S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 41

Adelaide accepted the contract with a broad smile. The tiny paw print at the bottom of the contract was so adorable.

“Thank you, Bell! I will cherish you!”

“Aren’t you going to change your sales pitch?”

As soon as she finished talking, Caladium tried to pick a fight. Adelaide skillfully ignored him.

“Then, should I go ahead and register the contract?”

Lisianthus nodded. The Skeletons also looked at her excitedly.

With everyone waiting expectantly, Adelaide registered the contract on the dungeon pad. The dungeon began to hum and vibrate slowly. Soon, a beeping sound was heard.

[Greenville Dungeon. Current class E-5.]

Whimper. It was Bell’s first time to hear the alarm so he was startled and buried his face in Adelaide’s arms. His tiny tail curled up between his legs. Adelaide patted him on the back, comforting him.

[The dungeon’s rank will increase.]

[The reward will be paid together.]

Despite the strong vibration, Adelaide managed to maintain her balance. Last time, she couldn’t stand properly and had to rely on someone. Compared to when it was Caladium’s turn, the change was not as much, but she could still see that it was increasing little by little.

And the dull voice continued again.

[The dungeon’s rank will increase.]

[The reward will be paid together.]

Adelaide’s eyes twinkled brightly. Since Bell was a Cerberus, she eagerly anticipated for the level to increase again, but unfortunately, that was the end of it.

Climbing up two levels at one time was still good though. She has yet to manage the dungeon properly, but this was enough for her.

“We’re now at E-3 Class.”

“Yes! Although I actually thought it would climb a little higher. What a bummer.”

Adelaide was nauseous and licked her lips. She examined the dungeon pad. 5 Almas was received as a reward. An extension magic stone was also given. She still had a room left, so it didn’t have much of a use.

“If possible, I really wanted it to give us a magic stone for a trap room.”

She grumbled and pressed the <Get Reward> button. Then a bright light burst out and the appearance of the dungeon changed.

The rooms in the living space have expanded as a whole. Adelaide’s room, which used to be smaller and would have been cramped with just three demons inside, has grown enough to accommodate ten people. Lisianthus’ garden grew several times too. The living room became much bigger and gave the impression that it lacked furniture.

“Oh no, I have a lot of work to do.”

Lisianthus had a pleased look as he said this. Most of all, he was delighted that the cooking area was much bigger. With a happy expression, he had already begun thinking about what to plant in the wider garden and what kind of furniture to make.

As Adelaide headed to the battle space, what caught her eye was a new portal that had been installed in place of the previous portal to Mediar. The battle space was enlarged and was divided into portals. As a result, there were now two internal portals.

“This. It’s so big, it will take a long time to get to the outer portal!”

Adelaide also pretended to grumble, but her lips were stretched to her ears. She felt like she was one step closer to her dream of becoming a successful dungeon master.

Interest has increased these days, but she was able to pay it off without issues. Enough money was taken from the adventurers, and there was also a separate reward from the deaths of many adventurers in Greenville Dungeon. It seemed like she could really pay off all her debts if things kept going like this.

“Let’s see, what’s next?”

Adelaide hurriedly checked the dungeon pad. The conditions for upgrading the level to become an E-2 class were as follows.

[Number of Demons: 5 or more (currently 3)]

[Number of Adventurers Killed: over 1000 (currently 357)]

She didn’t even need to check the necessary combat power. They had Caladium, so she didn’t need to see it.

1000 kills. Although the number was quite large, based on the recent popularity of Greenville Dungeon, there was nothing that cannot be achieved. Time will solve it.

However, the problem was the number of demons in the dungeon.

“The number of demons keeps holding us back.”

“Well, it’s not a difficult problem.” Lisianthus said calmly. Adelaide frowned and opened her mouth.

“Do we have to recruit a lot of demons? It’s inconvenient to live with a demon we don’t know. I’m shy.”

Caladium thought he heard something wrong. Shy? Who? The person who hugged the Skeletons she just met was shy? He shook his head in disbelief.

Adelaide continued to talk without looking at him.

“I’m worried that we’ll have to continue recruiting new affiliates in the future. It would be nice to just have a small elite group. Waa. How cool is that term? A small elite group.”

If the number of their members increased, they would also receive more monthly rent. However, as she managed the dungeon for several weeks, she realized that the monthly rent didn’t really mean much. The most profitable source was the reward for killing the adventurers.

“If we increase our demons, we will be able to attract more adventurers. Right now, due to the heavy workload on the Skeletons, there are times when it was inevitable to limit the adventurers entry, but if we had more combatants, they could take turns fighting.”

“That’s right.”

“We have a new portal and there was also an extension magic stone, so if we separate your room, you won’t have to face the other demons very often. If the inside is Master Adele’s living space, then the outside can be the living space of the members of the dungeon. Just like Boraca did.”

Adelaide sighed and was silent. This seemed to be a problem. To help her decide, Lisianthus offered with a gentle smile.

