MCT 03

Chapter 3

I hadn’t even walked a few steps, yet before I knew it, I was back in the very spot where I had awakened.

So absurdly fast, as if running and sprinting until I was out of breath earlier had all been a lie.

The pitch-black, massive entity and the flying dirt doll were still there, too.

I felt like I was completely bewitched by a ghost. I stood before them in a humble posture.

“Oh, she’s back! She’s back! Where on earth did you go in such a rush?”

The moment it saw me, the dirt doll babbled away in a squeaky voice.

“Don’t tell me you were trying to run away during an interview?”

Gulp.

“No, well… um, that is….”

I felt like they would get angry if I told the truth. As I hesitated and beat around the bush while reading the room, the doll, who was observing my demeanor, suddenly burst out yelling.

“Gosh, Demon King! Because you’re acting so heavy and imposing, this human is terrified! Just look at how her voice is trembling! Even though I advised you so earnestly to only use that appearance when the Hero comes to visit!”

“Ahem, is my appearance frightening?”

“A, a little…?”

I answered the question before I even realized it.

At that, the overwhelming pressure that had been weighing down the air cleared away, and the black shroud covering the massive entity smoothly slid off as well.

The one that soon revealed itself was a giant bird resembling an owl with ash-gray feathers.

It wasn’t just plump, but had quite a chubby build, so its round eyes were half-buried in fine feathers and cheek fat.

The fact that it had four legs was a bit bizarre, but looking at just its upper body, it had a surprisingly cute impression.

Perhaps thanks to that adorable appearance, my fear toward the entity before my eyes faded little by little.

“This form lacks dignity.”

“Is this the time to worry about dignity in front of a newly joining employee? You’re the desperate one here, Demon King!”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Whether the tiny doll’s words served as a signal to loosen up, the owl suddenly twisted its body and flopped down onto the throne. It then vigorously scratched its side with its talons and let out a long yawn.

“You let your guard down way too much! Demon King, you really have no middle ground, none at all!”

The dirt doll began nagging again, but the owl didn’t listen in the slightest.

Instead, it looked down at me with its big, bright eyes.

“Now you know full well this is reality, right?”

For some reason, it had a slightly sulky expression, making it seem like it fully knew I had tried to run away.

“Y-Yes…!”

I answered with full tension.

The strange pressure remained, but watching the fat owl get picked on by the dirt doll caused my fear to gradually fade away.

With that, my train of thought began to return step by step.

‘Let’s just accept it now…….’

That I was subjected to a dimension shift, and that the outside world is scary and dangerous.

If I encounter a monster like the one I saw earlier again, I might really faint.

What if there are more things like that out there?

By the feel of it, I was lucky enough to be safe because I was near this place—that is, near the dungeon.

If so… rather than recklessly attempting an escape, it’s safer to find a way to return to my own world from here.

Speaking of which, wouldn’t it be better to try negotiating with that owl?

If that owl is the cause of my coming here, surely it can send me back to where I originally came from, right?

I swallowed my dry saliva.

“Are you ready to sign the contract now? Haaawm—.”

Unlike when we first met, the owl’s voice was thoroughly drenched in annoyance.

“Demon King, yawning so openly lowers your dignity!”

“I wish to go to sleep right away.”

“You must finish the contract before going to sleep! Just how long are you going to leave this dungeon neglected?!”

Use your brain, you have to use your brain, Gong Choi!

‘First, let’s figure out where exactly this is.’

Come to think of it, they said this place was a ‘dungeon.’

Dungeon—it wasn’t an unfamiliar word. It was a term easily encountered in games.

PC games were my sole comfort in a grueling corporate life, so it was familiar.

Usually, a dungeon is a place teeming with monsters and traps. It’s a dangerous location, but by defeating enemies and breaking through traps, one earns sweet rewards at the end. It’s also a place people deliberately seek out for character growth.

I took a deep breath before opening my mouth.

“Before joining the company…… this is my first time experiencing something like this, so I am very inexperienced. In order to make up for my lack of experience, I think I need a bit more knowledge. Pardon me, but would it be alright if I asked a few questions?”

“I permit it.”

Though it said so, the owl’s eyelids drooped heavily as if they would close at any moment.

