Chapter 65：The Dungeon Lord signs the contract.

After arriving at the refugees camp, I looked for Geo to straight things up.

"Hey Geo, you there?"

"Mr. Plate, how can I serve you?"

"Nothing much, it's just that if anyone tries to go out right now they will die."

"...What!?"

"As I just told you, leaving equals death. I added some death traps to the entrance just now to protect us against the orcs, they should ensure no orc enters the cave. The down side is that the traps work both ways, so you can't normally get out right now."

"But Mr. Plate, I will soon need to depart to meet the Human Lord and ask reinforcements..."

"That's fine, just talk to me and I will send you off. Just make sure your refugees don't try to go out, or they will die."

"That's right! This is a huge problem! If they can't get out, how will they get food?"

"Hmm... your supplies should last another few days right?"

"Yes, they should last a week but the war won't end this fast!"

"No problem, as long as they can last a few days, my crops should have matured enough to be harvested."

"What?? Sorry, you lost me, please explain."

"Oh! I forgot you didn't enter yet. All right, come with me, also bring the one who will be in charge of the camp when you leave, this place is not a good spot to camp as it may turn into a battlefield soon, so I will prepare some space further inside."

"All right Mr. Plate. Just give me a minute to prepare. Stone, came here!"

A few seconds later a gigantic muscular elf arrived.

"Stone, this is Mr. Plate, owner of the Dungeon, he will help us in our fight against the orcs. For anything the refugees need, talk to him."

Both of us did a handshake as we greeted each other.

"Hello Mr. Plate, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Stone. Also, no need to call me Mister, just Plate will do."

"All right Plate."

"Stone, Mr. Plate will show us around the Dungeon, but first we need to warn everyone that starting from now it's prohibited to exit the cave without guidance from Mr. Plate. Some deadly traps were installed and it's not safe to walk around there without any guidance."

"All right, I will warn the people and put a Guard to ensure no one gets hurt."

"Good, as soon as you finish, please come back here."

Stone nodded and vanished at a speed difficult to imagine for such big body.

"Mr. Plate, while he is taking care of this, please read the agreement, please pay an extra attention as I added a few details to it to ensure both our interests before signing it."

Saying so, Geo gave me the contract he had finished writing. I took my time reading everything and sure enough all I asked was here, plus a few extra lines certifying I would ensure the Princess safety all the time and make it the highest priority and other technical details that would ensure neither of us would stab each other's back.

Satisfied, I signed my name on it and a few seconds later I heard a message from the Dungeon Core.

[Alliance Contract Signed]

[The other party will be now temporarily considered Allies.]

[Please adjust alliance settings on the Dungeon Core to define the limits of the alliance.]

What? Is this a new function? Was this unlocked because of the contract??

Hmm...

Let's leave it for later, we got other urgent matters to finish now.

As I was thinking about what to do, Stone came back.

"Geo, all done."

"Great! It seems we are finished here too, right Mr. Plate?"

"Yeah, this will do. Now only Alice will have to sign the contract and we are set."

"No, Mr. Plate. Her Highness Second Princess has already signed the contract. Look here."

Applying some Mana on the contract a seal of an elf with a crown and a rune appeared in the places the Princess was supposed to sign.

"This is the Elven Royal Crest, it only appears when injected with Mana."

"Hoooohh. Now that's one interesting tool. I'm impressed!"

Geo smiled with pride, took two copies of the contract and delivered it to me.

"Please deliver one copy to the Princess."

"No problem. Now, follow me, let me show where you should move the refugees."

"As you wish."

Opening a door in the wall to allow the refugees inside, I led Geo and the Rock guy to the Farming Camp.

As soon as they saw the rich field filled with immature vegetables both were completely stunned and a few words escaped their months.

"It's really a..."

"Holy Ground..."

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Oh! Nothing! Don't worry! We were just surprised by your fields..."

"Quite good right? In a few more days all should be ready to be harvested, then your food problems will be over!"

"Well, yes, it will be a good boost, enough for another two or three weeks, but after that it will be a problem..."

"Don't worry, if we got 2 weeks, we can grow pretty much anything in these fields!"

"?? What do you mean?"

"The crops you are seeing were planted less than a week ago."

"You are joking right?"

"No, I'm serious!"

Geo stared at my face for a few seconds looking for some clue that it was a joke.

"Hey, stop staring at me, I don't swing that way!"

Geo completely ignored my joke and answered in a serious voice.

"Mr. Plate, if what you say is real, you should be extra careful to not let any Human Lord discover this, or they will do anything in their power to seize the Dungeon."

I smile helplessly to Geo and answer.

"I tried to keep it concealed but because of this War, you know this is inevitable. Well, if worse comes to worst, wish me luck."

"Yes, if such a time arrive, not only you will receive my best wishes, but also reinforcements as well. This kind of treasure is too much to be placed in the hands of the greedy Humans."

"Hey, I am Human too!"

"No, you only were Human in your past life. But right now you are the Dungeon's Avatar, a unique being exclusive for each dungeon, classified as a Homunculus by the Wizard's alliance. All your thoughts process and instincts were overwritten to make you prioritize the Dungeon and abandon everything that tied you before like relationships, dreams and obligations... or so it's said in the Elven Royal Library."

"Really? I heard many legends but never had access to such registers."

"Of course not. This is not something anyone can have access to. And I'm sure there are many other secrets that I am unaware as well. Sorry for the bad news, Mr. Plate."

"Well, that explains the blanks in my memory, but it's not too bad, at least I am alive, and as long as there is life, there is hope, maybe one day I will free myself from this place and carve my own destiny again. We can talk more about this later, for now let's take care of the space for the refugees."