Right. This should be enough.
I offered my advice for their benefit. Their wariness toward me probably hadn't vanished entirely, but their Affinity was steadily climbing. As long as I kept up this passable acting, they wouldn't abruptly decide to cut my head off.
Leaf spoke up.
"Rookie! Just carry His Majesty the Demon Lord on your back. That'll be way faster."
"Yessir, got it!"
The rookie answered in a booming voice. He promptly hoisted me up and slung me over his back.
"Th-thank you."
"What for? What've you been eating to be this light, like a sorghum stalk? You look fine on the outside but you're all hollow inside."
"Haha. I haven't been getting enough meals."
The rookie clicked his tongue. Whether you're a farmer or a Demon Lord, it seems life in these times is equally tough, he said, then rattled on and on about how desperately poor his village was. Mostly it boiled down to their lord being the most despicable bastard in the history of the world.
He walked with a vigorous stride, apparently testing whether I really was that light. Thanks to him, I was comfortable. My right leg still ached, but it was incomparably better than forcing myself to walk. Honestly, I hadn't even expected him to carry me.
'Phew.'
I'd escaped a situation where my life hung in the balance.
The problem still remained. I had lied. I had no idea whether there was actually treasure in the dungeon, and even if there was, I had no clue how to get it out. I truly knew nothing at all.
What if we reached the Demon Lord's chamber and I had nothing to show for it? My pitiful Affinity would evaporate in an instant and he'd fly into a rage and kill me.
To prevent that disaster, I decided I needed to solve the next obstacle.
I barely moved my lips and mouthed the words.
'Demon Lord's Castle Window.'
Nothing happened.
'That's not it. Demon Lord's Castle Status Window? Not that either. Demon Lord's Castle Situation Window…….'
Why was I suddenly looking for something like a Status Window? There was a reason for this.
There had been a notification window displaying Dantalion's stats. In other words, there were probably other types of notification windows as well. If this world was built on a game system, there was no way it would only show the player's stats and nothing else.
Sure enough, I discovered one notification window after another — a Quest List Window, an Alliance Window, and so on.
'But this isn't what I'm looking for.'
They might prove useful later, but for now they weren't what I needed. I tucked the discovered notification windows away. Then I whispered urgently.
'Dungeon Window.'
A cheerful sound effect rang out.
A hologram materialized before my eyes.
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[Dungeon: Dantalion's Demon Lord's Castle]
Rank: Neighborhood Back Hill (F)
Technology Research: 0
Magic Research: 0
*Special Skills: None
*Monsters: 0
*Treasury: 1,000 Gold
※Your dungeon is an absolute mess. The neighborhood brats are treating your dungeon as their playground! You could be cleared at any moment. Hurry and hire a monster army through the 'Monster Hiring' section, and get your defenses in order.
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'Yes!'
I cheered silently.
Honestly, the dungeon's condition was far from satisfactory. I'd never seen such a wretched and sorry excuse for a dungeon. But none of that mattered at all.
What mattered right now was assets! The fact that I had even a pitiful amount of wealth — not even as much as grime under a crow's talon — was what truly counted.
'Total assets: 1,000 gold….'
That was the kind of sum you'd expect from defeating an early-to-mid-game boss monster. Not much, but not exactly peanuts either. With this much, I could pull a few tricks. The heavens hadn't abandoned me after all.
I focused my gaze on the section labeled "Assets" in the notification window. Words like revenue, expenditure, and deficit appeared. It was even kind enough to warn me that I'd go bankrupt if I didn't improve my income structure immediately. Sorry, but that wasn't what I was interested in.
The notification window that truly captured my attention was this one:
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Withdrawing dungeon assets.
If you withdraw too much, you might go bankrupt!
Withdrawal amount: ____ gold
Remaining balance: ____ gold
※After deciding on the withdrawal amount, think the word 'Confirm.'
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'Bravo.'
It was exactly as I'd expected.
It had only been an hour since I'd been dropped into this godforsaken world. But I'd already managed to roughly figure out what genre of game rules applied here.
This was probably a first-person management simulation. With some RPG elements mixed in, of course. The player both managed a dungeon and wandered around on their own. Think of it as enjoying a roller coaster tycoon game from a first-person perspective, and it'll make more sense.
