The Way to Absolute Dungeon Administration – There Is No Reason To Meet With the Opponent!

Volume 02 Chapter 10: The Professional Saintess and the Mere Saintess

Side: Lulua

I’m currently in Yuki-sama’s room at the inn.

To fulfill their conditions. To engage in childmaking…

But Asrin-chan, Filia-chan, Labiris, and Ratsu are here too.

“Ugh, so persistent. I told you it’s just a pretext. Why do you keep coming, knowing that?”

Yuki-sama says I don’t need to meet their conditions.

“No, Yuki-sama. You’re misunderstanding.”

“What?”

“Labiris and Ratsu-san may accept it as a pretext, but Milly-san and Kaya-san… those two will likely demand my death if the conditions aren’t met. Even if you try to stop them, it’ll be futile. They aren’t in love with you. You’re just a convenient substitute. A replacement for the happiness they’ve lost. And you need to defile me in their place. If you don’t, they’ll break…”

As I explain, Yuki-sama’s expression turns serious.

Of course. He’s being optimistic.

He’s mistaken, thinking that just because he freed them from slavery, they’ll obey him unquestioningly, when the human heart isn’t that simple.

In the end, Yuki-sama is, as he himself said, just a human.

In this situation, the dungeon’s cooperative structure will soon collapse around Milly-san and Kaya-san, all because of me, an outsider.

“Sigh, so? You’re saying to convince Milly and the others, I need to make a child with you, Lulua?”

“Yes, their desire is to see my dignity as a person violated.”

“And I’m the one to do the violating, huh? As for me, I only want to embrace a woman I love.”

Saying that, Yuki-sama wraps an arm around Labiris and Ratsu-san, one on each side.

It’s, well, an odd sight.

Yuki-sama usually brushes off their affection as much as possible, but today he’s being forward.

“…Lulua-sama’s being ridiculous. …As if Yuki would make a child for a reason like that.”

“Yeah, exactly. To see Onii-san that way. Well, I guess it makes sense you were ousted from Litea’s top spot.”

At first, I couldn’t process what the two said.

But as moments passed, my mind began to catch up.

Why did they need to say that now?

Why must I be insulted like this?

I had no other choice.

For the sake of everyone’s order and peace here, I’m offering my body to Yuki-sama!!

“…Yuki, I’m over it. Explain things to Lulua-sama.”

“I’ll take Asrin-chan and Filia-chan out, so go ahead and do what you need to, Onii-san.”

Both reluctantly pull away from Yuki-sama’s side, then take Asrin and Filia and leave the room.

“…Yuki-sama, could you explain?”

After a long silence in the now-empty room, I muster the courage to break it and address Yuki-sama.

“You’ve come this far and still don’t get it? …It’s about time you dropped that ‘-sama.’ That empty, loveless respect in your words—it’s just tiring to hear.”

Yuki…-san’s words, showing no intent to defile me, stir turmoil in my heart.

Why… My body should be exceptional as a woman.

My appearance, my education…

“What!! I’m using it to show you respect!! Why do you find it so fun to reject me!! Are you planning to let Milly-san and the others kill me!! I don’t want to die!! I don’t want to die!! Is it wrong to want to survive, even if I have to curry favor with you!? Look, my chest is large. Touch it, do whatever you want!! …Please, make me bear your child.”

I strip naked before him and plead.

It’s been four days since Milly-san and the others imposed their conditions on me.

The discussions with Selaria-sama have concluded, the housing for the incoming immigrants has been set up, and we’re now working on other facilities.

But I still haven’t received Yuki-san’s seed… No, I haven’t even been the target of his desire once.

At this rate, I’ll surely be killed by Milly-san. Maybe not directly, but I’ll be driven out of here or indirectly…

“Lulua, what do you plan to do from now on? No, what are you living for? All I can say is that making a child to survive is meaningless. Got it?”

