S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 37

He wasn’t scary. Caladium and Lisianthus were watching her from afar, and she was confident enough that she ran away even if she was alone. However, she was worried that the plan she had made would go down the drain.

“W-What’s wrong?”

She pretended to be scared and stuttered her words. The other adventurers, who also stared at Gehrig, were confused.

“Do you think I haven’t heard the rumors?”

Gehrig shouted with a lively momentum.

“This is that place! The dungeon where a phoenix appeared!”

The adventurers became frightened and gasped. He looked at Adelaide. He was ready to attack her at any moment.

Adelaide tilted her head as if she did not understand what he was referring to.

“Phoe..nix?”

She looked so innocent, but the adventurers did not lose their doubts.

“Why are you lying?…!”

“Ah! Are you talking about that big firebird?”

She clapped her hands, saying she just remembered. A shrill voice continued.

“That’s true Mr. Adventurer. It’s illusion magic.”

“Illu..sion?”

“Yes. There is a demon who can use illusion magic in our dungeon. However, his skills are modest, so once used, he cannot use it for a long time, and his combat skills are not very good.”

The adventurers glanced alternately between her and the portal with doubtful faces.

Adelaide shrugged her shoulders and added an explanation.

“Just think about it, how could there be a demon as strong as a Phoenix in an E-Class dungeon? And anyway, I’ll take you straight to the treasure room, so what’s the problem? If you come with me, there will be no alarm.”

Gehrig’s eyes trembled. Her words were quite convincing.

She was a mid level demon but she was only a succubus, her strength would be at the level of a low level demon. She only had little magic, and since she was not as arrogant as a normal demon, she was most likely weaker than a low level demon. There’s little chance that such a succubus would risk her life for a trap.

Even if it was a lie, they can come back to life and take revenge, that was good enough. He still had enough pieces of his soul left.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The other adventurers nodded together as they had similar thoughts.

Adelaide was the first to step into the portal. Gehrig, who was holding the rope that tied her, stepped in.

The location changed quickly.

Gehrig and his party pulled out their weapons as soon as the portal was activated and didn’t lower their guard. However, he soon saw the scene in front of him and put down his weapon.

As Adelaide had said, the alarm didn’t sound, but not a single demon could be seen.

“Come over here!”

Adelaide lowered her voice and whispered. The adventurers also lowered their upper bodies and followed her.

After walking for a few minutes, they reached a room. As the door opened, shouts erupted.

“Whoah!”

“Shh, be quiet, b*st*rd!”

Gehrig forced the other adventurer to shut his mouth. However, his face had the same reaction.

The Serpium was piled up like a mountain in the room. Although it couldn’t be sold at a high price, it was the most coveted ore for low level adventurers who could only go to lower class dungeons.

They quickly put the Serpium in the bag they brought. They couldn’t put all of it inside, so they tried to put more in their pockets and hats.

Adelaide, who was looking around, opened her mouth.

“Now release me! Then, I will give you better information.”

Gehrig bit his lip without answering.

In fact, he planned to capture her alive once she had served her purpose. With an appearance like that, they could sell her at an auction and make quite a bit of money. If they put restraints on her before they sell her, they can also enjoy a little bit without the risk of losing a piece of their soul.

However, since she said she could get them more Serpium, his greed surged. He wanted to get a little more and then kidnap her.

The other adventurers also looked at him expectantly.

In the end, Gehrig repressed his regret and released Adelaide. He comforted himself, thinking delicious things are better saved for last.

“Now tell us quickly.”

“There are more high-quality Serpiums in the treasure room inside. But, it is difficult for me to guide you there because other demons are guarding it.”

Adelaide raised her eyebrows as if it was a waste.

“But like I said before, they’re not very strong demons. Bring a few more and attack, and you’ll be able to win easily. I promise you.”

“How do I trust you?”

“It’s up to you, Mr, Adventurer… In fact, I am bound by a fraudulent contract. So, I want Mr. Adventurer to conquer this dungeon. If not, why would I hand over this information?”

Adelaide persuaded them and pointed to the Serpium they had taken.

“Obviously, the Serpium inside will sell for a lot more than that. Come tomorrow at the same time. I’ll be outside. Hit the demons, who are resting without knowing anything, in the back!”

The adventurers stood up after taking the Serpium and didn’t give a definite answer. It was because they felt uncomfortable trusting a demon. They left the room one by one. They wanted to quickly return to the human area and sell the ores.

Gehrig stared at Adelaide with regretful eyes until he left the dungeon and disappeared beyond the portal.

Adelaide was convinced by that look.

“They will definitely come back tomorrow, because they didn’t take me.”

“F*ck, I’m so mad at you for holding me back, I wanted to pluck out that bastard’s eyes.”

Caladium, who had been hiding and came in immediately, spat out curses. Lisianthus also walked gracefully out of the shadows, examining Adelaide’s body for any scratches from the rope.

“Those humans! How can they treat our Adelaide so cruelly! I can’t forgive them!”

