How to Survive as a Dungeon Manager in Another World

43 – Encounter

Returned to the castle, I received a concise briefing from Chiron, the head butler dispatched by the Imperial Court, regarding the events transpired thus far.

“So, you’re saying more than seventy percent of the Shylock citizenry have declared their support for me?”

“Indeed, my Lord. While the direct support of the Imperial Court undoubtedly contributed, Lady Elfriede’s efforts are to be regarded as significantly.”

I slowly perused the report Chiron handed over.

A list detailing the progress of construction at the Lord’s Citadel, the current state of the Shylock territory, essentially the core administrative matters of the Lord’s domain.

From trivial petitions from the territory’s inhabitants to a roadmap outlining the long-term development of the Six Lord Domains, the myriad responsibilities one must shoulder upon ascending to the Lord’s seat were neatly summarized.

That the population was meager, a consequence of the territory’s proximity to the Demon Realm, was the only solace. Though, for some reason, the population figures on the document exhibited a noticeable surge in the past month.

The source was none other than Elfriede’s peculiar actions.

I had simply attributed her frequent absences to a penchant for wandering, never harboring any particular suspicion.

However, as it turns out, she had been traveling far and wide, bestowing free healing.

Calling herself a Saintess, while spreading all manner of heroic tales of me, the new Lord.

“…”

Shylock, bordering the Demon Realm, was situated in an extremely desolate, remote region, and monster appearances were frequent.

Due to these conditions, crime was rampant, and monsters were common, but to make matters worse, there was also a shortage of professional medical personnel, so the territory residents had to suffer without receiving proper treatment.

But because she went around finding those people one by one and giving treatments in the name of God, the size of the group that followed her had grown larger than expected.

At this point, there was no justification for telling her to stop, and since she was doing good things, there was no reason to stop her.

“Sixth Lord.”

“What is it?”

“An official document has arrived from the Holy Order. It states that Lady Elfriede’s actions as a Saintess are seriously damaging the reputation of the Holy Order, and that the Sixth Lord must immediately cease these actions and compensate for what has happened so far.”

The issue was that her activities had captured the attention of the Holy Order.

An order that strictly regulates even the use of divine power, citing it as the exclusive domain of the gods. By impersonating a Saintess, their very symbol, she had, in a manner of speaking, deliberately pressed their berserk button.

Moreover, the woman banished to Blackmoor to die miserably in obscurity was now openly parading about, acting as a Saintess. The Holy Order’s rage must be at its peak by now.

In truth, when you get down to it, that side was the false Saintess, and this side was the real Saintess, but there was nothing as meaningless as expecting common sense from a group of con artists.

There were two choices.

To bow our heads and apologize, offering appropriate compensation as they demanded, or to deliberately provoke the Holy Order.

Of course, the easiest path was the former, but I had no intention of doing so.

It wasn’t as if the Holy Order would cease their demands after one bow, and frankly, I didn’t like their essence in the first place.

The thoroughly selfish and ill-tempered demeanor… it was almost like staring at my doctoral advisor from a past life.

From the very moment I rescued Elfriede, the conflict with the Constellation was already an inevitability.

I retrieved some high-quality stationery from a drawer and scribbled a few words before handing it to Chiron.

“Chiron.”

“Yes, Sixth Lord.”

“Send this reply to the Constellation as is. Henceforth, all communications from the Constellation are to be ignored, without exception. That means you don’t need to report them to me anymore.”

“Immediately, as you command.”

Chiron accepted the letter, bowed deeply, and swiftly departed the room.

To obey orders blindly, without question or hesitation… truly befitting someone from the Imperial Household, especially the notoriously meticulous Bureau of Internal Affairs.

“Haa…”

I turned back, lost in thought once more.

Becoming hostile with the Constellation wasn’t a major issue in itself, but I needed to prepare for what was to come.

The Constellation was a textbook isekai religious order, exploiting people’s wealth in the name of God, and employing the most vile and wicked methods imaginable. A cliché incarnate.

As such, they could attempt assassination or poisoning at any time, and in my current state, I had no way to prevent it.

Without the power of the runes, I was no more than an ordinary human in every aspect, from dynamic visual acuity to cognitive ability.

What good was the overwhelming potency of the runes if my body was that of a mere mortal?

If ambushed at a moment I couldn’t react, I’d be killed before even having the chance to use the rune’s power. My physical form was that weak.

In the past, lacking the necessary mind-image, I wouldn’t have even considered strategizing, but now, having absorbed the Uroboros’ Inverse Scale, there was no need to worry about mind-image anymore.

I needed to desperately search for a new countermeasure.

‘…This is truly urgent.’

Above all, I was the Sixth Lord of the Council.

My very position drew attention, meaning I would inevitably encounter numerous powerful figures, and with each encounter, the potential for dangerous situations would rise.

The problem was that they knew nothing about me.

If they had witnessed me using the power of the runes even once, they wouldn’t dare treat me lightly, but only a handful of people, including Arkan, had actually seen my abilities firsthand.

In other words, in the eyes of others, I was merely an ordinary human who had suddenly risen to the position of the Sixth Lord.

Therefore, I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of someone like Gwonseong, whom I had previously faced, attacking me at an unexpected moment to test my worth.

‘There must be a way.’

I had absorbed two runes.

The Rune of Time and the Rune of Space.

Time, space, and an endlessly circulating mindscape.

Even in the original texts, no human possessed all three abilities simultaneously, so I was still clumsy in applying them.

But if combined skillfully, I could create a defense system that activated constantly.

“Accelerate.”

Muttering the activation word, golden heat haze bloomed from my fingertips.

It spread thin, becoming a translucent golden film that enveloped my entire body.

