WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈
Chapter 46: The Empire’s Morning Star
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- Rank 8 of the 72 Dungeons, Marsh Valley of Many Diseases, Defeated by the Empire’s Morning Star!
“Hmm...”
A groan escaped me as I read the newspaper.
Given the timing, I’d expected Babayaga’s death.
Still, I hadn’t expected it to happen this soon.
It had only been four days since the 72 Dungeons Assembly ended.
The new boss of the rank-eight dungeon would apparently be Twin-Head Ogre Jokal.
Honestly, I didn’t care about that.
I swallowed my surprise and continued reading the article.
“...The Empire’s Morning Star, all alone.”
The Empire’s Morning Stars were emerging Heroes.
The current Four Heroes of the Empire were Balm Monk, Wilhelm, Astin, and Leon.
Balm Monk and Wilhelm were dead, while Astin and Leon were nearing retirement.
In the game’s original story, the other three retired, and Wilhelm alone served as the player’s ally.
His body had grown old, but the awakening of the Holy Sword allowed him to make a major contribution to defeating Kalandas.
Which meant the two remaining Heroes were washed up by now.
The Imperial Family and the Extermination Command would obviously know that.
They must have been scrambling to elevate the rising stars as the new Four Heroes.
A generational change had already been urgent, and I’d practically set their feet on fire.
They needed to piss on their burning feet, not just their frozen ones.
That was why an emerging Hero had cleared the rank-eight dungeon.
Going in alone without even an Extermination Party was a little excessive, but they wanted to show the public that the Empire was still standing strong.
Surprisingly, it worked.
The newspaper’s headline announced the successful clear in huge letters.
Not even a Hero, but a Morning Star had accomplished such a feat alone.
“I didn’t know about this either.”
I had never seen or heard of anything like this in the game’s records.
Two Heroes had died because of me, so there must have been enormous changes to the future, never mind a butterfly effect.
“...Of all people, it had to be her.”
The name printed plainly in the newspaper was Cecilia.
No matter how many buff potions she was fed or how many items they piled on her, an inexperienced Morning Star couldn’t clear the rank-eight dungeon alone.
But the moment I saw the name Cecilia, it made sense.
She was destined to become the strongest Hero in history.
Even now, she was likely stronger than the current Heroes.
At her peak, she was expected to reach level 95.
‘If there’s no player, she’s basically the protagonist.’
I looked calm on the outside, but deep down, I was uneasy.
Numerically speaking, the next dungeon to be cleared after rank eight was mine at rank seven.
Even setting the rankings aside, my dungeon had been firmly marked by the Extermination Command and the Solari Church.
Faith’s Tomb would obviously be their next target.
They would surely make thorough preparations with Cecilia at the center.
“We’re screwed.”
I needed to revise my plans after what happened at the Round Table.
I had handled myself well enough at the Round Table and brought things to a good conclusion, but I couldn’t deny that I had gained an enemy more dangerous than Kalandas.
Those two might have been openly hostile, but my real enemies were the Empire, the Solari Church, and the Five-Colored Mage Tower. Three factions.
More than anything, I needed to keep an eye on Cecilia.
This was some seriously unfair bullshit.
First Balm Monk, then Wilhelm, and now Cecilia.
“...Maybe this is actually good?”
If Cecilia came after reaching her maximum potential, I’d die without being able to do anything.
On the other hand, if she came on her own before getting stronger, it was an opportunity.
Yeah. Think positively.
For now, my top priority was preparing countermeasures against Cecilia.
The Castle Full of Lust’s Ninth Legion would arrive soon, and Dalon, Ren, and Rin thought well of me.
Still, relying on support alone was too much of a do-it-for-me mentality.
What if the Old Castle, the Underground Tomb, and the Twin Star Tower simply ignored me?
If I trusted them completely, I’d end up dying to Cecilia.
No matter what, the best option was to strengthen the dungeon’s foundations and build up its defenses.
Of course, I also needed to raise Charlotte, Balutak, and Estigel while I was at it.
I was revising the plan, but its basic framework was the same as before I recruited Balutak.
