Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 59

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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 59: D-Rank Dungeon—Library of Sin (2)
“I’ll explain once, so listen carefully.”
Pendrick stood listening intently, cradling Astrímia in his arms.
“Before we explore, we’re going to find the Hidden Piece in the Library of Sin.”
Bartimir, the dark mage.
The suspicious-looking demon with most of his upper body, including his face, wrapped in bandages walked between the bookshelves, speaking as he went.
“According to our analysis at the Tamdok Mage Tower, since the dungeon’s setting is a library, the Hidden Piece is likely related to books—probably only a few among the countless Secret Art Tomes can trigger special events.”
His voice was as grim as any demon’s, and his manner of speech was blunt to the point of rudeness.
His appearance was so startling that it was only natural for revulsion to deepen.
“But finding that kind of book would give the Twisted Truth Heretic Sect too much of an advantage, right? So I’m going to look for a different Hidden Piece instead.”
“Wait—there are two kinds of Hidden Pieces?”
“According to our tower’s analysis. I don’t know the specifics. We figured it out through mana wavelengths.”
Bartimir casually pulled a single book from his possession.
“I grabbed a few books from the tower’s library based on the analysis results—only ones with cruel content fitting the Library of Sin. I’ll handle the rest myself, so you lot just do what I tell you. Don’t rack your brains over it for nothing.”
It was hardly kind, certainly.
Yet strangely, the impression kept forming that he was considerate and thoughtful.
Wondering if it was just his imagination, he’d asked Astrímia, and the beautiful ego sword seemed to share the thought.
— “I was scared because he’s a demon, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person after all.”
“Right?”
— “Like Kar, who’s a Socialite but not cunning. A dark mage and demon race, yet not wicked. His appearance is pretty sinister, though….”
“Hey, aren’t you two paying attention?”
As they were chatting, Bartimir pointed irritably with one finger.
Then he suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“You two—are you dating? Why are you so close?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. Astrímia and I have cultivated love since we were on the Eastern Continent.”
“Huh? Really?”
The demon’s mouth fell open, but he soon bobbed his head in acknowledgment.
“A handsome fellow with a pretty blade…. Yeah, I guess you do suit each other.”
He offered warm words despite his grudging tone.
Pendrick traced the hilt of Astrímia with his fingers, whispering softly.
“He’s not a bad person after all.”
— “I knew it!”
“I said be quiet, damn it.”
It was the moment Bartimir flared up again.
— Grrrrowwwl.
With a low, ferocious cry, demon beasts emerged from between the bookshelves.
Demon realm guard hounds.
Creatures he’d grown sick of fighting in the Nightmare World.
But their appearance was peculiar.
— “Their bodies are books?”
Four legs and a tail.
And their torsos appeared as if made from a jumble of large and small books compressed together.
Only their relatively intact heads felt strangely out of place with the rest of their forms.
“Library hounds.”
Bartimir stepped forward with a thoughtful scratch of his chin.
“Level 3 demon beasts. They look like trash, but they’re more violent than the original demon realm guard hounds.”
“…….”
Rosalia, grasping the Red-Bladed Dagger in her hand, looked at the demon.
“What? You’ll take them on?”
A nod.
“No, leave them. I’ll handle it.”
“That is… Commander Bartimir? What might your Soul Grade be?”
“Level 2.”
So a Level 2 was saying he’d kill a swarm of Level 3 demon beasts alone.
And that too as a Mage—a Class that should ideally stay hidden in the rear because of inferior physical ability?
“Are you certain?”
“It’s fine, so stay put.”
“Why insist on fighting alone? Do you perhaps not trust us?”
“No. It’s just time my Grade started climbing.”
As Bartimir spoke calmly and began unwrapping the bandages from both his hands, the library hounds suddenly charged forward together.
— Roooaarrr!
Movements far more vicious than an ordinary Demon Realm sentinel hound, with fangs and claws razor-sharp.
Pendrick caught Rosalia’s eye and braced himself to step in if needed.
But.
He soon realized there was no need.
Crack!
A sickening burst of rupture.
The sound of the sentinel’s flesh and bone tearing apart.
Both fists of the one who had crushed the demon beast’s head in a single blow were wreathed in a murky green light.
“Excellent feel to it!”
The demon race who had trembled for a moment then annihilated the heads and bodies of the demon beasts surging forward in quick succession.
So swift that one might have missed the movement entirely.
Not merely fast—each punch and kick that unfolded was potent enough to send a demon beast rolling across the ground.
Crack, crunch!
Even the larger specimen was incapacitated after just two strikes.
The disciplined attacks and bold movements—things worth learning as a Warrior.
There was one problem: this demon race’s Class was not Martial Artist, but Dark Mage….
— What exactly am I looking at right now?
At his lover’s dazed murmur, Pendrick smiled wryly.
“It seems you have no intention of recruiting ordinary explorers after all?”
…….
