Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 35: A Season Spent in Hell (7)

I spoke with the utmost sincerity.

“I am very pleased that you answered honestly.”

“Spare me……kuh, don’t kill me…….”

“Of course. What reason do I have to go out of my way to kill you?”

“Potion, a healing potion……”

I forced Andromalius up.

“Unfortunately, I do not have something like a potion on me. Ask someone else. But first, you must get up and apologize to the bar owner! You should respect your elders.”

Andromalius groaned loudly as he stood up because of the wound on his thigh. I asked in a worried tone if he was all right. Despite my words, I didn’t slow my pace and I naturally never intended to do so either. The other party was probably swearing up a storm at me in his head.

“That is all I want from you now.”

“A-All right.”

I supported him as we exited the bar. The demons were still in formation, but after they realized what my goal was, they were no longer overly wary about my golems. We walked towards the old cat man who was mixed in at the back of the formation.

“Barkeep! This man says he has something to apologize to you about.”

The cat man was visibly perplexed. The other demons were whispering to each other as they looked this way. Before I knew it, the spectators had increased and there was now twice as many people as there were before we entered the bar.

“Y-Yes.”

“It appears that he has made a mistake because he has not experienced much of the world yet. Will you not be generous and forgive him? Now then, what are you doing? Hurry up and apologize.”

Without warning, I pulled away the arm I was using to support him. Once I did, Andromalius couldn’t win against the pain in his thigh as he fell over. He held back his groan as he slowly got into a groveling position.

“I’m sorry……I made a mistake.”

“Hah!”

I stepped on the back of Andromalius’ hand.

“Guh, guuuuah!”

“What kind of apology is that!? Put more sincerity into it!”

“Kuh, I-I apologize……!”

“That is right. Press your forehead on the ground. Like that.”

“I apologize, hicc, I apologize…….”

His apology continued. Andromalius slammed his head on the ground so much that his forehead was covered in a mess of hair, blood, and gravel. There must have been a lot of people who harbored hatred towards him since the demons who came to spectate were snickering.

Andromalius’ head shot up the instant he heard the sound of laughing. His blazing eyes glared at the demons. They flinched. However, once I stepped on his hand again, Andromalius had no other choice but to let out another scream and lower his body again. The apology continued until the old cat man couldn’t bear to watch any longer and told us that it was enough.

“Thank the barkeep for accepting your apology.”

“Thank you. Hicc, thank you very much…….”

The old cat man nodded. When I checked his emotions, although his hostility towards the other party hadn’t disappeared completely, he was more embarrassed about being the center of attention now. It seems that he wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

“Huuk, kuh……hicc.”

A wave of sadness must have swept over him as Andromalius started to cry. He was no different from a child. Feeling frustrated about being punished even though you did something wrong was a prime characteristic of children. I have no idea how a child like this could become a Demon Lord and be a general nuisance to the people around him.

I checked his status.

He only had 1 stamina left. He was continuing to bleed from his thigh, so he was most likely going to run out of blood soon. I grabbed him again and pulled him up. He staggered as he couldn’t balance himself.

“Good, well done. This should be more than enough. You can go on your way now.”

“……Thank you very much…….”

I used my hands to brush the dirt off his shoulders and knees. Andromalius’ complexion was deathly pale because of the blood loss. He bowed to me before eventually turning towards all of the demons who had gathered here. He asked for help in a frail tone.

“D-Does someone perhaps have a potion……?”

There were easily over 30 demons present, but they all kept their mouths shut. I could tell that they were all deliberately staying quiet. There was no way that all of these demons here wouldn’t have a single potion when conflicts and violence are a natural occurrence here in Niflheim. Despite this, they remained silent.

“Please, a potion……I’ll pay you back in full later. Even a healing spell would do……anyone……?”

Numerous cold gazes were focused on him. I could only hear whispering. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it probably wasn’t anything good.

Tears flowed down Andromalius’ cheeks. Once he realized that asking for help was hopeless, he dragged his wounded leg as he stumbled across the plaza. He fell over without being able to take more than a couple of steps. Andromalius crawled while hiccuping and groaning. The blood from his thigh drew a long red line on the ground.

“Hkkuck……khk……hicc…….”

