It's Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

* * *

'Still the same.'

Evangeline inwardly evaluated that his sense seemed to be still good.

It's just that his ability to distinguish between friend and foe had faded.

Swish.

The sight of Evangeline, who had somehow approached and was holding the sharp tip of a dagger to his neck.

It happened literally in the blink of an eye.

"Ugh...!"

Clang!

Surprised as soon as he realized the situation, Alexis roughly raised his hands, causing the longsword caught on them to fall to the floor.

His expression was still excellent. Meaning he was still acting.

"W-What is this...!"

"The master was greatly disappointed. Alexis Samigina."

"If you kill me like this now...!"

"One way or another, signals will spread. Everywhere."

At Evangeline's words, sneering and speaking cynically, Alexis's eyes opened wide.

But to Evangeline, this was nothing surprising.

"How did you...?"

"The master sees through a thousand miles while sitting. Your petty and shallow tricks were known from the moment you did them."

Because her master had received reports from Ran, and Evangeline herself had known for a long time.

This was a matter reported the very next day after the declaration of war from the upper-rank Dungeon Lords against the dungeon.

[Get rid of him. I've already thought of someone else for Heisen's political world.]

Faced with an internal headache before a major event, the Dungeon Lord made a quick decision.

That's why Evangeline arrived here as soon as the war ended.

Before some priest finds him and notices the black power inside his body, as if it happened in the future in her memory.

'Anyway, no one would guess our existence from that...'

The reason she hadn't executed or taken measures against him until now was simply because Alexis's matter wasn't that big of a deal.

Once the disposal was decided, it was natural to move before greater losses occurred.

Clack clack...

"W-Wait a moment..."

Seeing something like a bug crawling up Evangeline's arm, Alexis's pupils began to shake even more.

A creature like a bug he had seen often in the 'master's' dungeon. Because he knew what it was.

Cerebrum Skull, a monster that eats and replaces only the central nervous system while keeping people alive.

"Only humans untainted by monsters should go to the royal capital...! Otherwise, their magic will detect..."

"You're going to be executed soon anyway, Alexis."

"There's no way you'd just kill such an elite-level personnel like me!"

"Right. In a normal situation, that would be the case. But the lord of Copzerin has properly held a grudge against you. Moreover, there are many women targeting you too."

Evangeline handed him the dagger.

To Alexis, who met her eyes to ask for the meaning, Evangeline smiled kindly like her master.

That smile her master would erase rather when killing enemies.

"You tried to settle for the situation by disobeying orders due to your personal desires. If you commit suicide now, the suffering will be only once. But if you resist here, you'll die more painfully."

If he commits suicide, the magic he has set up won't activate.

He won't be eaten by the Cerebrum Skull either.

In other words, she, and her master, were-

Bestowing the last mercy.

Alexis's pupils shook roughly as he understood this.

"P-Please give me a chance. It's just one failure, isn't it...!"

"Wrong. You were an enemy to the master, and this was a chance to improve your treatment as that former enemy. And you failed at that. You are now... no, you're still an 'enemy', and a 'prisoner', Alexis."

And a moment later.

In the end, Alexis died.

"Ugh...!"

"How foolish."

"Wait, waiiiit! Save me. I said save me!"

Clang!

After being subdued when he tried to stab forward with the dagger and was counterattacked, and then having only his central nervous system seized by the Cerebrum Skull.

In the end, by the method of being 'made to' commit suicide.

'I expected this, but his attitude of not giving up until the end is good. Just too base.'

The magic he had prepared was meaningless.

After all, the Cerebrum Skull's burrowing into its victim is done while the target is 'alive'.

'Why is this here...'

Afterwards, Evangeline frowned while searching through Alexis's legacy.

Because among his possessions, there was something mixed in that she never thought would be here.

The symbol of those belonging to a certain specific group.

"Extract all his memories and send them to me."

-I follow your command.

A moment later, Evangeline burned all of Alexis's revealed assets and mansion, and also extracted all the hidden assets and memories of his activities so far.

Later, a single person's corpse would be found in this mansion.

Instead of Evangeline carrying away Alexis's corpse, the corpse of a man who would die after receiving compensation to return to his family.

His corpse and soul were scheduled to be used for another subordinate.

"Good work. Here."

-Thank you!

"I'll go first. I need to hurry to see the master."

-I wish you good fortune. Chief Administrator!

"Work hard."

After seeing the Cerebrum Skull 'feed' the captured human to take on human form, Evangeline hastened her steps.

To return to her master quickly.

Her master needed to know what she had seen.

* * *

The full-fledged 'spirit language tutoring' began the day after the contract.

On the first day of the contract, it was right to give Mur time to adapt to the guest room and unpack.

"'Mind', is it."

As I muttered the first keyword she mentioned a couple of times, nodding my head, the necromancer approached and said.

"That's right. If you set your mind without thinking about possibility or impossibility, Lady, they are bound to respond."

"Hmm."

What Mur was talking about was a kind of mentalism.

But I liked it better than picking up some appropriate theory and deceiving the listener.

After all, it's saying that sincerity is the first thing needed.

And if that's the case, I was somewhat confident.

"Impossibility, huh."

Come to think of it, I might not have even assumed that skeletons could clearly communicate their intentions.

Even while already hearing the intentions of Axe and some soldiers with my magic, and seeing Evangeline express clear emotions, I couldn't break my fixed idea.

I believed that those moments were all applications of special power or talent.

"Then?"

"From now on, I'll help you. So that you can understand what conversations the skeletons usually have."

"I see..."

"May I hold your hand?"

