Reincarnated as a Villainous Duke (37) Who Gets Condemned by His Daughter ～I Stopped Acting Like a Villain, Yet My Daughter Keeps Becoming the 'Ice Lady'～ - Chapter 20: Dungeon Exploration with My Daughter - Part 1

Chapter 20: Dungeon Exploration with My Daughter – Part 1

In this world, “dungeons” refer to the mysterious “labyrinths” scattered across the land.

The shapes and forms of these labyrinths vary widely, ranging from natural caves to structures resembling artificial mazes, ancient ruins, or even castles. Inside, countless monsters roam, treasure chests are hidden deeper in, and at the very end lies a boss. Defeating this boss can reward you with rare treasures or powerful weapons—it’s the classic setup familiar from games.

Naturally, many people seek these treasures and challenge dungeons, and these individuals are commonly referred to as “adventurers.” Adventurers are also specialists in monster extermination, and as a lord, I sometimes hire them to deal with surface-level monster threats.

Of course, this world also features the classic Adventurers’ Guild. However, unlike in some other worlds, the guild here isn’t an all-powerful organization. It has strong ties to the lords and doesn’t function as an independent entity.

Now, in order to enter a dungeon, even members of a lord’s family or retainers need to register as adventurers. So, I planned to take Forsina and Kuralia to the guild for registration.

But before we could leave, Forsina made a passionate plea.

“Father, please let Miar come with us as well.”

Her enthusiasm for including Miar, the beautiful maid with a red bob haircut, was impossible to miss.

“Why?”

“Miar wishes to fight alongside me as my personal attendant.”

“My lord, please grant me your permission. I humbly ask for your approval.”

Miar bowed her head with a serious expression. Unlike before, her demeanor toward me had shifted to that of a proper servant. It was likely due to me complimenting her behind the scenes and mending my relationship with Forsina.

“But Miar, you haven’t undergone any training for combat, have you? I can’t take you along like this.”

“Actually… I’ve been training a little, with the help of Sir Mildart and General Dalton.”

“What?”

Her revelation caught me off guard. Sure enough, Miar was now equipped with a short sword at her waist and a round shield in her left hand. Judging by the design, it seemed to be standard-issue gear for the domain’s soldiers.

It was possible that Mildart and Dalton had stepped in to support her because I had been cold toward Forsina earlier. Being Forsina’s personal maid, Miar might have drawn their sympathy. Honestly, I had no idea—her character wasn’t fleshed out much in the game.

Still, if I rejected her now, there was a risk of reigniting the condemnation route. That was something I couldn’t afford to let happen.

“Father, Miar has been working hard behind the scenes for my sake. Please allow her to come.”

“Hmm… very well. But if you’re going to join us, there will be no half-measures. Forsina has the potential to become a high-ranking mage. To keep up with her, you’ll need to be fully prepared. Do you understand?”

“Yes! Thank you so much, my lord! I, Miar, will give everything I have and more!”

Miar’s expression lit up with determination, practically glowing with enthusiasm. 

Wait… is it just me, or did she suddenly look more radiant? She’d always been a cute supporting character type, but now her charm seemed to have leveled up—almost as if she was stepping into the role of a main character.

“There sure are a lot of cute girls around the Duke, aren’t there… or should I say around you, Duke?”

Kuralia smirked teasingly, prompting me to furrow my brows at her before climbing into the carriage.

The Adventurers’ Guild was a three-story building located at the edge of the city’s central district. As Mark Stewart, I had visited this place countless times before becoming a lord.

I entered the guild with Forsina, Kuralia, and Miar in tow. Being the main guild in the capital of the duchy, the first-floor lobby was massive. To the right, five staff members manned the counters at all times, while a large bulletin board displaying dungeon information stood at the far left corner, surrounded by adventurers.

More than ten sets of tables and chairs were arranged throughout the room, where adventurers gathered to talk. Most of them would head off to dungeons or assignments after finalizing their plans here.

As we walked toward the counter, nearby adventurers turned their heads to look at us—some with wide eyes, others with sly grins.

Well, it was understandable. Three stunningly beautiful girls dressed in outfits resembling a school uniform-like mage robe (mini-skirt version), a maid outfit (mini-skirt version), and a shrine maiden outfit (mini-skirt version) had just walked in alongside me. That kind of entrance was bound to draw attention.

Of course, the chatter among them was predictable:

“Whoa, check out that party. Nothing but cute girls! Should we go talk to them?”

“Idiot, look who’s with them—it’s the Duke. You want to pick a fight with the Azure Moon Swordsman? Be my guest.”

“Wait, seriously? I heard rumors he took out a hundred Chaos Demons in one go…”

“That’s exaggerated. It was around ten, tops. But with him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could handle a hundred.”

“That’s terrifying…”

And so, any idea of approaching us was quickly squashed. In a society like this, where rank could mean life or death, messing with a duke—even jokingly—wasn’t something anyone dared to attempt.

I walked up to the counter and addressed the receptionist, who, true to the game-world aesthetic, was naturally beautiful.

“I’m Blaumont, A-rank. I’d like to register these three as adventurers.”

“Y-Yes! Right away!”

I, Mark Stewart Blaumont, was already registered as an adventurer. By the age of twenty, I had explored countless dungeons and achieved the highest rank—A-rank adventurer. As expected of a mid-boss, my very existence was practically a cheat.

Under my guidance, the three followed the receptionist’s instructions and completed their registrations. Kuralia, as it turned out, had once been a C-rank adventurer. However, her rank had been reset to F when she became a slave, forcing her to start over from the bottom.

“Father, you’re an A-rank adventurer? I didn’t know you had worked as one.”

“That was before you were born. I’ve maintained my rank by occasionally fulfilling the minimum activity requirements, but it’s not something worth bragging about.”

“It seems there’s a lot I don’t know about you, Father. Please teach me more about yourself from now on.”

“I’ll share more when the opportunity arises.”

With that, we received the metallic cards that served as adventurer identification from the receptionist and left the guild.