“Ophelia, the daughter of Endelyon, meets the owner of the great House of Mammon.”
The throne room.
Ophelia kneeled in front of Yong-Ho, who was sitting on the throne. Catalina was standing on the left side of the throne room and Eligor, Rikum and Skull were standing at the bottom of the steps, which were created during the reorganization.
Out of all the spirits that were currently in the House of Mammon, Ophelia was the strongest. On top of that, since she was the leader of a group for a long time, there was a certain dignity in her movements.
‘No, perhaps it was class?’
Seeing Ophelia show her respect towards him reminded him of the “demon” that he imagined when he was younger and felt like he was one step closer to becoming that demon he dreamed of.
But now wasn’t the time for him to be happy about fulfilling his desire. Yong-Ho was curious as to why Ophelia suddenly decided to visit him, but he hid his impatient side by speaking calmly.
“Thank you for coming this far. You visited a lot sooner than expected.”
“It’s because I became the House of Mammon’s spirit. I need to understand the happenings of the dungeon and, most of all, the situation outside of the dungeon is changing fast.”
Ophelia was wearing the same bartender outfit that she had worn at the bar and was straightforward about her visit. Yong-Ho actually preferred this method since he didn’t know much about the complicated etiquettes.
Yong-Ho was also straightforward.
“What’s the situation like with the other owners?”
“It seems like they’ll start moving within a few days. Foras’s death and defeat has now become a fact. It’s been a while since they left to invade the House of Mammon and haven’t returned yet.”
This was something that Ophelia and Yong-Ho spoke about before at the pub.
In order to attack a different dungeon, an owner needs at least a few dozens of units and a unit of that size is bound to stick out no matter what.
“The House of Abigail, In the northwest region of Foras’s dungeon, seems to have unusual movements. Not only did they visit the pub yesterday to gather information, but they even hired a mercenary group that was within the free city.”
It was obvious what they were trying to do.
A frown appeared on Yong-Ho’s face.
“How’s Foras’s dungeon?”
“The spirits have started leaving.”
It’s natural for soldiers to leave an army that was losing.
Even though spirits live inside the dungeon, they know what’s happening outside of the dungeon.
The Spirit of the Dungeon died and a new owner ascended to the throne.
The owner that protected the House of Foras for many years no longer existed.
The reason why Foras made his move was because the empty southern region was starting to become chaotic. There was no point in sitting still while the others were starting to make their move.
“Out of the free spirits, the Orcs have left the dungeon first. As you know, the Orcs were the main spirits in the House of Foras. Gokun, who controlled those Orcs, is no longer there and it’s been reported that most of the important figures were killed during the fight with the House of Mammon.”
The commander didn’t only give commands during war. Maintaining the morale of the troops was their job as well.
Yong-Ho looked back at Rikum after listening to Ophelia. Rikum was one of the commanders and with a slightly sad expression, he answered.
“Orcs respect the strong. Currently, there isn’t anyone in the House of Foras that’s strong enough to control the Orcs.”
It wasn’t really the most comforting thing to hear.
The Orcs weren’t wandering mercenaries that were hired by the House of Foras. They were spirits and to be specific, they were close to being official troops of the House of Foras.
Shame was written on Rikum’s face. It wasn’t because he was ashamed of the Orcs that were in the House of Foras. Rikum was the first one to leave the House of Foras afterall.
His and the life of his men were in danger and even though they were involved in a fight they couldn’t win, it was a fact that they left the House of Foras and chose to serve the House of Mammon.
If they ended up being in the same situation again, how would they handle it?
Would they leave the House of Mammon?
Would they have enough courage to say no?
Yong-Ho sensed that Rikum was feeling troubled on the inside, so he turned his attention to Ophelia. Since Yong-Ho felt that there was something odd, he didn’t have anything else to say.
Ophelia spoke.
“The first one to leave is like the first piece in a row of dominoes. As more spirits leave, the hearts of those that are left will quickly weaken. And in the end, a large amount of spirits will leave the dungeon.”
It wasn’t just me.
Someone else started it. Everyone else did it. I wasn’t the first one.
Like Ophelia stated, it was like a domino. Yong-Ho was reminded of the students that didn’t clean and ran away when he attended school. It was a completely different situation, but the basic context was the same.
Eligor maintained a calm expression, but Catalina’s face became dark. Her ears and tail looked weak.
It was something that the House of Mammon had already experienced. Even though the House of Mammon fell, it only took a few days for all the spirits to leave the dungeon. Catalina and Eligor were the only ones that remained.
“The other owners already know what’s happening. It’s because the Orcs that left the House of Foras either entered the free city or visited the other owners and asked the owners to hire them.”
Foras died. The spirits were leaving the dungeon.
The issue with the House of Foras wasn’t the only thing that was making the owners impatient.
“The chaos caused by Embrio is growing. Owners in various parts have started dungeon battles. The owners that joined forces and other owners that were defeated have decided to invade a different dungeon or defeat an owner so that they can increase their power. They are no longer forming an alliance.”
The situation was totally different from when the House of Mammon’s previous owner committed suicide.
The owners were forced to make a move. In order to protect their respective dungeons, they had to fight.
Yong-Ho realized how serious the situation was. The House of Foras was like a shield and if they fell without a fight, then it wouldn’t benefit Yong-Ho in any way.
Ophelia took a fist-sized crystal ball from her inner pocket. Eligor approached her and after giving him the crystal ball, she spoke.
“It’s a long-distance communication device. I’ll send you my reports through this device from now on.”
Yong-Ho nodded his head after obtaining the crystal ball from Eligor. Just like Kaiwan’s ring and bracelet, he felt mana within the crystal ball. It was Ophelia’s mana.
