Dungeon Defense (WN)

“Our guards, did that to Your Highness?”

Ivar Lodbrok’s voice was shaking. I laughed.

“Indeed. But you don’t have to be too sorry…….”

“We’ve committed a grave sin!”

Ivar Lodbrok bowed before I could even finish speaking. He was fully groveling on the ground. Ivar Lodbrok’s entourage also bowed at the same time. Basically, a dozen demons had bowed to me in unison.

“We’ve committed a grave sin!”

“We’ve committed a grave sin!”

That wasn’t all that happened.

The chain of command must be really thorough here as even the staff members who couldn’t possibly hear our conversation started to grovel one by one as soon as they saw an executive grovel first. With me at the center, every demon within a few dozen meters got down on their knees like dominos.

“W-What?”

“What’s happening?”

Once all of the employees started to bow, the guests and merchants who were here for business became confused as they turned to look towards us.

“…….”

I let out a mental sigh.

Fine, Ivar Lodbrok. You politics-crazed old coot!

I left peacefully when the guards chased me out. It was only natural. I was going to carry out a war of words with Ivar Lodbrok soon. In other words, I was handed an opportunity to put a bit of responsibility on the other party.

Forgetting my crystal ball was my mistake; however, I was able to use that mistake in order to shift the blame onto the other party.

Nonetheless, Ivar Lodbrok acted lightning fast as soon as he heard what happened.

Niflheim is the one and only neutral city in the demon world and Ivar Lodbrok is one of the magnates who rule this city. Ivar’s standing is higher than most Demon Lords. Despite this, a person of his prestige groveled before the eyes of his subordinates.

“……You have done nothing wrong.”

Naturally, I had no other choice but to accept their apology.

“There is nothing for me to forgive. Please cease this excessive apology and stand back up.”

I was going to say it was fine, but the other party had taken the initiative.

Well, I already knew that Ivar isn’t a pushover who would fall for a scheme as lowly as this……. More importantly, how did Keuncuska educate their employees for them to grovel without even a single word of complaint? These guys aren’t normal either.

“That is not the case, Your Highness. Discourtesy is something that does not disappear unless forgiven.”

Ivar Lodbrok kept his head pressed on the floor as he spoke.

“We shall go capture the individuals who had committed this sin and bring you their heads!”

I furrowed my brows. Sheesh. You’re really putting the nail on the coffin, huh?

I had said ‘there is nothing for me to forgive’ earlier. The way I phrased it was incredibly ambiguous. It meant that I would overlook this incident, but that I wouldn’t forget it. I was trying to put a mental burden on Ivar Lodbrok.

The other party immediately realized this and responded by saying ‘Let’s punish them! Very severely!’. In other words, the few words we exchanged in the past couple of seconds could be translated to the following:

‘What should we do since your men sinned against me?’

‘I’m sorry. Please forgive us.’

‘I can’t forgive you, but I’ll overlook it for now.’

‘If you can’t forgive us, then how about giving them a solid punishment now and ending it here?’

In other words, he didn’t want to be in debt to me no matter what. This clever rat.

What could I possibly gain from executing some orc guards? It would ruin my image. It was obvious that only bad rumors about how Dantalian had a tiny heart would circulate. It would only be right to generously forgive them here.

“Heed me. There is a tale that has been passed down by sages for many generations.”

Of course, I didn’t have even the tiniest intention to go down silently.

“A certain nation was so rich and peaceful that the First Lord of a neighboring nation decided to go to this nation in disguise in order to learn something. Sure enough, the ruler of this nation received unending praise and his sovereignty was firm.”

“……?”

People were obviously confused once I started to tell them an old tale. I spoke in the same way I did back when I was giving speeches in Frankia so that I could slowly bring the atmosphere over to my side.

“The First Lord was curious and decided to question a commoner who happened to be nearby. ‘How virtuous is the ruler of this nation to be so loved by his people?’, he asked. Once asked this question, the commoner nodded and answered him like this: I don’t know what our ruler does.”

I deliberately spoke in a soft tone.

“The First Lord was startled. Why are people praising this lord when they don’t know what he does? Obviously, this unenlightened farmer knows nothing. The First Lord cursed at this commoner before looking for someone else.”

“…….”

“Thus, the First Lord asked the same question to another person, but what’s this? It turned out that the new person he asked didn’t even know the appearance of their lord.”

I could tell that the people around me were listening attentively to my story.

It was probably because this was their first time hearing about such a story. I was simply reciting an old tale from an era of peace that I had once heard about before. Well, things like copyright don’t exist here. In other words, I can use it however I want.

“Be it the third person, the fourth person, and eventually the seventh person he asked, they all answered that they didn’t even know the name of their ruler. It was then that the First Lord came to a shocking revelation. By nature, the people only care about their own well-being! If the world is rich and peaceful, then who cares about the name or even the appearance of the ruler? On the other hand, the more chaotic the world is, the more the people care about the ruler. Thus resulting in them making fun of the ruler’s name and ridiculing their appearance.”

