Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 63

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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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Chapter 63: The Five-Star Librarian
The Dungeon Guardian vanishes once you complete all the book donation Hidden Pieces.
– …Freedom.
The book knight who had been pressing Bartimier and Pendrick relentlessly seeped downward into the earth and disappeared.
The demon black mage and the genius warrior both collapsed flat on the ground.
As I approached cautiously, they both shot me looks of resentment.
“You….”
“…Captain.”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Does exploring seem easy to you?”
Still, I decided to provide potions.
Not the superior Stamina Recovery Potion, but just basic healing potions—three bottles.
As I set a bottle beside the demon expedition leader’s face, Astrímia, sprawled out next to her companion, shook her sword blade.
– Bartimier, now you understand who Kar is, don’t you? He could trap someone like us in an instant!
“…Yeah.”
Bartimier was nodding his head readily when—
“Kar!”
A shout came from the distance—Merlin’s voice.
“We cleared it! Looks like it was a draw!”
It was the news I’d been waiting for.
“So our trusted Rosalia ended up tied with the little ones….”
Bartimier clicked his tongue.
For someone with such an innocent appearance, he harbored no resentment toward Rosalia—only regret.
“By the way, we also acquired another Hidden Piece. So we won.”
“…Hmm, three hours really is quite the margin!”
In a D-rank Dungeon like the Sin Library, three hours was a significant difference—though it wouldn’t matter in C-rank or higher.
Still, Rosalia’s existence at level six had been enough to narrow the gap considerably.
The only problem was that I myself was absurdly overpowered.
– …I still don’t understand why you deliberately accepted the worse conditions. Without the time handicap, we could have won easily.
At Astrímia’s murmur, Bartimier let out a soft laugh.
“Winning isn’t what matters. What matters is how much joy you find in exploring.”
Clap, clap, clap.
I couldn’t help but applaud such admirable explorer spirit.
The youngest of the Le family had grown into a truly magnificent person.
Emir, who must be burning in hell by now, would surely be watching with a proud smile.
“Rise.”
I extended a hand to my worthy opponent.
Bartimier grasped it immediately and got to his feet.
“I lost.”
As he wound the loose bandages around his hands, Bartimier slowly shook his head.
There was no trace of bitterness—if anything, his movements were brisk, as though a weight had been lifted.
“You accept defeat so readily?”
“Yes. Complete defeat.”
“Since you’ve gracefully accepted it, I’ll offer you the position of vice expedition leader.”
“Hey, thanks.”
Bartimier, an admirable demon explorer who could humbly accept the results of exploration, broke into a laugh.
“Will you be joining our Moon Expedition Party?”
“Yeah. Your members are all strong overall, and they’ve got good personalities. Though the expedition name is a bit… odd.”
What was so odd about it?
It would probably sweep an awards ceremony for refined expedition names.
“It’s somewhat ambiguous, I’ll admit.”
Even Pendrick had betrayed me.
“Anyway, Bartimier, I look forward to working with you going forward.”
“Same here.”
I grasped his petrified hand—a consequence of the Petrifying Body condition—and shook it, then turned to face the direction from which Merlin’s voice had come.
– Caw!
“Well done.”
Now that the blind raven had also returned, we all climbed back up to the mountainside.
The siblings waiting there gave me waves with expressions of rather smug satisfaction.
“Hmph! Kar, don’t you have something to say?”
“.……”
Merlin asked outright, and Abel demanded something silently with his eyes, so I gladly did as they wished.
“Well done. I’ve had faith in you two all along.”
Proper praise and encouragement were part of my duty as expedition leader.
As I ran my fingers slowly through their hair, both their tails swished back and forth.
“A draw, then. Assassin, that’s unfortunate. There’s nothing to be done about it—we couldn’t stop Kar from sending a raven because of the library’s guardian either.”
Pendrick’s thoughtful consolation achieved little.
……
Perhaps the shock of drawing with mere children at levels 2 and 1 ran deeper than I’d thought.
A level-6 assassin with twenty-two years of experience stood motionless, staring up at the crude blue ceiling that mimicked a snowy sky.
“My sister put the book in, but Abel was holding the bottom part. If I hadn’t covered my eyes, you would’ve seen through the trick right away!”
Merlin, kind enough to lift Rosalia’s spirits, pointed toward the door jutting from the ridge of the mountainside.
An old, weathered door—or perhaps simply ancient.
At the top, “Ancient Documents Room” was written in faded letters, with a small sheet of paper pinned haphazardly beneath.
[We will count this as a simultaneous insertion.]
Bartimier, who had been studying the door carefully with his hand pressed against it, turned his gaze toward me.
“Want to go in first?”
“No. The competition is over—let’s enter together. Abel, since you inserted the book, why don’t you open it?”
“Yes.”
Abel pushed the door to the Ancient Documents Room open with force.
As I stepped inside, the door behind us vanished, revealing a long, narrow rectangular space.
The shelves, carved directly into the stone walls, were crammed with books that looked worn and shabby at a glance.
“Hello there……”
A demon sitting at a desk greeted us with a drowsy expression and voice.
《Kiji Kirili (Demon, 27 years old). Seems like just a lethargic demon fond of shirking work, but oddly enough, I can’t read his information. Caution appears warranted.》
The librarian—a conquest requirement of the Sin Library.
More precisely, the second Hidden Piece.
Like Ermentaz, the senior I’d met in the Earth Elf’s Tomb, he was a specter of the Hidden Dungeon.
“Greetings, Librarian.”
“Yesss……”
With a voice half-drowsy and half-conscious, the librarian Kiji rose slowly and began his guidance.
