Chapter 8 – Eliminating Variables

The Guild Master was an exceptionally perceptive man.

The moment Jehar sent out the magical messenger bird…

He came running straight to the manor.

As soon as he entered the audience chamber, he threw himself face-first onto the carpet.

“My deepest apologies, my Lord!”

“It was my incompetence that caused you concern!”

Camellia wasn’t fooled by the obvious performance.

“Remove them before sunrise.”

“I’ve already beaten the ones who failed to assemble into sh—… Pardon?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she lightly tapped the armrest of her chair.

Standing beside her, Jehar spoke in her place.

“Did you fail to understand the Lord’s command?”

“She intends to revoke the Adventurers’ Guild’s charter within her domain.”

“…Wh-What?!”

“I’m not sure what misunderstanding you’ve been operating under…”

“But the Lord never requested your assistance.”

“She extended you a favor.”

Jehar was absolutely right.

She didn’t need the adventurers to clear the First Floor.

Whether the adventurers trapped inside the Tower lived or died didn’t concern her.

Characters important enough to become recruitable companions usually managed to survive on their own.

The monsters outside the Tower were no different.

Even if she left them alone…

Destroying the boss room before the barrier came down would make them disappear automatically.

And even if she failed to do so in time…

That wasn’t a problem either.

Once the monsters slaughtered enough of each other…

The city guards could finish off the survivors.

The only reason she’d spent so much money hiring adventurers…

Was to recruit Netanel.

And…

Since this was no longer just a game…

She also wanted to see whether her strategies could be adapted to reality.

It had been a test.

Camellia had assumed the Adventurers’ Guild would naturally do as she commanded.

Because that’s how it worked in the game.

She kept reminding herself this was reality instead of a game…

Yet she’d forgotten the single most important difference.

The people standing before her weren’t NPCs following scripts.

They were human.

Even the most capable person—

Someone who confidently claimed they could handle everything—

Could still fail.

Adventurers were no different.

They acted according to emotion rather than programming.

Even with the domain on the brink of disaster…

Some still put their own feelings first.

I got complacent.

Companions like Jehar and Rohengrin behaved predictably enough that she’d unconsciously assumed everyone else would, too.

But they…

Like everyone else…

Were human.

For better…

And for worse.

It was an infuriating variable.

But she didn’t have time to dwell on it.

As soon as the sun rose…

They would enter the Tower.

Every second counted.

She couldn’t waste time soothing bruised egos or considering everyone’s personal circumstances.

Driving the Adventurers’ Guild out of her territory would certainly be inconvenient…

But it wasn’t as though she had no alternatives.

“When an uncontrolled pack of wild dogs prowls too close to the flock…”

“It’s the shepherd’s duty to drive them away with a stick.”

Camellia looked coldly down at the Guild Master, whose face had turned deathly pale as sweat poured down it.

“And if those wild dogs bare their fangs while the fence has already collapsed…”

“They deserve to be beaten to death.”

“M-My Lord…”

“Even the leader of wild dogs is still their leader.”

“The choice is yours.”

Persuasion?

Appeasement?

Grinding Affection?

Offering additional rewards?

Too tedious.

Too pretentious.

Far too slow.

Leave.

Or die.

Efficient.

Logical.

Fast.

Wasn’t that the solution modern people loved most?

Camellia calmly asked,

“Answer me.”

“What will you choose?”

---

After the Guild Master staggered out looking half-dead…

Camellia immediately gathered the rest of her party.

“You summoned us, my Lord.”

Rohengrin arrived wearing gleaming silver armor with a shield strapped across his back.

“I’m ready whenever you are, my employer.”

Netanel followed, dressed in robes embroidered with golden thread and carrying a scepter fashioned entirely from gold.

Both were reassuring beyond words.

Just looking at them was enough to erase the headache the adventurers had caused.

That’s right.

As long as my party listens to me, that’s enough.

Taking Jehar with them, Camellia led the three aboard the carriage.

As they traveled toward the Tower enclosed by the barrier…

She looked across at Netanel.

“Netanel.”

“Have you ever entered the Tower?”

He smiled brightly.

“I only arrived in your domain recently…”

“So not yet.”

Wow.

Didn’t even blink while lying.

The part about never entering the Tower was true.

The part about only recently arriving?

A complete lie.

Netanel…

You’ve been sneaking in and out of this territory for over ten years.

Nearly half of his recruitment quest revolved around uncovering traces of those secret visits.

And you’re trying to bluff me?

“You may make an excellent priest…”

“But you’d never survive as a merchant.”

“You lie far too poorly.”

Seeing that she’d called his bluff, Netanel simply laughed.

“Oh dear.”

“So you already knew?”

“My employer can be quite the tease.”

[Netanel Pragma’s Affection has increased.]

Apparently, the more formidable the Lord proved herself as a negotiating partner…

The more Netanel liked her.

He really did have peculiar tastes.

Fortunately…

That worked in her favor.

“Do you know what truly sets the Tower apart from every other dungeon?”

“Hmm…”

“If I had to choose just one difference…”

The Tower possessed countless unusual features.

It had remained unconquered for a thousand years.

Every floor was an entirely different world.

Most monsters carried mana stones.

But none of those were truly unique.

The Great Labyrinth had remained unconquered for over three centuries.

And dungeons whose environments changed from floor to floor weren’t especially rare.

What truly distinguished the Tower…

Was that it had an Administrator.

Someone capable of performing impossible miracles.

Someone who could erect gates that prevented monsters from leaving…

While allowing people to come and go as they pleased.

“If I could only give one answer…”

“It would have to be your existence, my Lord.”

“The Tower exists because you exist.”

“Correct.”

“Oh, wonderful.”

“Do I get a reward?”

“Not quite.”

“But I will tell you something interesting.”

“Oh?”

“The Tower hates me.”

Camellia narrowed her eyes, their mysterious colors glimmering faintly.

“It has endured a thousand years of oppression.”

“Everything inside the Tower hates me…”

“…to the point of madness.”

“And whenever I enter…”

“Strange things have a habit of happening.”

“My…”

“That’s even more frightening than I expected.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“When it comes to the Tower…”

“I know everything.”

“That includes how to deal with those things.”

Netanel smiled knowingly.

“So…”

“I suppose this conversation isn’t ending with…”

“‘Therefore, you should listen carefully to everything I say.'”

“You want something from me, don’t you?”

This is why perceptive companions are the best.

Camellia answered without hesitation.

“I want to place a restriction on you.”

“Ah.”

“So if I ignore my employer’s orders and act on my own…”

“One of those strange occurrences could become fatal?”

“The problem is…”

“There’s more than one.”

The Tower was a place overflowing with malice…

And unpredictable variables.

With sufficiently bad luck…

Even a Level 15 character could die on the First Floor.

The fewer variables, the better.

She trusted Rohengrin and Jehar.

Their Loyalty and Affection were already high.

Netanel was different.

Rather than making the same mistake she’d made with the adventurers…

It was better to settle everything clearly now.

“The restriction will only be temporary.”

“It will disappear the moment we leave the Tower.”

“Hmm…”

“This restriction…”

“Is it the same method you’re planning to use on those Named Monsters?”

Though he phrased it vaguely…

The meaning was obvious.

You’re planning to brainwash people as well as monsters, aren’t you?

Camellia answered without the slightest hesitation.

“Yes.”

An ordinary person would’ve recoiled in horror.

Netanel wasn’t ordinary.

“That’s a perfectly reasonable proposal.”

“What restriction did you have in mind?”

“During combat inside the Tower…”

“You will obey every order I give immediately.”

“However…”

“If an order endangers your safety…”

“Or violates your duties as a priest…”

“You may refuse.”

“The restriction remains in effect until we leave the Tower.”

Netanel considered it for quite some time.

Then…

He held up three fingers.

“Three platinum coins.”

“I won’t accept a single coin less.”

“Done.”

A clean deal.

Netanel looked thoroughly satisfied.

Rohengrin…

Did not.

His blue eyes wavered like waves in a storm.

After all…

He had just watched one man casually sell away his free will for three thousand gold…

And his Lord purchase it without a moment’s hesitation.

Confusion had already given way to fear.

Just as Camellia was about to reassure him before his Loyalty dropped…

Rohengrin swallowed hard.

“…I’ll accept one as well.”

…Huh?

“This will also be my first time entering the Tower.”

“If placing a restriction on me will ensure I don’t disappoint you…”

“Then I—”

“There’s no need.”

Camellia interrupted before he could finish.

“Restrictions exist to make up for a lack of trust.”

“I have no need of one for you.”

Rohengrin’s blue eyes trembled once more.

[Rohengrin Eschen’s Loyalty has increased.]

His Loyalty rose along with them.

Apparently, her firm refusal had genuinely moved him.

…Actually, it’s because Domination only has three consecutive uses.

I need the remaining casts for the Named Monsters.

Feeling a stab of guilt…

Camellia quietly averted her eyes.

Sorry, Rohengrin.

Well…

I’ll make it up to you somehow.