The dungeon became bustling after a long time.
This time, everyone was busy preparing for Celia and Kazel’s outing.
They had only one purpose for their outing.
It was to inform adventurers about the existence of the dungeon.
In other words, it was a dungeon promotion plan.
Recently, adventurers’ visits to the dungeon had ceased, causing Celia more worry.
This was because the amount of sacrifices offered to the Master decreased.
In the long run, it meant the dungeon’s growth had stopped.
While it was necessary to repel intruders to protect the dungeon, it paradoxically required intruders for its growth.
In that sense, Celia decided to promote the dungeon herself by going out into the human world.
Following this, the skeletons were busy from early morning.
They were diligently inspecting the ornate carriage that Celia would ride in.
When Queen Irena ascended to the throne, a large number of nobles in the Sail Kingdom were purged. Simultaneously, their assets were confiscated by the royal family.
Celia received a portion of the confiscated assets from the royal family, and the carriage was one of them.
The carriage, engraved with luxurious patterns, exuded the dignity of a noble.
“Krrr, do you need any escorts?”
However, the carriage’s patterns were too eye-catching.
The Goblin Lord, concerned about the conspicuous carriage, asked Celia.
He suggested providing escorts as a precaution, even though no human would dare to touch such a magnificent carriage, to avoid getting involved in bothersome affairs.
However, Celia shook her head.
“Escorts are fine, Goblin Lord.”
This endeavor was solely focused on spreading rumors about the dungeon.
As such, it needed to be carried out discreetly and swiftly.
If they were to add escorts to the already magnificent carriage, it would truly stand out.
“Well then, I will be going now. I trust you to manage the dungeon well, Goblin Lord.”
“Understood.”
The absence of the Dungeon’s Chief Administrator.
However, she felt no worry.
She had left the dungeon several times before, and each time, the Goblin Lord had managed it in her stead.
Furthermore, there was no need to worry about the dungeon’s defense anymore.
Not only were there the Goblin Lord and the Goblin Scout Team, but also new Undead forces composed of Lamia and Ghouls.
Most importantly, the 5-star Vampire, Baalcherit, was now affiliated with the dungeon.
Celia smiled and got onto the carriage. Kazel followed behind her.
A Skeleton Knight, whose figure was concealed by a cloak, sat in the coachman’s seat.
It was an unavoidable choice as they needed someone to drive the carriage.
Kazel also knew how to drive a carriage, but he needed to coordinate plans with Celia during the journey.
Just before the carriage departed, Celia called out to the Goblin Lord as if she had remembered something.
“Ah, come to think of it, what if we planted some of the plants from Sector 3 outside the dungeon?”
The first layer’s Sector 4 was full of carnivorous tentacled plants.
Although they suffered significant losses due to the Lamia invasion, they had recovered them by the Elf’s power.
However, the Elf’s power was not infinite.
It would be better to distribute the plants rather than concentrating them only in Sector 3, according to her thoughts.
“I’ll have Riche plant the vegetation outside the dungeon. You understand, right? Be sure to tell Riche. I will inspect it when I return.”
“Understood. I will only assign the task to Riche.”
The Goblin Lord nodded at Celia’s command.
Riche was Baalcherit’s alias.
Celia knew this fact, but she deliberately called her Riche to fit in with her surroundings.
And Baalcherit became affiliated with the dungeon.
Celia could not stand to see Baekcherit doing nothing all day.
“That’s wonderful. Please take care.”
Celia smiled with satisfaction at the Goblin Lord’s reply and then departed in the carriage.
The carriage’s rear view, as it moved away from the dungeon, gradually became smaller.
* * *
The carriage driven by the Skeleton Knight proceeded without issue.
Inside the carriage, Celia and Kazel were deep in discussion regarding the dungeon’s promotion.
“Indeed, using the adventurers’ desires is a good idea,” Kazel said.
He believed that tales of grand adventures and treasures would quickly capture the adventurers’ interest.
