DBOFS 44

Chapter 44

While Jade was busy running around—

“Is this the final list of dungeon components?”

[Yes.]

—Harris wasn’t sitting idle either.

In the central building of Godwin Castle, Harris’s office remained firmly closed, and was filled with documents and work.

Harris sighed as he watched one of his aides bring in yet another batch of new tasks after taking away the ones he had completed.

As the long-absent heir of House Godwin, the pile of work being passed onto him was truly bothersome.

[Also, this is the list of participants from the banquet where you were declared the young duke. The new Godwin faction includes…]

Of course, if that were all, Harris wouldn’t be so busy he couldn’t go see Jade.

What truly kept him occupied was—

“Grrrk, gahhh—!”

A man writhed on the blood-soaked floor, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

Dark mana, sticky like tentacles, squirmed outward through every facial orifice.

“So noisy.”

Harris murmured expressionlessly. On his pale, statue-like face, specks of blood had splattered as he stared at the document in hand.

[S-Sorry.]

[We’ll take care of it right away…!]

Harris’s aides, who had been cleaning up the corpses, moved faster upon realizing their master’s foul mood.

Harris was naturally suspicious, and through trauma, had developed misanthropy.

Naturally, he was hypersensitive to the people around him. The slightest doubt prompted immediate investigation.

“…I see.”

His red eyes briefly turned pitch black before dimming out.

“It’s the Duke again.”

Dear Father must still be in good health.

Sneering, Harris placed his foot on the assassin disguised as a servant.

“…!”

A silent death rattle.

Blood splattered onto his trousers, and Harris wiped his soiled foot.

“So persistent.”

How many times had it been now?

The assassins never tired of coming after him.

Or rather—after his Guide.

As expected, his biological father, Duke Godwin, had sharp instincts. The moment he learned Harris had escaped, he correctly assumed there’d be a Guide with him.

And tried to eliminate the Guide first.

Harris let out a red-tinged laugh.

He should’ve killed that bastard first the moment he escaped the dungeon.

Throwing aside his bloodied towel and gloves, Harris gave an order.

“Eat.”

From the floor, shadows bared their teeth—crunch, crunch, crunch!—devouring everything, leaving no trace of blood or stench behind.

It devoured anything. Swallowed everything.

And made it its own.

[Master.]

From the darkness, a figure stepped out.

Pale like a corpse, but elegant and courteous—he looked every bit the butler of a noble house.

But he wasn’t human.

He was an assassin who had disguised himself as a butler.

After dying, he’d been resurrected as one of Harris’s loyal servants.

This was one of the abilities granted by his power—“Void.”

In the process of destroying an Unknown Dungeon, Harris had continuously used this power, slowly absorbing more and more of the Void’s abilities as his own.

“Haa…”

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

Black veins bulged over his skin, and blood spurted from his nose.

“Ugh—”

Harris vomited blood and mucus, wiping his face with a towel.

…This feels like dark magic.

He felt disgusting.

Then again, wasn’t the “Void” an ancient calamity worshipped by dark mages?

[Master, Sir Jade will be returning soon. Shall I open a passage?]

At least this revolting power had one benefit—it could manipulate space.

Thanks to that, all assassins trying to find Jade were instead being lured to Harris.

The downside? Jade’s range of movement had become limited…

“Open it.”

It had been a while since Harris had gone out, and he let out a small smirk.

Surprisingly, even when left alone, Jade didn’t try to leave the designated area. He just lazed around the room.

Even though I told him to do whatever he wanted…

It was strange and amusing.

If the timing had been even a little off, Jade might’ve seen this monstrous side of him.

Is that kid lucky, or unlucky?

At the very least, getting involved with Harris was unlucky.

And yet, despite being entangled with him, Jade remained completely oblivious and safe.

Was that… a stroke of luck?

…Whatever.

Harris firmed his lips. Jade had approached first, and he had rejected him again and again.

He came on his own, and now he wants to leave just because his luck’s run out?

As if I’d let that happen.

A crooked smile tugged at Harris’s lips.

Sensing their master’s mood, the darkness retreated into the shadows at his feet.

“…”

The bright sunlight outside the window only worsened his mood. Another sleepless night.

Fortunately, his inhuman ability spared him from the typical fatigue.

“-Ugh!”

Though it gave him other kinds of fatigue.