Its expression was indifferent, and its talons were still vigorously scratching its side.

“This place… doesn’t seem to be the world I lived in. Where on earth is this place?”

“It is a dimension where more possibilities exist than the place where you lived. However, living here will not be much different. Will you sign the contract now?”

“Ah, I’m still not sure. In that case, you are… since you said dungeon… by any chance, are you an entity like a dungeon boss?”

“Pfft! A boss. Demon King, did you hear that? She said a boss!”

The owl went silent for a moment. It then stared at me intently with half-closed eyes.

I found that gaze burdensome and subtly averted my eyes.

“I see. So that is how you understand dungeons? You understood it well. Inside a game……”

I got goosebumps at that murmur. I had never mentioned the word ‘game,’ so it seemed evident that it had peeked into my thoughts.

“It seems you will need a lot of common knowledge about this world after all. Even if it’s just to run this dungeon properly. Brownie is perfectly suited for the role of teaching.”

“Brownie?”

“It’s me! The land-bound fairy of this dungeon, Brownie!”

To think it was a fairy when I thought it was just a big-headed earthen doll that moved and talked.

It was so different from the fairies I had imagined that my fantasy was shattered for no reason.

“What should I tell you about first? Ah! Earlier you called the Demon King a boss, right? Then I’ll tell you about the Demon King first.”

Since the more information the better, I decided to listen for now.

“Half of this world is ruled by 21 Demon Kings! Among them, our Demon King’s rank is….”

21 Demon Kings? On top of that, ranks. The setting is more full-fledged than I thought.

I stared at Brownie’s small mouth with a serious expression.

“Our Demon King’s rank is 2…”

“Gasp, rank 2!? That’s insanely strong…!”

“Rank 21!”

“……!”

So the dead last place… I barely managed to swallow those words.

Looking at the owl’s appearance, I felt like I understood a little why it was dead last.

Even now, it didn’t have a single shred of motivation, wearing a face that found everything in the world to be a hassle.

Don’t tell me its body got so chubby like that because it barely moves?

“All Demon Kings possess dungeons. Dungeons absorb the fear of visitors, and that fear becomes the Demon King’s strength just as it is!”

“Yes… a Demon King running a dungeon, that’s fresh knowledge.”

Anyway, that entity in front of me is a Demon King, right?

By the way, if it’s a Demon King… isn’t that an evil existence?

If the Hero was the symbol of justice and goodness, the Demon King was usually on the opposite side.

To think my résumé fell into the hands of a Demon King of all things.

“The more fear extracted, the higher the dungeon’s notoriety becomes. That directly leads to the Demon King’s authority. The more notorious a dungeon one possesses, the higher the Demon King’s rank rises as well.”

“Since we have a dungeon and will soon have a manager, our rank will be able to rise in no time, Demon King!”

I roughly understood the way the dungeon operated. However, I couldn’t see any way to return to Earth at all…….

Am I going to be forcibly hired like this in this dangerous place?

Right at that moment, a topic flashed through my mind.

“Compensation! That’s right, I can only work if the compensation is right! E-Even if I look like this, I’m quite a high-end talent, so I’ve received a high annual salary!”

Absurd as it was, salary negotiation was originally a topic all superiors disliked.

No matter what compensation the Demon King offers, if I reject it all as being too low, wouldn’t it have no choice but to give up on me?

“Every time my rank rises by one tier, I shall give you 1 billion. In the currency of the world you live in.”

“…Pardon?”

It was an amount far too huge to reject, causing my brain to freeze.

Did I hear that right?

It felt as if I could even hear a hallucination of a money-counting machine rustling through paper bills in my ears.

“1 billion… won? Really?”

“We possess a power called causality that creates various possibilities. Using this power, we can generate anything of value that you desire.”

1 billion…. It said it would give it to me every time its rank rose, but the Demon King before my eyes was currently rank 21.

That means its rank can rise twenty more times in the future. Then… that’s 20 billion.

Even if its rank rises by just a single tier, I can get my hands on money that would be hard to earn even if I worked my whole life!

Having been trying so desperately to cancel my dungeon employment just moments ago, I, comically enough, found myself swaying.