S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Finally, the last room.”

The adventurer, Dalean, muttered as he swept his blood-drenched blonde hair. His nose twitched at the thought that conquering the dungeon was just around the corner.

It was a level 5 dungeon. A notorious place where no one has ever conquered, and no single adventurer has returned alive.

The conquest was not as difficult as he thought. It was thanks to the fact that he accidentally caught a succubus wandering around the dungeon and entrusted her as their guide. Thanks to this, the adventurer and his party were able to get to the treasure room quickly by avoiding the numerous trap rooms.

It was a place that no one has ever conquered, so there must be glittering gold and silver treasures waiting for them. Dalean opened the portal thinking so.

However, as they crossed the portal with excitement, it was not a mountain of gold coins or splendid treasures that greeted Dalean and his party. It was just an ordinary hall with a golden chair in the middle.

The black marble floor was clean without a single speck of dust and the neatly laid carpet was smooth as if it was new. It even smelled good.

‘I heard this is the treasure room.’ Dalean muttered with a puzzled face. Then, Archer Layla shouted urgently.

“Dalean, over there!”

Where her index finger pointed, a black silhouette stood motionless.

In the darkness, a man slowly emerged. Long silver hair, which seemed to have been made by melting the moonlight, and golden eyes that shined and glistened. The face, which was fully revealed before long, was as beautiful as an elaborately sculpted piece. It looked unreal.

The adventurers looked at him as if they were possessed. They couldn’t move under the unknown immense pressure. The man was overflowing with magi. A vicious power that the adventurers have never encountered before.

“A devil!”

The group of adventurers hurriedly prepared for battle.

Dalean, who was unshaken, also grabbed his weapon. Sweat dripped from the palms of his hands due to nervousness.

There are very few demons called ‘devils’. No matter how famous S-class dungeons were, devils rarely appeared.

In other words, the man in front of them was stronger than any demon they have ever met.

To make matters worse, a large man’s face appeared behind the devil with an indifferent expression. It was another devil with blood-red hair and long horns.

It was already hard to deal with one devil, but now there were two. In a situation where the outcome was obvious, a sense of helplessness came over the adventurers to the point where it could be felt through their bones.

At that moment, a bright voice broke the cold silence.

“I’m here!”

With a cheerful voice that seemed out of place, Dalean turned his head to identify it’s owner.

A beautiful succubus passed by him, ruffling her ebony black hair. It was the succubus in the dungeon that they entrusted to guide them.

“Adela! You were working for the devils……!”

A sharp hostility was directed towards the back of the beautiful woman. The woman slowly turned around and looked at Dalean.

“Working for them?”

Her cherry blossom-like eyes which were staring at the hero, were filled with magi that seemed to explode at any moment.

“No, I’m not.”

As she whispered the words, goosebumps rose from Dalean’s body. It was because it was not a magic that a demon like a succubus should have.

Soon, the devils casually approached the woman. The silver-haired devil draped an exquisite robe over the woman’s shoulders, and the red-haired devil fixed her hair while clicking his tongue.

“Welcome back. Thank you for your hard work.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to do this hobby of yours anymore?”

At the polite and friendly attitude of the devils towards the woman, the adventurers and their party forgot their situation and were left with mouths wide open. Dalean’s blue eyes flitted back and forth in embarrassment.

“Stop nagging. Your lips…”

The woman spoke with a dignified attitude, grabbed the devil’s collar and pulled him in. He furrowed his eyebrows as if it was a bother, but naturally lowered his head.

A deep kiss followed. Without even paying attention to the crowd in front of them, their breaths mixed and their tongues intertwined.

“Yes, that’s enough.”

“Ha… Already?”

The woman pushed the devil away with a satisfied face. On the other hand, the devil seemed very disappointed, his expression showed he was annoyed.

The woman walked leisurely and sat down on the luxurious gleaming golden chair. Her languid eyes that looked down at the adventurers were not of a succubus, but of a king.

“Who are you?”

Layla, who struggled to open her lips, asked, in place of Dalean who stood frozen. Then, the woman answered with a bright smile.

“Me? I’m the master here.”

Adelaide, the master of the S-class dungeon with top-level devils.

This was her real name.

***

Adelaide, in the beginning, was not a successful dungeon owner. Only a few months ago, she was living a very different life. It was a life closer to failure than success.

“Adelaide! Adela!”

Adelaide, who was taking a nap, raised her heavy eyelids at the voice calling her name. But before she could answer, a strong fist punched her at the back of her head.

“Ahh!”

“Oh my God, Adela. Are you so weak that you felt pain just because of this? How long has it been since you worked!?”

Penelope, a succubus who can be considered Adelaide’s close friend and co-worker, blamed Adelaide for her weakness when she hit her. Adelaide frowned in resentment and looked up at her. She had eyes wanting revenge.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You are weak.”

“It’s been a long time since I saw you, you look prettier, Pippa.”

Adelaide rubbed the back of her throbbing head and quickly laughed without a care. She didn’t want to get hit again.

Penelope sighed at her blatant and sloppy demeanor. She wished her friend had been more vigorous and rampant, but her friend didn’t have the will to do so.

