Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 128

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

Chapter 128: B-Rank Dungeon – Trial Tower (4)
– Truly magnificent! You’ll advance to the 10th floor at once!
The members of the Moonland Exploration Party 1st Group stood motionless, unable to celebrate their victory.
“Ugh… this is exhausting.”
Merlin spoke, barely mustering strength into his trembling legs.
“Standing itself has become difficult….”
“Same here.”
Pendrick and Bartimir weren’t in much better shape either.
Nine consecutive victories.
The entire Moonland Exploration Party 1st Group had managed to defeat enemies that required all their combined strength nine times to reach this point.
They’d managed the winning streak, but every member was already pushed to their limits.
“…Hang in there.”
Luxerion cast Healing Mystery and blessings on the members.
It wasn’t a dramatic recovery, but their bodies healed somewhat.
– The 10th floor!
They reached the 10th floor accompanied by a resounding cry.
An open vista of wilderness.
A typical Northern Continent landscape.
It was a fitting battlefield for the final layer.
“…Luxerion, your role is most critical now.”
Bartimir tapped Luxerion on the back.
“Support us and heal, and if it looks like anyone’s about to die, cry out ‘forfeit’ immediately.”
Then we won’t be able to claim the Hidden Piece for the record time.
Healing our battered bodies and challenging again would require considerable time.
“It’s a shame, but better than someone dying.”
“Agreed. The leader of an expedition must never be driven by greed.”
“This must be another teaching Mother intended…!”
“…Perhaps so?”
It seemed like he was overanalyzing it, but Luxerion affirmed for now.
Kar was a sentient being touched by Artein’s protective will.
Since he would surely accomplish something remarkable someday, Bartimir’s thinking wasn’t entirely off base.
“Let’s go. This is really the end now.”
Bartimir slapped his face hard with both hands and shouted.
“We’re coming-!”
The final enemy then appeared from beyond the wilderness.
– Squeak?
[Trial Tower] The last enemy of the Moonland Exploration Party 1st Group that had reached the 10th floor was an unusually small demon-type creature with disproportionately large ears.
– Squeakity-squeak?
It was barely the size of a rabbit.
Its appearance was simply cute.
Its presence was utterly unremarkable.
Bartimir completed his analysis swiftly and spoke with a smile.
“This thing is incredibly strong. Be careful!”
“Of course it would be, being on the 10th floor.”
“It’s not just about the floor level!”
The demon-type being with the sinister expression continued, his shoulders trembling with excitement rather than fear.
“Actually, Mother told me something. She said your knowledge of expeditions is still way, way, way, way, way lacking.”
“…She really said that?”
“That’s not the important thing right now. Listen carefully.”
Bartimir stared at the creature with his trembling hands clasped together.
“During high-level dungeon exploration, especially in a critical situation like this, if a demon-type being that looks that weak appears, you must absolutely run. It will be absurdly powerful.”
An enemy that appears weak is a formidable foe.
It was a lesson of the dungeon that any explorer should never forget.
“If it looks weak, isn’t it just weak?”
“You really….”
Before Bartimir could even finish speaking, the creature’s form vanished in an instant.
– …Warmth of Protection!
Luxerion, receiving the command through psychic impression, immediately wrapped the members in a gray protective barrier.
Crash-!
Immediately after, something plummeted from the sky.
A small demon-type being had appeared as their enemy.
It shot upward with terrifying speed, then plummeted down to deliver a headbutt, cracking through half the protective barrier.
– Blackie!
– Yes!
Pendrick leaped upward and swung his single-edged blade.
But the creature had already widened the distance.
“Quite the sprinter, isn’t it?”
Bartimir smiled, gripping bandages tightly in both hands.
“Everyone, don’t let your guard—”
Bang!
Before he could finish his warning, the creature shot forward and slammed into Bartimir.
A strike faster than most arrows.
Merlin, who had thought the wicked-but-kind demon sister was dead, suddenly opened her eyes wide.
“…You’ve got some bite to you, don’t you?”
The creature tumbled across the ground, then bounded away—and Bartimir’s two hands, petrified by his condition, crumbled to dust.
He had managed to raise both arms to block the blow in that split second.
“…How did you do that?”
“This thing only aims for the head. It came after your head before too.”
Was that so?
Merlin tried to recall the moment just now, but couldn’t say for certain.
“Lucky it’s strong but simple in its fighting style.”
“That’s fortunate?”
Pendrick laughed brightly, and Bartimir’s lips curved upward as well.
