NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
The Helldream of the Magic Realm is divided into seven grand territories.
Much like the esteemed Archlords of the Tumainist Empire, each grand territory is governed by its own chosen ruler.
At first glance, it seems that the seven archdukes are the highest authorities, but that’s half right and half wrong.
In name, the 72 Lords reign over all non-human races.
The origin of the non-human Magic Realm is the 72 Dungeons, and its history stretches back over a thousand years, making it a sanctified realm.
Of course, that’s only in theory; once the empire was established, their prestige started to fade.
Now, the seven archdukes can throw ‘What are you gonna do about it?’ at even the lower-ranked lords.
“I’m fine, but whatever.”
The archduke’s power roughly only extends to bosses ranked outside the top twenty.
That authority doesn’t apply to me now that I’m the boss of the Seven Lairs.
Well, I don’t really care about that.
The meeting of the 72 Dungeons is considered sacred in itself, and hosting it is a monumental honor for the archdukes.
For that reason, the meeting was to be held fairly with the seven archdukes rotating seven times, then postponed indefinitely.
“Kiric. The air here feels different. But it’s alright. I’m starting to like it as I drink.”
The long-awaited 8th gathering of the 72 Dungeons resumes after a century.
With just a day to go, we arrived at the Magic Realm via the conference portal.
In terms of scale, the mountainous area of Sanjīva, where this meeting is held, could be called the capital.
We came to explore the city’s true nature and relax before tomorrow’s meeting.
“Charlotte. How’s your breathing?”
“Yeah. I think I’m fine because I’m a demon.”
The oxygen in the Magic Realm is fundamentally different from what humans consider normal oxygen.
You could say it’s not giving life to human throats, but rather stealing it away like poisonous gas.
This is only true for humans, but since Balutak is an insect, he was fine.
Fortunately, when evolving into a demon, one develops a mana respiration organ, allowing Charlotte to breathe using the mana stored in her body without needing oxygen.
Even if her mana ran out, there was no worry since Balutak’s backpack was filled with mana potions.
Breathing with mana was possible, but there are still harmful effects from oxygen.
To solve that, Charlotte was wearing a gas mask that covered mostly her nose and mouth to completely block her breath.
“You look good in that.”
“…Thank you.”
Clad in a gas mask and a hooded robe, she resembled a post-apocalyptic heroine.
“Still, I’m worried. I hope they’ll guard the dungeon well during the meeting.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’re here to relax too.”
If it were just the meeting, I might worry. But since we’ve brought along support from the archdukes, there’s no major concern.
Just looking at their soldiers, they ranged from level 50 to level 70, making them quite reliable.
The Magic Realm city had an overall blend of light purple and black colors.
For the Undead, children of darkness, it felt cozy just like when they were in a dungeon.
“Kiric. The Magic Realm is dark. It feels like a dungeon.”
“Doodak. It feels like a dungeon.”
Balutak, who lived in a forest with various colors, seemed more bothered by his line of sight than by breathing.
The overall color was dark, but the city’s structure and system were somewhat similar to the Empire.
I already knew this from being bored in the game.
Restaurants, blacksmiths, and clothing stores were everywhere. Upon entering the plaza, a grand fountain and a skyscraper clock tower showed off their majestic presence.
They called it a dimensional hell, but the visuals did not match that name.
It was a city far from barbarism, simply a city with an overall dark hue. It almost felt like a city after a catastrophe, yet it had its own romance.
These intelligent non-human races achieved this progressive feat.
“Sniff sniff. Hmm? Isn’t that a human over there?”
“Hmm? What? It seems like it? Why is there a human in Sanji?”
Contrary to what I had in mind, I couldn’t relax comfortably.
The plaza was already crowded, and attention was drawn to Charlotte.
I managed to cover her appearance somehow, but the highly developed noses of the non-human races could not be deceived.
In the middle of the dimension, it was like playing hide-and-seek with your eyes closed.
Did she feel the gazes? Charlotte’s shoulders hunched down.
It was sad to see her pressing her hood down tightly, even though she had nothing to hide.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, did you? Stand tall.”
I patted Charlotte’s shoulders as a sign of encouragement.
“You didn’t come as an ordinary human. You came as the assistant to the shrine of faith. Walk with confidence.”
“…Thank you.”
“And Balutak.”
“Kirrik?”
“Make the scariest face you can and walk. So they can’t even glance this way.”
“Kiririk. Got it. Kyaaa!”
Along with a monstrous sound, his expression transformed into something terrifying.
Indeed, with a visual that could scare even a demon, he looked like a DLC boss.
“Gasp.”
“What is that insect? Why does it look like that?”
“Hey, hey, don’t stare. You’ll get into trouble.”
The gazes coming this way reduced by more than half.
Did that become a source of pride? Balutak snorted and completely wrecked his face.
“Kyaaa!”
“Take it easy, take it easy.”
“Kirrik…”
He used to be incredibly scary as a DLC boss, but now all I could think about was how to deal with this golden child.
I glanced at Charlotte.
Because of the gas mask, I couldn’t even make out her faint expressions, but it was clear she felt happier.
“Thank you, boss. Mr. Balutak.”
From then on, Charlotte walked with confidence.
Yeah, I shouldn’t feel uneasy since I came here for relaxation.
“Kirrik. Balutak, the dimension isn’t good. I want to go home. I miss Buraltak.”
