The Ultimate Glitch ～One Man Conquers a Dungeon That Humanity Couldn’t Conquer for Hundreds of Years, in Only Two Hours～ - Chapter 8

The Lost Forest

Chapter 8

“I must apologize, Gustave…”

Orus faced Gustave as they stood before the Castle’s gates.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Orus. I would’ve done the same if I’d been in Demitrius’ shoes. I’m glad the suspicions were cleared.”

He gave Orus a single nod before leaving with his partners.

“Gustave and his men left, right?” “Yes, they did.”

In his office, Demitrius was brooding. Seating in front of his desk was the Chief Executive, who wiped the sweat off his forehead with a tissue.

“I feel bad about suspecting them.”

“But now that we know Black Sword had nothing to do with the treasure, we’re back to square one – who conquered those dungeons?”

Everyone in the Castle was talking about the recent news, until it got around to the

King’s ears. Demitrius had some explaining to do.

“There’s no way two dungeons could be conquered so quickly, one right after the

other.”

“Maybe the Conqueror is not a citizen of this country?,” suggested the Chief

Executive. Indeed, the adventurer hadn’t been registered, which could mean that they were a foreigner. However, control at the border are so strict that it was almost impossible for such a thing to happen.

Now, had it been a group, a just a single person?

“It doesn’t matter,” said Demitrius, “what does is that they definitely know what they’re doing. They might go for another dungeon very soon.”

“You could prevent that by closing the dungeons.”

“No, there’s another pressing matter – we need to make sure other countries don’t hear about this. They can’t know that the dungeons have been conquered. If they learn that we have obtained ancient treasures, it might create extra tensions.”

“Alright. We’ll ask the Guild and the people working in this castle to keep it a secret.”

The Chief Execute bowed and left the office. Demitrius was now alone in his office, his thoughts racing trying to grasp the situation.

****

Reid was awakened by a strange sight.

The pink-haired girl was sitting up-right on a chair in the middle of the room, staring at nothing.

Reid cleared his throat, “did you spend the whole night like this?”

The night before, Reid had asked if she wanted him to prepare a futon for her, but she had replied that it was unnecessary. He had just shrugged it off and gone to sleep.

He wondered if the girl even needed sleep. “Yes,” she replied, “I do not need sleep.” Well, that settles it, he thought.

To be honest, Reid had no idea what to do with the girl. She wasn’t a human being but it wasn’t a reason for him to treat her like an object. He guessed that she didn’t need food either, that her body just regenerated energy on its own.

So, what was left for him to do? Reid couldn’t answer that. All he knew, is that he needed to go back to his field and work.

“I need to head out. I’m sorry but could you please wait for me here?” Reid carried the hoe on his shoulder and went through the door – when he saw the girl’s shadow next to him. “Uh? You’re coming with me?”

“I was assigned to protect my Master.”

“There’s no need for that. Can’t you do some house chores?” “I cannot do that.”

Reid sighed. Looks like there was nothing to be done, so the trio started their way up to the field.

On the road, Fyne saw Reid and came to see him, frowning at the sight of the girl. “Reid,” she started, “who’s this?”

“Uhm, this is my niece! She said she wanted to see my work in the fields.”

“Is that so…,” she replied, not convinced by Reid’s lie. She scanned the strange

girl.

Shit, he thought, I made her wear some oversized clothes, gloves and a scarf to

hide her metallic body. The girl looks like she could be Fyne’s age. Fyne’s definitely gonna think it’s weird.

He cleared his throat, “alright, we must go now! Fyne, you must have work to do, too, right?” Reid took the pink-haired girl’s hand and basically ran away from Fyne, leaving her even more suspicious.

Ah, she must think the whole thing is weird, he thought. This could be a problem.

After he finished his work, he used the book to teleport back to his home so he wouldn’t run into Fyne. After they did so, the girl just stood in the room, unmoving.

“You should sit,” Reid suggested. The doll-like little girl did as she was told, sitting

in that upright position she was in earlier. She didn’t speak or do anything unless Reid told her to.

He suddenly remembered something that the voice had said in the dungeon. “Your   name’s Orchid, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Alright, I’ll call you Orchid from now on. Tomorrow I’ll go to the market. You should come along.”

“Yes, Master. I shall accompany you.”

Reid needed to buy a few daily necessities, along with some clothes for Orchid.

She looked too suspicious wearing his clothes.

She spent the night staring at nothing again, seating on her chair. Reid felt uncomfortable, but there was nothing to be done about it. He forced himself to ignore it and fell asleep.

****

In the Castle –

Princess Nina entered King Rudolf’s room. Her father’s health condition was deteriorating.

“Father,” she started, while lying beside him in his bed, “there’s a rumor about dungeons being conquered going around the Castle. Is it true?”

“Yes. The news came from Demitrius.” “What happened to those dungeons?”

“All life disappeared from inside them and the resources that were being mined can no longer be retrieved. The Guild said the dungeons stopped functioning.”

“But, if there are no monsters anymore, wouldn’t it be easier for mining?”

“No, the dungeons are still dangerous. Besides, there isn’t much to mine in those dungeons. Even if all of them stop functioning, it won’t be an immediate problem.”

“Good, I’m relieved. And what about the treasure? Why didn’t the Conqueror come

forward?”

The King scratched his beard and closed his eyes, thinking. “I don’t know the details but if it was someone from another country, they will definitely not do so.”

“You think it’s a foreigner?”

“It could be. But I don’t think they’re from Alessandro. If we don’t figure it out quickly, it could lead to war. We need more power to protect our country.”

The King started to cough while Nina rubbed his back. She understood how hard her father’s work was.

“In any case,” she said, “we need to find who has the treasures. The future of this country depends on it.”