Chapter 65: Intelligent Evaluations

Duke Ashburn sat behind a dark mahogany desk in his private office while fingering through piles of paperwork. This was everything from shipments, material stocks, population and crime reports, correspondence with the capital and other nobility, local governmental affairs and much more.

There was an entire pyramid structure under his employ of council members who oversaw various parts of the city to take workload off his shoulders, but he still had to go over all the paperwork and sign them off for approval before they could be filed or enacted.

Whilst he was pinching his brow and kneading his cramped muscles, his wife entered the room with a tray of beverages. She placed them down on the table and elegantly poured him a cup of tea, steam lightly wafting off the dark bronze liquid.

"Dear, I've brought you some tea."

"Thank you, it's much appreciated."

The duke picked up the cup and took a sip before sighing in appreciation.

"The Southern Calibronte blend always helps me relax. You truly do know me best."

"What kind of wife would I be if I didn't know what my husband preferred."

"One I would have married regardless."

The duke spoke with a steadfast expression, but his kind words caused a slight smile to appear of the corner of the duchess' lips.

"How are things going with Gab? You're not very good at expressing yourself, but I know you've been keeping a close eye on him."

"I am just… concerned."

"About what?"

"Everything. From what he knows, to his sudden shift in attitude. He has spoken of his experience of going through this life multiple times, and with what he has said…"

"You believe it. Despite how hard you try to be on him, you would believe it even if he didn't have any evidence."

"Of course. He is my son and it is my duty as a father. This world is filled with endless oddities, many far more unbelievable than this."

Duke Ashburn picked up two documents on the side of the desk and handed them over to his wife. One was a report, while the other was a latter with the wax seal already broken.

"…These are?"

"Read them."

The duchess pulled the letter out of the envelope and read that first, slightly raising her brow in surprise.

"This is…"

"Correct, a letter from Duchess Euklid, whom is greatly thankful for his timely warning before the festival. There was still severe damage to the city, which is why it took her so long to reply, but she has finally repaired the damages."

"That conniving woman is coming to visit and even bringing her daughter along?" Duchess Ashburn massaged her temples in worry. "She is clearly aiming for a betrothal between our children, just look at the way she worded the letter… sigh, Gab is in over his head. She said two weeks from now, when was the letter sent?"

"A week ago…"

"She could be here any day then. Knowing her, she will arrive a day or two early just to catch us off guard. I will make sure her welcoming procession is ready to move from tomorrow onwards."

"It gets worse, read the report."

The duchess fingered through the several page report on the elf known as 'Therina', which Gabralter had been searching for. He had shown signs of clearly being smitten by her, and her appearance truly was that of a beauty.

"He hadn't mentioned anything about this woman to me…" The duchess expressed her displeasure over her son not introducing the woman he fancied to her, but her expression rapidly turned colder.

"Me neither. He seemed to actively avoid mention of her in detail when recounting his experiences to us. This is why."

"She is someone the illegal dungeon lord has used repeatedly for breeding monsters. Of course he can't bring back a woman who has been… sullied… in such a way."

The duke drank the last of his tea in one mouthful while his wife gracefully poured him another cup.

"Rather than that, if you read between the lines… Our son died, Loraine. In every timeline, he died. There is a single shared factor between every single one of his deaths – that dungeon and the illegal dungeon lord operating things from behind the scenes."

"And this woman is tied to that dungeon."

"Yes. Gab can't see it, but I can. I've gone over her information again and again while comparing them to what else I know from what Gabralter stated… She isn't innocent in this, our son just can't realize it for himself. Her actions alone mean she already knows she's being followed, and her strength is also uncanny. How could a <Lv. 19> adventurer, a production class Thatcher no less, detect Third Step rankers hidden behind advanced concealment skills."

"Dear, as much as I like you sticking to the laws, I think the best course of action is to silently… dispose of her. Without letting Gab know."

"…I have already thought of that, but it's too dangerous."

Duchess Ashburn had a rare look of shock on her face, breaking her otherwise constant regal expression.