“What… do you mean? If I bear Yuki…-san’s child, my safety…”

“Hold on. That won’t fully convince Milly and the others. It’s a temporary fix at best. What? Don’t tell me you think bearing a child will magically fix everything with them?”

“That’s…”

Of course not. It won’t be that simple. But I chose to bear a child with a man I don’t love because it’s the only way to survive.

“…Sigh, Lulua, all you had was ability, huh?”

“What!! Do you have any idea how much, how much I’ve worked to reach the seat of Saintess!!”

“Yeah, that’s why I said you had ability.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Lulua, ever fallen and scraped yourself? It hurts quite a bit, doesn’t it? If you’re not careful, you skin your knee, bleed, and when you were a kid, you’d cry your eyes out.”

“Are you saying I’m like a child crying over a scraped knee? Don’t mock me!! Do you think that compares to me!! I, I was cast aside by my homeland!! Why, why do I have to go through this!! Please, help me!! Please!!”

Tears spill from my eyes. They won’t stop.

I hurl all the pent-up emotions I’ve been holding onto at Yuki-san.

“It’s the same. No, in a way, some kids endure the pain and stand up without crying. That’s far more admirable. Think about what it means to be compared to a child, Lulua. You know it yourself. What you should be doing right now isn’t bearing my child.

Get it together already and realize what it means to stand up on your own. Elju, she acts without anyone telling her to. You probably don’t know this, but when Elju met Milly, she was hit with some harsh verbal abuse. What do you think Elju did? She bowed her head. Said ‘I’m sorry.’ Not everyone can do that. That’s something only Elju could pull off. No wonder Selaria values her so much.”

Elju-sama went through something like that too…? But I thought by accepting Milly and the others’ demands, I was fulfilling my responsibility…

“Stop acting like a tragic heroine already. No, a tragic heroine might actually be better. At least she’d grab the hand of the prince who came to save her.”

“…Apologize? It’s not guaranteed to work like it did for Elju-sama, and I don’t have that kind of courage.”

“Exactly. You’re not Elju. And you’re mistaken if you think Elju was forgiven by Milly and the others. You know that, don’t you? During the last meeting, Elju was desperately bowing to them.”

“Elju-sama is still atoning for her sins?”

“…Thanks for the backward answer. Well, ask Elju herself for the real answer. She’s the one doing it, so she’ll tell you the truth.”

“…What are you trying to say? I’m not Elju-sama!! I’m too scared to apologize!! If I upset them, I could be kicked out any moment!!”

“That’s why I said stop playing the tragic heroine. That role you’re playing? Milly, Kaya, Labiris… plenty of others here could claim it. But none of them are acting like tragic heroines. Especially Milly—she must want to scream and cry. But she doesn’t. Know why?”

“…Because doing so changes nothing.”

“Exactly. In the end, even if there’s someone to save you, it’s meaningless if you don’t grab their hand. These past few days, Lulua, all you’ve done is wail and scream. ‘I’m so unfortunate.’ ‘I had no choice.’ You didn’t try to make a child to live. You tried to make a child to be allowed to live. If those sound the same to you, you’re beyond help.”

“…So what I should do isn’t bear a child?”

“If you understand that much today, that’s enough. For now, this isn’t about embracing or not embracing, so just go back to your room quietly.”

In the end, I loosely put on the yukata I’d taken off and shuffled out of the room.

For a while, I stood dazed in the hallway… No, I was thinking, but my head’s a mess, and I can’t make sense of it.

What I should do isn’t bear Yuki-san’s child…

Then what is it?

Will I be thrown out of this dungeon for breaking my promise?

No, that would risk me spreading word about this dungeon elsewhere.

Then, will they lift the [Designated Protection] and kill me to turn me into DP…?

“Ah!”

My yukata catches on my foot, and I trip in the hallway.

“Ouch…?”

Blood trickles from my knee. It’s a small wound. Insignificant.

