Monster Company Tycoon - Chapter 35

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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 35
Durehan used the excuse of writing a Resume to keep Choi confined to the Dungeon, then rushed to the Training Facility where Ruadis was the moment dawn broke.
“You showed up so suddenly at night—I thought I was going to pass out!”
“Just calm down for a moment.”
Then Ruadis immediately told her the news that Durehan had come to visit in person last night.
She also mentioned the absurd misunderstanding he held about her own death.
With so little time left in her shift, there wasn’t room for a detailed conversation.
After relaying only the urgent information, she hurried off toward the Restaurant.
Not long after, while I was in the middle of my shift, Ruadis and Ragnar appeared together before my table. The two of them sat down and discussed Sabira.
The moment work slowed, I squeezed my way into the conversation.
“Does becoming an Undead Monster scramble your mind somehow? How could someone make such a mistake…?”
Strangely enough, Ragnar—the one bearing the false accusation—seemed utterly unmoved. His friend was laboring under a ridiculous misunderstanding, yet he didn’t seem bothered at all.
“Aren’t you trusting the monster’s words then, Choi?”
“Huh?”
Words tumbled out of my mouth before I could think.
“Couldn’t the monster’s account also be the truth?”
“But that would mean Ragnar really did kill his friend.”
“Only I know the truth of what happened to Sabira that day. Could I not have deceived you both?”
“Ragnar.”
At those words, Ruadis called his name in reproach. Her expression was cold enough to frighten me.
But Ragnar didn’t retract his statement—he simply gazed at me in silence.
What’s gotten into him now? Why is he deliberately courting such a misunderstanding?
Wait—surely he’s not serious…?
According to Ragnar’s own logic, only the two who were there that day knew what actually happened.
So whether Ragnar spoke truth or lies, we couldn’t possibly know.
But even so, it doesn’t add up.
“Deliberately…?”
……
“The Demonic Realm is a dangerous place. Wouldn’t it be safer to have a companion than to go alone? Why would there be a need to kill?”
“The Demonic Realm is a place where all manner of bizarre phenomena occur. Could I not have been possessed by Demonic Energy and lost my mind?”
“But you’re fine. And you said Sabira was incredibly skilled, didn’t you?”
He’d definitely told me that—that if she’d lived, she would have earned the title of Hero before him.
“Even if you were possessed and attacked Sabira, you would’ve gone through a hard battle, so surviving unscathed seems unlikely.”
……
“If you’d suffered serious injuries, you’d have had difficulty escaping the Demonic Realm safely. So I don’t think you actually attacked Sabira.”
“That’s quite a sound deduction.”
“And above all, you don’t seem like the kind of person who would kill a close friend with your own hands. Just looking at how carefully you’ve tended the Tomb speaks volumes.”
The Tomb where you’d hung the Pendant Necklace holding their photographs emanated such deep affection.
Ragnar stilled when he heard my words.
“I may be a worse person than you know me to be.”
“Ugh.”
A sigh escaped me unbidden, born of exasperation.
“Then why would I be working here idle and at ease right now? I’d have been arrested and turned over to the Temple long ago, or you’d have found some weakness and manipulated me however you pleased. You’ve been considerate of my circumstances and helped me. I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
And you were a former Hero, too. Surely only righteous people could become Heroes, right?
When I finished speaking, Ragnar finally looked away from me.
He began to stare vacantly down at the teacup he hadn’t touched all day.
“I’m already dealing with enough headaches because of Durehan—don’t make things worse by talking nonsense.”
His face was clearly impassive.
But I glimpsed something—a quiet darkness pooled beneath the surface of his green eyes.
Had he just been pretending to be unaffected?
Was he actually deeply shaken by what Sabira said?
If that were true, his strange behavior made considerably more sense.
“Ragnar—do you actually want to be misunderstood?”
I saw his fingers wrapped around the teacup tremble slightly.
