Over the next three days, I deepened my relationship with Elju and Oriel through information gathering and general small talk.

By that point, we had become quite relaxed, even enjoying tea while chatting.

"Yuki-san, I have a request."

Yuki-san is me, by the way. I'm using an alias for reasons.

"What is it?"

"Would you... let us leave this place? There is something we must do."

"...You're going, after all?"

"Yes! To prevent tragedies like what happened to Mobu-san and his men from ever happening again—as a princess and as a human living on this land, I must stop the conflict!"

* * *

—Let's rewind a bit.

In fact, during these three days, Elju and Oriel came forward and revealed that Elju is a princess of the Roshure Kingdom. They also demanded punishment for Mobu and his group, who had treated them so cruelly... they sought the death penalty. However, since the men were currently under my protection and they couldn't lay a finger on them, they came to me with their plea.

I understood their argument, but killing the men without hearing their side wasn't convenient for me. Honestly, compared to sheltering high-profile royals, a group of light-footed veteran adventurers is much more practical to use.

So I made up a plausible excuse, saying I "wanted to hear their side too," and asked them to wait.

As expected, they reacted just as I thought they would.

They grabbed me and tried to stop me.

"Speaking with beasts like them is dangerous! Someone as kind as you will be killed!!"

Says the one who tried to attack me first. Nice one, Oriel.

"Oriel is right! There's nothing to be gained from listening to people who cowardly oppress and demean others!!"

Elju looked just as adamant.

Since they already hated those men, their reaction was predictable. So I delivered the next line as planned:

"Then how about this—you wait somewhere nearby? If anything happens, you can step in and help. It'd be messy if you were present during the conversation anyway."

Offering that compromise, they hesitated for a while before finally agreeing.

Truth be told, Mauve and his men looked utterly lifeless.

Not physically weakened—but like they had already finished everything they had to do. Like, "I'm burned out... pure white..." kind of feeling.

I had already heard about the conflict between Roshure and Galtz from Elju. How she became the pretext for the invasion, how villages and towns were burned because of it, and how Galtz's counter-offensive turned the whole thing into a quagmire.

Hearing that allowed me to connect the dots.

There was a high probability that this man, "Mobu," and the others were also victims of the war; otherwise, there would be no reason to capture a princess merely to enslave her.

When I faced Mob and the others, I introduced myself. They looked slightly surprised when I called myself a Dungeon Master, but they quickly returned to their expressionless, lifeless state. Mobu asked:

"That slave... the Princess... is she alive?"

"Yeah."

"I see..."

"Hey, why did you guys make the Princess a slave anyway? If you'd taken her to Galtz, you could've had money and fame."

After a long pause, Mobu spoke.

"...She was the target of my revenge... for my wife, my daughter, my friends, my village, and my town."

Large tears began to fall from Mobu's eyes as he forced the words out.

Elju and Oriel, listening nearby, were visibly stunned.

"I lost something more important than money or fame..."

"I see..."

"Driven by rage, I became a mercenary and helped burn down Roshure's towns."

"..."

"Just like what was done to my wife and daughter, I violated and killed women."

"And then I captured the princess, planning to kill her in the cruelest way I could imagine, but..."

"But I got in your way?"

"No... thanks to you, I was able to cool my head. In the end, nothing comes back... It's all empty. I knew my wife and daughter wouldn't be happy about this. In fact, they'd probably scold me: 'Dad, why did you do something so awful!?'"

Raiya and Kurse looked troubled as they watched Mobu laugh weakly.

"So you came here on the princess's orders, right?"

"Probably."

"Then we won't resist. Just get it over with quickly. I don't want to give my wife and daughter any more reasons to be mad at me."

The three of them lowered their heads.

"Now, don't be in such a hurry. Elju—did you hear all that?"

"...Yes."

Elju emerged, supported by Oriel, her eyes bright red from crying.

"What? Is the executioner the Princess? You've got a real sense of irony, lady."

Mobu, regaining some of his spirit, showed a faint smile.

But Elju didn't ask for a weapon.

Instead, she and Oriel fell to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the ground.

"I... I am... so... sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

She repeated it over and over, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Huh...? Wait, what's going on!? Hey, do you know something!?"

Truly shocked by Elju's behavior, Mobu and his men looked at me in a panic.

I explained Elju's side of the story to them, adding a quick: "I don't know if she's telling the absolute truth, though."

After hearing everything, Mobe looked at the princess still bowing on the ground, then exchanged glances with Raiya and Kaas.

All three of them slumped.

"So the stories about the Saintess-sama were true after all..."

"Yeah..."

"Seems like it..."

After listening, Mobu looked at the Princess, who still hadn't raised her head, and then slumped his shoulders along with Raiya and Kurse.

"Hey, Princess-sama, raise your head. I'm not someone worthy of having you bow to me. I'm just a beast that went berserk from a misunderstanding."

"But... if it weren't for me, your towns and villages would..."

"From what we heard, they were targeting us long before that. Whether you showed up or not, the same thing would've happened. Besides, we did the same to your towns..."

"Yeah, Princess-sama. We believe your words. And our sins are likely heavier."

"...We were just rampaging out of anger, after all."

And so, Elju's group and Mobu's group reached a reconciliation.

* * *

Following this, Elju made a firm decision: she would stop this conflict.

"I will never speak a word about this dungeon to the outside world. To repay the kindness we've received, as a princess, I swear to protect this dungeon."

She looked at me with clear, unwavering eyes."Uh, look, I trust you, Elju, so I'm not going to go that far."

"Then we are free to leave here and return to our country?!"

"Calm down. I have one condition. If you accept it, I'll lift the movement restriction. I'll keep the defensive functions of [Designated Protection] active, but remember, those only work inside the dungeon, okay? Don't rely on them out there."

...Actually, please DO speak about it (advertise). I need to run a dungeon here.

"Uh, look, I trust you, Elju, so I'm not going to go that far."

"Then we are free to leave here and return to our country!?"

"Calm down. I have one condition. If you accept it, I'll lift the movement restriction. I'll keep the defensive functions of [Designated Protection] active, but remember, those only work inside the dungeon, okay? Don't rely on them out there."

"Yes, thank you! And the condition?"

"I want you to take Mob and the others with you. They'll be your guards, and I have some things I want them to buy for me in town."

"I understand! I find that very reassuring. Right, Oriel?"

"Yes. Their skill is considerable. They will be more than adequate as guards."

After explaining my situation to Mobu and the others (with a fair bit of embellishment), I told them:

"If you're going to get scolded by your loved ones in the afterlife anyway, why not make some funny stories to tell them first?"

They all laughed, accepted immediately, and even agreed to [Designated Protection] without resistance.

Well then... I hope everything goes smoothly from here.

...Yeah, right. No chance in hell.

After seeing off the five as they departed in a hurry, I set about using my accumulated DP to further strengthen the dungeon.