”

In other words, the floors beyond had been made accessible to Mercedes alone, which inspired some caution in her. She was all but certain that the owner of Practis Dungeon was her father, Bernhard. Thus, fighting in his dungeon meant revealing her hand. While she could keep them concealed against weak monsters, there was no hiding when fighting the tougher ones. Likely, forcing such an outcome had been her father’s intent in opening these floors to her. Ever since that had occurred to her, she had made her treks to Practis Dungeon less frequent and refrained from venturing too far inside. This was yet another reason she remained a B-rank Seeker.

However, it seemed Mercedes would need to adjust her plans. I’m being followed. Yes, she was sure of it. At first, she assumed they merely happened to be headed for the same destination, but now, it was clear that at least three men were purposefully tailing her. While those were all she could see, she believed there were more.

Mercedes had deliberately tried to take an alternate route, but the men had followed. It was safe to assume they were truly pursuers. It would be easy to ambush them, but she had yet to determine whether they were friend or foe. Given the mishap that had occurred between her and Hannah, she thought it would be best to hear them out first. Thus, she entered an inn, ordered some bread and wine at the tavern on the first floor, and took a seat deep inside.

In Orcus, eating out required visiting an inn. They were typically paired with taverns, making food readily available. Usually, only bread and water (or wine mixed with water) were provided, and additional sides or blood came with a separate charge. The kingdom had no restaurants—in fact, even the concept of a business that provided nothing but food was foreign.

After a short wait, five men approached Mercedes. The androgynous man who appeared to be their leader addressed her. “My apologies. May I sit here?”

“Sure.”

Mercedes observed the man who sat opposite her. He was roughly a hundred and seventy centimeters tall with a handsome face, though his eyes were squinted as thin as a thread, as if he had poor eyesight. He flashed a warm smile, but that just made him seem fishier. In fantasy stories, the chances of an androgynous man with half-lidded eyes being evil was a hundred-and-fifty percent. Mercedes couldn’t let her guard down.

The chances of this man being a villain were a hundred percent, and the chances that he’d betray her once again after feigning a change of heart were fifty percent. Put together, that made a hundred and fifty.

Naturally, this statistic wasn’t logical. It was just Mercedes’s prejudice speaking.

Two of the other four men sat beside the androgynous man, while the remaining two stood beside Mercedes as if to keep her in check. Were they trying to block off her escape? Well, if she wanted to, she could easily do away with this crowd. In fact, she was delighted to have shields and hostages within arms’ reach. She planned to use one if the need arose.

“So? What do you want? You were following me.”

“Oh, so you noticed. I should have expected nothing less.”

“To me, it seemed like you were hoping I’d notice,” responded Mercedes as she munched on her bread. It was hard. The bread in Orcus really was inedible without an accompanying soup. Because of this, customers would order some on reflex for a separate charge, and the business would make it rich.

“Lady Mercedes Grunewald, the True King is in need of your talents. We’d like you to join us.”

Mercedes silently sipped on her wine. She could neither refuse nor ask him to elaborate further. But for some reason...she had the feeling this was going to get annoying. She wanted to sigh.

She scanned the man once again. He was fishy. That one word perfectly summarized her first impression of him. It was fishy how he randomly followed her, how he surrounded her...all of it was fishy. And after all that, he suddenly started talking about a “True King.” That obviously wasn’t going to make her breathe a sigh of relief.

Mercedes wasn’t sure whether the man had picked up on her thoughts, but he chuckled. “Lady Mercedes. You know of the Royal Swords, yes? I’ll skip that explanation. To begin where this concludes, our True King is the descendant of the most recent conqueror, and thus the most proper king.”

“Is he now?” As far as Mercedes was aware, she was the most recent dungeon conqueror. However, her interlocutor seemed ignorant of this fact. Still, this mention of a conqueror’s descendant had piqued her interests. She still wasn’t sure what these guys were after, so she’d have to see how things played out for a little while longer. But if these guys were bad news, that’d actually be better for her—she could steal their dungeon without qualm.

Still, she wasn’t certain that this man was telling the truth yet. It was more likely that this “descendant of a conqueror” was a phony. Therefore, Mercedes remained silent and instead urged the man to continue.

“Very few are aware of this, but dungeons are not conquered by recovering treasures alone. Truly claiming a dungeon means overcoming a trial.”

“That’s the first I’m hearing of this.”

“I’m sure it is. This is top secret intel known to only a select few.”

Mercedes played dumb, but her opinion of this group had improved. She wasn’t sure how they had discovered it, but apparently, they knew of the dungeons’ secret. Deep within them lay two doors—one gold and one black—and those who chose the former would lose their memories and any chance to attempt this trial ever again. Nor could you turn back, as then neither of the doors would appear before you again. Thus, only conquerors could possess this knowledge, and the “True King” that the man in front of Mercedes spoke of had at least heard this intel from a conqueror themself.

“Conquering dungeons allows one to strengthen their nation and keep others in check. Therefore, conquering new dungeons is the crown’s deepest desire, yet also a feat so difficult that even a squadron of one hundred and fifty of the kingdom’s strongest men could easily perish. There were no conquerors for a long, long time.”

Well, duh, thought Mercedes. Bringing a hundred and fifty men into a cramped space like a dungeon would only immobilize them. Even if they stood in a single file line, they’d only get in each other’s way. Retreat would be impossible, and the knights in the front would obstruct the vision of the ones in the back. Then, those in the middle would only be obstructing all the rest. There were zero advantages to this strategy.

“But once, a single knight managed the feat! His name was Kristoff Fecht, and while he lost many men in the process and sustained heavy injuries himself, he miraculously returned home with a dungeon.”

“Amazing,” replied Mercedes, and she meant it. If this story was true, that is. Mercedes had fought two Guardians herself, and both were incredibly tough opponents. If this “Kristoff” had actually conquered a dungeon, perhaps he really did have what it took to be king.

“But the reigning king—Princess Sieglinde’s grandfather, August Abendrot—fearing his position would be put in jeopardy, assassinated Lord Kristoff.”

Sieglinde’s grandfather... That rang a bell. He was the idiot king who threw Orcus into turmoil by taking in the idiot King Isaac as a son-in-law after he failed to be blessed with any sons of his own. Really, he was the King of Idiots. If the man before Mercedes was telling the truth, then that dolt had really screwed up once again. In fact, he was the root cause of the current rot within the nobility of Orcus. How much debt had he saddled Sieglinde with? He was probably dead, but Mercedes really wanted to give him a good punch.

“Lord Kristoff had two daughters. One was captured during her flight and is almost certainly no longer with us. However, his other daughter survived and instead chose to bide her time until she could take revenge for her father.”

“Then she’s this ‘True King’ you keep talking about?”

“No. Unfortunately, a life on the run left her weakened, and she is no longer with us. However, one who has inherited her blood still lives. He is the one who has the blood of a real conqueror, our True King.”

As Mercedes munched on her hard bread, she realized that this “True King” must be around the same age as her. This man...made some sense. The current royal family had the blood of a conqueror running through their veins; in other words, it was the possession of a dungeon that qualified someone to be king. The power of a dungeon could rival that of nations, so this “Kristoff” certainly had what it took to be king. Had he been married to Sieglinde’s mother, all would have ended well.

However, the king at the time—Sieglinde’s grandfather, August—thought otherwise. Maybe he’d wanted the royal surname to remain “Abendrot,” or maybe he’d feared his own influence dwindling. Either way, he had assassinated Kristoff and married his daughter off to that idiot Isaac, directly causing great suffering to Sieglinde and her mother. It was perfectly natural that those who looked up to Kristoff would feel he was the one truly deserving to be king.

“If—just if—you’re telling the truth, then what do you plan to do with Princess Sieglinde?”

“She bears no blame for inheriting August’s detestable blood. As some worship the old king, a revolution would only cause more strife. Thus, we believe her proper fate is becoming the wife of our king.”

“And if she doesn’t want to?”

“Of course, we will do all we can to ensure she comes to love our king.”

Yup. So she has no right to refuse. The man didn’t mention anything about respecting Sieglinde’s wishes in his response. Basically, they were saying, “It’d be great if you loved our king, but you’re gonna be his bride either way.” It didn’t inspire much confidence that they’d treat her well or consider her feelings.

“Hmm... Got it. But I haven’t heard about you yet.”

“My apologies. I am the butler of House Fecht, Basil Salmon.”

What a mouthwatering name. Mercedes couldn’t help but imagine a plate of salmon sashimi garnished with basil.

Anyway, she once again observed Basil. His green hair reached his shoulders, covering his ears. She didn’t notice any fangs in his smile either. Had they been broken? He was quite pale, and Mercedes had considered the possibility he was secretly a woman, like Sieglinde. However, his frame was certainly masculine, and he didn’t seem to be cross-dressing. In fact, his voice was quite deep, and he had an Adam’s apple, making him almost undoubtedly a man.

“So? What do you think?”

“This is interesting, but I still don’t know why you came to me.”

“Well, that’s simple. We don’t wish to make an enemy out of you. We know how you and your father dethroned the fool Isaac. Not only are you incredibly strong, but the influence of House Grunewald rivals that of the royal family. It’s simply not smart to antagonize you. So instead, we want you to align with us. If you do, our army will be unstoppable. Of course, we promise you a title once the True King assumes the throne.”

Huh. So they’re after my father, not me, thought Mercedes. But they had to be in the know considering they had come to her rather than Felix. They say that to shoot down a general, you must first shoot down his horse, and they knew that Felix wasn’t even worthy of being the horse in that idiom.

At the same time, Mercedes’s father wasn’t one who’d realign himself just because his daughter had. Mercedes imagined putting on a cutesy act and begging him, but the only outcome she could envision was one where he literally kicked her aside. In fact, this image of herself was so disgusting, she summoned another one of herself into the image to kick herself again.

“And if I refuse?”

“It will be unfortunate, but we’ll have no choice but to accept. However, would you be willing to meet with our True King, even just once?”

Mercedes pondered the matter while sipping on her wine. She had zero intentions of joining them, but she believed it’d be best to confirm the veracity of Basil’s words. If this wasn’t a farce, then the existence of another dungeon inheritor would prove troublesome. Currently, there was a lack of faith in the crown. Sieglinde had a base of hardliners—particularly among men—but she lacked the charisma to be a ruling queen. If another dungeon inheritor were to rear their head, the kingdom could be split right down the middle. That was bad considering the beastmen could launch another war at any moment.

“Sure, I’ll meet with him. That’s the fastest way to figure out whether you’re telling the truth, after all.”

Thus, Mercedes opted to follow them.

Chapter 79: A Bejeweled Youth

After Mercedes agreed to follow Basil and his men to meet this “True King” for herself, she was brought to a cheap inn located in a back alley. The first floor was a tavern, and while it was surprisingly lively, it didn’t seem to have the most savory clientele, which made sense considering the location.

Basil stepped inside the kitchen, removed a rug, and placed his hand on the floor. Suddenly, a space opened, revealing a staircase that led underground. “This way.”

Mercedes descended after him, only to find a storehouse. It was stocked with foodstuffs for the kitchen and nothing else. The space was small—only about eight square meters in size—and piled high with nothing but ingredients. You could likely find such a space in every inn.

Basil scooted aside a shelf in the corner of the room, revealing another staircase that led farther underground. Just how deep did they have to go? She felt like a mole.

One of the guards who had accompanied Basil stayed in the storehouse and moved the shelf back once they had slipped inside. After about a minute of walking, they finally arrived in an open space. It seemed impossible for this to be hidden underground.

“This place is huge.” Yes, “huge” was the perfect word. This wasn’t a closed-off cavern, but an open space the size of an elementary school gymnasium.

Mercedes gasped. “That’s...!”

Even more surprising were the armored soldiers lining the walls, which stood perfectly still. At first, Mercedes thought they were pure decoration, but she recognized this armor. They were the same monsters she had discovered in the quasi dungeon.

As soon as they noticed Mercedes, they placed their hands on their swords. Basil reassured them with a hand signal, prompting them to immediately relax. They made no unnecessary movements.

So, they were there to attack any unwelcome visitors. The room provided more than enough space for the armor to fight, and it apparently served as an execution chamber for any intruders. At the back of the area was a manor that seemed too large to exist underground, which was particularly well-guarded.

Mercedes had seen enough to know exactly where they were. “We’re in a dungeon. A portion’s been decompressed for you to use as a base.”

“You’ve already caught on? You really are amazing,” said Basil, not seeming surprised in the slightest. Anybody who knew the true nature of dungeons would immediately recognize where they were, which was why they needed so many guards. They couldn’t let any unwelcome guests return alive after witnessing this.

At the same time, the fact that they’d shown Mercedes this place meant she was short on options. Anyone who was shrewd enough would immediately recognize where they were. This open space was unconcealed, and the only exit was blocked off and guarded. Whether or not these precautions were truly necessary, there was an implicit understanding that only those who agreed to join them would be set free.

“As you’ve likely already noticed, the fortress where you fought so valiantly the other day was one of our bases. Not that I mean to chastise you, of course. You had no idea, so there was nothing that could have been done. We forgive you.”

“I don’t care if you do or don’t.”

Mercedes’s coldness caused Basil’s cheek to twitch. Despite his patronizing words, he was only extending his forgiveness to try and make her feel indebted to him. However, Basil was nothing to her; rather than a friend, he was more a foe than anything. She didn’t care whether her foes forgave her or not. In fact, she had only been carrying out a request from Sieglinde. It was Basil who needed to beg for her forgiveness.

“Please don’t do anything rash. We would have no choice but to treat you as an enemy,” said Basil, prompting the armored monsters to tap their fingers on the hilts of their swords. He seemed to be quite the patron of implicit threats. He likely wanted to ensure he had an excuse; he never threatened anybody, they had simply feared him and decided to follow his orders of their own volition!

At the very least, Basil had no plans of attacking her yet. But, well...if he did attack, that’d be great for Mercedes. She avoided reckless skirmishes with those who didn’t consider her an enemy, but that changed if her opponent made the first move. In that case, beating them to a pulp would be justified self-defense.

Basil likely thought he had trapped Mercedes, thus successfully pressuring her. But that wasn’t true. Rather, he had invited a rabid animal into his abode.

“This way.”

Mercedes observed the guards as she stepped inside the manor. She could sense no life coming from them; they were too still, which made sense considering they were empty inside. Mercedes had ripped them apart without a second thought last time, but now she was curious. What were these monsters?

She silently asked Zwölf, who answered. “Manufacturing Code 799. Official Name P-001. Local Name Gehen Panzers. Their only affinity is metal. Although they are the least suited for battle among Panzers models, they have strong defenses. They are the first P-type experimental models, which serve as the basis for all other panzers. They have no specific abilities but are cost-effective and typically produced to fight in squadrons. Their fighting capabilities are equal to an armored soldier, so sixty percent of the capabilities of the typical male adult vampire. Similar to jelly slimes, they contain cores within their armor. Only destroying their cores or limbs can cause them to cease operation.”

Mercedes felt like Zwölf was giving her more information than she used to. “Manufacturing Codes” and “Official Names” were probably titles conferred by humans. Meanwhile, “Local Names” were what vampires called these monsters, and they differed depending on which nation she was in.

Inside Mercedes’s dungeon, the swole jelly slime said, “Jiggle jiggle. They rely on armor! What weaklings!”

Shut up, thought Mercedes. You’re too bulked up. What do you mean, “jiggle?” Mercedes contemplated reregistering the slime under the name “Extra-Swole Jelly Slime.”

This manor paled slightly in comparison to that of the Grunewalds but was still a perfectly fine estate for a noble. More armored monsters were inside, though not the same kind she had seen before. The ones outside were rusty in color, while these were a shimmering silver. They were probably an improved version of the same lineage.

Also inside the manor were servants, and some who seemed to be nobles. Basil walked through the halls before stopping at a door. “The True King lies beyond. Please do not offend him.”

“I’ll do my best.”

With that, Basil opened the door. A red carpet adorned the floor, while a chandelier hung from the ceiling. The back half of the room was raised, which housed a lavish chair; this room must have been designed to resemble a throne room. Atop the chair was a young boy who appeared to be a tween, just like Mercedes. Was that the True King?

Impossible. Vampiric ages couldn’t be judged on appearance alone, meaning the boy could easily be in his twenties. But he lacked presence.

“Lord Max, I have brought you Lady Mercedes Grunewald.”

“Hmph.” Basil had bowed, but Mercedes stayed upright. She hadn’t decided to join them; in fact, she had no intention to. Plus, she was technically the daughter of a duke, putting her above everyone but the royal family. They’d only belittle her if she bowed her head so easily, and if they demanded that she do so, they’d be the rude ones. Mercedes would just go home.

“I commend you for coming here, Mercedes. I am Max Von Orcus Fecht, the true descendant of the most recent dungeon conqueror, and therefore the man who will one day rule Orcus.”

What an obviously dumb name, thought Mercedes. The long names of nobles in this nation resembled German naming conventions, but with slight differences. In fact, that culture was likely the origin of the tradition, though it had only been inherited in imperfect form. Fundamentally, names consisted of a given name first, then conjunction, then the name of the lands that noble ruled, and finally the name of their noble house. For example, Bernhard’s full name was Bernhard Von Blut Grunewald.

The conjunction “Von” was inherited only by the head of the household, and thus it was not in Mercedes’s name. But the young boy before her had introduced himself as “Max Von Orcus Fecht.” He was practically begging for nobles to pick a fight with him.

Max? No issues there.

Von? Mercedes could understand. If he was the only possible heir, he had the right to use that name.

Fecht? Perfectly natural. That was just his last name.

But Orcus? Total bogus. Including the kingdom’s name in his own meant he already considered himself king. The brat thought he ruled Orcus!

Upon hearing such an introduction, more short-tempered nobles would have assuredly slashed him down immediately. Yes, Max was the descendant of a conqueror and thus could become king—but he wasn’t yet! The boy’s head had to be empty if he was using that title already.

Mercedes glared at Max, prompting him to clear his throat. “H-Hmm? Are you angered? B-Basil! What did I do wrong?”

Mercedes wasn’t mad—just exhausted. But as soon as Max interpreted that as anger, he had grown timid and turned to Basil for advice. Watching him lose his composure in mere moments only made him seem less like a king. Was this kid all right?

“D-Do not be angered. If I have done something to offend you, I shall amend it. So please, tell me what it was.”

Well, first you could fix that ridiculous name of yours. Naturally, Mercedes kept that thought to herself and glared at Basil, who was genuflecting before Max. He seemed aggravated, so Mercedes only glared back harder, causing a cold sweat to flow down his back.

More importantly, what should she make of all this? She sensed no malice from Max. In fact, he seemed completely ignorant of his actions and how incendiary his name was. That meant it was Basil who was the problem.

Androgynous men with half-lidded eyes really couldn’t be trusted. Mercedes reaffirmed that conviction.

***

“What are you doing, allowing him to use that name? It’s pure farce.” After concluding her meeting with Max and exiting the room, Mercedes began to question Basil. Such an innocent boy couldn’t have chosen that name himself. Someone had to be whispering in his ears, and that someone had to be Basil.

In response, Basil simply gestured to a room in the manor. He was likely suggesting they talk there to prevent Max from overhearing their conversation.

Mercedes stepped inside the room to find more armored soldiers. Basil walked in after her, locking the door behind him and preventing anyone else from entering.

“The walls here are thick and soundproof. We can discuss freely without fear of being overheard.”

“So basically, no matter what happens, no one’s going to know. Are you trying to trap me here?”

“Not at all! I would never,” said Basil, wearing the same gentle smile. He was the slimy type. While he had yet to utilize any direct methods, he was skilled at coaxing his opponents into agreement, and their earlier meeting with Max was just one such tactic. He had cornered Mercedes and blandished the force of their guards to pressure her into bowing her head. Had she given in for even just a moment, it would have established a relationship of bilateral superiority, and it didn’t matter if that was just a mere act; it would have nevertheless established the fact that the highest-ranking noble lady in the nation had lowered her head to Max.

Plus, once again, Basil had brought her to a closed-off space and flaunted the military force that backed him. No, he had not made any verbal threats, nor did he assume a menacing attitude. But trapping his opponent coupled with the mere presence of these soldiers forced them on the defensive. Their life was in his hands, which prevented them from acting freely.

Which reminded Mercedes, this was a dungeon, so whoever stepped inside was immediately trapped. Basil seemed particularly fond of this tactic, and to someone who couldn’t fight back, it would certainly be effective.

Those who had returned from these circumstances alive could be divided into three categories. The first was those too dense to notice Basil’s threats, and certainly the jolliest of the bunch. They let Basil’s outward smile fool them and only interpreted the soldiers lining the walls as trusty guards. Once Basil locked the door, they were just happy they could speak together without qualm, just as Basil had said. They were the overly trusting fools completely incapable of reading into the context of their situations. Basically, types like Sieglinde.

Actually, she had a good enough head on her shoulders to see through this.

The second category was the overconfident ones. They thought nothing of the numerous soldiers they witnessed and conceitedly believed such threats wouldn’t work on them.

Lastly...were those who were truly impervious to his threats.

Basil was trying to determine which category Mercedes fell into, which was why he kept his grenades concealed and maintained the friendly facade. If he made one wrong move—and if Mercedes happened to fall into the final category—it would be his undoing, not hers.

“Then tell me. Why do you let him use that name? He’s practically picking a fight with the entirety of Orcus.”

“It is a symbol of his ambition, an unshakable conviction that he will one day rule this land. Thus, he wears the crown of the title of ‘Orcus.’”

“Max himself doesn’t seem aware, though.”

Mercedes could believe this “unshakable conviction”; if he lacked any shred of resolve, Max wouldn’t have such a ridiculous title. But that was Basil, not Max. The boy was ignorantly bearing that weight, unaware that he was bearing anything at all.

“You’ve got a kid at your helm. Actually, I guess I never asked his age. How old is he? He only looks like a tween.”

“He turned eleven this year.”

So he wasn’t secretly a man in his twenties. Still, he seemed awfully immature for eleven, at least to Mercedes. She’d always had memories of her past life, so she couldn’t compare Max to herself, but he definitely seemed less mature than her classmates Sieglinde and Dodo Riotte did at that age.

In Japan, an eleven-year-old was still just a child, but not in this world. It was the age where children began to help their parents or start careers. Vampires were commonly engaged by then, and many were considering marriage. Yes, Max was a child, but the culture of this world demanded independence from children much earlier than that of Japan.

Not that it mattered at all to the subject at hand, but Dodo Riotte had moved on and found a new love after the betrayal of discovering Sieglinde was a girl. The target of her affections now was a blond, handsome, ill-fated man who was the son of a duke.

Wait. Wasn’t that Felix?

Anyway, Max was likely the exact opposite of Sieglinde. The princess had endured abuse from her parents, inspiring hard work that led her to exhibit a maturity almost unthinkable for a child of only eleven. Max...had just been spoiled. Basil and his crew had lifted him up, worshipped him, and egged him on, leading him to believe such treatment and values were normal.

It wasn’t Max’s fault. He was trapped here in ignorance and exalted as a king day in and day out. This was the natural result.

Oh, the sweet, oblivious boy king. But could he truly rule once he assumed the throne? He knew nothing of his subjects’ hearts.

Well, Mercedes was in no position to criticize someone for not understanding others’ emotions. Still, Max becoming king would clearly spell disaster.

“He’ll be one useless, naked king.”

Max would be wholly incapable, unable to even use his brain. He’d rely on Basil for everything. If Basil said his birthday suit was the only attire that would avoid ridicule, the young king would happily walk around naked.

“And we’re here to prevent that.”

“More like you’re here to make sure that happens,” said Mercedes, immediately correcting Basil’s words. As long as Max was surrounded by his retinue, he’d forever remain a child. A man-child.

Leaving this alone could cause trouble. Should I just destroy the place? Mercedes thoughts started to lean in a violent direction. However, the next second there was a knock at the door.

“Who is it? I’m in the middle of a discussion.”

“It’s Trein, the merchant. I heard Mercedes was here and wanted to speak with her.” Mercedes heard the familiar voice from beyond the door. It was Trein, the portly merchant she had once rescued during a dungeon dive, the same one who had made her rich after she sold him the recipes for making chocolate and canned goods.

Basil glanced at Mercedes, who responded with a nod. She was curious about what Trein was doing here as well. Plus, Trein was an important asset to her, which meant this place needed to remain intact.

Once Basil opened the door, the portly merchant stepped inside with a chuckle. “Long time no see, Miss Mercedes. You’ve grown more and more beautiful as you’ve...well, I guess you haven’t grown.”

“Skip the flattery. I know I look as young as I always have.”

Flattery was what made a merchant’s world go round. Trein had attempted to start off with it, but Mercedes’s lack of growth had led to a misfire.

Perpetual ages were truly unfair. While some vampires grew old and decrepit like Frederick, there were others stuck as perpetual children like Mercedes and Hannah. The clocks of some stopped in their twenties like Felix’s, right at his peak, while some stopped at the wonderful time right before they fully became adult, like Sieglinde’s. Meanwhile, Trein was physically a middle-aged man. He had lost this lottery.

“Sir Basil, I have something to discuss with Miss Mercedes, so would you wait outside? I’d like our business talk to remain between us.”

“...I shall do that. In that case, I’ll leave some guards behind.”

“No need. I have nothing to fear with Miss Mercedes around,” said Trein, wobbling over to her as he turned down Basil’s guards. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she thought Trein had grown even more rotund since their last meeting. Her knowledge had made him rich, which in turn had proportionally filled his stomach.

“Then follow me, Miss Mercedes.”

“Sure.”

What was Trein doing here? Depending on the answer, Mercedes would have to let Basil leave. She hoped it was nothing too headache-inducing.

Chapter 80: Trein’s Mistake

After her chance encounter with Trein, Mercedes was led to a large sundry shop. A multitude of products lined the shelves, making it more akin to a modern-day supermarket. The two walked through the bustle of customers until they reached a door in the back that was marked with a sign that read “Authorized Personnel Only.” They stepped inside to find a hallway. Mercedes noticed many rooms as they walked down the corridor, but Trein continued farther inward.

Trein chuckled. “This is the capital branch office of Trein Industries! Nobody will overhear us here,” he said, pushing open the door located at the very back of the hall.

The room was surprisingly spacious and furnished with a simple bed. There was a gorgeous desk with chairs, and the shelves were lined with books. Near the wall was a gaudy armchair that seemed to be for guests, which Trein dragged over to Mercedes.

“This is my personal quarters. Whenever I work through the night, I stay here. Please, take a seat.”

Mercedes did as she was told as Trein took a seat of his own. Then, he cleared his throat.

“So? Are you going to tell me what you were doing there?”

“Yes, I will. To begin at the conclusion, I’m a member of their group...or really, a financier.”

Mercedes bit back the sigh that threatened to escape her and toiled to maintain a poker face. She had anticipated this bad news, but it had really popped up out of nowhere. She and Trein Industries had a reciprocal relationship; by collaborating, they both had profited. Mercedes was a woman of few connections, which only made hers with Trein more important. If possible, she wanted to maintain their relationship.

