My Dungeon Life – Chapter 1644-1646

Chapter 1644

“I have one last piece of equipment to hand out before I go.” Sapphire declared.

Anne looked over at Sapphire tearfully. She had not only stuck around but had remained to cling to her side since the moment Sapphire came. It seemed that Anne had a sort of sister complex toward Sapphire. Since Mary was her actual sister, it felt a bit sad. I was starting to understand the dilemma that Mary was under, and ultimately why she went out of her way to rescue Rubee when she was enslaved by Demon Lord Aberis.

Sapphire appeared to be a bridge between the two women. Anne had turned Sapphire into her surrogate sister, disowning Mary in the process. She had even made her select the name Rubee instead of Ruby because the other name shared too many similarities with Mary, and she couldn’t stand it. I had always wondered about that. Her other names typically were based on gemstones, so I never understood why she had purposely misspelled it. She should have picked the same name as Ruby, Chalm’s vice-guild master. I thought it was a deep dwarf thing, but apparently, the answer was far sillier.

Sapphire seemed to take Anne’s reverence in stride. She acted like the big sister, never rejecting Anne, and maybe even spoiling her a bit. She could probably put an end to it with a few choice words but allowed Anne to keep looking up to her. I wondered if Mary had asked her to do that? I think Mary hoped that one day she could reconcile with her sister and that the only way to do it was through Sapphire.

“What is the last piece of equipment?” I asked.

Sapphire blushed suddenly. “That… would be Master’s protection.”

I blinked. I had been so busy making sure everyone else got properly retrofitted that I had forgotten about myself. I was planning on going to war against the fey and using a dangerous power to presumably fight and repel them, and I hadn’t even bothered to consider my equipment.

“Yes, what did you bring for me.” I tried to cover up my embarrassment quickly.

“We don’t have time now to improve Alysia, but I recently forged this sword that I think suits Master well.” Sapphire’s shyness told me that she had personally made this weapon and probably given it a lot of thought.

I had enough experience with deep dwarves and more specifically Sapphire to know that making my armor specifically was something meaningful to her. She brought out a long blade that seemed to shine with blue-like steel. I wasn’t even going to ask what metals went into its creation. It was assuredly an alloy composed of metals so rare they weren’t found on the surface. It was large, balanced, yet surprisingly light. The handle was comfortable, and it looked sharp despite its size, but thick enough to be able to block an attack from the side.

“I’m being replaced!” Alysia cried out as I looked over the sword.

“Th-that’s not my intention!” Sapphire glanced tearfully at me.

“Of course not,” I responded. “Alysia, remember in the deep when we were separated?”

“Th-that? What of it?”

“If for any reason, I am unable to use your strength, the sword becomes sluggish. It’s like when you hold someone who is awake, versus a body that is a dead weight. The dead weight is much more difficult to handle. If I want to get better at wielding your blade, then I need to practice sometimes with a blade that doesn’t have your support. This would do very well for that purpose.”

This wasn’t just an excuse I was making up on the spot. I had actually thought about this for some time. I’d need to start practicing with a sword that didn’t give me her kind of help, or would only grow so used to it I wouldn’t be able to live without it. At any time, Alysia and I could be separated. It didn’t just happen in the deep, but King Roth had parted us once as well. She was my strength, and I didn’t want her to become my vulnerability.

Chapter 1645

“The other thing for Master is this armor.” Sapphire seemed to hold this weapon with much less reverence, which told me that she hadn’t made it herself.

It appeared to be based on some of the armor I had worn in the past. Usually, when I entered dungeons, I wore a mismatch of parts from dungeon drops. Some had magical effects, while others were just strong pieces that happened to work well with my fighting style. In general, I liked to move quickly and then get out of the way. I didn’t like to take damage, so armor that kept me from getting hit was always welcome.

What I got seemed to be clad in black and grey. I noticed the body armor of the lionesses was also black and grey. At first, I thought the deep dwarves were picking colors based on the environment they were raised in, but that’s when I saw an insignia on the breastplate. It had two circles as the background, one black and one grey, and in front of it was a door leading into darkness.

“That’s our sigil…” Alysia breathed.

This sigil was the one we had to make together in the Illusory Sword Dungeon. The only place that it existed was on Alysia, a token embedded at the base of her blade. Also, the blessing on the back of my hand had the appearance of that sigil when I summoned her. Otherwise, I had never really mentioned it or made a big deal about it since I had come back. The others had noticed it though, and now I realized that the sigil wasn’t just on my armor, but on the armor of the girls too.

