Day 8. After absurdly wasting an Exclusive Item, Taehyun continued to make a series of mistakes. ’Or rather, were they truly mistakes?’ Watching our stock of Exclusive Items dwindle, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing it on purpose. Regardless, the adventurers spent the night comfortably camped out, and Taehyun also fell fast asleep, leaving the screen quiet once again. I stayed up all night guarding his side just in case, but fortunately, nothing happened.

Then, right around the time he was supposed to wake up, the room began to sway as if it were tilting.

"What are you doing?"

"...Nothing."

’Why was I feeling so incredibly sleepy? Come to think of it, this was my first time staying up all night.’ Before I knew it, Taehyun’s figure began to blur, multiplying into two, then three overlapping silhouettes. The world was swaying. ’Or rather, was my body the one swaying?’

He sighed. "You should have gone to your room. What are you doing here?"

"I’m fin—"

"Yeah, yeah, it’s all my fault."

’Why was he looking at me like that? I was perfectly fine. Perfectly fine...’ He suddenly pulled me in.

"Get some sleep."

The world gradually faded to black. I looked up at Taehyun through half-closed eyes. ’Since when was I in his arms? I didn’t know.’ My body wouldn’t even move the way I wanted it to anymore. I just...

’It’s warm.’

I surrendered myself to his comforting body heat.

---

’This won’t do. We’ll end up being conquered at this rate. A method... I need a method!’ I vaguely recalled seeing my Previous Master in a dream. Back then, he had agonized deeply over Radik’s dire situation, and I had merely watched him from afar. The daily influx of adventurers and the rapidly dwindling finances. It was a time when absolutely nothing was going right, so I fully understood his despair.

That was why I assisted him even more diligently and tried my best to protect him. But in the end, all that returned was...

"Are you awake?"

I remained silent.

As I slowly opened my eyes, Taehyun’s face was the first thing I saw. And he was incredibly close. I blinked, wondering if I was seeing things, but the view didn’t change. Instead, I felt his warm breath against my skin, making my face flush hot. Only then did I realize I was still wrapped in his arms.

"Get some sleep."

The memory surfaced belatedly. It seemed I had passed out from staying up all night. The problem was that I had collapsed right into Taehyun’s arms of all places, but I never expected to be held by him until now. My mind went completely blank, and I hurriedly scrambled out of his embrace.

"W-What in the—!"

I was so tongue-tied that the words wouldn’t even come out properly. ’Was it because I was flustered? Even the fact that I was trying to argue felt ridiculous.’

"Hey, don’t misunderstand. I’m innocent here. You kept snuggling into my arms, so I couldn’t help it either."

I stared at him, dumbstruck.

"I’m serious. I’m innocent, man—I mean, lady."

Taehyun hurriedly threw his hands up and shook his head. ’To think I had snuggled deeper into his arms... I couldn’t believe it.’ But sure enough, there were crumpled marks on his robe, as if someone had gripped it tightly. I tried to deny it to the end, but the evidence was overwhelming. In the end, I bowed my head deeply and apologized.

"...I’m sorry."

"It’s fine, just go out for a bit and get some fresh air. Those adventurer punks are still hanging around in the forest."

"But—"

"Uh-uh. How dare you defy your Master’s orders?"

He only emphasized his title as Dungeon Master at times like this. As he said, the adventurers on the screen were still a fair distance away from Radik, and I really did need some time to calm down. I was personally very worried, but since I had already caused trouble, I had to follow his orders first. I bowed my head once more and left the room.

And while I was walking around inside Radik for a long time to clear my head... Taehyun’s words suddenly echoed in my mind.

’Come to think of it, he called me a ’woman’.’

Somehow, my feelings grew even more complicated.

---

"...Hmm."

The sound of footsteps that had been echoing until just a moment ago vanished. It seemed she had finally gotten far enough away from the room. Since she was a Homunculus who still wasn’t honest with her own emotions, even her flustered reactions were incredibly unnatural. I fiddled with the coin in my hand and smiled bitterly.

Arin. On the outside, she looked like a blunt girl with short blonde hair, but sadly, she was an artificially created being. She must have lived her entire life with all emotional expression suppressed, guarding the dungeon day in and day out without enjoying any personal freedom. It was truly a pity, but I shouldn’t sympathize with her so easily. I clicked my tongue and turned my attention back to the screen.

"Why is the path so rough? Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Hey, Park. That’s the sixth time you’ve asked that. Can’t you see the Familiar Summons roaming around? The map clearly says it’s this way."

"Damn it. I’m just saying that because the dungeon is nowhere in sight. Why are you getting so mad?"

The C-rank adventurers from the city were still wandering through the forest. I had already gathered most of their information just by listening to their conversations. Honestly, at first, I didn’t realize the effect of this new item would be so potent. Information Disruption Coin. This Exclusive Item, which I had never seen during my past days, was currently being put to excellent use.

