Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 58

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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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Episode 58: D-Rank Dungeon – Library of Sin (1)
The Library of Sin contained an truly staggering number of books.
Just counting the volumes visible at a glance, there were easily over ten thousand, and that represented only the tiniest fraction.
A space composed entirely of countless tomes and shelves.
It was precisely the sort of place to set a person aflame—someone who cherished new stimuli and experiences.
《The Wise One commands that you pluck any book at random and read at once. She seems absolutely thrilled!》
Sure enough, Lidni was delighted.
She who had enjoyed even the shabby library of District 6 could hardly help but lose herself in a repository of knowledge this vast.
《Books, books, books!》
Jinsil kept urging me forward with floating script, but I couldn’t simply begin my Faith practice with whatever happened to catch my eye.
“Lidni, if you read indiscriminately, you might acquire a Secret Art with serious consequences for daily life. Please, a moment’s patience.”
I moved forward with the children, examining the shelves as we went.
Fortunately, the Eye That Pierces Truth, possessed of learning ability, did not commit the mistake of displaying information about every single volume.
《The Wise One urges reading! This is the first time in the past hundred years she has transmitted such joy!》
“Please, compose yourself. I did not enter this Dungeon to read.”
Crackle!
“No, Sue, if you’re so offended by her happiness that you’d burn every book to cinders—if Lidni commanded you to slaughter all these fair-faced youths, would that please you?”
Crackle crackle?
“Rather a feast for the eyes, wouldn’t it? Now that you mention it, perhaps so. Still, do not send me revelations through such means. I might find myself marked for heresy trial.”
《The Wise One declares in fury that this filthy evil god should vanish forthwith, for the good of the world!》
What was the matter with both of them today?
Living sensibly between these two deities of mine was work enough without all this drama.
Wriggle, wriggle.
The serpent tattoo that had crawled up the back of my hand was surveying the library here and there.
The will of the Taciturn One conveyed itself: ‘This place is so cozy and pleasant, is it not?’
In other words: the atmosphere was damp and dreary.
“Everyone, please calm yourselves by admiring my radiant smile. My nerves are already frayed.”
I withdrew a few books from the shelf as an offering to Lidni’s Faith practice, then carefully replaced them.
Screeeech.
A bizarre sound split the air, a hole materialized from nothing, and a single sheet of paper came fluttering down.
Merlin caught the paper and examined its contents, tilting her head.
[Warning: 1/5]
* Accumulate five warnings and you will be expelled.
“What is this?”
“This Library has its peculiarities. Ignorance and impropriety are treated as proper conduct.”
A quirk unique to the Library of Sin.
Foolish, uncouth behavior constituted the correct way to behave here.
Abel, holding the warning slip, spoke with grave solemnity.
“What happens if we’re expelled?”
“You fall into the Dark Abyss. After that, you’ll have to flounder in the darkness until someone rescues you.”
“…What? Didn’t the demon woman say that was a joke?”
“She joked that Sif would be thrown into the Abyss upon entry itself, not that it didn’t exist at all.”
“…….”
Both siblings’ faces went rigid, so I patted their heads reassuringly.
“It’s fine. You won’t be expelled as long as you avoid acting unreasonably. Though I must confess, behaving with proper decorum is somewhat challenging for me.”
“…You seem like you’d find it easiest, Kar.”
“Are you calling me rude?”
I was in the middle of tapping Merlin’s crown reproachfully when—
“Sponsor.”
Abel, tugging at my sleeve, fixed his gaze forward.
An Exploration Party of five was advancing toward us.
The party leader, a burly human warrior with a greatsword slung across his back, locked eyes with me quickly, then bellowed:
“Why are you blocking the path? Get out of the way!”
Crash!
An orc member of the party punched the bookshelf, sending volumes cascading to the floor.
The siblings tensed and began readying themselves for combat, so I raised a hand to stop them and spoke.
“You dare tell me to step aside? I, who am cherished by the harbinger of Twisted Truth—master of all perverse knowledge and baleful sorcery?”
