Chapter 65

Caladium spoke passionately, not knowing that he had become an ornamental plant.

“The important thing is that the number of kills vary depending on the abilities of the dead adventurer. The stronger the soul fragment, the higher the count. If you kill a high level adventurer, I believe you get 100 kills?”

“What? Really?”

Then Adelaide lifted her head up. She wasn’t expecting much, but the information that came out of his mouth was pretty cool.

Caladium smiled proudly and answered, “Yes!”. He felt like he had defeated Lisianthus with knowledge.

‘Adelaide will see me a little differently with this! At least I won’t be treated like an id*ot.’

Surprisingly, Caladium was clearly aware of their perception of him. He grinned and opened his mouth.

“Yes, so if you attract high level adventurers…”

“As a custom, adventurers invade dungeons according to their rank.”

Lisianthus intervened.

“High level adventurers do not go to dungeons that are less than B-Class. Pride is pride, and from their point of view the profits are not high. Besides, rumors will spread that they violated custom and invaded the means of livelihood of low level adventurers. It is a disgrace in many ways.”

His face had a friendly smile, but the content was telling Caladium to ‘Know your place’.

Veins protruded out of Caladium’s temple. ‘Let’s calm down. If you get angry here, you’re just doing exactly what that b*st*rd wants.’ He smacked his lips, controlling his anger.

“Oh, so that’s how it is… As expected, there is nothing Lisianthus doesn’t know.”

“It is basic knowledge that a person serving the Master must know.”

“Have some of this too, Adele.” Lisianthus smiled at her and inserted a hand-made wrap in her mouth. Aang. Adelaide ate like a baby bird.

“Tch, how do you know that they wouldn’t come?! They could still come!”

Caladium finally gave in to his temper. He got mad after seeing their affectionate actions.

Although the devil was angry, no one was surprised or embarrassed except Pia and the Durahans. Bell and the Skeletons leisurely ate their food as they watched the fight. It was a scene very familiar to them.

“You’re right, they could. With a similar probability of you suddenly becoming smart.”

[T/N: Oof. Sick burn XD]

Lisianthus sarcastically said with a beautiful expression on his face.

“Didn’t you see it in the Dungeon Newspaper? The high level adventurers are saying that they are going to abandon the custom and will go to low level dungeons…!”

“That’s amazing. You read newspapers too?”

[T/N: Aaaaahhhh! Lisianthus burying baby Caladi]

“How in the world did that happen?” Lisianthus widened his eyes as if he was really surprised. Adelaide couldn’t help but admire him at how cheeky he was. Maybe he had powers for teasing.

However, if she left things as they were, they would really fall apart. In truth, their relationship couldn’t get any worse, but without knowing this, she urgently mediated.

“Stop, stop. Why are you fighting on a good day! Lisian, don’t tease Caladi too much! Caladi, stop cursing too!”

“…Hey, you don’t believe me either?”

His silver-gray eyes stared intently at her. Somehow, his eyes looked like he was dying.

‘I don’t have much faith, but…’

If she told him the truth, that b*st*rd would curse and sulk for a while again. So, Adelaide answered with a fake smile on her face.

“I believe in you! Of course I do!”

“…Really?”

“…Yes!”

Adelaide said, clenching her fists. Her reply was delayed because her conscience was pricked, but fortunately, Caladium seemed to have believed her. Having gained confidence, she enthusiastically spoke.

“Ignoring custom and going to a low level dungeon. Those high level adventurers are so mean! What would happen to the dungeons invaded by those guys?”

Poor dungeon master! Adelaide was about to add an exaggeration.

Wang Wang Wang!

The alarm pierced her ears. At the same time, the entire dungeon vibrated wildly. It was as if something had exploded.

‘What, what?!’

Adelaide, who grabbed her waffle plate even in that urgent moment, raised her head and looked around her. She saw the appearance of her demons. Like her, most of them looked startled. Meanwhile, Lisianthus was staring at somewhere with a frown and Caladium was somehow smiling.

Soon after, the dungeon guide’s voice was heard along with a beeping alarm sound.

[Warning. Adventurers have invaded. Warning.]

“Lisian! Was the portal open?!”

Adelaide asked urgently. She remembered that she made sure the portal was locked before the dungeon match started. That was the rule, and she was concentrating on saving Raham, so she didn’t even have thoughts of dealing with adventurers.

So, did someone accidentally open it? No, only the dungeon master and the manager had the ability to lock and unlock the portal. There was no way the meticulous Lisian would make such a mistake.

In a brief moment, many thoughts ran through her mind. Lisianthus’ answer cleared the situation up.

“No. It was locked.”

“If it was locked then why are we hea—”

Adelaide stopped. She knew it too. If the portal was locked, there was only one way for adventurers to enter the dungeon. It was when high level adventurers broke the lock by force.

