“Chihuahua, take a look at this.”
Brownie, having roughly finished tidying the dungeon, led me to the room where the sacred relic was kept.
It was my first visit to the relic room, despite it being the most important place in the dungeon.
An incredible treasure said to have been personally bestowed by the Demon God! My first impression was….
‘An old staff? Looks like something you could easily pick up on a mountain.’
Compared to my grand expectations, its shabby appearance was deeply disappointing.
It was a long wooden staff, crudely carved. About the length of my arm?
There wasn’t a single gem embedded in it, nor any elaborate craftsmanship. On top of that, it looked like it had been left neglected in a corner of a warehouse for so long that dust had piled up thickly, making it look like nothing more than a rotten piece of wood at a glance.
“See it? The fear we extracted from those kids earlier has taken root.”
“…Where?”
No matter how I looked, I couldn’t see anything special.
“Here, look here.”
At that, Brownie zipped over to the tip of the staff and pointed at a spot with its short arm.
“Ah….”
Now I could see it. A tiny red sprout, no bigger than a grain of millet, had put out two leaves.
But a sprout? And aren’t sprouts usually green?
“If we extract that kind of fear about ten more times, it should grow considerably.”
“How big does it get?”
Brownie flapped earnestly, drawing the largest size it could imagine. Even so, it was smaller than a coin.
“Right now, the Demon King neglected it so much that the sacred relic has lost a great deal of its power.”
Not just lost—it had withered away. Sensing my cold stare, Brownie hurriedly continued.
“Even if it looks like this now, it used to be incredibly magnificent! It sparkled and was full of dignity!”
I felt utterly wretched.
Surely that wasn’t a reflection of my future, was it? Toiling under an incompetent Demon King, having my essence sucked out, ending up battered and broken….
“If we extract fear and strengthen it, the sacred relic will return to its original form! And the dungeon will grow stronger along with it! So there’s no need to be too disappointed.”
From the fear extracted from two challengers, we had managed to sprout only a single millet-sized bud.
How much fear would we have to extract for it to grow into something that even resembled a plant?
Demon King, isn’t this really too much? Just how lazy have you been?
I couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh.
“I wanted to show you that we’re moving forward, even if just a tiny bit at a time.”
At that, Brownie twisted its body beside the sprout and spoke in a small voice.
“Before you came, it was really nothing at all. So… you’re doing well….”
“Ah….”
Recognition for one’s efforts. Brownie was trying to look after me in its own way.
I must have been caught wearing nothing but a worried expression the whole time, unable to join the monsters who were happily celebrating.
I straightened my expression.
“Right. At this rate, it’ll grow quickly in no time, won’t it?”
At my words, Brownie’s face brightened and it nodded. Each time it did, tiny grains of dirt pattered down.
“I’ll really do my best. Let’s all raise it together into a wonderful dungeon.”
“Yeah! You can’t take that back! Never! If you abandon us halfway, I’ll chase you to the ends of the world and torment you!”
We were having such a nice moment just now. Why such a chilling thing to say….
* * *
After the first opening, despite my resolve to do well, not a single visitor came to the dungeon. Four days passed just like that, without any income.
The monsters, who had been training hard, quickly lost discipline, sitting on the dungeon floor chatting or playing games flicking small stones at each other.
Brownie camped out behind the donation box at the dungeon entrance, waiting endlessly for a challenger to come. If it turned into a stone waiting for its mate, that would be a real problem.
‘I was wrong. Rather than fearing a strong challenger coming, I should have been grateful for anyone at all!’
A shop with its doors wide open but only flies buzzing around. That was our dungeon.
‘Well, it was a coincidence that those kids found this dungeon in the first place.’
Heartless brats. Even if just for revenge, shouldn’t they have at least told passing adventurers that a dungeon existed here?
This couldn’t go on. Expenses were still piling up from the labor costs owed to the monsters rolling around on the floor.
Money was leaking out with no income!
Just as I was clasping my hands together, praying for anyone at all to come to the dungeon….
“Someone’s coming!”
A hard clod of dirt smacked the back of my head. It was Brownie.
“Someone’s coming?”
