Chapter 94. The House Fairy

“Come over here. There's a dungeon.”

Radel gestured to the house fairy who was following closely behind him.

- It's true! How is there a dungeon here?

The house fairy was also surprised and stared at the basement entrance.

Radel asked the fairy, who seemed to have just found out despite it being a house she had settled in.

“It's a house you manage, and you didn't know this?”

- I couldn't come this far because of the demonic energy and the undead monsters…….

The house fairy drooped and lowered her head.

She was saying that she had been hiding here and there to avoid the undead monsters until now.

‘The fairy must have been scared too.’

Even Radel thought it was understandable.

How threatening must the undead monsters have looked for that little fairy to confront?

It was commendable that she had even thrown things to try and protect people somehow.

‘Anyway, this is the first time I've seen a dungeon like this.’

In this world, dungeons were no different from ancient ruins that had existed for a long time.

Things that had always been there, though no one knew when or why they had appeared.

Most of the remaining dungeons were ones that had appeared hundreds of years ago and remained to this day.

Though, looking at the research journal of Hayden's ancestor that Radel found, it seemed dungeons didn't exist from the very beginning.

Still, people had been consistently exploring dungeons, and by now, they had figured out what kind of monsters appeared in each dungeon, where the boss room was, how to clear the boss monster, and what the rewards were.

The back hill dungeon that Radel had gone to with Edward last time was a special case.

It was almost unheard of for a hidden boss room to be discovered so late.

Because most of them had been cleared a long time ago.

But this dungeon in front of him now was different.

Radel guessed that this must be a dungeon that had formed not long ago.

“Does a dungeon often form inside a house?”

- No, this is impossible!

The fairy clutched her head at Radel's question.

To think that she, a proper house fairy, didn't know this, no matter how contaminated with demonic energy it was.

She was so resentful and angry about how such a strange thing had come to be in her precious house.

- How could something so hideous! This means I can't store things in the basement! The storage space will be insufficient!

“Ah, so that was the problem.”

Lack of storage space is a big problem, indeed.

Radel sympathized with the house fairy and nodded.

“Don't worry. I'll go in and try to solve it.”

- R-really? If you do that, I'll be sure to repay this kindness!

A smile hung on Radel's lips upon hearing those words.

Something had just occurred to him upon seeing this dungeon.

The reason he came to Marcellent was to buy a usable building, and this house seemed just right.

The price was cheap, the location was good, and there was even a house fairy, albeit a little clumsy…….

Now, all he had to do was solve the dungeon.

Radel decided to clear this suspicious dungeon.

* * *

- Kyaaaaak!

A banshee shrieked at Radel.

It was a boss monster that often appeared in undead dungeons.

It appeared in the form of an old woman or a woman, floating in the air and attacking people.

The tricky part about the banshee was its attack through that shrieking sound. If you took it head-on, your health would be shaved off in an instant.

Radel, who encountered the ear-splitting sound as soon as he entered the boss room, had no choice but to take the full impact.

“It’s not easy to own a house.”

Radel took a potion from his bosom and opened the lid.

There wasn't much time to wait for recovery with the Troll's Heart.

He had to use this.

As Radel downed the potion in one gulp, a notification sound rang.

Ding.

[The effect of the Hayden-style Beginner Magic Potion is activated.]

[Health is fully recovered.]

[Magic Power is fully recovered.]

[You are free from all poison for 30 minutes.]

It was a Hayden-style Beginner Magic Potion that was not easy to make, so he used it only occasionally.

It was something Radel had saved for a time like this.

After drinking the potion, Radel immediately sprinkled holy water on his sword.

And he ran forward.

‘Basic Swordsmanship!’

Thanks to the sword sprinkled with holy water, the banshee was defeated more easily than expected.

- Kiaaaak!

As the banshee fell and scattered into the air, a welcome notification sound also rang.

Ding.

[You have defeated an incorporeal enemy.]

[The skill upgrade condition has been met.]

[Skill: Basic Swordsmanship (B)]

[Do you want to upgrade the skill? (Y/N)]

As he entered the dungeon and defeated the undead, it seemed the upgrade criteria had been met before he knew it.

After upgrading Basic Swordsmanship, Radel looked around the boss room.

It was in case there was a reward.

“There's nothing here?”

It was a really strange dungeon, as usually a reward is given right after defeating a boss monster.

On top of that, there was a strange trace on the floor.

“What is this…? A magic circle.”

As Radel got closer, the magic circle drawn on the floor gradually faded and then disappeared.

Seeing as he had felt demonic energy, it didn't seem like an ordinary magic circle.

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it was, but Radel decided to leave the boss room for now.

The dungeonization had already progressed quite a bit, so the basement had turned into a large cave.

‘It disappeared already.’

The corpses of the undead monsters Radel had defeated before entering the boss room were nowhere to be seen.

Putting aside the incorporeal ones, the corpses of gools, skeletons, and zombies should have remained, but they had all disappeared without a trace.

He couldn't feel any demonic energy, nor could he feel the flow of mana like in other dungeons.

It had now become an ordinary cave instead of a dungeon.