The sound of someone letting out an astonished gasp came from the crowd. I wasn’t the one who made this story, but it was still a genuinely well-written one.

“Despite having arrived at this firm, I was chased away by the guards. They did not realize that I am a Demon Lord. If the Demon Lords of this era oppressed you all like tyrants, then you would have all memorized the appearances of every individual Demon Lord and recognized me immediately. I am actually pleased that no one was able to recognize me in this busy building. What is there to forgive when there is nothing to be sad about?”

I smiled widely.

“Fortunately, I have confirmed here and now that I, Dantalian, have not erred you all in any great way up to this point. Employees of Keuncuska, cease this nonsense and stand back up. Your apology will contrarily become discourteous if this continues.”

The employees of the firm hesitantly stood back up starting from the executives.

Ivar Lodbrok shouted with a truly awed expression on his face.

“We are honored to receive Your Highness’ Royal grace!”

Following this, the sound of people saying they were honored resonated throughout the building.

I smiled benignantly as I patted Ivar Lodbrok’s shoulder. Ivar Lodbrok also smiled back at me brightly as he led the way. Glory to His Highness Dantalian! Glory to His Highness Dantalian! The people around us cheered.

I smiled slightly at Ivar with my eyes.

‘If you think I’ll step down quietly, then you’re making a grave mistake.’

Once I did, the wrinkles around Ivar Lodbrok’s eyes became deeper.

“How could we not praise Your Highness, when your benevolence has spared the life of a mere guard?”

“I am the one who wishes to praise you after seeing all of your employees look so satisfied and at peace.”

In the end, didn’t you go into a long speech just because you didn’t want to punish some guard?

Yup. You should take responsibility for managing your employees. Don’t try to tuck your tail between your legs.

This was the rough outline of our conversation. We pretended to have an amicable mood around us as we walked.

“Now then, please come this way.”

There was a teleportation device installed at one side of the firm. It was going to take us to the highest floor. Even if this device had a preset location, the fact that they were allowed to use teleportation magic showed how much authority Keuncuska has.

The two of us were the only people who used the teleportation device. We left the remaining executives behind.

“…….”

“…….”

The highest floor of the building was completely quiet. The bustling atmosphere from earlier had vanished without a trace. We walked silently as if we had entered a separate dimension and went through the doors at the end of the hall.

A dark room.

A disembodied minotaur’s head was hung up on the wall as decoration. Statues of bizarre demons and monsters filled the room. The room was overflowing with a dreary atmosphere. I could only say that the decoration in this room was in bad taste.

And there were 10 coffins in the center of the room.

Ivar Lodbrok opened his mouth.

“Your Highness, this is the first time in 2,000 years……that this humble one is revealing her true body.”

“I swear to all of the Goddesses above that I, Dantalian, will not reveal your true identity to anyone.”

Ivar Lodbrok slowly nodded his head. He walked forward with a firm look of resolve on his face. He entered one of the 10 coffins and a different coffin opened shortly after. A girl came out from that coffin.

“This humble one is Ivar Lodbrok, I greet Your Highness Dantalian once more.”

The blonde girl raised the sides of her dress courteously.

I carefully examined the girl’s face.

“How long do you intend to make a fool out of me, Chief of Keuncuska?”

“Pardon me?”

The girl blinked.

“What are you saying, Your Highness?”

“That is not your true body.”

A small girl with blonde hair. It was the same up to this point. However, her eyes were different from what was portrayed in the game’s illustrations for Ivar Lodbrok……. Her eyes should be purple like amethyst.

The girl in front of me had black eyes. It wasn’t Ivar Lodbrok’s main body.

I smiled.

“This is my final warning. Do not try to test me.”

“…….”

Silently.

The face of the monster that led a huge firm was cracking.

“……How do you.”

The girl’s lips trembled as she spoke.

“My main body……no one, truly no one should have ever seen it! How does Your Highness know about it!?”

“There are no perfect secrets. That is all there is to it.”

The other party held back her sorrow as she turned away.

She then returned to the coffin she had just stepped out of. Once she did, something happened as a different coffin opened up. With a creak, a type of smoke came flowing out from the coffin.

A girl stood up completely nude.

“…….”

She slowly opened her eyes. They were purple.

“I greet His Highness Dantalian. I had resolved myself to never step out into the world again, so I did not have the time to prepare a proper attire. Please forgive me.”

A vampire lord, the strongest puppet master, controller of a thousand bodies, a traitor among traitors who betrays the Demon Lord army and allies with the hero’s party, the heroine who has her own special route in <Dungeon Attack>.

I smiled brightly at the girl in front of me.

“Ivar Lodbrok. We finally meet.”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I feel like I should know the story Dantalian tells here, but I have no idea. In any case, I can finally use female pronouns for Ivar. It’s been so confusing for me.On another note, the single day delay did end up happening cause the wedding prep thing lasted the entire day. I thought I could get some translating done in the morning, but I got dragged around. Sorry about that.

Welp, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

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