"Your subordinates are really something else."

Roscha casually distanced herself from Balutak. If even someone as shamelessly flirtatious as Roscha was taken aback, that said it all.

After briefly exchanging glances with me, Roscha shifted her gaze toward Baba Yaga. Feeling her stare, Baba Yaga flinched visibly.

"Are you satisfied now?"

Despite having one of her eyes plucked out, Roscha’s fury clearly hadn’t been appeased yet. I silently turned to Baba Yaga and approached. The old hag visibly trembled and lowered her head.

"I apologize for my insolence."

"Words alone won’t suffice."

With a swift motion, I snatched Baba Yaga’s staff from her hands.

"I’ll take this as a token of your apology."

"A-ah..."

This would appease Roscha’s anger while also giving me a tangible benefit. It was a win-win situation.

While the staff was only A-rank, its successful enhancement made it significant. In-game terms, an A-rank item at +1 could rival lower-tier S-ranks.

Since both Charlotte and Estijel were magic users, I planned to gift it to one of them. Preferably Estijel—for now. Charlotte, who would eventually reach level 90, deserved nothing less than an S-rank item or better.

When I returned, Roscha gave a satisfied smile.

"You’re quite a considerate boss, aren’t you?"

She likely understood my intention, though she didn’t comment further. Perhaps it was obvious since I was a Death Knight.

"I’d love to stay here with you longer, but... I need to head to the Round Table. If I stick around, it’ll make everyone uncomfortable. It’s just tradition."

"I’ll see you at the Round Table."

"Mm-hmm, let’s."

Before I could say more, Roscha pulled me into a tight hug, holding me there for a moment before letting go.

"See you soon!"

With a wave, she descended into the underground chambers, flanked by Drabyule and Karleon. I watched her retreating figure before letting out a shallow sigh.

Thanks to Roscha, the situation had resolved itself almost miraculously. Baba Yaga’s faction, which had been brimming with hostility, now avoided even meeting my gaze. Seeing them distance themselves was oddly satisfying.

"Ahem. Lords and honored guests?"

A demon in formal attire cleared his throat loudly, breaking the silence.

"Despite the earlier... disturbance, preparations for the auction are now complete. Please follow me to the second floor."

The rest of us ascended the stairs under the demon’s guidance.

Estijel, however, was a complete mess. Her legs wobbled so badly that she couldn’t even manage a single step.

‘Can’t blame her.’

She had been at the center of a conflict involving the 8th, 7th, 6th, and 5th-ranked Lords. It was a miracle her legs gave out rather than her consciousness.

"Balutak, help her."

"Krik. Understood."

"Th-thank you..."

The auction hall on the second floor had no assigned seating, with rows of chairs set up for guests to sit wherever they pleased.

No one dared sit near us. Even Lords from Roscha’s faction kept their distance, which made sense. While our relationship was technically friendly, the earlier conflict had only deepened the divide.

"I apologize."

The voice came unexpectedly from Charlotte. I looked at her questioningly, and she hesitated before continuing.

"I was unable to be of any help earlier."

Ah, so that’s what this was about. I had thought nothing of it, but it seemed she’d been stewing over it since the first-floor incident.

‘There’s nothing for her to feel guilty about.’

Even as the lieutenant of a Seventh Abyssal Palace Lord, there wasn’t much she could do against Baba Yaga, the 8th-ranked Lord. In my opinion, her actions had been perfectly reasonable—she hadn’t faltered, and she had responded appropriately.

"You handled it well. Any further escalation would have only made things worse."

"...Thank you for saying that."

Truthfully, if anyone should feel ashamed, it was me. As the so-called "boss," I’d been utterly useless until Roscha showed up. That alone was grounds for disqualification.

"I hadn’t realized you were waiting for the Queen. When you remained silent, I was caught off guard. But now I see—you were merely biding your time."

"..."

"I’m always late to understand such things. It just means I still have much to learn. But today’s events have given me a lot to reflect on."

