Dungeon Maker

She was no more fussy and cold-hearted. Yong-ho even felt she was a pleasant woman.

"Oh, I think I talked about useless things too long. An old woman like me shouldn't take away our prince's time anymore. Come here. Let me hand over my power."

Yustia suddenly beckoned to him. Surprised more by what she just said than her calling him a prince, he asked instinctively, "May I ask if you have any test?"

Since she looked like an old woman, he used honorific language before he knew it. Besides, he recalled his grandmother he had seen in the human world only a few times.

Yustia clicked her tongue then said, "Nope. As a prince, you have only Greed but also Gluttony, let alone half of the 12 Spirits of the House of Mammon. Besides, you were formally recognized by that fastidious old man Magnadon. What more tests do I need to give you now? Tests are just cumbersome stuff to me. Come over here quickly. Let me hand over my power to you right now."

She just wanted to get it done quickly. Kaiwan and the other subordinate spirits were all smiles.

When he sat right in front of the desk, Yustia signaled to him with a glance to reach out.

He held out his right hand without hesitation.

She overlapped her dry and wrinkled hand on his right hand then said slowly, "My power is 'patience.' Doesn't it perfectly suit an old woman like me?"

He smiled awkwardly at her instead of replying. Instead of putting him on the spot, she injected her power into him. A subtle gray color had been added to the magic field on his left arm.

"Don't worry too much because you are going to make Gusion your subordinate spirit then Scathach. Of course, you have to make Richard your subordinate spirit. I think I can join them lastly."

She laughed then let go of his hand. Then she opened the desk drawer one after another and pulled out a thick stack of cards.

"I feel sad if I have to leave after just handing over my power to you. I'm not a heartless woman. As you know already, my nickname is the Navigator as well as the king's prophet. Of course, in a world with so many possibilities, you can hardly make a prophecy. Identifying the big trend comes from insights based on information."

She moved the cards busily in her hand. The cards looked like tarot cards, given the way she mixed them.

"But using these cards can also help us prepare for the future. Isn't it better to rely on the small starlight to find the way rather than drifting in the vast sea?"

With a warm smile, Yustia put a well-mixed stack of cards on the desk. Just like before, she looked into Yong-ho's eyes and said, "Then let me read the fortune for your love—the eternal subject of interest for the young people. How about it?"

"Well, as for my love horoscope…"

He tried to ask her for another horoscope because he heard Catalina flapping her ears and tail. But even before he finished, Kaiwan cut in. "I hope he's in your great hands."

Yong-ho looked at Kaiwan, but she looked at Yustia only.

"Okay, then let me take a look at our prince's love horoscope."

Speaking like an actor, she drew a card from the stack of cards and laid it on the desk. Not only Catalina and Ophelia, but all the subordinate spirits gathered around the desk and looked at her fingertips.

Right at that moment, Kaiwan asked in a rather sharp voice, "Wait a moment. Why are you drawing three cards?"

Yustia laughed insidiously, and Kaiwan and Catalina looked at Yong-ho at the same time. He raised his hands to show his palms to prove his innocence.

"Now, then I'll turn the cards over."

While they were rolling their eyes sharply, Yustia turned over one of the cards.

Everyone turned their eyes at the card again.

***

"How about writing a letter to him first?" Kirtimuka said, wearing the shawl she received from the Queen of Fury for the seventh time this month. Her master, the queen, who was like her younger sister and daughter, stopped moving her fingers for a moment. But she soon resumed sewing. It seemed like she wanted Kirtimuka to support her with more specific action.

Kirtimuka covered her mouth with her hand because she could not hold back her laughter at the Queen of Fury acting cute.

About two months had passed since the alliance between the queen and the House of Mammon was made. During that period, there were no exchanges between the queen and the master of the Mammon family. In some way, that was natural because there was no reason for them to communicate with each other on a daily basis just because they were allies. Rather, frequent exchanges between them would be a red light. It was common that there were few exchanges between allies unless there was a war involving one of them, which was widely accepted not only in the demon world but also in the alien world.

Nonetheless, the Queen of Fury was nervous and impatient. At least in Kirtimuka's eyes, she seemed so. Otherwise, she would not have shown such an eccentric behavior as making dozens of clothes in two months.

