It's Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

* * *

Clatter.

Immediately after arriving at Libertas’s private room, Evangeline took out three sets of tea utensils from the cupboard.

It was for the three people excluding Xue.

Of course, they weren’t ostracizing Xue.

It was simply because Xue took out wine instead of tea.

She preferred alcohol over tea. Originally, she couldn’t drink alcohol at all, but now she could drink it, that’s the only difference.

It’s ridiculous that it’s still tea with alcohol in it, though.

Click.

“Since when?”

Their master started the questioning after everyone had emptied their first cup.

“From the moment I met you, Master.”

“From the moment I was born from the core, my lady.”

“From two years ago…”

The answers from the three to the question were all different.

“Two years ago?”

Among them, what was particularly unexpected for Libertas was Xue’s answer.

It’s been exactly 136 days, the first day, since she came to this world and summoned Evangeline. Also, it’s been 3 months since Ran and her core appeared in this world.

Even roughly speaking, it’s a significantly longer time than the other two.

“I needed more time than others… But don’t worry. It’s not like I suffered more because of it. I just needed time to prepare.”

“Prepare…”

Libertas looked at Xue with a desire for more answers, but she closed her mouth without giving any further response.

They couldn’t reveal more to their master.

“Alright. You don’t intend to tell me everything. You girls.”

When Libertas said that, noticing their demeanor, they looked at each other and then gazed at her with equally apologetic emotions.

The reason they couldn’t explain further was due to an agreement they had made with each other.

If their master strongly demanded it, they would of course be willing to explain everything, but they hoped she wouldn’t.

“If we were to tell you about what happened before.”

“There might be favoritism or prejudice among us…”

“We promised each other. Not to talk about it until everyone was gathered.”

So they had to make a request for now.

While loyalty to her was of course the top priority value, loyalty to each other was also important.

“To give each other the most objective explanation possible… I understand roughly.”

Still, that at least revealed one thing. That besides them, there were still a few more ‘planned servants’ remaining.

Libertas decided to be satisfied with this much.

Although her curiosity grew, she didn’t want to trouble them.

Besides, it was a situation where she had almost gotten all the answers already.

“Then I’d like you to tell me this. How many are left?”

She also became curious about the remaining people.

Seeing how they were trying to keep their loyalty to each other, it meant that they weren’t ‘bad’ people for her, at least.

Isn’t it human nature to be curious about such ‘good’ people?

“Two.”

Also, hearing Xue’s answer, there weren’t that many of them left.

Thinking it was worth waiting for, Libertas nodded.

“I don’t know where they are or what they’re doing, but I hope we meet as soon as possible.”

“Probably, you’ll be able to meet them without much difficulty.”

“Really?”

At Evangeline’s unexpectedly welcome news, Libertas raised one eyebrow and tilted her head sideways, pressing her finger to her lips.

The reaction was immediate.

Thud.

Ran firmly pressed down on her chest area.

Gurgle…

Xue tried to drink from her already empty glass for no reason, realized it was empty, and poured again.

“…”

Evangeline put on an expressionless face.

While their master’s usual aura was clearly one of ‘elegance’ and ‘nobility’, these occasional unconscious gestures had elements that made their hearts pound.

Especially harmful to their hearts.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, my lady.”

The first to recover from the panic was Ran.

Usually, Evangeline was the calmest in such flustering situations, but she was also the most devoted when it came to their master.

Feeling a subtle sense of victory from this, Ran continued with what she needed to say.

“But the difference from us is that you must go to meet those two, my lady.”

Libertas looked at Ran once again with a puzzled expression at her words, but soon understood the meaning and nodded.

“I don’t know how you came to have memories of me, but the conditions won’t be met unless you meet or get close to me, right?”

“That is correct, my lady.”

“So that’s why you didn’t keep it a complete secret until the end.”

“Indeed, you are wise, my lady.”

Listening to Ran’s flattering response, Libertas briefly considered her schedule.

There weren’t many fixed schedules after this, so there shouldn’t be any problem with moving immediately.

“It would be good after the conference with the queens, and after raising Xue and Fortuna to elite rank.”

However, the three made troubled faces at her decision.

It was true that meeting the remaining two wouldn’t be difficult, but there was another obstacle.

“Of course, the master’s safety comes first, so it’s a good time…”

“But… it will be difficult even then, my lady.”

“Why is that?”

The three women looked at each other awkwardly at Libertas’s question.

Evangeline soon provided the answer.

“Because both of them are not in this region, Master.”

