Reverse Dungeon

“How exactly do you intend to protect us?” the village chief asked slyly, his eyes darting.

Ian’s group was being chased by the Demon Archduke.

On top of that, the people following him were not soldiers, much less knights. They had no horses, no armor.

A group like this might be able to overpower the village chief, but how were they supposed to protect an entire village?

The one exploiting them was the Demon Archduke.

Besides, there was no reason to trust their promise of protection.

What scheme were they plotting by stepping forward like this?

The village chief had a duty to protect the village.

Ian’s group could hear the contempt in his tone.

“What—!”

Ian raised a hand, stopping the subordinate who had lifted his tool in anger, then turned to Sema.

“Show them.”

Sema understood his role.

He found a bowl filled with collected rainwater and brought it over. Then he touched the surface with his staff, which stood as tall as he did.

“<Water Mirror>!”

Magic flowed into the bowl.

Since the spell was being cast on a corpse, it took effect immediately this time.

Ripples spread across the surface of the water, and within the trembling reflection, a single figure appeared.

It was the Demon Archduke, collapsed in the darkness.

Anyone could see he was not resting.

He was dead.

His eyes stared blankly into nothing, unmistakably the eyes of a corpse.

“Gasp!”

“H-he’s dead!”

Even the villagers who had belatedly heard that the chief had been taken away began gathering around.

They, too, witnessed the miracle produced by the mage.

The village chief reached toward the bowl with trembling hands.

“This... this... How in the world...?”

Ian did not miss the moment their hearts wavered.

“We killed the Demon Archduke. He will no longer torment you. Swear your loyalty. If anyone tries to oppress you again, I will protect you.”

“......!”

At those magnificent words, the village chief set the bowl down and knelt.

“Until now... you are the first person ever to say you would protect us, Lord Ian. That duke only ruled over us. He never truly protected us. We have lived without a master for a long time.”

The village chief swallowed.

Ian wished the man would simply get to the point.

Was he going to pledge loyalty or not?

“We betrayed you, Lord Ian... Will you forgive us?”

‘Why would that be betrayal?’

Ian had never trusted them in the first place. How could he trust people he had never even met?

“I told Louise the same thing. I know. You were oppressed by force.”

“......”

“And His Majesty never recognized you as his subjects. If you considered yourselves masterless, then there was nothing you could have done.”

Ian looked down at the village chief.

“But tell me. How can it be betrayal when people without a master were sold out to a master who did not even exist?”

“Ah...”

Suddenly, the village chief burst into tears.

Ian was so startled by the man’s sensitivity that he almost forgot what he had meant to say next.

“...I will not question your past mistakes. If I did, would I not have to question my father’s mistakes as well? ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) As his son, that would be disloyal.”

“This lord-vassal contract is between you and me. Swear allegiance to me. Become my subjects.”

Ding!

[‘Traitor Village’ has been offered an alliance.]

Ian licked his lips and waited.

But no response came.

The village chief was crying too hard.

Tears soaked his wrinkled face and even dampened his beard.

With no other choice, Ian patted him on the shoulder.

“Is there anything else you want?”

“No! How could I dare? ...I will swear my allegiance. I will become your subject, Lord Ian!”

The residents of Traitor Village, watching from a distance, wiped at their tears.

How long had they lived as traitors, unable to find anywhere they belonged?

No.

Long before they had been branded the traitor race, they had already been a people with no land to call their own.

And this man was willing to accept them as his subjects.

“Good. This land is yours.”

Ding!

[‘Traitor Village’ has accepted the alliance offer.]

[‘Traitor Village’ has been registered as an ally.]

Ian clenched his fist where no one could see.

‘Done.’

Sema said brightly, “Ah, thank goodness. If they hadn’t accepted, you would have killed them all, right? Right, Lord Ian?”

“Shut up.”

“......?”

The moved villagers froze.

‘Could our new master be a tyrant?’

Ding!

[People suspect you are a tyrant.]

‘This bastard.’

Without realizing it, Ian kicked Sema.

Ding!

[People are convinced you are a tyrant!]

“......”

Ian confirmed two things while he was in Traitor Village.

First, Louise’s route had not yet begun.

‘The village chief still exists.’

This was not the situation where only Louise and a handful of survivors remained, forced to crawl into an underground defense.

Although the village was small, it had enough manpower to immediately mobilize around thirty able-bodied men.

Since all thirty of them were hunters capable of fighting like Louise, it was not a weak force by any means.

The second thing Ian confirmed was that the village was desperately poor.

‘......’

Because of that, Ian abandoned the idea of collecting taxes.

‘They’d revolt.’

The village’s loyalty had only just reached around 30 to 40.

Ian had no intention of testing it.