Recruit the DLC bosses as allies and increase my own strength through an Ancient Dungeon.
‘An Ancient Dungeon. Maybe it’s time to visit one.’
Given the urgency of the situation, I didn’t have the leisure to raise the DLC bosses.
Absorbing an Ancient Dungeon Core seemed like the best method.
‘Charlotte and Balutak alone won’t be enough, though.’
Should I use Dullahan Carleon, who would arrive soon as reinforcements, as an escort knight?
With him alone, clearing an Ancient Dungeon would become much easier.
* * *
When the Empire’s constellation went dark, a new star rose.
Within the Tumanist Empire’s Imperial Palace lived a woman besides the Imperial Family and its ministers.
She was not a noble, nor even a commoner. She had been born and raised as an orphan in the slums.
Yet now, she was the Empire’s Morning Star, destined to become a Hero before long.
Bang.
The head maid stepped out of Cecilia’s private room and let out a long sigh.
Originally, the head maid had been the second daughter of a marquis family. She had entered palace service to serve the Imperial Family.
But after Cecilia began living in the Imperial Palace, she had been assigned as Cecilia’s personal maid.
Serving the Imperial Family and attending to Cecilia.
The latter was far more exhausting for the head maid.
“Where has she gone this time?”
Cecilia came and went from the Imperial Palace as she pleased, with no sense of decorum.
She ignored even the eunuchs’ advice, so there was no way the head maid could control her alone.
Sighing repeatedly, the head maid headed outside the palace.
After walking for some time, her feet touched dirt, and shouts rang out from every direction.
Having reached the Imperial Knights’ training ground, the head maid stared at one spot.
A silver-haired head stood out more than anything else.
Dozens of knights lay sprawled across the dirt in front of her.
“Good grief...”
The head maid was dumbfounded.
This wasn’t the first or second time. How many times had Cecilia faced the knight order as part of her training?
Imagine a twenty-five-year-old woman taking on the entire Imperial Knights alone.
Anyone would dismiss it as a joke.
But if that woman was Cecilia, it was possible. By now, it had even become easy for her.
The sword in her hand was not even a real blade, but a ceremonial sword with a blunted edge.
On top of that, she had defeated every knight while wearing pajamas and no armor at all.
There was not the slightest sign of exhaustion on her face.
“Lady Cecilia.”
Cecilia turned at the call.
The moment their eyes met, the head maid unconsciously flinched.
Her eyes were always half-lidded, as if she were sleepy.
No matter how often the head maid saw them, she couldn’t get used to that cold gaze, so lifeless it seemed devoid of vitality.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? You only got up a little while ago. You skipped breakfast too, and you’re training this hard on an empty stomach...”
“I’ll handle it.”
Cecilia turned away without a trace of emotion.
She approached the fallen knights one by one, took their hands, and helped them up.
Seeing that, the head maid thought Cecilia was fundamentally kind, but her usual expression was far too cold.
Not only her face, but even her voice remained flat and unchanging.
Whenever the head maid looked at her, she found herself wondering.
Was that woman really capable of emotions?
While she was lost in thought, Cecilia was already heading back to the Imperial Palace.
The head maid snapped out of it and hurried after her.
“Lady Cecilia. About the upcoming social ball, will you be attending this time...”
“I’m not going.”
“...Wouldn’t you reconsider this time? You cleared the rank-eight dungeon, of all things. You should at least show your face in high society...”
“I said I’m not going.”
Despite her repeated requests, Cecilia remained firm.
As always, she did all sorts of strange things even within the Imperial Palace, lost in her own world.
She ate when she wanted to eat.
She slept when she wanted to sleep.
She trained when she wanted to train.
During her stay at the Imperial Palace, she showed no respect even when meeting princes, princesses, or the Emperor himself.
Even so, there were two reasons the Imperial Family kept her in the palace as though confining her.
The first was to raise a Hero.
Based on her potential alone, she was considered the greatest Hero in history.
She could spar with the knight order in the palace, be attended to by maids, receive regular mental care, and eat the best food.
There was also every kind of support available to her as long as she lived in the Imperial Palace.
