“Is the Death Knight the boss of the Seven Lairs? Ha! Do you think I’d believe such nonsense?”
“Oh really?”
At first, they looked taken aback, but soon their eyes narrowed in disbelief.
There was some merit to the Wolf Beastman’s words. The boss of the formidable Seven Lairs being merely a Death Knight?
When compared to the Lich King of the Seven Lairs, the status of Undead was beyond comparison.
If it were an irregular Death Knight, we might be talking, but the Wolf seems to think I’m not that special.
“I have no obligation to prove anything to you. Where is the boss? I must meet them directly.”
“…Is that for real?”
The Wolf Beastman, who had just been raving about nonsense, seemed to lose their confidence.
Believe it or not, just pick a side already! You’re being all wishy-washy.
Charlotte, who hated tedious verbal sparring, let out a series of sighs.
She pulled something from her pocket, and it was a dungeon merchant’s calling ticket.
The ticket was torn, a portal appeared, and out jumped the Demon Merchant.
It was all too neatly choreographed, almost like a preordained ritual.
“Permit me to greet your esteemed self. Hmm? Oh? Aren’t you the Guardian of the Lionheart? What connection do you two have?”
“Cut to the chase and tell me: Who is this person, my master?”
Charlotte politely pointed at me with both hands.
The Demon Merchant blinked innocently, following her finger to look at me.
“Well, aren’t you the new owner of the Seven Lairs? But why do you ask?”
Instead of answering, Charlotte shot a side glance at the Wolf Beastman.
Reading the intent behind her gaze, it seemed to say, ‘So, what now?’
The change in the Wolf Beastman’s expression was quite a sight.
Their eyes were wide like saucers, their eyebrows quirked, and their lips trembling as if they might fly off at any moment. Their entire body shook like a leaf.
When that expression turned towards me, I felt oddly embarrassed.
If they find out later I’m just an impersonator, karma’s going to hit hard.
“I-I’m sorry for my grave sin!”
With their head still bowed, the Wolf Beastman collapsed to the ground.
They kept banging their forehead against the floor over and over.
“I, a lowly servant, did not recognize your esteemed self and acted rudely! Please forgive me with your boundless generosity!”
“Forgiveness? You outright disrespected my boss and even threatened to kill them!”
“Y-Yes!?”
The Demon Merchant, who had been watching the situation with no clue, tilted their head in confusion.
As far as I knew, there was a monumental gap between a dungeon boss outside the top 7 and a boss of the Seven Lairs.
If I had to compare, being outside the top 7 is like a lord from the outskirts facing a count. The Seven Lairs is akin to a king whom even nobles can’t contest.
There’s a reason the Seven Lairs has earned that prestigious title among the top 7 dungeons.
The Demon Merchant held their forehead as if a headache had just struck.
“Oh dear, what should we do? If it were rank 10 it would still be manageable, but rank 14? This is a disaster…”
“What happens now?”
“Could you give me a detailed explanation of the situation?”
Charlotte recounted everything that had just happened word for word.
Since she described it as it was, the Wolf Beastman couldn’t refute it, though the merchant’s face grew darker with every passing phrase.
“Considering it’s a new Seven Lairs, we might reach an amicable agreement, but… we did make the first strike. And it was clearly with intent to kill… In this case, it could escalate to…”
They sighed heavily, halting mid-sentence.
Part of the merchant’s duties involved mediating conflicts and alliances between dungeons.
This was turning into a real headache for them.
Sorry, but I didn’t see this coming. I came to recruit Balutak, and somehow things spiraled like this.
“If it were a mere monster, that would be one thing, but the responsibility rests with the boss for the Guardian. You two will have to hold the Lionheart accountable. I sincerely hope you can resolve this with a generous heart.”
“Well, if you’re unsure, the responsibility of the guard lies with the boss. You two should hold Lionheart accountable. I sincerely hope for a generous resolution.”
“Can’t just go empty-handed. I’m not the type to miss an opportunity like this.”
“Meeting the person in charge might lead to a smooth agreement, depending on his attitude and compensation.”
“And if it’s Lionheart…”
He wasn’t exactly a significant boss, just a fleeting chapter in the early to mid story.
As I wracked my brain to recall, memories slowly resurfaced.
Lionheart was notorious for his extravagant hobby of flaunting wealth, adorning himself with jewelry made entirely of gold.
I remembered him because of the gold necklace.
There was a joke going around that it was the necklace that was the real boss, not him.
“Now that’s a great item.”
Just wearing it grants complete immunity to A+ rank or lower debuffs. Sure, it’s useless against anything stronger, but for undead, sunlight is a B rank debuff.
As long as I have it, I can avoid the troubles of sunlight, even without Charlotte.
“I-I’ll guide you.”
