Chapter 111: Additional Evaluation and the Night of the Dungeon (2)

The dungeon for the additional evaluation had a different atmosphere from the previous one.

“Count Julian! Instructor Mythos said this is a Type 2 dungeon, right? That’s why it feels so ominous. Don’t you think so?”

Rosette spoke.

From the moment we entered the dungeon, a sensation of Demonic Power piercing our bodies overwhelmed us. Because of this, Rosette, Chloe, and I were moving while avoiding confrontation with magical beasts and monsters as much as possible.

‘Of all times, it had to be late afternoon as soon as we entered the dungeon.’

When I achieved 5th place in Demon Survival, the additional dungeon wasn’t this disadvantageous.

However, this time it was a party of the top three. The instructors had significantly increased the dungeon’s difficulty accordingly.

I looked up at the sky. The sun was already low. Night would fall soon.

Therefore, we had to find a place to spend the night quickly. Facing magical beasts unprepared at night was suicidal.

I replied to Rosette,

“It seems so. The Demonic Power feels different from the previous evaluation dungeon. We need to hurry. By the way, Rosette, why the sudden formalities?”
“Huh? Th-That’s because I should speak formally to you, Count…”

Rosette glanced around cautiously. Rosette was floating on her magic wand to my left, and Chloe was on my right.

‘She must be mindful of Chloe.’

Rosette was a commoner, and a witch who had once been treated very poorly.

However, I was the heir of Grand Duke and held the title of Count. Chloe was also a Marquis’s daughter of very high status.

So, Rosette must have thought it wouldn’t look good for her to speak informally to me, especially in front of Chloe. She did the same in front of Eileen and Uriel.

I whispered in Rosette’s ear,

“If you don’t drop the formalities, I’ll start speaking formally to you, Master.”

Rosette was startled by my words, almost falling off her magic wand.

“W-We agreed not to say that! I’ve never had an older student like you. I’ll drop the formalities, so stop saying that. It’s embarrassing.”

Rosette quickly switched to informal speech. Master, huh.

I recalled the story of how Rosette and Julian became informal with each other, as I remembered from Demon Survival.

Julian’s incomprehensible world of art. Rosette was one of the few people who understood his bizarre artistic world.

Although her approach wasn’t artistic.

‘It was to the extent that even the scoundrel Julian addressed her as Master.’

It was even said that Rosette, with her innate magical talent, further developed Julian’s artistic world. She reinterpreted his art through magic.

Although the evolved results being a black magic wand and a tentacle monster was perplexing.

Anyway, last year, during their first year, Julian insisted on learning art from Rosette and spoke formally to her. Even as a scoundrel, he was serious about his art.

Rosette, feeling burdened by this, apparently compromised by becoming friends instead of having a teacher-student relationship. That’s how they became informal with each other.

Regardless of how it started, judging by how Rosette treated me now, they seemed to have been genuinely close.

And Chloe, watching us interact comfortably, had a subtle look in her eyes. She was hiding her face behind her fan, only her eyes peeking out.

Then she whispered softly,

“Count Julian. Even if she’s your friend, it’s not appropriate for a mere commoner to speak informally to you, Count. She lacks the proper etiquette as a citizen of the Empire. It’s extremely vulgar. This is why lowly commoners are…”

Rosette frowned at her words. No matter how high Chloe’s status was, it couldn’t feel good to be spoken to like that directly.

And in this Type 2 dungeon, with its strong Demonic Power and negative energy, both of their emotions were quite heightened.

‘And the instructors sealed their Holy Power.’

Right before entering this artificial dungeon, the instructors had used magic to seal their Holy Power. Magic several tiers higher than their own. So, neither of them could dispel it.

‘They really ramped up the difficulty.’

This meant they were fully exposed to the chaotic influence of Demonic Power. Actually, my Holy Power was sealed as well, but thanks to the newly enhanced effects of the rosary, my mind was perfectly clear.

Unable to endure Chloe’s harsh words any longer, Rosette whispered in my ear. But her voice was loud enough for Chloe to hear.