“I felt a presence heading this way! It’s definitely a challenger!”
Whether the monsters had overheard Brownie or not, they all shot to their feet at once.
“Ahhh! A, a challenger is coming!”
“What do we do? Manager, what should we do?”
“Just do what you’ve been doing! Did you already forget everything after just a few days of not working!? You useless lot!”
At that, Brownie snapped at the monsters on my behalf.
“What if we really did forget?”
“Everyone to your posts first! Go guard your zones!”
After watching the monsters hurry off to their positions, I asked Brownie.
“Are you sure it’s a challenger?”
“The aura I sensed even from afar was extraordinary.”
“…Let’s go see!”
I hurriedly ran toward the dungeon entrance with Brownie.
Please, let it be someone weak this time too.
I had been begging for anyone to come, but now, thinking of the dungeon’s circumstances, I found myself making cowardly prayers.
But perhaps I had offended the heavens by changing my wish within minutes, because the sky finally sent me a trial.
“Over there.”
Looking in the direction Brownie pointed, I could indeed see people in the distance. There were two of them again, but their builds were strikingly different.
“You have to get revenge for me, brother! If you swing your sword, the monsters will all die!”
“I’m fairly certain I told you to reflect quietly.”
“Ugh…! But I lost my wooden sword too and got scolded so badly by Master!”
“Is being scolded by me not scary?”
As the two drew closer, their appearances became clearer.
One of them looked like the child who had visited before. Teon, was it?
However, the other one was tall and large.
“No! Just looking at him, he seems incredibly strong!”
I grabbed Brownie and shook it frantically in despair.
The tall man was clad from head to toe in equipment that was clearly extraordinary at a glance. Glowing armor and a cloak, and even the sword at his hip emanated an ominous aura.
If a human like that entered our dungeon, he would smash through each gate in five seconds and break straight through to the deepest part.
‘At this rate, my return and my money are all finished!’
While I was stomping my feet, the two had already arrived at the dungeon entrance. Under the pouring sunlight, their figures stood out clearly.
They seemed to be brothers, given how much they resembled each other.
Light brown hair and deep green eyes.
The man who appeared to be the older brother was especially overwhelming. His features were boldly and cleanly defined, making him a striking beauty at a glance.
Like someone who had stepped right off the cover of a knight novel.
Just standing still, gazes naturally gravitated toward him.
His half-lidded, sleepy-looking eyes held not a trace of tension.
A composure that seemed to say a dungeon like this wasn’t even worth considering a danger.
If anything, that indifferent attitude gave off an even stronger air of a superior.
“So there really is a dungeon.”
“See? I told you I wasn’t lying!”
“I thought you’d hidden your wooden sword because you didn’t want to train… like last time.”
“Ugh….”
“I’ll handle the monsters and come back….”
I couldn’t let this happen!
I gave up hiding and dashed out in front of the two.
“W, wait a moment!”
In that instant, the man’s hand moved with perfect naturalness toward the sword at his hip, then stopped. It was truly in the blink of an eye.
I marveled at his incredible reflexes, while simultaneously feeling a chill down my spine at the thought that if I had looked even slightly suspicious, my neck would have been gone.
Revealing myself recklessly in front of a dungeon… was a perfect way to be mistaken for a monster, after all.
“A human?”
“Yes, I’m human. Are you here to challenge the dungeon?”
“So there was a challenger who came before….”
“Th, that’s not it, but….”
I had run out with such momentum, but my mind had gone blank.
What on earth could I say to stop this man from challenging the dungeon?
No excuse came to mind.
It suddenly occurred to me to try telling the truth. About my relationship with the dungeon….
But I shut my mouth, certain I would be treated as a lunatic.
The Demon King had clearly said it.
“No Demon King would hire someone without experience, and humans themselves would never even have the opportunity to meet a Demon King face to face. To us, humans are nothing more than livestock from which we extract fear.”
That meant a human running a dungeon was by no means a normal situation.
For now, I decided to blurt out whatever I could.
“The difficulty of this dungeon is far too low for someone like you to challenge!”
“Ragner.”
“Huh?”
“Not ‘someone like you.’ Ragner. That’s my name.”
