The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie - Chapter 30

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈

Chapter 30: Glorious Constable

──────

Restia, the South Kingdom's lousy Constable.

That was what she called herself, and what she hoped everyone would continue to call her, but...

"Chief Restia. What's the most effective way to fight a Dark Mage?"

"Could you please tell us what happened when you took down the Manticore?"

How should she put this?

Ever since she returned alive from the Lowjinrat Great Mountain Range, people's opinions of her had completely changed.

Her superiors had recognized her achievement in defeating the Manticore.

As a reward, she became the youngest-ever head of the Third Department.

'Fuck... I don't know either...'

Restia felt wronged.

'I wasn't the one who defeated the Manticore.'

Dreamland's Dungeon Master had.

She had only received the Manticore's old gold necklace as a gift.

Of course, she had lied to Sinclair and claimed that she had defeated it.

But that was only to repay Dreamland's Dungeon Master.

Even if they were a Dungeon Master, they had saved her life. She couldn't stab them in the back.

'And they showed me personally that they could leave the dungeon...'

Honestly, part of it was fear.

It felt like they might come visit her at night with all sorts of terrifying things.

Anyway, after that, Restia's dream of being a civil servant with an easy, cushy job was shattered.

As the head of the Third Department, she often had to carry out dangerous assignments.

To avoid dying on the job, she cut back on sleep and worked tirelessly.

Restia actually had talent and good instincts.

She simply hadn't developed them because she had spent all her time loafing around.

She learned magic, and she became one of the strongest Constables when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

She was probably several times stronger than she had been back then.

Around the time her exhausting days of being praised by her superiors and respected by her subordinates had become routine...

"A Branded Elf surrendered?"

"Yes. Their name is Lilia. They said they'd give us information about the Forest of Life if we let them live in prison forever... They begged us to help them be reborn as a New Elf."

Lilia.

Looking through the relevant documents, Restia saw that Lilia had only committed minor offenses so far.

Lilia wasn't evil, nor had they committed any particularly vicious crimes.

Murder was usually at the heart of a Branded Elf's crimes.

A case like this was extremely rare.

"And they mentioned the name of some dungeon too. Dreamland, I think..."

"I-I-I-I-I-I'll meet them myself!"

The Constable stared at Restia as if she had lost her mind.

"Ahem. What I mean is, I feel like I could get useful, high-quality information if I speak with them."

"Ah, understood, Chief. The Fifth Department is handling this case, but I'll ask them to transfer it to ours."

Restia let out a quiet sigh.

Thanks to her usual good reputation, the head of the Fifth Department gave her a warm smile and agreed to hand the case over, saying she worked hard.

The transfer happened quickly.

Restia met Lilia with iron bars between them.

She wasn't usually the type to go looking for work.

But she had heard a name she couldn't ignore, so she had no choice.

"I'll ask again why you surrendered. You discovered a dungeon called Dreamland and entered it with the other Branded Elves. It was such a terrifying place that you couldn't possibly handle it, so with the Dungeon Master's help, you secretly stole the Escape Scroll belonging to Tyr, the leader of the Branded Elf expedition, and escaped the dungeon alone. Then, fearing retaliation, you decided to surrender to the Kingdom. Is that correct?"

Lilia nodded vigorously.

Any other Constable would have slapped Lilia and told them to stop spewing fucking bullshit.

But Restia knew what Dreamland and its Dungeon Master were like.

She couldn't simply dismiss the story.

"I'm not actually all that high-ranking, but I'm good at flattering people, so I know useful information. If you put me in prison instead of executing me, I'll tell you everything. Please..."

Restia considered it for a moment.

Then she nodded.

"On one condition."

"W-what condition...?"

It was obvious.

Lilia had to keep quiet about the dungeon.

* * *

'Honestly, do I really need to go this far...?'

She had repaid the favor by returning to the Kingdom with Sinclair.

At least, that was one way to look at it.

But Restia felt she had received an enormous favor in the Lowjinrat Great Mountain Range.

Returning kindness was basic human decency.

What could she do for the Dungeon Master?

After thinking it over carefully, she decided the best thing would be to hide the dungeon's existence.

The South Kingdom's situation wasn't good right now.

Corrupt officials had infested the country for a long time.

The royal family was weak too, always watching the reactions of powerful people, so public sentiment had soured.

After a commoner beat a noble to death recently, the people's dissatisfaction had begun to be expressed more openly.

To put it crudely, the South Kingdom realized it was fucked.

As they wondered what to do, they came up with a second-best option.

They planned to mobilize the army, subjugate the Branded Elves, and soothe the people.

The Branded Elves had long been deeply involved with the South Kingdom's underworld.

They had committed many crimes, and the people had suffered greatly because of them.

The higher-ups probably thought that if they killed off those major criminals, they could calm the furious public's anger for a while.

'If what Lilia said is true... If the dungeon is discovered during the army's subjugation, the Dungeon Master might get into serious trouble, right?'

Sinclair, a Blessed One, was currently staying in the South Kingdom.

Sinclair specialized in Dungeon Raids.

If the dungeon's existence became known, the Dungeon Master would definitely be dragged into something troublesome.

There wasn't much an ordinary Constable could do.

Still, she could at least deliver information.

Restia headed to the Forest of Life alone.

Quietly, so the Branded Elves wouldn't notice her.

"Huh...?"

The forest was quiet.

She entered the outskirts and drew closer to the center.

She kept watch, stayed alert, and even used Detection Magic.

But she didn't see a single Branded Elf.

What was going on?

The Forest of Life was known for its strict security.

'There aren't even any magic traps. Did I get lost?'

A little later, an astonishing sight unfolded before her.

There wasn't a single elf in the Branded Elves' headquarters, the place that could be called the heart of the Forest of Life.

