Chapter 50
The meeting hall was in an uproar.
Nobles who normally kept their voices low out of decorum were asserting their opinions at the top of their lungs today.
They shouted so loudly that spit flew from their throats, veins standing out in their necks.
"We must enter the dungeon at once! The Monster Wave will continue as long as the dungeon remains open! We have to go before the monsters start spilling out again!"
A baron shouted as he slammed his fist down on the round table.
The noble seated across from him leaned toward the clan master and snorted.
"Nonsense. It is true that a gate has opened in the dungeon, but without proper preparations, it will only result in unnecessary sacrifices."
"Listen here. A dungeon has opened in the northern mountains! A monster den is lying right on our doorstep, and you intend to keep engaging in armchair debate? Closing it as soon as possible is more important than anything!"
The opinions fell into two broad camps.
Both prioritized the territory's safety, but they were divided between offense and defense.
One side insisted that they had to close the dungeon gate before another Monster Wave erupted.
The other argued that they should take however long was necessary to finish their preparations properly before setting out.
But no one in the room was unaware that beneath it all lurked the desire to fight over the spoils.
They simply differed in how long they each considered the optimal preparation period.
A dungeon.
A treasure vault that had only just opened and no one had touched yet.
Rare magic stones.
Untapped veins of ore.
Natural magical tools.
Materials from rare monsters.
It was a gigantic gold mine that generated immense profits simply by existing.
Who would claim the rights to the dungeon first, and who would command the first expedition?
The struggle over those interests heated the air in the meeting hall like a furnace.
....
Lisette sat in the seat of honor, staring blankly at the scramble.
'What in the world is going on?'
Beside her father, Lisette looked back over the situation that had befallen her.
It was a turn of events she could not even have imagined only a few days ago.
A dungeon had erupted in the northern mountains, which had remained quiet even before the beginning of Reator's history, and the Monster Wave had overflowed from it.
Though the city's very survival was at stake, the Reator territory had miraculously succeeded in defending itself while minimizing the damage.
What was the reason?
"Now, now, everyone, calm down."
The lord raised both hands, calming the overheated atmosphere.
The lord's usually solemn face was suffused today with unmistakable warmth and delight.
Normally, the discussion would have proceeded with opinions coalescing around whichever side the lord favored, but today he merely watched without saying a word.
The lord's gaze turned toward Lisette.
"Isn't all this thanks to the insight of my proud daughter, Lisette? If not for Lisette, Reator would have suffered enormous damage at the hands of the monsters."
No sooner had the lord finished speaking than the growling nobles all nodded in unison and showered her with praise.
"You speak the truth, my lord! The young lady's foresight shone more brightly than that of any sage on the continent."
"She predicted the Monster Wave with perfect accuracy and ordered the clans and knight orders to establish defensive lines in advance! She will become a wise ruler who leads Reator in the future!"
"Our family pledges you a lifetime of loyalty, my lady. Oh, pride of Reator!"
Praise poured down like a waterfall.
Countless eyes turned toward Lisette, filled with blind reverence.
Lisette clenched both hands where they rested on her lap.
Her fingertips trembled faintly inside her ornate lace gloves.
'I didn't do anything.'
She truly had not lifted a finger.
She had merely lent her name to some audacious adventurer to save the face of her personal guard knight, Varie.
She had not provided a single coin in support, and inwardly she had scoffed at his absurd claims.
The absurd prediction that the peace which had never once been broken since the history of this land began would collapse had come true in full.
Just as he had predicted, the Monster Wave erupted.
The massive quantity of potions he had ordered in advance.
The massive quantity of equipment he had ordered in advance.
The agreement he had arranged in advance among the guilds and clans.
Orders bearing Lisette's name were being issued one after another, all without her knowledge.
Immediately after the Monster Wave erupted, they had been able to establish a defensive line without confusion and avoid a fatal moment.
The entire operation had been orchestrated by a single adventurer.
And all the glory it brought had poured down upon Lisette's head.
'Eck.'
The man's name churned restlessly through her mind.
Just how far ahead had he seen?
How could a mere adventurer have predicted a disaster that even her father, the lord, had not known about?
"Lady Lisette."
An elderly count leaned forward and asked cautiously.
"How in the world did you know about that terrible disaster in advance? Please share even a fragment of that brilliant wisdom with us."
The murmuring in the meeting hall died down.
Everyone swallowed nervously and stared only at Lisette's lips.
How did she know?
I don't know, either.
Cold sweat ran down her spine.
The pressure weighing on her shoulders made her breathing quicken.
Should she answer honestly?
Should she confess that she had merely happened to accept an adventurer's unreasonable insistence, and that all of this was the achievement of an A-rank adventurer named Eck?
It was at that very moment, as she parted her lips to choose an excuse.
Clunk!
The huge door of the meeting hall, which had been firmly closed, was wrenched open.
The captain of the guards rushed in, panting, his helmet removed.
The lord's brows drew together in displeasure.
"What is the meaning of this commotion? Can't you see that we are in the middle of an important meeting?"
"I-I'm sorry! B-but it was so urgent...!"
The captain of the guards dropped to his knees and bowed his head to the floor.
"Just now, a party left through the northern gate!"
"What? Why would they leave the city at a time like this? What were you doing instead of stopping them?"
"We couldn't stop them. They... presented a 'Dungeon Survey Team Appointment Letter' bearing Lady Lisette's handwritten signature!"
A silence fell over the meeting hall as if cold water had been thrown over it.
Countless people gaped.
Until moments ago, they had been discussing who would claim the right to explore the dungeon; they simply had not said so aloud.
A dungeon survey team.
And an official survey team personally appointed by Lisette, the lord's presumed heir.
"This is absurd! A dungeon survey team? How could such a thing be allowed?!"