However, that meant she couldn’t just destroy this faction.

Trein must have picked up on her thoughts, as his words were quick. “Still, I am not fully their ally. Perhaps you could call it a mistake from my past. Are you familiar with the previous king, Miss Mercedes?”

“Isaac, right?”

“Right. We kept our suspicions quiet, as we were afraid of being labeled traitors. However, rumors circulated among the powerful that Isaac was a fool who had usurped the throne.”

Mercedes already knew this. Bernhard had been familiar with these rumors, and many had realized something was off. However, saying that out loud would only get you executed on charges of insurrection. Even if you knew there was clearly something odd about the king, revolting against him was no simple task. The kings of Orcus held so much power they were practically despots.

“Regardless, Isaac simply didn’t have what it took to be king. The upper echelons rotted, and the wealth gap continued to grow. Orcus was nearly defenseless against the threat of the empire and the other Falsch. Even I had considered bidding farewell to this nation and escaping elsewhere. But that was when they approached.”

“Right, I think I’ve got the idea. You thought it was better them than Isaac on the throne.”

“Exactly. Max is still a child, but his dungeon powers are genuine. Therefore, I thought he’d be a better king than Isaac. Or rather, I felt that even should he fail to meet my expectations, it couldn’t be any worse than our present situation. So I became their conspirator.”

Trein’s judgment was perfectly sound given the information he had. With Isaac in charge of Orcus, the kingdom continued to rot and was powerless against the empire. Thus, a desperate attempt to change the leadership could possibly improve the situation. At the very least, it was better Max than Isaac, who couldn’t wield the Royal Sword. It was a perfectly natural line of thought.

“But the situation has changed. You defeated Isaac, and we now have Princess Sieglinde, the true inheritor of the throne. Still, now that I’ve agreed to work for them, it’s difficult to go back on my word. Or really, I know too many of their secrets. If I leave them, I’ll certainly disappear.”

“So you’ve lost your chance to back out.”

“Yes, as embarrassing as it is.”

The situation was surprisingly simple. It was a nothingburger. Trein had simply missed his window to leave, and his decision to remain their collaborator had been the right one. One mistake and he wouldn’t be here right now, just as he had stated.

“So basically, I’m free to be their enemy, right?”

“Right. I’d prefer for their faction to crumble as well. I said I was their financier, but I’m more just being extorted. There’s nothing in it for me...”

“Are there others like you?”

“Yes, a few. But not everyone. Some think we should hurry up and hitch Max and Princess Sieglinde together so he can assume the throne.”

Yeah, sounds about right, thought Mercedes. In fact, this position was entirely respectable, as they were genuinely considering what was best for the nation. Right now, Orcus had no king. Sieglinde was a proper princess, but she wasn’t a queen, and she never would be. In Orcus, only men could rule. This was why Sieglinde’s mother had never risen to power, and why the fool Isaac had been welcomed in with open arms.

There wasn’t any particular reason for this. It was just tradition—a fixed belief. One probably predicated on the notion that women were more emotional than men, and thus not fit to be leaders. Consequently, Orcus was without a king, and in an incredibly precarious situation. That wouldn’t change until Sieglinde was married.

“Can’t a queen lead? Well, given our neighbor, I could understand why some nobles would be against the idea.”

“Exactly. It would be terrible if we adopted the same female-centric, sexist society as the empire. I’m sure nobles would oppose Princess Sieglinde ascending to the throne out of fear for that outcome. Personally, I don’t think Her Highness is suited to rule this nation myself...”

Mercedes kept silent, since she agreed. Sieglinde was a good person with a kind heart. However, kindness didn’t necessarily mean sound judgment. Rather, a ruler needed to be cruel enough to sacrifice one to save nine. In that sense, Sieglinde was clearly unfit for the throne.

“Personally, I think you would do quite well, Miss Mercedes.”

“Me? Cut the jokes. I don’t have it in me to bear the weight of a nation’s people,” replied Mercedes, dismissing Trein’s words as jest. But that got her thinking. She was reassured to know that crushing this faction wouldn’t mean severing her relationship with Trein. Now, she could eradicate them if necessary.

Well, ideally, Basil and the others would just leave her alone from here on out, but that wasn’t very likely. She now knew their secrets. She knew the location of their base and both the name and face of their king. But negotiations between them had fallen apart. They likely weren’t going to just let her roam free.

Now that they’d shown their cards to Mercedes, if she wasn’t going to join them, they’d have to eliminate her. That was almost certainly the thought on their mind. They’d have long been discovered by Orcus if they weren’t capable of making these calls.

“I doubt it needs saying, but if you don’t cooperate with them, they’ll soon send assassins. Be careful.”

“Got it.”

Mercedes had been plenty unfriendly to them. While she didn’t present herself a clear enemy, they had assuredly abandoned any hopes of recruiting her. Thus, they only had three options: convince her to join them, let her be, or eradicate her.

However, it would be very convenient for Mercedes if they were going to come after her. Now, she could steal their dungeon with zero qualms. For the time being, she decided to wait and see how they’d react.

“By the way, the conqueror’s name was Kristoff Fecht, right? I heard he had two daughters, and one was captured during her flight.”

“Yes. Max is the son of the one who managed to escape.”

“Right... But was this captured daughter actually killed?”

Something weighed on Mercedes’s mind: the captured daughter Basil had said was likely killed. Yes, it was natural to assume she was dead. August Abendrot had assassinated Kristoff and sent assailants after his daughter. If one was captured, she’d naturally be killed.

However, Kristoff’s daughters could serve a purpose, as they had power over a dungeon. While unlikely, it’s possible she’s alive and locked away somewhere. I should look into it.

Perhaps she still lived. Mercedes didn’t have any particular evidence to support this theory, but that was what her gut said.

***

Three days had passed since Mercedes’s encounter with Basil. She had been spending her free time investigating this matter in the study of the Grunewalds’ manor, but her search had unfortunately so far proven fruitless.

Well, nobody was going to publish a book that said, “The foolish king assassinated a dungeon conqueror.” Mercedes supposed this was only the natural outcome.

Thus, verbal accounts of those in the know would likely be her only avenue for intel. And if anyone was knowledgeable about underhanded and secret affairs, it was Hannah. Beatrix might know something as well. As for Bernhard...Mercedes would leave him for later. He definitely knew something, but she’d rather gather intel from Hannah and Beatrix first and only turn to him if that didn’t give her any clues.

So Mercedes stored herself in her dungeon. Inside was a house, which served as Beatrix’s primary residence. Mercedes had prepared maids for her, so she couldn’t be living a life of particular want. However, it seemed that Beatrix was quite dismayed that there were no monsters shaped like cute girls. Instead, it was goblins who typically served as her caretakers.

“Oh, Mercedes! Welcome. Have you finally captured some adorable female monsters for me?”

“Can’t say I’ve even seen one before. Anyway, I have something to ask you.” Mercedes ignored Beatrix and explained the dangerous faction she had gotten involved with, and the fact one of the dungeon conqueror’s daughters had been captured.

Beatrix’s expression turned grave. She pondered this with crossed arms. “Indeed... Yes, I know of this tale. It was quite a shock to learn of a new dungeon conqueror, and I was desperate to ensure that our military might exceeded Orcus’s. Ultimately, the foolish king took care of him, which worked in our favor. But one of his daughters lived, you said? I see...”

Apparently, even Beatrix had discovered that a new dungeon conqueror had appeared, though she hadn’t heard of what had happened next. She was only now hearing of Max.

At least, that was what Mercedes had thought, but Beatrix suddenly recalled something. “I know very little about Kristoff Fecht. He wasn’t my type, but he was a handsome and virile man. I hear his hair was golden, and he was an orthodox knight and a gentleman who worked harder than anybody.”

“I see.”

A blond, handsome gentleman of orthodox ways... Mercedes felt like she had met this guy before.

Anyway, based on what Beatrix was saying, it seemed that Kristoff was someone wholly unconnected to the plots and schemes that pervaded the castle. He was probably a man incapable of seeing beyond closed doors and had never even doubted the king. Now, Mercedes knew a bit about this conqueror, but she still had yet to learn anything important. Thus, she next decided to turn to a woman well-acquainted with secret affairs.

***

“So me, huh?”

After returning to Edelrot Academy with her usual flight magic, Mercedes immediately began questioning Hannah, her roommate. She watched as Hannah’s expression grew dark, as if she were recalling an unpleasant part of her past.

Well, she definitely had to be aware of this slain dungeon conqueror. Rather, Kristoff was assassinated, and carrying out that sort of dirty work was naturally the job of Orcus’s underworld. As the head of the kingdom’s clandestine forces, Hannah was at the top of that world, so of course she knew.

Hannah remained silent as she petted the bunny-shaped monster on her lap. His name was Bunbun, and he was a monster Hannah had captured. Despite his adorable name, the look in his eyes was cold and sharp.

After petting the grumpy Bunbun for a short while, Hannah seemed to have composed herself. She let out a sigh and began to speak. “Yeah, you’re right, Mercy. I’m the head of Orcus’s underworld, and they don’t act without my permission. Ultimately, it was me who killed him.”

What she admitted was a confession. She had been the criminal behind Kristoff’s murder. She made no excuses and resolved to accept any punishment.

Mercedes let out an exasperated sigh. “So? What’s the truth?”

“Huh?”

“I know you’re not an idiot, Aunty. Stop it with the whole ‘I accept my fate’ act and tell me the truth.”

“No! I mean, well...”

“I don’t need any subjective blame or any confessions about you being responsible. That’s just noise that obfuscates the truth. Tell me objectively what happened.”

Mercedes had easily seen through Hannah’s lie, and it left her flustered. She could be careless, but she was no idiot, and she knew exactly what Kristoff’s death had meant. They wouldn’t just lose his dungeon; if he managed to survive, he could become their ultimate enemy, like a faction touting a True King. Even if the order had come from the king, Hannah wouldn’t just obediently carry it out.

As soon as Mercedes realized that, Hannah dropped the mask. Bunbun escaped from her hands, hopped onto her head, and ruffled her hair as if to say, “Out with it!”

“Hey, Bunbun! St-Stop it! W-Well, it’s true I wasn’t the one who carried out these orders. The underworld is multifaceted, and I’m just in charge of spying, collecting secret intel, and dressing as a townsperson to guard certain people, that sort of thing. And well, if we’re talking about the whole underworld, they’re basically my underlings, but ultimately—”

“Just give me the objective truth already.”

“R-Right,” said Hannah, averting her eyes with a guilty expression. Her lips were frozen into a smile, and she was dripping with sweat. She had resolved to take responsibility for everything! Yet now, she was giving Mercedes the cold shoulder. In fact, she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

But Mercedes had no other choice. Intel filtered through subjective emotions would only impede her investigations.

“At the time, I was doing spy work in another nation, so my adjutant took over while I was gone. And he...he sent out a group of assassins, just as the king demanded. These guys were cool types, or maybe just the types who couldn’t think for themselves. They were professionals...or maybe just set on being the king’s tools. Look, those kids obeyed the king without a second thought, but they really were good kids, okay? Anyway, by the time I returned, everything was over, and...” Hannah struggled to get her words out, and she poked at her fingers while she spoke. She must have felt guilty, in her own way. Even if this had strictly been the work of her underling—and even if she was completely ignorant of the matter—she had to take responsibility as their leader. Therefore, she must have felt quite sorry about the whole affair. Not that this meant Mercedes would accept misleading statements like “This was all my fault!”

“So you were personally against assassinating Kristoff?”

“It’s already over and done with, but I don’t think it was the best decision. Kristoff was popular with the other knights, and this was our chance to claim more Royal Weapons as our own. We let that get away. Personally, I think Kristoff should have been welcomed into the royal family, but... Well, there’s nothing we can do about that now,” said Hannah with a shrug. She was connected to this event, but she was nearly uninvolved. The adjutant she left behind in her place had acted foolishly and carried out the king’s orders as is. That was all.

Mercedes wanted to chastise Hannah for picking this adjutant, but Hannah had never been a great judge of people anyway. “And what happened to this adjutant?”

“After everything was over, he realized the gravity of his actions and quit.”

“I see.”

This adjutant had blundered, but he was somewhat of a victim himself. These orders had come from the king, and it was to be expected that those in the military would follow them. The ability to make independent decisions was never something sought in soldiers anyway. The army answered to the kingdom and was its sword. When weapons acted of their own accord, it only led to chaos—at worse, even a coup. Therefore, Mercedes couldn’t blame this adjutant, although she did think he was an idiot.

Ultimately, August Abendrot was the most brain-dead of the bunch. One wrong move and he’d cement himself as being even dumber than Isaac. Unfortunately, Sieglinde was the daughter and granddaughter of the two most idiotic kings in all of Orcus’s history. Her future was beyond uncertain, and Mercedes could understand why the nobles were so wary of naming her as acting queen. It wasn’t Sieglinde’s fault, but it was only natural to worry given how stupid her father and grandfather had been. Still, Sieglinde was charismatic, and her best hope was marrying an intelligent man.

“Anyway, that’s enough of that. Right now, I’m looking for the assailant who captured one of Kristoff’s daughters. Do you know anything?”

“Of course I do! That’s the adjutant I’ve been talking about. He captured and executed Kristoff’s daughter, then reported it to us. Immediately afterward, he quit.”

“What’s his name?”

“Niklas Junkers. He’s actually a relative of yours, Mercy.”

Apparently, Hannah’s ex-adjutant was a member of her family. This was a common occurrence in high society. Through political marriages and remarriages, children were born and married into other noble houses. All nobles were surrounded by relatives almost everywhere they went.

Still, this connection kind of bugs me, thought Mercedes as she urged Hannah to elaborate. “What do you mean?”

“He’s the father of Walburga, Felix’s mother.”

Mercedes was stunned silent. She was starting to get a bad feeling about all of this—a premonition she hoped above all else wasn’t true. It was just a coincidence. It had to be! If not, things were about to get messy.

“Felix’s hair color doesn’t resemble Lady Walburga’s or our father’s.”

“Huh? Yeah, it doesn’t.”

“And nobody in Walburga’s family—that is, no Junkers—are blond either, right?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah. That’s right.”

“Maybe this is just a coincidence, but Max Fecht is blond.”

Hannah was silent.

“Kristoff was a blond, handsome gentleman with orthodox ways, right? Doesn’t that sound like Felix?”

Hannah had yet to speak, but she must have known where Mercedes was going with this. She was sweating bullets. Her expression was taut and screamed, “No way...”

It all came together. Pieces that should have forever remained disparate had all fallen into place with startling accuracy.

No, wait a second. They were jumping to conclusions. If this was true, there was no way Bernhard didn’t know. But certain words suddenly flashed through Mercedes’s mind—the sentiment Bernhard had shared with Mercedes about Felix on the day they had first met: “They say that gems are often found in the most unexpected of places. Despite giving him the best lineage and best education, I’ve grown fed up with Felix’s inadequacy.”

Mercedes facepalmed. Yup, Bernhard definitely knew. He was perfectly aware of this when he had married Walburga, and Felix had been the child born between them. In other words, Walburga was the dungeon conqueror’s captured daughter.

Chapter 81: Investigating the Truth

The day after they had discovered a disturbing connection between Felix and Max Fecht, Hannah and Mercedes headed to a place where they could discover the truth. The city of Spirale was a seven-day carriage ride—or a single-day Chirpy ride—from Abendrot. This was the Schoenbergs’ domain, and as it bordered the ocean, it was well known for its plentiful seafood.

House Schoenberg was a marquess family, the highest rank beside duke. The peerage system of Orcus resembled Germany’s, but it was different in a few key ways. While the title of archduke existed, there weren’t any, as it described members of the royal family who weren’t kings and their families. However, the Royal Sword system prevented such people from existing. Heirs other than the king would threaten the monarch’s absolute power, which was also why the Idiot King August had decided to eliminate Kristoff.

Therefore, all royals beside the king would leave behind no children and perish in a single generation. While being a royal earned one respect and luxury, they were completely denied real authority and never granted the title of archduke.

The Grunewalds were dukes, the next rank in the peerage system, but even their existence was atypical. They were a special case among nobles and possessed authority and influence that rivaled the royal family’s. Marquesses ranked right below them, and it was the business they had with one such family that brought Mercedes and Hannah to Spirale.

“Chirpy, you’ve taken us far enough. We’ll walk from here.”

“Chirp!”

The two alighted from Chirpy near the city walls. Mercedes stored him back in her dungeon. Then, the two—or really three, since Bunbun was sitting on Hannah’s head—headed to the city.

Spirale was a lively town, even if less than Orcus’s norm. But a certain manor stood out among the other buildings—that was their destination. As they walked, Mercedes asked Hannah a question. “This guy is named Niklas Junkers, right? That’s not the family who own this manor.”

“Niklas was originally a viscount, but he was adopted by the Schoenbergs as a son-in-law. Now, his name is Niklas Junkers Von Spirale Schoenberg. Pretty long, huh?”

“So Niklas of House Junkers was brought in by House Schoenberg as a son-in-law, then his daughter Walburga married into the Grunewalds. But Walburga could actually be of House Fecht. This is getting complicated.”

“That’s nobles for you. We’ve got relatives everywhere,” said Hannah with a shrill chuckle. She seemed to have a bone to pick with this aspect of high society. Her laugh seemed derisive. “Niklas was the second son of a viscount. Once it was decided his elder brother would inherit the family title, he wasn’t too blessed with opportunities. Before he realized it, he’d joined my clandestine forces.”

“Can you really just join a secret organization so easily?”

“He’d been in the forces for quite a while by the time I joined, but he always had this dull air around him. Still, he had more experience than anyone else, so I named him an adjutant once I took over.”

Apparently Niklas was Hannah’s senior, which Mercedes had no trouble accepting. Hannah had children, but no grandchildren, meaning she was part of the same generation of parents as Bernhard and Walburga. Meanwhile, Niklas was Walburga’s father, making him a member of the grandparental generation.

The fact that vampires live so long is what makes this so complicated. Let’s take a moment to summarize things.

First, Niklas was a grandparent, and Kristoff Fecht was in the same generation, alongside August Abendrot.

Next was the generation of parents. This included Bernhard, Hannah, Walburga, Isaac, and even Frederick, who looked like an old, wizened man. He was truly dealt an unfortunate hand.

Last was the generation of children, to which Mercedes belonged.

Despite these generational gaps, however, vampires lived for a long time. Thinking of generations in human terms would give you the wrong idea. The same generation could easily span thirty or forty years. Kristoff belonged to the generation of grandparents, but by the time he was assassinated, Hannah, who belonged to the next generation, had already climbed to the top of the underworld. According to her, she had just gained this title, but the fact that Hannah was a player in a matter involving a whole generation prior complicated things. Mercedes began to wonder if Hannah was on the older side of her parents’ generation.

“You picked the wrong guy for the job, huh?”

“Yeah, I know that... But at the time, they all thought I was just some untrustworthy kid! I mean, I was, but—oh, I’m still young now, mind you! Anyway, that’s why I thought it’d be nice to have someone so experienced helping me out,” said Hannah with a pouty face. Apparently, even she had made mistakes in her youth. She likely had more regrets than anyone about this matter, so Mercedes decided not to prod her any further.

Instead, she changed topics. “If Kristoff has two daughters, he must have had a wife. Was she taken out too?”

“Nope, she was already dead. She was a knight just like Kristoff, and...”

“So she died in the line of duty.”

“No, she was too anti-blood. She died of malnutrition.”

“That can happen?”

Apparently, Kristoff’s wife had died from a completely unrelated cause. Maybe...yeah. Some humans adhered to extreme diets that got them killed. Perhaps this was similar. Probably.

“There aren’t many, but some vampires consider it wrong to suck the blood of other living things. Instead, they only eat what can be found in nature. You don’t drink much blood yourself, Mercy, but you’ve got to, okay?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” This matter had everything to do with Mercedes, and it made her uncomfortable. She averted her eyes. Lingering sentiments from her past life made it hard for her to consume blood, so this wasn’t something she could scoff at. If she died the same way, she knew she’d have regrets. “Do you know anything about Max’s mother, the daughter who escaped?”

“So you’re dodging the question.”

“Out with it.”

Mercedes watched the water as they spoke. There were fishing boats, and many vampires were atop them. Mercedes had imagined this sight as soon as she heard this region was famous for its seafood, but seeing vampires fishing was just...strange.

“Unfortunately, not much. I’ve heard her name, though. I think it was...Zabine?”

“If she has a son, she must’ve had a husband. Do you know anything about him?”

“Sorry, I’ve got nothing. Zabine was only ten years old back then,” said Hannah, sounding exasperated. Then she glanced at her niece. That’s right. When this girl was that age, she had already cleared a dungeon, solved the nation’s problems, and infiltrated the empire.

“Quite honestly, I think there’s something strange about Max’s missing parents.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

“First, his mother, Zabine, died from exhaustion after a long life on the run, according to Basil. I’m almost positive that’s a lie.” Mercedes spoke from her own perspective as a dungeon master. It seemed near impossible that a life on the run could kill a dungeon master, as they possessed a hiding spot no one else could enter. Could running have actually tired her out? Couldn’t she just hide inside her safe dungeon?

If Zabine was human, she could have died of sickness, or an injury she had sustained on the run. That would make sense. But vampires weren’t so frail; they were absurdly tough and hard to kill.

“Then you think she’s alive?”

“I’m not sure. If she was, they could just parade her around. It’s possible that Basil assassinated her since Max would make for a more obedient figurehead, but...Zabine was just ten years old, right? Basil had plenty of time to brainwash her and mold her into his puppet.”

“That doesn’t sound very convincing, coming from you.”

“Leave me alone. And there’s Max’s father to consider too. Where did he come from?”

If Zabine was on the run, she naturally would have stayed hidden in her dungeon, and nobody could have gone inside. How could she have possibly met a man and fallen in love? The only reasonable answer was an associate brought there by Basil.

This wasn’t completely ludicrous. To create the perfect figurehead, Basil had given Zabine a man and manipulated her into having a child. Then, Max’s “father” had hid among those who revered Max as the True King, pretending to be completely innocent. It was at least possible.

Or perhaps Basil was his father. In any case, that wasn’t a very pleasant thought.

“Oh! We’re here!” Hannah’s voice pulled Mercedes back to reality. On the roof of the luxurious manor before them was a... Wait, what was that? It looked like a twisting spiral of soft serve ice cream. Was it golden? Brown would just give people the wrong idea.

“Wait just a second. I’ll talk to the guards,” said Hannah.

Mercedes waved her off and returned her attention to the manor. Nobles were surrounded by relatives, huh? That definitely checked out. Mercedes vaguely felt like she’d seen this spiral somewhere before. She could just barely remember the hazy figure of someone not worth her time. This house certainly belonged to his relative...or perhaps, his parents.

***

After a short while, Mercedes and Hannah were led to the drawing room. They had barged in without an appointment, but needless to say, Niklas couldn’t refuse a meeting with his old boss.

Inside the lavishly decorated drawing room, Mercedes and Hannah were greeted by a couple. The man had black hair and unremarkable features; he was neither ugly nor beautiful. He looked to be in his early thirties, and his cheeks seemed slightly hollowed. It was the kind of average face you’d quickly forget.

The woman looked to be in her early forties and exuded a mature beauty. Her brown hair was done up in a spiral that resembled the statue on the roof. Why did this woman have poop on her head?

It was rare that women reached their perpetual ages later in life, but it made her oddly attractive. The wrinkles carved into her features and sharp eyes gave her an aura of strength and dignity women typically lacked. She was tall too, making her look incredibly trustworthy.

“It’s been quite a while, Captain Hannah. I see that you’re just the same as always.”

“Have you lost some weight, Niklas? You look bonier than the last time I saw you.”

Niklas chuckled. “I haven’t been getting enough exercise.” Apparently, Niklas had been quite buff while he was still in action.

Hannah met Niklas’s awkward smile with a grin of her own. But suddenly, her face stiffened. “And I guess that’s not all. You’ve gotten worse at detecting hidden presences too.”

“Huh? What exactly do you...?”

Hannah scanned her surroundings and lowered her voice. “Some rats have managed to sneak inside, though I’m not sure how many.”

“Huh?!” Niklas was clearly shocked.

Hannah brought a finger to her mouth to shush him. The lady of the house must’ve had some guts, as she seemed unperturbed. She remained quiet and composed.

“Is it the group that’s been touting a True King?”

“I think so. If not for us, you’d have been goners this morning.”

Mercedes was honestly impressed by her aunt. Sensing presences sounded simple, but it was hard to pull off such manga-like feats in real life. In fiction, characters would cooly announce, “There’s five total. One behind the tree, two behind us, and two behind that building.” Sometimes, authors would take this further, and characters would perceive foes hiding within faraway buildings. Naturally, that was impossible. You could maybe hear if someone was behind you, but if nothing triggered your senses of sight, sound, or touch, it’d be impossible to sense a person’s mere presence.

Hannah had likely picked up on them by somehow manipulating the nanomachines in the air. Mercedes hoped Hannah would teach her the trick sometime.

This was also confusing, but to vampires, night marked the beginning of the day, and morning the end. Thus, Hannah’s warning that they’d “have been goners this morning” may have sounded a tad strange. To translate Hannah’s words into human terms, she was saying, “If not for us, you would have been goners tonight.”

“Let’s save the detailed discussions for later. Can we sleep here tonight?”

“Of course. Is that okay with you, dear?”

“S-Sure.”

The lady of the house decisively agreed to Hannah’s proposition. Apparently, the wife wore the pants in this relationship. She was a cool, dependable woman. If only she didn’t have that brown spiral on her head.

“You’re here to ask about our daughter Walburga, right? I knew we couldn’t hide it forever. We’ll tell you everything tomorrow once these rats are gone.”

“Right. In that case, we’ll do everything we can to clean them up tonight.”

“Thank you. Is there anything you need?”

“Well, if you’re offering...”

Mercedes stared at the ceiling as she listened to Hannah and Lady Schoenberg’s conversation. Nope, she couldn’t sense a thing. But if Hannah believed there were intruders, then there definitely were. Mercedes just had to beat down any she encountered.

“What do you want me to do, Hannah?”

“Well work, obviously! You’re our greatest fighter.”

“Got it. I’ll follow your orders.”

One wrong move and these rats would flee. Quite honestly, Mercedes could block the assassins as long as she stayed near the couple, but she couldn’t capture them. It was time to see what Hannah could do, and with that thought, Mercedes quietly roused herself to action.

Meanwhile, Niklas couldn’t keep up. He gazed dumbfoundedly at the three strong women before him.

***

It was morning...or for vampires, night. All was silent.

Multiple shadows hid themselves in the sun’s morning rays. Humans would simply stare at them and think, “These guys are trying to be sneaky? For real?” But vampires saw poorly in the light and well in the dark. Just as it took human eyes time to adjust to darkness, vampires’ eyes hardly worked in bright environments.

The shadows had one goal: to slit the throats of the Schoenbergs. The current head of the family had once been a member of the clandestine forces that directly served the king, and Kristoff Fecht had been assassinated under his orders. Plus, he had kidnapped one of Kristoff’s daughters. That made him a sworn enemy of those who followed the True King.

