Reverse Dungeon

"Wasn't you the one doing something insane?"

And yet Keith was the one who got angry.

There were limits to how shameless someone could be.

"What did I do?!"

"Why would you let go!"

His instincts were terrifyingly sharp.

But Ian was even angrier.

"I slipped. Because someone had me bound with an artifact meant for demons."

"You came all the way here in a weakened state?"

Keith looked horrified.

His gaze dropped to Ian's neck.

Only now had he noticed the necklace.

His expression twisted.

"...Elf! That thoughtless idiot—!"

"Forget him. Where exactly were you going?"

Ian tightened his grip on Keith's collar.

Normally, the force should have pulled Keith's head forward.

Instead, Ian felt no weight at all.

The bastard was voluntarily leaning closer.

That annoyed him even more.

"I was on my way to kill the Demon King."

Keith answered calmly.

Amazingly, Ian became even less calm.

"Oh? By yourself?"

"Yes."

"Do I look like I'm asking questions?"

"You're scolding me. However, Ian, the more strength that remains to defend the dungeon, the better. Leaving those already loyal to you at your side is the obvious choice."

"And you?"

Ian's voice sharpened.

"Were going to kill the Demon King alone? You're that confident?"

"I'm not confident."

Ian swallowed the curse that had risen all the way to his lips.

Then he paused.

Why was he holding back?

Because he might run away.

But the bastard had already been running away.

"You son of a bitch! Then why are you saying it like you're proud of it? Have you lost your mind? Are you desperate to die?"

"Why won't you understand how I feel...?"

Keith's voice shook.

"Just as you saved me, I only wanted to save you."

"How exactly are you going to save me?"

"I..."

"The only person who can save me is me."

"...!"

The Player was Ian.

If there was anyone capable of saving Keith, the dungeon, and himself all at once, it was Ian alone.

Keith's eyes trembled.

He looked at Ian like a lost child.

For some reason, Ian felt his anger cool.

Not disappear completely.

But cool.

"...I decided to take you with me because that's how I keep you alive."

"......"

"Stop acting so arrogant. Going off alone to kill the Demon King? No. What you were actually trying to do was kill me."

Now it wasn't only Keith's eyes that trembled.

His entire body shook like a man abandoned on a frozen mountain.

One of his hands moved.

Ian flinched instinctively.

But instead of pushing Ian away, Keith reached into his own clothing.

He pulled out a whip.

......

Why did that thing keep appearing no matter how many times it was thrown away?

"I..."

Keith lowered his gaze.

"For my sins..."

"Put that down first."

Keith closed his eyes and set the whip on the ground.

As though he intended to leave his punishment entirely to Ian.

Ian immediately lifted his foot and crushed it.

Crack!

Keith's eyes flew open.

Before he could inspect whether it was Whip Number Four or Number Five that had just been destroyed, Ian yanked his collar again.

Keith's gaze locked onto him.

"Is getting beaten to death your life's dream? Don't even think about dying. My life is tied to your body. How dare you try to destroy something that belongs to me?"

Keith's eyes rippled like waves.

"...Then what must I do to earn your forgiveness?"

Ian suppressed the sigh rising from deep within him.

He had raced here intending to kill this bastard.

But now that they were face to face, he could not put any strength into his hands.

He deliberately ignored the logical explanation that it was because of the artifact Keith had bound him with.

Even if I beat him up, all it'll do is weaken our combat strength.

He also pushed aside the fact that Keith could heal himself.

Stubborn.

Disobedient.

Always acting according to what he believed was right.

That was the kind of knight Keith was.

No.

That was the Keith Moore Ian knew.

Ian knew that Keith's unwavering devotion to good and hatred of evil had been shaped by the closed environment in which he grew up after a terrible tragedy.

Keith was the kind of person who could sacrifice himself for righteousness.

And he believed Ian was an Agent of God.

Ian had made him believe that.

"God said so."

Keith had only pretended to listen to Ian's words.

But he had never once doubted that Ian was God's representative.