I let out a slow, mirthless laugh, tilting my head gently, and made my right eye bulge outward.
– Caw!
The entire opposing party recoiled in shock, cultural impact written plain across their faces, as they witnessed the remarkable sight of an eyeball transforming into a blind crow.
“How fortunate. Lidni has been wanting new tributes, and here you are.”
The Exploration Party leader, now sweating profusely down his forehead, soon began huffing and split the bookshelf in two with his greatsword.
“Damn it… of all the rotten luck, running into a Socialite. My stars are cursed today. This leaves a bad taste—let’s double back and find another route!”
The Exploration Party members, who seemed suddenly urgent, vanished in a rush down the newly formed passage as the shelves cleaved apart.
Only then did I turn back to face the siblings with a composed expression.
“That’s enough. Let’s move.”
“…Kar, what was that just now?”
“I told you before. In the Library of Sin, you mustn’t observe propriety. So I came to an understanding with that Exploration Party leader—we performed as antagonists to each other.”
If we had politely yielded the path or spoken quietly between ourselves, we would have received a Warning.
A peculiar circumstance you could never experience in ordinary life.
This was one of the Dungeon’s unique charms.
“…Abel, for an act, your reaction seemed a bit too genuine, didn’t it?”
“…Well, yes.”
The both of you—what are you saying? Five members of an Exploration Party would have no reason to fear a single Socialite. A seasoned explorer naturally hones their skill at performance as well.”
To become a famous explorer, one had to become a versatile operator.
Otherwise, one would fail to adapt to the varied mechanisms and eventually collapse.
“We should hurry on ourselves. We need to seize every advantage before Bartimir and his party catch up, don’t we?”
Bartimir and his Exploration Party members were scheduled to enter three hours later.
In the Library of Sin, that was quite a meaningful gap, so I meant to finish everything we needed to do in this window.
— Caw.
I waited for the blind raven to return to its socket, then set out on the exploration again.
We wandered through the labyrinth of bookshelves for some time.
《Warning: Hide behind the bookshelf to your right, now.》
The moment the Eye That Pierces Truth displayed the message, I quickly pulled the siblings behind a large shelf.
Shielding the children behind my back, I drew a sharp web of thread from my index finger and set it in place.
— Click-click-click.
A moment later.
A massive tome drifted slowly through the air, passing near us.
The creature depicted on its cover—resembling a lion—had blood and flesh clinging thickly to it.
《Large Demon Book (Level 7)》
《You will see at once. Avoiding combat entirely is the wisest course.》
As it drifted past nearby, the large Demon Book suddenly wheeled its bulk toward us.
— Click-click-click!
It charged forward with terrifying speed.
Its inner pages—smeared with bone, flesh, and fresh blood—spread wide open.
Snap!
The web trap managed to block the Demon Book’s charge, but only for a moment.
That moment was enough.
Whoosh!
A fierce flame erupted from my left hand.
The foundational Secret Art of the Lonely Silent Socialite: Flame Mystery.
If I used it alone, Reria had withered so much that the firepower wouldn’t manifest properly, so I borrowed aid from an external source.
My ally was none other than an artifact that spewed flame—the Spark of Glory.
One might call it a resonance of sorts.
《Linking the Flame Mystery to an artifact that emits the same flame to amplify its power—the Wise One commends this clever application!》
Now the snake tattoo on my left hand was biting into the Spark of Glory adorning my wrist.
This had the effect of raising the Rank of the Flame Mystery by one tier.
— Click-click-click-click!
The Demon Book, struck at the common weakness of tomes that had never evolved into e-readers, erupted into chaos engulfed entirely in flames.
In that gap, I ran wildly with the siblings, fleeing to a distant place.
“…Ugh.”
Perhaps it was from running so frantically in such a short span of time.
My stomach nearly turned over.
Only after we reached a point far removed from the Demon Book did Merlin catch her breath and speak quietly.
“What in the world was that just now…?”
“What else. A book.”
“…Can you read it?”
“We don’t read the book. The book reads us.”