In games of this type, the player could withdraw operating funds separately. That was precisely the kind of feature I'd been hoping for. The notification window floating before my eyes had beautifully satisfied both my predictions and my expectations.
Now, whenever I felt like it, I could pull out gold at any time.
'I don't have to worry even if those adventurers threaten me to hand over money.'
This was a matter of life and death.
Sure, they were keeping me alive, but not because they were particularly merciful. It was because they believed I was the only one who could open the treasury door. There was no guarantee they wouldn't kill me the moment I handed over the treasure.
'These guys are selfish through and through. Even if they weren't, it's safer to think of them that way.'
Machiavelli's advice suddenly came to mind. Wasn't it something about a ruler always having to think selfishly?
If the other party isn't selfish, there's no problem. Even if I think selfishly, I don't really lose anything. No issue there. But what if the other party IS selfish? And what if I hadn't prepared any defenses at all?
I take the loss. In the worst case, I die.
So always assume the other party is selfish. If they're not, no harm done. If they are, at least I can respond accordingly. Better safe than sorry.
'I can't just trust some measly Affinity and call it a day.'
It was strange, really. Machiavelli from my freshman year college assignments, of all things, popping into my head now.
I'd heard somewhere that when a person is on the brink of death, advice they'd never once considered before would suddenly flash through their mind. When I'd heard that story back then, I'd only thought it was interesting. I never imagined I'd end up in a situation like this myself.
'Maybe my brain isn't completely useless after all.'
I let out a small chuckle without letting the rookie notice. My mind was calm enough now that I could even crack jokes.
The threat of being killed for not giving adventurers money was gone. The question now was how to survive AFTER giving them money. That was the new problem.
'Should I try appealing to their sympathy?'
It was nonsense not even worth considering.
'Tell them I can use the monsters as hostages... No, that doesn't work either.'
I'd already been crying and pleading that there wasn't a single monster in the dungeon. I couldn't come here and suddenly change my story to say there actually were. The adventurers wouldn't trust me.
'Wait a minute.'
That's when a brilliant solution flashed through my mind.
"I can just hire monsters with money!"
I quickly pulled up the Dungeon Window again. There, written in no uncertain terms, was this:
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[Dungeon: Dantalion's Demon Lord's Castle]
Rank: Neighborhood Backwoods (F)
Technical Research: 0
Magic Research: 0
*Special Skills: None
*Monsters: 0
*Assets: 1,000 gold
※Your dungeon is in complete shambles. The neighborhood brats treat your dungeon like their personal playground! It could be cleared at any moment. Hurry and hire a monster squad from the "Hire Monsters" tab, then get your defenses in order.
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Hire a squad from the Hire Monsters tab!
It meant I could hire monsters without having to go out and search for them myself. I felt like such an idiot. Why had I ignored the text that so kindly warned me? A lifeline to save me from this crisis had been dangling right in front of my nose.
I had plenty of excuses. Just moments ago, I'd been wracking my brain worrying that my lies would be exposed. I'd been too busy checking whether I had assets or not. But what if I had actually been smart?
'I would have thought to hire monsters the moment I checked my funds.'
Instead, I'd been congratulating myself on my clever thinking, recalling Machiavelli's theories or something. What an absolute fool! What did it matter, spouting some fine-sounding quip from a great man who'd died hundreds of years ago in a situation like this?
Adventurers are selfish? Of course they are. They're people who've risked their lives and left home behind. Would those kinds of people not be selfish? They'd have poison brewing in their hearts. There was absolutely no reason to invoke Machiavelli just because I thought adventurers were selfish……
I'd wrapped an obvious fact in plausible nonsense.
Even when my life hung in the balance, I'd wasted time trying to make myself look good. Precious, precious minutes and seconds.
I shook my head.
'Dammit, Lolita! Get it together!'
I examined the weapons in the adventurers' hands.
Spears, iron clubs, bows, swords. Those were the murder weapons that would take my life. The moment I let my guard down, wherever I happened to be, a spear tip would pierce my heart.
I deliberately focused on the pain in my thigh where the arrow had grazed me. It hurt. I wanted to carve that pain into my body, into my brain, into my memory. Only then could I fix, even a little, this rotten excuse for a mind.
"Hey."
The rookie asked with concern.
"Are you hurting so bad you can't even talk?"