I had an urge to smoke a cigarette or something. It wasn’t because I felt regret or because I pitied him, I just figured a smoke would be perfect for a moment like this. It’s unfortunate that I can’t read the emotions of other Demon Lords. What is this man thinking right now? Was the desperate desire to not die the only thing going through his head right now?

“Your Highness.”

Vuffoet approached me and whispered.

“I possess a potion.”

“Do not give it to him.”

“But this sort of death is much too lonesome.”

“So you have become a philanthropist during our brief time apart.”

I chuckled.

“I personally believe that death is a lonely thing by essence.”

“…….”

“Watch silently.”

Andromalius crawled for a while longer before he eventually came to a stop. Should I compliment him for reaching the edge of the plaza? His back was still moving up and down slightly, so it seems his breathing hadn’t stopped yet. However, even that didn’t last long. Every sign of movement came to an end.

‘Status.’

A window didn’t appear. This meant he had died.

I turned around. I picked a random road that led out of the plaza and walked towards it. Vuffoet followed behind me without a word. Once we were out of the crowd, the demons started to clamor loudly. ‘Andromalius is dead’ and ‘how befitting’, these were the types of words that were said.

We strolled through a narrow alley. There were no words between us for a while.

Vuffoet spoke up cautiously.

“Uhm, may I ask why you went out of your way to kill him?”

I didn’t feel like staying silent, so I answered him happily.

“There are three reasons. First, he had mocked me in front of many others. Although I will endure it if a person of more authority were to mock me, I will not sit quietly and let someone lower than me do the same. Moreover, he had also treated me as someone lesser than him. I cannot allow the name Dantalian to be treated lightly among the masses.”

A couple of demon children must have already heard the news as they were running towards us from the other end of the alley. The children shouted that a Demon Lord had died as they quickly ran passed us. A child telling the other child to hurry up and a child telling the other child to slow down ran in sequence.

“Second, this was a good opportunity to earn a good reputation here in Niflheim. Once people find out that I had cut off the individual who had been a frequent nuisance, there will surely be some individuals who will gain a good opinion of me. There may even possibly be someone among them who could help me substantially. Referentially, impressions are important for a king.”

“……That is correct. However, is it all right for you to be saying these words yourself?”

Vuffoet looked at me with a slightly dubious gaze.

“It is fine for me to tell you this. You are an accomplice, after all.”

“A-An accomplice?”

“You did not save him even though you had a potion, did you not?”

He was taken aback.

“But that is because Your Highness had-!”

“Nonsense. Are you my vassel? Whether or not you will save the person dying in front of you is solely for you to decide. Therefore, allowing him to die is ultimately your responsibility. I wonder what would happen if a rumor started to go around about how the Keuncuska Firm had let a Demon Lord die.”

Vuffoet’s mouth fell agape. Shortly after, he regained his senses as he shouted.

“T-That is sophistry!”

“That was a joke.”

“…….”

Felicitously, a cold breeze flowed between us. I could feel a dense sense of loathing from the other party.

Mm, I wonder if he noticed that I had indirectly threatened the Keuncuska Firm. It’d be great if he did. If not, then I would have no other choice but to pass the threat on through Lapis. I don’t want to force such a troubling matter onto her.

“And the third reason.”

I grinned.

“Is a secret.”

“Pardon me?”

“I said it is a secret. Why must I elaborate on every single one of my actions? Use your own discretion and take a gander.”

I walked ahead while humming. I could feel resentment behind me, but I didn’t care. Even if I told him that I had killed Andromalius in order to kill the hero or to at least prevent the future hero from awakening, he wouldn’t believe me. I hope he’ll rack his brain on his own to think of a good reason.

It’s only natural for a man to have at least one or two secrets in order to be charming.

In the evening, Vuffoet arrived at the Keuncuska Firm headquarters. He had just returned from having dinner at a traditional Niflheim restaurant with Dantalian. Although the seafood cuisines that were presented at the restaurant were delicious, Vuffoet honestly didn’t have the leisure to savor all of their taste.

“Hello, Mr. Vuffoet.”

A clerk at the front desk of the headquarters greeted him. It was a tiger woman with ample and beautiful blonde hair. As she was beautiful enough to be the poster girl of the firm and was also capable of combat in case of an emergency, she was someone whom he had personally hired.

Vuffoet instinctively smiled back at her gently.

“Thank you for working so late in the evening.”

“Think nothing of it, this is my job, after all.”