Since she was interpreting things favorably, I didn’t bother correcting her.

Still, today had served as a wake-up call. I had been relying far too heavily on the enhancement ritual, and I couldn’t deny the comfort it had given me. Without realizing it, I’d grown dependent on sheer luck to solve all my problems.

The holy sword was a special case, of course. While it had been a qualification-based item, it had upgraded to a bound item—a superior version of qualification.

In simpler terms, qualification was like Thor’s Mjolnir. If you met the conditions, you could wield it—even someone like Blue Skull. There was always room for betrayal.

But bound items were different. They would remain tied to their wielder until death. While they seemed like the ultimate weapons, they still fell short of the legendary Five Sacred Relics—the highest-tier items in the world.

Two of the Five Sacred Relics were known. One was held by the 2nd-ranked Lord, and the other was enshrined in the Empire’s Holy See. The remaining three were shrouded in mystery, much like the "Old Ones" of forgotten lore.

If I could obtain even one of those relics, my current lack of raw power would no longer be an issue.

‘What if a Sacred Relic pops up in this auction, like some hidden piece in a web novel?’

Of course, I used the enhancement ritual to scan everything, and the best items available were only A-rank.

I glanced down at the elderwood staff in my hand. Compared to a Sacred Relic, it now felt laughably insignificant.

I had no use for it, so I handed it over to Estijel.

"Estijel."

"Y-yes?"

"Take this."

Estijel turned, startled. Before she could stammer out any protests, I forced the staff into her hands.

"W-why are you giving this to me...?"

"It’s the perfect staff for you. Use it well."

She continued muttering incomprehensibly, but I ignored her. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Charlotte sneaking glances at me.

Was she... hoping for a gift too?

I planned to buy something good for Charlotte or Balutak if it showed up, but nothing worthy had appeared so far.

"I’ll get you something better next time."

"...Pardon?"

"You kept looking this way, didn’t you?"

Implying you wanted one too, didn’t you? made Charlotte quickly shake her head.

"That’s not it. Absolutely not."

"Then why were you looking?"

"..."

Uncharacteristically, Charlotte hesitated, then ducked her head. Her level’s color turned an unmistakable hot pink.

Ah. She’d just been looking out of fondness. Embarrassed, she couldn’t even meet my eyes.

Well, at least I knew she wasn’t upset.

***

The auction had lasted about an hour—short, intense, and to the point. Given that the main purpose of the gathering was the banquet and Round Table meeting, the auction was little more than a supplementary event.

As the auction concluded, the head of the trading company began guiding everyone downstairs.

“I should inform you ahead of time. Currently, five Abyssal Lords are seated at the Round Table.”

The moment I stepped through that door, the entirety of the Seventh Abyss would be waiting to greet me. I could hardly imagine a more nerve-wracking announcement.
Five, huh? Well, one of them was obviously me, and another one was as predictable as could be.

“Is the Old One not coming?”
“Their deputy will attend in their stead. They have not arrived yet, however.”

Of course.

For the record, even in the game, I’d never seen the Old One, much less their deputy.
Handling the deputy might turn out to be even more difficult than dealing with the other Abyssal bosses. As the First Abyssal Lord’s deputy, they were bound to hold authority on par with the other Lords, and since I knew nothing about them, it was impossible to predict how they’d act during the meeting.

“The deputy usually doesn’t attend either. This will be their second appearance since the first gathering. Isn’t that proof of the interest in the new Seventh Abyss Lord?”

It could be the Old One who’s interested, not the deputy.
Either way, it wasn’t exactly good news.
The strongest entity in the world was an unknown force—a baited mystery that only piled on the pressure and dread.

“The Seventh Star of the Abyss, please wait here for a moment.”

Just as we were about to descend underground, a demon administrator blocked our path from a distance. They whispered something to a beastman official standing beside them.
In the end, the beastman bowed and led the other Lords toward the meeting chamber, leaving only the three of us—Charlotte, Balutak, and me—waiting behind.

