I kept the Dullahan occupied in the dungeon under the pretext of filling out a resume, and the moment dawn broke, I ran to the training ground where Ruadis was.
“You suddenly came at night—I thought I was going to faint!”
“First, please calm down a little.”
And I immediately relayed the news that the Dullahan had come to the dungeon personally during the night.
And also that she held an absurd misunderstanding about her own death.
Because there wasn’t much time left before my part-time job, I had no leisure to discuss the details.
For now, I only delivered the urgent news and hurried to the restaurant.
Not long after, while I was in the middle of my part-time work, Ruadis and Ragner appeared together in front of me. The two sat at a table and talked about Sabira.
As soon as I had a lull in my work, I immediately squeezed into the conversation.
“When a person becomes an undead monster, does their mind get a little twisted? How could she misunderstand like that….”
Strangely, Ragner, who was the one falsely accused, looked indifferent. Wasn’t he upset that his friend held such an absurd misunderstanding?
“Then does that mean you don’t believe the monster’s words, Choi?”
“Huh?”
The words escaped me before I could stop them.
“Isn’t it possible that the monster’s words are true?”
“If that were the case, it would really mean you killed your friend.”
“The only one who knows what happened to Sabira that day is me. Isn’t it possible that I deceived you both?”
“Ragner.”
At those words, Ruadis called his name as if scolding him. Her expression was quite cold and frightening.
But Ragner did not retract his statement and simply stared at me silently.
Why is this person suddenly like this? Why is he going out of his way to say things that invite suspicion?
Wait, don’t tell me it’s true…?
As Ragner said, the only people who knew what happened that day were the two who were there.
So whether Ragner told the truth or a lie, we had no way of knowing.
But even so, it made no sense.
“Why would you go out of your way…?”
“…….”
“The demon realm is a dangerous place. It would be safer with a comrade than alone—why would you need to kill her?”
“The demon realm is a place where all sorts of bizarre phenomena occur. It’s possible I was bewitched by demonic energy and lost my mind, isn’t it?”
“But Ragner, you’re fine. And you said Sabira was incredibly skilled.”
He had definitely told me that. That if she had lived, she would have earned the title of hero before him.
“Even if Ragner had been bewitched and attacked Sabira, you would have gone through a difficult battle, so it seems unlikely you would have survived unscathed.”
“…….”
“If you had suffered serious injuries, it would have been hard to escape the demon realm safely. So I don’t think Ragner really attacked Sabira.”
“That’s quite an excellent deduction.”
“And above all, you don’t look like a bad enough person to kill a close friend with your own hands. Just looking at how carefully you decorated the grave shows that.”
Because I could feel deep affection from the grave, where the pendant necklace containing their photo was hung.
Hearing my words, Ragner flinched.
“I might be a worse person than you think, Choi.”
“Sigh.”
A sigh escaped me out of frustration.
“Then would I be sitting here leisurely working right now? You would have already dragged me off to the temple or grabbed a weakness and used me as you pleased. You considered my circumstances and even helped me. I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
Besides, he was a former hero. Weren’t heroes usually only the righteous?
As I finished speaking, Ragner finally took his eyes off me.
He began staring blankly down at the teacup he hadn’t touched even once today.
“I’m already troubled enough because of the Dullahan, so please don’t make things more confusing with strange remarks.”
His face certainly looked indifferent.
But I caught a glimpse of the darkness quietly settled within his green eyes.
Was he actually just pretending to be fine?
If he was actually greatly shaken by Sabira’s words?
If so, Ragner’s strange behavior just now was somewhat explained.
“Ragner, don’t tell me you’re doing this because you actually want to be misunderstood?”
I saw his fingers, wrapped around the teacup, twitch.
“Do you want Sabira to believe it as it is and resent you? No, do you believe she is resenting you?”
Sabira died trying to protect Ragner.
It would be understandable for her to resign herself to the thought that he could never forgive himself.
It seemed the Dullahan’s misunderstanding-laden words had properly struck the guilt in Ragner’s heart.
Wow, I thought this person was emotionally dull, but he’s actually the type to dig himself a deep hole.
Isn’t he saying he wants to leave the misunderstanding as it is because he wants to punish himself?
And he wants us to criticize him like that too.
“Ragner, is what the young lady said true?”
“Master, regarding Sabira’s death….”
“You foolish boy! I told you that in the demon realm, no death is anyone’s fault!”
The moment you enter a demon realm, there is only one goal: survival.
Unless you intentionally push a comrade to their death with malicious intent, no death that occurs there is anyone’s fault.
“She might resent me.”
“Young lady.”
“Huh? Yes?”
“Just let them meet. If Sabira truly holds a misunderstanding, then this is a good chance for them to fight like children and let out their feelings.”
Ruadis glared at Ragner with an expression that said she wanted to hit him right then and there.
“Um… if we find her head, she might remember properly?”
“No, it’s better not to.”
She shook her head firmly.
I felt like the situation was heading toward the worst.
By the way, if the two fight, who would win?
Sabira died on her first adventure and became a monster, so Ragner the hero would probably be stronger.
Then… who’s going to be our dungeon boss now?
* * *
The moment my part-time job at the restaurant ended, the three of us headed to the dungeon.
Ruadis had separately taken the Dullahan’s head and hidden it in the dungeon’s respawn room.
“Are you really… not going to give it back?”
You said just a while ago that if you met Sabira again, you wanted to tell her you were sorry.
Wasn’t the atmosphere pretty warm that day?
Ragner was giving off an ominous aura without hiding it at all, and Ruadis was also clearly showing her bad mood.
Only our poor employees were trembling like rabbits, watching the two.
“Everyone, please clear the gates. These two have reserved them for the day.”
At my instruction, the employees quickly ran out of the waiting area and hid behind me.
“Manager, we’re scared.”
“Manager, please protect us.”
If I had to pick the weakest among us, it would be me—and they hide behind me?
“Please wait here for a moment, both of you. I’ll bring the Dullahan.”
“Eung, Manager, come with us.”
“Please don’t leave us alone!”
I headed to my office with the vicious-looking monsters trailing behind me like chicks following a mother hen.
When I opened the door, the Dullahan, who had barely managed to fill out the resume, was sitting quietly and greeted me.
“Oh, Boksil’s here?”
“I’m not Boksil. More importantly… I’ve brought some people who wish to see you, Dullahan.”
The Dullahan moved its upper body to look at the employees huddled behind me.
“Not these people.”
The employees, who had been tense with fear of Ruadis and Ragner, shrank even more at the sight of the Dullahan.
How can they be afraid of a fellow monster?
“People who want to meet me….”
Deep interest was mixed into the husky voice.
“As you know, finding my head is more urgent, but entertaining guests is also part of an employee’s job, isn’t it?”
“You’re not an employee yet.”
“I know, I know. But you have to make me a full-time employee for me to receive employee welfare benefits, don’t you?”
Suddenly, a question occurred to me.
Would the Dullahan’s current personality be exactly the same as Sabira’s personality in life?
If her voice, personality, and way of speaking—if none of them could identify her as Sabira—how would Ruadis and Ragner recognize her?
“Let’s go.”
The Dullahan rose from its seat and strode toward the first floor.
Even though I hadn’t told it where the guests were, it found its way on its own.
“Haa…. I’m not sure this is really the right thing to do.”
I quickly followed behind the Dullahan, and the employees trailed after me.
They would probably keep bothering me until those two completely left the dungeon and peace returned.
But if this keeps up, I’ll have to keep taking off my glasses!
My vision is blurry and it’s so uncomfortable I could die!
