TPDGR 07

Chapter 7……

The human world, huh.
So there are other universes with living beings besides Earth.

I hadn’t known that.

“And then?”

“But most human worlds and dungeons were either at war, or under harsh dictatorships like the one we came from.”

Whether it was the human world or a dungeon, everything seemed to be a mess, so it wasn’t easy for immigrants to settle anywhere.

Which meant… I was probably the only dungeon master in existence who actually gave laborers wages, a home, and even herbs.

On top of that, I even allowed sick leave.
Today marked exactly one full day since No. 3 collapsed after overeating magpie fruit.

“Guard duty is fine, but if it’s an opponent you can’t handle, leave it to me, No. 2.”

After all, you’re the type whose arm can get pierced by some low-tier guild master’s spear.

If a B-rank or higher hunter showed up, you’d only get in the way.

But instead of taking my words at face value, No. 2’s eyes welled up with emotion.

“…That you would worry about someone like me… Thank you, my lord! I shall devote this body to protecting the Demon King’s castle! Even if it costs me my life!”

“Yeah, don’t do that.”

“As expected, my lord is the saintliest of saints.”

He might be useless in combat, but at least he was good at flattery.
A true master of social survival.

(Not that I took you in for your fighting ability anyway. Honestly, if a slightly stronger guild barged in, you wouldn’t even last a second…)

Rather than watch them scatter like autumn leaves before hunters’ attacks, it was better if I stepped in myself.

(But still, why is dungeon attack power so uneven? There’s no middle ground at all.)

I was crouching next to No. 2 when the gate suddenly rippled.

Someone was coming through.

No. 1 stepped out of the gate.

Huh?

But wait… this aura?

“Stand back, my lord.”

Sensing it too, No. 2 raised his club and placed himself protectively in front of me.

The gate that had spit out No. 1 convulsed several more times and disgorged over a dozen people at once.

No. 1, whose green face had turned pale white, collapsed flat before me.

“…I-I’ve committed a grave sin, my lord! These people threatened me, demanding to see you at once, and I had no way to resist!”

At the head of the group stood a man.

His hood was pulled deep, concealing his face, but from his tall frame and broad shoulders, he looked male.

The man pushed back his hood.

Golden hair, tied back in a rough ponytail.
Though his face was dirt-streaked and worn, his upright bearing and steadfast eyes could not be hidden.

His fiery blue eyes blazed with intensity.

He locked gazes with me, then suddenly dropped to one knee with a thud.

“You must be the just king of this land, the Saint-King Anastasios.”

I blinked in confusion before replying.

“Uh… no, actually.”

Unfortunately, he was way off. Me, a saint-king?

I was being perfectly honest, but the beautiful man smiled faintly as if I’d made a playful joke.

Maybe it was because he was so handsome—his smile was dangerously captivating.

“As expected, just as the rumors said. So humble.”

I hadn’t been trying to be humble, though.

“It seems we have indeed found the right place.”

He raised an arm reverently.

“I am Griffith, Hero of the Kingdom. We have come to pledge ourselves as your servants.”

…Kingdom? Hero?

At that moment, a blue window appeared before my eyes:

[Title ‘Hero’ Griffith (Rank A) wishes to become your loyal retainer.]

“…?”

I blinked dumbly.

* * *

Griffith.

He wasn’t from Earth, but from “another” human world.
At a young age, he defeated the Demon God of the “Demon God’s Dungeon,” earning the title of Hero.

The place he came from was just an ordinary kingdom.
Apparently, “gates” had only started appearing there about ten years ago.

Then one day, the Demon God’s dungeon opened, and its minions kidnapped the kingdom’s saintess.
That was when Griffith set off to slay the Demon God.

Amazingly, Griffith actually won.

Thanks to him, the kingdom reclaimed the saintess, slew the Demon God, and seized the dungeon’s wealth.

Or so it seemed.

“After King Gregor seized all the Demon God’s dungeon wealth, his greed turned into tyranny. Countless citizens and monsters have been slaughtered or exploited.”

I hadn’t wanted to invite them into my castle, so I seated Griffith and the refugees near the gate and handed out magpie fruit.

Despite my indifference, Griffith’s eyes shone with gratitude as he began distributing the fruit to the children first.

“At first, I only wanted to bring back the saintess who had been dragged into the dungeon, and restore peace by defeating the Demon God. I just wanted a safe kingdom where children could run and play.”

His expression turned bitter.

“But after the Demon God’s fall, King Gregor began hunting down the monsters that had fled to the continent.”

“Monsters?”

“Yes. When the gates began opening everywhere, many monsters had escaped into the continent and were hiding there. In the past, as long as they didn’t cause crimes, we left them alone…”

But the king executed anyone who tried to defend monsters.

He declared that only by enslaving monsters beneath humanity’s feet could the people prosper and the kingdom grow mighty.

“We could not bring ourselves to slaughter or enslave monsters, so we left. Through our journeys, we learned many monsters—though different in appearance—were kind, intelligent beings forced to flee to our land.”

“You’re a thoughtful young man,” No. 2 the orc said, looking touched.

I scowled at No. 2’s moved expression and crossed my arms.

“So you came here because of rumors, wanting to settle on my land?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Then you must have expected my answer. Surely I don’t look like the great saint-king you’ve heard about.”

“That is…”

Griffith hesitated, lips pressing together.

“…We know you do not wish for us. But if you would trust and accept us, we could aid in guarding and farming. I’ve heard you only have four villagers now.”

“My dungeon was fine even without those three.”

I glanced at the refugees. Even little children of six or seven were among them.

That only made me more reluctant.

Right now, magpie fruit grew in abundance without effort—but what if they suddenly stopped growing and food supplies collapsed?

Hunters would soon be arriving too. What if these people got caught in their attacks, like what happened to No. 3?

No matter how bad their country was, I had never heard of civilians willingly entering a dungeon before!

If they recklessly tried to defend me and got impaled on a spear, how would I even deal with that guilt?

“I’m sorry, but I’m no saint-king like you imagine. I am the Demon King. And I don’t need more laborers here, so you’d best—”

I broke off mid-sentence.

From the back of the refugee group, someone who had been quietly tending to the children stepped forward.

What’s this?

She pushed back her hood—silver hair cascaded like threads of moonlight.

My first thought was…

Wow. How could someone be that white?

From head to toe, she was as pale as untouched snow.

And beautiful.

While I was still marveling, Griffith panicked and tried to stop her.

“Saintess!”

“Griffith, let me speak.”

Saintess.

This was the very saintess who had once been kidnapped by the Demon God.

A hero and a saintess fleeing from a tyrant king… if that wasn’t a sign of a kingdom’s downfall, I didn’t know what was.

The woman clutched the hem of her tattered skirt and offered me a graceful bow.

“I, Joanna, the most faithful servant of God Rasla, offer you my greetings.”