Chapter 57: Not a chance!

We began negotiations with the stupid and dull-witted ghosts.

“They want us to kill the king who killed them. So, what do we get in return?”

[“In return, you will be able to ascend to the upper floors.”]

These damn ghosts must have tampered with the dungeon’s clear conditions, right?

“Oh, come on~ Why are you being like this? You have to give us everything you’ve got.”

[“Give you everything? What does that mean?”]

“Isn’t there something like a holy relic in this village? Hand it over.”

[“There’s a ring with a strange power that can change one’s appearance.”]

“Oh, that sounds good.”

[“But you’ll only get that after you fulfill our request.”]

Well, that’s to be expected.

We need to exchange something for it.

“By the way, I’ve heard there’s a succubus here too.”

[“Ah… yes, we have captured them.”]

What’s with that reaction?

It’s like they’re guilty of something.

Suspicious.

“If you’re that strong, why didn’t you just capture the king yourselves?”

With that strength, they should have been able to deal with a succubus.

[“W-we can only remain in this place.”]

“And where is the king who caused your deaths?”

[“The king is trapped in a villa to the west.”]

This being a dungeon, it seems like the demon lord was pretty clever.

Trapping the king, the succubus, and the victims in the same place, and telling me to find the true history… is the demon lord testing me?

We parted ways with the wraiths for now.

“Let’s go meet the king.”

“What are you thinking?”

Yoonie asked with a cute expression.

Well, there’s not much to think about.

“You learn something when you smash a few skulls. Like when someone’s lying or when someone’s really been wronged.”

“And?”

“The way those ghosts reacted… they seemed more like they were hiding something than seeking revenge.”

When you’re full of resentment, you want revenge.

But looking into their eyes, I could tell they were hiding something.

Their eyes said it all.

These spirits are definitely lying.

“I agree. They looked more anxious than vengeful.”

“Exactly. They seemed to know their place. And come to think of it, they don’t look like ordinary human-shaped wraiths.”

Among the wraith types I’ve seen, none looked like that.

There are cases where demon beings become spirits after death, and those women looked more like that.

They weren’t quite liches, but something in between.

“So what’s your point?”

“I think they’re hiding something more. It’s also strange that they attacked the succubus.”

“Well, wouldn’t you attack the person responsible for your death?”

At first glance, it seems reasonable.

It makes sense.

“But if that’s the case, why leave the king alone? The succubus is just an excuse. The one who directly killed them was the king, yet they attacked the succubus with such fury? It’s odd. And did you notice? We could all understand the ghosts’ language.”

Those ancient spirits speaking a language we could understand?

That’s a strange setting.

Doesn’t make sense, does it?

Normally, unless they’re a demon race that can communicate through mental links, understanding different languages would be impossible.

“That’s true.”

“We need to hear both sides of the story. Young girl and Cheonma, check out where the succubus is.”

“Got it.”

It’s strange that both the king and the succubus are in the same place.

When I brought up the succubus earlier, the ghost’s eyes wavered.

Very suspicious.

I found a building that looked like a villa with the Succubus.

It looked like something hastily taken from somewhere and set up here.

Could it be that the place where the king is kept is an entire tomb?

“Is this the villa? It looks more like a mausoleum.”

“It looks that way to me too.”

We knocked on the stone door that appeared to be the entrance to the tomb and opened it.

Inside was a throne adorned with various decorations, all made of gold.

Sitting on the throne was a mummy-like figure, wearing a golden crown and clad in golden armor.

The mummy’s eyes met ours.

[“Who dares disturb my slumber?”]

Is this just a regular undead?

“Your Majesty, I have come, risking my life, to hear of your great deeds.”

[“Hmph. You seem to be a priestess from the temple. Very well. What brings you here?”]

At least it speaks.

“I am a saintess from a world thousands of years after Your Majesty’s reign. The spirits of the drowned village are pleading for justice, asking us to capture Your Majesty.”

[“The drowned village? Hatel, is it? Yes, I remember. So, you are enemies sent by those cursed witches.”]

That’s not quite right.

But before I could say anything else, the king had already decided we were enemies and grabbed his sword.

“No, that’s not—”

[“From the moment you brought a succubus, I should have known! A woman claiming to be a priestess and a succubus… both of you will die by my sword!”]

Crack!

“This is why old folks are a problem.”

Snap!

I reluctantly crushed his chest bone once.

[“Ugh! How dare you!”]

Sigh.

“At least hear me out first, Your Majesty. I’ve come to listen to your story. As for this succubus here, uh… she’s kind of a pet.”

“Hey!”

[“You dare wound the king’s body!”]

“Do you want more? We’re in a hurry right now.”

[“Fine, speak. What’s this about the spirits wanting me?”]

Looks like he only listens after getting hit.

“Yes. I know it seems strange that the dead would be fighting, but we need to ascend to the 7th floor.”

[“Let me ask. You claim to be from a time thousands of years after mine. What does history say about me?”]

“You’re remembered as a tyrant. It’s said you enslaved the men of Hatel and drowned the village because the women were consorting with succubi.”

[“Hahaha! That’s hilarious. The Hatel I drowned only had succubi to begin with. As for the men, they were brainwashed and refused to leave, so I had to drag them out. Think about it. Why would I kill the women for no reason? If I were truly a tyrant aiming to exploit that village, I would’ve taken the women for my court too.”]

