It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

---

– 1 –

“Master. I have news from Lady Hailey Shum Gremit.”

The news arrived on the third day since Myur began her training.

“Um… Should I come later?”

“It’s fine, come in. Sonia, please serve some tea.”

“Yes, Master.”

As I gestured toward Myur, who hesitated at the door, I asked Lan about Hailey’s news.

“What is it about?”

“She has arrived with her family in Tribres and seeks permission to meet with you, Master.”

A smile spread across my lips.

It was one of the pieces of news I had been waiting for.

I had been waiting for Hailey—someone to replace the sloth of another subordinate and to redeem my failures.

“Really? That’s sooner than I expected.”

“They said the family was joyfully supportive of her decision.”

Upon hearing Lan’s words, I outwardly did not show it, but internally, I wore a bitter smile.

Could it be that the family was genuinely excited while being fully aware of all circumstances? That was questionable.

However, the guilt was not heavy.

While the ‘formation’ regarding Hailey had been completed, the House of Shum was still deemed an ‘enemy.’

“Alright. Let her in.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I’m sorry, Myur. We’ll have to postpone the lesson a bit.”

“It’s alright. The matter at hand is important.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Sonia, see to the teacher.”

“Don’t worry, Master.”

While Hailey had only been temporarily ‘co-opted’ for her activities in Copgerin and Sonataph, the meaning changed slightly now.

[What is your choice?]

[Please let me serve you! You are my true master…!]

By the time the effects of the hypnosis on her wore off, she had chosen loyalty to me after receiving the option from me.

It might be that she couldn’t believe the promise to erase only parts of her memory, but along with that, I had interwoven it with her two dominating emotions of ‘pleasure’ and ‘desire,’ which seemed to have resonated quite effectively.

So, this is how it came to be.

[I found joy in serving you…! Please!]

Such cases occasionally arise.

Thanks to that, she provided half of the information regarding the noble and political circles.

Even to the point of diminishing her inherent ‘desire for money.’

This led me to reflect on one thing.

『Trait – … Rusted Sense, Long Idled Body』

‘Traits do not necessarily express the entirety of a person.’

Hailey’s negative traits made me underestimate her when we first met.

However, thanks to my existence, she gained ‘passion’ and moved energetically, more than I had anticipated, working for me.

At this point, it was sufficient to consider reevaluating our existing relationship.

‘I thought she was an isolated pawn, but she turned out to be a passing pawn.’

In chess, a pawn’s value changes depending on its position.

Especially in special cases where promotion to other pieces is recognized, its value can be beyond imagination.

In any case, the current Hailey was certainly not someone to be used once and thrown away.

Thus, I was considering assigning her one of the important roles I’d previously conceived.

– 2 –

“Look… It’s really spacious! We could hold a banquet here!”

“Right. So it seems…”

The young daughter, Rosemary, spoke with innocent curiosity reminiscent of happier times, but her father could not return her whims with a relaxed smile.

Gerald, the head of the House of Shum, had no such luxury at that moment.

This was because the corridor they were walking through was indeed excessively vast.

Exceedingly, unbelievably big compared to the mansion they had entered.

“My lady, what is happening here? This mansion we entered was clearly…”

“Shh. It’s fine.”

While Hailey’s smile remained unbothered, Gerald felt anything but reassured by her demeanor.

“You shouldn’t judge that person with common sense. They are on a completely different level than the shadow merchants we previously dealt with or the Kaisen Kingdom’s forces.”

‘How did I not realize…?’

That always realistic and keen green-eyed gaze was now dimmed like a shadow.

Like a dreaming girl, her bright smile and hazy eyes filled her face.

“Are you saying she’s truly a dragon?”

“Not likely. But she’s more great than that.”

“What does that even mean…?”

Gerald turned his gaze away from Hailey, shifting fearful eyes around.

He took in the grand, dark, and majestic estate… no, palace.

‘This is immense… too immense.’

The corridor was wide, spacious, and long.

They had been walking for over thirty minutes, and the end was still not in sight.

The walls were adorned with numerous sculptures and artworks of unknown origin, and despite seeming to be ancient, there wasn’t a scrap of dust or a single ash from a candle on the peculiar lanterns that hung at regular intervals.

‘In such a wide and dark place, everything is visible without obstruction.’

‘This is power… it’s power!’

This vast mansion was indeed dim, yet oddly, everything was visible to them.

It was as if it was arranged so that they wouldn’t be paralyzed by fear; that transcendental consideration.

Yet it pushed them further into dread.

Everyone was trembling with anxiety.

A being capable of creating an environment that temporarily grants power to those with little strength.

“My lord, this feels strange…!”

“What do you mean it’s strange?”

The one exhibiting the most anxiety was the mage brought from the territory.

Among those excluding Hailey, he was the only one at least partially grasping the situation.

“Magic… magic isn’t working.”

“Our mana is the same, Master.”

“What does that mean…?”

The mage’s face, answering the lord’s question, had completely drained of color.

The dozens of knights were also managing to maintain composure and calm, but inwardly, they were similarly entangled with tension and fear.

