Upon arriving at the entrance of Bilbrem, it was pitch dark outside. I quickly checked my watch and realized it was already 8 PM. Oops, I hadn't been paying attention to the time at all.

"Hmm, it looks like staying at an inn is out of the question, so shall we rest in my room?”

“Yay! I love Sasha-sama's room, it's so cozy."

"Understood, Rikka-san. I always find my sister's space strangely calming. As for dinner, what do you plan to do, Onee-sama?"

"Considering how late it is, I'll just make something simple.”

“Master, I'll help too. Please teach us how to make Chinese cuisine.”

“Onee-sama, I'll help too. Please teach us how to make Chinese cuisine."

Hmm, they must really like my room. In the end, I taught Finn and Iris how to make Chinese cuisine, and we made dinner together. They were both so serious, and the food turned out quite good. It seems they both have a talent for cooking.

---The next morning, as we entered Bilbrem, it was more bustling than the first time we came.

"Wow, it's so lively here. I wonder if it's because of the tournament?”

“Hey, Rikka, don't wander too far off. You'll get lost!"

It's really lively here. Looking around, there are strong adventurers everywhere, probably for the tournament in four days.

"For now, let's head to the adventurer's guild."

When we arrived at the adventurer's guild, it was surprisingly quiet. Irma-san was at the reception desk.

"Oh, Sasha-san, did you head to the Marco Ruins?”

“Yes, we rode on the summoned beast and went to the Marco Ruins. However, while we were completing the second mission of the Zombie House, we were suddenly forced back to the entrance. So, instead of going to the Zombie House, we went to the eighth floor underground, and we were forced back to the entrance again. When we looked at the entrance, it was closed for renovation, so we had to come back to Bilbrem for now."

"Renovation of the dungeon?! I've never heard of that before!”

“Well, it's true. I think it started around noon yesterday." I don't really remember the time, so that should be good enough.

"I see. I'll inform the guild master. Please wait a moment."

I should report it just in case. I won't mention that I became the dungeon master, though.

"Sensei, aren't you going to tell them that you took over?"

"I did take over and become the Dungeon Master, but I have no intention of saying so. "

BAMMMM

Suddenly, a loud sound of a door opening from the second floor echoed. A guild leader, maybe in her 40s, a sharp-eyed, sharp-browed, somewhat androgynous woman came down. She was also an adventurer and a strong S-class one.

"Irma, this person has the highest score in both short and long-range combat.”

“Yes, that's right."

"Sorry to interrupt. I am Esti Rondo, the guild master of the adventurer's guild. Shall we talk about what happened at the Marco Ruins first?"

"I'm Sasha Falling. Can I talk about it here?”

“It doesn't matter, it will spread anyway."

Sasha told Esti the same thing she told Irma earlier.

"Do you mean someone has reached the dungeon core and become a new Dungeon Master? I can't believe it."

"I don't know the details myself. It happened yesterday, so there may be different changes happening by now. There were other adventurers besides me, so new information will come in a few days."

"I see. Thank you for reporting, Sasha. Only a girl named Rikka will participate in the tournament, right? You won't participate?"

"Yes, only Rikka will participate. She didn't plan to participate in the first place."

"Oh, that noblewoman. She's troublesome. The emperor will arrive in two days. You may meet the emperor depending on the situation."

Oh no!

"Is it because she has the highest score?"

"Well, that's one reason. Sasha is a veteran of the Spheretaria war and an S-rank adventurer. She'll probably be recruited."

I don't want to. I hope I don't have to meet the emperor.

"If I get recruited, I'll refuse. Besides, there was another famous S-rank person in the Gardia Empire, right?"

"He died in battle. He was killed by a lich."

His name was Dante, right?

"By a lich? And they want to recruit me, an S-rank, after that?"

"That's how it is. Well, since you have your own circumstances, it's okay to refuse. Just be careful in your actions. That's all for now. I have to urgently inform the emperor about the Marco ruins incident."

Saying that, Esti returned to her room. It's going to be tough from now on, but do your best. If I refuses the recruitment, you will probably do something to Finn or Iris. If you do, there will be no mercy.

"Irma, when we defeated the monster, it dropped some items, so please exchange them for money."

After exchanging the items, I received a considerable amount of money. I don't need it for my daily life, but recently everyone has been eating well, so it's better to have more money just in case. Oh, I wonder if anything has changed in the noble-related matter?

"Did that noble say anything to you?"

"Well, nothing from the person himself, but there have been suspicious people looking for Rikka around here."