Harris pressed his temple where the black veins were bulging.

[Master!]

[These are clear signs of overexertion. Guiding is necessary. Shall I call the Guide—]

“Shut up.”

He already knew.

He just fainted not long ago.

It was the third time.

The first in the dungeon prison, the second during their escape, and the third during the dungeon incident.

Jade always passed out after guiding him. He always overexerted himself.

Harris hated it.

He hated how he couldn’t leave Jade’s side when the boy lay unconscious like a corpse.

No one told him to, yet he stuck around, hoping to be the first thing Jade saw when he woke up…

“…No.”

It wasn’t something so meaningless.

“Not yet.”

It had probably been Jade’s first time out in a long while. Harris didn’t want to ruin the day.

Just then—

“Young Duke!”

The tightly shut office door burst open and in came Viscount Radian—Yanis.

The names listed in his report were many.

Lady Bona of House Artou… and then—

“…The Mercenary King?”

Meanwhile

“Phew, nailed it today.”

The moment I got home, I flopped onto the bed. Everything had gone according to plan.

The original target was Duke Eindelta, the top assassin, but it shifted to the Mercenary King, Alucas… a small detail.

Still, it had been a productive day. I even got to eat something delicious.

“I really worked hard…”

Even though I almost burned to death, or maybe because of it—I desperately needed rest.

“Time to fangirl~!”

Even if I somehow ended up fangirling in 3D, my true roots lie in 2D—in characters from novels!

I quickly picked up a Vessell novel from this world and got absorbed.

It’s raining outside, and I get to stay cozy in bed, listening to the rain while fangirling? Say no more.

This was true inner peace. I immersed myself in the story, feeling pleased and generous.

Nothing beats fangirling your main. Nothing heals like it.

As night fell, the rain got heavier. The air cooled. It was the perfect moment to relax and fangirl in peace—

“My baby is so cute! I love you so mu—!”

Crash!!

The door slammed open like an explosion.

“…?!”

Frozen mid-bite of a snack, I stared.

A long leg stepped into my room.

Black hair that swallowed light. Eyes sharp and cold. Skin pale like a statue, beautiful features veiled in shadow—

“Jade.”

It was Harris.

A dangerously handsome man oozing dark charm curled his red lips into a smile.

“You cheating on me?”

The snack dropped onto the blanket.

I blinked, stunned into silence.

Huh?

Me?

Cheating??

That assumption is totally off.

Shouldn’t we at least be dating first?!

We weren’t even in a relationship. Who was the one who called me a disposable, temporary partner?

Just as I was about to argue—

Boom!

Lightning tore through the sky, casting sharp shadows over Harris’s face.

So scary…!

It was like a horror movie villain reveal.

And yet, Harris was still breathtakingly beautiful.

Which only made it worse!

My heart pounded in panic. If this were any other moment, I’d joke about the “suspension bridge effect” and flirt. Not now.

“Ch-Cheating…?”

All I did was eat snacks and fangirl, and now I was being accused of infidelity?

What kind of insane situation was this?

“What are you even talking about—”

“You said it just now.”

Thump. A few long strides and Harris stood in front of me. He tilted my chin up with his long, pale fingers.

“You said you loved him.”

“…Huh?”

Wait, what?

Before I could explain, his raspberry-colored eyes bore down on me.

The shadow under his eyes made his beauty all the more decadent.

I was stunned—and my cheeks flushed. Was this… because of the fangirling?

“No, no! I was fangirling! Over a character! Not a real person—!”

I hurriedly grabbed the book and showed it to him—but before I could finish, my body was flipped over.

Thud. My back hit the soft mattress. A shadow loomed over me.

“I’m not enough for you?”

I only realized the book had been snatched from my hand when I heard the thick leather cover crumple under his strong grip.

Hey! What did that innocent book ever do to you?!

“You even met with that Mercenary King bastard.”

…Okay, maybe the book’s owner had some sins.

As a guide, working with another Esper is technically out of line… but come on, I didn’t want to die!

Sorry, dear client. Loyalty isn’t really my thing. My own survival always comes first.

Still, it’s true that I should’ve told him first, rather than letting him hear from someone else.

“…Yeah, Jade.”

Too late now. Harris swept back the sweat from my forehead and asked softly,

“Did it feel good? Guiding some other bastard?”