WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈
Chapter 45: Chessmate
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After returning through the Merchant Association portal with Estigel and Hellbok, I had barely arrived at the dungeon when the Insects resting on the tenth floor rushed toward me like moths to a flame.
“Kirik! The Great Chieftain is here!”
“The Great Chieftain has returneddak!”
This was the first time I had ever been glad to see them.
Maybe even disgusting, oversized bugs grew on you if you spent enough time with them.
“Kirik! The tribe has grown!”
“There’s livestock and a human! Is the livestock fooddalk?”
“Ahaha...”
Maybe because she had already seen Balutak, Estigel didn’t seem particularly disgusted.
I thought she’d freak out like she’d just seen a swarm of cockroaches.
For some reason, I felt betrayed.
Meanwhile, off to the side, a pair of Insects separated from the crowd were acting out their own romance drama.
“Kirik. Buraltak. My female.”
“Kiririk...”
“Buraltak is my treedak. Always waits for Balutakdak. Gives Balutak shadedak.”
‘That Buraltak again.’
I was too tired to argue anymore.
Whether it was Kelotak or Buraltak, they could call it whatever they wanted. I didn’t care.
“Boss, look at the workers.”
I wondered why Charlotte said that, then noticed the Insects’ appearances had changed slightly.
The hardened chitin on one pair of their forelegs made it clear they had evolved, like Kobolds, for mining ore veins.
It was good news, but I didn’t have the energy to celebrate.
‘I’m fucking exhausted.’
Even undead accumulated mental fatigue.
If anything, without physical exhaustion, it felt like the mental fatigue piled up twice as fast.
The meeting had put me through one ordeal after another.
I could handle what happened with Gergoer and at the banquet, but the Roundtable Meeting had nearly scared me to death.
I had been watching Kalandas, so who could have expected Roxanne to act like that?
Still, I handled it somehow.
As a reward for all that suffering, I planned to lock myself in the Boss Room and rest for a while.
When I looked at her properly, Charlotte’s face was full of fatigue as well.
She must have had it rough among all those monsters too. She had heard Roxanne make a death threat as well.
“Rest and recover from the trip. Once you have time, teach Estigel magic. Estigel, you’ll stay in the Adjutant's Room with Charlotte for the time being.”
Since they were both human, neither should feel uncomfortable living together.
Charlotte always wore a blank expression, but having known her for so long, I could tell at a glance.
They shared a sense of kinship as a Witch and a half-human, half-demon person, so Charlotte seemed to like Estigel in her own quiet way.
They would also become teacher and student. The more time they spent together, the closer they would become.
“Yes. I’ll do my best. Estigel.”
“Yes?”
“Here, you are not the seventy-second-ranked Lord. You are a member of Faith’s Tomb, one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. I am your senior, so I may speak informally to you. I ask for your understanding.”
“Yes! Please speak as informally as you like.”
“As a member of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss, you still have much to learn. The same applies to me. Let’s improve together as we serve the Boss.”
Estigel nodded once and clenched her fist.
She was trying to look determined, but she still looked like a child.
“Boss, may I ask you something?”
I merely nodded in response to Charlotte’s question.
“Does the Hellhound have a name?”
“A name?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t told them Hellbok’s name.
They had never asked, and since my whole persona was that of a silent boss, I hadn’t gone out of my way to say it first.
‘But that blank expression...’
It reminded me of when she named the Skeletal Horse.
If Hellbok didn’t have a name, she looked ready to give it one herself. That absolutely couldn’t happen.
Hellbok already had a proud name.
“If it doesn’t have one, how about Hellbok?”
“...”
“It is a Hellhound, and it always smiles happily. The moment I saw the Hellhound, Hellbok came to mind.”
That was a little shocking.
My naming sense was the same as hers? Charlotte, who named a Skeletal Horse Golgoli?
-Pant, pant.
As though it had reacted to the name, Hellbok trotted over and nuzzled Charlotte.
Charlotte kept her blank expression as she petted Hellbok. Hellbok must have liked it, because it rolled onto its back, showed its belly, and did all sorts of things.
It somehow looked happier than when it was with me. Seriously?
“...We’ll call it Hellbok.”
I absolutely refused to admit that Charlotte and I had similar naming sense.
* * *
I had decided to rest, but the fact that this cursed skeleton body couldn’t sleep was agony.
-Pant, pant.
Hellbok was my only source of comfort. Hellbok seemed to like my touch too and kept nuzzling me.
Ah, this was healing. I never thought I’d only get to enjoy raising the doggo I’d always wanted in my old life after becoming a Death Knight.
