CHAPTER 04
She slid down and stood before us.
“Welcome, as the manager of this anthill. I don’t know how long it’s been since humans like you entered.”
“Could you let us go?”
Sian, who had been silent all along, spoke up.
The wizard, who had been clinging to him, had long since backed away, intimidated by the demon’s aura.
“You didn’t ask thinking it would work, did you?”
She had been smiling the whole time, but her voice was ice-cold.
“When the Demon King returns, I’ll offer some of you to him. Consider it an honor.”
The wizard, who had been cowering at the back, quickly stepped forward.
“Th-then, you’ll leave the rest and only keep a few?”
“Oh my, how innocent! The rest will become food for my ants.”
The manager smiled. Suddenly, behind her, gold and jewels started collapsing with a clatter.
“Eek…!”
Someone inhaled sharply as white bones began to appear under the heaps of treasure.
What looked like a mountain of treasure was only one layer; the inside was all bones.
Even roughly counting, it seemed like hundreds.
Before the wizards recoiled in fear, the paladins stood their ground, wary that the manager might harm them.
Sian also blocked my path, standing beside me.
“Now, who shall I offer to the Demon King first…?”
The manager began surveying everyone as if she were shopping happily.
Offering me?
I subtly lifted my head to study her face.
I had never seen her face at a tea party where high-ranking demons sat.
Even checking memories from previous rounds, nothing matched.
A demon who had never appeared before the Demon King.
Among demons, that meant she was insignificant.
Ah, that explains it.
When coming here, the other demons were told not to come near. She probably didn’t hear that because she couldn’t attend the tea party.
“Do not show your face.”
Sensing my presence, Sian quietly warned me.
Then it happened.
“You first!”
The manager didn’t leave Sian alone.
Something black, seemingly her power, flexibly shot out and bound Sian.
Sian, unable to move, remained calm despite the situation.
“Eek! These are ants!”
The wizards who approached to untie Sian quickly stepped back in fear.
Looking closer, it wasn’t simple rope or shapeless magic holding Sian.
Ants swarmed and bit each other, forming a chain to hold him tight.
The dungeon is like an anthill… a demon that commands ants?
“From the start, I planned to offer you to the Demon King. That face will surely please him.”
“Master!”
“And you, too! And you!”
Each time she gestured, a few more of the confused people were bound.
Among the bound were the paladins and wizards, including the woman who had shouted sharply at me earlier.
“This time, there are plenty of humans with decent appearances, aren’t there?”
The manager jumped as if genuinely delighted.
“It’s worth bringing humans into the dungeon. Offering these humans will please the Demon King, right? Then I’ll rise quickly!”
She clasped her hands in hopeful anticipation after binding about eight people.
As she closed her eyes in ecstasy, she suddenly paused.
“…Oh?”
Her red eyes turned toward me.
“Why are you fine?”
She sounded genuinely surprised. She approached me swiftly.
“Why weren’t you bound?”
The manager’s gaze fell to the floor.
It seemed the ants were afraid to approach, circling around me like a protective ring.
“How strange, how strange. Why are my ants afraid?”
Keep your mouth shut. One wrong move and they’ll know I’m the Demon King.
With the paladins swarming like this, if I’m discovered… at least a fight… at worst, a war.
I shouldn’t cause unnecessary casualties while searching for differences from the previous round.
“With such beautiful hair and eyes, I should offer you to the Demon King, shouldn’t I?”
She circled me.
Should I tell her it’s distracting? Nah, better not.
“Aren’t you scared of me? You don’t even blink.”
Her head tilted as she circled me.
“Will you stay silent? Are you ignoring me?”
Perhaps because I stayed silent, her expression shifted from interest to mild irritation.
She reached for me with a harsh, menacing motion.
“Enough of that.”
But her hand did not reach me.
Somehow, Sian had blocked her with his sword.
“What? How…?”
The demon couldn’t finish her sentence. Sian’s sword had sliced through her.
“Kuh!”
Black blood spilled as she collapsed to the ground.
The other bound people were freed gradually by the paladins who were not tied.
Huh? Is that it?
I hadn’t expected even a low-ranking demon to be so weak.
From all the buildup, it ended way too anticlimactically.
“Did we… defeat her?”
I glanced toward the voice, realizing someone was muttering.
Even spells that could revive near-dead enemies seemed like nothing here.
I checked the fallen manager. Luckily, she didn’t move.
A demon in charge of the dungeon retired just like that? As the Demon King, this is worrying.
The future of the demon world is bleak, so bleak.
Someone spoke to me.
“Even as a demon, it must be hard to see someone die. Yet you seem unaffected.”
“Huh?”
Sian. Why does he move so quietly?
When did he start paying attention to me? What did he just say?
Ah… he said I seemed unaffected.
“Ah, yes.”
I nodded without much feeling. How could I respond to his composed demeanor?
“You weren’t even disturbed while wandering the dungeon alone.”
“Ah.”
“Even when the demon said it would offer you to the Demon King.”
“…Did I say that?”
Each half-hearted answer made Sian’s mood darker.
Okay, I admit it. I look suspicious.
But what can I do?
I wasn’t scared at all.
My inability to answer only made me look more suspicious. Sian spoke seriously.
“Now, you must answer. Who are you?”
Sian asked politely, but I wanted to cry.
Coming here might have been a mistake.
The paladins entering the dungeon when the divine messenger appeared might just be a detail that changes each round.
Regretting it now is too late. Truly, it’s too late.
The tense atmosphere between us made everyone else hold their breath and watch.
It felt hopeless, but I had to explain.
If Sian drew his sword, I needed to respond minimally, which could escalate…
Thinking of the blood-soaked anthill dungeon made me feel faint.
“Actually, I…”
“Aaah!”
My words were cut off by someone’s scream.
All eyes immediately shifted to the direction of the scream.
Countless ants were swarming a wizard, completely binding him.
Before he could react, the ants covered him entirely.
“Haah, really.”
A calm voice came. Sian, rushing to help, froze.
“You’re stronger than I thought. Your holy power surprised me.”
The manager had somehow appeared between Sian and me, touching his chin.
Wow, I thought she died so easily, but she didn’t?
Sian frowned, trying to push her hand away, but she was faster.
Jumping, she landed on the swarm of ants she had summoned, pulling Sian back into their grasp.
He struggled to break free, but it was impossible.
The ants had gathered with determination to restrain him.
“Oh my, there you go again?”
The manager’s gaze reached me.
The ants still couldn’t touch me, which seemed fascinating to her.
“To anyone, you just look like a normal human…”
Even as she spoke, the ants multiplied, encircling our group.
“I was going to offer you to the Demon King, but I changed my mind. You’re mine!”
The manager laughed as if overjoyed. Her laugh pierced my ears.
“How did you do that? Huh? Huh?”
It seemed strange to her that the ants weren’t obeying her orders to bind me.
Ah, that actually works in my favor.
“Shall I tell you?”