Such support was not too much if it meant creating the strongest Hero, one who would soon bear the Empire’s future on her shoulders.
“I don’t need any of that.”
Cecilia spoke while staring straight ahead.
“Tell the Command. Clear the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. Quickly.”
“You can’t. There are procedures for everything. And it isn’t just any dungeon, it’s the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. It isn’t a dungeon that can be cleared as easily as you make it sound.”
“I can go alone.”
The head maid squeezed her eyes shut.
She felt it every time, but it was impossible to reason with Cecilia.
“Why are you so desperate?”
“Revenge. Why ask when you already know?”
“I do know, but...”
As everyone in the Imperial Palace knew, Cecilia lived for revenge alone.
She would begin by clearing the rank-seven Abyssal Palace, grow stronger, and eventually reach the Tenfold Abyss.
Destroying them step by step was a great cause for humanity, but Cecilia’s desire for revenge was stronger.
Long ago, her master had lost his life in the Tenfold Abyss, ranked second among the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.
To Cecilia, he had been more than a master.
He was the only support she could trust and rely on.
The man who had taken in an orphan from the slums and become her entire world.
Cecilia had vowed long ago that she would take revenge on the Tenfold Abyss that had taken her master from her.
That resolve had never faded, and Cecilia was still blinded by revenge.
‘What a pitiful person.’
...That was the fabricated memory.
Lucas had not died in the Tenfold Abyss.
The truth was that he had been executed on the execution platform, cursing humanity until the end.
Ten years ago, when Cecilia heard of Lucas’s execution, she went on a rampage like a madwoman.
She slaughtered the Imperial Knights, killed a Hero, and even held a sword to a prince’s throat.
She was eventually subdued and imprisoned in an underground prison, but the Empire could not abandon her.
Cecilia was the only disciple to whom Lucas, the strongest Hero, had passed on everything.
Even the Imperial Family recognized that she was too valuable to simply kill.
But memory manipulation magic did not work on someone whose mana surpassed that of active Heroes.
After the Empire’s leadership racked their brains, the solution they chose was the Raurava Ruby Crystal.
“Lady Cecilia. Isn’t that on your chest uncomfortable?”
“Not really. You said it was a good artifact.”
“...”
“It’s not like I can take it off even if I want to.”
“That’s true. I forgot for a moment.”
The head maid looked gloomily at Cecilia’s chest.
The ruby crystal attached to her as though it had been engraved there was neither an accessory nor a simple artifact.
It was a Demon Realm binding seal called the Raurava Ruby Crystal.
It almost completely stripped its wearer of resistance magic.
In other words, Cecilia was now defenseless against memory manipulation magic, like an ordinary person with no mana at all.
Still, memory manipulation magic had difficulty erasing a person who was already deeply embedded in someone’s memories.
Especially for Cecilia, Lucas had been her entire life.
Erasing Lucas from her memories was practically impossible.
So they fabricated the memory that Lucas had died fighting in Tenfold Abyss, the rank-two dungeon among the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.
They had devised a plan to provoke Cecilia’s desire for revenge so that she would one day clear the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.
Once she left the Imperial Palace, she would be exposed to an environment that could shake her fabricated memories.
If she wandered the outside world and heard news of Lucas’s execution, the memory manipulation would become distorted again.
That was the second reason the Imperial Family kept Cecilia confined within the walls of the Imperial Palace.
Cecilia suddenly stopped walking and looked up at the sky.
“Why?”
“Nothing. I miss my master.”
“...”
The head maid knew all of Cecilia’s habits.
Whenever Cecilia looked at the sky, it meant she missed her master. She looked up at the sky dozens of times a day.
‘The Seven Palaces of the Abyss...’
The head maid’s expression darkened at the thought.
There was a rumor circulating outside the Imperial Palace.
That the boss of Faith’s Tomb, the rank-seven Abyssal Palace, was Death Knight Lucas.
The head maid prayed it was only a false rumor.
Faith’s Tomb was the dungeon Cecilia intended to clear next.
If that Death Knight really was Lucas...
Wouldn’t that be far too tragic?
Footnotes:
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