When I threw a bone, Hellbok dashed after it and came back with it in its mouth.
For the record, that toy bone was one of my ribs.
It had been creaking for a while and had no real use, so I gave it to Hellbok as a toy.
Knock, knock.
The sound interrupted my healing time with Hellbok.
As far as I knew, Charlotte was the only person who would come in.
“Come in.”
Sure enough, Charlotte appeared through the open door.
-Woof!
“...?”
Charlotte looked between Hellbok and me, then lowered her head apologetically.
Her eyes were full of confusion. It seemed she hadn’t known I kept Hellbok as a pet.
She must have thought I brought it here as a monster to be stationed in the dungeon.
Given my silent boss persona, it was a natural assumption.
Still, there was no reason for me to care what my subordinates thought. I was the boss. Why should I worry about what they thought?
A rebellious urge rose in me, so I petted Hellbok even more enthusiastically.
“I apologize for interrupting your amusement.”
“What is it?”
“Yes. I may be mistaken, but you seemed bored lately.”
That was a little unexpected.
Either Charlotte was perceptive, or I had made it that obvious.
“If that is truly the case, could you spare a little time? I prepared something for you.”
“What did you prepare?”
“Do you know chess, by any chance?”
Chess, all of a sudden?
Then again, entertainment in a medieval fantasy world was extremely limited.
For crude pleasures, there was dice gambling. For a wholesome game, chess was the obvious choice.
‘I can play Go fairly well, but chess...’
I had been called a Go prodigy in elementary school.
Unfortunately, there was no way a medieval fantasy world would have Go.
I had played chess quite a few times, but I had never learned it seriously.
At most, I had played amateurs in phone games.
‘Still, I have experience with Go.’
Wouldn’t I rank fairly high among amateurs in chess too?
I had watched a few online chess lectures and learned quite a lot in just two days.
My win rate in mobile chess was easily over seventy percent too.
“I know chess. Let’s play.”
I had nothing else to do anyway.
Medieval chess could never compare to modern chess.
Crushing beginners sounded secretly fun too.
‘What if she’s actually really good?’
Mages were intelligence-based, and judging by Charlotte’s image alone, she seemed like an elegant young woman skilled in both study and combat.
The truth was that she was a psychopathic killer, but still.
She was the one who suggested chess first, so she might be pretty good.
Either way, that was better. Games were more fun when your opponent was skilled.
A chessboard had already been set up on the tenth floor, and Balutak and Estigel were playing.
One look showed how unskilled they were. Charlotte must have only just taught them.
“Kirik. I won-dak.”
“You only won for the first time just now.”
“Estigel is bad at this too-dak. Estigel is no match for Balutak-dak.”
“What!? What do you mean? I have ten wins and one loss!”
“That doesn’t matter-dak. Balutak won last-dak. The final winner devours, adapts, and evolves-dak.”
“Let’s play again!”
“Kiririk. Our levels don’t match-dak. Practice more and come back-rak.”
“What kind of rule is that? I said let’s play again!”
“No-dak. You suck-dak.”
I figured watching any longer would only make me sigh, so I looked away.
Charlotte had apparently prepared a proper table and chairs too.
There was only one table and two chairs, though.
That meant Balutak and Estigel were playing chess on the floor. Quite the treatment.
“My lord, please take a seat.”
Charlotte pulled back a chair and gestured politely.
Feeling a little self-conscious, I sat down.
Before we started, I let Charlotte take the first move.
There was no special reason. I just thought that, as a black knight Death Knight, I should choose black.
“I look forward to a good match.”
“Fine.”
Charlotte opened with a standard knight move.
When I glanced up, her lips were tightly pressed together. She looked completely focused.
I had planned to play casually, but I decided to take it seriously too.
Charlotte focused on her knights, while I boldly moved my queen.
About thirty minutes passed. We had captured a similar number of pieces, and the game remained fiercely contested.
‘We’re evenly matched.’
That made the match against Charlotte thrilling. Not that I had sweat glands as an undead.
The game was decided only after another thirty minutes had passed.
Charlotte’s king was trapped by my black knight and queen.
“I lost.”
After a hard-fought match, the victory was mine.
It had been close enough that I became genuinely absorbed in a chess game I had started just to pass the time.
“I barely lost. I think I can win if we play another game.”
“Then shall we play another?”
“Yes.”
Her answer came as though she had been waiting for it.
‘Sorry, but you can’t beat me.’
It had been a close game, but in the second half, I could see through all of Charlotte’s plans.