When I nodded at her question, Mur interlocked her fingers with mine without hesitation and led me to one side.

The place was already a parade ground where I had gathered elite skeletons who had excellently manifested intelligence among my skeletons.

She brought me to the center of them.

As she looked around at them, she made a face as if troubled for a moment while looking at me.

-...

It seems she's troubled because the skeletons are too quiet to experiment with communication.

"Um... Lady's summons are very quiet, aren't they?"

As expected.

As if experiencing this for the first time, her eyes lost their composure and coolness and even shook a little.

"Is that strange?"

"Huh...? No, it's not strange. Summons have their own personalities too. Maybe they've become quiet personalities following their master, Lady? But still, they should say at least a word..."

"That's probably not it."

Mur said it was because they resembled me, but in my opinion, it was because Evangeline had educated them well.

These were, literally, all 'elites'.

They weren't sloppy soldiers who would carelessly express their opinions or thoughts in front of their master.

"Is that really true? They're excellent soldiers then."

When I said that, this time her face was tinged with admiration.

"They are excellent. My first one is excellent, but these are all soldiers with good qualities too."

-Clack!

-Clatter!

When I got a response to my words, I looked and saw it was Axe's close associates, the jokers.

Those I named 'Katar' and 'Hammer' were now standing at attention, looking 15 degrees into the air while expressing the intention of 'No, we're not!'.

"It seems they have something they want to say! This way, Lady."

Mur's face brightened as she looked at them.

She must be really relieved that this situation wasn't due to her incompetence.

She might have been worried about not being able to receive compensation after even making a contract.

There, she smiled awkwardly once again.

It was because some 'special magic power' emanating from her fingertips couldn't penetrate my body at all.

"Um... Would you allow me to use magic power on you, Lady?"

"Go ahead."

She could have penetrated if she used more power since her magic power was far superior to mine, but that would have been a strength equivalent to attacking.

So she had no choice but to be troubled.

When I agreed to this and withdrew the resistance from my hand.

Woosh.

Only then did Mur's magic power seep into me.

"Lady's magic control ability is really excellent...!"

-Clatter!

-Clack!

"... And the summons' hearts towards Lady are really solid too."

Mur looked down at me with admiring eyes and praise.

As if answering to that, the jokers' expressions of intention, she directs that admiration straight to the summons.

"What did they say?"

"Um... Roughly that it's very natural for Lady to be excellent?"

-Clatter, clack!

-Clack-clack!

Somehow, I have a feeling I can guess how they might have answered.

I should say it probably wasn't something that ended with just one or two simple words.

"...Really?"

"That's right?"

But Mur, who had already regained her composure, just spoke nonchalantly and met my gaze.

As I couldn't find any other irreverent signs on her face, I inwardly shook my head and turned my gaze to my soldiers.

"Now tell me what to do."

"It's nothing much. I'm going to awaken Lady's senses from now on."

"My senses?"

"Yes. Following the sixth sense that magicians have, it's usually the seventh or eighth sense they gain."

"Hmm."

According to Mur's words, and recalling what I knew from knowledge.

The senses that magicians acquire beyond the five senses they're born with are first, the sense for magic power, and second, the perception sense related to their specialized field.

In the case of Mur or me, it would be the sense for souls.

"Actually, looking at Lady's skills, it's not strange that you've already opened it... but it's a bit odd."

I can guess the answer to her question.

It's probably because I wasn't born in this world.

For people of this world, the sixth and seventh senses are within the natural range, but not for me.

It seems I somehow managed the sense for magic power thanks to talent, but not for other senses beyond that.

Because of this, I expect that while I can peek into the world of souls through magic power, I couldn't awaken the essential perceptual ability.

"...Proceed quickly."

"Ah, yes."

However, without saying anything special about it, I just pressed the hand I was holding with her to urge her on.

And a moment later.

"This is..."

I experienced a new sense.

* * *

Ellias Ironfield.

Now officially renamed 'Elena en Ironfield' by the family, she looked at another person approaching from across with her arms folded.

The maid woman she had seen in the 'dungeon'. Maria Olas, who had now officially received armor and a sword.

"You're not going to keep helping me afterwards, are you?"

"That's not the case. Master said she would send someone else separately."

"I see. Well. Because that happened."

Although it seemed the dispatch of personnel was too delayed, Elena simply acquiesced.

She too had occasionally heard about what had happened while she was out of the dungeon.

The 'master' she came to serve for the first time in her life was not so stingy about sharing information with her subordinates.

Thanks to that, she could hear all the news about the 'war' and about the 'demon realm'.

Elena herself had been extremely worried, wondering what if her path to return to being a man was blocked.

Of course, she didn't show such signs.

"So, where is your sister?"

"This way."

Everything had already been finished about two days ago.

Although it became a bit tricky because her master set the condition of a 'sound body', it wasn't even that difficult a task to begin with.

"...Is she asleep?"

"I put her to sleep with magic. They said she won't wake up for a week, so she won't wake up for four more days."

"Is this okay...?"

"Well, she's not dead, so."

Elena's eyes were cold as she looked down at her sleeping sister, now someone she should call her older sister.

It was because she wasn't a very good person, either as a noble or as family.

"There are no other problems, right?"

"Of course. Even if there's no news from her, they'll just think she's in self-reflection. It was quite a big incident after all."

"Hmm."

She had announced that she was leaving the family to live a quiet life and was preparing to enter a convent.

It wasn't voluntary.

It was being forcibly dragged away because she had recently caused an incident with a direct noble of the duke's family.

"I hope it pleases the master."

"I'll convey what you said."

"Thank you."

And that convent will become a 'dungeon'.