READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 110
“Help me! Boss! Everyone’s chattering away everywhere.”
The lotus leaf (the main body) gripped in their hand squirmed with all its might.
“Please! Save me! I beg you!”
I might not have heard it wrong; they really called me Boss. The genuine seventh-ranked boss of the Undead Lair—and here I was, just a fake.
However, when they saw just the deep black color, it seemed they considered me more an enemy than a boss.
Shouldn’t a boss have a bit of green mixed in?
“Uugh…!”
The hand gripping the main body became damp. I couldn’t tell if it was tears or urine, but it felt incredibly unsettling.
Feeling disgusted for no reason, I placed the lotus leaf on the ground.
“Boss.”
I originally came here to recruit the Hermit.
No matter how aligned our interests were, they might take offense at impersonation.
So I resolved to apologize first and propose a horizontal alliance.
For some reason, however, it felt like they were all too eager to fall under my command.
“…How did you know I was your boss?”
Oh well, who knows. Let’s just dive in.
*
“Uh, um, hmm…”
I wanted to talk just to the main body, leaving the split parts behind.
They kept babbling endlessly; I thought I’d die from frustration.
“Um, at first, I thought you were, well, a fraud… but…”
This time it was a struggle to interpret their stuttering.
Having Roseha around, being a boss of the Undead Lair, really drained my energy.
In Roseha’s case, I was robbed of energy, but anyways.
It took over ten minutes to get the whole story out of the Hermit.
There were many bumps along the way, but I somehow grasped what they meant.
‘…Is it really that plausible?’
Hearing it, I found it surprisingly convincing.
The Hermit had been closely watching my actions all along.
My feats were worthy of being called an Undead Lair Lord. I was even confident after killing Calandas.
Really, can you believe that some lowly Death Knight killed the fifth-ranked Lich King? Not if you consider me simply an Undead Lair Lord.
Naturally, the numbers in my head translated to being the subordinate of the seventh-ranked Lord, specifically meaning a mid-boss.
I was uncertain, but now that I had reached here and seen through the Hermit’s true identity, that was enough to become confident.
Sort of like a spiritual balance in lord-subject relations or something.
There could be various reasons for that, but the Hermit’s self-esteem might have had a role too.
While doubting that someone like them could be a Lord, they turned out to be under the impression I was the seventh rank.
Reflecting on my actions, they probably thought, ‘Of course, someone like me couldn’t be an Undead Lair Lord!’
There were many more reasons and flaws, but it was clear that the Hermit considered me a boss.
‘Never expected things to go this smoothly.’
I was practically picking my nose without lifting a finger.
“Um, Boss? What will happen to me now…?”
That deep black level had its own reason.
From the boss’s perspective, it seemed like a subordinate had taken it too easy and they came for a punishment.
I felt uneasy again seeing the lotus leaf trembling in fear.
Despite knowing it was the Hermit, it still felt like talking to a plant until now.
“First, return to your original form.”
“…What? Ah, um, my original form is a bit… no, very embarrassing…”
“I already know you’re a Kumiho.”
The Hermit’s true form was that of a beastman with five tails.
From the start, having five tails proved their potential.
As the chosen one for the Undead Dungeon Core, the Hermit was set up to be a Kumiho.
When I first saw the Hermit’s true form, I was quite surprised.
A gloomy Undead Lair boss named Hermit? Who would ever think they were a Kumiho?
It was a perfect example of the developers completely subverting players’ perceptions of Kumiho.
“Uaaah… You know everything…!”
“The boss could get angry! Hurry up!”
“What are you doing Number 1! Why are you dawdling around?!”
“Ah, no… I’m just too embarrassed…”
The split parts were chattering away around me.
My nonexistent ears were starting to get sore.
“All the splits, recover yourselves. You two should talk quietly.”
“Eh? Just the two of us is… no, that’s too scary…”
“I could make it even scarier.”
“….”
Boom!
With a cheerful sound effect, smoke rose softly from where the main body was.
Not just from the main body, but white smoke billowed up from around the split parts too.
Among them, only one figure became visible as the smoke cleared.
“Is this… done…?”
The Hermit fidgeted, nervously touching their fingertips.
They looked up, but if I met their gaze, they immediately lowered their eyes. Dark circles were particularly noticeable around their eyes.
Their black, long hair hung down to their ankles, messy and even covering their eyes.
Seemingly scared, their fox ears were drooping low.
“The split recovery is—”
“I’m doing it right now.”
From the surroundings, the tails (splits) were drawn to the Hermit like magnets.
In the end, they perfectly stuck one by one to the Hermit’s rear. These tails were detachable.
The splits numbered 1 to 8 had stronger personal power and identity.
Since they had to expend one tail, it was only natural.
[Lv. 85]
[Lv. 86]
[Lv. 87]
…
[Lv. 92]
Before long, when it became nine tails, the level would be 92.
Even if other splits were gathered, the 92 wouldn’t change.
Of course, with the unique weapon, the Bewitching Orb, in hand and power unleashed, it could rise to 94.
Like Succubi, Kumiho absorb energy from the males.
However, in the case of the Hermit, they replaced energy with life force.
They distributed the splits to absorb the life force of whatever corpses they found, and then when they recovered the splits, they would become stronger.
“….”
