The deepest part of the dungeon, Forneus's quarters.
Tral and I were on our knees with our hands bound before Forneus. Seductively lying on the bed, Forneus sat with crossed legs on the thigh of our stripped tribe chief. Our once dignified chief now looked like nothing more than a male prostitute.
"What is this?"
Forneus twirled the roasted wild boar we had grilled in her hand. Meat juice and grease splattered everywhere, but Forneus didn't care at all.
"This is what we call barbecue—"
"Quiet, pig. Don't grunt. I didn't ask you."
"..."
As soon as I spoke, Forneus extended her ear to the tribe chief. Though hesitant, the chief stuck out his tongue and licked Forneus's ear. As if cleaning off something dirty by licking it.
I'm sorry, brother.
The chief was apologizing to me with his eyes. I felt a surge of anger that the chief wasn't taking my side, but as the one responsible for our tribe, he had no choice but to grovel before Forneus. If the chief fell out of favor, the entire tribe would too, and we could all be killed or expelled from the dungeon.
"Right. Then let's have that handsome orc speak."
"...This is what we call barbecue. It's food made by skewering appropriately cut wild boar meat onto sharpened goblin bones and grilling it directly over a wood fire."
"Is that so? Hmm."
Forneus took a big bite of the wild boar meat that had bite marks on it.
"Heh heh."
I wonder if Forneus knew. That those bite marks were mine, and that I had been enjoying it until I thought of her and lost my appetite. It was quite amusing to see her chewing and sucking the meat juice without knowing this.
"What are you smiling about?"
Slap!
Forneus struck the chief's cheek. The chief bowed his head to Forneus with a reddened face, and my smile froze stiff.
"The responsibility for subordinates naturally falls on their superior. Isn't that right?"
"...Your words are most wise."
The chief calmly defended Forneus. After eating and spitting out the wild boar meat, Forneus pointed the burnt goblin bone at us and sneered.
"To dare eat such delicious food without informing the dungeon master, keeping it to yourselves. How insolent. I should kill you right now."
"Lord Forneus...!"
The chief stood up, knelt in front of us to block Forneus, and knelt. Forneus emanated killing intent toward the chief who wasn't moving according to her orders, but paused briefly when she saw the chief kneel of his own accord.
"They are still young ones who haven't even undergone their coming-of-age ceremony! Please forgive these immature warriors with your generous heart as vast as your bosom!"
"Hmm, hmm. Yes. I am rather generous."
Forneus raised her chin and emphasized her chest. Her sagging breasts were so large I almost thought she had three heads. I nearly sneered, but I'm not crazy enough to draw aggro in a situation where the chief was bowing his head so deeply.
"...."
I kept my mouth shut quietly with my head bowed. Tral, picking up on this, lowered his head and apologized to Forneus.
"We have committed a sin worthy of death. However, as we could not present something inadequate to the dungeon master, we were in the midst of research to offer you the finest quality."
"Oh? So you're saying this isn't it?"
Forneus grinned as she tore off meat clinging to the goblin bone like ribs. She seemed delirious after eating properly cooked barbecue when she'd been eating meat without even removing the gamey smell, let alone seasoning it. But she thoroughly refused to even glance at me, whom she considered filthy, treating me as if I didn't exist.
"Is that so? Heheheh, then bring me something more delicious than this before your coming-of-age ceremony. If you fail to do so, the pig beside you will be thrown outside the dungeon to become goblin food that very day."
Damn.
"Right. To be tastier than wild boar, you'll need good ingredients? How about that orc pig next to you? Kekeke! I could kill it for you!"
As expected, Forneus hadn't forgotten. I bit my lip invisibly in anger, but seeing Tral's trembling fist, I couldn't express my anger.
"Are you boys having fun? Hehe, come here. Depending on how well you perform today, I might treat those differently?"
"...Thank you."
We were released thanks to the chief's sacrifice. Tral looked ready to grab his weapon and pulverize Forneus, and I had to calm him down.
"Hey. I have to go intercept the Kingdom's army tomorrow. I'll write down the recipe for you, so just practice."
"...I'm sorry, brother."