The wolf beastman stammered but stretched out his hand to stop that action.
“Just tell us the location. We’ll go ourselves.”
An image formed in my mind.
I had a feeling there was more to gain here.
*
The 14th-ranked dungeon boss, Lionheart, originally had his dungeon in the magical realm.
If he hadn’t been greedy, he might still be there.
His attempt to expand the dungeon was his undoing.
They dug a tunnel under the pretense of expansion, and unfortunately, it led right into the dungeon of the 12th-ranked boss. He made a colossal mistake by not checking the location beforehand.
With no clue, the two dungeons were now interconnected.
Sealing that hole from the Lionheart side would resolve the issue.
However, the 12th-ranked boss demanded that he relocate his dungeon simply because he felt inconvenienced.
He even threatened to consider the unauthorized entry as a declaration of war, leaving Lionheart with no choice.
“Seriously? Who would’ve guessed there would be a dungeon there?!”
How could luck be so terrible? The world felt unbearably unjust.
Lionheart felt lost about where to move his dungeon.
Somewhere that could provide ample nutrients for the dungeon core and has geographical advantages.
He needed a place where the dungeon wouldn’t be diminished by its surroundings and could naturally exist.
Whether it was due to insufficient research or the absence of suitable locations, the magical realm held no suitable spots anymore.
“Your Highness! What about this place?”
During this time, a lieutenant pointed to a location in the human empire.
At first, Lionheart scoffed without wanting to hear more.
The dungeons primarily targeted by humanity were those rooted in their homeland.
Most dungeons within the empire were naturally occurring, and any boss would prefer to move to the magical realm if given the choice.
Unless it’s an exceptional case like the Seven Lairs, they wouldn’t voluntarily establish themselves in the empire.
“Your Highness. Please listen. This is a tropical rainforest located at the southernmost point of the empire. I’ve heard from my sources that there have been barely any human visitors lately. And if it’s a forest, isn’t that our beastmen’s home turf?”
That was actually an appealing proposal.
A tropical rainforest with little human presence. The advantageous combination of beastmen and forest. The southernmost area would likely have a climate suitable for beastmen.
Next, I needed to check on the nutrient supply of the dungeon core.
If that place was indeed good for a dungeon, it was worth pursuing immediately.
“Have you looked into the natural ecosystem of the forest? Even if there are no natives, there could still be Beast tribes, right?”
“Beasts” referred to wild monsters.
If the dungeon was established in the forest, one would naturally consider the possible incursions by beasts.
While they could pose a threat, beasts could also be a source of food, and if they were intelligent, they could be tamed.
“We can make use of the beasts too. Most of them are insects and they’re quite intelligent. As long as we utilize them well, we can complete it quickly without help from the trading firms.”
“You can put them to use. Most of them are insects, and they’re quite intelligent. I believe we can finish the construction quickly if we utilize them well without any help from the merchant guild.”
“Put them to use?”
Insects can carry weights ten times their own.
They’re also specialized in digging tunnels, though not quite like kobolds.
Most insects lived by digging burrows like ants.
“Of course, despite their intelligence, their instincts are incredibly strong. Each individual is very individualistic, aggressive, and has no sense of obedience. It’s just their inherent nature. But I see that as no problem at all.”
No one raises issues when insects are simply being used.
If used well, they could surely serve as an efficient labor force to replace the merchant guild.
Ultimately, the forest was chosen as the site for the dungeon, and upon actually coming here, it turned out to be a truly breathtaking location.
Lionheart felt immense pride in his deputy’s achievements and his own choices.
“This time, we won’t build a labyrinth; we’ll make a tower instead.”
Just thinking of a labyrinth brought back some PTSD from that time.
Thus, the new dungeon would take the form of a tower.
Slurp.
At the very top of the dungeon, Lionheart sipped his tea and reminisced about the past.
At the same time, his gaze was fixed out the window, and a satisfied smile naturally spread across his face.
“I’m quite pleased.”
Countless insects were finishing the final touches under the guidance of beastmen.
Lionheart subdued the tenacious insects without much damage.
This resulted in acquiring useful slaves, and the dungeon was nearing completion.
Due to relocating the dungeon, his rank, which had been etched in his mind, slipped from 14th to 16th.
Still, a bright smile blossomed on Lionheart’s face.
“Changing ranks is just a matter of time.”
This place was truly perfect as a dungeon.
The dungeon core thrived off the forest’s natural environment, and the home ground of the beastmen spread out like an ocean.
Moreover, he could build and reconstruct the dungeon using insects without any help from the merchant guild.
Memories of that dungeon in the magic realm had long faded away.
“Rank…”
Numbers were etched into the minds of all the bosses.
This represented two contrasting emotions. It was both a source of shame for the boss and seen as a source of pride.
