My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem

Chapter 1232

“With all due respect, what exactly do you want a representative from Esmore to do with this information,” Pait asked, putting his hands behind his back. “Even if we wished to help, I lack the resources to do anything of use to you. Furthermore, I don’t make it a habit of risking my life needlessly.”

Lord Duran didn’t look taken aback by this comment. Rather, he seemed to have expected it. He nodded his head slowly.

“There is a reason that I’ve brought you here and told you about this.” He spoke slowly and deliberately. “What I’m about to ask you would upset many, so I hope you are willing to keep this request sealed.”

At this point, he didn’t just look at Pait, but all of us standing there. I was surprised he didn’t send everyone else out of the room. If there was a reason for this, I couldn’t see it. The adventurers and the dwarf gave their nods. I followed suit. Only once everyone agreed did the wolfkin lord continue.

“I need you to contact Aberis.”

This caused Pait to raise an eyebrow. “Dioshin is not on good terms with Aberis.”

“I know.” He frowned. “King Roth has declared a no-contact clause with anyone from Aberis. The guilds still meet behind our backs. The slavers are always trading, and the adventurers are always exchanging valuable information. Ever since a certain lord has taken an interest in the wilderness, tensions on the border have been increasing. If it wasn’t for this ill-timed rebellion, that would have been our focus.”

It was only thanks to mimic that I was able to keep my cool with that declaration. I hadn’t expected my actions to be worth notice, let alone be the focus of a powerful king. I was extremely lucky then that Dioshin was having problems. If they had made a move, I would have been in a lot of trouble.

“I suppose I should ask, why do you wish to contact Aberis?”

“It’s not so much Aberis that I care about. It’s their church. Aberis’s priests are adept at dealing with ghosts and other soul-based creatures.”

“Doesn’t Dioshin have their own church?”

“It’s true, we have our own division of the church, but they don’t specialize in such things,” he admitted.

It wasn’t that surprising, given their attitude toward foxkin. They detested anything having to do with spirits and souls. Priests had a closer relationship with spirits than most. In that case, did they even have such a thing as a resurrection? I didn’t know, and unfortunately, I had to keep my mouth shut or risk exposing my identity.

“I’m familiar with Aberis’s nobility.” Pait scratched his chin while distinctly not looking in my direction. “However, I also know that they recently had a conflict with the Ost Republic, and the majority of them are currently dealing with that situation.”

Lord Duran lowered his head. “I understand. It was just a hope of mine.”

There was a moment of solemn silence as Pait looked awkwardly, and Lord Duran lowered his head.

I tilted my head from side to side and then let out a sigh, taking a step forward. “If you need someone to look into this, I have the qualifications.”

Pait shot a shocked glance, and Lord Duran shot me a slightly confused look.

“And who are you?” he asked.

I dropped the disguise, returning my features to normal. “I am Lord Deek Deekson of Aberis.”

Chapter 1233

Lord Duran’s eyes widened at my announcement before he shot Pait a look. “You snuck a lord of Aberis into our country?”

“Weren’t you just planning to sneak a group of priests in?” I asked.

Duran stiffened, and then he let out a sigh. “I suppose you have a point. I should have realized from your smell, but I’m not very familiar with Osterians so I thought I was mistaken. You also have a lot of strange smells on you, dragonkin, fairy, and some others besides. I thought you might live a peculiar life.”

I cleared my throat, not realizing my scent gave so much away. When I had Celeste with me, she would use her wind magic to cover up and block our scents so that no one could detect us. Well, I didn’t expect my scent to be a factor in a social situation anyway.

“I happen to have some experience with spirits. I was able to clear out old Chalm.”

“Yes, I heard of that matter. I’ve heard you’re particularly adept with dungeons.”

I was surprised once again that he had heard of me. Before, he had only mentioned he knew of a lord who was claiming the wilderness. It looked like his familiarity with me was a bit more than I originally anticipated. I ignored Pait who was glowering at me. By standing up, I revealed Pait’s indiscretions. This might cause Esmore some issues down the line. I would have to make it up to Pait later, but I had a feeling if I didn’t speak up now, I would lose my chance.

“Anyway, if you’re looking for someone to deal with this soul eater, I’m probably the most qualified person you’ll be able to find,” I explained.