“We are lucky. At least we didn’t encounter something impossible to capture at the very end.”
“…That was the good outcome?”
“Stop chatting. It’ll come again—stay focused.”
The final enemy was strong.
Yet it wasn’t unbeatable.
Not for the members who had grown considerably through their training until now.
– It’s coming again! Barrier!
– Yes!
– Blackie, attack as soon as cracks form in the barrier!
– Understood!
The end of the conquest was drawing near.
***
“Abel? While we wait for the outlaws, could you prepare a meal?”
Even with combat against the outlaws scheduled, they couldn’t skip eating.
After all, this whole venture was about survival.
“Of course.”
Abel withdrew expedition cooking tools from his pack and laid them out, then began preparing ingredients.
The first ingredient he worked with was meat from the demon-type being called the Underworld Ox.
Too tough to eat raw, but when refined using the Cook class’s Secret Art, it boasted considerable flavor.
“That smells delicious. Makes me want to gorge myself.”
“So you’ll have three bites, then.”
“Come now, I’m hardly a child. Don’t be ridiculous.”
……
It was just as Abel skillfully prepared a marinade and set the meat to soak.
Footsteps.
Sounds echoed from the far end of the corridor.
Multiple people were approaching.
They made no effort to conceal their presence—brazenly thundering forward.
……
Rosalia, who had been resting against the wall, slowly walked over to me and drew a number in the air.
“Eleven of them? The same count as when we exchanged information.”
When I extended my hand, the kind Assassin grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet, then tapped her own head twice.
“You’re asking if I have a tactic to overcome the numbers disadvantage. If not, you’ll beat it into me yourself—that’s what that meant, yes?”
……
Rosalia clenched her fist and offered it to me softly.
It was a gesture so tentative, so meek, that I—a frail Socialite—could only shrink back. So I clasped the fist and brought it down.
“Of course I have something in mind.”
I placed a hand on Abel’s head as he prepared the poisonous salad for Rosalia.
“Abel, from this moment on, you mustn’t look our way.”
“Why not, sir?”
I spoke in a low voice, my gaze fixed on the Corridor where footsteps drew steadily closer.
“Because we possess a cruel, dreadful, and terrifying secret art that will allow us to fell all of them without sustaining the slightest injury.”
What was about to unfold was not meant for children’s eyes.
“…Patron, shall I continue preparing food for this encounter as well?”
“What a commendable sentiment.”
It seemed Abel had begun to internalize the mindset of a Cook to a respectable degree.
I answered while tousling his small head affectionately.
“Ordinarily that would be the right choice, but this time there are far too many of them. I’ll shield you from it, but just in case, hold that Kitchen Knife firmly in your hand.”
As I was reassuring Abel’s shoulders, a group of figures emerged from beyond the Corridor.
Mostly adventurers of various beast-kin races dressed in light gear.
At the fore stood a greasy-looking equine hunter.
《Brownmane—an equine beast-kin, twenty-three years old. He is the deputy guildmaster of the Hyena Guild. As one who bears the Slaughterer Class and relishes butchery, caution is warranted.》
“You there, golden-haired Half-Elf. Are you Kar, the Socialite of the Twisted Truth?”
I shook my head briskly.
“No, sir. I am Balthasar, a human Thief. It appears you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“Spare me the nonsense. We already know everything.”
Brownmane spoke while standing in a haughty posture, unfurling a thick Whip that stretched out like a serpent.
Just looking at it made one’s body shudder.
Of course, I was trembling because it was genuinely terrifying.
“You’re the one who took down the guildmaster of the Black Sword Guild, aren’t you?”
The equine deputy guildmaster continued, his Whip undulating like a living thing.
“Personally, I couldn’t care less whether that thieving scum lives or dies, but orders came down from above. You’re coming with us.”
“Is this an abduction?”
“If you want to categorize it, I suppose that’s what you’d call this criminal act.”
“That does concern me somewhat.”
As I conjured the various horrors that would befall me if I followed in the wake of the Hyena Guild, my vision darkened of its own accord.
“I imagine you’ll bind me first, then confine me. After that, you’ll make me pay with my body for the destruction of the Black Sword Guild. Born as I am into a Half-Elf blessed only with beauty, it seems I’m fated to endure such degradation….”
Wrapping my arms around myself and lowering my head, Brownmane let out a short, hollow laugh.
“…I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s not what we’ll do.”
“Then what manner of conduct did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know either. Perhaps we’ll have a light bout of torture as retaliation, then extract your organs and sell the leftover corpse to the Black Market in the 4th District.”