Three trained assassins headed for Lord and Lady Schoenberg’s bedroom, though they didn’t follow the same route. Instead, they split up, as they knew they’d likely be intercepted by guards. One crawled along the ceiling, while another slipped through the halls. A third crawled like a spider up the manor’s outside walls toward the bedroom window.

The one in the halls was the first casualty. He thought he saw a figure in the corridor and was ready to strike, only to discover it was a plain tree doll. Was this here before? he pondered. But no matter how hard he looked, the object before him was clearly just a doll. That spooked me, he said in his mind as he passed it by. That was when the doll struck.

“Gwah?!”

The assassin was pummeled by an iron fist with power unimaginable for a doll. He went flying through the air before slamming into the wall, winding him. However, the tree doll closed the distance in a flash and lifted its fist. The assassin swung his blade, but all it cut was air. The tree doll had moved so quickly, it seemed to have disappeared. It then snuck up beside the assassin and immediately attacked.

“Bwagh!”

The tree doll slammed its body into the assassin, breaking the window pane and sending him soaring outside. Then, the tree doll appeared right where the assassin was set to land and kicked him once again. He went flying through the air, was kicked again, and went flying again. After a few cycles of this, the tree doll grabbed the assassin’s feet and slammed him onto the ground, breaking every bone in his body.

This monster was known as a Kämpfer, and it was registered to Beatrix’s former dungeon. Visually, it looked like any old monster, but belying that unassuming appearance was strong combat capabilities. It moved with instantaneous speed, virtually teleporting. Though that was its only unique skill, it was still incredibly strong—enough to give Mercedes a hard time during her fight with Beatrix. The tree doll—the Kämpfer—smashed the assassin’s head in for good measure before heading to its previously agreed upon destination.

Another assassin utilized the attic to sneak into the couple’s bedroom, which was located on the third floor. That wasn’t unique to the Schoenbergs’ manor; all noble bedrooms were typically located on upper floors, which were more difficult to invade. But that didn’t matter if someone had already managed to sneak inside the manor. In fact, bedrooms located near the roof made for easy targets.

Attics were typically used for storage, but they also served as hiding places in case of emergency. However, the assassin had snuck inside one of the numerous pieces of furniture stowed up there. He hid until morning, then crawled outside a wardrobe and looked around.

All right. He’d confirmed that nobody was here. Now, all he had to do was sneak into the bedroom and take out the house’s lord and lady.

Ting!

That was the amusing sound that rang out before a dagger pierced the assassin’s skull. He had thought he’d gone unnoticed, and now he was almost certain that nobody would know of his death.

Hannah crouched atop the wardrobe and looked down on him. She seemed disappointed. “I was so close and you didn’t notice? I mean, it seems like you were trained, but not very well, apparently,” she said casually as she spun her dagger around in her hand.

Hannah had already neutralized two other assassins, and none of them had been well trained. She couldn’t help but feel that Niklas could have fought back and won even if she’d been absent. Standing beside Hannah was Bunbun, armed with a musket. However, since the sound of gunshots might cause their foes to flee, he couldn’t fight this battle.

Hannah was still sitting on top of the wardrobe as she spoke. “How many are left?”

“This was the last one of ’em inside. Which reminds me, there was a servant who suspiciously approached the bedroom, so I captured him. What d’ya want to do with him?” came a voice from behind her. It belonged to a man Hannah had trained herself—the adjutant who had taken Niklas’s place. He sounded like an awfully petty underling, but he was quite capable.

“Was he carrying anything?”

“Just a dagger laced with poison and a magic stone. Should we kill him?”

“Hmm... I doubt he’s some guard pretending to be a servant. For now, take all his things and tie him up. Oh, and he might try to kill himself, so don’t forget to gag him.”

“Bet. But shouldn’t we hack off his limbs too?”

“And what are we going to do if he actually works for the Schoenbergs? They’ll grow back, but still.”

“You’re still a softy, I see. That’s not a bad thing, though.” With that, the subordinate disappeared.

Hannah knew she was soft, but she just didn’t think she had it in her to be so coldhearted. That worked against her professionally, but that was just her personality. In that sense, the assassins inside the manor had been lucky. At least compared to those trying to infiltrate from the outside, that is.

“I feel bad for the ones who encountered Mercy...”

***

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

The assassin who had attempted to enter through the window was currently being devoured by a plant monster multiple times his size as he let out bloodcurdling screams.

However, nobody could hear his cries. He was already inside Mercedes’s dungeon, after all.

What she had done was simple. She captured the intruders, placed them in her dungeon, and let the monsters have at them. That was all.

The assassins who died in her dungeon would be converted into DP (dungeon points), which would then be used to birth new monsters. It was safe to assume Hannah and her men had taken care of the assassins inside the manor, and those outside were nearly eradicated too.

Ugh, was this annoying. Hannah and Mercedes had only wanted to figure out Walburga’s true identity, but now they were stuck with the obnoxious job of eliminating assassins.

After converting all the intruders into food for her dungeon, Mercedes looked out to the forest located a short distance from the manor. Maybe it was a display of wealth or just a fad, but even on the manor grounds—the area within the fence—was a forest. That made for an ideal assassin hiding spot, and Mercedes suspected there might be some hidden there.

“Just come on out, will you?” Therefore, Mercedes decided to just say whatever, though really she was just playing around. She couldn’t detect presences like Hannah. She had no idea whether anyone was hiding in the forest, and even if someone was, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to just walk out voluntarily.

However, contrary to Mercedes’s expectations, a single woman slipped out from behind the trees. “You’re sharp, huh? I thought I had hidden my presence well, but you found me. How?”

Wow. She actually just stepped out. It seemed like Mercedes had found an idiot. In fact, it had been so easy, Mercedes had been tempted to speak her thoughts aloud.

You’ve at least got to play dumb, right? That could have clearly been a trick question. Or if you think you’ve been found out, then run! Why walk out with a smile like you’re happy you were discovered?!

Or maybe, it was that. This girl was so great at hide-and-seek the seeker could never find her, and she was happy when they did in the end. Was that her shtick?

“My name’s Julia. Name yourself! I’m sure you’re no ordinary person, right?”

Don’t give me your name! Hide!

This girl was trying to act like a big shot, but maybe she was just stupid. Why introduce herself now? Was she belittling Mercedes? That was the only way an intruder grinning ear to ear and announcing her name made any sense.

Not to mention, her outfit was ridiculous. She wore a camouflage bodysuit to hide among the trees, which was perfectly fine. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail, which didn’t raise any eyebrows. But on her back was a huge, obviously fake set of peafowl wings. Just how was she hiding behind the trees anyway? Who was the idiot who sent this assassin?!

“If our True King, Young Master Max, is going to one day sit on the throne, then the former assassin of Lord Kristoff, Niklas Junkers, cannot be allowed to live! If you’re gonna get in our way, you’re in for it too, girly!”

If everything else wasn’t enough, now this girl was announcing who she worked for and what their goal was.

Yup, she was a genuine idiot. Mercedes was convinced. Seriously, who the hell sent this girl?

Although she was flabbergasted, Mercedes had an epiphany. Peafowl wings... She had seen these somewhere before, and recently. Was it Julia she had seen out of the quasi dungeon’s window?

All right. I’m taking her alive.

Mercedes got the feeling that this girl would blabber out everything. Thus, she decided to take the idiot back alive.

Chapter 82: A Surprisingly Strong Foe

“You ready, girly? I’m not gonna kill you, but you better be prepared to walk out of this with a broken bone or two!” announced the assassin who had introduced herself as “Julia,” grinning ear to ear as if certain of her victory.

She quickly moved her hands to form symbols and put them together before her chest. They probably didn’t mean anything, but the whole thing did look kind of cool. Or at least, that was what Mercedes had thought. What happened next caused her eyes to shoot wide open.

Julia...had multiplied. Now, over a dozen Julias surrounded Mercedes from all sides, each of them armed. Mercedes had taken Julia for a fool, but apparently the girl had real skill. She hadn’t expected clones.

“That’s pretty cool. How’d you do that?”

Julia gave a triumphant laugh. “Do you know how mirrors work, girly?”

Oh, she’s actually going to share. Mercedes hadn’t truly been seeking an answer; the question had just slipped from her mouth. Still, Julia happily divulged the principle behind the technique. She probably just wanted to show off, as anyone with a special skill would.

Anyway, Mercedes kept all jokes to herself as she waited for Julia to continue her speech.

“Mirrors reflect light, right? I used water magic to create mirrors in the air. I’m sure you’ve seen yourself reflected in water before. This is the same principle! Then, I used wind magic to distort the light and create more of me! This is a skill I learned while training in a vogelen village for five whole years! It’s called the mikagami no jutsu!”

Huh, thought Mercedes. So this was a combination of wind and water magic. She was impressed that Julia had managed to use that to create doppelgängers. Still, this technique had an easy counter. Mercedes walked forward and punched Julia—specifically, the one that had been there all along.

“Gwaaaaaah!” Just as Mercedes expected, Julia went flying, and so did her doppelgängers. She tumbled along the ground before shouting in obvious confusion. “H-How did you know?! My doppelgängers were perfect!”

“Basically, you used mirrors to make it seem like there were more of you, but you just stood in place, right? Obviously, the one who was there from the start was the real one.”

All Julia had done was use mirrors to create the illusion that she had multiplied. It was impressive, and certainly an advanced technique. However, it didn’t accomplish anything if she stood still. Punch the Julia which stood where she had started, and you would be punching the real one.

Julia let out another triumphant laugh. “I see... Then how do you like this?!”

Julia dashed forward, and there was more. Doppelgängers appeared to swarm Mercedes.

“These are totally different from my last doppelgängers! I’ve accelerated and used water magic instead to leave an afterimage behind! Now, it’s harder to distinguish the real from the fakes! This one’s called the zanzo no jutsu!”

This was impressive too. Now that the real one was moving around, it was probably harder to pick out the fakes. Just to test the waters, Mercedes tried shoving her Blut Eisen toward the doppelgängers. Soon after, Julia tripped over Mercedes’s weapon in a dramatic fall.

“Gwaaaaaah!” Julia’s doppelgängers disappeared as she slammed into the ground face-first. She stood up while wobbling and glared at Mercedes with teary eyes. “Wh-Why? How did you see through my flawless jutsu?!”

“I didn’t. You were running around me, right? I figured you’d eventually hit my halberd if I stuck it out in front of me.”

“H-How did I not notice such a fatal flaw?!”

“I’m actually shocked you didn’t,” said Mercedes, her voice full of exasperation as she stared at Julia. This girl definitely had talent; Mercedes had never even imagined magic could be used to accomplish those previous two arts, and had Julia used them wisely, they would have proven deadly. Particularly that mikagami no jutsu. Mikagami... Was that “water mirror”? If Julia worked on it a bit more, she could probably conceal herself and project her image elsewhere. There were plenty of magic tricks that relied on mirrors, and if Julia applied her jutsu, she could definitely find some frightening uses for them.

“Whatever! I’ll just fight you head-on, then!”

Julia finally decided to stop relying on her jutsu and try to beat Mercedes down by force. Was that really the right decision for an assassin?

Unfortunately, Mercedes didn’t have time to be disappointed in her. Julia approached with surprising speed, swinging her dagger right in front of Mercedes’s nose. Mercedes immediately jumped backward to avoid the blow, but Julia followed after her, crouching and dodging strikes from Blut Eisen. In a flash, she was right back to where Mercedes stood. While Mercedes managed to block Julia’s blade with her halberd, she was sent flying by the kick that immediately followed.

“Damn...”

Mercedes did a flip in midair, kicked off a tree behind her, and leaped into the sky. Julia followed, kicking off the ground and even the air to follow after Mercedes. Her footsteps were so clean, it almost seemed like there was an invisible path floating in the sky. She once again kicked the air, launching herself toward Mercedes before jumping once again to slip behind her opponent.

While Julia’s top speed paled in comparison to Mercedes’s, she accelerated quickly. She could reach the speed of sound in a mere instant, allowing her to catch her opponents off guard.

Mercedes blocked a swing from Julia’s dagger and counterattacked with a kick. Julia successfully guarded and retaliated with an elbow strike, but Mercedes caught her. She threw Julia with all her might, but Julia deftly spun around in the air, launching herself back into the sky as soon as she touched ground. Then, Julia jumped from right to left to right to slip behind Mercedes.

Hey! This girl is way stronger when she fights normally!

“Ugh! These are getting in the way!” Julia was still leaping through the air as she discarded the wings on her back.

If they got in the way, then why wear them in the first place? It was impossible to tell if this girl was an idiot or a genius.

Still, her skills were certainly the real deal. Out of nowhere, daggers made of ice appeared from between the fingers of her clenched fists. “Hah!”

Mercedes blocked the daggers with her halberd before using gravity magic to launch into the air. However, Julia leaped through after her, transforming their fight into an aerial battle.

They accelerated upward as if falling toward the sky. Their blades clashed over and over; as soon as they had put distance between themselves, they were once again descending on the other. Mercedes used her magic to send wind blades flying toward Julia, but Julia just jumped around through the air as she distanced herself from Mercedes, dodging the blades as if she could easily see them.

Julia was in total control of her movements. She had mastered six directions, not just four. She flew through the air like an agile bird of prey.

Julia slipped into Mercedes’s blind spot and swung her dagger, but Mercedes blocked with her arm. The sound of metal scraping metal reverberated through the air as Julia’s expression filled with shock. Mercedes’s wristband—Beatrix’s master key—had blocked the swing. Even the strongest attacks couldn’t penetrate that.

As Julia was frozen, Mercedes kicked her right in the stomach, causing her to plummet toward the earth. However, Julia spun around, landing in the air on all fours. She must have been using wind magic to create footing in the sky.

However, Mercedes had done some damage; she was stronger than Julia.

“Now!” Mercedes stuck out her wrist with the bracelet and summoned a monster. Immediately, a flower bud appeared on Mercedes’s arm, which fired seeds like a machine gun.

“Huuuh?! What the heck is that?!” These seed bullets had left Julia flabbergasted, but she nimbly dodged them regardless. She undid her wind magic and offered herself to gravity, but the seeds followed after her. She did snap rolls in the air to avoid the pellets before landing on a tree right as she was about to hit the ground. The tree bent over like a spring, and Julia used the recoil to launch herself back into the air, avoiding the bullets until she was hovering over Mercedes. She spun around, building momentum, and then whammed Mercedes with her axe kick.

It broke Mercedes’s guard and sent her plummeting, though it ultimately dealt little damage.

“Even that didn’t work?! Just how strong are you?!”

Mercedes had trained her body with gravity; her ultimate weapon wasn’t her power, but her seemingly logic-defying durability. Naturally, this made her heavier. She carried excess weight with her constantly, making her impervious to typical attacks. To put it simply, a ton’s worth of force did nothing if you were carrying a ton of force on the daily.

Hmm. Halberds aren’t very effective when fighting nimble opponents like her. Maybe I should try close combat.

In principle, reach was advantageous in a fight. However, it didn’t seem well-suited against an opponent like Julia. She was so fast that the halberd’s range advantage was nullified. Mercedes had taken her for an idiot, but she was amazingly strong. On power alone, she exceeded even Beatrix.

Therefore, Mercedes changed the shape of her master key for the first time, which was an ability dungeon conquerors possessed. Using this function, she morphed her Blut Eisen and wristband into wrist guards, a weapon well-suited for close combat.

“Your weapon changed shape?! Could you be...?”

Yeah, I guess anyone would catch on after that.

“Well, I don’t really get it, but your weapon’s crazy strong!”

Thank God she’s dumb.

Apparently, Mercedes’s identity as a dungeon master remained a secret. Julia may have been talented, but clearly not in the brain department. And while it had been said before, it bore repeating: She really was strong.

As Mercedes fell, Julia caught up to her, leading to a battle that unfolded in descent. Whenever Julia’s daggers met Mercedes’s wrist guards, the blades cracked and crumbled. But immediately, Julia would conjure new ones. Dodging a kick from Mercedes, Julia launched a dagger at her, using the time it took Mercedes to knock the blade aside to sneak behind her.

Mercedes had no time to rest. Fighting Julia required complete focus, but it was an excellent learning opportunity. Mercedes copied Julia to kick through the air and slip past her opponent.

“Huh?!”

“So that’s how you do it. Mine isn’t quite as polished as yours, though,” said Mercedes while she kicked Julia in the side.

“Agh!” Julia flew through the air, and Mercedes chased after her, jumping through the sky. She used wind magic to create footholds, allowing her to kick off the air just as one could kick off the earth. After seeing Julia accomplish the feat over and over, Mercedes decided to try it herself. While she would often jump through the air, she did so not by creating footholds, but by using the backlash of her kicks. However, this new technique allowed her to move faster.

How’d she do that...? Like this?

Mercedes created footholds in the direction she was headed. She conjured one ahead to the right and another one farther ahead to the left. Then, she created one more to the right and one behind Julia. Finally, Mercedes followed the path she’d paved for herself, leaping from foothold to foothold.

She landed. Well, this was the air, so maybe that wasn’t technically the right word, but that’s what we’ll go with.

As soon as she landed, she kicked back into the air immediately, then did the same on the next foothold. Through repeating this process, Mercedes actualized three-dimensional maneuvering. She was like a restless pinball bouncing around inside a tiny frame.

After slipping behind Julia, Mercedes kicked her leg forward—but Julia blocked it with her arm.

Mercedes’s strength was usually enough to break bones, and while she had been landing attacks...they didn’t seem to be accomplishing much. Mercedes’s kicks would typically snap in half a bone or two of even the most well-trained vampires. In fact, a half-assed punch from her had been enough to leave Felix writhing in pain. Just what was going on here...?

Julia screamed back in panic. “You’re strong, huh?! I used wind to disperse the force, but I can still feel it in my bones! This is a lot, even for a vampire! Are you sure you’re not a monster?!”

Well, thanks for the explanation. But while Mercedes was thankful, she kept that to herself.

So, Julia was surrounding herself with wind magic upon impact to lessen the force. In other words, it seemed like Mercedes had been landing hits, but not really. That was quite the trick. She had the potential to be crazy strong—if only she were a bit smarter.

“Haaaaah!”

“Eeeeeek!”

Mercedes’s roar caused Julia to let out an odd screech. Fists met fists at blinding speeds, and neither of them could retreat from the battle that played out while they pummeled toward the ground. First, dagger met wrist guard, then Julia deflected Mercedes’s karate chop with her bare hands. Both launched a spinning kick at the other. Their legs collided, but Julia segued into a follow-up attack. Mercedes crouched, dodging the strike. As soon as they landed, Mercedes swiped at Julia’s feet, knocking her off-balance...or so Mercedes thought. Julia immediately flipped over into a handstand and turned around using her arms alone.

Julia spun around like a comet as she let out kick after kick, attacking Mercedes from above where she could guard. Then, just as Mercedes thought Julia’s legs were about to wrap around her neck, Julia sent her flying. Mercedes slammed into the ground, but she used the recoil to jump back into the air. She spun around in midair before immediately landing. Julia quickly chased after her, jumping from left to right.

She’s agile. Almost all of her attacks lead into another.

Mercedes dodged a dramatic karate chop by jumping backward. But Julia followed, slamming an open-handed strike right into Mercedes’s chest. By forcing Mercedes to dodge, Julia created an opening, serving as a segue into her next strike.

Julia sent a punch flying toward Mercedes, which she blocked. But immediately, Julia followed that with a kick to the side of Mercedes’s head. It was a decisive strike that took advantage of her opponent knowing they had just blocked. If her foe had been anyone but Mercedes, she would have given them a concussion.

“Ack!”

Mercedes kept up and punched back, but Julia dodged by flinging her upper body backward. She then spun around and kicked, which Mercedes blocked with her arms. Next, Julia did a handstand, spinning around and letting out kicks just as she had done earlier.

However, Mercedes had figured her out by now. She grabbed Julia’s leg and formed a fist. No matter how fast her opponent was, she could strike as long as they were rendered immobile.

Julia seemed to predict this, though. Immediately, she summoned ice daggers between the toes of her free foot and aimed them straight for Mercedes’s throat. She managed to dodge by quickly tossing Julia into the air, but that just allowed Julia to regain her footing.

She’s great at reading her opponents too, but she can’t be thinking with her head. Maybe it’s primal instinct?

Julia was an idiot. That was undeniable.

Mercedes had toyed with the possibility that she was a skilled strategist just pretending to be dumb, but what would be the point? While she had managed to lure Mercedes here, it would have been much easier for her to use her mikagami no jutsu or whatever to sneak into the Schoenbergs’ manor and put an end to them. Unfortunately, there was thus no doubting that Julia’s head was empty. If she was playing dumb, she’d just be an idiot pretending to be an idiot.

Still, she read her opponents amazingly well; she always knew Mercedes’s next move. That couldn’t be due to intellect, so Mercedes concluded it had to be pure instinct or something similar.

In other words, Julia was a natural, through and through. In fact, she might have been more talented than anyone else Mercedes had ever encountered before.

“It’d be a shame to kill you here.” There was a lot Mercedes could learn from watching Julia, so she decided to focus on capturing her alive. While she wished she could have observed Julia for just a little longer, all of this would have been pointless if she managed to escape.

Thus, Mercedes decided to use her trump card. “Gravity times ten.”

Mercedes increased the gravity acting on her surroundings—including herself. Grass was crushed, and the branches that littered the ground snapped. The birds flying around pummeled into the earth. Wait, birds? But they were innocent!

Just as the birds were dragged down from the sky, so was Julia. She landed on the ground like a crushed frog. In fact, there was a real frog beside her that had been crushed too.

“Ugh... I-I can’t move...”

Ten times the gravity naturally meant you were ten times heavier, alongside a whole host of other adverse effects. Blood couldn’t properly flow through your veins, you couldn’t move at all... Even Mercedes, who always had increased gravity acting on her, was struggling. Naturally, Julia couldn’t move her body as she wished. For an opponent who relied on speed, ten times gravity was a cheat code from hell.

“Sorry, I thought you’d give me trouble if we continued this fight, so I’m playing underhanded. First...let’s put you to sleep.”

“Agh! J-Just kill me instead!”

“Yeah? All right then.”

Julia spit out a clichéd line, so Mercedes decided to play along. She transformed her wrist guards back into her halberd and held it against Julia’s throat. Of course, she was pretending. She wasn’t going to kill Julia until she coughed up some intel.

However, Julia clearly thought Mercedes was serious. Her face turned pale. “W-Wait! This is not the time to actually kill me, right?! I take back what I said! I take it back!”

“...I see.”

Talking to Julia sure was exhausting. It’d be impressive if she was doing this on purpose.

Mercedes summoned a flower monster from her bracelet and sent it toward Julia. The monster seemed to be struggling under the increased gravity, but it properly managed to breathe out its gas, which immediately knocked Julia unconscious. This monster’s pollen was an anesthetic, and it was twice as effective on those who suffered from hay fever.

Julia seemed to be asleep. She was drooling, and some snot dripped from her nose. Mercedes grabbed her by the collar and dragged her away. She hadn’t expected this fight to be so grueling. Were the people inside okay? Well, if Hannah was there, they had to be.

***

Just as Mercedes expected, everything inside had been taken care of without issue. Hannah and Mercedes’s monsters had already defeated all the intruders. Even the one they had captured alive was already neutralized.

After noticing Mercedes, Hannah ran up to her. “Welcome back, Mercy! You sure took your time.”

“Yeah. I ran into some trouble.”

Hannah scowled. Mercedes’s opponent had to be the real deal if they had given her trouble. However, Hannah’s expression morphed into one of understanding as soon as she saw Julia, whom Mercedes had thrown toward her. “Oh, it’s Julia.”

“You know each other?”

“Not really. It’s more like I know her. She’s famous...for various reasons.”

Yeah, that tracks, thought Mercedes, immediately accepting Hannah’s explanation. Julia was absurdly strong, so it made sense she was well known. In fact, it’d be even more odd if no one had ever heard of someone with skills like hers, and it seemed reasonable that someone so knowledgeable of the underworld like Hannah would know of her.

“She was a farmer’s daughter, so she has no family name. Still, she’s a B-rank seeker, and she trained with the vogelen. She uses some special techniques called ninjutsu.”

“B-rank? Shouldn’t she be A-rank given her skills?”

“She’s strong, but she makes tons of mistakes. She’ll come back having completely forgotten about her quest or having eaten the goods she collected for the job or having defeated the wrong monster. Anyway, she was employed by a knight brigade for some time, but she got the axe after accidentally handing over secret intel to an enemy. And I mean that literally—her head was going to go flying if she hadn’t run away. She’s been missing ever since. I’m surprised she turned up here of all places.”

Just listening to this story gave Mercedes a headache. Julia was strong, but she was woefully stupid. In fact, maybe it was her horrendous mental faculties that made her body so nimble.

“Anyway, we’ve got a source for intel now. Really, just ask and she’ll just tell you everything she knows. Oh, and Mercy? Don’t pass any important intel to her, even by mistake. Got that? She’ll go blabbering to anybody.”

“...Right.”

Anyway, they’d soon have copious intel on their enemies. While Mercedes questioned whether this should’ve been so easy, she decided to just celebrate their luck.

Chapter 83: An Easy Interrogation

After Hannah and Mercedes successfully captured Julia, they borrowed a room within the Schoenbergs’ manor to conduct their interrogation. First, Hannah tore off Julia’s clothes as if it were the most natural thing in the world, leaving her in nothing but her underwear. Then, Hannah bound her tightly to a chair with rope. According to her, there was apparently “no knowing what she may be hiding beneath those clothes,” and she had been right; they discovered numerous daggers, magic stones, and ninja stars.

Next, Hannah deprived Julia of even her underwear, instead giving her a flimsy cloth to cover herself with. It was a simple piece of fabric with a hole cut out for the head, but it at least hid the important bits, even if she had no way of concealing her arms and legs. Mercedes got the sense that Hannah took no chances.

Actually, perhaps Hannah was being considerate. Truly taking no chances would have required keeping her naked instead of providing her with a cover-up.

Incidentally, they discovered another weapon within Julia’s underwear—or rather, a small blade that could only be grasped with one’s fingertips.

“You’re being cautious,” remarked Mercedes.

“Of course I am! She uses techniques even I’m not familiar with. I mentioned this earlier, but ninjutsu wasn’t invented by us vampires. They’re techniques used by vogel spies, and they can do crazy things like make body doubles, walk on water, and run up walls. There’s no knowing what Julia might pull! She’s not an opponent you’d want to face in a fight.”

“Then have you fought her before?”

“A few times, though that was all in the past. Anyway, Julia was so spellbound by the vogelen’s techniques, she journeyed to one of their nations all by herself. In fact, those wings on her back are a sign of her admiration... Which reminds me, she’s not wearing them today.”

Oh, so she wore those stupid things to copy the vogelen, thought Mercedes, realizing the accessory had served a purpose. Well, maybe “purpose” wasn’t the right word. She was really more just cosplaying.

