—
“Why... why are you staring at ? Haven’t you ever seen a dungeon Empress cry before?” Lucifa muttered, hastily wiping away her tears.
“To be honest... no, I haven’t,” Will admitted.
Lucifa, her eyes red and puffy, tried to compose herself, forcing a facade of calm as if she were facing her final monts with dignity.
“So... so what if I cry before I die?!”
“No, it’s just that we—”
Before Will could finish, Shuna interrupted from behind him:
“We’re not going to kill you—didn’t we already say that earlier?”
“Eh? I... I thought you were just saying that as pre-battle trash talk?”
“Where on earth did you learn that from?!” Will exclaid.
“I-I-I read sowhere that adventurers always trash-talk before fighting a super-strong boss to hype themselves up!”
“Sotis... inexperienced Empresses are the hardest to deal with,” Shuna sighed. “And Will... co to think of it, since I joined Morning Star, have we ever actually killed an Empress who held important clues?”
She looked slightly weary, as if she had just woken up from a long dream.
“Let think... for example, the grumpy old man at Ironfire Bastion wasn’t killed by us. And Kloride from Moonlit Frost—we didn’t even conquer her dungeon until two weeks after entering.”
“Exactly. We’ve always used various forms of persuasion—or torture—to get them to spill everything they know.”
Lucifa, who had just stopped crying, took a few steps back. In her eyes, the two of them now looked like nacing villains glaring down at her.
“I-I-I already gave you my heart! W-What more do you want?! Don’t hurt a powerless Empress!”
But in the next mont, she realized they were just teasing her—friends she had only recently t.
If they’d truly wanted to kill her and conquer the dungeon, they would’ve done so minutes ago.
“This dungeon is way too fun to destroy. We’ll keep it around and visit occasionally for vacations, right, Shuna?” Will said with a smile as he closed the box containing the heart and handed it back to Lucifa.
“This... this feels like so kind of nto. And... gifting your fiancée a weapon made from your friend’s literal heart? That’s a bit of a dark joke,” Lucifa muttered as she carefully took the box, her face filled with surprise.
“How about this: put your heart back where it belongs, and we’ll use sothing else from this dungeon to make the sword?” Will suggested.
Lucifa stared at the box in her hands, visibly moved. The tears she had just wiped away seed ready to fall again.
“Are... are all adventurers as kind as you two?”
“Uh... don’t think like that. I’m worried soone might take advantage of you,” Will replied, feeling that this strange dungeon and its quirky Empress were too unique to simply destroy. It felt like breaking an oddly charming piece of art.
A dungeon like this couldn’t even boost an adventuring party’s reputation much—it was more like making an unusual friend.
Having a dungeon as a friend? That sounded both useful and rare.
“But my heart can grow back, you know?” Lucifa said with a mischievous smile, tears still glistening in her eyes.
“......” Will stared at her tearful yet cheeky expression, unsure whether to laugh or be annoyed. “Then give it back to .”
“No way! You already returned it!”
“But Lucifa,” Shuna interjected, finally voicing her thoughts. “I still have sothing I want to ask you.”
“Hmm...” Lucifa paused, then seed to do sothing—though it wasn’t clear what—before indicating that her heart was already back in place.
“Go ahead.”
“Sothing I should’ve asked earlier: is there so kind of... network or trade system between dungeons that we ‘outsider’ adventurers wouldn’t know about?”
“Huh? Shuna, you...” Will was surprised by her question.
Shuna had hinted at this theory before, but Will had brushed it off to avoid revealing too much about the original story. Yet...
She was determined to investigate further.
Was her curiosity fueled by the secrets of the dungeon system? Had her resolve been reignited?
“Hmm? Why do you ask?” Lucifa tilted her head.
“There must be so internal network between dungeons. Otherwise, witches wouldn’t be able to trade certain items... even Kloride from Moonlit Frost ntioned it,” Shuna said thoughtfully.
“And I’ve been wondering—if the Adventurer’s Guild is isolating you, shouldn’t you still be able to get help from other dungeons?”
Lucifa fell silent at the question.
“Well... I think there used to be. I received letters from other dungeons in the past, but it’s been a long ti since anyone contacted .”
“So this dungeon is essentially an isolated island?” Shuna pressed further.
“Ugh... I know Tenth Demon Castle is really... really lonely. You don’t have to rub it in,” Lucifa groaned, clutching her head.
“In truth... even now, I don’t fully understand why. I only realized dungeons needed adventurers to explore them after things got so quiet here.”
“......”
Shuna seed deep in thought but didn’t push the matter further.
“Any other questions? I’ve told you everything I know. But if there’s sothing else you’re curious about that I haven’t thought of, feel free to ask.”
“I think that’s all for now. If that’s the case, I don’t really have a clear next step. Let’s leave it at that,” Shuna said with a stretch, looking relaxed.
“So... you’re leaving soon, right?” Lucifa asked hesitantly.
“Yeah. I need to head to the capital—Treya’s situation might be worse than I thought.”
“I... I’ll think about it...”
“In the anti... how about staying for dinner tonight?” Lucifa suggested shyly.
—
Will stared at the plate of fish and chips on the table, feeling slightly dazed.
Though it still didn’t look particularly appetizing, at least it wasn’t just a blackened lump anymore. It seed Lucifa’s cooking skills—or perhaps her team’s—had improved slightly in just one day.
Or maybe...
Their disguise techniques had improved?
No matter—Will decided to accept things as they were without overthinking them.
More importantly...
The vegetable salad on the side actually looked like a real salad. It wasn’t so strange paste or blackened ss—it tasted fresh and crisp, just like a proper salad should.
“So? If the food’s good enough, can we talk about things we normally wouldn’t discuss at the table?” Lucifa asked with a sly grin.
“You invited us for dinner just for this, didn’t you?” Will shot back.
“Well, everyone says humans tend to discuss important matters over als,” Lucifa replied innocently.
“What do you want to know?”
“...Your fiancée—Treya, right? She’s the silver-haired half-elf princess from your fear projection, isn’t she?” Lucifa asked curiously, blinking her violet eyes.
Perhaps this was another trait of demons—their fascination with intense human emotions and desires never seed to wane.
“Snooping through mories is pretty convenient for you demons, huh?” Will muttered.
“No no no! You’ve got it wrong!” Lucifa protested. “I can see mories, yes—but only ones you’re still vividly aware of. If they’re hazy or just thoughts in your mind, I can’t see them.”
“You don’t need to explain so much!” Will said as he popped a fry into his mouth. “Yeah, it’s her. What do you think? Isn’t she beautiful?”
“Oh great, here we go—bragging about his fiancée again,” Shuna teased as she stole a fry from his plate and poked his cheek with it.
“Well... I’ve seen how most people perceive Princess Treya,” Lucifa mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “But...”
She hesitated for a mont before continuing:
“What I’m curious about is...”
“In your fear projection—why was her left eye covered by an eyepatch?”
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