—
“Alright, alright. Ahem. Forget what just happened,” Lucifa said, clearing her throat. “It seems you two aren’t just random adventurers who stumbled in here. So, why have you co looking for the Empress of Tenth Demon Castle—?”
The commotion at the dungeon entrance finally settled, giving Will a mont to take a closer look at Lucifa.
She appeared to be a humanoid demon boss—adorable, kind, and even a little clumsy. Her youthful appearance didn’t even qualify her as a “young girl” by human standards.
As she claid, she was indeed the Empress of Tenth Demon Castle, the “boss” referred to by the various “low-level” demons who had served them earlier.
So…
The seemingly absurd revelation she had made earlier about the dungeon’s operations was likely true—
“Because we need to harvest energy from adventurers’ battles to expand the dungeon downward.”
It sounded strange, but…
For Will, who had read the original story, this seed like one of those unspoken chanics that had never been fully revealed.
After all, when he entered this world, the original story had only just reached the point where three defeated rivals were brutally cast aside, each walking their separate paths away from Shuu. anwhile, Shuu and the Empress of the “Galactic Apex” dungeon were delving into the deeper workings of the dungeon system.
If dungeon expansion truly relied on energy from adventurers’ battles…
It explained so of the odd behaviors of the empresses in the original story.
For instance, they wouldn’t relentlessly hunt down adventurers who clearly intended to retreat. They arranged dungeon floors in progressively challenging orders, despite having the freedom to do otherwise. They even intentionally left “flaws” on certain floors to give adventurers a sense of accomplishnt and encourage them to return for another challenge—like sothing a ga designer would do.
Lucifa seed different from other dungeon rulers—not only did she know this secret, but she openly shared it without hesitation.
Will glanced at Shuna.
Her hand was casually resting near the thigh holster where she kept her dagger. Though her expression was relaxed, she was clearly ready to fight at a mont’s notice.
Still…
Sothing felt off to Will.
His primary goal at Tenth Demon Castle was to find materials to forge a sword for the yandere princess.
But…
The reason he and Shuna had co here in the first place was to uncover the origins of a certain item—
The “Green Wraith Stone,” a mysterious object from the original ga. Where had it co from? Who had brought it into this world?
Why did it feel like Lucifa’s answers were completely unrelated to their question?
It was like asking “What’s 1 1?” and being told “an obtuse angle.”
The secret they truly sought wasn’t about “how dungeons operate,” but rather…
Shuna turned to Will, catching his gaze. She mouthed, “Are you staring at again?” with a knowing smirk, then nodded as if they shared an unspoken understanding. She stepped forward.
“There’s definitely a critical question here,” Shuna began. “Soone recomnded we co find you. They said we’d get the answers we’re looking for here.”
“Soone… recomnded you?” Lucifa’s surprise was palpable. “But it’s been almost three months since any adventurers last ca to challenge this dungeon. How could…?”
“We’ve been tracking the origin of a certain item. Its source seems to be tied to internal conflicts within the dungeon system…”
Shuna reached into her pocket and pulled out a fragnt of the “Green Wraith Stone,” a piece she had shown countless tis before.
Though it was shattered into tiny shards, anyone who had made or used it would imdiately recognize its strange nature.
After all…
The design, haphazardly created by a ga artist, was far too distinctive!
She opened her hand and held the shard out to Lucifa.
“This. Do you recognize it? Are you the one who made it? Or do you know who did?”
“Hmm…”
Lucifa carefully pinched the tiny shard between her fingers, holding it up to the light for a closer look.
Her expression grew serious.
It seed like she was about to say, “I know this.”
There was hope!
—Or so Will and Shuna thought.
“This looks like so leftover scrap from a third-rate mining operation. What is it?”
“…”
What?!
A stunned silence fell over the group as Shuna and Will exchanged confused glances.
Lucifa, who clearly lacked worldly experience, began to panic.
“W-What? Did I say sothing wrong? Why are you looking at like that?”
Will lunged forward, snatching the shard from her hand. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly.
“Look again! Are you sure you don’t recognize it?”
“I-I really don’t!”
Her eyes spun in confusion.
“No adventurers have been here this year. And last year… I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”
Damn it.
Will’s heart sank.
They had been following this lead, hoping it would connect them to the Empress of Moonlit Frost, Kloride, who was suspected of having cut the stone. This had led them to Leah’s mother, Liss, who was thought to be the transporter of the stone.
But now…
The trail…
Was broken?
Had Liss given them false information?
Or had they misunderstood what Liss ant by “the answer you seek”?
No, no, no. Trusting Liss in the first place had been questionable. Liss was likely the witch responsible for transporting the Green Wraith Stone between dungeons! On one hand, she was allied with those people; on the other, she was a playful witch whose words were never reliable…
It was just that her identity as “Leah’s mother” had been too misleading.
“Uh… um… I really don’t know anything about it. C-Could you let go of now? I’m just a ntal-type boss. Demon bodies are pretty fragile, you know.”
Will released her shoulders.
He realized he had been too rough in his frustration. Red marks from his grip were visible on Lucifa’s pale skin.
“Sorry. I got carried away.”
“Uh… it’s kind of weird for an adventurer to attack a dungeon empress and then apologize…” Lucifa muttered, shrinking back onto the bed in fear.
Fine. It didn’t matter.
This lead had been strange and vague from the start.
If not for its uncanny resemblance to a ga item, Will might not have paid it any attention at all.
For it to end abruptly in such a nonsensical way was sothing he’d have to accept.
It only ant…
Whoever had created it had been extrely cautious.
As if they were terrified of anyone uncovering its secrets.
The once lively and playful atmosphere of the boss floor had now grown icy.
Shuna seed deep in thought, remaining silent.
Will waited for her to speak.
In the awkward silence, it was Lucifa, the dungeon ruler herself, who seed most eager to break the tension—
Lucifa glanced left and right, now resembling a child trying to make up for a mistake.
“Uh, um… I-I don’t know anything about that, but it’s fine, right? I an… you’re adventurers! Didn’t you co to challenge the dungeon for sothing? This is one of the rare demon-dominated dungeons—don’t you want to grab so rare materials or sothing?”
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