Tral was furious but helpless.
All I could do was write down the recipe for crispy outside, juicy inside goblin skewer and hand it to Tral; I had no strength for anything else.
The only power I had was one:
'All those kingdom soldiers entering the dungeon tomorrow are dead.'
Though misplaced, I decided to vent this irrepressible frustration on the humans entering the dungeon.
==
In the territory of Margrave Aries of the Zodiac Kingdom, an entrance to a dungeon had opened. Numerous adventurers came forward to conquer the dungeon, but it was Demon King Solomon's thirtieth dungeon.
The clear rate was only 24%. Despite almost three years passing since the dungeon opened, adventurers had struggled to conquer it. The dungeon's master, the demon Forneus, was nowhere to be seen, and adventurers who entered were all killed and returned as corpses.
Eventually, Margrave Aries dispatched a large subjugation force consisting of five knights led by his eldest daughter, Knight Ayla, and two hundred elite soldiers.
"I will definitely conquer the dungeon, Father."
Ayla Aries exuded confidence. Having earned her knighthood through her own abilities, Ayla possessed the strongest power in the territory and had experience exploring dungeons ranked even higher than 30th during her time as a squire.
"Be sure to return alive."
Though the Margrave had unwavering faith in his daughter's victory, he couldn't shake an old man's worry that if he kept sending his daughter, he might never see her again. The noble lady reassured her worried father, squeezing his hands.
"Do not worry. I won't be reckless. If there's danger, I will ensure everyone returns safely."
"My lady..."
A small boy standing beside the Margrave approached the noble lady. The much taller blonde female knight knelt on one knee before the boy, and only then were their eyes level.
"Do not worry, Prince. I will definitely return alive."
"Y-you must return in two weeks...! By then!"
"Yes, our engagement ceremony."
The female knight bowed her head to the prince. Although she didn't kiss his hand, the fact that Ayla, whose pride was rumored to reach the heavens, bowed her head was essentially a pledge to devote her life to the prince.
"Ah..."
The young prince blushed, and Ayla rose from her position and mounted her horse. Everyone in the count's family believed without doubt in the subjugation force's victory, and they were all filled with dreams of triumphantly returning after breaking through the dungeon.
"Let's go! Monsters are no match for us!"
Ayla's confidence, boldly proclaimed, truly pierced the heavens, and her spirit seemed ready to behead the dungeon's demon Forneus at any moment.
And from the moment they entered the dungeon, they sensed something was wrong.
Pahuu....
The entrance of the dungeon.
In a wide open space, a single orc breathing heavily greeted the subjugation force of just over 200. Unlike commonly known orcs, this one holding a blunt mace had only a protruding belly.
"Commander, what should we do?"
"It's a trap. Definitely a trap. Otherwise, such an unsightly creature wouldn't be alone, would it?"
Ayla scolded her subordinate knight and examined the open space. The orc wore only a leather vest on top, which barely covered its nipples due to its large torso, and below, as if lacking proper pants, it had wrapped rags around to cover its front.
"What a filthy dungeon. Why couldn't adventurers return alive after facing something like this?"
Pahuu.
The orc stood still, repeatedly breathing heavily. Ayla, not letting her guard down, thoroughly scanned the surroundings and, realizing there was no trap, declared to her soldiers.
"Proud sons of Aries! Is there no one who will kill this arrogant orc? Whoever achieves this feat, I will personally reward!"
The soldiers didn't step forward. Having been mobilized for the subjugation force, they showed no signs of taking initiative.
"Tsk."
"I will go."
"Oh, Sir Scouter. I entrust this to you."
To boost the morale of the soldiers, a knight with his face hidden by a helmet pulled on his reins and charged toward the orc.
"Standing still, you stupid—"
Crunch.
Sir Scouter was pulverized in one strike. The orc, after swinging its mace, grabbed the horse's neck and strangled it, then threw the skull-crushed corpse of Sir Scouter behind him.
Kyagyagyagak.
Dozens of monsters hidden in the ceiling descended upon the subjugation force.
Oink!!
Using Sir Scouter's corpse as a signal, the orc began the interception.