"...No. I'm fine. I can endure it."
"Mm. If it starts hurting bad, let me know."
I nodded. It was hurting badly. It had been since earlier.
But I smoothly mixed a laugh into my voice and said,
"Thank you. You're really kind."
"Nah, well. It's nothing major."
The rookie looked bashful. He was the picture of innocence. I was grateful for that innocence.
These adventurers were rookies. I was certain of it. I'd been scared off by their rough-looking appearances, but they were nothing more than farmboys who used to swing pickaxes out in the countryside. In game terms, they were just tutorial practice NPCs. As long as I kept my wits about me, there was no way I'd lose my head for nothing.
I immediately brought up the hologram for recruiting a monster squad.
'Monster Recruitment Window.'
A translucent list unfurled before me.
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[Monster Name] [HP] [ATK] [DEF] [Hiring Cost]
-Slime 2 2 2 70 gold
-Lesser Fairy 4 3 2 160 gold
-Goblin 4 4 4 250 gold
-Lesser Golem 7 5 5 400 gold
[Gold on hand: 1,000 gold]
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'…….'
Weak.
And expensive.
'So in Dungeon Attack, the Demon Lords... actually got price-gouged on trash mobs like this?'
In the game, these were the fodder mobs that got sliced to pieces by the dozen with a single swing of the hero's blade.
I examined each monster one by one. When I focused my gaze, each monster's individual stats appeared in slightly finer detail.
But the stats themselves were nothing to write home about. In the Slime's case, it had only one skill: 'Recovery.' It was a technique that naturally restored HP over time. Not bad. The problem was that the Slime's HP was a measly 3. It would die before it ever got the chance to use its Recovery skill.
'Damn. Don't tell me the adventurers have equally garbage stats too?'
Adventurers were weak and monsters were weak. If that was the case, then the monsters' incomprehensible feebleness made sense.
I glared at Rip, the leader of the adventuring party, and muttered under my breath.
'Status Window.'
"Rip the Novice Adventurer's Affinity is insufficient."
"Only the most basic stats are revealed."
*Ding!* With a sound effect, a hologram appeared above Rip's head. The format was far simpler than when I'd viewed Dantalion's stats. It seemed I'd need to raise Affinity above a certain level if I wanted more detailed information.
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[Name] [Stamina] [Attack] [Defense]
- Rip 6 5 2
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"Ugh."
I groaned involuntarily.
Rip's stats added up to a grand total of thirteen. In monster terms, that made him exactly as strong as a Goblin. Weak was an understatement.
But... considering the caliber of monsters I could currently hire, Rip was plenty powerful. With the one thousand gold I had, I could only hire four Goblins.
In contrast, there were fifteen adventurers.
I went through each of the adventurers' stats one by one. Fortunately, Rip was the strongest of the bunch. The others hovered in the unremarkable range of five to eight total. Even so, the adventuring party was overwhelmingly strong—far too much for four Goblins to handle.
Disappointment welled up in me all over again. Was victory truly out of reach, even after hiring monsters?
"We're almost there!"
One of the adventurers shouted. It looked like they'd nearly reached the Demon Lord's chamber.
The adventurers chattered noisily among themselves.
"Man, this is pointlessly wide."
"That's because it's your first time in a dungeon, idiot. This is pretty normal. Originally, monsters and traps would pour out along the way, so it'd feel even bigger. We actually got here super fast."
"What an easy dungeon."
Damn it. Time was running out.
I desperately focused my thoughts, considering options both within the confines of the game and outside of it.
'Should I hire a lot of slimes to bolster numbers with sheer quantity? No. It would be better to hire the strongest golem possible and aim for a one-shot ambush. Or maybe…'
Just then, the adventurer party reached their destination.
"We're here! That's the Demon Lord's Chamber!"
Simultaneously, I finally produced my answer. I bit my lip hard. Blood welled into my mouth, but I didn't care.
'Alright. I'll go with this method…!'
The cavern was unchanged. Unchanged in its vastness and its silence.
Only the strange orbs serving as illumination lined the corridor in a single file, and the footsteps and voices of the adventurers echoed eerily. But here, only I, one person, knew that everything was changing and had to change.
'I will survive!'
In this moment, the quiet beginning of my survival story commenced.