'I heard they were preparing to flee because they knew the Kingdom was moving to subjugate them, but this quickly?'

Restia blinked.

Then she entered the headquarters.

"Fucking hell, you scared me!!"

"Kyaaaaaaah!!"

Standing before her was the Dungeon Master.

The Dungeon Master held a clean knife and wore an utterly startled expression.

Several Branded Elf corpses lay around them.

"We meet again here. We said we wouldn't see each other again."

"Y-y-y-yeah..."

"I don't want you to misunderstand, but I didn't kill them. They were already dead when I got here."

"That would be easier to believe if they had started decomposing at all..."

"Then I guess they died ten minutes before I got here."

What kind of bizarre conversation was this?

Still, the Dungeon Master's words didn't feel like a lie.

From what Restia knew as a Constable, the wounds on the corpses suggested that the Branded Elves had fought each other to death.

There wasn't any blood on the Dungeon Master either.

"What brings you here? I thought the Forest of Life was an area people avoided because bad-tempered elves lived here."

"I came to pass information along to you, Dungeon Master."

Restia explained everything.

Lilia's surrender.

The South Kingdom's plan to subjugate the Branded Elves.

And how, by chance, she had heard the name Dreamland as a Constable.

"Hmm, hmm. Ah, I understand."

"So it'd be best for you to be careful. I feel a little bad talking trash about my Kingdom, but there are many people in high places who are blinded by greed. Of course! I! Will! Continue! To keep quiet about you and the dungeon! I really haven't talked about what happened even once since then. I'd appreciate it if you believed me..."

Restia repeatedly bowed her head.

Then.

"I believe you."

The Dungeon Master gave a small laugh.

"..."

She had thought it before, but this person was really handsome.

They were fairly tall, with long legs and a small face. Their proportions were naturally excellent.

Their hair was neat, their eyes looked gentle, and their nose was high and straight.

If they had lived in the Kingdom rather than a dungeon, they would have charmed several noble young ladies.

"Why are you staring at me like that? It's making me a little uncomfortable..."

Ah.

"Sorry."

"I told you not to say sorry in front of me."

"Ah, right."

"Anyway, thank you for bringing me the information. I have something to give you, so wait here for a bit."

Restia stood there blankly for a while.

With nothing else to do, she decided to examine the corpses.

'There's some blood on me. I should've brought work clothes and gloves.'

An hour later.

"Here. Take these."

"What are these?"

"They're equipment that Julius, the big boss of the Forest of Life, used. They looked expensive. They're useless to me, so think of them as thanks for the information."

Restia blinked.

The items she had just received were undeniably genuine.

It wasn't difficult to recognize them.

Julius was the most recognizable Branded Elf.

'So the Dungeon Master really did handle it...'

Only now did Restia understand why the Forest of Life had ended up in this state.

'They must've foolishly entered Dreamland and gotten taught a lesson...'

Once a group lost its central figure, it easily fell apart.

The forest had been quiet because Julius was dead.

Perhaps the corpses had resulted from fighting over Julius's valuable belongings.

Surely not everyone had died?

The survivors had probably scattered in all directions.

They said dungeons expanded as time passed.

The last time she saw it, Dreamland had only been a bizarre maze.

Maybe it had gained something new by now.

'Maybe the Kingdom's people are the ones who need to be careful, not the Dungeon Master...'

"By the way, you've gotten pretty filthy in the past hour."

"I had no choice, since I was examining the corpses. Hehe..."

"You work hard."

"Well, I am a Constable."

The Dungeon Master gave her a thumbs-up.

"Thank you for protecting the Kingdom."

"But you're not from the South Kingdom, Dungeon Master."

"It's just my personal motto to respect the soldiers and police of every country."

"What kind of motto is that? Hehe..."

The Dungeon Master was an interesting person.

Once again, the Dungeon Master left after saying, "Let's not meet again next time."

"..."

Restia felt a strange twinge of disappointment, but then she looked around at the fucked-up mess and felt overwhelmed.

How was she supposed to deal with this?

If she reported it to her superiors as it was, things could grow bigger and the dungeon's location might be exposed.

But if she kept silent, the army might come and make the situation even worse.

Still, that feeling of helplessness didn't last long.

Not long after, Restia's subordinates entered the headquarters.

They were heavily armed, so it seemed they had followed her into the Forest of Life.

"Chief Restia! Are you all right?!"

"Look at all the blood on you..."

Restia hesitated for a moment.

'If I talk my way through this well, couldn't I make it work somehow?

If I can prove I defeated Julius, at least the army and other Constables won't come, and I can handle this myself, right?'

It made her deeply uneasy to suddenly become the hero who had subjugated Julius, leader of the Branded Elves.

But if it worked, she could hide the Dungeon Master's existence for certain.

"I was lucky. You can tell from the surroundings, but they had noticed the Kingdom's plans to subjugate them, so there weren't many of them here to begin with. And you can see from the traces that they were fighting among themselves... Julius had also been seriously injured..."

Restia decided to mix truth and lies appropriately.

When she subtly revealed Julius's golden equipment...

"Golden Armor, a Golden Staff, a Golden Dagger. Wow, this is huge... Chief, what the hell happened here?"

"With all these Branded Elf corpses around, don't tell me..."

"Where is Julius's body?"

"It must have been blown apart by Corpse Explosion. Those damn Branded Elves... To think they even used magic of the Dark School."

Her team filled in the blanks on their own.

Maybe it was because of her usual reputation, but their trusting innocence made her feel guilty.

'So this is how con artists make a killing. Still, this might be better...'

Restia couldn't bring herself to look at her team's faces, so she lowered her head.

After that, the South Kingdom's army never came to the Forest of Life.

Footnotes: