Reverse Dungeon

“No! This isn’t Lord Ian’s fault! Such a thing would be unthinkable! I was the foolish one, blind to the messenger sent by the gods. And yet you showed me mercy... Your generosity, your grace in overlooking my failings... Ah! I’m utterly ashamed.”

The mermaid princess broke down in tears.

Ian found himself at a loss °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° for words.

“In truth, I already knew my father was gone. I knew I should ascend the throne and take responsibility for this underwater city. I was simply too afraid to admit it. How could someone as foolish as me—someone whose poor judgment brought eternal darkness upon this land—ever make the right decisions? Someone without courage... could I truly protect my people as wisely as my father, mother, and siblings once did?”

‘Do I actually have to answer that?’

Fortunately, before Ian could respond, the mermaid princess answered herself.

“No. I could not. How could someone like me ever sit upon the throne? The ministers urged me to decide, yet all I did was hesitate and run away. Those monsters in the graveyard were enemies we should have faced long ago. Had I made my resolve sooner and gathered the heroes to fight them, the people would never have suffered from the volcanic eruptions.”

Her tear-filled eyes shimmered.

Because of that, Ian couldn’t bring himself to tell her the cruel truth: the underwater city had been doomed from the start. Even if they had defeated Kyarakus, the magic lingering within its corpse would eventually have corrupted the entire city.

The mermaid princess lowered her gaze.

“And yet, without a single word of blame, you guided me to this realization... How could I ever repay such boundless kindness?”

She had already convinced herself that Ian, like Keith Moore, was some manner of mad warrior. After Keith’s threat the previous night, she had spent the entire night trembling in fear, summoning Ian and his companions the moment morning arrived.

All she had hoped for was that they would leave the city peacefully.

Yet instead of rebuking the terrifying Sir Keith, Ian had comforted her.

The princess was not ignorant of her duties as royalty. As she reflected upon everything Ian had done, emotion welled up within her once more.

According to Ian himself, he had come to the underwater city solely to hunt Kyarakus. He had forced his way into a city few outsiders could even reach, all for the sake of tracking down that monster.

He could easily have seized any mermaid he wished and used them for his own gain. Instead, he purchased Kyarakus’s stone for an absurdly small sum and quietly investigated the traces of the demon. Even when the citizens treated him coldly, he never resisted and simply allowed himself to be dragged along.

And how had he treated the princess herself?

With unwavering courtesy and courage.

Even while her own people mocked her—asking whether “Her Majesty was still alive” or telling her to “wake from her foolish delusion”—Ian never once humiliated her. He had surely realized Kyarakus was an immensely dangerous creature, yet he still chose not to betray her trust. Instead, he promised to find her father.

He had called it his fault, but in truth, he had never lied.

The princess would indeed find her father and siblings.

The graveyard had become the resting place of heroes, and from those graves she would finally recover the remains of her family.

By the time she reached that conclusion, the mermaid princess was deeply moved. Compared to the murderous insanity Keith Moore had displayed the previous day, Ian practically seemed angelic.

In reality, the faint halo-like glow surrounding Ian came only from the palace lights reflecting off Keith’s armor behind him.

But to the princess, such details no longer mattered.

She clenched her fist tightly.

“I know now what I must do. I will ascend the throne.”

“Finally, Your Highness!”

“Long live Her Majesty the Queen!”

The mermaids erupted in celebration.

Ian simply watched events unfold and allowed the atmosphere to carry itself forward.

“Once we recover the heroes’ remains from the graveyard, I shall build a temple there. Every day, I will pray to the gods for Lord Ian and his warriors.”

‘That really won’t be necessary.’

But the princess still wasn’t finished.

“And from this day onward, Lord Ian shall be honored as our eternal friend and ally. Your enemies shall be our enemies, and your dangers shall be our dangers.”

“For the hero, Lord Ian!”

“Waaah!”

The palace chamber exploded with excitement at the princess’s declaration.

Ding!

[Alliance Forces]

Traitor Village

Fairy Queen’s Island

Underwater City (+NEW)

‘Good enough.’

There were a few unnecessary bonuses attached, but in the end, Ian had obtained everything he needed from this city.

Smiling faintly, he offered his own response.

“Long live Her Majesty the Queen.”

Keith clapped halfheartedly as he glanced toward Ian.

“Wasn’t that rather generous?”

He hadn’t paid much attention before, since the princess had spent most of her time shrinking into herself, but objectively speaking, she was quite beautiful. And now that she spoke with confidence, she even possessed a certain charm.

Of course, things became somewhat more complicated once one considered the fish tail.

Still, Keith knew Ian was not someone who judged others based on race, which only made him more suspicious.

Could it be that the princess’s appearance had influenced Ian’s leniency?

‘Mercy is a noble virtue. But one must never allow appearances to cloud judgment.’

That was Keith’s solemn conclusion.

Before long, each of them was presented with a giant sea turtle by the mermaid princess, and they rode the creatures back toward the surface. The massive turtles carried them steadily upward atop their broad shells.

“Phew!”

They reached land in no time.

The first thing Ian did was check the notifications that had been ringing nonstop during the journey. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

‘What now?’

Ding!

[‘Mermaid Princess’ Moel believes you are an agent of God!]

Ding!

[‘Captain of the Guards’ Actus believes you are an agent of God!]

Ding!

[‘Chamberlain’ Fortis believes you are an agent of God!]

“...!”

His Savior reputation was skyrocketing.

Was it really supposed to increase this quickly?

Ian slowly turned toward Keith.

“What exactly did you do?”

Keith made no effort to deny responsibility. That simply wasn’t in his nature.

“You need only walk the path you believe is right. My role is to protect you. It is also my duty to ensure you do not waste your strength on trivial matters.”

What the hell was that even supposed to mean?

“So what did you actually do?”

“I spoke with the princess last night.”

“You... spoke with her?”

“Yes. What else would I have done?” Keith tilted his head slightly.

His gaze was utterly pure. He looked like a man who had never once lied in his entire life.

‘...Honestly, that’s probably true.’

Keith most likely didn’t even consider it deception. From his perspective, the princess had remained perfectly safe.

Still, there was no way the princess had willingly accepted whatever insane logic Keith had fed her. Ian had personally watched her avoid even making eye contact with him earlier.

Keith casually traced a brief sign of the cross and murmured a short prayer beneath his breath.

Ian immediately looked away.

Why had he ever tried reasoning with this fanatic in the first place?

Besides, Keith already believed Ian was an agent of God anyway.

“From now on, don’t talk to anyone except me,” Ian ordered.

“Pardon?”

“Stay close to me. And stop sneaking off in the middle of the night.”

Keith’s eyes widened slightly.

“Oooh...”

For some reason, the elf merchant suddenly clasped a hand over his heart, his eyes gleaming.

‘Why the hell is he reacting like that?’

Ian immediately kicked the merchant in the shin before turning back toward Keith.

“Well? Why aren’t you answering?”

“Yes. I will obey.” Keith’s voice was soft and pleasant. “If that is your command, then I will speak to no one but you and remain at your side.”

A faint smile spread across his face.

“...?”

For some reason, Ian suddenly felt uneasy.

All he wanted was for Keith to stop interfering with the quest.

So why did it feel like something had gone terribly wrong?

Why the hell was this guy smiling after being ordered to keep his mouth shut all day?

“...”

In any case, only one destination remained now.

The tower in the western desert.