“That Marquis’s daughter has a really nasty personality. And Julian, when did you become close with that scary girl? Didn’t you used to dislike her? Calling her a crazy bitch and all.”
“Crazy bitch? What nonsense. Count Julian would never say such a thing. Unlike you, he’s a man of refinement. As expected of a lowly commoner, making up ridiculous lies.”
“Ugh… Julian, say something.”

Of course, I had disliked Chloe before. But now, she was as meek as a lamb in front of me. I had tamed her long ago. I replied to Rosette,

“Did I? Well, you never know about these things between people. We went on missions together as partners.”
“Tsk. Anyway, it’s not like the old days where commoners had a lower status! Unilateral disregard for commoners is prohibited by Imperial law.”

Actually, Chloe didn’t usually look down on commoners so openly. I heard she was quite polite to Cecilia. It was undoubtedly a provocation aimed at her rival.

“Oh my. How can she be so talkative when she’s so incompetent? Well, she is the least skilled student among the three of us, isn’t she? You, Ro-something. You must be nervous. You’re clearly chattering because you’re scared of the Type 2 dungeon. Unlike the excellent Count Julian and myself.”

She spoke again as if for Rosette to hear. Chloe was feeling triumphant.

Her record in the previous evaluation dungeon was second place. Although she lost to me, she seemed elated just by beating Rosette.

‘Although it was just by a hair’s breadth.’

So, it wasn’t as if Rosette was truly lacking in skill. Rosette’s expression darkened even further. It was a gloomy expression that would horrify the students of the Magic Order if they saw it.

Being caught between these two with their awkward tension was a strange feeling. Both were going to be my party members in the nest raid. It would be nice if they got along, but…

Chloe, the villainess. It wasn’t easy for her to be liked by other women. Especially since there was a status difference between her and Rosette.

‘But I like it. Her personality is perfect for provoking Rosette.’

There was no need for them to get along. Competition would enhance the skills of my party members. And this Type 2 artificial dungeon was the perfect setting for it.

And the time for their lively bickering was running out.

It was as cold as midwinter here. The sky was painted with the colors of sunset. If the dungeon was replicating winter, night would fall soon.

‘The replication rate of the space is different in a Type 2 dungeon.’

Magical beasts mimicked all living creatures in Iceland. Dungeons, the spaces they dominated, also imitated real-world spaces.

Dungeons like Type 2, filled with the Demonic Power of the core, had a very high replication rate. They even replicated night, which didn’t exist in lower-level dungeons. Naturally, the night in a dungeon was far more dangerous.

‘That’s why it’s practically endurance training.’

What Instructor Mythos demanded of the three of us was to survive in this dungeon. And if possible, to scout all areas of the dungeon. He said it was a dangerous place that could take up to two nights and three days to properly scout.

‘Of course, I’ll complete the scouting perfectly. To receive the reward.’

Meanwhile, the two continued their quarrel with even more intensity.

“This dungeon is truly unpleasant. Or perhaps it’s because a certain ill-mannered commoner is walking with us?”
“It seems there’s a fool here who doesn’t know the school rule that Pantheon classmates are equal regardless of status. Especially in the Golden Wing Squad, you can technically speak informally even to Her Highness Lillia. Right, Julian?”
“Fool? The one who lost to me is the fool. Acting all high and mighty just because you can use some magic. You’re in last place among the three of us, aren’t you?”
“Ugh… Just because you came out a hair’s breadth faster. You saw it too, Julian.”
“A loss is a loss. Hehe. And they say red-haired witches are two-faced. You should be careful, Count Julian.”
“Tsk. There’s a rumor that silver hair and red eyes are signs of vampire descendants. You know that too, Julian, right?”

Chloe kept spitting out barbed words. And Rosette retorted to every one of them, using me as a conduit. It wasn’t like the usually kind Rosette.

It was proof that both of them were fully under the influence of Demonic Power.

According to the theory lectures at Pantheon, there were quite a few cases of allies killing each other due to the curse of Demonic Power. That’s how dangerous this place was.

