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Volume 6 Chapter 131

The Surrendering of the Dungeon Master

We arrived at the entrance of the boss room on the eighth floor.
There, my magic knights, who had hunted down all the monsters on this floor, lined up on both sides, making way for us to open the door.
On the right side, there were about fifty ice knights, and on the left side, about fifty wind knights. It was quite a spectacular sight.
「Good work, thank you」
I thanked the knights.
Although they are created by my magic and operate almost automatically, I always speak to them like this because they don’t seem like ordinary magic. Somehow, it feels like they appreciate it when I talk to them.
And although I intended to create them all the same, there were variations among them. Some were strong in attack, some were fast, some excelled in defense, and some didn’t participate much in the attacks—and so on.
I didn’t deliberately make them that way. There used to be no individual differences, but at some point, knights with personalities started appearing.
For example, this knight at the very front of the line of ice knights, with a damaged part on its helmet—this knight always appears when I create ice knights.
Even though there should be no damaged helmets when I activate my magic, this knight with a damaged helmet appears when it returns after completing my orders. It even comes back with a damaged helmet even when fighting enemies much weaker than the knights.
And this knight always positions itself at the very front of the line, as if it wants me to notice it……
Curiosity got the better of me, and I once followed the ice knights. I focused on a single enemy to make it easier to track, and I created only four ice knights.
At that time, I saw it.
One of the four knights, away from the position where I activated my magic, was hitting its own helmet and breaking it.
I didn’t give any such command.
There was an individual that was doing something I didn’t order. I became a little anxious.
As long as they follow orders and make judgments like distinguishing between friend and foe, it’s not a problem.
However, when they start doing things completely on their own, showing signs of autonomous behavior, I can’t help but worry that they might eventually go out of control.
But for me, this series of knights is the most convenient and versatile magic. So I didn’t stop using it.
Instead, I came up with magic that can immediately deal with the knights of each element if they were to go out of control—such as creating a vacuum space to extinguish the flames—if the fire knights were to go out of control.
And I started paying more attention to the knights with distinct personalities.
I was somewhat wary, but contrary to my concerns, these knights never rebelled. On the plus side, the knights with personalities responded more flexibly to my orders and showed signs of happiness when I spoke to them.
I became convinced. The knights that appeal with their individuality have clear intentions…
So instead of giving them orders, I simply talk to them normally.
「Did you find any treasure chests?」
In response to my question, the ice knight with the damaged helmet gave a signal to its comrades. Then, several ice knights appeared from behind the line, each holding various items and placing them in front of us.
「These knights even collect items for us?」
「……They’re too capable, aren’t they?」
Lusin and Ryuka were amazed. Seeing their reaction, the ice knight with the damaged helmet looked proud. It seems that their expressiveness has improved recently.
「It’s quite convenient, don’t you think?」
「It’s beyond just being convenient magic……」
Tina seemed somewhat cautious.
「It’s Master, it can’t be helped」
「Yes, it’s Haruto-sama’s magic」
Yoko, Mai and Mei seemed to have gotten used to my magic. So recently, I’ve started thinking that I need to come up with even more amazing magic to surprise them.
「For now, should we distribute the items from this floor after we leave the dungeon?」
「Is that okay? We decided that the items obtained outside the boss room belong to the person who acquired them」
Luke told me that since the items were collected by my magic, I had the right to own them.
「Even Luke, if he wanted, could have cleared this floor alone, right? If that were the case, all the items might have become Luke’s. But this time, you let me do it for the sake of Luna and Ryuka’s experience points, so I think we should share the items among everyone」
「I-Is that so? ……W-Well, thanks」
The items we obtained on this eighth floor were mostly recovery items, with hardly any equipment or weapons.
Personally, I didn’t need recovery items.
However, since most of the party members were my family, I thought it would be sufficient to distribute them among everyone who needed them, including Tina.
Using teleportation magic, I connected the space in the room at the Vestier Royal Castle where we were staying, and I left the items collected by the knights there. It was a temporary solution since none of us had a magic item bag that can hold an unlimited number of items.
I hope to get one soon.
「To think that the legendary teleportation magic would be used as a substitute for an item bag……」
Rifa muttered to herself.
By the way, my teleportation magic consumed about 3,000 units of magic power just to connect a small enough space for my hand to pass through.
It wasn’t as convenient as using it as a substitute for an item bag, but it was a usage only I, who didn’t deplete magic power, could manage.
Since I was sending items, it was more like teleportation than transfer. And so I finished transferring all the items.
「Alright, shall we challenge the boss then?」
Everyone was about to head inside the boss room, when—
「Huh?」
Suddenly the door to the boss room opened on its own.
Normally, the door to the boss room opens when a person touches it. However, this time it opened without anyone making contact.
I halted everyone and observed the situation. To our surprise, a stick with a white cloth attached to its tip emerged from the gap of the door, shaking up and down.
「I-I surrender! Don’t attack!」
A girl with white hair came out of the boss room, waving a white flag.
It seemed like she had no intention of attacking. I signaled the knights, who were in a combat stance, to stand down as the white-haired girl looked extremely frightened when she saw them.
「Are you the boss guarding this room?」
Since she came out of the boss room, it was likely the case. She spoke in broken language, but she was able to speak human language, so she seemed to be a high-ranking monster or a beast that had taken human form.
「N-No, I’m the master of this place」
To our surprise, she turned out not to be the boss of the eight level, but the dungeon master.