Anyway, Mercedes got the feeling her impression of the vogelen was about to change. While she knew they were a birdlike Falsch species, she had never encountered one in person before. And since they were basically “bird people,” she had imagined Western-style angels. But given Julia’s appearance, maybe they were surprisingly more Eastern in nature.

Hannah slapped Julia on the cheeks a few times to wake her up. The interrogation had begun. What were they going to find out...?

Julia was an idiot, but even she wouldn’t just cough up all her intel when asked. Probably, at least.

“Morning! You awake, Julia?”

“Wh-Where am I...? And who are you?”

“I’m someone who supports the True King. I came to this manor to gather intel, but you really messed that up, huh?” Hannah offered an outrageous lie.

Now that Mercedes knew where Hannah was going with all this, she decided to stay silent.

“Y-You’re on my side?! That’s perfect! You’ve gotta release me!”

“Are you stupid? Officially, I’m one of the Schoenbergs’ guards, so I obviously can’t do that. Basil tasked me with the mission to gain the Schoenbergs’ trust and coordinate with our assassins to capture them alive. Then, we were supposed to place them right where they belong so they could announce their sins to the world! Our real plan was to give legitimacy to the True King and win the public’s favor! You assassins were just supposed to eliminate the guards and servants, not kill the Schoenbergs! Wait...you didn’t know?”

“Wh-What?!”

Hannah could lie so easily. It was impressive, and not to mention how convincing she sounded. Having Niklas, Kristoff Fecht’s assassin, confess his sins publicly would actually be an effective plan. They’d earn the people’s respect, thus turning public opinion in their favor.

“B-But they never told me that...”

“Of course they didn’t! You weren’t supposed to join this fight. It was a top secret mission, so we could only inform those who needed to be in the know. Which reminds me, why’d you act on your own? You totally ruined things for us!”

“N-No, I was just...” Julia was clearly flustered.

Hannah had only guessed that Julia had been officially barred from participating in the battle, but that was because she knew a proper commander wouldn’t dispatch Julia given the situation. A top secret mission was no job for a blabbermouth. While Julia was strong, she was too assertive to make for a proper assassin—no one would hire a hit man who’d reveal who her employer was at the drop of a hat.

“You didn’t get in our way on purpose, did you? Are you a spy working for the crown?”

“O-Of course I’m not! I really do believe in Lord Max’s ideals!”

“Hmm. His ideals, huh? Aren’t you just confused? Do you even know what those ideals are?”

“Of course I do! He’s going to abolish the hierarchy that puts nobles on top and bring about true peace and equality! He’s going to create a nation where no one has to starve! That’s what Lord Max believes in!”

They had already collected their first piece of intel. Now, they knew the ideals Max espoused. It wasn’t clear whether those were just childish fantasies or the goals Basil proclaimed, but Julia seemed to truly believe in them regardless. She was a farmer’s daughter, so it made sense that she found the prospect of equality so tantalizing.

“Hmm... I see you know the basics, at least. But that doesn’t completely alleviate my suspicions.”

“B-But... But I...”

Hannah folded her arms and glared at Julia, looking quite mad. Apparently, her plan was to extract information from Julia by pretending to be a comrade who was ticked off that another member of the True King faction had interfered with her job. It was clever.

“Next question, then. You know exactly how many supporters we have and exactly who they are, right? It’d be a disaster if you got the wrong people and tried to assassinate them.”

“E-Even I wouldn’t do that! And I know absolutely everyone, so listen closely! First...there’s Trein of Trein Industries, and then...”

Damn, was this easy. Mercedes was flabbergasted at how readily Julia had opened her mouth; she happily listed off one accomplice after another. Among them were likely others in the same position as Trein, who had initially offered support due to being disillusioned with the previous king and now found themselves unable to back out. Others were likely hoping to get a cut of the pie once the True King rose to power.

In any case, their collaborators were the True King faction’s lifeline. Even with the power of a dungeon and the copious riches it provided, uniting a nation was a tough task without the help of the wealthy and powerful. Making an enemy of them when usurping the throne wouldn’t make Max king—you needed supporters for that. If the merchants and nobles fled abroad, he’d be nothing more than an invader. To be king, a strong base of support was essential; in other words, if the True King faction revoked the power of the influential, they could never accomplish their goals.

Right now, Julia had just handed over everything there was to know about this lifeline to Hannah. She certainly didn’t understand the consequences this blunder would have, or that she had even blundered at all.

Hannah continued to deftly drive the conversation, plucking one piece of intel from Julia after another. Included was information on the quasi dungeon; Julia really had been the figure in peafowl wings. As soon as Mercedes had entered the dungeon, Basil and Max had panicked and stored away everything in the room inside their dungeon, and it had been Julia who carried it all away. Additionally, the missing search party was still alive and were being held as prisoners inside Max’s dungeon. And as for why this quasi dungeon was created, well...Julia unfortunately didn’t possess that piece of important intel.

Once Hannah had extracted all the information she could, she gave Mercedes a hand signal. Questioning was over. So Mercedes once again summoned the flower monster and put Julia to sleep with its pollen. Once again, Julia drifted to the land of dreams and was deep, deep asleep.

Mercedes watched her with an icy gaze. They now had their intel, which meant they no longer had a use for the girl. While part of Mercedes wished to observe her battle capabilities a little more, a colder part of her that existed beyond desire pondered what to do with Julia. She was an idiot, but an extremely talented one. Keeping her alive would disrupt things, for better or for worse. In fact, when she was subjected to the pollen just now...

“Mercy?” questioned Hannah, sensing Mercedes’s malice.

However, Mercedes kept her eyes on Julia, focusing power into a hand she was keeping out of Hannah’s sight. The veins bulged, and her fingernails grew slightly longer. When Mercedes wielded them seriously, even her claws could be deadly weapons; she could easily slash the throat of a defenseless girl. And now that she could kill Julia at any time, she once again contemplated the pros and cons of keeping her alive, and what futures awaited at the end of that choice.

Then, she relaxed her hand and glanced at Hannah. “It’s nothing. Should we capture her?”

“Yeah, I guess we should. I’ll transfer her over to a padlocked room later.”

“I see.” Those were the last words out of Mercedes’s mouth before she exited the room. They had gathered some intel, but not the intel they had come here for. Now, it was finally time to uncover the truth that connected Max, Walburga...and Felix.

“Mercy, once Niklas and his wife wake up, do that one more time, just to be safe. After that, we’ll hear what they have to say.”

“You sure are cautious.”

“Of course I am! What we’re about to hear could shake the whole nation! I want to make sure we’re the only ones privy to this, and for Felix’s safety too. We especially can’t let Julia overhear.”

Mercedes had yet to confirm her suspicions, but she was completely convinced that Felix was a descendant of Kristoff Fecht.

Yes, using common sense, it was more likely that this was all a coincidence. Felix’s hair color didn’t match his parents’, nor any of their relatives. Walburga, his mother, just happened to be the daughter of the man who had captured Kristoff’s daughter. That was all! It’d be rash to link these coincidences to their current predicament. Walburga had been unfaithful—that was the most obvious assumption. In fact, it’d be much easier for everyone if that was the case.

Except that wasn’t something Bernhard would let slip. From that standpoint, Felix had to be a descendant of Kristoff’s.

I really hope that’s not the case, though... That was the futile prayer in Hannah’s heart as she waited for the Schoenbergs to awaken.

***

A few hours had passed since Mercedes’s fight with Julia. The sun had set and the Schoenbergs were awake, meaning they could now hear the intel they had come here for. To be safe, Mercedes had used the flower monster on Julia again, and Hannah had locked her in a room and assigned a guard. Afterward, Hannah, Mercedes, and the Schoenbergs headed for a separate room which had been soundproofed via magic. They were now alone, and this information would certainly stay between them.

Hannah took a seat and addressed her former subordinate, who seemed to be having a hard time finding his words. “I don’t like beating around the bush, so let me just ask. You assassinated Kristoff on King August’s orders. Then, you captured his daughter but didn’t have it in your heart to kill her. Instead, you adopted her and raised her as your own daughter, Walburga. Right?”

“...I can’t believe you figured all that out,” said Niklas, resigning himself to his fate.

Hannah’s expression darkened. Honestly, she had wanted Niklas to deny her story. Had she and Mercedes been reading too deeply into things, everything would have wrapped up nicely—well, as nicely as it could. However, gut feelings, especially the bad ones, tended to prove true. A straight line could be drawn from Kristoff to Walburga to Felix. There was no doubt that Felix was Kristoff’s grandson—a dungeon inheritor.

Walburga knew this. It was why she was so insistent that Felix be officially named the Grunewald family heir. She didn’t want to force him down the same road leading to assassination that her own father had walked. She wanted him to gain ultimate protection via the Grunewald name. Or perhaps, being an adoptee had made her feel as if she were always on the outskirts. Thus, she had wanted to ensure Felix attained a position where nobody could deny he was Walburga and Bernhard’s son. Those were the emotions fueling her outbursts.

Of course she’d grow desperate, thought Hannah with pity. There was no knowing when her identity might be revealed, and if it was, she could have easily met the same fate as her father. She wanted her son to be protected, but Bernhard had never expressed any love for his son at all. Rather, all his attention was focused on Mercedes, his unconventional and exceptional daughter who had appeared from nowhere. Among high society, it was commonly accepted that only sons could be heirs, but for better or for worse, Bernhard wasn’t a man who cared for tradition. He understood that customs were necessary, but he had no intention of letting them restrict him. If necessary, he’d readily ignore and bypass them. Of course Walburga was afraid.

“I once committed a grave sin under the king’s orders. I murdered Kristoff and captured his daughter...but I didn’t have it in me to kill such a young girl.”

Mercedes watched this man recount his tale with clear pain and frustration. He was too half-assed. Ultimately, his indecisiveness was what had heralded in their current predicament. If he was going to carry out this mission, he needed to see it through. And if he was going to let his emotions get the better of him, he shouldn’t have accepted the task in the first place. But in the end, he couldn’t make a choice, and his hesitation had led to a worst-case scenario.

Casting aside all doubt and following orders was the right course of action for a member of the clandestine forces. Soldiers were the nation’s arms and legs, while the king was the brain, and it was perfectly natural that limbs followed the brain’s orders.

However, if you were going to cast aside all doubt, you needed to do so for good! There could be no asserting yourself and acting out of hand! If Niklas was going to give up on being a limb, he ought to have done so from the start. In the end, he had chosen to be nothing but a people pleaser. He had tried to maintain his reputation as a skilled soldier who stayed loyal to the mission, while also taking half-assed measures to save Walburga because he didn’t want to become a child murderer. He was the exact sort of man who lacked resolve and always made any situation worse.

At the same time, Mercedes was overcome by the sense that something was terribly off. Could a man like him really kill a dungeon conqueror?

As a conqueror herself, Mercedes knew exactly how difficult the task was. Naturally, Kristoff’s allies must have aided him, along with backup provided by the crown. They must have carried out copious investigations, allowing him to traverse the safest route and reach the deepest floor in the best possible shape.

Still, a Guardian couldn’t be defeated by a mediocre fighter. Could a man who accomplished such a feat really fall at the hands of someone like Niklas?

No, a dungeon conqueror wasn’t invincible, nor was he immortal. Assassination was technically possible, which was why Mercedes had never questioned whether Kristoff could have been taken out by Niklas and his men before. But now that she had met Niklas in person, things just didn’t seem to add up. Could this guy really have killed Kristoff? Really?

“You’re thinking he was too indecisive, no?” Lady Schoenberg whispered in Mercedes’s ear as if she had read her thoughts. Unlike her husband’s, her voice held power. “He’s always been this way. He never wants to be the bad guy, so he always acts in whatever way reflects most positively on him in the moment. But that also creates so much trouble for us—like when we were married, for example. Can you believe this? He hid his job from me, but right before our wedding, he revealed his work, admitted to killing Kristoff, and announced he wanted to raise Walburga as our own daughter,” she said, hitting her husband on the head.

“That’s, uh... My condolences. But why’d you marry a guy like him?”

Mercedes had let the phrase “a guy like him” slip out, but Lady Schoenberg didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she responded with a smile. “Why, that’s simple. He was just so weak and pitiable. I simply thought, ‘Well, this idiot won’t survive without me,’ and I could see that Walburga’s life would be one of misfortune if I left her as she was. And well, when I chose to marry the fool, I was ready to accept all sorts of foolishness. Accepting another daughter was trivial.”

Apparently, Niklas was profoundly blessed in one area: his luck with women. Very few would marry such a man after seeing his sorry state. Mercedes felt that Lady Schoenberg could have found a better partner, but love did come in many shapes and sizes.

Mercedes glanced at Hannah. “What do we do now?”

“Hmm... Well, first, let’s assign some guards to Felix and Walburga. But since it’ll look suspicious if we do that out of nowhere, I’ll assign some who are better at staying hidden.”

For now, it would be a disaster if Walburga or Felix were kidnapped, which meant they needed some concealed guards. This plan required Bernhard’s permission, but there was a chance he had surprisingly taken some preventative measures himself already.

“Next, let’s go headhunt these supporters. Some must want to back out like Trein, so I don’t think it’ll be too difficult.”

Every organization needed a base of support. Without it, their words had no power. Given that the True King faction possessed a dungeon, it’d be impossible to completely strip them of influence, but it’d still make a huge difference.

“Shouldn’t we tell Felix?”

“Well, we’ll have to eventually, but I think it’s best we keep it a secret for now. We don’t want him doing anything rash out of some silly sense of responsibility. Anyway, I’ll leave some guards behind here in the manor too. Be careful, Niklas.”

Now that they had decided on a course of action, Hannah returned to the room serving as Julia’s prison. They needed to retrieve her before they could go home. Her escaping would spell trouble for them, so they’d have to keep her under tight security.

However, that plan flew out the window completely as soon as she opened the door. Julia was gone. They had tied her to a chair which was now empty. The guard watching her was collapsed on the floor.

“Huh...? W-Wait, Mercy! Stop!” Hannah was panicking, but she still refrained from carelessly stepping inside the room. After stopping Mercedes, she scanned her surroundings for any presences. Julia’s was nowhere to be found.

Hannah cautiously launched a dagger at the chair, but it just sunk into the wood. Julia wasn’t using her mikagami skill to conceal herself.

“Whelp. This is bad.” Hannah gingerly stepped inside and examined the ceiling and walls. She thought there was a chance Julia was hiding there, but she wasn’t. So had she escaped? There were no windows in the room, nor any signs of destruction. In fact, she had been strapped to the chair while unconscious. How could she have possibly gotten away?

Hannah kept up her guard as she racked her brain for ideas. That was when Mercedes discovered a piece of parchment on the chair. Inscribed on it was a message: “I’m really sorry for getting in the way of your mission! As an apology, I’ll go report that intel from Niklas to Lord Basil ASAP! And I can’t believe how well that pollen works! I used wind magic to keep it inside my mouth, then blew it on my guard. It knocked him out in an instant! May we meet again, comrade in arms! Oh, and please don’t tell Lord Basil I interrupted your mission...”

Hannah was overcome with a sudden urge to rip this parchment to shreds. How could this have happened? Julia had used the pollen to put her guard to sleep, stole the key, and walked right on out. As for the ropes, she must have cut through them with her ice magic somehow.

However, what pissed Hannah off most wasn’t that Julia had seen through her lies, but that she had been so thoroughly convinced she had decided to take the absolute worst course of action for Hannah as a form of apology.

“Change of plans, Mercy. We tell Felix everything and absolutely lock him down!” Hannah was ready to burst into tears, which was exactly why she failed to notice how calm Mercedes was. It was almost as if Julia’s escape had all been a part of the plan.

Chapter 84: Image Change

“Oh, now you’ve done it!” Walburga’s angry shouts reverberated throughout a room inside the Grunewalds’ manor. After Julia’s escape, Hannah had immediately headed for the manor to report these events to all parties concerned. She explained that Kristoff Fecht had been a dungeon conqueror, and that after Niklas had assassinated him, he had raised Kristoff’s daughter as his own. She told them that this daughter was Walburga, which meant Felix was a dungeon inheritor. Finally, she revealed that this intel had leaked, so their enemies likely already knew all this.

After she heard the story, Walburga’s face turned scarlet, and she released her anger on Hannah and Mercedes. “That means Felix’s life is in danger!”

“Which is why we’ll assign guards to protect—”

“Yes, you will! Obviously!”

The force of Walburga’s rage had Hannah squirming in her seat. But since Hannah’s failure to see things through to the end had made matters worse, she wasn’t in any position to fight back.

Felix just sat there, looking completely dazed. Huh? I own a dungeon? What do they mean? He was completely out of it, as if those were the only thoughts on his mind.

The others present included Lydia and the rest of Bernhard’s wives, alongside their children, Mercedes, Monika, Margaret, and Gottfried, the last of which was a man of particularly little presence. All of them observed the proceedings.

“How complicated. But, well...it makes sense. So that’s why Walburga’s been so desperate to protect her position,” said Lydia. Bernhard’s other wives also looked at Walburga sympathetically. Her image had undergone a complete one-eighty, as she’d transformed into a tragic heroine. Until now, she had been a woman who did nothing but wail about her son deserving to be heir, completely ignoring Bernhard’s other children. The other wives had viewed her incredibly unfavorably.

But now that her past had been revealed—now that they knew her father had been murdered, and she had been raised by his assassin—it made sense why she’d desperately cling to a place where she belonged.

The news that Felix held the rights to a dungeon was equally earth-shattering. A dungeon owner possessed might that rivaled a king’s. Therefore, the others had begun to think that maybe Felix was the one most deserving of being Bernhard’s heir. If he became the next Duke Grunewald and joined the royal family as a son-in-law, their family could gain even more power. There was no longer a reason to insist upon Mercedes inheriting the family name.

However, Mercedes was eerily silent. She had been the one who brought about this set of circumstances. She made no rebuttals and fully admitted to her mistakes, but her reticence didn’t seem to be due to penitence.

For some reason, Bernhard didn’t scold Mercedes either. Instead, he simply watched over the proceedings likewise in silence.

***

“Tricked, were you?”

Once the meeting was over and she had stepped out into the hall, Mercedes heard Bernhard’s voice from behind her. He seemed somewhat displeased, but there was delight in his words as well. He hadn’t expected this outcome, but it was certainly an interesting one—those were the thoughts communicated by his expression.

“Such errors aren’t like you. You lacked resolve.”

“...I’ve already reflected on the matter. Instead of letting her live, I should have killed her as quickly as possible. I was too soft. That was my mistake.”

Bernhard snickered. “Too soft? Please. You did it on purpose, no?” He spoke with complete confidence, giving Mercedes pause. “As soon as you decided to capture this Julia and interrogate her, you only had two options: Kill her, or let her live. You chose the latter. Why? You got the intel you needed, so you should have had no further use for her.”

“I hesitated, and a pro like Aunt Hannah was there. I thought it’d be best to leave the judgment calls to her.”

“Did you? Which reminds me, this turn of events seems quite favorable for you, no? Walburga’s tarnished reputation improved, and now everyone believes Felix should be heir. Given you have no desire to inherit my name, this all seems quite convenient.”

Mercedes stayed silent. She kept her eyes trained forward and not on Bernhard. This was quite rude, but Bernhard didn’t seem to care.

“Not to mention, it’s now much easier to predict our enemy’s next course of action. Since they know there’s a rival, they won’t ignore Felix. In other words, they no longer have the time to be worried about you. Felix serves as the perfect shield.”

Mercedes lacked resolve and thus chose to let Julia live, which exacerbated the situation. It perfectly embodied Mercedes’s appraisal of Niklas, which was that indecisive types tended to cause the most trouble. But given how things concluded, this mistake had been quite advantageous for Mercedes. Basil no longer had the time to worry about her, and his next course of action was obvious. Sieglinde was safer now that Felix was their primary target, and if they attacked the Grunewald manor, she could force Bernhard and the True King faction into a fight. Additionally, the revelation that Felix had inherited a dungeon automatically made him the family’s favorite to be heir.

Thus, Bernhard concluded this had all gone according to Mercedes’s plan. “That’s just how it is, Mercedes.”

Mercedes remained silent.

“You’ll jeopardize your own brother’s life if it benefits you. That is exactly the sort of callousness I value. I am certain... You have no sympathies. You are perfectly self-serving. You are twisted. And that is exactly what makes you my daughter.” After speaking his mind, Bernhard left, spirits high.

For a few seconds, Mercedes simply watched him walk away. But, finally, she resumed her steps.

Her face seemed to be twisted, perhaps in disgust. She had belittled Niklas for his lack of resolve, but that had stemmed from an emotion similar to self-loathing. Yes, the indecisive tended to spoil everything, but that was only because they didn’t see a clear path to follow.

In the end, Mercedes lacked that more than anyone.

***

Basil Salmon had a headache, and its source was Julia’s unfortunate return. Or rather, it’d be more correct to say the source of his worries was the information she had returned with.

Niklas’s daughter carried Kristoff’s blood in her veins. For them, this was a worst-case scenario. Walburga was Bernhard’s legal wife. If this intel was accurate, then it almost certainly put the True King faction in checkmate. What legitimized Max was his possession of a dungeon, but if the Grunewalds—a family of far higher rank—had claim to that same dungeon, the people would naturally prefer them to rule. There was no need to force Max, the younger inheritor, to take the throne. They’d have their strong king, and the nation would stay intact. It was a win-win scenario.

Not to mention, Felix, Walburga’s son, resembled Kristoff greatly. He was acquainted with Princess Sieglinde, and they were on good terms. His younger sister, Mercedes, had saved Sieglinde’s life, and the princess trusted her greatly. Obviously, Felix seemed more fit to be king.

The only way to avoid that outcome was to assassinate Felix and Walburga, but if that came to light, Max’s legitimacy would all but dissipate. The True King faction touted Max as the successor of Kristoff, a man who was unjustly murdered by the last king, and his lofty ideals. Killing Kristoff’s daughter and grandson would make them just as bad as August Abendrot. Not that slipping past the Grunewald manor’s defenses and assassinating his wife and child was very possible in the first place.

Should they just hand over their dungeon? No, they couldn’t do that. They had already sent assassins. Whether or not the attempt was successful, there was no going back once you tried to take out a noble. Handing Felix the dungeon would likely spell Max’s mortal demise. Bernhard would certainly kill the boy, as a dungeon inheritor unfaithful to him would be nothing but a pest in his eyes.

In the end, Basil wasn’t certain that this intel was authentic. Julia had been the messenger, after all. Anyone could easily send her off with fake information. In fact, she seemed to be hiding something, as she kept saying perplexing things like “Sorry for interfering with the vanguard!” and “The vanguard and I worked together to get this info! Mission complete!”

The vanguard? Who were they supposed to be? Basil hadn’t sent a vanguard.

Mission complete? No, it wasn’t! The Schoenbergs still lived! Julia hadn’t even been dispatched in the first place!

Basil wasn’t sure exactly what story Julia had been fed, but it was clear she had been tricked. It seemed safe to assume that she had spilled everything there was to know about the True King faction.

The idiot! How did things come to this...? It’s checkmate! We’ve got no escape routes, no justifications! We’ve got to turn things around...but how? That’s impossible! Preposterous! Completely unrealistic! We need to assassinate Felix and Walburga... But sneak into the Grunewald manor? Without being caught? How? Who? Where do I even find someone capable of such a...

As Basil pondered and pondered, he eventually struck upon a way to get rid of Walburga and her son. He did have someone capable of the feat! But it was risky. Too risky. She was far too much of an idiot. She was skilled, but her skull was completely empty...

Trembling, Basil turned to face his final hope.

She stared back at him blankly, looking like no thoughts were going through her head at all.

I can’t. Leaving our lives in her hands will be the end of us! Now that it’s come to this, using that is the only option we have...

The chances were slim—thinner than a spider’s thread—but they weren’t completely out of luck just yet. Basil’s smile grew twisted as he gazed upon their slumbering trump card: an emaciated man wrapped in cords and locked inside a capsule.

“If need be, I’ll have you fight for us, dear conqueror...”

***

A few days had passed since the Grunewalds learned of Felix’s family history. The True King faction had yet to act themselves, and they hadn’t sent assassins either. Mercedes had brought Hannah to the location of their hideout, but unfortunately, it was now nothing more than a cellar. Not that Mercedes was expecting anything else.

As long as you had a dungeon, you could set up camp anywhere; there was no reason to stay in one spot. In fact, it would have been insane to show Mercedes the place with no guarantee she’d join them and then stay where they were.

However, now that the cellar was empty, it’d be incredibly difficult to find them until they made their next move. It was nearly impossible to determine where a dungeon master might be hiding. Since they concealed themselves inside master keys so small they could fit inside a pocket, they could be hiding literally anywhere.

Still, it wasn’t like Hannah and Mercedes had made zero progress. Using the intel extracted from Julia, Hannah had visited all the nobles and merchants they knew to be in the True King faction and recruited them—or for the actual conspirators, threatened them into retracting their support. With enough time, the True King faction would be defenseless.

That wouldn’t be the end of things, though. Mercedes was certain they’d retaliate, and they did so surprisingly quickly.

One morning while Mercedes was sleeping in her bed inside the dorms, someone shook her awake from a dream where she sipped tonjiru with one hand and slew vampires with a wooden stake in her other. It was Hannah.

Once Mercedes was back to reality, she wondered why she had dreamed of slaughtering her own people. But it was just a dream. Dwelling on it too much wouldn’t be productive.

“Wake up, Mercy! Something’s going on!”

“What, Hannah? It’s late,” said Mercedes, rubbing her eyes with her palms and stifling a yawn. She glanced out the window. Yes, something was definitely going on. She could hear the screams of the townspeople and the clanging of metal, as well as explosions she assumed were magic. This isn’t normal... thought Mercedes as she banged the drowsiness out of her head, which was currently functioning at the same level as a computer which refused to boot.

“We’re being attacked. An army of monsters suddenly appeared from inside the capital. The knight brigade is currently fending them off.”

“From inside? Not out...? This has to be the True King faction’s doing.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I placed some guards around Her Highness, but they’ve certainly chosen a drastic course of action.”

“If they’re lucky, they’ll use the chaos as a distraction to kidnap the princess. If they’re not, these monsters won’t leave anything behind. Right?” offered Mercedes.

Hannah nodded in agreement. What made dungeon masters truly terrifying was that they had access to an endless supply of pawns. If it’d keep them alive, a vampire might let intel slip. But even if they hadn’t been given any intel, monsters had to obey their dungeon master. Plus, monsters could be produced endlessly, which made them disposable.

Still, sacrificing them pointlessly made no sense, so there had to be a purpose behind this attack. And considering they had attacked the capital, their target almost certainly wasn’t Felix. He had already graduated from the academy and was currently back home at the Grunewalds’ manor. If they were after him, attacking this location wouldn’t accomplish anything.

While it was technically possible this attack was a distraction, well...Bernhard was at the manor. Felix would be fine.

As long as Bernhard wished to protect him, that is. But it’d reflect poorly on him if his eldest son was kidnapped from his own family manor, so there likely wasn’t anything to worry about there.