“It would probably be convenient to have the combatants stay outside. Non-combat personnel like me and Master Adele can stay here.”

“The rest of the space can be used as a conference room.” Lisianthus added. He spoke in a refreshing voice but what he meant was that everyone else except the two of them should remain inside.

“Then I should stay here too. I don’t want an adventurer to suddenly break in and look at my horn then spread word that there’s a devil here.”

Caladium responded with a clever smile. Lisianthus and Caladium’s eyes met. They both stared at each other without conceding.

‘Ignorant b*st*rd.’ [Lisianthus]

‘Gloomy je*k.’ [Caladium]

They seemed to be able to read each other’s thoughts even though they didn’t speak.

Caladium did not tell Adelaide anything about Lisianthus’ identity. He knew she was bound to find out, but this was quite unexpected.

This was of course not in consideration of Lisianthus, but concern for Adelaide.

How hurt would she be once she finds out that she had been deceived! How embarrassing would it feel that she thought he was also a mid level demon? In many ways, Caladium didn’t want to see her shocked face.

What’s more, even if he did reveal it, he wasn’t sure if she would believe him. Caladium himself knew that she trusted Lisianthus more than him. It hurt his pride but he convinced himself that this was only because Adelaide had met Lisianthus first.

“I have decided.”

Adelaide, after thinking for a long time, finally opened her mouth.

“First, let’s recruit the demons that would join our dungeon. I’ll let them choose their own rooms in the order in which the contracts were signed.”

“It’s only fair.” Adelaide said with a small nod.

“Of course, it would be nice if I had my own living space, it would be comfortable, but then I’d really become like Boraca. I don’t want to be that kind of dungeon master. If they were brought into this family, I want to cherish them all, and I hope that the demons that are here now and the ones who will live here in the future will get along.”

It was quite a serious explanation.

The Skeletons burst into tears. They were only bones, so no tears really came out.

“Adelaide…!”

“It’s so touching!”

The Skeletons hugged her tightly. Before long, Bell joined the group and rubbed his face against her leg. His tail was fluttering and swaying gently.

“Ugh, isn’t this awkward? Saying cheesy words like that…”

Caladium said he was ashamed of her and covered his face with a cushion. Yet, he was smiling.

“I knew you’d say that.”

Lisianthus also replied with a smile.

He actually wanted her to kick everyone out but himself, but he knew she wouldn’t. That was what’s interesting about her. However, he didn’t feel pleased about it.

“There were applicants.”

“Applicants? Not just one?”

“Yes.”

‘I can’t believe several demons applied! In the past, even the lady bugs refused!’

She was overwhelmed with emotions.

“Excluding those who are too weak, I have selected some. Would you like to meet them?”

“Yes! Shall we go meet them tomorrow?”

At Adelaide’s enthusiastic demeanor, Lisianthus shook his head with a smile on his face.

“No. The applicants should come to see Master Adele.”

Adelaide’s eyes widened. She muttered in a muffled voice.

“Wow… I’m so successful… So cool…”

“Pfft.”

Lisianthus burst into laughter. Adelaide’s reaction like that of a low level demon was interesting. Lisianthus quickly spoke as Adelaide squinted her eyes to confirm if he was laughing at her.

“Of course. You will be more successful in the future.”

“I’ll be there to help.” Lisianthus whispered and bowed his head to Adelaide.

***

That night, Caladium took a leisurely bath and went back to his room to rest.

In the past, he was fine even if he didn’t eat nor sleep for several days, but after he came to Greenville Dungeon, he somehow led a very healthy lifestyle. He ate three square meals everyday, and at night, he lay down on a soft bed and fell asleep.

For reference, the comfortable bed suitable for his large size, and the sumptuous meals he ate were all through Lisianthus’ hard work. Judging from his usual disposition, he seemed to only care for Adelaide and himself, but strangely enough, Lisianthus did not discriminate in this respect. If there was indeed discrimination, it was only evident in the number of snacks and drinks he gave Adelaide .

‘Funny and sly bastard. Is that the manager’s job?’

It was very different from the role of a dungeon manager that Caladium knew, but hey, there was nothing wrong with comfortable furniture and bountiful meals.

To put it bluntly, he was very satisfied. The only dissatisfaction was…

‘She hasn’t hugged me for the past few days.’

His skinship with Adelaide had decreased.

After Caladium pressed down on his pride and played against the adventurers, Adelaide would occasionally hug him tightly, as if to make up for it. It was a hug she didn’t even give Lisianthus.

However, since he no longer needed to act, the number of hugs dropped significantly, which he deeply regretted. He couldn’t just go to her and hug her. Caladium continued to ponder over how to naturally embrace her in his arms.

Knock Knock

At that moment, as if reading his mind, he heard a knock. Adelaide was standing outside. Even if he hadn’t opened the door, he could immediately tell.

Caladium hurriedly opened the door. Although he already knew, when he saw Adelaide’s appearance, his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest.

“I… Caladi.”

Adelaide said quietly.

“I’m hungry.”