* * *
The eastern forest of the village, where the problematic monster was said to be sighted.
I had come prepared, but the scenery around was not much different from anywhere else.
I had expected it to have a somewhat eerier atmosphere.
“If a dangerous situation arises, hide behind me. If things go badly, you may leave me and run far away.”
Ruadis’s reassuring words made a corner of my heart melt softly.
“I don’t… see any monster.”
I kept alert of my surroundings while diligently gathering anything that caught my eye into my bag.
Just in case, I had looked up beforehand what the materials for making the Holy Stone Compass and potions looked like.
‘Once I gather a decent amount, I should tear off the notes on the bulletin board and collect the errand fees too.’
After wandering around for quite a while, I couldn’t even see a hair of the monster I was looking for, and I ended up just becoming someone who gathered materials diligently.
“Shall we head back around now? The monster must have hidden because it’s scared of you, Instructor Ruadis!”
Ruadis looked at my swollen bag with a dumbfounded gaze, then soon nodded.
“You really… how did you gather all that in such a short time?”
This level of grinding is basic.
I’ve been dragged to the client boss’s backyard every weekend and dug sweet potatoes all day!
I was just thinking that if I kept coming back and forth with Ruadis like this a few times, I might be able to gather a lot of materials.
Clank, clank.
With a dull metallic sound, the air around us suddenly grew heavy.
“What…”
“Shh.”
Ruadis hurriedly covered my mouth and pulled me behind a tree.
Thanks to that, I lost the bag I had carefully gathered and was helplessly dragged along, ending up in her arms.
Her arm strength was so great it felt like being gripped by an iron bar.
Clank, clank.
A sound coming at regular intervals.
Like footsteps…
Cold air clung to my skin, and goosebumps rose.
I could feel it instinctively.
Something incredibly dangerous was approaching us right now.
My heart pounded madly, and cold sweat began running down my spine.
Clank, clank.
The sound grew closer, and even though it was still midday, the surroundings suddenly darkened.
I hunched my shoulders tightly, using Ruadis’s body as a shield, and glanced sideways past the tree.
Finally, the identity of the strange sound and ominous aura was revealed…
I felt truly grateful that Ruadis’s hand was covering my mouth. If it hadn’t been, I would have screamed without realizing it.
A monster as huge as a tree was passing through where we had just been standing.
Its entire body was covered in heavy black armor, and on its shoulder it carried a greatsword as large as its body.
And most importantly… it had no head.
‘What on earth is that!?’
A headless knight in armor.
I could guess its identity because it had appeared in quite a few games.
It was a Dullahan.
Despair followed. Because the Dullahan appeared as a boss-level monster with considerable destructive power in many games.
‘I understand why the adventurers were defeated.’
I could feel the body of Ruadis, who was holding me from behind, also tense up.
Even Ruadis was this tense.
Thump!
The Dullahan’s foot, which had been walking forward like a machine, kicked the bag containing the materials I had diligently gathered. Thanks to that, the Dullahan stopped walking.
‘My precious materials…!’
I worried the materials might be damaged from the kick, but… my life was more precious.
As I swallowed bloody tears inwardly, the Dullahan, as if it hadn’t noticed anything, resumed walking.
Only after the clanking sound had completely faded did we emerge from behind the tree.
“Phew…! D, did you see that? It seemed like an incredibly strong monster!”
Compared to our employees who were waiting desperately for my return at the dungeon, there was no comparison…!
Suddenly, our employees didn’t seem scary at all.
“Goodness. How on earth can a Dullahan exist inside the barrier? And with its aura that strong.”
“Is that so difficult?”
“An undead monster like that is absolutely impossible. It has terrible compatibility with barriers. Either there’s a problem with the holy stone, or there’s a hole somewhere in the barrier… This is the first time something like this has happened.”
“The craftsmen said the monster appeared about two weeks ago.”
Coincidentally, it was a similar time to when I fell into this world.
I felt a pang of guilt, wondering if I was one of the causes, and my heart pounded.
“Ragner is irresponsible too. Leaving such an enormous thing wandering around. Tsk.”
“But if it’s the same monster the craftsmen mentioned, they said it hides the moment Ragner appears…”
“Ah, right. They said it doesn’t attack first.”
Then did we hide for nothing? Even so, how could we not hide after seeing something like that?
“Um… what should we do?”
“This needs to be discussed with Ragner. It’s dangerous for a monster like that to keep wandering in the forest near the village.”
“You told me to try communicating with it…”
Ruadis shook her head firmly.
I had no choice but to fold away my dream of scouting.
* * *
“You’re just going to leave it alone!?”
And Brownie, having heard what happened during the day, unfolded the dream I had folded away, ironed it out, and thrust it in front of my eyes.
“It’s an incredible one that can’t even be compared to those scraps over there, right! We have to bring it to our dungeon immediately!”
Brownie screamed at the top of its lungs. How does such volume come from such a tiny body?
“You didn’t see it yourself… How scary it was.”
I stroked the 3,000 eon errand fee I received for handing over the gathered materials with loving hands.
The craftsmen decided to resume production of the backlogged items with the materials I brought. I also got a promise that they’d sell them to me cheaply once completed.
Oh, and I got something like a hidden quest too.
It seemed they asked because I seemed quite close with Ruadis—if I defeat the Dullahan, they’d sell some of the crafted Holy Stone Compasses and healing potions directly to me instead of delivering them to the general store.
If I can secure a trade route, I can keep filling the reward room from now on!
“It was scary? Then that’s the best condition! The challengers will feel fear to the point of pouring tears!”
Well, the scarier the monsters, the more the dungeon benefits.
“Then what am I supposed to do? Ruadis said that even though I’m affiliated with the dungeon, approaching a monster is dangerous. She told me not to go near it.”
“Chihuahua, you’re not an ordinary person. Have some awareness that you’re a dungeon manager!”
“I’m still weak.”
“You’re the boss! Monsters are the subordinates!”
Where did it pick up those words…!
“Ha, you’re greatly mistaken about something.”
Brownie flew into my arms and poked me in the center of my chest.
“You made a direct contract with the Demon King. And you received the Demon King’s authority. Don’t you understand what that means? It means that while our Demon King is sound asleep, you are no different from the Demon King.”
My vision spun for a moment.
I, who was an ordinary black company employee, am a Demon King in another world!?
The sudden pressure on my shoulders made me groan involuntarily.
“Of course, don’t get too cocky just because of that. It’s just a manner of speaking.”
“Yeah…”
“You said it’s an undead monster? Headless.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go.”
Brownie suddenly flew out of the office and hurried me to come out too.
“Where at this hour?”
“To scout!”
You’re really trying to put me into the tiger’s mouth.
“Wait. The opponent is a strong monster even Ruadis acknowledged. Do you think our dungeon can match the salary that monster wants?”
At the pointed question, Brownie flinched this time.
“You know well why we only have weak monsters as employees. If that monster asks for even 10,000 eon per week, our dungeon won’t last two months before going bankrupt.”
Brownie, who had been lost in thought, soon became energized again and shouted.
“What’s there to worry about? That guy is homeless right now.”
“Huh…?”
“He’s wandering around without a home or dungeon—who’s the desperate one? Rip him off! Slash his salary!”
Is that really the former company president reincarnated or not?