“First, let’s meet up with Sieglinde. Then, we’ll talk,” said Mercedes. She got out of bed and exited her room, still in her pajamas.

Discussions and speculations could come later. That’d all be pointless if Sieglinde was captured while they chatted. Therefore, Mercedes concluded it was best to rendezvous with Sieglinde first and think later, and Hannah agreed. So first, they burst into Sieglinde’s room to confirm her safety.

Sieglinde was still half asleep, but she hadn’t been kidnapped. Hannah’s guards seemed to be at their posts as well; she couldn’t see them, but she could sense their presences. Not that it particularly mattered, but all the guards hiding inside the room were women. The men were waiting outside.

“Hmm...? What... What are you two doing here? It’s only...morning...” Sieglinde was clearly a deep sleeper. Her eyes were still glazed over.

Not to mention, she wasn’t wearing anything underneath her nightgown. Thank goodness the men were outside and away from temptation.

Vampires had enhanced strength and regenerative abilities, so their breasts wouldn’t sag. Thus, many female vampires chose to sleep naked to avoid feeling restricted. It was somewhat surprising to see Sieglinde was one of them considering she used to cross-dress.

“I’ll protect you, Your Highness. If Julia shows up, Mercy and I are the only ones who’ll be able to stop her, though I do get the feeling that sending Mercy into the capital streets would be the quicker solution...”

“No, I’ll stay here. We don’t know what our enemies are after. It’s best we focus our manpower on protecting Sieglinde.”

“Hmm... Yeah, you’re right.”

The capital was certainly in bedlam, but Sieglinde was more important. The knight brigade had been deployed, so they’d get things under control eventually, even if they’d probably suffer some casualties. Thus, Mercedes decided to remain where she was.

However, her callous judgment caused Sieglinde to panic. “W-Wait a second! Put my people’s lives above my own! That’s what I want, so... All right, I’ll prepare immediately! We’ll save as many as we can!”

Sieglinde had a strong sense of responsibility, and she apparently wanted to join the fray herself to protect her people. But that was out of the question. She was strong, but not enough to take out a swarm of enemies—her strength only rivaled that of a few trained knights. Her efforts wouldn’t be enough to turn the tides.

“If people are suffering while you’re busy protecting me, then that’s something I can’t ignore!”

“Please bear with it, Your Highness,” said Hannah, putting an end to Sieglinde’s insistence. No matter what their foes’ aim, letting Sieglinde join the fight wasn’t an option. Princesses only fought in video games. Hannah just wanted this one to stay still and be protected, as a princess ought to be. That was what knights and soldiers’ jobs were, after all. Sieglinde’s job was to stay alive, even if it meant sacrificing her subjects.

“What do you think they’re after?”

“We think this is a distraction, either to leave you vulnerable to attack by drawing away your guards or to leave the rest of the city undefended by drawing guards to you. Still, I doubt they’re trying to conquer the capital. In any case, we’ll guard you for now and see how things play out.”

For now, they’d be patient and see what happened. That was Mercedes’s decision, and Hannah agreed with it. While she had considered capturing whoever was commanding these beasts, that’d likely prove pointless. Mercedes had a dungeon herself, and there were some monsters who could serve as commanders. Summoning one meant your monsters would fight as a united front, removing the need for the dungeon master to fight directly. Thus, slaying a commander only meant taking out a slightly more valuable pawn.

Of course, they could have tried torturing it, but it almost certainly wouldn’t have revealed any intel, as it wouldn’t have had any in the first place.

Mercedes could think of a few possible aims behind this attack. For one, it was entirely possible the True King faction was trying to use the chaos as a distraction to assassinate or kidnap nobles. Or perhaps, the chaos itself was their aim, and it was groundwork for a later plot. Casualties would cause the people to direct their anger at the assailants, obviously, but also Sieglinde, as they’d question why she didn’t use her dungeon to protect them. And naturally, they’d begin to hope for a stronger king to lead them.

Currently, Orcus had no king. With the throne empty, the people were on edge. Therefore, the attack would work in the True King faction’s favor, even if there wasn’t anything they could gain directly from the attack itself—if Felix wasn’t aligned against them, that is.

However, there was another possibility. A horde of monsters suddenly appearing in town was a problem in and of itself. A portion of the nobility knew of the Royal Sword’s true function—that it was a dungeon. It was possible they’d assume this attack was Sieglinde’s doing. At least, such rumors would certainly appear.

“No matter what they’re after, this reflects badly on us.”

“We’ve gotta keep any rumors from spreading, but...”

“Right. There’s nothing we can do about that right now.”

There was nothing more dangerous than making an enemy of a dungeon master. Not only did they have an infinite supply of loyal, disposable pawns, they could be hiding anywhere. So Mercedes and Hannah had no choice but to stay by Sieglinde’s side, even if they knew what their enemies were after.

A dungeon master had incredible military might, plus the ability to hide anywhere and easily launch surprise attacks. Their nation moved with them. If they fully utilized their power, they could easily slay an entire kingdom, and that was exactly why their bloodlines were revered as kings.

In the end, no assailants came for Sieglinde. But still, the True King faction had successfully planted seeds of fear and doubt within the people’s hearts.

Chapter 85: Jumping at Shadows

Half a day had passed since monsters attacked the capital, and the sun was now starting to set. While the knight brigade managed to eradicate the fiends, the townspeople were buzzing with fear, and the terror of facing life-threatening danger within the capital’s streets—the very ones they thought were safe—couldn’t easily be allayed. A mob had gathered outside the palace, demanding answers.

“What the hell is this...? Why’re monsters showin’ up here in the capital?!” Numerous vampires muttered such words as they gazed at the wreckage. Their advanced strength and magical capabilities made them a species well-suited for battle; any random vampire could easily bludgeon a goblin to death with their bare hands.

On the other hand, that was also the limit for an untrained vampire; they lacked the power to fight off stronger monsters, and those that had attacked the capital were clad in armor from head to toe—or rather, they were that armor itself. They were far more powerful than the average goblin, and there were consequently casualties among the townspeople. When faced with such irrationality, it was human nature to unconsciously search for a scapegoat to vent their anger.

No, vampires weren’t human, but their hearts were nearly one and the same.

“Hey, did you hear? This is a secret, but...rumor has it the attack was Her Highness’s doing.”

“Huh? What the hell do you mean? You’ll be executed for treason if anyone catches you saying that.”

“That’s why it’s a secret. I overheard some lofty noble stating just that. Apparently, there’s a dungeon within that sword only the royal family can use...and they can summon monsters with it at will.”

“At will? That reminds me...supposedly the monsters appeared in the capital out of the blue...”

Mouths had no shutters. Those fearfully jumping at shadows had looser lips and were keen on creating villains. Rather than admit there was no one to blame and carry their anxieties, it was easier to point a finger to calm their minds.

Not to mention this information was spreading right as those anxieties had reached a zenith. The princess was the only one capable of this attack... There was no stopping the spread of these rumors, and before anyone knew it, they had taken hold like a plague.

***

“This doesn’t look good,” said Hannah, scowling after she received a report on the state of the townspeople from her adjutant. She and Mercedes had returned to their dorm room, while Sieglinde was being guarded by Hannah’s men and Mercedes’s concealed monsters.

“Do we know who’s spreading these rumors?”

“My men captured a few folks, but no dice. They were all just bribed hoodlums. We also captured some monsters to interrogate, but they don’t have any intel either. Torture doesn’t really work on armor, after all. I’m at a complete loss,” said Hannah, lifting up her hands before collapsing onto her bed with a groan.

Bunbun shook his head in disappointment.

“What do we do? I mean, it seems like a rebellion’s gonna break out at this rate.”

“It’s not fair play, but it’s not a bad idea either. Fill the people with hate, wait for a rebellion, and it’s victory. The ‘True King’ can just walk right out into the open. Nobody’s going to consider him an enemy.”

“Rather, they’ll think it, but they won’t say it. Once you launch a rebellion, there’s no going back.”

At present, rumors that the princess was the only one capable of summoning monsters inside the capital were spreading, riling up the people. Once rebellion broke out, the True King faction no longer needed any excuses.

Let’s say, for example, that the True King faction appeared in the middle of the chaos and announced, “We can summon monsters just like the princess! Now, fight with us, comrades!” Would everyone realize that they were the suspicious ones and redirect their pitchforks? No, they wouldn’t. Naturally, some would wonder if they were the culprits, but those people wouldn’t be able to voice those fears once a rebellion had already begun. There was no pointing your sword at the princess and going, “Oh, sorry! My mistake! We’re good now, right?” They’d undoubtedly be put to death, which was why even those who noticed wouldn’t back down. Instead, they’d swallow their fears, play ignorant, and rush headfirst toward mutiny.

“It’s at least clear what they were after now, but that doesn’t change anything, huh? This is tough. I can’t believe an endless supply of pawns could be so annoying to deal with! I mean, if they decide to play dirty, they’re practically unstoppable! Do you have any ideas, Mercy? This dungeon is unbeatable! You’ve gotta do something. Please?”

“Hmm... Unfortunately, I don’t have any monsters fit for the task.”

While it likely went without saying at this point, Hannah had long figured out that Mercedes possessed a dungeon, and Mercedes made no real efforts to hide the fact from her either. She had summoned plenty of monsters right before Hannah’s eyes, and Hannah usually kept silent, as she knew making this information public could turn the whole country on its head. Thus, she had no intention of recommending that Mercedes ascend the throne, and Mercedes appreciated the distance Hannah kept.

However, dungeons weren’t omnipotent. Mercedes had no monsters that could conveniently turn the tides in their favor.

“You have one option.” That was when a voice only Mercedes could hear spoke from within her dungeon. She had access to someone much more experienced in handling dungeons, and she summoned her.

It had been a long time since Empress Beatrix last saw the light of day. “Oh, what wonderful fresh air! And you’ve stayed just as adorable during the long time since we’ve last met, master. I’m glad you seem to be doing just as well too, Hannah.” Beatrix slipped behind Mercedes, wrapped her arms around her, and placed her chest right over her head.

Ugh, stop it. Those are heavy.

“Uh, Mercy? Why’d you summon that?” Hannah, on the other hand, seemed rather flummoxed. Only a dungeon master could hear voices from within their dungeons, so it seemed to Hannah that Mercedes had summoned Beatrix with no context at all.

“She’s apparently got a plan, and since she’s better with dungeons than me, she’ll be able to help us with this battle, right? Anyway, out with it. If not, I’ll put you right back in the dungeon,” said Mercedes, answering Hannah as she grabbed Beatrix’s face and peeled her off.

Beatrix seemed somewhat disappointed, but she spread out her fan and pompously began her explanation regardless. “How cold... But yes, that’s exactly how you ought to be. Anyhow, the plan is quite simple. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Playing unfair isn’t for our enemies alone, you know. Foul play should be met with foul play—unfairness with unfairness. If our enemies are spreading lies, then we only need to spread rumors of our own.”

Beatrix had once used foul play to try to claim Orcus for herself; she was quite skilled at playing unfairly. Previously, the abnormality that was Mercedes had foiled her plans, but this time, they were allies. They couldn’t possibly lose, and knowing this put a smile on Beatrix’s face.

***

Basil Salmon gloated in his secret hideout. He had been worried for a minute there, but his desperate attack on the capital had been surprisingly effective. Quite honestly, it had been quite a gamble. He needed to summon enough monsters so that the battle between them and the knight brigade would last, meaning their side had suffered some significant losses.

This tactic was meant as a trump card and last resort—he had never planned on using it like this. However, he had been so cornered he had no other choice. If he couldn’t turn the tides now, he’d only be further pushed into the corner, which was what led to this sudden siege.

However, it had worked. Discontent with the princess had begun to spread through the capital; the fuse had been ignited, which meant he only needed to add fuel to the fire to completely flip the board right when he faced defeat. He was certain of that, but his one remaining fear was that his faction’s headquarters would be discovered before the people’s flames could create an explosion, though the chances were slim. They were stationed inside a master key, which was now so small it could easily fit in his pocket, and it was currently hidden behind the frame of a half-built storage room. It’d be near impossible to find this place, and even if someone did, they almost certainly wouldn’t notice the master key.

Basil disguised himself and headed out into town to accelerate the spread of these rumors. This was a battle of attrition; he only needed to hold out until the people started a rebellion, and he was set on doing so no matter how long that might take. Those were the thoughts on his mind when he overheard something completely unbelievable.

“We are those who support Max Fecht, the True King! Yesterday’s attack on the city was carried out by a vanguard sent by our king!”

Basil gasped and whipped his head toward the voice. Huh? What?! What the hell was that guy saying?! Basil wasn’t quite sure who this idiot was, but why reveal themselves?

He had turned his head with bloodlust, but he couldn’t believe what he discovered. His very own armored monsters were giving a speech in the middle of town!

“Our True King possesses a Royal Sword different from the princess’s! Thus, he can summon an army of monsters wherever, whenever!”

“We shall continue these attacks until you accept the True King!”

“Praise him! Worship him! Our True King is Max Fecht! That’s right, Max Fecht!”

“Let us say it again! The name of the great king who dispatched us this morning to punish the foolish citizens of the capital is Max Fecht!”

What the fucking hell are they doing?!

Basil jumped into action without a second thought, completely overcome by the urge to send these armored monsters flying. Revealing the identity of the mastermind behind the attack now? Only a fool would do that! This would obviously redirect the people’s anger toward Max.

However, what really confused Basil was that these monsters were undoubtedly under his command. There couldn’t possibly be any vampires hiding within the armor. For one, the monsters had been polite enough to remove their helmets, proving to the bystanders that they were hollow.

Huh? Huuuh?! Why...? I mean, what the hell? Are these monsters...traitors? Who... Who commanded them to do this?! No one possibly could have... N-No...someone could! There’s only one idiot dumb enough to...! Juliaaaaa!!!

To preserve Julia’s dignity, it needed to be said that she was completely innocent in this affair. These armored monsters were copies created by Mercedes through registering Hannah’s captives to her dungeon. However, this was a function only accessible to conquerors, meaning naturally, Basil never considered the possibility. Instead, his attention had turned toward a rather obnoxious ally. He assumed Julia had simply acted out of hand once again.

An eye for an eye, suspicions for suspicions. Basil had turned the tides, but in an instant, Beatrix had turned them back around.

***

Basil stood inside a building within Max’s dungeon at his wit’s end. He ruffled his hair as if trying to pull out any last unused idea some corner of his brain might have. His composed expression was now full of frustration, and his nervous expression pulled at his face, warping it with wrinkles.

This was checkmate. The True King faction was all out of gambits. Their strong collaborators were switching sides one after another thanks to Hannah’s scheming, and even the attack on the capital—their last resort—had somehow ended in failure. Beyond all belief, their monsters were proclaiming that the criminals behind the attack were the True King faction, and hate for Max Fecht had peaked in Orcus.

Basil just didn’t understand. Their monsters couldn’t betray them, so why...? He was all but certain that Julia had ordered this. If these perfectly loyal monsters were acting like fools, then there had to be someone who had ordered them to behave this way. Therefore, he had locked Julia away and planned to execute her within a few days’ time. She kept whining and whining, claiming she was innocent, but there was nobody else who could have caused this mess but her. And now that she was locked away, she couldn’t make a bigger one.

Had Basil been thinking clearly, he would have realized that even had Julia given such orders, their monsters wouldn’t have obeyed. She wasn’t the dungeon master, and Max had never ordered his minions to follow her commands.

In times of trouble, people sought a clear villain. Miraculously, Basil had fallen into the very same state of mind he was trying to incite in the people of Orcus. But no matter how he spun it, it was already too late for that. This was checkmate. Game over.

The people’s emotions were now redirected to Max, and the only thing in their hearts was rage. Even if they launched a coup, the following counter-rebellion would spell their downfall. Vampires valued strength above all else, which meant taking the throne by force had been an option. But even if vampires worshipped power, they wouldn’t worship the man who had attacked their king.

In other words, everything had come to naught.

This is bad. We have no more options. Now that it’s come to this, all we can do...is run. The last possibility afforded to them wasn’t a breakthrough solution, but flight. They could no longer turn the tides, which meant they had to flee the capital, regather themselves elsewhere, and try again. As long as they still had Max and the master key, they had a shot at a second chance. For one, they could become the rulers of a small nation that lacked a dungeon or become figureheads within another nation by selling out their own.

This will not be the end for a man like me! All will be fine. As long as I have Max and his dungeon, I can always try again...

The battle in Orcus was over; any further struggle would only send them to the guillotine. But that simply meant they needed to move the battlefield elsewhere. Basil had decided to leave this nation, and to deliver the news, he stepped out of his room and headed to where Max was. Now that a decision had been made, they needed to act quickly. It’d be nigh impossible to discover the shrunk-down version of their master key, but the possibility still remained.

In truth, Basil’s judgments had been sound. But what he didn’t know was that there was a way to identify a master key. This was a right exclusive to conquerors—a power held by administrators alone. If they got a good look, they could recognize a master key.

Yes, that was right. Max could be found.

“Yup. Found it. So this is where it was,” said someone outside the dungeon, lifting the master key into the air.

No way, thought Basil as he checked what was happening outside. Basil wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but it was possible to see what was happening outside a dungeon if the master gave their permission. And right now, what he saw was the very girl he had tried to trap here just a few days earlier, the eldest daughter of the Grunewalds and Felix’s younger sister, Mercedes Grunewald. With her was her Aunt Hannah.

***

After redirecting the people’s anger toward Max, Mercedes searched the capital while receiving intel from her armored monster copies. As they had been deployed as pawns, they didn’t know a single thing. They had no idea where the master key was hiding, or really anything that could be of help.

However, there was one piece of information they did have—the areas they had been ordered not to attack during their siege. If the monsters had assaulted friendly nobles or other collaborators of the True King faction, it’d amount to friendly fire, so naturally, a few places around the capital had suspiciously been spared. Therefore, Hannah was investigating the unscathed nobles while Mercedes did everything else.

One of the locations these monsters spared was certainly the hiding place of the master key. Why? Because if the master key was somehow buried beneath any rubble, it’d cause problems; it could be discovered by soldiers trying to clear the debris. It was thus highly likely they were hiding somewhere that hadn’t been attacked, and having reached that conclusion, Hannah and Mercedes immediately began their investigations.

Typically, one couldn’t identify a master key. If, for example, it took the form of a piece of jewelry sold on the market, it’d be impossible to distinguish the master key from the real item. However, this was an ability Mercedes did possess, as Zwölf could tell the difference as long as she got a good look. Also, luckily for Mercedes—and incredibly unluckily for Basil—now that she possessed two dungeons, her ability to detect others had increased, even if only slightly.

Naturally, any task could be completed much more efficiently when divided between two people instead of one. Now that another dungeon administrator—Sieben, who was in charge of Beatrix’s former dungeon—had joined the team, their productivity had increased. Typically, only Zwölf served as the contact between Mercedes and her dungeons, but having two administrators was a huge advantage, even if the other lacked presence. Thanks to their navigation, Mercedes eventually arrived at a small storage shed, which was in quite the sorry state.

Not that it particularly mattered, but this navigation wasn’t like a GPS. Rather, it was more of a vague “It seems like there may be something over there” kind of suggestion, and Mercedes had been forced to search countless dud buildings on her way here. When Sieben’s directions got her exposed to a naked man in the bathhouse, she seriously contemplated discarding him.

Put simply, their navigational abilities amounted to yelling out, “Slide!” and “Jump!” at all the wrong times to a snowboarding blue robot boy. Still, even a faulty gun would hit a few targets if you fired it enough, and after numerous detours, Mercedes had arrived at the right location; she and Hannah had obtained the master key.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, it has to be...I think,” answered Mercedes, not sounding completely confident. Zwölf was saying this was it, but it just looked like any old accessory. There was a small chain attached to what was shaped like a sword, reminding Mercedes of the sword-shaped key chains you could find in any gift shop during her previous life.

“But it’s not doing anything.”

“They’ve probably noticed us but don’t know what to do. If they stay still, there’s a chance we conclude this is just some random object and leave. That’s probably what they’re wishing, but they’ll soon realize that’s not going to work.”

Mercedes hoped the master key stayed still and silent, if possible. Fighting here would be obnoxious, but their foes’ only option was to lash out and run.

Apparently, the True King faction determined that hiding was no longer an option. Mercedes blocked the sword that swung toward her with her bracelet and knocked another monster’s helmet off with a backfist. But immediately, the master key shifted from Idle Mode to Key Mode, transforming into a spear. Apparently, Kristoff’s Royal “Sword” was a lance.

Next, Basil and more monsters appeared...alongside Max, who was gripping the spear.

Chapter 86: Activating Life Support

A gigantic army surrounded the shed where Mercedes and Hannah stood. It probably didn’t need saying, but these were soldiers serving Hannah. Behind them was Sieglinde, mounted on a small dragon and wielding her Royal Sword. She wore white armor—which stood out in the dark of night—that was accented in red, a color rather beloved by vampires. Over her torso was a specially-made chest plate. Hannah had requested she join the fray, but only to quell the people’s disgruntlement.

It had come into focus during the previous attack, but the people of Orcus were quite nervous about having Sieglinde as their leader. This was rooted in their vampiric instincts to respect the strong—in other words, they weren’t too amenable to having a weak king. Even if they eradicated the True King faction, the people’s fears would remain.

Having reached that conclusion, Hannah decided to have Sieglinde enter combat. By doing so, they could make it appear like Sieglinde was the commander, turning the fact she had quickly fought back against the hoodlums who had attacked the capital into evident truth. That would slightly assuage the people’s fears—or at least, buy some time for Sieglinde to find a husband to be crowned as king.

Still, it’d be a disaster if anything happened to her, so she was positioned at the rear. Soldiers formed a protective wall to completely secure her path.

Additionally, citizens had begun to gather around the perimeter, blocking Basil and his men’s escape. With them as his witnesses, Basil jumped out of the shed and commanded the armored monsters into position with Max at their center.

Mercedes and Hannah followed them out and glared at Basil. “Max Fecht and Basil Salmon! You are surrounded, traitors! Nobly surrender yourselves!” Hannah began with a call for surrender. Of course, she knew that wouldn’t stop them, but it was best to offer one for appearance’s sake, especially with the people watching. It allowed them to stress the fact that Max and his men were the villains, while Sieglinde and her soldiers were the heroes.

“T-Traitors? What does this woman mean, Basil?” Max didn’t seem to understand how he’d gotten this label and decided to ask Basil. He sounded awfully nervous.

Basil flashed Max a gentle-looking smile, though he was dripping with cold sweat—and the mask was apparently off, as the smile looked awfully forced. It was like the only thought currently on his mind was That isn’t important right now!

“Hold! You are mistaken! My name is Max Von Orcus Fecht! I have the blood of the True King running through my veins! I cannot be a traitor!”

The air immediately grew cold. Hannah had already heard the details from Mercedes, but the look on every single soldier’s face screamed, “What the hell is this kid on about?” Some clearly looked furious.

Mercedes didn’t let it show, but even she felt like sighing. This kid...was a victim. Basil had filled his head with dubious knowledge in order to manipulate him. He was a jester, and he didn’t even know he was dancing. He was a dark past machine, and he was still in the throes of it! When he later learned the truth and reached adulthood, his tragically cringey words would certainly keep him up at night.

“Citizens! I apologize for remaining hidden. But do not worry! I’ll protect Orcus! Let’s work toward a bright future together, hand in hand!” Max was completely oblivious to the change of attitudes and continued to blabber as if he were truly a king.

Hannah had to look away. Meanwhile, Mercedes began to genuinely think, Wouldn’t he be happier in the long run if I just killed him right here and now? There were certainly suicidal desires waiting in his future.

Still, Basil tried to keep the pitiful jester dancing. “Y-Your Majesty! It’s her! She’s the detestable fiend who commanded the assassin to kill Lord Kristoff! You’ve all been deceived!”

“Huh?! She’s the one who killed my grandfather...? How dare she!”

Apparently, Basil had done some digging of his own. Just as he proclaimed, Hannah was Niklas’s former superior, and Max glared at her with scorn. He apparently had complete trust in Basil. Oh, what a twisted upbringing he must have endured. The fact he was so upright and honest at his core only made it sadder.

“But fighting here will only result in needless casualties! We need to escape to somewhere where others won’t be dragged into the fray!”

“Ugh... You cheaters! Order your men to retreat and fight me fair and square!”

Hannah could only shrug at Max’s words. She couldn’t order her men to retreat; they were here to prevent the True King faction’s escape, and if she removed them, they certainly would. Thus, Hannah ignored Max’s youthful rebelliousness and focused on Basil. She knew that if she took him down, this would all be over.

However, Basil was confident in himself. He summoned flames from his fingertips to keep Hannah at bay. Immediately, monsters multiplied around Basil to serve as his protectors, and Max protectively stepped in front of him.

“How dare you...! Not only did you kill my grandfather, you’d murder Basil too?! I won’t stand for this! I won’t let you hurt anybody else I love!” Max was burning with passion, and Basil stepped back as if to use him as a shield. Basil wore an evil grin that seemed to say, “You can’t kill the pitiful boy I’m using as my pawn, can you?”

However, Mercedes was a dungeon master, which gave her an advantage over Max. If she could neutralize him, then their enemies would lose most of their power. She therefore stepped forward with zero qualms, cut down one of the armored monsters in one fell swoop, and carved a path to Max.

After one more swing of her blade, she had cut a monster’s armor into pieces, and the tip of her halberd practically grazed Max’s eyebrows. This was likely the first time in his life that he had ever come face-to-face with malice. He gulped as the blood rushed from his face. “H-Halt! There is no reason for us to fight! That woman is the villain! We’re not enemies! Open your eyes! You’re being used!”

“Sure.” This boy was pitiful, but...he was starting to get on Mercedes’s nerves. It wouldn’t be a problem if she cut off one of his arms to shut him up and keep him still, right? For a vampire, losing an arm was basically a scratch. Tie it back on with bandages, and it’d stick right back on eventually.

But could she kill him...? No, that probably wouldn’t be wise. He was technically Felix’s cousin, and killing a child in front of this crowd would probably leave a bad impression. So for now, she’d take an arm. She’d cut off the hand carrying the master key and steal his dungeon. Then, she’d eliminate Basil and let the kingdom decide Max’s fate.

“G-Go, my monsters! After that woman! I give you permission to kill her!”

Numerous monsters burst forward at his command. They were certainly strong, but not to Mercedes. She effortlessly kicked them to pieces, sending armor fragments flying through the air.

Yup. He’s still just a kid. Dungeons were immensely powerful, but ultimately, they were only a tool. Their utility was largely dependent on the skills of their wielder. Just like how Mercedes’s mastery over the dungeons paled in comparison to Beatrix’s, Max’s paled terribly to Mercedes’s. All he did was summon strong monsters, which barely accomplished anything. In fact, Julia alone was a far more fearsome opponent.

However, Basil seemed to have something up his sleeves. He remained calm as he directed Max toward the next phase of their plan.

“My lord! Let’s borrow your grandfather’s strength!”

“U-Ugh... But you yourself said that this power must only be used when we truly need it!”