"In what way?"

"I'm not exactly sure myself, it is a number of things. First is the recent spike in missing person cases, some of which hold some highly suspicious actions behind them. Then there is the increased number of adventurer and mercenary deaths which has led them putting up some very vivid warnings for any adventurers going to the dungeon…"

Duke Ashburn looked back over the report and narrowed his eyes at one particular section.

"The most dangerous unknown is that the Third Step guards didn't enter the dungeon not just because they didn't want to be detected by the dungeon lord, but they felt an extremely acute sense of danger coming from it."

"If the high level guards are feeling that kind of intimidation from it, then something truly powerful must be hiding inside of the dungeon, most likely the dungeon lord themselves. I am missing a lot of important information which I need. I cannot just send our strongest forces into the dungeon and have them be buried there, which would cripple this city."

The duchess sat down with her own cup of tea while she processed all the information before calming herself.

"Have you informed the capital of this?"

"Yes, but I don't know if the only two Fourth Step rankers in this country will make a move because of this. I am expecting a response along with an expert analyst team to evaluate the dungeon. We can only bide our time until then."

"And do whatever we can to keep Gab away from that woman. The poison currently coming to the city, or the poison he is chasing after… why must life be so unfair to him."

"It will be okay, as his parents, we will have to do something. Dear, what if it is one of the Monster Lords?"

"If that was the case, I would instead be relieved. They are bound to their lands by the Ancient Accordance and Treaty of Gods. Should they break that treaty, the goddess herself with intervene and erase them along with the dungeon."

~~~~~

⠀

Deep within the heart of the dungeon, Styx sat with Therina across his lap. Her arms wrapped around him and her head buried deeply in the crook of his neck.

She held her eyes closed and took slow, shallows breaths as she softly kissed his neck and wedged her face tighter against him.

"I've missed this," She whispered while taking in his scent.

Styx rolled his eyes and stated, "It has only been about a week since last time. Irie waits that long every week."

"That is a week too long."

Therina giggled and bit his neck playfully before licking where she bit.

"Enough," Styx stated and pushed her face back before wiping off his sore and wet neck. "Do you understand what you need to do? Don't forget, this was your request."

"Of course, I just wanted… some us time… before leaving."

"I will give you plenty of 'us time' when you get back. But I need you to go now, while Aura is still interested in it."

Styx pinched the elf's chin and pressed his lips against hers. She immediately grabbed his face and took the initiative, prying open his lips and catching his tongue with hers.

Therina's task was to visit the hidden villages in the Abyssal Forest under Aura's guidance and advertise the dungeon for new people, or even entire villages, to migrate into it. He had given Therina poster cards on tactics and ways to incentivise people to want to migrate, which she was very eager to do.

Off to the side, Aura was already looking bored and regretting agreeing to do the extra work. She was true to her word regardless, and patiently waited while watched the two kiss, thinking about when Styx did kissed her.

She understood it was an intimate action, and could even admit that certainly wasn't unpleasant, but she didn't understand Therina's passion for it.

"Come here," Styx stated to the wolf-eared woman and curled his finger.

Aura appeared directly beside the two of them and looked at Styx quizzically. He motioned for her to sit before brushing the thick, long hair along with her tail.

"I have Beatrice preparing some new clothes for you for this trip, and you also need to make sure you maintain a clean and distinguished appearance at all times. You are the poster child this trip, so how you appear before them is important."

Aura just nodded in response, indicating that she understood. As for whether she actually would pay attention to that, Styx didn't know.

"Of course, I wouldn't leave you out of a kiss either."

Styx tilted the wolfgirl's head back and planted his lips against hers. Her tail immediately wrapped around him intimately and pulled him tight against her body.

Afterward, both her and Therina left the dungeon on foot, Aura being her guide to the villages concealed behind illusion arrays and natural bewildering formations.

These villages were safe because the Monster Lords had no interest in attacking or even bothering with them, not that they were unable to find them