“…They are high level adventurers. I think there are about a dozen or so.”

Lisianthus confirmed with a displeased face.

Unsurprisingly, the sound coming from the battle space was unusual. The sound of the explosion was getting closer, something that they had never heard when dealing with low level adventurers.

‘Why are high level adventurers here?’

She couldn’t believe that the poor dungeon master she spoke of was herself. It was so absurd that her mouth was left hanging.

“Didn’t you say you believed me?”

Caladium revealed his teeth and grinned. He seemed happy to be able to prove his words. Adelaide, who did not believe him at all, smiled awkwardly.

It was frustrating, but it was not bad. It was as if the prey had come to their feet. She was curious as to why they became the subject of a case that appeared in the newspaper, but she would have to figure that out later, step by step.

“Raham and Pia, rest here. Don’t worry, we won’t let them reach this far.”

After finishing her words, Adelaide ate and swallowed the rest of the waffle. She then got up from her seat and gave firm instructions.

“Skeletons and Durahans, stay close together as much as possible while you fight. It’s still too much to fight one-on-one with a high level adventurer. Bell is young too, so be careful.”

“Yes!”

“Woof!”

“Caladium, don’t show all your strength, fight on the front lines, but keep supporting other members so that they don’t get hurt. Cover your horn!”

“Yes, master.”

They mustn’t find out that they had a devil in the dungeon. If that happened, the number of adventurers invading would dwindle.

‘I’m worried about the rumors that will leak out if we are to battle high level adventurers and win…… No, it would be too shameful for them to speak about it. Even if rumors come about, most of them will think it’s nonsense!’

Adelaide quit worrying about answers she would not get and closed her eyes. Soon her wings appeared on her back and her nails grew longer. The pink pupils that were revealed seemed more demonic.

“Come on, let’s go.”

At her command, the demons followed her. They would face a group of high level adventurers, but no one was afraid. They believed in the devil’s strength but they were also confident due to Adelaide’s presence who boosted their confidence at the same time.

As soon as they passed through the portal and entered the battle space, not far from them, the high level adventurers came into view. They were already coming closer. As Lisianthus had said, there were about fifteen of them.

“Kill them all!”

“Waaaaa!”

It was the same whether they were low or high level, they screamed at anything when they attacked. Adelaide was amazed.

The demons hurriedly prepared for battle. The figures in front of her as if they were protecting her was quite reassuring.

“Go, Caladi!”

At Adelaide’s instructions, the red one leapt into the air. Caladium flew towards the adventurers, his reddish-brown hair flapping.

Quang!

“Aarrgh!”

Screams were heard all over. Three of four high level adventurers slammed to the wall in an instant.

‘I told you to restrain your power!’ Adelaide exclaimed in her mind. If Caladium had heard her, he would probably reply saying that he was already restraining as much as he could. That if he had done it with his actual strength, all of them would already be dead. He was calm and dealt with the adventurers around him. It was probably a pretty fierce battle for the adventurers.

The adventurers that Caladium had missed, well to be precise, let go, immediately ran towards Adelaide and her demons. Adelaide stood beside the Skeletons and raised her nails in a rather relaxed manner.

At that moment, hair that resembled moonlight came into her field of vision.

Lisianthus appeared on the battlefield. As a manager, he was not obligated to fight adventurers.

[T/N: *squeal. OMG!]

“Lisian?! What are you doing here? Go back quickly!”

Adelaide exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s dangerous, hurry!”

She hesitantly grabbed his arm. No matter how fast Lisianthus could run, it would be too much for him to deal with this many high level adventurers. There was no way Caladium, whom he had a bad relationship with, would protect him with sincerity. Anxiety flooded in and replaced her relaxed attitude.

“It’s okay. I will stay here.”

“Why all of a sudden…!”

However, the person she was concerned about was calm as always. Lisianthus replied, looking down at her with a sweet expression.

“I feel like I’ve been too quiet all this time.”

His large hand gently wrapped around Adelaide’s. Warmth spread from his skin.

“Hey, why aren’t you wearing gloves today?” Adelaide blinked and stared at his pretty fingers. The gaze was so satisfying that his eyes bent even more.

“I want to try harder now.”

At that moment, an adventurer broke through the Skeletons and swung his sword towards Lisianthus and Adelaide. Her mind lost focus for a moment, so she turned her head back belatedly. She could see a sharp blade approaching.

It wasn’t dangerous. Caladium appeared in the blink of an eye and came after the adventurer. Still, her body shuddered. She reflexively closed her eyes tightly.

“In many ways.”

Lisianthus, who muttered in a low voice, flicked his fingers lightly. He was still staring at Adelaide.

Quang!

An unfamiliar sound rang in her ears. Adelaide quickly opened her eyes and wondered if Lisianthus had been hurt. An amazing scene unfolded.