In the Shadows

"And that's what happened!"

"So you were just watching the whole time?"

"I don't have a 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's 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've been charmed and will be losing my memories]. Seeing this memo that I'd left with Rokuko, some of my memories came back.

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

Since I couldn't remember the parts concerning Suira, I returned to my room first and had Neru fill in the gaps… Thank goodness I came back to my room first. After all, it was a secret I couldn't carelessly let Rokuko hear.

"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 acted almost unconsciously while charmed, getting charmed naturally.

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

Neru, possessing the Doll, had charmed me under Rokuko's supervision, but… that part of my memory is also fuzzy. I didn't do anything weird, did I? Or rather, did you guys do anything weird to me?

"Still, I'd set up various things in the inn's warehouse to appear as weaknesses… but none of that came up at all. 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 up was "I've killed people (bandits) and had the dungeon eat them." And I barely got away with how I said it. If anything, maybe it made it more believable?

I returned to the Master Room where Rokuko was waiting.

When I entered, Rokuko looked up from some book she was reading.

Niku had returned as well. It seemed Rokuko had retrieved her when she returned to the dungeon's domain.

"Are you okay now, Kehma?"

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

I removed the ring (Neru) and handed it to Rokuko. Since my task is done, there's no reason for me to keep 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. Isn't casually talking about cleaning people up worse for her upbringing than building a brothel?

Or rather, Niku, your way of handling things is a bit too ruthless, you know? Being loyal to the dungeon is good and all, but at this rate, you might end up becoming a knife-wielding killing machine with a smile on your face.

She's still assuming that cleaning them up is the normal approach… how did she end up like this?

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

"Yes."

They seem to have their own circumstances, so talking with them is important… let's go with that.

Still though, charms are scary—they 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? Are you going to put the brothel under the dungeon's control? I don't mind."

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

"Can't you just say you built it to take in Succubi? They'd be great assets for the dungeon, right?"

"… Would that work?"

"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.

"… In other words, there's something that needed to be kept secret? It looks like those Succubi need some harsh punishment…"

"Alright, let's put that aside for now. Oookay, the Succubi! They might escape if we're not quick!"

I blatantly changed the subject.

"You will tell me later, right?"

"Well, if I still remember."

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

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Because of all that, I had Niku head to the Succubi's base with the Succubus Ring equipped.

It was a ramshackle hut in the forest… maybe a shack that woodcutters use as a rest stop or something?

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 him. Since I'd probably get charmed again if I met them directly, this was how I'd make 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 please come out."

"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 fill the area around the shack.

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