Rosalia glanced back and forth between Pendrick and Astrímia, then nodded.
“Whew, that was pretty intense.”
Not long after, Bartimir, who had brought down all of the Library’s sentinel hounds, came strolling back.
“You did well. Impressive.”
Pendrick spoke with a smile, then flinched.
The demon race’s hands, now like stone, were cracking and crumbling.
“…Are you alright?”
“Ah, don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Was a Mage’s seething scholarly hunger really enough to call a state like that “fine”?
While Pendrick hesitated, searching for words, the hands that had vanished regrew.
Hard and stony in appearance.
“…Huh?”
“A malady called Hardening Body.”
Bartimir matter-of-factly wrapped the hands in bandages again.
“My body turns to stone gradually, starting with my hands and feet. I become extraordinarily hard—hard enough to use for attacks like just now.”
— Surely that malady doesn’t have the ability to regrow limbs?
“Of course not. That’s the curse Malicious Friend at work. It reinforces and sustains every sickness afflicting my body—when my hands shattered just then, it ‘healed’ them and reattached them.”
He understood the words, but found them hard to accept.
It sounded as though Bartimir had deliberately cursed and sickened himself.
“Never mind. Let’s move again. Oh, if you spot any books that scatter malice in places, let me know.”
— Why?
“Reading such books lets me learn truly sinister Secret Arts that border on curses. The malice itself is useful too.”
…….
It really did seem he had deliberately taken misfortune and ruin upon himself.
Pendrick, watching the demon race’s retreating silhouette, spoke softly to Rosalia.
“They certainly seem to be an unusual person. Would you not agree, Assassin?”
…….
The taciturn elf simply looked back and forth between Pendrick and Astrímia in turn, shook her head, and moved ahead.
“What’s wrong with her, Astrímia?”
— Who knows…?
It was a reaction neither of them could make sense of.
***
A section where bookshelves had grown densely clustered.
My siblings and I took a brief rest in a cleared circular space, then resumed our exploration.
Abel, who had been following obediently, whispered softly.
“Why has it become so dark?”
“The Dungeon grows pitch-black whenever night falls.”
The Library, which had been bright as midday until recently, was now completely shrouded in shadow.
Flicker.
I lit a candle and fastened it to my hair with spider silk.
“At night, demon beasts’ physical abilities rise a little. So you need to move more carefully than during the day.”
Slowly, steadily, without panic.
If you follow these three principles rigorously, you can clear any Dungeon successfully.
There are rare occasions when you act with perfect composure and still encounter hardships you cannot overcome—but in those cases, if you shift your perspective and think of it as good fortune instead, you can move past it.
Crash-crash-crash!
As I searched the Library of Sin while holding my breath, the bookshelves nearby began to shake violently.
That wasn’t all.
The books crammed tightly into the shelves trembled in resonance with them.
Screech!
Soon enough.
Books burst from the ceiling, fluttering wildly as they surged toward us.
《Small Demon Books (Level 2)》
《Low level, but numerous and vicious—don’t let your guard down.》
“Ready yourselves, you two.”
I converted my right hand with Dark Brain Blooming into black lightning and prepared to unleash flame from my left.
“Now you’ll see the true face of the Library of Sin.”
Every demon beast in this Dungeon was nocturnal.
Whoosh!
The Demon Books that had been flying about chaotically suddenly became kindling, igniting as they plummeted.
“They burn wonderfully!”
Merlin, swinging the dagger First Breath wildly and hurling the secret art blade Last Breath repeatedly as he cut through the swarm of Demon Books, spoke with concern.
“But at this rate, won’t the entire library burn down?”
“It’s fine. The Library of Sin has an auto-restoration function—it’s a sort of building-form artifact.”
Crunch!
Abel was also performing brilliantly alongside Merlin.
With the premium kitchen knife Devouring Teeth, he sliced through every charging Demon Book in a single stroke.
“Patron. These books—they have what could be called ‘biological’ components inside them, it seems.”
“Since you mention it, I can’t help but talk about the Demon Race’s publishing techniques! It’s a special method where Mana Stones are mixed into the paper….”
“Stop explaining and run!”
Unfortunately, Merlin’s interruption cut short the educational opportunity before it could even begin.
I dashed forward, incinerating the books with the flame in my left hand and black lightning in my right.
Writhe, writhe.
The snake tattoo biting down on the Seed of Glory kept grinning wickedly.
Reria was delighted that her believer was finally engaging in “faith practice” after such a long time.
“Truth, find the book!”
《Already scanning the information of every tome with full effort!》
“Watch out!”
I blocked the attack of a Demon Book that was about to bite Merlin, and Abel split it in half with his blade.
“Aaaaagh!”
As we ran desperately battling the small Demon Books, we collided with another exploration party rushing toward us.
The explorers’ faces, which had brightened momentarily, suddenly darkened.
Another thrilling encounter had arrived.
Grrrrr-roar!
