Monster Company Tycoon Chapter 33

Chapter 33

 

Clank, clank.

The strange noise of metal clashing against metal tormented my ears.

And that sound was gradually getting closer to me.

I’d definitely finished another exhausting day just like any other, then gone straight to bed so I could get ready for my part-time job tomorrow. After all, I had to wake up earlier than usual if I wanted to go make another recruitment pitch to the Dullahan.

I’d been sleeping so peacefully when…

“……”

I wanted to open my eyes and check what was making that noise, but I couldn’t move a muscle, as though I were experiencing sleep paralysis. My body had frozen in the exact position I’d fallen asleep in.

Clank…

At last, the noise came right up to my bedside.

Shing.

I heard the sound of metal scraping against the hard floor.

And just as a chilly breeze brushed past the back of my neck like a cold tongue…!

“Chihuahua, open your eyes!”

“Gasp!”

The moment I sat up, I reflexively grabbed my neck.

‘It was a dream…’

My entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

“Wow… I thought the Dullahan had come to get revenge because I’d tormented it so much with noise pollution…”

“Hm? How did you know?”

Brownie, who had rescued me from my nightmare, fluttered around me and asked in a cheerful voice.

The room where I slept was attached to the back of the office, so not a single ray of sunlight could get in. However, I could roughly tell the time by looking at the brightness of the torches.

The torches, one of the few sources of light in the dungeon, had a peculiar habit of dimming slightly during the day and burning brightly at night.

The torch was still blazing away.

Which meant it was the middle of the night.

‘Had this dirt-potato fairy gone crazy!? What kind of wicked demon wakes up an office worker in the middle of the night when it isn’t even the weekend!?’

“Phew. Anyway… what do you mean, how did I know?”

“The Dullahan. It came looking for you.”

What kind of terrifying thing was that supposed to be?

“Am I still dreaming?”

I quickly pinched my cheek as hard as I could.

“Ow…!”

It hurt a lot. Which meant this was actually happening…

“If you’re awake, hurry up and come out. I’ve got it standing in the lobby.”

“Was that a prophetic dream…? Did it really come to kill me because I’d been bothering it so much…?”

“What if it suddenly changes its mind and leaves while you’re taking your time? Hurry up!”

Brownie tugged at my hair, urging me to get up.

Since I’d just woken up, my curly hair was sticking out in every direction, and Brownie was practically tangled up and buried among the strands.

“Okay. I’m coming, I’m coming.”

The Dullahan had suddenly come all the way to our dungeon in person? Could there be another Dullahan?

I was so bewildered that my brain wasn’t functioning properly.

After rubbing my face with both hands, I headed out to the lobby, and there it really was: a Dullahan clad in pitch-black armor.

And it had no head.

“Wow… It’s real.”

After slimes, the Dullahan was the next monster I could look at without having to take off my glasses.

The fact that it had no head was unsettling, but outwardly, it was practically just a suit of armor walking around.

I had no idea what was inside… and I didn’t particularly want to imagine it.

‘Stay calm.’

Even so, it was still frightening.

‘Get a grip. I’m the administrator.’

Suppressing my fear, I opened my mouth as calmly as I could.

“Hello, Lord Dullahan? I’m Gong Choi, the administrator of the Hermit’s Dungeon…”

“Chihuahua.”

“Ugh… Chihuahua! It’s an honor to meet you in person.”

“For your information, I’m a director. Call me Director Brownie.”

I put on my pleasant business-hosting attitude. I could probably skip the handshake, right?

“……”

“Excuse me, but may I take your visit to our dungeon as a positive response to our employment offer?”

“……”

I hadn’t expected it to return my greeting, but I hadn’t expected it to remain completely silent, either. It didn’t even move a muscle, maintaining the exact same posture with its greatsword resting against the ground.

What on earth had brought it here? It had spent all that time hiding from me in the forest.

“Um… Would it be all right if we discussed the details inside? I feel bad about leaving you standing in the lobby.”

‘If it didn’t respond this time, either… would I have to consider this a dungeon raid?’

I wasn’t even sure whether monsters came to conquer dungeons.

I discreetly reached out and pointed toward the stairs leading to the office.

Then the Dullahan slowly began walking in the direction I’d indicated. I couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief.

‘At least it was willing to talk, right?’

Once we reached my private office, Brownie prepared a chair large enough for the Dullahan to sit in. Even so, the Dullahan remained standing. So I cautiously sat down first in the chair opposite my desk. Only then did the Dullahan follow suit and take a seat.

I had absolutely no idea what it was thinking.

It had no face, so I couldn’t read its expression.

And since it wasn’t speaking, we couldn’t have a conversation.

Perhaps it had retained its hearing but lost the ability to speak.

Let’s try talking to it first. Maybe it’ll give me some kind of response.