“Since you’ve donated three books, I grant you access to the Ancient Documents Room. Please take just one book with you……”
The basic rules remained unchanged from the Sin Library’s character.
Every old book in the Ancient Documents Room was a Secret Art Tome.
Mysterious tomes born from the meticulous malice that ancient demons had poured into them.
Aged as they were, their tricks had grown vicious enough that careless handling could bring sudden, screaming death—a kind of unpredictable thrill.
“Remember one thing.”
The demon librarian’s voice suddenly sharpened, and he spoke carefully.
“This library bears no responsibility whatsoever for accidents resulting from old books—loss of life, mental collapse, and such. Guests must take precautions on their own.”
……
While the others hesitated, eyes darting nervously, I offered my thanks.
“Thank you for the kind warning. I’ll definitely note in my review that the librarian’s advice was invaluable. And of course, I’ll give you five stars.”
“…Eh?”
“Bartimier, let’s each pick one.”
Bartimier, the only one besides me who hadn’t gone rigid, scratched his head and spoke.
“Could you maybe pick just one old book for us? There are too many to choose from.”
“Very well.”
It wasn’t a difficult request.
I’d already thought it through beforehand.
I quickly selected two old books.
《Tier-4 Secret Art Tome — Hidden Eater》
《Allows you to make your presence infinitely faint, but your body weight decreases.》
《Tier-4 Secret Art Tome — Assault Eater》
《Allows you to temporarily increase your strength, but your body weight increases.》
A set of secret arts that, depending on one’s perspective, had no flaws whatsoever.
I’d give the Hidden Eater to Merlin and the Assault Eater to Bartimier.
“You chose rather quickly……”
The demon librarian Kiji yawned indifferently.
“Refunds are not available, and we assume no responsibility for side effects. Please take this commemorative gift as well……”
The librarian handed me three small, flat metal plates.
《Artifact — Ancient Bookmark》
“If you slip this into a Secret Art Tome, you can learn its secrets without ever reading it. Though it does take considerable time.”
The ability to master multiple Secret Arts simultaneously, combined with its effectiveness for difficult acquisitions like the Avatar of Earth, makes it a truly invaluable artifact.
Once I’d placed the Ancient Bookmark into Young Master’s subspace, the librarian scratched at his arm and spoke.
“Well then, if you’d all please make your way out….”
“Understood. Librarian, until next time.”
“I’d really prefer not to see you again…!”
After shaking hands with the librarian, an exit gate materialized in the middle of the Ancient Documents Room.
“Then let us depart on good terms.”
D-Rank Dungeon.
Sin Library.
A perfect victory—both in the friendly duel and in the conquest itself.
***
We emerged through a gate that had manifested some distance from the bookshelf entrance, the original way into the Sin Library.
“Hm?”
The Dungeon administrator priest rushed over with wide eyes and turned to me with a question.
“Socialite Kar? Why are you coming out from there? Could it be….”
“Your suspicion is correct.”
I reported to the priest that I’d uncovered a Hidden Piece and sold the information to him on the spot.
Since it amounted to two Hidden Pieces’ worth, the advance payment was quite substantial.
“Merlin, take this. Your allowance.”
“Really…?”
Two hundred gold.
It was rather a large sum to hand to a child outright.
But I recalled how I’d once envied hearing that children born into wealthy families receive such sums as pocket money from their youth, and so I handed it over without hesitation.
Merlin, being clever, would surely appreciate the delightful art of bold, impulsive spending—something no amount of careful planning could ever teach.
“Thank you so much…!”
“Thank you.”
I tapped each sibling’s cheek as they rushed toward me with bright faces, then reported the exploration results to Young Master through the Fragment that Binds as One.
“Young Master, it’s your cute Kar speaking. In the Sin Library, the Socialite Team and the Dark Mage Team engaged in fierce competition, and as a result, I’ve retained my position as expedition leader. Bartimier has also agreed to join our Moon Expedition Party.”
– As expected.
“Now then, I shall return. I’m exhausted, so please prepare something delicious for me.”
– I’ll mention it to Charlotte.
With fatigue settling heavily upon us, we made our way directly back to Odylon’s Mansion without taking any detours.
Sergius, who came out to greet us, smiled gently.
“Welcome back, Kar. It seems you’ve returned victorious.”
“That’s how it turned out.”
“And Bartimier. I welcome you as a formal member of the expedition.”
The kind-faced demon wrapped entirely in bandages lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Ah, thanks.”
Speaking so informally to an elder.
While an open-minded attitude unconstrained by age was admirable, it would be problematic if he spoke the same way should he happen to meet royalty by chance.
I’d need to arrange proper etiquette training for him alongside the siblings—after all, they too came from poverty.
“Kar, Charlotte is preparing the meal. Please wait approximately thirty minutes.”
“Understood.”
With some time to spare, I decided we’d grow better acquainted—two members of the same ‘Le’ clan.
“Bartimier, come with me. We have much to discuss.”
“Yeah… I was hoping for that too.”
I climbed to the mansion’s rooftop with the demon dark mage.
A fairly spacious area overlooking the wealthy district in its entirety.
Young Master’s retreat was furnished with a broad, long lounge chair and a parasol of the sort one might see at a seaside resort.
“Refreshing, isn’t it? And the atmosphere is quite peaceful.”
As I settled my exhausted body into Young Master’s chair, Bartimier sprawled out on his side across the bare rooftop beside me.
“Come on, speak up. What did you want to say?”
The demon, resting his chin comfortably on his hand as he reclined, began to emit an enigmatic gaze.
Not a hint of malice showed through—he looked like a child eager to play with fire.
Stretched out as I was, I met his stare and slowly opened my mouth.
“I will construct it for you. A magnificent future plan tailored for you, Bartimier.”

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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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