Chapter 43
The next morning, Adelaide yawned as she walked out into the living room. Last night’s kiss was once again forgotten due to her sleepiness and hunger.
Caladium, who had lost, sat down as if he was not expecting her. He glanced at Adelaide and saw Bell clinging to her leg.
‘Did that thing sleep in Adela’s room?’
He was even jealous of the dog. His handsome forehead twitched with displeasure.
“Today I made a simple broccoli soup.”
Lisianthus appeared, and as always, he was dressed as a neat butler while he served the food. There were a total of three servings, one for each of them: Adelaide, Lisianthus, and Caladium.
The Skeletons were not included because they were a race that did not need to eat. They could if they really wanted to, however, knowing that they’ll end up spilling the soup on the floor, they chose not to do so. They didn’t want to upset Lisianthus, the cleaning manager.
The savory smell cleared the sleepiness that filled Adelaide’s mind. She wasn’t a fan of broccoli but Lisianthus had the ability to make even the most tasteless ingredients delicious.
In a hurry, she scooped out a large spoonful of soup and put it in her mouth. She forgot Lisianthus’ advice to let it cool down a bit as it was hot. As a result, it felt like she dipped her tongue in lava.
“Ah! Aww!”
“Adele! Spit it out!”
Lisianthus held out his palm in front of her. However, Adelaide shook her head vigorously. She wasn’t a child that had to spit out the soup she had just eaten. And in Lisianthus’ hands at that!
‘Then Lisian would get burnt too!’
As she spoke with eyes tearing up, Lisianthus hurriedly put some ice cubes in her mouth. His long fingers seemed to touch her tongue.
“H-Hot…”
“…Next time, I’ll bring it out after letting it cool down.”
Lisianthus, who slowly pulled his finger out, said in a sullen voice. With a pitiful face, Adelaide nodded her head.
“It depends, really.”
Caladium spoke saying that it was fine.
Adelaide, who regained her sanity thanks to the hot sensation, calmly ate soup and bread. After she was slightly full, she took out the dungeon pad and carefully checked it.
“Hmm?”
Adelaide’s eyes opened wide as she ate her soup.
“What is it?”
“Here, there’s something strange on the pad. What is this?”
Lisianthus stared at where her finger was pointing. As she said, a sign flashed on the screen.
“If it’s a clam pattern… That’s the symbol of the Demon Realm Post Office. Please press it.”
“Uh-huh.”
Adelaide pressed the clam sign. Then she heard a loud beep.
[A postman from the Demon Realm Post Office is requesting to enter. Will you allow entry?]
Adelaide, who briefly exchanged glances with Lisianthus, raised her voice and said.
“Yes!”
[Approval from the Dungeon Master received, the postman has been permitted entry.]
As soon as the notification from the pad ended, a small light burst in the air. Right above the table.
Adelaide hurriedly grabbed her bowl of soup and bread then backed away. Seeing this, Caladium giggled, saying she moved quicker than usual.
A sound of flapping wings was heard from within the light. Adelaide carefully shielded her bowl and looked towards the source of the sound. Soon, the postman showed up.
“Gwaeck!”
It was a Shoebill, a new postman race with a beak big enough to swallow Adelaide’s head. It was a little shorter than her so it seemed cute, but still, it had a somewhat scary face.
“Wow, this Shoebill is much larger than the Shoebills in Belial.”
Adelaide was amazed. However, compared to the strict and business-like attitude of the Shoebills from Belial this Shoebill seemed to have a much better personality.
“Awesome!”
The Shoebill handed her a letter with a roaring cry.
‘Do you not have another demon who can send deliver this?’ Adelaide tilted her head and accepted the letter. She looked at the back of the envelope and saw a familiar name written on it.
<Penelope>
“Pippa sent a letter?!”
Adelaide exclaimed with a broad smile.
Penelope was sweet and kind but she liked to pretend that she was not. Still, she sent her a letter even though she said that she hated squeaky things like Adelaide. She was probably checking on her to confirm whether she was still alive. She could feel a wave of excitement.
‘There’s nothing wrong right?’
Adelaide carefully opened the letter. Fortunately, the letter’s content was positive.
<Adelaide.
Hi, it’s Penelope. I’m sending a letter to confirm if you’re still alive. I don’t know if the address is correct. How is everything with you? Are you successfully raising the dungeon? But, is that even possible with your laziness? Don’t overdo it and live comfortably. Just work enough so that you don’t starve.>
It was very Penelope-like to nag her from the beginning.
Adelaide struggled as she held back her desire to brag about her dungeon’s E-3 level. She wanted to surprise her by getting to a higher class. Wouldn’t she at least have to be an A-Class?
“Who is it from?”
Caladium asked with a crooked face. Her expression looked so happy and he didn’t like it one bit.
“From my favorite demon.”
Adelaide gave a vague answer and finished reading the letter.