He has a point.

The historical account doesn’t add up.

It’s likely that the sparse records we have left are to blame.

Treated like a legend, the details were oversimplified.

In war or tyranny, men are usually made into laborers like miners, and women are taken as slaves.

“Is that true?”

[“Why would I, who am dead, lie? After all these thousands of years, it seems that hypocrites have twisted the story of my reign. I agonized over the decision to drown the village, but the monsters at the time were so overwhelming that I decided to erase the entire village.”]

“What about the women?”

[“I don’t know for sure. But I repeatedly sent my knights to investigate, and they reported that there were only succubi in the village. We assumed the succubi had already taken the women to the demon realm.”]

“So the ones asking for revenge, saying they were unjustly killed by the king…”

[“Those would be the succubi.”]

Just as I thought.

The spirits were succubi.

“But the ghosts said they had captured the succubi.”

[“Ah.”]

“Why the hesitation?”

[“I see. I was ignorant. According to what you’ve said, it’s true that I ended up killing the village women as well.”]

“What?”

[“I’m bound to this place and cannot leave. I have a favor to ask.”]

“Yes?”

[“Save the women of the village who died because of my foolishness.”]

Save the women.

That was the king’s command.

I left the tomb and walked under the gaze of the blue ghosts, the succubus by my side.

“What did the king mean?”

“The ghosts that asked us to capture the succubi were actually succubi themselves. In other words, when a succubus dies, it turns into one of them.”

“That can’t be. They look completely different.”

True, they don’t look alike at all.

But that can be explained by what that NPC-like woman said earlier.

She mentioned there’s a ring that can change appearances.

If they have tools to amplify that power, it’s not impossible.

It might not even be a simple ring, but some kind of large magical artifact.

When I asked for a reward, they might have downplayed it by calling it a ring.

“Then when they attacked us, it wasn’t because we were their enemies?”

“You’re a Succubus, aren’t you? How could you not know? A member of their own kind is following human orders and can’t even dance properly.”

If it were me, I’d have sliced with that scythe.

That dance was like watching a broken cog.

It looked like something messed up due to the Succubus’s special skill, but honestly, a high school dance team would be better.

“Hey!”

“If I were a saintess and had to follow the orders of a succubus, I’d have smashed their head in immediately.”

Isn’t that just common sense?

“Wow, how wicked.”

“Want some candy?”

“Do I look like a kid to you!?”

“Here you go.”

I shoved the candy into her mouth.

As she tried to spit it out, I brushed her teeth vigorously.

Brush, brush.

The scent of minty toothpaste filled the air.

Let’s make her teeth reek of mint chocolate.

“Ugh… noooo!”

“Do you like it? Just leave that unruly mouth of yours to this sister here.”

I said, continuing to brush her teeth.

But for some reason, she started tearing up and pushed me away.

“I swear, you’re completely nuts. How can you stand this taste?”

“But the young girl eats it just fine.”

I replied.

The candy I gave the young girl was mint chocolate.

She always ate it silently without any complaints, which was strange.

“She’s just as crazy as you or worse.”

“Why are your words so harsh? Anyway, let’s focus on reuniting with Cheonma.”

Right now, reuniting with Cheonma is our priority.

These damned things seem to have tried to deceive me, but there’s no way they’d succeed.

Nope!

***

We met up with Cheonma at a midway point.

“How did it go?”

“There were succubi… crying sadly, locked in a prison.”

“Those blue ghosts threatened them with scythes, telling them to stay still.”

I nodded at Cheonma and Pixie, who were speaking with serious faces.

As expected, the succubi were imprisoned.

“It’s definitely strange to consider them mere victims.”

“Maybe they’re angry and trying to take revenge on the succubi?”

“If they were that mad, wouldn’t they have tried to catch the king themselves? Why would they ask us for help, claiming they’re too weak?”

That part seemed suspicious.

They were all ghosts, after all, not powerless beings needing help.

There’s only one explanation.

“Which means…”

“They’re trying to prevent the correct history from being restored by having us kill the already-dead king again, claiming it’s for revenge.”

As expected.

That’s why they mentioned “correct history.”

The Demon King always had a crafty mind.

That’s probably how he managed to become a Demon King in the first place.

“So that’s how it turned out, huh?”

“They were crying out in a language we couldn’t understand.”

That’s the answer, then.

The succubi were fakes.

Those ghosts were the real succubi.

“Succubus, you know at least a little foreign language, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Succubi use a language that matches their target to seduce them.

It’s a mental skill that implants the language directly into the mind of the target, making it sound like their native tongue.

At first, I didn’t take it as a threat, but thinking about it now, it was definitely a succubus trick.

“Now I understand why they’re out for revenge against the king.”

“So we have our answer.”

Let’s capture them all.

No doubt about it.

I went to confront the fake victims.

[“Have you captured the king?”]

They were all gathered together, just in time.

Lucky for me.

They were waiting for me to confirm that I’d taken down the king.

But no.

I could feel a hint of murderous intent.

They’re probably planning to ambush us the moment I say I’ve defeated the king.

In that case…

Strike first!

Crack!

I smashed the NPC’s skull with my mace.