‘Did someone deliberately create this place?’

The magic circle he had seen in the boss room earlier came to Radel’s mind.

It was clearly a trace drawn by a person.

He thought that if Radel hadn't come and gotten rid of the undead, this dungeon might have become really dangerous.

He had only seen it at a glance, but the magic circle had something written on it about amplifying something.

He thought it might have been to strengthen the demonic energy or to make the undead violent.

For now, the boss monster was weak and Radel could defeat it by himself, but if the dungeon had been deeper and more dangerous, it would have been difficult to do so.

“The timing was good.”

In any case, the one who caught it early was the winner.

* * *

“What could have happened? Why hasn't he come out yet….”

“I must report this to the guards right now. Something terrible might have happened to His Highness.”

Cronin said firmly and turned to go to the guards.

It was a really foolish thing to do.

To have waited until now, just believing the prince’s words.

Why did he think that the prince might be able to solve this house that even decent priests and holy knights couldn't solve?

Cronin blamed himself for his complacency and looked at the broker.

“I will go and call the guards, so please wait here.”

It was at that moment.

Creak.

The door of the right house opened, and someone appeared.

It was Radel, with an expression so nonchalant that it was hard to believe he had just gone in and come out.

“Yo-Your Highness! Goodness! Are you alright?”

The broker ran over in a single breath and examined Radel.

But looking here and there, there was nothing wrong with Radel.

“I'm fine. There was a bit of a battle, but I'm alright.”

Cronin stood with his mouth agape before coming to his senses.

He was flustered because Radel looked so calm, making his worries seem pointless.

“A bit of a battle, you say?”

“There were undead monsters inside.”

No, how can he be so calm after fighting undead monsters?

On top of that, he even looked strangely refreshed.

Unlike Cronin, who felt dumbfounded by Radel’s words, tears welled up in the broker’s eyes.

“It is my fault for guiding you to a house like this. I was so afraid, thinking something might have happened to Your Highness…!”

Radel reassured the broker.

“It's alright, I was the one who asked to come. I believe the Supreme Deity guided me here. If I had been a little later, the unholy beings would have come out. This is all thanks to the Supreme Deity's care.”

“Oh! Supreme Deity!”

The broker offered a prayer with a face filled with emotion.

Radel held the broker’s hand and said.

“Becoming connected with this house like this, and seeing how the Supreme Deity has guided me, it seems we were destined to meet. I will buy this house.”

To Cronin, these were incomprehensible words.

Certainly, after the prince went in, the sound of things breaking and shattering was endless.

He could even feel the presence of an unknown being running rampant.

Even if Cronin didn't know magic, he could instinctively tell that there was something ominous in this house.

But he wants to buy a house where undead monsters appeared?

“Your Highness wants to? It’s too dangerous. We don’t know when the undead might appear again….”

The broker also shook his head, as if he had the same thought as Cronin.

A place where undead monsters had once appeared was prone to gathering demonic energy, so they could appear again at any time.

However, Radel’s expression did not change.

“That is why I must buy it. Didn't the Supreme Deity show me this place because He trusts me? He only gives what one can handle.”

The broker seemed to be swayed by Radel’s words.

Certainly, even to Cronin, the sight of Radel coming out without a single scratch was surprising.

How could a person who was neither a priest nor a cleric do this?

‘Is the power of the Supreme Deity really with him?’

Even Cronin was on the verge of being swayed by Radel’s words.

* * *

Returning to the second floor of the Spear Guild, Radel filled out a contract with the broker.

The broker was hesitant until the end, but each time, Radel was able to skillfully persuade him with appropriate words.

“Thank you for the good deal. May the blessings of the Supreme Deity be with you.”

“It was an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

The broker handed over the key to the house to Radel, received the payment, and went back.

He had a somewhat emotional face throughout the process of writing the contract, and in the end, he offered Radel a cheaper price, saying he couldn't sell a house like this at its full value.

He even insisted that the owner would do the same if he knew that undead monsters had appeared.

It was a price so cheap that Cronin, who had introduced the prince to him, was flustered.

‘What is this feeling. It’s as if I introduced a con man to the broker, not a prince…’

Cronin watched Radel, who was checking the contract while drinking tea.

When they first met, he thought he was a prince who knew nothing of the world, but now, many things had changed.

In the end, two buildings in Marcellent had fallen into his hands, just as the prince wanted.

All of this had happened in less than a day.

“Thank you. Thanks to your introduction of a good broker, I received a lot of help.”

“I am glad that Your Highness is satisfied.”

Something felt off, but he had carried out his duties for the 8th Prince well, just as his father had requested.

Now, all he had to do was see him off safely.

After that, he felt he would be able to escape this uneasy feeling.

He kept getting the feeling that he shouldn't get involved with the 8th Prince.

“Are you returning to the academy now? I will see you off, Your Highness.”

As Cronin said that and stood up from his seat, Radel looked at him with an expression that said, ‘what are you talking about?’

“No. I still have more to do.”

Cronin’s heart sank at his words.

But Radel, oblivious to his feelings, smiled nonchalantly and said this.

“Now, I’d like to talk about business.”