And so the schedule for returning to the dungeon was set.

The people, who had long suffered from monsters, seemed to find relief in leaving the open plains for narrow caves.

After all, building a village on a monster-infested plain was far too dangerous.

If the dungeon had been large enough, Ian would have taken the villagers in himself.

But for now, increasing the dungeon’s internal population was impossible.

Besides, if this village had survived until now, it must have its own methods of enduring.

‘Though they might still be wiped out eventually.’

If Ian helped Louise raise his level, would that not increase their chances of avoiding destruction?

“Gather something to eat.”

As soon as Ian gave the order, the people scattered into the nearby forest.

They were hungry too.

For some absurd reason, the king had not distributed food to them.

Something about food making the body heavy during defense.

In any case, the food that had not been distributed had been eaten by the king’s party and the monsters.

As a result, the dungeon’s people were starving.

‘The class system does have its advantages.’

After giving his orders, Ian leaned against a tree.

A short while later, he witnessed a strange sight.

“Louise, carry this.”

“Louise, cut some branches.”

“Louise! Where are you, you bastard?”

‘......’

Louise was being treated like a slave.

‘Have they all lost their minds?’

Ian was genuinely curious.

Louise was a sharpshooter who could kill one person with each arrow.

He could massacre everyone here in twenty-two seconds.

The biggest problem was that Ian himself would be included in that massacre.

Ian called out to the slave drivers.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, Lord Ian. We were disciplining this lazy bastard, Louise.”

“Who’s being lazy?”

Ian raised an eyebrow.

Louise, carrying a load of wild herbs on a wooden pack frame, spotted Ian and bowed deeply.

The man who had been ordering Louise around was carrying less than half as much.

‘It might be a difference in strength, but...’

Did he have no conscience?

When Ian looked at him in disbelief, the man averted his gaze.

“He listens when you order him around! Besides, children grow through discipline, don’t they?”

“You do your own work.”

“Louise! Move this too!”

“Does that not even look like luggage to you? Move it yourself!”

But Louise was being pushed around from the other side as well.

“......”

Ian held back a sigh.

He found a long branch, picked it up, and tapped it against a tree.

The sharp sound drew everyone’s attention.

Once he confirmed that they were looking at him, Ian spoke.

“Starting today, we are implementing an anti-discrimination law. Work with your own hands instead of making others do it. Is Louise your subordinate?”

“But that guy is from the traitor race...”

‘Of course that’s what you’d say.’

“He is my subordinate. And you are mine as well. Do you not know that all people are equal before the king? Who are you to rank the people under me? Are you royalty?”

Of course, the man objecting was not royalty.

‘Thank goodness this is a world where the king holds divine authority.’

The only thing Ian had was his status as the king’s son.

He intended to make full use of it.

Louise looked at Ian with startled eyes.

“Lord Ian...”

‘Be deeply moved.’

However, Louise’s emotion came with side effects.

Ding!

[People think you are a tyrant!]

‘......’

Why did they keep insulting him when he was the one in the right?

Ian felt wronged.

They filled their stomachs with vegetable soup and went to sleep.

It had been an exhausting day, and no one could stay awake for long.

Ian, too, curled up in a corner of the dungeon with a blanket over him and fell asleep to the sound of the others snoring.

He slept as if he had passed out.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the cave ceiling dimly lit above him.

Morning had come.

Ian pressed his palm over his eyes.

A deep sigh escaped his chest.

“Ha...”

‘It didn’t wake me up...’

It seemed this really was reality.

Ian washed his face roughly and got up.

He plunged his face into the cold lake water, but this was not a dream that would shatter.

He accepted reality with a bitter taste in his mouth and called Sema and Louise.

There was no point brooding over something unavoidable.

It would only sour his mood.

“Let’s go get food. Not something gathered. Something we can farm.”

The gather command would become useless in winter.

It was inefficient as well.

To feed the people inside the dungeon, they would ultimately need to farm inside the dungeon.

And farming required the <World Tree>.

Whether for dungeon leveling or simple survival, obtaining the <World Tree> was essential.

Ian had originally planned to acquire the <World Tree> slowly.

But now that he had a four-star hero in hand, there was no need to wait. freewebnovёl.ƈom

‘Let’s get it now.’

He was tired of vegetable soup.

He wanted to eat something else.

Ian rested his chin on his hand and nodded.

“We need seeds or seedlings.”

Sema asked, “Where are we supposed to get those?”

“I plan to borrow them from the Elf Village.”

“Ah...”

‘So this is what kind of person he is.’

Sema understood.

Humans and elves had never gotten along well, but if Ian called it “borrowing,” then borrowing it was.

“......?”

While Louise stood there in confusion, the thieves’ journey began.