“I’m glad we’ve finally had the opportunity to properly introduce our dungeon to you. I’ve only been able to give you bits and pieces of information until now, so you must have been confused, right?”

“……”

Still no response.

But if I stopped talking, too, an uncomfortable silence would fill this small room.

In the end, I had no choice but to keep talking, even though it felt like swallowing bitter medicine.

“We may be a little more modest than you expected, since you’ve come to visit us in person. However, our dungeon is a growing enterprise, with consistent management from our executives and…”

At this point, I wasn’t even sure what I was saying anymore.

I was in the middle of rambling on about our company’s vision when…

“Fluffy.”

A husky female voice suddenly rang through the office, startling me so much that I sprang to my feet.

“What? Was that you, Brownie? Did you just speak?”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything.”

“Then who on earth…”

“Fluffy, enough with those boring stories.”

Once again, I heard that pleasant husky voice.

If it wasn’t me and it wasn’t Brownie, then there was only one possibility.

Like a poorly oiled robot, I creakily turned my neck and looked at the Dullahan.

‘Don’t tell me that voice just now…’

Wait, it could speak!? Then why had it kept its mouth shut all this time?

“I’m quite interested in that employee benefit you mentioned. You said you’d find lost belongings.”

“Wow, that voice is incredible…”

The admiration slipped out of my mouth before I even realized it. I almost wanted to scold it for not saying a single word until now, when it had such a wonderful voice.

It was so sweet that my ears felt as though they were melting. Just listening to it made all the strength drain from my body.

The Dullahan’s attitude also changed once it started speaking.

It relaxed its previously rigid posture, which had been as stiff as an armor display, and leaned back against the chair in a thoroughly comfortable position.

How should I put it? A monster that had been moving like a machine suddenly felt like a person.

“Can you find other things besides belongings?”

“Y-Yes… We can find anything.”

Was this really a Dullahan and not a Siren?

I found myself promising to do absolutely anything, as though I’d been enchanted.

“Then could you find the head I’ve lost, too?”

“Of course!”

‘We already found it and called you here for that very reason!’

“Really? Then shall I become an employee, just the way my Fluffy wants?”

“Wait, no! Hold on! Just a moment!”

‘So easily!? Then why had you been avoiding me all this time?’

I’d been waking up at dawn and running around the eastern forest shouting like a madwoman just to win you over!

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking… May I ask what made you change your mind…?”

“It’s not that I changed my mind–”

The way it drew out the end of its words was incredibly seductive. It suited that voice so perfectly that I was starting to worry I might actually lose my heart to it.

Suddenly, I remembered the photograph of Sabira inside the pendant. Although the person in the picture had been a child, they had quite striking features.

If they’d been that beautiful as a child, how beautiful must they have become as an adult?

I felt sorry to think that way about someone who had already passed away, and someone who currently had no head, at that…

Without realizing it, I began imagining what an adult Sabira might look like based on the photograph in the pendant.

It was almost as though an elegant and beautiful female knight, as graceful as a noblewoman, were sitting right in front of me.

“I’ve only just managed to remember who I am.”

“……!”

Only just managed to remember?

“Until now, I was so dazed that I couldn’t think about anything at all. I just kept wandering around without even knowing where I was supposed to go.”

So the Dullahan I’d repeatedly seen, silently walking forward without stopping, had been in an abnormal state?

“Thanks to my Fluffy constantly barking so noisily, I was able to come to my senses. Of course, I’ve still got a long way to go before I fully regain my sense of self. I’m truly grateful.”

“Ah…”

I hadn’t expected that my efforts had helped it regain its sense of self. All that shouting into empty space until my voice nearly gave out hadn’t been in vain!

And the Dullahan wasn’t finished speaking yet.

“So, about the salary negotiations. You can decide whatever you want, Fluffy. I don’t care how much money I receive.”

At those words, which made my ears perk up, Brownie shot forward in front of the Dullahan.

“Is that true!? Hey! Don’t take it back. Absolutely no taking it back! I heard you loud and clear! Chihuahua, you heard that too, right? Saying you don’t care how much you receive means you don’t even mind receiving nothing…!”

I barely managed to cover Brownie’s mouth as she went off on a tangent.

“Haha… But, um, why do you call me Fluffy?”

“Ah, you remind me of a dog my friend used to raise. Its fur was fluffy just like yours.”

“A dog…”

Don’t tell me… the one I know…?

“What was its name again? Ah, Chocho. I wonder if it’s still alive.”

“…Wasn’t it Chacha?”

“Chocho. Chacha is Chocho’s puppy.”

Well, that certainly confirmed it was Ragner’s friend.

To think that both of his friends treated me like a dog…

 

TL Note: Sabira will be referred to as female from now on. Sorry for the inconsistencies!