Kirtimuka stopped smiling and looked seriously at the queen. As the head of Gandharva, she was young. Just because she was born with the power of Sin, she ascended to the position of queen representing not only Gandharva but also the entire eight-clan people. But from the perspective of Gandharva who lived for hundreds of years, she was still only a young girl.

Kirtimuka wished for the queen's happiness. That was why she stopped cracking a joke like she did in the first place and considered her marriage quite seriously.

It seemed that the master of the Mammon family had several women who looked like his lovers, but this was not a big problem.

Each head of a lord's house was said to be the king of a small kingdom. It was very important for them to continue their family lineage, so it was common in the demon world that the master maintained polygamy or monogamous marriages. Particularly, the eight-clan people decreased in the process of escaping from the northern area, so it was common to allow any form of marriage as long as they could produce many offspring.

Dritarastra was a queen with the Sin of Fury. Moreover, she led the people consisting of eight clans.

It was no exaggeration to say that it was a fait accompli for the Queen of Fury to become the official wife of the master of the House of Mammon the moment they married. The marriage of the two was not just a union between a man and a woman, but a union between the eight clans and the Mammon family. Although it might sound repugnant, their union could be described as a 'political marriage.'

Moreover, it would be a marriage between the queen and the master of a prestigious house. Ideally, the House of Mammon would be absorbed into the queen's eight clans, which would not go against the common sense of the demon world.

Kirtimuka didn't mention this kind of formality at all because she didn't want to offend the queen's thrill of first love, though it came to her belatedly.

"It would be okay for you to convey your best wishes to him in a simple letter. Since you have formed an alliance with him only recently, you might want to exchange gifts that would promote your friendship with him."

The queen pricked her ears at her suggestion. Kirtimuka waited, and the queen slowly raised her head and moved her hands.

She said after pretending otherwise, "Hmm. Promoting friendship?"

"Yes, promoting friendship is necessary."

Kirtimuka cheered her up again. The queen opened her lips slightly. Then she said reluctantly as if she could not help it because of Kirtimuka's repeated recommendation, "Then shall I do that?"

Kirtimuka nodded happily. However, another one cut in at that moment.

"I am opposed to that. I don't think it would be nice for you to show him that you are impatient. When you are pulling hard to get, timing is very important," said Gardimundi.

She flew through the open window into the queen's room. Kirtimuka tried to complain about her intruding into the room without passing through the main door, but the queen acted first.

Standing up quickly, the queen was no more a laughing girl but the ruler of the eight clans.

She looked at Gardimundi because she was holding a small red box in her hand.

Instead of arguing with Kirtimuka, Gardimundi approached the queen and knelt. She handed over the red box to the queen.

"The reply from the King of Violence has finally arrived."

The box made of a red dragon's scales meant the letter was written by the King of Violence himself. The queen took a deep breath after receiving the box. She was tense and nervous before she knew it because she received his reply in about three months.

Kirtimuka, who overreacted when it came to the King of Violence, waited for the queen to read the letter, with her face stiffening like the queen.

Gardimundi was also tense now, though she was in a jolly mood at first.

The Queen of Fury took the letter out of the box and opened it. The voice of the King of Violence came out of the letter cast with a spell.

[My decision to move the dragon corps was to keep the King of Gluttony in check. I never intended to threaten you, so don't worry about it.]

[The dragon corps will stick to their current position. Unless they are attacked, they will never attack first. So, keep this in mind.]

[I heard rumors about the master of the Mammon family.]

[I think he is more than qualified to be the target of your alliance.]

[It would be nice if we could build a sincere relationship with him.]

The queen smiled at the king's brief comment because she liked not only his viewpoint of Yong-ho and the reason why he moved his troops.

The King of Violence was not an enemy to the queen. He was an ally. That fact alone could relieve the queen.

Kirtimuka openly breathed a sigh of relief. Although she feared the King of Violence and watched out for him, she still trusted him. She couldn't even imagine that the great dragon would act foolishly enough to deceive his master with a fake letter.

But Gardimundi was still tense because the King of Violence continued.

[Dritarastra, Queen of Fury!]

[If you have truly made an alliance with the Mammon family, and if you intend to maintain that alliance, move more actively. Don't just be content with forming an alliance, but use the power of the alliance. If you can, use me and the Dragon Legion.]

[The choice is yours, as always.]

[I'll watch your choices, as always.]

That was the end of the letter. The Queen of Fury put the letter back in the box and flopped down on the seat she was sitting.