“I thought this was Master’s colors and insignia. Was I wrong?” Sapphire asked.

“No… it’s perfect.” I declared, causing her to smile.

Whether it was my own haphazard armor or the random stuff my party war, we had never looked like a single unit. I had always thought the idea of uniforms was silly, and that people should just wear whatever they felt like wearing. However, seeing the colors and the familiar insignia that I had chosen for myself, I was truly starting to feel like a leader. Would I call myself a king? Perhaps, it was a bit too soon for that. At the least, I felt like we were united.

“That’s all I have for now.” Sapphire finished up with that. “We will continue to produce new things. The girl’s armors will be finished, but Uncle wanted to finish yours first. I worked on the sword!”

I had already guessed that, but seeing her puffing out with pride, I couldn’t help but thank her again. By thanking her, I meant that I pulled her into my arms and I gave her a kiss. The lionesses looked with interest, while Eliana looked away sheepishly. The Titan Fall girls watched with interest, nodding with approval at the proper levels of manliness. Anne was the one who had the biggest reaction. Her eyes popped out and her mouth fell open.

“Keep doing what you’re doing.” I declared pulling away.

“Y-yes… Master.” She breathed, and then I took her lips one more time.

“Wh-what is going on?” Anne finally cried out.

“Mmm?” I finally let Sapphire pull away and she looked over at Anne. “I thought you knew? He is my Master… and… my lover.”

The second part was much quieter, and she looked away when she said it.

“Th-this… you… him…” Anne didn’t seem to compute this, and so she continued to sputter like a broken record.

“Well, I guess I should be going,” Sapphire announced, still a bit flustered from her previous kissing, and I opened up a portal to help her return to Chalm where she’d be safe.

“Since that is done, you all have until tonight,” I spoke to the remaining present. “We will begin then.”

Most of them took the orders, but Anne had finally seemingly regained her wits. “Y-you…”

“Me?”

“You’re devoted to the daughter after all!” Anne declared happily.

“That’s what you got out of that?”

Chapter 1646

“You’ve been rather silent since I found you,” I said. “Are you alright?”

While the lionesses scouted out the terrain and Eliana prepared for the upcoming battle, I retired to my room. I had been up for nearly two days. Even though I didn’t need as much sleep as I once did, a few hours of rest before we began the ceremony was probably a good idea. With some effort, I managed to get Cici and Chance to leave the room, giving me some private time with Carmine. Alysia had politely retreated into my soul world to give us the time and space we needed as well.

Carmine didn’t answer my question right away. She sat there on the bed across from me for a bit, thinking slowly and deliberately. I had already spent about an hour filling her in on everything that had happened, starting from when I was

“When our bond was cut, I felt I had lost a part of myself.” Carmine began. “You are my everything, and one minute you were there a feeling in the back of my head, and the next minute you were gone. I didn’t even have Salicia there to irritate me. Have you found her?”

“I’m… um… still looking.” I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

She only nodded. “Well, it’s not like she would have been any comfort. For most of my life, I’ve been on my own. I thought that was always going to be the case. It wasn’t until I ended up by your side that realized I wasn’t alone in this world. Just when I was starting to grow comfortable, just when I was starting to think things were going to be different, then you were gone, and I was on my own again.”

I winced. “I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have taken so long to find you.”

“I don’t blame you. Had I not run off here, I would have heard of your return months ago. I had just been doing nothing in the church…”

“And Mary cut you off from retail therapy?”

“Exactly!” She nodded like I was being serious. “I came down here to train up and fight. I had this belief I’d one day charge into the Ost Republic, overturn the church of the daughter, and then get vengeance. I suppose, that gave me purpose. As time went on though, I stopped thinking about why I was fighting so hard in this dungeon. I just kept doing it… because when I was fighting, I didn’t have to think about that hole that would never be filled again. Then, I saw that fey woman from our past, and I realized that I couldn’t just hide. You were my Master, and you died without things being resolved. I realized that I should be there to help you fulfill what you wanted… and then I ended up a puppet.”

She ended with a sigh, a look of self-deprecation on her face.

“You’ve grown, Carmine. You’re stronger now. I can’t promise that something might not happen in the future. However, I will promise that I will always come back. I will never abandon you.” I declared.

Her eyes teared up, and she pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them and blow her nose. When she was done, she looked up at me.

“So, what now?” She asked.

“I will do anything for you.” I declared. “What do you want?”

Carmine bit her lip. “I’d like Master… to be inside me.”

That escalated quickly.