They intended to use rumors for this dungeon promotion.
Instead of issuing requests to the Adventurer’s Guild, they planned to spread word-of-mouth rumors.
Kazel continued his explanation.
“Adventurers apparently enjoy adventures themselves. It would be more accurate to say that they aim for hidden treasures while exploring unknown dungeons, rather than fixed rewards.”
Kazel stated that this was the characteristic of adventurers.
There was no wrong in that.
Adventurers basically explore dungeons seeking a get-rich-quick scheme.
However, mere rumors alone were insufficient to ignite the adventurers’ hearts.
“It would be even better if there was some evidence to back up the truth of the rumors, Celia-nim.”
“Indeed, that is a valid point.”
Celia also agreed with Kazel’s words.
No matter how much they spread rumors, if they were dismissed as nonsense, it would be worse than doing nothing.
As Kazel said, they needed someone to instill confidence in the rumors.
In other words, someone to act as a jester in the streets.
While coordinating the detailed plan, the carriage continued to pass through the mountain range.
The carriage advanced along a narrow path through the forest.
However, before long, figures appeared, blocking the carriage’s path.
The carriage came to a halt at the appearance of the unwelcome guests.
“Clack?”
(What should we do?)
The Skeleton Knight sitting in the coachman’s seat turned around and spoke.
“Those are… bandits,” Kazel said indifferently, seeing the group of bandits.
He felt no concern.
After all, Celia was inside this carriage.
Although he had never witnessed Celia’s direct power, he believed she was not the Dungeon’s Chief Administrator for no reason.
Such faith reassured Kazel.
The bandits, clad in dirty armor, approached the carriage, brandishing their swords and spears.
“This is really a bothersome affair,” Celia said, her expression completely unfazed.
She simply viewed them as wriggling insects.
“Hey, you there! Hand over everything you have, and we’ll spare your lives!” the bandit leader threatened.
Celia quietly stepped out of the carriage.
As her superior alighted, Kazel followed her.
The bandits leered at Celia, who had gotten out of the carriage, with lustful eyes.
The bandit leader wore a sinister expression.
“Heh, I’ve changed my mind. We’ll spare you, girl, and kill the man.”
The carriage, with its ornate patterns, suggested it belonged to nobility.
They expected a skilled knight to be accompanying them inside the carriage, even if there were no escorts.
However, the being who disembarked from the carriage was not a knight.
Nor was their physique or armament particularly impressive.
There were no weapons visible at their waist.
Just the appearance of an ordinary man.
On the other hand, the woman beside him possessed extraordinary beauty, perhaps befitting a noble lady.
‘Today is going to be a good day.’
The bandit leader thought they could extort a considerable amount of money from them and have some fun.
He approached Celia.
“These humans are truly ill-mannered,” Celia’s lips curved into a strange smile.
“What do you think, Kazel? Aren’t they quite good jesters?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Jesters? What was she talking about?
Kazel tilted his head at Celia’s words.
In that fleeting moment, Celia’s eyes began to turn red.
The bandits stared at Celia with blank expressions.
Celia slowly approached the bandits.
“Celia-nim, be careful-”
However, as Celia walked forward, all the bandits slowly dropped their weapons to the ground.
The bandit leader did the same.
They stood with their weapons on the ground, merely gazing at Celia.
Seeing this, Kazel understood Celia’s true power.
‘Mind control…!’
It was an incredible ability.
And only then did he understand the meaning of Celia’s words.
Jesters.
Literally, they were destined to become the protagonists of the story that would turn rumors into certainty.
“Let’s see…” Celia mused, touching her lips.
At that moment, two shadows appeared behind Celia.
The shadows were formless beings.
Capable of moving anywhere, they were excellent at information gathering and assassination.
Recently, thankfully, the number of shadows monitoring the dungeon area had increased.
Regardless of who sent them, Celia had placed all of them under her charm.
Thanks to the increase in shadows, there were now specific shadows assigned to Celia, Irena, and Necros respectively.
