The Reward for the World's Strongest Explorer's Perfect Dungeon Conquest is apparently Marriage to me, who is known as an S-rank Fraud - Chapter 14

“Excellent. As expected, Kuma, that look suits you well.”

The goblin—Berglims—clapped his hands lightly as he said that. My look?

Just boxer shorts. Nothing else.

Every time I punch or kick, my clothes get torn to shreds, and, well… things tend to splatter everywhere. That’s why my usual combat style is just underwear.

“More importantly, I don’t feel like fighting you yet. Can I leave?”

At this point, searching for Shia was out of the question. Fortunately, Berglims wasn’t in a battle stance yet.

I should take advantage of his good mood and leave while I still could.

I grasped my return portal necklace, ready to snap it at any moment, and asked him.

“Of course, you may leave. However… you will regret it. Without a doubt. Desperately so.”

Tch.

I nearly tore the necklace, but my hand froze mid-motion.

Sure, we were having a conversation, but at the end of the day, he was still a monster. I could dismiss his words as meaningless chatter, yet something about them unsettled me.

“…Let me ask you one thing. Shia passed through here, didn’t she? Did you fight her?”

“Of course not. She was busy fighting Zaramoss. She certainly lives up to the name of a goddess—she cut him down beautifully in a single strike. Kukuku.”

Well, that made sense.

There was no way she had suddenly gotten stronger overnight.

If she had encountered Berglims, she would have retreated immediately.

“…What do you know?”

If there was any reason I’d regret leaving, it could only be because of Shia.

Which meant—this guy knew something.

“A negotiation. A deal.”

“A negotiation deal?”

With a snap of his fingers, a round table and two chairs appeared.

Berglims sat down on one side—

“It’s up to you, Kuma. Whether you take a seat or not, I’ll respect your choice. If you don’t, I won’t tell you anything. But since we’re such good friends, I’ll let you go. So, hurry up and leave.”

He flashed a vile grin.

“…Fine.”

I sat down across from him, just one meter away.

Even if he didn’t intend to fight, he was still a beast among beasts, a monster beyond monsters.

Facing him at such close range, my heart pounded violently whether I liked it or not.

“Now, let’s begin. First, now that you’ve taken your seat—”

Snap.

“…Hey.”

The return portal necklace was ripped away, disappearing into Berglims’ mouth and down his throat.

I didn’t even have time to react.

I didn’t see him move.

“Now, Kuma, the only way forward is to accept my deal or defeat me. You can’t go back otherwise.”

…Wait.

This is seriously unfair.

“…Fine. Let’s hear it.”

Despite my internal panic, I kept up appearances, leaning back in my chair and crossing my legs.

“I’ll be direct. Kuma, become my servant.”

“…What do you mean? You want me to betray humanity, join your side, and hunt down explorers?”

“Hah, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

Tch.

I never knew how humiliating it would be to have a goblin sigh in exasperation and shake his head at me.

“If you want me as a servant, what exactly do you plan to have me do?”

“I want you to clear the dungeon.”

“???”

That made no sense.

Shouldn’t he be protecting the dungeon?

“Kuma, do you even know where you are right now?”

“…You’re not asking if this is the Shibuya Dungeon, are you?”

Berglims nodded.

Of course not.

The goblin in front of me wasn’t an idiot.

“…Wait. Don’t tell me—you know where the dungeon actually is?”

A chill ran down my spine.

Inside a dungeon, all communication with the outside world is blocked.

GPS doesn’t work.

Even investigating the subterranean portal sections led to nothing—there was no trace of an actual dungeon.

No matter how deep humans dug into the earth, they never found a dungeon.

But over time, people stopped questioning it.

It just became common sense—”Dungeons are mysterious places.”

“Of course, I know. This world—our birthplace—was destroyed long ago. Only fragments remain. This is what’s left of the Demon Realm.”

Demon… Realm?

Seriously?

“Oh, the Demon Realm. Sure. The Demon Realm. Uh-huh.”

I had never heard of it before.

Sure, it was a common trope in manga and games.

But being told that it actually existed in real life?

Yeah, no.

“Call it whatever you want. ‘Demon Realm’ is just the closest equivalent in your language. The only thing you need to understand is that there exists another world, separate from Earth, which we call ‘the surface’.”

…I guess that made some sense?

“…Alright. So what? If the dungeon is the Demon Realm, why do you want me to clear it?”

“Kuma, you really are slow.

Think.

Who destroyed the Demon Realm?

Who connected it to the surface?

Who turned us—Demon Realm inhabitants—into monsters, forcing us to be slaughtered by humans?”

…Who?

Wasn’t it obvious?

“Ah. …The Oracle Monuments.”

“Hmm. For you, that was quite the insight.”

Berglims nodded.

“Yes. The ones who created and manage the Oracle Monuments are neither humans nor Demon Realm residents. It’s the angels.”

A-n-g-e-l-s.

Angels?

My mind immediately jumped to Saizenia.

…Damn it.

“Well, no matter. I didn’t expect much from your imagination. Now, I’ll tell you my goal—

To free my kin and wage war against the angels once more.”

Freeing his people?

A revenge war against angels?

This was way too much for my brain to process.

“That’s where you come in, Kuma.”

Berglims leaned forward slightly.

“I’m lucky.

Your absurdly high mana reserves and absorption rate…

You’re the only one I can form a contract with.”