The Hermit still couldn’t meet my gaze.
Furthermore, they seemed quite scared at the sight of that deep black.
Given they were naturally a timid person, I decided to let it slide.
As I looked at her, my gaze unintentionally went to her chest area.
With a severely low self-esteem, that part somehow seemed to have more self-confidence than Roseha.
“Oh wow.”
A Kumiho with low self-esteem, a gloomy introverted otaku, and big breasts.
I’d heard that among the developers, there were some with niche tastes, but looking at the Hermit confirmed it.
Unless you had that preference, how could you create such a character?
Because of the Hermit’s character, there was even fan art emerging from the depths of the internet…
*Ahem*. I shook off those strange thoughts with a cough.
“First, you were right. I hoped you would realize it yourself, and I’m glad you did. However, the next part is the problem. I have sought you out because I find you annoying.”
“….”
“Ask yourself. What was the reason you came here without knowing?”
Fidgeting, the Hermit broke out in a cold sweat.
Though it seemed like I painted myself as the villain, there was no other way.
If they were willingly handing over control of the conversation, I had to keep the atmosphere going.
“Well, I just was too busy…”
“Excuses, please. I know everything about you, Hermit. You could use the splits but couldn’t find the time for that?”
“….”
“I waited a long time, and even after giving you a reprieve, you were too busy hiding. Your inaction and silence made me move.”
“I… I’m sorry….”
The Hermit lowered their head deeply.
This one genuinely believed I was the boss without a doubt.
Now that it had come to this, I had to push harder to make them comply with my suggestion.
“You’ve been hiding away, neglecting your duties. You have no right to complain about your waywardness.”
“….”
“How will you take responsibility? No, before that, I bet you haven’t even thought about taking responsibility.”
The Hermit shut their eyes tightly in fear.
“Before you stands not just any Undead Lair Lord. Do you know Calandas?”
“The, um, yes! Yes! I know him….”
“You must know how he died. If you annoy me, I won’t spare even an upper Undead Lair. How about you, what are you?!”
At those words, the thick black level deepened even further.
Anyone who saw might think I was genuinely ready to kill.
***
I couldn’t control my body, which was shaking uncontrollably.
Holding back my tears required all my strength.
Death Knight Barugore. The Hermit knew everything about his public actions.
He had ruthlessly killed the 21st-ranked Lord for his displeasure and clashed with the second-ranked Lord in meetings.
Barugore acted based on his feelings, and he wielded power that matched.
More than anything, he killed Calandas, the fifth-ranked Lord, with his own hands.
A Death Knight killing the Lich King. An Undead Lair Lord annihilating an upper Undead Lair Lord.
For nothing but a mere slight, he went and killed them.
‘Scary…!’
The heartless, ruthless Undead Lair Lord.
I recognized it in some corner of my mind, but it didn’t resonate.
But standing before him—it became clear. Or rather, far too late did I realize.
“I’ll ask again. How will you take responsibility?”
The Hermit was left breathless, unable to utter a word.
His admonition seemed to tighten around my throat.
“Ghh, uhh….”
In an instant, the dam holding back my tears burst.
The startled Hermit quickly covered their mouth.
In front of me stood an Undead Lair Lord with no mercy.
Given he had killed a higher Undead Lair Lord, there was no doubt he’d kill me without hesitation if I embarrassed myself.
As the thoughts continued, the fear grew more and more vague.
While I wanted to prostrate myself and plead for forgiveness, I felt he would likely think even that was disappointing.
“Whatever it is that the boss desires… I… I’ll do anything, really anything. Just spare my life…”
“You’ve said you’d do anything yourself.”
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
No way, he can’t be ordering me to take my own life…?
“Ugh!”
An overwhelming sense of anxiety made the Hermit gulp.
Fear twisted my body like a rabbit before a tiger.
“From now on, fulfill the obligations you’ve neglected with all your heart. Come to the Mausoleum of Faith and serve me.”
“And what about…?”
Worries swirled chaotically in my head.
He might order me to cut off body parts. Maybe he’d even command me to slice off all my tails as punishment—
“That’s the end.”
“…Huh?”
The Hermit reflexively questioned back.
After that, my lips just kept flapping.
…Really?
Is this truly the end?
“No. There’s still something left to discuss.”
“Ah….”
A sigh slipped out through my teeth.
Of course, he wouldn’t just let me off easily.
It wouldn’t be strange if he tried to kill me on the spot; forgiveness? What forgiveness?
“If you come to the Mausoleum of Faith, I’ll give you at least twelve hours of free time on your own. The remaining twelve hours, just put in the effort for the dungeon.”
“…Huh?”
“That’s all there is. I have nothing more to say.”
“Y-yes…?”
“Did you not understand?”
“I-I mean! No! I understood! Just…!”
Swallowing hard, the Hermit barely managed to get the weighty lump down their throat.
“Umm… Is that really the end?”
“Yes.”
“Are you… not going to cut off my wrist?”
“Why would I cut off your wrist?”
“…Are you… not going to cut off my tails either?”
“As I said, just serve me with all your heart. I consider your nature, which is why I’m giving you half a day’s worth of free time.”
The Hermit mentally repeated Barugore’s words once more.
A breath escaped me involuntarily.
‘Why is he being so nice…?’