“Which is right now!”

This exchange between Basil and Max had Mercedes’s alarm bells ringing. Basil had just said the word “grandfather,” which for Max, was the late Kristoff. But Mercedes had long questioned whether Kristoff was truly dead, especially after she met Niklas. She found it incredibly difficult to believe that a man like him could best a dungeon conqueror.

Perhaps that was the exact moment Mercedes began to sense that Kristoff was alive.

“R-Right...! Grandfather, lend me your strength!” Max lifted his spear into the air, summoning something...strange. It was a capsule, one that looked like an oxygen chamber and seemed incredibly out of place in this world. But the real problem was what was inside—Mercedes knew that face well.

“Felix...?”

Inside the capsule was Mercedes’s very own brother. She immediately glanced at Hannah, who looked equally shocked. But she shook her head. “No, that’s not Felix! He’s under my men’s watch!”

“Then who...?”

“I think...it’s Kristoff.”

The man slumbering inside the capsule was the splitting image of Felix, but not Felix himself. Thus, there was only one other possibility: He was the conqueror Kristoff, a man who greatly resembled Felix.

The capsule began to glow red as it blared an alarm. It was a completely unfamiliar sound to Hannah and her men, and they stood still and cautious. Meanwhile, Mercedes kicked off the ground and swung her halberd at the capsule. She had no idea why they had summoned this thing, but she wasn’t just going to sit still and let them get away with it. She didn’t know what it was, but she was ready to destroy it before she found out!

However, the energy field that had activated around the capsule repelled her and sent her slamming through multiple houses.

“Mercy!”

“Enemies detected.”

“Engaging Battle-Mode.”

“Resuscitation Complete.”

“Reviving Master’s Cognition. Failed.”

“Communication is Impossible. Activating Support-Mode.”

As Hannah cried her niece’s name, a creepy voice began to emanate from the capsule and speak nonsensical words. Numerous cords connected Kristoff to the capsule. But then, something shocking happened. The lids of Kristoff’s glazed eyes opened as he began to speak. “Guardian... Protect your master...key...to where...belong...”

Those orders were enough. Max’s spear was absorbed by the capsule, which suddenly began to grow in size. Arms big enough to lift houses spurted from the sides as the whole machine began to transform into something...that looked like armor? But not any that Hannah had ever seen before. Its whole body was red and plated with metal. A hornlike something jutted from its head, and its eyes gave off a disquieting crimson glow.

“Zwölf, is that the Guardian?”

“Yes, master. It is.”

“But Kristoff’s supposed to be dead. The dungeon functions were transferred to Max.”

“Indeed. When a conqueror perishes, rights to the dungeon are transferred over to their descendants.”

Mercedes watched as the Guardian observed its surroundings. Hannah immediately started to take charge, ordering Sieglinde to stay far away. However, it wasn’t clear how useful that’d be against a Guardian.

“Then what is that doing here? Only conquerors can deploy Guardians.”

“The conqueror was resuscitated inside the capsule. Just as Overdeveloped Relics can be found in your dungeons, so can they be found in others. One such relic is a capsule capable of preserving and reviving corpses. However...this product is defective and only capable of resuming life-form functions, not consciousness.”

“So it’s a dud?”

“The gods wished to overcome death and made endless attempts toward that goal. They manipulated genes, created cyborgs, and digitized brains. That capsule is a byproduct of this process.”

The giant robot locked eyes with Mercedes and breathed out steam. Apparently, it had determined her to be its greatest threat. A mechanical groan rang out as a beam of light traced the ground.

“That is an early model. It can only resume life functions, not recover souls.”

“This is a first. What happens when a conqueror is revived after an inheritor has already taken their place?”

“Exactly what you are currently witnessing. Inheritors are nothing but a temporary home for dungeons who have lost their true masters. Once a conqueror returns, so do his rights over the dungeon.”

“Just like a bug taking advantage of the system. But as long as he’s alive, Kristoff is the one who holds the dungeon’s rights, huh?”

“Indeed. And once the capsule fails to recover consciousness—which is inevitable for this defective product—it will support the user by moving his flesh to make him appear alive.”

“...Right.” After hearing Zwölf’s explanation, Mercedes got the sense that this capsule wasn’t built for the deceased, but their family. But seriously, using it like this was terrible. No matter how sorry the state, as long as the conqueror lived, the Guardian could be deployed. Mercedes had no idea what sort of abilities this thing had, but the fact their enemies had summoned a Guardian as strong as an entire nation’s military in the middle of town was the worst-case scenario.

“Decompress! Benkei, Kuro, Shufu, Chirpy! You’re up!” Mercedes summoned her four strongest monsters and grabbed her Blut Eisen. She had done all of this in public, but any bystanders would likely assume she had used a seal stone. Honestly, she wanted to summon her own Guardians, but she didn’t really have that option with so many onlookers.

“Hannah! Be prepared for this thing to destroy the whole city.”

“Huh?! Wait, it’s that strong?!”

“It can be.”

Mercedes had already defeated two Guardians: the Paradies and Historie. Both possessed incredible power, and she knew that had she faced them in the outside world instead of the dungeons, they would have done unimaginable damage. She wasn’t yet certain whether this giant robot had the same capabilities, but if it did, then it was certainly a threat.

What would happen if, say...she released the Historie in the middle of town and let it wreak havoc? It’d use long-range fire attacks to transform the city into a sea of flames.

Therefore, Mercedes was ready for anything. The giant robot slowly brought its hands to its chest...and revealed countless missiles.

Chapter 87: An Out-of-Dungeon Guardian Battle

Hey! This is supposed to be fantasy, not sci-fi!!!

Mercedes was confronted with missiles ready to fire, causing the blood to drain from her face. Hannah’s reaction, meanwhile, was rather tame.

That was only natural. She had no idea what she was looking at. Given the shape, she could probably tell that they were projectiles, but her best appraisal would only be “It’s trying to launch some needlelike things.” Mercedes alone recognized the threat and reflexively cast gravity magic to erect a gravity wall between them and the giant robot.

The missiles fired. Trapped by the gravity wall, they crashed down to the ground one after another.

“No freakin’ way!!!” Hannah’s eyes shot open wide; this had far exceeded the level of destructive power she’d been expecting. But thanks to her years of experience, she managed to cast wind magic despite her shock. She stuck her middle and pointer fingers toward the sky to summon a tornado that neutralized the blast. “Hey, what was that?! Those needles explode?! If those go off in town, then...”

“Hannah, have Sieglinde retreat farther back. This is worse than I was expecting.”

This Guardian’s sheer power had to be the greatest of any Mercedes had faced before. The range alone easily exceeded both the Historie and Paradies. If Sieglinde got hit by one of these attacks, it could easily be the end of her.

“W-Wait, Mercedes! I’ll fight too! I’m sure I’ll be able to help wielding the Royal Sword.”

“Doubt it. No matter how many minions you summon, it’s only going to create a pile of corpses that’ll get in our way.” After denying Sieglinde’s request to join the battle, Mercedes jumped up into the air and swung her Blut Eisen upward. The giant robot tried to counter with its fists, but Benkei and Shufu attacked its feet, making it stumble. Mercedes used the opportunity to land a hit that caused the giant robot to collapse.

However, Mercedes felt a peculiar backlash she had never experienced before. This thing’s tough!

The Historie was also a Guardian, but regular attacks had worked. While the Paradies had troublesome regenerative abilities, it hadn’t been this sturdy either. This Guardian was just tough. There were no tricks. Blades couldn’t possibly cut through.

The giant robot stood back up. It looked down on Mercedes with glowing eyes. “My name is Zerbrechlich Frieden, what all desire and what all destroy. I am the power amassed behind peace that vanquishes tranquility.”

Huh, so this guy had a cool introduction too. Mercedes wasn’t sure how to feel. They weren’t fighting inside a dungeon this time, nor was she challenging truth. Therefore, she’d figured the Guardian wouldn’t be introducing itself.

Well, whatever. Calling this thing “the giant robot” would be annoying. If it was going to present a name, she’d happily make use of it.

“Even in times of ephemeral peace, weapons are amassed to prepare for the next war. Will you prove you have the power to defy this cycle, Created One?”

“Are you done yet? If you are, let’s get back to it.”

“...I am.”

After listening to three of these chuunibyou-esque lines, Mercedes had started to find them stale. The Zerbrechlich Frieden—actually, that was long, so let’s go with Frieden—seemed a bit disappointed by her insipid attitude.

Mercedes leaped toward the Frieden and swung her blade, which was laden with gravity magic. However, the Guardian blocked with its arm. The attack had zero effect.

Mercedes’s Blut Eisen was made of indestructible metal. She fought with its might, her speed and strength, and the hidden force applied via her gravity magic. However, the Frieden was sturdy enough to withstand that and just as heavy as it appeared, making it as weighty as Mercedes. This meant the single factor that decided who had the advantage was size, and no matter how hard Mercedes struggled, that was a category she could never beat the Frieden in.

The Frieden seemed to realize this as well. It lifted its giant lance above its head and launched it down toward Mercedes.

She immediately blocked with her Blut Eisen, but the force sent her hurtling into a nearby building’s wall. The Frieden immediately followed with a counterattack from its fists, which she blocked with her arms.

“Agh! Don’t...underestimate...me!”

Blood vessels popped from not only Mercedes’s forehead, but her arms as well. By purposefully accelerating the blood flowing through their veins, vampires could exponentially boost their physical capabilities. It was a skill known as Blood Manipulation, and it was unique to their species.

Mercedes had activated this skill, and what she accomplished with it was absolutely shocking. She bared her fangs in a fashion that looked terribly unladylike as she firmly grabbed hold of the Frieden’s fist with both hands and planted her feet in the ground. Then, she flung her upper body backward, lifting the twenty-meter-tall Frieden into the air.

“Huh?!” shouted Hannah. She couldn’t believe her eyes. That had to be difficult, even for Mercedes. While she was using gravity magic to lighten the Guardian, one lapse in concentration would leave her a splatter on the pavement, crushed under its weight. Thus, she let go as soon as she could and flung it with all her might. The Frieden tumbled through houses as Mercedes segued into a follow-up attack.

“Gravity times ten!” She used gravity magic to attach the Frieden to the floor and seal its movements. The nearby houses had become collateral damage, but she currently didn’t have the luxury to care as this fight wasn’t over yet. Mercedes used magic to summon a giant boulder atop the Frieden to follow up her last attack.

“Wait, this is no time to be standing around! I gotta back her up!” Hannah pointed a finger toward the sky. Rain clouds began to gather, darkening the heavens. But as soon as she twirled her hand, those rain clouds expanded into a gigantic thunderstorm. She pointed her finger to the ground, which was chased by a streak of light. A bolt of lightning struck the Frieden.

For a moment, it stopped moving, then collapsed on the ground with outstretched arms.

“Lightning magic, huh? Good job, Hannah.”

“It comes with the years. This should help for a little—” Hannah seemed quite proud to receive her niece’s praise, but her expression soon froze. Despite having been hit by a bolt of lightning, their enemy stood back up like it was nothing.

To Mercedes, however, the Frieden seemed to have shrunk for just a moment.

“If only that had helped, huh...?”

“I can’t tell whether it didn’t work, or if this thing’s just pushing through.”

The Frieden’s arms glowed. Mercedes and Hannah jumped aside, knowing that couldn’t be a good sign. Immediately, a beam of light erupted from the Guardian’s eyes and destroyed the ground where the two had just been standing. Had they been a second slower, they would have been sundered into two. In fact, multiple soldiers who unfortunately happened to be standing behind them were tragically swept up in the attack. All their limbs were severed from their bodies.

“Aaaaaagh! M-My aaaaaarms!”

“It got my legs! Damn it to hell!”

“H-Hey! Pick up my legs and put them back on! Hey, wait! That’s my left leg! Don’t attach it to my right!”

“Can someone bring my lower half over here? I’m gonna die... I’m gonna freaking die...”

It was a disaster. The only reason they all survived was because they were vampires. Sieglinde had been in the line of fire, but as soon as she was in danger, Mercedes had sent over Chirpy to take her away. Meanwhile, Benkei and Shufu had snuck between the Frieden’s feet and were attacking it with everything they had to keep it unsteady.

That was when Mercedes landed a full-force attack while Hannah fired wind blades. Bunbun was even shooting bullets from his musket as cover and amazingly landed a headshot.

However, it had no effect. Their enemy was so strong, their attacks just wouldn’t work.

“Then we’ve just gotta keep fighting until they do!” Mercedes clenched the hilt of her Blut Eisen and unleashed a flurry of attacks. If a single blow did nothing, then maybe continuous blows would work. That was her thinking, so she set a gravity field on her opponent and continuously changed angles as she whammed her blade into the Frieden over and over. Metal clangs reverberated and shook the air, those waves shattering the windows of nearby buildings. Sieglinde was at a loss for words after observing Mercedes’s true strength for the first time.

Mercedes spun around, placed an attractive field on her halberd, and let out a full-force swing. This knocked the Frieden’s giant form right into the air before it crashed down and cracked the ground beneath it.

“Excellent work, master. The Guardian must certainly have taken some damage,” said Benkei. He sounded certain of their victory, which was only natural. No other foe had borne the brunt of Mercedes’s true strength, and even the Historie would have been seriously injured.

However, Mercedes’s scowl remained. She even broke out into a cold sweat. “This thing’s got me. I can’t believe it’s so strong.”

“Huh?” Benkei seemed shocked to hear those words from his master. But immediately, the Frieden stood up as if their attacks had meant nothing and stared down Mercedes. Shockingly, it had sustained no damage from her attacks; there wasn’t even a crack in its armor. It was now painfully obvious that this Guardian must be coated in the same material that formed master keys.

What a terrible misnomer. “Zerbrechlich” meant “fragile”!

“Bwah hah hah hah! S-So? How is it? No matter how hard you struggle, you’ll never even scratch our Guardian! It boasts power that rivals an entire nation!” roared Basil, confident that the Frieden’s toughness had sealed their victory. However, the problem here wasn’t his gloating, but the details of his admission—he had just called the Frieden a “Guardian.”

In and of itself, that wasn’t particularly strange. Kristoff had referred to the Frieden a Guardian when he activated it, so maybe Basil had simply thought, “Oh, so that thing’s called a Guardian.” However, he was clearly aware that they were as powerful as nations, and he had been the one who decided to force Kristoff awake. He knew there was a machine that could revive this dungeon’s conqueror, and that doing so would activate the Guardian. He knew everything.

An idea then floated in Mercedes’s mind: Could Basil have killed Kristoff to gain the power of a Guardian for himself? Still, she thought it was even more unlikely that Basil could overcome a conqueror than Niklas.

However, that didn’t matter. Basil had obviously been involved in Kristoff’s death. Solving that mystery could come later, though. First, she had to deal with this dastardly foe.

“What do we do, Mercy?”

“Hmm... Could you hit it with lightning again, Hannah?”

“Huh? I can, but...is that going to work?”

“It might. I want to confirm something.”

The Frieden stuck out its arms, which opened to reveal Gatling guns at its hands that were aimed right at Hannah and Mercedes. The latter immediately jumped into the line of fire and erected a gravity wall. At the same time, countless bullets were fired with a roar, but they all fell onto the ground before they could reach Mercedes.

“What the heck is that?!”

“Hurry up, Hannah! I can only fend it off for so long!”

“G-Got it!”

Just as Mercedes commanded, Hannah once again struck the Frieden with a lightning bolt. It froze. During this time, Mercedes focused her full attention on watching the Guardian. It only paused for a few seconds before immediately rebooting, seeming to be perfectly uninjured.

However, in that short amount of time, Mercedes was able to confirm her suspicions.

“This isn’t gonna work! It just freezes it for a second! That’s all!”

“...No, it’s working. For a second—just a second—it got smaller.”

The Guardian had shrunk, which wasn’t what happened when a Guardian was defeated. Instead, a vanquished Guardian would disappear into particles of light. So, when did Guardians shrink? When their master returned them to their dungeon.

When summoned monsters were stored away, they were shrunk and compressed so they could fit inside the master key. In other words, the Frieden had tried to return to its dungeon when it was struck by lightning.

But why? Was it because Kristoff tried to return it? No, that couldn’t be. He had no reason to give such an order. The more likely possibility was that right when the lightning hit, Kristoff had died. He was inside the Frieden—or well, a capsule was, which extended his lifespan. But what if the shock from the lightning caused the capsule to cease functioning? Until it rebooted, Kristoff would be without the one thing keeping him alive. Thus, Mercedes wondered if Hannah’s lightning bolts were causing Kristoff to jump between the lands of the living and the dead.

“Hannah, can you manage a stronger bolt?”

“With enough time I can, but...”

“Then do it. It’s our only hope.”

As vexing as it was, Mercedes had no way of landing a critical blow on the Frieden. Her martial arts relied on overwhelming her opponents offensively. While she could use magic, she only did so to bolster her physical attacks, which was perhaps obvious given her signature move was using gravity magic to strengthen her Blut Eisen.

However, her current foe possessed the ultimate defense. An offensive assault just wouldn’t work. No, perhaps she could find a chink in its armor by targeting its joints, but that would be laborious, especially considering that Hannah’s magic had an obvious effect. This was why having Hannah on her side was an advantage Mercedes absolutely needed to make use of.

“...Got it. And I know you’ll probably be fine, Mercy, but don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

Mercedes dashed forward as Hannah began to concentrate on her magic. The Frieden thrust its lance forward, which Mercedes countered with her Blut Eisen buffed with gravity magic. The two weapons clashed. They were evenly matched, no matter how impossible that seemed given their vast size difference.

However, if they were evenly matched one-on-one, then it was Mercedes—who was fighting alongside allies—who had the advantage. Benkei tackled the Frieden’s leg, knocking it off-balance, and Mercedes then utilized this opportunity to swing her Blut Eisen and down their enemy.

That was when Kuro and Chirpy swooped in. They forced the Frieden’s right hand open, causing it to let go of its lance, which Shufu immediately ran off with. Stealing a master key wouldn’t transfer over its rights, but considering they were such formidable weapons, disarming the Frieden couldn’t be a bad thing. In fact, Guardians didn’t typically wield a master key, which meant they had now reduced the Frieden to its normal strength.

“Aaaargh! After it!”

“We can’t let Her Highness’s school friends fight alone! Have pride as a soldier!”

“Goooo!”

“Ugh, those idiots.”

If only Mercedes and the others could have continued their fight alone. Unfortunately, the surrounding soldiers recklessly began to rush the Frieden. Well, as soldiers tasked with protecting Orcus, they couldn’t just stand idly by with an enemy before them. But given the circumstances, their participation was only a nuisance.

They ran up to the downed Frieden and started beating it with their weapons, which accomplished absolutely nothing. In fact, the Frieden just shot back up, launching the soldiers into the air. Then, it performed a lariat on them as soon as they began to fall, turning them into stars in the night sky.

Well, they were vampires. They were probably still alive.

“I better put you to sleep again.” As soon as the Frieden took a step forward, Mercedes activated her gravity magic, opening a hole beneath its feet. But once its legs were trapped inside, it pitched forward and tumbled, dispersing and dodging the attack as if it had predicted Mercedes’s move.

On the other hand, multiple soldiers who didn’t predict the Frieden’s were reduced to pancakes.

“Hey! Retreat! You’ll get swept up in my magic!”

“Ignore us! Fire anyway!”

“I’d want nothing more if it means becoming a cornerstone to defend Orcus!”

“Gravity times ten!”

“Gwaaah!”

Mercedes cast gravity magic to buy time and slow the Frieden’s recovery. Some soldiers within range were crushed like frogs, but they themselves had told her to just go for it. It wasn’t her fault, right?

“Master, some soldiers have been caught up in the attack.”

“Don’t worry. They won’t die...probably.”

“Master...” While Benkei expressed concern for the smashed soldiers, Mercedes heartlessly resolved to ignore them. They had chosen to run in and risk getting caught in the cross fire. What was worrying about them going to accomplish, anyway? Plus, they were still trained soldiers. They’d probably be fine.

“There’s really someone out there who’d fire at their allies?!”

“You can shoot at us, but at least think about it first! At least pretend to feel bad!”

“See? They sound like they’re doing just fine.”

“Master...”

The soldiers who had gotten swept up in her gravity magic were complaining. If they had that energy, they were going to be fine.

However, she needed to focus on the Guardian, which wasn’t going to fall easily either. Despite the gravity magic acting against it, the Frieden slowly rose to its feet. Then, it once again opened its chest to reveal missiles.

Mercedes promptly hopped on Chirpy’s back and flew into the sky. Missiles chased after them, and even after Chirpy changed course, they continued to follow, leaving trails of smoke in their wake. Multiple missiles that missed their target exploded in the air.

They were seemingly surrounded, but Chirpy pushed through, snap rolling away. He flew so close to the ground his feathers practically grazed the dirt before suddenly changing directions, barely dodging a missile that slammed into the earth.

This may seem like an abrupt scene shift, but let us go to a pair of newlyweds’ brand-new love nest, which had just been constructed in the capital.

“Oh, darling. So this is our new home!”

“It is, honey. I had to take on some debt, but look! Our home is so lovely I don’t mind at all! Our new lives begin today!”

“Oh, I’m so thrilled, darling!”

“Me too, honey!”

The two young vampires leaned in close, ready to affirm their love. But just as their lips touched...explosive flames blew their new house to smithereens. Unable to comprehend what had happened, the two stood dumbfounded in the ruins. That was when Chirpy flew right between them.

“Damn, it’s really making a mess,” complained Mercedes as she gazed upon the town’s destruction, though she knew this would be the natural result of a Guardian fight outside a dungeon. The only difference was that the area of destruction was slightly larger than she had predicted.

Just as Mercedes was considering her next steps, Kuro ran across the ground like the wind, chased by a missile. Then, he dashed up a building wall and headed straight for the Frieden. He jumped on the Guardian, kicked off of it, and did a moonsault. Unable to keep up with Kuro’s movements, the missile slammed right into the Frieden, staggering it.

“Good job, Kuro! Follow, Chirpy!”

“Chirp!” Chirpy followed Mercedes’s instructions and rushed the Frieden while gradually rising up into the air. Once again, a missile slammed right into the Frieden, downing it. Its annoyingly tough shell remained perfectly unharmed, but its chest was left slightly open.

“Get away, Mercy! I’m about to fire!” Hannah completed her spell at the perfect time. Thunder clouds began to gather above the Frieden, and as soon as Mercedes caught sight of them, she jumped off of Chirpy, forced the Frieden’s chest open with her Blut Eisen, and ran.

“Fire!”

“This is the strongest I got! Go, Gott Klingen!” Hannah swung her arms downward, releasing ten bolts simultaneously—bigger than any before—which whammed into the Frieden. All were focused on the chest Mercedes had forced open, and all made it inside the Frieden’s body.

For a few seconds, all anyone could see was white. Then, the Frieden froze. Everyone waited with bated breaths, afraid the Frieden would stand once again. Then, slowly...it did.

“You’re kidding! That didn’t do a thing!”

“No.”

The Frieden stood. Annoyingly, those lightning bolts had barely damaged it, but that wasn’t the case for what lay inside. Despite returning to its feet, the Frieden shrunk. Then, it returned to the master key.

The Guardian may have been unharmed, but without a master to puppet it, it couldn’t stay outside of its dungeon. Hannah’s attack had caused the capsule to cease functioning, and having lost its master, the Frieden also lost its obligation to fight.

With the Guardian gone, the capsule containing Kristoff was all that remained.

“Hannah.”

“Right. Put him out of his misery.”

“Yeah.” Mercedes leaped into the air and lifted her Blut Eisen above her head. This capsule was broken, but there was no guarantee there weren’t others out there. If Basil had a spare, Kristoff would be used once again, reduced to nothing but a mechanical part that activated his dungeon’s Guardian. That would be true misery.

Kristoff had conquered a dungeon under his king’s orders, only to be assassinated and have his daughter kidnapped by the fickle idiot Niklas. Even in death, he had been robbed of his dignity. It was impossible not to have sympathy for the man; Mercedes thought setting him free was the least she could do.

“Goodbye, Kristoff Fecht. Sleep tight,” she whispered before swinging down her blade. The capsule broke into pieces, while Kristoff’s corpse flew into the air. Hannah caught him. Then, the two stood to face Basil and Max.

“The rights haven’t been transferred, huh?” Mercedes glanced at Hannah, then at her own hand. However, it didn’t seem like either of them had acquired the rights to Max’s dungeon. These rights only transferred under certain circumstances. First, when a conqueror died, the rights were transferred to his bloodline if he had one, making his heirs dungeon inheritors. If the conqueror had no one to inherit his rights, the dungeon was returned to a pre-conquered state and rereleased into the world.

Inheritors could choose to relinquish their dungeon rights to a conqueror, which required initiating a Transference Ceremony so that the conqueror could battle that dungeon’s Guardian. Should they emerge victorious, that conqueror would gain that dungeon for himself.

Finally, if someone in possession of a dungeon killed a fellow dungeon master, the rights would be transferred to that killer. Zwölf had informed Mercedes of all this, but in this scenario, killing Kristoff didn’t transfer the master key to Mercedes, but returned it to Max.

“Master, rights transference via murder only occurs between dungeon masters. However, it was not a dungeon master who finished off Kristoff,” said Zwölf.

“So since Hannah, who isn’t a dungeon master, killed Kristoff with her lightning magic, the rights were returned to Max?”

“Indeed.”

In this fight, it hadn’t been Mercedes who landed the finishing blow, but Hannah, which meant dungeon rights hadn’t been transferred. What a shame, she thought as she approached Basil and Max.

“I-Impossible... Our Guardian...lost? Aren’t they strong enough to rival nations?”

“They are, but only if you use them right. Anyway, have you made peace? Not that it matters much to me,” said Mercedes, glaring down coldly at Basil.

He let out a pitiful screech. Then, he turned to Max in visible panic. “I-In... I-In that case...summon the monsters on standby in the guest room, Lord Max!”

“Th-The guest room? Oh, that’s right. You said some very important guests were—”

“Exactly! Hurry!”

“G-Got it! I summon you, monsters of the guest room!”

Was he going to summon anything strong? Well, they couldn’t be tougher than a Guardian. Having reached that conclusion, Mercedes only slightly put up her guard.

However, contrary to her expectations, the monsters that appeared...were any old armored monsters. However, in their arms were girls and boys, who had blades held to their throats.

“Hey, those are...”

“You know of them, Hannah?”

“Yeah. A few kids went missing during yesterday’s attack, but...”

That was enough for Mercedes to figure out what game they were trying to play. Damn, was it simple. Basil and his men must have captured these kids during the attack a day prior as a contingency plan.

Max didn’t seem to completely follow. His eyes were wide open. Meanwhile, the soldiers standing around were beginning to shout.

Basil ignored these voices. He chuckled as he regained his usual composed smile. “Let’s strike a deal. I’d like you to let us go. If you do, I’ll return these kids. Oh, and there are more unfortunate children just like them still inside the dungeon, so I don’t recommend letting the blood get to your heads and attacking.”