“Do you want Sabira to believe it as is and resent you? Or do you believe she already does resent you?”
Sabira died protecting Ragnar, after all.
It would be understandable for him to resign himself to the thought that she could never forgive him.
It seemed Durehan’s muddled remark had struck right at the heart of Ragnar’s guilt.
This guy—I’d thought he was emotionally flat, but apparently he’s the type who digs tunnels quietly and carefully.
You’re not just letting the misunderstanding slide because you want to punish yourself, are you?
We’d welcome it if you blamed yourself just as harshly.
“Ragnar, is what the lady said true?”
“Master, regarding Sabira’s death….”
“You fool! Haven’t I told you that in the Demonic Realm, no death is anyone’s fault?”
The moment you enter the Demonic Realm, survival is the only objective.
Unless you harbor malice and deliberately push a comrade to their death, nothing that happens there falls on anyone’s shoulders.
“She may well resent me.”
“Young lady.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Just let them meet. If Sabira truly is laboring under this misunderstanding, they might as well air it out like squabbling children—it’d do them both good.”
Ruadis shot Ragnar a look that said she wanted to strike him on the spot.
“Well… if we could find his head, he might remember things properly?”
“No. That’s better left alone.”
She shook her head firmly.
Things are spiraling toward catastrophe.
If those two fought, who would win?
Ragnar, being a Hero, would likely overpower Sabira, who died on her first adventure and became a monster.
Which meant… who was going to serve as our Dungeon’s boss now?
***
The moment my shift at the Restaurant ended, the three of us headed for the Dungeon.
Ruadis had taken Durehan’s head and hidden it in the Dungeon’s Respawn Room.
“You’re really… not going to give it back?”
Just moments ago, weren’t you saying you wanted to apologize to Sabira when you met her again?
Didn’t everyone seem rather warm that day?
Ragnar was radiating a distinctly ominous aura without the slightest attempt to hide it, and Ruadis was making her foul mood abundantly clear.
Only our poor staff trembled like rabbits, watching the two of them with nervous eyes.
“Everyone, please clear the gates. These two have reserved private use of the Dungeon for today.”
At my command, the staff scurried out of the waiting area and huddled behind me.
“Manager, we’re scared…”
“Manager, please protect us.”
If I’m the weakest one here, why are they hiding behind me?
“You two, please wait here for a moment. I’ll go bring Durehan.”
“Wahhh, Manager, come with us!”
“Don’t leave us alone!”
I headed to my office with the wickedly-looking monsters clinging to me like chicks trailing their mother hen.
Opening the door, Durehan sat there peacefully, barely having managed to fill out his resume.
“Oh, Choi, you’re here?”
“It’s not Choi. More importantly… I’ve brought some people who wish to see you.”
Durehan shifted his torso to peer at the staff huddled behind me.
“Not them.”
The staff, who had been tense from their fear of Ruadis and Ragnar, shrank even further at the sight of Durehan, another monster.
How can they fear even their own kind?
“People who wanted to meet me….”
His husky voice was tinged with keen interest.
“I’m busy looking for my head as you know, but receiving guests must also be part of the job, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re not officially an employee yet.”
“I know, I know. But you should make me a full employee so I can receive proper staff benefits, right?”
A question suddenly occurred to me.
Was Durehan’s current personality identical to Sabira’s before her death?
If there wasn’t a single trace in his voice, personality, or mannerisms that could identify him as Sabira, how would Ruadis and Ragnar even recognize him?
“Let’s go.”
Durehan rose from his seat and strode toward the first floor with long steps.
He found his way despite my never telling him where the guests were waiting.
“Hah… I’m not sure this is the right thing to do.”
I hurried after Durehan, and the staff trailed after me in turn.
Until those two left the Dungeon entirely and found peace, they’d probably keep pestering me like this.
And if they do, I’ll have to keep my glasses off the whole time!
My vision’s so blurry like this—it’s unbearably inconvenient!

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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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