“What the hell are we going to do with you?”

“Pippa, were you coming back from work?”

Adelaide quickly changed the subject when nagging seemed to begin again. Unfortunately, it was not a good topic for her.

“Yeah, I’m on my way back from devouring an adventurer’s energy. Don’t just take a nap and get some work done! What are you going to do if you keep getting weaker? Maximilian wants to kick you out!”

At the lightly thrown words, the nagging returned like a bomb. Adelaide, realizing that this subject could not be avoided, drooped her eyebrows and responded helplessly.

“But I don’t think I’m cut out for it…”

“Who’s doing it because they want to? We do it because we have to make ends meet! Besides, look at your face and your body. This work clearly suits you! You have what it takes!”

Penelope screamed, frowning her pretty forehead. She said it because she was worried about her friend and colleague.

Adelaide and Penelope were both members of Morpheus, one of the succubus unions. A succubus had to constantly collect energy in order to survive and become stronger. Instead of taking a fee, the association helps the succubi find prey and provides lodging. From the standpoint of such an association, the existence of Adelaide, who stayed in the dormitory and did no work, was a problem.

Since it was difficult to find prey, belonging to the association was essential. If she were to be kicked out, there was a high chance she would die of starvation and would eventually disappear, unless she finds another way to live.

Adelaide knew this, but she still had no desire to work. It wasn’t just a day or two that she didn’t work, she took a whopping 30 years off. Considering the physiology of a succubus, which had to be sustained on a regular basis, she was pushing herself to the limit. When Penelope first met her, she went at least once in a while, but now she hasn’t taken a single step out of the association.

Adelaide argued that she was not a good fit, but Penelope saw no succubus as natural as her.

Black long hair like the clear night sky, a perfect face and body that resembled a doll, pink eyes that curved upward, and thick red lips. Every inch of her was beautiful.

She generally had a naive and innocent look, but when she smiled, she overflowed with color. Adelaide was so impressive that with one glance and one gesture from her, incubi would line up and chase her.

Unfortunately, although she was very talented, Adelaide had no interest in ‘sucking a man’s vitality’, which is the fate and nature of a succubus.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m not going to be kicked out.”

Adelaide waved her hands with a relaxed expression. It was because she knew how much Maximilian, the leader of Morpheus, loved her appearance.

But exactly one day after saying those words.

Adelaide was kicked out. She didn’t even get to take a cloak to block the cold wind!

“Pippa, Pippa…”

Adelaide looked at the association portal in vain as she called out the nickname of her friend who had now become an ex-colleague. But there was nothing Penelope, who was not present and was at work, could do to help.

“I can’t believe I’ve been dumped at this crappy place twice…”

She flopped down on the dirty ground and muttered. This included the experience of being abandoned in front of the Morpheus Association’s building as a baby..

“This smell… isn’t it a succubus?”

“A succubus. It’s a succubus!”

Low-level demons, who were wandering the streets, flared their nostrils and followed the traces of Adelaide’s scent.

Adelaide was startled and quickly hid herself in the shadow of the building. Since she was always busy running away from Maximilian, her stealth skills were excellent enough to not be caught by any mid-level demons.

“My home, my food!”

Adelaide was devastated with a sense of loss. Although she didn’t do her succubus job properly, she swept and cleaned the building in her spare time and helped with chores. Since even her accommodation disappeared in an instant, her heart was pounding at the thought of how she would survive in the future.

It was then that an evil spirit seemed to have given a rope to poor Adelaide.

“Miss Adelaide?”

“Oh my Gosh!”

Adelaide, who was suddenly called by her name, was startled and jumped out of the shadows.

In front of her stood a demon wearing a neat suit with hair neatly combed back. It was a man with a tired look on his face.

“Miss Adelaide from Morpheus, is that correct?”

“I’m not with Morpheus anymore, but I’m Adelaide, who are you?”

When Adelaide confirmed it with a puzzled face, the man, who was clearly a high-ranking demon, summoned some papers in his hand. Then he began to tell an amazing story in a business-like voice that did not contain a single emotion.

“I am attorney Jamie. Harbeige, your grandfather has made you his sole heir. You have a property inheritance due to his death, a dungeon, please check the document for detailed information.”

Adelaide’s pink eyes sparkled with joy.

‘I’m not gonna die!’ For the first time in her life, she found out about the existence and death of a blood relative, but to her, the inheritance was more important.

Dungeons were the best way to make money in the world. There was even a saying that ‘dungeons were above the Creator.’

Adelaide, feeling overwhelmed, did not listen to the man properly and just nodded her head. The lawyer wearing glasses lifted one eyebrow and asked cautiously.

“…… Do you want to inherit it?”

“Yes! Absolutely! Yes!”

Adelaide answered without a second of hesitation. She followed his instructions and signed the documents. She completely forgot Penelope’s advice that all documents should be read carefully before signing.

“With this, all of Harbeige’s property, the decedent’s, have been passed on to his heir Adelaide…and all the problems that come with it.”

“What? What kind of problems?!”

Jamie, the lawyer, disappeared after finishing what he had to say. Only one copy of the document signed by Adelaide remained.