Monster Company Tycoon - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Monster Company Tycoon
Chapter 33
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Clank, clank.
The bizarre scraping of metal grated against my ears.
And it was drawing closer to me with each passing moment.
I’d finished another exhausting day like any other and gone straight to bed, preparing for tomorrow’s shift—especially since I needed to wake earlier than usual to send Durahan a love letter.
And there I was, sleeping soundly.
“…….”
I wanted to open my eyes and see what the noise was, but I couldn’t move—as if sleep paralysis had seized me. My body remained locked in its sleeping position.
Clank….
At last, the sound reached my pillow.
Screech—.
Metal scraping against hard stone.
Then a cold breath brushed the nape of my neck like a blade, and—!
“Bokshil, open your eyes!”
“Gasp!”
I bolted upright and instinctively clutched at my throat.
Just a nightmare….
My entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
“My god… I thought Durahan had come to take revenge for all the noise pollution I’ve been giving her….”
“Huh? How’d you know?”
Brownie, who’d rescued me from the nightmare, hovered nearby and asked cheerfully.
The room adjoining the office where I slept got no sunlight, but I could roughly gauge the time by the brightness of the Torches.
It was curious how the rare Light Sources in the Dungeon dimmed slightly during the day yet burned brightly at night.
And these Torches were burning brilliantly.
Which meant it was the middle of the night.
Has this potato-faced fairy lost her mind!? Waking a working person in the dead of night when it’s not even the weekend—there’s no demon more cruel!
“Now, now… what do you mean, ‘how’d you know’?”
“Durahan. She came looking for you.”
What kind of terrifying thing is that to say?
“Am I still dreaming?”
I pinched my cheek hard.
“Ow…!”
It hurt like hell. So this was really happening….
“Get up and come out. I left her in the Lobby.”
“Is this a prophetic dream? Did I annoy her so much she actually came to kill me….”
“What if she changes her mind and suddenly leaves? Hurry up!”
Brownie tugged at my hair, whining.
Having just woken up, my hair stuck out wildly in every direction, and Brownie had practically burrowed into the tangled mess.
“Fine, fine. I’m coming.”
For Durahan to visit the Dungeon in person? Could there be another Durahan out there?
I was so dazed that my thoughts wouldn’t come into focus.
After a quick splash of water on my face, I headed to the Lobby—and there, in pitch-black Armor, stood Durahan.
Without a head.
“Wow… it’s really her.”
Durahan was one of the few monsters—besides a slime—that I didn’t need to take off my glasses to see properly.
Headless or not, she essentially looked like walking Armor.
I had no idea what was inside, and honestly, I didn’t want to imagine it.
‘Stay calm.’
But the fear was the same regardless.
‘Get a grip. I’m the manager.’
I swallowed my fear and opened my mouth as calmly as I could manage.
“Hello, Durahan. This is Cho Cho, manager of the Hermit’s Dungeon….”
“Bokshil.”
“Ah—yes! Bokshil! It’s an honor to meet you in person.”
“By the way, I’m an executive. Call me Director Brownie.”
I switched into business hospitality mode, adopting a cordial tone. I could skip the handshake, right?
“…….”
“If I may ask, does your visit to our Dungeon mean you’re giving us a positive answer regarding the employment offer?”
“…….”
I hadn’t expected a greeting in return, but I’d never imagined she would maintain complete silence either. She didn’t even shift her stance, still leaning on the Greatsword as if carved from stone.
What business could have brought her here? She’d been so careful to stay hidden in the forest.
“Um… would it be alright if we discussed the details inside? I feel rather awkward keeping you standing here in the Lobby.”
If there’s still no reaction this time… should I treat this as a Dungeon incursion?
I had no idea whether monsters came to conquer Dungeons or not.
I cautiously reached out and gestured toward the stairs leading to my office.
Then Durahan began walking slowly, following my direction. A breath of relief escaped me.
At least she was willing to talk, right?
When we arrived at my private office, Brownie created a chair large enough to accommodate Durahan as well.
Yet seeing Durahan remain standing, I carefully sat down first in the chair across from my desk. Only then did Durahan follow suit and take her seat.
I had no idea what she was thinking.
Without a face, I couldn’t read her expression.
Without words, there was no conversation.
Perhaps she’d lost the ability to speak, even if she could listen.
‘Let me try saying something. Maybe I’ll get some response.’