<After you left, Maximilian was troubled for a while. Sometimes, she would unconsciously look for you in your room or stare blankly into the air. It was unlike the usual arrogant Maximilian. She even asked me if I knew where you went. Of course, I told her no.>
‘Nice, Pippa!’ Adelaide mumbled while she clenched her fists. She had no intention of seeing her again. If she ever met her, they would only argue.
<The mood at Morpheus is very unstable these days. There seems to be a debate among the associations that the Succubi Queen’s seat had been vacant for too long. What the hell is the problem? Maximilian is holding the central position firmly on behalf of the Queen.
I think the low level demons want to bring us down somehow. Well, as long as Maximilian is still alive, it will be absolutely impossible.>
Adelaide nodded her head sympathetically. Apart from her reluctance towards Maximilian, she still rose as a high level demon with a body of a succubus therefore she was considered a role model and supported by all Succubi.
[T/N: So… I thought that Maximilian was a guy XD but since she’s a succubus, we’re changing her pronouns to female.]
Unlike other unions, the Morpheus Association she founded did not demand unreasonable work from the Succubi and respected their opinions. She didn’t even kick Adelaide out even though she had been avoiding work for decades.
When not only the Succubi but also the Incubi united around her, many of the low level demons complained about her. There was no Succubi Queen so they wanted to eat a succubus or an incubus comfortably, however, they were annoyed because Maximilian had been keeping them at bay.
<Anyway, except for that, Belial is the same as before. The streets are dirty, the sky is gray. And we have to pay the Demon King an absurd amount of tax.>
‘Why did you write that in the letter! What if someone sees it?’ Adelaide was startled and covered the letter.
<How are you? Reply once you read this letter. I’m worried that you’re dead. Anyway, that’s all.
Penelope.>
There was no formal greeting showing any sort of affection, but Adelaide felt deep love from this one letter. She hugged the letter as if the paper was Penelope.
“Hey, who sent the letter!”
She was surprised and found Caladium exhausting. Adelaide frowned as the mood had been disrupted and answered.
“It’s from my favorite demon!”
“Who is that!”
“Pippa! My ex-colleague and friend!”
“Is that all you want to know?! You’re so curious about everything, really.” Adelaide said as she snorted.
“Oh, is that so?” Caladium awkwardly responded, scratching the back of his head.
“Gwaeck!”
“Oh? You haven’t left yet? Do I need to pay you?”
Adelaide noticed the Shoebill looking at her with a blank stare. The Shoebill quietly shook its head.
“Then?”
“Gwaaeecck.”
It fumbled through the bag it was carrying then took out a piece of paper that was curled up and held it out to her.
“What’s this?”
“It’s ‘The Dungeon Newspaper’. It is a newspaper that introduces various dungeons and reports on the latest adventurer trends.”
“Oh, there was such a thing?”
As Adelaide was about to reach for the paper, the Shoebill quickly pulled its wing back. It bowed its head then looked at her with white eyes. The face, which she thought was cute, turned vicious in an instant.
“Gwaeck.”
She didn’t understand, but due its low tone, it definitely sounded like a threat.
Lisianthus explained to the bewildered Adelaide.
“If you want to read it, you have to pay for a subscription on a regular basis. It’s not that expensive. 10 Hellas a year.”
“1 year? Is there a shorter period? I don’t know if I’ll read it regularly.”
“Gwaeck”
The Shoebill firmly shook its head. It meant that the contract was only made on a yearly basis.
“Hmm… Sigh. Okay. I’ll subscribe. Just wait a second. I will give you money.”
“Gwaeck Gwaaaeeeck.”
The Shoebill’s face instantly became kind as it heard her saying that she would be subscribing. Even the sound of it’s cries became kind.
“You don’t have to give it to him. If you sign a contract, it will automatically be deducted from the dungeon’s possessions every year.”
“What if I don’t want to read it next year?”
“You will have to make a separate cancellation request a month in advance.”
Adelaide’s expression became strange as if she was being deceived somehow. But she couldn’t say that she would think about it a little more when she saw the Shoebill’s happy face. In the end, she reluctantly signed the contract. The Shoebill then left the dungeon.
“Now where should I go while I read it?”
Since it had become like this, she thought that she should make the most out of it. Adelaide murmured as she opened the newspaper. But before she could even read a word, Lisianthus intervened.
“I’m sorry, Adele. How about reading the newspaper a little later? It’s almost time.”
“Time? Oh right.”
Adelaide lifted her head. For a moment, she had been so distracted by the Shoebill that she forgot the most important schedule for the day.
“Caladi. Just in case, don’t come out. Let’s go, Lisian!”
“Can’t I go too? If it’s because of the horn, I can wear a hat.”
“No, no. You have to fight later, so keep resting.”
Ignoring the grunting Caladium, Adelaide strode forward.
It was time for an interview to select a new demon member.
***