Monster Company Tycoon Chapter 35

Chapter 35

 

I kept Dullahan occupied in the dungeon under the pretext of having her fill out an application form, then rushed to the training grounds where Ruadis was as soon as day broke.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack when you suddenly showed up in the middle of the night!”

“First, calm down.”

Then I immediately told her that Dullahan had come looking for me in person during the night.

I also told her about the ridiculous misunderstanding Dullahan had regarding her own death.

Since there wasn’t much time left before my part-time shift, I didn’t have the luxury of discussing things in detail.

I delivered the urgent news first, then hurried off to the restaurant.

Not long after that, while I was in the middle of my part-time job, Ruadis and Ragner appeared together in front of me. The two sat down at a table and began discussing Sabira.

The moment I had a little breathing room at work, I squeezed my way into their conversation.

“Does becoming an undead monster somehow mess with your mind? How could she possibly misunderstand things like that…?”

Strangely enough, Ragner, the one who had been falsely accused, looked completely unfazed. Wasn’t he upset that his friend had such a ridiculous misunderstanding about him?

“Then, Miss Choi, does that mean you don’t believe what the monster said?”

“Huh?”

The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Isn’t it possible that what the monster said is true?”

“But then that would mean Mr. Ragner really did kill his friend.”

“I’m the only one who knows what happened on the day Sabira died. Couldn’t I have been deceiving the two of you?”

“Ragner.”

At those words, Ruadis called his name in a reproachful tone. Her expression was so cold that it was frightening.

But Ragner didn’t retract his statement. He simply looked at me in silence.

What’s with this guy all of a sudden? Why was he deliberately saying things that could make people misunderstand him?

‘Wait, could it be that it’s true…?’

Just as Ragner had said, the only people who knew what had happened that day were the two who had been there.

So whether Ragner was telling the truth or lying, we had no way of knowing.

But even so, it didn’t make sense.

“Why would you…?”

“……”

“The Demon Realm is a dangerous place. Wouldn’t it be safer to have companions rather than go alone? Why would you go out of your way to kill someone?”

“The Demon Realm is a place where all kinds of bizarre phenomena occur. Isn’t it possible that I was bewitched by demonic energy and lost my mind?”

“But Ragner is perfectly fine. Besides, you said Sabira was incredibly skilled, didn’t you?”

He had definitely told me that himself. If she had been alive, she would have earned the title of Hero before him.

“Even if you had been bewitched and attacked Sabira, you would have had to go through a difficult battle. I don’t think you would have been able to come out of it unscathed.”

“……”

“And if you had suffered serious injuries, it would have been difficult to leave the Demon Realm safely, too. So I don’t think you really attacked Sabira.”

“That’s a rather excellent deduction.”

“And more than anything, you don’t seem like the kind of person who would be so terrible as to kill a close friend with your own hands. Just looking at how carefully you decorated her grave tells me that.”

I could feel the deep affection that had gone into the grave, where a pendant necklace containing a picture of the two of them had been left.

Ragner paused when he heard my words.

“I may be a bad person, contrary to what you know about me, Miss Choi.”

“Sigh.”

I couldn’t help letting out an exasperated sigh.

“Then do you think I’d be casually working here right now? You would have already captured me and handed me over to the temple, or found some weakness of mine and used it to control me however you pleased. You took my circumstances into consideration and even helped me out. I don’t think you’re a bad person.”

Besides, he used to be a Hero, didn’t he? Weren’t Heroes usually supposed to be people of good character?

When I finished speaking, Ragner finally looked away from me.

He began staring blankly down at his teacup, which he hadn’t even taken a single sip from today.

“I’m already having a headache because of Dullahan. Please don’t make things even more confusing by saying strange things for no reason.”

His expression was certainly as calm as ever.

But I caught a glimpse of the darkness quietly settled within his green eyes.

Had he merely been pretending that none of this bothered him?

What if he was actually deeply shaken by Sabira’s words?

If that was the case, then Ragner’s strange behavior right now made a little more sense.

“Ragner, are you deliberately trying to be misunderstood?”

I saw the fingers wrapped around his teacup twitch.

“Do you actually want Sabira to keep believing that and resent you? No, do you want to believe that she’s resenting you?”

