In the Shadows

"And that's what happened!"

"So you were just watching the whole time?"

"I don't have a physical body, so I couldn't stop it. And I can't use [Possession] without Master's cooperation either."

I thought I'd returned to the inn and woken up from a good sleep, but it turned out I'd been charmed by the Succubus and lost my memories.

From Rokuko and Neru's testimonies, I quickly learned that I'd been easily charmed. Moreover, my own handwritten note served as decisive evidence. A memo that read: "I have been charmed and am losing my memories." This memo, which I'd left with Rokuko, brought back some of my memories.

The memories that returned weren't about my exchange with Suira, but about the preparation stage.

Since I couldn't recall what had happened with Suira, I returned to my room first and had Neru fill in the gaps… Good thing I went back to my room first. It was the kind of secret I couldn't just let Rokuko overhear.

"But this went according to plan, right?"

"Well, yeah."

The part about me being charmed by the Succubus had gone as planned so far.

The strategy I had in mind went like this:

First, pretend to be charmed by the pink-haired little girl.

Lure out her sister, reveal that I wasn't charmed, then get charmed for real.

If possible, Neru would restore my sanity, and if not, she'd focus on gathering information.

*Additionally, Niku would stay hidden and tail them. If possible, she'd track them back to their base.

Getting charmed after revealing I wasn't charmed was a feint to make the opponent let their guard down.

And in carrying out this strategy, I'd taken out insurance by lightly sealing my own memories and forgetting the latter half of the plan. My handwritten memo would serve as the key to remember.

The method I used to seal them was exactly the same as what Suira used: a command through [Charm].

As a result, I unconsciously took careless actions and was charmed naturally.

Additionally, I had locked it so I wouldn't leak anything about the dungeon by treating it as "not worth bringing up."

Neru, possessing the Doll, had charmed me under Rokuko's supervision, but… my memory around that part is also fuzzy. I didn't do anything weird, did I? More importantly, nothing weird was done to me, right?

"Still, I'd planted various things in the inn's warehouse as prepared weaknesses… but none of that came up. Damn, things don't go as planned."

"Well, you can't really predict someone's thought patterns when they're charmed, can you? It all becomes incomprehensible once the charm wears off."

I wasn't expecting to predict it perfectly though.

The only "prepared weakness" that came out was "I've killed people (bandits) and had the dungeon eat them." And since it slipped out naturally, it was barely safe. If anything, maybe it made it more believable?

I returned to the Master Room where Rokuko was waiting.

When I came in, Rokuko looked up from whatever book she'd been reading.

Niku had returned as well. Apparently Rokuko had retrieved her once she came back within the dungeon's domain.

"Are you okay now, Kehma?"

"Yeah. I think my memories have been mostly filled in."

I removed the ring and handed it back to Rokuko. My part was done, so there was no reason for me to keep holding onto it.

"So, how did things go on your end, Niku?"

"I found their base. I can clean them up whenever."

"I see. Good work."

When I petted Niku, her tail wagged back and forth.

… Watching Niku like that, a thought suddenly occurred to me. Maybe talking about disposing of everyone is actually worse for her moral development than building a brothel?

Or rather, isn't Niku's approach a bit too ruthless? Loyalty to the dungeon is good and all, but at this rate, she might end up as the type to smile while holding a blood-soaked knife.

Right now she's just treating disposal as the default… how did it come to this?

"… Let's go the peaceful route for now, okay?"

"Yes."

They seem to have their own circumstances, and dialogue is important… yeah, let's go with that.

Still though, [Charm] is scary… it can even seal memories. I wonder if I could get a [Charm] resistance skill from the gacha? It's not in the catalog though.

"Peaceful, huh? You're going to put them under the dungeon's control and have them build a brothel? I don't mind."

"Rokuko… please help me think up an excuse for Haku-san."

"Just say you had it built to house the Succubi. They're a legitimate fighting force, aren't they?"

"… Would she buy that?"

"Kehma, aren't you too afraid of Haku-neesama? You've even beaten her before."

Alright, if we're going to build the brothel, let's try that approach (trembling voice).

… Well, each Succubus costs tens of thousands of DP, and there are ten of them. If I can make them our allies, there's no doubt it'll be a big plus for us financially. Having one human among them is a problem, but I'll think about that after talking to them.

"Now then, Neru. Tell me what the Succubi did to Kehma."

"Okay! I'll tell you everything except what I was told not to say!"

Hey, you just revealed there's something you can't say.

"… So there are things that need to be kept secret? Sounds like those Succubi need a stern punishment…"

"Right, let's table that for now. Oookay, time to go deal with those Succubi! We gotta hurry before they escape!"

I blatantly changed the subject.

"You will tell me everything later, got it?"

"Sure, if I still remember by then."

… It's troublesome in various ways, so I'd be grateful if I could just forget about it.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

And so, I had Niku head to the Succubi's base with the Succubus Ring equipped.

A ramshackle hut standing in the forest… maybe a shack that woodcutters use as a rest stop?

For now, I took control of the surrounding forest as dungeon territory, leaving only the shack the Succubi are holed up in outside the dungeon.

From the Master Room, I deployed Golems to the areas we'd taken control of.

I had the Messenger Golem, Uuma, stand in front of the shack and spoke through its mouth. Meeting them directly would risk getting charmed again, so this was my method of contact.

In other words, this was a raid as a Dungeon Master… or rather, as a Dungeon Boss.

"Ahem, ahem. Let's see… you are completely surrounded. Resistance is futile, so come out quietly."

"Who are… wait, wh-wh-wh-what is this!? A horde of Golems!?"

By the way, I'd deployed a mere fifty Stone Golems, just enough to completely pack the area around the shack.

Now then, let's have a peaceful discussion… while surrounded by Golems.