"A dungeon survey team is a separate matter from stopping the Monster Wave! My lady!"
"Who is the captain of that party?"
The count shouted at the captain of the guards.
"E-Eck! It was led by an A-rank adventurer named Eck, the man who defeated the Basilisk alone during the Monster Wave!"
Eck.
Even among the nobles, that was a name that came up when adventurers were discussed.
"My lady! What in the world is this supposed to mean? You already established a dungeon survey team!"
"Without consulting us even once—and of all people, appointing such a vulgar man as its captain will bring shame upon your honor!"
"This is a matter of grave importance to the territory! At a time when caution is more important than ever, you went and chose a mere adventurer..."
Protests mixed with betrayal and greed rained down upon her.
They were furious that their plan to be the first to enter the dungeon and reap the rewards had been preempted by a mere adventurer.
The clan masters standing behind the nobles had personally come face-to-face with Eck.
Their blood boiled at having their share taken from them by someone like him.
As she watched the meeting hall descend into chaos, the fragments flashing through Lisette's mind fell into place.
[Everything is ready. I guarantee success. All you need to do, my lady, is say that all of this happened according to your wishes.]
Those were the words Eck had sent in his letter.
Her worry about what would happen if he failed vanished completely with the departure of Eck's party.
"What about the barrier stone?! Entering the dungeon without a barrier stone is dangerous! My lady!"
The barrier stone.
An item absolutely necessary for entering a dungeon with an open gate.
When she appointed Eck captain of the dungeon survey team, she had had one made and placed it in his hands.
Only the lord's bloodline could produce a barrier stone.
Because they could not be made on demand, everyone in the meeting hall was fighting over who would obtain the right to explore first.
Whoever held the barrier stone first could claim legitimate rights in the dungeon before anyone else.
'Was even this all part of your plan?'
The tremor in Lisette's eyes subsided.
Goose bumps rose across her skin.
She could not help marveling at his cunning and meticulous skill.
Eck had known in advance that this entire mess would unfold.
While the nobles gathered in the meeting hall to engage in armchair debate and fight over the spoils, he had leisurely set off to claim those rights with officially recognized credentials.
Everything had played out perfectly in the palm of that man's hand.
"Lady Lisette, even you will have to explain this."
A high-ranking noble who had remained silent until now spoke up.
Every gaze fixed on Lisette.
Eyes mingled with suspicion and bewilderment glared at her as though they meant to tear her apart.
'If I say I didn't know...'
It would amount to acknowledging her incompetence before the whole world.
The praise she had enjoyed moments ago as the future wise ruler, and her reputation as a genius strategist, would collapse like a sandcastle in an instant.
She would be reduced to a puppet young lady who had been played by a mere adventurer.
The truth that she had been manipulated by a single adventurer must not come to light.
That couldn't happen.
Lisette slowly, with utmost elegance, rose from her seat.
Swish.
The sound of her luxurious silk dress dragging across the floor was all that filled the meeting hall.
As the nobles snarled like beasts before her, she surveyed the room calmly, her posture flawless.
"There's no need for everyone to make such a fuss."
Her calm, crystal-clear, and chilly voice cut sharply into the ears of everyone gathered in the meeting hall.
"My dungeon survey team has already finished all preparations and set out."
A sound like air escaping from the meeting hall arose.
Someone sucked in a breath.
Lisette lightly raised her chin, an arrogant smile curling at her lips.
"I know that everyone gathered here has been racking their brains day and night, searching for ways to protect the territory's safety."
She turned her head toward the nobles on the left.
"We need to conquer the dungeon swiftly to prevent another Monster Wave from descending upon us. Monster Waves will only grow more relentless, so we must be prepared to face them with greater resolve."
This time, she turned her head toward the nobles on the right.
"But if we rush in recklessly, we may fail to defeat the guardian protecting the gate and only leave our forces depleted. So I thought of this: if we prepare and make our arrangements in advance, we can satisfy both sides' opinions."
Lisette gave everyone a grave smile.
"What do you think? Isn't that a sound strategy?"
Silence.
Perfect silence settled over the room, so complete that not even breathing could be heard.
And then,
"Hahaha. You truly are my daughter."
At those few words, the atmosphere in the meeting hall erupted.
"O-ohhh...!"
"As expected of Lady Lisette!"
The people who had been protesting with bulging neck veins moments ago vied with one another to bow their heads.
Who could dare object when the lord's beloved daughter had resolved the flaws in both positions at once?
Cheers filled the meeting hall.
The lord clapped with a proud expression.
Nobles, knights, and clan masters alike joined in praising Lisette.
Lisette's cheeks grew hot.
Her heart pounded violently, as though tapping against her ribs.
A hot mass surged up from deep in her stomach and exploded in her lower abdomen.
She had never issued any orders.
She had simply picked up the spoon at the feast Eck had laid out.
Without even knowing how the situation was unfolding, she had relied entirely on whatever situation Eck brought about.
But everyone was ecstatic.
The exhilaration of having even powerful figures beyond her reach placed in the palm of her hand and moved like chess pieces.
Her knees went weak.
A tremendous pleasure shot from her toes, up her spine, and to the crown of her head in a tingling thrill.
Her mind grew hazy, as though she might collapse at any moment from dizziness.
She turned her gaze toward the window, desperately hiding the trembling at her fingertips.
The corners of Lisette's mouth formed a deep arc.
She murmured quietly to herself.
'Eck. Go wild to your heart's content. I'll have your back.'
The perfect illusion that she was the master of this enormous chessboard.
In that sweet, deadly intoxication, Lisette sank ever deeper into it.
Lisette quietly sat back down in her chair.
Her damp buttocks stuck to the seat.
She opened her eyes wide, pretended to be unperturbed, and smiled sweetly in front of everyone.