After all, Sabira had died protecting Ragner.

It was understandable that she might have given up on the idea of ever being forgiven by him.

It seemed Dullahan’s words, mixed with that misunderstanding, had struck right at Ragner’s guilt.

‘Wow, this guy. I thought he was emotionally unflappable, but it turned out he was surprisingly good at digging himself into a pit of despair.’

Wasn’t he basically saying he wanted to let the misunderstanding continue because he wanted to punish himself?

And wanted us to condemn him like that, too?

“Ragner, is what the young lady says true?”

“Master, regarding Sabira’s death…”

“You fool! How many times have I told you that no death in the Demon Realm is anyone’s fault?!”

The moment you enter the Demon Realm, there is only one goal: survival.

Unless someone deliberately harbors malicious intentions and intentionally pushes a companion to their death, no death that occurs within it is anyone’s fault.

“She may be resenting me.”

“Miss.”

“Huh? Yes?”

“Just let them meet. If Sabira really has misunderstood things, then perhaps it’s best for them to get into a childish fight and let out their feelings.”

Ruadis glared at Ragner with an expression that suggested she wanted to give him a good smack right then and there.

“Um… If we find her head, she might remember everything properly, though?”

“No. It would be better not to do that.”

She shook her head firmly.

I had a feeling the situation was heading toward the worst possible outcome.

‘By the way, if those two fought, who would win?’

I figured Ragner, a Hero, would be stronger than Sabira, who had died during her first adventure and become a monster.

Then… who was going to be our dungeon boss?

As soon as my part-time shift at the restaurant ended, the three of us headed to the dungeon.

Ruadis had taken Dullahan’s head separately and hidden it in the dungeon respawn room.

“Are you really… not going to give it back?”

I’m pretty sure that just recently, you’d said you wanted to apologize to Sabira when you met her again.

Wasn’t everyone in quite a heartwarming mood that day?

Ragner was radiating a menacing aura without even trying to hide it, and Ruadis was making it abundantly clear that she was in a bad mood, too.

Only our poor employees were trembling like rabbits, nervously watching the two of them.

“Everyone, please clear the gate area. These two have rented the entire place for today.”

At my command, the employees quickly scrambled out of the waiting area and hid behind me.

“Administrator, I’m scaaared.”

“Administrator, please protect us.”

If you were to pick the weakest person here, it would be me. And you think hiding behind me will help?

“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll bring Dullahan over.”

“Waaah, Administrator, take us with you!”

“Please don’t leave us alone!”

With the ferocious-looking monsters trailing behind me like chicks following their mother hen, I headed toward my office.

When I opened the door, Dullahan, who had somehow managed to painstakingly fill out the entire application form, greeted me while sitting quietly.

“Oh, Fluffy’s here?”

“I’m not Fluffy. More importantly… I’ve brought the people who wanted to meet you, Lord Dullahan.”

Dullahan turned her upper body and looked at the employees huddled together behind me.

“Not these people.”

The employees, who had already been tense and nervous because they were afraid of Ruadis and Ragner, shrank back even further at the sight of Dullahan.

How could even monsters be afraid of another monster?

“People who want to meet me, huh…”

Her husky voice was tinged with deep interest.

“As you know, finding my head is more urgent, but entertaining guests is part of an employee’s job, isn’t it?”

“You’re not an employee yet.”

“I know, I know. But I can’t receive employee benefits unless you make me an official employee, can I?”

A question suddenly occurred to me.

Was Dullahan’s current personality exactly the same as Sabira’s had been when she was alive?

If there wasn’t a single thing about her voice, personality, or manner of speaking that could identify her as Sabira, how would Ruadis and Ragner recognize her?

“Let’s go.”

Dullahan rose from her seat and strode toward the first floor.

She hadn’t even been told where the guests were, yet she found her way there all by herself.

“Sigh… I really don’t know if this is the right thing to do.”

I hurried after Dullahan, and the employees followed closely behind me.

I had a feeling they would keep pestering me like this until those two finally left the dungeon for good and peace was restored.

But if that happened, I’d have to keep my glasses off the whole time!

My vision was so blurry that it was driving me crazy!