The tiger woman blushed. Vuffoet already knew that the girl had an interest in him. However, there was a need for him to be clean when it came to relationships with females. It was because he knew that the Keuncuska Firm needed a person like this. No, to be exact, this sort of individual was needed for the owner of the firm.

“I have to report something to the chief.”

“Ah. I see.”

The girl’s face was dyed with envy.

The company’s chief, Ivar Lodbrok.

That legendary Vampire Lord stood at the peak even among the 7 executives of the Keuncuska Firm. Nominally, the executives acted as 7 equal chairpersons during meetings, but even this tiger woman knew that that was truly just in name only. There were individuals who opposed Chief Lodbrok; however, they were a minority.

The man before her was a promising enough individual to personally give a report to the chief. Although she felt disappointed about how short her meeting with Vuffoet was, she led him to the teleportation device. Once Vuffoet pulled out a necklace, the teleportation device started to emit a red glow. It meant that his teleportation was approved.

“Now then. Have a nice evening.”

“Uhm, Mr. Vuffoet. If you perhaps have some free time later on, then……uhm.”

The woman spoke hesitantly.

“May I offer to buy you dinner sometime in the future?”

“Dinner, is it?”

“Yes! I’m very grateful for all you’ve done for me, and, w……well, I wanted to personally thank you as well…….”

Oh dear, Vuffoet muttered to himself in his head. The situation which he had feared had come to happen. This wasn’t the first time that a young lady had confessed to him. To a certain extent, Vuffoet had to remain as a bright, courteous, and talented young man.

‘Although I know this sort of role is necessary, it is a bit troublesome.’

Vuffoet answered as amiably as possible.

“I apologize. I still wish to dedicate myself to my job.”

“Ah…….”

The woman’s face quickly became red. Tiger people were renown for having a strong sense of pride. Vuffoet could guess that she was extremely embarrassed about being turned down. In order to lessen her humiliation even slightly, Vuffoet promptly gave her a reasonable-sounding excuse.

“Miss Andelina is much too beautiful for a person like me. Furthermore, as the chief is showing interest in me currently, I do not wish to lose this opportunity. I am sorry.”

“I-I see. You’re right.”

She regained a fair bit of her composure. She was considering the future of the young man she liked. Certainly, receiving the interest of the Keuncuska Firm’s chief was a crowning glory and an opportunity. Once she realized that she had hindered his opportunity, she felt guilty instead even if it was by only a tiny bit.

Vuffoet smiled thinly.

“I will be taking my leave then. I am concerned about the troubles I may potentially go through if I make the chief wait any longer than this.”

“Ah, yes! Of course! I’m sorry, I took too much of your time…….”

“Nonsense. I am also delighted that I was able to converse with Miss Andelina.”

Vuffoet responded as he stepped inside the teleportation device. It was a device meant for only 1 person. While the maiden seemed flustered by Vuffoet’s comment, Vuffoet gave her another smile before activating his magic without hesitation. Once he did so, his vision was filled with a red light.

The top floor of the company headquarters. It was a place which a very small minority of people could access through the teleportation device. Vuffoet walked down the utterly silent hallway. A wooden door stood at the end of the hall. It was luxurious and had somewhat strange symbols engraved on it according to a vampire’s preference.

-Creeeaaak.

There was no one in the room. Vuffoet continued to walk forward without hesitation as if he were used to this. Once he crossed the room and arrived at the window, there were over a dozen vampire coffins lined up next to each other nearby. They were coffins that even vampires these days called old-fashioned and refused to use as their beds. However, Vuffoet enjoyed sleeping in a coffin. Even to this day.

Even a thousand years ago.

Vuffoet stepped into one of the coffins. The coffin lid opened and closed without a sound. Shortly after, a coffin different from the one Vuffoet had just entered opened. An elderly gentleman got up. He rubbed his face several times as if he were washing his face.

He gazed at the window. Niflheim’s scarlet evening was spreading through the alleys.

“Demon Lord Dantalian……an interesting character.”

The elderly man had the face of Ivar Lodbrok.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. The following week should be the final week of my exams, so I’ll probably put more focus on that for the next few days. This is also the end of this arc, so I guess I’ll be going back to Handholding for a chapter.

My schedule might be a bit packed now since the semester is ending and I also have to set up plans for my trip next month, but I won’t let that deter me from translating too much.

I’ll see you guys in the next release.