“Mindscape… sufficient.”

Before, merely maintaining this state would have sent my mindscape plummeting, but now, having obtained the authority of circulation, the mindscape that escaped was entangled in the loop of circulation, multiplying.

Confirming that my mindscape wasn’t being depleted, I opened my mouth again.

“Sever.”

The tattoo beneath my left eye flared with golden light.

The surrounding space cracked like glass, and the golden film encasing me began to separate from the world.

The very space I occupied was being severed from reality.

I clenched and unclenched my fist; moving my body felt no different than usual.

Looking in a mirror, my appearance was unchanged as well.

At this point, most physical impacts wouldn’t be able to penetrate my flesh.

But there was no room for complacency.

The continent was rife with all sorts of special abilities, some of which were types of sorcery that ‘reached’ their target regardless of spatial constraints.

No matter how much I separated space, creating an independent domain, a gap could form in some way as long as time flowed. Nothing was eternal.

An additional safeguard was needed. I chanted the activation word once more.

“Reverse.”

The tattoo beneath my right eye emitted golden light.

And again, I layered the activation word.

“Reverse.”

…Time within the separated space came to a complete standstill.

Normally, the consumption of mindscape was far too great, so I had only used the layering of ‘Reverse’ as a one-time invincibility move, but now, having absorbed the runes of space and nearing the final stage of Enlightenment, and having even gained the authority of circulation, I didn’t need to worry about mindscape consumption.

A space separated by a transparent film, and time frozen completely.

Now, this space had become an eternal state of stillness, devoid even of the flow of time.

My mindscape was depleted by 30 percent in an instant, but there was no further consumption, and the mindscape lost was even slowly recovering thanks to the Uroboros’ self-devouring loop.

“…Is it…done?”

I needed to test my abilities.

The very instant I moved to act.

“Lord, it’s Chiron.”

Chiron, who had just left, returned and called for me.

Wondering what was the matter, I looked at him. He spoke with a flustered expression.

“A guest has arrived at the castle.”

“A guest?”

“…The First Lord has come. He wishes to see the Sixth Lord and asks that I relay this message.”

The First Lord, Ekion the Magician.

Standing at the pinnacle of the continent, he was the first man to earn the title of Magister, the apex of magic, befitting his epithet.

Kwon-seong’s words that the other lords would come in turn were not false, it seemed.

I had no grounds to refuse a meeting between lords. With a sigh mixed into my voice, I replied.

“…Escort him to the reception room.”

The First Lord, Ekion the Magician.

Clad in a black robe, he quietly followed the man who introduced himself as the head butler.

‘Too shabby to be a lord’s castle.’

He observed the lord’s castle, looking around.

The news that a common human, moreover an official of the imperial family, had been appointed to the position of the Sixth Lord, vacant for hundreds of years, was enough to pique his curiosity.

Of course, he didn’t think it was something worth visiting in person, but recent news he had received from the Great Lord had changed his mind.

‘An outer being…’

Ouroboros.

A fragment of an outer god existing on the edge of the world.

Ekion had seen a brief record of it in an ancient book.

And now, the corpse of that Ouroboros was said to be in the headquarters.

For a magician like him, the corpse of an outer being held tremendous research value.

He had requested a loan for research purposes from the Great Lord, but the only answer he received was to meet the Sixth Lord and get permission.

That was why he had set foot here.

“Greetings. I am Ekion, the First Lord.”

“…Luke Richter.”

Ekion narrowed his eyes, observing the Six Lords before him with careful scrutiny.

Neither their physique, nor the aura they projected, held anything special – utterly ordinary humans.

He detected no magical energy, nor the peculiar, shadowy atmosphere that clung to sorcerers.

Merely possessing handsome features, they appeared, outwardly, to be nothing more than commonplace men.

Yet, something was amiss.

Ekion felt a cold sweat trickle down his forehead.

For a mage who had attained enlightenment, the five senses were honed to an extreme degree; and now, every one of his senses screamed a warning the moment he faced them.

He broke the silence, opening his mouth to speak.

“…I’ve heard the stories. A royal official, you say.”

“What is your business?”

“Impatient, unlike your appearance suggests. Let us first chat leisurely. It is fate that we meet like this, is it not?”

Ekion extended his hand, offering a handshake.

Among enlightened mages, there existed an unwritten rule: to exchange magic through a handshake, confirming the other’s attainment.

It was a fairly common practice, so the intention to verify one’s stage of enlightenment was not particularly discourteous.

“So be it.”

The Six Lords grasped Ekion’s hand with an impassive expression.

Immediately, Ekion channeled his magic, sending it flowing through their joined hands.

He sought to grasp the other’s stage of enlightenment in its entirety, but…

“…?”

Nothing was detected.

More precisely, the magic he had sent vanished completely.

As if pouring into a vessel with a hole in its base, the magic he poured in disappeared without a trace.

‘What in the world…?’

Magic was the source energy of the world, touching the laws of the universe, thus it was impossible for it to vanish without any cause.

It was possible to negate or deflect another’s magic, but for magic itself to be severed and disappear in this way was unthinkable.

Not even a grand duke could perform such a feat.

“…!”

Ekion continued to pour in magic.

However, no matter how much he drew upon the magic within his body, the moment it flowed into the Six Lords’ hand, it vanished as if sucked into another dimension.

His pupils wavered at the sight of this phenomenon, which defied all reason.

Slyly, I lifted my gaze to meet the Sixth Lord’s…

“!!!”

With one corner of his lip curled in the slightest of smiles, a chilling amusement playing across his face.

His obsidian pupils, as if urging me to continue, bore down upon Ekion.