“…That’s Keltak.”
“Kirrik? Right. Buraltak’s name has become Keltak. The chieftain named her.”
I heard that Keltak is female, and Balutak had this kind of relationship with her(?).
“Balutak is like a deer. Buraltak is a clean river. Buraltak quenches Balutak’s thirst. That’s why Balutak cherishes Buraltak.”
“Don’t worry, Marum, Buraltak will handle it. That’s why we cherish Balutak and Buraltak.”
Balutak has lived his entire life in the forest.
That’s why there are so many forest-related metaphors in the setting book.
“Wait, but seriously, don’t call me Buraltak.”
At this point, I wonder if it’s not an intelligence issue, but just intentional.
Thinking about it, it’s strange. His name is Buraltak, but why is he a male? Is this dude gay or something?
Insects are hard to tell apart by appearance.
Who knows? He might actually be gay and prefers the male Buraltak.
Lost in these silly thoughts, Charlotte pointed at a grand building.
“Boss. It looks like a Beast Shop.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a shop frequented by dungeon bosses. They deal with beasts that the guild doesn’t handle, so it might be worth checking out.”
Charlotte’s eyes glinted with subtle excitement.
It’s true that our dungeon’s defenses were still quite sloppy.
Even if Roseha’s support arrives, it’s still just backup; we needed independent power reinforcement.
I had a system to see levels too.
If I can get a high-level, inexpensive, and easy-to-handle beast, I’m definitely interested.
“How much travel money do we have left?”
“We’ve got a total of 2,023,000 Sel.”
I realized, but wow, our dungeon is really poor.
Being a newly established dungeon, it couldn’t be helped.
With high-level monsters costing around 10 million Sel, 2 million is really nothing.
Maybe I’ll just window shop. If I find something cheap with high potential, I’ll buy it.
Ding!
When the door opened, a bell greeted us first.
“Welcome.”
The Beast Shop owner was a beastman with cat-like features wearing monocles.
Contrary to his appearance, his voice was quite gruff.
After scanning us, it seemed he was about to get back to work, but then his gaze froze on Charlotte.
“Haflino? Or a human issue?”
“I’m a mine.”
“So, ultimately, you’re human. Sorry, but humans aren’t allowed here. Please leave.”
We got kicked out before we’d even been there for three seconds.
I could reveal I’m the boss of the Seven Lairs, but I didn’t want to cause a fuss over it. It wasn’t that big of a deal.
Just as we were about to exit, Charlotte had already stepped out first.
“Take your time looking around. I’ll wait here.”
I hesitated slightly.
Just looking at beasts would definitely ignite a man’s heart.
I didn’t show it, but I was secretly excited too.
Checking Charlotte’s expression, she seemed genuinely fine with that.
“All right. Balutak, stay by Charlotte’s side. It’s a big deal if a human is alone in the Beast Realm.”
“Kirik. Got it.”
I guess I’ll just go sightseeing alone at the beast shop.
Alone time. Even better.
*
“Kirik. The demon world hates humans. Huh?”
“That’s how it is. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”
“Kirik. Balutak, you’re smart. But the lieutenant, even smarter. Be quiet.”
Charlotte let out a deep sigh.
I expected it, but this place was indeed rife with human discrimination.
Given the tangled history, I couldn’t say I was particularly resentful. Still, it was frustrating.
Within a corner of Charlotte’s heart, worries and concerns coiled up.
If the city square was like this, thinking about the meetings only made me more anxious.
‘What if I just end up causing trouble?’
I came along on the boss’s decision, but that didn’t mean my worries vanished.
The more I thought about it, the more my mood soured.
Charlotte decided to clear her mind and kill time until that person arrived.
“Kirik. The lieutenant wants to go in, but can’t. So why am I here? Can’t I just go somewhere else?”
“It’s a beast shop. Only the boss can go in.”
Charlotte had a decent grasp of the boss’s abilities.
A keen eye for the potential of beasts. And the ability to evolve them.
Just looking at Balutak next to her was proof enough of that ability.
A bit dim-witted, but nonetheless exceptional.
“You could just take a look and come out. I firmly believe in the boss’s insight.”
“Kirik. It’d be great if an insect female were there.”
“That won’t happen. And you. There’s a female Keltak—”
Charlotte’s expression froze as she abruptly stopped speaking.
A passing werewolf approached her for some reason.
Balutak looked back and forth between the two with a puzzled expression, sensing a strange tension between them.
Charlotte glanced up at the werewolf and struggled to speak.
“Have you been well?”
Spit.
Instead of words, a glob of spit came from the werewolf’s mouth.
The sticky saliva stuck to her eyebrow, and she reflexively closed her eyes.
Before Charlotte could wipe away the spit, a rough hand pulled off her hood.
A grim face loomed right in front of her, clearly revealing Charlotte’s features.
“Still got that annoying face, huh?”
“….”
“What’s a human girl like you doing in the demon world? Are you itching for death or something?”
“Kieek!”
“Stay still. You shouldn’t touch this one.”
Charlotte hurriedly stopped Balutak, who was about to jump in.
One wrong move, and it could mean death. More accurately, it was someone who could make her die.
“This person is Boss Gergor, rank 21.”
Charlotte was already somewhat acquainted with Gergor.
It made her hesitate to bring up memories she didn’t even want to recall.
“…Once, he was my boss.”