“Let me tell you the benefits first.

That crude, talentless way you handle mana?

I’ll teach you what real mana control looks like.”

…That’s incredibly tempting.

“Oh, but I’m not falling for it. There’s gotta be a downside, right?”

“There’s no downside. Well, aside from the fact that I’ll be constantly siphoning about 70% of your mana to sustain my existence. But the benefits far outweigh that. Oh, and your appearance might change a little. Just a little.”

Mana? That’s fine.

Even if he takes 70% of it, it wouldn’t be a problem.

In fact, if it improves my mana control, then it’s definitely worth it.

But appearance—no. Hell no.

“Let me guess. I’m gonna turn into a goblin, right?”

“Wrong. You really are hopelessly unimaginative.”

So, I won’t become a goblin?

…Then maybe it’s fine?

“Can I think about it for a bit?”

Berglims’ story was too fantastical to fully grasp.

There were still tons of missing details, and if I agreed to the contract, I’d be his servant for life.

Yeah, no thanks. That sounds absolutely awful.

“Of course. Take your time to think it over. Oh, and since this is a negotiation, let’s put something else on the table—something you want.”

“Huh?”

Berglims snapped his fingers.

This time, a large television appeared.

It wasn’t plugged into anything, yet the screen turned on immediately.

What it displayed was something unbelievable.

“Shia!!”

She was fighting a massive dragon.

Did she challenge the 100th-floor boss!?

“By the way, that earth dragon is stronger than Shia.”

“…Tch!”

What should I do?

Shia was being battered by the dragon’s breath attack.

Could she withstand it?

“Save her. Please, help her…!”

“I can only move between the 50th and 150th floors. And even that is difficult. After all, I’m currently in a goblin’s body—just a fraction of my true power.”

The dragon stopped its breath attack.

Shia was barely alive.

But her mana was completely depleted.

Her Mana Skin was gone, and her Mana Form had no energy left.

She was completely vulnerable.

If the dragon attacked again, she would die for sure.

“Fine! A deal! I’ll do anything! I’ll become your servant! Just save Shia!”

“Are you sure? You’ll be sacrificing your entire life for this.”

“I don’t care!

Living after letting Shia die would be a million times worse!”

“Hmm. Understood. Very well, Kuma, let’s form a contract.”

“Yeah, but—wait.”

Berglims grinned.

The chairs and table disappeared.

Then, his right hand shot forward—

Straight into my chest.

“Gah…! You bastard…!”

“This is how contracts work. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Berglims ripped my heart out and swallowed it whole.

“…Gulp. Ahh, there we go. The contract is sealed.”

He casually wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin, as if he had just finished a meal.

“Aaaaaaaghh!! Guaaahhh!!”

Meanwhile, I was writhing in agony on the ground, waiting for my heart to regenerate as my chest burned with searing pain.

“Huff… huff…! Is it over now?”

“Ahh, Kuma, what a marvelous mana capacity you have. With this, we can fly.”

Berglims snapped his fingers again.

The surroundings warped and distorted—we had teleported.

“Shia!!”

I made it—just in time to see the earth dragon raising its foot, about to crush her.

“Uoooooohh!!”

I kicked off the ground, throwing myself between Shia and the dragon.

I caught the attack head-on.

“…Huh? Kuma? Is that really you?”

“Yeah, it’s me, idiot. When we get back, Ayane and I are giving you a lecture. So be ready for that.”

She was alive.

Shia was still alive.

“Kukuku. Perfect timing.”

Before I realized it, Berglims was beside me.

“Now, Kuma, let me teach you. How to use your body, how to use mana—

What it means to fight for real.

I’m borrowing your body for a moment—[Synchronization: Synchro].”**

Suddenly, Berglims’ form melted into smoke—

And then—

My right side ignited, burning with green flames.

Wait—I’m literally on fire!?

‘Now that you’re alive, let’s not waste it. First, let’s get Shia out of here before you die again.’

A voice echoed inside my head.

My body moved on its own, lifting Shia effortlessly.

Then, with a hop, step, and backstep, I dodged away from the dragon.

My jumping power was absurd—I had completely transcended human limits.

‘Listen well, Kuma. I told you I seek to free my kin. But that applies only to Named monsters.

Nameless monsters are nothing but beasts.

Their purpose is to be slain and consumed as sustenance.

Now, pay attention. I’ll teach you how to kill this dragon properly.’

“Got it.”

‘Your mana compression technique—the way you make your attacks explode—it’s impressive.’

‘However, your compression ratio is too low, and the amount of mana you gather is pathetic.’

‘Right now, it’s nothing more than a firecracker.’

Wow, he actually knows what a firecracker is.

‘This is the real thing.’

A dense, black sphere of mana—the size of a bowling ball—formed in my right hand.

How much mana had to be compressed to make this thing…?

Then—

Fwoosh.

The mana sphere burst into green flames and began floating above my palm.

‘Starforge Compression Core—Arc Nova.’

I threw the sphere.

It soared through the air—

And then—

Straight into the earth dragon’s open mouth.

“GRYU…???—”

For a brief moment, the dragon froze.

Then—

Its body bulged from within, bulging grotesquely.

A brilliant light leaked from the gaps in its scales.

The next instant—

BOOOOM!!

With a thunderous explosion, the earth dragon was completely obliterated.