“How terrible. But I don’t know these kids. What are you going to do if I just attack you anyway?” asked Mercedes. Both Basil and Hannah seemed a little upset. Mercedes’s aunt was a bit of a softy, so she likely didn’t appreciate her niece’s tactics. She’d attack if necessary, but she probably wanted to save the kids if possible.

Mercedes, on the other hand, thought that letting Basil and Max go free would only teach them that taking hostages was an effective tactic. Therefore, she wanted to attack anyway. If all went well, she could finish things before any hostages were harmed.

“In that case, I’d prove our point by killing a couple. As deeply as it would pain me, this is all for the glory of my king. Oh, but I don’t want to needlessly kill these children either. If you let us go, then I promise I’ll release them. Do you understand? I won’t be the one killing these children; you will. Their fate is entirely in your hands. It would be your fault,” said Basil, victoriously.

Mercedes looked between Basil and Max, the latter of whom seemed to have finally grasped the circumstances. Then, she leaned forward, ready to attack. Now that they had gracefully taken some hostages, she no longer needed to worry about sullying her reputation. Those around her would likely think her attack was necessary to protect these hostages, even if—for example—it ended up killing Max.

Basil was absolutely clueless. To escape his situation, he had grasped a spider’s thread, and naturally, there was a predator on the other end. All he had accomplished was unnecessarily pressing Mercedes’s attack button.

Mercedes jumped into action with zero concern for the hostages. She cut through the monsters as if everything Basil had said went in one ear and out the other, until eventually, she stood right before him. But despite swinging her halberd, Basil immediately summoned a wall of flames that halted her advance—her Blut Eisen had only grazed him. Still, the hot metal gashed his side, eliciting a scream. Mercedes decided to go around the flames. She was ready to end him.

“H-Hey! Did you not hear me?! These hostages will—”

“Oh, will they?”

Mercedes believed the one thing you should never do when negotiating with someone using hostages or physical might as a shield was to unilaterally give in to their demands. Deals came with pros and cons for every party, which meant they required compromise. But if one side benefited and the other gave in, then there was no deal. The more you relinquished, the more your opponent would demand; Basil would only learn that hostages were an effective bargaining chip, and she wanted to teach him the opposite.

Obviously, people took hostages because it was effective. If they weren’t useful, they’d just get in the way. Would someone be dumb enough to take a cub captive, bring a knife to its throat, and say “If you don’t let me free, I’ll kill him!” when fighting a hungry bear? Probably not, because it wouldn’t do anything. In fact, it would have the opposite effect and provoke the bear.

This was the same deal. First, Mercedes needed to prove that Basil’s captives meant nothing. To that end, she kept a perfect poker face as she swung her Blut Eisen, cutting off Basil’s pointer and middle fingers despite his attempts to dodge.

“Eeeeek! D-Damn it! We need to prove we mean business! Kill them!” screamed Basil desperately with tears in his eyes.

The monsters made an attempt on the hostages, but Mercedes was quicker. She began to cast magic, ready to vanquish the armored creatures.

“Stop it! We can’t do this!” However, it was Max’s command that stopped the monsters. He had likely ordered them in advance to obey Basil’s commands unless they were contradicted by his own. Thus, once Max instructed his monsters to stop, Basil couldn’t overturn that decision.

“Lord Max! What are you...?!”

“Don’t we fight for the people, Basil? How could you do this? Doesn’t this make us the villains?!” Despite his youth, Max was beginning to realize that something didn’t add up. At the same time, he couldn’t completely abandon his faith in Basil either.

Unable to read the room, Mercedes couldn’t help but think this was the perfect opportunity to take out the both of them. But Hannah grabbed her arm and held her back. She glanced at the hostages, tacitly implying that releasing them came first. With monsters around, there was no knowing how they’d behave if they lost their master. Would they return to their dungeon? Would they fall dormant without a leader? Would they go on a rampage?

Considering what had happened with the Guardian, them returning to the dungeon seemed like the most plausible scenario. But unlike the Guardian, which was a portion of the dungeon itself, monsters were simply produced by dungeons—they weren’t part of them. Some even left their dungeons to reproduce in faraway lands.

If the answer was rampage, then there’d be casualties. That was what Hannah must have been worried about. If Mercedes subsumed the monsters into her own dungeon, that could be avoided, but she didn’t want to do that in front of this ginormous crowd.

“B-But this is for the sake of our ambitions! Sacrifice is necessary to accomplish our grand purpose! For now, we need to get out of this, no matter what it takes!”

“We can’t! We can’t let a single person die for our goals! You’re wrong, Basil!”

Who would’ve imagined that the two would have a falling out right here and now... Well, their relationship had only ever been manipulator and manipulated. But this was convenient. Mercedes and Hannah slipped behind the monsters and quickly took them out.

“J-Just hurry up! They’re already releasing our hostages!”

“Basil... What happened to you? The man I know is more kind. He’s not the sort of person who would do something so—”

“Oh, shut up! C-Can’t you see how screwed we are?!”

“Calm yourself, Basil. You were the one who taught me that we mustn’t lose our cool no matter the circumstances.”

Basil gritted his teeth and inwardly screamed. Then, he turned his attention to Mercedes and Hannah. It seemed like he had given up on Max now that he was clueless and wasn’t following his orders. His voice became a falsetto as he howled the absurd. “D-Damn you, Max! You had me fooled! You were the one who ordered the attack on the capital! You were the one who demanded I take these hostages, and now you play the victim and make me the villain just to save yourself?!”

“Wh... What do you mean, Basil?”

Apparently, Basil had changed strategies. Now, he was attempting to dump all his crimes onto Max. Mercedes and Hannah weren’t dumb enough to be fooled by such shoddy acting, but ironically, Mercedes’s earlier efforts to direct the people’s hatred toward Max meant that a good majority of bystanders believed Basil’s version of events. Not to mention, Max assuming the title of “Orcus” had done significant damage to his reputation. This couldn’t be excused by the fact he was an ignorant child, and looks alone couldn’t be used to judge vampires anyway; it was perfectly plausible that Max was an adult pretending to be an innocent kid.

Well, he actually was a child, but anyway...

“L-Let’s strike a deal! I’ll hand over the traitor Max Fecht. He had me fooled! I was only following his orders! Please! Somehow, forgive me!”

When backed into a corner, people naturally lost composure. If you were drowning and on the verge of sinking, anyone would grasp at straws. It was unlikely that Basil would have attempted something so idiotic under normal circumstances, but it seemed he wasn’t accustomed to adversity. Now that he had lost his mastermind persona, he had immediately become a nobody, making it painfully obvious just how much more fearsome and stronger Beatrix was than him. And while we’re on the subject, even Frederick had been a mightier foe.

Mercedes placed her Blut Eisen on her shoulder and approached Basil. “I’m disappointed that you think I’m stupid enough to fall for your lies. Even if we assume you’re telling the truth, and you were fooled, and Max was the mastermind, then—”

“Y-You don’t have to assume! I-It’s true...”

“All right, then let’s assume this is all your fault and Max was just a child you used.” Who had been the manipulator and who had been manipulated was trivial; it didn’t change a single thing. All that mattered was that both of them were Mercedes’s enemies, which only allowed for a single answer. “It doesn’t matter. The both of you still need to die.”

Blut Eisen’s blade cut through the air, sending Basil’s arms flying. But before he had the chance to feel the excruciating pain, his legs were severed from his body. Then, Mercedes kicked his face into the ground and stood atop of him.

Max let out a small squeak as his butt fell to the ground. This must have been his first time witnessing such brutal violence.

Mercedes walked up to Max like she was taking a stroll through the park before lifting her halberd above her head. But she didn’t swing it down immediately. Instead, she glanced at her surroundings, as if waiting for something.

Finally, she slowly swung down her blade, only for it to be blocked by Sieglinde’s Royal Sword. “Stop right there, Mercedes. I will decide what to do with the boy. Cease this needless bloodshed.”

She’s finally here, thought Mercedes as she lowered her weapon. Then, she dropped to her knees to show respect as a vassal. “As you command, Your Highness.”

“Huh? O-Oh, right! You performed well. Leave the rest to me.” Mercedes’s change of attitude had caught Sieglinde off guard, but once she remembered they had an audience, she went into princess mode. As a result, the people were left with the impression that it was Sieglinde who had brought this battle to a conclusion.

By genuflecting to Sieglinde, Mercedes hinted at the princess’s influence, giving all credit for her accomplishments to the princess who had ordered her to act. Sieglinde herself had likely noticed this transfer of honor, but she kept quiet. Mercedes was pretty sure she’d complain to her privately later, though.

After this, Mercedes slipped into the crowd and watched as Sieglinde freed the hostages and tied up Max.

Chapter 88: Dead Men Tell No Tales

The insurrection led by Max Fecht had met a premature end. Now that all was said and done, it was clear that this uprising had been the result of a wannabe tactician manipulating an ignorant child, and it had been quelled before it even had really begun. But had Orcus made one wrong move, the country would have been torn apart.

Many wished for Max’s execution upon his capture, but Sieglinde was against sentencing the child to capital punishment. Instead, he was locked in the nation’s dungeons. As tragic and pitiful as it was, this world unfortunately wasn’t peaceful twenty-first-century Japan. Yes, whether it be a child or a mere tool—whether there be room for extenuating circumstances to be taken into account or whether the perpetrator wasn’t of sound mind—those who turned against the crown received death; that was just the way of this world.

Mercedes had been a Japanese woman reborn onto the Red Planet, but even she had long accepted the norms here. Thus, even had Max been executed, she wouldn’t have thought much of it. Yes, he deserved pity and sympathy, but that was it.

For a moment, Mercedes pondered a different scenario. What if it hadn’t been Max, but someone she knew? Her sister Margaret, for example. How would she have felt then? Would it have ended at “Oh, what a pity?” Lately, she’d been getting the feeling that she wasn’t gaining the humanity she’d lacked in her old life, but continuing to lose it.

The source of Max’s dungeon and the sins of a foolish prior king were revealed to all, as well as the fact that Felix Grunewald was a fellow inheritor. Talks proceeded smoothly, and before anyone knew it, Felix and Sieglinde had become betrothed.

Felix possessed a dungeon and was also a man; he possessed skill beyond complaints. The two’s marriage was only the obvious outcome, though it must have come as a great surprise to Felix himself. While they held positive opinions of each other, it hardly amounted to love. But at the same time, that was true for the majority of royal marriages. The family’s benefits were prioritized over personal affection. In that sense, the two had been lucky; at the very least, they were acquaintances, and they didn’t hate each other either. They simply needed to grow closer to one another and foster love.

While the nation’s people were teeming with excitement at the advent of a new (almost certain) king, Mercedes was headed to the castle’s basement after receiving special permission to enter. There, the merchants and nobles who had aided Basil were imprisoned ahead of their questioning.

While not particularly important, it should be noted that Trein was absent. He had removed himself from the True King Faction one step earlier than the others, and as he had handed his intel over to Mercedes, his crimes were forgiven. He truly was a man of worldly ways.

The missing quasi dungeon investigation team had been rescued as well, and they were currently reporting their intel. After handing over the master key to Felix, Hannah and Mercedes had investigated the inside of the dungeon. There, they discovered the imprisoned team. They really had been captured by Basil.

“Oh, Mercy! This way.” As Mercedes proceeded through the dungeon, Hannah appeared, pushing her way through a crowd of her subordinates. Due to her short stature, it seemed like a child had found their way inside a group of adults, but she was their boss.

Hannah led Mercedes to a room located deep inside the prison. It was a simple room with a table placed in the center. Atop it was Basil Salmon’s corpse.

“He’s dead?”

“Yup. He’s dead.”

It was incredibly clear that Basil was already on his way to hell. His face had become the color of dirt and was devoid of any vitality.

Mercedes placed a hand on her chin and thought back to the battle, tilting her head. “I think I avoided giving him any fatal injuries.”

“No, what you did to him was fatal.”

“I only cut off his limbs.”

“He died from shock.”

Killing Basil itself wasn’t necessarily a problem. She had fought with intent to kill, so this was the natural result. However, Mercedes had wanted to capture Basil alive and extract intel from him if possible, so she had intentionally avoided fatal injuries and severed all of his limbs instead. She hadn’t thought that this could kill a vampire, but she had apparently been wrong.

How strange, she thought. The very underlings Hannah had pushed aside had lost limbs in the previous battle or had someone else’s legs attached to their bodies or had even been cut in half or smooshed under the Frieden, yet they were still working here in perfectly good health today. Though apparently, the man who’d been cut in half had his lower half reattached backward, forcing him into a perpetual moonwalk.

Anyway, Mercedes found it strange that Basil was so fragile. “Did you figure out who he is?”

“More...that we figured out we have no idea,” answered Hannah, shaking her head. The biggest mystery was where Basil Salmon had come from and what his ambitions were. As Mercedes had killed him before he could speak, though, that mystery had been buried along with him. Still, she had been hoping that given Hannah’s information network, she could still figure out his identity even in death. But apparently, that hadn’t been so easy.

“Take a look,” said Hannah, lifting up Basil’s hair to reveal his ears.

Mercedes scowled. They were...pointy, a feature not present in vampires. “So he’s an elfe,” she remarked. Now things made sense. Basil wasn’t a vampire—that was why he was so fragile.

A non-vampire would obviously die if they had their limbs severed and weren’t treated immediately. But everyone had assumed he was a vampire and simply let him be. That had been their downfall.

Sure, he had his limbs cut off. But he was a vampire! Someone could just heal him later! Who cares?!

Oh, he was twitching around, but he was a vampire, and someone had probably taken a look at him already! Plus, the investigation team was going to heal him too! Who cares?!

He was still as a rock, but he was a vampire! And someone must have healed him anyway. Who cares?!

H-He’s...dead.

That was a general summary of the events that had led to Basil’s death. Mercedes couldn’t help but feel she bore some responsibility for her foolishness as well.

“Yup, but the elfen are the most dominant species of Falsch in this world, so there’s no knowing where he came from. We don’t even know if this was his own doing, or some greater elfen plot.”

“Sorry for killing him.”

“I had wanted to capture him alive and get some intel if possible, but who would’ve thought he was an elfe? Still, it’s better he’s dead than roaming free, and this is partially my fault too.”

Mercedes had assumed Basil was a vampire and thus dealt him injuries that would be fatal to all other Falsch. Worst-case scenario, she assumed Hannah would be able to recover some intel with her informational skills even if he did die. But the elfen were a whole other beast.

The dead tell no tales... Given their circumstances, the best course of action wasn’t killing Basil, but capturing him alive so they could extract information from him.

Still, there was no going back now. Just as Hannah had noted, accidentally letting Basil go free would have been even worse. This wasn’t the best-case scenario, but it was a better-case one. Now, all they could do was accept that.

“But why would an elfe want to interfere with Orcus? The elfen aren’t our adversaries, right?”

“The most believable explanation is that they’re preparing for an invasion. Conflicts don’t start with declarations of war. Those kinds of formalities tend to get ignored in the real world. Naturally, they first send in spies as a precautionary measure. Then, they order those spies to live normal lives until troops are mobilized. I’ve done it myself,” said Hannah, returning Basil’s head to the table before urging Mercedes to leave by pointing toward the door. Immediately, Hannah’s men who had been waiting on standby in the corner of the room swarmed Basil’s corpse, carrying all sorts of instruments.

As for what would happen to Basil’s body, well...that was probably better left unstated. The only thing that could be said for certain was that the corpses of those who had turned against the throne received no respect in Orcus.

“This is just a guess, but I think Basil’s goal was to weasel his way into the group that holds power in this country. As the trusted butler of a dungeon owner, he’d easily gain perceived import, and the position to give advice to others alongside it. And if Kristoff had become king, Basil would have naturally become his right-hand man. I think that’s why he started by approaching Kristoff, the man closest to conquering a dungeon.”

“But thanks to the foolish king who feared his title being jeopardized, he had Kristoff assassinated. Is that the deal?”

“Yeah, which is why it’s kind of ironic. You could say King August’s faults ultimately protected Orcus.” It was impossible to determine the right answer until everything was all said and done. The fact a man like August who was foolish through and through had saved his nation inspired some conflicting feelings in Mercedes. But that wasn’t the only possibility. “Or maybe Kristoff’s assassination was the elfen’s doing.”

“That makes more sense to me. The way they utilized the guardian seemed obviously predicated on Kristoff’s death.”

“Then all of this was an elfen plot?”

“No, they could have only known about that life-extension capsule after the dungeon was conquered. They must have changed their plans somewhere down the line.”

Mercedes and Hannah combined their minds. As they saw it, events had proceeded as follows: First, the elfen learned that Kristoff had captured a dungeon—or perhaps, realized there was a man one step away—and sent Basil to get close to him. But after the two made contact, Basil discovered an Overdeveloped Relic within Kristoff’s dungeon that was capable of reviving the dead whenever the user desired. After Basil reported this back to the elfen, they adjusted their strategy and decided to assassinate Kristoff. Why? Because he was a man of sound judgment, not someone they could easily manipulate.

Thus, Basil gained a young master who would do exactly as he commanded and a Guardian he could activate via Kristoff’s corpse. With that, Basil—as well as the elfen backing him—in effect acquired a dungeon for themselves. In other words, Niklas and his men weren’t the only ones who moved to assassinate Kristoff; both the vampires and elfen had sent hitmen to do the job. Naturally, even a dungeon master would be caught off guard.

“But if our theory’s right, then King August must have gone as far as to conspire with the elfen to protect his power.”

“He’s really awful, huh? The more we beat at the past, the more dirt we find. There’s no end to it,” said Mercedes, sighing while Hannah clutched her head in her hands.

That was right. Given the timing, King August would have been the one in power during the war with the chimäre. Mercedes began to wonder if this idiot king was responsible for that too.

Compared to the elfen, vogelen, and chimäre, vampires possessed the greatest physical strength. But maybe...they were the dumbest among the four Falsch species too.

“That reminds me. Do you know what happened to Max’s parents?”

“Oh, them? Well... It’s not a nice story. You still want to hear it?”

“Yeah.”

“Yup, typical Mercy. Well, anyway...they were inside the dungeon. Or rather, their corpses were. There was a man lying right next to Zabine. He was likely Max’s father.”

Max’s missing parents had been safely—well, not really “safely,” but anyway—discovered. Both Zabine and a man who was likely Max’s father had been stored inside the dungeon. Max himself seemed to have little knowledge of his parents, meaning they had likely died when he was still an infant.

“I suppose Basil killed them once Max was born?”

“Probably. I don’t know whether they were poisoned or just unable to defend themselves thanks to Basil’s trusty hostage tactics, but...it can’t have been anything very pleasant,” said Hannah, sighing as she took her anger out on a nearby wall. It left a dent, causing her to curse under her breath.

“It’s impressive how someone as insignificant as him was able to stir things up so much.”

“That’s how it tends to go. Even big wars usually start over something trivial. Most large-scale events boil down to a single idiot acting out of line, looking back.”

As they walked through the halls, Mercedes decided to ask about something else that had been on her mind. “What are you going to do with Max Fecht now?”

“Her Highness is wholeheartedly against giving him the death penalty, so he’ll probably just be left here in the castle dungeons. He could have his title revoked and be banished too, but letting a dungeon inheritor roam free isn’t the brightest idea. Even the royal family only allows a single inheritor to be born, and this kid’s a traitor to boot. I mean...it’s not going to be a nice life, but at best, he’ll be imprisoned for life.”

Max’s future was bleak. His two choices were death or living like a dead man. And this in spite of the fact that he himself wasn’t at fault. His grandfather had been assassinated and his parents murdered. Basil was all he had left, and clinging to him was his only choice. Had Max realized Basil’s intentions and buttered up the royal family, perhaps his fate would have been different. But it was unfair to expect that of a child who hadn’t been taught judgment or knowledge.

Max was just a kid. His warped education had instilled a haughtiness in his thoughts and words, but he sincerely worried for Orcus’s subjects in the only way he knew how. Had no one tampered with his destiny, he would have made a fine local lord and noble.

Oh, so that was why Sieglinde was so against his execution. Anyone who knew Max Fecht’s past realized he was one hundred percent a victim. But regardless, his blood, Basil’s crimes, and the will of the people wouldn’t allow him peace.

“The real issue is how long Her Highness can oppose his execution without losing the people’s trust.”

“Insisting on his imprisonment will probably look good for her, though.”

“Yeah.”

Before an audience, Sieglinde had protected Max from Mercedes, earning her the impression of a merciful princess. By insisting Max be punished with life imprisonment, she could bolster her good image, as the people would think, “Oh, how kind she is to save the life of a boy who turned against her.”

However, if Sieglinde pushed her luck too far and opposed imprisonment too, that could have the opposite effect. She wouldn’t be a merciful princess, but a naive one.

“So, I hate to ask you this, Mercy, but could you do something for me?”

Thus came Hannah’s unreasonable request.

Mercedes heaved a big sigh, turned to her aunt who was begging adorably, and whacked her on the head.

***

Max Fecht’s fate was decided unusually fast. First they held a show trial at which he was immediately deemed guilty, which was only natural given that all who had observed the battle stood as witnesses against him. His one saving grace was that his execution was delayed by seven days thanks to the princess’s clemency.

The lonely boy received no salvation. In seven days’ time, he was decapitated before the public, bringing this incident to a complete close. Eventually, memory of the pitiful boy would fade from the public consciousness.

At least, that was the public story.

In reality, the boy who was executed for all to see had been a body double. Of course, there were no fanatics willing to be killed in a traitor’s place, but that only meant they needed to make one. Luckily, the dungeons were capable of the impossible.

“I want you to punish Max severely enough to please the people while still satisfying Sieglinde.” That had been Hannah’s unreasonable request, and immediately, Mercedes came up with the idea of making a body double, just as she had done with Beatrix. This was a copy meant solely for execution, so it didn’t need the ability to think. Accordingly, Mercedes pushed Zwölf into creating a copy with a brain smaller than the original. She had feared this might be impossible, but apparently it merely required the copied parts to be manufactured with intention, allowing for some leeway.

According to Zwölf, “Very few have asked for this before,” which made sense.

But thanks to this, Mercedes learned it was possible to intentionally create new monster species by slightly inhibiting their functions and abilities, which would help her save dungeon points. Perhaps it was worth creating orcs that were missing their sexual appendages.

...Wait. Those already exist.

Thus, the soulless meat doll took Max’s place, allowing the boy to live.

Incidentally, Mercedes couldn’t reveal her dungeon’s inner workings to Sieglinde, so she had instead told the princess, “I found an identical bandit and used him instead.”

Max was placed inside Mercedes’s dungeon to be educated by Benkei and Shufu, who didn’t have much to do as of late. If they undid Basil’s brainwashing, perhaps Max would come to see the light of day once again.

“Anyway, you’ll be living here starting now.” Mercedes built a new home within Stark Dungeon to serve as Max and Julia’s new home. She also assigned a goblin to be their butler, so they would live lives free of want.

As to why Julia was here...that was because Hannah didn’t know what to do with her. She hadn’t committed crimes deserving of capital punishment, but letting her walk free would be dangerous. Plus, there was a chance she’d escape her chains, and considering her skill, there was no knowing what she might do should that come to pass. Thus, Hannah was stumped, and knowing that, Mercedes volunteered for the job. Julia couldn’t escape Mercedes’s dungeon without the master’s permission, making it the perfect isolation facility.

But of course, Mercedes didn’t take in Julia out of the goodness of her heart. While Julia’s mental faculties were a lost cause, her martial arts and magic skills could prove useful. Therefore, Mercedes decided to take her under her wing.

For now, she assigned Benkei as her teacher. Once that empty head of hers was filled a little, she could probably make herself useful.

Also, not that it particularly mattered, but Beatrix had built a mansion within her old dungeon—for simplicity’s sake, let’s call it the Empire Dungeon—and was holing herself up there.

“S-So you were a dungeon inheritor...” remarked Max, clearly shocked to discover Mercedes possessed a dungeon.

Still, Mercedes had no obligation to explain herself, so she simply ignored him. Teach him, not teach him, or whatever, their first order of business was instilling Max with some common sense.

“If you need anything, tell Benkei. He’ll tell me. I can’t promise I’ll get it for you, but I’ll indulge your requests to a degree,” said Mercedes. With that, she exited the dungeon. Saying anything more would likely make Max wary, and she assumed he needed some time to get settled.

Now that this episode was over, it was a bit of a letdown. Still, they had discovered the secrets of Felix’s birth, and he now had a dungeon. Mercedes decided to consider that a win.

***

During the following months, Orcus was at peace. There was no strife or disturbances, which allowed Mercedes to focus on her studies.

In retrospect, this nation had been full of powder kegs ready to ignite. Her journey had taken some detours and roundabouts, but now, Mercedes had finally obtained the environment she wished for. The academy’s factions also completely ignored her and instead fought among themselves, something Mercedes was quite thankful for.

She had heard from Hannah that Monika was building a Mercedes Faction, but she decided not to think about that.

But within these peaceful days came one that had Mercedes’s class on edge. A group of students talked ecstatically among themselves, looking rather restless. Mercedes wondered what had inspired this, and her questions were answered once Gustav entered the classroom.

“Before class begins, I have something to discuss with you all. As a few of you may already know, a new dungeon recently appeared near Orcus.”

Amazingly, the source of their fervor had been a new dungeon. As children of the rich and powerful, they had likely heard the news beforehand from their parents. While this was the first Mercedes was hearing of it, her father wasn’t the type to inform her of things she’d soon come to know anyway.

Hannah was sitting beside Mercedes, but she didn’t seem excited at all. She must have already been made aware.

“However, the dungeon is located near Lumière and not within either of our borders. Therefore, the dungeon is not under the control of either nation, making it open to all.”

Mercedes pulled the name “Lumière” out of the annals of her memory as she listened to Gustav’s explanation. If she was remembering correctly, it was the closest elfen nation. But despite that fact, it was still quite far away; it was simply the closest elfen country, and this new dungeon just happened to pop up between it and Orcus.

When a dungeon appeared within a country’s borders, such as Stark Dungeon had, it would be officially considered as belonging to that nation. But this time, no nation was in charge. Falsch of any nationality could enter, and anyone could conquer it. It was a race to the finish line.

“So a cross-national settlement was established nearby, and efforts to conquer it have already begun. The Seekers’ Guild plans to open a branch office there shortly.”

For a moment, Mercedes questioned whether it would truly be all right to establish a joint force between vampires and the elfen, but the two races weren’t actually on bad terms. Given the war between the two, many chimäre still considered vampires enemies, and rumor had it they were secretly preparing to reopen hostilities. However, there were no such rumors about the elfen. And while Basil had caused a commotion, there was still a chance he had been acting alone or with a small force, so that couldn’t be taken into consideration either. At the very least, the elfen had claimed they knew nothing of Basil Salmon.

“That brings me to the crux of this discussion. It’s been decided that a group of volunteers from the academy will join the expedition.”