If my already frayed nerves weren’t fraying further, I’d have been surprised.
Why were they singling me out?
Sensing my frustration, the demon administrator spoke up.

“You, Lord, are to enter last.”
“…Why?”
“Queen Roscha made a special request. She asked for the Seventh-ranked Lord to enter separately at the very end.”

I was at a loss for words.
I knew the gathering’s resumption was technically for my sake, but going this far?
What is this, some cliché where the protagonist makes a dramatic late entrance?

Entering alone meant that every gaze would inevitably focus on me.
At this point, it felt less like they were hosting a meeting for my benefit and more like they’d decided to collectively ostracize me.

“Please wait a moment.”
“….”

Reluctantly, I stood rooted to the spot.
Charlotte looked just as tense, her face frozen in that unreadable expression.
The only one who seemed unaffected was Balutak, who scratched the back of his head with that usual carefree demeanor.

Rumble-
Beyond us, the massive stone doors opened with a resounding vibration.
The 72 Dungeon Lords entered the chamber, and the stone doors rumbled shut behind them.

We still weren’t given permission to enter.
They were probably waiting until all the Lords had taken their seats.

Sure, being the sole focus was unnerving, but on the bright side, it gave me a little more time to mentally prepare.

Let’s face reality head-on.
I would soon have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Second through Sixth Abyssal Lords.
The pressure alone was enough to crush a man, but above all, I had to account for their Heavenly Sight abilities.

‘That could expose everything about me.’

The Abyssal Lords of the Seventh Abyss each possessed a Heavenly Sight, an innate ability to discern the truth about a target simply by looking at them.

Roscha could perceive biological desire, including lust.
Kalandas could read the quality of a soul.
The Fourth Lord could detect greed. The Third Lord could discern truth and lies.
The Second Lord could perceive one’s deepest fears.

Among these abilities, the only one applicable to me was the Third-ranked Lord’s Truth Detection.
The rest were limited to living organisms. As an undead, I was immune.

Even Kalandas’ Soul Perception wouldn’t work on me.
In this world, all undead souls were the same—dead souls.

What Kalandas saw was the “quality” of a living soul.
To put it crudely, my soul would appear no different from that of a Bone Dragon.

…Unless I was different, of course. My body was undead, but my soul had transmigrated—it might still be alive.
If that were the case, Kalandas might start asking questions.

‘Wait, why is this guy’s soul alive when he’s supposed to be dead?’

That would be the extent of it, though. He wouldn’t harbor any deeper suspicions or emotions.
Sure, he might interpret it differently, but there wasn’t much to worry about there.

‘The real issue is the lie detection.’

The Third Lord’s Heavenly Sight could discern the truth or falsehood of a statement three times per target.

If they suddenly accused me and asked, “Are you really the Seventh Abyss Lord?” how would I respond?
Well, there wouldn’t be much I could do except shut up.
The ability only activated in response to questions and answers. As long as I didn’t reply, it wouldn’t trigger.

Sometimes, silence could lend weight to your presence, and this time, it would serve as both weight and bait.
If I ignored all questions and stayed silent, they might simply assume, ‘That’s just the way he is.’

Kalandas and Roscha both already knew me as a silent, stoic figure.
The groundwork had been laid; now I just had to play my role.

“We’ve kept you waiting long enough. It’s time to enter.”

The demon merchant gestured for me to follow just as my thoughts settled.
I steadied my nerves as I stepped forward. Having bought myself some extra time, I’d organized my mind and prepared for what was to come.

Finally, my steps stopped before the stone doors.
The two administrators on either side bowed and pushed the doors open.

Rumble-
The ground trembled faintly with the vibration.
From the soles of my feet to the tips of my fingers, the shaking reverberated through my body.

From here on, it was all up to me. I just had to play my part.
With one last affirmation of my resolve, I stepped into the chamber beyond.