Having only operated within the inland, the phenomena occurring now were merely whispers they had heard before.

“Such phenomena occur within high-level dungeons…!”

“Are you saying this place is a dungeon?”

“I can’t say for certain, but it is undoubtedly a dangerous place…!”

The mage spoke with conviction, and the knights were equally displaying their unease.

Ultimately, even Gerald gradually turned pale, having properly caught onto their fear.

‘At this rate, our house might collapse.’

Every knight or mage present here was among the most important of his possessions.

Naturally. They were the lord’s guards.

So even if the whole family managed to escape, the misfortune of these individuals would still incur significant damage to the house and territory.

That would lead to direct attacks from other lords targeting the castle or inability to withstand claims to rights.

Naturally, the urge to deny reality first arose.

“But… why would Hailey bring us to such a place…?!”

“I don’t know…! But look! The lady is now…”

The eyes of the lord, the mage, and the knights, who secretly overheard their brief conversation, finally shifted to Hailey.

“What kind of lord lives here, Mother?”

“He is nobler, more beautiful, and kinder than anyone. Rosi. And it’s not just a lord; he will be the master of everything.”

“The master…? Higher than a king?”

“Perhaps?”

“Wow…!”

She wore a bright smile reminiscent of a nine-year-old child.

Unlike the usual times, when she tried to emphasize her nobility by acting demurely.

Her attitude resembled that of a child who had returned to her hometown.

“This might be irreverent to say, but isn’t it rather strange…?!”

“Indeed, it is weird.”

“… Father. We should…”

“Right. Stevie. We need to leave this place.”

It seemed far too unsettling and frightening.

It was a thought that came after the lord and his ministers consolidated everyone’s opinions.

However,

“Excuse me… maid.”

That thought was far too late.

In fact, not when they arrived, but from the moment they entered the mansion.

Everything had already reached its conclusion.

“Welcome, House of Shum’s esteemed members.”

“Welcome!”

Before them appeared two women.

A beautiful ‘Black Fox’ with long black hair dressed in red and white exotic garments.

And accompanying her, a cute ‘Red Bear’ clad in dark palace attire.

“Your master is waiting for you.”

The fox’s radiant smile enveloped the entire family and their attendants.

The smile imbued with the power of temptation caused everyone but Hailey and her daughter Rosemary to momentarily lose their senses.

“… Huh!”

“Where is this…?”

When they regained consciousness, the space had already changed.

“The Audience Room…?”

One of the knights muttered while looking around.

The others, although they did not verbalize it, agreed with his opinion.

This was indeed the Audience Room.

Not a regular reception room in an ordinary noble’s palace, but a genuine space within a royal palace.

“Such a rough welcome. Lan.”

“As everyone tried to flee, I brought them here for now.”

The Dungeon Lord’s words looked down at the others as a smiling attendant replied nonchalantly.

“Good. You did well. Except for the attitude.”

Libertus’s reprimand was also gentle.

It was sincere, yet not glaringly aggressive.

Her servant, Yuran, redirected the grudge from her master’s reprimand onto those who were the cause, a truly ‘narrow-minded’ woman.

‘To be precise, it’s a manifestation of love that wishes to allow not even a small fraction of time bestowed upon herself to be granted to others…’

It’s merely a difference in range.

The outcomes of the two feelings were not so different, so it was irrelevant.

In other words, Yuran had to consider and accept that even in reprimands, she must think singularly from her perspective.

“I apologize.”

“Very well.”

As Yuran showed a face that seemed genuinely remorseful, she looked satisfied and shifted her gaze away.

At least, she wouldn’t treat her ‘juniors’ now, she thought.

– Each of them…!

Reading the atmosphere and refraining from hastily repeating others’ words, Mary lovingly stroked her head and glanced down at the nobles.

“Greetings, I, Hailey Shum Gremit, stand before the great master.”

The woman sitting upon the grand throne and the Black Fox standing beside her, straightened and tense.

As they listened to the conversation, everyone turned stiff as Lady Hailey stepped forward and knelt deeply on the red carpet.

“My lady…!”

“Mother?!”

“Lady Gremit…”

All the nobles were flabbergasted.

What Lady Gremit was doing was an act of laying hands, feet, and head to the ground.

Normally, this would be an action suited for a slave.

In the context of nobility, such a greeting would be exceedingly hard to receive even for kings or emperors, except in cases of surrender in war.

“Raise your head. I wish to see your eyes.”

“It’s an honor…!”

When Hailey lifted her head and met her gaze, Libertus also smiled gently at her.

“Welcome, Hailey. I kept you waiting for a long time.”

“Not at all. I believed you would call for me, so I bore no grief. Even if it took ten or a hundred years, I would have waited.”

Both the bows and greetings exchanged between Libertus and Hailey appeared entirely natural as if there were no issues present.

None here were ignorant of the implications of that meaning.

Soon, someone foolishly voiced their thoughts aloud.

“Mother is a traitor—cough…!”

“Stevie…!”

Gerald quickly shut his son’s mouth, but the words had already escaped.

“A traitor…”

The gaze of the purple eyes directed at Hailey shifted back to them.