A large Demon Book was flying toward us.
Its flight speed was markedly faster than what we’d seen during the day.
Its level even rises one rank at night to eight—though the difference is merely the distinction between being trampled by a giant and being crushed by a colossal golem, so there’s no real need to worry about it.
Whoosh!
I unleashed flame at maximum output.
As the large Demon Book, scorched by the inferno, writhed in agony, I ran forward together with the exploration party, with whom we had silently agreed to join forces temporarily.
The bald exploration leader running alongside me suddenly brightened.
“A golden-haired Socialite…. Could you possibly be Kar, the Twisted Truth Socialite whom Valentin praised so highly?”
“I am.”
“Please guide us to a safe zone! I’ll reward you handsomely!”
“I’m not entirely sure where a safe location would be either.”
“…Eh?”
Since the positions of books change each time, could the safe zones remain the same?
There’s no way a Dungeon unfriendly to explorers would do that.
Of course, even the few rest areas we have are completely randomized.
“Still, if we work together….”
The bald expedition leader suddenly stopped short, his face twisted in alarm.
—Growwwwl!
—Screech!
Two large Demon Books blocked our path, their arrival sudden and terrifying.
And from behind, the one we’d burned earlier was closing in on us, relentless.
A countless swarm of smaller Demon Books followed us without ceasing.
Crunch!
The Warrior of the bald expedition team desperately slashed at the bookshelves forming a wall with his axe, but only taller, more formidable shelves appeared in their place.
“…This is bad.”
“Artemis, have mercy…”
The battered explorers shut their eyes tight or covered their faces with their hands.
In any ordinary Dungeon, this would have been the end—complete annihilation.
“…Kar.”
“Sponsor.”
But the siblings didn’t despair; they called out to me instead.
They trusted without a shadow of doubt that I would break through this crisis.
“…Trust only in me.”
And so I had no choice but to speak boldly.
Because I had failed Yunji’s expectations before.
So that I would not repeat the same mistake, I would protect Merlin and Abel no matter what came.
“Don’t give up. Everyone, press yourselves against the bookshelves on either side, now.”
“…What?”
“Move quickly!”
Jolted from his daze, the bald leader glanced up at the ceiling, then snapped to attention and led his team to flatten themselves against the shelves.
It would be close, perhaps too close, but as explorers they should have come prepared to die; they’d manage it themselves.
Truthfully, I was only stepping forward for Merlin and Abel—I had little real interest in the life or death of explorers I’d just met.
—Growwwwl!
I charged headlong toward the massive Demon Book bearing down on us.
From the pages of the splayed book, tentacles shot out and seized my body.
Crack. Snap, crack-crack!
My entire body twisted, shattered, crushed, torn, pulverized.
It had begun to “read” me.
Pain beyond imagination flooded through me.
For a moment, consciousness nearly fled.
Had Truth not deployed the Wall that Postpones Wounds at that instant, I would have already been dragged into the hell run by the gods of falsehood.
Fighting to hold onto a mind dissolving under the agony of being “read” by the book, I bit down hard on my tongue and shouted:
“Run! Now!”
“…We will not forget your sacrifice!”
While the massive Demon Books focused on their reading of me, the bald expedition leader swiftly led his team to escape.
Good that they didn’t hesitate with pointless guilt weighing them down.
“You two, go! Now!”
“…Kar.”
Merlin hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, grabbed his sister’s hand, and ran.
—Growwwwl!
In that moment, the massive Demon Book that had been chasing us from behind arrived and began joining in the “reading” of me.
Three books reading me simultaneously.
Countless waves of pain crashed through my body, yet I could not help but smile.
Because this was precisely the scenario I had been counting on.
Once I confirmed that the children and the expedition team were far enough away, I lowered my left hand and turned my palm upward toward the ceiling.
“…Want a taste of fire?”
Whoooosh—!!
A blazing inferno released at maximum force.
Hot flames spread like wildfire across the space in an instant.
The swarm of smaller Demon Books fell, consumed by fire, and the bookshelves were wholly devoured by the flames.
—Screech!
—Growwwwl!
The massive Demon Books that had been reading me writhed in obvious agony, twisting their bodies wildly.
Normally, the iron resistance granted by a Level of 8 would be so strong that my feeble flames couldn’t harm them at all.
But if there was one moment when they became vulnerable, it was precisely when they were in the act of “reading.”
Wriggle-wriggle!
The snake tattoo thrashed its tail violently, unleashing Snake Flame Fire that consumed the massive Demon Books in an inferno.
Crash.
With every tentacle that had been tearing through my body now ablaze, I plummeted freely to the ground.
The moment my battered form hit the floor, Truth opened a Status Window and began her relentless nagging.
《Your remaining Life Force: 7/100》
《Your remaining Mental Force: 10/100》
《Please take care of yourself! You could actually die like this!》
“…I’m not dying in a place like this.”
Never.

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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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