"As expected. If they try anything, don't hesitate to take them down. They're a suspicious bunch."

"Hahaha, please try not to make too much of a fuss."

We left the Adventurer's Guild and took a break in the plaza.

"I'm going to contact Lich now, so you all can play around. Oh, and when it's lunchtime at 12, gather here. Also, there should be someone who has been told to pick a fight with the four of us regarding that noble-related matter, so don't hesitate to take them down. But don't kill them. The four of you have significantly increased their basic abilities, so be careful not to hurt them too much."

"Oh, I forgot. Both me and Iris have over 10,000, so we need to be careful too."

"Ugh, Finn and Iris are still doing pretty well. We're over 200,000, so it's hard to hold back."

"All three of us will be fine. Just learn to hold back against those who attack us."

"Got it!"

It's a shame that those attackers are targeting those three.

Now, let's make my regular contact with Lich. Speaking of which, Lich has also become humanoid, but his name is still Lich. He said he wants to keep it that way.

"Lich, are you doing okay now?"

"Oh, Sasha-sama, it's been five days since we last talked."

"You seem to be in a good mood. Did something good happen?"

"Yes, when we arrived at the Imperial Capital, the anti-Keith faction set a trap. As soon as we entered the Imperial Palace where the emperor was, both Keith and I were teleported to the 21st floor of an S-rank dungeon."

Hey, why are you so happy about that?

"So, the anti-Keith faction is working with the Evil tribes. You knew that, and yet you fell for the trap, didn't you? Is it to train Keith?"

"Yes, that's right. He's too weak. The statue of the goddess in the S-rank dungeon is only placed every 10 floors, so I trained him for four days straight. I also went to the bottom floor and defeated a considerable number of S-rank monsters, raising my level to 50 and my basic abilities to about 300,000. Oh, by the way, Keith wants to talk to you now, Sasha-sama."

【It's fine, I don't mind. --- We should be able to talk now. Prince Keith, can you hear me?】

【Yes, I can hear you. Thank you for saving me from the thieves that time.】 【Even though Dante of S-class was there, it's treated as a theft incident.】

【That Dante is officially declared dead due to another mission. By the way, about Lich, it was him who saved me that time, right? And now he's turned into a human and still protecting me.】

He's quite easy to talk to.

【Yes, that's correct. I ordered him to protect you.】

There was a silence for a while.

【Lich's strength is far beyond that of humans or evil races. I understood that well when I went to the S-rank ruins. And you're commanding that Lich. Actually, I knew who you were even before asking Lich. I was trained by Lich at the S-rank ruins, and my current level is 50 with basic ability values of 30,000.】

Are you kidding me?! Oh, could it be...

【Could it be that there's a title called "Blessing of the Evil God"?】

【Yes, there is.】

Oh no, the blessing was activated. I thought it was just protecting Prince Keith, but I didn't expect the blessing to be activated just by that.

【I see, so I'm an evil god. However, I'm greatly different from the evil god you know.】

【I want to meet you in person once. Would that be okay? I want to hear more about the situation. I'll arrive at Bilbrem tomorrow morning, is it okay to meet at the adventurer guild at 10 am?】

If the blessing is attached, it won't be easy to deceive him. 【Yes, that's fine. We'll talk more about it there.】

【Good. Thanks to meeting you all, I also became stronger. I'm looking forward to meeting you tomorrow.】

The communication with Prince Keith ended, and Lich appeared.

【Sasha-sama, I heard from Jin and Rikka that they made something called Chinese cuisine. Can we have it tomorrow?】

【Yes, Prince Keith is also coming, so I'll prepare some delicious food.】

The communication with Lich also ended, so tonight, I'll cook in my private room. Since I have the chance, I'll make some dumplings. Suddenly, I felt the gaze of others, and when I opened my eyes, I found five men lying around.

"What are you doing here?”

“Haa, haa, it's because of you that we ended up like this!"

Did they plan to attack or kidnap me, thinking I was sleeping? But my Distortion Field was activated, and they couldn't do anything.

"Hey girl, how are you going to settle this?"

"I don't know. You guys just acted up in front of me on your own, right? I didn't do anything wrong. Well, that's all then."

"As it is, let's go-----"

It was annoying, so I gave them a little intimidation.

"As it is, what?"

I asked with a soft smile.

"Uh, it's nothing."

The men turned pale. Hmm, maybe my intimidation was a bit too strong? I have become stronger too, so I need to be careful not to act recklessly.

I gained experience from the people who died in the zombie house. I don't want to waste it. I need to make sure I can fully handle this power without becoming complacent.

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