“Oh, Lulua-sama? Are you okay? I’ll heal you now.”

From the dim hallway, Elju-sama appears with a gentle voice.

“[Heal]. All better. ‘Pain, pain, go away!’—oh, sorry. You’re not a child, are you?”

Elju-sama apologizes with an embarrassed look.

“No, thank you. But what’s that ‘pain, pain, go away’ thing?”

“Well, you see, small kids keep crying even after you heal their wounds. Kids don’t cry just because of the pain. They cry because they’re crying, or because they got scolded by their mom or dad, or because they worried them—lots of reasons, really. Have you ever had an experience like that, Lulua-sama?”

“No, my work at the healing clinic was just procedural, so…”

“You never had kids who wouldn’t stop crying even after being healed?”

“There were some, but since their wounds were healed, I moved on to the next person…”

“Oh, right, you were Litea’s Saintess, so you couldn’t spend that much time on each one.”

“It’s ‘former’ Saintess now. But what’s the point of this story?”

“Oh, sorry. Kids cry because of their wounds. Saying ‘good job’ or whatever doesn’t mean much. What matters is letting them know the wound is healed. So when you say ‘pain, pain, go away,’ they actually believe it’s healed—or even if it’s not, they think it is. Then, since there’s no reason to cry, they smile. Though some kids get scolded by their parents afterward and cry again.”

“So it’s about their mindset?”

“Yes, probably something like that. But most kids I heal come back the next day with their knees all bloody again. They’re not crying, though. They’re all smiles, saying, ‘Elju-sama will fix it!’ It’s a bit troublesome when they keep getting hurt, though.”

Elju-sama gives a wry smile, as if recalling the scene.

“It’s been a while since then… I hope those kids haven’t been caught up in the war. I pray they can keep those smiles. I hope one day I can repay the precious thing they gave me.”

Saying that, Elju-sama offers a prayer to the dungeon’s fake moon.

“…Precious thing? Did those kids give you something?”

I ask, struck by a simple curiosity at Elju-sama’s words.

“Yes, they gave me something very precious. To stand up without crying even after falling… those admirable kids. For them, getting hurt is often a new experience. It’s their greatest fear and pain. That’s why they cry. But in the end, every one of them stands up and walks on their own.”

She pauses for a breath, then continues.

“…Because of my shortsightedness, I caused great trouble for you, Lulua-sama, and for Litea Holy Nation, Rocheur Kingdom, and Gartz Kingdom. Before, I cursed my own misfortune. Why did this have to happen to me alone? But meeting Mauve-san, Milly-san, and the others made me realize that was just self-satisfaction. And Yuki-san scolded me thoroughly.

It took all that for me to finally understand. I’m just a child who fell, got hurt, and can’t stand up. I still don’t know what I can do, but I’m going to keep searching for it.

I stopped crying and screaming. If I have time to cry, I’d rather help make life in this dungeon richer. Milly-san and the others probably hated it, but doing nothing would be a disservice to the kids who stood up before me. I don’t want to be pointed at as a Saintess who fell and couldn’t get up.”

Listening to Elju-sama’s story, I realized our ways of thinking are completely opposite.

What a radiant way to live.

In the end, all I’ve been doing is consistently begging for my life.

In contrast, Elju-sama…

“I stopped dwelling on what I can’t take back. From now on, I want to do everything I can to help build the future. Even kids don’t linger forever on their injuries. They start something new and fun.”

So atoning for sins is a backward answer…

How should I put it? Was I being naive, or is this what it means to embrace both the pure and the impure?

“Lulua-sama? Am I still weird for thinking this way?”

Elju-sama looks at me with a troubled expression.

I need to respond properly.

“You’re truly admirable. Yes, as you said, Elju-sama. Even children can stand up. We can’t stay crouched down. Let’s do our best tomorrow too.”

“Yes!!”

Honestly, I thought I’d studied thoroughly, but… the light from the person next to me is too dazzling.