Chapter 59

Chapter 59

I Became a Prisoner Trainer in the Dungeon.

Episode 59: Negotiation (1)

The rough preparations for the negotiation with Baron Gilberte were finished.

All that remained was for Baron Gilberte to send some kind of signal.

However.

“They captured more adventurers again?”

“Yes. Three have been captured.”

A report from the female secretary, Lilith.

Three adventurers, who didn’t seem to be sent by Baron Gilberte, were captured as prisoners.

“All three alive?”

“Yes.”

“Women?”

“No, all three are men.”

“…….”

I wondered if there was a reason they were sent alive, but Chief Steward Akamondu wouldn’t have a reason to send men here alive.

“Perhaps they were meant to be a daily food supply for the succubi?”

“No. Perhaps they are meant to be used as hostages for negotiations with Baron Gilberte.”

“They’re just adventurers… wait, perhaps they brought some kind of letter?”

That was the thought that occurred to me.

“Did they resist when they were captured?”

“No. They laid down their weapons suspiciously easily.”

“……They didn’t say anything in particular?”

“No.”

“Do you know who captured them?”

“Skeletons captured them. They follow Chief Steward Akamondu’s orders, prioritizing ‘survival and capture’.”

“Indeed.”

Chief Steward Akamondu didn’t send them ‘directly’.

He gave the order, and the skeletons acted according to the given command.

“It’s faster to investigate and report from our side. We need to check the prisoners’ belongings first. They were confiscated, right?”

“Yes. The succubi are analyzing them now…”

Knock knock knock.

“Who is it?”

[Supply soldier Natalie. I came to report something.]

Natalie knocked from outside the door, identifying herself.

Although there were some monsters that mimic voices-

“Tell her to come in.”

“Enter.”

Lilith was beside me.

Fortunately, the succubus who entered was Natalie, whom I had (she claimed otherwise) forcibly taken the virginity of.

“What is your report?”

“During the process of undressing the men and putting them in prison uniforms, we found something strange.”

“Something strange?”

“Yes. There were letters written on their backs.”

“…Wow, that’s Baron Gilberte for you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Can we see it here now?”

“I will show you an image using magic.”

Lilith immediately activated magic to display an image connected to the prison.

Mana swirled like mist, and soon the three adventurers in the prison were visible at a glance.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“No, I know those bastards.”

I knew them well.

All three of them were faces I recognized well.

If you asked how I knew them-

“Back when I was a porter, I lost three days’ wages because of those guys. To be precise… my colleague who owed that money died because of them.”

“…Shall we kill them?”

“No, wait a minute. Not yet. First, let’s hear them out.”

I immediately calmed Lilith, who was raising her claws.

“The Brown Wolf Mercenary Group. They call themselves a mercenary group with just three members. They’re self-preservationists, but they’re trash who prey on weak adventurers.”

Once.

“I sensed something off in their eyes and kept my distance, but a guy who was a porter like me took their offer and went into the dungeon.”

Porters stuck together, and since I was human, I had people I was somewhat close to.

“But he died after coming out of the dungeon with them.”

“That’s….”

“From a human perspective, it seems natural for the weakest one to die, but one day I saw the belongings of the guy who owed me money in a local pawn shop.”

We weren’t very close.

Life at the bottom was unpredictable, and everyone just lived by building mutually beneficial relationships when they needed each other.

“I didn’t ask who they bought it from. Getting involved would have been bad luck. Instead, I watched from a distance for a few days. And I found out. They were selling things to that fence.”

They weren’t close enough to be called colleagues or friends.

Death was always a close word for the lower class.

“I never imagined I’d meet them here like this. Even…”

I pointed to their backs.

“I never imagined Baron Gilberte would use them as ‘human letters’ to deliver messages in the same way we sent them.”

There were letters written on their backs.

Time. Place. Personnel.

The fact that each of the three had different information written on them made me laugh.

“Trainer.”

Lilith turned to me with an annoyed voice.

“It’s dangerous.”

“It is.”

Time. Immediately, 8 hours from now.

“Since they’re risking their lives, they want someone from our side to come if they really want to negotiate.”

Place. Beyond the sub-dungeon.

In other words, Baron Gilberte’s territory.

“And they want only one person to come. That’s….”

“It’s practically saying they’ll kill them if necessary.”

Personnel. Only one person.

“There’s no choice. I’ll have to go.”

“Trainer…?”

“Lilith. I have a favor to ask… no, it’s more than one.”