The Skeletons that had been hiding in the living space as per Adelaide’s command also ran out and cheered.

Adelaide smiled broadly and congratulated them.

“Everyone did well. Were you bored? Tomorrow, you’ll have to work harder.”

“Yes, I’ll give you a ten.”

[T/N: Possibly rating their “performances”]

Caladium murmured, which seemed closer to growling. Adelaide then narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

‘Is the devil’s intelligence really that shallow…?’

Tsk. She clicked her tongue briefly. Lisianthus also shook his head sullenly.

“What were you thinking just now?”

Caladium, who had grasped the meaning of the gaze, asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Adelaide replied with a sly face.

“I just thought Caladi was handsome.”

And Caladium, the simplest among the simplest demons, quickly blushed. He couldn’t maintain his gaze and whispered in a low voice.

“Y-You’re pretty too…”

Even the Skeletons looked at him with pitying eyes. Poor devil. They wondered if he had a chance.

Adelaide, who was too accustomed to being praised for her beauty, casually changed the topic.

“So, how should I play an active part…”

***

The next day, the same time.

After finishing her meal, Adelaide slowly headed towards the portal. Although she was already a little later than the promised time, her gait was leisurely.

She was confident. She read the desire in their eyes.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as she left the portal, she found the adventurers. It looked like they were waiting for her to come out, all their gazes gathered on her at once.

“Why did you come so late!?”

Gehrig grabbed her wrist roughly and shouted.

He was the one who had been nervous for a while. He persuaded the adventurers who did not believe her, and brought them back, but if she hadn’t come, he would have been extremely humiliated.

“Follow me.”

Adelaide didn’t bother giving excuses. She sneaked a peek and guided them, pulling away her hand that he had been holding.

There were some adventurers whom she saw yesterday, and some that she’d only seen today. They followed her to the portal. She heard them murmur, just like yesterday, as if they were bewildered by the appearance of the desolate dungeon.

“If you go there, demons will come out. I’ll just hide.”

After finishing her words, Adelaide quickly disappeared. Gehrig tried to catch her quickly, but he couldn’t even tell where she disappeared to because she unexpectedly ran so fast. It was incomparable to the skill level they saw from her yesterday.

While Gehrig was startled by the change, an adventurer who had more experience than him ordered.

“Let’s go right away!”

“Yes!”

The adventurers nodded their heads and all rushed together.

The first thing they encountered were the Skeletons. When the demons belonging to the dungeon appeared, the body of the adventurers hardened with tension.

“A-Adventurers!”

“Adventurers have attacked!”

But whatever it was, the Skeletons were busy running around screaming and chirping instead of attacking them. The adventurers paused for a moment, but soon gained more confidence and rushed in. They were easy to deceive since most of them were low level adventurers with little experience.

“There’s a demon over there!”

Gehrig exclaimed, pointing his finger somewhere.

A man was standing at the place where he was pointing. He was much taller than the average human male, and his body, which looked like an inverted triangle, had strong, firm muscles. Even though he was just standing still, the energy that was emanating from him was unusual. His red hair fluttered like a mane under his long, black, cylindrical hat.

The man slowly turned around. His jaw-droppingly handsome face was revealed, his reddish lips opened, then his loud voice resounded through the dungeon.

“Oh no, so many adventurers. What should I do?”

Contrary to his ferocious voice, the content of what he said was like a coward’s. The tone was especially awkward.

‘You have to say it like you were surprised!’ Adelaide, who was hiding next to Lisianthus, pounded her chest and felt frustrated.

“Attack everyone!”

The adventurers attacked without waiting for him to finish speaking. Fireballs flew toward Caladium, while it rained swords and arrows.

“Ahh! Too strong!”

Caladium welcomed all of this with a clumsier performance compared to Adelaide’s. There was a hint of shame on his trembling lips.

“But I can’t let them take away the many treasures of our dungeon like this! I have to stop them by pouring out all of my strength!”

But he did his duty to the end.

“I can’t watch this.”

This time, Lisianthus looked away. Adelaide was also so embarrassed that she wanted to cover her eyes, but she couldn’t, because she was the one who made him do it.

“Why aren’t you dying!”

Gehrig exclaimed nervously. Contrary to his appearance, in which the demonic energy flowed freely, the demon was very weak. It was to the extent that he could not succeed in a single, modest attack.

Strangely, he never died. Despite all kinds of magic, he continued to stand.

As he staggered, he made a dark expression, squeezed out his energy, and unleashed wide-area magic.

Woong! With a loud sound, the adventurers were annihilated. With a blurry vision, he could see that the demon was also collapsing.

They thought they could kill him with just a little bit more. The adventurers regretted it as they died. The voice of the demon also added to the disappointment.

“Haa, haa. I barely won. They were very strong opponents. If they come again next time, I might lose.”

Caladium let out a rough breath.

And finally, the bodies of the adventurers disappeared. That was how Caladium’s passionate performance ended.