Being 16th was an indelible humiliation for Lionheart.
Yet, just as the ground hardens after rain, this was merely a trial preceding success.
Lionheart planned to turn his ambitions toward claiming the entire forest once the dungeon was completed.
What if he could make this forest his kingdom?
A king of a nation. Furthermore…
“Could the Seven Lairs not be a dream after all?”
An atypical dungeon, the epitome of the abyssal labyrinth.
The Seven Lairs, boasting a history unchanged for a thousand years, was Lionheart’s ultimate goal.
If everything went smoothly, he might even aim for the throne of the Seven Lairs.
The fear of the empire and the anxiety of the magic realm would be directed at him as the boss of the Seven Lairs. Just imagining it made his lips curl up.
If he were to be even greedier, he could aim beyond the Seven Lairs to the Path of the Wilderness.
Over the Path of the Wilderness, perhaps he could even reach Saṃghāta.
Of course, just achieving the Seven Lairs would be enough, but dreams are never-ending.
Knock.
The sound of knocking interrupted his happy thoughts.
“Come in.”
The figure that emerged through the opened door was not a beastman.
Lionheart’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight.
“…Demon Merchant?”
“I hope you’ve been well, Your Majesty.”
The Demon Merchant bowed sharply.
It was unusual for the merchant to visit suddenly without prior notice.
Before he could ask, Lionheart already assessed the merchant’s purpose in his mind. One particular thought came to mind.
‘Could those money-grubbing guys have taken interest in my dungeon?’
Not too long ago, I heard news about the newly formed Seven Lairs from a beastman trader.
They must be eager to solidify their relationship with the Lairs for the trade association, huh? If that’s the case, the association probably reached out first, and conveniently, here we are now.
“Well then, let’s hear why you’ve come.”
“It’s just that a certain esteemed individual has business with Your Majesty.”
Just as I expected. If they say esteemed, they’re probably talking about someone from the association’s upper management. A wave of disdain arose in me towards the trader.
Back when I had friction with the 12th rank, they ignored me completely, but now they show up because they think I’ve gotten a bit more prominent?
“What a sly bunch. Those golden bugs only think of themselves.”
“Your Majesty, what are you—”
“I said shut it. You should keep your mouth shut in front of me and go tell that esteemed person that no matter how they come at me, this Lionheart won’t bat an eye.”
The trader’s expression was a masterpiece of shock. I definitely gave that sneaky fellow a huge blow. Lionheart couldn’t help but laugh out loud from the sense of accomplishment.
“Your Majesty, please calm down and hear me out.”
“I told you to shut up. Do you think I need to rip your mouth open for you to understand?”
The trader tried to speak up one last time but instantly bowed and left.
When he came back, he had a Death Knight and a human with him.
I had to blink twice at the suspicious combination.
“What’s going on? Why is there a human with the association?”
“Association? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we are not from the association.”
The human woman answered nonchalantly, unfazed at all. Just seeing a human act like this in front of the king of beastmen hurt my pride—especially when she seemed so ordinary.
“…So, the esteemed person who has business with me is you?”
“Not me, but this one,” she replied, pointing to the Death Knight beside her with both hands.
“To introduce you, this person—”
“Kahak!”
I couldn’t help but cut her off with an involuntary laugh.
“A mere Death Knight is your esteemed one? You’ve got to be kidding, you silly human. Even if you want to elevate your master in introduction, you must consider their status.”
“….”
“Do I look like I would consider this Death Knight an esteemed being? It’s nothing but a worthless undead, isn’t it?”
“Why can’t everyone keep their mouths shut?” the human muttered in a complaining tone.
Before I could give a retort, the human jumped in first.
“It seems you haven’t heard the news about the newly formed Seven Lairs. Given you’re the 14th rank dungeon, I would expect you to be aware of such information.”
“…Seven Lairs?”
I was quite interested in the newly formed Seven Lairs. I had obtained some information through the association and made some gains myself. They contacted me as soon as they were born. They killed the trusted hero, Balmunk. And that boss of 6th rank, Roseha, even took an interest.
And I also heard that the boss is an Undead. Naturally, the boss of the Seven Lairs would be a high-level lich, I thought.
“….”
Now that I looked again, the trader’s fidgeting gaze was not on me.
For some reason, he was watching the Death Knight closely.
“…No way.”
The new boss of the Seven Lairs is an Undead. The Death Knight is also an Undead.
Putting their attitude and what the human just said together…
I realized too late that something was wrong, but it was already too late.
“You called it a worthless Undead, didn’t you?”
At that moment, the Death Knight pulled out a chair opposite me and sat down.
Its unreadable blue gaze was fixed directly on me.
“So, it seems the boss of the Seven Lairs is nothing but that to you.”
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