“Ah, how refreshingly conventional and wholesome of you.”
……
Brownmane’s eyes narrowed as he fixed me with a stare.
The other Slaughterers of the Hyena Guild wore similar expressions.
“In any case, I must resist with all my might from this moment forward. I have absolutely no desire to endure such brutal torture. Even the mere thought of it fills me with dread.”
……
Rosalia tilted her head slightly, looking at me.
– Why are you looking at me that way? Have I not told you several times that I am not someone who enjoys suffering or harbors such twisted tastes?
The only suffering I desire is that which arrives along the path toward something of true value.
Should pain come without any redeeming purpose, I wish to refuse it utterly.
“…Allow me to make a proposal.”
Brownmane swept his long hair back once and met my gaze.
“Come quietly, and I’ll guarantee the lives of your companions.”
“Is that so? I’ll need a moment to consider.”
I thought seriously for a moment before responding.
“I too shall make a proposal.”
Crackle-crackle!
Black Lightning erupted from my right hand in wild arcs.
“Surrender peacefully, and I’ll grant you the right to choose which Evil Deity you’ll be offered to.”
“…Heh.”
Brownmane let out a short snort, his gaze piercing into me.
“Did a little success in the Guild War swell your head?”
“Oh, you caught me. Honestly, wouldn’t my performance have been impressive enough to strut about openly?”
“Hmm, I can’t say it wasn’t impressive, really….”
The equine deputy guildmaster’s head wavered for a moment before he glanced back at his companions.
“But you’re only three, and we’re eleven. You’re no Targon. Do you honestly think you can overcome a gap in numbers like that?”
“Three of you? I count only two.”
“…Can’t the Sociato even count anymore these days?”
Brownmane let out a dry chuckle and glanced to the side.
Then he stiffened.
Abel, who had been standing tense until just moments before, had vanished from everyone’s sight.
“What do you say?”
I smiled thinly and repeated myself.
“Two of us, isn’t that right?”
“…What did you just do?”
“I’ve done nothing. I merely received basic arithmetic education. It’s never too late to learn—might I suggest applying to the academy in the 1st District starting today?”
……
Brownmane was no outlaw so inexperienced as to fall for such transparent provocation.
In truth, whether there were three or two mattered little.
The advantage still lay overwhelmingly with his side.
“I have no desire for needless combat either. But since you’re being uncooperative, I suppose I have no choice.”
At once, the vice-guildmaster issued orders to his subordinates.
“Take your positions. Make this quick.”
“Understood!”
“Yes, sir!”
A shield-bearing warrior and a tamer escorting a tamed beast-type creature stepped forward, while the rest of the guild members spread out freely.
Though they appeared loose-formed for now, the moment combat began, the Hyena Guild’s specialty was to encircle and tear apart explorers in a flash.
“Since the guildmaster wishes you taken alive, I’ll be sure to handle you gently.”
“Oh my, how frightening.”
I approached the red-haired elf with a trembling step.
“Miss, I’m terrified. Please save me.”
……
The elf glanced at me sidelong, shook her head slightly, and gripped her dagger in reverse.
“That elf’s an Assassin. Keep her pinned close—don’t let her hide and slip away.”
Assassins are vulnerable to direct confrontation.
A Sociato can be subdued easily enough through brute force alone.
Merely two of them.
Moreover, both wielded classes with such glaring weaknesses that this was a fight they absolutely could not lose.
That’s what they must be thinking.
“Then I’m afraid I have no choice in the matter.”
I sent instructions to Rosalia through telepathy and extended my right hand, from which the Black Lightning had faded, forward into the air.
From my palm facing the ceiling, a small object materialized.
A round sphere adorned with a decoration symbolizing a solar eclipse.
“…That is?”
Brownmane’s eyes widened in shock.
“An artifact…?”
The Hidden Reward of the Battlefield of Sun and Moon.
An artifact that cannot be taken outside the Dungeon when only the standard clear conditions are satisfied.
The Orb of Lumeran.
“Ding-ding-ding! That’s correct.”
Whoosh.
As I channeled my will into the artifact, darkness suddenly descended upon the Corridor.
A blackness so complete that not a hand’s breadth ahead was visible.
Writhe.
In the environment where the Evil Deity would delight, I spoke quietly.
“Since you rejected my goodwill, I shall simply choose the offerings as I see fit.”
A blood feast for the Evil Deities—now commencing.

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