I didn’t want to be too full of myself, but I had cut my soul in two and reforged it, and refined that soul in a soul dungeon. My blade also contained a soul. Whatever this creature was that was sucking out the souls of enemies, while such a thing did worry me, I had a feeling like it wouldn’t be able to suck out my soul. I had been told many times that my soul was on a completely different level, too resilient to be easily defeated. Considering my soul was now also anchored to a dungeon, and I didn’t think that this enemy could deal with me.

At worst, I could chop its attacks down with Alysia before it even reached me. I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew, but if I didn’t have the confidence to do what needed to be done, then why even bother. Furthermore, who else was going to do it? This was an event that was killing lives. These may be people from another country, but they didn’t look all that much different from the residents of Chalm. I wasn’t a monster who would just watch while people needlessly died because it was inconvenient.

“If you say you have the ability and are willing, then I will have to implore for your assistance.” Lord Duran bowed his head.

“Ah, first, let’s talk about what I get out of it.”

What? I wasn’t going to be stupid either. If I was going to put my life on the line to help the Dioshin, then it needed to be worth my while.

Chapter 1234

Lord Duran crossed his arms, his ears standing on end. “What is your demands?”

“I only have three demands,” I admitted. “First, someone close to me has entered your lands. I need her to be located.”

“Someone?”

I was fearing for the worst. If they had brought Miki into this because they thought she could deal with this threat, then was it possible that her soul was lost as well? No, there was no way she’d be defeated on a spiritual level. Miki would survive. Of course, there was a lingering suspicion in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t willing to entertain the possibility without any evidence. The idea that my sweet Miki was the one responsible for these deaths was outrageous.

“Her name is Miki. She is a nine-tailed foxkin who was recently summoned back to Dioshin.”

One of the reasons I was asking this way was exactly because I wanted to check and see what the lord knew. As I gave Miki’s name, I watched the Lord’s face extremely carefully, looking for any sign of recognition or surprise. Regrettably, or perhaps, fortunately, he showed no signs. His face was only mildly inquisitive.

“Miki? A nine-tailed foxkin? Don’t those breeds all die?”

“She did not.”

“I’m sorry, I do not know of her. However, I will use my contacts and see if I can ascertain where she might be in Dioshin, and who came to get her.”

“That is all that I ask.” I nodded.

Since he didn’t show any indication that he recognized the girl beyond her variant form, I didn’t press things any longer. I was regretful that I didn’t have any lead, but things could be worse.

“What about the second thing?”

“I would like a detailed map of Dioshin.”

“That…” Lord Duran made a face.

“Is that so unreasonable?”

Dioshin certainly liked to remain secretive.

“It’s not so much that I don’t want to, as I am unable. Each tribe is responsible for its own territory, and there is no cross between them. The traveling guilds have tried to map out Dioshin several times, but the lords don’t like to have their lands seen by people that are not their kind. As a result, all maps are incomplete. I can get you a complete map of the wolfkin tribe, but as for the rest of Dioshin, it will be dependent on each tribe.”

That sounded complicated. I didn’t want to get into it though, so I only nodded in acquiescence.

“In that case, I wonder if my final request can be met.”

“What request?” Lord Duran narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“A travel route through Dioshin to Jespain.”

Lord Duran hadn’t reacted much to the first two requests, but this final request caused his ears to perk up, and his mouth to drop.

“You…”

“This condition is non-negotiable.” I declared.

He stared at me for a moment, and then looked away. “What you ask… is something even the Esmore do not have. We do not allow others to cross our lands. To many tribes, allowing merchants to pass through us would feel like we’re being walked over. You might as well ask that I kneel and allow you to step on my head.

“Alright, then, how about I just go over your head.”

“What?”

I cleared my throat. “I mean, allow me to just once see the western side of Dioshin. I’d just like to see into Jespain once. That is all.”

I had started with the former so I could pull back with this request. It wasn’t important to me that I could pass across Dioshin. If anything, that path would always be wrought with difficulty maintaining, both physically and politically. However, once I had Jespain in my map, I could create portals, bring over others, and then they could create portals. Just like getting into Dioshin, once I was there, I could come and leave all I wanted.

With such a compromise, Lord Duran had no choice but to nod his head. Then, we had an agreement. I just had to take down death itself. Well, I had faced plenty of challenges before.