It wasn’t a figure of speech—it literally cuts open the human body to ‘read.’
And its Level is as high as 7.
A D-Rank dungeon explorer could never capture it, so it was a hazard that had to be avoided whenever it appeared.
“And just so you know, there are other demons besides the large Demon Books. You’ll need to navigate while avoiding their pursuit.”
“Kar, I really hate this library….”
“Don’t be so stubborn about it. Isn’t it nice to have a fresh experience you wouldn’t normally get?”
“Not at all!”
“Your horizons are still narrow.”
Whether Merlin liked it or not, the exploration had to continue.
I nudged the siblings forward while keeping my eyes on the bookshelves.
The exploration of the Library of Sin had thoroughly moistened what was otherwise a parched mind.
“A Socialite blocking our way? Have they lost their minds?”
“Please, come at us. We shall offer all of you as living sacrifices to Lidni.”
“…Let’s hurry! Running into those filthy Socialites—today’s luck is absolutely terrible!”
The occasional pleasant theater with exploration parties we happened to cross.
— Rustle-rustle!
Precarious breath-holding contests with large Demon Books that read people’s natures.
— Roooarrr!
And on top of that, there were dizzying chases with packs of the Library Guardian Beasts—creatures that lived in groups and kept appearing regularly.
“Ugh, Kar!”
“Haha. That’s right, Merlin. You’re having fun too?”
This place was basically a theme park.
Maybe from now on it should be called the ‘Library of Sin Amusement Park.’
“…My heart does feel refreshed from all the running.”
“Same here.”
Sue, being a race for whom excessive physical activity was actually recommended for health, didn’t show signs of fatigue yet.
As I enjoyed the exploration with my wards and confirmed every passage my Eye That Pierces Truth revealed, I gathered the Secret Art Tomes.
《Tier 1 Secret Art Tome – Indifferent Calf》
《Learning it slightly strengthens leg power, but the calf becomes slightly thinner.》
《Tier 3 Secret Art Tome – Puzzling Skin》
《Learning it hardens the skin, but the skin color becomes slightly darker.》
《Tier 6 Secret Art Tome – Rough Gaze》
《Learning it changes eye color to red, but allows one to project materialized killing intent.》
Before entering, the Priest had mentioned a few Secret Art Tomes with minor flaws, and I found them all—and they all pleased me.
As I quickly collected and stored them in the Shadow Realm, I finally discovered the book I’d been searching for.
《?Tier Secret Art Tome – Demon King’s Left Leg》
《An unknown Secret Art. I honestly don’t understand what this is….》
Even the Eye That Pierces Truth, which reads information from all things, couldn’t discern its effect.
Naturally, it was one of the Hidden Pieces.
Its location was completely random.
Since books shuffle every day, I had no choice but to search the entire library thoroughly.
“Jinsil.”
《Is Jinsil referring to me?》
“Who else would it be? There are four more Secret Art Tomes just like this one. Let’s find them all. When we gather them together, Lidni will be delighted.”
And we would draw one step closer to victory in the exploration competition.
“Do you children need a rest?”
“We can still move.”
“I’m fine as well.”
“Then let’s continue.”
I explored without pause, taking the longest routes around the paths of the large Demon Books and Library Guardian Beasts.
As a result, by the time nearly three hours had passed, I’d found three more Secret Art Tome sets.
《?Tier Secret Art Tome – Demon King’s Right Arm》
《?Tier Secret Art Tome – Demon King’s Right Leg》
“So two more remain.”
Merlin, who had been walking calmly behind me, suddenly tapped my shoulder.
“Kar, gathering all these Secret Art Tomes is the Hidden Piece hidden in this dungeon, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then we’ve practically already won!”
“We can’t say with certainty that we’ve won just yet.”
“Why not?”
“Even if we collect this entire Secret Art Tome set first, there’s still a possibility of a draw remaining.”
I patted the shoulders of the siblings whose eyes were fixed on me as I spoke.
“There are two types of Hidden Pieces hidden in the Library of Sin, you see.”

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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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