“I’m delighted that we finally have the opportunity to introduce our Dungeon to you properly. I’m sure the fragmented information I’ve conveyed so far has been confusing.”
“…….”
Still no response.
But if I, too, fell silent, nothing but an awkward hush would fill this narrow space.
In the end, I had no choice but to keep talking, like eating bitter mustard under duress.
“Since you’ve come all this way in person, you might be disappointed that our Dungeon is smaller than you expected. However, as a Growth-Type Enterprise, our leadership maintains consistent management and—”
By this point, I wasn’t even sure what I was saying anymore.
It was right in the middle of my rambling about our company vision.
“Bokshil.”
A husky female voice suddenly rang through the office, and I jumped to my feet in startlement.
“What? Was that you just now, Brownie? Did you say something?”
“Huh? I didn’t say anything?”
“Then who on earth—”
“Bokshil, stop with that tedious talk.”
Again came that pleasant, husky voice.
If it wasn’t me and it wasn’t Brownie, there was only one possibility.
Like a robot in need of oil, I creaked and turned my neck to face Durahan.
Could it have been her just now?
Wait—she could speak the whole time!? Then why had she been keeping her mouth shut all this while?
“I’m quite interested in those Welfare Benefits. You mentioned you find lost things.”
“Wow, that voice is incredible….”
An admiration escaped my lips before I could help it. I nearly scolded her for having such a wonderful voice yet not saying a single word until now.
It was a voice so sweet it seemed to melt one’s ears. Listening to it, strength drained from my body of its own accord.
Once Durahan began speaking, her whole demeanor shifted.
She relaxed the stiff posture she’d been holding like display Armor, leaning back in her chair and settling into a thoroughly comfortable position.
A monster that had moved like a machine suddenly felt human.
“Do you find things other than objects?”
“Yes, yes… I’ll find anything for you.”
Wait—was Durahan actually a siren?
Enchanted, I found myself promising to do absolutely anything.
“Then could you find my head, which I lost?”
“Of course!”
Because I’ve already found it and called you here!
“Is that so? Then how about you become our Bokshil’s employee, just as he desires?”
“No, wait! Just a moment, please!”
This easily? Then why had you been avoiding me all this time?
I’d woken before dawn to persuade you, screaming like a madman through the East Forest!
“If I may ask… what brought about this change of heart?”
“It’s not a change of heart, exactly—”
The way her words trailed off was decidedly seductive. The way it harmonized with her voice made me worry that my heart might truly be stolen away.
Suddenly, the photograph of Sabira inside the Pendant came to mind. Though the image showed her as a child, she had a rather striking beauty.
If she’d been that lovely even as a girl, how much more beautiful must she have grown?
I felt regret toward someone now deceased, and though she had no head now—
Without thinking, I began imagining how Sabira would look as an adult based on her childhood photograph in the Pendant.
She sits before me with the grace and beauty of a noble knight—there’s no mistaking it.
“I’ve only just remembered now. Who I am.”
“…!”
Only just remembered?
“Until now, I was so dazed I couldn’t think straight about anything. I just wandered around without knowing where I was supposed to go.”
So the Durahan I’d been watching all this time—walking forward in silence—was in an abnormal state?
“I was able to come to my senses thanks to my Bokshil barking so persistently. Of course, I’m still far from fully reclaiming my sense of self. But I’m truly grateful.”
“Ah….”
I never imagined my shouting into the void would bring her sense of self back. All that effort wasn’t wasted after all!
But Durahan’s words didn’t end there.
“So here’s the thing—feel free to negotiate my salary however you like, Bokshil. I don’t care how much I receive.”
At those words, Brownie shot forward like an arrow toward Durahan.
“Is that really true!? Hey! Don’t take it back. Absolutely no taking it back! I heard you loud and clear! Chocho, you heard her too, right? She said she doesn’t care how much she receives, which means she doesn’t care if she receives nothing at…!”
I barely managed to clamp Brownie’s mouth shut.
“Haha… but why do you call me Bokshil?”
“Oh, you look like a dog my friend used to keep. Its fur was as fluffy as yours.”
“A… dog.”
Surely not the one I know?
“What was its name? Ah, Chocho. I wonder if it’s still doing well?”
“…Isn’t it Chacha, not Chocho?”
“Chocho’s right. Chacha is Chocho’s offspring.”
So Ragnar’s friend is unmistakably the one I’m thinking of.
My own friend treating me like a dog alongside someone else….

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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