“Thank you for coming all this way. And for the information as well. First…get some rest. And then take a look around the dungeon.”
“Ophelia, the daughter of Endelyon, will obey your commands, Master.”
After Ophelia showed her respect, Yong-Ho let Eligor take care of her and stood up from the throne. Yong-Ho needed time to think as well.
The meeting was over.
***
“The dungeon’s condition is better than I expected.”
Ophelia commented as she followed Eligor around the dungeon.
‘I’m serious.’
It’s been a long time since the previous owner had died. The House of Mammon experienced the same issue that the House of Foras was going through right now, so she assumed that the dungeon would be in a chaotic state.
But what happened?
Ophelia thought there was only going to be a straight passageway that led to the throne room, but the House of Mammon looked like a legit dungeon.
Eligor felt proud when he heard Ophelia’s compliment. A warm smile appeared on his face.
“This is all thanks to our master.”
“I can tell.”
She answered honestly this time too. It was the answer that he wanted to hear, but Eligor felt pain for some reason. It felt like she was saying that he didn’t do anything to contribute.
Eligor and Ophelia arrived at his second shrine, which was the cafeteria. His first shrine was obviously the torture room.
While maintaining his smile, Eligor asked Ophelia again.
“Do you think the dungeon is lacking or…is there something that should be added? Please be straightforward.”
Even though Eligor worked as the House of Mammon’s butler for a long time, the dungeon that the previous two owners took care of was really small. As the female owner of the pub, he was sure that Ophelia would notice something that he missed.
Ophelia’s expression softened a little bit after seeing Eligor’s sincere attitude. She spoke with a small smile on her face.
“It’s missing an entertainment facility.”
“Entertainment…facility?”
“I was going to tell the master myself, but…it wasn’t the right time to bring it up.”
The enemy wasn’t going to attack right now. There was just a high possibility that the enemy would make their move in a few days and on top of that, they were targeting the House of Foras, not the House of Mammon. And there was a good chance that the House of Foras might do well in defending against the enemy.
Still, they couldn’t help but think seriously about the current situation.
Ophelia continued talking.
“This might sound funny, but spirits also have desires as well. They get stressed as well. If their desires aren’t satisfied and they can’t relieve their stress, they’ll lose the will to fight. They won’t be very efficient when working in the dungeon.”
“Um…are you saying that we need to build a pub or something within the dungeon?”
“That’s a required facility. The owner from two generations ago built a pub fac…it must’ve been taken down before you joined.”
Eligor replaced his answer with a bittersweet smile.
Ophelia shrugged her shoulders.
“Having a gambling facility would be good too. It’s also a great method to collect the spirits’ monthly pay. They should win the jackpot once in a while, but…you understand, right? In the end, the gambling system is set up so that the house wins.”
She had an evil smile after saying that. It was natural for her to say something like that since she was the owner of the largest gambling house in the free city.
Eligor wanted to remind her that she was a spirit as well, but spoke after clearing his throat.
“I’ll recommend it to the master.”
“I’ll do it. I’m thinking about leaving tomorrow anyways. Also…”
“Also?”
“The biggest flaw is you, Eligor.”
Ophelia said it so naturally and because of that, Eligor didn’t understand what Ophelia was saying. He blinked his eyes a few minutes after she said it.
“The dungeon was close to completely fall…no, I acknowledge the fact that you were able to keep the dungeon together and prevented it from completely falling. But…how should I say this? You were more than enough for this dungeon up until now. You are definitely an amazing butler. But not for the House of Mammon’s future. You’re too weak.”
Eligor was really close to objecting and ended up flinching after hearing Ophelia’s last comment. The words that he prepared disappeared from his thoughts.
“As you know, butlers are supposed to take care of everything within the dungeon. It’s safe to say that they’re the second most important figure. And that’s why doing simple tasks isn’t enough. Butlers don’t have to be the second strongest being within the dungeon, but they do need a power that fits their position. Butlers are the last line of defense when it comes to dungeon defense. Especially during a time like this.”
Eligor couldn’t say anything this time too. What Ophelia said was true. Most of the dungeon butlers were pretty powerful.
Eligor recalled the fight with Foras in his head. Eligor couldn’t do anything during that fight.
Ophelia smiled brightly. She patted Eligor’s weak shoulders.
“But don’t worry. I’m here now.”
There was a lot of meaning behind that comment. Eligor’s eyes were moving side to side and Ophelia looked straight into his eyes.
“It probably won’t happen right now, but if the House of Mammon becomes bigger and it ends up affecting the free city, then…I’ll have to close the pub and join the House of Mammon. I’ll be the butler when that time comes, so you don’t have to overwork yourself.”
Ophelia stood up from her seat. She spoke after lightly patting Eligor’s shoulder again.
“You did well so far. Please hang in a bit longer.”
After saying those nasty comments, Ophelia turned around. She walked towards the exit while wagging her red tail.
‘This should be enough, right? You’re a cruel owner.’
Her first mission within the dungeon was to play the role of a villain.
Yong-Ho didn’t provide details on how she should do it. He just asked her to provoke Eligor a bit.
Like Yong-Ho had assumed, Red Demons were a fighting race.
Because of that, Ophelia believed that Eligor wasn’t going to stay depressed for a long time.
Only
“Even though he’s old and has a gentle personality, he can’t hide the fact that he’s a Red Demon.’
On top of that, Yong-Ho had the Power of Evolution. Is there someone that would easily fall into depression after witnessing several extraordinary miracles?
‘Show us the same willingness that helped you protect the dungeon that was falling apart. I have high expectations.’
Before leaving the restaurant, she slightly glanced over at Eligor and giggled like a brat.
That night.
The Basic Training Ground now belonged to the House of Mammon and a red heat filled the room.
It filled the room till the sun came up.
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