That was the wall between a modern person and someone from this world, I supposed.
Feeling a surge of pride, I picked up the pieces again.
* * *
Before the chess game began, Charlotte had been filled with countless worries.
What if the Boss disliked chess? What if the Boss disliked it but had forced themself to make time for her?
Yet looking at the Boss now, those worries had been pointless.
‘The Boss is truly focused.’
Contrary to her concerns, the Boss seemed to enjoy chess.
The Boss displayed intense concentration and thought deeply before moving each piece.
Like the first game, this one ended after another fierce and close contest.
“I lost again...”
Charlotte let out the words in a weak voice and rubbed her face with both hands.
Through the gaps between her fingers, she secretly watched the Boss’s face.
She could not read an undead’s expression, but somehow, she could see what the Boss was feeling.
‘The Boss is enjoying it.’
Whenever the Boss narrowly won, they gave a slight nod, as though satisfied.
Charlotte smacked her lips and returned the pieces to their starting positions.
“Would you like to play another game?”
“Let’s do it.”
As they played chess, she once again felt the Boss’s human heart.
She already knew of the Boss’s deep selflessness. Now, she had also seen the Boss’s human side through their competitive spirit.
Charlotte hated and despised humans more than anything in this world.
Yet paradoxically, her affection for the Boss, who possessed a human heart, only kept growing.
‘...And the Boss likes human women.’
Normally, undead hated humans.
But the Boss did not hate humans. The Boss cared for them.
More accurately, the Boss cared for human women.
If the Boss cared for all humanity, she would have been a little disappointed, but thankfully, that was not the case.
The Boss seemed to see only human women in a romantic light.
The Boss had taken Charlotte and Estigel as subordinates, and when asked whether Liches or Vampires were better, immediately chose Vampires.
After learning that, Charlotte had unknowingly built a sense of closeness with the Boss.
Until now, she had only accumulated self-loathing for being human. Lately, though, she could only think how fortunate she was to be human.
If she had not been human, she could not have stood by the Boss’s side.
...And the Boss would not have regarded her romantically.
“Your turn.”
“Yes.”
This time as well, Charlotte planned to keep the game as intense as possible before letting the Boss win.
No matter how casual the game, an adjutant could not allow herself to defeat the Boss.
Her goal had been to let the Boss enjoy themself as much as possible from the start.
She had intended to let the Boss win simply because she could not allow herself to defeat the Boss.
Charlotte shifted only her eyes and looked at the Boss.
Unlike the image the Boss had shown until now, they were focused on a small game.
Seeing how quietly pleased the Boss was after she let them win made her want to keep letting them win.
‘...It is hard to believe the Boss is the same person.’
The Boss was the one who had killed two Heroes and dominated the atmosphere at the Roundtable Meeting.
Yet now, the Boss was absorbed in a small game. It was difficult to believe they were the same person.
The gap should have felt strange, but Charlotte felt the opposite.
She found the Boss’s previously unseen human side completely charming.
Until now, she had only seen the Boss as an absolute being bored by all worldly affairs.
The Boss was usually cold, and their overwhelming strength dominated the atmosphere around them.
Yet the Boss was actually thoughtful and warm-hearted, and was focusing on such a small game.
The Boss had seemed completely unaffected when they killed two Heroes.
Why did a small victory like this make the Boss so happy?
While her opponent stared only at the chessboard, Charlotte watched only the Boss’s face.
The way the Boss concentrated without speaking seemed a little cute...
‘...What am I even thinking?’
She should blame herself for merely admiring the Boss, yet she thought they were cute.
It was not a feeling an adjutant should dare to hold toward the Boss.
“Chessmate.”
Charlotte blinked both eyes.
When she opened them, her gaze met the Boss’s.
“Do you want to keep playing?”
Chessmate. And the Boss said it so proudly.
Even as the Boss’s adjutant, she could not deny it.
‘Isn’t the Boss too cute?’
No, get a hold of yourself. Charlotte scolded herself inwardly.
Then she shook her head, trying to shake away thoughts she should not have.
“It seems you do not wish to continue.”
“...Pardon?”
“Let’s stop here.”
“N-no. Absolutely not.”
“Then why did you shake your head?”
“I-I was looking around.”
“You do not need to force yourself. We can play again later when you feel like it.”
After claiming three wins, the Boss left without a trace of regret.
Charlotte was the only one left with lingering feelings as she watched the Boss’s back.
“...We could’ve played more.”
A quiet sigh escaped her lips as they repeatedly parted and closed.
Footnotes:
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