And so he had decided to save Ian.

Save the person more important than anyone else in the world.

Sacrifice himself to buy time.

It was a rational decision.

A selfless one.

Ian understood him.

This is driving me insane...

"Kneel."

Ian climbed off him.

Keith, who could have thrown Ian away with nothing but the strength of his waist, finally sat up and dropped to one knee.

He looked up.

The knight in white armor looked uneasy.

His golden hair had been thoroughly ruined by the recent clash.

A scrape marked his neat jawline.

His tightly pressed lips were bloodless.

His cheeks were pale.

Only his eyes remained alive, fixed desperately on Ian as though searching for salvation.

But Keith was still Keith.

Ian had no need for a subordinate who ignored his orders.

If the alternative was losing this idiot in front of him, he would rather lock him inside the dungeon and leave.

Even if Keith was the core combat asset of the raid party.

"Listen to me."

Ian grabbed Keith's face with both hands and held it in place.

Making sure there was nowhere for him to look away.

"If I tell you to die, you die. If I tell you to live, you live. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it. If you want to keep me alive."

You bastard. Just try saying "that's a little difficult."

The next instant, Ian's balance collapsed.

Rough lips pressed against his.

Half-kneeling, Ian received Keith's kiss.

Blue eyes shimmered with startling beauty.

Those eyes were relentless, as though they intended to trap Ian inside them forever.

The emotions pouring through them overwhelmed him.

Ian could not move at all.

"My master."

"......"

"My God."

Keith's whisper brushed against his lips like flower petals.

The hand cradling the back of Ian's head withdrew.

Their lips parted as well.

"If it is what you desire, I will obey anything."

Their noses brushed.

From so close Ian could see the color of Keith's eyelashes.

The knight whispered softly.

A very strange thought suddenly entered Ian's mind.

Could it be...

Does he like me?

But how could that possibly be true?

Someone hears Throw away your sense of self and obey me like a dog, and falls in love?

According to everything Ian knew about the world, that was impossible.

No, even according to the common sense of an elf merchant, that sounded impossible.

Unless he was some kind of pervert who enjoyed obedience and verbal abuse...

Wait.

This bastard does like getting hit.

Is he actually a pervert?

"So what's going on?"

The elf merchant interrupted.

"Have I finished repaying the debt for saving your life yet?"

Ian shot upright.

We were doing that in front of him?

The first thing that came to mind left his mouth.

"As if. You think your life is worth pocket change? You're coming with us now."

The elf merchant tilted his head.

"Where are we going?"

"To kill the Demon King."

"!?"

The elf's expression became strange.

He won't come.

Without waiting for an answer, Ian picked up his sword.

Keith brushed the dust from his clothes.

Ian turned his head away.

It felt dangerous to meet his eyes.

His chest churned.

Enough to make him nauseous.

"Sure."

Then the elf merchant's cheerful voice rang out.

"I'd love to."

Ian looked at him.

The elf wore an odd expression.

Half smile.

Half confusion.

He's actually coming?

Ding!

[Party Member "Wandering Merchant" Dorian(?) has joined the party.]

That's possible?

Ian nearly began questioning his entire life as a gamer.

Then he remembered with certainty that this had never been possible in the game.

He had tested it many times.

No matter how high their affection was, a character could not join the Demon King raid party unless they had entered a formal recruitment state.

Ian almost swallowed his tongue.

If they're in the party, I can control them.

...But did that function still work now?

He was convinced it wouldn't.

Still, he decided to test it.

"Dorian, want to do a backflip?"

"A backflip?"

Dorian performed a backflip.

...It works?

Ian decided to try something that should have been impossible unless the system was treating it as a command.

"Dorian, make peace with Keith."

"Make peace? About what? We never fought."

Dorian looked at Keith in confusion.

Keith turned his head away.

Yeah. That's what I expected.

At that moment, a commotion broke out near the dungeon.

One of the dungeon residents came sprinting toward them like an arrow.

"Ah! There you are!"

"Ian!"

......?