‘But they’re getting increasingly childish. It’s time for them to stop.’

It had already been an hour since we moved from the dungeon’s starting point. As expected, both of them finally ran out of steam.

Chloe, who had been excitedly chattering, fell silent. And the magic wand Rosette was riding kept sinking towards the ground. Both of them seemed exhausted.

‘Is it time to prepare that?’

We couldn’t continue pushing through the dungeon like this. At night, visibility would be extremely limited. And the Demonic Power of the dungeon and the magical beasts would grow stronger.

To survive the night in the dungeon safely, we needed a plan. Of course, I already had something in mind.

‘And use it to further stimulate Rosette.’

I had confirmed it while stroking Rosette’s hair before. Rosette’s destiny rating was also A+. This meant she was a woman I needed to approach more deeply.

However, compared to the other women I had already formed relationships with, Rosette and I were just friends. And since enrollment, I had been so busy that I barely saw her.

‘So, it’s difficult to suddenly progress our relationship.’

There was no catalyst. Therefore, this dungeon presented an opportunity if I wanted to try something. I stopped the two of them.

“This seems like a good spot. The Demonic Power is relatively low around here. Do you all understand what I mean?”

Already exhausted, both of them nodded obediently.

The three of us moved to a small hill within the dungeon. In that area, where the Demonic Power was relatively weak, we set up camp.

Or rather, it might be closer to a shelter than a simple campsite. And even calling it a shelter felt somewhat inadequate. Chloe and I had built a small house among the bushes on the hill.

“Alchemy is truly amazing. It’s incomparable to lowly magic. Don’t you agree, Count Julian?”

Chloe said triumphantly. As she said, the method used to create this mud house was alchemy. I used my remaining bonus mana to activate alchemy and create the basic framework, and Chloe refined the detailed internal structure.

Rosette was tasked with guarding the perimeter, but…

Since we had found a place where the Demonic Power was minimally felt, there were no magical beasts or monsters approaching us immediately. She was practically just a decorative screen.

“It’s like a midwinter night. If it weren’t for alchemy, that commoner witch would have frozen solid at night. Hehe. This is why mages are… a bunch who act all high and mighty but can’t actually do anything helpful.”

Chloe said, tapping her fan leisurely. She was tired, but she didn’t stop needling Rosette.

Rosette’s expression was a sight to behold. The alchemy mud house Chloe and I created was of very high quality. It seemed to have stimulated her, unlike her usual self.

‘In the Magic Order, she always received attention no matter what she did. Being disregarded like this must be unusual for her.’

And perhaps because Rosette was watching, Chloe displayed even greater skill than usual. However, as Chloe said, Rosette wasn’t of much help in this situation. She looked dejected.

“J-Julian. Should I at least heat the bathwater inside?”

Chloe answered on my behalf,

“Is that even a question? It’s obviously something you should do.”

Rosette, who was already short, shrunk even further and went inside the mud house. She was probably going to use magic and spirits to heat the bathwater.

“Then, Count Julian, let’s go inside and rest.”

Night had already fallen while we were building the shelter. And the night in a Type 2 dungeon was as cold as a winter night in Essenmunt.

But it was warm inside the shelter. We luxuriated in the bathwater Rosette had diligently heated.

“Then let’s go to our respective rooms and rest. We need to recover our strength so we can scout this dungeon tomorrow.”

We had even built walls inside the mud house to create separate rooms. There were even mud beds inside. Rosette quietly went into her room, still looking dejected.

‘Chloe did her part.’

If Rosette felt anything, it must have been frustration at losing to the villainess. If that translated into growth, it would be a great advantage for me.

And if my prediction was correct, Chloe would help me once more.

Three rooms side by side. I chose to use the middle room.

It was an arrangement with clear intent. Tonight, I would make Rosette conscious of me, not as a friend, but as a man.

Rosette also possessed an A+ destiny rating. Therefore, I had to approach her as the Demon Lord’s blood within me whispered.

As the late night deepened, I pretended to be asleep, although I wasn’t sleepy at all.

Someone carefully opened the door to my room and entered.