“Tell Queen Irena that a luxurious mansion is needed in the Royal Capital. The owner’s name is-”
Celia turned her head and grabbed the bandit leader’s chin.
“What is your name?”
“I am Ralph,” the bandit leader, Ralph, replied expressionlessly when Celia questioned him.
Having confirmed Ralph’s name, Celia gave further orders to the shadows.
“The mansion owner’s name is Ralph. Prepare him with an appropriate identity.”
As the command was given, one of the shadows disappeared.
However, something was missing.
Celia tapped her lips, considering.
“Hmm…”
After a long thought, she murmured as if an idea had struck her.
“It would be best to create a story, after all, wouldn’t it? Ralph’s current appearance is too immaculate.”
With the order she just gave to the shadow, Ralph became the owner of a luxury mansion.
The story Celia had in mind was that Ralph had plundered the dungeon and amassed immense wealth.
However, Ralph’s current appearance was too pristine.
If someone plundered immense wealth from the dungeon, yet the person in question seemed perfectly fine?
Food that looks too good to be true often contains poison.
Those who heard the rumors would likely be suspicious.
“I think it would be best if he were missing an arm, perhaps.”
“What?” Kazel responded with surprise at Celia’s chilling words.
But Celia had already made a gesture.
Then, one of the bandits behind her picked up a sword from the ground.
In sync, Ralph raised his left arm to the side.
“No, Celia-nim, what is that-”
*Whoosh-*
Before Kazel could finish speaking, the bandit slashed his sword towards Ralph’s arm.
In an instant, the blade severed Ralph’s arm, and blood gushed out.
However, Ralph did not utter a sound.
“Ugh.”
Everyone but Kazel did.
The blood pouring from Ralph’s severed arm stained the ground red.
It was truly a grotesque scene.
Celia paid no mind to Kazel’s reaction.
Instead, she seemed to be contemplating where else to cut.
“Well, this should suffice for now, Kazel.”
“…Yes, sir!”
Kazel felt fear from Celia’s power.
He realized that she could kill someone thoughtlessly with mind control.
At the same time, he felt a sense of relief that he had sworn loyalty to Celia.
“Please bandage Ralph’s wound to ensure he doesn’t die.”
Celia indifferently turned around and looked at the coachman’s seat.
“Then, shouldn’t we provide a different kind of reward?”
Celia approached the Skeleton Knight in the coachman’s seat.
And she pulled out the leg bone of the Skeleton Knight.
“Clack?”
The Skeleton Knight, who suddenly became one-legged, yelped.
Of course, being an undead, he felt no pain.
Fortunately, since he was sitting in the coachman’s seat, he didn’t need to walk.
“Carrying the Skeleton’s bone would add more credibility.”
Celia placed the Skeleton Knight’s bone into Ralph’s hand.
“Ah, we must clear out the remaining insects, mustn’t we?”
With a wave of her hand, the remaining bandits, without exception, raised their weapons.
And they swung them, having lost their reason.
Accompanied by the sound of blades slicing through flesh, blood splattered.
The bandits whose flesh had been cut also thrust their spears at their opponents.
The scene of them stabbing and slashing each other was horrific.
The sound of blades cleaving through the air, the sound of flesh being torn, could be heard. Even so, no one screamed, creating an even more terrifying atmosphere.
The forest was truly turning into a chaotic battlefield.
Kazel stared blankly at the carnage soaked in blood.
His face was pale with shock.
* * *
A few days later, strange rumors began to circulate among adventurers in the Sail Kingdom.
– The existence of the dungeon ‘Evil God’s Nest’ begins to be known to adventurers.
– The existence of the dungeon ‘Red-Haired Tribe’ begins to be known to adventurers.
– The existence of the dungeon ‘Scraps of the Demonic Realm’ begins to be known to adventurers.
– The existence of the dungeon ‘Village Covered in Mist’ begins to be known to adventurers.