Murmurs filled the classroom, which was only natural. Even the nobles of this land dreamed of the riches one could obtain within the dungeons, just like anyone. Additionally, a portion of Mercedes’s classmates had likely heard the truth from their parents—what truly came with conquering a dungeon. Those who obtained a dungeon obtained a nation, a blessing that anyone would welcome.

Of course, while Princess Sieglinde couldn’t ascend the throne herself, she was already betrothed to Felix. Still, a dungeon conqueror would likely be prioritized over an inheritor, meaning anyone who managed to become a conqueror could kick Felix to the curb and take the princess for themself. This inspired the boys. Would any man out there not wish for both dungeons and melons? Likely not.

“Naturally, those who can’t speak elfen are disqualified. If you can’t communicate with them, you’re useless.”

Given the looks on half the boys’ faces, you’d think they were watching the world end. Apparently, they didn’t know elfen, which was not surprising considering the class wasn’t compulsory.

“I’ll hand you all application forms. Those who wish to participate should fill it out and hand it to me after class. With that, we’ll now be starting our lessons for today.” After this, the application forms were passed around the classroom.

So, what to do? Mercedes twirled her pen in her fingers, but her thoughts had already turned to this new, far-off dungeon.

Princess Anna and the Monochrome Knights

Little in the way of entertainment could be found in the vampiric Kingdom of Orcus. The prime example was dancing—with enough skill, you could draw attention, fulfilling your need for approval. No matter the time or place, the need to stick out from the crowd remained a strong motivating force.

There was also hunting. By targeting wild beasts and monsters—sometimes capturing them and sometimes killing them—you could boast to kindred spirits. The job of Seeker was that of a monster hunter, but there were many nobles in Orcus who enjoyed the sport regardless. Occasionally, they’d underestimate their foes, returning with grave wounds or sometimes not at all. There was an endless supply of such fools.

As for entertainment that could be enjoyed by the general public, you couldn’t forget the theater. The actors created captivating fictional worlds which allowed their audience to momentarily forget the struggles of daily life. These actors would gain fame, which sometimes even outshined that of nobles.

Traversing the area outside the theater was a being covered from head to toe in armor, over three meters tall, with six arms. It was a strange combination, almost as if he were announcing his monsterhood to the world. Of course, this was the asura ogre Benkei.

Dangling from his throat like a necklace was a collar, which marked him as a monster with an owner. Due to his armor, he couldn’t keep it around his neck.

Asura ogres had six arms, which, using simple math, meant they could do three times the labor of a vampire. He worked to defeat his enemies and defend his master. Those six burly arms of his carved a path forward for Mercedes, and right now...they carried shopping bags.

“I believe that is everything Shufu has requested. What wasteful spending that villain has asked of me.” Benkei was currently running an errand for Shufu. Both were monsters serving Mercedes, making them equals. Their rank as monsters was also perfectly comparable, as both were top-tier foes that guarded the doors in their respective dungeon’s deepest floor.

Lying within those parts of the dungeons were Guardians, and lying before them was a door, one of which used to be guarded by Benkei, as was his original job. If Guardians were the dungeons’ bosses, then Benkei was the opening act—a miniboss, if you will. Both Benkei and Shufu had once been such gatekeepers.

However, in terms of seniority serving Mercedes, Benkei was first, which made him feel slightly superior. He had no need to obey Shufu’s orders, but...

“I’d like to do some shopping, master. But unfortunately, I don’t have the arms to carry it out. Could I borrow a humanoid monster to perform the task instead?”

“Just ask Benkei. As you can see, he’s got enough arms for the job.”

...per that conversation, Benkei had been lent out for menial jobs under Mercedes’s official orders. If that was her command, he had no choice but to follow. Thus, Benkei had reluctantly headed into town to shop.

The sight of an over three-meter-tall monster walking through the streets with bags full of fruits and vegetables on his arms was awfully surreal.

“That dastardly Shufu... He has let his cooking skills get to his head, not to mention his speaking formalities perfectly align with mine! Should he not cede this speaking style to his senior and instead change his words?!” Given how tall Benkei was, his temper was surprisingly short. He grumbled the whole way home.

As he speedwalked down the streets, wanting to return as quickly as possible, he suddenly found a man groaning outside the theater. What has gotten into him? wondered Benkei, though he didn’t really care to know. He tried to walk right by, but for some reason, the man blocked his path.

What does he want? he wondered, deciding to wait and see where this interaction would take them. Had he still been living in Stark Dungeon, he would have already determined this man to be a foe and cut him down. But doing that now would get his master in trouble.

“Mm-hmm... Perfect! You’re perfect! Your size, your armor... You’re the Black Knight of my dreams!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, my dearest apologies! I’m Poch Hoch, the head of this theater’s troupe! And I’d been having a rough time. I just couldn’t find an actor who matched my play’s vision!”

“I see.”

“But as soon as I saw you, a shiver ran down my spine! Indeed, you’re the very actor I’ve been looking for! So, what do you say? Will you give it a try? Of course, I’ll give you a token of my appreciation, and you could even make it big overnight!”

“I have no interest. Try your hand elsewhere,” said Benkei, giving the ebullient self-proclaimed theater troupe leader the same cold shoulder he had inherited from Mercedes before walking away.

Poch looked quite shocked, but he immediately regathered himself and latched onto one of Benkei’s legs. “W-W-Wait! Please, just hear me out!”

“I am a monster. I cannot do anything without my master’s permission.”

“You’re a what?” Poch let go of Benkei’s leg and jumped to his feet. Then, he looked up at Benkei. Once he noticed the six arms, it all seemed to come together. “Oh, I see! You’re a monster! If I can’t find my perfect Black Knight among vampires, I only need to dress a monster in armor! I had completely overlooked this fact!”

“I am glad you have found a solution. Farewell, then.”

“W-Wait a second! I’ll find a monster similar to you by our next performance, but I just don’t have the time to scout out or train a monster now! Could you do it this once? Just for our opening show three days from now!”

“I do not really think I can... As I have said, I cannot make decisions without my master. For one—”

“Then take me to your master immediately! Please! I beg of you!”

“I suppose I can do that much.” Benkei was quite certain his master would refuse this request. Since he was her number one vassal, there was no way she’d allow him to leave for three days. Yes, that was right! His master would never permit an absence that long!

We now find ourselves in Edelrot Academy. Poch quickly asked Mercedes to lend Benkei to him for the sake of his play. Still, Benkei was absolutely certain she’d refuse with a cold attitude, just as she always did.

“Sure. But I’ll need payment.”

“Yes, of course!”

Master?!

Her answer was unfathomably yes—she agreed to loan him away!

Benkei approached his master in a panic. “A-Are you certain, master?! Who will protect you in my absence?”

“You’re being dramatic. It’s just three days. Unless I’m fighting a Guardian or something just as tough, you’re not much help anyway.”

Benkei was at a loss for words. Yes, he had been his master’s first companion, but now that she possessed a dungeon, he had very few opportunities to prove his worth, as the other dungeon monsters could solve almost every predicament. Benkei was typically only called upon during truly epic fights, like when battling a Guardian. But other than that, Mercedes had little use for him. Kuro could much more easily walk around with her like a pet than Benkei, but more than anything, Mercedes was stronger than him and perfectly capable of getting through most fights solo.

“My mother likes the theater, so I’m sure she’ll be happy that someone from our family is acting in one. Give it a try.”

“Y-Yes... I shall...”

“I’ll come see the performance. My ticket will be comped, I assume?”

“Of course! I’ll save you a front row seat!”

Contrary to expectation, Mercedes was completely on board, and discussions quickly proceeded between her and Poch. She asked for multiple seats to be saved so she could bring her family and discussed payment. Benkei’s performance had already been decided.

How did it come to this...? wondered Benkei. He was at a complete loss.

***

“Wow, he’s huge!” The other actors came to greet Benkei as soon as he stepped inside the theater, but the most dramatic reaction came from a graceful girl with wavy, golden hair. Her skin glowed, and given how well-kept she was, Benkei assumed she had to be a noble. “I’m so jealous! So, so jealous! I want a monster just like him too!”

Displeased with the hands rubbing along his armor, Benkei glanced at Poch. “Who is this woman?”

“Our lead actress, Lady Theresa. She’ll be playing the part of Princess Anna in our play ‘Princess Anna and the Monochrome Knights.’ She’s a monster maniac—ahem, fan, really. I’m certain she won’t discriminate against you.”

Having heard Poch introduce her, Theresa brought her hands to her hips and flashed a triumphant smile.

Benkei next exchanged greetings with the other actors, but there was one who seemed especially displeased. He had blond—or really, ocher-colored—hair on his head and a scowl on his face. He clearly looked down on Benkei. “Hmph! A monster, huh? What a perfect villain to accentuate my majesticism!”

“And who is he?” asked Benkei, pointing at the haughty man.

“He’s Olaf, the male lead who plays the White Knight. As the Black Knight, you’ll fight with him to the death over who gets to claim Princess Anna as their own.”

“And in the end, you will fall at my brilliant hand! You’re here to spotlight my splendor!” boasted Olaf. Considering nobody corrected him, that had to be the general plot. It was all an act, but Benkei would still have to lose to this man. His motivation plummeted.

“Oh, it’s fine! You’ll look plenty cool! The Black Knight is the only one who can fight the White Knight on equal footing, and you’re the perfect actor to give that credence!” explained Poch frantically, having likely noticed Benkei’s drop in enthusiasm. But no matter how anyone spun it, Benkei losing to this man was an unchangeable plot point.

Next, Benkei was asked to change into black armor for the role. According to the setting, the black knight was a vampire, and thus the chest plate only had two armholes. He was forced to fold in his other four arms and keep them inside the armor, which was terribly uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, the problems continued. Olaf seemed to have a thing for Theresa, but she completely ignored him. Instead, her eyes were focused solely on Benkei. Asura ogres were mighty monsters who typically lived deep inside the dungeons, making them a rare sight. And if a vampire did happen to see one, it would be deep within the dungeons—in other words, encountering one meant near certain death. For a monster enthusiast, being able to witness and touch one in person was pure bliss.

However, Olaf didn’t care much for this and only treated Benkei harsher for it, which was reflected in his performance.

“Take this, Black Knight! My sword shall bring your death!” During their rehearsal, Olaf rammed his sword—naturally, the blade was dulled—right into Benkei’s armor. Despite the protective barrier, the shock of having a clump of metal slammed into him spread inside the armor. This swing was supposed to be theatrical and not actually collide with Benkei, but Olaf ignored this and instead hit him purposefully.

“Stop! Don’t do this to me, Olaf! You can’t actually hit him!” cried Poch.

“Oh, my apologies. My hand slipped.”

“This isn’t the first time you’ve hurt one of our actors!”

“Which is why I apologized. Plus, Benkei’s a monster. It shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Poch glared at Olaf, who clearly didn’t feel any genuine remorse. But Benkei himself didn’t seem to particularly mind the slip and mediated their argument with his usual cool tone. “It is no problem, just as he has stated.”

“B-But Benkei...”

“Such a weak strike could hardly be considered an attack. Additionally, Olaf seems to be a poor actor. Allowing him to genuinely attack me would better communicate the impact to our audience.”

Olaf’s face turned crimson. Giggles slipped from the other actors’ lips.

Benkei hadn’t intended to provoke Olaf; his attacks were genuinely too weak to do any damage. After all, Benkei’s master was Mercedes, whose looks completely belied her strength. She appeared to be a young girl, but she could easily snap a large tree with a single kick. Benkei had sparred with her countless times, which meant no matter how ferocious Olaf fought, it would hardly pose a threat to him.

Still, Benkei’s dismissive attitude only fueled Olaf’s anger and anxieties.

***

Benkei was no actor, and luckily, his role required little acting. Poch must have taken this into account. Benkei was both a novice and a monster, and it seemed like Poch never expected him to perfect his performance in just a few days. The Black Knight Benkei played was a reticent soldier who only spoke a single line. Besides that, he simply needed to pretend to fight, which luckily was more of a dance—one of Benkei’s specialties. Playing out a convincing fight while not injuring his opponent and embodying a trained warrior was a piece of cake.

If there was just one problem, it was that Olaf constantly went off script in order to stand out, which only had the effect of making him look like a lousy beginner. From Benkei’s perspective, all actors were novice warriors, but he was still capable of making them appear better trained than they were. By matching his opponent’s movements, Benkei could give his foe the image of a fighting genius capable of letting out a flurry of attacks with no wasted movements.

However, Olaf kept ad-libbing in unnecessary swings and strikes, which made him alone look like an armed fool. Additionally, he kept hitting on Theresa. He clearly seemed to look down on the other actors, which ruined the mood.

Benkei just couldn’t understand why Olaf was chosen as the lead, but he supposed it had to do with his family name and popularity.

After navigating these issues, the play’s opening day was finally upon them. Mercedes, Lydia, and even Monika and Margaret sat in the audience chamber, eagerly awaiting Benkei’s debut.

I cannot make a fool of myself before my master! I shall put on the perfect performance! Benkei was fired up! But unfortunately, his role was that of the Black Knight, who suffered a pitiful defeat. Once he remembered that, he was a bit disappointed.

The play began, and eventually, it was time for Benkei to take the stage.

“This way, princess! They won’t be able to reach us here!”

Theresa, playing Princess Anna, crossed a bridge with multiple soldiers by her side. “Princess Anna and the Monochrome Knights” was a simple story about a hero and his friends saving the titular Princess Anna after she was captured by a hostile nation. The final obstacle they would face was the Black Knight, played by Benkei. After the White Knight’s comrades had fallen, he would descend upon the Black Knight, defeat him, and take the princess’s hand in marriage.

Basically, the Black Knight’s role was to prove his strength by defeating the hero’s team, which would then highlight the White Knight’s strength when he defeated this powerful foe. Benkei was reluctant to fall in a fake battle before Mercedes, but if that was his duty, he’d carry it out flawlessly. With that motivating drive, Benkei leaped up and graciously landed before the princess and her guards.

“Wh-Who’s this?!”

“That gigantic frame! He must be the Schwarz Kingdom’s famed Black Knight, the very man who has never lost in any of his thousand battles!”

“With a single punch, he shatters rocks! His sword is faster than the wind! Can we really defeat such a mighty opponent?!”

The soldiers’ lines were awfully detailed, but since there was no other opportunity to explain the Black Knight to the audience, nothing could be done about that. If the Black Knight jumped in and mowed down the soldiers without any exposition, they’d just be pitiful comrades who were murdered by their pursuers, and the audience wouldn’t understand the Black Knight’s true strength.

“Leave the princess.” Benkei’s single line was a meaningful one. As a novice, his only other lines were shouts and grunts during the battle. Perhaps this made him seem a bit too reticent, but Benkei’s delivery was poor, and it would draw attention if he spoke too much.

In any case, his specialty was battle scenes. He lifted a double-sided halberd over his head—the force alone earned awe from the crowd.

Halberds were Mercedes’s weapon of choice, and Benkei had never expected a day would come when he used one like this. But seeing this double-edged blade from the audience, Mercedes couldn’t help but think holding the weapon in the middle nullified its range advantage, and that it looked awfully hard to wield considering how close the blade was to his face.

It was a fictional weapon that prioritized appearance through and through, but it still looked quite mighty when wielded by a giant like Benkei. He let out a flurry of lightning fast attacks, battling the soldiers while destroying the set that had been built just for today.

The soldiers were elites who had overcome countless obstacles to rescue the princess...at least according to the story. The Black Knight’s fierce attacks were perfectly efficient and deadly...or so it seemed.

Sparks flew as metal hit metal. The apparent force rivaled that of a real battle, and it completely mesmerized the audience. Even Monika seemed to be thinking, “My, these actors don’t seem like performers, but first-rate, elite warriors!”

Yet these mighty soldiers fell one after another at the Black Knight’s ferocious hand. Soon, there was no one left to protect the princess. With each step the victorious Black Knight took forward, the frightened princess retreated a step, and... Benkei stopped. Huh? Princess? This is when you flee in terror!

According to the script, it was time for Princess Anna to take frightful steps backward, but for some reason, she was simply looking up at the Black Knight in awe. Apparently, seeing Benkei’s sword dance up close had left her spellbound. Vampiric instincts demanded respect for the strong, after all.

Benkei, on the other hand, panicked. Princess! Hey, princess! Step back! Follow the script!

“Wait there, Black Knight! Get away from the princess!” That was when Olaf, playing the White Knight, stepped onto stage earlier than expected but at just the right time.

Good thinking, thought Benkei as he praised Olaf for the first time.

“Your opponent is me, Black Knight!”

Thus, the battle between Benkei and Olaf began. While Olaf ad-libbed even more than he had during rehearsal—which caused much trouble for Benkei—they still managed to entertain the crowd. Olaf’s thrust was trivial, but Benkei took a theatrical step backward regardless. After putting up a fine performance that made it seem like he and Olaf were fighting on equal footing, he bore the brunt of an overly dramatic strike from Olaf and collapsed. It was quite frustrating having to act so pathetic in front of Mercedes, but he had served his role perfectly.

The only thing left was for the White Knight to take the princess home, thus concluding the play. But that was when something off script happened. Suddenly, a crowd of men fell like an avalanche onto the stage, surrounding the princess and the White Knight.

“Bwah hah hah! You better go through us first, White Knight!”

“You’re coming with us, princess!”

Just who were these redundant small fry? Were they really supposed to be here?

Still on the floor, Benkei turned his head to look at the side stage, where Poch and the other actors were. They seemed equally dumbfounded, as if they didn’t understand what was happening either. Benkei locked eyes with Poch, who immediately shook his head to communicate that he too had no idea what this was about.

“What’s up, Poch?! If you’ve added a scene, you need to tell us!”

“And who are those people? I don’t recognize them!”

“I don’t know! I have no clue either! Who are those guys?!” Poch and the other actors argued in whispers, while Princess Anna—or really, Theresa—seemed visibly nervous about this turn of events.

Were they intruders, or was this just part of the play and a result of poor communication? Benkei couldn’t tell, but he couldn’t exactly stand up either.

Why the confusion? Because Olaf, the man playing the White Knight, seemed perfectly calm, as if he had known this would happen from the start. He even took Theresa’s trembling hand and flashed her a smile. “Don’t fret, Your Highness. No matter what troubles await us, I shall protect you.” He ruffled his hair and confronted the intruders. “I don’t know who or what you are, but you trash have no right to stand on this stage! Be gone!”

Immediately, one of the intruders threw a punch at him. It smashed in Olaf’s teeth, causing him to collapse on the floor as blood spurted from his nose.

“...Huh?”

“Trash, you said? Sorry, but you’re the one who put us onstage, damn it!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You don’t know who or what we are? Screw that! You hired us!”

“W-Wait a second! Y-You’ve got the wrong—”

“I changed my mind! I put up with you ’cause you paid us, but you’ve let it get to your damn head!” The intruder began to kick Olaf. Others joined.

This sure was a weird turn of events. It definitely wasn’t part of the play.

Or was it? To be honest, the kicks didn’t seem too hard from Benkei’s perspective. Maybe it was all an act?

Benkei didn’t want his sternness to break the immersion or bring shame to Mercedes, who had approved his participation. Thus, he remained still.

Murmurs began to spread through the audience. If this continued, the play would become a huge flop.

After brutalizing Olaf to the point of losing consciousness, the intruders turned to Theresa. “Hey, guys. Let’s take the princess while we’re at it.”

“You’re such a lecher, boss.”

“Quiet! The stupid audience is starting to realize something’s off. We better scram!”

However, just as the intruders reached toward Theresa, Benkei became lighter. There was only one person capable of this invisible gravity magic.

Benkei turned his face toward Mercedes, who was sitting in the front row glaring at him with crossed arms. Then, her mouth moved to give Benkei a tacit but clear order. Stop messing around and stand up already.

Benkei immediately threw away all doubts and rose to his feet. He no longer cared whether this was part of the performance or not. He was told to stand, and so he did.

“Eek!”

“No way! This guy’s still standing!”

“Wasn’t it a real sword that cut him down?!”

The intruders panicked. Apparently, they thought Benkei was really dead—not just pretending. That was because a scrutinizing look at Olaf’s blade revealed it wasn’t a fake sword, but a real one. Olaf was so triflingly weak, Benkei had failed to notice! What negligence!

“Calm down. The only weapon he’s got is a prop. There’s no—” One of the intruders was trying to say something, but that was when this “prop” whammed into his face. The blades were dull, and it wasn’t as heavy as a real halberd. But with Benkei’s strength, even a stick could be a deadly weapon. The poor soldier flew across the audience, slammed into the wall, and fell to the floor. He was as still as a stone.

“Stop screwing around!”

“What the hell are you doing?! Cast some magic! Now!” Flames erupted from one of the intruder’s palms, but Benkei extinguished the fire by simply spinning his blade. The stage glowed orange as the crowd erupted into cheers.

“No way! It really looked like that halberd put out the flames!”

Yes, that was because it did.

The blaze took hold of the twin blades, turning the halberd into a flaming weapon that Benkei thrust toward the intruder who had cast the spell. The man was engulfed in fire as he went flying out of the theater window. Benkei immediately impaled another intruder to the ceiling.

“No one told us about this monster!” shouted the one who seemed to be the leader as he jumped off the stage and ran through the audience. Not about to let him escape, Benkei swung his halberd and flung it forward. It zoomed over the man’s head before arching back like a boomerang. Then, the blade caught the fleeing man’s clothes and brought him right back to Benkei.

The stunt earned a standing ovation from the crowd. Applause filled the hall. Mercedes alone remained seated, muttering, “He might be even better with a halberd than I am...”

Benkei’s prisoner began to tremble. Then, he dropped to his knees and begged. “I-I apologize! H-He’s the one who hired us! He told us to capture the girl and pretend like he defeated us! B-But I didn’t want to listen to a guy like that! S-So that’s why we... P-Please spare me!”

The man blabbered a confession, but this was bad. The audience still only barely believed this was all part of the act, but after that proclamation, the reputation of the White Knight—the supposed hero of this story—had plummeted. Some were even shouting, “Man, this White Knight guy sucks!”

Unfortunately, Benkei lacked both the acting and improv skills to get the story back on track. He therefore decided to leave things to the pros and turned around, ready to head backstage.

That was when Theresa said something unbelievable. “Wait, Black Knight! You’re here under orders from the King of Schwarz to capture me. Why save me instead?”

Benkei froze. He didn’t speak, as he had no clue how to answer. Huh? How would I know? I simply stood because that was my master’s demand!

“Looking back on it, you were always so kind. While I lived as a prisoner of a rival kingdom, you were my one saving grace.”

Huh? Was I? Was that how the Black Knight was written? Benkei didn’t know his character well enough to have a response.

“Sir Black Knight, I wish to live by your side! Please accompany me back home...to serve as my knight!”

All was silent. The audience looked at Benkei, eagerly expecting the Black Knight’s answer. Beneath his armor, Benkei was sweating.

No, your expectations matter not. My sole line was “Leave the princess.”

However, he couldn’t repeat that line now. Having no other choice, Benkei decided to drop his act as the Black Knight. “I have but one master... Farewell.”

The “farewell” at the end was to ensure this conversation was over. This time, he successfully retreated backstage as Theresa lamented, “Oh dear Black Knight! In that case...”

Pros were really something.

Thus, the curtain closed on the forlorn princess, concluding the play.

Was this truly all right? The intended hero, the White Knight, was still collapsed on the ground, looking like a fool.

However, despite Benkei’s reservations, it was time for the curtain call. The audience cheered and cheered. Apparently, it had been a fine ending.

“That was wonderful, Benkei! A huge success!” said Poch, pulling Benkei into a jovial hug. The other actors greeted Benkei with smiles as well. They were seemingly pleased too.

Theresa was the last to return backstage. “Thank you, Benkei! You saved me for real! I’m so glad you were here!”

“Then that truly was not part of the performance?”

“Of course not! They were just some no-name hooligans!”

Benkei was relieved. If they had been actors, he would have needed to apologize.

Theresa gave him a coquettish look. “Y’know, Benkei, I was being serious back there. Would you like to be my assistant and monster companion? I come from a rich family, so I can definitely give you a good life.”

“Hmm... I thank you for the offer, but unfortunately, I meant the words I spoke onstage as well.”

“I have but one master.”

Theresa looked slightly disappointed, but she wore a smile as she whispered, “I get it.”

***

Afterward, an investigation was conducted, and the intruders’ identities were revealed. As expected, they were just random hoodlums Olaf had hired. Apparently, he was hoping to present himself as a truly strong man capable of protecting Theresa from real trouble by gallantly defeating them onstage.

However, the hooligans weren’t a fan of Olaf’s attitude, leading them to betray him onstage and attempt to kidnap Theresa.

“Why did the Black Knight who only serves one master ignore that master’s orders and let the princess go?”

“Oh, how innocent you are! The Black Knight’s true feelings were what this play was actually about! His heart wavers between love and loyalty!”

Despite the disturbance, “Princess Anna and the Monochrome Knights” was a roaring success. The ladies in town still passionately argued about their impressions and interpretations of the story. Right when the seeming hero mowed down the Black Knight, the story flip-flopped. With his heart torn between his love for the princess and his loyalty toward his master, the Black Knight could only remain silent, choosing to prove his way of life through not words, but actions.

That wasn’t true, but what remained on the audience’s minds were the Black Knight’s genuine feelings and truth hidden behind the story, though neither were really there in the first place.

“Princess Anna and the Monochrome Knights” never hit the stage again, earning it a phantom status. Benkei had only agreed to perform once, and even if Poch found a replacement and put the story back onstage, no one could ever hold a candle to Benkei’s performance.

“A phantom success, huh? You seem awfully popular, Black Knight. Are you sure you don’t want to perform again?” half joked Mercedes as she sat on the couch in her manor.

“Enough with the jokes, master. I now know I am simply not cut out for the stage,” responded Benkei with a grimace. Now that he had tried his hand at acting, he’d learned perfectly well he just didn’t have the chops. He wasn’t good for anything but pummeling enemies. “Plus, I already serve as your knight, master.”

“I see. I suppose you can’t, then.”

Benkei knelt before his master, earning him a satisfied smile.

Afterword

Hello, everyone. It’s been quite a while since we’ve last met in the novels. This is the author, Fire head. Thank you so much for purchasing the fourth volume of Mercedes and the Waning Moon.

To be honest, I never thought I’d be writing a novel afterword again. While this book is a digital-only release, I’m so glad this story got to see the light of day once again. Anyway, I added a lot to this arc compared to the web novel version, including a boss, so I hope even those of you already familiar with the plot were still able to enjoy it.

Released alongside volume four of the novel was volume five of the manga, so please check that out as well! I mention this in the manga afterword too, but somehow, an anime adaptation is now in the works! I just can’t believe it. They say the world works in mysterious ways, and that can’t be more true. It still has yet to begin production at the time of me writing this, so I have no idea how it will turn out. Still, I really hope it’s something that all of you who have stuck with the series this far can enjoy.

An anime, huh? It just doesn’t feel real...

Anyway, I’d like to use this space to once again thank KeG for their wonderful illustrations, as well as extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who made the release of a fourth volume possible.

Thank you all for reading this far, and I hope we can meet again elsewhere.

Fire head