’If I had something like this back in Balak, defending against conquests would have been a breeze.’

It was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped. The dimension back then and the dimension now were completely different, and right now, I was purely taking on a request as a Dimension Traveler. If anything, it was a relief that there were new items available. According to the client’s conditions, my Innate Abilities were completely unusable in this dimension. Of course, considering Radik’s current situation, Morpina had granted me a Summon ability, but she had simultaneously slapped on a penalty, placing heavy restrictions on me.

Ultimately, it meant I had to resolve the dungeon management and defense purely as a Dungeon Master. Because of that, I had already used those guys to figure out various things in advance.

’Surrounding geography, item installation locations, map routes, the vision of the Familiar Summons, the environment... Everything is set.’

In Arin’s eyes, it might have just looked like I was wasting Exclusive Items. However, summoning Balak’s Main Forces against them would be a stupid waste, and it was entirely possible to handle them with Radik’s current soldiers anyway. Gathering research and information to prepare for future Attackers was the much wiser choice. Now, all that remained was gathering intelligence on the cities and villages near Radik.

"Capture them alive. If they resist, chop off a limb or two."

"Woof, woof!"

"Chweek. Chweek!"

It was a request I had been forced to take, but I had no intention of half-assing it. Rather, I would do it as brutally as possible. As ruthlessly as possible.

"Now then, shall we prepare to welcome our guests?"

Since I intended to fully embrace my role as a Dungeon Master.

---

Day 9. It felt like the day had flown by. Actually, my mind had been in such a mess since yesterday that I still hadn’t returned to the room. ’What kind of expression should I make when I face him again? No, the fact that I was even having these thoughts in the first place was pathetic. What am I doing right now?’ This was no time for this.

Even now, the adventurers were targeting Radik. Of course, Taehyun had shown incredible abilities, but I couldn’t help but worry. I forced my feet forward and headed toward the room.

"Chweek. Chweeeek!"

"Tstsss!"

"Woof, woof!"

Just then, soldiers came running from the opposite direction. It seemed they had gotten noticeably busier since yesterday. I simply assumed it was because of the adventurers. Perhaps Taehyun was handling things well. I quickened my pace and soon arrived in front of the room.

I knocked twice.

"Yeah, come in."

An answer came immediately, just like on the second day. I calmly lowered my head and went inside. As I slowly raised my head, I saw Taehyun sitting there as usual.

"What took you so long to come back?"

I was at a loss for words.

’What should I say, and how should I react?’ It was definitely Taehyun sitting leisurely like before, but one single thing was different.

"Master, please introduce me."

A young girl with light blue hair was poking her face out from over Taehyun’s head.

"Ah, this is Arin. You could say she’s the Supporter here in Radik."

"Nice to meet you. I’m Raviz. I look forward to working with you."

The girl who introduced herself as Raviz nodded lightly. Just looking at her expression, it seemed like everything was a bother to her. Having frozen for a moment, I belatedly bowed my head.

"I’m Arin. I look forward to working with you as well."

"Of course."

After we finished exchanging names, a rather awkward atmosphere settled over us. Whether he noticed or not, Taehyun was just leisurely staring at the screen.

’The adventurers.’

Only then did I snap back to my senses. Raviz was probably a summoned being, just like Grai. If so, there was a high chance he had called her to prepare for the adventurers. But was my prediction wrong? When I turned my head to the screen, the adventurers were nowhere to be seen. Instead, it showed a street with humans coming and going.

"Taehyun, by any chance, what happened to the adventurers?"

"Ah, them? I killed them. After extracting all their information, they were useless."

"...Then what is that?"

"Oops. I almost forgot. Raviz, time to work. Get up."

Raviz, who had been dozing off, snapped awake. She yawned widely and slowly floated down to the floor, but my mind was entirely elsewhere.

’The adventurers are dead? What on earth had happened in just one day?’ Suddenly, the soldiers hurrying back and forth in the hallway came to mind. If Taehyun’s words were true, it was highly likely the adventurers had been dragged inside the dungeon. While I was lost in my own thoughts, I felt mana surge inside the room.

A mighty mana that gave even me, someone crafted by magic, goosebumps. Only then did I notice the magic circle Raviz had drawn on the floor.

"Master, preparations are complete."

"Good work. Now, shall we throw a festival?"

Taehyun stroked Raviz’s head, the corners of his mouth curling up. He was definitely about to do something crazy again. I hurriedly turned my head and soon spotted a newly created screen. The first thing I saw was a portal that had formed at Radik’s entrance, and the second was the gathered soldiers.

"Mr. Taehyun, what on earth is this?"

"What do you think it is?"

He then pointed to the screen showing the city. It was the city street that had been peaceful just a moment ago. But before I knew it, a new portal had appeared right in the center of the street. Realizing what that meant, my mind went blank for a moment. However, Taehyun gave the order as if to show off.

And then... 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"It’s a city raid."

The soldiers began pouring out into the city through the portal.