“Not here?”

Libertas’s face once again showed that questioning expression upon hearing Evangeline’s answer.

Thanks to the preemptive measure they had taken earlier, the three were barely able to avoid falling into a stunned state.

“Ah. I see. You didn’t say we could meet quickly.”

“That’s right. The two of them are not in this kingdom right now.”

“Where are they?”

Evangeline, Xue, and Ran briefly communicated with their eyes.

But it didn’t take long to reach a conclusion.

The conclusion that they should talk this far, since they had started talking about this ‘slight future’ anyway.

“One will be in the Holy See, and the other will be in the Kingdom of Bulan, my lady.”

Libertas’s face became somewhat bewildered.

“They’re on opposite sides, huh.”

“That is correct, my lady.”

Because the two places Ran mentioned were exactly on opposite sides with this Heisen Kingdom in the center.

If they were to move to meet one side, they would inevitably move away from the other side.

Moreover, since they said they had no memories, they couldn’t even expect these unknown individuals to come looking for her.

“The good news is that there’s a specific time when they’ll reach this area.”

“I see roughly. Then, I should at least settle things around here firmly.”

“That should be the priority.”

Nodding her head, Libertas considered what needed to be done going forward.

With this, the three could finally let go of their worry that their master might say she would leave this dungeon and go all the way to those distant places.

* * *

After the three, who had united in suggesting a small banquet among themselves, left to prepare the meal.

While my eyes were following the magic book I had opened in the room where I was left alone, I actually wasn’t able to focus on it at all.

‘I roughly understood.’

The answers to understand the situation were almost all obtained from today’s conversation.

They gave answers that seemed certain that the three had somehow returned to the past or transmitted their memories to their past selves.

If only memories were transmitted, their attitudes wouldn’t make sense, so it must be at least a ‘regression’.

‘They probably thought that just hiding that much would make me consider it as just a realm of possibility.’

For them, regression might be something possible but usually not achievable due to lack of time and resources, but for me, it was something originally impossible but became possible in this world.

If the possibility of regression was originally 0.00001% for them, for me, it was something that gained even a slight possibility from zero.

This difference in the worlds we’ve lived in created such a difference in thinking.

“The problem is…”

They didn’t give the most important answer.

The two answers to ‘why they had to come to the past’ and ‘what they sacrificed to return to the past like this’.

Still, the reason for the first question was quickly guessable.

‘They clearly came to protect me.’

The three tried to move actively towards me, their master.

Not only Eve, who returned to the time of summoning, and Xue, who could move proactively, but even Ran, who was essentially bound.

I don’t know what the other two are doing, but they said they have a system where they gain memories when I find them.

It means that among the five, all those who could send memories intact had to be invested in and placed by my side to feel at ease.

What could be the reason for that? It must be ‘protection’, or another reason that includes it.

‘The fact that only three came intact… probably because they lacked power.’

Adding specific conditions to amplify the power or efficiency when met.

It’s a common trigger in any medium.

Although I don’t know how powerful the force used for regression was, it must have been insufficient to send all five completely to the past.

The problem was the method of regression and how they filled that lacking power.

‘In the worst case, it could be ‘otherworldly’, but this is the monkey’s paw, so they wouldn’t have touched it.’

However, whether it was ‘time’ that was touched, or ‘soul’, or broadly speaking, ‘world’.

It was clear that the price would not be small, given that it caused such a massive phenomenon as regression.

And as long as it wasn’t ‘otherworldly’, the sacrifice that made this magic possible could be drawn from within the realm of knowledge.

‘Magic is ultimately the application of mental imagery. For the sacrifice needed, the more ‘valuable’ it is to the caster, the more powerful it becomes, and at the same time, something with high magical efficiency must be chosen. Yes. This much is correct.’

The knowledge of necromancy crammed into my head affirmed this.

Necromancy is the study of dealing with souls.

There was research on regression that ‘overlays the soul onto one’s past self’, so it wasn’t difficult to guess that far.

However, the next part was in the realm of leaps and imagination.

If we consider what material has the highest value to the three and is efficient enough in magic power to trigger a grand magic at least five times…

“…Ah.”

After a moment’s contemplation, I looked down at my body.

There it was.

The material with the highest value to the five who would have been the casters, and with the highest magical efficiency in this world.

Probably the body of the future ‘Dungeon Lord Libertas’, who would have reached a much higher level than now.

“I died.”

‘Probably for certain.’

I felt my mouth tighten into a straight line.