“You’re thinking of going yourself?”

“Yes.”

“No way!!”

Lilith shouted and blocked my path.

“Trainer, you are an important person. Chief Steward Akamondu himself called you a treasure. If you, Trainer, personally appear before humans…!”

“First, something to hide my identity so they don’t know I’m human.”

I pointed to my whole body.

“I don’t need anything else, just a black robe with a hood. And something to cover my face… yes.”

An image came to mind.

“A mask. Something that can cover the entire face.”

“The mask shouldn’t be a big problem, but…”

A mask and a robe.

Anyone would see it as suspicious.

I looked human, but conversely, it was important that I could look like a ‘demon’ hiding my identity.

“Second, I think we need to get permission from Chief Steward Akamondu for this, but we need something to guarantee I’m a member of the Vampire Legion.”

They didn’t know we were the Vampire Legion yet.

They could guess, but they couldn’t be ‘sure’.

‘Since we proposed a prisoner exchange, they might think we’re the main Demon King’s army, or they might guess we’re another legion.’

Whether we were the Vampire Legion or another legion with vampires was unknown.

“Third. This is actually the most important thing.”

I pointed to myself.

“Full authority.”

“…….”

“I’d like to have full authority over this negotiation. Oh, I’m not saying I’ll represent the entire Vampire Legion. I just want to be seen as ‘the negotiator from the mysterious group holding hostages and demanding the release of prisoners’.”

Whether Baron Gilberte himself came or his representative came, I, as the negotiator, must act as the person in charge.

“Nobles, you see, even though they’re human, tend to look down on others who aren’t on their level.”

“…….”

“Demons are similar… no, they’re not. Demon ranks tend to be determined solely by ‘power’.”

Humans and demons had different senses of hierarchy.

“Secretary, if a succubus much weaker than you dared to speak informally and disobey your orders, how would you feel?”

“I’d think, ‘Is this bitch crazy?’”

“Yes, that’s what most people think at first. But if you think rationally, you’d also think this.”

“…What does this bitch have to rely on to be so cocky?”

“Correct.”

In polite terms, you could call it a background.

“Origin, status, or power to back me up, etc. I’m trying to pretend to be a high-ranking demon by surrounding myself with ‘lies’ right now.”

“…….”

“That’s my protective gear.”

For example.

“First impressions are important. If I tremble when I appear before them, what will they think?”

“They’ll kill you immediately.”

“But what if I act confidently like Chief Steward Akamondu?”

If I were to pretend to be a strong person like Chief Steward Akamondu?

“…They’d be nervous, thinking I have something very powerful.”

“Yes. Humans, especially nobles, are like that. Especially those with ambiguous titles like baron.”

I had nothing but my dick, but even with just my dick, there were things I could do.

“Men, you know, it’s all about confidence. I survived in that hellish gutter.”

“…….”

“I want to ask you to trust me, but I know you’re also worried. ‘Is this bastard trying to run away to the humans?’”

Just as I was taking a gamble, so was the Vampire Legion.

“So, I’ll put shackles on myself.”

“Yes?”

I needed to show my will so the Vampire Legion could feel at ease.

“Put a magic necklace on my neck. A necklace with magic that explodes if it’s not released after a certain time.”

I’d put a bomb necklace on myself.

“Release it when the negotiation is over and I return safely. If the negotiation fails and I’m taken away? Then an explosion will occur in the middle of the enemy’s territory.”

“…….”

“I’ll ask to be allowed to pray before the goddess statue before the time runs out. Or I’ll try to lead them there. That way, we can also inflict significant damage on the goddess statue.”

“To that extent…”

Lilith asked, grinding her teeth.

“Why are you going that far?”

“Obviously.”

To have sex with the Vampire Princess.

“Loyalty and results deserve rewards.”

Lilith submitted the report, and a while later.

About three hours passed, and an item arrived.

“…These are the items you requested.”

Lilith brought a box.

“Here.”

There were three items in the box.

“……I understand the mask and necklace, but this isn’t a robe, it’s a suit?”

A mask that covered not only the face but also the head, with a black cloth attached to the back that could be tied behind the neck.

A necklace with magic stones that clearly looked like a bomb necklace.

And… a very antique-looking suit.

“Chief Steward Akamondu said that human nobles judge each other’s status by their high-quality suits.”

“…….”

As expected, Chief Steward Akamondu.

“And this is a suit that Chief Steward Akamondu wore in his youth.”

The suit was heavier than I expected.